Effort Aims To Design Better Habitat For Humanity Homes

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) - A two-year effort in suburban Detroit involving Lawrence Technological University is working to design better homes for those served by Habitat for Humanity.

During the first semester, graduate architecture students conducted research into the needs of those who get housing through Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County. During the second semester, they'll be designing structures. A home eventually will be built for an Oakland County family.

Department of Architecture Chairman Scott G. Shall, an associate professor in the Southfield-based school's College of Architecture and Design, is directing the collaboration. It began last fall of as a way to encourage architecture students to build viable communities.

Shall's nonprofit, the International Design Clinic, and the university's makeLab fabrication workshop are also partners in the effort.