THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF

a century of re-imagining interior design

LETTER FROM THE DEAN

In this issue of RE:D we pay tribute to interior design, a field of study and practice that has been a vital part of Parsons The New School for Designs reputation for 100 years. The schools early leaders, especially Frank Alvah Parsons, William Odom, Van Day Truex, and Jean-Michel Frank, foresaw the potential and the importance of interior design as both a critical design discipline and a powerful social and economic force. They shaped an interior design program that was visionary for its time and has an ongoing influence on interior design theory and practice. We continue to lead the field, as demonstrated by the achievements of our illustrious alumnisuch as Albert Hadley 49, Betty Sherrill 51, Mario Buatta 61, and following generations including Victoria Hagan 84 (see page 32) and Jamie Drake 78 (page 33). Interior design engages the complex interactions of the body and space, the human being, and habitat and enacts social, personal, and cultural meaning. Interior design stages relationships among many design fields, including furniture and product design; lighting, architecture, and fashion; domestic and media technologies; and the fine arts. You can read more about these intersectionsand the ways in which the interior design program at Parsons is responding and helping to shape themin the dialogue between Kent Kleinman, chair of the Department of Architecture, Interior Design, and Lighting, and Lois Weinthal, the new director of the interior design program, that appears on page 20. We are also delighted to feature a profile of the Parsons lighting design program (page 18); photos from the Little Houses project in Hllefors, Sweden (page 16); and news on The Design Workshops recent project in DeLisle, Mississippi (page 5). While these stories may highlight the disciplines of product design, lighting, and architecture at Parsons, its clear that the interior is central to these multifaceted projects, in which students develop lighting concepts for specific environments, build a portable living space, or create a laundry facility and information center to serve a communitys particular needs. Were proud of the interior design program at Parsons and to commemorate its centennial with this issue of RE:D. It is a pleasure to stay in touch with all of our alumni from across Parsons and to bring you the latest news from the school. I hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as our contributors have enjoyed putting it together. Best regards,

Tim Marshall, Dean

above: Dean Tim Marshall. Photo by Matthew Sussman front and back cover: The Angelo Donghia Materials Library and Study Center, home of the Department of Architecture, Interior Design, and Lighting. Front cover photo by Paula Giraldo, back cover photo by Bob Handelman inside front cover: Selections from a collection of sketches for Metropolitan Home magazine by Illustration chair Steven Guarnaccia.

RE:D Magazine Guest Editor Karissa Krenz Managing Editor Lindy Regan Alumni Relations Jessica Arnold Rachel Denny Assistant Editor Sarah Kricheff Creative Director Meg Callery Designers Anna Ostrovskaya Paula Giraldo Production Tina Moskin Copy Editor Ellen Davidson

Letters to the Editor We want to hear from you. RE:D welcomes letters to the editor regarding published articles, alumni news, opinions, commentary, and suggestions for features. Letters may be edited for content and/or length. Please include your year of graduation, degree completed, and major. Submissions Original manuscripts, photo submissions, and/or artwork will be considered for publication. Unsolicited manuscripts, related materials, photography, and artwork will not be returned. Address Changes Please submit address changes at: www.newschool.edu/alumni. RE:D Parsons The New School for Design 66 Fifth Ave., 7th floor New York, NY 10011 RedEditors@newschool.edu www.parsons.newschool.edu/RE:D

CONTRIBUTORS

CONTENTS
features 10 The Inside Story 100 Years of Interior Design at Parsons 16 Track Housing Little Houses on the Black River

Illustration department chair steven guarnaccia is a frequent contributor to publications including Time, Rolling Stone, and BLAB! and was previously art director of the New York Times op-ed page. Co-author of Black and White and author/illustrator of numerous childrens books, Guarnaccia hosted the hugely successful Illustration Today symposium at Parsons in November.

david j. lewis is associate professor and director of the master of architecture program. He received his BA from Carleton College, holds an MA in History of Architecture and Urbanism from Cornell, and an MArch from Princeton. Lewis is partner in the New Yorkbased architecture firm Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis.

18 Illuminating Education A Look at Parsons MFA Lighting Program 20 Expanding the Theory of Interiors Architecture, interior design, and lightings new chair, Kent Kleinman, and interior designs new director, Lois Weinthal, discuss the present and future of the department.

30 The Gift of Education Interior Design Scholarships at Parsons

news at parsons

5 Design Workshop in Mississippi . . .Parsons Journals . . . Target: Grocery . . . The Sims. . . Empowering Kosovar Women . . . Weiss Lectures
karissa krenz is a New Yorkbased arts and entertainment writer and former Editor-in-Chief of Chamber Music magazine. Her writing appears frequently in publications including Time Out New York and Playbill. She also designs and fabricates one-of-a-kind and limited-edition jewelry sculpted from found objects and wire. matthew sussman is a photographer, director, and producer whose work has ranged from international documentary television to makeover reality shows. He is currently on staff at The New School as special project producer.

alumni profiles 32 Victoria Hagan 84 33 RE:SPOND Jamie Drake 78

in every issue

lisa zeiger (not pictured) was decorative arts editor for the quarterly interiors publication nest and a freelance arts writer in Glasgow, London, and Cologne. She studied decorative arts at Sothebys London and the University of Glasgow and holds degrees from Barnard and Columbia Law School. Zeiger is at work on her first book, Blanquita: A Memoir of the Bronx. paula giraldo, Graphic Design 05 (AAS), studied photography and graphic design in her native Colombia before moving to New York to attend Parsons. She is currently on staff at The New School as a graphic designer. this page: MFA Lighting Design, Erin De Vries

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Letter from the Dean Letters to the RE:DITOR RE:TINA RE:CORD Alumni News, Upcoming Alumni Events, and Class Notes RE:COGNITION Gifts to Parsons in 2006

you tell us Letters to the RE:DITOR

In the last issue we asked, Which interior space has had the greatest influence on your work?
The interior space that most influences my work is Antoni Gaudis Casa Batll in Barcelona. Not afraid to take risks, he mastered freedom of expression while contradicting perceptions of the norm, to create spaces so bizarre and expressive, yet so beautifully unique. The use of geometrics, color, carved woods, walls, ceiling, and parabolic arches are astonishing. lyn henry 84 My mom and I used to play a game: We would visit the powder rooms in homes, restaurants, stores, and hotels, and rate their level of luxury and design on a scale of one to ten. It was just for fun, but my observation of these spaces and my memory of them influenced my ability to see rooms. jennifer watty 93
photo courtesy of jennifer watty

news at parsons Mississippi Returning

The Design Workshop 2006: 39751 InfoWash
by david j. lewis

Growing up in a townhouse in New York City, the theater and the colors and textures in museum exhibitions (and the spaces in which theyre held) are among my many sources of inspiration. Others include design associates who have worked for me and have presented new ideas with a fresher, younger approach. marguerite franco 51 My childhood home in San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy, a domed Romanesque cathedral full of elaborate details and diffused natural light. The organized, clean surfaces adorned with mosaics and the warmth of the space make it striking, despite the austere structure. Though it dates back to the early sixth century, it has the fundamental values of the contemporary aesthetic: simplicity framed in complex and surprising details and inspiring lighting solutions. angelika wrzesinska 04 Colombia continues to influence me. The houses architecture, inspired by the modern movement, was a combination of glass and steel, juxtaposed with natural stone and terracotta floors. Most of the rooms had access to the outdoors, providing natural light, open air, and the occasional flood. Modern furniture combined with Spanish colonial antiques created a unique space. courtney (murray) goldsmith 97 aas In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a conversation about The Design Workshop between DeLisle, Mississippi, resident Martha Murphy and Parsons MArch graduate Federico Negro 04 led to the programs most ambitious effort since its inception nearly ten years ago. Negro, now a member of Manhattan-based SHoP Architects, was consulting with Murphy while working on the firms rebuilding efforts in DeLisle, a town hit hard and dead-center by the storm. Murphy saw an opportunity to engage Parsons in the DeLisle communitys need for basic amenities and communication and envisioned a solution. The result was 39751 InfoWash, a combination information center and laundromat designed and built in the spring and summer of 2006 by 12 graduate students and one undergraduate from Parsons architecture programs, with SHoP providing critical input and support. During the spring semester, students collectively worked to research and design 39751 InfoWash, traveling twice to Mississippi to meet with the client and members of the community. By the conclusion of the semester, the students had created a compelling design, developed a complete set of construction documents, assembled material orders for the project, and worked with structural engineer and faculty member Harriet Markis to execute the structural drawings. The students spent the summer in DeLisle, living in FEMA trailers and working 12-hour days on the job site. Under the supervision of Terry Erickson, the summer studio instructor, who insures that the students are able to translate their designs into built form, the group erected the steel structure by hand, installed structural panels and waterproofing, constructed and insulated the roof, clad the building in aluminum mesh and stained cedar, and outfitted the interior spaces with custom-made interior furniture and wall systems. By early fall, the building was in operation, providing the community with a vital centerpiece for the areas rebuilding efforts.
The Design Workshop is the Department of Architecture, Interior Design, and Lightings annual design-build program, in which students work collaboratively with a nonprofit client to conceive, design, negotiate, and construct a built solution to a real-world urban/environmental challenge. A feature article on the DeLisle project appeared last fall in the New York Times. Generous support was provided by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, SOM, Voronado Realty Trust, Sal La Rosa, Heuer Foundation, and the Deans Office at Parsons. www.parsonsdesignworkshop.org.

