Each winter term, Conway graduate students work on community-scale projects for public and nonprofit clients. Typically, projects are for a public agency or non-profit organization; the project scope necessitates study of natural systems within which the clients’ requests must be accommodated or revised; students work in teams of two or three; the information for the study may be derived from geographic information systems (GIS) and presented as computer graphics; and students produce a written report that summarizes the design and planning process and recommendations, and accompanying maps, charts, and other illustrations.
We schedule formal project presentations with weeks still to go in the term, so students have the opportunity to incorporate comments and suggestions from our guest critics and their clients before completing the work. The comments received help refine the final design plan, which students complete and present to their clients by the end of the term.
Here are some pictures from the 2015 winter term presentations – it was a wonderful day, shared with project clients, alums, family, and friends:
