Hester Street Collaborative - Leroy Street Studio and Ground Up

Leroy Street Studio and Ground Up

In 1998, architecture firm Leroy Street Studio (LSS) was approached by East New York Urban Youth Corp to collaborate on an affordable housing project and Community Center in Brooklyn. LSS joined the Brooklyn non-profit and worked with future tenants and community members to redesign the public spaces, then collaborated with local artists to work in fabricating these elements. The project’s success inspired the later formation of HSC to work with communities in need on design-build projects. In 2001, LSS relocated to Hester Street in New York City’s Chinatown. Across the street was the public Sun Yat Sen middle school, or M.S. 131. Architects from LSS approached the school to work with students to design and build a new garden in the neglected front yards. Over two years, an architectural education program was linked to M.S. 131’s core curriculum. The program, later named Ground Up, introduced students to architectural concepts through design exercises and workshops culminating in a campus or community improvement project. The Ground Up program encourages students to transform the quality of life in their schools and their neighborhoods, integrating elements of the academic curriculum into nonverbal, accessible, hands-on projects. HSC’s educational programs meet New York State learning standards and benchmarks for arts education.