Dezeen School Shows: tiles made from discarded oyster shells are included in Dezeen's latest school show by students at Parsons School of Design.

Also featured is a backpack for children designed from kelp and 3D-printed lighting accessories.

Parsons School of Design

Institution: Parsons School of Design at The New School
School: Parsons' School of Constructed Environments
Courses: Master of Architecture, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Architectural Design, Master of Architecture and Master of Fine Arts in Lighting Design Dual Degree, Master of Fine Arts in Industrial Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Product Design, Master of Fine Arts in Interior Design, Associates of Applied Science in Interior Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design, Master of Fine Arts in Interior Design and Lighting Design Double Major and Master of Fine Arts in Lighting Design
Tutors: AdegBoyega Adefope, Mark Bechtel, Craig Bernecker, Andrew Bernheimer, Jacob Boatman, Carly Cannell, Yvette Chaparro, Rama Chorpash, Cotter Christian, Hyon Woo Scott Chung, Nadia Elrokhsy, Christine Facella, Mark Gardner, David Gissen, Paul Goldberger, Michele Gorman, Robert Kirkbride, Martina Kohler, David Leven, David J. Lewis, Andrea Macruz, Allyson McDavid, Brian McGrath, Alison Mears, Dan Michalik, Miodrag Mitrasinovic, Eva Perez de Vega Steele, Derek Porter, Fiona Raby, Barent Roth, Jonsara Ruth, Kaveh Samiei, Sharon Egretta Sutton, Glenn Shrum, Joel Stoehr, Alicia Tam Wei, Joel Towers, Michael Verbos, Johanne Woodcock and Alfred Zollinger

School statement:

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

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

"We pursue regenerative material and design practices that break from conventional disciplinary norms. We cultivate a global outlook while drawing on the local resources of NYC and its groundbreakers.

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

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

Breaking the Grid, Weaving the Block by Noa Sklar

"Architecture orchestrates our movements, but what if there were other ways to navigate urban space?

"My thesis investigates Manhattan's interstitial spaces – alleyways, vacant lots and abandoned buildings – to find alternative routes through the city.

"Focusing on the Lower East Side and Chinatown, my research was inspired by Geoff Manaugh's 'A Burglar's Guide to the City', in which a thief's imaginative transgressions point to a new approach in design planning.

"I aim to upend the prescriptions that the current grid perpetuates, blurring the line between public and private spaces and encouraging pedestrians to engage with their surroundings with renewed curiosity and new perceptions of ownership and privacy."

Student: Noa Sklar
Course: Master of Architecture
Tutors: Astrid Lipka and Allyson McDavid
Email: nsklaro[at]gmail.com

The Seed Factory by Marco Signor

"Society's disconnection from nature due to technology-driven habits poses a challenge to sustainable architecture.

"My project envisions an educational community centre to foster social cohesion and environmental awareness.

"Situated in Peng Chau, a historic fishing village in the Pearl River Delta, the Seed Factory embraces local heritage and techniques to help create a socially and financially sustainable ecosystem.

"My design is carbon-negative and uses local materials. Its three-phase development spans stakeholder investment, community action and labor allocation and post-construction public ownership.

"By integrating sustainable practices and local resources, it aids in preserving Peng Chau's culture while addressing contemporary needs, fostering a renewed connection to nature and promoting wellbeing."

Student: Marco Signor
Course: BFA Architectural Design
Tutors: Miodrag Mitrasinovic and Martina Kohler
Email: marco.signor00[at]gmail.com

Infinite Unity by Mohammad Valizadeh Alvan

"I recently created a public art installation for the student lighting design competition of the New York City Section of the Illuminating Engineering Society (IESNYC).

"My proposal was a conceptual light fixture designed to embody global interconnectedness.

"I created a wire globe and affixed small mirrors to its inside surface. It is illuminated with a laser positioned outside, with resulting reflections forming a network of light that symbolised the connections between individuals worldwide.

"Understanding the power of light – an intangible phenomenon mostly neglected in architecture owing to a lack of foundational understanding of the field – has opened my imagination and future as a designer."

