From the Classroom to the Community: Leyuan Li and Danny Wills Led Students in the Design of the Inaugural Denver Community Design Festival
What happens when architecture students step beyond the studio and participate in conversations with the people who are directly shaping our communities? The Common Ground Community Design Festival created an opportunity to put that question into action. Led by Assistant Professor Leyuan Li, with support from Assistant Professor Danny Wills and CU Denver bachelor of science in architecture alum Andrea Malta, the College of Architecture and Planning’s undergraduate architecture program collaborated with Elaine Limmer of the Denver Mayor’s Office of Community Outreach, Meg Touborg of the Denver Architecture Foundation, and Zach Kotel of the Lavender Hill Cultural District. As part of the festival, architecture students designed movable installations for five Denver community organizations—the Lavender Hill Cultural District, Colorado Nepalese Community (CNC), Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC), Greater Denver CARES Mentoring Movement, and Empower Media Exchange (EMX)—to help each group promote their important and impactful missions.
The final installation presented tangible, visual boards for the organizations to use to promote their contributions to the community and showcase their missions, celebrate their communities, and invite others in to know and understand the work that is already underway.
Common Ground Community Design Festival Origins
Li joined the faculty at CU Denver in 2022 and immediately connected with History Colorado and Colorado Asian Pacific United in the work unearthing Denver’s erased Chinatown. Through his research in collaboration with History Colorado and work with students in his 2023 undergraduate architecture studio, The Suppressed Interior, Li built connections with important, but often sidelined, communities in the Denver area. Thus emerged the Common Ground Community Design Festival.
“The whole exhibition really evolved from my Chinatown exhibition,” said Li. “I gave a tour to the Mayor’s Office of Community Outreach and some other community members, and after the tour, we started to think about how we could expand into larger impact.”
For his spring 2026 undergraduate architecture studio, Parts of Common, students were once again tasked with getting to know the constituents who are actively involved in the Denver community, this time looking at how to help community organizations gain more visibility for their work.
Connecting Students with Community Leaders
The students’ role was integral to the Common Ground Community Design Festival’s goal, which aimed to “show the power of design to create a Denver where everyone belongs.” Students got to know members of each of the five organizations, discussed their wants and needs, met with them throughout the design process, collaborated with the Office of Community Outreach to see what possible and to share iterations of their work, and ultimately, designed and built the final installations.
In May, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston stopped by an exhibition of prototypes from the Parts of Common architecture studio to learn about each group’s proposed designs before students enrolled in the summer semester built the final installations.
“Our process began with community engagement in spring 2026 during Studio 5. We met with members of the Colorado Nepalese Community, listened to their needs and stories, and visited places that hold cultural significance to them,” said Esra Hima, bachelor of science in architecture student. “Throughout the process, local architecture firms visited our studio, offering feedback and professional perspectives that helped us strengthen the design. As one of three students representing CNC, I helped translate this engagement into design decisions centered on identity, gathering, and community. Presenting our final design to the City and the Mayor of Denver brought the experience full circle. My biggest takeaway was seeing how architecture can give back—not just by creating space, but by responding to and contributing to the community it serves.”
Hands-On Design-Build Work
In preparation for the festival, September 24-30, 2026, a small group of students worked with Wills to bring the final designs to life.
“As an undergraduate architecture student, it was incredibly meaningful to see work that began with listening and learning in the studio eventually come to life at the festival,” said Hima. “It reinforced that architecture is not just about designing, but about understanding who you are designing for and allowing their voices to shape the outcome. The experience also allowed me to expand my skills beyond design and gain more hands-on knowledge and confidence with fabrication.”
Small models turned into full-sized displays that were customized to the needs of each organization. Those who visited the exhibition at the Denver Performing Arts Complex walked between the displays, taking in the wide array of shelving, pegboards, tables, publication racks, and tapestry hangers each filled with information and decoration representative of each organization.
Following the opening of the exhibition, the festival hosted a civic forum featuring leaders in community-centered design, including Li, Joseph Altshuler, Akima Brackeen, and Wendell Joseph, and moderated by Wills. Each panelist presented their transformative civic initiatives and shared in conversation about the role of community-centered design in fostering more equitable and resilient cities.
Javier Peña Ibáñez, founder of Concéntrico, an internationally acclaimed urban innovation laboratory that explores new ways of thinking about and transforming cities through architecture, design, and contemporary artistic practice, was invited to provide the keynote address. He shared insights about innovative models of urban engagement and cultural production that challenge conventional approaches to creating more inclusive, resilient, and imaginative cities.
The festival concluded with a student-led demonstration alongside the community groups to walk them through both the setup and breakdown of the displays of their materials.
“It was rewarding and humbling to see the community experience the completed project and to see the process come full circle,” said Hima. “Having the opportunity to contribute to something shaped by their stories and involvement made the time and effort especially meaningful. I’m thankful to Li, the community, and all of the mentors and peers who shared their time, expertise, and support throughout the experience.”
“Common Ground gives our undergraduate students the opportunity to expand the agency of architecture by grounding design in communities and the people who shape them,” said Li. “Through the process of designing and building together, students experience firsthand how architecture can respond to community needs, engage historically underserved communities, and create meaningful impact at the scale of everyday life. It has been a true pleasure to see them take on this important and timely work.”
Project Credits:
Organizing Team: Leyuan Li, Elaine Minjy Limmer, Zach Kotel, and Meg Touborg
Design Team: Leyuan Li, Danny Wills, and Andrea Malta
Graphic Design: Zach Kotel Graphic Assistant: Elina Chen
Research Assistants: Santiago Aguilera Cepeda, Camden Cramer, Esra Hima, Kevin Harris, Andrew Kauffman
Student Assistants: Student Matthew Dowling, Alyssa Aguilar-Monroe, Alaina Harris, Allison Heflin, Lance Holland, Ava Rutherford, Erin Wilson, Zachary Beck, Emmett Booth, Lorelai Brunner, Zeliya Cain, Mel Campie, Allison Chu, David Hornik, Van Pham, Jose Ramirez-Aguirre, Fernando Uvina Perez, and Audrey Wenzl
Community Partners: Colorado Nepalese Community, Greater Denver CARES Mentoring Movement, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, Empower Media Exchange, Lavender Hill Cultural District
Special Thanks: CU Timmerhaus Fund, CU Denver CAP colleages, including David Rifkind, Leo Darnell, Kat Vlahos, Dora Epstein Jones, Carmen New, Matt Gines, Michelle Haynes, Colleen Rufolo, and many many others