Social Impact 2015 Exhibition and Proposals for 2016!

On Monday, November 30th, PennPraxis, together with PennDesign Dean Marilyn Jordan Taylor and the Dean’s Office, celebrated the finale of the first year of Social Impact Projects, and announced a second round of funding to encourage student work in the coming year.

Throughout 2015, five teams of students from the University of Pennsylvania School of Design made a visible impact on communities across Philadelphia and beyond through the School’s first-ever Social Impact Projects. The five projects were awarded funding in December 2014 by the PennDesign Dean’s office in partnership with PennPraxis, the outreach, practice and professional arm of the School. The Social Impact Projects are intended to foster more cross-disciplinary collaboration at the School, encourage students to engage the community outside PennDesign, and apply their design skills for public good. Curated by PennPraxis Managing Director Julie Donofrio and designed by PennDesign alumnus Kasey Short (MFA ‘15), this exhibition documented the work of these teams, both as a template for future project opportunities and as a call to action for all Philadelphians to apply their time and skills to give back to the community.

The projects kicked off in the spring of 2015, and most concluded by the end of the year. Projects focused on neighborhoods stretching from West Philadelphia to Kensington and South Philadelphia, while one project is national in scope. Students worked directly with schools, religious congregations, neighborhood associations and other community partners to determine the optimal schedule and location for installations intended to augment ongoing community-based efforts. The five project teams are representative of the wide array design disciplines taught at PennDesign—Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Historic Preservation and Fine Arts—with the majority of groups comprised of students and faculty from more than one discipline.

With the success of the first round of projects, PennPraxis and the Dean’s Office has released the call for the next round of proposals. Proposals are due at January 25, 2016 at 5:00pm, and new the projects will be announced in early February 2016.

Restoring Buildings, Rebuilding Communities engaged residents of the Mill Creek and Belmont neighborhoods in West Philadelphia to demonstrate how simple repair techniques, showcased at Lombard Central Presbyterian Church, could be applied by residents to restore the beauty and function of neighborhood, historic row houses.

Student Participants: Sang Bae (MSHP ’16); Josh Bevan (MSHP ’16); Charlette Caldwell (MSHP ’16); Andrew Cushing (MSHP ’16); Alice Gilmore (MSHP ’16); Julia Griffith (MSHP ’16, co-chair); AJ Habib (MUSA/HSPV ’15); Andrea Haley (MSHP ’16); Nate Hammitt (ARCH/MSHP ’15); Angelina Jones (MLA/MSHP ’16); Amy Lambert (MSHP ’16, co-chair); Sonja Lengel (MSHP ’16); Grace Meloy (MSHP ’16); Jess Neubelt (MCP/MSHP ’17); Adela Park (MLA ’15); Jenn Robinson (MSHP ’15); Maya Thomas (MSHP ’16); Casey Weisdock (MSHP ’16)

Faculty Advisor: Aaron Wunsch

Community Partners: Lombard Central Presbyterian Church, West Philadelphia Tool Library, LimeWorks, Corner Bakery

WASTE NOT/Redux aims to develop functional installations to serve community organizations using discarded construction materials. The project seeks to aid diverse South Philadelphia communities that are experiencing rapid growth and transformation.

Student Participants: Doug Breuer (M.Arch ’17); Clay Gruber (M.Arch ’17); Allison Koll (M.Arch/MLA ’18);

Faculty Advisors: Franca Trubiano, Ken Lum

Community Partners: Southeast by Southeast, Growing Home Gardens, Revolution Recovery and Recycled Artists in Residency (RAIR), City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy

Proactive Practice examines cutting-edge social impact design firms to understand (1) how their business models allow them to shape their own opportunities to contribute to their communities, and (2) how their structure allows them to be financially sustainable while delivering on a social mission.

Student Participants: Nick McClintock (M.Arch/ MLA ’16), with Gilad Meron and Mia Scharphie

Faculty Advisor: Daniel Barber

Designing Healthier Eating Experiences is led by students from the Integrated Product Design (IPD) Program with the purpose of encouraging children to eat a healthier and more balanced diet, by not only through specially-designed dining plates, but also actively engaging elementary and high-school students in the process of designing and promoting new products to promote healthy choices.

Student Participants: Alicia Siman (MSIPD ’16); Yichen Huang (MSIPD ’16); Aobo Zhou (MSIPD ’16)

Faculty Advisors: Sarah Rottenberg, Paul Rozin

Community Partners: Rebel Ventures, part of the Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative at the Netter Center for Community Partnerships

Improving the Viaduct: A Frankford Gateway Prototype included a one-day interactive event to improve and highlight the Lehigh-Frankford underpass in Kensington, coordinating with Somerset Neighbors for Better Living (SNBL), and the New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC) to coincide with their annual Community Day.

Student Participants: Emily Silber (MLA ’15); Nyasha Felder (MLA, M.ARCH. ’17); Kasey Short (MFA ’15)

Faculty Advisors: Lucinda Sanders; Matt Freedman

Community Partners: Somerset Neighbors for Better Living (SNBL); New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC), City of Philadelphia's Lighting Department