Interior Architecture Studio Advances Social Justice through Architectural Interventions

Students in the Interior Architecture studio Habitat for Justice are working with Justice Assistance, an RI-based nonprofit that provides legal and social support to first-time offenders. The students are reimagining Broad Street in Providence as a hub for community engagement, job training and affordable housing. 

“The group is using adaptive reuse to reinforce value for the existing residents in order to preserve the diverse culture of the neighborhood while creating affordable housing, job training and jobs,” explains Associate Professor Wolfgang Rudorf, who is co-teaching the course with faculty member and alum Kip McMahan BArch 84. They are exploring three ideas related to social justice and socioeconomic equity: research of environmental patterns relating to human resilience, development of a design language with input from multiple stakeholders and advancement of social justice through architectural interventions. 

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Individually and in small teams, students selected to focus on different properties along Elmwood Avenue in South Providence. During an April midterm crit, they presented their plans to a group of critics including Justice Assistance Director and Rhode Island Senator Jacob Bissaillon and RISD faculty members Jonathan Bell, Elizabeth Debs and Janet Stegman BArch 78 to be evaluated on elements such as the depth of their site investigation.   

Grad student Zoye (Xuanyu) Yang MDes 26 explained her idea for urban farming and education in growing, cooking, selling and composting. “I want to create a green space in the neighborhood: a city farm where people can connect with nature and improve their lives,” she explained. “The farm will provide food assistance to those in need, helping to reduce hunger.” 

Her plan featured four buildings—including a dilapidated carriage house—and a parking lot to be turned into a market and greenhouse. She is considering a roof garden for more sun or ground-level vertical farming where families can work together to harvest and connect with nature. 

“This is a positive, ambitious program and really well analyzed,” Stegman responded. “How will you adapt existing structures to fit these uses? The existing buildings are residential so a lot of adaptation would be needed. Maybe place commercial components on the first floor and the housing upstairs.” 

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Bell noted that there needs to be clear access to Broad Street from the buildings. He also expressed concern about sunlight in the growing space and encouraged Yang to check out local growers Southside Community Land Trust and Gotham Greens for more insight.

Grad student Eliza Marris MDes 26 and undergrad Kylee Hong 26 IA worked together to create a 27,000-sf site featuring three programs: a culinary school and café, a community business incubator and healthy, affordable housing. The team is drawing inspiration from organizations like the Hackney School of Food in London, the Johnson and Wales University Food Innovation and Design Lab, and Domus Houthaven in Amsterdam and considering access for trucks, storefronts on Broad Street, and new builds in the same style as the existing ones. 

Bissaillon agreed that maximizing frontage on Broad Street is critical and appreciated the team’s entrepreneurial approach. “The diverse cultures of the neighborhood are well represented through food. There’s an opportunity here to maximize participants’ earning potential,” he said. 

Xinyu Han MDes 26 discussed her plans to transform a former funeral home into a secondhand furniture workshop and residential space. The programming would include classes on computer literacy and writing a resume. “I’m so glad you’re addressing the ‘digital divide,’” Bissaillon said. “It would be great if you could connect the digital aspect to the furniture programming as well, by incorporating a CNC machine, etc.”

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Bell encouraged her to focus on community living spaces and research furniture business needs such as storage, and Debs suggested she consider adding new space. “Generally speaking, it’s easier to make your big moves in the new part of construction versus the historical,” she said. 

These are just a few of the conceptual interventions the class is working on. Other students are proposing sports facilities and playgrounds, popup restaurants and other small businesses and prefab modular units that would provide everything from stadium seating to a secure place to lock bicycles. What they all have in common is a critical focus on health and wellness, affordability and community engagement. 

Kaylee Pugliese
April 15, 2025