Atelier - Fall 2022

FALL 2022  VOL. 4 / NO. 2

PRESIDENT David Sprouls

EDITORIAL AND MARKETING DIRECTOR

Laura Catlan

WRITER AND MANAGING EDITOR

Jennifer Dorr

ART DIRECTOR

Boyd Delancey

COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

Chandelle De Riggs

COPY EDITING

Leslie Robinson

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY

Matthew Septimus

PRINTING

JMT Communications

Jeff Tucker, President

New York School of Interior Design

170 East 70 Street New York, NY 10021

Atelier is published twice a year, by the Office of Marketing Communications & Engagement, for the alumni and friends of the New York School of Interior Design. It is printed on recycled paper with vegetable inks.

To submit story ideas or comment, email atelier@nysid.edu.

NYSID.edu/atelier

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us worked from home and were confined there. We learned to value our homes. The result was a boom in residential design. Post-pandemic, employees are continuing to seek the flexibility to work from home some days, and many companies are accommodating them. The way we are defining and designing the home is still in the midst of a cultural shift.

That’s why now is the perfect time for an exploration of residential design through the eyes of two veteran home designers. I am grateful to our alumni Gail Davis ’11 (AAS), principal of Gail Davis Design, for sharing her story, which drives the aesthetic of the homes she creates, as well as the brand of her firm. See our cover story, “Creating Spaces of Love & Refuge.” The wonderful Kiki Dennis ’00 (AAS), partner and resi dential design co-lead at Deborah Berke Partners, has been kind enough to give us a glimpse into her transformation from the owner of a boutique residential design firm to a partner at an architecture firm in “Where Residential Design Can Take You.”

NYSID is unique in that we make residential design studios an essential, rather than an elective, component of our undergraduate degrees and the professional-level graduate program. The first two major studios in the undergraduate programs are Residential Design I and II. In the MFA1, there are distinct projects that focus specifically on envi ronments for living. While we teach commercial and institutional design just as thor oughly, we believe a knowledge of residential design is foundational. It’s the best way for students to grasp early on that space planning is about an intimate understanding of the end-users. A knowledge of art history, antiques, and the decorative arts is core to residential design, and fluency in these subjects has served our alumni well no matter what sector they end up in. Take the example of Marie Aiello ’04 (AAS), who recently leveraged her firm’s residential design successes into the design of a massive luxury hotel for developers (“How a Small Firm Laid the Groundwork for a Multibillion-Dollar Hotel”).

The biggest news of late at NYSID is the launch of the College’s first semester-long or yearlong study abroad program through a partnership with SRISA, the Santa Repa rata International School of Art, in Florence, Italy. Our BFA students can now study in Florence while being able to stay on track within their degree program through online NYSID studio classes. We have been wanting to offer a semester abroad since I began at NYSID 22 years ago, but because of the structure of NYSID’s undergraduate curric ulum, with its specific sequential courses, the College was never able to do so until now. (See “Want to Be a Better Designer? Study Abroad!”) There are no words to express my gratitude to those friends of NYSID who donated to study abroad grants in honor of my 10th anniversary as president. You have not only helped current and future students have a life-altering experience, you have also supported an important new direction for the College.

May your home bring you comfort, your work bring you challenge, and your travels bring you adventure.

DAVID SPROULS , PRESIDENT, NEW YORK SCHOOL OF INTERIOR DESIGN

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VISUAL THINKER / Design Deconstructed

NYSID alumna Guta Louro ’19 (MFA2) is both the principal of her own firm, based in Brazil, Guta Louro Design, and the interior design director of the US firm Splice Design. Louro is currently living in Austin, Texas, on the O-1 Visa, aka the “Extraordinary Talent” visa. Née Maria Augusta Louro, she grew up in São Paulo, Brazil, and obtained a BA in architecture there, before coming to the US in 2017 to pursue the MFA2 at NYSID. Her projects have appeared in House Beautiful (US), Living Etc. (UK), Elle Decor (Russia), Urbana (Portugal), and Vogue Living (Brazil). She describes her style as a “sophisticated approach to comfort.”

Nostalgia Reimagined

For this project in Jarinu, a rural municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, Louro was tasked with breathing new life into two houses that had been neglected for decades. The client was born in Finland, but grew up spending her weekends on the property in Brazil, and each room held memories. The goals of the renovations were to preserve the history of the space and to reflect the passage of time and layering of culture experienced by the client, who has lived in Northern Europe and Brazil. The envelope of both houses became “Brazilian Colonial,” and the colors evoke the traditional blues, yellows, and whites of the style. But the interiors are a synthesis of Nordic and Brazilian traditions from multiple eras, including the 1960s and ’70s. Some pieces are interpretations of Scandinavian Modernism by Brazilian designers.

The “wall necklace” by Eva Soban for Dpot Objeto becomes a focal point. 1

The curved leather armchairs in the back are by Gustavo Bittencourt.

The large round coffee table is new and by designer Marcus Ferreira for Decameron Design. The smaller coffee table is made of black cement and designed by Allez Decor.

This vintage sofa belonged to the client. Louro reupholstered it with Donatelli fabric. It’s made of Brazilian rosewood, also called jacaranda, from a tree now extinct.

The armchair in front is the original 1970s Jangada by Jean Gillon, purchased at antique store Herrero. Louro calls it “the most comfortable chair.”

RIGHT: PHOTO BY ROMULO FIALDINI.

Creating Spaces of Love & Refuge

Why Alumna

Gail Davis ’11 (AAS)

Is Passionate About Residential Design

ALUMNA GAIL DAVIS ’11 (AAS), THE SOLE PRINCIPAL OF GAIL DAVIS DESIGNS, BEGINS HER DESIGN DISCOVERY WITH UNDERSTANDING HER CLIENTS’ LIVES AND PSYCHES INTIMATELY. SHE PLACES AN EMPHASIS ON DESIGNING FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS. SHE VIEWS HOMES AS REFUGES WHERE PEOPLE CAN BE TRULY SEEN AND LOVED, AND WHERE EVERYDAY LIFE CAN BECOME BEAUTIFUL.

GAIL DAVIS AT HOME.

PHOTO: MATTHEW SEPTIMUS

Since early childhood, Gail Davis has paid attention to beautiful objects and interiors. A space that made a huge impression during her youth was her grandparents’ home in Freeport, New York. Her grandparents lived in the North, but they were raised in Beaufort, SC, and she describes their home as culturally Southern. “I think of my grandparents on the front porch, pouring their sweet tea into crystal glasses. They had this tall, skinny house, and the layout of the furniture was so well thought-out,” Davis recalls. “They brought out their best china for Sunday dinners. I realize now, as a woman of color, that there was a special art to their breaking bread after church. It was in the home where your humanity was seen. You could come back home and be treated with dignity, after your dignity was shredded by white people.” This vision of the home as a refuge filled with “a sense of love and warmth,” and as a place that makes people feel safe and seen, has shaped Davis’ design career.

Despite her early love of design, Davis didn’t get much encouragement to go into the arts when she was growing up. She says, “I wasn’t great in school. In junior high, there was a counselor who told me, ‘You need to get a trade.’ I was told I should go learn to do hair and nails! It was never: ‘This is a creative person, maybe we should teach them to do arts.’”

Nonetheless, Davis had an eye, and this design sensibility led her into fashion merchandising as a first career. Though she worked on the business side, she always had a desire to do creative work, and home design held particular meaning for her. She began doing some small decorating projects in 2008 and discovered she loved it. In 2009, when she was in her 30s, she took the plunge and enrolled in the Associate in Applied Science in Interior Design program at NYSID. She says she was often the only Black woman in a classroom at NYSID, an experience that could be alienating.

Initially, Davis found the AAS program intimidating because she did not know how to draw. Very often, children of color are discouraged from seeing themselves as artists, as Davis was at many points in her life. She remembers, “That first Basic Drafting course was perhaps the most transformative course I took. I swear, one of my early drawings felt like a five-year year old did it. But then, our instructor, Mr. (Robert) Harding slowly and patiently taught me that drawing is not that hard. It’s the basic hand to paper connection that helps your mind really understand space.” Once she learned to draw, Davis grasped her own talent, and her confidence grew. She says, “That’s what was great about NYSID. They met you at your level and lifted you up. To quote Muhammed Ali, ‘The will is stronger than the skill.’”

HER OFFICE BY GAIL DAVIS DESIGNS.

PHOTO: MIKE VAN TASSEL

Another NYSID course that had a tremendous impact on her was the Residential Design I studio. Her instructor was former NYSID faculty member Sharlene Ionescu , who according to Davis, was known as a challenging teacher who “drilled layout” and programming into the students. Says Davis, “Sharlene was a Canadian designer and architect of color. She was tough, but she was gracious enough to pull me aside one-on-one and acknowledge that ‘This world is already stacked against you. I will be hard on you, but you will succeed. Do your thing, and you will get it, you will excel.’” Davis adds, “When another person of color speaks to you with such transparency, it’s extremely empowering.” Representation matters to students at every age and stage of design education.

When Davis was in the second year of her AAS, she was looking for an internship and having trouble finding one. A NYSID classmate who worked at Bunny Williams Inc. told her about an internship opportunity. At the time, she had no idea who Bunny Williams was or what an honor it was to get an internship at such a storied residential design firm. She says, “Over time, I figured out who she was in the industry and how much she knew, and I felt honored to work for her. I sat quietly, worked hard, and learned from her.” She then went on to work for a brief stint at David Kleinberg Design Associates. She says, “From Bunny, I learned the great tradition of Sister Parish and Parish Hadley. At David Kleinberg Design Associates, I absorbed the tradition of Albert Hadley. I was exposed to traditional, modern, classic. I really paid attention. The most important thing I learned from these two great design firms is the elevation of design beyond what’s ‘pretty’ into what changes peoples’ lives.”

Davis had been taking small design jobs since before she started at NYSID in 2009. She had always wanted to establish her own firm. In 2011, she began devoting herself full-time to growing her own design practice. She says, “At the time, you looked at all the major firms and they were predominantly white. I was the only Black person who was not in a support role. I wanted to do luxury residential design for people of color, who are so often overlooked. I wanted to make sure they had a beautiful place to come home to after a challenging week.”

