Dezeen School Shows: a proposal for modern housing in East Berlin informed by housing strategies in Barcelona, is among the projects from Washington University in St Louis.

Also featured is a design for a vocational school and customisable market spaces in Bangkok, Thailand.

Washington University in St Louis

Institution: Washington University in St Louis
School: Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts
Courses: Master of Architecture, Master of Landscape Architecture and Master of Urban Design
Tutors: Chandler Ahrens, Derek Hoeferlin, Linda Samuels and Aki Ishida

School statement:

"Architects, landscape architects and urban designers are key creative thinkers in decoding and tackling some of the most critical challenges of our age.

"From the impacts of climate change on communities around the world to the need for new housing models to accommodate a changing population, to the rise of artificial intelligence, students in WashU's Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Design in the Sam Fox School are exposed to design challenges from micro to macro scales across a wide variety of cultures, climates and contexts.

"WashU's faculty of scholars, practitioners, researchers and educators take their responsibility as social and spatial stewards seriously – for both human and non-human inhabitants – locally in our home of St Louis, USA, and globally as citizens of the design world.

"Graduate programmes in architecture, landscape architecture and urban design emphasise strategic design thinking, careful craft and thoughtful integration of technology as well as independent and critical positions on social and environmental justice.

"The low student-to-faculty ratio encourages a culture of meaningful conversations around the design disciplines and professional opportunities.

"Students in WashU's Sam Fox School also can expand their practice by pairing any two programmes between architecture, landscape architecture and urban design. Dual degrees across WashU are also offered in business administration, construction management, social work and public health.

"Our NAAB-accredited Master of Architecture programme, LAAB-accredited Master of Landscape Architecture programme and Master of Urban Design programme are all STEM-designated."

Continuity by Keying Zhong

"The project connects Chouteau Island's well-trodden paths, creating a continuous circulation through two strategies.

"First, the design blends architecture and environment with curved walls and weathering steel exteriors to create the continuous changing landscape.

"Second, it captures and evokes the sensation of continuing a walk through the forest by integrating ramps, a long strip of skylight and curved walls to guide movement, invite sunlight and shadows and frame immersive views – creating a continuous experience."

Student: Keying Zhong
Course: Options Studio, Fall 2024
Tutor: John Hoal

Rye and Barley in Cedzyna, Poland by Madeleine Cordray

"This graduate options studio tasked students with addressing the challenges related to aging populations and inequitable resources and infrastructure in rural communities.

"This project proposal, located in Cedzyna, Poland, engages with its surrounding rural landscape through its mixed-use programme of an agricultural school, an elderly daycare centre and leisure facilities, such as a biergarten.

"In reference to rye and barley food production, climate, culture and historical context, this proposal uses silos and material transitions within the architecture and landscape to denote areas of activity."

Student: Madeleine Cordray
Course: unCozy Islands: Mixed-use Experiments in Food-productive Landscapes, Fall 2024
Tutor: Jose Ahedo

Restoring Vocation by Mason Burress

"Once a hub for hands-on learning, north St Louis was home to several vocational schools that equipped students with practical skills in woodworking, metalworking, welding, fashion, auto mechanics, MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) and more.

"However, since the mid-1960s, these institutions have steadily disappeared.

"This proposal seeks to bring that spirit of vocational education back – by establishing a new affiliate school designed to work in tandem with the four major high schools in the surrounding area as a celebration of the trades."

Student: Mason Burress
Course: Degree Project, Spring 2025
Tutor: Don Koster

Community (land) Trust by Lucas Kamal

"This project lays the foundation for two types of "trusts".

"The first – a newly created Community Land trust for St Louis' Jeff-Vander-Lou neighbourhood — is a tool to keep speculative development out while re-investing in a neighbourhood historically subject to America's racialised built environment.

"The second refers to the interconnected networks of personal trusts — to other community members, institutions and fellow citizens.

"By carefully weaving a quilt of landscapes and built structures, the project proposes a framework for the neighbourhood to build in ways that embrace the de-urbanised condition of the site and pursues social density."

