Since the inauguration of the Yale Building Project in 1967, bolstered by Samuel Mockbee’s Rural Studio work through the 1990s, design-build workshops have flowered in universities throughout the U.S. From the start, student-run design-build conflated with community action, and as a result these real-world classrooms have produced landmark examples of socially responsible architecture. This academic phenomenon continues to achieve practical solutions that inspire the design community at large and produce young activists as well as knowledgeable architects. Recently, we invited several leading professors to join us in a telephone roundtable to discuss the surging popularity of design-build studios, the challenges they still face, and the impact of completed projects on designers and their clients.

Steve Badanes
In addition to cofounding Jersey Devil and teaching at Yestermorrow Design/Build School, Badanes has conducted design-build workshops at schools from Helsinki to San Diego. At the University of Washington in Seattle, he runs the Howard S. Wright Neighborhood Design/Build Studio, producing small-scale work for Seattle nonprofits.