NEWS
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HOME WORKING
of communication. Her film was nominated for
Students and staff were eagerly welcomed back
Best Experimental Short and Best Visual FX in
to campus this fall after rigorous protocols—
this year’s Indie Film Fest. Outside the classroom,
including requirements for masks, vaccines,
faculty advanced public health creatively. David
and testing—were put in place to ensure the
J. Lewis, dean of Parsons’ School of Constructed
community’s health and safety. Parsons had
Environments and professor of architecture,
gone fully remote last March in response to
and his firm, LTL Architects, researched
the pandemic, and community members
historical urban pandemics to develop their
came together to support one another and
Manual of Physical Distancing, a guide for
imaginatively enrich online learning. Students
practitioners adapting temporary spatial
faced challenges as well as opportunities
adjustments into long-term ones to fight the
for greater access to peers and faculty, who
spread of the coronavirus. The New School
offered virtual office hours and online sessions.
Urban Systems Lab (USL)—supported by the
Students shared work on social media using
National Science Foundation and others—was
the hashtag #ParsonsMakes. Working within
established to equitably build resilient cities
the constraints of home and limited resources
through research, design, and practice. Led
sparked new methods and outcomes. BFA
by The New School’s Timon McPhearson,
Fashion Design student Zara Zaman salvaged
associate professor of urban ecology, MS Data
local palm fronds and used them in sustainable
Visualization program director Daniel Sauter,
garments. Professor Dan Michalik tasked
and lecturer Chris Kennedy, a team of USL
students in the Designing Chairs class with
researchers including students from throughout
creating models using found materials and
the university created COVID-19 resources and
received miniature models including a broccoli
an interactive layered map depicting COVID
bergère by Maximilian Paek, BFA Product Design
data (e.g., testing and mortality) in relation to
’21, and a banana lounge and accompanying
socioeconomic and climate change data and
ottoman by Product Design student Grace
location. The integrated tools both underscore
Wang. BFA Architectural Design student Kohki
the role race and class play in the differential
Hiramatsu used collage and photography to
impacts of health crises and climate change and
cope with pandemic-driven isolation, creating
call for recovery strategies reflecting the special
Resilience Journal. Jiangnan Hou, MFA Design
vulnerabilities of different communities.
and Technology ’21, mastered new software and
newschool.edu/red/parsons-makes
made The Beaks, a VFX film featuring masks
newschool.edu/red/makes-video
like those used for protection against COVID-19,
urbansystemslab.com/covid19
to comment on separation and the challenges
medium.com/resilience news 1
