As the school year wraps up, one group of KU students will leave behind a lasting legacy of their work. Two wooden bus benches were designed and built by a team of architecture and design students this year. They were recently installed on Maine Street, just north of 6th Street. The team celebrated, along with Lawrence Transit staff at a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Freedom by Design is a nonprofit design-build and community service organization under AIAS (The American Institute of Architecture Students). The organization’s main goal is to design projects that work towards improving accessibility and safety in the Lawrence community.

“As architecture and design students, it has been incredibly rewarding to contribute to the Lawrence community in a tangible way,” according to the bench build team. “As students, we understand how vital public transit is to daily life in Lawrence, and we saw this as an opportunity to give back.”

“Through this project, we were able to take the design process from concept to construction, creating benches that are not only functional but also reflect the energy and character of the community. Overall, it has been an amazing experience to see our ideas come to life!”

Lawrence Transit is grateful to all the students involved in the project.

Executive Board: Mia Maddock and Bella Marlatt (Directors of Freedom by Design), Myles Tilsen, Jack Sanfilippo, and Samantha Herron (Project Managers), Sarah Kasaei (Fundraising Chair), Beck Meinhardt (Secretary), Abby Hartzog, Louise Caron, and Jackie Chang (Public Relations)

Contributing Members: Seth Pomerantz, Ayo Obadare, Hanna Marshall, Mia Hoorman, Avery Krick, Garrett Fraher, Adrian Mruckovski, Charlie Moffatt, Hai Nguyen, Hailey Head, Rowan Bohnsted, Ella Dreiling, Subhra Mohapatra, Taryn Muntean, Rowynn Laipply, Mimi Waddell, Asher Zelvy, Cris Reyes, Jackson Meers, Ava Diamis, Taylor Ball, Oscar Bilzing, Luke Greseth, Emily Cynor, Ainsley Mcclard, Melissa Ortega, Daymii Sosa-Pacheco, Amy Romero, Ava Holt, Jory Mortenson, Elena Villarreal, Luke Scalise, Dario Arizpe Gomez, Emily Robertson, Tori Schmidt, Van Quy Le, Ava Hanlon, Avery Klaver, Cecilia de la Vega, Grace Theissen, Aidan Day, Ryah Moore, Natalie Alferman

To get help planning a trip on the bus or for more information, visit www.lawrencetransit.org or call (785) 864-4644. Find Lawrence Transit on Facebook: @LawrenceTransit.

Contact: Lawrence Transit, info@lawrencetransit.org, (785) 864-4644