Meredith Bostwick

School of Architecture
bostwick@princeton.edu

Meredith Bostwick’s current research examines planning and design at historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) across the southern United States. She is interested in how the design of these campuses and their buildings is contingent on topographical sensitivities as well as cultural and political factors. In particular how the original allocation of land for these campuses, based on racial politics in southern metropolises, influenced the design and “sense of place” of each campus. Meredith will interview alumni, staff, and trustees of the HBCU's of Atlanta (Morris Brown College, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Spelman University) to better understand not only historical developments on these campuses, but also current tactics and strategies related to growth, master planning and design. She will also compare the development of these campuses in relation to other HBCU's such as Tuskegee and Fisk Universities, paying special attention to how black intellectuals, such as W.E.B. DuBois, conceived of and commented on “space” and the design of black institutions of higher learning.

She is also completing a thesis at the School of Architecture that examines a new method of implementing campus master planning within the HBCU's of Atlanta according to historical tactics of place and circumstance.