Design for Ability Greenhouse Provides Education and Community Engagement to the Savannah Area
SCAD alumna Meagan Hodge created educational co-op Design for Ability to bring educators and community members together to enact a positive change
Education and community engagement are vital aspects in affecting positive social change.
For her masters thesis in the Design for Sustainability program at SCAD, alumna Meagan Hodge created an educational co-op called Design for Ability, bringing together educators and community members to enact a positive change.
Design for Ability is a program that works with underprivileged high school students with exceptional need to provide them with on-site green jobs training and vocational education, giving them the invaluable practical life skills they’ll need to succeed.
The success of Hodge’s program is due in part to a group of dedicated collaborators, including companies such as Wooden Sheep, Southern Pine, RK Construction and Whole Foods.
CURRENT PROJECT
Design for Ability’s current project is the construction of a greenhouse on 34th St. and E Broad, around the corner from Perc Coffee, that began construction in 2013.
The greenhouse sits on the property of Ramsey Khalidi, founder of the Southern Pine Company. Also on the property is Khalidi’s warehouse which is filled with piles of reclaimed wood, windows and doors that he’s saved from demolition sites throughout the city.
Stepping into the warehouse smells like walking through a forest. Khalidi has reclaimed so many building materials and other historical objects that you can’t help but feel like you’ve entered the Room of Requirements once you step inside.
Despite the warehouse’s size, even that can’t contain the amount of wood he’s saved from landfills – which is why there are so many precariously high piles of wood covering the the rest of his property.
EMERGENT STRUCTURES
Hodge created the drawing for the design of the greenhouse during her time at SCAD. With help from professor and program coordinator for the Design for Sustainability program, Scott Boylston, Hodge presented her design to the board of Emergent Structures (of which Boylston is both President and Co-Founder).
Emergent Structures is a non-profit that started in Savannah in 2009. They collect building materials from deconstructed sites around Savannah and repurposes them into new buildings, furniture and even jewelry to help close the waste stream created by the local construction industry.
Greenhouse Interior – The walls of the greenhouse are built out of reclaimed wood and windows.
Emergent Structures proudly promotes their status as an organization of bottom feeders, turning that which construction companies view as waste into an opportunity for innovation. They also rely entirely on volunteer power for collecting materials and building new structures.
According to Boylston, the average build time for a site is around 8 months, but due to an array of hold-ups the greenhouse is now in it’s third year of construction.
MAKING PROGRESS
This past Saturday, volunteers gathered in the 108 degree weather at the greenhouse construction site to clear away debris and make room for a new fence to encompass the property, something that will add a layer of safety and security for future visitors.
With it’s use of reclaimed materials, photovoltaic energy production and its rain-water harvesting system, this greenhouse will serve as a symbol of progressive green-building design for the city of Savannah, and as a reminder that with a little time, passion and and a lot of sweat, positive social change is more than possible – it’s already happening.
Visit Design for Ability's Facebook page to view in-progress shots of the greenhouse build, and their website to stay up to date with current and future projects!
