PARSONS

re:
The
Alumni
Magazine
of
Parsons
The
New
School
for
Design
Fall
2010
Urban
Ecologies
 re:D (regarding Design)
FALL 2010

For more: www.red.parsons.edu

Urban 01
Ecologies
News & Events​

Portfolio
Urban ecologies combines the methods and insights of
environmental science with those of social science and applies them
06 Students reflect on
peers’ work
to urban settings in an effort to make cities healthy and viable. As
the world’s population becomes increasingly urbanized, the effective
management of cities’ interconnected systems has assumed critical
importance. Three articles presented here —“Design and Urban
11  esign and Urban
D
Ecologies
Ecologies,” “Facing the Sun,” and “Community Centered”—explore
this issue from theoretical and applied perspectives.
Facing the Sun
Introducing Parsons’
Be part of re:D! Your stories, work, and collaboration support the magazine
and the Parsons community. Email us at alumni@newschool.edu. Give us
12 entry for the Solar
Decathlon competition
your input on re:D at www.newschool.edu/survey.
Community Centered
Radhika Subramaniam &
Nevin Cohen present
Living Concrete/Carrot

16 City, an exhibition and

programming

18 Pathways in Pictures
Luis Berríos-Negrón ’03

18 Alumni Message

20 Parsons DC Alumni
Scholarship

22 Alumni Profiles
City Intersections

Connected
16
06 26 Remembering
Stephanie Bradshaw ’58

Thank You

27 In Good Company /
Our Supporters

Cover Story

28 Marcos Chavez’s class

creates re:D’s cover

29 12
29 Red-Handed
Carrie Mae, MFA ’09
 NEWS & EVENTS 01

News
& Events

NEW PROGRAMS in URBAN HIRE homes &

studies and design POWER
In Parsons’ forthcoming degree programs, the next generation Faculty hires reflect Parsons’
of designers, planners, scholars, and policymakers will learn to commitment to urban studies and
apply cross-disciplinary approaches to address the challenges of design-led research. Aseem Inam
globalization and sustainability in an urban context. has held posts at MIT, UCLA, and
the University of Michigan and
MS Urban Design Ecologies (under development) practiced architecture in a number
In this studio-based graduate program, students learn new forms of cities. An expert in urban studies
of urban design practice based in a synthesis of urban ecologies and crisis management, Inam
and urban studies. Students learn interdisciplinary methods to has led development projects in
use in designing for progressive social and environmental change India, the Caribbean, and the U.S.
within complex urban societies and ecosystems. Miguel Robles-Durán has
taught architecture, urban theory,
MA Urban Design Studies (under development) and urban design. He co-founded
Through study of transdisciplinary research methods, students Cohabitation Strategies, a Rotter-
acquire a critical understanding of urban design as a scholarly dam-based foundation and
discourse and practice involved in the transformation of cities. cooperative for architecture and
The program prepares students for careers in academia, media, urbanism that employs design
museums, and public policy agencies. in urban areas characterized by
BS Urban Design (launched in fall 2010) uneven development. Rama
This program is studio-based, embodying the civic mission of Chorpash, the newly appointed
The New School through a mix of liberal arts, design theory, director of BFA Product Design,
and professional practice. Students explore design in relation to brings expertise in manufacturing
change such as global urbanization and migration, heightened and materials innovations. His
environmental awareness, and new technologies. award-winning interdisciplinary
studio has designed for firms such
For more on these programs and MS Design Management and as Herman Miller, Hewlett-Packard,
MA Design Studies (both in development): www.newschool.edu/ and Swatch Lab New York.
thinkparsons.
routes
Students from the schools of
Art and Design History and Theory
(ADHT) and Art, Media, and
Technology (AMT), led by Jilly
Traganou, Jessica Irish, and
Eric Nunez, took part in Learning
Through Design, a class in which
they developed a program for the
Lower Manhattan Arts Academy
(LoMA). ADHT and AMT students
guided high school seniors in the
creation of a game to explore
“place, space, and community,”
enabling them to experience
design thinking and hands-on
collaboration. The Parsons group
designed Routes and Homes,
an embodied game played on
an outdoor game board by LoMA
students. They also created lesson
plans for LoMA seniors to use
in teaching younger students,
and a publication sharing
with the community what the
students learned.
See page 03, image 14.

FOOLISH touring go with DYE

PRIDE
The Illustration and Foundation
programs made this past April
Fool’s Day an interactive event
in the Arnold and Sheila Aronson
Galleries. Students took turns
creating a projected Exquisite
Corpse-style digital triptych.
Students sketched source
images on Wacom digital tablets
in response to words called out
by Foundation director John
Roach . Other students added
to the drawings, connecting them
across the three panels. Roach
and Illustration director Steven
Guarnaccia deemed the event
a success as a creative and
community-building exercise for
Parsons.
See page 02, image 05.
tbilisi
Parsons alumni Christopher
Nesbit ’08, Georgeana Ortiz
’09, Duncan Tonatiuh Smith
’08, and Ida C. Benedetto ’09
traveled to Tbilisi, Georgia, in April
to present their theses alongside
students from European and post-
Soviet countries in the Tbilisi Inter-
national Regional Festival. Spon-
sored by Florence’s Romualdo Del
Bianco Foundation and the Tbilisi
State Academy of Art, the festival
explored how an intercultural
exchange of art and design could
promote deeper understandings of
cultural heritage and sustainable
lifestyles worldwide. The Parsons
team, led by Lydia Matthews,
dean of Academic Programs, took
top honors, with Smith winning the
Grand Prize and Nesbit First Prize.
See page 03, image 13.
the flow
Product Design presented
FLOW, a juried body of student
work that appeared at the 2010
International
Contemporary Furniture
Fair (ICFF). Three mobile
tables designed by the School
of Constructed Environments
displayed a collection of pieces
inspired by the various meanings
of flow, including a pitcher
created using ancient instrument-
making techniques, a kit for
collecting stem cells from blood,
a table fashioned by termites,
and a multidirectional pot.
See page 02, image 09.
www.parsons.edu/icff
IS CAST
BS Urban Design director
Victoria Marshall created
the Urban Dyeing course to
“educate students about plants,
gardening, garden design, public
space, and participatory models
of engagement.” Students tested
fabrics and planters, germinated
seeds, and in May planted on
campus using containers made
of recycled materials and in
collaboration with the Union
Square Partnership. Plants were
chosen for their suitability for dyes
and for their positive effects on
biodiversity. Students in Laura
Sansone ’s Natural Dyeing class
will use the plants to color wool
and yarn from the Hudson Valley.
See page 03, image 18.
urbandyeing.blogspot.com
02 NEWS & EVENTS

01

EVENTS
Headspace 2010
01 Virtual Beauty filmmaker JANE NISSELSON,
MoMA curator Paola Antonelli, and architect
Toshiko Mori chat at “Headspace.” 02

Stephan Weiss Transdisciplinary

Design Lectures
02 Natalie Jerimijenko, MFA Transdisciplinary
Design program director Jamer Hunt, and Nigel 03
Snoad in a post-lecture recap.

Fashion in Film: New York

03 Amy Fine Collins presenting a film; John
Epperson with Klute actors and costume designer;
series organizer Jeffrey Lieber with Judith 03
Thurman; film critic ARMOND WHITE .

Photography Lectures at Aperture

04 Spencer Finch fields questions after his talk. 04

Foolish Corpse
05 Foundation and illustration students and 03
program directors JOHN ROACH and STEVEN 03
GUARNACCIA collaborate on an evolving digital
triptych projected in the Aronson Galleries.

Parsons Fashion Benefit

06 Dr. WILLIAM K. FUNG of Li & Fung Limited,
VERA WANG, dean JOEL TOWERS; JASON WU.

Derek Lam and jenna lyons at

Parsons reunion weekend 05
07 SIMON COLLINS, LYONS ’90, and LAM ’90 after
their panel discussion before a capacity crowd.
06
Fine Arts Lectures
08 KURT KAUPER presents his work.

