A program for youth detained at Rikers Island Correctional Facility to explore the foundations of architecture, design, and urban planning.

Approach

Students work together to design, create, and re-imagine what a neighborhood can be. Over four weeks, students plan a neighborhood and construct scale models individually and in small groups. The curriculum draws on project-based learning and community-based planning techniques to develop dialogues, creative confidence, and design agency.

Role

As a member of the studio, I contributed to the design and preparation of a model-making "kit of parts,"a versatile, laser-cut collection of building materials to enable the construction of the model neighborhood given the constraints of a corrections-classroom (no tools to cut materials, etc). I worked directly with the students at Rikers during studio sessions at the correctional facility, constructing the models and discussing what spaces and facilities should (or should not) be included in a neighborhood, and why.

Team

Professor Leah Meisterlin, in collaboration with the Justice-In-Education Initiative at Columbia University's Center for Justice