Community Design Help Available Through Drachman Institute

UA News Services
April 19, 2005


The Drachman Institute at the University of Arizona is issuing its 2005 Request for Proposals for Planning, Landscape and Architectural Design Assistance.

The RFP program is designed to help neighborhood organizations, small cities and towns, rural associations and non-profit groups with community planning and design projects.

Proposals are due by Wednesday, May 18.

The Drachman Institute is the public service/community outreach arm of the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Support also comes from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences through Cooperative Extension.

Over the last 12 years, the institute has brought the skills and knowledge of students, faculty and staff from the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture to communities in need in Tucson, Pima County and Arizona. Projects are intended both to assist communities and insure that students meet their educational goals at the UA.

Projects range in scope and size, and may include a community or neighborhood plan, a park, playground or landscape design, a preliminary architectural design for affordable housing or a community building, a master plan for an organization's building on a proposed site, a traffic calming project, a pedestrian or bicycle path, or a similar schematic or concept design.

"Unfortunately we are not able to do architectural projects in which we are asked to prepare construction drawings or specifications," said architecture Professor Corky Poster, who heads the project. "However, our previous concept design work has often led to project funding, which in turn has allowed groups to hire on the professional assistance required to implement the project."

Poster said that while there is generally no charge for faculty and student salaries for the work they perform on these projects, they do request that the groups selected for project assistance contribute funds - on a sliding scale, based on ability to pay - at the start of the project for materials, supplies, reproduction, travel and related direct costs.

More information on the Drachman Institute and their technical assistance in planning, landscape and architectural design is on line at http://www.drachmaninstitute.org

An on line application for the RFP also is available at the site under "Technical Assistance."

For more information or an application, call Poster at 520-623-1722 or e-mail cposter@u.arizona.edu or by fax at 520-623-1705.

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Charles "Corky" Poster
520-623-1722
Fax: 520-623-1705
cposter@u.arizona.edu