Course Syllabus

 

The Kokrobitey Project: An Integrated Planning and Development Studio for a West African Institute

 

MSUP Studio + Clinic // Spring 2026
Instructors:

• Maxine Griffith FACIP, NOMA, Adjunct Professor of Urban Planning griffith@columbia.edu
• Adam Lubinsky, PhD, AICP, Associate Professor of Professional Practice & Interim Director, M.Sc. in Real Estate Development  al345@columbia.edu

Credits: 6 credits for MSUP studio // 3 credits for the Clinic
Meeting Times: MSUP Studio is 1-5pm // Clinic is Fridays 1-3pm
Room: 203 Fayerweather

Course Description

This interdisciplinary campus-planning studio and clinic, jointly offered by the Urban Planning and Real Estate Programs, examines how physical planning, development strategy, and design can be aligned to advance mission-driven institutions. This class combines the first year MSUP studio with a clinic open to students from across GSAPP and the Climate School.

The course focuses on the Kokrobitey Institute (KI), an educational and cultural organization situated in the town of Kokrobite on Ghana’s Atlantic coast 19 miles west of Accra, the nation’s capital. The institute is known for its commitment to sustainability, local craftsmanship, and environmental stewardship.

Originally established in the mid-1990s, KI now sits at an important moment of institutional evolution. With a unique mission but limited financial resources, the Institute occupies a growing campus and holds land and programmatic assets that could be better organized, phased, and leveraged to support long-term sustainability.

This studio will consider the campus as a whole— the community context, its spatial structure, natural environment, programs, and development potential—while focusing on 2 key strategic sites in greater depth.

The immediate focus of this course will be two parcels within the Kokrobitey Institute campus. These parcels will be considered in terms of their impact to the wider Kokrobitey Institute campus and the adjacent Kokrobite community. As such, the course “site” will operate at three scales – site-specific parcels, campus and local community.

The parcels will be conceived of as catalysts locally in terms of their urban and architectural impacts (e.g. connectivity, enclosure and potential new urban node), programmatic impacts (e.g. potential services, housing and potential workforce training) and economic impacts (e.g. employment, entrepreneurship and potential new paradigm for a cultural/economic hub).

Students will explore how campus planning and real estate strategies can support mission, enhance community and cultural engagement, strengthen environmental resilience, and diversify revenue streams. Working in interdisciplinary teams, students will analyze existing conditions, engage with institutional leadership and local stakeholders, and propose campus-wide and site-specific frameworks that integrate planning, design and financial sustainability.

What are the course goals?

There are four main goals for this interdisciplinary course, which combines a 6-credit studio for 1^st year MSUP students and a 3-credit “clinic” for other GSAPP programs.

These goals are:

• To understand planning, design and development in the context of a small coastal town in Ghana
• To support the Kokrobitey Institute in the creation of a plan for how to develop underutilized parcels to support the expansion of the Institute’s vision and local impact
• To implement an interdisciplinary process that values planning analysis and policy, financial and market analysis, and urban / architectural design and supports a holistic plan development
• To present a dynamic and clear analysis and synthesis based on research, design, and engagement that supports the plan

 

What are the course learning objectives?

• Contextual Understanding: Understand the historical, cultural, social, economic, and environmental dynamics impacting the site.
• Engagement: Fostering meaningful interactions with stakeholders to understand needs, aspirations, and challenges. This will lead to the establishment of criteria that guide the vision and program development (e.g. financial sustainability, cultural heritage and innovation, economic development).
• Real Estate Development Planning: Understand the iterative steps involved in shaping a development concept and business plan through conducting the analysis of a site, its local market conditions and development regulations and then moving forward with a financial analysis and concept design that leads to an investment memo and capital-raising approach.
• Planning and Design Exploration: Utilize interdisciplinary approaches to explore innovative concept design that respond to the unique context of this waterfront town. This design will be extended into a set of guidelines that relate to broader “town planning” approaches in Ghana including land use objectives, area plans, zoning considerations and so on.
• Sustainability Integration: Integrate principles of sustainability, resilience, and climate adaptation into the design process to create resilient suburban environments.
• Cultural Sensitivity: Respectfully engage with local traditions, vernacular building forms, and cultural practices to create designs that reflect and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Ghana.
• Presentation and Communication: Develop effective communication skills to articulate the vision and business plan, design and planning concepts, and investment pitch to diverse audiences, including clients, communities, and policymakers.

 

What are the broader challenges to achieving these goals?

• From an urbanistic perspective, how can the Kokrobitey Institute development site integrate successfully within the existing urban fabric.
• From a planning perspective, how can the plan meet both the programmatic needs of the Kokrobitey Institute and community needs?
• From a development perspective, how can a business and development plan establish a viable approach that can be transformed into an investment pitch that attracts new sources of investment and potentially acts as a new paradigm for cultural and economic development?

 

What are the course deliverables?

The course deliverables will be a concept plan for development that addresses the following through a final presentation and illustrated report:

• Outline of proposed programmatic expansion of the Kokrobitey Institute onto their identified sites
• Concept design for these sites and the associated integration of the sites into the wider Institute and local surroundings
• Market analysis and financial analysis that supports the programmatic expansion and concept design
• Analysis of existing regulations to assess the proposed expansion
• Investment analysis and proposed deal structuring and timeline/phasing to support the expansion
• Outline of community benefits (e.g. economic development, community services, housing, open space) associated with identified needs within the community context
• Recommendations for additional study of other potential interventions within the existing campus plan

 

Students will work in interdisciplinary groups throughout the semester. As the 6-credit students, MSUP students will take primary responsibility for producing the course’s final publication.

