miscellaneous
work completed independently unless otherwise noted
public interest design fellowship
summer 2025 / fellowship
supervisors: Ben Derlan, Brandon Surtain & Ann Yoachim
in collaboration with Ava Holzarichter, Saracen Lunn, Paige Douglass & Clara Quandt
Every summer, the Small Center’s Public Interest Design Fellowship invites five students who collaborate to envision the needs of nonprofit organizations in New Orleans to attract funding, plan for future development, and promote public education. Through the fellowship, students partner closely with non-profit and civic organizations to co-create design solutions rooted in equity, resilience, and local voice.
our cohort!interviewing for the Social Media TeamWith research and the application of design at the human scale, we hope not only to create a space that the occupants enjoy but also to make it inviting to the community at large.
I was honored to have worked with four talented and driven fellow TuSABE students, and here are some of the projects I was part of:
1881 Research Institute
Through pre-apprenticeship training, education, and personal support,
the 1881 Institute is a workforce development program that helps young adults build skills for careers in advanced manufacturing and technology. It focuses on supporting those who face barriers, like being out of school, unemployed, or living with disabilities.
current activities & spacesThe 1881 Institute’s facility at 1241 Carondelet Street in New Orleans currently houses
a woodshop where participants develop hands-on skills, as well as residential
areas that provide on-site housing for young adults in the program. To build on this
foundation, 1881 plans to expand the space by adding dedicated metal and CNC shops for welding and advanced digital fabrication, increasing student housing capacity, and reconfiguring the
layout to create flexible areas for training, study, and community gathering.
Proposal 1: Camelback
elevationsfloor planssections
Proposal 2: Regular
elevations
floor planssections
Lafitte Greenway Masterplan
The Lafitte Greenway Partnership (LGP) is the official nonprofit organization dedicated to the Lafitte Greenway, a 2.6-mile linear park and multi-use trail connecting six historic New Orleans neighborhoods.
The Lafitte Greenway officially opened in 2015, offering recreational facilities, fitness and cultural programming, open green spaces, and innovative stormwater management features. Today, it’s New Orleans’ most-used bike trail, attracting 500,000 visitors annually.
the Lafitte GreenwayWe worked alongside the organization to support the development of the New Orleans Greenways Vision Plan, a long-term effort to expand the Greenway into a connected, citywide network of safe, beautiful greenways. We analyzed opportunities for new routes that link neighborhoods, parks, and community destinations, including mapping potential corridors in collaboration with partners such as Bike Easy, Audubon Park, City Park Conservancy, Sankofa CDC, the Municipal Yacht Harbor, and the Department of Parks and Parkways. We also identified key typologies for expansion, including neutral grounds that could be reimagined as greenways, unprotected bike lanes that could be redesigned with landscape buffers, and strategic “gap” segments where small, cost-effective improvements could unlock miles of continuous, safe connections. Through this research and visioning, we contributed to a framework that supports the LGP’s mission of building an equitable, accessible greenway system for all New Orleanians.
LFG Masterplan
C4 Food Hub
For the Central City Community Collaborative Food Hub, we supported the Growing Local Collaborative as it transforms the historic Myrtle Banks Building into a unified center for food production, retail, education, and policy work. To ground our design proposals, we conducted an in-depth site visit—documenting spatial layouts, taking measurements, and assessing conditions such as ventilation, access, and lighting.
site visitThis research allowed us to understand the building’s constraints and opportunities, its post-Katrina history, and its role within a dense network of nearby nonprofits working in food access, education, housing, and public health. Drawing from this analysis, we developed design strategies that respond to the needs of Market Umbrella, Recirculating Farms, Sprout NOLA, and Top Box Foods, envisioning a functional and welcoming hub that supports farmers, expands access to fresh food, and strengthens community gatherings.
Proposal 1: No Addition
circulation diagram, completed by Ava Holzrichterplan
Proposal 2: NW Addition
circulation diagram, completed by Ava Holzrichter
plan
Proposal 3: NE Addition
circulation diagram, completed by Ava Holzrichter
plan
previous page
next page