Chapter Projects

Date started: October 2009 Date completed: Active Background Design DEYS is the design education for youth (K-12) initiative offered by Architecture for Humanity’s New York chapter across all five boroughs of New York City. Architecture for Humanity New York teams volunteer design professionals with schools, educators, and non-profits interested in teaching socially responsible architecture and design. The volunteers work with the Design DEYS program director to develop customized forums where they lead students in engaging discussions and workshops geared to help them learn and understand the possibilities of architecture and the built environment. Objectives Design DEYS is an ongoing initiative that delivers on Architecture for Humanity New York’s commitment to youth education in our local communities. We introduce students to architecture and its ability to shape cities and influence societies, discuss notable developments in the field, and advocate sustainable, humanitarian design. Our goal is to educate, inspire, and empower the next generation of designers and architects. Workshops Design DEYS is continually developing new workshops. The following list includes all that are currently available for educators to choose from, based on their curriculum and the education level of their students: Workshop Grade Level Duration 1) Introduction to Architecture K-12 45 minutes to 3 hours 2) Sustainable Design K-12 45 minutes 3) Green Building K-12 45 minutes to 3 hours 4) Photographic Mapping 5th-12th Two 3-hour sessions across 2 days 5) 3-D Modeling High school 45 minutes 6) Interior Design High school 45 minutes to 3 hours Results 1) Mad Fun Farm Workshop Date: April 2011 Institution: Concrete Safaris Participants: 2 volunteers and 8 students Summary: This workshop was divided into two parts: Part one consisted of an introduction to Architecture for Humanity where students were taken through several projects, then were tasked with sketching ideas for using recycled materials; Part two focused on drafting techniques of their original designs. 2) Career Day 2011 Date: February 2011 Institution: Pratt Institute Participants: 2 volunteers and 30 students Summary: Students were introduced to Architecture for Humanity and were presented with various opportunities for how they could be involved. 3) Summer Internship Program Charrette Date: July 2010 Institution: NYC School Construction Authority Participants: 8 volunteers and 82 students Summary: Students were introduced to the process of becoming an architect and the players involved with each project. They then worked in groups using their internship skills to conceptualize and propose an interior and exterior redesign of the East Harlem Tutorial Program (an active Architecture for Humanity New York project). More info: http://amared.blogspot.com/2010/09/afhny-talks-sca-sip-charrette.html 4) Workshop Date: December 2009 Institution: PS 375 (East Harlem) Participants: 1 volunteer and 6 special education students (grades 3-5) Summary: Students were introduced to the life of an architect and engaged in a dialogue about the imaginative worlds of Dr. Seuss, Antonio Gaudi, and Zaha Hadid. 5) Workshop Date: November 2009 Institution: PS 261 (Boerum Hill, Brooklyn) Participants: 1 volunteer and 22 kindergarten students studying architecture Summary: Students were introduced to imaginative architecture of Dr. Seuss and Antonio Gaudi and were asked to draw and present their ideal home. Special Achievements The N.Y.C. School Construction Authority recognized Architecture for Humanity New York for their outstanding commitment to training the next generation of architects on August 13, 2010. Related links Design DEYS Blog: http://designdeys.posterous.com Open Architecture Network: http://ww.openarchitecturenetwork.org/projects/design-deys

La Causa Charter School is a K5-8 school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school has evolved significantly from its early days in the late 1960's where it began as a small volunteer-run daycare serving Milwaukee's young Hispanic community. It was a time of activism for the Hispanic community, protesting for equal rights, quality education, and greater representation. A small group of forward thinking mothers organized the day care and named it after their favorite slogan "Que viva la causa." which means "Long live the cuase." Today the school continues to serve its community with a broad range of family centered services. La Causa's mission is to provide children, youth and families with quality, comprehensive services to nurture healthy family life and enhance community stability. Garden Background In February of 2009, a group of students, parents, and staff at La Causa Charter School (LCCS) began planning a garden to transform a vacant lot located behind the school. Prompted by the poverty, language barriers, and violence that weigh upon La Causa’s students and families, the LCCS Garden Committee sought to honor the rich culture of their students and promote healthy living within the community. Their bilingual K5-8 grade school is located in an economically disadvantaged section south of the business district in Milwaukee. Of the 608 students, 94% are Latino and 90% qualify for free or reduced lunch. The vast majority of LCCS students are either immigrants or children of immigrants. Many come from agricultural backgrounds, yet their current way of life is far removed from the land. Looking to restore this connection to nature, the LCCS Garden Committee built a garden at 1662 South Third Street, Milwaukee, WI 53204. The lot measures 18 feet x 120 feet; because of limited resources, however, the Garden Committee only cultivated about a third of the lot. In its initial year, the garden contained four 6 foot x 4 foot raised beds, each built with untreated white cedar. The raised beds were filled with a mixture of soil and manure; they housed a variety of plants compatible with Wisconsin’s growing season: green beans, sugar snap peas, heirloom tomatoes, peppers, radishes, cilantro, and mint. Furthermore, the Committee built a diamond-shaped wooden frame in which oriental lilies, marigolds, and clematis added to the garden’s aesthetic appeal. The La Causa Charter School Community Garden provides students with a sense of pride where they can connect with the culinary and cultural traditions of their ancestors by cultivating vegetables and herbs common to Latino cuisine. In doing so, many students will develop healthy habits to safeguard against childhood obesity, which is more prevalent among Latino children than those of any other ethnic group in this country. Building and caring for a garden will help our students to explore the environment and promote sustainable living within their community, while developing their capacity for imagination, creativity and problem solving. By integrating these skills with academics, our students will eventually learn to defy the confines of poverty. The third grade students at La Causa Charter School have been busy designing their dream gardens and are looking to AfH Milwaukee to help them implement their designs and drawings into a working/growing/thriving garden this spring!

The Bayview Hunters Point YMCA has been the home to a thriving sports and recreation program for the past 15 years. Bayview native Celestino Ellington heads the YMCA’s sports programming that supports local youth by channeling their energy into positive, team-oriented activities. In a neighborhood beset by marginalization and economic disadvantage, the YMCA is a safe and inviting space for the Bayview- Hunters Point community. Jeremy Goldberg, a USF MoPA student, has conceived a program called In The Zone that will revitalize an existing yet underused classroom space to support the efforts of the YMCA’s new Student Athlete Academy. This Academy will provide comprehensive academic support for youth involved in the YMCA sports program. The project will move the sports psychology metaphor of being “In The Zone” into an academic framework. In The Zone envisions a space that student athletes enjoy being in, where they can enter a state of complete, intense and total focus- being “in the zone” with their academic work. The AFH San Francisco chapter is working to make the space a reality, involving the students and staff of the YMCA in designing a classroom that provides a welcoming environment that reinforces and supports the aims of In The Zone.

AFH-Lexington has begun working with the Bluegrass Domestic Violence Program to develop a Masterplan for thier 40 acre site. The BDVP has a dream to take advantage of the agricultural setting around their existing facility, and have been working on a plan to create a living/working sustainable CSA. AFH-Lexington has begun helping give their vision a pictoral reality. A group of volunteers got together on a sunny Saturday to partake in an intensive design charette where 3 schemes were developed. These schemes were put on display at their facility and comments were gathered from residents and staff. After meeting with the clients several times we were able to choose one scheme to proceed with. We then developed a final masterplan that embodies everything that the shelter would like to provide. This project is ongoing as we will begin to work with them to create more detailed plans allowing them to make this planned project a reality.