The offices and presentation spaces of Gail Davis Design are located on the third floor of Davis’ home in New Jersey. As such, her home has become something of a symbol for her design ethos. An immediate sense

RIGHT: KALEIDOSCOPE PROJECT SHOW HOUSE BEDROOM BY GAIL DAVIS DESIGNS. PHOTOS: FRANK FRANCES STUDIOS

of warmth and welcome is very important to her, so she has paid a lot of attention to the front of the house and the entryway. Her favorite detail of her home is the graphic “A Love Supreme” wallpaper from Schumacher in her vestibule. “I love it because as soon as you see the wallpaper, it sets the tone. It reminds me a lot of my grandparents,” she says. She’s also repainted and refinished her front door multiple times, finally settling on Benjamin Moore’s Yellow Green. She says, “I’m all about the impact interior design makes on a person’s psyche. To live your best life, you should not wait to stay at the best hotel while on vacation because you can live like that every day. Residential design is about the elevation of everyday life.” She believes in “always having something that makes you happy in your line of sight.”

Davis is the sole principal and proprietor of her business, and she employs an accountant, a draftsperson, and a procurement manager, all virtually. Digital design has freed her up to work far beyond her New Jersey community. Because her firm is small, she’s very deliberate about the clients she chooses to work with, and her design discovery process is about getting to know them well. She’s currently at work on a total home remodel in Massachusetts and a master suite and bathroom blowout in Potomac. She says, “I enjoy being a small firm because I like the hands-on and I love the creativity of my project. I like handling the whole process for my clients.” At the time of this interview, she’d recently finished a phone call with a client in New York who had been intrigued about her vision for hanging the art in the home. She says, “I asked them

Change Is a Priority

to trust the process. I hired an art handler to hang all the artwork. Afterward, my client said, ‘Oh my goodness, this artwork is amazing.’ This made me so happy.”

One of Davis’ favorite projects of all time was the remodel of a New Jersey home office for a co-pastor of a church, a wife who was taking over what was previously her husband’s office, and a person who gave an enormous amount back to her community. The goal was to bring a feminine element and the client’s own generous personality into a workspace that could accommodate group meetings and function as a dramatic backdrop for the client’s social media videos. The couple was so pleased with the outcome that they hired her to design the whole interior of the home, and the project, “HER Office,” was ultimately published in Elle Decor. For Davis, a close but professional relationship with the client is paramount. She says, “I feel like I empty my soul into projects. My work becomes a love letter to my clients.”

Gail Davis is an outspoken force for change in the design community. She started her popular podcast Design Perspectives, in 2019, not because it was a marketing strategy for her firm, but because, over dinner one night, friends told her she had a lot of insight into the design business and could have an impact. She has used the podcast, in part, as a platform to shed light on the experiences and accomplishments of designers of color. “Diversity is not enough,” she says. “I’m completely about promoting equality and inclusion. This means not just having a person of color on your panel or on your team, but creating an environment where they can have a real voice for change.” •

In this article, Gail Davis spoke about being the only Black student in some of her classes at NYSID. Much has changed since 2011, but the leadership at NYSID believes that there is still a lot of work to be done to foster the most inclusive environment possible at the College. NYSID president David Sprouls is leading the College through an ongoing, multiyear Diversity, Equity & Inclusion evaluation and restructuring. “I want every student at NYSID to feel that they belong, and that their experiences matter in the context of the classroom and profession,” Sprouls says. “Interior design needs diverse perspectives, and we need every student to feel empowered to speak out and find role models and peers who have shared their experiences. That’s one reason why we are revising the curriculum, prioritizing the hiring of more BIPOC and AAPI faculty and staff, training our existing staff and faculty, and working on recruitment campaigns that reach students in communities traditionally underrepresented in interior design, whether they be high school students or career changers.”

“The most important thing I learned . . . is the elevation of design beyond what’s ‘pretty’ into what changes peoples’ lives.”

—GAIL DAVIS ‘11 (AAS), OWNER & PRINCIPAL, GAIL DAVIS DESIGNS

ABOVE AND OPPOSITE PAGE: VIEWS OF AN ITALIANATE TOWNHOUSE INTERIOR BY KIKI DENNIS. PHOTOS BY CHRISTOPHER COOPER, COURTESY OF DBP. RIGHT: KIKI DENNIS.

PHOTO BY WINNIE AU.

Where Residential Design Can Take You

How Interior Designer Kiki Dennis ’00 (AAS) Became a Leader at an Architecture Firm

NYSID ALUMNA KIKI DENNIS ’00 (AAS) BUILT HER OWN SUCCESSFUL RESIDENTIAL INTERIOR DESIGN FIRM. THEN, SHE BECAME A PARTNER AND RESIDENTIAL INTERIORS CO-LEAD AT THE ARCHITECTURE FIRM DEBORAH BERKE PARTNERS. AN INTERIOR DESIGNER WHO LEADS AT AN ARCHITECTURE FIRM, SHE THRIVES IN A COLLABORATIVE AND MULTIDISCIPLINARY ENVIRONMENT. SHE DISCUSSES HER CAREER PATH, HOW SHE HAS APPLIED HER RESIDENTIAL EXPERTISE TO OTHER SECTORS, AND WHAT IT IS ABOUT HOME DESIGN THAT CONTINUES TO BEGUILE HER.

Even as a young adult, Kiki Dennis (née Jennifer Dennis) had a grasp of what she loved and what she wanted to do. She started out as an interior design major while pursuing her undergraduate degree at Cornell University but transferred to major in art history. She says, “Cornell’s program, at the time, was very commercially focused and I hadn’t really realized that when I applied. I was much more interested in residential design, specifically the decorative arts, art history, and antiques as they pertained to interior design.”

Looking for a change, she decided to transfer to Ithaca College to complete her BA in Art History. After she graduated, she debated about whether to take an academic path and pursue her Ph.D. in Art History, or to go into the practice of interior design. She says, “A major reason I came to NYSID is because they had such a strength in residential design and an unparalleled foundational education in decorative arts, art history, and historical styles. This is how I wanted to approach interior design and I was drawn to NYSID because it wove my interests together with the more practical programming

aspects of design.” Dennis worked at NYSID first as an academic advisor and later as director of admissions while she pursued her degree.

More than two decades after Dennis’ graduation, a lot has changed at NYSID, but the emphasis on residential design as an essential rather than an elective component of interior design education has stayed the same. “We are one of the few interior design programs (in undergrad only) that devotes whole semester-long studios to residential design, breaking it out from other project types, such as commercial or institutional,” says Ellen Fisher, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean. “We do this to honor the legacy of the College, and to show that we value the rich history and deep knowledge of art, decorative arts, architecture, and interiors that are required in order to practice residential design.”

At NYSID, Dennis was lucky enough to experience some of the most celebrated teachers in NYSID’s history:

the residential designers Ethel Rompilla , Melinda Bickers, and the late Anne Korman . Despite her desire to be a residential designer, Dennis’ very favorite class was Contract I, because it taught her how a central concept could drive a whole design process.

In 2000, Dennis landed her first job at the prestigious architecture firm Deborah Berke Partners (DBP) right out of her Associate’s Degree program at NYSID. One of the jurors of her final Contract Design project worked at the firm. After seeing her work, he invited her to apply for a job opening. Dennis loved the culture of Deborah Berke Partners from the start. At the time, DBP was one of the few woman-led architecture firms in the industry. “We were a much smaller firm back then, and we’ve grown, but what remains core to the culture of the company is a real focus on staff development and the growth of individuals,” she says. “I think that comes from Deborah’s long-standing career not only as an architect, but also as an educator.” (Deborah

LOBBY OF THE WALLACE FOUNDATION HEADQUARTERS, COURTESY OF DEBORAH BERKE PARTNERS. PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER COOPER.

Berke has been a professor and is now dean of the Yale School of Architecture.)

When Dennis had her first child, she realized she wanted a work schedule that allowed for greater flexibility. She left DBP and began teaching residential design studio courses at NYSID. It was through a collaboration with a colleague that she landed her first private commission for a house in the Hamptons. From that first project, her reputation for tranquil, modern, biophilic living spaces grew. In 2004, she decided to establish her own Brooklynbased residential interior design firm, Kiki Dennis Interiors. Her spaces were especially notable for their sense of proportion, balance, and muted color palettes drawn from nature. Over the course of 12 years, she hired a small staff and built an impressive client roster, executing many residential projects in Brooklyn, and even one in Fiji. In 2014, her family was getting ready to make a move to Austin, Texas, to accommodate a career opportunity for her husband, when there was unexpected upheaval at the firm her spouse had expected to join. At what was supposed to be a “farewell” dinner for Dennis, a partner at DBP learned that Dennis was not moving to Austin. He proposed the idea of returning to DBP as co-leader of the residential interiors practice. Dennis convinced her longtime project manager from Kiki Dennis Interiors to accompany her to DBP. “It was an amazing opportunity to rejoin a firm I’d loved and thrived in,” remembers Dennis. “Also, I’d learned from my own work that getting in early in the design process and collaborating with the architects from the outset of a major renovation or ground-up project makes for better outcomes.” Joining a team also gave her the opportunity to work on larger

scale projects, something she felt she needed for her personal development as a designer. Over time, Dennis was promoted to partner.

“I think it’s rare to make an interior designer in an architecture firm a partner. It’s indicative of the amount of respect DBP has for interior design as a discipline,” Dennis says. She adds, “The design process is getting more complex all the time and we value a strong collaborative approach. Having varied voices around the table with different forms of expertise only makes a project better.” Collaboration fuels her creativity. In 2020, she worked with Deborah Berke and other partners and principals at her company to design a collection of hand-knotted wool and silk carpets for Warp & Weft.

Kiki Dennis now works on residential, commercial, and institutional projects at DBP. She says one of the things she values most about residential work are the close relationships with clients that continue long after the initial project has been completed. She’s also inspired by the movement toward using more sustainable and ethically sourced materials in residential interiors. “We’re finding our residential clients are interested in setting very high goals for sustainability in their spaces,” she says. “So, we are using a variety of methods to meet these goals from sourcing locally to using more vintage items.” She adds, “We have learned a lot from our work on commercial and institutional projects by focusing on the health of products in terms of off-gassing and toxicity, and we’re channeling this knowledge into residential projects.”