 

How will the course create a process to take us to these outcomes?

The studio and clinic will follow these approximate phases: 

 

PHASE 1: BASELINE CONDITIONS (weeks 1 – 3)

Students will work in three groups to establish the baseline conditions: SITE, PROGRAM, CONTEXT. Each of these groups requires interdisciplinary perspectives. The groups will address key conditions such as:

 

SITE: Building types and architecture; space allocation, usage and square footages within the site; construction and material types; approach to construction including typical costs of construction; site relationship to the adjacent urban context, with considerations of access, enclosure, etc.

 

PROGRAM: Current site programs including frequency of use; adjacent programs (including gaps); institute operations, including revenue sources (rents, grants) and costs

 

CONTEXT: Local land uses and density; mobility and transit; market analysis; regulatory context and approvals process; investment patterns in local and regional context

 

Students will be required to meet in-person in between classes to organize slide decks that are presented back to the other groups during class time.

 

PHASE 2: CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT (weeks 4 – 6)

The concept development phase will begin with a SWOT analysis that is shared and updated with a panel in Ghana and then further developed through a class charrette into conceptual schemes. This work will be translated into the Midterm Presentation as well as an outline of research areas that will occur on-site in Ghana.

 

PHASE 3: INITIAL CONCEPT (weeks 7 – 8)

The Midterm Presentation will establish an initial concept that will be reflected on and tested further through the on-site visit.

 

PHASE 4: CONCEPT REFINEMENT (weeks 9 – 12)

Debrief; synthesis and revision; Refinement of strategies; workshop on presentation and communication tools and strategies; Development of draft masterplan and financial implementation approach

 

PHASE 5: FINAL PLAN DELIVERY (weeks 13 - 15)

Students will prepare a final presentation to be made to stakeholders in Ghana and at GSAPP. The MSUP students, as the 6-credit students, will take primary responsibility for the book production in week 15.

 

COURSE SCHEDULE

WK1: JANUARY 23

CLINIC + STUDIO (2 hours)

• Introductions; course overview; overview Ghana, West Africa; Kokrobitey Institute and environs.
• Campus Planning overview
• Formation of 3 groups

STUDIO (2 hours)

• Preparation of questions for Kokrobitey Institute
• Discussion of course approach and planning student responsibilities; creation of studio googledrive and organization/brainstorming of a Miro Board for use by all three groups

 

WK2: JANUARY 30

CLINIC + STUDIO (2 hours)

• Class discussion with KI Founder and Creative Director, Renee Nesbit (zoom)
• Presentation from each of the 3 groups

STUDIO (2 hours)

 

WK3: FEBRUARY 6

CLINIC + STUDIO (2 hours)

• Discussion: planning & development for mission-driven clients in emerging markets
• Presentation from each of the 3 groups

STUDIO (2 hours)

• Basic preparation for SWOT analysis
• Regulatory Framework
• Site Context and Analysis – environmental systems
• discussion of midterm presentation discussion of outline and narrative flow, graphic design and templates, assignment of responsibilities and schedule

 

WK4: FEBRUARY 13

CLINIC + STUDIO (2 hours)

• Internal initial SWOT Analysis
• Concept Development

STUDIO (2 hours)

                Connectivity, Circulation and Transit

                Phasing Strategies

• First review of Midterm Presentation templates, outline structure, gaps/tasks

 

WK5: FEBRUARY 20

CLINIC + STUDIO (2 hours)

• Charrette on concept development
• Assignment of tasks for further concept development
• Discussion of materials needed for Midterm Presentation

STUDIO (2 hours)

• Midterm Presentation review

 

WK6: FEBRUARY 27

CLINIC + STUDIO (2 hours)

• Midterm Presentation run-through
• Discussion of materials needed for Midterm Presentation

STUDIO (2 hours)

• Midterm Presentation review
• Travel itinerary and field visit organization, discussion of research goals and
• Interview planning

 

WK7: MARCH 5

Midterm Presentation

 

WK8: MARCH 12

Travel to Kokrobitey: Meetings with client, stakeholders and

regulatory officials

 

MARCH 19

SPRING BREAK

 

WK9: MARCH 26

CLINIC + STUDIO (2 hours)

• Debrief on site visit
• Synthesis, Strategy for refinement and assignment of tasks for further concept development

STUDIO (2 hours)

• Discussion – organization for final book / final presentation, e.g. gaps in context (like historical research, mapping, photographs)

 

WK10: APRIL 2

CLINIC + STUDIO (2 hours)

• Presentations/review on work development
• Strategy for refinement and assignment of tasks for further concept development

STUDIO (2 hours)

• Workshop on presentation and communication tools and strategies
• Final presentation / final book development

 

WK11: APRIL 9

CLINIC + STUDIO (2 hours)

• Project update
• Presentations/review on work development
• Strategy for refinement and assignment of tasks for further concept development

STUDIO (2 hours)

• Review of final book and final presentation progress

 

WK12: APRIL 16

CLINIC + STUDIO (2 hours)

• Strategy for refinement and assignment of tasks for further concept development
• Presentations/review on work development
• Run-through for Kokrobitey Institute presentation

STUDIO (2 hours)

• Review of final book and final presentation progress

 

WK13: APRIL 23

CLINIC + STUDIO (2 hours)

• Presentations to Kokrobitey
• Final run-through of GSAPP presentation

STUDIO (2 hours)

• Review of final book and final presentation progress

 

WK14: APRIL 30

Final Presentation

 

WK15: May 6

Final Book