Collaborative Housing Design: A Case Study on Developing Learning Activities that Cross Cultural, Climatic and Geographical Differences

Todd Nicewonger; Lisa D. McNair

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Conference: 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Publication Date: June 22, 2025
Start Date: June 22, 2025
End Date: August 15, 2025
Conference Session: Liberal Education/Engineering & Society Division (LEES) Technical Session 9: Collaboration and Community
Tagged Division: Liberal Education/Engineering & Society Division (LEES)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 14
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/56105

Paper Authors

biography

Todd Nicewonger Virginia Tech

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Todd E. Nicewonger holds a Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology from Columbia University, an M.Ed. in Anthropology and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and an M.A. in Adult, Occupational, and Continuing Education from Kansas State University. His research delves into the cultural practices of makers and growers, exploring how these practices intersect with broader socio-political concerns. This focus has led him to conduct ethnographic research in both design learning and applied contexts. He is also deeply engaged in transdisciplinary experiments within academia, investigating how design methods and tools from the arts can foster innovative research and collaborative learning.

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Lisa D. McNair Virginia Tech orcid.org/0000-0001-6654-2337

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Lisa D. McNair is Professor of Engineering Education and Director of Arts and Education at the Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology (ICAT) at Virginia Tech. She is an executive committee member for a2ru and an editorial board member for Ground Works journal. Her research and teaching interests include developing interdisciplinary project-based learning experiences, building networks between university, industry, and community sectors, and expanding engagement in science, engineering, arts, and design. McNair’s current projects include building the Interdisciplinary Projects (IDPro) program and a 3D manufacturing module series in undergraduate engineering at Virginia Tech, framing the da Vinci Cube innovation model, and co-designing tools with communities for collaboration on Alaska housing issues. She earned a PhD in Linguistics at the University of Chicago, and an M.A. and B.A. in English at the University of Georgia.

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Abstract

In Designs for the Pluriverse, Arturo Escobar argues that the act of designing involves “much more than the creation of objects”; it also produces “diverse forms of life and, often, contrasting notions of sociability and the world” (2019: 3). To incorporate this perspective into undergraduate engineering design education, we developed an assignment that guides students in applying the theoretical concept of “sociability” to learn about collaborative housing design. Drawing on over three years of ongoing fieldwork in Alaska, this paper describes our pedagogy and a case study exploring contrasting forms of sociability that emerged in a community building project inspired by Indigenous home design methods.

We address three research questions: 1) What alternative frameworks for addressing the complexity of building in this region can be applied in collaborative housing design projects? 2) How can a case study on participatory design methods in one community provide critical insights for addressing regional housing issues more broadly? and 3) How can the need for alternative frameworks be taught and integrated into engineering education?

Our case study focuses on three housing prototypes designed to address housing inequality in remote Alaska Native communities. These prototypes illustrate the role of boundary objects in addressing the challenges of building homes in areas unconnected to road systems, reliant on barge and air transport, and facing extreme winter conditions, high fuel costs, and limited land availability. This context often leads to discourses of “vulnerability” in housing design, which, as anthropologists Elizabeth Marino and A.J. Faas argue, perpetuate misunderstandings of the local histories and resilience that have shaped Indigenous approaches to housing in this region for thousands of years (2020).

Through our ethnographic study, we are co-creating a body of analyses on building projects in this region that examines both the technical and social decision-making processes of local actors. Additionally, we are developing curricular approaches that guide students and design participants in comparing, mapping, and reflecting on the relationships between these projects, with a focus on collaborative design and the incorporation of alternative perspectives. Our curriculum enables students to explore approaches for developing housing that account for the diverse networks involved in this complex work.

Citation
Format

Nicewonger, T., & McNair, L. D. (2025, June), Collaborative Housing Design: A Case Study on Developing Learning Activities that Cross Cultural, Climatic and Geographical Differences Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/56105

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - In Designs for the Pluriverse, Arturo Escobar argues that the act of designing involves “much more than the creation of objects”; it also produces “diverse forms of life and, often, contrasting notions of sociability and the world” (2019: 3). To incorporate this perspective into undergraduate engineering design education, we developed an assignment that guides students in applying the theoretical concept of “sociability” to learn about collaborative housing design. Drawing on over three years of ongoing fieldwork in Alaska, this paper describes our pedagogy and a case study exploring contrasting forms of sociability that emerged in a community building project inspired by Indigenous home design methods. 

We address three research questions: 1) What alternative frameworks for addressing the complexity of building in this region can be applied in collaborative housing design projects? 2) How can a case study on participatory design methods in one community provide critical insights for addressing regional housing issues more broadly? and 3) How can the need for alternative frameworks be taught and integrated into engineering education?

Our case study focuses on three housing prototypes designed to address housing inequality in remote Alaska Native communities. These prototypes illustrate the role of boundary objects in addressing the challenges of building homes in areas unconnected to road systems, reliant on barge and air transport, and facing extreme winter conditions, high fuel costs, and limited land availability. This context often leads to discourses of “vulnerability” in housing design, which, as anthropologists Elizabeth Marino and A.J. Faas argue, perpetuate misunderstandings of the local histories and resilience that have shaped Indigenous approaches to housing in this region for thousands of years (2020).

Through our ethnographic study, we are co-creating a body of analyses on building projects in this region that examines both the technical and social decision-making processes of local actors. Additionally, we are developing curricular approaches that guide students and design participants in comparing, mapping, and reflecting on the relationships between these projects, with a focus on collaborative design and the incorporation of alternative perspectives. Our curriculum enables students to explore approaches for developing housing that account for the diverse networks involved in this complex work.
AU  - Todd Nicewonger
AU  - Lisa D. McNair
CY  - Montreal, Quebec, Canada 
DA  - 2025/06/22
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Collaborative Housing Design: A Case Study on Developing Learning Activities that Cross Cultural, Climatic and Geographical Differences
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/56105
ER  -