Long before “Resimercial” was a buzzword, Dennis was taking her residential lens into commercial projects. One of Dennis’ favorite projects was a headquarters and workspace for the Wallace Foundation, a nonprofit that brings equity and enrichment through the arts to everyone. Dennis found herself drawing on her vast knowledge of residential interiors to give this commercial project the desired effect. “The client wanted it to be a very warm and welcoming space that stimulated a work environment and culture that was aligned with their values and collaborative approach. We developed a color palette that set the inviting tone of the office. We also collaborated with the Dutch artist Claudy Jongstra on a site-specific installation that added drama and warmth to the communal spaces.” She says, “It’s been fantastic to work on smaller spaces for one family as well as largerscale public spaces that impact the interactions of groups of people. Whether it’s a commercial or residential project, I cast a wide net in terms of finding inspiration from artists, craftsmen, and the natural world to discover the concepts that drive our projects.” •

“I think it’s rare to make an interior designer in an architecture firm a partner. It’s indicative of the amount of respect DBP has for interior design as a discipline”

—KIKI DENNIS, PARTNER, RESIDENTIAL INTERIORS CO-LEAD, DEBORAH BERKE PARTNERS

ALUMNA MARIE AIELLO ’04 (AAS), OWNER AND PRINCIPAL OF MARIE AIELLO DESIGN STUDIO AND PRESIDENT OF NYSID’S ALUMNI COUNCIL, NEVER EXPECTED HER FIRST HOTEL PROJECT TO BE A 470-FOOT-TALL, 669-ROOM SUPERSTRUCTURE IN TIMES SQUARE CALLED TSX BROADWAY. THIS IS A STORY OF THE POWER OF DESIGN AS A STRATEGIC FORCE IN REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT AND THE POTENTIAL FOR A LITTLE FIRM TO MAKE A BIG MARK.

Marie Aiello Design Studio’s Work for Real Estate Developers

LEFT AND BELOW: RENDERINGS OF THE TSX BROADWAY 11TH FLOOR LOBBY AND BAR BY ARX SOLUTIONS FOR MARIE AIELLO DESIGN STUDIO AND L&L HOLDING COMPANY.

RIGHT: MARIE AIELLO. PHOTO: PAUL BOARDMAN.

When Marie Aiello pitched her vision for a massive, luxury hotel project at 1568 Broadway in Times Square to the real estate developers L&L Holding Company in 2017, she didn’t shy away from the fact that her boutique firm consisted of only four people; that they were best known for high-end residential projects; or that they’d never designed a hotel before. She found herself presenting to a group of about 20 people, including the management of the investment firm Fortress.

Aiello’s first career was in Hollywood and she’s a former TV movie producer, so the visual storytelling aspect of presentation comes naturally to her. She says, “I’m on the jury of NYSID student presentations often, and I’m pretty tough on them. Your designs might be amazing, but it means nothing if you can’t present and defend them. The key to confidence in presentations is believing in everything you have done and being able to justify every aspect of your design. Everything has to have a reason and a purpose, both strategic and aesthetic. You have to tell a scintillating story.”

On the multiple days of that presentation and weeks leading up to the bid for the TSX Broadway job, she found herself competing against much larger companies and was asked how her firm of four people could deliver on such a massive project. She told them their project would have the sole and undivided attention of her team. She had a professional relationship with the architect, Ted Hammer of Mancini Duffy, and she convinced the group of how seamlessly they had worked together in the past. But ultimately, the reason L&L Holding Company hired her was her concept.

The challenge that L&L Holding Company put forth was daunting. They needed an interior designer to help them make permanent decisions on building the superstructure 18 months before having an operator in place. The design team would help the developer subsequently acquire a global hotel operator for a luxury hotel in Times Square. The property would have to attract a very sophisticated clientele to an area of the city known for its audacious, “inyour-face” energy and commercialism. The development team’s financial pro forma would require the hotel to be massive but feel charming and refined to attract and retain the target customer. “Good design is about understanding the end user of the space. If you’re in Times Square, you made a purposeful voyage to be there. You are unafraid of adventure. So the concept of ‘The Voyager’ came in,” explains Aiello. “The idea was to capture the feeling of awe a person feels when they arrive in New York for the first time. We wanted the space to harken back to Old New

York and honor all of the voyagers who made their way to this city over the years. My inspirations were locomotive passenger steam engines and transatlantic cruise ships— early 20th century travel. It had to feel like you were wandering into the city for the first time, otherworldly and grand.”

The epitome of this concept is the breathtaking 11th floor lobby Aiello’s team designed in close coordination with L&L Development leaders and the architects from Mancini Duffy. She says, “I’d hoped you’d step out of the elevator and get a hint of pulling into an old train station, especially with all of that iron work. I wanted it to feel a bit like stepping into Oz, a place of excitement and astonishment because of the magnificence of Times Square.” Aiello fought hard to justify setting the bar and lounge area back beyond the lobby, because standard practice is to put a hotel bar out front. In her presentations, she went back to her concept, the idea of the voyager, and the personality of a person who is enticed to explore more mysterious and distant spaces. She adorned the ceiling of the bar with a pattern of antique maps!

While the concept drove the design, a huge part of the process was the programming of the massive space. She and her team worked on the project for more than 3 years. She says, “We established the room layouts for more than 27 types of guest rooms, the hallway measurements, the lighting, and touchpoints, driving the critical path for the superstructure of the hotel. We even designed the back of the house and the staff spaces … It was like putting a puzzle together.” She had to adhere to NYC codes and figure out how to produce the most profitable number of rooms possible, which turned out to be 669. She had to make the compact guest rooms high touch, efficient, and luxurious. So she modeled each bedroom after the cozy cabin of a yacht, using details like cubby holes for storage, and deeply recessed, luxurious beds.

It’s important to note that Aiello’s client was the real estate developer, and their goal was to attract a hotel operator to the endeavor. As such, Aiello and her team had to design mock-up modules of the rooms to be constructed in a converted warehouse in Long Island City for potential operators to tour. There were real fixtures and finishes, and even printed images of the actual views of Times Square in the windows of each module. “Everything worked except the water,” muses Aiello. Ultimately, it was Hilton who was selected by the development team above all others to operate the facility. As Hilton is a company that uses in-house design teams or approved vendors, another interior design firm was enlisted to produce the final design and documentation work on TSX Broadway

so that it would specifically tie to their brand identification. After 3 years of work, was Aiello disheartened by this outcome? She says she was not: “My team and I understood from day one that it was likely an operator would bring in their own team to finalize the aesthetics to their brand identity. Even though we didn’t get to see the design through to execution, this project was a big success for MADS (Marie Aiello Design Studio) because we met our client’s goals. I had the time of my life working on TSX.”

TSX Broadway is now in the construction phase and projected to cost approximately 2.7 billion. Aiello and her team are currently working with another developer on a huge, luxury, assisted living facility, and they are relying on their core of design talent, and the experience of what they learned from the TSX Broadway collaboration, to do it. •

Join the Alumni Council Scholarship Challenge

In her role as president of NYSID’s Alumni Council, Marie Aiello and her passionate group of alumni volunteers are challenging the NYSID community to provide $10,000 toward the endowment of a new scholarship for deserving students this year. Half of funds raised will go toward the endowment of a scholarship that will go to future students, and the other half will be given as a scholarship at NYSID’s gala on April 11. To help meet the challenge, reach out to giving@nysid.edu.

BELOW AND RIGHT: RENDERINGS BY ARX SOLUTIONS FOR MARIE AIELLO DESIGN STUDIO AND L&L HOLDING COMPANY. BELOW AND LEFT: IMAGES OF MODEL ROOMS STAGED BY MARIE AIELLO DESIGN STUDIO AND L&L HOLDING COMPANY.

Find an Invaluable Design Internship

The Scoop from MFA Students & NYSID’s Office of Career and Internship Services

Whether you’re searching for a first design job in an expanding or a retracting market, the same principles apply. Three NYSID students, Min Ae Choi (MFA1, graduating 2023), Antonio Harris (MFA1, graduating 2023), and Melida Valera (MFA1, graduating 2024) offer insights about their recent internships at great firms and how they landed them. Sacsha Flowers, NYSID’s Career Services and Internship Coordinator, shares tips that will give you an edge as you compete for your dream internship.

When Min Ae Choi applied to the Gensler Summer Internship Program—one of the most coveted internships in the industry—she didn’t know a soul at the company. She got an interview based on the strength of her portfolio and resume, and after one interview, she was offered the job. It’s important to point out that she was extremely proactive in the preparation of her materials. She began assembling her portfolio in her first year at NYSID and continued to refine it. She arranged a meeting with Sacsha Flowers, NYSID’s Career Services and Internship Coordinator, who helped her fine-tune her resume to showcase her strengths and match the job description. Her best advice to students seeking internships is this: “Start looking early and get a sense of what kind of companies or firms you want to go for. Have targets, and have your materials prepared so that you are ready when the internships open up.”

When we spoke with Choi over

the summer, she was in the third week of the eight-week summer internship program at Gensler’s New York office. “I did an internship in a small boutique firm last year. My experience this summer is completely different, as Gensler’s program is extremely structured.”

Choi says. “There are 30+ design and architecture interns from schools all over the country. There is a four-day orientation that includes two full days of technical training on Revit.” She adds, “Gensler has developed its own set of tools within Revit. These tools really accelerate the process around design specifications and test fits. When I realized this, it was a ‘wow’ moment.”

Choi’s internship is in “Work Studio 5,” a workplace design team. She says, “As an intern, I am pulled into whatever urgent tasks arise. For one project, I am helping with site surveying. For another, I am monitoring and documenting the FF&E choices. Another project is in

the construction document phase. It’s the variety of exposures I am getting that’s so valuable.” The interior designer and architect in Work Studio 5 who interviewed her are her formal mentors (or rather, “buddies” as they are called at Gensler). They make themselves available to guide her whenever she has a question.

Twice a week, Gensler provides educational sessions for all of its interns. For these sessions, the company calls on its internal experts, from subject-specific experts from the Gensler Design Institute, to company executives. Choi was able to meet with and learn from Gensler’s co-CEO, Diane Hoskins, at one of these sessions. Says Choi, “I am inspired by Gensler’s people culture. It’s very open, inclusive, and collaborative, perhaps because it’s an employee-owned company.”

