Atelier - Summer 2024

The Rise of a Consummately American Designer

Erick Espinoza ’13 (BFA)

Albert Hadley Scholarship Recipient

WELCOME

SUMMER 2024

PRESIDENT David Sprouls

EDITORIAL AND MARKETING DIRECTOR

Bay Brown

WRITER AND MANAGING EDITOR

Jennifer Dorr

ART DIRECTOR

Boyd Delancey

COPY EDITING

Leslie Robinson

COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

Olivia Baldacci

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 and 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 mce@nysid.edu.

nysid.edu/atelier

It’s summer, at last, and we’ve just graduated another class of interior designers with both cutting-edge skills and timeless knowledge of our discipline.

At NYSID, we teach interior designers to investigate the details of how people live to meet the needs of specific users. We instill the idea that health, well-being, beauty, and safety are at the heart of every design. It’s struck me, many times, that you can’t produce truly human-centered designers without a lens of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.

To be a great interior designer, or educator for that matter, you must be open to ideas and perspectives you might not have been exposed to before. You must have an awareness that what may be comfortable and functional for one person, might not be for another. During the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with our new Director of DEIB, Mackenzie Carr, on planning the next phase of DEIB for the College. We’ve added the “B” for Belonging to our values statement because we want to create a culture that hears, welcomes, and supports everyone—a cohesive community that celebrates distinctness. Mackenzie is helping us have conversations we’ve not had in the past. Learn about his approach in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Begin With Listening

Our cover story delves into the education and career of Erick Espinoza ’13 (BFA), a tale of an American dream realized. It was an act of welcoming that changed the course of this first-generation American’s life. When Erick was in high school, NYSID Dean and VP for Academic Affairs Ellen Fisher and I had a chance to meet him during a portfolio fair and make him aware that interior design could be a career for him. We also told him about scholarship opportunities. Back then, Erick didn’t know interior design was a “viable career,” to use his words. This encounter helped him find the profession he belongs in. Erick’s success reminds us that it’s incumbent on us to reach out to young people from all backgrounds and expose them to interior design, one reason our Pre-College Program and Pre-College Scholarship Fund are so important.

Once, interior design was considered exclusive. My experiences have shown me that interior design is evolving into a more welcoming field. The dozens of industry insiders who shared their knowledge with our students at the Kravet Student Design Forum last fall did so in a spirit of openness and generosity. At Gala 2024, we raised over $667,000 in NYSID scholarships at an event honoring Nate Berkus, Erick Espinoza , and Ann Pyne. There is the will, from many corners of the industry, to bring more perspectives to the table. We’ve made progress, but there’s so much more to do. I’m grateful to you, our donors, volunteers, and educators, who support our students in myriad ways and help great creative talents, like Erick, find their way to design careers.

In gratitude,

DAVID SPROULS PRESIDENT NEW YORK SCHOOL OF INTERIOR DESIGN

Inclusion & Belonging

Mackenzie Carr, NYSID’s First Director of DEIB

VISUAL THINKER / Design Deconstructed

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NYSID alumna Nandar Godoy-Dinneen ’11 (MPSS) grew up in Quito, Ecuador, and now lives in New York City, where she’s a senior associate at PJC Architecture. She earned her first degree, in Architecture, from the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, her second degree in Interior Design from NYU, and a Master of Professional Studies in Sustainable Interior Environments from NYSID. This passive house project, “Napoles House,” allowed her to synthesize all of her learning. She served as both architect and interior designer, overseeing the project from foundations to furnishings. This design won a Bronze 2023 IDA Design Award in Architecture/Houses.

These locally made bricks are a thermal-mass material that absorbs heat in the day and releases it at night. The use of bricks in dwellings dates back to the Incas.

The pattern of light and shadow created by these custom-built, floor-to-ceiling glass and metal windows mimics the shadows created by a grove of trees outside.

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The sculptural fireplace was commissioned from Saurus Ecuador. It’s the home’s only heating element.

The client shopped for this wall textile with Godoy-Dinneen at CÔTE À COAST in New York, and then carried it back to Ecuador with her on the plane.

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The vintage couch, chair, coffee table, and jute and silk rug have been repurposed. They belonged to the client’s mother.

Godoy-Dinneen sourced these dark porcelain tiles from Graiman, a local maker. They absorb the heat of the sun and hide dirt tracked in by the clients’ dogs.

In Crafts of the Past, a More Sustainable Future

“A client like this is a gift,” said Godoy-Dinneen of the environmentalist who hired her to create this 700 SQ FT retreat outside the city of Quito, Ecuador. Her client flies all over the country for work, so she requires proximity to an airport and the peace of the countryside. The client asked for a tiny house that contained a bedroom, bathroom, living room, dining room, kitchen, office, and yoga space. Godoy-Dinneen planned a structure of two cubes connected by a glass bridge, which doubled as a yoga space. “Creating this program in a very small footprint, in a country where green construction has just started, was a challenge,” said Godoy-Dinneen. “Sustainable design is about research, and there was just not a lot of information on products.” Her solution was to look to the past and what she calls “the vernacular architecture of the area.” Almost everything in the house was sourced locally and made by artisans. The home has no heating or AC, but the materials Godoy-Dinneen specified help it maintain a comfortable temperature, and the lowest carbon footprint possible. No finishes or paints were necessary.

Behind the Rise of a Consummately

American Designer

Erick Espinoza ’13 (BFA)

Albert Hadley Scholarship Recipient

NYSID ALUMNUS ERICK ESPINOZA became creative director of the prestigious interior design firm Anthony Baratta, Inc., at the age of 24. He has been named a House Beautiful Next Wave Designer, and his first house’s interior, which he designed, was featured in The New York Times, Country Living Magazine, and Connecticut Cottage and Gardens. NYSID honored him with its Rising Star Award at Gala 2024. His approach to interior design is bold, joyful, historically informed, and perfectionist. This firstgeneration American found a career that was “meant to be,” yet didn’t realize that interior design was a profession he could pursue until he was a senior in high school and met the leaders of NYSID.

Espinoza will always remember the day he learned that interior design could become his career. In 2009, he was a senior at Miami’s DASH (Design and Architecture Senior High School) when he attended a portfolio fair that drew representatives from art and design colleges from all over the country. A first-generation American with parents from Honduras and Nicaragua, Espinoza had applied to DASH, a specialized magnet high school for the visual arts and design, at the urging of a middle school art teacher, and he made it in against the odds. There, he pursued a concentration in architecture. He says, “I grew up in innercity Miami, but my high school was unusual because it pulled students from all over the city, every type of human, at every socio-economic level. This diversity made it an incredibly cool and liberating place that fed creativity.”

At the portfolio fair, one of the school’s guidance counselors approached NYSID’s President David Sprouls

(then VP of Enrollment Management) and NYSID’s Dean and VP for Academic Affairs Ellen Fisher (then Associate Dean) and said, “You must meet this incredibly talented student.” Sprouls and Fisher interrupted one of Espinoza’s classes to meet him before the day was over. He spread his portfolio out on the floor of the hallway so Fisher and Sprouls could see it. “We were blown away,” remembers Sprouls. They spoke to Espinoza about NYSID and the profession of interior design. “Until that moment, I didn’t realize that interior design was a distinct field from architecture, or that you could do it as a career,” says Espinoza. “In my architecture work in high school, I had always focused on the little details, the minutiae of a room, and my wonderful architecture teacher pushed me in that direction. What I loved was interior design, but I didn’t have models of people who did it professionally. When I met David and Ellen I thought, ‘This is just what I am looking for.’” He learned of scholarship opportunities at NYSID and applied.

He says, “I was a little discouraged at the end of my senior year, because I was very late to the game in applying for scholarships and I didn’t think I would get one. There’s a Bright Futures program which provides full tuition for students above a certain GPA level in Florida, so I was on my way to a state college, Florida International University.” Late in the summer, he received a letter in the mail from NYSID telling him that he had won the Albert Hadley Scholarship, which for him meant a full ride. Within a few days, he packed up his life and moved to New York to attend NYSID. He says, “It was meant to be… This scholarship

COURTESY OF ANTHONY BARATTA, INC.

OPPOSITE PAGE: APARTMENT BY ANTHONY BARATTA, ERICK ESPINOZA, AND JAIME MAGOON. PHOTO: MARK ROSKAMS. FAR RIGHT: DALLAS SHOW HOUSE BY ANTHONY BARATTA, ERICK ESPINOZA, AND JAIME MAGOON. PHOTO: MARK ROSKAMS. RIGHT: ESPINOZA’S FIRST SOLO PROJECT, A GREAT CAMP IN THE ADIRONDACKS. PHOTO: JAMES MERRELL. IMAGES

meant everything to me. It’s the reason I am sitting here today doing what I am doing, in a career I love.”

Espinoza’s story points to the importance of reaching out to high school students about the profession of interior design, and the scholarships that might be available to them, early in their development, as they are forming their identities and planning their paths. This is critical to NYSID’s mission of helping to diversify interior design through scholarships, education, and a culture of inclusion. Many first-generation Americans, and/or students growing up in underserved communities, have no models of interior designers in their lives, and no notion that interior design could be a career option or a field that would welcome them. “Providing the scholarship is really the second piece of the puzzle,” says President Sprouls. “If we want to attract artistically talented young people from underrepresented communities to the profession, we need

to reach them through their communities, and expose them to the practice of interior design in high school or before.” That’s precisely what NYSID is doing with its PreCollege Program. The College is working with community organizations that include Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, YWCA-NYC, and ASID Florida South to identify students with interest in the arts and grant them scholarships to NYSID’s summer Pre-College Program. NYSID’s PreCollege Scholarship Fund is meant to work with its other scholarship funds, providing a pathway from Pre-College to college graduation.

ANSWERING HIS CALLING

Espinoza says, “I was never interested in the traditional college experience with a football team and all that. One of the coolest things about NYSID was the age diversity and the fact that I was exposed to career changers. I got to

ABOVE:

have such a wide variety of conversations with people who brought their own experience to the classroom.” Because DASH is both a special and specialized high school, Espinoza had two architecture internships in high school, one with HOK and one with Rene Gonzalez Architect. He came to college with drafting skills, yet he was still challenged. What impressed him about NYSID’s educators and curriculum was the fact that people who had no art or design background were also able to excel. He says, “When I saw my peers with no experience catching up and succeeding, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, these professors are good.”

The Color for Interiors course, then taught by Ethel Rompilla , was one of his favorites. He says, “I have always had an obsession with the specificity of color, and I learned from her how to get there with paint. We would have a small piece of chintz on paper, and we would paint on top of it with the goal of matching the color. There was such subtlety in it. If you had red and needed a specific pink, you’d have to use a prick of white paint on a toothpick to get the right color. That level of scrutiny is something I have carried with me and it’s part of my everyday life.” Espinoza also appreciated his Professional Practice I course, which

was then taught by Veronica Whitlock . He says, “She taught us how to create a proposal and how to put together orders. Without this foundation, a first job could feel like you were thrown into the wolves’ den!”

It turned out that Espinoza would need this practical knowledge sooner rather than later. Anthony Baratta hired Espinoza as an intern for the firm Diamond Baratta in 2011, when he was a junior in college. One of the reasons he got the internship and rose so quickly is that he had done the research on the firm. He has this advice for emerging designers: “If you want to work for a firm, look at their old work, and then study the new work and how it’s evolved. Ground yourself in their aesthetic so you are coming armed to your interview. Understand the lineage and how you might fit into it.”

By his senior year, Espinoza was a full designer at the firm, completing his final year at NYSID and thesis while working. It was a tremendous amount of work, but Espinoza had the passion for it. “I am very driven, and I can’t sit still,” he muses. “The drive comes from knowing where I came from. There was no turning back in my situation. Succeeding felt like the only option. My mom is the type of person who would be supportive even if I failed, but there is an underlying expectation as a first-generation college student that you support yourself, do well for yourself, and you become better off than your parents. With pressure comes drive.”

THE BEST MENTORS CREATE LEADERS

Espinoza became pivotal to his firm at a time of unusual transition. He says, “ Bill (Diamond) had retired soon after I started as an intern and Tony (Baratta) had started his own firm which was still fresh and new.” He points out that Anthony Baratta was always the kind of principal who wanted to hear from and engage junior staff members in real design, not have them tackle only the administrative tasks. He remembers, “Tony Baratta is known for a level of custom. From the get-go, I was designing rugs, furniture, and fabrics in addition to doing whatever else was needed.”

In hindsight, Espinoza can see that there was an important moment in his career, about two or three years after he started at the firm, when Baratta allowed him to make the transition to a leader of the design process. “The project was for a long-time client, who is a very well-known wildlife photographer, with a house in the Adirondacks. She wanted to create a Tupper Lake sanctuary for pollinators,” explains Espinoza. “Tony understood I was excited about it, so he let go and let me take the lead. He trusted me to carry the project through, and I wrapped my arms around it. The client loved animals, folk art, American

OPPOSITE PAGE: ESPINOZA’S NYC BEDROOM WITH ARCHIVAL DIAMOND BARATTA FABRICS. PHOTOGRAPHED BY THE DESIGNER.

HOUSE IN FT. LAUDERDALE, FL. IMAGE COURTESY OF ANTHONY BARATTA, INC.

antiques, all the things I love. Tony advised me when I had a question, but he let me do my thing. The project was published in House Beautiful and Country Living. That’s when it clicked for me that my career was real, and this is what I would be doing for the rest of my life.”

COLLABORATION FEEDS CREATIVITY

One of the reasons Espinoza has been with one firm for more than 12 years, and plans to stay, is that he had found a powerfully collaborative work culture at Anthony Baratta LLC. He explains that Baratta has more than 40 years of design experience and a specific genius, and another colleague at the firm, Jamie Magoon , has been working with Baratta for more than 17 years. “Our visions have melded together,” he says. “I have deep respect for their more extensive experience, and they recognize the power of youth. I have my own ideas for pushing the envelope. Tony keeps us all on our toes and we know each other so well we have a shorthand in the office. It’s so important to have sounding boards in design, or it could get stale. I trust them implicitly and I think the intergenerationally of our office makes for stronger design.” In this job, he not only collaborates with his team on designing interiors, but also on licensed products, such as Baratta’s lines with Thomasville Furniture and Capel Rugs.

