Activist Architecture and Design Studio (LTU)

08/09/2026

Between the Steps: Remembering the City Beneath Our Feet

Investigating the city of Mount Clemens, Michigan, Carter Moberg observed what he felt was an ‘erasure of place’. Once known as a mineral bath resort and rose-growing capital, Carter felt that the city’s unique identity had been “physically erased through decades of demolition, urban renewal, and changing economic patterns. As historic anchors disappeared, so did many of the city’s visible connections to its past”....

08/09/2026

Trailside Café

Student Alayna Moricz grew up in Pinckney, Michigan, which she describes as “a rural town among a chain of seven serene lakes (and more), where biking and hiking trails wind through lush landscapes. My childhood was shaped by this supportive community, which was always there through various activities and programs”. After completing her undergraduate studies, Alayna returned to Pinckney to find that the town lacked a sense of community (and social amenities) for young professionals. ...

Student Alayna Moricz grew up in Pinckney, Michigan, which she describes as “a rural town among a chain of seven serene lakes (and more), where biking and hiking trails wind through lush landscapes…

08/11/2024

Nicolas Lamoureux, a resident of Windsor, Ontario, investigated the economic disparities across his hometown, and the impacts upon its citizens. He noted that here is high level of economic inequality across Windsor’s ten wards, and that the downtown core has some of the highest poverty rates in Canada. “Many of the residents in the least affluent wards deal with inadequate housing, small areas of park land, disconnected active transportation networks, and difficulties accessing the rest of the city’s public and private spaces without owning a vehicle,” he noted. ...

Nicolas Lamoureux, a resident of Windsor, Ontario, investigated the economic disparities across his hometown, and the impacts upon its citizens. He noted that here is high level of economic inequa…

08/11/2024

A mother of two children married to an Iraqi war veteran, Jamie Stone was keenly aware of the struggles her husband and children faced. Moreover, over the previous thirteen years, she discovered that while the Veteran’s Administration could serve the needs of the veteran themselves, no formal structures existed to provide aid and comfort for the caretaking spouse, who often was ill-prepared to manage the familial effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)....

A mother of two children married to an Iraqi war veteran, Jamie Stone was keenly aware of the struggles her husband and children faced.  Moreover, over the previous thirteen years, she discove…

08/06/2024

Note: The location of this project has been withheld as no official announcement or public review has yet been conducted by the municipality. Jeremiah Rose has been a life-long resident of his hometown, but – like many young people – had often pondered leaving after earning his college degree. “I started to give more thought as to why I had wanted to leave the town as a kid,” Jeremiah states....

Note: The location of this project has been withheld as no official announcement or public review has yet been conducted by the municipality. Jeremiah Rose has been a life-long resident of his home…

08/07/2022

Art, and access to it, is a meaningful topic to student Spencer Lippert. While recognizing the value of art to individuals and communities, his research indicated that “when art access is studied in terms of ethnicity/race & highest level of education completed, the elitist quality of art becomes strikingly apparent. People within the BIPOC community express roughly 1.3 times less access to art experiences and education than adults that identify as white....

Art, and access to it, is a meaningful topic to student Spencer Lippert.  While recognizing the value of art to individuals and communities, his research indicated that “when art access is stu…

08/06/2022

Baltimore-area resident (and the mother of a young son) Rose Vito had a specific interest in the city’s school system, as well as issues that contribute to the failure of urban revitalization projects. Rose decided to focus her attention on the Curtis Bay neighborhood located along the harbor on the southwest side of Baltimore City. Her research revealed that Curtis Bay is a highly impoverished neighborhood, and that many families suffer from inter-generational poverty....

Baltimore-area resident (and the mother of a young son) Rose Vito had a specific interest in the city’s school system, as well as issues that contribute to the failure of urban revitalization proje…

08/06/2022

Student Me Me Thinn was born in Myanmar (formerly Burma), and has watched the plight of her home country with great interest. Of particular concern to her was the overthrow of the democratically elected government by the military junta Tatmadaw in February 2021. Among the many negative effects of this insurrection was the impact upon the already-struggling rural education infrastructure in Myanmar....

Student Me Me Thinn was born in Myanmar (formerly Burma), and has watched the plight of her home country with great interest.  Of particular concern to her was the overthrow of the democratica…

08/10/2021

A great deal of attention is paid to the issues facing urban school districts (large class sizes, budget deficits from low tax bases, difficulty in recruiting and retaining teachers), but student Trent Schmitz sought to put a spotlight on the unique challenges facing students in rural schools. Urban school districts, he found, also suffer from lack of funding, which impacts the number of teachers, the ability to offer AP classes, and forces guidance councilors to be shared between schools....

A great deal of attention is paid to the issues facing urban school districts (large class sizes, budget deficits from low tax bases, difficulty in recruiting and retaining teachers), but student T…

08/08/2021

Jenna Atkinson’s interest in the needs of children raised in single-parent households is anchored in her own experience. She is one of four children who were raised by her single mother. Single parents not only endure the sting of social stigma, but also are forced to make tremendous personal sacrifices to raise and care for their children. The economic strain and disadvantage placed upon single parents is staggering: Jenna’s research found that married couples with two children would need to have an annual income of $79,308 in order to “live comfortably” in the Metro-Detroit area, while the annual income of single parents in Detroit is a mere $26,249....

Jenna Atkinson’s interest in the needs of children raised in single-parent households is anchored in her own experience.  She is one of four children who were raised by her single mother. …