I once saw a picture of a bedroom Mario Buatta designed for the 1984 Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club Decorator Show House. At first, one sees a typical blue-and-white bedroom, but the walls are actually pale lavender with touches of salmon pink. Instead of a blue canopy for the bed, Buatta used a sheer white fabric that lets in light. Whenever I am timid about mixing colors and adding whimsy, I remember this room. anna wolcott 04

the next issue celebrates the communication design centennial. you tell us: What isthemostinterestingchangeincommunication designyouveseensinceyougraduated? Send your letters to RedEditors@newschool.edu or RE:D Editors, Parsons The New School for Design, 66 Fifth Ave., 6th floor, New York, NY 10011. Help shape the future of RE:D: Fill out our reader survey online at www.newschool.edu/alumni/REDsurvey.html.

photo courtesy of angelika wrzesinska

this page: Laura Lyon, SHoP Architects

Addressing Innovation
The Department of Design and Managements Stephan Weiss Visiting Lectureship on Business Strategy, Negotiation, and Innovation addresses the dynamic synthesis of creative vision and strong business sense. Speakers this fall were Peter Laundy of Doblin, Inc., and Tucker Viemeister (pictured), VP of Creative at Rockwell Group and founder of Smart Design. The spring semesters lectures feature Jean Rogers, an associate principal with the consulting engineering firm Ove Arup and Partners (February 27); Bruce Nussbaum, essayist, commentator on economic issues, and assistant managing editor for BusinessWeek (March 15); and ethnographer Genevieve Bell, senior principal engineer and director of user experience for Intels Digital Home Group (April 3). For information visit www.parsons.newschool.edu/events/.

Helping Hands in Kosovo

Building on a collaboration with women in Rwanda in 2005, last fall Parsons continued its involvement with Women for Women International (WFWI), a nonprofit aid organization that helps women in war-torn countries cultivate job skills in design, production, and marketing. Integrated Design Curriculum students in the Core Colloquium: CrossCultural Collaborations class worked with women in Kosovo to help them achieve a sustainable source of income. Students developed products that the women could easily produce themselves and sell through WFWIs online bazaar and retailers in the United States. Several designs will be available by Mothers Day, including an apron and place settings accented with traditional embroidery. Visit www.womenforwomen.org.

Target: Grocery
Over the course of the 200607 academic year, a team of students, supervised by faculty and Target Corporation representatives, is conceptualizing a 50,000-square-foot prototype grocery store that would be integrated into an urban SuperTarget. Through the companys internship and recruitment collaborations with Parsons Career Services, Target Vice President of Store Design Rich Varda realized that Parsons interest in sustainability, focus on cutting-edge design, and student professionalism would make the school an ideal partner for the upscale discount store. Members of the Departments of Product Design, Communication Design and Technology, Design and Management, and Architecture, Interior Design, and Lighting are conceiving all layers of the project: market research and branding strategies, environmental impact and sustainability studies, store flow and mapping, mobile technologies, and product development.

TARGET

Machinima, Mods, and More

Parsons takes on The Sims, the popular video game in which players control the lives of virtual people, in an exhibition at the Chelsea Art Museum. Communication design, design and technology, and illustration students have created pieces utilizing traditional and technology-driven art forms including machinima (using a game engine to produce animation or film), interactive media, and three-dimensional

TARGET

printing. The exhibit is among several the Department of Communication Design and Technology will present at the museum: Ten Years Running, featuring work by faculty and alumni (April 514), The Sims (April 19May 12), and thesis exhibits (May 1726, BFA, and May 31June 9, MFA).

Off the Shelf

Parsons publishes two journals that highlight the scholarly discourse and discoveries emerging from the school. Since 2002 the Department of Architecture, Interior Design, and Lighting has published Scapes, which discusses global, metropolitan, and departmental perspectives on architecture. Edited by Joanna Merwood, it is available in print and online at www2.parsons.edu/architecture/aidl/scapes.html. The Journal of

TARGET
 

Design & Management, launched in the spring of 2006, examines and explores the intersection of design and business. Each issue will highlight people, projects, approaches, and events fundamental to the development of pioneering ideas, while focusing on economy, society, and the marketplace. Funded by a grant from the KaranWeiss Foundation, it will appear annually in print and online at www.parsons.edu/dm.

Re:Tina

Making a Scene in New York

speed of light, october 23, 2006, at tishman auditorium 1. Presented with the Museum of Arts & Design, this interdisciplinary international design conference brought together innovators in the fields of physics, architecture and interior design, and theatrical lighting 2. Lighting Designer Ingo Maurer in conversation with Murray Moss, founder of the SoHo design store, Moss. Photos by Alan Klein
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board of governors holiday party hosted by sheila c. johnson at saks fifth avenue, november 29, 2006 1. A tree-lighting toast to Sheila C. Johnson 2. Peter Darrow, board member Denise Seegal, and Fashion Design Chair Tim Gunn 3. Patti Butler, Judge William Newman 4. Parsons Dean Tim Marshall, Fine Arts Chair Donald Porcaro, and Sheila C. Johnson. Photos by David Minder
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paolo soleri, october 16, 2006, swayduck auditorium Renowned architect Paolo Soleri spoke about his work on the occasion of receiving the National Design Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. Photo by Yong Kim

parsons 58th annual benefit and fashion show honoring oscar de la renta, may 8, 2006, at pier 60, chelsea piers 1. Honoree Oscar de la Renta and former President Bill Clinton 2. Annette de la Renta and Vogue Editor-inChief Anna Wintour 3. A student design from the Fashion Centennial Collection 4. New School President Bob Kerrey, Bill Clinton, Parsons Board of Governors Chair Sheila Johnson, and Judge William Newman. Photos by Patrick McMullan

the reunion reception for architecture, interior and environmental design, and lighting graduates, october 23, 2006, at the hfele showroom 1. Parsons Dean TimMarshall,MadeleineMoore64, and AIDL ChairKentKleinman 2. WidChapman,RonaldBricke 61 3. KatherineBragg 07,ErinBrandariz 06, FlorenceGuiraud 06 4 . AngelinaWrzesinska04, GeorgeLyall,AnnaLeeWolcott 04. Photos by Nick Ferrari 03

second annual parsons centurion award for design excellence luncheon honoring interior designer betty sherrill 51 and mcmillen inc., april 11, 2006, at the mandarin oriental, new york 1. Former Dean Paul Goldberger, Betty Sherrill, and Victoria Hagan 84 2. Victoria Hagan, Tess Dempsey 88, and Anne Pyne 3. Paul Goldberger, Betty Sherrill, and New School President Bob Kerrey 4. James Borynack 67 and Michael Vollbracht 68 5. Anne Pyne speaks about her mother, Betty Sherrill. Photos by Patrick McMullan and Matthew Sussman

illustration today symposium, november 11, 2006 1. At Tishman Auditorium: Illustration Chair Steven Guarnaccia, Maira Kalman, Peter de Seve 80, Peter Sis 2. At the reception: Assistant Professor Dan Nadel, illustrators Kim and Gene Deitch 3. Guarnaccia (center) with Friends With You. Photos by Crissie Ferrara

The Inside Story

Celebrating 100 years of interior design at Parsons, RE:D recounts some of the notable events, trends, and personalities that make up the departments history.
by lisa zeiger The story of interior design at Parsons The New School for Design is central to the history of the school itself. It is an intriguing genealogy of mentorship, revealing that human relationships and personal preferences have been as influential as theory in shaping the curriculum over many generations. While Frank Alvah Parsons initially created a department that reflected his own passion for the decorative arts, todays students study architecture as a foundation, learning to blend technical skills with aesthetics, business knowledge, cultural imperatives, and scholarshipa progression that can be charted through the succession of personalities that have animated the program from then until now. In 1904 the New York School of Art, founded in 1896 by painter Willliam Merritt Chase, hired Frank Alvah Parsons, who introduced courses in design, color theory, and interior decorationthe first such program in the United States. Chase retired in 1907, and 39year-old Parsons purchased the school, which officially adopted his name. He elevated decorative arts to the same level as fine art and convened powerful names in interior design, making the school a formidable resource for those aspiring to a career in the field. Within a decade the board boasted design luminaries Lady Elsie de Wolfe Mendl, Elsie Cobb Wilson, and Lady Duff Gordon, who were joined in 1922 by Heyworth Campbell, Vogues art director, Eleanor Brown, founder of McMillen, Inc., and Ogden Codman, Jr., co-author with Edith Wharton of The Decoration of Houses. The aura Parsons spun around his school, through his unwavering convictions about period style and his social connections, made it the most prestigious institution of its kind in the country.
this page: Empire Chair, circa 1930, by Ina Dell Marvin, a student of the Interior, Architecture, and Decoration Department, Parsons Paris (courtesy of the Kellen Archives Center); the Donghia Materials Library (photo by Paula Giraldo); students at work in the Donghia Center (photo by Bob Handelman).

