On Thursday, April 13, undergraduate design students, in a course taught by Professor Parisa Mazratian and Dr. Akel Kahera in the School of Architecture, presented proposed master plan designs to representatives of the City of Waller. The main focus of the project was to design a town center that will address the development growth along the 290 corridor, while keeping a “small town feel” for the existing community. Currently, city offices are not housed in one building in the city, so the City Hall would bring the offices together. In addition to the City Hall, the master plans included single family homes, park area, amphitheater, and retail stores.”The presentations were very well done,” said John Isom, On Thursday, April 13, undergraduate design students, in a course taught by Professor Parisa Mazratian and Dr. Akel Kahera in the School of Architecture, presented proposed master plan designs to representatives of the City of Waller. The main focus of the project was to design a town center that will address the development growth along the 290 corridor, while keeping a “small town feel” for the existing community. Currently, city offices are not housed in one building in the city, so the City Hall would bring the offices together. In addition to the City Hall, the master plans included single family homes, park area, amphitheater, and retail stores.
“The presentations were very well done,” said John Isom, director of economic development. He was very impressed in their work as it not only addressed the needs provided by the City of Waller, but also implemented needs identified by the students. While the city did not identify it as a need, he commended the students’ plans that incorporated a medical center.
City officers in attendance at the presentations in addition to Isom included Deborah Pattison, city secretary, James Fulton, chief of police, and Gene Schmidt, public works director. Dr. Akel Kahera, associate professor for the School of Architecture and the community development graduate school program, will be meeting with this group in the near future as they determine key elements from the plans and select the students who will participate in creating the final design plan for the City of Waller.
“I think my students did a great job presenting their projects,” said Mazratian. “This was their first attempt presenting in front of real clients. I am sure they were nervous as I could hear it in their voice; however they were courageous enough to stand there and present their ideas and defend them as well at times. They did extensive research however they had only a limited time for their presentation. I am very much proud of them.”
“The architectural design studio is the perfect setting for the study of environmental criticism,” said Kahera. “Our students met the challenge, the master-plan proposals that were prepared for the city of Waller new town center clearly demonstrates the use of topography and environment as tropes, underlying the need for critical inquiry in the way we teach design and community development.”
Also in attendance was Dr. Rick Baldwin, director of the community development graduate school program. He was very pleased to see how architecture students integrated other fields of study, including history and psychology, to create a plan best suited for the people of Waller community. Furthermore, Baldwin said, “Through these presentations, the students not only linked how architecture relates to community development, but also proved that architecture plays a vital role in it.” Graduate students in the community development program, will further the proposed plan by providing the City of Waller with a feasibility study.