A HOME THAT REFLECTS THE AMERICAN DREAM

From 2009 to 2020, Espinoza and his partner lived in an apartment in Queens. For years, he acquired objects, textiles, and furnishings, particularly American folk art and rustic antiques, and kept them in storage, waiting for the right time and place. During the COVID lockdown in 2020, he and his partner bought their first house in Danbury, Connecticut. He muses, “I just took all of the stuff out of storage, put it in place, and I was done!” With his own home, he was free to combine his pop-art sensibility with a layered interpretation of American craftsmanship. The house is filled with Americana, from Shaker chairs,

to hooked rugs and quilts, to antique game boards and weathervanes. The interior design of his home became a form of storytelling in which he was free to layer personal history and take risks. He says, “Clients want bedrooms to be muted, soft, and calming, but I went totally in the other direction. There is something about an intersection of patterns that soothes me.” The bedroom is filled with “accumulated history, things I love from my life,” he says. The bed he brought from his home in Queens. The settee in front of the bed is a piece he found at auction, stored for years, and reupholstered with a vintage Diamond Baratta fabric for Lee Jofa, a line owned by Kravet, Inc. The bold wallpaper is also a vintage textile from the Diamond Baratta archives, created for Lee Jofa. He says, “The fabrics had never been published. I loved reintroducing these archival prints and weaves.” Images of his home, and these fabulous textiles, were ultimately published in multiple outlets, including The New York Times

A STUDENT OF DESIGN HISTORY

A defining characteristic of Espinoza’s work and career is the deep respect he has for design history. It’s no wonder his advice for emerging designers is about the right way to study those in the profession who have come before. He says, “You must read and collect a lot of design books. It’s not a popular thing in this age of technology. I was taught early on to look at design books. That was a Tony and Bill thing. Design history matters, and a design book is a concentrated vision of a specific design aesthetic. You simply cannot find that online. You have to find it in these old books.”

BECOMING A MODEL FOR OTHERS

Espinoza feels blessed to have found and forged a career in interior design that he loves. He is now able to be a role model and mentor for others. He’s adamant about giving back to both his alma mater, and the field. He’s donated his time to work on projects for the Ronald McDonald House, Design on a Dime, Rooms with a View, and the Center for Special Studies. He’s giving back to NYSID: He spoke on a panel at the Kravet Student Design Forum for NYSID students last fall. He feels the most important thing NYSID can do to further diversify its student body and the profession is to keep reaching out to high school students, especially those with fewer resources. He says, “There is so much talent that isn’t at these special art schools. I would urge NYSID and all design programs to keep looking at portfolios in schools that are less expected, and educating young people that design can be a viable career.” •

by Zach Gibbs, co-founder

OPPOSITE PAGE: ESPINOZA’S DANBURY LIVING ROOM. PHOTO: RIKKI SNYDER FOR COTTAGES AND GARDENS. ABOVE: ESPINOZA’S DANBURY BEDROOM. PHOTO MARK ROSKAMS.

ABOVE: NYSID

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Begin with Listening

Mackenzie Carr began as NYSID’s first director of DEIB in the summer of 2023. He views his work as “building culture,” a practice that requires patience, empathy, and strategic thinking. As he approaches his first-year anniversary at NYSID, we chat with him about what drew him to DEIB work, his methods, and the emerging priorities for NYSID.

CARR, NYSID’S FIRST DIRECTOR OF DEIB

IN HIS ROLE AS NYSID’s first Director of DEIB, Mackenzie Carr interfaces with every department at the College, from Student Services to Academic Affairs, Admissions, and IT. He brings with him a passion born of his experiences, and the adaptability that comes from having lived and worked abroad in several countries. He’s building on the foundation provided by NYSID’s DEI Commission—formerly headed by trustee Cheryl Durst , faculty member Leyden Lewis, and registrar Jennifer Melendez—and working with NYSID’s leaders to create and implement a comprehensive DEIB plan.

WHAT DRIVES HIM

Carr was raised in Florida. As early as age 3 or 4, he was aware of his family members being called racist slurs. He grew up with the knowledge that his father was so alienated by systemic oppression that he dropped out of Columbia University in his final year, months before obtaining his JD, to become a Black Panther.

When Carr was only eleven, his father died of colon cancer. His mother had to explain to him that they would not return to bury his father in his hometown of Pahokee, Florida, because the farm owners burn sugarcane in this rural BIPOC community for six months of the year, and toxic carcinogens fall on people in the form of “Black Snow,” causing asthma and other health problems. His mother didn’t want to expose him and his siblings to this toxic environment, even for the duration of a funeral. This was a defining moment for him. “It hurt to understand, as a child, how poorly Black people were being treated. This knowledge, in the context of my father’s death, is what activated me and set me on a course to try to change the world. By the time I was 14, I was running car washes trying to raise money for environmental and social justice causes.”

Carr thought he would major in environmental studies in college at the University of Florida, but he would end up majoring in psychology, working to help everyone from women with eating disorders to people with addictions. The early trauma of his father’s passing left him with empathy, and a desire to help people and communities. He obtained his MS in psychology, while interning with social scientists abroad. He then had an opportunity to go to South Korea and serve as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Campus Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Cultural Competency at Hannam University for eight years. In 2021, he returned to the U.S. to become Assistant Director of Equity, Inclusion and Anti-bullying at Columbia University Climate School.

“The students know the changes that are coming before I can know them.”

—MACKENZIE CARR

MACKENZIE CARR SPEAKS WITH STUDENTS

SACHI SHAH ’24 (MFA2) AND TRIPURESHEE

VASHISHTHA ’24 (MFA2) IN THE NYSID LIBRARY.

His international perspective and understanding of what it means to live as an expat is valuable to the NYSID community, where 21% of the students hailed from other countries in the 2023-24 academic year.

DEFINING DEIB AT NYSID

Carr’s definition of DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) is one that takes every community member’s needs into account and allows for a growth mindset. DEI is a multifaceted practice that must encompass race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic background, neurodiversity, disability,

and much more, while “belonging” is about building a community that hears and welcomes everyone. “There is never a one-size-fits-all solution,” he says. “I really want to broaden the scope of what people understand DEI to be and disrupt the status quo of DEI being specifically and only tethered to BIPOC folks, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, and differently abled people. Anyone with the will can learn. To bring about real change, you must provide empathy and allow people to make mistakes, encourage curiosity about other cultures, and not judge people for what they don’t know. That’s what I hope to emphasize.”

BUILDING CULTURE TAKES PATIENCE

Carr feels that a common misconception about the practice of DEIB is that a person from an underrepresented group will come on campus and just tell people what to do. That’s not how it works. “It’s important to me that people understand that I won’t be dictating policy. An autocratic approach never works in the practice of DEIB. You cannot come onto any campus and give people procedures and policies without knowing the campus culture and where the gaps are.” Carr made small observations from the moment he stepped on campus in July 2023, but he refrained from making formal recommendations at the outset, because he believes one must gather impressions and empirical data from the students, staff, faculty, board members, and alumni before creating a hierarchy of priorities.

“Listening is key. We have to listen to understand the differences between people. I’m working to get to know just about everyone involved with the school,” he says. “The next step is surveying the community, so we have numerical data in addition to testimonials. Step three is working with departments to draft practices that lead to campus-wide policies for identifying KPIs (key performance indicators) so we can measure progress. The goal is having every department on campus running in unison with the College’s global DEIB practices.”

He views the leaders of each department as his partners and expects some of the best ideas to be theirs. He says, “I want folks to feel we are working together to ensure that our efforts are effective, transparent, and succinct in achieving our cultural goals for NYSID.” He sees students as the most important source of information about what needs to change and has an open-door policy for them. “The students know the changes that are coming before I can, and exactly what they want or need to be successful,” he adds.

EMERGING PRIORITIES

The College has not completed its DEIB plan, but Carr points to directions that are emerging as priorities. They are:

• Building the Pipeline to Interior Design

NYSID is already working to educate high schoolers from underserved communities about the practice of interior design through its Pre-College Program and Pre-College Scholarship Fund. Carr would like the College to do more experiential workshops in K-12 schools, specifically the art departments of large public schools. He believes there are many artistic students who don’t know what interior design is or that it can be a career for them, especially in BIPOC communities.

• Cultural Competency Training for Faculty & Staff

“The inclusion piece should come before diversity. You don’t have to be from an underrepresented group to be culturally competent. Prepare your campus for the students you want to attract,” says Carr. He adds, “I have been able to work alongside the HR office to develop trainings.” Carr is building a series of trainings and workshops specific to the needs of NYSID and interior designers.

• Attracting Traditional-Aged Students Means Welcoming Their Parents

Carr notes that there is a hesitation among some parents about sending their 18- or 19-year-old undergrads to a single-discipline school, and a worry about the economic prospects and stability of interior design as a career. He feels that NYSID could try additional methods to attract and keep more students by welcoming family members and guardians to the campus. He hopes to set up a parent orientation that sheds light on the economics of interior design and demonstrates the proven path to employment NYSID provides.

• Emboldening Everyone to Speak Up

Carr says, “I’ve noticed that many people at NYSID have great and innovative ideas. However, many of those people don’t feel confident enough to share these ideas or know to whom they should direct them. Therefore, the priority is to keep ongoing communications going while welcoming and including new voices.”

Getting things done requires engaging as many community members as possible in the transformation. What’s important to Carr is meaningful change. He notes, “Culture is what we do, not just what we say.” Reach out to Carr with your ideas: mackenzie.carr@nysid.edu. •

THE STUDENT TAKE ON THE KRAVET STUDENT DESIGN FORUM

Where the Trade Met Education

Kravet Inc. Gifted NYSID Students with Inspiration, Influences & Advice from Every Corner of the Residential Design Sector. This Experiment Was a Resounding Success.

ON SEPTEMBER 22, 2023, halfway through a day of panels that began with a keynote by Nate Berkus, precious textiles from the Kravet Archives were draped over chairs and tables in the Satz Auditorium of the New York School of Interior Design. NYSID students were up and out of their seats, with textiles in their hands, as Scott Kravet, principal of Kravet Inc., explained how he can predict what will be in style in 18 months, the amount of time it takes to bring a luxury home textile to market. “In textiles, every decade has a style. Everything exists in a cycle, and it repeats itself,” said Kravet Inc. The crowd let out “wows’’ as Scott Kravet unfurled his company’s “Tree of Life” block print. Kravet explained the textile was made in Thailand, using 392 blocks to make a single repeat. The original pattern was created in 1923, in England, for GP & J Baker, a brand now owned by Kravet. There were also century-old Art Deco antiques, Polynesian Tapa cloths made of pounded mulberry bark, and much more. Kravet explained the history and craft behind each piece. After the session, Nicole Jenzabar Banafsheha , a BFA student from Los Angeles, said, “I’m beginning to understand the difference between embroidery and jacquard from this session! To put my hands on these fabrics, as I was hearing about their history from experts, was incredible.”

This workshop was just one session of many in the Kravet Student Design Forum, an opportunity for students

A: SCOTT KRAVET SHOWS ARCHIVAL TEXTILES TO STUDENTS. B: MICHAEL HAINEY AND NATE BERKUS. C: CLAUDIA GISELLE TEJEDA, YOUNG HUH, KESHA FRANKLIN, PETI LAU, AND SABINE ROTHMAN D: KRAVET PUTS PERFORMANCE FABRICS TO THE TEST. E: SCOTT KRAVET WITH STUDENT. F: SUSAN CRATER WITH LINHERR HOLLINGSWORTH. PHOTOS BY MEGAN LANE, KRAVET INC.

to complement their in-class learning by hearing from real-world professionals about the skills and knowledge required to become a successful residential interior designer. The forum took place September 21-22, and featured some of the biggest names in interior design. The idea for the event was sparked many years ago when the leadership of NYSID and the leadership of Kravet Inc. sat around a table at the Kravet headquarters and envisioned a conference that would give students what NYSID President David Sprouls calls an “in the trenches” understanding of residential interior design.

Karen Lerman , Kravet’s senior manager of corporate special projects, organized the forum. She says, “Our intention was to give NYSID students an exposure to the practical, day-to-day elements of practicing residential interior design, from budgeting, to building one’s brand, to testing out performance fabrics.” Lerman brought in superstars, but she and her team made sure students also heard from mid-career design entrepreneurs, expert craftsmen, and suppliers to the trade.

NYSID trustee and designer Alexa Hampton and designer Thom Filicia opened the forum on Thursday night with a conversation moderated by Alix Lerman , chief marketing officer for the New York Design Center. Filicia said, “The design community is becoming a really supportive community. Designers are supporting each

A: SCOTT KRAVET ON THE HISTORY OF TEXTILES.

B : LAURA LEVINSON OF VALDESE WEAVERS ON PERFORMANCE FABRICS. C: ANDREW KLINE AND JONATHAN PERKINS FROM WORKSHOP/APD.

