Do You CCC Me?

Year: 2023

In the UCLA Critical Studies course “Research in Practice: Design Studies at cityLAB and Beyond,” led by cityLAB Associate Director Rayne Laborde Ruiz and Director Dana Cuff, students collectively formulated specific architectural research questions dealing with a fragment of the current housing crisis: innovative affordable housing typologies in the context of California’s community college system. This course operates in parallel to a grant-funded cityLAB research project titled “Affordable Housing on Community College Land” that aims to expand the array of affordable student housing solutions to meet the diverse needs of contemporary California community college students. The resulting student publication is a collective, two-part research report titled “Do You CCC Me? California Community College Housing Context & Background” & “Student Proposals.” The student research includes efforts to understand who attends California Community Colleges today, to challenge the myths of 2-year graduation timeframes, and to understand where students are “making do” in lieu of designated housing. Through proposals for new forms of flexible arrangements and calls for architects to play a central role in demonstrating “student” housing that is fit for all Californians, the work re-centers the role of research in architectural practice through applied learning.