Antonio Harris’ internship found him. He didn’t have to search a single job board to find his ideal intern position at the New York office of Rockwell Group. Harris is the President of NYSID’s campus chapter of IIDA, the nation’s largest professional organization for commercial interior designers. During the height of the pandemic, Harris wanted to create a unique networking experience for his peers in his role as the leader of NYSID’s IIDA chapter. So he sought out a virtual tour of a company he admired. He did extensive research and identified a top-tier architecture and design firm. He connected with Barry Richards, studio leader and principal of Rockwell Group. Rockwell is best known for its interdisciplinary design work, ranging from restaurants, hotels, and resorts to cultural and educational institutions, including museum exhibitions and Broadway

sets. Richards is the leader of one of Rockwell’s studios that is multidisciplinary and designs hospitality projects that positively impact neighborhoods. These projects might include schools, museums, playgrounds, train stations—public spaces that have the potential to improve the lives of all members of a community.

Barry Richards accepted Harris’ invitation to do a virtual tour and talk for NYSID students, and he was impressed with the depth of Harris’ research. The two got to talking while planning the event. Harris, a veteran of the US Air Force and Texas Air National Guard, also has an extensive background in fashion PR and merchandising, expressly event production and management. Richards recognized that Harris had transferable skills of value to Rockwell Group. He made some calls. After a two-week interview and onboarding process, Harris was

DRAWING OF A RETAIL PROJECT BY MIN AE CHOI, WHICH SHE INCLUDED IN HER PORTFOLIO.

offered an internship in Rockwell’s Marketing and Communications department internally known as the “PR Studio.” He began on November 1, 2021.

“They really throw you in at Rockwell,” says Harris, “and I love that.” Harris did whatever was asked of him in the PR Studio, but he was delighted to find that much of this work was high concept, high value, and very meaningful. Rockwell’s PR Studio encompasses the firm’s global communications and press strategy worldwide in addition to special projects such as client gifting. Rockwell creates custom objects for its clients in its own “Model Shop.” Harris found himself taking the lead on designing custom project-opening gifts for specific clients, such as a miniature lantern inspired by a premiere Japanese restaurant opening in Las Vegas. This task gave him experience in branding, as well as the design and production of ornamental objects. He also assisted with several of Rockwell’s strategic partnerships in support of major nonprofits around cause-driven design events, such as DIFFA, an organization that supports people impacted by HIV/AIDS, and

ABOVE: ANTONIO HARRIS DESIGNED THIS CUSTOM OMAKASE DINING SET AS AN OPENING GIFT FOR A ROCKWELL CLIENT. OPPOSITE PAGE: MELIDA VALERA DESIGNED THIS ARTIST’S WORKSPACE IN DRAWING AND DESIGN II.

Citymeals on Wheels. Harris was enlisted to design Rockwell’s VIP lounge at DIFFA’s biggest annual fundraising event, and to source furniture for the space.

After the initial three-month internship, Harris got an invitation to continue to intern with Rockwell. “I thought to myself, There’s no way I am leaving Rockwell,” he recalls. He was thrilled with his experience in the PR studio but wanted to diversify his exposure. Rockwell offered him a full-time internship with 50 percent of his time in the PR studio and 50

percent of his time in the design studio lead by Barry Richards. Now, he does a bit of everything: concept discovery, research, and assembly, refining presentation materials, sourcing and selecting FF&E, and participating in client meetings. Under the auspices of Richards, Harris is currently working on the design of a children’s museum and famous Harlem restaurant brand’s first location in New Jersey. In Barry Richards, Harris has found a true mentor.

Says Harris, “The best aspects of my experience at Rockwell have been my observation of the processes, the studio environment and opportunity to collaborate with like-minded people on meaningful work, and accessibility to coveted projects.”

He adds, “Rockwell’s culture is one of inspiring projects that have huge benefits for people.” His advice to interior design students seeking internships is this: “Find a meaningful connection to the work—look beyond aesthetic appeal and consider, more importantly, the footprint of the impact. This will keep you open to possibilities.”

Melida Valera

Melida Valera is maximizing her time at NYSID, saying “yes” to networking experiences of many kinds. She is the Holland & Sherry Diversity in Design Scholarship winner from NYSID for the 2022-23 academic year. She’s vice president of the NYSID Graduate Association, Student Coordinator for the Alumni Council, and an active member of the College’s chapters of ASID and IIDA. On top of all that, she joined an external chapter of a professional organization called NEWH (the hospitality industry network).

Though she now lives in New York, she mistakenly attended a

virtual event of the New England NEWH. This error turned out to be a lucky move. She made a contact who invited her to post her resume to the organization’s job board and take advantage of their career services (members are invited to do this for free for one month). Almost immediately, she heard from dash design, a small and prestigious firm with offices in New York City, that specializes in hospitality, working on hotel, restaurant, senior living, and multifamily design. The internship lined up with her interests, and the size and reputation of the firm appealed to her.

She says, “I wanted experience at a smaller firm and dash has 20 to 30 employees. I wanted to make sure my voice mattered, to really get in there and have the opportunity to learn and grow.” she adds, “One reason to work at dash is the founder David Ashen . Even as an intern, you have access to him. He is relatable, polite, and treats us as peers rather than subordinates. Having the opportunity to collaborate with him directly as an intern has been an honor.”

Valera, who started at dash on May 10 and worked there throughout the summer, touched every project the office worked on, in all phases. She coordinated vendor communications for a hotel project in Boston meant to have a residential feel. She said, “Resimercial Design is really booming.” She described dash’s culture as one in which “everyone’s voice matters,” and says she felt extremely empowered to assert herself and defend her design decisions even if someone senior to her initially disagreed. She told the story of being tasked with putting together a presentation of FF&E materials under the guidance of Design Director Kristin Cullen ’05 (AAS), a NYSID alumna. Cullen questioned her choice of an image in the presentation, stating she didn’t quite get it, and Valera was able to explain how the image related to the concept. The team ultimately included this image, and many of Valera’s ideas in the final presentation. “Defending my stance as a designer and having it accepted and encouraged was a growth experience. It’s just a very respectful environment,” said Valera.

Valera was invited to continue her employment with dash design but decided instead to focus on her studies this fall, and her responsibilities as a leader of the NYSID Graduate Association. Valera reflects, “The dash team has a plethora of knowledge. There’s a lot to learn there.”

Looking for Your First Design Job? Help is Here!

There’s a lot of groundwork and networking to do before you apply for a first job. Sascha Flowers, NYSID’s Career Services and Internship Coordinator, is an employment expert and career coach with deep experience in placing designers in jobs that point them toward professional development. She shares her best advice here.

1.

Prepare a General Package

Before you apply, check out NYSID’s resources on NYSID’s Career Services portal tab or Handshake. Our examples of cover letters, resumes, and portfolio guides will help you prepare a professional package for prospective employers. It’s best to have your materials prepared by winter break so you can begin applying for spring and summer internships right after the New Year.

2. Use NYSID Career Services

If you need help customizing your materials to fit specific jobs and identifying the companies that match your interests, book an appointment with us at careers@ nysid.edu or directly on Handshake. Please note that you must have 12 NYSID credits to book through Handshake.

3. Identify Connections & Attend Events

For well-known firms, it’s not enough to go through a job board. You have to find creative ways to stand out. You are competing with students from all over the country. Reach out to potential connections at the company you admire through your personal and professional networks. Research whom you might know through the NYSID alumni network, professors, and professional organizations like IIDA and ASID. Of course, this process begins with building a network by attending professional networking events.

4. Master a Soft Approach

For example, when you use LinkedIn or Handshake to approach NYSID alumni inside a desired firm, don’t ask them for a job. Seek advice on how they made their way into the firm and get a sense of what it’s really like to work there. If you make a real connection, it’s possible they will make an inquiry on your behalf. At the very least, you get insight, which will be gold in the end.

SACSHA FLOWERS, CAREER SERVICES AND INTERNSHIP COORDINATOR

5. Follow Up Directly with Connections and Human Resources Professionals

You can use LinkedIn and Handshake to follow your top companies. Utilize the company profiles to identify the human resources manager or recruiting professionals. After applying for jobs through job boards, don’t be afraid to follow up with your connections and the recruiter managing the hiring. Send an email with a couple of paragraphs on what you do, and why you’re interested in working for them. Mention the position you applied for and resubmit your resume. This shows you’re resourceful and seriously interested in the opportunity. It might be the move that puts you directly in front of the person who posted the job.

6. Keep an Open Mind

Don’t only go after the top firms in the industry. Be open to companies that are not as well known, but are growing. While in school, experiment to discover opportunity and what you want. You can only do that through trial and error. Boutique firms allow you to learn a lot and give you visibility to all aspects of the business. By exploring options, you’ll find a clearer understanding of where you want to work and how you want to contribute your talents.

How Travel Abroad Shaped Jack Travis

This NYSID Faculty Member, Who Designed Homes for Spike Lee & Wesley Snipes, Defined His Aesthetic During a Trip to South Africa

By 1992, architect and designer Jack Travis had already traveled through much of Europe and journeyed to Senegal. But it was his trip to South Africa that year that changed the way he sees the world. His journey was in the midst of the “One Man, One Vote” movement led by Nelson Mandela , just before a new South African constitution that enfranchised Blacks and other racial groups was adopted in 1993. When Travis arrived at the airport in Johannesburg, he and the one other Black man on the plane were separated from the whites and told to go to a different line for admission into the country. Later, his friend and colleague, the architect Peter Malefane, picked him up and took him to an upscale restaurant where he found the tables were totally segregated. Travis was outraged as he noticed, “It was the people themselves, conditioned, who were carrying on policies that had already been legally abolished.”

His friend told him he planned to take him to Soweto, the largest Black township of the City of Johannesburg. Soweto, forged by the political and physical segregation of the Apartheid government, was known primarily as a place of shantytowns and slums inhabited by the working poor. It’s also the site of the Soweto Uprising, which sparked an international outcry against Apartheid. Says Travis, “I noticed that there was one entrance in and out of Soweto, and that this was a way

of maintaining control over the Blacks.” So Travis was quite shocked when the part of Soweto he was escorted to was an eighteen-hole golf course! He and his friend were visiting the three-story home of one of the country’s top ophthalmologists, a Black South African. Remembers Travis, “The family was proud of their home, but the house was just a big box. There was no real architecture from my standpoint, no philosophy. It was an imitation of what the white people had: a McMansion.”

