Habana Works

Urban Studio Brooklyn (USBK)

Urban Studio Brooklyn is a program that advances environmental design by bringing together current architecture students with practicing professionals for a three-week summer workshop series.

Modeled after Samuel Mockbee's Rural Studio, the program is built around solving a particular environmental design challenge that benefits a chosen client (usually an individual, school or neighborhood group).  Working with a limited budget to complete the task at hand, USBK challenges the standards of what can be accomplished at a grassroots level to improve New York’s community spaces.

USBK also works to instill a sense of social responsibility in its participants, draws on their most creative ideas, and gives practical experience in the field of green design to the very people that will go on to influence how our city is built.

Past USBK seasons have produced Habana Outpost’s rain barrel and gutter system, rainwater-flushed bathrooms and a bicycle-powered waterfront classroom called the “Fishmobile” for the LESEC.

This year's program will provide eco-friendly features for Leadership Prep, an Uncommon Charter School in Bed Stuy, Brooklyn that we're currently developing an educational garden for.  We've got a spectacular team of nine young architecture students ready to transform the garden into a sustainable, functional green space. Check in with our blog to stay updated on the latest USBK news!