Urban Design Studio for Newark Federal Campus a Model for Agency Collaboration
In the fall of 2021, Professor Georgeen Theodore led her Urban Design students in a collaboration with the Newark-based federal offices of the General Services Administration. Located at 970 Broad Street, the federal building is named after U.S Representative Peter Rodino, and is home to the offices of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Building on the work of two prior studios, and in the context of the Newark master planning process, Theodore’s urban design studio proposed a civic campus for the area around the federal building, calling it the New Green District. The students developed a framework that accommodates several improvements to the area. First and foremost was finding a way to green the district and open the space to public movement through the areas adjacent to and surrounding the civic core, while providing alternatives for mobility with pedestrian walkways, bike and scooter lanes.
Theodore noted the involvement of many officials from the GSA, time spent sharing the needs and functions of their offices and the desire to be more integrated in the fabric of the surrounding Newark community.
“The GSA team invested heavily in this collaborative process, with many hours spent in preparatory meetings for the course last spring and summer, bringing GSA experts (operations, fine arts, real estate, sustainability, etc.) into the conversation to inform the course development, organizing a site tour, and participating in multiple reviews on campus,” said Theodore. “This sustained collaboration was at the heart of the studio process, and was the foundation for its success. From my perspective, the GSA has set a new gold standard for this type of work.”
Collaborators from the GSA were delighted that many of the students in Theodore’s studio had a family member who had celebrated new U.S. citizenship.
Theodore shared that in terms of the learning for the graduate students, they gave very positive feedback on their experience. “Having worked very closely with the students as a team throughout the semester, and also meeting with each student individually after the studio was over to discuss their experience … they learned and grew a lot, and found the experience working directly with the GSA both unique and rewarding.”