06

07

EXHIBITIONS
Flow at ICFF
08 09 BFA Product Design’s booth at ICFF in the Jacob
09 Javits Convention Center; an eventgoer tries out
HYEONIL JEONG’s Caterpillar seat; Mademoicell,
Chelsea Briganti’s stem-cell collector.

 uperheroes and Super-Villains at

S
the Art Directors Club
10 KATIE TURNER’s illustration of a character created
by a young participant at an 826NYC writing
workshop.
10
Sheila C. Johnson Design Center
11 In Reimagining Orozco, Enrique Chagoya responded
to themes of Jose Clemente Orozco’s 1930s murals at
The New School; student-made products responding
09 to the show’s themes were also exhibited.

Parsons 2010 Show

12 Work from each of Parsons’ schools was on view in
09 the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center.
 NEWS & EVENTS 03

11

11

11

12

projectS
12

Parsons Visits Tbilisi

13 Tbilisi, Georgia, which hosted members of the
Parsons community for a festival on cultural tourism.

Homes and Routes

14 Parsons’ JAMES RO ’11 designs a game with
Brittany Thomas of Lower Manhattan Arts Academy.

LVMH Art of Craftsmanship Revisited

on Governors Island
14 15 Student-designed garments were displayed
alongside the artisanal work that inspired them
at an exhibition on Governor’s Island this summer.
13
The project, organized by LVMH in partnership
with Parsons’ Fashion and AMT schools, concluded
with a panel at The TimesCenter.

ILLUSTRATION STUDENT WINS MACY’S

POSTER DESIGN CONTEST
16 The whimsical design by GARRETT PRUTER ’10
advertising the July 4th fireworks brought the recent
grad recognition and a $10,000 prize.

16 Nate Berkus Visits Fine Arts

17 Nate Berkus met with fine arts students and
selected pieces for his clients and his own collection.

Urban Dyeing Class

15 15
18 Working with Victoria Marshall and
Pascale Gatzen, students plant seedlings
of species used to dye cloth.

17

18
18
04 news & events
NOBLE
EFFORTS
Barnes & Noble recently
introduced items featuring
the work of BFA Illustration
students Camden Dunning
and Katie Turner ’10. Dunning
embellished a laundry bag with
a line drawing of a laundromat
washing machine accompanied
by the words “Dear Mom,
Wish you were here.” Turner’s
illustration Cute Boys adorns one
journal; Dunning’s humorous
interpretations of the ubiquitous
NYC paper coffee cup decorate
another. Parsons was one
of three U.S. art and design
schools selected to contribute
designs for the product line,
available at Barnes & Noble.
www.barnesandnoble.com
gallery
crawl
The Sheila C. Johnson Design
Center showcased the winners
of this year’s Architectural League
Prize for Young Architects
and Designers in ReSource,
an exhibit on view this summer.
Re-imagining Orozco (June
12–Sept. 25), on view in the
Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen
Gallery, revisited José Clemente
Orozco’s mural cycle A Call to
Revolution and Table of Universal
Brotherhood, commissioned
by the university in the 1930s.
The murals are the only public
commission by a Mexican artist
that remains in New York City
today. Engine 212: Activist
Interiors (Sept. 15–25)
explored the importance of
interiors in civic and urban life.
The exhibit featured the work
of AAS Interior Design students
who collaborated with Brooklyn
activists to transform a defunct
FDNY building into a community
and arts center. Living
Concrete/Carrot city,
an exhibition and programming
series about urban agriculture,
turned the center into a gathering
place for communities to explore
urban planning, activism, and
economic justice (Oct. 1–Dec. 15;
see pages 16–17).
See page 02, image 11.
www.newschool.edu/sjdc
fashion
forward
In June, the Council of Fashion
Designers of America bestowed
four of its prestigious scholarships
on Parsons students. The winners
included Carmen Chen Wu,
who received the $25,000
Geoffrey Beene Design Scholar
Award, the CFDA’s top student
honor; Yuen Chi Lo and Lauren
Burnet, each of whom was
awarded a $10,000 scholarship;
and Paul Negron, who received
an Honorable Mention CFDA
Scholarship. Past winners include
renowned Parsons alumni
Peter Som, Jack McCollough
of Proenza Schouler, and
Chris Benz.
www.cfda.com
art for
oprah
In May, Oprah Winfrey’s
design expert, Nate Berkus,
visited the Fine Arts program to
tape a segment for her special
anniversary episode. Under
the guidance of MFA program
director Simone Douglas, nine
students from the undergrad and
graduate programs presented
work to the Oprah crew to explore
the process of buying and selling
student art. Berkus walked away
with three new student pieces—
two for clients and one for his
personal collection.
See page 03, image 17.
fast
company
This summer, Parsons faculty
members and alumni were
recognized for their creative
endeavors. Faculty members
Igor Pusenjak ’00 and Zachary
Lieberman ’02 and alumna
Natalia Allen ’04 were among
the top 50 of Fast Company’s
100 Most Creative People in
Business 2010. Faculty members
Pablo A. Medina and Lucille
Tenazas were selected to take
part in Design Journeys, an
exhibition of work by designers of
color in the AIGA, the international
professional association for
graphic designers.
year’s VISITORS ON
premieres CAMPUS
This year, student work appeared
in off-campus venues near
and far. BFA Photography student
Justin Wolf participated in the
Tate Modern’s tenth anniversary
show, No Soul for Sale, as part
of the K48 artist collective. BFA
Photography students Kristina
Williamson and Andrea
Bakacs both took part in Jeunes
Talents 2010, a cultural tourism
project featuring photography
shows in LA and France. In New
York City, the Art Directors
Club hosted a show for 2010
illustration graduates, and 2010
fine arts graduates showed their
work at The Kitchen, a nonprofit
experimental art space.
combined
forces
For Superheroes and Super-
Villains, a creative writing
workshop sponsored by 826NYC
and the Brooklyn Superhero
Supply Company, young people
conceived comic book characters
with the help of Parsons
illustration students. Steven
Guarnaccia, director of the
Illustration program, noted that
the collaboration offered the
students professional practice and
“the sheer pleasure of illustrating
the wildly imaginative work.”
See page 02, image 10.
activated
minds
This summer, a team of Art,
Media, and Technology faculty
and students, led by BFA Design
and Technology program director
Ben Bacon, MFA ’06, partnered
with the technology company
AMD on a month-long work-
shop for students in Beijing’s
Dandelion Middle School.
Dandelion’s 500 students
designed and programmed
games using Activate!, a curric-
ulum developed by PETLab at
Parsons. Activate!, a game-
building tool, sharpens science,
technology, engineering, and
math skills and increases
awareness of global environ-
mental issues.
Recent speakers on campus
included painter Biljana
Djurdjevic; “Headspace”
participants (Majora Carter,
Chandler Burr); Stephan
Weiss Lecture Series speakers
(ANNA VALTONEN, Andrew
Blauvelt); Fashion in Film
presenters (John Epperson,
Tom Kalin, Evan Calder
Williams); “AfterTaste”
presenters (Claudy Jongstra,
Robin Guenther); Career
Services Lecture Series
participants (Vena Cava);
Visiting Fine Arts Lecture
Series speakers (Alejandro
Cesarco, Nicole Eisenman);
SCE Lecture Series speakers
(Renny Ramakers, Wolfgang
Feist); participants in Parsons
Photography Lectures at
Aperture (Alex Prager,
Sarah Anne Johnson);
“Design and Existential Risk”
speakers (Robin Hanson,
BRUCE STERLING); and guest
lecturers in Brian McGrath’s
Theory of Urban Form class
(ALBERT POPE, PAOLA VIGANO).
See pages 02–03, images 01–04, 07–08.
riverside
reno
Graduate students in the School
of Constructed Environments’
Design Workshop were
challenged to renovate the historic
but dilapidated 101st Street
Terrace facilities in Manhattan’s
Riverside Park. Students
redesigned the much-used space
to serve the diverse needs of
everyone from Little Leaguers to
park rangers. Construction is slated
for completion in early 2011.
ENVIRO-
AWARE
BFA Product Design student
Joseph Saavedra ’10, won the
first-place Kölner Design Preis.
His project, Citizen Sensor, is a
wearable device that collects,
interprets, and shares data about
environmental pollutants.
thesis.jmsaavedra.com
 faculty News 05

