Hamer Center for Community Design

The Hamer Center for Community Design encourages building community through building knowledge, and fulfills its mission through engagement in three inter-related activities: teaching, research, and service.

On this Page
Overview
Mission, Vision, and Goals
Publications
Labs and Outreach
Studio Partnerships
People
News

Community design, research, and education

The Hamer Center for Community Design in the Stuckeman School serves as a laboratory for community partnerships that integrate socio-economic and environmental conscious resolution to design and planning problems. It is an incubator for exploring ideas, a classroom, and a real-world link; viewing the activities of teaching, research and service as interrelated in investigating issues of community design and planning.

Hamer Center for Community Design and Landscape Architecture collaboration "Shine a Light" three dimensional drawing involving LED and water.

Cleaner Community Air

An episode of the “Growing Impact” podcast produced by the Institutes of Energy and the Environment (IEE) features Hamer Center Director Lisa Iulo’s research related to air quality and resilient communities.

Mission

The Mission of the Hamer Center for Community Design is to encourage building community through building knowledge. It fulfills its mission through engagement in three inter-related activities: Teaching, Research and Service.

Values

The Hamer Center serves as a laboratory for community partnerships that integrate socio-economic and environmental conscious resolution to design and planning problems. It is an incubator for exploring ideas, a classroom, and a real-world link; viewing the activities of teaching, research and service as interrelated in investigating issues of community design and planning.

The Hamer Center seeks to empower communities by providing information for responsible development through research and analysis of specific issues and by providing planning and pre-design services.

The Hamer Center serves as a clearinghouse for research, projects, and case summaries related to community design and planning. The Hamer Center compiles research and community design/planning documentations for dissemination, summarizes documents relating to topics or themes and relates the material back to community issues in the Commonwealth and its unique regional conditions.

Goals

Community outreach and empowerment.
Public education and dissemination of research related to community design and planning.
Focus on issues related to disadvantaged communities and communities in need.
Provide community service through studio programs, research programs, grant writing, and/or special projects. Each service studio or project must have an academic component that can be linked to a research question or teaching pedagogical question.
To operate as a teaching and learning center where students and faculty are in place to explore new methodologies and required to expand project scopes to include an academic pursuit. The Center is not in direct competition with professional offices; however, clients should see the Center as a resource that helps to explore and define design/planning problems.
To serve as a hub for the Stuckeman School community, and beyond – working on community design/planning research and education.

Project Map

This story map provides a chronological and geographic portfolio of Hamer Center work beginning in 1996: Story Map

Text reading Penn State LARCH 414 Design Activism Studio is overlaid on an aerial photo of green trees and houses with metal roofs.

The cover of Rethinking 322 booklet featuring an overhead view of the Penns-Brush Valley area in Central Pennsylvania.

Publications

Following is a brief overview of publications that have been produced to document research within the Hamer Center for Community Design.

Featured Publications

LARCH 414: Design Activism Studio

This studio connects with the informal amphibious slum community of Claverito to address One Health issues through the design of the area’s built environment.
Link: English | Spanish
Publication date: June 2023

Rethinking 322

This booklets presents the design solutions upper-level landscape architecture students proposed to local residents as alternatives to a PennDOT-proposed “super highway” through the Penns-Brush Valley area.
Link: Issuu
Publication date: March 2023

Williamsburg Trail & River Design Workbook

This workbook is a resource for community members, planners, local and regional government, students, and anyone else interested in enhancing the landscapes around the Lower Trail and the Frankstown Branch in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania.
Link: Issuu
Publication Date: December 2022

Design for Life

This publication highlights the expanse of innovative, socially responsive, and community-engaged design work developed by faculty and students within the Stuckeman School at Penn State from January 2018 through December 2020 as a testament to the school’s creative practice, research and expertise.
Link: Issuu
Publication date: May 2022

Research Methods in Building Science and Technology

This book offers a variety of perspectives and firsthand experiences from scholars and experts in building science and technology on using various research methods — from simulation-based to experimental methods — in answering the key research questions of the field.
Link: Springer
Publication date: 2021