D: CLINTON SMITH, BETSEY RUPRECHT, DAVID SCOTT, GALE SINGER. E: HADLEY KELLER, ENEIA WHITE, CRYSTAL LOSCHIAVO, TINA RAMCHANDANI, ERICK ESPINOZA.

other, becoming more inclusive, and they are collaborating rather than competing. That’s exciting for design because historically it was a different blueprint.” The growing openness and communality of the design profession was evident at this event. The next day, Nate Berkus headlined the forum in a conversation with design journalist Michael Hainey. NYSID Trustees Young Huh, Courtney McLeod, Betsey Ruprecht , and David Scott participated in various panels, as did many NYSID alumni. Specific talks were underwritten by Benjamin Moore, Circa Lighting, New York Design Center, The Shade Store, and Valdese Weavers. All of it was in the service of educating the next generation of interior designers. Here’s what NYSID students took away from the forum:

HOW TO BUILD YOUR BRAND WHEN YOU WORK FOR A BRAND

“It was all fantastic, but I think my biggest takeaway came during the questions period of the branding panel,” said Kayla Lowry, an MFA1 student who just finished

her final year, who was working as an intern for Alexa Hampton. The panel she was referring to is “It’s All in the Packaging: Building your Brand,” moderated by Benjamin Reynaert , with Hilary Matt of Hilary Matt Interiors, Courtney McLeod of Right Meets Left Design, Kati Curtis of Kati Curtis Design, and Margaret Daniel of Margaret Daniel Design. Explains Lowry, “I got so much from (Margaret Daniel’s) comment that early in your career, you can use social media to work on your personal brand while still respecting the brand of your employer. You should never post about the work you are doing for your employer, but you can show your own aesthetic—the development of your interior eye—just by posting your own home and your travels.”

BEFORE PERFECTION, THERE ARE MISTAKES

The interiors one sees in a shelter magazine are the perfect end-product of the design process. Sometimes emerging designers need to see more. “This conference showed me the realities of this industry and really helped

OVERHEAD AT THE FORUM

“You

must start with the world you know, friends of family, former bosses. Get out there and ask for the work. Convince someone to let you do one room… photograph it and put it on social media… Advocate for your own chance.”

Nate Berkus answering a student question about how to get started, in a conversation with design journalist Michael Hainey

“She had a sense of how to make people feel good in their homes. She knew how to create a sanctuary. This is the fairy dust that interior designers bring.”

Susan Crater on her grandmother, Sister Parish, in “Then & Now: What’s Different in Interior Design” with Linherr Hollingsworth

“You have to be a little fearless and create a dialogue between objects from different time periods. Don’t hesitate to combine disparate things if you can find a visual thread that ties it all together.”

David Scott in “How to Create your Clients’ Unique Space,” moderated by Clinton Smith

me understand what interior design is,” said Jaylen Ross, a brand-new NYSID student in the BID program. “It was helpful that the speakers talked about not only their triumphs, but also their failures. When Young Huh mentioned that the first time you feel like a real interior designer is the ‘first time you don’t screw up scale’ (in the “Business of Design’’ panel), it made me realize I could make mistakes and still be a great designer. I appreciated the way Maria Brennan (senior VP of furniture at Kravet) showed us common mistakes interior designers make in applying fabric to furniture.”

WITH PASSION, KNOWLEDGE ACCUMULATES

Jessica Matta , an AAS student and career changer, said, “I really loved what Nate Berkus told us: ‘Always be on the hunt for objects and inspiration…’ When you’re a student, you put successful designers on a pedestal. They seem unapproachable. But this forum made me realize they are also people who are constantly learning and evolving. It made my goal seem attainable.”

REPRESENTATION MATTERS

“There was so much to learn at this forum,” said Carissa Pintello, an MFA1 student then in her second year. “Maybe the thing that inspired me the most was the ‘The Business of Design’ panel (moderated by Sabine Rothman of Interiors Academy, with alumna Claudia Giselle Tejeda , of Claudia Giselle Design , alumna Peti Lau of Peti Lau Interior Design , Trustee Young Huh of Young Huh Interior Design , and Kesha Franklin of Halden Interiors

This was a diverse group of professional women, and they were all so sharp and badass. Everything is a mirror. You need to see yourself reflected in what you are shooting for.”

CONTACTS & INFLUENCES

One of the incredible things about this forum is that it educated students about contemporary interior designers to follow, both for inspiration and career leads. Said BID student Sarah Chesters, “There is nothing more valuable than connecting with people in the industry.”

IN CONCLUSION

At the end of the forum, Ellen Kravet , executive vice president of Kravet Inc. and president of the NYSID Board of Trustees, and David Sprouls, president of NYSID, presented each student with a certificate of completion. Said Sprouls, “I hope you understand, at the end of today, how truly generous the design profession is.” •

DIRECTOR

SHARES INSIGHT INTO THE PROGRAM AND THE DEMAND

NYSID Launches the First MPS in Digital Practice Management

Approved by New York State, NYSID’s post-professional Master of Professional Studies in Digital Practice Management will be the first program of its kind in the country. The College is now accepting applications for the three-semester MPSM, which begins in Fall ’24.

THE NEW PROGRAM

DIRECTOR of NYSID’s Master of Professional Studies in Digital Practice Management, Samuel Mikhail , is also Principal and Managing Director of 4iD, a digital practice consulting firm that has worked with over 40 architecture, design, and construction firms. Mikhail is a licensed Architect with NCARB certification and LEED BD+C accreditation. He graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from The City College of New York, and an MPS in Lighting Design from the New York School of Interior Design. An Autodesk Certified Instructor,

he has a decade of experience teaching software classes at NYSID. Here, he sheds light on the new degree program, the demand for this expertise, and the College’s reasons for launching the first design-focused MPS in Digital Practice Management in the nation.

Why are firms in the AEC industry hiring experts in Digital Practice Management? What’s driving the demand?

Software has been sweeping every industry off its feet. Most principals of architecture, design, and construction

MPSM

SAMUEL MIKHAIL

SAMUEL MIKHAIL ‘23 (MPSL)

(AEC) firms are from a generation that was not educated or trained in software-heavy environments. Yet now, they have to decide on 10 to 20 software options for everything, from project management to 3D rendering to financials. The information about these software options is coming to them from various salespeople and employees, often with little insight into the interoperability of systems. Firms need to have someone who knows how all the software works together. They need professionals who can respond to the immediate needs of the office, and also create a vision, or rather, an implementation plan, that helps a company meet its goals for 5 to 10 years down the line. Unless you have a holistic plan, you are not getting optimal ROI (return on investment) from your software. That’s why there is a demand for experts in Digital Practice Management.

How will the MPSM prepare students to lead in this practice?

Digital technologies, tools, and software have changed the way the built environment is designed, documented, constructed, and operated post-construction. These technologies are driving the design and construction industry to use the most efficient techniques to coordinate between design and construction processes. The MPSM will prepare candidates to lead digital project management for design and architecture firms by strategically managing professional teams; developing and implementing bestpractice workflows and software; and coordinating design, documentation, and construction planning at the highest level. This program will equip the students to become successful BIM managers, BIM captains, and digital practice leaders in their firms. It will prepare them to evaluate and implement existing and new software; to create standards, processes, and procedures; as well as transfer knowledge to firm staff. Digital Practice Management is so new that there are few industry standards. Many out there are claiming they can do it with no formal training. Graduates of this program will have clear benchmarks by which to measure the success of projects, and this will raise standards for the whole industry.

Will you give a broad overview of the program’s curriculum?

Yes. The very first class is the Foundations of Digital Practice, in which we discuss the history and impact of digital process management and the five-step methodology of BIM (Building Information Modeling). Throughout the three semesters, we’ll introduce different software

systems, how they work together, and the strengths and weaknesses of different software. We’ll eventually get students to the point where they are coding their own scripts, so that they can get the software to do exactly what they want it to do. The thesis project, which happens in the final summer semester, has three parts: creating a firm’s standards, transferring the knowledge to staff, and applying the standards to a project.

Will the thesis project be for a real company?

It will be a bit like a flight simulator. For each student, there will be a firm profile, a real set of conditions from a real company. There will be details about the number of employees, skill levels, business problems and goals, but the firm will remain anonymous.

What credentials will the instructors have?

The instructors will have practical experience in Digital Process Management for design firms. They will have master’s degrees and/or PhDs in Interior Design, Architecture, Computer Science, or a related discipline. Among our instructors will be Andres Alvarez, Senior Virtual Design and Construction Project Manager, New Line Structures; Joung Taek “JT” Yi , AIA, Project Manager and BIM Coordinator, BKSK Architects LLP; Susy Mikhail , AIA, LEED GA, Services Director I 4 Ideal Design ; Ryan Cramer, AIA, CPHD, Project Architect, Magnusson Architecture & Planning ; and Daniel Harper, PhD, NCODQ, IDEC, ASID, Associate Dean of New York School of Interior Design.

Is the degree entirely online?

Yes, this is a post-professional degree designed for working people who are trying to take a step up in their careers, or entrepreneurs who are trying to improve the efficiency of their businesses. All courses will be conducted online. Some of the courses will be DR courses— live, synchronous courses in a Zoom classroom where students, instructors, and guest lecturers interact together in real-time. These will be in the evenings or during weekends. Other courses will be DL, or asynchronous courses, with recorded lectures students can watch and assignments they can complete on their own schedules, with plenty of opportunity for feedback from instructors. We’ve worked to make the program as flexible as possible.

For more information on NYSID’s MPSM, reach out to Program Director Samuel Mikhail at samuel.mikhail@ nysid.edu or visit nysid.edu/mpsm. •

NYSID alumna and instructor Michelle Jacobson says designers drive the development of more sustainable products, so knowing what questions to ask about materials can have a huge impact on the health of clients and what gets manufactured.

MICHELLE JACOBSON ’18 (MPSS) EMPOWERS DESIGNERS

TO CREATE MORE TRANSPARENCY

What Designers Should Ask About Sustainable Materials

“ONE OF THE REASONS some interior designers don’t investigate the chemicals in products is that they think the science might go over their heads. It’s not over their heads,” asserts NYSID alum and instructor Michelle Jacobson ’ 18 (MPSS) NCIDQ, WELL AP, LFA, ASID, Fitwel Ambassador, LEED AP ID+C, and Healthy Materials Advocate. “ Making a difference to the health of people and the planet starts with knowing what questions to ask manufacturers.” A NYSID instructor and member of its Alumni Council, Jacobson wants to empower designers at every stage of their careers to think of themselves as sustainable designers.

Jacobson, principal of mljacobson design , is a graduate of NYSID’s Master of Professional Studies in Sustainable Interior Environments, a member of ASID NY Metro Health, Wellness & Sustainability Committee, and the Board Chair of ASID’s Emerging Professionals Committee. She’s created healthy interiors for vulnerable

populations, including residences free of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) for cancer survivors and classrooms for children. At NYSID, she teaches Color for Interiors, Residential Design II, and Sustainable Furnishings, Finishes and Materials. She teaches her undergraduate Residential II studio with a sustainability lens. She says, “I teach my students to ask certain questions. If the manufacturer doesn’t know what you are talking about or can’t give you any information about sustainability, then you know that the product is probably not sustainable.”

Jennifer Dorr, Managing Editor of Atelier, sat down with Jacobson to discuss her thoughts and advice.

What are the key questions a designer should ask manufacturers about sustainability? I encourage my students to ask:

• What is it made of? Are the materials sustainable/ organic/fair trade?

LEFT: MICHELLE JACOBSON. PHOTO: CONOR HARRIGAN. ABOVE: BOCA RATON APARTMENT BY MLJACBOSON DESIGN.

PHOTO: TOM BRODIGAN.

• Is the wood FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified?

• Are there any recycled/upcycled/reusable materials involved in the making of the product?

• What kind of foam is used? Are there any stain repellents or flame retardants?

• Do you have an EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) or HPD (Health Product Declaration)?

An EPD is a document that transparently communicates the environmental performance/ impact of a product or material over its lifetime. An HPD is a document that provides information on the contents of the product and the potential health-related hazards of those contents.

• Do you have a Declare label? A “Declare” product reports 100% of its ingredients.

• Do you know if this item will negatively impact indoor air quality?

• Do you know if the manufacturer reduces carbon emissions in its processes or its shipping?

• What are your labor standards for fair labor/wages and human rights?

• Do you try to reduce waste by limiting the packaging of your products?

Why is it so important for interior designers to ask these questions of manufacturers?

A designer is the person who researches and ultimately decides to specify a product. If we begin to choose items or materials that are sustainable, organic, and FSC certified; have EPDs/HPDs or a healthy Declare Label; use recycled or upcycled materials; are manufactured without releasing carbon emissions; and don’t use flame retardants or stain repellents, then ultimately manufacturers will realize that there isn’t a market for items that aren’t healthy or sustainable. This will make a difference to the products that are on the market. Interior designers have tremendous power to determine what is manufactured.

How do chemicals get into our bodies from household furnishings, textiles, and finishes?

Chemicals get into our bodies through skin contact, through the air we breathe, and from ingesting them. I point out to clients that humans spend about 90% of their time indoors. The indoor air quality of a home or workspace surrounds people in their environment. If the air is filled with toxins, like VOCs off-gassing from paint, wallpaper, carpet, wood flooring, vinyl tile, and/ or furniture, then people are being exposed to harmful chemicals all day and all night long. PFAS (forever chemicals), phthalates, halogenated flame retardants,

stain-repellents, bisphenols, pesticides, formaldehyde, vinyl, and PVCs have been shown to have negative effects on human health. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens and are in products we all use.

Will you tell me about some of your go-to resources for information on the sustainability of materials and their effect on human health?

These websites and resources will help designers do research rather quickly and independently. Look into the Healthy Materials Lab and their published books, MindClick, the Perkins and Will Transparency List, the Green Science Policy Institute, and the Environmental Working Group. Also, the Sustainable Furnishings Council, Material Bank, and EcoMedes are also great resources.

How do you convince clients to go for sustainable, non-toxic materials?

One of the main ways to get a client to think about using sustainable, non-toxic materials is by talking about what chemicals and toxins can do to their children or grandchildren, and their pets. They immediately perk up. No one wants to knowingly make a decision that could be hazardous to those they care for. I had a client in Boca Raton who was extremely concerned for her young granddaughters, so I made sure the rugs were wool, the cabinetry was FSC certified and painted with low-VOC paint, and the furniture was vintage. I want my clients to know that I am looking out for them and making decisions in their best interest, taking their health and the health of their families or co-workers into consideration.

