Beginning Thoughts: How to be "ecommodating" in this Day and Age

What does accommodating mean? What does eco mean? And when the two combine, what does ecommodating mean?

To accommodate someone means to provide food and shelter to someone in need, and to help someone adapt to a new situation. Eco relates to environmentally-friendly practices and incorporating them into daily life. So how to ecommodate? Provide environmentally-friendly food and shelter to people in need as they adapt to new situations in life, such as a changing economy and a changing world environment.

As a designer, we are faced with the challenges of meeting a client's needs in the most effecient and practical way possible, while incorporating the pleasantries of style and edge into the mix. I knew when it was time to choose a senior project, I wanted it to appeal to the masses, not a select few who are most commonly exposed to a well-designed environment. Right now as a college student in a hurting economy, its even tougher to find affordable housing solutions that are also "nice"- just because we don't have the budget to live in good quality housing doesn't mean we should live in sub-par apartments or rentals that have been neglected throughout the years.

This sparked the idea for "ecommodate: an urban village". By using reclaimed shipping containers, I will redesign and configure them as an urban mixed-use environment, with a market strip of sorts adjacent to approximately 24 residential units. This "urban village" will cater to young professionals, young couples and college students who seek to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle in an off-grid environment. Still placed within the Mid-City area of Baton Rouge, I want to explore alternative energy sources and non-traditional neighborhood configurations, seeking to create the ultimate "green" environment for the under-30 crowd. Above all, affordablility and sustainablility will govern all decisions I make in this project.

More to come... check back often!