2021-22

Cong, G., Wu, H., and Hu, C. “Ecological Function Optimization Strategy of Urban Public 0pen Space based on Green Infrastructure Network: A Case Study of Central Nanjing.” New Architecture.
Dey, S. and Iulo, L.D. (2021). “The Circular Economy of Dharavi: Making building materials from waste”. Enquiry Journal of the Architecture Research Centres Consortium – ARCC. Volume 18 (2): 4-28. https://doi.org/10.17831/enqarcc.v18i2.1099
Esmaeilirad, M., Baskin, A., Kondori, A., Sanz-Matias, A., Qian, J., Song, B., Saray, M.T., Kucuk, K., Ruiz Belmonte, A., Navarro Munoz Delgado, P., Park, J. Azari, R., Segre,C., Shahbazian-Yassar, R., Prendergast, D., and Asadi, M. “Gold-like activity copper-like selectivity of heteroatomic transition metal carbides for electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reaction.” Nature Communications. (2021).
Gorenflo, L., and Romaine, S. “Linguistic Diversity and Conservation Opportunities at UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa.” Conservation Biology 35, No. 5. (2021): 11. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13693
Parsons, J. R., and Gorenflo, L.“¿Por qué la Cerámica Azteca II Negro Sobre Naranja es Escasa en la Región de Zumpango? Una Perspectiva Regional desde la Cuenca de México Sobre el Colapso de Tula y sus Repercusiones.” Arqueologia 63. (2022).
Shreyonti, C., (Co-Author), Staub, A.,(Co-Author), and Bollo, C. “Maximizing Minimums: space-utilization in the small homes in the Mumbai metropolitan region.” International Journal of Architectural Research 16, No. 2. (2022).
Staub, Alexandra. “Mimaride Etik: Güç ve Güçlendirme Kavramlarına Giriş (translated reprint of “Ethics in Architecture: Introducing Concepts of Power and Empowerment”).” Dosya 50 (2021). (2022): 76-85.
Talaei, Maryam, Mohammadjavad Mahdavinejad, Azari, Rahman, Alejandro Prieto, and Hamed Sangin. “Multi-objective optimization of building-integrated microalgae photobioreactors for energy and daylighting performance.” Journal of Building Engineering 12. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.102832
Talaei, Maryam, Mohammadjavad Mahdavinejad, Azari, Rahman, Hadi Motevali Haghighi, and Ali Atashdast. “Thermal and energy performance of a user-responsive microalgae bio reactive façade for climate adaptability.” Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments 52. (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2021.101894
Tariq, T. (Student Author – Graduate Student), Poerschke, U., and Iulo, L.D. “Urban Heat Island Phenomena in Dhaka, Bangladesh.” ARCC-EAAE 2022 on Resilient City: Physical, Social, and Economic Perspectives. (2022)
Tebyanian, N. (Student Author – Graduate Student) “Mapping Digital Landscape Architecture Research via JodLA (editorial).” Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture (JoDLA). (2022).
Tebyanian, N. (Student Author – Graduate Student) and Hong Wu(co-author) and Lisa Iulo (co-author) and Klaus Keller (co-author). “Uncertainty Considerations in Green Infrastructure Optimization: A Review.” Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture (JoDLA). (2022). Awarded The Journal of Digital Landscape Architecture Award 2022 on Scientific Excellence.
Wang, Rui, Hong Wu (Co-Author, 40%), and Robert M. Chiles “Ecosystem benefits provision of green stormwater infrastructure in Chinese sponge cities.” Environmental Management.
Wu, Hong (Primary Author, 70%), Yizhao Yang, and Jie Hu. “Nurturing nature in a mega-city: a decadal assessment of the Beijing Olympic Forest Park.” Socio-Ecological Practice Research. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42532-021-00076-5
Wu, M., Wu, H., Warner, A., Li, H. and Liu, Z. “Informing environmental flow planning through landscape evolution modeling in heavily modified urban rivers in China.” Water 13, no. 22. (2021): 3244. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13223244
