Eleven design projects by students at Parsons School of Design

Dezeen School Shows: a community housing scheme for those displaced by the war in Ukraine and a project that likens architectural spaces to musical instruments are included in Dezeen's latest school show by students at Parsons School of Design.

Also included is an indoor composting bin that aims to teach children about food waste, and a biodegradable tray designed to be planted with the seeds it contains to nourish the soil as they grow.

Institution: Parsons School of Design at The New SchoolSchool: Parsons' School of Constructed EnvironmentsCourses: Master of Architecture, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Architectural Design, Master of Architecture and Master of Fine Arts in Lighting Design Dual Degree, Master of Fine Arts in Industrial Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Product Design, Master of Fine Arts in Interior Design, Associates of Applied Science in Interior Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design, Master of Fine Arts in Interior Design and Lighting Design Double Major and Master of Fine Arts in Lighting DesignTutors: AdegBoyega Adefope, Mark Bechtel, Craig Bernecker, Andrew Bernheimer, Carly Cannell, Yvette Chaparro, Rama Chorpash, Cotter Christian, Nadia Elrokhsy, Christine Facella, Mark Gardner, David Gissen, Paul Goldberger, Michele Gorman, Robert Kirkbride, Martina Kohler, David Leven, David J. Lewis, Allyson McDavid, Bryan McGrath, Alison Mears, Dan Michalik, Derek Porter, Fiona Raby, Barent Roth, Jonsara Ruth, Sharon Egretta Sutton, Glenn Shrum, Joel Stoehr, Joel Towers, Michael Verbos, Johanne Woodcock, Alfred Zollinger and Astrid Lipka

School statement:

"Encompassing a unique confluence of design disciplines, Parsons' School of Constructed Environments guides tomorrow's leaders toward creating socially just, environmentally sustainable, and technologically innovative buildings, interiors, lighting, and products.

"In a time of unprecedented change, we cultivate the skills, values, and vision that are vital to fostering a more integrated, equitable, and delightful world.

"We pursue regenerative material and design practices that break from conventional disciplinary norms.

"We cultivate a global outlook while drawing on the local resources of NYC and its groundbreakers.

"And as the only major design school embedded in a research university, Parsons gives students access to an array of disciplines that surround their field.

"Here – in fabrication shops, computing labs, NYC's only light lab, the Angelo Donghia Healthier Materials Library, and open design studios – students develop into responsible, engaged collaborators and innovators."

Imagined Futures by Grace Hernandez

"How can historic preservation be reimagined to incorporate both equity and sustainability in addition to cultural significance?

"In my thesis, I aim to explore this question through two approaches: redesigning the Bronx Borough Courthouse and revising historic preservation legislation.

"My proposal involves transforming an abandoned courthouse into a transitional house of studies for formerly incarcerated individuals, with the new programme acting as a catalyst for an internal transformation that is reflected in the architecture.

"By doing so, I hope to pave the way for a more flexible and inclusive future for preservation – one that addresses the needs of all communities."

Student: Grace HernandezCourse: MArchThesis advisor: Astrid LipkaProgramme director: Allyson McDavid

Bucha Resiliency Project by Bruke Alemayev and Artem Chouliak

"Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, millions of Ukrainians have lost their homes in a desperate attempt to escape death and destruction, and the need for safe and dignified housing is more urgent than ever.

"Our design for social housing in Bucha utilises a framework for new prefabricated modular housing and a system for modular integration into partially destroyed buildings.

"The programme provides immediate housing and community space as a refuge for healing and connection. A living memorial weaves through the whole site and into the fabric of the community. It is a symbol of resilience and a place to reflect, unify and fortify."

Students: Bruke Alemayev and Artem ChouliakCourse: BFA Architectural DesignThesis advisors: Alison Mears and Emily MossProgramme director: Martina Kohler

UCMe Studios by Stephan Verwayne-Mullen

"UCMe Studios, located in Brownsville, Brooklyn, offers a tactile experience generated through textiles, stone and soft lighting.

"It provides a space in which Black women are honoured and respected for their strength and craftsmanship, one in which they feel comfortable, beautiful, inspired, empowered and excited to create.

"Using 'the veil' to both obscure and reveal, UCMe Studios provides Black women with an experience that serves as a respite from the stresses of the world outside and enables them to fulfil their creative potential."

Student: Stephan Verwayne-MullenCourse: MArch/MFA Lighting Design Dual DegreeEmail: stephverwayne[at]gmail.comThesis advisor: Glenn ShrumProgramme directors: Allyson McDavid and Craig Bernecker

Shanzhai Identity: An Critique of Western Systems of Valuation Through the Fake by Young Kim

"Shanzhai Identity builds on the Chinese concept of shanzhai – a neologism that means 'bootleg' or 'fake' – to open conversation around the informal counterfeit economy found on Canal Street, New York City.

"Counterfeit goods demonstrate consumer demand and exist symbiotically with authentic luxury items. The fake simultaneously reinforces and underscores the exclusiveness and desirability of the real.

"This project aims to demonstrate how the valuation of luxury goods – at both the object and the systematic scale – reveals layers of inequity and exploitation."

Student: Young KimCourse: BFA Interior DesignThesis advisors: Virginia BlackProgramme director: Carly Cannell

In Sieme by Katherine Rodes

"In Sieme is a hospitality project for adults who are looking for romantic connection without the distractions of the digital realm. This effect is achieved by designing for the senses and shifting the user's focus from the artificial realm to a physical one.

