Service and Research @ SOA UDM
The School of Architecture is frequently cited as a program that most consistently and publicly fulfills the mission of the university. The work of the Detroit Collaborative Design Center is one of the most visible, although certainly not the only part of the architecture program, that boldly addresses the university mission. Many upper level studios engage the local community or investigate local issues in the Detroit area. Students are trained to be "listeners" to the community and not the creator of self aggrandizing monuments. In the past twelve years the Design Center has assisted over 100 community organizations, has won a series of local and national design awards, and has made presentations at numerous national and international venues to promote community design. An hour long documentary film of the Design Center workshop process by Sou International and Dr. Sherri Blake of the University of Manitoba has been shown both nationally and internationally.
The School of Architecture has been called upon by the university to assist it in physical development projects in several important ways. The school, through the Dean, was instrumental in devising a qualifications based architect/contractor selection process for recent new and rehabilitation projects funded through a capital campaign The SOA, through the Design Center, has also participated in a university-sponsored program (in partnership with the local community) for redevelopment of the dilapidated commercial corridor bordering its McNichols Campus.
The School of Architecture students, are very evident on campus and active in university functions and, time permitting from their demanding program, take leadership positions. The most visible of these activities is the annual Safety Street program wherein campus organizations distribute Halloween candy from "storefronts" designed and built by students to over 2000 elementary students from the surrounding neighborhood. This program was originated by SOA students and now is a university-wide event.