Headlands Center for the Arts

Artist Statement

The Studio for Urban Projects is an interdisciplinary design collaborative that works at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, art, and social activism. Our inter-disciplinary and research-based projects aim to provoke change by re-framing perceptions of the city and physically transforming elements of the built environment. Engaging the broad themes of ecology and urbanism, our projects have taken the form of exhibitions, urban interventions, audio tours, interactive technologies, architectural installations, design-build projects, and streetscape design. We also act as a convener–instigating panels, meals, tours, and salons that bring together academics, designers, politicians, scientists, and activists and into a common conversation about the future of urban life.

 While at Headlands

In the Affiliate program we will continue to write, edit, and create designs for the forthcoming book, Ground Up, published by Island Press. The book examines the urban prototyping movement in San Francisco, linking it to the history of grass roots activism in the region. Ground Up asks us to think about the ways in which the processes, policies, and projects that have been pioneered in the Bay Area may become powerful tools in addressing urban resilience. Interwoven throughout the book are design ideas, precedents, and essays looking at how small interventions may be scaled up to engender substantial change.