CU Students Design Dreams for the Westwood Community
The BuCu business center in Westwood was a full house on Tuesday afternoon as CU Denver architecture students presented their design ideas for the Westwood neighborhood to a group of community residents and activists. Forward thinking Professor Koziol collaborated with Westwood Unidos to engage the students in a community-oriented design process for the final project of their master’s degree. The four groups presented their initial ideas for critique several months earlier and were provided with feedback on how to transform the projects to better fit the needs of the community.
Based on these discussions with the community, all four of the projects focused on these themes:
- Health lifestyles
- Safe community
- Gathering places
With these ideas in mind, all of the groups incorporated a wellness/fitness center with childcare and meeting rooms, and some went a step further to include plazas, retail space, and housing. The students addressed safety concerns by narrowing Morrison road, which currently hosts very fast moving traffic and few crosswalks.
Though none of these projects are slotted for development, the students created a design book that they hope will be helpful as the neighborhood begins redevelopment conversations with developers and other potential investors. The presentations exemplify a great collaboration between students, residents, community organizations, and the City of Denver. Who knows, maybe someday these students will find an element of their design worked into a Westwood revitalization plan?
Westwood Unidos unifies residents with community-based organizations to improve the quality of life in Westwood while strengthening local leadership to address and lead neighborhood projects defined by the community. Created in 2011, Westwood Unidos is led by residents and the following organizations: BuCu West, Padres Unidos, Extreme Community Makeover, LiveWell Westwood, the Office of Councilman Paul Lopez, Urban Land Conservancy, Revision International, and The Denver Foundation. www.westwoodunidos.com