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2020 Research Prize
Public Space and Scrutiny: Examining Urban Monuments through Social Psychology

“Public Space and Scrutiny” proposes a study of existing public spaces, monuments, and memorials through the lens of social psychology in order to establish a broader frame of reference for future design. It aims to examine strategies to bridge the gap between the architects and the general public, specifically when designing for urban spaces marked by racial injustice.

Tiffany Lin
Emilie Taylor Welty
Tulane University
School of Architecture

Lisa Molix
Tulane University

Department of Psychology

Somf 2020 research prize lin molix welty proposal 01

View of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s bronze sculpture being removed from its pedestal. Courtesy of Infrogmation.

Jury
David Brown
Justin Garrett
Iker Gil (Chair)
Arathi Gowda
Toni L. Griffin
Doug Voigt

With fewer than one in five new architects identifying as racial or ethnic minorities, our profession has some catching up to do if we intend to reflect the public for whom urban spaces are designed. [1] This project proposes a study of existing public spaces, monuments, and memorials through the lens of social psychology in order to establish a broader frame of reference for future design. Specifically, we will employ an interdisciplinary approach to investigate community members’ reactions (e.g,. stress, positive/negative associations, value judgments, perceptions of discrimination, inclusion, empowerment) to experiencing public spaces and monuments that memorialize contentious historical figures and events. Using a community-based participatory action approach (e.g., focus groups, videovoice study, survey study), we will identify elements of design (e.g., scale, materiality, tactility, abstraction, figuration, symbolism, color) that contribute to the general public’s perceptions of public spaces and monuments. This work will serve as a reference guide of case studies for the design profession as well as generate the framework for an advanced architecture research studio that examines strategies to bridge the gap between the architects and the general public, specifically when designing for urban spaces marked by racial injustice. As we work to teach values of design that build a more sustainable and equitable future, projects such as this can help both students and professionals in our discipline gain a deeper understanding of and commitment to the relationship between design and social justice.

Somf 2020 research prize lin molix welty proposal 02

People await the removal of Robert E. Lee’s bronze sculpture at Lee Circle, New Orleans, May 19, 2017. Courtesy of Skooksi.

Somf 2020 research prize lin molix welty proposal 03

View of “Lee Stump” after the sculpture of Robert E Lee was removed. Courtesy of Stvan.

There are many examples of governing bodies that have made decisions about removing or renaming contentious public spaces, monuments, or symbols. [2] While the processes have varied, a review of documented examples suggests that some decisions are made based on a perceived incompatibility between the initial intent of an institution and current institutional values. Although conversations surrounding public memory and social justice are at the forefront of architectural pedagogy and practice, very little of the empirical work on recontextualizing these public spaces has included the voice of designers or members of the communities in which these spaces/monuments exist. This project aims to equip architects with community voices when searching for equity and truth in our collective forms of commemoration. Through the methodology of social psychology, we propose to conduct a study of existing public spaces, monuments, and memorials in order better understand community members’ perceptions of and experiences with public spaces and monuments. By using a community-based participatory action research design (CBPAR) including a Focus Group Study, a photo/videovoice project, and a virtual study of those in the design profession, we aim to collect, analyze, and parse the perceptions of participants and catalog possible prevailing reactions to elements of design. [3] These may include attitudes toward figural versus abstract representations, material choices, associations with symbols, colors, etc. In order to better understand our discipline’s perceptions of and experiences with public spaces and monuments, we plan to create a grounded study for designers (architecture students and professionals) based on subject matter determined by focus groups. The primary aim of the focus group is to collect data on community members’ perceptions of public spaces/monuments to aid us in designing subsequent community-informed surveys. Each focus group will be facilitated, transcribed, and coded by trained research assistants from Dr. Lisa Molix’s social psychology laboratory. [4]

This project will engage Tulane University students through coursework in two phases: 1) a Fall semester interdisciplinary research seminar that coregisters upper-level students from both the department of architecture and department of psychology, and 2) a Spring semester advanced architecture design studio informed by the findings of the research seminar. The design studio will use frameworks defined by our data in order to speculate on strategies, tactics, approaches to the design of public spaces in New Orleans laden with racial histories. Publication and exhibition of this work will be designed by the research studio students and feature community participants’ photo/videovoice project results. By inviting the participants to contribute their individual voices or perspectives with the architectural educators, design professionals, and the public, we aim to empower both designers and nondesigners with a sense of agency through collaboration. We will produce a booklet showcasing the research findings, speculative design proposals, and exhibition content of this project. Our intention is to make the publication available through the New Orleans AIA Design Center as a reference guide of case studies to advance the dialog between the university, the design profession, and the communities we serve.