Are there vendors or product lines you want to shout out?

I think Interface is a great company for commercial flooring, Mohawk and Shaw are improving their products to reduce toxins and chemicals. Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams, Farrow and Ball, Clare, and Keim, are also doing their best to come up with paint finishes that are healthy and boost indoor air quality. Look for hardwood flooring manufacturers who keep formaldehyde, glues, and toxins out of their manufactured flooring and use water-based stains. Bella Dura, Momentum and Carnegie are all great organic and non-toxic fabric manufacturers. Brooklyn-based William-Sonoma Home/West Elm/Pottery Barn has been introducing products every month that are FSC certified, sustainably made and sourced, use Fair Trade and labor, etc. I try to purchase those products to show the manufacturers that people care about having these options available in the marketplace. •

CELEBRATIONS / Commencement 2024

Commencement 2024

Joy Moyler and David Rockwell Receive Honorary Doctorates and Share Hard-earned Wisdom

“Commencement is a beacon illuminating your achievements,” said Dean and VP for Academic Affairs Ellen Fisher to the crowd that gathered at 92NY’s Kaufmann Concert Hall on May 22, 2024, to witness 120 interior designers graduate from NYSID. Some were there to celebrate the Class of 2024, which consisted of students in the AAS, BFA, MFA1 (Professional), MFA2 (Post-professional) and MPS degrees in Design of Healthcare Environments, Lighting Design, and Sustainable Interior Environments. Others were there to honor Commencement speakers Joy Moyler and David Rockwell , who received the New York School of Interior Design’s highest accolade, the Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts in Interior Design, that day.

The Chair of NYSID’s Board of Trustees, Ellen Kravet, opened the ceremonies with the words, “(Design) is a dynamic, exciting, enjoyable, and rewarding profession…. As you cross this stage, you join a large community, and you’re in very good company.” NYSID President David Sprouls shared his admiration for the class of 2024: “You are innovators and agents of change who demand inclusion for all and embrace the responsibility of prioritizing the health of the planet as well as our own well-being. We and the world are so very ready for you.”

PRACTICAL ADVICE FROM DESIGN LEGENDS

Joy Moyler wiped away tears as President Sprouls placed the doctoral hood over her shoulders. The honor was a high point in an illustrious design career spanning more than 25 years. Moyler, previously the US Head Designer of the Giorgio Armani Interior Design Studio, is founder of Joy Moyler Interiors. Her team has worked on projects from commercial to residential, many for well-known clients including projects for Leonardo Dicaprio, Adrien Brody, John Mayer, and Thomas Keller. Moyler recounted the nights in her early career when she toiled until 3 am, and the profound education that came from working for others. “I relished working

at different firms,” she said. “Because of these varied experiences, my work does not have a… ‘locked in look.’ I encourage you to not be swift to hang your own shingle. Work for other firms. There is tremendous growth in that.”

President Sprouls also presented David Rockwell, FAIA, with an honorary doctorate. Rockwell is the founder of Rockwell Group, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2024. Rockwell was a child of the theater, and was often cast in community repertory productions by his mother, a choreographer. He has brought this lens of dramatic storytelling to all of his design projects, from New York’s Perelman Performing Arts Center to Nobu Hotels and restaurants around the world.

“Seeing myself as a storyteller forced me to think about who would ultimately be experiencing and interpreting the stories I told,” said Rockwell. “Start by making empathy integral to your process. Then, by definition, you’ll be considering how your designs can improve the lives of others.”

STUDENT SPEAKERS

The Class of 2024 selected two speakers to represent the student body. Addressing his peers, Chih Chung (Robbie) Chen (BFA) recalled his lack of art and drawing experience before he entered NYSID, stating, “And here I am today, graduating from the best interior design school in the world. This proves that even if you don’t have the background for something that interests you, passion, commitment—and learning from every failure—will ensure you persevere.” Kayla Lowry (MFA1), said, “Today, we walk across this stage and into the industry full of con fidence and power because we put in the work and the eff ort to be educated designers.”

A DESIGN ETHOS OF BEAUTY AND WELLBEING

Dean Fisher summed up NYSID’s wishes for the class of 2024: “In front of you lies a career as a designer of incredible interiors, places that make people happier and healthier at every age and in every aspect of their lives.”

FROM LEFT: DAVID ROCKWELL, ELLEN KRAVET, JOY MOYLER, KAYLA LOWRY, CHIH CHUNG CHEN, DAVID SPROULS.

2024 Student & Faculty Achievement Awards

The Chairman’s Award

Emerson Kraus (BFA)

Kallee La Rosa (MFA1)

Afsin Zehra Muzaffar Musa (MFA2)

The Nancy Short Award Daniela Cravo Jacobovicz (MFA1)

The Ana Blanc Verna Award for Excellence in Interior Design Addison Hansen (BFA)

The Alumni Award

Kayla Lowry (MFA1) Melida Valera (MFA1)

The Robert Herring Travel Prize

Deldrys Gomez Reynoso (BFA)

Jason Nguyen Win (MFA1)

The NYSID Distinguished Faculty Award

Samuel Mikhail ‘23 (MPSL)

The William Breger Faculty Achievement Award Leyden Lewis

Sights and sounds of Commencement 2024 nysid . edu / commencement 2024

CELEBRATIONS / Gala 2024

Gala 2024: The Second-Highest Grossing Fundraiser in NYSID’s History

The Event Honored Ann Pyne, Nate Berkus, and Erick Espinoza ’13 (BFA)

On Tuesday, March 5, the New York School of Interior Design held its Gala 2024 in a private club in New York City, securing more than $667,000 for the College’s scholarship funds. The event was the second-highest grossing gala in NYSID’s history. This year, NYSID honored Ann Pyne with the Albert Hadley Lifetime Achievement Award upon the 100th anniversary of McMillen, Inc.; Nate Berkus with the Larry Kravet Design Industry Leadership Award; and Erick Espinoza ’13 (BFA) with the Rising Star Award.

Three hundred twenty-four people attended Gala 2024. At a lively cocktail reception under high, coffered ceilings, old friends embraced, and new connections were forged.

NYSID trustee Alexa Hampton was the award ceremony’s emcee. Talking about why she’s been an active member of NYSID’s board for 12 years, she said, “I care about the future of design. Institutions like NYSID have elevated the seriousness of our profession…. That’s why I put my money where my mouth is and hire NYSID-educated designers whenever I get the chance.”

THE AWARDS

NYSID alum Erick Espinoza ’13 (BFA) won the Rising Star Award, intended for a designer who has hit their stride in the profession, a person who demonstrates great promise and vision. Espinoza became Creative Director of Anthony Baratta Inc. at the age of 24. Years before that, he received NYSID’s Albert Hadley Scholarship, a full ride to the College. Zach Gibbs, CEO of The Shade Store, the company that has sponsored the Rising Star Award since its creation in 2019, introduced Espinoza.

Said Erick Espinoza in his acceptance speech. “I feel tremendous gratitude, and a sense of pride that I am living up to the incredible honor that was given to me with the Albert Hadley Scholarship so many years ago.”

NYSID awarded Ann Pyne, President of McMillen Inc., with the Albert Hadley Lifetime Achievement Award, intended for individuals who have made contributions of outstanding artistic significance to interior design. This honor was particularly significant because it marks the 100th anniversary of McMillen

Inc., the oldest interior design firm in the country. Interior designer, design journalist, and author David Netto introduced Pyne.

Pyne observed, “Decorating is the most ephemeral art form imaginable…. Students of NYSID… what we have chosen to engage in is to be reminded, every day, that what we make won’t last, yet it is to experience what it means to be human and alive.”

TV personality and interior designer Nate Berkus received the Larry Kravet Design Industry Leadership Award, intended for an individual who has helped advance the field of interior design and who is a leader in the industry. He was introduced by his friend Wendy Goodman , longtime design editor of New York and Curbed Berkus said, “Every experience I have had at NYSID… how it’s part of the New York design community, how the teachers stand up and make personal connections with their students and introduce them to people like me and those of you in this room, has shown me this is a place that gives kids a chance–more than a chance–to succeed.”

THE ALUMNI COUNCIL SCHOLARSHIP

For the second year, NYSID’s Alumni Council banded together to raise funds for the Alumni Scholarship Fund and award a scholarship at the gala. This year, the Alumni Council set an initial fundraising goal of $10,000, and it

exceeded that annual goal, raising more than $18,000. Alumni Council President Marie Aiello awarded the scholarship to Carissa Pintello, a second-year MFA1 student and former public-school teacher who has received scholarship support every year since she started at NYSID. “Without this scholarship and the others, there’s no way I would be able to attend NYSID,” Pintello said. “When you grow up with less, it’s easy to feel that there is no space for you in a career like interior design. At NYSID, every teacher and mentor has made me feel that I belong, and that there is no ceiling on what I can accomplish.”

Said Ellen Kravet , the Chair of NYSID’s Board of Trustees, “I’d especially like to acknowledge this year’s gala co-chairs. Chesie Breen , Ingrid Edelman , Alexa Hampton , Young Huh , David Kleinberg , and Betsey Ruprecht—thank you for making this evening a success!”

Said NYSID President David Sprouls, “At NYSID, we have a core commitment to educating the most diverse student body possible in an academically rigorous environment of belonging. Our progress on this front is directly connected to the support this community provides. Thank you from all of us.”

For information on the ways to give, reach out to giving@nysid.edu or visit nysid.edu/donate.

Spotlight on Mentor

Elizabeth Lawrence

Elizabeth Lawrence studied in NYSID’s AAS program and is a partner at the interior design firm Williams Lawrence. She is a strong supporter of NYSID scholarships and a mentor in the alumni-to-student mentorship program. Here’s why she gives not only financial support, but also her time.

“We need to make sure we are watching out for the next generation of interior designers, lending a hand in helping people up the ladder,” Lawrence says. “When I was in a more junior role, I was known as the ‘intern mother’ at what was then Bunny Williams Inc., because I feel so strongly about mentoring emerging designers. The more that we put into the next generation of designers, the more we benefit from it at our firms, and advance the level of excellence for the field.”

OPPOSITE PAGE: NATE BERKUS, ANN PYNE, ERICK ESPINOZA. LEFT: ALEXA HAMPTON, ELLEN KRAVET, CARISSA PINTELLO, DAVID SPROULS, MARIE AIELLO.

To inquire about the alumni-to-student mentorship program, contact Samantha Fingleton at giving@nysid.edu.

Sights and sounds of Gala 2024 nysid edu / gala 2024

GIVING / Supporting Our Community

Why We Give: The Duffy Family

NYSID alumna Anne Duffy ’92 (BFA) passed away in February 2023 at the age of 81, after a life filled with love, adventure, and beauty. Her twin passions were design and international travel. Her husband, John Duffy, is honoring his wife’s memory by executing a plan they made together to give back to her alma mater. The family has donated a million dollars to establish the Anne K. Duffy Travel Fund, which will provide scholarships and travel grants that enable NYSID students to travel to Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The fund will support tuition and travel grants for NYSID’s two-week study abroad courses to nonEuropean destinations; instructor-led trips to design fairs abroad; and independent study in the form of the Anne K. Duffy Travel Prize. The first rounds of Duffy Study Abroad Grants were allocated to students on NYSID’s winter trip to India and spring trip to Mexico. John Duffy and his daughter, Hilary Duffy, sit down with Atelier ’s editors to discuss what this legacy means to the family.

How did this gift come about? What motivated you to give it?

John Duffy: Our children are well taken care of. I wanted to share some of our resources with other people who might have less. When Anne and I were young, neither of us could afford to travel to far-flung places. Later in our lives, Anne and I visited India, China, Burma, Vietnam, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, and many parts of Latin America. Morocco was a highlight of our life. Exploring these roads less traveled ripped me out of my own experience and deepened and broadened my understanding of the world. This kind of educational experience, through a school like NYSID, seemed to be the greatest gift we could give.

Hilary Duffy: My parents understood that travel widens your perspective on other points of view, not just in terms of design, but also in terms of economic and societal perspectives. It creates a more open-minded and adaptive individual. And it alters the way designers and artists see, and therefore, create.

Why did you choose to concentrate your support on grants, scholarships, and awards for non-European travel?

JD: All travel is eye-opening, but the opportunity to travel to Asia, Africa, and Latin America from the United States is not something everyone gets to do in a lifetime. It’s rare to have the time and means, unless you are in the military or a profession that takes you abroad. You learn more from immersing yourself in cultures and attitudes that are very different from your own. Anne and I were interested in giving students something that might have been out of their reach and helping them to become more well-rounded people.

Can you tell me about Anne’s experience as a student at NYSID?

HD: Mom was passionate about NYSID because she went back to school in her ’40s after being a stay-at-home mother. It was her opportunity to thrive in a field she loved, and Dad pushed her. She had friends who were 15 years her junior at NYSID, but they valued her because she brought maturity and firsthand experience of design. She was a collector of art and antiques, and she knew a lot about the field. NYSID gave her a renewed sense of purpose and an academic goal she was determined to achieve. She delighted in forming bonds with fellow students and teaching artists like Bill (William) Engel. The knowledge she obtained from her favorite lighting class amazed us.

What’s your favorite memory of Anne traveling?

JD: There are so many.

HD: Dad is a wonderful photographer, and there is an image he took of Mom trying on hats she was buying from women artisans in northern Vietnam. Whether she was in the hills of Vietnam or talking to weavers in Peru, Mom would communicate with local women about their traditional ways of making. So, I love this image.

What advice do you think Anne would give to our students?

JD: I think she would say to go someplace new every time you travel to increase your knowledge. Exposure to other cultures makes minds broader and people bigger.

