ARCH 302: In The Shade of Each Other
Introduction To Architectural Design III
Instructors: Zahra Rasti, Jennifer Dee, Vayle Khalaf, Veronica Restrepo
University of Washington
Spring 2025

ARCH 302 is the third studio in the undergraduate sequence and introduced architecture as a response to urban systems. Students began with a city-wide analysis of Seattle, studying how natural and geo-human forces shape the city over time. Each student produced a neighborhood artifact representing spatial, environmental, and infrastructural dynamics, which were combined into a collective analysis. In the second phase, students conducted focused studies of assigned neighborhoods. Through mapping, fieldwork, and diagrams, they analyzed how the urban fabric influences local conditions and lived experiences.

Based on this research, each student selected a site and proposed a 15,000 sq. ft. housing and community improvement project. Designs addressed four core themes: Community and Social Justice, Public Transit and Mobility, Urban Ecology and Wellbeing, and Urban Infrastructure. One theme was developed in greater depth to target a specific neighborhood need. Final proposals included housing types such as family, senior, or supportive housing, along with a second program element like a cultural center or ecological intervention. Some students focused on building-scale interventions, and others developed networks of multiple buildings or site strategies that extended into the surrounding urban fabric. These multi-proposals aimed to strengthen spatial, ecological, and social connections across the neighborhood.