Later, he traveled to the villages in rural areas outside Johannesburg where he was able to observe the surfacing of Ndebele tribe houses. He says, “I saw Black people who were not architects or designers painting mud houses made out of the soil they walk on. The men make the bricks from the earth. The women paint the houses in patterns and colors that reference family history like a coat of arms. I spoke to a woman who sourced the green color of her house from a field but then the orange color from the local equivalent of a 7-Eleven nearby. This was the first time I grasped the African concept of the ‘imperfect perfect,’ making of beauty from what is flawed and available and comes from the earth. Nobody studies this formally. It is handed down. This made a deep impression on me.”

This concept became central to Travis’ design ethos. “I have been digging for three decades to find that ‘imperfect

LEFT: JACK TRAVIS IN GHANA IN 2019. ABOVE AND RIGHT: DETAILS OF THE GITTENS RESIDENCE BY JACK TRAVIS ARCHITECT. PHOTOS: JAMES FAN.

perfect,’” he says, “Design can evolve from something that is natural and cultural and can speak to a tradition that is other than Western. There are problems, yes, but in Africa there are people who travel on airplanes across the globe yet still others who follow the herds and the rhythm of the seasons. I have been trying to find this harmony between modern life and connectedness to the land and nature in all of my work.”

Jack Travis, the owner and co-principal of Jack Travis Architect, has designed multimillion-dollar homes for celebrities such as Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, and the late John Saunders. However, the work he is proudest of is a relatively modest Harlem apartment he and his

business partner, Bernadette Berry, produced for the African American chef Michael Gittens in the late 2000s. The budget for the project was tight, and the team made a choice to leave parts of the space unfinished, an encapsulation of that “imperfect perfect.” “Michael is a dark-skinned Black man with a good, strong sense of self and the desire to entertain people in his home. He had a beautiful collection of African and African American art and photography. I cleaned up the Eurocentric envelope and raised the kitchen two steps and opened up the wall so he could see his guests in the dining area. I left the cookery out for display. We used his art and we played on a foundation of his identity. We were ok with leaving

BELOW AND RIGHT: VIEWS OF THE GITTENS RESIDENCE DESIGNED BY JACK TRAVIS ARCHITECT. PHOTOS: JAMES FAN.

parts unfinished, imperfect. We didn’t refinish the wood flooring. Something about this space said, We live in a place that’s not complete for us, but we still find ways to take control of our lives. To me, the space was about American identity from a Black perspective.” Jack Travis teaches Thesis and Thesis Preparation at NYSID, and he often uses the Gittens residence as a lecture subject in his classes.

Travis believes the great power of travel for designers is in helping them “identify a ‘point of departure’ in their work.” Travis explains, “All designers have a ‘point of beginning,’ when they decide they want to become a designer (helping reshape the Westside community in

Las Vegas where I grew up was mine). Next, they find a ‘point of reference,’ something that grabs them as a focus in their initial study of design. (For me, it was Modernism.) Finally, there is the ‘point of departure’,” what makes you the individual designer.” He adds, “For me, that’s the exploration of a Black aesthetic that is around us and hiding in plain view. Traveling continues to help me identify it.”

Indeed, Travis has traveled to Japan, China, Korea, and Ghana in recent years. Travel is essential to the development of all designers, even those who already have deep expertise and experience. •

Want to Be a Better Designer? Study Abroad.

NYSID’s First Study Abroad Semester Is a Leap Forward for the College and a Boon for BFA Students

NYSID BFA junior Olivia Deackoff and senior Keila Panchi were standing atop the Church of St. Peter in Portovenere, gazing out at the rocky shores and startling blue water of the Golfo dei Poeti (Gulf of the Poets), when they truly realized what an amazing semester they were about to embark on. “It started to sink in, as we were observing the ancient ruins and amazing views, that we’d made it HERE, where everything is so different. I’ve been dreaming of this my whole life,” Deackoff says. “When I applied to NYSID, a semester

abroad wasn’t an option, but now it is. This is a dream come true.” She spent time observing a piece of the original floor of the church, constructed in 1198. The chapel was established on ancient pagan ruins and was renovated multiple times over the centuries. During her first week in Italy, Deackoff allowed the layers of design history to wash over her and take root in her imagination.

Her roommate in Florence, NYSID BFA senior Keila Panchi, was struck by the beauty all around her, every day. “Everywhere you go, you experience design,” she says,

B FA STUDENTS RUMBI MAKAVA, OLIVIA DEACKOFF, KEILA PANCHI, AND NATALIE RAMIREZ IN PORTOVENERE.

“I am noticing and photographing everything. There is inspiration everywhere. I will take these sights with me for the rest of my life.”

Deackoff and Panchi are two of the four students participating in the very first semester of NYSID’s immersive study abroad program. This academic year, for the first time in NYSID’s history, BFA students are able to spend one semester or the entire academic year studying abroad—in Florence, Italy—while being able to stay on track within their degree program. In partnership with SRISA, the Santa Reparata International School of Art, NYSID is providing BFA students the chance to absorb the rich arts, culture, and history of Florence. The students are accompanied by NYSID Instructor Warren Ashworth The program is open to BFA students in or beyond their fourth semester.

“Interior designers need to understand other cultures, histories and definitions of beauty to reach their potential,” says NYSID’s Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Ellen Fisher. The leadership of NYSID has long believed that travel experiences are essential to the development of designers, but until now, the College was unable to offer a true semester abroad. NYSID is a single-discipline school exclusively focused on interior design education. This laser focus is a strength of a NYSID education, but it’s also what made it so challenging for the College to offer study abroad at more generally focused institutions. For a long time, the partial solution was a series of summer travel-study courses to cities in Japan, India, Italy, Austria, England, and China. These rotating summer courses continue to be great opportunities, but there is nothing as enriching as long-term immersion in another culture. In the past year, NYSID launched its online BFA, getting its entire undergraduate curriculum online. This opened a whole new realm of possibility for study abroad.

In the new semester-abroad program, the typical student schedule includes NYSID’s online design studio and foundational interior design courses; and SRISA’s art, history, and liberal arts courses. Students have the

opportunity to take studios with Ashworth, and to travel to other regions with him.

When we caught up with Deackoff and Panchi, they had just finished their initial week of orientation and were in their first week of classes in the study abroad program. Deackoff, a junior, is taking Travel Writing and Introduction to Photography with SRISA instructors, Contract I with Ashworth, and an assortment of online courses with NYSID instructors based in NYC. Panchi, a BFA senior, is taking Introduction to Sculpture and History of Italian Fashion with SRISA instructors, Contract III in person with Ashworth, and both Professional Practice and Thesis Preparation online with NYSID. “We are really lucky to have Warren here with us,” notes Deackoff. Her studio with Ashworth includes students from other schools, but she is also breaking away to work with Ashworth in a small group of NYSID students. She is getting a lot of one-on-one instruction in these small working groups. Panchi adds, “The people here (at SRISA) immediately made us feel welcomed. We are going on walking tours and to museums and other places to see design in context. The professors are very kind and friendly. They are making us feel like this is our home now.”

NYSID students are housed in apartments right next to the SRISA campus. “Something I love about this place is I can walk to everything. We are in the heart of Florence. It’s about fifteen minutes to the Duomo and three minutes to campus for classes,” says Panchi.

David Sprouls, NYSID’s president, says “There is nothing more transformative for an emerging designer than travel. It not only educates the eye, it creates an awareness of the alternative ways people live. It’s my hope that NYSID will begin with this program in Florence and expand study abroad semesters to other countries and continents.”

To get an update on the travels of NYSID Students in Florence, check out NYSID’s student-run study abroad Instagram account (instagram.com/nysid_studyabroad). •

Thank You Supporters of Study Abroad Grants!

The belief in the transformative power of travel for a designer is widely shared by NYSID’s board members. When the College launched Study Abroad, its leaders worried that the additional costs of the program might be a heavy lift and a barrier to entry for many NYSID students. So, NYSID Trustees

provided a $66,000 matching opportunity for studyabroad grants, in honor of David Sprouls’ 10th anniversary as NYSID’s president. An outpouring of support from these trustees and other friends of the College made it possible to offer current and future students study abroad grants. Says President David Sprouls, “You not only directly impacted the lives of our students, you helped forge an important new direction for the college. Thank you.” To inquire about supporting study abroad grants, contact Joy Cooper, Director of Development, at giving@nysid.edu.

Chesie Breen, Jill Dienst, James Druckman, Ingrid Edelman, Susan Zises Green, David Kleinberg , Courtney McLeod, Dennis Miller, David Scott, and Newell Turner

GIVING / Supporting Our Community

Why I Give: Charlotte Moss

Designer Charlotte Moss, the founder of her eponymous firm, is known for her timeless aesthetic, layered interiors, southern warmth, and keen eye. Named a Grand Master of Design by Elle Décor, Moss has used her thirty-seven-year career in decorating homes and two previously owned retail stores to inform her design of licensed collections with Century Furniture, Fabricut, Stark Carpet, Pickard, P.E. Guerin, Soicher Marin, Artemis Design Company, and more. She is the author of twelve books, the most recent of which were Charlotte Moss Flowers (Rizzoli, 2021) and Home: A Celebration (Rizzoli, 2021). The third pillar of Moss’ work is philanthropy. She finds ways to give back. The sales of her recent book, Home, go to benefit No Kid Hungry. She serves on the Advisory Board of the New York School of Interior Design; she is Emerita Trustee of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello, on the Advisory Council of Edith Wharton’s Restoration at The Mount and on the boards of the Bone Marrow Foundation and American Corporate Partners, where she mentors veterans. In 2022, Moss delivered the commencement address for her alma mater and received an honorary doctorate of letters from Virginia Commonwealth University. In 2017, NYSID awarded Moss with the Centennial Medal, an award the College gives only to individuals who have impacted the design community over the course of decades through their work and altruism. Many years earlier, NYSID gave her an honorary doctorate. Moss endowed the Charlotte Moss Scholarship at the New York School of Interior Design.

