Architectural Self-Reliance: A Discussion with Rae Perez '19 from an Independent Perspective
In the heart of Chicago, a student is delving into a unique research project that sheds light on the closure of 50 public schools in black neighbourhoods, challenging the boundaries of architecture by incorporating social sciences, urbanism, racial, and political dynamics.
The student, whose research is supervised by Rae, an expert in space and architectural features using an interdisciplinary approach, chose this topic because education has always been a driving theme in their academic work. The student wanted to examine a contemporary issue in education in a specific place, and this topic presented an opportunity to do just that.
Interestingly, the student's thesis has not been previously examined through the lens of architecture and urbanism, but rather through education and policy, as well as cultural and social lenses. The student's research aims to understand how individual buildings reflect political ideologies.
The buildings researched in the thesis have embodied different meanings over time. These schools, huge and concentrated within a very small area due to segregation and red-lining in Chicago, are more than just structures—they are symbols of a community's history and identity. The closure of these schools is considered important because it erases a significant cultural legacy from these neighborhoods.
Architecture research gives primacy to tectonic features of a space, attributing agency to them. The student is tentatively interested in exploring the size and locations of these schools to understand them as spaces. The analysis of a space in architecture can cover formal qualities, environmental qualities, and how it interacts with the larger environment.
Different methodologies are used in architecture research, including those found in disciplines like anthropology or sociology. The research approach for architecture involves historical research, looking at floor plans, and interviews. Learning about different approaches to research on campus can widen your understanding of a discipline and inspire new directions in research.
The unique perspective gained from using a variety of research approaches can provide new insight into a scholarly issue. For instance, in humanities, typical projects include investigating historical topics and cultural phenomena. In social sciences, students explore subjects like socioeconomic inequalities, political ideologies, and urban development. Business research projects might focus on practical applications, while technology and interdisciplinary fields delve into the effects of social media, strategies to combat disinformation, and the intersections of economics with education or environmental policy.
Involving oneself in lab-based research at Princeton can be valuable for widening understanding of a discipline and deciding on a concentration. The student's research project is a testament to the creative and integrative nature of student research beyond laboratory or natural science studies, producing outcomes like multimedia presentations, campaigns, podcasts, or detailed reports.
- The student's senior thesis, which delves into the closure of 50 public schools in black neighborhoods, is part of their broader focus on education-and-self-development, as they aim to understand how individual buildings reflect political ideologies.
- The student's exploration of the unique topic is not limited to traditional education research, as they also employ methods from junior paper projects in anthropology or sociology, including interviews and historical research to understand the schools' significance in Chicago.
- The student's independent work, which challenges the boundaries of architecture by incorporating social sciences, urbanism, racial, and political dynamics, underscores the importance of learning about different approaches to research in education-and-self-development, inspiring new directions in scholarly inquiry.
