Oriana Gil Perez

Oriana Gil Perez

Design Build Multi-Use Market in Venezuela

Architectural education prioritizes the rewards and recognition of other architects, rather than of serving as a catalyst for social change. Design education empowers students to become independent thinkers. I believe architecture and design have the power to create significant community-led change in underdeveloped countries. This study addresses the discrepancy between what an architect thinks the user needs and what the user really needs. The hypothesis is that local community members can help designers develop empathetic design proposals that address the community’s needs by understanding how to design for someone with a different reality than their own. Build agency through design. The use of community participation leverages design education to empower independent design thinkers and makers and creates a symbiotic relationship between the designers and the members of the community.