AMPLIFY:
Creative and
Sustainable
Lifestyles in
the Lower
East Side
The Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability
(DESIS) Lab at The New School recently held
workshops and an exhibition at the historic Henry
Street Settlement. The exhibition, AMPLIFY:
Creative and Sustainable Lifestyles in the Lower
East Side, is part of a project funded by the
Rockefeller Foundation’s NYC Cultural Innovation
Fund 2009, which focused on grassroots sustain-
ability and social innovation efforts on Manhattan’s
Lower East Side. Installations on display ranged
from community gardens to collaborative support
services for older adults, each demonstrating how
design-based action can help urban communities
address everyday needs. An oversized interactive
map highlighted local sustainability efforts.
Examples of social innovation projects from around
the world were also on view. Lara Penin, an
assistant professor in Parsons’ School of Design
Strategies and a co-organizer of AMPLIFY, along
with Eduardo Staszowski and Cameron
Tonkinwise, described the exhibition as part
of a two-year research project that is establishing
The New School’s leadership in the growing field
of design for social innovation.

www.amplifyingcreativecommunities.net
06 PORTFOLIO

portfolio
Students from each of Parsons’ schools
were assigned to select end-of-year work
by their peers, giving them a chance to
reflect critically on creative work outside of
their own practice. ADHT student James
Ro ’11 describes the experience below.
I was invited to represent the School of Art and Design History and
Theory (ADHT) and introduce the feature as a student from a school
in which curatorial expertise is cultivated. First-year courses taught
at ADHT equip us to enter an academic dialogue that challenges
traditional disciplinary boundaries and methodologies and addresses
social, political, and economic concerns. The critical thinking skills
we develop apply to many disciplines, as evidenced in students’
curatorial statements.
Stepping outside of my home school to evaluate colleagues’ work
and the underlying methods and theory made me appreciate theory
as the basis of a design education. The exercise, which involved
self-reflection, also helped me grow as a student and future designer.

James Ro, BFA Architectural

Design ’10, BA/BFA ’11, comments on
NINA TORR, BFA FINE ARTS ’10
Nina Torr’s work explores cultural messages about the indefinite
boundary between fine art and craft. At first, Torr’s creations seem
to be implements from a pre-industrial past. On closer inspection,
the viewer notices that the “tools” have curious features, which raise
questions about their purpose and hint at purely aesthetic functions.
Do they exist merely to delight? Or to perform mysterious tasks? The
ambiguity of their functions seems to reflect the evolving distinction
between craft and fine art. Should aesthetic judgment be applied with
equal weight to fine art and craft? Is craft synonymous with fine art,
or is it defined by utilitarian or commercial qualities that set it apart?
Art historians explore these matters to enrich our experience of work
that, like Torr’s, operates on a number of levels.

Simeon Poulin, MFA Design and

Technology ’10, comments on
ANDREAS JOSEPH, BBA DESIGN
AND MANAGEMENT ’10
I chose this website [Just Scene] because I immediately recognized
its significance for journalism. The Web can play an important role
in democratizing the media by facilitating what Andreas Joseph calls
“citizen journalism.” It gives people a platform not just to share
stories with an audience but also to communicate with and learn
from other citizen journalists.
I also appreciate the amount and depth of the research Joseph
conducted to gain a thorough understanding of the realm in which
the product would live. He explored not just domains and precedents
but also the potential market value of such a product.
Coming from a design and technology background, I am interested
in learning about the technology Joseph will use to realize his project
and in viewing a working prototype.
Mettle by Nina Torr
 PORTFOLIO 07

Just Scene by Andreas Joseph

08

Augmented Shadow by Joon Moon

 PORTFOLIO 09

Kiara Walker, BFA Fashion

Design ’10, comments on
JOON MOON, MFA DESIGN AND
TECHNOLOGY ’10
Augmented Shadow is what you get when you’ve found the harmonious
balance between technology and narrative. This project evokes
wonder and sparks the viewer’s imagination. Without words, it
conjures up ideas about utopia, life, death, truth, conservation,
and the real versus the virtual.
A great designer can make a product that is more than just an object;
he or she can create something with which people can interact.
Designers have a responsibility to build bridges between disciplines,
ideas, and people.
I admire Joon Moon’s Augmented Shadow for its use of narrative
to encourage critical thinking without dulling the imagination. Moon
inspires viewers to create their own narratives and pass them along,
just as the figures in Augmented Shadow carry light into their own
dark surroundings.

Carrie Walker, MFA Lighting

Design ’10, comments on
ANNA CHOI, BFA FASHION
DESIGN ’10
Anna Choi’s fashions celebrate the human figure in fluid line drawings
made of fabric. Sophisticated construction underlies what appears
at first to be simple designs. I chose a piece in which draping along
the body highlights the model’s form and contrasts with the collar’s
sharp outline.
Choi expertly uses color—wisps of pale orange in a field of yellow-
green, for example—to add interest, accentuate movement, and
frame the bodice. A necklace in a related but neutral hue completes
the composition and balances the action of the translucent skirt.
I see even the decision to pull the shirt hem below the vest as
justified. Nothing about this piece seems arbitrary or contrived.
Choi’s work represents the process-driven methodology that Parsons
students are strongly encouraged to employ.

Design by Anna Choi

10 PORTFOLIO

Alyssa Davis, BBA Design and

Management ’10, comments on
JOSÉ VIDALON, M.ARCH ’10
Architecture demands a great deal. A building should be
both functional and aesthetically pleasing, elegantly housing
and supporting the activities for which it was designed.
Architects design under a variety of constraints while creating
work that expresses their aesthetic vision.
José Vidalon’s Memorial Museum for the Victims of the Political
War is a visual embodiment of his idea of constructed memories.
The decision to make the memorial a connecting bridge is highly
imaginative; the design contrasts with the static form of most
memorials, which often makes them seem emotionally remote.
Vidalon’s design is both functional and deeply moving. The layout
of this memorial makes it a timeless and unforgettable place.

