The weissman Foundry
The Weissman Foundry, established in 2018 by Babson College, was envisioned as a student-operated, open-door, design-to-prototyping studio, inspiring transdisciplinary, innovative collaboration between Babson, Olin, and Wellesley (BOW) colleges.
As the inaugural Director, I was laser-focused on creating a center of entrepreneurial collaboration and transdisciplinary design for prototyping for Babson, Olin, and Wellesley (BOW) Colleges.
As the inaugural Director, I rapidly grew asset value for the Center by:
+ Forging a legacy of creative community culture by engaging thousands of BOW stakeholders in dozens of social, making, and entrepreneurial events/initiatives
+ Establishing a Corporate Partnership Program generating substantial revenue after 16 months and on track to off-set the $600,000 operations cost by year three fully
+ Hiring and overseeing 30+ new employees
+ Activating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into core operations, establishing a Physical, Cognitive, and Emotional Safe Space for all BOW stakeholders
+ Inventing multiple custom organizational structures for smooth internal operations and active complex cross-campus connections
+ Acquiring and installing 50+ digital fabrication equipment and tools
+ Creating 35+ operational manuals for the safe and effective training and operation of fabrication equipment and tools
01.
The following Casy Study focuses on the four stages of development I designed that took the Weissman Foundry from an empty building to a self-sustaining, thriving, interdisciplinary three-campus community center.
Installing physical & digital equipment and infrastructure
The 10,000-square-foot building opened with “only tables and chairs” and therefore required every aspect of physical/digital infrastructure and operations to be developed. This tabula rasa presented a unique opportunity, combined with being ground zero of creative connectivity between the three BOW colleges.
As an example of this complexity, BOW students (stakeholders) have a broad range of skill sets, from novice prototyper to advanced engineers. This requires a balance of equipment specifications to provide functionality regardless of skill level. Physical safety protocols and strict, robust training practices were custom developed to ensure that all BOW stakeholders remain physically safe, while gaining full access to all of the Foundry equipment. Ultimately, this required purchasing and installing nearly a quarter of a million dollars of equipment and implementing a bespoke system that continuously analyzes BOW student safety.
02.
Promoting unique trans-disciplinary, creative thinking
The Foundry BOW community represents the broadest range of backgrounds, identities, and disciplines, and this diversity was identified as the Foundry’s most significant opportunity and most valuable asset. As the facility took shape, the interplay of the BOW stakeholder's vast perspectives and skills resulted in an inclusive, fun, and exploratory design-to-prototype environment. This produced new perspectives, allowing stakeholders to view their work from various angles, creating new understanding, and generating more significant value.
To firmly define and establish this community, the Foundry Scout program was developed. Scouts are student workers empowered to be leaders, mentors, Foundry ambassadors, and liaisons to the BOW colleges. Ten students were hired from each of the three partner BOW colleges to ensure that the Scouts became the foundation of Foundry culture and creative leadership. Scouts brought awareness to their peers and grew the Foundry community through inventive programming, experimental courses, a social kitchen, and unique social events. In addition, Scouts are trained on equipment and technical processes so that they may instruct and advise BOW stakeholders on the successful completion of their entrepreneurial or passion projects.
03.
Establishing physically, cognitively, & emotionally safe communities and inclusive culture
The BOW Foundry community became known as the 4th Culture. The diversity and creative exploration of the 4th Culture required two additions to the physical safety; emotional and cognitive safety. This included DEI and Bias awareness training for Scouts. The data showed that the safer culture, the more creative culture.
By becoming an environment that protects BOW stakeholders’ “minds and bodies,” the Foundry naturally grows an inclusive culture that promotes openness and the sharing of ideas. This did not depend on discipline-imposed restrictions, which could inhibit the development of new ideas. These new ideas open the user’s imagination and release unfettered creativity. Hidden value is uncovered, and discovering unexpected value can drive individuals to make meaningful and valuable things. The trifecta of safety (physical, emotional, and cognitive) provided by the 4th Culture encourages BOW stakeholders to develop any type of project, view their work from various perspectives, and discover that all efforts have value.
04.
Connecting you to advisors & investment
As the Foundry is a Babson College Center, the program needed to become financially self-supporting. Therefore a process was developed to streamline the 4th Culture to provide a wide range of viewpoints and find value for external partners. This process led to the establishment of a corporate partnership program. The program offers day-long sprints and semester-long “follow-ons” to creatively solve problems defined in corporate clients' project briefs. The Foundry partnered with an international Pet Food supplier in the program's pilot, and the results far exceeded both the project brief and the partner's expectations. As expected, leveraging the 4th culture resulted in a range of end-to-end solutions that found value far outside the landscape the partner had previously explored.
Within 18 months of the building opening, the corporate partnership program funded 10% of the Foundry's operational budget and was on its way to delivering 80-90% by year three.