SELF- DESIGNED HONORS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROJECT PROPOSAL

Basic Information
Full Name: Shoshanna Sidell
UC Email: sidellsm@mail.uc.edu
College: Design Architecture Art and Planning
Major: Architecture
Title of Project: Sustainable bus stop design
Thematic Area: Community Engagement
Expected Project Start Date: January 2016
Expected Project End Date: April 2016
Project Information
1. Provide a detailed abstract of your proposed honors experiential learning project.
While on co-op during the upcoming semester I plan to bring together a group of people
in a design project to create a green bus stop in an urban setting. I plan on learning first
on how to organize a group well so that everyone works to their strengths while learning
things and being the most efficient. I also hope to learn more detailed aspects of green
and sustainable designing, and working at a small scale, such as a bus stop, makes it
easier to get a handle on the different techniques. This project will also include a lot of
research into not only green and sustainable design, but also into bus stops, the
environment, materials, and talking with the community on what types of spaces would
work best for them. During the course of this project I will be enhancing my skills as a
designer and will hopefully come back to classes with not only my co-op experience, but
also my experience in leading a design challenge.
This project is important to me because sustainable design is extremely important
for the future and designers should continue to look at how to integrate it in everyday
things. Bus stops are used all the time in urban areas and being able to integrate natural
things in an urban environment is great. Also, since bus stops are on a small scale they
can be easily replicated and tweaked by other people and in different cities. I also value
this project because I will be able to expand my knowledge and skills as a designer and
leader probably more than I could in a regular class. Ill be able to understand what the
community needs and combine it with my previous knowledge from school and my own
research.
This design project will include these main time commitments:
Schematic design: 15 hours
Research into bus stops and sustainable design options: 10 hours
Iterations of the design including models and sketches: 22 hours
Planning of details, plans, sections, modeling (digital and manual) etc. : 20 hours
Building the proposed design: 30 hours
All of these times are estimates and would only increase from their approximated amounts

Clearly and thoroughly address how each of the following elements will be exhibited in
your work:
2. Connection to Learning Outcomes within the Honors Thematic Area (identified
above)
The thematic area that this project will be focusing on is community engagement. The first
learning outcome I plan on achieving is understanding what my project will be doing for the
community and how it impact society at all angles and what outside social issues could impact
the design of a bus stop. Things that could affect this is how safe the area is, the climate, how
people use the space, and what is lacking in their bus stops now.
The second learning outcome this project will address is working and communicating with
people in the community to address the social changes that are needed in the area. The whole
layout of the space can work with this from the circulation of the space to the materials, such as
how translucent the walls are and how to make it feel safe to the people I work with from the
community.
The third learning outcome that will be explored in this project is how public policy in the area
affects buildings, including building codes as well. Trying to work with everyone to make the
building up to code, social standards, and making everyone happy in the community is a goal
of mine. I also want to see if I can use policies to my advantage in the design of the bus stop.
3. Connection to Goals and Academic Theories (include reference list, as appropriate)
A. This project will be put in my portfolio, helping me both professionally and academically. I
will be able to get academic feedback from my professors on it. I will also be learning skills and
ideas that I will use for the rest of my time at U.C. and in my career. Professionally I can look
back on the project for guidance when needed and personally I feel that it will make me more of
a leader and Ill learn things about my management skills.
B. This project will look at many sustainable and green design theories on materials, layouts, etc.
I will also look at theories on public spaces and how to create the best bus stop to make it open
yet enclosed for comfort. I will use many books and websites throughout my research and
execution of my project.
Climate and Architecture by Torben Dahl
Materiality and Interior Construction by Nancy Gesimondo and Jim Postell
I chose these sources because they were assigned readings in my design science class. They have
a lot of vital information on how people use space within different conditions and how to work
with them.
4. Initiative, Independence, and/or Creativity
Since I will be planning this project, that serves as my contribution to the group in edition to
leading the group I will be involved in the design process as well as the building process. I will
pull knowledge from my previous architecture classes and building experiences. My design
science and design lab classes will help the most, and my volunteer work at the Cincinnati Zoo
and Botanical Gardens will help by having seen previously design sustainable structures. I will

start this project hopefully within the first two weeks of my co-op and finish it up a week before
returning to U.C. The only help I will be receiving is from a design team that I organize and my
project advisor.
5. Reflection
The first way I will reflect on this project, besides the reflective essay, is by documenting it and
putting my project in my architecture portfolio so that I can express the project outside of my
required class projects. I will also be able to talk to firms about what I did. I also plan on looking
how well I stuck to my original intent and how well the bus stop turned out in helping the
community and being sustainable through papers and creating presentation layouts of it.
6. Dissemination
Upon returning from my co-op I plan on exhibiting my project at DAAP either in a display case
format or an actual presentation. I would also like to publish it in the DAAP SAID newsletter
and possibly a formal architecture magazine. Creating a blog about the process of the project is
another way I would like to publish my work.
7. Project Advisor(s)
My project advisor will be someone I have a close business relationship with at the firm I am cooping at.
8. Budget (if applicable)
Materials for this project are to be determined based on the research found in the first part of this
project. Materials can be expensive though, but lower priced materials, while keeping the quality,
will be considered.
Materials can include:
Schematic design materials: $100
Model materials: $100
Actual building materials: $900
Total: $1,100