News

MEET PIVOT ARCHITECTURE’S 2024 FELLOW

With multifaceted affordable housing solutions an ever-growing need in the region, PIVOT’s 2024 Fellow will study the roles intentional community models can play in finding solutions for the housing and loneliness crises.

Abby Brown will investigate intentional communities as housing models in urban settings that offer holistic solutions while addressing the needs of individuals, local communities, and urban centers. Intentional communities are groups of people who choose to live collaboratively and strive to create a lifestyle that reflects their shared values. Housing models like cooperatives, co-housing, housing collectives, and eco-villages fall under the intentional community umbrella.

Abby believes that intentional communities foster social belonging, instill a sense of ownership in residents, reduce individual economic burdens, support urban density, and prioritize collective well-being. She became interested in exploring the potential that intentional community housing models have in creating more socially sustainable associations after a recent studio project at the UO.

Abby just completed her fourth year in the five-year Bachelor or Architecture program at the University of Oregon College of Design. She moved to Eugene from Magnolia, Texas, and spent time studying in Stuttgart, Germany. When she’s not working or studying, she likes cooking, photography, sewing, paddleboarding, camping, and anything that gets her outdoors

About the PIVOT Fellowship

The PIVOT Fellowship is a means of fostering original thought about issues outside the daily routine or obvious future trajectory of our firm’s thought process. PIVOT selects fellows based on the nature of their project proposal and other factors. It is a paid position and the term runs from June until September. The fellowship is open to students for the summer preceding their final year of study at the University of Oregon. The fellows’ projects constitute half of the candidates’ responsibilities. Fellows are also incorporated into PIVOT project teams for the duration of their term gaining real-world experience working side-by-side with our design teams.

Wow

“Camas Ridge is Awesome!”

As we designed the Camas Ridge Community School, we brainstormed how we could give students a hands-on experience of building the school.

When we landed on the idea of creating a LEGO model of Camas, we weren’t sure how to go about actually doing that so we turned to some of our innovative partners.

PIVOT commissioned a small team of local students and project managers at Connected Lane County—a non-profit that prepares youth for the future by providing hands-on experiences, career-connected learning, and support services—to design the initial model.

Using software that allows you to design sets with virtually any LEGO piece ever made, the students figured out how to use the software and design the initial model. Then we passed it on to local LEGO experts at Bricks and Minifigs to streamline the design and order the 3,500 pieces it takes to build the model.

Over the summer, we fine-tuned the instructions and did a test build of the model to make sure it actually works. The finished model is more than 4 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 1 foot tall.

We take a lot of pride in Camas Ridge Community School and hope the experience of building the LEGO set will give students an idea of some of the things that go into designing a facility like this school—and maybe inspire some future architects!

The Lego model will be on display at the Camas Ridge Open House on Thursday, October 24 from 6-7:30 p.m.

News

Camas Ridge Open House: 10.24

PIVOT is helping Eugene School District 4J and Camas Ridge Community School plan the open house on Thursday, October 24 from 6-7:30 p.m.

PIVOT is working with the school to provide student-led tours a large-scale Lego model of Camas Ridge, and more. Check back for more info in the coming days.

More info on 4J’s website.

Insight

2024 PIVOT Fellowship Presentation on 10.10


PIVOT Architecture invites you to this year’s fellowship presentation when most recent Fellow Abby Brown presents her final project.

Abby studied intentional community models as they relate to current housing and loneliness crises, especially for individuals working to transition out of houselessness. Intentional communities are groups of people who choose to live collaboratively and strive to create a lifestyle that reflects their shared values. She studied the social and built environment at Everyone Village, a local transitional housing program where residents not only have access to housing and essential facilities but also benefit from a strong network of social support. The project seeks to understand how intentional community approaches to transitional housing design have been effectively socially supportive for formerly unhoused individuals within the village.

The PIVOT Fellowship is a means of fostering original thought about issues outside the daily routine of our firm’s thought process. Each summer, students entering their final year at the UO are selected to work on an independent project of their choosing and are incorporated into PIVOT project teams.

Join us at the PIVOT office, Thursday, October 10 from at 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Learn more about the PIVOT Fellowship.