While expertise in styles of earlier centuries was a hallmark of the department through the mid-20th century, it has been eclipsed by a modernist focus in the last 30 years, though a revival is emerging. Residential designer Danielle Galland 95, acting director of interior design from January 2005 to December 2006, has sought to restore a greater balance of connoisseurship and technique. We have not forgotten the foundations from which the department made the most striking contributions to the field, says Galland. The demands of preparing students for the profession have dramatically changed over the past 80 years. As a result, knowing the European tradition is not sufficient to create a well-qualified and diverse designer nimble enough to work in the varied areas of the field. Historically, we have the benefit of having lived through the modernist revolution and can question and incorporate the lessons learned from that time into a broad approach encompassing history, theory, and practice. Training todays interior designer is a great responsibility and one that is continually questioned by the faculty. Parsons second great player, star graduate William Odom, joined the faculty in 1909 and became Frank Alvah Parsons business partner in 1920. He launched his pet project, the Grand Tour, a six-week summer trip through France and Italy, through which he acquainted himself with Europes wealthy aesthetes. A Parsons atelier was established in Paris, granting students entre to magnificent private houses and collections. Exalted Americans living in Paris became devotees: Edith Wharton, Ogden Codman, Jr., Elsie de Wolfe, and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt. In 1918, Odom published his highly-respected History of Italian Furniture, and for his devotion to the decorative arts of France he was anointed a Chevalier de la Legion dHonneur. The next great Parsons prodigy was Van Day Truex, who enrolled as a student in 1923. Born in Kansas into a family who managed a J.C. Penney outlet, Truex was a classic misfit artist whose father refused to support his design studies. Frank Parsons became not only Truexs teacher but his social shepherd, inducting this Dust Bowl aristocrat into New York high society. By 1924 he was named top student, in 1925 he received a Paris scholarship, and upon his graduation in 1927 Truex became an instructor, dividing his time between the New York and Paris schools. He became my mentor and good friend and was nice enough to give me a partial working scholarship, says Melvin Dwork 41. It was a great school and a privilege to be there. Van had a sense of style we all looked up tohe gave the school a sort of aura. Upon Parsons death in 1930, Odom took charge and appointed Truex head of the Paris program and associate director of the New York school. Truex was a brilliant fundraiser, ensuring the institutions survival. He never abandoned his predeces-

Parsons was ahead of his time in promoting the commercial fields of interior design, fashion, and advertising, as he correctly foresaw image as playing an important role in the expansion of art and design in America. Although he was not interested in the modernist revolution taking shape in Europe at the start of the 20th century, the curriculum developed students understanding of the tenets of furniture design, architectural composition, and color use through exposure to the highest building craftsmanship in the European classical tradition. His aim was to train [students] eye, instill in them an idea of quality, and develop their sense of style.

The demands of preparing students for the profession have dramatically changed in the past 80 years.

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sors insistence on art history, period design, and academic drawing and faithfully transmitted the neoclassical tradition as the pinnacle of interior design. Privately and subtly Truex escaped his mentors 18th-century taste and developed his own style, partly through a bond with Jean-Michel Frank. (Frank, widely acknowledged as one of the most influential designers of the thirties, is credited with designing the clean and simple lines of the ubiquitous Parsons table while working with Truex and students at the Paris school.) Truex learned the business side of decorating from Lady Mendl, who was above all a businesswoman (a gangster, as Truex called her, and the White Queen to Dwork). This affiliation would serve Truex well as he entered the field later in his career. At the onset of World War II in Europe, Odom told Truex to close the Paris school. Truex joined the faculty in New Yorkat its new location at 136 East 57th Streetand became vice president. After Odom passed away in 1942, Eleanor Brown led the board of trustees to unanimously elect Truex

president of the school. Parsons flourished: New members joined the faculty, Truex acquired prestigious patrons from high society and the world of design, and the student demographic was dramatically altered by an influx of male war veterans. Academically, Truex championed freedom in interior design while still honoring the legacy of Odom and Parsons. His famous lectures to the student body were lessons in the art of living, from omelettes to boiserie. Among Truexs famous prodigies was Albert

I had just hung wall brackets supporting blue-and-white Delft jars. Stanley urged me to take this penchant as far as it would go. Mario Buatta

According to Gubelmann, the past was not ignored, but set forth as the seed of contemporary forms. He especially recalls his teacher Ian McCarg, author of Designing with Nature , required reading for all students. McCargs philosophy was a powerful call for congruity in all design endeavors. Mary Louise Gertler 61 recalls her three-month European study trip with Barrows as a privileged glimpse at fascinating, private places. She learned the secrets of proportion through Barrowss weekly sketching excursions outdoors and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. During what Gertler calls a transitional time for the school, Barrows fused a love of the past with exposure to well-designed contemporary furniture, which he encouraged us to use in our projects. Our floor plans were traditional: Everybody had a table to put a drink on and a place to sit. The book taught you not to design separately from the environment but to be inclusive in your products, whether building a house, room, or desk, says Gubelmann. You had to respect what existed, and design new elements that harmonized. You dont erect a Le Corbusier in a Georgian town. We also learned self-evident technical principles, which all too often are ignored: Dont build on a ravine, dont build on a slope with morning light, but one with afternoon light. Ian was the catalyst who enabled us to become sympathetic to the world around us.

Hadley 49, who would go on to become the Dean of American Decorating. It was under Truex that Hadley was hired to teach at Parsons immediately following his graduation. He went on to work for Mrs. Brown at McMillen, and eventually began his famous partnership with Sister Parish at their firm, Parish Hadley. I had been with [Roslyn Rosiers shop] three months when Van Truex called and asked me to join the interior design faculty at Parsons, says Hadley in Adam Lewiss Albert Hadley: The Story of Americas Preeminent Interior Designer. During the remaining days that I worked for [Roslyn], she tried to convince me to decline the teaching position, but I had made up my mind. I knew that a faculty position at Parsons, and the opportunity to have extended exposure to the Parsons philosophy of design, could only benefit my future. But after a complex series of events, Truex was ousted by the board of directors in 1954. At 50, he was out of a job and shunned by the school to which he had devoted his life. He soon triumphed as design director of Tiffany & Co., whose dcor and merchandise retain his imprint to this day. In the late 1950s and early 1960s the department was led by the designer Stanley Barrows, who is still venerated by former students. Stanley would make you look into yourself and express what was inside you, recalls Mario Buatta 61. He once came by for a drink, and I had just hung wall brackets supporting blue-and-white Delft jars. Stanley urged me to take this penchant as far as it would go.
this page: Classroom at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (Parsons School of Design) at 80th Street and Broadway, circa 193334. Photo courtesy of the Kellen Archives Center.

Is it sustainable? How will people behave in this environment? Can design elevate the human spirit?
In 1964 the Department of Interior Design was reworked into a new discipline, environmental design. Some graduates bemoan this era, which lasted until 1992, but Jimmy Gubelmann 73, architect and head of Windigo Design in New Jersey, strongly disagrees. He experienced environmental design as the disciplined liberation of each students innermost gifts. We were given a broad base of classes to choose from, says Gubelmann, and in your first year, known as the base year, you were required to take general classes: a 3-D design studio, an elective in color run by artist Hector Leonardi, 2-D design, and lecture courses on applied arts from antiquity to modernism.
above: Judges of the Pini di San Miniato Scholarship Award Competition, 1961. This award enabled a graduating student of interior decoration to study in Italy. Robert J. Castle (far left), chair of the Department of Interior Design, looks on as the judges, (left to right) Salvador Dali, the Duchess of Windsor, and Mrs. Arthur A. Houghton, Jr., survey the entries. Ronald Bricke 61 won the award. Photo courtesy of the Kellen Archives Center.

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The designer Luis Rey 67, who attended Parsons during this period of dramatic change, thoroughly relished this clash of interior design training with a new emphasis on architecture. Barrows represented the first camp, and the new dean, Alan Tate (appointed in 1964), the second. I was very lucky, Rey says of this odd couple, I had the old, I had the new. I admired both. Once we were assigned to design a dining room, and Barrows hung my plan on the wall and gave me an A. The next day, Alan Tate scratched out the A and changed it to an F. But Alan Tate made you design things youd never get to do in your life. Under a seemingly radical banner, environmental design had a conservative strain, retaining the basic tenets of Frank Parsons while promoting the new forms students invented. Gubelmann still cherishes the freedom instructors permitted students to follow their unique obsessions, even if this meant total rejection of a given assignment.

While each could encompass design elements within one room, says Galland, we are continually challenging students to think of not only the visual effect of their designs, but the larger social and economic impact. Is it sustainable? How will people behave in this environment? Can the design elevate the human spirit? How will a particular demographic respond in this environment? We ask these questions while considering the shape, color, and composition of the elements within the design. Today we focus on students ability to work at widely divergent scales, from a single room to a Target prototype store. Economics and function are always variables students are required to navigate as well. While the client of William Odoms time was always understood as the wealthy urbanite, it is no longer enough to design for this one constituency.

