DownCity Design

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DownCity Design DownCity Design helps people design solutions for their communities. ​DownCity Design helps people design solutions for their communities.

We’re improving cities by inviting citizens to imagine and create better futures, using the tools of design. We believe in the power of design to solve problems, and in the power of young people to change the world. Our youth programs and community design dialogues are making urban neighborhoods safer, healthier, and more livable, while empowering residents to become agents of change.

Proud moments from the DCD MET Internship! 🌟 Our students dove deep, researching a pitch for their client organizations,...
10/16/2026

Proud moments from the DCD MET Internship! 🌟 Our students dove deep, researching a pitch for their client organizations, . Each group wowed us with creative presentations and digital collages connecting their potential client projects to our central theme!

🎉 Calling all Providence teens! Ready to unleash your creativity, build new skills, and join an awesome community? BONU...
10/15/2026

🎉 Calling all Providence teens! Ready to unleash your creativity, build new skills, and join an awesome community? BONUS: Join any of our afterschool programs and get priority consideration for our competitive paid Summer Design Studio internship!

🚀 DownCity Designers: Dive into architecture, learn to sketch, design, and build models, and work on real community projects!

📸 Content Creators: Want to make your feed stand out? Team up with local orgs, master graphic design, and create scroll-stopping social content!

🤖 FTC Robotics Team: Code, design, and drive robots while learning to think like an engineer. No experience needed!

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Interviews for our MET School Long-Term Internship are underway!Our MET School interns will come to DCD every Tues and T...
09/30/2026

Interviews for our MET School Long-Term Internship are underway!

Our MET School interns will come to DCD every Tues and Thur throughout the academic year to learn design and fabrication skills, while designing and building an ambitious project for a community client.

As part of our assessment, interviewees team up and compete to build the tallest spaghetti tower, but there’s a catch: it has to support the weight of a marshmallow! A fun showcase of the design and teamwork skills they’ll continue to develop throughout their time with DCD.

Here are some highlights from our final summer project unveiling! Our Creative Change Studio interns worked with Pete an...
08/28/2026

Here are some highlights from our final summer project unveiling! Our Creative Change Studio interns worked with Pete and Andy's Food Pantry and Thrift Store to create three large-scale banner murals, bringing warmth and color to the pantry's main space! Their designs capture the spirit of the community they serve: a family-style banquet featuring plantains and arepas, a woman surrounded by birds, fruit, and flora, and a vibrant celebration of the many cultures and flags that make up the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood.

At the unveiling celebration, Reverend Mary Alice Sullivan shared: "It has been our hope and desire for so long to have something in this room that looks warm and welcoming and inspiring and represents all the cultures that meet here week after week after week… This is not a great time for hope in the world that we're living in. I can get up in the morning and read the news and lose my hope pretty quickly. But then I think about you, and I think about watching you work together and listening to you talk together, and all the designs that you have made... I just have to look at these banners and know that your hope is the hope of the world. So thank you. Thank you all."

We are endlessly grateful to our Creative Change interns for pouring their hearts into this project, and to Pete and Andy's Food Pantry and Thrift Store and the Mt. Pleasant community for welcoming us in. Thank you to all the funders who make our summer program possible!

This summer, our Design/Build Studio interns also had the incredible pleasure of working with Tides Family Services! Wit...
08/22/2026

This summer, our Design/Build Studio interns also had the incredible pleasure of working with Tides Family Services! With George N. Hunt School just wrapping up its first year in a new building, our teen designers were tasked with creating a market stand to help students sell the plants and produce they've grown through the school's pilot horticulture program.

The stand is full of thoughtful details: a chalkboard sign that can be updated for different marketing needs, a pop-out bench that doubles as extra display space for plants, a beautiful custom vine-shaped bookshelf designed to be accessible for children of all ages and heights, and music note details that commemorate beloved students and staff who have passed on.

We are so proud our interns could create something that will be of lasting use to the George N. Hunt community for years to come. Thank you to the George N. Hunt School community and Tides Family Services for trusting our students with this meaningful project, and to all the funders who make our summer program possible!

‼️ DownCity Design is still hiring ‼️We are currently looking for a part-time Shop Manager/Design Educator, Program Impa...
08/19/2026

‼️ DownCity Design is still hiring ‼️

We are currently looking for a part-time Shop Manager/Design Educator, Program Impact VISTA, and Community Engagement VISTA to join us this fall. If you're passionate about community-powered design, we want you on our team!

Scroll to read more details about each position, and visit www.downcitydesign.org/opportunities to apply. Please submit an application by August 30th for priority consideration.

Introducing the newest addition to the loading dock: NINE beautiful, modular wooden pieces handcrafted by our Design/Bu...
08/18/2026

Introducing the newest addition to the loading dock: NINE beautiful, modular wooden pieces handcrafted by our Design/Build interns! This set includes two full groupings of tables and seats — one at table height, one at bar height — with a design inspired by the playful shapes of the 50 Sims branding. What was once just a loading dock is now a permanent, lively gathering space for the Valley Arts District to enjoy!

As our student leader Angel shared during the celebration: "Even though this unveiling marks the end of the 6 weeks and the end of the summer program, it also marks the start of a long journey. This will now be a place where people can build bonds, socialize, grow in the community, grow relationships, and so on. I also want to share to all our newer interns and others that might want to apply: this program is really a special experience. It truly helps shape you into a better person and teaches you so much that you can use beyond the summer."

Thank you, Angel, for your lovely words — and to the incredible Design/Build interns and educators who brought this project to life! We're also so grateful to 50 Sims, Scout, and Buttonwoods Brewery for being such wonderful clients, and to all the funders who make our summer program possible.

Last Friday, our Summer Celebration kicked off with the unveiling of something special: the outreach materials and "Shar...
08/17/2026

Last Friday, our Summer Celebration kicked off with the unveiling of something special: the outreach materials and "Share Your Story" Station our Creative Change interns designed this summer for !

Camilo, a GWC member who worked closely with our students throughout the summer, put it best: "I was really touched by how your collective work reminded me of our organizing work and how we really believe that together we can make change... Your work will help our organization shine a light on people's stories and be something that we can use inspire others to change systems and build power together." 💡 💪

To the George Wiley Center, our amazing team and students, the funders who made this project possible, and every family and friend who showed up to celebrate — thank you for making this summer one to remember!

The teen designers in our Design/Build Studio have been hard at work fabricating their final service projects for and ...
08/12/2026

The teen designers in our Design/Build Studio have been hard at work fabricating their final service projects for and these past two weeks!

Take a look at some highlights from the workshop, and stay tuned for the final project unveilings this Friday 🤩 🪚

Our Creative Change interns are putting the final touches on their vibrant murals for and outreach materials for this ...
08/12/2026

Our Creative Change interns are putting the final touches on their vibrant murals for and outreach materials for this week ✨🎨

We are so proud of their hard work and dedication over these past six weeks -- take a look at our students in action as they bring their designs to life!

Address

370 Cranston Street
Providence, RI
02907

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+14012728070

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