Community Narratives for Architecture Spaces; Christiansburg Institute

Architecture is a pathway to capture memories in the physical presence. Like a charm bracelet, a path leads you through individual segments, each telling their own stories. "Community Narratives for Architecture Spaces" investigates how to choreograph design strategies around the memories of the Christiansburg Institute, a historically African American school, and its cultural legacy. Materiality, lighting, and programming articulate specific memories within the spaces of this project. It is essential to have moments highlighting the past, present, and future while individuals maneuver through the site. There is a life cycle where things must end, and new opportunities can grow from them. This cycle can be beautiful yet ugly to navigate through. Architecture highlights the essence of this cycle by portraying how beginnings can be born from the old. An old site can be transformed into a new one, creating new memories and perspectives while preserving existing ones. Christiansburg Institute encompasses all of these beliefs. This design proposal honors the life cycle of the institute.