MetroLAB Design/Build

About

MetroLAB is a Public Interest Design / Build program within the University of Cincinnati School of Architecture and Interior Design (SAID) in the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP). MetroLAB engages students and faculty from SAID, DAAP and across UC with local, non-profit organizations and the communities they serve. Our intent is to design, construct, research and evaluate innovative projects that support the infrastructure and development of the built environment through hands-on learning and direct engagement with community members and partners.

MetroLAB was initiated by SAID Director William Williams in fall 2010 and Michael Zaretsky has led MetroLAB since that time. The first MetroLAB studio was taught in fall 2011 by Associate Professor of Practice Terry Boling. As of summer 2016, eight SAID faculty have taught MetroLAB studios. Over a dozen projects have been completed with community groups in Walnut Hills, Lower Price Hill, Over the Rhine and Clifton, all in the Cincinnati area.

MetroLAB studio projects are usually small-scale, built projects that address needs identified by non-profit partners throughout Cincinnati. The organization identifies a need for design and construction and the MetroLAB faculty and students engage the local context, the needs of the organization and the local community. We bring innovation, community engagement and full-scale making to the process. Most studios involve an iterative series of full-scale mock-ups that are tested by the students and all other stakeholders on-site in context. This provides feedback that leads to additional prototypes and, in some cases, to permanent installations.

MetroLAB studios are offered for graduate students early in the curriculum and for undergrads later in their curriculum. These studios provide an opportunity for students to get tactile experience with materials, get to know parts of the city of Cincinnati and learn aspects of collaborative design.

 

MetroLAB focuses on three principles:

1. learning through the process of making

2. applied research and innovation

3. community engagement and impact

 

1. Learning Through The Process Of Making

MetroLAB projects involve the unique process of learning about design through the process of making. All projects revolve around the iterative production of some built element at full-scale. In many cases, students are encouraged to build before they design. They make mock-ups of things quickly, at full-scale and allow that experience to form their design proposals. In many cases drawings are the final step instead of the first. This prototyping process enables students to step out of the hypothetical ideas of traditional studio and come face to face with design decisions in a manner that provides an alternative, full-scale relationship to the design process.

 

2. Applied Design Research & Innovation

MetroLAB students engage meaningful, innovative design research in all projects. We don’t rely on traditional construction methods. We seek new potential and opportunity in all forms of making. Materials are constantly tested and explored for their inherent design potential.

 

3. Community Engagement & Impact

MetroLAB projects are built within existing communities in Cincinnati. These studios incorporate input of the actual users, stakeholders and owners throughout the process. Typically, there are interactive events that are designed by the studio to get people physically engaged in this process. In some cases, the studio is actually set up on or near the site so that the students can become intimately and personally connected to the culture, context and personalities of the place where they are designing.

 

Project Types

MetroLAB projects have included exterior public spaces, interior improvements for organizations and events, exhibitions and even a tiny house. At all scales, we shy away from traditional use of materials and focus instead on the inherent potential that is embedded within material properties.