2018-19 CityLab High School Initiatives
Marilla Street Project
The Marilla Street Project was done in collaboration with the City of Dallas Department of Planning & Urban Development. The city asked the students in the Art & Media Communications class at CityLab HS to help activate this underused stretch of street, and improve the connection between the Dallas City Hall Plaza and the Farmers Market in downtown Dallas.
Using a host of tactical urbanism strategies, students created a unique public art installation that included street paintings, vertical gardens, a human sundial, and lyrics from Blues singer Robert Johnson’s song “Crossroads” that was painted along the abandoned railroad tracks on Marilla Street. This song was recorded at 508 Park Ave. at the intersection of Marilla Street, Park Ave., and Canton Street which forms the crossroads of the project.
The street activation event was held on Nov. 16, 2018 and the students’ Marilla Street paintings remain in use today.
Industry Partners- City of Dallas Department of Planning & Urban Design, Architexas, bc WORKSHOP, the Better Block, Encore Park, the City of Dallas Transportation Department, Ruibal’s Plants, and Byron Zarrabi at the Dallas County Community College District, Bill J. Priest Institute.
“Partnering with CityLab HS for the Marilla Street Makeover was an endeavor that the City of Dallas hopes to replicate in the future. Once the pieces of our street improvement project began to fall into place, we wanted to see how CityLab could assist with the project. When we began to collaborate with the students about installing some art as a part of the street installation, we could have never imagined the creativity and talent that they would bring to the table. Moving forward with their designs was exciting for everyone involved as they not only came up with highly artistic work, but tapped into the history of the neighborhood as well. This project gave the students a behind-the-scenes look at the process by which improvements happen at the City level. It also gave them the opportunity to present their design concepts to professionals and work with City staff and architects at Architexas on the installation. Once the project was installed, I believe all parties learned the value that stakeholders can bring to a project and how much better a project can be when all ideas and groups are included.”
– Daniel Church, AICP Senior Planner, City of Dallas Planning & Urban Design
FD19- Bus Stop Design Competition
The challenge for Fab Day held at Better Block on May 4th 2019 was simple: design teams were to rethink the bus stop to reduce Particulate Matter- and, create stops that are inspiring and fun. The designs need to be easy to assemble and use very little hardware. They have to stay on budget, and the elements have to be digitally fabricated using a CNC router. And, they have to follow DART’s specs as much as possible.
The Bus Stop design the CityLab students created consists of 2 parts: a seating area, and a particulate matter “shield” made of chain link fencing that supports plants and vines.
The students in the Art & Media Communications class have been working on their design for the FD19 Bus Stop during the 2019 spring semester and presented their work on May 4th at Fab Day 2019 at Better Block in Oak Cliff
This project was funded by Better Block and by the
CityLab High School Foundation
CityLab Mural Project
Make Art with Purpose (MAP) worked with the 10th Grade Class at CityLab to produce a work of public art that creates a monumental visual identity for the CityLab building.
Guided by Janeil Engelstad, Delaney Smith, CityLab teacher Peter Goldstein and visiting artists Chris Arnold and Arnoldo Hurtado, the students participated in workshops that helped them visualize and create meaningful mural design. As part of this project, students visited “The Storm” mural by Chris Arnold in the Dallas Arts District, as well as murals at DMA and the Statler Hilton Hotel. In the process students learned all of the various aspects of designing and producing a large scale public art project.
Working with Ms. Engelstad and her team from MAP, the student mural designs reflect the creativity, mission, and vision of the CityLab students. The CityLab mural will be located on the front façade of the building facing S. Ervay St. Portions of the design will wrap around the building to the south façade of the building on Corsicana St. so the students work is also visible to passing traffic on I30.
Industry partners: Janeil Engelstad and Delaney Smith MAP (Make Art with Purpose), DDI, CityLab High School Foundation, Eyecon Studios.
Tower Design Project
Working with a team of architects from Todd Howard & Associates, the 10th grade architecture students worked on the design of a tower for a site in The Cedars and in close proximity to the CBD, and I30. Students investigated the site for issues such as massing, materials, form, and land-use to determine the impact of their designs on the local context.
The students created a program for this project which includes retail space, parking, open space, affordable housing and a homeless support center. The project included site visits to investigate existing conditions, and hands-on exercises in the CityLab Studio.
Students created a series of diagrams relating to issues such as density, views, sun, and orientation, and constructed physical and digital copies of the Tower.
At the conclusion of the project, students presented their work to architects and designers from TH&A and other local firms at the 1st Annual CityLab Exhibition Day.