Memorial Museum for the Victims of the Political War

by José Vidalon

Design &
URBAN
ECOLOGIES
by Joel Towers
Urban ecologies are constituted by and constitutive of human-natural
relations within spatially heterogeneous urban environments. Resilience
is a measure of health within an ecosystem and is a good predictor
of the long-term viability of the system. Understanding the resilience
of cities as ecosystems is critical to their future. This perspective
represents an important shift in the kind and scale of problems that
design practitioners will be expected to address. Parsons embraces this
enlarged vision of design’s potential, and our engagement with urban
ecologies is helping Parsons lead in design education and practice.
Parsons has a long history of environmentally reflexive design.
Over the years, faculty members have incorporated the study of
sustainable design into their teaching in innovative, diverse, and
provocative ways. Building on this commitment and expertise, I joined
the faculty at Parsons in 2003 as the first director of Sustainable
Design and Urban Ecology. At the time, establishing Parsons’ position
at the junction of social and ecological design was critical. Pairing
sustainable design with urban ecologies, Parsons and The New
School signaled a commitment to finding innovative approaches
to environmental problems instead of merely reacting to the
mainstreaming of green, or ecodesign, methods. We knew that teaching
the most advanced techniques in sustainable design was a clear
requirement for contemporary design education. But Parsons and the
university had higher ambitions.
Leveraging our unique position within New York City and as
a division of a university with a remarkable social science and
public policy faculty, we sought to activate design as a means of
understanding, assessing, and transforming socionatural relations.
We also challenged ourselves to advance a new social imaginary—a
new set of values and pedagogy to guide our work—in the midst
of one of the most complex constructions on the face of the planet:
the ecosystem known as the city.
Ecologist Steward Pickett, writing on the Baltimore Ecosystem
Study website, addresses the importance of urban ecological research
and describes cities as complex ecosystems encompassing social
behaviors and organizations along with natural systems. Underscoring
the need for this kind of research, he points out that most of the U.S.
FEATURE 11
population now lives in metropolitan areas. In Pickett’s view, “The
integrated studies to examine biodiversity, nutrient and energy flow,
ecological structure, and dynamics of all these things through time
have not been done.… The social, hydrological, atmospheric, and built
components of the systems must also be included. All the disciplines
required for this complete ecological understanding of an urban area
have not been pulled together in a focused study before. This is cutting
edge research.”1 Pickett and his colleagues are undertaking this kind
of work in Baltimore. Parsons faculty participate in that work, and we
are bringing it to NYC.
Writing on urban design, architectural historian and critic Kenneth
Frampton explores the far-reaching implications of this research for
design. He invites designers to play a broader role in finding solutions
to urban problems by addressing systems instead of only built forms.
Infrastructures such as transportation, waste disposal, and land
reclamation represent other targets for design interventions.2
Urban geographer David Harvey offers perhaps the best
articulation of the challenge and importance of urban ecologies: “The
integration of the urbanization question into the environmental-
ecological question is a sine qua non for the twenty-first century. But we
have as yet only scraped the surface of how to achieve that integration
across the diversity of geographical scales at which different kinds
of ecological questions acquire the prominence they do.”3
These insights into the nature and importance of urban ecologies
call for a paradigm shift in design education. They also point to an
expanded role for designers, who are uniquely well positioned to
grapple with the challenges of urban settings. Parsons is committed
to supporting research and design education in this emergent area.
Joel Towers is dean of Parsons and a founding partner of SR+T Architects.
1 w ww.beslter.org/frame2-page_1_3.html#2 (accessed September 6, 2010).
2 Kenneth Frampton, “Toward a Dynamic Mediatory Approach in the Field of Environmental
Design” (September 2002).
3 David Harvey, Justice, Nature and the Geography of Difference (Oxford, UK: Blackwell
Publishers Ltd., 1996).
 Facin
12 FEATURE
the Su
by David Sokol
With the goal of creating new models of affordable sustainable housing, the Parsons-led
Empowerhouse team is drawing on expertise from across The New School and beyond for
its entry in the Solar Decathlon 2011 competition
Every other autumn since 2002, the Solar Decathlon has
transformed the National Mall in Washington, DC, into a parade
of homes of the future. The U.S. Department of Energy invites
20 college teams to take part in the international competition,
in which they design solar-powered homes, build them on the
Mall, and operate them as residences for ten days. Participating
in the competition is an ambitious and demanding undertaking
for the student-led teams. This year, Parsons The New School
for Design has taken up the challenge for the first time,
with an entry called Empowerhouse SD, created in partnership
with Milano The New School for Management and Urban
Policy and Stevens Institute of Technology.
Empowerhouse SD already has significance far beyond
the competition. The project serves as a lab for the interdisci-
plinary methods evolving throughout The New School and the
participatory service-design approaches practiced at Parsons.
It unites ongoing efforts at the university to apply design
solutions to complex matters of economic and environmental
sustainability at all scales—in this case, housing. These inter-
connected goals for Empowerhouse SD will give the home
another life after the Solar Decathlon, when it will be trans-
ported from the Mall to the Washington, DC, neighborhood of
Deanwood. There, it will join a companion structure built by
Habitat for Humanity, DC, in partnership with the DC Depart-
ment of Housing and Community Development. The structures
will form a two-family house for local residents.
Parsons’ entry is radically innovative in a number of ways:
its ultimate function as a permanent dwelling, its mode of
construction, the inclusion of a local community in the
planning, and its green and site-specific features. Whereas
other demonstration houses are taken on tour or displayed
on campus after the Solar Decathlon, Empowerhouse SD
will be the only submission to house families in DC.
Parsons’ involvement in the Solar Decathlon dates back
four years. Joel Towers, now Parsons dean, and Laura
Briggs, chair of Sustainable Architecture in Parsons’ School
of Constructed Environments (SCE), began exploring
participation in the competition as a way to showcase the
expertise in sustainable design being developed at Parsons.
They also saw the project as a means of advancing the
collaborative work of the Architecture and Lighting Design
programs, both of which are now part of SCE.
Parsons faculty were generally enthusiastic about the
contest but did have some reservations. “Solar Decathlon
projects cost millions of dollars,” says Alison Mears, outgoing
chair of Practice-Led Research in Parsons’ School of Design
Strategies (SDS) and incoming director of the undergraduate
Architectural Design and Interior Design programs. “We’re
really interested in seeing whether this technology can be
applied in an affordable and replicable way.” Parsons’ desire
to treat Empowerhouse SD as a prototype for affordable
housing led to a partnership with Milano. Teams from the two
schools have worked together before, consistently dominating
the annual JPMorgan Chase competition, in which contestants
g
FEATURE 13

01

un
02
03

04

01. An early rendering of the

Empowerhouse SD house interior,
showing the modular furniture
in context.

02. Students in Lyn Godley’s Product

Design class designed window
boxes for growing vegetables,
as part of Empowerhouse’s ideas
for sustainable living.

03. Site of the second Empowerhouse

structure, in the neighborhood of
Deanwood. The house, to be built
in partnership with Habitat for
Humanity, DC, will be joined to the
one built for the Solar Decathlon to
create a two-family home.

04. This prototype combination

screen and bench, developed
in the Product Design class, features
photovoltaics to collect solar
energy; the screen and seat afford
privacy and comfort

05. Product Design students

developed plans for modular
furniture, such as the shelving,
bench, and counters shown
here—items that could be built by
local high school students using
readily available materials.

05
06
develop real estate proposals with nonprofit partners for
underserved communities.
Once gestated, Empowerhouse got underway in fall 2009
at breakneck speed. Students identified developer partners
and development sites in the District of Columbia, then
submitted a first-round proposal to the Department of Energy
in November. Although there was no guarantee that the project
would make the short list, The New School and Stevens dedi-
cated several classes to the Solar Decathlon for the following
semester. In January 2010, the students received the go-ahead
to submit a second-round proposal; in April, they were
accepted as contestants in next October’s competition.
The students have combined their skills to impressive
effect. Briggs points to the team’s adaptation of a standard
thermodynamic model, revised by Parsons architectural de-
sign students and Stevens mechanical engineering students,
as an example: “They developed a script that connects the
3D design software Rhino to that program, so that variations
in form and surface can be evaluated against building per-
formance. The engineers who developed the thermodynamic
model have not yet dovetailed it with 3D software.”
In the spirit of participatory design, the Empowerhouse
project involves Deanwood residents as full-fledged team-
mates. “The worst mistake you can make with community-
based projects is parachuting in with all the answers and not
learning from the community itself,” says John Clinton,
a professor who is on the Milano management team. Com-
munity members’ input has shaped key aspects of the design,
he explains. For example, Deanwood residents selected the
fruit and vegetables to be grown on the duplex roof, which
will help meet the community’s nutritional needs.
The complexity of the project and the priority placed
on accommodating local needs demonstrate the importance
of an interdisciplinary approach. Because each building is
the nexus of many natural systems and social phenomena,
the design requires experts of all stripes. “In order to create
a shelter that provides its own energy, we needed electrical
engineers. In order to maximize interior daylight without sac-
rificing solar harvest, we needed lighting designers. In order
to create a building that meets its residents’ requirements,
we needed input from the community,” Briggs explains.
Alison Mears supports this networked approach to design,
adding, “If there were easy answers, creating affordable
sustainable housing wouldn’t be such a challenge.” She
notes that green features of the design offer benefits to the
surrounding area as well as the site itself. By incorporating
a system to accommodate stormwater that takes into account
soil makeup and topography, for example, the Empowerhouse
SD design can dramatically reduce runoff and promote
absorption of precipitation draining from a wider radius.
The harvest of the roof garden could feed other households.
Typically, Solar Decathlon teams combine solar-powered
 FEATURE 15

06. A recent rendering of the two

conjoined houses: Empowerhouse
SD, the Solar Decathlon entry,
and the house built on-site in the
Washington, DC, neighborhood
of Deanwood.

07. Product Design students created

tableware that can be carried easily,
in accordance with accessible
design practices.

07
08. A floor plan of the current design
for the two-family house. Efficient
heating and cooling systems and
application of Passivhaus principles
will allow the structure to meet its
own energy needs.

09. Students in Alison Mears’ Urban

Communities class designed a
system to collect water from the roof
and use it to irrigate a garden. 08

10. Lighting design and architecture

09
students referred to photos
recording available solar energy
throughout the year to position and
design the house and its elements.

11. A current drawing of the house

that Habitat for Humanity will help
build for two Deanwood families,
who will be selected in the spring
of 2011.

