Students in an architectural design studio class at the Rhode Island School of Design collaborated with the Smith Hill community development corporation to design a low-cost home. The home was then built and sold to a family in the community. The entire process took over two years, starting with a course in which 14 students proposed preliminary architectural designs for the home. Students worked with a selection board made up of representatives from the community development corporation, the state architect, a local bank and others who selected three designs to develop further. Students then worked cooperatively on the three designs, one of which was finally chosen by the community development corporation. After spending two years working with the potential homeowner, construction companies, contracters, and financiers, the students finally got to see ground broken on the new house in a dedication ceremony by the mayor s office in May of 1998.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

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