Summer 2020 Cohort
Yale Graduate Students
Janelle Schmidt - ‘22 School of Architecture
Mari Kroin - ‘21 School of Architecture
Matthew Liu - ‘20 School of Architecture
Sasha Zwiebel -’21 School of Architecture
Soomin Kim - ’21 School of Music
Ye Qin Zhu - ‘20 School of Art
Cat Wentworth - ‘22 School of Art
Abraham Mora-Valle - ‘22 School of Architecture
Zishi Li - ‘22 School of Architecture
Yushan Jiang - ‘22 School of Architecture
Alex (Mingda) Zhang - ‘22 School of Architecture
Anjiang Xu - ‘22 School of Architecture
Jessica (Jie) Zhou - ‘22 School of Architecture
Yale Undergraduate Students
Ally Soong - ‘21 Urban Studies
Hana Davis - ‘20 Architecture
Robert Skoronski - ‘21 Architecture
Huy Truong - ‘19 Econ, ‘23 Architecture
Ivy Li - ‘20 Architecture
Kayley Estoesta - ‘21 Urban Studies
Vicky Wu - ‘21 Architecture
Winter Willoughby - ‘20 Psych
Professional Advisory Board
John Cary, Eames Ranch
Daisy Ames, Studio Ames
Jeffrey Mansfield, MASS Design Group
Caitlyn Taylor, MASS Design Group
Marissa Mead, Atelier Cue, Svigals + Partners
Daniel Fitzmaurice, Arts Council of Greater New Haven
Elihu Rubin, Yale School of Architecture
Clarisa Diaz, WNYC
Rob Goldman, Tsai CITY
Daisy Abreu, Yale College
Devin Vermeulen, Creative Director
Liz Ogbu, Designer & Strategist
Allison Arieff, SPUR, NYT Contributing Columnist
Monique Atherton, Tsai CITY
Nick Novelli, Yale CEA
Brian Stromquist, Gensler
01
On Memory
The question we posed to Design Brigade:
How can we use design to memorialize our collective experience of this crisis and pay respects to those we have lost? How can we look at this pandemic through a lens of justice? This Design Brigade team will work to design a memorial, physical and/or digital, to commemorate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the people of New Haven.
Clients:
The project as conceived by Design Brigade:
Working with our client at the Department of Cultural Affairs, our team worked on the beginnings of a memorial for those affected by COVID-19, addressing the systemic inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic.
While COVID in focus, this project aligns with a national reckoning with racism, and so our research, outreach and designs have responded to the pluralities of this moment. We hope the final space serves as a catalyst for healing, celebrating the resilience and compassion expressed by New Haven at this time. Keeping in mind the difference in designing with and not for, our proposals—centered around the idea of urban healing and greenspace—are a guided framework for the City.
02
On Family
The question we posed to Design Brigade:
In an age when families are separated by COVID-19, how can we facilitate family togetherness for one of our most vulnerable populations? This Design Brigade team will work to design a solution that facilitates family visits to nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Clients:
The project as conceived by Design Brigade:
To combat boredom, isolation and health concerns, On Family’s proposal aims to encourage senior residents of The Towers community to both safely exercise outdoors and participate in sanctioned activities of interest held indoors. Our project is organized into two phases: Phase 1 is marked by the narrative trail, which seeks to encourage residents to safely exercise outside while mindfully reflecting on the history of their environment. Phase 2 is marked by the personal storytelling narrative, which seeks to encourage residents to connect with each other and to reflect on the timeline of their lives.
03
On Learning
The question we posed to Design Brigade:
How can we bring learning resources to out-of-school students in their communities? This Design Brigade Team will work to design a solution to bring in-person educational opportunities from New Haven’s cultural institutions to neighborhoods throughout the city.
The project as conceived by Design Brigade:
Connect New Haven: Bridging Creativity & Community In the Era of COVID-19 is a guidebook for New Haven cultural institutions to reimagine their programming and engage with the community during and after the pandemic. The goal of this guidebook is to help cultural institutions build authentic, reciprocal, and sustainable relationships with the New Haven community by implementing accessible, high-quality programming for K-12 youth through parents, neighborhoods, and cultural institutions in New Haven. The guidebook provides five models for planning community-based, socially distant, and in person events, while each model follows a five-step framework. The models center around creative activities such as arts & crafts, arts picnic, and large-scale mural-making program.
