Abstract
In the Fall of 2023, faculty at Belmont University coordinated a collaborative partnership between the American Institute of Architects, the Civic Design Center, and Music City Baseball (MCB), to develop a uniquely impactful, interdisciplinary design studio project. A private investment and development organization, MCB is committed to bringing a Major League Baseball franchise to the city of Nashville as part of a new mixed-use entertainment district. Interdisciplinary design teams, including Architecture and Interior Design students, were established to develop proposals for extensive community-centric programs in conjunction with MCB’s vision for the new district. As part of that vision, teams were challenged to tell the story of the original Nashville Stars, a historic Negro League Baseball team, to which the new team’s name will pay tribute. The site identified for the project was in a historically under-resourced African American community divided by the construction of Interstate 40 in the 1960’s, and decimated by other hardships dating back to the 1930’s. This further challenged the students to consider how design can preserve a community’s history, while celebrating its future. Given the project’s scale, client, site, and relevant history, students were forced to consider how diverse cultural and social contexts translate into the built environment and how the integrated nature of the profession impacts the design process across multiple scales of community projects. This paper tells the story of this project: its context, methodologies, outcomes, and potential impacts, illustrating a potential model for future collaborative public/private partnerships and educational interdisciplinary design studios.
Presenters
Anthony MonicaAssistant Professor of Achitecture, O'More College of Architecture and Design, Belmont University - Nashville, Tennessee, United States Peter Aylsworth
Assistant Professor, O'More CAD - Interior Design Department, Belmont University, Tennessee, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Design, Community Design, Design Education, Collaboration, Social Impacts
