This past spring and summer, students from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, in partnership with the art and design collective Department of Micro-Urbanism, designed and constructed shelving, seating, and workspaces for the Storefront Library, with the support of community design fellowships from Harvard.
“This project represents a different way for architects, educators and students alike to get involved in community efforts,” commented Marrikka Trotter, founder of the Department of Micro-Urbanism,” by working with members of a particular neighborhood instead of for them to collaboratively and creatively address a particular issue together. Design thinking and practicing is more than aesthetics; it’s also a way of intervening in complicated existing situations to bring the best possibilities to the foreground.”
Thank you to all the students who participated. Special thanks to GSD Community Service Fellows Julian Bushman-Copp and Matthew Swaidan, and to CAD/CAM manager Trevor Patt for all of their efforts on behalf of the project. Thank you also to Storefront Library Sponsors, who donated materials and funding.
In advance of being installed in Chinatown, the furnishings will be on display at the GSD in Gund Hall, room 110 (48 Quincy Street, Cambridge) from Sep 14 through October 1. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Read more about the design process in the students’ blog.