While the client of Odoms time was always understood as the wealthy urbanite, it is no longer enough to design for this constituency.

The instructors would say, were building a church in a community with three different While Parsons roots were established in religions, he says. Four of us would then get together and declare we wanted to make a tramway through Central Park. Wed go to Alan Tate and he would facilitate our proposal. In the early nineties interior design was again established as a distinct department. The program continues to evolve to meet the imperatives of the times. Galland speaks of four elements that are considered to be the essence of interior design: structure, proportion, social purpose, and context. residential design, Galland continues, a graduate of Parsons The New School for Design today is as likely to work on corporate, public, or hospitality design, as well as for the most influential residential design firms. The amazing diversity of the programs student demographics broadens Parsons educational influence well beyond the United States. The future of the program engages new technologies and arenas that are suddenly under the umbrella of the interior, effecting changes in the field that could never have been imagined even 30 years ago.
With additional contributions by Danielle Galland and Karissa Krenz.

opposite: Colour Spectrum Chart, 1928, by Ina Dell Marvin, a student at Parsons Paris. While the original Paris school closed at the onset of World War II, Paris studies remain available to Parsons students today. Courtesy of the Kellen Archives Center.

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this page: Students visiting the showroom of the interior design firm McMillen, Inc., 1955. Eleanor S. Brown (class of 18), president of the firm, is at left. Photo by Clemens Kalischer.

Track Housing
Little Houses on the Black River is an ingeniously adaptable clutch of temporary dwellings designed to accommodate visiting designers in Hllefors, Sweden. The project won the top honor in the design school category at the 2006 International Contemporary Furniture Fair for students in Parsons The New School for Designs product design program in collaboration with Frances St. Etienne School of Art and Design and Swedens Konstfack University College of Arts, Craft and Design. (Visit bridgefriggebod.blogspot.com for more photos and info.) More than 100 sustainable, problem-solving collaborations calling on design integration, community engagement, and nonprofit and corporate partnerships have been spearheaded by Product Design in the past four years under the guidance of chair Tony Whitfield. This year, students take on the flood-crippled town of Margaretville, New York, addressing business and main street renewal and a community center redesign. Follow their progress at the Revitalizing Margaretville, New York blog at margaretvilleny.blogspot.com. Photos by ke E:son Lindman.

Illuminating Education
A Look at the MFA Lighting Program
Light is as elusive an element of human existence as it is ubiquitous; as much a variable as it is a constant. It has a significant effect on the way we live and think and feel, yet lighting is often designed with little regard for aesthetic consequences or emotional effect. The Master of Fine Arts in Lighting program at Parsons The New School for Design is a torchbearer of lighting education and experimentation in relation to human experience, attracting students determined to expose and explore the ways in which individuals perceive and interact with light. The study of lighting has been part of Parsons, in various forms, for more than 30 years. In the 1970s, pioneering Professor James Nuckolls spearheaded the program, which in 198485 evolved into a two-year master of fine arts degree (as a component of the Continuing Education department). In 199697 the program became part of the Department of Architecture, Interior Design, and Lighting. It was briefly altered to a one-year (three-semester) structure offering a master of arts degree and then returned to the more robust two-year MFA program in 2004. While most academic programs concentrate primarily on the technical considerations of illumination engineering, Parsons focuses on design and social practice, integrating strong technical coursework with studies in culture, history and theory, sociology and psychology, perception, and design components of lighting. The emphasis on the importance of social responsibility and sustainability is a common thread throughout all courses, and further encourages interaction with architecture and interior design students in order to give complete consideration to the holistic understanding of the built environment. The buzz on lightings high-quality and unique approach has attracted top students from across the globe, and the program has quickly become the most culturally diverse at Parsons: 45 students represent 17 different countries and as many distinct professional backgrounds and undergraduate degreesfrom the obvious fields of architecture, interior design, theater, product design, environmental studies, and fine arts to the less predictable areas of anthropology, psychology, journalism, mathematics, and economics. Im intrigued by how the topic of light can bring together such a diverse group of individuals, says Derek Porter, director of the lighting program. I tend to think about these human relationships more abstractly: Light exists at peripheral boundaries, on surfaces, the edges, as a spatial catalyst, a binder of foreign matter. It simultaneously exists everywhere but yet nowhere until it touches something. This cultural and professional diversity brings an uncommon richness to the studio that complements the formal education offered in class. Individuals that grow up in Sweden versus Greece are biologically conditioned through the unique environmental exposures of their respective geographical regions to understand light differently, says Porter. In addition to these biological factors, they each carry a distinct cultural identity with light through color and symbology. The caliber of the education students receive from the lighting program is apparent in the success of its alumni. Parsons Lighting graduates are highly sought after in manufacturing, research, architecture and interior design, and theatrical and exhibition lighting, and a number have started private practices.

opposite (clockwise from upper left): Chanel Ginza, LED/Electrochromic Glass Media Wall by Parsons graduate Matthew Tanteri (92) of Tanteri + Associates (photo by Vincent Knapp); energy-efficient lighting for Boston Universitys Agganis Arena and Recreation Center lobby by Mark Loeffler, IALD (MFA 90); a 25-foot table designed by lighting students for a dinner following Architectural Lighting magazines Light & Architecture Design Awards roundtable discussion; Loefflers design for the Boston University Life Science and Engineering Building.

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Expanding the Theory of Interiors

This year, the Department of Architecture, Interior Design, and Lighting welcomes a new chair, architect and scholar Kent Kleinman, and a new director of the interior design program, Lois Weinthal.

thats new to Parsons, and Lois is perfectly situated through her training and her work in Austin to do that in a way that very few people could. Were really excited about having Lois on board. Another interesting subject on the table is a graduate studies program for interior design. We are quite determined to put one in place by fall 2009. What itll look like, we dont know. Were determined to

do it in a way thats ahead of the curve, so we have to tackle questions that cant be addressed on the undergraduate level. lw: I always meet potential students who have finished undergraduate degrees and realized that theyre actually interested in interiors. I think the knowledge such people bring from having studied other disciplines first often makes a program much richer; it begins to link not just to Parsons, but to the rest of The New School. kk: As we start thinking about expanding into the graduate realm, the need for support for students is huge. Were competing for the best in the worldthats our marketand we dont want financial need to be a limiting factor. One of the needs that we haveand its an urgent oneis to build scholarships for students. lw: Its also important to mention the support that the materials library has been given, not just as a source for students to reference, but also as a place to supply materials for full-scale experiments. The materials are a necessary tool that students need for the experience of

port has been so productive in advancing the program. Were planning a symposium in March on the state of interior design, to look at it with a view toward developing a curriculum for the graduate program. There will be lots of details forthcoming, but we just want everyone to know that its going to be an exciting event. Were going to put lots of questions on the table, and were inviting lots of people to come and talk to us. lw: The event is so important, especially for the discipline, and Im so excited for what will come out of it. It promises to be one of the collaborations that will lead to a new definition of interior design. kk: I want to add how much were going to need the facultys advice as we move forward into terrain that is pretty unknown. There arent that many interior design graduate programs in the world, and we want to be the best. We are lucky that we have very, very successful alums that can guide, direct, and prevent us from falling off a cliff. We want to communicate to the alumni that we really need their help. Its not just that were going forward and leaving the past behind. Its very much a consolidation of the past, so that we move forward collectively.

As an introduction to the Parsons community, RE:D asked Kleinman and Weinthal to discuss their new bailiwick, its needs, and goals for the future. kk: To begin, it is important to emphasize that the department is made up of three unique disciplines: lighting, architecture, and interior design. Whats exciting is that were knitting those three disciplines together in novel ways, which raises all sorts of questions about their commonalities and differences. Asking questions is one thing that we have started to do very well, and we want to continue to do it much more aggressively. lw: This is a great opportunity for us to be thinking about what interior design means at the present and how we can start cultivating a program that responds to where it is situated right now. We also need to look at where it is going, because theres so much interaction between interiors, architecture, lighting, and textile and furniture design. One thing Im really looking forward to is actually building those bridges, not only within our program, but also to the rest of Parsons.

kk: The question of what constitutes the interior is interesting. What kind of clients will we be serving in the future? What do the demographics mean for the profession of interior design? What new sites and practices are available for future interior designers? What new kinds of hybrid bodies are we housing? I think the future of the discipline, at least at Parsons, has to address these kinds of questions. lw: This is true. Interiors is filling so many gaps that architects and industrial designers may have done in the past. Now the interior designer is becoming the person who coordinates everything. The discipline encompasses much more. Im also very interested in what a theory of interior design might be. Its one of the elements of the curriculum that has been lacking in the academic realm, and professionally its never really discussed. Im hoping that it will surface more throughout the undergraduate and graduate interior design programs, as well as the overall discipline. kk: Lois is bringing both creative energy and scholarly rigor to the table, and I think its going to be exciting to try to write a theory for interior design. Its an agenda kent kleinman, whose scholarly focus is 20th-century european modernism, was previously professor and chair at the department of architecture at suny, buffalo. a recipient of numerous grants and awards, he has exhibited worldwide and has published works including lois weinthal, who comes to parsons from the university of texas at austin, is particularly interested in the relationships between architecture, interiors, and objects. she has received grants from the graham foundation, a fulbright award, and a daad (german academic exchange service) award. she has lectured, published, and exhibited widely, and is principal of the design practice weinthal works.

working with them. kk: You cant represent the sensual touch of a certain fabric, or the relationship of a body to a piece of furnitureyou have to build it. The beautiful thing about interior design is that you can build it; its not like youre designing a city. We need help to support that kind of activity. Here I want to express our profound gratitude toward the Angelo Donghia Foundation, without whose support for the current materials library, we couldnt really be thinking about these experimentswe wouldnt have the infrastructure. Donghias sup-

rudolf arnheim: revealing vision, the villa mller : a work of adolf loos, and mies van der rohe : the krefeld villas.