Xu, X., Wu, H., and Feng, J. “Research on Audio-visual Perception in Protected Areas based on Experiments and Grounded Theory: A Case Study of Wulingyuan World Natural Heritage Site (in Chinese).” Landscape Architecture. (2021): 14.
Zhang, Y., Tamminga, K., andWu, H.“Interweaving Computational and Tacit Knowledge to Design Nature-based Play Networks in Underserved Communities.” Land.
Azari, R. (Co-Editor), and Rashed-Ali, H. Research Methods in Building Science and Technology. Edited by Azari, Rahman; Rashed-Ali, Hazem. Springer Nature, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73692-7
Azari, R., and Singery, M. “Laminated Timber Buildings; An Overview of Environmental Impacts.” In The Importance of Wood and Timber in Sustainable Buildings, edited by Sayigh, Ali. Springer Nature, 2021.
Azari, R., and Badri, N. “Life Cycle Assessment as a Research Methodology for Estimating the Environmental Impacts of Buildings.” In Research Methods in Building Science and Technology, edited by Azari, R.; Rashed-Ali, Hazem. Springer Nature, 2021.
Iulo, L.D.,and Lowe, S. K. (2022). “GreenBuild and Energy+” Integrative Design of affordable sustainable Housing in Education.” In Educating the Sustainable Leaders of the Future. Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education, Springer World Sustainability Series.
Khan, Z. (Corresponding Author – Graduate Student), and Azari, R. (Co-Author). “Outdoor Thermal Comfort & Human Behavior Factors, Models, and Methodologies.” In Research Methods in Building Science and Technology, edited by Azari, R.; Rashed-Ali, Hazem. Springer Nature, 2021.
McPhillips, L., Wu, H., Lerer, S., Rojas, C., Rosenzweig, B., Sauer, J., and Winfrey, B. “Nature-Based Solutions as Critical Urban Infrastructure for Water Resilience.” In A Modern Guide to Nature-based Solutions for Cities, edited by McPhearson T., Frantzeskaki N., Kabisch N. Northampton, MA: Edgar Elgar Publishing. Peer-reviewed/refereed. [In Press].
Poerschke, U., and Hadighi, M. “Bill Hajjar’s Air-Wall: A Mid-Twentieth Century Four-Sided Double-Skin Facade.” In Constructing Building Enclosures: Architectural History, Technology, and Poetics edited by Clifton Fordham. New York/London: Routledge, 2021. 212-227.
Poerschke, U. “Functionalism and its Italian Entanglements.” In Italian Imprints on Twentieth-Century Architecture, edited by Denise Costanzo and Andrew Leach. London/New York: Bloomsbury, 2022. p.55–67. ISBN/ISSN: 978–1–3502–5772–6
Rahimian, M., Iulo, L. D. and Duarte, J. P. (2022). Chapter 8: Spatial design of energy self-sufficient communities. Artificial Intelligence in Urban Planning and Design, Technologies, Implementation, and Impacts, first edition. Imdat As and Prithwish Basu (Eds.) Peer-reviewed/refereed. https://www.elsevier.com/books/artificial-intelligence-in-urban-planning-and-design/as/978-0-12-823941-4
Staub, A. “Whose Architecture? Whose Criticism? Applying Stakeholder Theory to the Process of Criticism.” In On the Duty and Power of Architectural Criticism, edited by Wilfried Wang. Zurich: Park Books. Peer-reviewed/refereed. [Accepted October 2021].
Abdelwahab, K., Gracie-Griffin, C. and Memari, A. and Iulo, L.D.(2022). “Small-Scale Testing of Air-Barrier Systems Adhered on Sheathing Panels Under In-plane Relative Displacement Simulating Seismic Effect.” Peer-reviewed conference proceedings, Sixth annual Residential Building Design and Construction Conference, Pennsylvania Housing Research Center- PHRC. University Park, PA.
Albrecht, C. F. and Iulo, L.D.(2022). “Albrect, C. and Iulo, L.D.“Healthful, Sustainable Design in Community-engaged architecture education.” Proceedings, Fifth World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities WSSD-U-2022. Springer.
Bera, A., and Wu, H., (Co-Author, 10%). Proceedings of the ConCave Ph.D. Symposium: Divergence in Architectural Research, edited by Hayri Dortdivanlioglu; Marisabel Marratt. “The Dichotomy of Development and Water Management Surrounding the East Calcutta Wetlands since the British-colonial Era,” Atlanta, GA: School of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2021. 71-78. Peer-reviewed/refereed., ISBN/ISSN: ISBN 978-0-9615650-1-5
