We have finished the design development phase of Design Lab for and have started to develop 1:1 scale prototypes. Here are two of thesketches of a feature element – a plywood cabinet that serve both as seating and storage in The Sandbox: a space dedicated to full-scale building and experimentation through hands-on design and learning.

Sketch of the seating and storage cabinets that outline the Sandbox area for full-scale construction of objects.

Sketch for individual cabinet construction

This is first prototyping of storage cabinets that will be a feature element of The Sandbox. These cabinets function both as storage for materials for large-scale hands-on building projects, as well as seating. The seats are incorporated into a low perimeter of drawers and shelving that rises up to become display shelves near the entry stair. This area provides space for observation and interactive touch-screens allow visitors to browse the work of previous participants and to conduct research for their own projects.

 

1:1 Prototype

This prototype cabinet made for storage of rubber bands for building towers and domes out of wooden dowels

Design Lab is a large scale re-design of the New York Hall of Science’s new exhibition space.

To learn more about Design Lab click here  #designlab #designismaking

That is the ambition of Drive Change, a newly initiated New York City based food truck business, and an alternative education program, dedicated to teaching transferable skills to youth re-entering society from the criminal justice system.

Situ Studio is excited to have partnered up with this organisation to build a series of food trucks, the first one, hitting the streets in early Fall of 2013.

Drive Change Launch Film. Learn more about the fundraising campaign here.

A Side of Social Justice

Jordyn Lexton, the founder of Drive Change spent three years teaching young people at East River Academy, a public school serving the youth incarcerated at Riker Island. Quickly, she noticed how frequently that population of people would recycle through the system, recycle back into the classroom, back into the jail. That left Jordyn asking why is this happening at such a high rate?

One of the more apparent and frustrating reasons is the fact that New York State is one of only two states (North Carolina is the other) that automatically arrests 16-year-olds as adults.

Once released, these young adults are 85 percent more likely to commit violent crimes than young criminals who were sent to rehabilitative programs.

Because they are treated like adults by the criminal justice system these young adults leave with open felonies on their records making it extremely hard, if not impossible to find a job or go back to school, social services are limited, while Jordyn notes that: “kids are also internalizing that sense of being a criminal. So the doors of opportunities are just shut on their faces when they leave.”

Founder, Jordyn Lexton and Annie Bickerton, Director of Development go foodtruck shopping on Long Island.

Drive Change wants to build a foodtruck that not only caters to a New York gourmet foodie’s high standards, but also motivates its employers to take ownership and pride in their work space. Drive change and Situ Studio wants to construct a foodtruck where both the tactile experiences of food and touch are emphasized.

Visually, the foodtruck will embrace the dynamic between industrial and organic materials, and even food ingredients. NY State maple syrup is a key ingredient in the menu, while an re-purposed Con-Ed truck is the skeleton of the truck.

To help Drive Change realize their first goal, go here to donate. There’s 16 days left!

We will be documenting Drive Change and Situ Studio’s food truck’s journey from concept, model, to finished truck.

Follow Situ Studio on Facebook and Twitter #justtrucks for updates.