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re:COGNITION
Dear Alumni, To keep ourselves warm this winter, we decided to crunch some numbers: 21,500+: The number of Parsons alumni in all 50 states and more than 75 countries around the world. 100: The age of our interior design, fashion design, and communication design programs. Wed like to thank the interior design
rachel e. denny 06, Associate for Alumni Relations, and jessica l. arnold 05 (ms), Director of Alumni Relations

Upcoming ALUMNI Events

Invitations will be mailed for all of these events. If you do not receive one, please call 212.229.5662 x3784 or email alumni@newschool.edu. You may also visit the events page at www.newschool.edu/alumni for full details.

april 30
Runway Show for Alumni, Press, and Students Grand Hyatt New York Park Avenue at Grand Central New York, New York Featuring the work of Parsons graduating fashion design students.

CALIFORNIA april 9, 2007

Reception for Los Angeles Alumni and Parents Mulholland Tennis Club 2555 Crest View Drive Los Angeles, California If you live in the LA area, make sure we have up-to-date contact information for you.

NEW YORK CITY april 1213

16th Annual Symposium on the Decorative Arts and Design Target National Design Education Center at Cooper-Hewitt. 2 East 91st Street, ground floor New York, New York The History of Decorative Arts and Design MA program hosts its annual graduate student symposium, bringing together rising scholars of the history of decorative arts, material culture, and design from universities across America and Europe.

alumni who attended the reunion reception in October and invite you to check out selected photos from that event on page 8 (the

may 19
Communication Design Centennial Celebration 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor New York, New York For communication design and design and technology alumni.

august 5-9
SIGGRAPH 2007
The 34th International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques San Diego, California We will be holding an alumni reception in San Diego during SIGGRAPH 2007. All alumni attending the convention as well as those living in the San Diego area are welcome. Stay tuned for more details, and if you are planning to attend the convention, please let us know!

complete set is available on our Web site). Communication Design celebrates its anniversary this semester with many exciting activities including the Timeline Project, an interactive Web site where alumni can contribute their experiences in the program, and a centennial celebration event on May 19. 7,000+: The number of alumni who will receive invitations to Parsons The New School for Designs Reunion 2007 (for those who graduated in a year ending in 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9). You can make this number higher by helping us locate alumni whove dropped off our radar. If you would like to help us track down those incommunicado class members or share any leads you might have, please get in touch with us. The reunion will take place on May 22; invitations will be mailed soon! 1,097: The number of 2006 graduates who are being asked to complete a very important employment and professional practices survey, which will inform the Office of Career Services how best to serve students and alumni. The survey will be posted online in March. 275: The number of graduates who attended alumni functions in 2006. We hope to increase that number significantly in 2007 with more events, a larger reunion, and the advent of regional activities. If you live outside the New York City area and are interested in hosting an alumni reception, let us know! For those of you in New York City or California (or if youre planning to be in either of those areas) check out our list of upcoming events. 150: The number of class notes received from Parsons alumni in 2006. Keep them coming and stay tuned for another RE:D supplement this summer. 14,000+: The number of Parsons alumni the Office of Alumni Relations corresponded with via mail, telephone, or email in 2006. To contact us, call 212.229.5662 x3784, email alumni@newschool.edu, or visit www.newschool.edu/alumni. Hope to see you in 2007.

may 22, 2007

Parsons Odd Class-Years Reunion for those who graduated in a year ending in 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9. Theresa Lang Student and Community Center 55 West 13th Street, 2nd floor New York, New York

rSVP

early for alumni reunion 2007

Invitations for Reunion 2007 (see above) will be mailed in late March, but you can register early and save on the ticket price! Tickets purchased by March 30: $20 for 1 ticket or $30 for 2.* Tickets purchased after March 30: $25 for 1 ticket or $40 for 2.* The early registration deadline is Friday, March 30, 2007. Send the form below and your payment to the Office of Alumni Relations, The New School, 55 West 13th St., 7th floor, New York, NY 10001, or call 212.229.5662 x3784 to RSVP with a credit card. You may also fax this form to 212.229.5588.
..................................................................................................................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
( ) ms ( ) mrs ( ) mr first name last name (maiden name) city / state class year zip code

..................................................................................................................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
address telephone ( ) home ( ) office

..................................................................................................................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
( ) other email address

A check for $ ..................... is enclosed, made payable to Parsons The New School for Design. Please charge $ ..................... to my Visa, MasterCard, American Express
..................................................................................................................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
card number exp. date

..................................................................................................................................................................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
signature

For more information, call 212.229.5662 x3784 or email alumni@newschool.edu. *If you buy a ticket and are unable to attend, the amount paid will be counted as a gift to the Parsons annual fund.

re:cord
ARCHITECTURE/ ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
jeffrey olinger 03 received a fellowship from EDAW London to work on the 2012 Olympic Games. He was also a finalist in the 2005 Green Builders Design Competition hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council. sarah schwaber 05 worked on a project that appeared as the featured idea house in the November issue of Coastal Living magazine. Trade Center, which she collected from September 2001 to September 2002. Each tower is 24 high and comprises 55 accordion-shaped books (totaling 110, the number of floors each building had). Simpkins received an MA in Book Arts from the London Institutes Camberwell College of Arts in 1996. moulsari jain 04 worked with Real Design in New York City for two years, creating branding and materials for The Silk Road Project, Bill T. Jones Dance Company, Rubin Museum of Art, and others. She recently moved to Amsterdam, for a new experience. panteleimon pantelis melissinos 85 (Illustration), 87 (MFA, Painting) is a painter, playwright, set and costume designer, composer, and third-generation sandal-maker (son of Stavros Melissinos, the famed Poet Sandal-Maker of Athens). Since the early 1920s, Melissinos Art in Athens Monistiraki district has been a destination for artists, intellectuals, and seekers of the familys custom-made footwear. It has been visited by the likes of Sophia Loren, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and The Beatles and was featured in Vogue magazine and by NBC during the 2004 Athens Olympics. Pantelis has served as the artistic director of the Greek Cultural Center in New York City, and reviews of his recent hit play Bacchus named it among the best modern Greek comedies.

Design & Technology

siddharth jatia 02 (MFA) has been working with the design firm Razorfish for the last year as senior Web strategist and user experience lead. He previously worked for Electronic Arts for more than four years leading the production of games like NCAA Football and Madden NFL Football.

aneta genova 00 is involved in building a helpful Web site for fashion students, www.fashionstudentsource.com/ny, which lists a variety of sources for fabrics, trims, leather, knitting, fashion, and art supplies.

FASHION MARKETING
sumit kumar 01 (AAS) has successfully combined his Parsons degree with his engineering background from MIT in Supply Chain Management. He currently works in operations and logistics as a consultant with Capgemini Consulting (formerly Ernst & Young). jada (casteel) loveless 01 (AAS) launched a luxury handbag line in September 2006. Within six weeks it was picked up by Jeffrey New York and Atlanta, and she has met with other major luxury retailers. The collection includes clutches and minaudieres made of exotic skins, and jewelry of vermeil encrusted with precious and semi-precious stones. Visit jadaloveless.com for complete details.

FASHION DESIGN
ellen (howard) burkhart 81 worked at Donnkenny Apparel for 16 years as designer, senior designer, and then director of technical design. She currently has her own soap company in Florida. lela rose 93 (AAS) has recently signed a deal with Payless ShoeSource to create the Lela Rose for Payless collection, a line of original footwear and accessory designs. The new line had its debut at Lelas New York Fashion Week show in February and will be available for purchase at Payless stores next fall. Lela designs ready-towear apparel under the Lela Rose label, which is sold in more than 70 specialty stores nationwide, as well as Bergdorf Goodman, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, and internationally in Canada, France, Italy, Russia, Taiwan, and Japan. leah benjamin 98 is senior designer of the womens clothing collection at Calvin Klein in New York. michelle haim 00 (Interior Design) is a senior designer at the North Miamibased design firm Fanny Haim & Associates. Haims designs for Centro, a new 4,500-square-foot restaurant and lounge in Miamis new Espiritu Santo Plaza in the Brickell Key area, won a firstplace award in the Hospitality category of the 2006 design competition sponsored by the American Society of Interior Designers Florida South chapter. Her work on the Miami restaurant Q Lounge was highlighted in Architectural Lighting magazine and the Miami Herald (which also did a cover story on her work on a Bal Harbour residence), and she has been featured in Casa & Estilo magazine.

