Athens, Ga. – A team of students and faculty from the University of Georgia College of Environment and Design will be in Griffin Oct. 25-27 to study potential design improvements for the old Griffin Vocational School, the Fairmont Homes public housing complex and the surrounding neighborhood.
Pratt Cassity, director of the Center for Community Design and Preservation in the College of Environmental Design, will lead the team in an intensive, three-day design session, or charrette. Graduate students from the landscape architecture and historic preservation programs will build upon the citizen input gathered from public input sessions and focus groups conducted over the past two years. The project is part of the Educational Prosperity Zone initiative-a partnership which includes the Griffin Housing Authority, the UGA Center for Urban Agriculture, the City of Griffin, Spalding County, the Spalding Collaborative, the Griffin Branch of the NAACP, Spalding County Cooperative Extension and the Healthy Life Community Garden, as well as residents from the adjacent neighborhoods.
“The goal of the design charrette is to build upon the stated goals of Fairmont residents, Vocational School alumni, citizens and all other interested parties, and to create a plan that will meet the needs of its current and future residents,” said Cassity.
The participants will illustrate the rehabilitation of the Vocational School as a community education center, propose design and circulation improvements for Fairmont homes, and create plans to preserve the remaining mill-town context of the Fairmont-Thomaston community in a way that promotes walkability and social interaction.
After three days of intensive brainstorming and experiencing Griffin for themselves, the students will return to Athens and refine the ideas and plans begun during the charrette. The final concepts will be presented to the community for feedback at the beginning of December.
For further information, please contact Ellen Bauske, program coordinator with the Center for Urban Agriculture, at 770-233-5558 or ebauske@uga.edu.
About UGA’s Center for Community Design and Preservation
The Center for Community Design and Preservation serves as the Public Service and Outreach office for the College of Environment and Design. The center provides opportunities for faculty and students to engage in real-world projects and put their academic pursuits into practice. The CCDP delivers conceptual community design services by utilizing a mix of faculty, professional staff and students, which helps leverage professional assistance to implement projects. As recipient communities receive high quality design services, students receive the practical hands-on experience that makes them more marketable as graduates. For more information, see www.ced.uga.edu/pso.