Erisman, C., Iulo, L.D.,Abdelwahab, K., Griffin, C. and Memari, A. (2022). “Overview of common residential wall construction methods applied to achieve a continuous air barrier and their material properties.” Peer-reviewed conference proceedings, Sixth Annual Residential Building Design and Construction Conference, Pennsylvania Housing Research Center- PHRC. University Park, PA.
Esmailian, M., (Co-Author – Graduate Student), Mistrick, R., G., Poerschke,U., and Iulo, L.D.(2021) “A Study of Daylighting Modeling Approaches Applied in LEED.” IAQ 2020: Indoor Environmental Quality Performance Approaches, Vol. 1_C48 8. Peer-reviewed/refereed.
Hashemi, F., Iulo, L.D.,and Poerschke, U.(2022). “A parametric investigation of canopy heat islands mitigation strategies: A case study of a new residential development master plan of a U.S. north-eastern city.” Peer-reviewed conference proceedings, Sixth Annual Residential Building Design and Construction Conference, Pennsylvania Housing Research Center- PHRC. University Park, PA.
Hashemi, F., et al (2022). Urban Microclimate, Outdoor Thermal Comfort, and Socio-Economic Mapping of Different Urban U.S. Contexts: A case study of Philadelphia, PA. The Fourth International Workshop on Urban Ecological Security and Sustainability (UESS, 2022)
Ling, M. D., Solnosky, R. L., Iulo, L. D., Goldberg, D. E., and Atamturktur, S. (2021) Convergence in Engineering and Architectural Design Education: A Mission driven Integrated Design Studio, ASEE, Contributed, peer-reviewed/refereed. 2021 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference, ASEE 2021. Published July 26, 2021.
Mehjabeen, S. (Co-Author – Graduate Student), Poerschke, U., Lisa D. Iulo, and Mistrick. R., Proceedings of the 2020 ISUF Conference: Cities in the Twenty-First Century. “Daylighting in High-Rise Residential Buildings: A Parametric Exploration of a Case Example in Dhaka, Bangladesh,” ISUF, 2021. Eight pages. Peer-reviewed/refereed.
Tariq, T. Awarded with SCDC Travel Grant to present the paper “Impact of Vegetated Infrastructure to Mitigate the Urban Heat Island Effect in Dhaka, Bangladesh.” at PRECARITY: Ph.D. conference on architectural research – technology, project-making, and history/theory. University of Pennsylvania, United States. (April 22-23, 2022)
Tariq, T. Awarded with SCDC Travel Grant to present the paper “Urban Heat Island Phenomena in Dhaka, Bangladesh.” at ARCC-EAAE 2022 on Resilient City: Physical, Social, and Economic Perspectives. Miami, FL, United States (2022)
Azari, Rahman, “A Framework to Evaluate the Energy Performance of Artificial Leaf-based Façade Cladding (ALFC) Systems.” Final Report, American Institute of Architects. (Dec. 29, 2021).
Iulo, L.D.(2022) Proposal #: 3404_SP_Cycle3 “Penn State Initiative for Resilient Communities (PSIRC): A Pilot to Develop Community-Based Solutions to Riverine Flooding”. Grant Period: Jan. 15, 2019 – June 30, 2022; Reporting Period: July 1, 2021 – Dec. 31, 2021. Penn State Provost. Submitted: Jan. 31, 2022.
Warn, G. P., Iulo, L.D.and Simpson, T. W. (2022). Preview of Award 1455444 – Annual Project Report “RSB/Collaborative Research: A Sequential Decision Framework to Support Trade Space Exploration of Multi-Hazard Resilient and Sustainable Building Designs.” National Science Foundation. Grant Period March 1, 2015 – Sept. 30 2022; Reporting Period: March 1, 2021 – Feb. 28, 2022. Submitted Feb. 24, 2022.
Rahman Azariand Esther Obonyo. Hydrofluorocarbons saved the ozone layer but are warming the earth. 2021.
Iulo, L.D.Centre County Council of Governments Climate Action and Adaptation Plan development “Climate Actions for our Community” technical report on best available science, technology, and knowledge to identify a menu of action items for regional Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. Contributing subject matter expert. The outcome of a series of workshops hosted the in summer and fall of 2020.
