Stormwater Park, North Miami, FL. December 15, 2019. Photo: Saul Martinez

ARC3015YF (L0108) 
Instructor: Germane Barnes

Less Talk, More Action examines architecture and design as a tool for immediate spatial intervention, civic agency, and community self-determination. It challenges students to rethink the role of architecture as an immediate tool for community transformation rather than a discipline dependent on lengthy governmental processes or speculative planning. The studio asks how architects can develop realistic architectural, urban, and landscape strategies that empower residents to improve their own properties and neighborhoods today.

Working across multiple scales, students will propose design interventions that are practical, replicable, and responsive to local conditions. Sited in Miami, Florida, projects may range from the scale of a front yard or vacant lot to neighborhood infrastructure. Rather than producing theoretical proposals that leave at-risk communities waiting for policy reform, funding cycles, or land-use regulation updates, the studio emphasizes actionable design solutions that can be built, tested, and shared immediately. The studio rejects speculative master plans that require at-risk communities to wait for future investment or institutional action, instead prioritizing design approaches that can be realized through community initiative, partnerships, and incremental change.

A principal outcome of the studio will be the development of an illustrated field guide that translates design research into accessible, do-it-yourself strategies for community use. Students will prototype selected interventions at 1:1 scale, testing material systems, construction methods, and public engagement through full-scale installations and mock-ups.
An optional four-day field study to Miami during Fall Reading Week will expose students to existing community-led design initiatives, water vulnerable neighborhoods, and failing ecological systems.

Throughout the semester, students will be encouraged to think boldly, advocate fearlessly, and embrace design as a powerful instrument of spatial justice, civic participation, and resistance. By demonstrating how architecture can operate beyond the drawing board, the studio equips future designers with the tools to create meaningful change through direct action.