About the
Design Studios

Design studios are exploratory learning spaces in which undergraduate and graduate design and planning students exercise their imaginations to address a topic or challenge proposed by faculty members while developing skill sets for design and visual communication. At the University of Washington, College of Built Environments, students have engaged with Just Circular Communities Collaborative (JC3) topics through Participatory Action Research and Service-Learning design studios. Led by Associate Professor De Almeida, landscape architecture, architecture, and urban planning students have participated in community-engaged design activities to explore the development of the pilot anaerobic biodigester at Food Lifeline in South Park (Spring 2022), how the biodigester can scale up into a larger community-owned circular economy (Spring 2023) and investigating reparative futures for local, hyper-industrialized systems and sites (Spring 2024). As the project and JC3 develop, we will continue to explore the potentials and opportunities for reimagining circular economies that are community-centered and can address environmental, social, and climate justice.