Free Paper Example on Art and Architecture

Introduction

Is the discipline of design and architecture too broad to be concerned with critical issues in the community such as the plight of marginalized groups or is it too small to address such complex and structurally embedded inequalities? This is a fundamental question that lingers in the mind of professionals and scholars especially when it comes to design and the built environment (Paul, 2009). Architecture and design have been considered as a distinct field from social justice and human-centered interventions for an extended period. However, recent development depicts a changing trend where design and architecture have become a tool for championing a positive change in terms of justice of marginalized and minority groups and populations across the globe. It is evident, from a significant number of case studies, that design and architecture have been used and could be used to encourage inclusion, mitigate discrimination, foster diversity, support community ownership, encourage accessibility, and offer opportunities for justice among minorities and marginalized populations and groups.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Inclusion

The aspect of inclusion of marginalized communities and the concept of design and architecture stems from the emergence of the right to the city, the New Urban Agenda, and accessibility (Aoun, 2013). Kempin (2019) argues that for many years, city designs have excluded marginalized populations, a phenomenon that goes against the fundamental principles of human rights. The scholar postulated that with the onset of information communication technology in building design and construction as well as planning of the built environment, a significant percentage of marginalized populations continue to be excluded in urban settings and other reputable or designated areas. A case study that focused on the situation of marginalized groups in different cities revealed that the use of design and architecture has become a principal intervention to foster inclusion of minorities (Kempin, 2019). For example, the use of multi-stakeholder designs and architectural innovations has transformed urban spaces to include that embrace inclusivity and upholds the right to the city. Living up to the provisions of the human right while at the same time accounting for the rising complexity of urban built environment has in most occasions led to forfeited needs of the marginalized populations such as the poor and people living with disabilities (Kempin, 2019).

Mitigating Discrimination

Through well-articulated design and architecture in the built environment, it has been possible to champion the process of mitigating discrimination of marginalized people. Schindler (2015) stated that architectural exclusions have negatively impacted the struggle for the recognition and accommodation of marginalized populations. It then follows from this argument that transformed architectural designs and methods that can mitigate discrimination and segregation of the minorities. Through modern physical designs of the built environment, a framework of nondiscriminatory interventions could be used to recognize and support the poor, people of color, and those living with disabilities. For example, racially restrictive measures were implemented in the united states through a series of design and architectural interventions. bridges leading to public beaches were set so low to prevent buses from accessing these places (Schindler, 2015). The idea behind this was to prevent people of color, who majorly commute using busses during that time, from accessing the public beaches. A similar approach was historically witnessed with walls, one-directional highways, and fences. On the contrary, current changes have led to the recognition of design and architecture as a form of regulation with the capacity to mitigate discrimination and encourage inclusion. Today, there is limited structural designs that specifically focus on discriminating the interaction between the whites and people of color in the United States when compared to the historical era that was dominated with innocuous and pre-political endeavors (Schindler, 2015).

The objective of embracing diversity is to ensure that people are aware that regardless of the social, racial, religious, political, economic, and cultural differences, a society could coexist in harmony. The use of transformative design and architecture has played a key role in fostering diversity (Paul, 2009). The concept behind the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. While designing the museum, the architects working under the Freelon Group argued that diversity was behind the inspiration for the structure. The experts have been quoted stating how the diversity of the team behind the structure contributed to the whole design. For example, David Adjaye was a Tanzanian, Max Bond was African American, and the Freelon Group was the second-largest company managed by African Americans during that time (Melton, 2020). It is considered that a lack of this diversity could have resulted in a building dominated by either euro-centric or modern American values as opposed to the current global perspective depicted by the museum. Buildings with diverse sensibilities and distinctive lattice of decoration have played such as the African American museum, have encouraged diversity and inclusion of minorities and marginalized populations. Such a transformative change is achieved by incorporating identities in the design and architecture of the built environment.

Equality

Justice and equality are critical needs for marginalized populations. Different measures have been adopted to enhance access to justice and equality and design and architecture are one of these interventions. Modern built environments have integrated frameworks that support justice and equality (Paul, 2009). Initiatives such as the Marwen building expansion have been used as foundations of equality and justice for minority groups. Marwen school was established to offer free visual arts lessons to learners from schools that could not offer art education. When the expansion proposal was tabled, the institution resorted to SEED Evaluator where the principle of equality was embraced. The expansion project became a product that was founded on the suggestions gathered from the focus groups that were formed comprising of students and parents. On one hand, the suggestions of the students revolved around the need to include space for film, fiber arts, portfolio documentation center, and fashion. On the other hand, parents proposed a waiting area based on the distance covered by people coming to the institution. The expansion project was the primary reason why Marwen was recognized during the SEED award in 2016 for built environment sustainability and community-based designs that recognized the role of the under-resourced populations in the region (Melton, 2020). Marwen, therefore, portrayed the role of design and architecture in creating an environment that fosters equality, justice, and inclusion.

Community Ownership

Additionally, incorporation of community ownership in designs and built environment is one of the methods that could be used to mitigate the discrimination and segregation of the marginalized population. Design and architecture support community ownership by valuing the role of engagement and participation (Melton, 2019). Apart from residential and urban settings, learning institutions are equally founded on comprehensive architectural designs. However, it is a challenge for schools to meet the needs of the community while establishing the underpinning design and architecture, especially when located in under-served communities. A case example of a school that managed to incorporate community ownership during the design and implementation stages is Faubion School in Portland, Oregon. The school is committed to supporting students from the under-resourced community where more than 20% of learners are homeless. Initially, the school was characterized by crumbling, buildings, which did not offer any hope for the marginalized community. However, it was demolished and reconstructed in 2017 (Melton, 2020). The school district established a design advisory committee that comprised of local parents, the community representatives, and the staff. The outcome was a reimagined built environment with a high degree of community ownership and favorable for learning compared to the initial one that was destroyed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as discussed in this research article, it is apparent that the case examples presented here depict the potential and capacity of design and architecture in championing the needs and justice of different marginalized groups. Through design and architecture, it is possible to encourage the inclusion of marginalized and minority populations by recognizing their identity and role in the community. Design and architecture have been used to mitigate discrimination and eliminate racial supremacy that has caused social distinction and segregation for many years in countries such as the United States. Additionally, by fostering diversity and support community ownership, design and architecture form part of the interventions for bridging the existing gaps in society to the advantage of the minorities. Moreover, as seen in this current analysis, design and architecture also encourage accessibility, offer a framework for justice for marginalized populations. Therefore, based on the interrelation between design and architecture and the needs of the marginalized populations, more efforts in terms of innovation and capacity building should be channeled in this area.

References

Aoun, C. (2013). The Smart City Cornerstone: Urban Efficiency. Schneider Electric. https://www.ogcio.gov.hk/en/news/consultations/d21_submission_2013/doc/079_SchneiderElectric_(Annex).pdf

Bora Architects. (2017). Faubion PK-8 School with Concordia University. Archello.
https://archello.com/project/faubion-middle-school.