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We present innovative ideas that tackle the challenges posed by COVID-19.
In the article “Design for COVID-19: Rethinking an American Campus and the Dilemma of the Second Wave,” the author Aneesha Dharwadker explains: “In 2020, the presence of COVID-19 forced, among other serious reflections, a reevaluation of how university spaces are used and how higher education may achieve efficacy while protecting public health.” Dharwadker “presents work from a Fall 2020 graduate studio at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign that explores how the campus could adapt to the specifics of social distancing and offer new kinds of outdoor and indoor spaces for learning and living. From the materiality of the ground plane to the layout of campus residences, the projects reimagine the campus at the scales of the site, building, and rooms.”
Finally, we share information regarding a free online book by the Design Research Society (DRS).
>>We encourage you to browse The Plan Journal and explore for yourself.
In Aneesha Dharwadker’s article “Design for COVID-19: Rethinking an American Campus and the Dilemma of the Second Wave,” Dharwadker writes:
“The site scale examines how streets, plazas, green spaces, and building entry points might be designed to facilitate social distancing, outdoor dining, and outdoor classroom experiences. ‘Off the Beaten Path’ situates three unique courtyards in the existing site fabric, introducing new hardscape materials and vegetation layouts to delineate zones for social distancing and movement. Each courtyard follows a planting theme: prairie, riparian, and woodlands.”
“Light Landscape,” focused on nighttime campus experiences, transforms existing pathways on the site into a series of light corridors. Drawing by Curtis Howard and Jenifer Romero from Design for COVID-19: Rethinking the University Campus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2020. Images courtesy © the Author.
The article shares another project that “embeds touch-sensitive light panels into existing walking paths, fulfilling two primary goals: to diversify the outdoor experience of the campus at night, and provide a way to temporarily display movement through the site. As pedestrians or cyclists cross over the panels, they light up and pulse in different colors, letting others know from a distance where occupants are located and what areas to avoid if they wish to socially distance. During the day, the translucent panels display artwork from university students, become an exhibition surface on the ground.”
Dharwadker concludes:
“There was a therapeutic dimension to this exercise, channeling the frustration and isolation of that moment into ideas about a new future. While the pandemic was an initial driver, it was not a problem to be ‘solved’ through design; it was a lens to reconsider a wider range of issues relating to student experience, healthy urbanism, and relationships between architecture and landscape on a quintessential American campus.”
>> The article is available in THE PLAN Journal vol. 7/2022, no. 1 (in English)
The Little Book1 looks at how researchers in the design community around the world are grappling with the challenges of COVID-19. This first in a series of books includes eight case studies by the Design Research Society Special Interest Group (SIG) in Global Health.
1. Little Books are 30-50 page, A5-size documents available as an online PDF.
To learn more, check out: "The Little Book on Global Health"
Why support + read TPJ?
The Plan Journal is intended to disseminate and promote innovative, thought-provoking, and relevant research, studies, and criticism related to architecture and urbanism. The journal grew out of an awareness that academia is all too often engaged in research that’s disconnected from the real-world challenges that face different professions, and that research is only possible for a small number of professional organizations, and, even then, with limited platforms for its dissemination. The overarching aim of TPJ is therefore to enrich the dialogue between researchers and professionals so as to foster both pertinent new knowledge and intellectually driven modes of practice.
How does it work + why does it matter?
Prospective contributors are encouraged to submit proposals or complete manuscripts to the Editor-in-Chief. Subject to positive feedback, proposals can then be developed into complete manuscripts and submitted for review, using the dedicated portal on the TPJ website.
After preliminary approval, manuscripts will be forwarded to suitably qualified people for commenting. TPJ is committed to following a rigorous double-blind peer review process using at least two reviewers. The Editor-in-Chief may also occasionally invite recognized academics, critics, or professionals (including members of the editorial board) to contribute to the journal without going through the peer review process, if warranted by the author’s reputation.