"A cohesive, natural colour palette connects one space to another, creating a sensual environment in which to wander.

"Light and shade as well as open spaces and enclosed ones come together with vertical elements and water features to create a phenomenologically rich environment, connecting users to their bodies and surroundings."

Student: Katherine RodesCourse: AAS Interior DesignEmail: katherineprodes[at]gmail.comProject advisor: Nina FreedmanProgramme director: AdegBoyega Adefope

Gallery Roaming Video by Mina Guo

"A space is like a giant musical instrument in which sound gathers, amplifies, reverberates and travels elsewhere.

"The final presentation of sound depends on the shape and size of each space, the material surfaces that come into direct contact with the space and how each material is applied.

"When seeking a way to magnify the sound for those experiencing the interior, I took inspiration from the marimba – the ramp floor would operate like the keyboard of the space, with an under-ramp structure working as the resonator to amplify the sound."

Student: Mina GuoCourse: MFA Interior Design and MFA Lighting Design Double MajorEmail: makylo.guo[at]gmail.comThesis advisor: Glenn ShrumProgramme directors: Michele Gorman and Craig Bernecker

Robud by Darice Lee

"Robud is an indoor composting bin and educational tool to help children learn about composting, the food life cycle and the complications of food waste and loss.

"Many educational composting programmes cater to those who have access to large outdoor spaces such as gardens or yards, and composting education materials have been limited to worksheets and videos because composting is regarded as a smelly and messy process.

"Robud – a new system of odourless indoor composting – is designed for daily classroom use and can be incorporated into existing curricula. It helps students understand the life cycle of food in a hands-on way, from collection and composting of scraps to growing new plants.

"It makes composting fun, engaging and something to look forward to every day and builds sustainable habits from an early age."

Student: Darice LeeCourse: BFA Industrial DesignEmail: dariceleedesign[at]gmail.comThesis advisor: Mark BechtelProgramme director: Barent Roth

Revising Germicidal Ultraviolet Irradiation Devices From Users' Perspectives by Ryan Xiang Sun

"For decades, scientists have known about the disinfection capabilities of ultraviolet light (UVC), which is used in hospital facilities and now can serve as an essential tool in the fight against Covid-19 and other viruses.

"The application of novel Germicidal Ultraviolet Irradiation (GUVI) remains in the development phase.

"While the market is focused on designing safe and effective devices, developers have neglected human/user preference considerations.

"This study provides analysis and design proposals to balance safety and efficacy with users' concerns, which include worries over accidental exposure, undesired blue light, affordability and spatial-aesthetic disruption.

"This study focuses on the three most promising GUVI systems: the indirect up-room air circulation system, the HVAC chamber air circulation system, and the 222 nm direct far UVC exposure system."

Student: Ryan Xiang SunCourse: MFA Lighting DesignThesis advisors: Craig Bernecker and Francesca BastianiniProgramme director: Craig Bernecker

Cortiçeira Amorim x Parsons collaborative project by students of Parsons School of Design and Amorim Cork

"This spring, Parsons launched a research partnership with Portugal-based Cortiçeira Amorim, the world's largest cork processing group.

"Led by product designer, associate professor and cork expert Daniel Michalik, the initiative brings together Michalik's longstanding creative practice and advocacy on behalf of the regenerative material and the School of Constructed Environments' deep commitment to innovation in sustainability.

"The partnership was launched with Michalik's recent course, The Thick Skin: Cork as a Material for Designing New Futures, which challenged students to explore cork's singular properties on-site at Amorim Cork Composites Cork Factory.

"David J Lewis, dean of the School of Constructed Environments at Parsons, described the unique learning opportunity – involving both research and hands-on making – as 'emblematic of Parsons' mission to cultivate leaders prepared to address pressing global issues including equitable climate resilience through their work.'"

Course: The Thick Skin: Cork as a Material for Designing New FuturesTutor: Daniel Michalik

Presence in Bed by Annabelle Schneider

"Presence in Bed puts the physical and digital in dialogue through a site-specific installation tied to virtual reality. Here, the bed represents an essential place to reconnect to the self – touch points of temperature reactive sheets on a mattress act as a canvas to capture the presence of absence.

"Digital human traces are recorded as tactile image transfers on pillows and hand-woven emergency foils serve as protection capes that foster comforting temperatures while giving the installation an otherworldly feel.

"Blood, hair, skin, sweat and bacteria are presented along with recorded audio affirmations and an evocative sound design. Presence in Bed was on public view at 173 Elizabeth Street in New York City during NYCxDesign, from May 20 to May 25, 2023."

Student: Annabelle SchneiderCourse: MFA Interior DesignThesis advisors: Francesca Forlini and Maria Linares TrellesProgramme director: Michele Gorman

Sead by Mara Zimmerman

"Sead is a collection of biodegradable vessels and packaging that can be planted in the ground with the seeds they hold, adding protection and nourishment to soil.

"It makes use of seafood processing waste – a material with high nutritive value – to help cultivate heirloom seeds for small-scale growers in homes and urban gardens.

"Sead serves as a case study for considering waste products as an alternative to perpetuating the extraction of virgin material and invites further investigation into the opportunities that chitin, a shell-sourced biopolymer and other waste materials offer."

Student: Mara ZimmermanCourse: MFA Industrial DesignThesis advisors: Yvette Chaparro, Andrea Ruggiero and Erika HansonProgramme director: Yvette Chaparro

Partnership content

This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Parsons School of Design. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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