Proposal Updates "BSA"

Summary of BSA proposal:
Prompt: BSA or Boston Society of Architects started a program in 2004 to promote research in Architecture with a focus on design as research and research conducted in practice environments. It encourages students to work on a wide range of issues from materials and technologies that shape physical form; to abstraction of ideas supporting theoretical projects; drawing upon social, economic and political dimensions that inform program or process; across physical scales of design from the nano-particular to the megalopolis; and from the historical past, the current moment or as projections.

Small-scale infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, forms the physical skeleton of any human settlement. However, many rural communities in Southeast Asia’s developing regions lack these critical components. With the growing urgency of food at a global scale, small-scale infrastructure is crucial for rural agricultural communities to take advantage of economic development opportunities and alleviate their own poverty.

B.Y.O.B (Build Your Own Bridge): Designing and Implementing New Forms of Rural Infrastructure proposes a multi-phase, cross-disciplinary approach to research, design, and prototype a new bridge that is
appropriate and scalable for developing rural communities throughout Southeast Asia.

Our research consists of three phases:
1. Conducting a comprehensive survey of successful precedents in small-scale infrastructure
projects, particularly bridges
2. Observing first-hand and constructing a bridge in Lamhin, a rural community outside of
Bangkok, Thailand
3. Designing and prototyping of an affordable, pre-fabricated do-it-yourself bridge for potential
implementation in other rural communities beyond Southeast Asia.

Final deliverables include a constructed bridge in Lamhin, Bangkok, a comprehensive report including background precedent study research, interviews, photos and detailed documentation of the bridge construction process, and a full-scale model of an affordable pre-fabricated do-it-yourself bridge which tests and demonstrates our innovative design solution.