The First BACCARATxNYSID Scholarship

The Winner of this $10,000 Scholarship Competition Was Announced at the Baccarat Flagship Boutique

On October 25, Baccarat awarded its first scholarship with the New York School of Interior Design to Bridget Lee ’24 (BFA). The BACCARATxNYSID Scholarship program culminated in an award ceremony at Baccarat’s flagship Madison Avenue store.

When the team at Baccarat approached NYSID Development Director Joy Cooper about a scholarship, they expressed they wanted to give students more than financial support; they also wanted to provide a dynamic educational experience, exposure to their brand, and a chance to shine. So, the College and Baccarat worked together to create the first BACCARATxNYSID Scholarship competition. Baccarat challenged six outstanding NYSID students–Peter Ibarra ’24 (MFA1), Bridget Lee ’24 (BFA), Inkary Muenala (MFA2), Carissa Pintello (MFA1), Jason Win ’24 (MFA1), and Honqi Connie Zhan (MFA1) –to design a space that inspires joy and celebration, and that incorporates lighting, decor, and/or tableware from the House of Baccarat.

Adam Banfield , Baccarat’s North American President

FROM LEFT: REID MYERS, ADAM BANFIELD, ELLEN KRAVET, DAVID SPROULS

& CEO, opened the awards ceremony. “Baccarat, for years now, has had the pleasure of being the trophy purveyor of NYSID’s annual gala. It is our honor to give back to the students of NYSID in a truly meaningful way, and to bring together this incredible group of designers, partners, and friends of the brand into the House of Baccarat and create a legacy between our institutions,” he said.

At the event, the students presented their work to the crowd, which included the competition’s judges, NYSID trustee Courtney McLeod , founder of Right Meets Left Interior Design; Marshall Watson , principal of Marshall Watson Interiors; and Elizabeth Lawrence, partner at Williams Lawrence. The winners were: First Prize ($10,000 scholarship): Bridget Lee (BFA); Second Prize ($1,500 Baccarat gift card): Peter Ibarra (MFA1); Third Prize ($500 Baccarat gift card): Jason Win (MFA1).

Lee said, “Winning this scholarship award is an amazing boost to my confidence. It solidifies my mindset that I made the right choice in pursuing interior design.”

FROM LEFT: CARISSA PINTELLO, JASON WIN, PETER IBARRA, CONNIE ZHANG, INKARY MUENALA, BRIDGET LEE

Our Supporters 2023–2024

JANUARY 1, 2023–MARCH 13, 2024

NYSID gratefully acknowledges our generous supporters. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of our students.

$1,000,000+

Estate of Anne K. Duffy *

$100,000-$499,999

Ingrid Ongaro Edelman *

Estate of Joseph Grusczak

$50,000-$99,999

David A. Kleinberg

Ann and John Pyne

Schumacher

The Shade Store

$20,000-$49,999

Benjamin Moore & Company

Nate Berkus

Cullman & Kravis Associates

The Decorators Club, Inc.

Designers Lighting Forum of New York, Inc.

Jim Druckman

John and Cynthia Fish

Keith Granet/Studio Designer

Ellen S. Kravet/Kravet Inc.

Stephen Sherrill

Gale Singer and Andy Singer/Visual Comfort & Co.

Suzanne Tucker and Timothy F. Marks

Wilkinson Global Asset Management

Kelly Williams

$10,000-$19,999

Baccarat North America

Peter Barsoom

Migdalia Bonilla

Nina M. Bransfield

Chilewich

Michael Diaz-Griffith

Jill H. Dienst

John Edelman

Ferguson & Shamamian Architects, LLP

Paul Golaszewski

Susan Zises Green *

Alexa Hampton

Carlton Hobbs

Holland & Sherry

Young Huh Interior Design

Peti Lau *

Lloyd Marks

Material Bank/Sandow Media

Lisa Matkovic

Cathy Mayton

Courtney R. McLeod

Dennis C. Miller

Charlotte A. Moss

Natalie Officer

Marc Phillips

Suzanne Rheinstein

Robert A.M. Stern Architects

Betsey Ruprecht

Adam I. Sandow

Brad Schneller

David Scott */David Scott Interiors

Patricia Hearst Shaw

Joanna L. Silver

Harriet C. Stephens

The Garden Conservancy

Williams Lawrence

$5,000-$9,999

American Society of Interior Designers

Acquavella Family Foundation

Maribeth Borthwick

McChesney Breen

Lucy R. Chudson

Crypton LLC

Jill H. Dienst

Fairfax & Sammons Architects, LLC

Gensler NY

Holly Hunt New York

Corey Damen Jenkins

Allegra Kelly

Glenn Krevlin

Elizabeth McCreery

John McPhee

Melanie F. Millner

Nathan Orsman

Mary Poland

Lee Rolfe

Jessica Schuster

Katharyn K. Smith

Southport Congregational Church

P. C. Townsend

$1,000-$4,999

Marie C. Aiello *

Anthony Baratta

Charles Ayres

ASID South Florida

Emily Beare

Behr Paint

Robert Beyer

Melinda J. Bickers *

Anne D. Bickerstaff *

Rebecca Birdwell

Barbara Block

Paul Boardman

David Bohnett

Ann Bookout

Linda Boothby

Thomas A. Buckley

Virginia Burke

Allison A. Caccoma *

Athena Calderone

Nina Campbell

Jesse Carrier

Laura C. Casey

Thurston B. Clark

Daniel Cuevas

Hilary R. David

Guy De Chazal

Robert Delaney

Eliza DeVone

Vincent DiSalvo

Mary E. Donohue

Kathleen M. Doyle *

Jamie Drake

Kathy M. Duffin

Samuel Edelman

Emily E. Eerdmans

Erick Espinoza * and Justin Byous

Nina Farmer *

Deborah Farrington

Robin Feuer

Clair Fitzgerald * foley&cox interiors

Richard Forsyth

Alice C. Frelinghuysen

Anthony B. Freund

Emily Frick

Julie Frist

Ken Fulk

Eric J. Gering

Wendy Goodman

Constance M. Goodyear

Philip C. Gorrivan

Elizabeth M. Graziolo

Greiwe Interiors

Coleman Gutshall

Timothy R. Hamilton

Jaquett Heck

Philip Howard

Kim H. Huebner/Kim A. Heubner

Walter Hussman

Gail Icahn

Barbara Israel

Michelle L. Jacobson *

Harry and Jill Kargman

Nicole Keith *

Cathy Kincaid

Cathy Kinney

Douglas Kinzley

Jonathan Kutzin

Elizabeth Lawrence *

Minna Lee

Linda Lippman

Jeffrey L. Lomasky

Linda M. London

Christine London

Lucinda Lester Design

Tali Magal

Mark Magowan

Stewart S. Manger

John Margolis

Shelley Marks

Roman Martinez

Ihab Massoud

Cathy Mayton

Brian J. McCarthy

Sharon McMicking

Carolyn Mehran

Steven Merrill

Charles Miers

Erin Miesegaes

Jan Miller

Sarah Miller Coulson

Richard Mishaan

Elizabeth Monaco

Patricia H. Nadosy

Margaret Nichols

Elizabeth O’Brien

James O’Donnell

Avani Parikh

Marc Partial

Elizabeth Pash

Dailey Pattee

Peter Pennoyer Architects

Chris Pollack

Mark Pomeroy

Lloyd Princeton

Kathy E. Prounis

Benjamin N. Pyne

Guido Rebosio

Danielle Richter */Danielle Richter

Interior Design

James Ritman

Markham Roberts

Alex Robertson

Thomas J. Robinson

Rosehyll Studio

Eric Rothfeld

Michael Rudd

Stephen Salny

Manuel Damian Samora

Peter Sandel

Brian Sawyer

Ray Sayers

Gilbert P. Schafer

Eleanor R. Seaman

Erhan Secilimis

Margot Shaw/FLOWER Magazine

Rosa M. Sheehan

Zita Sheehan

Ajaeé Shepard * and Moamen Ammar

Timothy S. Sheridan

William P. Short

Georgia Shreve

Anne Marie Singer

Andrew Skurman

Genevieve Sonsino

Patricia M. Sovern

Steven Spandle

Allison Speer

David T. Sprouls and Kate Wood

Geoffrey Stack

Russell Steele

Beatrice Stern

Robert Stilin

Ellen Sullivan

Carol Swedlow

Taconic Builders, Inc.

The Gubelmann Family Foundation, Inc.

Margie and Nate Thorne

Arthur H. Tildesley

Barbara E. Toll

Vadasz Family Foundation

Elsie Vance

Phyllis J. Washington

Robin S. Weingast

Eileen & Robin West

Mr. & Mrs. Edward R. Westbrook / QuarryHouse Inc.

Jim Wilkin

Meryl and Chuck Witmer

Vicente H. Wolf

Nazim Zilkha

$500-$999

Markus Auer

Charles G. Berry

Peter B. Brandt

Laura Butzel

Lawrence Chabra

Ellie Cullman

Ellen Fisher

Lois A. Gaeta *

Elissa Grayer

Krista L. Gurevich *

Lewis I. Haber

Inge Heckel

Lindsay B. Key *

Maisie M. Lee *

C. Mariani Antiques, Restoration & Custom

Linda McGrath

Paul Melo

George Marshall Peters *

Pamela Pierce

Miles Redd

Anna Romano

Benjamin and Donna Rosen

Nicola Rosendorff *

Pete Sikora

Suzanne Slesin

Beth Diana Smith

Bryan J. Smith & Jamie Smith

Barbara L. Weinreich

$100-$499

Mary Ballard *

Balsamo Antiques

Joan Barenholtz

Claire Barry

Debbie Baxter

Meredith Bowen

Mihika Chatterjee *

Sarah Choudhary

Rosemary Cona *

Michael Cox

Nathalie Danilovich

Kathleen Easton

Jessica Espinoza

Alan Falcone

Samantha Fingleton

Cavarly Garrett *

Thomas Giles

Dennis Gonzalez

Susan Harrington

Camille  Hellwig *

Laura E. Hodges *

Mariem Horchani *

Lauren and Timothy Horsburgh

Helen H. Houghton

Elizabeth Howard

Sarah Jurta

Joanna Kerns

Lauren Kruegel

Christopher W. Labrot *

Louise W. Lamphere

Judit Lang *

Anthony Law

Stephanie Lofgren

Peter Londa

Wendy Lyon

Ashley Manfred

Susan Markowitz *

Cristina McPherson

Cal W. Nugent *

Jane Orr

Stephen Prada

Olympia Rizzo

Marjorie Schneidman

Margaret Schwartz

Benny Seda-Galarza *

Julieta G. Sibug

Mary G. Singh

Doreen R. Stempien

Holly L. Hayden Taylor *

Christine A. Tomaszewski

Andrea Traubner

Jay Courtland Whisman *

Becky Whiting

Brooke E. Wilson *

Below $100

Leslie Adato

Miranda Agee

Maggie Albert

Natalie Aldridge

Karina Alkhasyan

Anthony Amiano

Amory Armstrong

Carol Atkinson

Maureen Baker

Josh Barba-Hill

Helene Barre

Olivia Barton

William Bates III

Michelle Becker

Koskia Bello

Barbara Bell-Pickert

Catherine Besley

Kathy Blaney

Brianna Boardman

Cameron L. Boardman

David Boatman

Ellen Bochner

Ann L. Bowers

Diana Brazill

Milly Brennan

Carol Brewer

Tika L. Brewer *

Vesna Bricelj

Robert Briceno

Kate Brooks

Janna Bullock

Michelle Burke

Alexandra Calligeros

Nina Campbell

Lauren Carlucci

Keith Carroll

Morgan Cattaneo *

Terrence Charles

Chih-Chung Chen

Averie Chiu

Joshuane Chm

Emma Christensen

Manon Clavel

Marvin Clawson

Suzanne Cohen

Alexandria L. Como

Joy Cooper

Jane D. Crary

Mailee Creacy

Andrea K. Cross

Megan Cuzzolino

Gina Daddona

Alexandra Dalessandro

Annette Davis

Eleanor Davis

Susan DeAngelis

Colin DeLeo

Carl Dellatore

Anne Dittmeier *

Gerry Dolezar

Johnny Donadic

Sarah Elizabeth

Debra Ellis

James Emsworth

Anye Endurance

Monika Eyers

Tiffany Farney

Holly Faulkner

Claire Fields

Ashley Flagg

Barbra Fordyce *

Christine Frumkin

Asta Galinyte

Betsy Gallagher

Dianne Garda

Deirdre Gartner

Diedre Granger

Mehgan Grey

Felix Guan

Kate Hayes

Alex Heber

Gloria P. Honeck

Jaclyn Houseknecht

Bebe Howorth

Nicole D. Hsu *

Marianela Imbachi *

Christian Jaillite

Rene Johnsen *

Libre Jones

Paulina Jozefowicz

Natalia Kamesh

Julie Kaminska

Florencia Karam

Shruti Kashikar *

Harpriya Kaur

Audrey G. Keller

Brenna Kelly

Catherine Kelly

Geneva Kidd

Sung Joo Kim *

Carly Kinahan

Matthew Kinsey

Kimberly Kjellman

Marietta Klase

Shlomit Kletter

Demetr Kotenoglou

Artem Kropovinskyi

Marion Lachoff *

Alexandra Larkin

Landi Latimer

Jeanne Lawrence

Hannah Learner

Meshy Levi

Margo Levine

Adam Lindsey

Kim Liptak

Yuliya Lisacheva

Hui Liu

Edward D. Lobrano

Laura Lysle

Susan Madden

Zunilda Madera

John Martin

Brook Mason

Cynthia Matrullo

Richard Mauro

Olga McCormick

Tyi McCray

Rachel McNeil

Anne McQuaid

Stephen Milne

Antoni Milonas

Paul Morris

Annah Morrish

Tara Mulrooney

Pei Ying Neo

New York’s Little Elves, Inc.