NYSID: Why did you endow a scholarship at NYSID?

CM: Through a scholarship at NYSID, I am able to pro vide someone with the education to pursue a career in our incredible industry and to do it in a city that nurtures by virtue of all it has to offer. Now, more than ever, owing to a cataclysmic pandemic, all of us have a renewed connection to our homes that has been incalculable. I believe we will have a growing need for professionals in our industry and

the better equipped and educated they are, the stronger, richer an industry we will have.

NYSID: What is it about the New York School of Inte rior Design that makes it worth supporting?

CM: Education ensures our future. At this stage of my career, I feel it is incumbent upon our generation to help guide the next one. Mentoring, volunteering, establishing scholarships. . . everyone can do something to give back as a thank you for the successful careers we have had.

NYSID: Looking back at your career, what makes you the proudest?

CM: As a board member of several organizations, I have learned about science, medical research, and historical preservation. I have mentored veterans, raised money for those in need of a bone marrow transplant, and have been on the inside of several capital campaigns.

I’ve had a long career and am very fortunate that my com pany has been successful. As a result of that success, I have been able to give back. That, I feel, is one of my greatest accomplishments. As a trustee of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation I learned about governance, history and the merchandising and running of a gift shop. At American Corporate Partners, I mentored veterans returning to the workplace, making a yearlong commitment to counsel someone every month. When the pandemic caught us by surprise and thousands were without jobs and food, I decided to create a book to raise funds and awareness for No Kid Hungry. One hundred twenty-five artists, writers, poets and photographers answered the call and Home: A Celebration became a reality.

In every instance, the giving has been rewarded with new friends, a deeper comprehension of social issues, immea surable knowledge, and a reaffirmation of just how im portant it is for all of us to give of ourselves. There are as many ways to give as there are people.

NYSID: What’s your best advice for an emerging designer?

CM: Invest in yourself. Do your homework. Listen. Keep learning. Be curious. Ask questions. Be kind. Work hard. Listen (again!). And don’t forget to give back.

PHOTO: BRITTANY AMBRIDGE

CELEBRATIONS / Gala 2022

Gala 2022, A Record-Breaking Success

On Tuesday, May 3, the New York School of Interior Design held its Gala 2022 at the University Club of New York, securing $700,000 for scholarships, a recordbreaking number of funds raised at this annual event. It was the first in-person celebration for the NYSID community in more than two years. Gala 2022 resulted in $120,000 more scholarship funds than the last on-site gala, which was in 2020.

Perhaps one reason for the exuberance of the crowd of 380 attendees were the evening’s outstanding honorees. NYSID awarded Jamie Drake, founder of Drake/ Anderson, with the NYSID Centennial Medal. Former New York City mayor, philanthropist, and entrepreneur Michael Bloomberg introduced Drake.

The incomparable design journalist Wendy Goodman introduced her friend Young Huh , principal and owner of Young Huh Interior Design, who was this year’s winner of the Larry Kravet Design Industry Leadership Award.

NYSID president David Sprouls presented NYSID alumna Laura Hodges ’09 with the Rising Star Award, sponsored for the fourth year in a row by The Shade Store. Zach Gibbs, co-founder of The Shade Store, introduced Hodges.

The evening’s student speaker, Chazzten Pettiford ’22 (MFA1), recipient of the Holland & Sherry Diversity in

Design Scholarship and NYSID Diversity Scholarship, spoke out about why it can be so difficult for some BIPOC students to pursue careers in the arts and design. She said, “For many of us BIPOC students, the need to prioritize the attainment of generational wealth often demands that we set aside our personal goals and desires for whatever is the bigger, more dependable paycheck.” She spoke with emotion about what receiving the first of two scholarships meant to her: “At exactly the right moment, I had received a sign that I was truly on the right path, and I haven’t doubted myself since.”

About the outpouring of generosity at Gala 2022, NYSID president David Sprouls said, “Some of these newcomers to our industry will be able to finish their degrees as a direct result of your donations .… Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Save April 11 for Gala 2023

Gala 2023 will take place on April 11, 2023. Please save the date. Suzanne Tucker will be honored with the Albert Hadley Lifetime Achievement Award. John Edelman will be honored with The Larry Kravet Design Industry Leadership Award. Alumna Peti Lau ‘11 (AAS) will be honored with the Rising Star Award. We hope you’ll join us again for this night that celebrates outstanding accomplishments in interior design, and the best of what our industry can be.

GALA HONOREES LAURA HODGES, JAMIE DRAKE, YOUNG HUH

CELEBRATIONS / Commencement 2022

Three classes of NYSID graduates received the wisdom of honorary doctorate recipients Jennifer Graham ’85 (BFA) & John Edelman.

On Wednesday, May 25, 2022, the New York School of Interior Design honored the Classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022 with a traditional Commencement ceremony at 92NY’s Kaufmann Concert Hall. In the aftermath of years of pandemic lockdown, this year’s ceremony felt extraordinary. Alumni who didn’t get to graduate in person were invited back to have the experience. The auditorium buzzed with excitement as a band played “Pomp and Circumstance” and the 119 graduates found their seats.

NYSID president David Sprouls said, “I am joyous because, for the first time since 2019, I am once again standing in this magnificent auditorium, facing all of you who, with unwavering dedication and drive, have maintained your focus on a life goal throughout the most difficult collective time in recent history.” Shane Curnutt (BFA) and Laura Lindsay (MFA1) were selected by their peers to speak at Commencement.

Honorary Doctorate Recipients

President Sprouls bestowed honorary doctorates upon two designers who significantly impacted the industry and the discipline, alumna Jennifer Graham ’85 (BFA) and John Edelman , who will be awarded NYSID’s 2023 Kravet Design Industry Leadership Award at the Gala on April 11.

Graham is a principal at Perkins&Will. She is known not only for her management of enormous workplace projects, but also for giving back. She has led the company’s Social Purpose Initiative since 2016. (The SRI groups provide pro-bono services to nonprofits). Graham is also co-leader of Perkins&Will’s New York Office JEDI (Justice, Equity & Inclusion) Initiative. She is a member of NYSID’s DEI Commission. She said, “As designers, we have the power to change people’s lives through design. We must think ‘design for all.’ Design to create a special place … where people have a sense of belonging and can be their best selves.”

Edelman is the CEO and president of Heller, sits on the Chilewich Board of Directors, and serves as executive chairman of Crypton Fabrics. He’s celebrated for transforming a once-troubled retailer, Design Within Reach, into the world leader in authentic modern design. Among the many pieces of advice Edelman bestowed was, “Whoever asks the most questions wins. It’s your job to learn everything you can about the customer. You’re their therapist. . . It’s your job to make their life better, but it has to be the life they want; it can’t be the life you want them to have. It’s learning about people up front that will lead you to success.”

The Chairman’s Award Alexis George (BFA) Sheng-Wei Yang aka Wilson Yang (MFA1) Wun Jin Hwang (MFA2)

Ana Blanc Verna Award for Excellence in Interior Design Janice Julianti (BFA)

The Alumni Award for Service to the College Shane Curnutt (BFA) Rishae Rucker (MFA1)

The Robert Herring Travel Prize Nicole Lockley (BFA) Brianna Thompson (MFA1)

The Breger Faculty Achievement Award Warren Ashworth

2021/22 Student & Faculty Achievement Awards Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs Ellen Fisher announced the winners of the student and faculty achievement awards. The 2022 winners were: PHOTOS: JASON

LAYOUT / News from NYSID

 INSTITUTIONAL UPDATES

Welcome Associate Dean Daniel Harper

NYSID has a new Associate Dean, Daniel Harper, who has primary oversight of the undergraduate programs. His responsibilities will extend into aspects of every degree program. Harper brings a wealth of experience as a designer, an academic administrator, a researcher, a professor, and an expert in evidence-based design. He has a Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration from Ohio University, and a Master of Interior Design from Harrington College of Design. A design educator since 2006, he served as assistant dean for the College of Fine Arts at Ohio University, and most recently, was the professor who chaired the interior architecture programs there. He has published extensive research, including a co-authored book on makerspaces in academic libraries called Academic Library Makerspaces: A Practical Guide to Planning, Collaborating, and Supporting Campus Innovation. His current research is focused on interior designers as leaders. He has presented his research at conferences all over the world. He began his career as a design practitioner for 14 years in commercial and healthcare design. He’s also an award-winning textile artist who creates art quilts. “I believe in leadership as service,” says Harper. “I’m here to support our students and the faculty through the rollout of a new curriculum, initiatives to increase and strengthen diversity and inclusion, program accreditation/ reaccreditation, new program development, expanding study abroad…just to name a few priorities.”

Meet NYSID’s Admissions Director Emmanuel Cruz

In June, NYSID gained a new Director of Admissions with an abundance of experience and a data-driven plan to bring the College to new audiences of potential students (and their parents). Emmanuel “Manny” Cruz most recently worked as Associate Admissions Director for the State University of New York at Oswego. Before that, he worked in various admissions roles at SUNY Oswego, SUNY System Administration, Hartwick College, and St. Gregory’s University. Cruz is passionate about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging work. He’s currently co-chairing the New York State Association for College Admissions Counseling (NYSACAC) LGBTQ Special Interest Group. Cruz has served in various roles for NYSACAC and the National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC). He’s fluent in Spanish and English. He holds a Master of Science in Higher Education Administration from Drexel University; a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the State University of New York at Oswego; and a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from University of South Florida. “I am delighted to join the NYSID campus community during this significant time of change as we embark on this post-pandemic world together,” says Cruz. “I look forward to engaging together as we move forward in welcoming, retaining, graduating, and celebrating the achievements of our talented students.”

The New York School of Interior Design’s curricula and offerings are constantly evolving, pushing the standards of design education further. Perhaps that’s one reason our students are winning top industry awards and getting great jobs after graduation.

The MPSL Studio Gets an Upgrade

The Master of Professional Studies in Lighting Design classroom has been upgraded with a cutting-edge 86” touchscreen board, made possible by a grant from the Designers Lighting Forum of New York. Shaun Fillion , director of the MPSL program, uses the new equipment above.

