Design in 5
Studio Visit to Leroy Street Studio/Hester Street Collaborative
Site Visit to Robin Hood Library at PS 110
Morgan Hare, Marc Turkel, Shawn Watts, Anne Frederick
Saturday, November 7, 2009
11:00 a.m.
Meet at PS 110- corner of Cannon St and Broome St- ID required
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Join Design in 5 for a combined studio visit to Leroy Street Studio (LSS) and Hester Street Collaborative (HSC), as well as a site visit to their Robin Hood Library project at PS 110. LSS is an architecture firm with “a commitment to innovative design inspired by the building process.” HSC is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization founded by LSS to “empower communities and individuals to participate in the transformation of their neighborhoods through a participatory planning and design/build approach.” This program will highlight each of the studios’ current projects, and consider the unique relationship of a for-profit business parenting a non-profit organization to expand the scope and reach of design in the community.
Beginning mostly with residential projects, LSS developed a commitment to a collaborative process of making. The firm’s community involvement began through collaborations with artists and residents in underserved communities in East New York and Canarsie. This continued when the studio approached PS 134, a school near its offices attended primarily by immigrant children from non-English speaking families, and asked the principal how it could get involved. This led to a design-build education program that brought together local artists, activists, public school students, and teachers to work directly with architects on campus and community improvement projects.
LSS very quickly discovered a desire in underserved communities to have a voice and hand in the remaking of their neighborhoods. In order to take an activist design role, Leroy Street Studio formed Hester Street Collaborative, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit to achieve these goals. Many of the projects are located in the studio’s neighborhood of the Lower East Side and Chinatown.
HSC is currently working on the improvement of several sites including the Allen & Pike Street Malls, The East River Waterfront, the Seward Park Urban Renewal Area (SPURA), Sara D. Roosevelt Park, and several public school campuses. At Allen and Pike, HSC has engaged local students in design education programs which culminate in creation of public art and design installations to improve the malls and celebrate the cultural history of the community; HSC has also worked in coalition to advocate for capital funding to permanently improve the malls; and has organized a participatory design process around these capital improvements to ensure that the re-design of the malls is responsive to community needs and aspirations.
The program will be led by Marc Turkel and Morgan Hare, who co-founded Leroy Street Studio in 1995 and are current partners, along with Shawn Watts, partner, and Anne Frederick, Executive Director, Hester Street Collaborative.
Marc Turkel earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Architecture at Yale in 1986 and 1992, where he received the Ann C. Garland award for design. In 1988 he received a Fulbright fellowship to conduct architectural research in Indonesia. Following college, Marc worked in residential construction in New Haven, on masonry restoration in Florence, and as a designer in Hong Kong for Wong and Tung Architects. After graduating school, Marc worked in London for three years for Michael Hopkins and Partners, and in New York for Davis Brody Bond. In 1995 he founded Leroy Street Studio with Morgan Hare.
Morgan Hare earned his undergraduate degree from Amherst College in 1984, where he received the Fayerweather Award for independent study. He studied for one year at the Urban Institute for Architecture in New York, and earned his Masters degree in Architecture at Yale in 1992. Morgan also holds a Certificate in Construction Management from New York University. With several years of construction experience, Morgan started and managed his own contracting firm in New York for six years after college, focusing on design/build residential projects. For three years after graduate school, he headed a design and construction management practice, Measure Studio, also in New York. In 1995 Morgan founded Leroy Street Studio with Marc Turkel.
Shawn Watts earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and was awarded the Architecture Award for Excellence in Design, as well as a traveling fellowship to Rome. He earned his Master’s degree at Yale University, where he received The Drawing Prize. At Yale, Shawn was awarded the Takenaka Internship, affording him the opportunity to work in a leading architecture and construction company in Osaka, Japan. Upon graduation, Shawn joined Leroy Street Studio in 1997 as project architect with responsibility over many large-scale residential projects. In 2005 Shawn was made a partner in Leroy Street Studio.
Anne Frederick worked as an architect at Leroy Street Studio and taught as a built environment educator in the Parsons pre-college program and the New York Foundation for Architecture’s Learning by Design program. While working for Leroy Street Studio, Anne initiated a design-build education program entitled “Ground Up” at Chinatown’s M.S. 131. This program catalyzed the founding of Hester Street Collaborative. Anne Frederick graduated from Parsons School of Design and The New School for Social Research in 1998.
This program is open to all young designers five years or less out of school; whether you are a graphic, industrial, or fashion designer, an artist or architect, Design in 5 invites you to attend. Reservations are required as space is limited: email designin5@archleague.org or call 212.753.1722 x 13 to reserve and receive more information. Admission is free for League members; $5 non-members. Join us on Facebook for additional programming and information.
Design in 5 is a group of the Architectural League of New York, formed for designers of all disciplines 5 years or less out of school. Design in 5 responds to this youngest group of designers, providing unique opportunities and activities for exchanging ideas across disciplines, fostering camaraderie, and above all, having fun.
Image courtesy of the Leroy Street Studio/Hester Street Collaborative