10 11

and other active technologies with passive sustainability
strategies. For Empowerhouse SD, students studied techniques
of Passivhaus, the use of design features that rely on site
orientation, insulation, and ventilation to meet stringent en-
ergy standards. They point out that Empowerhouse SD’s two
modules are energy conserving on their own but perform
optimally when conjoined, an arrangement that minimizes heat
loss. The passive heating and cooling methods of the design
make it possible to use much less energy-intensive mechanical
systems. This configuration lowers space and heat operating
costs by 85 percent; the money saved could be invested in
family necessities and support the local economy.
A project of such complexity requires a great deal of
coordination. Briggs’ Architecture and Social Practice class
serves as a meeting place for team leaders and provides con-
tinuity for the work. The students also share their work four
times each semester and document their progress on a multi-
media server. One of the main responsibilities of the Milano
students is to help manage the array of participants. “You
can say we’re upping the ante from the Chase competition,
because this project runs over many semesters and it will
get built,” Briggs says. She and her colleagues are striving
to improve the process, and they’re taking notes: The team’s
strategies for collaborative work will be applied in the Urban
Design program SDS is launching this fall and the master’s
program in sustainability Clinton is developing at Milano.
The cross-disciplinary approach of the Empowerhouse
project explains much of its significance to Parsons and The
New School. The next issues of re:D will examine the many
disciplines working together to research and create the
structures and their components. Part 2 introduces students
from Mears’ spring 2010 course Urban Communities, who
investigated Deanwood’s dynamics to facilitate collaboration
between Empowerhouse and the local community and city
officials. Subsequent issues will explore the way the team
tailored Empowerhouse SD’s spatial configuration, engineer-
ing, and marketing to meet community needs and bench-
marks for sustainability.
Empowerhouse has already become a model for interdis-
ciplinary practice to address challenges of the urban context.
The house on the Mall is impressive on its own. Making the
house a home for a community that is uniting around matters
of environmental, social, and economic justice is an achieve-
ment on a grander scale. The team’s next mission is bolder
still: to develop the lessons from Empowerhouse SD into
models for architecture and urban planning that promote
affordable sustainable housing in the United States.
www.newschool.edu/solardecathlon
David Sokol is a New York-based writer and contributing editor at Architectural Record
and Surface magazines.
016
 FEATURE 17

Community Centered
A year into her role as chief curator and director of the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Radhika
Subramaniam is ready for things to get a little messy. Envisioning the center as a place
where people interact with ideas and one another rather than merely observe, Subramaniam sees
tantalizing opportunities to bring together research areas, communities, and notions of the role
of a gallery. She uses the analogy of dinner guests gathering in a kitchen. “You’re there cooking,
and everyone has ideas about what goes in; everyone is talking. It’s a bit untidy, but that’s
where you want to be: where people gather.” Kitchen conversation is an apt metaphor for the
programming series and exhibition she and environmental studies professor Nevin Cohen,
a specialist in urban agriculture and planning, have curated for the center. Subramaniam
and Cohen spoke to re:D about Living Concrete/Carrot City and the way it engages a diverse
community in dialogue about urban agriculture.

re:D: You’ve described the Living Concrete/
Carrot City programming series and
exhibition as a “triangulation of design,
food and water systems, and communities.”
Please elaborate.
Radhika Subramaniam: Living Concrete focuses on design
interventions—not products as much as design-led solutions—
that address communities’ access to and control of food and water
and the way that affects the health and habitability of urban areas.
It explores how small-scale, local food production and distribution
systems in cities quietly but powerfully challenge the agro-industrial
complex.
Nevin Cohen: It’s about more than just growing food; it’s about
the social interconnections fostered by food production in the city.
What does it mean for communities to take control of the food
they need? In some cases, it means producing the food themselves
locally; in others, lobbying for public policies to improve the food they
have access to. Radhika and I knew that the focus of Living Concrete
should be civic urban agriculture; through networks of urban
food production, we can actually build community and address
systemic inequities.
RS: The show is a catalyst for discussion rather than purely
exhibitory—it’s a platform for public pedagogy. Every Wednesday,
we’ll host a public talk or panel on topics like local farming, food
production, design and social change, policy, and the role of the
university in food studies and systems. There will be a public reading
and screening space, a place for people to meet and talk.
re:D: How did this collaboration
come about?
together people who might not otherwise be talking to one another.
I use that model from my own background in anthropology; I like
that ability to talk at an everyday level about bringing about change.
NC: A number of interdisciplinary programs across the university
address urban agriculture. For instance, I’ve taught a joint
Parsons-Environmental Studies course for which students designed
ways to make the New School food system more sustainable.
They had to learn what sustainability means, as well as the limitations
of that concept; research the food system; and come up with a
design solution.
re:D: How does the center put a
curricular mission at the heart of the
curatorial process?
RS: The show will present course-related projects including
BronXscape, a roof garden that students designed and built for a
community of young adults aging out of the foster care system. It’ll also
address ongoing efforts to provide service design expertise to NYC
community projects. I want to showcase student and faculty projects
as moments in a conversation. They aren’t necessarily exemplary; you
don’t learn from them as ideal projects—they are provocations that
offer entry points for someone else. It’s about creating a culture around
thinking that is porous but rigorous and well supported.
NC: At least one project will grow during the exhibition: Over the
course of the semester, students in my Planning Sustainable Cities
class will map out, in the gallery, developments in the NYC food
system. Students will do field research to find these elements,
then record them on the map, revealing significant patterns. There’s
another educational mission at work in helping curate the show—
sharing research with a wider public and facilitating dialogue about
urban agriculture.

RS: It began in conversations with Nevin about bringing Carrot City,

a traveling exhibition on design and food production, to the center. Living Concrete/Carrot City runs from October 1 to December 15, 2010, in the Anna-
I realized that across The New School a great deal of research is being Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery of the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, Parsons
done on food, the environment, and cities. Hosting Carrot City and The New School for Design, 66 Fifth Avenue at 13th Street. The exhibition is free and
building on it was an opportunity to generate conversation and bring open to the public. www.newschool.edu/sjdc
 NO
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20 ALUMNI MESSAGE
Alumni Networks
Events help Parsons grads support
one another and stay in touch.
Los Angeles
Parsons Networking Mixer
and SIGGRAPH Reception
02
Kat Reilly, MFA Design and
Technology ’11; Michael Davis,
BFA Illustration ’83; and Rob
O’Neill
04
Lizi Ruch, BFA Fashion Design ’84;
Bertram Keeter, Cert. Fashion Design
’77; and Montrese Chandler, AAS
Fashion Design ’00
Saratoga Springs, NY
Parsons Alumni at third annual The New School
Goes to the Races
01
Anezka Sebek, MA Media Studies
’04 and director of Graduate Studies,
AMT; Karen Chin, BFA Illustration
’01; and Rob O’Neill, MFA Design
and Technology ’01
09 06
Kim Butwell, BA Liberal Arts ’91, and Janice Noto-Helmers, BFA
Justin Butwell Illustration ’76, and Phil Helmers
07
Astrid Brucker, BFA Fashion Design
’90, and Daniel Reardon
08
David Hatchard and June Yoshimura,
03 BFA Architectural Design ’02
Nancy Eaton, MA History of
Decorative Arts and Design ’91; Zee
Shakur, BA Liberal Arts ’00; Anezka
Sebek; and Karen Chin
10
Rafael Holguin, BFA Communication
05 Design ’90 (SVP and design director
Michael Davis and Angie Wojak, at Palio; host of the pre-races
director of Career Services Parsons alumni brunch)

