Q & A: An Interview with Freedom by Design (the AIAS NJIT community service program)
1. Freedom by Design history?
Freedom by Design is an initiative that started through the National AIAS– American Institute of Architecture Students. In 2004, the National AIAS began a pilot program in which they would introduce individual committees of Freedom by Design to chapters of AIAS at colleges all over the country. It was initially a community service act through which construction and design solutions would be provided to organizations who need the help and support but don’t have the resources to do so.
At first, the primary projects that Freedom by Design at different chapters would carry out as a national protocol was to design accessibility ramps for buildings that need accessibility, but don’t have any. Today, Freedom by Design has a lot more flexibility within each chapter. The projects we can potentially carry out fit into one of two categories. Either acts of design and construction– such as design-builds and Parklets or even the accessibility ramps, or through acts of service– such as drafting up plans for an organization that can’t afford an architect, or just designing educational tools for community members to make use of. For example, in 2017, AIAS NJIT FBD designed a DIY Emergency Handbook, which was a handbook outlining the steps that Newark homeowners can take to protect their home from damage during a natural disaster.
Freedom by Design, in essence, for us seems to mean bringing socio-economic, educational, physical, cultural, and environmental freedom to those who need it. In Newark, we want to be part of bringing that justice to the community.
2. How many team members do you have?
The committee is run by four members on the Board of Directors of AIAS NJIT.
Dhruvi Rajpopat – Director – Runs the day to day, communicates with administrators, faculty, with the committee, and with the National Office; makes sure that things run as smoothly as they can, while also leading one of the projects of the year.
Jessie Bernardo – Project Manager – Taking on the responsibility of guiding the second project of the year and following through with the Schematic Design portion of the project. Communicates more directly with the volunteers. Runs the logistics of making sure a project is being run on time.
Pramit Khatri – Development Manager – Solidifying where our budget comes from, handling material logistics and sourcing materials, as well as handling the Design Development phase of the project in which, specifically for a design-build, leads the building process.
Dhwani Shah – Historian – Documents our projects and maintains a record of meetings, volunteers, and handles any outsourcing to the general body of the Hillier College. Designs flyers and assists in gathering documentation for the National AIAS.
While there are four of running the committee, none of what we do is possible without the generous amount of time our volunteers provide in producing work for the committee. Right now, we have close to 20 dedicated and hard-working volunteers.
3. Is this your first team project, and how do you feel about being part of a team?
It has been a wonderful experience to work with such a qualified board and committee members. The Hillier College has some really talented students, and it is incredible to collaborate with so many creative individuals to collectively design and build something for a good cause.
4. How did you come up with the idea to build a Parklet?
In the summer of 2016, AIAS NJIT Freedom by Design had built a Parklet made out of wooden pallets. This project was a student favorite of anyone who visited or frequently inhabited the building, and it was a huge success. In 2019, right before the pandemic, there was an initiative to build a Parklet 2.0, but because of the school transitioning into a remote working environment, the Parklet project had to be kept on hold. After shifting back to the in-person classes, and revitalizing Freedom by Design, we wanted to reintroduce ourselves to the school by finishing what we started and show students that they can also be a part of the change.
5. You are designing, fabricating and installing the parklet? Did you divide the project or are you all involved with everything?
The past fall semester was spent designing the Parklet and at the end we proposed a final design to be approved. In the beginning we worked with partners to come up with a few simple massing models, and then worked in larger groups to refine those ideas. Once we voted between the two final designs, we worked as a whole team to complete drawings and diagrams of the parklet (these include plans, sections, an exploded diagram of materials, etc.). The volunteers chose which drawings they wanted to contribute to, but most of the work completed during the Fall semester was a group effort. During the Spring semester, we have worked on implementing the changes that were suggested to us by the professors and administrators who critiqued our final proposal, and finalizing the design details. Again, students who are involved in the committee volunteer for what part of this project they want to work on, we have more established groups to keep things moving smoothly. We have a team working on Construction Documents, one working on Material Logistics, one group that is even serving as the Outreach team to receive funding for materials.
6. Anything particular that you would like to share about the design phase?
Something memorable about the experience is really how far we’ve come as a team. We started off as just three people wanting to bring back the passion and fire for design that the school had before the pandemic started, working remotely with each other over the last summer. Now we have 20+ volunteers, a new board member, and more support than we can ask for from the administrators, our AIAS Faculty Advisor, Design and Construction Mentors, and everyone that has even given us one piece of advice. It truly means the most to be able to push our passion projects forward and have support coming from every direction. The best feeling was after our Schematic Design Proposal in the Fall semester; no matter how the proposal was received, what was so exciting about that moment was that all of us came together to bring forward an idea that we were excited about, and it was student-led.
7. The building phase, the specs?
The Parklet will only be used for the Spring, Summer, and Fall, and this is because it must be dismantled for the winter due to the harsh Northeast weather conditions. Due to that factor, the design needed to be modular in order for the committee to assemble and disassemble it every season and keep it in storage. Taking that into consideration, we started by designing a modular floor system that is designed to be a 4’x4’ prefabricated platform unit constructed out of lumber and plywood. These 4’x4’ units are aggregated to create a 16’x8’ platform for the entire Parklet. We are planning on using the CNC machine for high grade plywood to create perforations for the flooring and seating cubes. The holes allow for drainage while adding a unique design aesthetic. The roof system uses a bypass system and pinned connections to provide shelter under a waterproof fabric for a portion of the parklet. All in all the design encourages community and student engagement in a 16’x8’ collaborative Parklet. Last week we started to prefabricate platform modules so that we can bring it to the site during our build week and all we would have to do is assemble it, and that will pretty much be the process that we will follow for the roof structure, and the seating cubes.
9. What kind of new things have you learned or experience gained during the project?
Starting and working through this project has revealed a lot to us that we wouldn't have learned otherwise. We’ve learned how to advocate for ourselves and express what we are needing from our school. We’ve learned to be better citizens in understanding the context in which we are designing and considering the moment that we live in, the people that we affect, and the power we have as students. We are continuously learning to communicate and work as a team, and every day presents a new challenge, but we are reminded that it is only possible to accomplish something great with the help of others. It’s an experience that is irreplaceable and only betters us for the future.