Student: Lucas Kamal
Course: The City at Stake, Fall 2024
Tutor: Patty Heyda

Stayfrastructure: More Water, Less Displacement by Nayoung Shin

"This second semester Master of Urban Design studio focused on infrastructure where Los Angeles' proposed Festival Trail and the LA River converge.

"The project leverages hidden resources – vacant lots, buildings and greywater – to build infrastructure in two phases: 2028 for the Olympics and 2050 for the Next Generation.

"Vacant buildings become volunteer and then affordable housing; lots turn into Commons Tower, Water Street and pocket parks.

"Located near William Mead Homes and south of LA State Historic Park, the project resists market-rate redevelopment, preserves historic assets and addresses displacement, construction waste and environmental issues like water scarcity and urban heat."

Student: Nayoung Shin
Course: Metropolitan Design Elements: LA2028 – River Rail Trail Fire
Tutor: Linda C Samuels

The New Nolli: Capitalising on Neighbourhood Markets to Fill the Public Space Gap in Bangkok by Emma Woolcott

"This project is based in Minburi Market on the outskirts of Bangkok.

"Along the Saen Saep canal, this market has taken over the streets in-between traditional 1960s shophouse typologies which are found everywhere in the city.

"This location provides three different relationships for market spaces: canal facing, in-between housing and open market space.

"The main goals of the project are to create climate comfort, provide utilities for vendors and offer storage.

"This is done through a customisable structure that is put over the entire street, while the ground floor becomes a variety of water-capturing platforms and permeable ground."

Student: Emma Woolcott
Course: Global Urbanism Studio: Bangkok — A City of Water
Tutor: Montserrat Bonvehi Rosich

Alpaca Bridge by Jia Song

"Wild Crossings explores the complex history of zoos, their role in modern-day biodiversity research, conservation and education, and how they can be constructed in ways that empathically and ethically serve the needs of humans and non-humans.

"Song's proposal for a connection between the Saint Louis Zoo to the former Forest Park Hospital site includes an alpaca habitat with a protected pathway and exhibit space for visitors to observe the animals, as well as engaging with the interstate through unique, circular design elements.

"The project received a Merit Award from the St Louis Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects."

Student: Jia Song
Course: Wild Crossings
Tutors: L Irene Compadre

Tracks of Transfer by Kaitlin Sampson

"This project focuses on a portion of the Frisco Railroad in Missouri, which originally ran from St Louis to San Francisco.

"It proposes a solution for the now-abandoned rail line to restore prairies, rejuvenate neglected areas and invigorate new types of economies.

"The proposal considers the current conditions, the amount and timing of labour needed, the source and final location of all materials and plantings that can combat erosion."

Student: Kaitlin Sampson
Course: Landscape Architecture Design Studio VI
Tutor: Montserrat Bonvehi Rosich

Pollinator Garden by Jia Song

"This project, which received an Excellence Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects at the Central States Conference, looks at the five typologies of pollinator gardens in St Louis' Wells – Goodfellow community: alley, vacant lot with basement, common vacant lots, parking lot and pocket prairie.

"Establishing pollinator gardens in backyard spaces the garden has taller vegetation along the perimetre to deter access to the contaminated soil and planting drought-tolerant plants.

"It also features ornamental grasses and flowers to mitigate flooding as well as provide both ecological restoration and recreational space for residents.⁠"

Student: Jia Song
Course: De-sealing St Louis: Urban Soil and Climate Abandonment in the American Midwest⁠
Tutor: Seth Denizen

Open Block Apartments by Maggie Welker

"Learning from historic housing strategies in Berlin and Barcelona, this project aims to provide modern, flexible housing to Berlin's historic former East side.

"Building upon key Barcelona strategies like designing in a series of rooms and taking advantage of corner conditions, each apartment unit is designed as a corner unit providing expansive views as well as maximum daylight and ventilation.

"Expanding upon the Berlin block structure, the apartment takes a modern approach to the courtyard scheme, providing two open courtyards for a community centred around nature."

Student: Maggie Welker
Course: International Housing Studio, Fall 2024
Tutor: Julie Bauer

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Washington University in St Louis. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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