Spring 2007 Student Reflections

"The act of teaching through design is an overwhelmingly important aspect of this project, and one that I think holds incredible bearing for architecture as a practice, as well as learning as a process.  This holds true with the Learning Barge not only in the sense of educating individuals who will visit the project upon its completion and use, but also the students who have worked in collaboration to make the project a reality.  The process of generating a design based on research, and detailing based on ability and pedagogy, links the designer with the design and, in my opinion, will ultimately help link the visitor with the project as well.  These links are what will help educate the general public about the overall purpose of the Barge: recognizing our impact on the environment, negatively and positively, and finding ways to ensure our interaction with the world becomes a sustainable one."
-Andrew Daley, Spring 2007 Team Member

"The Learning Barge is an attempt to draw people into their environment, both ‘built’ and ‘natural’, neither of which is empirically pure, but both of which are reliant on the other.  We, as human beings, occupy the world unlike any other species, both as inhabitants of a built environment and as occupants of the native habitat.  Sustainable architecture realizes this dichotomy and asserts that these two poles must be aligned in order to realize a sustainable future.  Educating the public is necessary for this to be a global rather than a personal realization.  People tend to live their lives in the way that their parents lived their lives, until stimuli lead them in another direction.  The Learning Barge is the stimulus that will illuminate visitors to analyze the manner in which they live, through questioning their original context and understanding the modifications that has led it to its present state.  Only then can we understand the kind of changes that are required to return this deteriorated ecology to a healthy state."
-Adam Donovan, Spring & Fall 2006 Member, Spring 2007 job Captain

“I was drawn to the Learning Barge because it focuses on sustainability and provides a platform which fosters a public awareness of the community’s interaction with its environment. With this in mind, I’m excited to be part of a team that is producing something which has the potential to directly engage the mindsets of children and the public. This opportunity not only satiates an ethic to give back to the community, but also provides me the opportunity to design and build an environment that embodies ecological and socially minded values.”
-Kevin Day, Spring 2007 Team Member & Teaching Assistant

“The significance of the Learning Barge project manifests itself on two levels. Individually speaking, the collaborative studio structure and the merging of conceptual design with elements of practicality and constructability have provided an invaluable learning experience. On a larger scale, the process of bringing the Barge to reality has made clear the tremendous potential it has to positively impact the conditions of the Elizabeth River area, as well as the manner in which people interact with this fragile environment. The hands-on nature of the project is perhaps its most valuable asset. For both the students involved in its design and construction, and more importantly for the thousands of children and adults who will experience it each year, the Learning Barge serves to prove that the deepest, most significant lessons are best learned through physical engagement and interaction. The Barge seeks to communicate that few lessons are more significant or urgent than that of the importance of environmental awareness and responsibility.”  
-Erin Dorr, Spring 2007 Team Member