WASHINGTON, DC
Scholarship Celebration at Annual Parsons DC
Chapter Event
12
Dean Joel Towers and Parsons board of governors chair Sheila Johnson
with lead donors to the Parsons DC Alumni Scholarship: Dee MacDonald-
Miller, BFA Environmental Design ’75; Debra Gilmore, BFA Environmental
Design ’81; and Tom Grooms, BFA Architectural Design ’75. Lead donor
not pictured: Bob Bilicki, BFA Fine Arts ’81
14
Joel Towers, Sheila Johnson, guest,
and Eric Steiner (Parsons parent)
The Power
of Participation
Parsons DC Alumni Establish a
New Scholarship
When a group of Parsons graduates
11 combine their skills and talents, anything
Erin Stine, assistant director of Admission, and is possible—even creating a new
Julie Doerschlag, AAS Interior Design ’96 scholarship. The Parsons DC chapter of The
New School Alumni Association recently
established a scholarship, funded by
nearly 40 alumni, that will provide $5,000
in tuition assistance each year until 2014
to a Parsons student from Washington,
DC, who demonstrates financial need.
Charlotte M. Ensign, a sophomore enrolled
in the BFA Architectural Design program,
has been chosen as the first recipient
of the scholarship. She says, “Receiving
this scholarship has helped a great deal
towards making my dream of attending
school in Manhattan a reality. The financial
support offered by The New School was
a huge factor in my decision to attend
Parsons The New School for Design.”
11
The scholarship initiative shows the power
Sheila Johnson
of participation and the difference gifts
of any size can make in helping a project
or program succeed. It has also given
alumni a way to help current students
and leave a tangible legacy to the
university. Contributors and other alumni
celebrated the success of the scholarship
drive in September at kstreet lounge in
Washington, DC.
ALUMNI MESSAGE 21
13
Tom Grooms and Jackie Gray, MA
History of Decorative Arts and
Design ’07
15
Guest and Nicole Miles, AAS
Fashion Marketing ’08
A number of people made the scholarship
initiative possible, but Dee MacDonald-
Miller ’75, a senior vice president at
Jones Lang LaSalle, played a central role.
Ms. MacDonald-Miller helped launch the
Parsons DC chapter in September 2009
and now serves as chair. She was recently
appointed to the New School Alumni
Association board, along with Parsons
alumni Martha Alexander ’79 and
Michael McKinnon ’05.
In its first year, the chapter has built
a diverse membership that includes
graduates from most of the degree and
certificate programs and from the classes
of 1944 through 2009. The chapter is a
dedicated group whose activities include
an annual networking event, prospective
student recruitment, a working group for
the Solar Decathlon (see pages 12–15),
and fundraising for the scholarship.
There is still time to participate. If you
would like to make a gift, join the chapter,
or kick off a similar effort in your area,
contact Jessica Arnold at the following
address:
arnoldj@newschool.edu
22 ALUMNI PROFILES

city intersections
Alumni engage with urban ecologies in areas ranging from
environmental activism to sustainable practices to urban business
systems. Their collective experience reflects a growing understanding
of urban centers as dynamic intersections of environmental, cultural,
political, and economic networks.

AARON LOWN, BFA ’91

product Design
school of constructed environments

Love your stuff.

“That’s what people say about our
products,” says Aaron Lown, co-founder
of BUILT, the award-winning SoHo-based
design firm. “So those three words became
our company tagline.”
The popularity of BUILT’s simple yet
sophisticated neoprene products—from
its first offering, bottle totes, to its latest,
iPad sleeves—catapulted the company
from a two-man start-up to a 50-employee
firm within seven years.“At the beginning,
we didn’t even have seed money, but
we had a simple idea, and we knew how to
incorporate manufacturing into the design
process.” Today BUILT sells products in
more than 50 countries and is projecting
$32 million in sales for 2010.
“By designing fashionable, functional
products that people want to keep and
reuse,” explains Lown, “we can take a step
away from a disposable economy.”
A member of Parsons’ first graduating
class in Product Design, Lown describes
the program as having an entrepreneurial
focus. “The professors taught craft but
also the connection to the retail end—how
to manufacture, sell, and talk to a buyer,”
he recalls.
Product design has always fascinated
Lown. He sold handmade objects to local
shops when he was very young, and at age
25 exhibited his fiberglass, leather, and
aluminum stool at the Museum of Modern
Art. Lown designed and built window
displays at high-end New York retailer
Bergdorf Goodman. He later established
the Product Design department at KIDI,
Parsons’ affiliate school in Japan.
Lown freely discusses his past work
for top firms such as Calvin Klein and
Kate Spade but remains tight-lipped about
what’s next for BUILT. “We’re developing
new materials,” he says. “Our latest project
is top secret.”
www.builtny.com
 ALUMNI PROFILES 23

MARK LOEFFLER, MFA ’90

LIGHTING
DESIGN
SCHOOL OF CONSTRUCTED ENVIRONMENTS

Mark Loeffler’s career as a lighting

designer began in the 1970s, when he
worked for the Austin Ballet Theatre in the
legendary Armadillo World Headquarters.
There he created stage lighting and ran
spotlights for headliners like Frank Zappa
and Willie Nelson. During his ten years
at the theater, Loeffler learned the power
of lighting. He marvels, “I could use light
to make people cry.”
In the late ’80s, Loeffler headed to
STEFAN CAIAFA, BFA ’02 the Northeast, only to discover an over-
abundance of theatrical lighting designers
photography and a shortage of employment. An
advertisement for Parsons’ graduate
SCHOOL OF ART, MEDIA, AND TECHNOLOGY Lighting Design program led him to
architectural lighting.
“Travel is in my blood,” says Stefan Caiafa, who has visited more than 60 countries and Loeffler credits Parsons with taking
speaks five languages. Caiafa, who grew up in Brasilia, landed his dream job at National him to the center of the fields of architec-
Geographic Traveler magazine after graduating from Parsons with a BFA in Photography. tural lighting and environmental design.
“Since I also studied communication design,” explains Caiafa, “I had the skills needed “Students learn from the best in the busi-
to develop and revamp merchandise and product catalogs and to work on the Web.” ness,” he explains. Today Loeffler heads
Caiafa’s experience with National Geographic became his passport to the field of the New Haven office of Atelier Ten, an
sustainable tourism. He subsequently used his creative and communication design skills international leader in sustainable design,
while consulting on sustainable tourism projects for the United Nations Foundation, and has consulted on green building
Expedia, Inc., the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Programme. He also projects worldwide. He also lectures at
took courses at the London School of Economics and now plans to work in international Parsons. “It’s an exciting time in architec-
development. tural lighting design,” Loeffler says.
“Countries need help to ensure that their cultures and communities aren’t destroyed www.atelierten.com
by the influx of tourism,” says Caiafa. A visitor to nearly 70 World Heritage Sites, Caiafa
describes them as “monuments to our humanity and presence on the planet.” photo: Ave Maria Oratory Exterior View
24 ALUMNI PROFILES

casey coates
danson, BFA ’75
environmental
design
school of constructed environments

Sometimes taking action on a personal

level can lead to action on the global level.
That’s what happened to Casey Coates
Danson, who quit a mind-numbing nine-
to-five job on Wall Street for a second
go-around at college. “I always knew that
I had a mission in life to be creative,”
says the LA-based architectural designer.
“Going to Parsons was like an explosion—
the thinking, the creativity, the curriculum!”
She still has her college portfolio.
Danson graduated with honors in the
mid-1970s with a BFA in Environmental
Design, long before “sustainability”
became a household word.
After working in Cambridge and New
York, Danson headed to the West Coast.
Learning about the growing hole in the
ozone layer soon after led her in a new
direction: educating people about the
environment, particularly the global
effects of climate change. To that end,
she co-founded the American Oceans
Campaign (which later joined with
Oceana) in 1987.
Still passionate about architecture,
Danson decided to work on promoting
environmental awareness in the field.
She founded Global Possibilities, a
nonprofit advocating the use of solar and
renewable energy to reduce dependence
on fossil fuels, in 1996; she also built
two solar-powered homes. Danson
recently produced the award-winning
documentary Who’s Got The Power?,
which addresses dependence on fossil
fuels and their relation to global warming.
“We’re facing a crisis in climate
change, and the built environment is
the greatest culprit, consuming more
than 70 percent of the electricity used in
this country,” explains Danson. Although
admitting she can’t save the world,
Danson remains undeterred. “We can
have the greatest impact in the shortest
time with the least amount of money if
we improve our built environment.”
www.globalpossibilities.org

Stills from Who’s Got the Power? (2009)

 ALUMNI PROFILES 25

amy benczik
fabry, MA ’00
history of
decorative
arts and
design
SCHOOL OF ART AND DESIGN HISTORY
AND THEORY

