Designing a Green Future

This past summer, 12 high school students from Washington, D.C. created designs of landscapes that use trees and other green infrastructure to capture storm water. They were part of a 10-week pilot program, The Studio DC, supported by the city’s Department of Energy and Environment and run in partnership with Urban Studio, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that strives to advance design thinking that can be applied to creating equitable and sustainable urbanism. Other partners included Howard University College of Engineering and Architecture, Landscape Architecture Foundation, National Building Museum, Academy of Constriction and Design and Idea Public Charter School.

High school senior Quentin, a participant in The Studio DC, draws a plan of trees in bioretention in a Washington, D.C. landscape.
High school senior Quentin, a participant in The Studio DC, draws a plan of trees in bioretention in a Washington, D.C. landscape. Credit: The Studio DC.