Member Profile: Making an Impact through design
A Conversation with Impact Wrkshp founder : Irina Schneid
"Over the past few weeks, we have been compelled to ask ourselves what role Impact Wrkshp could play in expanding social equity in light of global health crises. How can our fellowship program contribute to spatial resiliency of local communities during Covid-19 and beyond?"
-, Irina Schneid, founder Impact Wrkshp Project. a twelve-week social-advocacy fellowship for graduate students. As a professor at The Pratt Institute , Irina Schneid. focuses on teaching her students the importance of designing for impactful change and community and through Impact Wrkshp she’s bringing that important mission locally.
“We teach emerging designers how to reach out, give back, and use their training towards social good, and inspire students within K-12 schools to envision the built environment as a change agent of learning and empowerment. “
(Listen Episode 2, For the Love of Community with Irina)
Summer 2019 Fellowship
During the Summer of 2019, the fellowship worked on a wonderful project called The Hammock Room, in tandem with Newark Yoga Movement, a non-profit organization that helps introduce mindfulness practices to Newark communities. The Hammock Room was designed to give students at Sussex Avenue Renew School in Newark a space for learning all kinds of mindful relaxation techniques, including breathing exercises, mindful yoga, and meditation. Activities like quiet reading, writing, and art- therapy are also encouraged. The classroom contains a set of wall interfaces, fabricated to be moving partitions for kids to create spaces within the room as a tool for engaged learning.
Summer 2020 Fellowship Project
Now joined by Maggie Sauce, Impact Wrkshp's 2020 virtual fellowship program will address social inequalities within the Covid-19 pandemic. Fellows will participate in the research and ideation of Covid-KIT, a forthcoming collection of wearable prototypes designed to protect Essential Workers amidst global health crises. Focusing on non-medical “front-line” personnel, this project will shine light on employees who provide services deemed critical to the maintenance of public health, safety, and well-being in our communities. From grocery suppliers to transit workers to security personnel, fellows will consider the individualized needs, operations, and risks involved in the daily performance of essential work. The project will culminate in the collaborative design of a kit prototype comprised of wearable interfaces meant to improve the safety and wellness of workers who risk their lives in the service of public good.
Summer 2019 Hammock Room