Maria F. Newman

Christine Nickelson *

Dayna Novenstein

Nathalyn Nunoo

Justin O. Odle

Amanda Oppenheimer

Claire Owen-Schubnell

Anne Pecora

Christina Peters *

Andrea Piacentino

Debra Pickrel

Marylynn Piotrowski

Nancy Piraquive

Lukasz Podlesny

Monica Pollock

Andrea Powell

Julia Probber

Mary Jane Quan

Alan Rada

Alexis Rappaport

Maya Ratajczak

Patricia L. Raufer

Andrea Renaud

Cass Retz

Keren Richter

Ariana Riske

Maggie Lemerise Risson

Kathie Rizzuto

David Rogers *

Colleen M. Rogers

Daniel Rosado

Lissie Rosenblum

Letricia Rothstein

Agnes Rousen

Kathleen M. Ryan

Xheni Saliasi

Barbara G. Sallick

Donna M. Salvo

Jean Savage

Henry Saylor

Madeline Scalzi

Daniela Schneider

Audrey Shankman

Leslie H. Sherr

Bhavana Shyamsundar

Jane Simons

Claire Sims

Scott Sloat

Marie L. Smith

Adriana Solmson

Jonathan Soto

Kathleen Elizabeth Springhorn

Elsie St. Léger *

Heather Sterling

Stephanie Stokes

Nataliya Stoycheva

Sienna Sumavielle

Jean Sundin

Adrian Taylor

Matthew Tirschwell

Matthew Twombly

Ultimate Sound & Installations, Inc.

Walter Van Der Wahl

Kelsey Venditozzi

Mario Villamar

Christopher Vinger

Dana Vladone *

Paul Wagenseil

Bitsy Wainwright

Amanda Walker *

Margo G. Walsh

Lindsey Walsh

Beth Wassarman

Cecily Waud

Andrea Weide

Irene Weintraub *

Josh Wiener

Angus Wilkie

Lesle Williams

Kathryn Williamson

Nancy Wright

Lin Lin Ye

Paula Zanger

Tristan Zar

Amanda Zisgen

LAYOUT / News from NYSID

NYSID is always evolving, pushing the standards of interior design education forward. Here’s what’s new and noteworthy from our students, faculty, and community.

 STUDENT NEWS

Introducing the NYSID Black Design Collective

Two NYSID students, Melida Valera ’24 (MFA1) and Taurean Jones ’24 (BFA), launched the Black Design Collective (BDC) at NYSID in March. The club’s faculty advisor is Leyden Lewis. The BDC seeks to be both a home base and springboard for Black students at NYSID, as well as a space where allies can show support. Valera served as BDC president this year, and Jones as vice president. The organization will foster a sense of belonging and empowerment among the student body and provide a platform for Black student members to engage in meaningful discussions; share their experiences; discover local Black makers, artists, and designers; and collaborate with industry professionals to establish relationships. Additionally, the BDC will collaborate with other student organizations and community partners to promote diversity and inclusion within the art and design fields. The BDC was inspired by the work of the Black Artists and Designers Guild (BADG), a group they will collaborate with. “Facilitating connections between students and other BIPOC designers is crucial for career growth,” says Valera. “This means the industry will become more diverse in the long run.” Follow NYSID BDC on Instagram @nysid.bdc or reach out to bdc@nysid.edu.

The First Student Chapter of AAPIDA Anywhere

MFA1 student Carissa Pintello founded the first student chapter of the Asian American Pacific Islander Design Alliance (AAPIDA) at NYSID in March. AAPIDA is the first and only professional organization that engages, promotes, and empowers Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders working within the home and design industries to foster visibility, collaboration, and representation industry-wide. The national organization was founded by Jessica Davis, Joanne Hallare, Young Huh , Go Kasai , William Li , Jean Liu , and Benjamin Reynaert in 2022 (Huh is a member of NYSID’s Board of Trustees). Pintello is serving as the president of the NYSID student chapter, also known as AAPIDA x NYSID. The vice president is Carmen Cruz (MFA1). Says Pintello, “I hope that the AAPIDA student chapter will provide our AAPI students a community of support and empowerment. Secondly, the goal is to grow our understanding of Asian designers, design, and the impact both have had on historical styles.” All students are welcome. Students can email aapida@nysid.edu to join and follow the student chapter on Instagram @AAPIDA.NYSID.

2023 Service Learning—Yonkers Senior and Affordable Public Housing

NYSID offers a unique and popular summer service-learning studio that fulfills the MFA1’s requirement that students do Experiential Learning during the summer. For summer 2023, a team of NYSID students were tasked with designing senior and disabled public housing for the Municipal Housing Authority of Yonkers. The students on the team were Olesia Ivanova, Jefferson Johanes, Belight Kakpo, Aleksandra LaJeunesse, Cristina Llewellyn , Jamie Nathan, Setayesh Parvinjah , Ranjetha Bomma Reddy, Nour Saedeldine, Obiageli Ukatu , and Dionysia Zipitas. They worked under the auspices of instructor Joseph Goldstein . The students presented their final designs to the staff and board of the Municipal Housing Authority of Yonkers, including the organization’s President and CEO Wilson Kimball , on August 1. “I want to say how impressive this was. I’ve been involved in public housing for 50 years, and these buildings were built before that, in an austere and sterile way. What we saw today is you really turning the place around and making it feel upscale, like a home where people will want to live,” said James Landy, chair of the Municipal Housing Authority of Yonkers. Summer 2024 service learning is focused on The Children’s Center, a place for children entering foster care, run by NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). Terry Kleinberg teaches service learning in summer 2024.

YWCA-NYC Installs Designs Created by NYSID

Pre-College Students

NYSID Pre-College forges partnerships with non-profit organizations to bring interior design education to high-schoolers from communities underrepresented in interior design. For the past three summers, teenagers from YWCA-NYC have attended the first session of NYSID Pre-College and then enjoyed a tailored immersion into the practice of interior design created by Pre-College instructors. In Summer ’23, NYSID Director of Pre-College Francisco de Leon worked with a group that included students Nia Ibarra, Tasfiah Rahman, Tianna Slade, Chrisleidy (Jennie) Ulloa, and Lauren Walker to create interior design plans for the YWCA-NYC community center. In Fall 2023, YWCANYC renovated and installed the lounge and reception designs created by the Pre-College students. “The reno has made such an impact in our community,” says Marcella Coulson, program coordinator for the YWCANYC Girls’ Initiative. “Many students often come early to hang out before class now—the Community Center is buzzing!” None of this would have been possible without the support of the many donors to the NYSID Pre-College Fund.

Students Shine at Rooms with a View

Kayla Lowry ’24 (MFA1) and Carissa Pintello (MFA1) were the 2003 Rooms with a View Scholarship winners. They presented their eclectic world traveler library design at this year’s Rooms with a View in Southport, Connecticut, on November 10-12, 2023.

DIFFA by Design

Students Corbett De Giacomo (MFA1), Erica Gunsburg (AAS), Katherine Scott (AAS), and Alana Tokayer (BFA) participated in the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA) gala on March 28. The event marked the 40th anniversary of DIFFA. The students, led by faculty member Thomas Hucker, created an emotionally engaging installation showcasing DIFFA’s 1990s AIDS awareness efforts, transforming the organization’s iconic red ribbon into a suspended chair.

Unity of Cultures Vignette at Design on a Dime

A team of NYSID students that included Krishna Nidhi Babu (MPSS), Valerie Cheung (BFA), Taurean Jones (BFA), Carissa Pintello (MFA1), Nour Saedeldine (MFA1), and Shambhavi Sanjay (MFA2) collaborated on a vignette for Design on a Dime 2024, which opened to the public on April 25. The students decided to make their design about the “unity of their many cultures,” blending design traditions. NYSID instructor and alumna Claudia Tejeda ’08 (AAS) mentored the team. Kravet Inc. sponsored the team. The proceeds helped fund Housing Works’ mission to end HIV/ AIDS.

Tabletop Design for the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House

A team of NYSID students joined the ranks of well-known NYC interior designers to design a fabulous tabletop for Flights of Fancy—the gala to benefit Lenox Hill Neighborhood House on May 2, 2023. The students were Sarah Chesters (BID), Mary Kallmann (BID), Julia Kim (MFA1), and Sion Tanaka (MFA1). They were advised by NYSID alum Dalia Forman ’21 (AAS), principal of Dalia Forman Design LLC. Lenox Hill Neighborhood House is a 130-year-old settlement house that provides integrated human services.

 INSTITUTIONAL NEWS

A Revamped Academic Support Center at 70th Street

This Spring, the College’s Writing Center transformed into the Academic Support Center, which offers various forms of support and tutoring in everything from drafting, to writing, to ESL help, to optimizing the application of many forms of software. Alexis Barr, NYSID’s director of student academic support services, led the initiative to rethink and reorganize the center, locate it in the lower level at the 70th Street building, and make it into a welcoming hub for students. Barr says, “Our student body is growing more diverse: We have more distance learning/online students, first-generation students, and international students. Our intention is to offer a more comprehensive slate of services to meet their needs.” The services they plan to roll out in the center include, “a self-serve student pantry stocked with no-charge food and essentials; short, targeted ‘FAQ’ style videos offering academic support; on-campus events to bring students together outside of the classroom; and drop-in, on-campus and online study sessions around midterm and end-of-term weeks,” says Barr. If you’re in need of academic support, reach out to Barr: alexis.barr@nysid.edu.

FROM LEFT: SHAMBHAVI SANJAY, NOUR SAEDELDINE, VALERIE CHEUNG, TAUREAN JONES, CLAUDIA TEJEDA, CARISSA PINTELLO

NYSID Produces a Policy for the Use of AI

A committee composed of Assistant Dean of Academic Computing and Technologies Todd Class; Associate Dean Daniel Harper; and faculty members Alexis Barr, Jeffri Boisvert , and Warren Ashworth developed a new academic policy for the use of AI in NYSID assignments. Boisvert chaired the committee. “We want to be at the forefront of understanding the potential of AI as a tool,” explains Associate Dean Harper, “We will be teaching students how to use it ethically and responsibly and it will be embedded in classes across the curriculum.” The central tenants of the AI policy are that students must act with academic integrity and not misrepresent their knowledge or ability; that they must disclose the specific components of an assignment that were generated using AI; and that they must reflect on the responsibility of using AI in their work. The policy was published online in the 2023-24 Student Handbook.

 BOARD OF TRUSTEES

John Edelman Has Joined NYSID’s Board of Trustees

At its September 2023 meeting, the New York School of Interior Design Board of Trustees made John Edelman , President and CEO of Heller, its newest member. “John has been a force in the home furnishings business for decades. His deep appreciation of design lineage, in combination with his business acumen, are what have made him so successful. We’re excited to experience the energy and knowledge he’ll bring to this role,” says David Sprouls, President of NYSID. Edelman purchased the company of his dreams, Heller, in 2022, but his story in the home furnishings industry began with his family’s company, Edelman Leather, and his parents’ commitment to craft and authenticity. He spent 14 years at Edelman Leather, including six as president and CEO. Along with John McPhee, he re-envisioned the company. Soon after, he turned his family’s namesake brand into a global trademark, before helping facilitate its sale to Knoll, Inc. in 2007. In 2010, John purchased Design Within Reach with McPhee. He revitalized the retailer, turning it into the world leader in authentic modern design. In 2014, Herman Miller, Inc. purchased the renewed DWR and Edelman stayed on as CEO of both DWR and Herman Miller Consumer Group before departing in 2019. Edelman sits on the Chilewich Board of Directors and is the Executive Chair of Crypton Fabrics. In May 2022, NYSID gave him an honorary doctorate in Interior Design. At Gala 2023, the College presented him with the Larry Kravet Design Industry Leadership Award.

NYSID Board of Trustees Welcomes Gale Singer

The New York School of Interior Design appointed Gale Singer to its Board of Trustees in February. Singer is the founder of the direct division of Visual Comfort & Co., formerly known as Circa Lighting. Since 1998, when Singer opened her first 375 SQ FT showroom in Savannah, Georgia, her business acumen has afforded the company broad renown among the design community and extraordinary sustained growth. By the end of 2024, the direct division of Visual Comfort & Co. will have expanded its robust showroom and e-commerce business to more than 60 locations across the US, an international hub in London, and digital platforms that serve US, UK, and EU markets. Alongside her brother, Andy Singer—founder of the company’s namesake manufacturing arm, Visual Comfort—Gale was the 2020 recipient of NYSID’s coveted Larry Kravet Design Industry Innovation Award. “I am thrilled to have Gale Singer join the NYSID Board of Trustees,” said NYSID President David Sprouls. “Having founded and run an incredibly successful lighting company, she brings years of experience and tremendous business acumen to our board table.”

PHOTO: MARY BRITTON SENESORY

 STUDENT AWARDS

INT Interior Design Awards 2023

Recent alumni Mihika Chatterjee ’23 (MFA2) and Nivedhitha Ravi ’23 (MFA2) won multiple student categories of the 2023 INT Interior Design Awards. Chatterjee’s Mélange: A Wellness Hotel won for Commercial - Hospitality (Spa & Wellness, Hotel Design); her Inter(Vo)ven: A Creative House for Fashion Designers won for Commercial - Large commercial interiors; her Carrington House won for Residential - Apartments & Houses (House 400+ sqm, Multi Unit Residential); and her BCH Retail Store won for Commercial - Retail Interior (Flagship store, Showroom). Ravi’s design of Wagner Senior Community Center won for Commercial - Hospitality (Other hospitality; Public Interior Design; Healthcare).

Kile Hotchkiss ’24 (MFA1) and Melida Valera ’24 (MFA1) were selected as members of the Metropolis Future100 Class of 2024. This is one of the industry’s most prestigious awards. The 50 architecture students and 50 interior design students, selected by the team at Metropolis magazine, are considered an elite cohort of emerging leaders who are reshaping the landscape of our industry. NYSID instructor Hans Galutera nominated Hotchkiss based on his work for the MFA1 hospitality studio. Assistant Dean Richard Todd Class nominated Valera.