“At Parsons, we had unparalleled access

to these amazing collections,” recalls
Amy Benczik Fabry, who earned an MA in
the History of Decorative Arts and Design
in the university program, co-sponsored
by the Smithsonian Institution.
At the time, the program was offered
in Washington, DC. Every day, museum
curators would guide Fabry and her class
through the Smithsonian’s artifact-filled
halls before visitors began streaming in. natalya
This experience brought design history sverjensky, BBA ’09
design and
to life for Fabry, providing her with an
invaluable background that has enriched

joanne cordero
reyes, BFA ’04
fashion
school of constructed environments
A stack of sketches inspired one-time
architecture student Joanne Cordero
Reyes to change career paths.
“I realized that all my drawings were
of clothes—only one was of a building,”
Cordero Reyes says, recalling her desk
at the University of Washington. Even
as a child, she doodled fashions at her
family’s boutique.
Deciding where to study was easy.
“Parsons tops the list of fashion and
design schools,” notes Cordero Reyes.
New York—the longtime home of her
beloved grandfather, a world-traveling
composer—beckoned, sealing her
choice. “I moved to New York and then
studied at Parsons in Paris during
junior year.”
Cordero Reyes’ remarkable talent has
opened doors at top fashion firms such
as Vivienne Tam, Reem Accra, Monique
Lhuillier, and J. Mendel, netting her
prestigious awards along the way. Are You?—to examine how companies
In 2007, Cordero Reyes launched her
own line, Vicente Villarin (named for
her grandfather), which has brought her
celebrity and critical acclaim.
Today Cordero Reyes can be found in
Manhattan’s fashion district, designing
for Carolina Herrera, a position she
describes as “a chance of a lifetime.”
www.vicentevillarin.com
the interiors she designs for clients.
After starting her career in a boutique
firm, she is now a senior interior designer
at HOK, one of the world’s largest
design practices.
Fabry deeply values sustainability
and incorporates it in her designs.
“Environmentally responsible design
started about ten years ago, yet few
companies wanted to spend money on
materials and processes to make built
environments sustainable,” she explains.
“Today sustainability is becoming a
common practice; through creativity,
we can reduce our carbon footprint.”
www.hok.com
management
school of design strategies
“I never dreamed that I’d be living in
London,” says Baltimore native Natalya
Sverjensky.
Since early 2010, Sverjensky has
been working as a strategy consultant
at the UK-based Futerra Sustainability
Communications, an international agency
that helps clients promote sustainable
development. Sverjensky interned in the
firm’s New York City office while studying
for her design and management degree
at Parsons.
“At The New School, I learned how to
advocate effectively for sustainability,”
says Sverjensky. “In the BBA program,
I developed ways of communicating the
business case for sustainability that
appealed to different groups.”
At Futerra, Natalya works with a
wide spectrum of organizations, from
governments to NGOs to multinational
companies. Her clients include
Greenpeace, Unilever, and the United
Nations Environment Programme.
Natalya recently produced a successful
online survey—What Kind of Reporter
are using corporate social responsibility
reporting to reach stakeholders. The
survey was launched at this year’s
Global Reporting Initiative Conference
in Amsterdam.
“We’ve reached the point where there’s
awareness about sustainability at global,
national, and local levels,” observes
Sverjensky. “Now the challenge is getting
people to do something about it.”
26 connected

“Stephanie was a joy to have in our class at Parsons.

She worked hard to become a successful fit and
runway model. She was a tremendous fan of Parsons
and did all she could to benefit the school. I will
always keep her in my heart and thoughts.”
—Salvatore R. Cianci, BFA Fashion Design ’58

“Stephanie brings to mind words like ‘spirited’

and ‘determined.’ It was Stephanie who brought
us together for our reunion and helped us all
stop and reflect on our wonderful years at Parsons.”
—Susan Friedman, BFA Fashion Design ’58

“Stephanie was my closest friend at Parsons and

the person who gave this Southern girl her first
experience skiing—which ultimately influenced my
career: I became fashion editor of Skiing magazine.”
—Barbara Alley Simon, BFA Fashion Design ’58

Before walking the runway, Stephanie Bradshaw pauses as Sal Cianci

adjusts the dress he designed for the Parsons senior show.

REMEMBERING
STEPHANIE BRADSHAW
BFA FASHION DESIGN ’58
“Connected” features alumni who made a difference at Parsons
through work with faculty, students, and alumni. Jessica Arnold,
MS ’05, director of Alumni Relations, and other alumni fondly
remember Stephanie Bradshaw, whose dedication helped shape
the Parsons alumni experience.
I had the honor of meeting Stephanie Bradshaw in 2006, when the current alumni program was just getting
started. I like to say that she was our very first volunteer. While others were skeptical about participating
in the program, Stephanie jumped right in, making phone calls, writing personal notes, and sometimes just
cheering us on! Her ideas were instrumental in shaping The New School Alumni Association. Sometimes
she would come all the way into the city from Connecticut to brainstorm ways to engage alumni. Thanks
to her efforts, Parsons’ first 50th reunion was an enormous success and many of her classmates joined
her for a weekend full of laughter and reminiscing. During the reunion, it became clear that Stephanie
was a person who commands attention, brings out the best in others, and never takes no for an answer.
Stephanie’s enthusiasm was infectious; she made my staff and me feel that we had the best jobs in the
world. We miss her, but her spirit lives on at every volunteer meeting and Parsons event.

our supporters:
July 1, 2009–June 30, 2010
in good $25,000+
Ashley Abess ’05
Jayne and Leonard Abess, Jr.
company The Charles and Yvette
Bluhdorn Charitable Trust
Dominique Bluhdorn
Educating aspiring Harlan Bratcher
The Brown Foundation,
artists and designers Inc. of Houston
requires the commitment Diane von Furstenberg
and Barry Diller
of not only parents and Joseph Gromek
Sheila C. Johnson
teachers but the broader Donna Karan ’87
community as well. Sidney Kimmel
Cora B. ’51 and
Parsons is fortunate to Clarence F. Michalis
Susan Plagemann
have generous support Alyce Williams Toonk
from companies for our Nancy Walker
Alan Wanzenberg
mission and students. Warnaco, Inc.
$10,000–$24,999
Jennifer Andrus (P)
Recently LF USA—a subsidiary of Li & Takis and Evita Arapoglou (P)
Fung Limited, the Hong Kong-based global A|X Armani Exchange
consumer goods exporter—pledged funding
Stephen Berger and Cynthia Parsons Society
for two new scholarships at Parsons. C. Wainwright (P)
The first, the Kathy Van Zeeland Scholarship, Hal and Andrea
named for the renowned fashion industry Burroughs (P)
veteran and accessories designer, will support Condé Nast Publications
juniors and seniors in the internationally Beth Rudin DeWoody
recognized BFA in Fashion Design program. Donna Karan International
Drake Design II, Inc.
Scholarship recipients will be selected
on the basis of merit by a panel from the Jamie Drake ’78
Gilt Groupe
School of Fashion. The scholarship is
intended for students who plan to specialize Eck Meng Goh
Bob Greenberg
in accessory design.
Reed Krakoff ’89
The second LF USA scholarship will be Susan M. Lyne
awarded to gifted local high school students Anand and Anuradha Dominick Leuci ’92
in Parsons’ acclaimed Scholars Program. Mahindra (P)
For three years, Parsons Scholars take art Marie Claire
and design studio classes, participate in R/GA
college preparatory workshops and cultural May and Samuel Rudin Mark Mancini ’85
field trips, and are mentored as they develop Family Foundation, Inc.
artistic skills and consider further art and Tomio Taki
design studies. Pamela Thomas-Graham
Kay Unger ’67
Thanks to donors like LF USA, Parsons can Lillian Zucker
extend art and design education to bright Revocable Trust
and talented students and deepen the
relationship between The New School and
the communities of New York City. These $1,000–$9,999
scholarships support young people who want Anonymous (2)
to attend college to prepare for careers in Martha Alexander ’79
art and design. Parsons also receives the AOL Time Warner
gift of a more diverse community of creative Arnold and Sheila Aronson
individuals who can foster one another’s Gerald Barad (P)
talents under the guidance of leading Lucia T. Benton ’00
teachers who are working professionals. Rita Blickenstaff (P)
Chong Bok and Rok Ja Yi (P)
Gladys Bourdain
Mario Buatta ’61
Melissa Burnett ’06
Frick Byers ’96
John Calcagno ’73
CBX Coleman Brandworx
Mike and Alice Chen (P)
Benny Kung Wing Cheung (P)
Owen Coleman ’58
College Central Network
Paul De Pourtales (P)
Michael and Barbara Marcy Syms
DiGuiseppe (P)
Michael Donovan ’69
and Nancye Green ’73
Marjorie ’51 and
Robert Feeney
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
David B. Ford
Michael and Mary Gellert
Janice W. Gewirtz ’78
Robin Glasser ’90
Dara and Jay Godfrey ’04
Victoria Hagan ’84
Hallmark Corporate
Foundation
Ronald and
Cheryl Halpern (P)
Mary Harper (P)
William Harper, Jr. (P)
Jane D. Hartley
William Hodgins ’63
Harriet H. Holstein (P)
Ann ’76 and Joel Horowitz
Jewish Communal Fund
of New York
Linda M. Kane and Gary D. School for Design by making
Stewart (P)
Mr. and Mrs.
Matthew Kawamura (P)
Debbie Kuo ’85
Kurt Salmon Associates
Nathan Laffin ’89
Joosun and Mi Kyung Lee (P)
Aura V. Levitas
Dee MacDonald-Miller ’75
Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation
Heidi Mathey ’02
Michael McKinnon ’05
Dr. and Mrs. Brian
Mekelburg (P)
Anelle Miller ’74
Andrew and Fatima Ng (P)
and Jessica Ng ’10
Sandra Davis Owen ’57
Elizabeth ’95 and
Robert Pitts
Tracy Reese ’84
Susan Roth (P)
Scott Sanders ’98
Christopher and
Pascale Schmidt (P)
Kouichi Sekiguchi (P)
The Arch W. Shaw
Foundation
Margaret J. Smith
THANK YOU 27
Peter Sole and Helen
Mumford Sole (P)
Andrew and Karen Spann (P)
Celina Stabell ’98
Steven Stolman ’80
Luis and Maria Suberville (P)
Frances and Isaac Suder ’47
Syms Corporation
The Teck Foundation
Fred and Robin Tedori (P)
Elizabeth A. Terrell ’76
J. Nicholson and Kakuko
Thomas (P)
Lee and Marvin Traub
T.R. Designs, Inc.
Nancy Vignola ’76
Jessica Weber ’66
Claire S. Werner ’83
Oi Siong Yeunh and
Siew Lee Chew (P)
Eddy Yuen and
Katherine Chow (P)
(P): Parent of a current
Parsons student.
Frank Alvah
Members of the Frank Alvah
Parsons Society demonstrate
their passion for and commit-
ment to Parsons The New
gifts of $1,000 or more to the
Annual Fund. Members of
this group receive benefits all
year, including invitations to
lectures and exhibit openings
and recognition in re:D. More
important, members make
a difference in the lives of
tomorrow’s design leaders.
Annual Fund gifts to Parsons
provide unrestricted funds
that are allocated wherever
the need is greatest. These
gifts are key to Parsons’
ability to meet priorities
such as scholarships, faculty
recruitment and retention,
and facilities improvement.
For more information on the
Frank Alvah Parsons Society,
please contact Melissa
Cowley Wolf at the following
address:
wolfmc@newschool.edu.
28 cover story

