Future Generations

The Georgetown office of ULI had 19 very special guests visit the office yesterday during Take Your Child to Work Day.

The visitors began their day by coloring pictures and designs for their parents’ work spaces. After everyone was finished, they were given a personal tour of ULI’s office with explanations of each department, its importance to the organization and why the LEED certification ULI recently obtained for its office renovation (link to press release or blog post about our LEED certification) is an important part of the Institute’s mission.

The future architects and city planners, all between the ages of 5-12 years old, were enthusiastic about designing their own city using recycled items, such as paper towel rolls, frozen meal boxes, donated by the staff.

Bill Hudnut, ULI’s senior resident fellow for Public Policy, spoke with the children about the role of a mayor, the various types of buildings that make up a city and the necessary planning that goes into creating a great city.

After brainstorming building types, the visitors transformed empty boxes and containers into buildings, schools, stores and homes, with assistance from the Georgetown staff. Each child then explained what their structure was and how it fit into the overall city plan.

The day ended with a pizza lunch and a viewing of the movie "Over the Hedge," which addresses themes related to suburban sprawl.

Comments

[Dan W]

This is excellent! Sounds like a lot of fun, too. The more we can teach youngsters that the built world (and landscape) are of our own making, the better off we'll all be. It's important for everyone to at least be aware that human habitat (cities) don't just happen spontaneously, and to thereby gain an appreciation for design.

[Jeff Simeone]

What a great concept to create awareness for the industry. Letting children know at any age what it is that ULI does will help to mold the next generation of designers, developers, and "green" supporters.

Great idea and hopefully other organizations buy into teaching our youth what different organizations can do and will do in the future.