Howard University architecture students study South Frederick in urban design course

Dec. 9—Crystien Esters, a fourth-year student at Howard University, has never been to Frederick.

But for the past three months, she and her classmates at the school's Department of Architecture have been immersed in studying the city's southern corridor — an area between Interstate 270, Interstate 70 and Frederick Quarry.

In the fall semester course, Architecture Design V, students were divided into teams and charged with thoroughly researching the site's topography, infrastructure, neighborhoods and geography.

On Thursday, in the culmination of the students' work, each team presented a plan for making South Frederick a better place to live, work and play.

The instructors for the course, Hazel Edwards and Michael Smith, said they were surprised and impressed by how unique each group's project turned out to be.

"It really speaks to that collaborative process of the teams," said Edwards, a professor in Howard's Department of Architecture. "Because they're bouncing ideas off of each other, and they're interpreting the data differently."

At the center of the class was the Livable Frederick Master Plan, a 200-page document adopted by the Frederick County Council in 2019 that serves as a guide for development and preservation in the county.

In October, the council took the first steps toward implementing recommendations outlined in the document by voting to pass a hotly debated plan concerning the preservation of Sugarloaf Mountain. It pushed a decision on development restrictions in the area to the council that took office on Monday.

Now, the county is working on a plan that will guide growth in the South Frederick Corridor, a process that is also being informed by the Livable Frederick Master Plan.

The county released a draft of its plan for the area in May.

Shortly after that, John Ferri — a New Market resident and former chair of the county's Sustainability Commission — and Bradford Grant, the interim chair of Howard's Department of Architecture, came up with the idea for an urban design course focused on South Frederick.

Ferri, a consultant for the U.S. Department of Labor, became more familiar with the school's architecture program over the summer, when he worked with two interns who were students in the department.

"They did a superb job," Ferri said.

On Thursday, Ferri sat in on a few of the students' presentations to offer feedback.

He was joined by John Dimitriou, a design planner for Livable Frederick and project lead for the South Frederick Corridors Plan, and Faith Klareich, the current chair of the Sustainability Commission, who served as a liaison to the South Frederick plan.

Each group of students chose a different characteristic of Frederick County to feature in their proposed design plan for South Frederick.

One group highlighted the history of indigenous and other minority communities in the area in proposed walking paths that would link South Frederick to other areas in the city.

Another prioritized pedestrians by reducing the number of highly trafficked roads in the area and increasing the amount of walkable space.

The project that Esters' team created highlighted the importance of agriculture in Frederick County. She and her classmates proposed the construction of a "Resource Center" in South Frederick.

With the intention of bringing more healthy food options to the area and supporting the agricultural economy, the students designed a hub that included a marketplace for farmers and an educational facility for community members, along with a reflection pond, garden and day care center.

Next semester, Edwards said, the students will advance their projects by creating even more detailed building design plans.

Follow Angela Roberts on Twitter: @24_angier