RIT Croatia students participate in a project conducted on Henrietta campus

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Two of our Dubrovnik senior students, Jelena Ćenan and Margareta Anđelković are participating in a project conducted on Henrietta campus. Mentored by our professor, Dr. Vanda Bazdan, they are conducting a research for a project run by Prof. Jules J. Chiavaroli, AIA from Golisano Institute of Sustainability and his students.

This is a faculty initiated engaged research project where students assist the faculty member work collaboratively with other stakeholders. During the spring semester 2016/17 students completed pre-design work in collaboration and in partnership with the City of Rochester Housing Office and the Coalition of NorthEast Associations (CONEA). This was the preliminary step in achieving the ultimate goal of providing sustainable low-income housing in the Hudson Avenue neighborhood.

"The Fall semester 2017/18 graduate course ARCH 789-09 ST (Healthy Housing Design), moved the project to the schematic design phase where students designed housing for the neighborhood. This is when we started the research piece as well.", says Prof. Bazdan and adds: "Since this is categorized as scholarship with engagement, Prof. Chiavaroli contacted me to help with the research piece. We came to an agreement that this part of the project should also be something that students benefit from, so Jelena and Margareta are doing this as part of their senior project."

Jelena is researching how engagement in such projects influences social sustainability, and Margareta's research inquires about the differences in the way architects, architecture students, non-architects municipality employees and laypeople see (evaluate) various building designs. The research these students are conducting is supposed to steer their efforts (see how the community members feel about specific designs), and to see whether the project itself is already beneficial (sustainability study).