COMMUNICATION DESIGN
susan mendola angelo 85 currently does freelance special publications work for major corporations including Gannett. Prior to this she worked for Savvy magazine and Arista Records (for eight years), until taking a break to spend time with her children. mimi so 88 was recently profiled in Elements magazine for her success as a jewelry designer. Her accomplishments include designing Neiman Marcus fastest growing precious jewelry launch in history, opening stores internationally, and adorning red carpet celebrities. rosemary simpkins 88 exhibited her interactive sculptural bookwork, Twin Books, for two months this fall at the Cape Cod Museum of Art. First shown in 2002, the piece contains clippings and photocopies of news articles and other memorabilia about the attacks on the World

HISTORY OF DECORATIVE ARTS AND DESIGN

anne woodworth 92 (MA) is editing and design supervisor of APA Books at the American Psychological Association. diane wachs 05 (MA) is a decorative arts specialist at Cowans Auctions in Linwood, Ohio. Previously she was executive director of the Headley-Whitney Museum in Lexington, Ohio. She has also held curatorial positions with King Manor in Queens, and the OConnell Gallery at Trinity College in Washington, D.C.

FINE ARTS
leslie wayne 85 received the 2006 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Painting. This year her work has been shown in Selections from the Permanent Collection Since the 1950s at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; Poesie at the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City; Peace Tower/Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York; and Pull at the Red Gallery at Savannah College of Art and Design. Her solo show, Trouble in Paradise, will be at the Jack Shainman Gallery in 2007. lisa petker-mintz 87 has exhibited her artwork in New York City and Long Island for the past 20 years. Her most recent show was at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Library in November and December 2006, which featured her floral collages and highly intricate linear graphite studies.

DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT

elizabeth clark billipp 05 is an advertising account executive for People Newspapers.

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juri morioka 90 presented a collection of paintings, Pure Love, in June 2006 at Butters Gallery in Portland, Oregon. Her newest works, Compositions in Four Dimensions, are on display this February and March at Merge Gallery in New York City. (www.juri.org) olja stipanovi 98 (BFA) and 00 (MFA) exhibited photographs at the Centre Culturel Franais de Turin in Turin, Italy, this December and January. The show, Video Dia Logh, featured several international artists.

peter fasano 72 (AAS) is a wallpaper and fabric designer with a showroom in Dallas, whose celebrity clients include Oprah Winfrey, Martha Stewart, and Tiger Woods. He was recently summoned to the White House by Laura Bush to work on the wallpaper and upholstery in several rooms, including the Lincoln and master bedrooms. His distinctive hand-printed designs, available only to the design trade, are carried in 14 showrooms across the country.

hillary vermont 72 (AAS) has her own manufacturing business, Tic Toc Rocks, in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Inspired by the beauty of the Southwest, Vermont etches rocks with ancient motifs and her own designs, transforming them into affordable home accessories including clocks, coasters, and tables. Previously she worked for ten years in advertising at large agencies and CBS Records and then started her own graphic licensing business, Hillary Vermont Designs, whose licensees include MoMA, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Smithsonian. Contact her via email at hillaryvermont@hotmail.com, and visit www.tictocrocks.com and www. oakcreekprintworks.com/artistprofiles/ hillaryvermont.

INTERIOR DESIGN
charles rutherford 51 was elected Life Member of the Interior Designers Guild, the oldest interior designers group in Texas. zoya bograd 87 and scott sanders 98 participated in the 2006 Designer Showhouse of New Jersey, where more than 20 professionals collaborated to create a masterpiece in interior design and landscaping for a modern-day mansion in Saddle River. sheila bridges 93 is currently embarking on a new Internet venture, www. thenestmaker.com, to keep designconscious consumers privy to notable interior design trends, products, and resources. She is an accomplished interior designer, perhaps best known for designing Bill Clintons New York offices. marina shevelev 95 is co-creator of the family-run real estate development company Princeton Development Associates. She and her husband, Michael Shevelev, work together, combining her interior design skills with his woodworking and business background to create desirable homes in the Princeton, New Jersey, area. anna wolcott 04 works for Sarah Smith Interiors, Inc.

PHOTOGRAPHY
gina cassese 06 is working as a graphic designer for LiveTechnology, a provider of marketing communications technology offering an array of online business solutions. Gina has recently designed an application for voice-over IP communications geared toward the online gaming community.

IN MEMORIAM
florence klotz 41 died November 1, 2006, at age 86. Six-time Tony award winner Klotz designed some of Broadways most memorable costumes: The beaded showgirl togs for Follies, the ornate Japanese robes of Pacific Overtures, and the iconic webbed dress worn by Chita Rivera in Kiss of the Spider Woman. stuart shedletsky (faculty) died on May 29, 2006, age 62. Shedletsky was a beloved and influential member of the Parsons fine arts faculty for more than 30 years. An artist and curator, he has had work in numerous solo and group exhibitions and is represented in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Albright Knox Gallery, among others. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he studied at Parsons and the University of New Mexico before receiving his MFA from Yale. adrienne adri steckling-coen 58 died November 5, 2006. A sportswear designer known for clean lines and colorful patterns, she began in the studios of designers including Oleg Cassini and Anne Fogarty and at retailer B.H. Wragge. She launched her own collection, Adri Designs, Inc., in 1966, and created lines under several different labels, including Collectors Items and Clothes Circuit. In 1976 she opened Adri Studio Limited on Seventh Avenue, which is now a private client, buy-and-order-based company run from Adris loft on West 20th Street. The studio plans to issue a spring collection. A memorial service was held at Parsons on February 9.

GRAPHIC DESIGN
jack looney 56 (AAS) recently published a book titled Now Batting, Number The Mystique, Superstition, and Lore of Baseballs Uniform Numbers (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers). It took him 14 years to compile this passionate look at the numbers in the game of baseball that includes dream teams, boyhood idols, history, retired numbers, behind-the-scenes tales, complete rosters, and hundreds of photographs. Jack and his book were featured on the front page of the sports section of the Bergen County Record in August, on ESPN2s Cold Pizza in July, and on more than 50 radio shows nationwide. ethel clark smith 27 (Interior Design). During her extraordinary 70-year career in interior design, Smith (with Betty Sherrill 51, above) created rooms in the White House, the Ritz Carlton in Boston, and the Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. After studying at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts (now Parsons), Smith worked under the direction of Eleanor Brown (20), the legendary founder of McMillen, Inc. Among Smiths clients were Douglas Dillon, George Abbott, Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy, Doris Duke, and Marshall Field.

ILLUSTRATION
michael chesworth 86 is a childrens book illustrator. His most recent work, Inventor McGregor, follows Rainy Day Dream (1992), Archibald Frisby (1994) and Alphaboat (2002), all published by Farrar Straus & Giroux. For more information, visit www.crashbangboom.com. joseph dunn 01 writes a comic series about crappy movies titled Joe Loves Crappy Movies. It has been published for the past year online at www.digital pimponline.com.

Image Courtesy of Interior Design magazine

paul siskin 79 (Interior Design) believes the substance of space and its ability to function matter as much as its style, and all should reflect its inhabitants. He launched the New Yorkbased interior design firm Siskin Valls in 1984 and was ranked among the countrys top 100 designers by both New York and House Beautiful magazines. He was inducted into the Interior Design magazine Hall of Fame in November. I try to express what my clients want, says Siskin. But often what they want are design fantasies. One aspect of my job is to bring them back to reality about the way they actually live.

