ABSTRACT
Design-build projects in architectural education, proponents argue, aid the professional development of students by teaching them technical skills complementing those gained through standard classroom study. Construction knowledge is better left to technology courses and professional internship. As students made impassioned pleas for the smallest of design issues, we realized the power of design-build to provide an educational platform for the ethical practice of architecture. Ethical considerations expanded from student safety to public safety in the building of a pedestrian suspension bridge in the town of Chester, Arkansas. Students researched and designed individually and then in groups, before choosing one scheme — a suspension bridge — to build during the remaining two and a half weeks. The people of Chester were deeply grateful and the students experienced one of the great gifts of design-build public service work: the feeling of genuine appreciation from the people they were assisting.
