She knows your name, 2022
Made by Khepera Lyons-Clark
My hands have always been one of my biggest insecurities. I never liked how wrinkled and weathered my finger looked until I realized that the weatherness is a product of my history; my ancestors using their hands to connect with the earth and their own craft. I made the collage by taking photos take photos of Black femme hands to depict the beauty in their lines and wrinkles. I collaged in photoshop and then printed out and cut and paste the collage on top of it, along with a poem I wrote dedicated to Black femme beauty. The college was then heat transferred onto t-shirts and tote bags. Making this was a wonderful experience and showcasing Black beauty made me love and appreciate my hands as a part of my history.
This t-shirt was created using the Design Center's dye sublimation printer and heat press
Dragon Robot, 2022
Made by Ashley H. Kim
This robot was designed, assembled, edited, and programmed with help from the Design Center! He can walk and flap his wings among other things. Made for the Robotics Studio class in the Mechanical Engineering Department.
This robot was created using Design Center tools including the laser cutter, 3D printer, woodworking tools, and soldering iron
Harlem Nexus: Cuisine Village, 2022
Made by Ryan Newberger
Cuisine Village is a building design proposal for a 100 sq ft plot of land adjacent to the Apollo Theater on 126th St. The building is itself a celebration of Harlem’s socio-cultural history through a culinary lens. Archive, “inverted stoop” civic-centre and culinary education centre among other program types, Cuisine village explores architectural design as a means by which to celebrate local and broader global histories of a predominately African American neighborhood. The brick facade design is an homage to African textile patterns as well as situates the building in its context among varying historical brownstone typologies. The central glass core and split level provide an opportunity for shared social experiences as they relate to notions of publicness and connectedness throughout the building. The building is situated on a cement base—the “inverted stoop”—a civic centre that both sinks and rises extending and reimagining the performative space of the sidewalk as it moves into the building.
This architectural model was created using Design Center tools including the laser cutter and 3D Printer
Quantum Foolery, 2022
Made by Delia Tager
Delia created satirical science-inspired diagrams as part of their senior thesis project entitled "Quantum Foolery". These works are intended to mimic an informational plaque that one might see in a science museum or doctor’s office. As a viewer approaches the work and begins to read the detailed text, it becomes clear that the diagrams quickly dissolve into absurdist commentary.
These pieces were created in the Design Center using the laser cutter to etch, score and cut into clear colored acrylic.
The Lightbox, 2022
Made by Kevin Li
The Lightbox is a public mixed-use building that is connected to the renowned Apollo Theater. The box-shaped building is distinctive for its central conical void that serves as a lightwell and promotes openness. The heavy concrete exterior contrasts the hollow core to emphasize the lightness of the interior space that is defined by cylindrical pods. The building, like its name, functions as a box of light. In the day, natural light enters through the void to shape the interior space. In the night, the building serves as a lamp; artificial light travels out of the building through the perforated walls toilluminate the Harlem streets.
This model was made in the Design Center using the laser cutter, 3D printer and woodworking tools
Refugee Reintegration Program, 2021-2022
Designer: Aishah Bostani, Design Center Post-baccalaureate Fellow 2021-22
The Refugee Reintegration Program is a sustainable micro-community that facilitates healthy development among internally displaced populations. This project aims to tackle the exponentially growing population of 84 million refugees, many of which spend an average of 17 years in squalor camps. Through fluid infrastructures that are designed with permanence in mind, these spaces will create opportunities for self-sufficiency through the environmental and economic practices that are promoted across the site. The design for this project was influenced by the Organic Architecture of Javier Senosiain, the Earthship Biotecture of Michael Reynolds, and Ceramic Houses by Nader Khalili.
Medium: 3D printed domes, lasercut chipboard and acrylic, vacu-formed greenhouse
Cyanotype Quilt, 2022
Made by Caitlyn Stachura
Hand-sewn quilt featuring cyanotype fabric squares printed with family photographs taken in 2016. Was created in the Design Center using the sewing machine.
Dispersion, 2021
Designer: Kevin Li
Dispersion was created to simulate the particle movements that exist in New York City’s water systems. The dialysis tubing used in the model is a semi-permeable material that allows smaller particles (i.e. iodine) to diffuse from a region of high concentration to low concentration, much like how water pipes move fresh water from a single source to different parts of the city.
Medium: Lasercut basswood, acrylic rods, dialysis tubing, plastic cups, water, iodine