New York, New York

A grant by the Angelo Donghia Foundation for a new Materials Study Center for the Interior Design Department at Parsons offered the opportunity to infuse new energy into an uninspired studio space, while providing a new way for students to interact with the materials of their own investigations. The center, comprised of a materials gallery and archive, a “smart” classroom, and a computer lab, was conceived as a transparent island, offering an unmediated relationship between the new center and the studio, students and faculty, public and institution.

Inside the gallery, resin display panels with subtly colored interlayers hang as blades from the ceiling and are used to mount an ongoing series of curated materials exhibitions. Lasercut polyester metalized scrim hangs from the gallery wall on a track that allows it to be drawn away for exhibitions, or pulled open as a material display in its own right. The classroom doubles as a lecture hall and presentation space, with a large, pivoting panel for flexible display and state-of-the-art lighting and controls.

Recognition: AIA New York Honor Award

Publications: Metropolis Magazine, Architectural Record, Interior Design