Graduate Viewbook 2008-2009 - The New School

Along with her classmates in the Design Workshop at Parsons, Leah King
brought the Margaretville Pavilion—a 5,000-square-foot community
center with an outdoor pavilion, an enclosed kitchen, a deck, and a
tower—to life. Leah explains that the “design-build” program is one of
the reasons she chose to study at Parsons and is her favorite aspect of the
architecture curriculum overall.
Through her coursework at Parsons, Leah was introduced to the
concept of sustainable design, which became a major component of
her master’s thesis. “I explored smart materials and new technologies
as a way to improve the efficiency of space, light, air, water usage, and
heating in housing units. I focused on Harlem, an area undergoing
transition and gentrification. There, I found a way to modify the
traditional brownstone with a skin structure that allows for these
physical and environmental changes while accommodating the
changing social trends of the neighborhood.”
According to Leah, New York City provides the perfect setting for the
study of architecture. She says, “Classes take advantage of the diversity
and significance of New York architecture. We took all kinds of field
trips and walking tours; we even took a ferry tour of the Gowanus Canal,
something most people never do!”
left Maiko Shimizu, 33rd St. Care House,
multi-generational housing complex,
architectural model
right top Gregga Kailin, MRFex, material
recovery facility, Hudson River Park Pier 40,
NYC, architectural model
right bottom Perla Kristinsdottir, 125th St.
Transit Hub, large urban public subway station,
NYC, digital rendering
ARCHITECTURE
33
newschool.edu/parsons