Continuing our ongoing support of arts programming in Boston Public Schools, the PAYETTE Fabrication team partnered with Bridge Boston Charter School on their production of ‘Aladdin Jr.’ Located in Roxbury, BBCS serves students in pre-Kindergarten through eighth grade.
The PAYETTE team worked with director Adia Vellaccio, Izilda Monteiro, Kim Wang and other BBCS faculty to design the stage set. The lavish backdrop included elements like a Sultan’s Palace, the Market Place, and the towering entrance to the Cave of Wonder. The components were CNC-machined out of lightweight EPS foam and plywood in our FabLAB and brought to the school for a community-build session. On a fun-filled Saturday, more than 40 volunteers from the BBCS community came together in the school gymnasium to paint the Aladdin set components. Performances were held in the auditorium of the nearby Trotter Elementary School.
Uncomplicated by the complex programmatic elements of our buildings, our targeted community collaborations highlight the power of design to elevate shared-values and invite participation. We pursue these projects because they reinforce our mission and challenge our designers to invest themselves in their communities.
By donating their time and labor, the PAYETTE team co-created wonderful, professional set pieces for a school and program that otherwise would not have been able to afford them. PAYETTE’s sets were instrumental in creating a high quality production for our cast. The joy and wonder when our kids saw the completed set pieces for the first time was truly incredible. The professional quality of the work allowed the children to see themselves as professionals whose skills and voices matter. Our time with PAYETTE cultivated meaningful community engagement, uplifted the quality of our show, and broadened our kids’ horizons for what is possible for themselves.
Adia Vellaccio, 2nd Grade Lead Teacher, BBCS
The 2025 OpenLAB Boston studio work will be exhibited at Virginia Tech Monday, March 2nd through Wednesday, March 4th.
Please join us for the following events on Monday, March 2nd:
11:00am - Lecture with Parke MacDowell
1:00pm Lobby talk with Kevin Sullivan
This year’s studio identifies seven sites along the frayed edges of Boston’s Greenway. The Greenway is a one-mile-long linear park running through the heart of the city, reconnecting downtown Boston with its waterfront. Many of the parcels along its edges remain undeveloped and present mute, blank facades to the public realm. Addressing and repairing these edges through acts of infilling, layering, grafting, framing, and placemaking is the core focus of the studio—SUTURE.