“Identifying Conflict: Visualizing Change”

Community design involves a continual transformation of place. The process typically involves one of two directives: a community problem is identified and the design solution brings about a resolution that involves creating a new opportunity for positive change; or, no specific problem is evident, but a clear opportunity exists through design. This paper focuses on the comparison between two projects in the West Texas cities of Canyon and Snyder as a vehicle for understanding the resolution of conflict often experienced in community design. The two case studies are presented demonstrating how traditional methods, such as the hand-built model and sketching can be used in conjunction with computer generated imaging, insuring community involvement and support across the broadest range possible. Media methods are explained in relation to the specific criteria addressed in each project. The projects were undertaken by the Community Design Laboratory in the College of Architecture at Texas