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Donors to Parsons
parsons thanks the following donors for their contributions to the annual fund in 2006. $50,000+ The Brown Foundation Inc. Alice Dorn Nancy Dorn $25,000$49,999 David B. Ford Reed D. Krakoff 89 Eck Meng Goh $10,000$24,999 Presidents Associates Paul R. Aaron The Jayne and Leonard Abess Family Foundation, Inc. Pamela Bell Este Lauder Companies, Inc. Gubelmann Family Foundation, Inc. James Gubelmann 73 Hans-Peter Hamm (P) Andrew S. and Fatima Ng (P) Sally Susman Cora and Douglas Thomas (P) $5,000$9,999 Parsons Table Society Cherie and Bruce Burton (P) Henza and Nuri Colakoglu (P) The Corita Charitable Trust Andra B. Ehrenkranz Fresh Inc. The Godfrey Family Foundation Jay Godfrey 04 Goldman Sachs & Co. Joseph R. Gromek Earl S. Kluft (P) Anand G. and Anuradha Mahindra (P) Cora 51 and Clarence Michalis Alina Roytberg 84 Franz-Josef and Petra Schwarz (P) Jessica M. Weber 66 $1,000$4,999 Frank Alvah Parsons Society Francis H. Abbott (P) Lucia T. Benton 00 James Borynack 67 The Boston Foundation Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Inc. Rosalind Cohen 29 Rosalind G. Cohen Trust College Central Network Inc. CRE Fund Juan Del Rivero (P) Lucille A. Diorio 75 Jamie D. Drake 78 Jeffery and Evie Engler (P) Marjorie Feeney 51 and Robert Feeney Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Ann 76 and Joel Horowitz Jewish Communal Fund of New York Jewish Community Foundation Kei Kin and Stephen Chin Jo (P) Michele Kahn 04 KMW USA, Inc. Debbie Kuo 85 Pauline and Robert W. Kwan (P) Derek Lam 90 Ki Sang and Sang Eun Lee (P) Natalie K. Loggins 95 W. Bruce Lunsford (P) Mark Mancini 85 Thomas Milo (P) Robert Mundheim Samuel Plimpton and Wendy Shattuck (P) Princeton Development Associates Diane D. and Steven Reynolds (P) Cathy Weiss Siegal Jessica Slavin 09 Sumner A. and Sharon G. Slavin (P) Margaret Smith 89 Celina Stabell 98 Marcy Syms Sy Syms Foundation The Teck Foundation J. Nicholson and Kakuko O. Thomas (P) Wally Findlay Galleries International, Inc. Ding Y. Yang (P) Glenn Yusuf (P) $500$999 Anthony Mason Associates, Inc. Paulette L. Bogan-Johnston 83 Dolores C. Braxton 50 Timothy S. Button 75 John F. Byers IV 96 Dorothea K. Darden 97 Barbara D. Etherington 46 Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Janice W. Gewirtz 78 The Henry B. Plant Memorial Fund, Inc. Connie and Kevin C. Howe (P) Linda M. Kane (P) Barbara M. 99 and Edward J. Laux Behna M. Levin John A. 75 and Laura F. Lijewski Robert S. Lu 79 Ann-Lindsay Marsh (P) The Marsh Family Trust Anthony Mason (P) The Dominic Mondavi Family (P) Ralph and Sandra D. Owen 57 Phyllis Oxman 71 Rosemarie A. Rawson 85 Danielle Roberts 88 Timothy Shepard and Andra Georges (P) Elizabeth A. Terrell 76 Marshall and Sally K. Tycher (P) Delores Viarengo 95 Andrew H. Weigel Marjorie J. Wright 82 David Zackin $100$499 Jane E. Aaron 88 Jill Alanko (P) Barbara Alley-Simon 58 Jorge Alva 88 Hanay K. Angell 90 Atelier Lumiere Inc. Ellen and Richard Babcock (P) David C. Barrineau 97 David B. Barritt 77 David S. Baskin (P) Karen W. Baumann 00 Aldo A. Becci 49 Laurie Beckelman Belle Fleur LLC Thomas Bezucha 88 Anna Bickford 88 Bonnie Birnbaum 77 Bonnie Birnbaum Interiors Gisa Botbol Stephanie B. 58 and F. Bruce Bradshaw Patricia P. Brett 92 Elena S. Brown 00 Kathrin Brown (P) David C. Burger Bruce and Berlita Calumpong (P) Francis and Sandra P. Cannon Kristin A. Caskey 87 Katharina E. Castiblanco Grammer 84 Jack F. Ceglic 53 Ronnie S. 53 and Seymour Chalif Sil K. and Ping Chon (P) Jee Y. Choung 64 Yookyung C. Chung 01 Stanley Church 63 Terrence Comella 80 Computer Associates International, Inc. Leonard R. and Maria Corwin (P) Rachael B. Cronin 87 Odette T. de Bruniere 41 Peter de Seve 80 Anna M. Deluca 85 Margaret J. El 83 Anne T. Elbaqali 75 June Ellien 94 Rochelle G. Etingin 54 Jose and Tania Fano (P) Paul A. Farris 83 Sally J. 90 and Peter M. Finnican Daniel and Elizabeth Fitzsimmons (P) Milco Flores Linda R. Foa 64 Barry Folsom and Tracey Stewart (P) Erica S. Forester Alyce A. Fountaine 45 Alfred Geller (P) Geller Media Management, Inc. Carl Gewirz Gabriel W. Gigliotti 03 Patrick and Judith Gigliotti (P) Flora Gill 02 Gloria Gleason 52 Engte C. Go (P) Larry G. Goldstein Peter Gong 97 Paul H. Gregory 92 Mary Louise Guertler 61 Anne E. Hall 74 and William Sorin Young Jo Ham (P) Gina I. Han (P) Jennifer S. Harris 94 Myka J. Harris 02 Joann P. Hill 90 Lynn S. Hock 02 Craig 74 and Gail L. 77 Hollenback Konrad Huber 93 Hughes Family Rev. Trust Agreement for Jointly Owned Prop. Rosemary Hughes 53 Victoria Hyman 76 Interior Details, Ltd. Marilyn Jeffrey Richard Johnson 76 Mary L. Kates 90 Robin K. Kelly 96 Erica M. Kim 03 Sung Sik Kim Wak Gun and Young Hee Kim (P) Young Ho Kim and Jae Suk Baek (P) Katarina Kirilcuk-Kojak 82 Soteria 92 and George N. Kledaras Beatrice Kovich 75 Paul R. Kuhn 85 Jessie and Tony Kwan (P) Helene R. Lanster 50 Mary N. Lantzounis 60 Chih-Shan Lee

Doo Young and Chan Kyung Lee (P) Enid S. Lee 83 Michael W. Lehr 87 Joseph R. Lembo 77 Paul T. and Brenda Liistro (P) Deanna Littell 60 Warren Liu Eugenie Livanos 95 Mark Loeffler IALD 90 Mary Ann 80 and Salvatore Lomonaco MD Hector E. Lopez 87 David C. Lubman 91 Lynda L. MacDonald 95 Lisa Maddox 96 Aila M. Main 99 Robert B. Mang Umberto A. Marcucci 57 Brenda Mason (P) Emily P. Maxwell 42 Susan L. McCardell 47 Cynthia J. McLoughlin 84 Terry McQuillin 76 William A. McRobbie 73 Walter Mehr 48 John T. Melton 66 Judith E. Messina Joel Michalek James H. Millis Jr. (P) Elena Miranda 99 Abigail Moore 87 Patricia Muhilly 73 Yoshiye E. Murase 52 Robert B. Neubecker 75 Mary C. Newell 84 Joshua Niedelman 02 Louis and Anna Niedelman (P) Debora Nilssen 68 Kenneth H. Nilssen 67 James O. Noel 55 Northwestern Mutual Foundation Kalman Noselson Richard Obus 62* Candy ODonel-Browne 63 Jane B. Oh 92 Young Cho Ok Masayoshi N. and Kayoka Osawa (P) Annabelle R. Osmena 58 Jo Ellen Panton 66 Sungyon Park 97 Susan Parr 86 Anthony Pellino ASID 86 Meredith Waga Perez 91 Jeffrey A. and Nancie Perlowitz 93 John R. Peterson James Pickman (P) Aileen Piffard (P) Michael J. Pinto 87 Peter J. Pioli 69 Mary Pisarkiewicz 79

Platinum Design Nataliya Ponomaryova Richard and Barbara Pool (P) PVM Designs Margaret Rather Curlet 68 Susan Refsnes 75 Martha B. Reinken 50 Reverb Christian Rodriguez 05 Elizabeth J. Rosen 88 Richard A. Rosenfeld 67 Geoffrey M. Roth 97 Jacqueline E. Rothman 91 Valeriy Ryadchikov (P) Mary E. Sabbatino 80 Rose Lou T. Saldana (P) Kathleen D. 87 and William Samuelson Laura F. Santisi-Johnson 76 Carla M. Sardeira 93 K. J. Sayler 76 Carole A. Schaffer 86 John C. Scribner (P) Jenny Shiu Yen Lee (P) Harold R. Simmons, Jr. 65 Robert C. Simon 66 Trudy Slater 93 Louisa Smith 82 Nulsen Smith Cynthia S. Sobel 62 Lorna Soh 05 Ann D. Sole 83 Sylvia C. Soler Armstrong 78 Roger D. Soman Piyada A. Sookdee 93 Mark Stern 83 Mary Ellen B. Stottmann 65 Frances G. Suder 47 Issac Suder Kyouichi Takeishi Kazumi Tanimura 96 Jo Ann Tansman 77 Terrence Comella Design Studio John H. Thomas, Jr. 74 Hang J. Tsao (P) Irene N. Vandervoort 92 Ashleigh Verrier 04 Verrier LLC Helene R. Walker 87 Wallace Church Associates, Inc. Mary E. Weinmann Claire S. Werner-OBrien 83 Cedric C. and Coleen Whittington Sharon R. Wilkes 75 Nan Ruvel and Sheldon Winner (P) Yiu Tung B. Wong Lydia B. Yaslow 74 Suk K. Yim Chin Y Yu Mitchell T. Yu (P) Rebecca L. Zaslow 88

