Placemaking Network: The Cambridge Foundry as a Catalyst for Placemaking

The Cambridge Foundry will be a new community center for creativity in the City of Cambridge. An adaptive re-use of a turn of the century industrial building, when completed in late Spring 2022, this project will be a prime example of how contemporary uses can stimulate the rebirth of a moribund structure into a revitalized, integral part of the community, a new landmark of community identity. Rosalyn D. Elder, Chair of the Placemaking Network will facilitate a discussion about this exciting project with Tom Evans, Executive Director of the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority; Dr. Stephanie Couch, Executive Director of Lemelson-MIT and President of the Board of Directors, The Foundry Consortium; Stefanie Greenfield AIA, Principal of CambridgeSeven Architects; and Elisa H. Hamilton, public artist for the Cambridge Foundry project.

Left to right: Elisa H. Hamilton, Jason Weeks, Rosalyn Elder AIA, Stefanie Greenfield AIA, Dr. Stephanie Couch, Tom Evans

Elisa H. Hamilton
Elisa H. Hamilton is a socially engaged multimedia artist who creates inclusive artworks that emphasize shared spaces and the hopeful examination of our everyday places, objects, and experiences. Her work has been shown locally and nationally. Her project "Dance Spot" has engaged with communities around Boston, as well as at the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, and Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA. She has been the recipient of four public art grants to create temporary public works in Boston's Fort Point neighborhood, and two grants from New England Foundation for the Arts. She has held artist residencies with Vermont Studio Center, Boston Center for the Arts, the Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts, and the Fenway Alliance; she was also a 2019 fellow in National Arts Strategies Creative Community Fellows program.

Jason Weeks
Jason Weeks is the executive director of the Cambridge Arts, a city department and public nonprofit agency that engages residents and visitors through programming designed to stimulate awareness, participation, and support for the arts. Jason oversees an award-winning Public Art/Percent-for-Art program, the Cambridge Arts Grant Program, Cambridge Street Performer Program, and a variety of annual produced events including Cambridge River Festival, Summer in the City, and Cambridge Open Studios. Jason is also an adjunct lecturer in Arts Administration at Boston University and a founding board member for MASSCreative, a statewide arts advocacy organization. Jason holds bachelor’s degrees in music and English literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a master’s in Arts Administration from Boston University.

Rosalyn Elder AIA, LEED AP
Rosalyn D. Elder is an architect, urban designer, author, artist and entrepreneur with a passion for the arts, architecture and cities, and history. Rosalyn has over forty years of experience working in the private sector and in government and non-profits as a designer and project manager. Throughout her career, she has maintained an interest in sustainable design practices, design equity in city development, and the integration of art in the built environment as a reflection of our collective humanity. Rosalyn founded the Public Art Initiative Committee through the BSA in 2007 to promote integrated public art in architecture. In 2008, she was a founding Board member of the Massachusetts Chapter of the USGBC. Rosalyn received a B. A. in Art History from the University of Memphis, a M. Arch. from the University of Washington, and a M. Arch in Urban Design from Harvard University. Rosalyn founded and operated Treasured Legacy, an African American cultural boutique at Copley Place from 1992 to 1998. She co-founded and operated Jamaicaway Books, a multi-cultural bookstore, from 1998 until 2012. Rosalyn recently authored Exploring the Legacy, a book on the contributions of African Americans to both our state’s history and our country’s history.

Stefanie Greenfield AIA, LEED AP, Principal of CambridgeSeven
Stefanie Greenfield has distinguished herself with an approach to architecture that is unique, as it embodies both a leadership role in design and project management. Stefanie has designed a range of building types at a variety of project scales for academic, hospitality, residential and developer clients. Stefanie is actively involved in the design community and is a regular speaker, thesis advisor and career mentor. Stefanie serves as a Town Meeting Member in her home community of Brookline, MA. She received her Master of Architecture degree from Washington University in St. Louis and an undergraduate degree in English from Colby College. Most recently, Stefanie’s recent work includes two community-based projects for Williams College and a new hotel that will transform the connection between Brookline and Boston. She is currently working with the City of Cambridge on The Foundry, the adaptive reuse of an industrial building for a community cultural center.

Dr. Stephanie Couch
Stephanie Couch is Executive Director of the Lemelson-MIT Program within the School of Engineering at MIT and the President of the Board of Directors, The Cambridge Foundry Consortium. Her research focuses on invention education and STEM learning opportunities, and invention education’s impacts on students (especially those from underrepresented backgrounds), schools, and local communities. She has an extensive background in leading work within multi-stakeholder STEM education networks, including formation of the statewide California STEM Learning Network, and the Gateways East Bay STEM Network in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Tom Evans
Tom Evans has been the Executive Director of the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority (CRA) since 2013. He has led the CRA through an organizational restructuring and strategic planning process. He is now facilitating infill development projects in Kendall Square and launching new community investment initiatives citywide including the revitalization of the Foundry building and the preservation of the community nonprofit center at 93-99 Bishop Allen Drive. Before coming to the CRA, Tom worked at MassDOT focused on sustainable transportation policies, notably the state’s GreenDOT Implementation Plan. Previously, Tom served as the Planning Division Manager of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, facilitating the planning, adoption, and implementation of signature revitalization plans along the southeast waterfront of San Francisco. He holds a Masters of City Planning from the University of California and a Bachelor's in Environmental Biology.