Bruton Design Intensive 2026 Workshop
"SHADE"
In Partnership with Everyone Village and Everyone Church
Workshop Details
The 2026 Bruton Design Intensive (BDI) two-week Design-Build workshop will continue working with Everyone Village, a non-profit organization based in Eugene that provides transitional shelter to individuals experiencing homelessness. The Village is located on a 3.5-acre property in west Eugene, and it currently serves about 75 people.
This year's workshop will afford students the chance to collaborate with Dallas-based Julia Lindgren (UTA Community Design Build) and Benje Feehan (buildingcommunity WORKSHOP), alongside community stakeholders, on the design and fabrication of SHADE. Built work will explore shade as an environmental control, spatial mediator, and expressive medium. Situated within Everyone Village - a transitional housing community in Eugene - the structure will consider how to balance exposure and protection, shape social interaction, and support collective well-being for residents.
This workshop is open to 15 advanced students in Architecture, Interior Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and related disciplines. Students will be selected through an application process and will receive a $500 stipend for participating (credit will not be given for this workshop).
Students are expected to actively participate for the full duration of the design build intensive.
2026 Partners
Benje Feehan, NCARB
Executive Director
buildingcommunityWORKSHOP
Benje Feehan, Architect, NCARB, is Executive Director of buildingcommunityWORKSHOP. He is an architect, artist, and educator. Holding both undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture, his work focuses on the union of creative practices and a deep understanding of place to dismantle systemic injustices evident in the built environment.
As the Executive Director, Benje is responsible for leading the organization into its next season of design justice through community engagement. Originally from New Zealand, Benje has taught and practiced internationally, advocating for design methodologies and built work that prioritize humanness and spatial equity over object-centric outcomes. He believes that architecture is a political act and the responsibility of design must have a broader influence beyond that of historic convention and entitlement.
Julia Lindgren
Assistant Professor of Architecture
The University of Texas at Arlington
Julia Lindgren is a trained architect, builder, and co-founder of the architectural practice, COOPERATIVE works. She is also the Director of the Undergraduate Architecture Program and Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) where she teaches design-build studios and seminars focused on social equity and community engagement. Through research, practice, and teaching, Julia explores the ways in which design processes can be used to restructure the distribution of power within cities. Guided by the belief that true equity can only be achieved when residents and stakeholders work together to shape their surroundings, Julia works daily in partnership with marginalized groups including low-income, immigrant and black and brown communities to solve complex urban problems through the thoughtful act of design and making.
During Julia’s five years at UTA, her leadership within the Community Design Build Program has led to several awards. In addition, her studio-based design build projects have been recognized with local, state, and national awards. Julia has been a driving force in promoting design as a tool for social and economic empowerment and has proudly served on the Board of the Association for Community Design and as a Co-Chair of TxA’s Community Engaged Design Committee.