Collaborative Architectural Project

Gouron Museum of Craft and Railroad Square, Keene
Keene State College. 2020 to 2021. Sophomore level. With P. Fowler.

This project-centered course emphasized a team approach to solving complex and community-based architectural problems. Students conducted architectural projects in the local and international community for a specific client and site. The process involved community-based site planning, programming and schematic design. Student teams focused on two projects, one domestic and one international.

Project I: Museum of Craft, village of Gouron, Qeshm, Iran. “Traditional skills of building and sailing Iranian wooden boats in the Persian Gulf” is listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding by UNESCO. This project sought a museum that would harness aspiration and anticipation for the community and contemporize this UNESCO-registered heritage through methodological exploration and architectural manifestation. The Gouron museum of craft illuminates and captures the cultural journey of watercraft, including ocean-liners and traditional wooden boats, in a spatial format. Students learned about community-based design process, and cultural and environmental awareness.

Project II: Railroad Square, city of Keene, NH. Railroad Square, in a dominant location in downtown Keene, is in need of an update. The new design provides a space of contemplation, a space for families and visitors to sit down and rest. The city also plans to use it for public events, concerts, and day markets, and to introduce new green spaces in an urban environment. The students worked with the city of Keene to develop new design concepts for this urban park. Final client presentation: May 19, 2021.

Gouron museum boards, models and collages: Sarah N., Slesha T., Hannah L. and Jon L. Railroad Square site plan: Ethan Koch, Zack Gamble and Simon Foisey. Parti studies and concept development: Allen Crosnier, Ben Turk and David Anania.