Student: Mohammad Valizadeh Alvan
Course: MArch/MFA Lighting Design Dual Degree
Tutors: Derek Porter, Nelson Jenkins and Xena Petkanas, Allyson McDavid and Craig Bernecker
Emails: valim396[at]newschool.edu and mohdi.valizadeh[at]gmail.com

Crafting Comfort: Interchangeable Lighting Accessories by Raquel Espinoza

"My project sees the design of 3D-printed accessories that easily attach to standard light bulbs. The accessories provide an affordable way to enhance domestic lighting quality, comfort and user wellbeing.

"They help people overcome financial barriers of production and installation when modifying lighting.

"The products apply to a range of settings, enabling users to adjust their lighting without making structural changes.

"By extension, my project challenges the notion that good lighting is a luxury while demonstrating that small changes make a big difference in creating a comfortable and adaptable environment."

Student: Raquel Espinoza
Course: MFA Lighting Design
Tutors: Craig Bernecker and Craig Bernecker
Email: espinozaa.raquel.v[at]gmail.com

Interior Dialogues: Envisioning Public Spaces of Resistance by Ana Maria Lastiri Martinez

"My project reimagines the NYC subway system as a site in which to employ interior design to empower vulnerable individuals and publicly redress gender inequality.

"I frame design as both everyday practice and political resistance, promoting inclusivity and agency through the design of a 200-square-foot glass pavilion on the mezzanine level of the Union Square subway station.

"The pavilion houses stories of women's lives, forming a collective narrative visible to all who pass through this busy public space.

"Representing a new typology, the pavilion is intended to foster dialogue and a shared commitment to enlarging opportunity and social justice in urban spaces."

Student: Ana Maria Lastiri Martinez
Course: MFA Interior Design
Tutors: Arianna Deane and Michele Gorman
Email: anamarialastiri[at]gmail.com

Reminisce Transit by Stephanie Huang

"Rooted in Buddhism, the Korean concept of In-Yeon – meaning 'bond' or 'relationship' – posits that familial ties transcend physical existence.

"In-Yeon challenges conventional notions of boundaries and helps us contemplate our human connections. These ideas, coupled with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's theory of grief and the need to hold close memories of lost ones, informed my design of Reminisce Transit.

"Reminisce Transit is a high-tech memorial space. Visitors honour the past, embrace the present and preserve memories for future generations.

"The space enables visitors to create recordings and engage in immersive holographic exchanges with departed ones, experiencing their essence and taking part in life-like conversations."

Student: Stephanie Huang
Course: BFA Interior Design
Tutors: Adrienne Brown and Carly Cannell
Email: stephstanie[at]gmail.com

The Hotel Louise by Georgia Deane

"I designed a lobby and guest room for The Hotel Louise, a fictional nine-room boutique hotel sited near Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies.

"My design caters to adult guests and features luxurious design materials and details, including wood flooring, wall paneling and ceilings, woven natural fabrics, soft indirect lighting and two-sided wood-burning fireplaces. These are all intended to reflect qualities of nature, unify interiors and create a relaxing environment.

"I conceived Hotel Louise as boutique in scale – it accommodates 18 guests and the staff-to-guest ratio ensures highly personalised, exceptional service experience.

"The hotel comprises six junior suites with balcony views and three mountain suites featuring open layouts and balconies overlooking the mountains."

Student: Georgia Deane
Course: AAS Interior Design
Tutor: AdegBoyega Adefope
Email: georgiaedeane[at]gmail.com

Spatially Entangled by Madina Masimova and Yoel Langomas

"In highly mobile societies, moving to new places often loosens one's bonds with communities, families and past.

"Our thesis explores how domestic objects can activate memories to distant locations, using interiors and lighting to maintain meaningful connections.

"Our project centres on a personalised system that integrates customised 'memory nodes' into the user's domestic space.

"Based on research on the user's concept of home, each node is composed of an object and its associated space.

"Nodes evoke connections through cues that trigger sensory, procedural and episodic pathways that can be activated at specified times."