Sonal Aggarwal ’24 (MFA2) won a gold in Interior Design - Retail for Yohji Yamamoto NYC Flagship, a silver in Interior Design - Hospitality for Serenova Montreal Boutique Hotel, and a gold in Conceptual Design for New York School of Game Design.

TOP: INTER(VO)VEN: A CREATIVE HOUSE FOR FASHION BY MIHIKA CHATTERJEE

BOTTOM: BOTANIQUE RESTAURANT AND BAR BY NIVEDHITHA RAVI

Architecture Masterprize 2023

Metropolis Future100 Class of 2024

LIV Hospitality Design Awards 2023

Mihika Chatterjee ’23 (MFA2) won Emerging Interior Designer of the Year and the Living Space - Luxury Hotel category for Inter(Vo)ven - A Fashion Hotel.

Sonal Aggarwal ’24 (MFA2) won the Bar Lounge and Private Club categories for her Serenova Montreal Boutique Hotel.

Nivedhitha Ravi ’23 (MFA2) won the Interior Design Restaurant - Casual category for Botanique Restaurant and Bar. She won the Interior Design - Other category for Wagner Senior Community Center.

Pooja Panchal ’23 (MFA2) won the Interior Design Restaurant - Theme category for Hotel le Vivant. She won the Interior Design Restaurant - Boutique category for The Living Hotel.

Bhumi Shah ’24 (MFA1) won the Interior Design Hotel - Boutique category for Chute d’Automne Boutique.

Mihika Chatterjee ’23 (MFA2) won a 2022 LIV Hospitality Design Award for her Mélange Wellness Hotel project in two distinct categories, Interior design - Living space (Hotel - Luxury category) and Interior Design Living Space (North America category - Destination hotel design). Other NYSID students who won LIV awards in 2022 were reported on in the summer 2023 issue.

Student Jason Win (MFA1) received the NEWH/ Kaufmann Contract Scholarship Award, a $10,000 scholarship for interior design students with a career focus in hospitality. He won the award for his entire portfolio, but he’s most proud of his renderings of the McGill Heritage Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.

Student Melida Valera ’24 (MFA1) received the 2023 NEWH/Tarkett Hospitality Achievement Scholarship, also a $10,000 scholarship. One of the projects she submitted was Essence, a mental health center for Black men located in Atlanta, Georgia. Both received their awards at the HD Platinum Circle Gala in New York City in November 2023.

Mihika Chatterjee ’23 (MFA2) was chosen as the student winner for her thesis project, Inter(Vo)ven - A Fashion Hotel.

Architecture Masterprize 2023

Mihika Chatterjee ’23 (MFA2) won the student awards of the Architecture Masterprize in three distinct categories. Chaterjee’s Carrington House won for Interior DesignResidential Interior Category, and her Inter(Vo)ven: A Creative House for Fashion Designers won in the Exhibition Design and Other Interior Design categories.

HD Design Awards 2024

NEWH Awards 2023

LIV Hospitality Design Awards 2022

Sonal Aggarwal ’24 (MFA2) won a gold in Commercial Interior Designer of the Year for Yohji Yamamoto NYC Flagship, a silver in Interior Design for the Museum of CGI Movies, and a bronze in Commercial Interior Designer of the Year for New York School of Game Design.

Mihika Chatterjee ’23 (MFA2) won a silver in Interior Designer of the Year/Commercial, and a gold in Commercial Interior Designs for her New York School of Fine Arts; she won gold in Hospitality Interior Design/Hotels and bronze in Interior Designer of the Year, Hospitality for Mélange: A Wellness Hotel; she won silver in Interior Designer of

 EXHIBITIONS

Our Practice: Eleven Women in Interior Design

Organized by Darling Green, “Our Practice” presented a selection of prominent, women-led, contemporary interior design studios from around the world. This exhibition—focused on residential design—explored distinct voices that stand on the shoulders of trailblazing women designers, innovators like Candace Wheeler, Elsie de Wolfe, Dorothy Draper, and Eleanor McMillen Brown. The exhibit was open September 15, 2023 to April 26, 2024, in the NYSID gallery. This celebration of women design leaders was made possible by Benjamin Moore & Co.

the Year/Commercial and bronze in Interior Designer of the Year/ Cultural for Inter(Vo)ven: Creative House for Fashion Designers; and she won bronze in Residential Interior Design/Renovation for Refined Living: The Carrington House.

Sarah Choudhary ’23 (MFA2) won gold in Hospitality Interior Designer of the Year and gold in Hospitality Interior Design/Resorts for The Oasis: An Elevated Wellness Experience. She won gold in Hospitality Interior Design and silver in Hospitality Interior Designer of the Year, among other awards, for Hotel Cirque. She won bronze in Commercial Interior Designer of the Year for her Vera Wang Flagship.

Prachi Fulwane ’24 (MFA2) won a gold in Cultural Interior Design/ Museum, and a gold in Commercial Interior Design/Cinemas for Unseen Realities: The Museum of the Psychological Thriller.

Sachi Shah ’24 (MFA2) won bronze in Cultural Interior Design/Museum for Museum of Animated Fantasy Films.

Amina Shinassylova ’24 (MFA2) won silver in Cultural Interior Design/Museum for Museum of Moving Images: World of Fantasy Animation.

Larry Lederman’s “Photographs of the Du Pont Brandywine Gardens”

Botanical photographer, Larry Lederman , is the co-creator of seven books, the most recent of which is Du Pont Gardens of the Brandywine Valley, a collaboration with writer Marta McDowell. Images from this book graced the NYSID Authur King Satz Auditorium from November 15, 2023, to January 8, 2024, and the exhibition kicked off with a lecture featuring Lederman and New York magazine’s Wendy Goodman . The exhibit and talk took its audience on a detailed journey of the gardens of the first family of horticulture.

 EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

Timeless by Design: New Books by

Nina Farmer & Alexa Hampton

When a NYSID alum reaches the point in her career when she publishes a design book about her aesthetic, this College wants to celebrate. On February 29, NYSID trustee and design luminary Alexa Hampton spoke with NYSID alum and 2021 winner of the Rising Star Award Nina Farmer (AAS) about her debut book, Timeless by Design. Hampton also has a recent book: Design, Style & Influence, the story behind her decades of work on her beautifully appointed pre-war apartment in Manhattan, also an exploration of design that transcends trends and stands the test of time.

The First Lady & Her Decorator

This event was a look behind the restoration and renovation of a famous house, the subject of the new book A House That Made History: The Illinois Governor’s Mansion, Legacy of an Architectural Treasure. Design historian Daniella Ohad spoke with Illinois First Lady MK Pritzker and renowned designer Michael S. Smith (who renovated the White House for the Obamas) about their shared design journey, which reflected the culture and history of a state.

Sally Henderson Green Lecture: Avi Rajagopal

On April 3, Avi Rajagopal , editorin-chief of Metropolis magazine and advocate for sustainable architecture and design, spoke about why “Interior Design Is Critical for Our Future.” The Sally Henderson Lecture on Green Design is an annual event created to honor the memory of NYSID faculty member Sally Henderson , who developed the College’s first course in green design.

Dialogues on Design Never Disappoints

Dennis Scully, host of the Business of Home podcast and curator/ moderator of NYSID’s signature series on interior designers, has earned his reputation for selecting visionary artists who are also innovative businesspeople. The series is a deep dive into how interior designers establish themselves and evolve over a career. This year, Scully hosted Nina Campbell of Nina Campbell Design Studio (October 3), Courtney McLeod of Right Meets Left Interior Design (November 2), Suzanne Tucker of Suzanne Tucker Home (November 29), Elizabeth Graziolo of Yellow House Architects (February 8), Jeremiah Brent of Jeremiah Brent Design—who is also the author of the new book The Space that Keeps You (March 14), and Kit Kemp of Kit Kemp Design Studios and Firmdale Hotels (April 18). The proceeds from Dialogues on Design support NYSID’s scholarship funds.

Vincente Wolf’s Inspirations

On October 11, the celebrated designer Vincente Wolf shared a glimpse into his inspirations from nature, travel, and art upon the publication of his new book Creative Interior Solutions.

The Michael I. and Patricia M. Sovern Lecture on Design: David B. Peterson

On April 11, David B. Peterson, CEO of Onera Group, Inc. and Executive Director of the Onera Foundation, presented his new book US Embassies of the Cold War: The Architecture of Democracy, Diplomacy, and Defense. NYSID is grateful to the Sovern family for making this endowed lecture possible.

Home at Last with Gil Schafer

On March 27, in an event partnership with the ICAA, NYSID hosted a talk by architect Gil Schafer upon the publication of his newest book, Home at Last: Enduring Design for the New American House, a look at how design has evolved to meet the changing needs of the American family through gorgeous homes in locales from Lake Champlain to Maine.

DLFNY Makes Lighting Design Education More Accessible

Lighting is one of the most important and nuanced aspects of interior design, and new technologies have brought a sea change to lighting in recent years. The IDTF (Interior Design Task Force) part of the Designers Lighting Forum of New York, partnered with NYSID on a six-part series of lighting educational events. The speakers were Dan Blitzer on Practical Lighting (November 9), Jaqui Chacurv and Jacinda Ross on LEDs (December 6), Shashanna Segal on Lighting Controls (January 17), Sirun Olivapolanza on Lighting that Changes Perceptions (Feb 28), Nancy Mah on Kitchen Illumination (April 10), and Charles Pavarini ’81 (BFA) on the Drama of Light (May 1).

 A PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE

In the 2023-24 academic year, New York School of Interior Design expanded its study abroad and travel study opportunities, adding courses that explored the design of Mexico and India. “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 College has prioritized expanding Study Abroad opportunities in its strategic plan.

A Semester in Florence, Italy

The second year of NYSID’s semester-long study abroad program in Florence, Italy, in partnership with SRISA, the Santa Reparata International School of Art, was a success. NYSID instructors Warren Ashworth and Randi Halpern accompanied BFA students to Florence this year. In the Fall ’23 semester, Amira Briggs, Mariia Dolinsky, and Abigail Morgan went abroad. In the Spring ’24 semester, Anine HolterSorensen, Korvin Horvath, and Megan Millner went to Florence.

Indian Design with a Sustainability Lens

Eight students—David Becerra , Grace Dowd , Charrli Genovese, Catriona Howard , Nour Saedeldine, Silvia Paez Santos, Beth Diana Smith , and Obiageli Ukatu—went on NYSID’s Study Abroad trip to India, from December 28, 2023, to January 13, 2024. The trip to New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Udaipur, and Mumbai was co-taught by Seema Lisa Pandya , an accomplished sustainability consultant and a

multidisciplinary artist who teaches NYSID’s Introduction to Sustainable Design course, and her uncle, Yatin Pandya , an influential Indian architect, sustainability expert, and decorated professor of architecture at CEPT University at Ahmedabad.

Mexico City

From May 26 to June 8, NYSID offered a travel-study course called “Mexico City: Mesoamerica and Modernism,” led by design historian and faculty member Anne Regan . The two-week course explored the sophisticated metropolis of Mexico City. The course focused on the influences of the pre-conquest nations (Mesoamerica) and the principles of Modernism as displayed in architecture, interiors, and the decorative arts. Destinations included the Palacio de Bellas Artes, La Casa Azul—the home and studio of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Casa Luis Barragán, and the Museo Nacional de Antropología.

Rome & Milan

From May 26 to June 8, a group from NYSID traveled to Rome and Milan for a two-week travel-study course called “Italian Design: Power, Politics, and Patronage,” led by artist and art historian Chad Laird. Students learned about the history of Italian design through a series of case studies that spanned from antiquity to the 20th century avant-garde, with emphasis on the intersection of art and architecture.

Design History in NYC & Surroundings

One might assume that a trip composed of walking tours of NYC

is not really “travel” for NYSID students. Yet, this College has many distance learning students, and this course, called, “At Home in New York: Revolution, Riches, and Reinvention,” was a chance for students studying with NYSID from afar to come to New York and get a taste of the rich design history of the city. It took place from May 28 to June 7. Art historian Kelly Konrad traced the ways in which centuries-long accumulations of wealth and prominence expanded the city northward before, during, and beyond the Gilded Age. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum and Lyndhurst Mansion, in Tarrytown, were highlights.

Africa, Turkey & Greece Next Year

NYSID is currently planning study abroad trips to multiple countries in Africa, Turkey and Greece for the 2024-2025 academic year. If you are interested in inquiring about study abroad and study abroad grants, contact Associate Dean Daniel Harper at daniel.harper@nysid.edu.

OPPOSITE PAGE: WARREN ASHWORTH, SUSAN KANDER, AND STUDENTS AMIRA BRIGGS, MARIIA DOLINSKY, AND ABIGAIL MORGAN IN FLORENCE. LEFT: NYSID STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND DEANS IN INDIA. BELOW: MEGAN MILNER AND ANINE HOLTER SORENSON IN FLORENCE, ITALY. BOTTOM: DAVID BECERRA, OBIAGELI UKATU, AND SILVIA PAEZ SANTOS AT JAMA MASJID IN NEW DELHI, INDIA.

If you are with a company or are an individual interested in giving to the study abroad fund, please contact giving@nysid.edu.

NYSID STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND DEANS IN INDIA.

PORTFOLIO / Class of 2023 Award Winners

The Office of Academic Affairs awarded the students whose capstone 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. At NYSID, thesis projects challenge students to form a guiding concept, conduct research on real communities and building sites, seek out case studies, and synthesize all they have learned. The journey ends with a presentation to a jury of faculty and industry professionals. Our students create hypothetical designs that offer solutions to realworld problems. (Class of 2024 award winners will be featured in the 2025 issue.)

RECLAIM, A NEW MODEL FOR HOMELESS ASSISTANCE BY CHAIRMAN’S AWARD WINNER VINCENZA LAMPON. SEE PAGE 48.

