PD&R Grantee Is Awarded Prize

PD&R Grantee Is Awarded Prize
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The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) has awarded an Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) Sustainable Construction in Indian Country grantee an ACSA/ American Institute of Architects Housing Design Education Award: Excellence in Housing Education Course or Activity. Designing People and Place: Sustainable and Affordable Housing for the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is a project of the University of Colorado Boulder (CU), directed by Rob Pyatt; it was funded in part by PD&R.

This award recognizes the critical role of housing design education in shaping architects into leaders and contributors, ready to practice in a wide range of areas and in a variety of communities. The Designing People and Place project is a service learning initiative under the CU Native American Sustainable Housing Initiative (NASHI). Over the course of two semesters, the project brings together students from three colleges and universities and Pine Ridge reservation stakeholders in a design charrette, housing design, and architecture build. A straw-bale house was designed and built in the summer of 2013. The project anticipates completing four model houses, which will use different sustainable materials and designs that CU will test for energy efficiency.

CU-Boulder and Pine Ridge have been recognized by ACSA/AIA for setting a higher standard in Native American design and construction practices. The project has been a valuable learning experience for everyone involved; moreover, it has brought affordable, energy-efficient dwellings to a reservation where quality housing has been in very short supply.

Click to view the press release and additional project information.