This project is a collaborative effort of Burak Sancakdar, Burgess Brown, the Andrew Freedman Home and G.I.R.L.S. Achieving INC. Before explaining the project, we would like to say thank you for all the participants who give their feedback on our project.
Will the home strengthen its role as an anchor in the community by serving the needs of current residents? Or, will the potential be realized in a way that ushers in gentrification?Our hope is for the former and, through our project, we aim to aid in the strengthening of the Andrew Freedman Home as an anchoring institution for the South Bronx. The Freedman Home cannot anchor the community if it remains aloof. It must be a space where dwelling can occur, where community can connect with a place and with one another. Through our project, we seek to co-design one of these spaces alongside a portion of the community that is underserved at large and within the Freedman Home. Services and space dedicated to the needs of young adults are lacking at the Freedman Home and, while there are several youth oriented organizations working at the mansion, there is no dedicated space for programming. Through a collaborative design process with these organizations and young adults from the surrounding community, we will renovate one of the vacant rooms in the Andrew Freedman Home to become a flexible space for youth centered initiatives and programming. Through this co-design process we will explore how design itself can facilitate dwelling and how the art of dwelling and place construction can be used to resist displacement.
Click here to see the full map of after school programsgamar markarian_observation_Andrew Freedman Home from Burak Sancakdar on Vimeo.