Eskew+Dumez+Ripple Seeks Candidates for 2014 Fellowship

Eskew+Dumez+Ripple (EDR), the New Orleans-based architecture firm, is accepting applications for its 2014 fellowship program through Sunday, March 16th, 2014.

Eskew+Dumez+RippleEach year, the firm chooses a topic for the fellowship rounds. The 2014 topic is community engagement and because nearly every design project involves some form of it, the firm asks, “how can EDR continue excellence in engaging communities?”

EDR is seeking two candidates, one for a 1-year position and one for a 3-month position, both of whom will begin at the same time in June. “The ways the fellow would engage would harness their ability to write, speak to stakeholders and communities where our projects are situated, synthesize current and built project information into a community- and stakeholder-driven storyline and narrative, and hopefully use new digital engagement tools to gather community input on design,” explained EDR.

The goal of the fellowship is to provide a unique professional experience within a studio-based research environment. Chosen fellows will be expected to critically examine community engagement by looking at emerging trends and utilizing data-driven archival and current material. “The technologies will really work for how we design,” said EDR planner and urban designer Cristina Ungureanu.

The research fellowship program began in 2011. According to Ungureanu, the firm has found great success with other fellows. The first focused on building performance, including construction and design, and the second on resilience and what it means in a design professional.

What EDR does inside the office is important to outside world as well. Ungureanu explained that the designs really draw out the narratives and stories of clients, but also the neighborhood and local community through its form of cross-pollination.

More information about the fellowship is available here.