Gifts of $1$99 totaled almost $14,000. Every gift helps and we thank each of you for your contribution. Key: *=Deceased P=Parent of a Parsons student We made every attempt to ensure this list is as accurate as possible. If you notice an error, please contact the Parsons Development Office at 212.229.8590 x4396.

fine arts Lester Martin Scholarship Blanche Sussman Scholarship fine arts mfa Chaim Gross Sculpture Scholarship Oscar Kolin Fellowship Blanche Sussman Scholarship general Stanley Curtis Scholarship Mr. & Mrs. F. Burrall Hoffman Scholarship Berthold and Erna Mechur Scholarship Laverne Neil Scholarship Michael Tebbs Nunn Emergency Loan Fund Parsons General Scholarship Fund Charles Paterson Scholarship Laura and John Pomerantz Scholarship Natalie Pion Scholarship Alice Robinson Scholarship Malcolm and Betty Smith Scholarship C.V. Starr Scholarship Myrtle Whitehill Scholarship illustration Alice Boldt Shifman Memorial Scholarship interior design Anderson Scholarship Mary Brandt Scholarship Brunschwig & Fils Scholarships Tom Fox Scholarship Adelaide H. Gadde Scholarship Ruth F. Meyers Weinberg Scholarship photography Marty Forscher Photo Award Photo Award Dinner Scholarship programmatic support We would like to acknowledge the William Randolph Hearst Foundation for its generous support of the Student Industry Partnership Program, which funds stipends to students working with nonprofit organizations, and the Estate of Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence for their dedication to Parsons pre-college program by supporting the Lawrence Scholars Program, which provides scholarships for high-school students.

parsons the new school for design scholarships/ departments

architecture Anderson Scholarship Robert Hoerle Scholarship Michael Kalil Endowment communication design Joyce DiMauro Memorial Scholarship Kathy Dunn Memorial Scholarship Pride K. Leong Scholarship Willard and Aura Levitas Scholarship Cipe Pineles Scholarship Henry Wolf Communication Design Scholarship decorative arts Ruth F. Meyers Weinberg Scholarship design and management Robert Hoerle Scholarship fashion A/X Armani Exchange Scholarship Perry Ellis CFDA Scholarship Perry Ellis Estate Scholarship John Fresco Scholarship Herbert Gallen Scholarship Stanley Heller Award for Excellence in Menswear Design Melanie Kahane Scholarship Gene Kahn Scholarship R.M. Kaplan Scholarship Adolf Klein Scholarship Vincent Knoll Scholarship Carole Little Scholarship Claire McCardell Scholarship NAMSB Scholarship Norman Norell Scholarship Samuel Brent Robinson Scholarship Saks Fifth Avenue Scholarship Isabel and Irving Tolkin Scholarship David Warren Memorial Scholarship

The Gift of Education

Parsons The New School for Design relies on the generosity of dedicated individuals and organizations to provide students with merit- and need-based competitive scholarships to pursue their educations. The gift of endowed scholarship support is a Ling-Zhi Hew wonderful way to have a lasting impression on the lives of students and create a legacy that lives on for many years. In honor of the programs centennial, we are proud to highlight the 200607 interior design scholarship recipients: Katherine Bragg: Tom Fox Scholarship and Ruth F. Meyers Weinberg Scholarship Alba Contreras: Mary Brandt Scholarship Martina Sencakova: Adelaide Gadde Scholarship Ling-Zhi Hew Laura Cheung: Brunschwig & Fils Scholarship To learn more about how to make a gift of a scholarship to any Katherine Bragg Katherine Bragg Martina Sencakova of Parsons departments, please contact Lucretia Cavan in the development office at 212.229.8590 x4218 or cavanl@newschool.edu.

Martina Sencakova

Laura Cheung

katherine bragg is the recipient of both the Tom Fox and the Ruth F. Meyers Weinberg scholarships. She is involved in Parsons Target collaboration, has interned with Tsao and McKown Architects, and is currently interning with interior designer Danielle Galland. In December 2006 she received the Rising Star Award at the Women in Design Award Luncheon. martina sencakova is the recipient of the Adelaide Gadde Scholarship. She is a junior studying commercial interior design, and is eyeing a future in the healthcare industry. laura cheung received the Brunschwig & Fils Scholarship, which allowed her to study in Paris. She is a senior graduating in May.

Laura Cheung
We are pleased to announce that two Parsons students were selected to receive the prestigious full-tuition scholarship supported by the Angelo Donghia Foundation. Schools may submit only two students for consideration, and out of 80-plus candidates across the country, both of Parsons entrants, paula rodriguez and ling-zhi hew, won.

Laura Cheung

Katherine Bragg

Alumni SPOTLIGHT Victoria Hagan 84

Victoria graduated from Parsons in 1984, in what was then the environmental design program. She wasted no time making a mark for herself professionally, and, by 1991, she had started her own design firm, Victoria Hagan Interiors. Her talent was recognized early on by many and in 1995 New York magazine named her one of the 10 Top Trend-Setting Designers. In 2002 she was cited by Architectural Digest as one of the AD 100, the 100 most important and influential interior and architectural designers. Two years later, she was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame. Her work as a designer is characterized by a clear understanding of the relationships of interiors, architecture, fine art, furnishings, and products. Her portfolio includes an impressive range of residential and commercial interiors, a signature line of home furnishings, and, most recently, a product line with Target that has launched her name and her design sensibilities into the public realm in a whole new, broadly accessible way. As her success has soared, Victoria has remained committed to her alma mater, in particular to helping the school continually build its strengths in interior design studies. Most recently, she has been a wise and forward-thinking proponent of extending the interior design curriculum by strengthening its connections with the architecture and lighting programs. Victoria has also been an enthusiastic supporter of the Centurion Award event, which in its first two years celebrated the lives and work of Parsons alumni Albert Hadley and Betty Sherrill, and brought new public and media attention to the interior design program. Beyond her time, good counsel, and enthusiasm, Victoria has also generously supported Parsons through her financial gifts for programs, scholarships, and special projects. For her remarkable dedication to Parsons, for the pride she has fostered as one of the schools most distinguished and involved alumni, and for her commitment to the highest standards of education at Parsons, The New School is honored to present Victoria Hagan with the Distinguished Service Award.

RE:SPOND Jamie Drake 78

what is your best parsons memory? The excitement of my first daywearing a jumpsuit, ready to be a designer and a New Yorker. is there one piece of advice you wish youd had then? Yes, and that would have been, dont go out dancing til the wee hours the night before deadlines. what was your first job after college? I started my own firm right away. Literally, two days after graduation I got a call asking me if I would take on the design of two apartments in the same building for a friend and his father. whats the best part of your job now? My favorite part is truly getting to Known for dynamic interiors that are beautifully bold yet exceptionally livable, New York-based interior designer Jamie Drake has created spaces for high-profile clients around the world. At Parsons he earned his degree in three years, received the Decorators Club Award, and interned with the late Angelo Donghia. Drake was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 2003, and in 2005 he published Jamie Drakes New American Glamour (Bulfinch Press). He is currently working on a private foundations home in a landmarked New York City townhouse, a 25,000-square-foot government project, and a new house in the Hamptons. His fabric collection for Schumacher launches this spring.
Photos by Matthew Sussman Photo by Peter Freed

what do you think is the most exciting trend in your field today? New materials and technological advances are the industry trends that most excite and fascinate me. what is your most marked characteristic? Optimism. My glass is always half full. And forgiveness; I can have a meltdown, but get over it in 15 minutes. whats your current obsession? Creating a new baroque vocabulary. I am fascinated with voluptuous forms, from the 17th century to the 1940s, and how to transform those into a modern language. whats the last book you read? The Beautiful Fall, a fantastic read about the rivalry between Yves St. Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld. who would you invite to your ideal dinner party? Id fill my table with Louis Kahn, Charles de Bestegui, Marie Antoinette, Busby Berkeley, Mahatma Gandhi, Beau Brummel, Faye Dunaway, and Nostradamus. if you could re-imagine any space in the world, which one would it be? The White House, politically, as the interior is quite beautiful. what is your favorite red thing? A searing hot summer sunset sky.

know my clients, then finding the solutions that express their personalities. what did your mother want you to be when you grew up? A lawyer, doctor, or architect. I guess I ended up fulfilling all three in a way. when did you know that you wanted to be an interior designer? I first knew it was my calling when I was about six. I was in charge of decorating and antiques for the backyard fort I had built with my best friend. if you hadnt taken up interior design, what would you have been? A criminal trial lawyer, either defense or prosecution. Think Law and Order.

The New School Board of Trustees presents the Distinguished Service Award to individuals who have shown exceptional dedication to the university. Interior designer and board of governors member Victoria Hagan (along with four others) was presented with the award at the Presidents Council reception on October 25, 2006. This is the citation read in her honor:
Victoria Hagan is an exemplary member of the extended community of Parsons The New School for Design. She is someone whose engagement with the school spans many years and many roles: she is an alumna of Parsons, a member of the board of governors, and a generous supporter of the school.

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