re:D (regarding Design) FALL 2010

Executive Editor Nancy Donner

Editorial Board Jessica Arnold, Latoya Crump,

Cover
Sean Moriarty, Jen Rhee, Laetitia Wolff

Parsons Advisory Board Joel Towers, Hazel Clark,

Story
Simon Collins, Miodrag Mitrasinovic, William Morrish,
Sven Travis, Mark Hannah

Managing Editor Julie Novacek Godsoe

When invited to design re:D’s cover, Marcos Chavez Editor John Haffner Layden

saw a professional challenge for his BFA Contributing Writers Rose Cryan, Suzanne Bronski,

Communication Design students—one that they Kate McCormick, Gabrielle Mangino, David Sokol

met with sophistication and ingenuity. Alumni Relations Jessica Arnold, Mara Caruso,
Latoya Crump, Rachel Denny

Art Director Isa Gouverneur

Urban art and design schools often seek out partnerships with clients offering
students real-world experience. Parsons faculty member Marcos Chavez Senior Designers Paula Giraldo, Lisa Maione,
needed only to turn to the school’s alumni magazine to find such an opportunity. Shoko Tagaya, Alex Ku
Approached to create re:D’s cover, Chavez, principal and creative director of
Production coordinators Steven Arnerich, Sung Baik
TODA New York, proposed his Art Direction class as designers. Students met
with re:D staff to learn about the magazine’s audience, editorial voice, design, Copy Editor Leora Harris
and theme. They then formed teams to brainstorm concepts, which were formally
pitched to re:D’s editorial committee. The students’ understanding of and Produced by Communications and External Affairs,
creative engagement with the theme of the issue impressed the committee. The New School
In the selected concept, urban artifacts create the silhouette of a sylvan
Letters and Submissions re:D welcomes letters to the
landscape, capturing the interplay of built and natural environments. The concept
editor as well as submissions of original manuscripts, photo
required the students to construct a set, which they then photographed in two
submissions, and/or artwork. Unsolicited manuscripts, related
days of intense work. During the final stages, Andrew Goh remarked, “We’re
materials, photography, and artwork will not be returned.
gonna be up all night, but that’s what you do to stay in the game.”
Please include your year of graduation, degree completed,
and major or program.

Address Changes Please submit your address changes at

www.newschool.edu/alumni.

CONTACT US re:D, Parsons The New School for Design,

79 Fifth Avenue, 17th floor, New York, NY 10003
alumni@newschool.edu
www.newschool.edu/alumni/newsletters.html

PARSONS (760-830) Volume 28, No. 3, November 2010.

PARSONS is published six times a year, in July, October,
November, December, April, and May, by The New School, 66
W. 12th Street, NY, NY 10011. Periodicals rate paid at New York,
NY, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address
changes to PARSONS, 66 West 12th Street, NY, NY 10011.

credits: Ida C. Benedetto (News & Events); Rod Berg

(Alumni Message); Luis Berríós-Negrón (Table of Contents,
Pathways); Marcos Chavez (Cover Story); Rachel Denny
(Alumni Message); Massoud Hosseini (Pathways); Marty
Heitner (News & Events); Eric Laignel/Eric Laignel
Photography (Alumni Profiles); Dan Lecca (Table of Contents,
Portfolio); Conway Liao (News & Events); Eric Lugley (Alumni
Profiles); Kate McCormick (News & Events); Pure + Applied
(Faculty News); Martin Seck (Table of Contents; News &
Events, Portfolio, Community Centered); Clint Spaulding/
PMc (News & Events); Eduardo Staszowski (Faculty News);
Matthew Sussman (Table of Contents, Red-Handed); Charles
Votaw (Alumni Message).

The New School does not discriminate on the basis of age,

race, color, gender or sexual orientation, religion, religious
practices, mental or physical disability, national or ethnic
Marcos Chavez with communication design students. From left to right: Stephanie Kim, origin, citizenship status or veteran or marital status.
You Sun Min, Varenka Ruiz, Mutiara Kasih, Soo Song, Tina Lee, Ernesto Gutierrez, Andrew Goh,
Tina Fang, Simon Lugassy, Esther Yang, Anny Yang, Simoni Bhansali, Melanie Sugiura, Ward
Roberts, Soo Yen Lee. Not pictured: Scott Walker.
 red-handed 29

red-handed
CARRIE MAE ’09
In 2007, Carrie Mae left the deserts of Arizona for the concrete oasis of New
York City, where she began an MFA in Design and Technology at Parsons. For her
thesis, Confiscated Weapons of Mass Construction, Carrie Mae explored concepts
of security—spiritual and physical—in her new setting. She created sculptures and
wearable art out of scissors surrendered during airport screenings, arranging them
in rings that call to mind Tibetan sand mandalas or skeletons of plants or animals.
Carrie Mae connected the scissors with other artifacts of her surroundings: zip
ties and concrete. From a distance, their abstract geometries soothe, but closer
inspection yields provocative commentaries on security in the contemporary era.
www.carriemae.com
OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS, PARSONS THE NEW SCHOOL FOR DESIGN
79 FIFTH AVENUE, 17TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10003

Visit Parsons’ dynamic new website: www.newschool.edu/parsons