{"id":20738,"date":"2025-08-29T10:38:59","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T14:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/?p=20738"},"modified":"2025-08-29T10:44:33","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T14:44:33","slug":"design-with-purpose-lar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/news\/design-with-purpose-lar\/","title":{"rendered":"Design with Purpose: Student-Led Landscape Architecture for Community and Place"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For <\/strong>The Flower District<\/a>, a bustling nonprofit in Olneyville, Providence, physical space needs to serve a variety of purposes.<\/em> Their team grows and rescues over 100,000 flowers annually to distribute to local hospitals, hospices, food pantries, senior services, recovery centers, shelters, and people who could use some cheer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set within a post-industrial landscape surrounded by factories, the organization\u2019s site presented a unique challenge and opportunity for Julia Dever and Jose Andre Orozco Ortiz. The two landscape architecture <\/a>majors spent their summer using both hand-renderings and computer graphic software to design a community green space for The Flower District as part of the CELS Summer Research Fellowship<\/a> program. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Their mission was to create a dual-purpose environment that would balance aesthetics with functionality: a practical workspace for staff and volunteers and a welcoming green space for private and community events. In addition to growing flowers, the nonprofit also offers a variety of programs\u2013from educational to job training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Flower District is embedding sustainable floristry within a circular economy framework, aiming to influence the cut-flower industry toward more sustainable practices while maximizing community participation and benefit,\u201d says Jane Buxton, program director of the Department of Landscape Architecture<\/a>. “A circular economy reduces waste and pollution, optimizes the reuse of products and materials, and supports the regeneration of natural systems.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis way of thinking aligns with the work of landscape architects,\u201d she adds, \u201cwhich goes beyond aesthetics to see each place as shaped by interconnected environmental and historical systems, from ancient geology and hydrology to ecology, human influence, and future impacts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dever and Ortiz embraced the design challenges. \u201cBeyond spatial utility, we were keeping in mind the organization\u2019s mission; centered on sustainability, reviving, rebuilding and restoring, and using thoughtful design elements to tell their story,\u201d Dever says. \u201cThe most surprising aspect has been how much storytelling is embedded in spatial design. Every corner, pathway, and material choice can reflect the values of the organization, something I hadn\u2019t fully appreciated until diving into this project.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ortiz helped by translating community input and operational needs into a functional site design for the Flower District’s flower recycling and composting program. \u201cThe most challenging part has been coordinating all moving parts, getting different inputs from mentors, board members, the community and interested parties and creating something that could please everyone,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most surprising thing was accepting that not everything goes as planned,\u201d he adds. \u201cThe most rewarding was acknowledging that I was part of something much greater than just me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dever notes that working alongside volunteers and staff at the organization who are passionate about their work and committed to community enrichment was inspiring and meaningful. \u201cTranslating the nonprofit\u2019s mission into a physical space, where every design choice supports healing, growth, and connection was a unique challenge that pushed artistic boundaries,\u201d she says. \u201cWatching initial sketches evolve into tangible plans through hand rendering and digital tools was deeply satisfying. It\u2019s one thing to imagine a space but it\u2019s another to see it begin to take shape.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bridging real-world application with academic concepts and theories is an integral part of education, the students note. \u201cIt introduced me to new ways of thinking,\u201d Ortiz says of practical skills they developed, such as site analysis, human-centered design, mission-driven spatial planning, programming, and proficiency in both hand-rendered and digital tools. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Ortiz (left) and Dever (right)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cCollaborating with a nonprofit and designing for community impact has shown me how landscape architecture can be a powerful medium for social connection and storytelling,\u201d Dever adds, \u201cfar beyond aesthetics alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAndr\u00e9 and Julia balanced the need for timely results with community engagement, collaborated with the nonprofit\u2019s board, developed skills in site analysis, drafting, and rendering, and deepened their understanding of the connections between people and place,\u201d says Buxton. \u201cThey are thoughtful, talented students; I am proud of their work and eager to see their future contributions to the field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The students look forward to the next step in their project: presenting their design to stakeholders and receiving feedback for possible implementation. \u201cI\u2019m excited to engage in meaningful dialogue, receive feedback, and see how our work can inspire real change and connection within the Olneyville community,\u201d Dever says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe best reward is knowing that the space will foster connections and serve as a hub for inspiration and collaboration,\u201d she adds. \u201cIt\u2019s not just a design\u2014it\u2019s a living environment that will grow with the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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“Stephanie Nordhoff ’25 was a part of the URI Regenerative Design Lab and volunteered to help us out with the finishing touches on our boards,” says Dever. “We couldn’t have completed it without her help!”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This summer, landscape architecture students Julia Dever and Jose Andre Orozco Ortiz partnered with The Flower District\u2014a nonprofit in Olneyville, Providence that rescues and redistributes over 100,000 flowers a year\u2014to design a multifunctional green space that blends beauty, sustainability, and community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1089,"featured_media":20739,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1089"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20738"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20751,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20738\/revisions\/20751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/cels\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}