UTSA architecture students design transition home for former foster youth

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(March 11, 2015) -- Thirteen undergraduate architecture students in the UTSA College of Architecture, Construction and Planning have been working around the clock to create architectural designs for a full-service living complex for former foster youth to develop, grow and practice skills necessary for independent living. These designs will serve as the class’s capstone semester project.

In late fall, Brenda Lee Knowles and Mary Elizabeth Fuentes Valdez from San Antonio nonprofit organization Youth Transitioning Into Adulthood (YTIA) approached Sue Ann Pemberton – a senior lecturer of historic preservation and architecture, president of the San Antonio Conservation Society, director of the UTSA Center for Architectural Engagement and Fellow of the American Institute of Architects – to ask if the college could provide preliminary designs for “The Dorm,” a long-time dream of the organization’s.

“The truth is, many youth leaving foster care are not ready for the reality of independent living,” said Fuentes Valdez, YTIA vice president and secretary, and a child welfare attorney of many years. “Our organization has worked for many years now to assist in preparing youth for life outside the system. The Dorm is another way in which we can help youth live, grow and develop, and sharpen the skills they’ll need to successfully transition out of the foster care system.”

The Dorm would be a complex where foster youth between the ages of 18 and 21 who have aged out of the system could live and learn practical skills necessary to transition into independent living. It would include female and male dormitory apartments, recreation and athletics areas, laundry facilities, parking accommodations, community kitchen and dining areas, on-site security and administrative offices. The complex would also provide residents with a variety of services, including job skills training, adult living preparation workshops, educational assistance and mentoring.

“The UTSA design project will be a great leap forward in bringing our vision to life,” said Knowles, who is also currently a child welfare attorney. “Having the youth we serve be a part of the designing process for The Dorm goes a great deal toward giving control over their future safety and stability while also allowing them to guide how they want to experience their independence.”

Last month, the students presented preliminary designs to Knowles, Fuentes Valdez and a trio of teenagers currently involved in the foster care system. The teenagers provided feedback on what they liked, disliked and what they hoped would be included in the final design packages.

“The students are excited to produce work for real clients who are providing feedback,” said Pemberton. “The kids don’t hold anything back, and it’s been very informative to have them sit in and critique each design.”

The students will now split into four groups and use the feedback provided by YTIA and the foster youth for their final designs. The groups will operate like a professional architecture firm; each student will handle a separate and distinct aspect of the final design concepts. The final architectural design packages for The Dorm will be presented to YTIA in May. The packages will include three-dimensional concept models, programming for residents and floor plans that will be used to gain support and guide the construction process.

Pemberton said that completing the designs is the integral first step in this effort. YTIA will be free to use the designs however they see fit in order to obtain the funding to build the complex. Pemberton and UTSA students will continue to work with YTIA as design and programming consultants until The Dorm comes to fruition.

The UTSA College of Architecture, Construction and Planning is committed to excellence in education, scholarship and community engagement in the context of planning in the context of planning, design and construction of sustainable built environments. The major tenants of its educational philosophy are a desire to develop students into learned global citizens, ethics and professionalism, teaching the value of sustainability, diversity and multiculturalism, collaboration and leadership, and instilling in its students a drive for creativity, critical thinking and information.

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Learn more about the UTSA College of Architecture, Construction and Planning or the UTSA Center for Architectural Engagement.

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