he “Bahama Town Design” building to the surrounding community is unit was inspired by a real- so dramatically altered.” life tragedy: the town of While there are no current plans for the Marsh Harbour suffered students’ designs to be used in the town’s devastating damage in actual recovery efforts, the faculty and 2019 during the power- students still found value in the project. ful Category 5 Hurricane “There are all kinds of ways the students Dorian, one of the worst could use these thought processes,” says natural disasters in the Duncan, who took the same course when history of the Bahamas. he was a Trinity student. “Some students “This exercise is not just about designing have never been in a design studio before, a building,” Duncan says. “It’s about this so they are essentially learning a new lan- community, and it’s about how people guage and a new way to look at the world. live. We are trying to get students to think Maybe this touches something in students about the needs of the residents. These that they might not know they’re inter- people’s lives were completely turned ested in or have a gitf for. Hopefully there upside down by the hurricane. How do will be many skills brought to bear and you start to rebuild, and what challenges practiced throughout the semester that the may arise?” students will ifnd useful in their endeav- Students in the class each selected spe- ors post-Trinity.” ciifc neighborhoods along with individ- Art history major and architectural ual buildings to design using drawing studies minor Lillian Belletete ’21 says, and model-building techniques. Along “ ‘Architectural Design’ class makes you the way, they researched the speciifc realize just how many factors go into requirements and conditions of the sites town planning. It is easy to passively walk and learned about urban design. A major through cities and towns, but that is only goal for the class was to work together to made possible by careful planning of engi- develop a cohesive, functional, and attrac- neers, architects, and designers. Though I tive town plan. don’t want to be an architect, I think that “Marsh Harbour is a working town that architectural design can teach just about was leveled,” Triff says. “Getting our stu- anyone about the process of trial and dents to think about what happens atfer error and how to problem solve through something catastrophic impacts a com- hands-on learning.” munity—and engaging directly with that— Belletete’s design project was a school, brings out their humanity and creativity in which she sees as an integral piece of the a really positive way.” community that should use its natural Duncan says the project engaged the surroundings to educate and unite the students because of its timely and top- town residents. “Tourist towns such as ical nature. Beginning with this year’s Marsh Harbour otfen dedicate a great deal hurricane season—which lasts from June of their resources and assets to the tour- to November—the National Oceanic and ism industry, but I think that the residents Atmospheric Administration is increasing of the town deserve to enjoy the assets of the number of storms in what it considers the Bahamas as well,” she says. “For this For Consoli—an urban studies major and an “average” season to relfect data from reason, I placed the school by the ocean architectural studies minor who plans to the last 30 years showing greater activity. and connected it to a park, which would attend graduate school to pursue architec - “We are talking about issues of sustain- be open to the public in order to create a ture—the class offered a way to combine ability,” Duncan says. “How do we deal welcoming space for everyone.” holistic urban planning and site-speciifc with hurricanes and lfooding? How does Grace Consoli ’22 says, “I chose to work designs. “In other classes at Trinity, we one build in that environment? As one on the ferry terminal area because in high have learned what makes towns grow example, if you build structures the way school I spent a semester at sea sailing or fail,” she says. “This class, however, O you have to, to be above predicted storm- through the Bahamas. I wanted to do allowed me to try and imagine actually CAIT surge levels, they’re high off the ground. this section of the island to rebuild what redoing and creating a new town and how CK NI : There are many implications and compli- I imagine a memorable, functional, and to set it up for success for the residents S O cations when the historic relationship of a beautiful terminal to be.” and visitors. This included thinking about T PHO 26 THE TRINITY REPORTER