Notes

[1] “NCARB 2020 Demographics,” NCARB, accessed January 8, 2021, https://www.ncarb.org/nbtn2020/demographics.

[2] See Anna Croegaert, “Architectures of Pain: Racism and Monuments Removal Activism in the ‘New’ New Orleans,” City & Society 32, no. 3 (December 2020); Richard Fausset, “Tempers Flare Over Removal of Confederate Statues in New Orleans,” New York Times, May 7, 2017; Robert Draper, “Toppling Statues is a First Step toward Ending Confederate Myths,” National Geographic, July 2, 2020; Melissa Block, “Push to Remove Confederate Monuments Opens Debate on Other Honored Historical Figures,” NPR, July 2, 2020.

[3] Videovoice is a social psychology term used to describe videos of specific experiences recorded by the participants themselves. Whether or not the videos are narrated, the voice of the participant is assessed through their own recording.

[4] Coding is the method by which trained social psychologists parse data collected from participants of a study.

Somf 2020 research prize lin molix welty headshot 01

Tiffany Lin
Tulane University
School of Architecture

Somf 2020 research prize lin molix welty headshot 02

Lisa Molix
Tulane University
Department of Psychology

Somf 2020 research prize lin molix welty headshot 03

Emilie Taylor Welty
Tulane University
School of Architecture

Tiffany Lin

is an architect and Associate Professor at Tulane University focused on design pedagogies that advance abstraction as the key to embracing diversity—of ideas, of art, of architecture, of culture, of people. Lin is committed to translating principles of design for broad audiences through her artistic practice and community-based projects. She has written published papers on beginning design curricula for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), Journal of Architectural Education (JAE) and the National Conference for the Beginning Design Student (NCBDS). Lin earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University and a Masters in Architecture from Harvard University where she was the recipient of the Faculty Design Award and distinction for her work with architectural analysis through spatial painting. Her professional experiences include working for the offices of Michael Graves Associates, Machado and Silvetti Associates, and Leers Weinzapfel Associates. Lin’s research, teaching, and practice are motivated by the agency of art and design to unite global concerns, restore balance, and provide a framework for healing. Parallel to architecture projects, Lin experiments with painting and collage as media of tactile, spatial investigation. This work has been exhibited in New York, Massachusetts, and New Orleans.

Lisa Molix

is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Tulane University focused on investigating the relationships between psychosocial and behavioral factors (e.g., perceptions of discrimination, empowerment, social identity, intergroup interactions), contextual factors (e.g., access to resources, community location, blight, climate/values), and overall health outcomes. Building on her expertise in both basic longitudinal and community-based participatory learning and action methodologies, her research aims to: (1) elucidate how and why intergroup stress impacts overall wellness in members of marginalized groups, (2) identify both maladaptive and adaptive strategies that members of marginalized groups employ to cope with intergroup stress, (3) create, test, and implement community-based interventions that empower members of marginalized group with tools to manage stressors in ways that lead to better psychological and physical health outcomes, and (4) create, test, and implement continuing education programs for healthcare students and professionals to improve their intergroup competence and the quality of the healthcare service experiences they provide members of marginalized groups. Molix earned her PhD and Masters in Social and Personality Psychology as well as her Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and Spanish from the University of Missouri. Molix currently serves on the Tulane’s Presidential Commission on Race and Anti-Racism.

Emilie Taylor Welty

is a leader in Public Interest Design who brings experience and praxis in her teaching of equity-focused, community-engaged, Design/Build studios. She is an architect and Professor of Practice at the Tulane School of Architecture where she serves at the Design/Build Manager at the Albert and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design. Welty has led over thirty applied research projects, teaching design/build studios that make a positive impact in New Orleans neighborhoods. The community-based work of the Small Center includes award-winning and transformative projects such as Grow Dat Youth Farm and Parisite Skatepark. Welty recently received a Collaborative Practice Award for her work with Small Center from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), and a Service Learning Teaching Award from the Tulane Center for Public Service. Her teaching and practice advances community partnerships that create opportunities for faculty and students to engage real issues in the community through design, teaching students how to be better designers, makers, and citizens. Welty's education includes a technical building background at the University of Southern Mississippi and a Masters in Architecture at Tulane University. She is also the cofounding Principal of Colectivo, a design/build firm in New Orleans.

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