AETHER WELLNESS CENTER BY CHAIRMAN’S AWARD WINNER CHARLOTTE DOODY SEE PAGE 50.

AT CROSSPATHS BY ANA VERNA BLANC AWARD WINNER MOTOMO “LUCIA” SAKAKIBARA. SEE PAGE 49.

WAGNER SENIOR COMMUNITY CENTER BY CHAIRMAN’S AWARD WINNER NIVEDHITHA RAVI SEE PAGE 51.

KEEL.LABS BY CHAIRMAN’S AWARD WINNER STEFANO FALEZ. SEE PAGE 52.

DORMITORY AT BUCHANAN TOWERS BY CHAIRMAN’S AWARD WINNER NIRALI PRAJAPATI SEE PAGE 53.

Vincenza Lampon

Project: Reclaim, a New Model for Homeless Assistance

Bachelor of Fine Arts

Instructor: Jack Travis

Chairman’s Award Winner Vincenza Lampon began working at a luxury residential design firm in New York City while embarking on her thesis ideation. She says, “I began seeing the homeless on my commute, and observing the way people are programmed to walk past them without acknowledging them.” Lampon resolved to use her thesis to radically rethink the way shelter design serves the unhoused. She collected empirical data, learning that “shelters rarely have design practices built into them.” She also gathered testimonials from unhoused women. Two big ideas emerged. The first was that traditional shelters create stress that puts people in a brain state that perpetuates homelessness, a concept she took from Brandi Tuck ’s TED Talk on trauma-informed design. Her second, more controversial idea, was that “the homeless deserve and need luxury.” She envisioned her client as Jon Bon Jovi , because the rock star is the founder of the Jon Bon Jovi

Soul Foundation, through which he has created JBJ Soul Kitchen, a restaurant that serves high-end meals to those in need at no cost. She located her shelter and non-profit in the Ford Foundation Building, because its huge open atrium gave her the opportunity to create stunning social spaces to draw people into communal interaction. She adds, “I wanted to take this iconic building and lend it, send it to the homeless. I hoped this might help destigmatize needing shelter.” When the end-user enters the building, she is met by a hearth in the community flex space, which signals coming home. Trauma disorganizes the mind, so one important guideline of trauma-informed design is to build in organization. Lampon specified wood-milled cabinetry that makes the environment feel orderly and function flexibly. All the art is by unhoused artists. The point was to create “special places that empower people,” she says.

Motomo “Lucia” Sakakibara

Project: At Crosspaths

Bachelor

of Fine Arts

Instructor: Robert Dadras

Motomo “Lucia” Sakakibara , the winner of NYSID’s 2023 Ana Blanc Verna Award, studied at NYSID as the College, the city, and the world endured the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. She began working at Ennead Architects before she graduated. She needed ways to escape the intensity of the city and the pressures of juggling work and school. As she embarked on her thesis research, she envisioned a destination where people in metropolitan areas could go for decompression and self-reflection. Her models were Storm King, Dia Beacon, and Grace Farms, non-profit cultural organizations that brought her quietude and inspiration when she needed space from the city. For her cultural organization’s location, she chose a 1930s building, originally a stable, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, on a plot of land ringed by woods. She researched the three stages of progressive structural meditation and set out to create a spatial experience that would take the user through a guided meditation in three dimensions. Sakakibara intended visitors to walk up a hill and be greeted by a calming outdoor reception area under the arches of the

old stable. This space is meant to represent the first stage of meditation, the beginning bookend, in which a person is meant to slow one’s breath and relax in order to transition from a wakeful state to a meditative state. Sakakibara designed a basement “Entrance Gallery” and “Through Gallery” to represent the middle stage of meditation, which can often be the phase of self-discovery. Sakakibara kept these galleries intentionally sparse to keep the mind calm and empty, and made the lights progressively dimmer to facilitate a journey inward. A rhythmic motif of stripes on the floor cues the occupants to breathe in and out as they journey forward. In the third phase of meditation, one transitions from a meditative state back to wakefulness. In the “To Somewhere” gallery, Sakakibara re-introduces focal points with strong pops of green and sculptural wood furniture, gradually helping the mind acclimate to stimulation. The journey delivers the occupant to the ending bookend, an outdoor space where the user can enjoy nature and mingle with friends.

Charlotte Doody

Project: Aether Wellness Center

Chairman’s Award Winner Charlotte Doody researched many spas and wellness centers in preparation for her thesis. Her inquiry resulted in this revelation: “In modern day America, taking care of one’s health has become a sacred practice—a pilgrimage towards balance and wellbeing.” So she designed Aether Wellness Center around the idea that, “health is a new religion.” She took inspiration from ancient temples and ecclesiastical architecture— particularly the Pantheon and the Renaissance churches of Leonardo da Vinci and Filippo Brunelleschi— to evoke a sense of reverence and tranquility. She says, “I didn’t want the center to be associated with a specific religion, but I wanted it to be a spiritual place where a person could have an almost out of body experience.” She located her center in the Hugh L. Carey Ventilation Tower, on NYC’s Governors Island, in part because it’s octagonal. She notes, “In Catholicism, the octagon and the octagram are religious symbols for rebirth and resurrection.” She wanted a building that was insular, with few windows, to create the feeling that one had entered another realm. On every floor, there are public spaces, such as reception areas, in the central corridor of the octagonal structure, and more private spaces, such as treatment rooms, on the outside of the structure. The only place she punctured the structure was in the core reception areas, where she used window strips to create a line of natural light that draws the eye upward. In her research on many ancient traditions, she found similar systems for restoring imbalances in the body around four elements—earth, water, fire, and air. So the 3rd through the 6th floors are organized by an element with corresponding programming, for example, mud baths on the “earth” floor.

Master of of Fine Arts (Professional)

Instructor: Barbara Weinreich

Nivedhitha Ravi

Project: Wagner Senior Community Center

Master of of Fine Arts (Post-Professional)

Instructor: Stefanie Werner

Mentor: David Burdett

For her thesis, Nivedhitha Ravi was determined to “translate the needs of seniors into spatial solutions” in an innovative community for elders. Her intended client was the National Council on Aging. She researched the specific needs of current New York City seniors, because context and culture make design stronger. She found that, “Seniors need to be able to move around, but existing nursing homes restrict movement in an effort to reduce falls.” In New York City, seniors have comparatively little access to outdoor activities, such as gardening and walking up hills, which help maintain functional mobility and cardiovascular health. There’s also a great need for socialization, such as peer and intergenerational interaction. She sought to give elders a sense of purpose by creating opportunities to contribute to the community. The backbone of her idea was “a green path that wraps itself around the building and delivers users to various activity and interaction spaces.” She adds, “The metaphor here is taking a walk in the park. You stop when you see something you like.” New York City’s Central Park was one of her case studies, and the huge, jagged stones she spied there became a randomized triangle motif that repeated in the wallpaper, ceiling tiles, rooftops, and layout of the space. The green path is an activity in and of itself, inviting seniors to participate in tending a garden of plants that can grow indoors. The pathway leads seniors to a plethora of opportunities, a

green rooftop for gardening and socializing in the sunshine, an exhibition space, communal living rooms, a restaurant, a library, and a screening room. Every floor is color coded to make navigation easier. There are options for those who are less mobile to take elevators or ramps. The center is called the “Wagner Senior Community Center” because it’s located in the footprint of what is, in actuality, the Wagner Middle School. Ravi envisions a smaller school within the senior community because she wants to infuse the lives of elders with opportunities to volunteer. “Stefanie Werner and David Burdett were key to this project,” says Ravi. “They helped me revise 56 iterations of the green path. They helped me group spaces differently. It was amazing to bounce ideas off them.”

Stefano Falez

Project: KEEL.LABS

Master of Professional Studies in Sustainable Interior Environments (MPSS)

A real company and brand inspired Stefano Falez . KEEL. LABS is a North Carolina-based start-up driven by the exploration of new resources from the ocean to create fabrics with low carbon footprints. One of the organic materials the company uses as the basis for its textiles is kelp, which is harvested sustainably and transformed into a biopolymer, making the material of Kelsun. Falez set out to create a headquarters for KEEL.LABS at 3 East 28th Street in New York that could be both a showroom where potential clients could experience the product and brand, and an office conductive to different forms of work. Says Falez, “The overall concept of the project was to best represent the ideals of this young start-up through the use of materials reminiscent of the sea, a central element of the start-up’s identity.” Falez sets the tone in reception with a gorgeous stainless steel ceiling in a water ripple pattern. A movable cast glass partition makes the large space flexible, so it can be divided for tasks that require privacy or opened for parties and events. Falez pays close attention to the acoustics, because he wants to muffle noise for workers trying to concentrate, and also create the auditory and visual experience of being underwater. The PET plastic ceiling baffles from Arktura resemble waves; the wool ceiling clouds from Buzzi resemble sea creatures; both absorb sound waves. Falez optimized the use of daylight and used smart sensors to dim the lights at times of day when less light is required. The materials he selected, such as a floor made of “sea stone,” a cement-like material made from discarded shells, are in line with the company’s mission and vision.

Instructors: Luca Baraldo and Bethany Borel

Master of Professional Studies in Sustainable Interior Environments

is a post-professional program structured to prepare designers to assume leadership roles in developing sustainable interior spaces. The guiding principles of the program are designing resilience to climate change disruption, giving students the tools to evaluate the carbon footprint of the spaces they create, and designing for well-being. The

NYSID’s

(MPSS), led by David Bergman , RA, LEED AP,

Nirali Prajapati

Project: Dormitory at Buchanan Towers

Master of Professional Studies in Interior Lighting Design (MPSL)

Instructors: AC Hickox and Marty Salzberg

For her thesis, Nirali Prajapati chose Buchanan Towers, a dormitory at a high altitude situated beside the Sehome Hill Arboretum on the campus of Western Washington University. It’s a location bustling with activity that requires lighting for everything from walking and biking paths to cafes and laundry rooms. The challenge was to meet the functional needs of a community while minimizing light pollution and preserving the sanctity of a natural space. “The intent was for the design to be able to minimize light trespass (from inside to outside and outside to inside) without compromising the safety of a student campus,” Prajapati says. “This translated into Dark Skyfriendly lighting, flexibility for personalization in private units, and sustainability and durability becoming the basis for the lighting design approach.” The project complied with the Model Lighting Ordinance jointly created by the International Dark-Sky Association and the Illuminating Engineering Society in June 2011. Prajapati’s Dark Skyfriendly lighting strategy was to ensure there would be no upward lighting component in any exterior fixture, to minimize glare from exterior to interior, to prevent light trespass beyond the site, and to add controls for dimming after curfew time. She specified a continuous linear light

in the passage to the units only after she did a sectional study to determine there wouldn’t be a direct view into the fixture from the outside, thus mitigating glare in the exterior due to interior lighting. The lighting design proposal also adheres to the 2020 NYCECC, the energy code adopted by New York City for all construction. Prajapati knew her end-user would need various levels of light for studying and socializing in residential units, so she built in the flexibility to personalize light. She made provisions for task lights and secondary layers of light like table lights, floor lights and LED string lights. In using light sparingly and intentionally, she preserved the darkness outdoors, “a necessity for all life on Earth,” she says.

NYSID’s Master of Professional Studies in Lighting (MPSL), directed by Shaun Fillion, LC Educator IALD, is known in the industry for producing versatile lighting designers who have deep knowledge of the way lighting can contribute to sustainability and well-being. In the program, students master the technologies necessary to execute their visions in a field that is rapidly evolving. One hundred percent of its graduates find employment in the lighting design industry. The degree can be pursued in person or entirely online. For information visit nysid.edu/mpsl.

IN MEMORIAM

The NYSID community remembers Elaine Wingate Conway.

ELAINE WINGATE CONWAY

Elaine Wingate Conway ’66, NYSID alumna and trustee emerita, passed away in her home, surrounded by family, on May 21, 2023, at the age of 88. Conway was elected to NYSID’s Board of Trustees in 2001 and served for more than 11 years. She was the Board’s treasurer and served on the Executive and Financial Overview Committees. She left the NYSID Board in 2012 and soon after, was elected to trustee emerita status under former Chair Patricia Sovern’s tenure. Hers was a life of service to the non-profit and public sectors. Conway joined the Board of Directors of the Friends of Thirteen, Inc. in 1982. She was elected a life director in 2010. In 1985 she received a National Friends of Public Broadcasting Elizabeth Campbell Outstanding Public Television Volunteer Award. In 1987, as founding chair of the board, she incorporated the Friends of Thirteen as a not-for-profit corporation. Conway served as chair from 1987 through June 1995, coordinating the activities of staff and over 10,000 volunteers in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. In June 2007, she became chair of the Nominating Committee of the Friends of Thirteen. In 1995, Governor George Pataki appointed Conway director of the New York State Division for Women, where she served until 2002. Says NYSID President David Sprouls, “My tenure as NYSID president overlapped with Elaine’s for only a brief period, but I know, and have heard from members of our board and staff, that she was a person of action and generosity. We are grateful for all the ways she strengthened this college as a non-profit institution.”

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

John Edelman

Susan Zises Green

Alexa Hampton

Young Huh

David Kleinberg

Courtney R. McLeod

Dennis Miller

Betsey Ruprecht

Brad Schneller

David Scott

Gale Singer

Kelly M. Williams

Eric J. Gering, Faculty Trustee

Joanna L. Silver, Esq., General Counsel

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 & Communications Co-chair

Maisie Lee ’00 (BFA), Communications Co-chair

Michelle Jacobson ’17 (MPSS), Events Co-chair

Erin Wells ’04 (BFA), Membership Committee

Allison Russell Davis ’05 (BFA)

“Without the scholarships, there’s no way I would be able to attend NYSID. When you grow up with less, it’s easy to feel that there is no space for you in interior design. At NYSID, every teacher has made me feel that I belong.”

CARISSA PINTELLO (MFA1)

2024 ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT