DesignPhiladelphia’s Design Education program, in partnership with AIA, proudly hosted 2026 Architecture Week, joining a nationwide celebration of the power of design. This year’s initiative connected 376 students across Philadelphia with designers and architects offering a direct look into the built environment and the people who shape it. Through classroom visits and hands-on learning, and conversations in the studios themselves, students from 3rd through 12th grade explored how architecture impacts their daily lives and how they might one day contribute to it.

This work is made possible by a dedicated group of volunteers who brought their time, knowledge, and lived experience into classrooms across the city.

Volunteers included:

• Trevor Adams of Thomas Jefferson University (student)
• Brian Baksa of Praxis Placemaking Studio
• Romina Broglia of SITIO architecture + urbanism
• Stevie Connelly of BRR Architecture, Inc.
• Gary Daniels of DJM Design CAD & Coordination
• Marisa DePiero of Meyer;
• Soné Ehabe of 4 Walls Interiors
• Sarah Farella of BKP Architects P.C.
•  Helen Fialkowski of SITIO architecture + urbanism
• Cassie Farmer of Meyer
• Emma Fox Lambert of CBRE
• Houda Halouane of Thomas Jefferson University
• Jaclynn Herbein of SITIO architecture + urbanism
• Brooke Kervi of SITIO architecture + urbanism
• Zephyr Martin of CBP Architects
• Yoselynn Martinez of Thomas Jefferson University
• Monique McCray of Perryman Construction
• Sarah Meyer of BRR Architecture, Inc.
• Marisa DePiero of Meyer
• Mia Rosensaft of DesignPhiladelphia
• Laamiah Sayyed of Thomas Jefferson University
• Diego Velazquez Cruz of Thomas Jefferson University
• Madeleine Starr of WRT
• Maddie Steinmetz of STV
• Anjelica Soesanto of WRT
• Michael Spain of DesignPhiladelphia
• Paola Zarate of Jacobs Wyper Architects

Participating schools included:

• Bregy Elementary School
• Crossroads Academy
• Edwin M. Stanton School
• James Logan School
• Multicultural Academy Charter School
• Paul L. Dunbar School
• Rhawnhurst School
• Robert Pollock Elementary School
• Strawberry Mansion High School
• West Philadelphia High School
• William D. Kelley School

Together, this network of professionals and students helped make architecture more visible, more accessible, and more possible for the next generation. The future of the design industry depends on who we invite in today. Last week was one step toward building that future.