Industry partners: Forrest Branam and Edward Mendez at TH&A Architects. Student work from this project was featured in UTA CAPPA Exhibition Feb. 25 – March 22, 2019
William S. Pittman Memorial with P+W
William Sidney Pittman was a noted black architect and trailblazer with important ties to the City of Dallas. During this project, students studied the life and work of William Sydney Pittman and had the opportunity to explore one of his most important buildings, the Pythian Temple, located in Deep Ellum.
Students created a memorial to a civil rights activist of their choice, or to William Sydney Pittman to commemorate his contributions to the city. Memorial designs included the creation of a public meeting space on a site at the Pittman Hotel, or in the new Deck Park on I35. Students presented their work to architects and designers at the office of Perkins+Will and had the opportunity to meet with Dr. George Keaton the Director of Remembering Black Dallas
9th grade student Immanuel Brinson’s memorial design for noted civil rights leader Asa Philip Randolph was selected by the Ft. Worth Chapter of the NAACP to compete in the National AfroAcademic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics in Detroit, Summer 2019
Industry partners: Perkins & Will, George Keaton Founder/Director of Remembering Black Dallas, Inc.
ACE Mentor Pilot Program
The Dallas affiliate of the Ace Mentor Program serves hundreds of 11th and 12th grade students in the DFW Metroplex annually and reached out to CityLab to pilot a 10th grade ACE program in the fall of 2018.
The mission of ACE is to engage, excite, and enlighten students to pursue careers in architecture, engineering, and construction through mentoring and to support their continued advancement in the industry. ACE not only engages sponsors and volunteer mentors to expose students to real-world opportunities, it financially supports each student’s continued success through scholarships and grants.
Since its inception, ACE has awarded over $15 million in scholarships to promising participants. ACE uses working professionals to reach job seekers for the following vocations: Architects, Interior Designers, Landscape Architects, Mechanical Engineers, Structural Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Environmental Engineers, Civil Engineers, Construction Managers.
“Much as City Lab works to immerse students in the collective laboratory that is downtown Dallas, the ACE mentor program strives to provide direct mentoring from outstanding professionals to educate aspiring minds about the world of architecture, engineering, and construction. In the ACE program, groups of students work directly with professionals from the AEC community, fostering camaraderie and friendship as they tackle real-word design problems. These problems require the students to learn about, and in turn apply, theory and skills associated with professional design firms. Ultimately, ACE serves as a primer course on the AEC industry, helping prepare the students for further study as they grow through education. Through exposure to both professionals and their work, the ACE program aims to encourage inquisitive minds to explore the designed world, ask questions, and become comfortable in pursuing knowledge outside of the standard school curriculum.”
– Garrett Jones Thornton Project Engineer & Dallas ACE Mentor
Encore Park Community Garden Project
Encore Park brings together people of all cultures and faiths through dialogue, education, service, and art in the pursuit of an abundant life.
To that end, Encore Park is happy to be partnering with the Environmental Science program at CityLab High School by providing ten of our raised community garden beds for the school’s use.
The Encore Park Community Garden is a hub of horticulture for the downtown Dallas neighborhood, bringing together downtown residents, downtown employees, church members from First Presbyterian Church, the Stewpot Garden Club, veterans and now students from CityLab HS.
Parking Day
To start the 2018-19 school year, CityLab HS continued the tradition of participating in PARK(ing) Day. PARK(ing) Day is an annual event held in cities around the world, and the CityLab students participated in the 8th annual PARK(ing) Day Dallas event that was held on September 21, 2018 on Main Street in Downtown Dallas.
PARK(ing) Day Dallas is a free annual celebration of space where citizens, artists, designers, organizations & businesses temporarily transform metered parking spaces along Main Street into short-term public “PARK” installations. Rather than parking a car, the metered space is used to promote human use and activity in downtown Dallas. For PARK(ing) Day Dallas, the CityLab students moved their classroom furniture to Pegasus Plaza on Main Street literally using the city as their lab.
To prepare for the event, the CityLab 9th graders studied the history of PARK(ing) Day in cities across the globe and investigated the design of Pegasus Plaza by local artist Brad Goldberg
CityLab HS Exhibition @ UTA CAPPA
In the Spring of 2019, CityLab HS was invited to install an exhibition of student work in the Gallery at UTA CAPPA. The exhibition at UTA CAPPA showcased 9th and 10th grade work and experiences from the first two years at CityLab.
The work in the exhibition, focused on creative problem-solving skills, Design Thinking, and a multidisciplinary understanding of the city where CityLab students live, learn, work, and play.
In addition, the exhibition featured partnerships and collaborations with a host of local firms, organizations and institutions from around the city- something that we are very proud of at CityLab and hope to build on as the school continues its mission to create opportunities for Dallas ISD students to become the next generation of citizens, design professionals, and civic leaders equipped with an appreciation and holistic understanding of the urban environment, and the knowledge and skills to design, build, and participate in the future development of the city.
