Public Service Fellowship Program Proves A Resounding Success

by Derry Wade
July 8, 2005

The public service fellows at the School of Architecture completed their fellowships at the conclusion of spring semester 2005. This pilot program supported students interested in working in local design and environment-related nonprofit organizations for a semester-long fellowship. Through a competitive selection process, ten fellowships were awarded in the amount of $1,500 each.

In addition to exposing students to community needs and providing real-life experience, the program benefits local nonprofit organizations that would normally not be able to afford design assistance. The program placed students at the Charlottesville Community Design Center, the Charlottesville Housing Authority, GreenBlue, and Piedmont Housing Alliance.

A sampling of the fellows’ projects includes:
· Urban Habitats Design Competition: Fellows researched green affordable multi-family housing projects as part of a national design competition.

· Charlottesville by Design: Fellows helped develop this collaboration-based teaching program created to provide Charlottesville’s students with the opportunity for integrated design education either as part of weekly class curriculum or as part of an after-school program.

· Monticello Avenue Childcare Center: In collaboration with the Curry School of Education, Public Service Fellows worked with Professor Peter Waldman to provide design services for a new day care center for children and the elderly near Friendship Court.

· Straw Bale Prototype Housing in China: Public Service Fellows helped develop an experimental straw bale housing prototype that would ensure a highly insulated building envelope in the cold climate, while using locally sourced materials whenever possible.

· ecoMOD: A fellow assisted with administrative aspects of ecoMOD, an interdisciplinary design/build project under the direction of Assistant Professor John Quale, focused on ecologically based modular housing for low income families. Responsibilities included working with the city to get approvals, tracking the budget, and setting up accounts for materials.

Fellows gave oral presentations to the School at the conclusion of the fellowship program to demonstrate the knowledge they had both shared and gained. The Public Service Fellowship Program was funded by a generous grant from the Parents Program of the University of Virginia.

For more information and photographs from this year's programs, see the Public Service Fellowship Program pages.