“A friendly group of people:” The faces behind the BDW

Brown Design Workshop (BDW) Director Louise Manfredi doesn’t look for a specific set of technical skills when helping select student leaders for the BDW. Instead, she seeks out students who will be “positive contributors” to the space — “wonderful souls” who exhibit a desire to support others and create a warm, welcoming culture in a sometimes intimidating environment.

The BDW was established in 2013. Since then, it has grown from an emptied-out lab with hand-me-down tables, a laser cutter, and some 3D printers to a 10,000 square-foot workshop filled to the brim with tools ranging from Computer Numerical Control Lathes to sewing machines. “We have so many things in there that you can use to create, to embody what you’re thinking about,” said Louise. 

The workshop is entirely free to use and open every day during the Spring and Fall semesters. “We have a very low barrier to entry deliberately,” said Louise. Outside of the Brown community, Providence community members and RISD students can obtain free memberships to access the space. And access to the BDW also means access to materials for training at no cost to members.

BDW workshops include introductions to woodworking, metalwork, 3D printing, laser cutting, and sewing. The BDW also offers advanced wood workshops, planer and jointer workshops, and electronics workshops. Once members complete the necessary workshops, they can use locked tools throughout the space. All of the workshops are student-led, taught by monitors and managers in the BDW. 

Students can apply to be monitors-in-training (MiT) during the fall semester, and the program takes place during spring. The program involves taking and learning how to teach all of the BDW workshops, shadowing monitors, and eventually presenting the projects they have completed throughout the program. “The program is very heavy in the idea that the BDW is a community” said BDW manager Jules Silva. MiTs get to know the monitors and managers of the space and learn how to work collaboratively. 

Monitors are responsible for teaching workshops, ensuring safety in the space, and helping members use the various resources available in the BDW. “Monitors are there to be both helpful and approachable and warm,” said Jules. Monitors have “a good foundation of knowledge” about all of the areas in the BDW, but often have more in-depth expertise in a few spaces. At all times, two monitors are on duty in the BDW — ensuring that all members of the space can get help when they need it.

“Our managers allow the space to be student-run,” said Jules. Managers handle communication with members, coordinate with Professors who use the space for classes, facilitate community and club partnerships, manage the use of the BDW for events, organize the workshop schedule, and help select future MiTs. Managers “mesh everyone together,” Jules said. 

“The minute I walked into the BDW, I felt the community,” said Abigael Bousquet, a monitor in the BDW. “It was like a little piece of home away from home, and I knew pretty early on that I wanted to be there as much as I could.” Abigael is also co-president of Women Build at Brown, one of the many clubs to make use of the BDW.

Other clubs that are active in the BDW include Design for America, fashion @brown, Brown Rocketry, and Brown Formula Racing. “We try to support as much creativity within the bounds of what is safe in our space,” said Louise. 

Women Build at Brown aims to “create a space for women to feel more comfortable in the BDW and other workshop spaces,” said co-president Angelina Clark. Workshop spaces have historically been male-dominated, Clark said, and Women Build at Brown tries to create a welcoming environment for women.

Brown Formula Racing focuses on one specific project: building a formula-style car from scratch to race against about 120 other collegiate teams every year in Michigan. The BDW houses a lot of the team’s tools and equipment. “The BDW is an incredibly useful space,” said Chandler Zhu, Lead Cooling System Engineer for Brown Formula Racing. 

“Most teams have to outsource your CNC milling,” Zhu said. But with the help of the BDW, Brown Formula Racing can access CNC mills on campus. “It’s really nice knowing that if I need to make something, I can just make it. I don’t have to buy a thousand-dollar tool — it’s just there.”

The BDW is also used for introductory engineering courses. “I got introduced to the BDW through ENGN0030,” said Angelina. The course enables students to get a surface-level understanding of how to use the space, and they can take that knowledge further in later research, coursework, or extracurriculars.

Some students even get BDW projects funded through the Hazeltine Maker Grant — like Chris Shin, Paul Ogan, Toby Meng-Saccoccio, Albert Wu, Evrim Ozcan, and Shri Bellala, who were featured by I-BEAM for their research into drug delivery this past April. 

Even younger high school students are exposed to the space through collaborations with the Blackstone Academy Charter School (BACS) and other community organizations. Serena Vu, a BDW manager, works closely with the two cohorts of BACS students who cycle through the BDW each year. She’s worked with over 50 students since starting at the BDW.

“I really enjoy being able to partner with the school to provide access to materials, instruction, and a diverse curriculum to students who might not have ever considered engineering as a possible career path,” Serena said. Last year, she worked with students on a computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D printing lesson. The project culminated with the students designing and printing personalized keychains. “It’s really fun to get to know who the students are as people to tailor their learning experience,” she said. 

Jules noted that “having staff from a lot of different disciplines” allows the BDW to facilitate all types of programming. Staff members aren’t just engineers — the BDW team features artists and creatives from all different backgrounds. 

Students, staff, and community members all bring unique skill sets and interests to the BDW. “The BDW brings together the most inspiring, creative individuals,” said Serena. And with their diverse range of interests and passions, no two days in the BDW are the same. “It’s a living lab,” said Louise. 

To learn more about the BDW, stay tuned for more articles from I-BEAM focusing on the space’s commitments to inclusivity and sustainability.

 

LinkedIn accounts

Abigael Bousquet, Women Build at Brown

Serena Vu, BDW Manager

Brown Formula Racing

Brown Design Workshop

 

Instagram accounts

Women Build at Brown: @womenbuildatbrown 

Brown Formula Racing: @brownformularacing

Brown Design Workshop: @brownbdw

 

Websites

Brown Formula Racing

Women Build at Brown

Brown Design Workshop