Wu, H., and Myerov, S. The COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Pennsylvania’s MS4 Communities – Preliminary Survey Findings. Pennsylvania Environmental Council and Penn State Stormwater Living Lab, 2021.
Poerschke, U., and Feldhusen, S. Cloud-Cuckoo-Land: International Journal of Architectural theory. “Interview with Bernhard Waldenfels, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany,” Bielefeld: Momus Stiftung, 2022. online, 30 minutes. [In Press]. ISBN/ISSN: 1434 – 0984
Poerschke, U., and Feldhusen, S. Cloud-Cuckoo-Land: International Journal of Architectural theory. “Interview with Karsten Harries, Yale University,” Bielefeld: Momus Stiftung, 2022. online, 30 minutes. [In Press]. ISBN/ISSN: 1434 – 0984
Goldberg, D., “LARCH 414 – Summer 2021 The Sylvan Dell Nature Park & Farm” Curriculum-based project cut sheet. Completed Fall 2022.
Goldberg, D., “LARCH 414 – Fall 2020: Selinsgrove ISle of Que” Curriculum-based project cut sheet. Completed Spring 2022.
Goldberg, L. In Press. Bad Water Rising: Species in Pennsylvania Affected by Climate Change and Water Quality. Public: A Journal of Imagining America. Vol 7, No 1 (2022): The Shape of Us: Water Ways and Movements. Editors: Ron Bechet, Mina Matlon, Erin Syoen. Public is published twice a year by Syracuse Unbound, an imprint of Syracuse University Libraries and Syracuse University Press. ISSN 2326-2567 (online). Submitted Sept. 14, 2021. Accepted March 24, 2022. Supporting Agencies: The Hamer Center for Community Design; The Woskob Family Gallery.
Cong, G., and Wu, H.(Corresponding Author), and Hu, C.. “Using Integrated Gray-Green Stormwater Infrastructure Planning to Guide Urban Design — Lessons from the “Green First Plan” of the Mountainous City of Pittsburgh, PA.” Chinese Landscape Architecture. [Accepted November 2021]
Gorenflo, L. J. “Modern Regional Demographics and Land Use in the Basin of Mexico: Insights from, and Impacts on, the Archaeological Record.” In The Legacies of The Basin of Mexico: The Ecological Processes in the Evolution of a Civilization, edited by Charles Cordova, Christopher Morehart, and Charles Frederick. Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado, 2022. Peer-reviewed/refereed. [Accepted September 2020].
Parsons, J. R., and Gorenflo, L. “Why is Aztec II Black-on-Orange Pottery so Scarce in the Zumpango Region? A Regional Perspective from the Basin of Mexico on Tula’s Collapse and its Aftermath.” In The Legacies of The Basin of Mexico: The Ecological Processes in the Evolution of a Civilization, edited by C. Cardova, C. Morehart, C. Frederick. Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado, 2022. 48. Peer-reviewed/refereed. [Accepted January 2021].
Poerschke, U. Proceedings of the ACSA 110th Annual Meeting. “Aspiring Scientific Design: Hannes Meyer and Hans Wittwer’s Petersschule Project and Daylighting Scholarship,” Los Angeles, March 17-19, 2022, or May 19-20, 2022: ACSA. Abstract accepted. Peer-reviewed/refereed. [Accepted 2021].
Poerschke, U. Proceedings of the Conference “(In)Tangible Heritage(s): A Conference on Design, Culture, and Technology—Past, Present, and Future.” “Daylighting in High Modernist Architecture: From Rules-of-Thumb to Diagramming,” University of Kent, Canterbury, UK. Abstract accepted, full paper due July 30, 2022, publication planned for February 2023. Peer-reviewed/refereed. [Accepted 2021].
Zhang, J., Tsamis, A., and Rosenberg, D. “Algae Bio-reactive Building Envelope: Dynamic Lighting and Energy Aspects for Algae-based Building Skin.” Building Performance Analysis Conference and SimBuild. (Full paper accepted March 2022)
Gorenflo, L., and Sanders, W. T. Dept. of Anthropology, Penn State, Occasional Papers in Anthropology, No. 31. Vol. 31. “Prehispanic Settlement Patterns in the Temascalapa Region, Mexico,” University Park, PA: Department of Anthropology, Penn State, 2022. 233. Peer-reviewed/refereed. [Accepted August 2021]. Third of three volumes in a series of monographs. Series editor reviewed in fall 2021. Volume in proofs.

