When we examine the word “dignity” regarding the built environment, we must look at how the building creates a sense of respect and honor. Buildings placed into communities without thoughtful consideration in how they will make occupants feel is undignified design. Design decisions that place the form of a building over its function allows aesthetics to become the primary criteria for judgement. When it comes to well-designed spaces, they should not just be a matter of aesthetics since they can shape our ideas about who we are and what we deserve. We need design that addresses the inhabitants needs, enhancing their overall experience. This is dignified design. We can ensure good design is a fundamental right by understanding the impact that the education system has on architects, and on shaping design to meet people’s needs. In this paper, I will address how a shift in the Architectural Education system could lead to more dignified design

Throughout history people have used storytelling to leave remnants of their life and culture in the world. From the ancient cave paintings to the Egyptian hieroglyphics and from Greek mythologies to our modern-day novels, storytelling reflects parts another person’s life from a different time and place. Stories have a way of taking us out of our place in time and sending us into a realm created by the storyteller. We listen and tell stories every day to the people around us, whether they are our own stories or another person’s story. It is how we connect with each other intimately. Through storytelling, you give your audience a glimpse into your mind, the way you think and the way you perceive the world by how you illustrate the story. Architects create the frame for the user to define the space and the opportunity for the narrative of the user to be reflected in the frame and space of the architecture. Storytelling is used in architecture to bring the audience into the narrative constructed by the architect to create the experience. For my in-studio thesis project, I created a short film to tell the story of the Architectural Studio VI class. The images and video footage that I included are used to allow the audience to have a glimpse of what the life and environment of studio was like as the students were working collaboratively and independently to develop their designs. I produced this film with the intention to not only tell the story of the Architectural Studio VI class but to also bring my audience into the story through the images and video footage.

The purpose of this text is to research and specify inequities present within three South American cities; Medellin, Columbia, Mexico City, Mexico, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This research then considers specific neighborhoods within these cities that have become underprivileged as a result of the inequities, and analyzes architectural insertions that have been placed in these communities in hopes of balancing the inequities secluding the communities from the rest of the city. With the information gathered from the three case study cities, another city, Tijuana, Mexico, is examined and ascertained as to what type of inequities are present. Using the methodology implemented in the case studies, a specific architectural insertion is proposed in relation to the problems at hand, with the intent of balancing the inequalities present in an underprivilege neighborhood in Tijuana. Ultimately, the text strives to demonstrate the power of architectural insertions within a community, while highlighting the importance of the effects upon the daily lives of the inhabitants, as well as the dynamics within the community and greater city.