In the article, "This Detriot House Is Being Turned Into A Living Model Of Cost-Saving Sustainable Design", Peters (2016), 3 architecture students through their project, “Motown Movement” purchased a house in Detroit. Their aim was to achieve sustainability through affordable means and transforming broken-down houses into sustainable buildings. In their house, the lower level will be a “training centre” while the upper level houses a family in need. In-house systems include solar panels, a “greywater system” and a “septic tank” as sources of renewable energy. Lukkes, one of the 3 students, hoped that through collaboration with their university, their project can become universal and reach out to other countries. However, the article should have discussed the emotional aspect of the project which is key to its success.
The first reason why the lack of emotional aspect in their project could affect the success of their project is because they did not really spend time with the community in Detroit. The article failed to talk about whether the three students immersed themselves in the culture of Detroit or spent time understanding what the community really needed. All the article mentioned was how they visited Detroit and found that there were many improvements required by the community of Detroit. The three students only focused on technicalities such as what the community in Detroit could improve on. Research studies showed that understanding the culture of the community is so important as it affects them in so many ways. It is stated that culture is a strong part of people's lives. It influences their views, their appraisal, their amusement, their hopes, their loyalties, and their feelings. (Axner, 2016). It is also mentioned that very slight forces, sometimes individuals, can destroy very big ideas and projects (Cohn, 2015). As such, it is very important for the students to focus on the emotional aspects of their project, "Motown Movement" in order for it to be a success and be well received by the community of Detroit.
Furthermore, the article only focused on the technical aspects of their project such as turning the house into a "training centre", where a "greywater system" and "septic tank" were to be installed. Peters, 2016 only vaguely mentioned about the emotional aspects of her project by saying that " the people were much more positive." The three students should have paid more attention to the feelings of the community and let them be the centre of their project. Peters, 2016 was making assumptions such as, ""We thought we should create a sustainable example."" The students should have gone around the city of Detroit and surveyed the residence to get a clear idea of what they desired. A similar article by Olin College states that it has a program where the over their semesters, their students work closely with senior citizens to identify their specific challenges and help developed concrete solutions to address these challenges. "One project resulted in a team building a device to help elderly people get out of a car more easily" (Olin College of Engineering,2016). We can clearly see that by understanding the needs of others through effective communication, projects can be very well received, which the article failed to address. As such, the article should have discussed the views of the Detroit community and what their real needs are instead of assuming.
In conclusion, though the article was very detailed about the technical aspects of the project “Motown Movement”, more focus should have been on the emotional aspects of it. It is important to note that the focus of the project is the community of Detroit as they are the key to its success. As such the article should have catered more towards them. I believe the emotional aspect is key to the success of the project as it helps the community of Detroit to embrace "Motown Movement and be open to changes and improvements. Through this relationship which they can forge with the community of Detroit by being on the ground, the students can ensure"Motown Movement" takes flight and becomes a success.
References:
Peters, A. (2016, July 7). This Detroit House Is Being Turned Into A Living Model Of Cost-Saving Sustainable Design. World Changing Ideas. Retrieved from https://www.fastcoexist.com/3061563/world-changing-ideas/this-detroit-house-is-being-turned-into-a-living-model-of-cost-saving-s
Axner, M. (2016). Understanding Culture and Diversity in Building Communities. Retrieved from http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/culture/cultural-competence/culture-and-diversity/main
Cohn.M.(2015).The Importance of Community Relations. Retrieved from http://www.evancarmichael.com/library/martin-cohn/The-Importance-of-Community-Relations.html
Projects That Help Others. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.olin.edu/projects-research/help-others/
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