A team of Penn State students and faculty surround a table with plans for the Race to Zero competition laid out.

Construction is shown on the GreenBuild home.

Students work outside on Dani Spewak's Morning Star House Public Art Installation, which showcases bright green leaves and flowers.

Labs and Outreach

Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Design Challenge

Hamer Center faculty play a significant role in advising and supporting the Penn State students who participate in the Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon. Learn more.

2023 Build Challenge Team (led by Penn State Harrisburg)

Ecology plus Design

Ecology plus Design (E+D) is an emerging research center that engages research-activated design intervention in an effort to significantly improve the ecological health of the designed world, particularly in the areas of biodiversity, energy, risk and hazard, and water systems.

E+D

Energy Efficient Housing Research Group

The Energy Efficient Housing Research Group (EEHR) is concerned with the study, design, and implementation of Responsible Housing. An outreach arm of the Hamer Center, the EEHR is comprised of a multidisciplinary team of faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students from across the University dedicated to the investigation of responsible housing in order to inform better housing and more resource-conscious living.

EEHR

Initiative for Resilient Communities

The Penn State Initiative for Resilient Communities (PSIRC) provides an environment of shared discovery where people can come together to address local resilience challenges of small, riverine communities vulnerable to flood risk. Working with local stakeholders and decision makers, PSIRC provides a way to leverage the resources of Penn State to help make an impact for local communities.

PSIRC

Research and Energy Efficiency Lab

The Research and Energy Efficiency Lab (RE2 Lab) is dedicated to research on energy use and environmental impacts of built environments.

RE2 Lab

Study Abroad: Tanzania

Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains National Park represents the front line of conservation for some of the most important biodiversity remaining in the Eastern Arc. This geographic setting provides an opportunity for students to observe and assess several critical dimensions of environmental sustainability.

Study Abroad: Tanzania

https://wpsu1-psu-arts.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/322.jpg

A community member leans over a map on the table and points something out to a student at left and another resident at right.

Studio Partnerships

The Hamer Center endeavors to support our faculty and students serving communities through research and design studio exploration. This is a list of some of our more recent studio collaborations.

LARCH 414: Advanced Design Studio — Spring 2023

Landscape architecture students connected with the informal amphibious slum community of Claverito in Iquitos, Peru, to address One Health issues through the design of their built environment.

Design Activism Studio booklet (English)

LARCH 414: Advanced Design Studio — Fall 2022

Landscape architecture students spent the semester developing a Trail & River Design Workbook to assist community members, planners, local and regional governments, students, and anyone else interested in enhancing the landscapes around the Lower Trail and the Frankstown Brach in Williamsburg, PA.

Williamsburg Trail & River Workbook

LARCH 414: Advanced Design Studio — Fall 2022

Landscape architecture students helped area residents explore options to a PennDOT-proposed “super highway” through the Penns-Brush Valley area.

Rethinking 322 booklet | Story

LARCH 315/817: Landscape Architecture Design V — Fall 2022

Landscape architecture students engaged with residents of Southeast Lancaster in South Central Pennsylvania to celebrate the area’s gems, grapple with systemic issues, and envision the future of the southeast quadrant of Lancaster.

Southeast Lancaster Studio Summary (PDF)

GD 304: Practical Communications — Spring 2021

Graphic design students were tasked with designing and developing a signage and wayfinding package that creates a sense of entry with major gateways into downtown Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.

Selinsgrove booklet (PDF)

ARCH 431: Architectural Design V — Spring 2020

Architecture students were asked to design a new garden and community center for Sankofa Village Community Garden, a non-profit organization based in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

Sankofa Village booklet (PDF)

ARCH 431: Architectural Design V — Fall 2019

Architecture students were tasked with exploring the design of the Pottstown (Pennsylvania) Children’s Discovery Center. The underlying research question was: How can architecture contribute to child development?

Pottstown booklet (PDF)

Community members meet with Hamer Center researchers over proposed plans for Selinsgrove, PA.

People

Faculty, staff, students, as well as external researchers and industry professionals all contribute to the vital exchange of ideas and solutions in the Hamer Center.

The Core Faculty Researchers come from the Stuckeman School’s Departments of Architecture, Graphic Design, and Landscape Architecture.