Finally, a Professional Organization for AAPI

Designers

Young Huh , 2022 winner of NYSID’s Larry Kravet Design Industry Leadership Award, is one of the founders of the new Asian American Pacific Islander Design Alliance (AAPIDA). Huh, and her friend, interior designer Jessica Davis, began talking about the need for such an organization in March 2021, when a gunman in Atlanta murdered six women of Asian descent in a racially motivated attack. The organization launched in spring of 2022 and is accepting new members at every stage of their interior design careers. The mission of AAPIDA is to “engage, promote, and empower Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders working within the home and design industries to foster visibility, collaboration, and representation industry-wide.” NYSID is in the process of developing a partnership with AAPIDA that might involve public events or mentorship opportunities for emerging designers. To join the group and/or get involved, go to aapidesignalliance.com/contact-us.

PHOTO: MANUEL RODRIGUEZ

 NOTABLE

Nantucket by Design Was Back in Person

Students’ virtual participation in Nantucket by Design worked surprisingly well during the pandemic, but August 3-5 of 2022, the singular experience of traveling to the island and participating in this major event organized by the Nantucket Historical Society was restored. The first winners of the student design contest were AAS students Charrli Genovese and Piper Oldfather, who designed “Mary’s House,” a restaurant and speakeasy in the historic Jethro’s Bait & Tackle. They were mentored by designer Ashley Whittaker. The second winners were BFA students Louisa Holden and Emerson Kraus, who designed a “Chic Idyllic” floral shop in Nantucket’s Oldest House. They were mentored by designer and alumna Tatyana Miron ’02 (AAS). BFA students Taurean Jones and Tereyaza Martin received honorable mention for The Oldest House “Travel Through Time.” They were mentored by AAS alumna Kiki Dennis ’00, whose career is the subject of a feature in this issue. Faculty mentor Pam Durante, principal of Atelier Durante Interior Design, supervised the students through the entire project. The students presented their excellent work at a cocktail reception on the island, making many industry connections. Special thanks to former NYSID board member Maria Spears and board member Kelly Williams for making this extraordinary opportunity possible for NYSID students.

CHARRLI GENOVESE AND PIPER

OLDFATHER DESIGNED MARY’S HOUSE

LOUISA HOLDEN AND EMERSON KRAUS CREATED THIS RENDERING OF THE CHIC IDYLLIC FLORAL SHOP

TAUREAN JONES AND TEREYAZA MARTIN’S RENDERING OF TRAVEL THROUGH TIME

Don’t Miss the Tom Lee and Sarah Tomerlin Lee Exhibit

On September 15, NYSID opened “Designing Duo: Tom Lee and Sarah Tomerlin Lee,” a multimedia exhibition celebrating Tom Lee (1910-1971) and Sarah Tomerlin Lee (1910-2001), a couple who left a distinctive mark on 20th century American design. He worked as a theater designer, a department store display director, and chiefly an interior designer, and she was a magazine editor, a department store executive, an advertising copywriter, and ultimately a renowned interior designer. They sometimes shared clients and, more significantly, profoundly influenced each other. This synergy was vividly manifest at the time of Tom’s death at the age of 61, when Sarah seamlessly took over his firm and went on to design more than 40 hotel interiors internationally. The majority of the objects in this exhibition are drawn from the New York School of Interior Design Archives and Special Collections. This exhibition was curated by independent curators Donald Albrecht and Thomas Mellins in collaboration with research associate Anne Regan , a faculty member of NYSID. Julie Sandy, NYSID’s librarian/archivist for the NYSID Archives and Special Collections, assisted in the research and developed a digital expansion of the exhibition online at nysid.edu/designing-duo. This record of creative partnership remains open through December 5th in the NYSID gallery. The curatorial team is grateful to the sons of Sarah Tomerlin Lee and Tom Lee, Charles and Todd, for their collaboration, as well as the exhibition sponsor, Benjamin Moore & Co.

NYSID Participated in Climate Week NYC

On September 19, David Bergman , director of NYSID’s Master of Professional Studies in Sustainable Interior Environments, hosted a virtual panel as part of Climate Week NYC called “The Carbon Impact Inside: How Interior Designers Can Fight Climate Change.” The event was cosponsored by the New York School of Interior Design and the NY Metro Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers. The other speakers were NYSID alumna Michelle Jacobson ’18 (MPSS), ASID, and Phoebe Beachner, ASID. NYSID is grateful to alumni Maria Lomanto ’14 (AAS) for helping to set up this event.

Foley&Cox 20th Anniversary Reception for Scholarships

The interior design firm foley&cox is celebrating their 20th anniversary. To commemorate this occasion, they have established the foley&cox Endowed Scholarship Fund at NYSID because the company’s leaders, including Michael Cox shown below with NYSID president David Sprouls, want to invest in the future of design. The funds raised will go towards NYSID tuition for students traditionally underrepresented in interior design. On October 6, NYSID and foley & cox cohosted a reception for more than 75 clients, former clients, industry partners, and other friends of the firm. Says NYSID Development Director Joy Cooper, “Our corporate partners like foley&cox are directly impacting the lives of our students and changing the reality of who gets to pursue a career in interior design. We could not be more grateful for this partnership.” To inquire about contributing to this fund or scholarships in general, contact Cooper at giving@nysid.edu.

ON THE HORIZON

Dialogues on Design: Designers’ Greatest Challenges

The

Michael I.

and Patricia M. Sovern Lecture 2022: Peter Pennoyer

On October 25, award-winning architect Peter Pennoyer gave a lecture called “Against the Current: Design and Orthodoxy.” Pennoyer is the founding partner of Peter Pennoyer Architects. He is a member of Architectural Digest’s AD100 and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. With clients ranging from Jeff Koons to East Hampton’s Guild Hall to Ralston College, Pennoyer drew on his decades of seeking the best design while bucking widely accepted rules. His firm’s most recent book is Rowdy Meadow: House - Land - Art, about the creation of a Czech Cubist style house in Ohio. The annual Michael I. and Patricia M. Sovern Lecture on Design is is an endowed lecture series made possible by a generous gift from the Soverns.

On Nov. 14, Dialogues on Design moderator Dennis Scully, also host of the “Business of Home” podcast, kicked off the 2022/2023 season of the series with a conversation with Jamie Drake and Caleb Anderson , to mark the publication of Bold, the first book from the award-winning design firm Drake/ Anderson. The Drake/Anderson partners shared projects that have not yet been published or shown publicly. The theme of this season is Challenge Brings Innovation, and guests will be asked to describe the project or space that most challenged them. Says Scully, “Designers are problem solvers, and we’re hoping to share with the audience some of the innovative solutions these great designers have come up with and perhaps hear some fun stories of getting out of tight spots.” Dialogues on Design continues in December with Laura Hodges ’09 (AAS), winner of NYSID’s 2023 Rising Star Award. The 2022-23 season will present discussions

Nate Berkus, David Kleinberg , Janice Parker, and Kia Weatherspoon .

membership, contact NYSID Development Manager Samantha

with industry notables: Shelia Bridges,

Dates to follow. To inquire about a season

Fingleton at samantha.fingleton@nysid.edu.

PHOTO: BRITTANY AMBRIDGE

NYSID@200 Lex to Open in Early 2023

NYSID’s Institute for Continuing and Professional Studies (ICPS) will have a classroom space at the New York Design Center. It will open at the beginning of 2023, and offer many of our continuing education courses, a lecture series featuring designers, field coaching and studio classes. The programs there will help sharpen practicing designers’ skills, enhance careers, and help designers grow their businesses. Most courses will hold CEUs and LUs for design professionals. This partnership is possible because of the help of NYSID trustee James Druckman , president and CEO of NYDC. Interested in learning more about the showroom, program offerings, or partnerships? Contact ashley.rose@nysid.edu.

“Another Life: Virtual Interiors” Exhibition Coming in Spring 2023

The spring exhibit in NYSID’s gallery will trace the correlation between interior design and virtual reality, starting with the un-buildable concepts of Renaissance designers like Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Claude Nicolas Ledoux, through to the present-day world of virtual renderings and NFTs. The show will focus on impossible interiors—rooms that are so highly constructed that they leave built or lived reality behind. The show, curated by Darling Green, will focus on impossible interiors. Visit nysid.edu/events for latest exhibition and public program news.

Mitchell Joachim on Synthetic Biology in Design, April 19

If you’re interested in the cutting edge of sustainable interior design and architecture, don’t miss this year’s Sally Henderson Endowed Lecture on Sustainability in Design. Mitchell Joachim , the cofounder of Terreform ONE, which tackles environmental design and urban planning through the integrated use of living materials and organisms, will give a lecture on “The Work of Architecture & Design in the Age of Synthetic Biology.” This event, set for April 19, honors the memory of Sally Henderson , a faculty member of NYSID who was the first instructor at NYSID to offer a course in green design.

 AWARDS

Mara Barenbaum ’22 (MPSL) was selected as the recipient of the $25,000 Illuminating Engineering Society NYC Merit Scholarship.

NYSID alumna and faculty member Erika Reuter ’06 (BFA) ’13, (MFA2), AIA, NCIDQ, LEED AP, was selected by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) as a “Ones to Watch Award Winner 2022.”

NYSID students Korina Athanasiadou and Francene Roberts won the Ceramics of Italy Tile Student Competition for 2022. Their design of a Sustainable Townhouse in Seattle allows light to infiltrate all areas of the home, a contrast to the city’s typically cloudy atmosphere.

PORTFOLIO / Class of 2022 Award Winners

The Office of Academic Affairs awarded the students whose thesis projects are featured on these pages the Chairman’s Award for their overall performance at NYSID and, in one case, the Ana Blanc Verna Award for Excellence in Interior Design, an award given to a BFA student who demonstrated unique creative vision. At NYSID, thesis projects challenge students to brainstorm, form a guiding concept, conduct research on real communities and building sites, seek out case studies, and synthesize all they have learned.

A Yearlong Journey

At NYSID, thesis and capstone projects are long journeys that challenge students to brainstorm, conduct research, and synthesize all they have learned. The journey ends with a presentation to a jury of faculty and industry professionals. Our students work closely with faculty to create hypothetical designs that offer solutions to real-world problems.

