Rodrigo Arias

A community is defined as a network of people with a common agenda, cause, or interest, who collaborate by sharing ideas, information, and other resources. Architecture and interior design have inadvertently been complicit in creating conditions where communities are poised to fail. These fields have created a disparity in the perception of community. My intention is to explore how design can play a role in reactivating stagnant communities by creating conditions that foster a more shared, egalitarian, and mutually beneficial quality of life. My strategy is to identify the design intentions that have led to this disparity and to intervene at various scales to reimagine and reconceive them. With the major overhaul and renovation of Columbia University in Manhattanville, the neighborhood will be completely transformed. Built in the 1960s, the NYCHA houses will sit at the center of the action and must play a major role in the transformation of Manhattanville.