While many architectural design curricula have been framed within real-life hypothetical contexts, there has been an emerging trend towards design-build projects within or outside of the formal curriculum. This paper presents a longitudinal case study of a design-build project undertaken by Year 1 architecture students in a Malaysian private university which started from 2022. Framed within the purpose learning educational philosophy, this project is an Urban Placemaking project for suburban community farms involving the local council, communities, and approximately 100 students from Year 1 architecture design studio. As new students of architecture, the students were involved in designing and building 5–6 real life bamboo structures within suburban community farms. Placemaking is not a single-disciplined approach. In the My Bamboo project, architecture students collaborated with students from mass communication, events, and marketing. The project targets neighborhoods and places in need of improvement and works with them to create or re-create “places”. Supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG) to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, this urban placemaking project advocates for socially inclusive and accessible urban spaces to build a strong sense of belonging and community spirit, and to improve neighbours’ wellbeing. Adopting survey and reflective practice, the findings suggest the changing role of the educator in curating an urban placemaking project within the curricular. Despite myriad of challenges, students were found to be highly engaged in impact-driven community-based projects realizing that even a year 1 student can play an active role in place creation. In addition, the multidisciplinary approach to placemaking reinforces the blurring of boundaries between disciplines, emphasizing that the creation of places is a collaborative act.