Colorado University Program
Over the past two years Villa Carmen Atelier has cultivated a relationship with Colorado University to exchange learning across cultures. In early 2019 the students from the Landscape Architecture and Design Masters program in Denver focused on the interaction of place and people in Puerto Rico amidst economic crises and natural disaster. Villa Carmen Atelier served as a case study and resource for students studying the region. Our goal is to create opportunities in which universities and local communities can share strategies of resiliency and innovation in the face of our ongoing global challenges.
Lois Brink, Project Lead
This program, designed by professor Lois Brink, is an in-depth exploration of urban space and design in Puerto Rico. Graduate students visited San Juan, Ponce and other coastal communities to explore varying approaches and responses to climatic and geographic conditions. Villa Carmen served as the focus of one programs case studies to look at the interaction between the arts and community. As part of the culminating project each student proposed re-design of the Villa Carmen building, reimagining its capacity to serve the community as a cultural center.
The collaboration was covered by Puerto Ricos El Vocero newspaper. Read Full Article: elvocero.com/escenario
Reimagining Villa Carmen
On November 1, 2019 students arrived at Villa Carmen to help present their designs to director Esteban Figueroa and take measurements of the building for a future project. Their designs looked to enhancing green space, expand exhibition capacity and support artist residencies and events.
The Value of Cultural Exchange on Design Work
The immersive experience provides students an opportunity to develop and model practices that involve the interests, values and experiences of the communities they design for. The semester culminated in two weeks of visiting public spaces in a cultural and geographical context that is completely different from what students are used to. This helps them to gain awareness of their unreflected assumptions, biases, values and projections that habitually inform design decisions. If left unexamined, this lens ultimately produce places that are based on their (the designer’s) preferences and values and not of those of the communities that inhabit them.
“Many people have given to Puerto Rico during these difficult times. But those who show up in person, who touch the hand of another human being, will touch their own humanity and receive something far greater in return.”
A VISION FOR THE FUTURE
A select student design team collaborates with Villa Carmen for its 2020 restoration plan
Using a semester long independent study, select students from the UC Denver program are collaborating with Villa Carmen to build out the final design for its upcoming renovations. Working closely with the Villa Carmen team students have mapped out updates to the floor plans, built 3D models and performed a cost analysis. With a completed design for renovation, Villa Carmen will be able to phase out renovations over the next 5 years to expand its capacity for artists in residence, its available gallery space and usable event space. The concept is for this building to be a beacon of Puerto Rican culture to the world and create a network of satellite locations be used as the central urban hub with satellite residency programs in rural areas where future students and artists will have access to.
Meet the Design Team
Helen Davidoski is a third year MLA candidate from the University of Colorado Denver. Originally from Cincinnati Ohio, she spent her undergrad at Tulane University in New Orleans Louisiana studying urban environmental issues. She is passionate about environmental and social justice and believes in the healing properties of healthy environments. Her interest in Villa Carmen is rooted in her belief in the power of community to create and maintain resilience through culture and heritage. She aims to create relaxing and lush outdoor spaces to inspire and nurture creative efforts for the Puerta-de-Tierra residents and visiting artists.
Ngoc Vu is a Master of Landscape Architecture student studying at the University of Colorado Denver and holds a bachelor's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Texas StateUniversity. She is passionate about creativity, expression, inclusion, and innovation. To her, Villa Carmen is an opportunity to bring the community's ideas, thoughts, and representation into fruition by working closely with the well-established community member, Esteban Figueroa, to design a beacon of cultural heritage for an area that has shown its resilience time and time again.
