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Affordable Housing and Community Design

ON SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 2002, local designers and leaders in Kansas City's affordable housing sector were treated to an energetic presentation by Michael Pyatok FAIA, principal and founder of Pyatok Architects Inc. and Prof. of Architecture at the University of Washington - Seattle.

In his keynote address, Prof. Pyatok described the challenges of creating visually expressive and socially sensitive housing that respects the dignity and culture of low-income communities. He described a wide range of housing designs, many intended for the multicultural communities of San Francisco Bay and Seattle, that provide modular flexibility for non-traditional families while accommodating the types of small-scale entrepreneurial efforts often found in ethnic neighborhoods. By allowing communities to take active part in the design process, Prof. Pyatok's projects are better suited to the social and economic requirements of low-income households, and are able to meet programmatic and financial objectives without sacrificing quality of design.

A moderated discussion led by Mark Shapiro, Director of the Kansas State University Kansas City Studio, offered an overview of community-based work undertaken by KU and K-State faculty. Shannon Criss, Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Kansas, described the work of the Small Town Center, a community outreach effort at Mississippi State University. Before joining the KU faculty this year, Prof. Criss led community-based projects in several rural Mississippi communities as part of her studio courses. The Small Town Center developed conceptual and applied projects that enriched the physical environment of impoverished towns while simultaneously sensitizing students to the social life of small communities.

Marina Pecar, Assistant Professor of Architecture at Kansas State, described several design and planning projects undertaken by K-State faculty in collaboration with rural communities around Manhattan, Kansas. Together, the two presentations led to an exchange on the importance of exposing students to the knowledge found in urban communities, as well as the need to require students to undertake tangible building projects as part of their architectural education.

The Forum concluded with a luncheon presentation by Daniel Rockhill, Professor of Architecture at KU, who described the efforts of Studio 804, a fifth-year course that requires students to design and build an accessible and affordable single-family house each spring.

About the Forum

As the Kansas City Design Center's newest initiative, the Design Leadership Forum is intended to introduce a select audience of civic leaders, public officials, the media, and community representatives, to leading thinkers and ideas about planning and design. Topics being considered or planned for future Forums include the role of the arts in urban revitalization, an examination of the impact of fiscal incentives on urban development patterns, and an introduction to green building technology for real estate professionals.