Inaugural CityStudioSTL Fellowships

Davis, the Undergraduate Fellow, worked at Trivers Associates on two projects. One was the future Jonas Hubbard Community Center in the Carr Square neighborhood, which involves the adaptive reuse of Carr School alongside a new 56,000-gross-square-foot recreation center. The other project was an initial planning study for the St. Louis Transitional Hope House, which serves families for whom the head of the family has a disability.

During her internship with PGAV Planners, Ryan, the Graduate Fellow, worked on a planning and design project for Chouteau Park, located in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood. The new plan was developed in collaboration with Park Central Development, and is something the community can build out over time.

While some skills the students gained were more technical, such as using Revit and understanding the process of making cost estimates, much of their learning came from having the opportunity to interact with colleagues. Ryan, who worked with project manner Jenny Ryan (no relation) for much of her fellowship, said she gained a more in-depth understanding of the differences between planners and urban designers, and how they might collaborate. Through her work on two separate projects, Davis learned how to balance expectations from different teams.

In reflecting on their experiences, both Ryan and Davis noted how much they learned from working on projects driven by community, particularly in terms of balancing the needs and input of a variety of stakeholders. Even the small-scale projects required collaboration and coordination between many parties.

Not only was the summer a learning experience for the students, but it also provided an opportunity for the host firms to advance their work in the St. Louis community. “Casey really had an opportunity to take ownership over the project. I helped guide her through connections, but she took the lead on organizing and developing the project,” Jenny Ryan said.

Similarly, Joel Fuoss, MArch02, principal at Trivers Associates, said, “Rylie took the time to listen and evaluate the situation. She brought her strength in graphic representation and a sophistication in conveying information to the project.”

For Davis, the experience had an added benefit—following her fellowship, she was hired on full-time by Trivers Associates as an architectural designer.

Special thanks to Trivers Associates and PGAV Planners for their partnership on the inaugural CityStudioSTL Fellowships.

CityStudioSTL supports a series of community engagement and outreach projects that bring together students in architecture, art, and design with partners in the city of St. Louis. It is generously supported by Gina and Bill Wischmeyer, BA69/MArch71.