PrattSIDE: Creating a Home

PrattSIDE 1^st Blog Post:

As an organization, Mosqoy puts great emphasis on collaboration. Their Global Stewardship program teaches that in an “increasingly globalized and interconnected” world, we all have an impact on the world around us and it is up to us to decide what that impact can be. It is in this spirit of impact that PrattSIDE has been partnering with Mosqoy.

PrattSIDE is a student organization made up of both graduate and undergraduate students at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, who, through a collaborative effort, seeks the betterment of the world around us. It is our firm belief that design can address a spectrum of human needs, from housing to education to the pursuit of art. As a leader of PrattSIDE, I hope to pass on my personal belief that our careers can be our strongest tool for creating change in the world.

Through this partnership we aim to design and construct Casa Mosqoy, which will serve as the student housing dormitory for the youth participants of Mosqoy’s Andean Youth Program as well as house a storefront for the Q’ente Textile Revitalization Program. As Mosqoy welcomes youth from highland Andean communities in the Sacred Valley and offers them the opportunity to receive a post-secondary education in Cusco, it is important that the students have a “home” not just a dorm from which to live and work as they pursue the career of their dreams—a career which they will in turn use to change their world.

As most of the students in PrattSIDE have never been to Peru, it has been a journey in and of itself to learn about the region. We have studied basic climate data and well as the layout of Cusco. We primarily focused on researching vernacular building techniques within Peru as well as countries of the same latitude. We have learned more about adobe building than we ever thought we would. We are so looking forward to this collaboration, and hope that our work can better these students’ lives by creating a home away from home!

- Lila, PrattSIDE Leader