Manhattanville: On the Cusp of Change

On Tuesday, June 16, the Center for Architecture Foundation and the students of PS 161 will present for "Manhattanville: On the Cusp of Change". The student design exhibition will be on view for one night only, from 6-8 pm, at Aaron Davis Hall, 138 Convent Avenue between West 133rd and West 135th Streets. The exhibition is free and open to the public. The show is the culmination of a three-year residency with Learning By Design:NY and the CFAF, in which PS161 students studied the built environment around their school, and imagined how Columbia University’s proposed Manhattanville expansion would change their neighborhood. For one night only, sixth-grade students from PS 161 will have an opportunity to report their findings and present their design models for a future Manhattanville / West Harlem. This event will provide an opportunity for students and stakeholders to come together and consider the students’ design solutions as a response to Columbia University’s Manhattanville in West Harlem Plan. This learning initiative is sponsored by the Center for Architecture Foundation’s Learning By Design:NY in-school residency program, M (Group) Architecture and Decoration, OMNI Architects with the dedicated efforts of staff and students at PS 161. Over the past three academic years, students at PS 161 have been deeply involved in studying the history and architecture of Harlem and documenting the changes taking place in the many blocks close to their school. Design educator Jane Cowan from the Center for Architecture Foundation led these 100 students through a hands-on, project-based residency focused on the built environment, drawing on the real-life circumstances presented by the University’s Expansion. During the course of the residency, Columbia University’s Office of Government and Community Affairs coordinated field trips to its campus to see presentations and models of their proposed Manhattanville in West Harlem Plan. Students also interviewed people living and working in and around the expansion area. This exhibition of models will demonstrate an amalgamation of experiences and knowledge gathered by the students during the residency. The PS 161 Spring Concert will also take place from 6:00pm – 8:00pm at Aaron Davis Hall on Tuesday, June 16th, presenting the culmination of a year's partnership with Carnegie Hall and featuring student performances in guitar, strings, keyboard, band, percussion, and chorus. The Concert is free and open to the public. The Center for Architecture Foundation is a non-profit organization, established in 1966 by the AIA New York Chapter, to promote public awareness and a broader appreciation of the impact of architecture, design and planning in the built environment, principally through educational programs, activities and scholarship. For more information about Learning By Design:NY and the Foundation’s other programs , please view our website at www.cfafoundation.org.