Session: Construction and Community, Fall 2024

Builders: 13 high school students

Materials: Red oak plywood, red oak edge banding, 1.5” steel angle-iron, Kreg pocket jig and screws, casters, powder coating

Description: 

Building on our Spring Architecture + Activism studio, our group of young people recently completed custom wall partitions and mobile altar carts for the new Community Works West office—an organization seeking to transform justice through programs and policy rooted in humanity and healing—in collaboration with Designing Justice Design Spaces, a multihyphenate architecture and design firm and non-profit working to end mass incarceration. The projects involved welding and woodworking, pushing the students to master new skills and attention to detail.

The partitions, designed for flexible office space, reintroduced welding to the process, while the white oak altar carts blended functionality with symbolic meaning. Despite challenges, the students grew in confidence, gaining hands-on experience in design and craftsmanship. The final pieces are a testament to their hard work and the power of design for social change!