As the first semester of the new school year begins, we are once again stuck to the confines of our
bedrooms, participating in class via zoom, and the idea of “studio” takes a whole new meaning. I know I
am most looking forward to the day when we will all be able to be together in-person to design and
develop this semester’s project.
Last Friday, the studio met with the Charleston Parks Conservancy to discuss the proposal for an Urban
Horticulture Center in the Magnolia Parks and Community Garden. This project will serve as the new
headquarters, an educational center, and an event space for the Charleston Parks Conservancy. The
committee stressed the need for flexible and adaptable space fit for multiple functions, which is always
a fun design challenge to tackle.
The Charleston Parks Conservancy has been able to seamlessly adapt to the current situation that was
brought on by the global pandemic, COVID-19. The Conservancy once held informative meetings on site
regarding matters such as how to prune trees, or plant rose bulbs. The number of people who attended
these meetings was always low. Now, while everybody is staying home, the Conservancy has embraced
this situation and has started to upload videos to social media platforms, which has thus helped gain
more views and interest from the community. This has helped tremendously in the Conservancy’s goal
to educate and reach more of the community. This is important information as designers because we
want to make sure the clients will be able to achieve their goals in the spaces we create.
The Conservancy made it clear that it was not only their mission to keep Charleston beautiful, but they
also want to teach and inform the community, so that they in return have the power and knowledge to
go out and do these tasks themselves. By doing all of this the Charleston Parks Conservancy hopes to
connect people not only to parks, but also to their own experience. This studio hopes to make this
dream soon into a reality.
Hope to see everyone in person soon.