Girls Garage launches pinnacle project
The Ove Arup Foundation has announced support for the Girls Garage project Advanced Design/Build Cohort.
The new course represents the culmination of each attendee's participation in the Girls Garage after-school and summer programme for three or more years. As part of the project, up to 16 high school girls per year will embark on an ambitious design/build project for their community.
Specifically, girls who are interested in college and career pathways in architecture, design, and engineering will make up the cohort, bringing personal ambition and a well-honed technical skillset to the project and group. The Advanced Design/Build Cohort will be taught and led by executive director Emily Pilloton with two skilled female instructors.
The Advanced Design/Build Cohort will begin in August 2020, with girls joining by application or invitation from their instructors. In the autumn season, girls will interview and work alongside a community non-profit client to identify and design a buildable solution to improve the operations and experience of the client’s beneficiaries.
Participants will examine architectural precedent, model and draft designs, and coalesce their ideas into one final design proposal. By the end they will prototype architectural and structural components in the Girls Garage workshop, requiring project management, material procurement, and refinement of ideas. Over a 70-hour build during the summer, girls will construct the project on site for the client and officially open it to the community.
The Advanced Design/Build Cohort curriculum will also integrate personalised mentorship, field trips, guest speakers, and industry connections to help girls solidify goals and pathways into the STEM careers of their choosing.
Girls Garage is a one-of-a-kind design and building programme and dedicated workspace for girls from the San Francisco Bay area of mixed nationality, mixed race and low income. Girls Garage strives to eliminate gender inequity in the fields of architecture, design, and building trades by providing a pathway for young girls to explore, improve, and apply creative and technical skills through real-world projects for their community.