Students: Madina Masimova and Yoel Langomas
Courses: MFA Interior Design and MFA Lighting Design Double Major
Tutors: Glenn Shrum, Johanne Woodcock and Jonah Rowen, Michele Gorman and Craig Bernecker
Emails: masimova.medina[at]gmail.com and yoel.langomas[at]gmail.com

Kelpr by Margot Wester

"Children's backpacks last an average of one to two years before they're discarded.

"A more sustainable solution is Kelpr, an easily recycled and repurposed biodegradable backpack. It is made from kelp leather, a natural fabric, with increased strength and abrasion than that of nylon.

"Kelpr requires just a few biomaterials, including algae-based PLA, recycled cotton thread, bioplastic and lanolin-beeswax waterproofing.

"An pairing app also enables Kelpr users to track their backpack's lifecycle and receive credits for their sustainable habits.

"I strongly  believe in a world where circular methods of production promote sustainable products and ethical consumption habits, that together can help ensure our planet's future."

Student: Margot Wester
Course: BFA Product Design
Tutors: Ari Elefterin and Peter Kim and Barent Roth
Email: westermargot[at]gmail.com

Pride Live x Parsons collaborative project for Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center

"Parsons recently partnered with Pride Live, a social advocacy organisation for the New York City LGBTQ+ community.

"The collaboration inspired a recurring class, Live Project/Temp Environments, in which students are challenged to design exhibitions reflecting on the impact of the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion and LGBTQ+ activism in NYC for the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, located near campus.

"Our curriculum supports collaborations like this one, which foster a more nuanced understanding of history and activism and promote positive social change.

"Each year, course participants will design immersive displays based on a new theme. Led by professors Alfred Zollinger and Ethan Philbrick, this years' students developed exhibition ideas on the theme of re:generations, in the process building their real-world design abilities.

"Students' designs included a timeline wall in the form of a wheatpaste poster, video projections of scenes from the surrounding neighbourhood, and a space for resting and reading about LGBTQ+ history."

Course: Live Project/Temporary Environments
Tutors: Alfred Zollinger and Ethan Philbrick

Brompton Bicycles USA x Parsons: the next 50 years of Brompton city cycling by Metro Cycling Studio

"Parsons' embrace of innovation and its NYC setting made the school an ideal participant in a collaboration with Brompton Bicycle USA, celebrated for their folding urban bikes.

"A recent partnered class led by professors Daniel Michalik and Rama Chorpash brought together Brompton leaders and students to envision goods and services aimed at bolstering cycling culture in an urban setting for the next 50 years. Students were asked to think broadly and imaginatively about ways to support cyclists.

"Students' projects included apps, storage systems and accessibility tools designed to facilitate city cycling.

"The top graduate-level prize was won by MFA Industrial Design students Craig Wei and Melis Dizdar, who presented to Brompton leaders an expandable bike-mounted storage case made of accordion-pleated fabric.

"For the undergraduate category, judges selected BFA Product Design students Rachel Joo and Kyleigh Mogilewski's project.

"The pair created an app designed to help cyclists repair their bikes on the go, making Brompton bicycles more accessible for disabled and older riders. Brompton was impressed by the level of rigour and impact that our students brought to the project.

"Cities represent a sustainable model for communities going forward. This project presented an opportunity to encourage students to envision a more environmentally responsible and inclusive world through cycling."

Course: Metro Cycling Studio
Tutors: Daniel Michalik and Rama Chorpash

EcoShell by Yingfei Zhuo

"In my biomaterial design project, I partnered with NYC's Billion Oyster Project to repurpose discarded oyster shells as an eco-friendly alternative to traditional non-recyclable decorative exterior tiles.

"I used two types of marine waste: oyster shells, an adhesive extracted from fish bones to create a salt and wind corrosion-resistant material for coastal structures.

"My design process reflected an industrial designer's iterative approach: creating and testing the tiles and carefully considering structure and details.

"The design of EcoShell holistically integrates industrial design and architecture with urban design, material innovation and social responsibility.

"It reflects both the practical application of sustainability principles and my commitment to environmental stewardship."

Student: Yingfei Zhuo
Course: MFA Industrial Design
Tutors: Rama Chorpash and Christine Facella
Email: yingfei.zhuo99[at]gmail.com

Partnership content

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

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