Builder magazine highlights how a Georgia Tech course taught by Atlanta architect Frank Wickstead that enhances the Kendeda Building’s efforts to enhance equity.

Each semester, Wickstead partners with a nonprofit on behalf of the SLS course, such as Habitat for Humanity, Invest Atlanta, Westside Future Fund and Star-C. Wickstead’s current SLS course focuses on Ethics Policy Trends in Real Estate Development. Specifically, the course addresses the pendulum swing between quality, safety and profitability and where builders land on that spectrum. Students meet with attorneys, tradespeople, and nonprofits that are doing it correctly and successfully, which allows them to see how far-reaching smart development can go, so they can learn about the potential problems with building inexpensively.

Wickstead, who directs project delivery for Jones Pierce Architects’ design-build division, serves as an adjunct director for Georgia Tech’s Serve-Learn-Sustain program, which has spearheaded many of building’s initiatives related to the Living Building Challenge Equity Petal.

Partnering with the Westside Future Fund, Georgia Tech student teams are currently designing three homes to fit on the fund’s three most challenging home sites. This immersive project requires each team to design a home that fits the lot, meets zoning requirements, fits neighborhood architectural requirements and complies with EarthCraft House standards. Additionally, the homes must be priced to sell to potential Atlanta homebuyers with a 60% average median income.

To read the full article on the Builder site, click here.

PHOTO AT TOP: Frank Wickstead. Courtesy Jones Pierce Architects.