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10th, 11th, 12th, College Grades  Project 8 weeks

Bytes for the Backyard

Geoff M
Updated
VA:Cr2.3
VA:Cr2.3.Ia
HS-LS2-7
VA:Cr2.3.IIa
HS-ESS3-2
+ 17 more
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Purpose

Students investigate how data center development affects land, water, heat, noise, culture, and neighborhood well-being, then use that research to design a more just and locally grounded alternative. They create a site-specific campus proposal, public messaging campaign, oral history anthology, and community briefing package that respond directly to feedback from residents, planners, environmental groups, and design professionals. The work asks students to balance engineering, ecology, visual design, storytelling, and civic decision-making while revising toward solutions that reduce harm and reflect local values. Through public exhibition and critique, they practice communicating evidence-based ideas to authentic audiences and defending design choices with empathy, clarity, and accountability.

Learning goals

Students will analyze how data centers affect energy use, water systems, heat, biodiversity, noise, traffic, and displacement, then use local maps, zoning rules, and community testimony to identify equitable design tradeoffs. They will design and refine a site-specific campus proposal with annotated drawings, scaled models, and data-based justifications that integrate environmental science, systems thinking, and culturally responsive visual design. They will conduct research from print, digital, quantitative, and oral history sources; evaluate source credibility; and synthesize findings into policy writing, PSA media, and public-facing proposal boards for authentic audiences. They will strengthen collaboration, critique, and self-direction by using journals, studio circles, partner feedback, and revision logs to improve their designs and communication over time.

Standards
  • [National Core Arts Standards] VA:Cr2.3 - People create and interact with objects, places, and design that define, shape, enhance, and empower their lives.
  • [National Core Arts Standards] VA:Cr2.3.Ia - Collaboratively develop a proposal for an installation, artwork, or space design that transforms the perception and experience of a particular place.
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] HS-LS2-7 - Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.
  • [National Core Arts Standards] VA:Cr2.3.IIa - Redesign an object, system, place, or design in response to contemporary issues.
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] HS-ESS3-2 - Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and utilizing energy and mineral resources based on cost-benefit ratios.
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] HS-ESS3-2 - Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and utilizing energy and mineral resources based on cost-benefit ratios.
  • [National Core Arts Standards] MA:Cr2.1.iii - HS Advanced: Integrate a sophisticated personal aesthetic and knowledge of systems processes in forming, testing, and proposing original artistic ideas, prototypes, and production frameworks, considering complex constraints of goals, time, resources, and personal limitations.
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] HS-LS2-7 - Design, evaluate, and refine a solution for reducing the impacts of human activities on the environment and biodiversity.
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] HS-ETS1-2 - Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.
  • [National Core Arts Standards] TH:Cr1.HS3.b - Create a complete design for a drama/theatre work that incorporates all elements of technology.
  • [Common Core] CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.5 - Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
  • [Common Core] CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.7 - Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
  • [Common Core] CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.8 - Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and over-reliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.
  • [Common Core] CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 - Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • [Common Core] CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7 - Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
  • [Common Core] CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1 - Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
Competencies
  • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.
  • Content Expertise - Students develop key competencies, skills, and dispositions with ample opportunities to apply knowledge and engage in work that matters to them.
  • Effective Communication - Students practice listening to understand, communicating with empathy, and share their learning through exhibiting, presenting and reflecting on their work.
  • Collaboration - Students co-design projects with peers, exercise shared-decision making, strengthen relational agency, resolve conflict, and assume leadership roles.
  • Self Directed Learning - Students use teacher and peer feedback and self-reflection to monitor and direct their own learning while building self knowledge both in and out of the classroom.
  • Academic Mindset - Students establish a sense of place, identity, and belonging to increase self-efficacy while engaging in critical reflection and action.

Products

Teams will produce a site-specific data center campus proposal that includes annotated CAD drawings, a scaled physical model, impact callouts, and a public-facing board set with maps, renderings, and data visuals showing how the design addresses heat, water, noise, traffic, habitat, and displacement. They will also create a multimodal advocacy package with short PSA videos, posters, social media assets, and a one-page policy memo that communicates the proposal’s environmental, cultural, and social justice case to local audiences. Across the project, students will compile an anthology of oral histories or resident interviews, listening-session notes, and a revision log showing how community feedback shaped design decisions. By the final exhibition, each team will present an exhibition-ready portfolio with the final campus concept, reflective designer statements, before-and-after revisions, and a community briefing package for families, partners, and local decision-makers.

Launch

Open with an interactive gallery called Power, Water, Heat where students rotate through stations featuring local maps, zoning documents, utility data, resident quotes, photos of existing data centers, and short articles on environmental justice and community impact. In teams, students annotate tensions and opportunities on a shared site board, then listen to a few short oral-history clips or live community testimonials to identify local values, concerns, and design priorities. End with a fast design challenge in which teams sketch a first-draft “just data center campus” concept and a rough PSA message, then share what tradeoffs they noticed between energy, ecology, aesthetics, and neighborhood well-being. Close by introducing the public exhibition and community partners so students see from day one that their work will be revised for a real audience.

Exhibition

Host a public showcase called Roots to Router: Design for a Just Data Center at a library, community center, or city hall where teams present their site-specific campus prototypes, proposal boards, scaled models, oral history anthology, and multimodal PSA campaigns to families, residents, planners, and design professionals. Structure the event like a community design review, with each team giving a short pitch, screening PSA videos, and answering questions about environmental tradeoffs, cultural responsiveness, and how community feedback shaped revisions. Include a gallery format with maps, data visuals, renderings, policy memos, and revision logs so guests can leave written feedback and compare before-and-after design changes. End with a brief student self-assessment and reflection after the exhibition so students capture what they learned from public critique and celebration.