YAYB is a multi-aged, gender-inclusive program that allows young adults to develop vocational skills, gain workplace experience in their designated programs, and become “marketable employees”. There is a heavy emphasis on GED and vocational studies, while students can choose from programs in Building Management, Construction, & Good Foods. Cohort one runs from September to June, while Cohort two runs from January to August, indicating a lack of overlap between the cohorts. Currently accommodating 18-30 students, YAYB plans to accommodate up to 40 in the near future.
East Harlem has always been an ultra-ethnic area within Manhattan. During the 1800’s, German Jews, Eastern Europeans, Irish, and Scandinavian immigrants often moved to the area because of its cheaper housing and job opportunities. However, gang activity and gang-related crime have increased in recent years, specifically in youth gangs. Gun violence and narcotics tend to be issues in East Harlem. East Harlem, or as its residents refer to it, “El Barrio” (The Neighborhood), dealt with a substance abuse problem from the 1950s, and many gangs arose due to ethnic and racial clashes. This is also when La Marqueta was opened and introduced to the community.
To achieve our project goals, we are transforming the YAYB by making it more organized, comfortable, modern, and community-centered.
We are doing this via a new communal kitchen and dining space, a new good foods teaching kitchen, a youth builds workshop, a new student lounge space, and by turning the annex into a community market space, where students can practice the skills they learn in YAYB, their entrepreneurship skills, and sell to as well as support the great East Harlem community.
The journey diagram through the YAYB space follows the users' experiences through the envisioned new design.
1. blue: The public can view students working on projects from the front facade, which provokes curiosity.
2. red: Students work in two front classrooms, developing vocational skills & creating goods to provide for the public.
3. green: Community & YAYB can collaborate, exchanging goods & supporting the local economy.
We are drawing inspiration from YAYB’s program and neighborhood institutions by combining the construction and DIY materials from that program with La Marqueta's colors and imagery to create a unified visual design.
We observed and took inspiration from spaces that feature natural materials and exposed woods, concrete floors, bright pops of color, handmade or custom furniture, and spatial design that encourage either general gathering or community formation. These images helped guide our interior and spatial design of YAYB.
We organized our spaces using the mass-and-void concept. The masses are intended as more focused workspaces, whereas the voids surrounding them are intended as social and communal spaces. These all draw people together toward the communal kitchen, allowing the whole YAYB community to interact with one another.
The front facade allows people in East Harlem to recognize YAYB and see, through the windows, the changes students are actively making to the community.
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The Good Foods kitchen classroom is a dedicated space where students in the Good Foods curriculum practice their culinary skills in a real-life setting.
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The workshop is a dedicated space for the Construction Skills Training Program, where students can develop their knowledge of woodworking tools and expand their creativity.
The communal kitchen is a place for students, staff, and admin to come together. It includes a full kitchen, with multiple appliances, Multiple different seating options, an open design, all located in the middle of the first floor
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The student lounge is a place for students and family members to relax. There is an emphasis on custom plywood furniture, lots of natural light, and plants to bring life to the space, which creates a comfortable environment.
The morning Classroom offers students a space to study and complete their high school equivalency diploma. The room can be separated into two when holding lessons by closing the folding door, which can be used as a whiteboard, but can also be opened to connect the two spaces for their routine morning circles.
The backyard garden is designed to be a place for the YAYB Community to relax and come together. The inclusion of a garden allows for sustainable food growth that can be used in the kitchen or by Good Food’s Program.
Basement
Located in the basement, the Shower Room provides students with access to showers throughout the program day. The rooms are accommodating for all students and can be usable at any time.
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A place that functions as both a focus space for students to practice technology skills and a place of learning. The lab is located within the basement and allows for multiple students to use the space at once.
Annex - 2295 2nd Ave &, E 118th St
The annex was redesigned to serve as a marketplace for student entrepreneurship and community engagement. Originally, the annex was untouched and used for storage; however, now it lets students put the skills they learn in the YAYB program to use. We installed multiple stalls to accommodate a wide range of student and non-student work, as well as a checkout desk that doubles as a drop-off desk for community programs like food or clothing drives.