A MAISON MARIELA FLAGSHIP STORE THAT “BREAKS THE CUBE,” BY WUNJIN HWANG (MFA2). SEE PAGE 43 FOR MORE.

RENDERED CROSS SECTION OF THE MUSEUM OF FASHION DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY BY SHENG WEI (WILSON) YANG (MFA1). SEE PAGE 42 FOR MORE.

RENDERING OF THE STAIR HALL AND LOBBY OF LA MAISON DE GIVENCHY BY ALEXIS GEORGE (BFA). SEE PAGE 44 FOR MORE.

RENDERING OF A RESIDENCE AT THE KINGSLAND: AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR SENIORS, BY JANICE JULIANTI (BFA). SEE PAGE 45 FOR MORE.

Sheng Wei (Wilson) Yang

When Wilson Yang began Thesis Preparation, he knew he wanted to integrate his passion for his first career of fashion design with his new calling of interior design. He said, “I wanted the thesis to be a container to display these two sides of me, but as I learned more about the history of fashion and garments in NYC, the concept became bigger.” Yang designed his museum in the footprint of a structure that is the length of a city block, the IRT Powerhouse on the border of Hell’s Kitchen in NYC. The structure was designed by McKim, Mead & White in 1904, and the adaptive re-use of the gorgeous historical building was part of what fueled Yang. He envisioned museum-goers walking through three distinct experiences in the museum: history, innovation, and creation. He says, “The first section is focused on design history; the second, ‘the weaving center,’ is about textile inventions and technologies; and the third portion is a studio tower and workplace that supports emerging designers.” A particularly poetic detail is the fact that the circulation path for the layout is based on a sewing pattern. The showstopper of the museum is the brightly lit, cone-shaped stairwell in the weaving tower, which is meant to be like “a giant weaving machine that allows users to get inside the experience of how fabrics come together.” An interesting exhibition space is the Green Screen Gallery, which allows the user to observe costumes in a space that mimics the way actors work within CGI films. Yang says he could not have accomplished all he did without the guidance of his mentor, NYSID alumnus Joe Hynn Yang, and his thesis instructor, Barbara Weinrich .

Chairman’s Award, Master of Fine Arts (Professional)

Instructor: Barbara Weinreich

Project: The Museum of Fashion Design & Technology

Wunjin Hwang

For her capstone project, Wunjin Hwang was drawn to the high-end fashion brand Maison Margiela for two reasons. The first is that the brand regards fashion as a form of artistic expression. The second is that the brand philosophy is “Appropriating the inappropriate.” Maison Margiela is about taking norms, or rather, classic representations of beauty, breaking them down, and reconstructing them. Hwang is a sculptor, so her interpretation of “breaking the norm” became three-dimensional. Working inside the hard rectangles of an industrial warehouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn, she created an organic, fluid, folding, threedimensional structure and stairwell to “break the cube” of the linear building. She sculpted this form with clay first, and then researched how to actually build it with UHPC (ultra-high performance concrete) cast over a wire skeleton. She envisioned the experience for the Maison Margiela client would be one of wonder as they stepped off the ferry into Red Hook and entered a destination. The first thing a visitor would see would be the exhibition space for highend clothing, made otherworldly by curtains of wire. The textured brick and wood would contrast with the smooth concrete surfaces. The user would climb the sinuous stairwell to find fitting rooms for the exclusive collections. At the end of the journey, the visitors would be exposed to more affordable items. Says Hwang, “Stefanie Werner helped me with architecture, helping me understand how to make the building possible in the real world. My mentor, Sun Her, kept bringing me back to my concept so I would not get lost in the details.

Chairman’s Award, Master of Fine Arts (Post-professional)

Instructor: Stefanie Werner

Project: Maison Margiela Flagship Store

Alexis (Allie) George

Chairman’s Award, Bachelor of Fine Arts

Allie George wanted her thesis to be a marriage of her two great passions, interior design and fashion, and for many years she’s been an admirer of Hubert de Givenchy’s “classic, elegant, and sophisticated style.” She set out to create an all-encompassing space for Givenchy’s design process and specialized staff. There would be dramatic public spaces for customers, and inspiring spaces for creative/artistic directors, designers, sewists, archivists, executives, and board members. She says, “I wanted to pick a historical building that mimicked the characteristics of those in Paris, especially those on the Rue de Montagne, where many of the haute couture ateliers are located. I sought to bring that sensibility into New York.” She chose a six-story building at 20 East 65th Street, and her goal was the adaptive re-use of as much of the original structure as possible. The key to the customer’s journey through the space is the beautiful grand stair hall. Clients would enter through the stair hall to find the lobby, and also use it to access fitting rooms on the second floor. They might also visit the roof garden (with rainwater collection) for runway shows or parties. The majority of spaces in the building are dedicated to the workers behind the brand. The cellar is an archival library. Behind French doors on the first floor are a staff lounge, lockers, and kitchenette. There are work-based areas for the atelier on the upper floors, such as spinning, cutting, and dying areas, as well as meeting rooms and a photography studio. Says George, who now works as a junior designer at Champalimaud Design, “The idea was a fresh take on Parisian, traditional design.”

Instructor: Robert Dadras Project: La Maison De Givenchy

When Janice Julianti set out to design what would become “The Kingsland: Affordable Housing Apartments for Seniors and the Disabled,” she was struck by the way the COVID-19 pandemic isolated seniors, and drove many into poverty. She says, “I kept thinking about my own grandparents in Indonesia, and how a better living environment could have supported them through this period. I wanted to create an environment with healing moments that brought seniors personal growth, intellectual stimulation, and a connection to nature.” She set the project in the footprint of a 31,684-sq.-ft. warehouse in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. She divided the building into two zones, a rectangular apartment complex with 23 residential units; and on the west side in a square structure, communal spaces such as a classroom, a cafe, and a staff room. Julianti adapted existing features of the building, such as the garage doors on the former loading docks, to bring in daylight and create a seamless flow to the outdoors. She used the rooftop to create a wheelchair accessible garden, and visually connected the rooftop, the second-floor greenhouse, and the first-floor lobby through a skylight, so there would be views of the greenery throughout the space. The second-floor apartments meet ADA standards and are designed for a wheelchair to move through them; the loft apartments challenge more mobile seniors to continue climbing stairs. Among the sustainable features are rainwater collection, solar panels, and abundant natural light.

Janice Julianti Ana Blanc Verna Award for Excellence in Interior Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts

Instructor: Robert Dadras

Project: The Kingsland

IN MEMORIAM

The NYSID community remembers Anne Eisenhower.

ANNE EISENHOWER

The NYSID community was saddened to learn that alumna and friend of the College, Anne Eisenhower ’75, passed away on July 30, 2022, at the age of 73. After her graduation from NYSID in 1975, she began her design career working at the firm of the legendary Dorothy Draper. In 1981, she began her own firm, Anne Eisenhower Inc., specializing in residential design. In 1990, she was named one of Architectural Digest ’s Top 100 designers. Eisenhower designed a room in the Kips Bay show house called “A Heroine’s Getaway” that was ulti mately published in a collection of top Kips Bay designs called 40 Years of Fabulous. In 1992, she was featured on the cover of Chris Casson Madden’s book, Rooms with a View.

Eisenhower was a granddaughter of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during WWII and later the 34th President of the United States, and Mamie Doud Eisenhower. She worked for years with her sister, Susan Eisenhower, on the planning of the Frank Gehry-designed Eisenhower Memorial, which opened to the public in 2020 on a site adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

A major focus of Anne Eisenhower’s life was philanthropy. She served on NYSID’s Advi sory Board for decades and was a generous supporter of the College. She supported many organizations, causes, and artistic endeavors, including Casita Maria, where she served on the board for 25 years; the Breast Cancer Research Foundation; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and the Gettysburg Foundation. Says NYSID president David Sprouls, “She was a talented graduate as well as a longtime friend and supporter of the College whose grace and counsel will be dearly missed.”

LEADERSHIP / Moving the College Forward

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Ellen Kravet, Chairman

David Sprouls, NYSID President

Chesie Breen

Jill H. Dienst

James P. Druckman

Cheryl S. Durst

Ingrid Ongaro Edelman

Susan Zises Green

Alexa Hampton David Kleinberg

Courtney R. McLeod

Dennis Miller

Betsey Ruprecht

Brad Schneller

David Scott Newell Turner

Kelly M. Williams

Eric J. Gering, Faculty Trustee

Joanna L. Silver, Esq., General Counsel

Elaine Wingate Conway, Trustee Emerita

Inge Heckel, Trustee Emerita

Patricia M. Sovern, Chairman Emeritus

ADVISORY BOARD

Robin Klehr Avia

Michael Bruno Kathleen M. Doyle

Ross J. Francis

Mariette Himes Gomez

Gerald A. Holbrook

Thomas Jayne

Wolfram Koeppe

Charlotte Moss Barbara Ostrom Sylvia Owen Ann Pyne Peter Sallick Calvin Tsao Bunny Williams Vicente Wolf

ALUMNI COUNCIL

Marie Aiello ’04 (AAS), President

Krista Gurevich ’16 (MFA1), Vice President

George Marshall Peters ’08 (BFA), Treasurer

Lawrence Chabra ’09 (BFA), Secretary

Valerie Genovese ’16 (BFA)

Michelle Jacobson ’17 (MPS)

Maisie Lee ’00 (BFA)

Dahiana Peña ’21 (MFA1) Sylvia Sirabella ’18 (MFA1) Erin Wells ’04 (BFA)

“When I opened (the email announcing I got the scholarship) from NYSID, confetti and ‘Congratulations’ crossed my screen. At exactly the right moment, I received a sign that I was truly on the right path, and I haven’t doubted myself since.”

— CHAZZTEN PETTIFORD ‘22 (MFA1), 2022 RECIPIENT OF THE HOLLAND & SHERRY DIVERSITY IN DESIGN SCHOLARSHIP AND NYSID DIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP

LEFT TO RIGHT: ISABELLA HAMILTON (BFA), CHIH-CHUNG CHEN (BFA), LAUREN BRKARIC (BFA), AND NYSID ALUMNA AND FACULTY MEMBER AJAEÉ SHEPARD ‘17 (BFA) WORK ON NYSID’S GREEN ROOFTOP AT 70TH STREET.