Students Participate in AIAS NYC Exchange

Freedom by Design (FBD) at TMU had an incredible opportunity to travel to New York City for the Urban Acupuncture event hosted at AIA New York. This experience was both enriching and inspiring, offering us the chance to learn from and network with students and professionals in architecture. Exploring the city’s built environment firsthand broadened our perspectives and deepened our understanding of urban design. “Connecting with other chapters is a great opportunity for us, as it opens the possibility for future collaborations,” says Rafaela Sposito, Freedom By Design Director for the TMU chapter. 

We were honored to be invited by the City College of New York to present our ongoing project, CREATE, during the event. CREATE is a community-driven initiative in collaboration with Toronto Community Housing (TCHC), Tridel, BOLT, and Council Fire. The project focuses on developing a community garden for the residents of Regent Park, with a particular emphasis on fostering engagement among local youth. Our team of nearly 50 students has been working on six different design concepts, each aimed at creating a functional and meaningful space for the community. It was exciting to share our work with an audience that values community driven design and the feedback we received will definitely help us refine our ideas as we move forward. 

Throughout the event, we connected with other Freedom by Design chapters, exchanging insights on past and ongoing projects. We had the opportunity to learn from City College students and the FBD chapter at Wentworth University, gaining valuable perspectives on the challenges they faced and the creative solutions they developed. “It’s definitely very interesting to see how even small micro-interventions can have such large impacts in both expected and unexpected ways,” shared FBD’s Project Lead, Fatema Masuma Alidina.

One of the most inspiring moments of the trip was attending a panel discussion featuring three industry leaders in public design and community engagement: Leslie Davol (co-founder of Street Lab), Jenna Miller (NYC Public Design Commission), and John Peterson (Loeb Fellow). They shared powerful insights on designing for public spaces and fostering community involvement. “Hearing them speak about their experiences gave me a whole new perspective on how public design can empower communities,” said another attendee. It really made us think about how we can apply these ideas to our work with CREATE.

This experience reinforced our commitment to using design as a tool for positive change, and we’re excited to continue our work with fresh perspectives and renewed inspiration. “This was a valuable opportunity to explore and document the urban architecture of New York City. The city's dynamic energy and impressive architectural landscape were highly relevant to our current studio projects as well as to our overall architectural education.” says, FBD’s Social Media, Catarina Godinho Nascimento. We’re incredibly grateful for this opportunity and look forward to bringing the knowledge and ideas we gained back to our own community.