What happens when design education meets community need? At Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC), the answer is home — real ones that are affordable, sustainable and deeply rooted in neighborhood values. Students in the sustainable residential design program applied their learning to a real-life project with major community impact.

Assistant professor Corri Sandwick knows all about the real word. She’s an architect and business owner who focuses on residential design in collaboration with affordable housing developers. So when she discovered an opportunity through LINC UP for her students to work on real-world design challenges, she jumped at the chance.

LINC UP is dedicated to empowering residents and fostering sustainable growth in Grand Rapids. Through a variety of programs and services, they address housing, economic opportunity and community engagement to create lasting impact for individuals and neighborhoods. That’s where GRCC students come in.

“I met Shanika Gordon, single family development manager, when I attended a meeting at LINC UP,” Sandwick said. “She shared her need to design small, affordable homes on unique lots, many of which have challenging constraints. We figured out a way for my students to help her with that goal.”

Students in sustainable residential design learn guidelines for planning and designing a sustainable home. The final course project for the last two years has involved designing a home for LINC UP clients.

“Our design brief this year included two sites in Grand Rapids on which LINC UP plans to build single family homes,” Sandwick said. “The students could grapple with a design for either site, each of which had its own quirks and challenges.”

Students learned about the clients LINC UP serves, and had to incorporate an imaginary buyer vignette into their presentation. In addition to complying with building codes and basic architectural principles, they also had to pack at least three sustainability strategies into their sub-1,000 sq. ft. designs. Those could include things like wind turbines, solar panels, tankless water heaters, rainwater collection systems, low-flow fixtures and many other options.

“Sustainability is a win-win,” Sandwick said. “It respects our limited natural resources and helps minimize consumption. It also helps make home ownership more affordable by reducing energy usage and maintenance requirements.”

Students presented their designs to their peers and Shanika on the final day of class. She was impressed by what she saw.

“Building small, affordable and sustainable homes is no easy task,” Gordon said. “I’m always looking for creative approaches and fresh ideas. The GRCC students in Corri’s class never fail to come up with clever ways to address our constraints. They really get into the spirit of the work by stepping into the shoes of our potential homeowners.”

These designs are more than just neat ideas that are graded and then forgotten.

“We have built two homes designed by GRCC students,” Gordon said. “One is sold and one is currently available. That’s an impressive achievement to put on a resume, and it’s also a meaningful contribution that stretches LINC UP’s design resources.”

This article was originally published here.