Page 8 - Work8_2014_Parsons

EDITOR’S
LETTER

Many design critics point to troubling homogeneity in
the newest built environments, raising questions about
the difficulty of people to feel connected to such generic
habitats. Some contemporary designers seem to have
developed a kind of aesthetic “neutering” of spaces they
create, rather than celebrating rich local design.

In response, Parsons provides an environment that stim-
ulates students through a dialectical process to engage with
the widest/broadest possible design options. Our students
must have the training and understanding to develop
specific formal design protocols but also—and just as
important—to engage with the aesthetic imperatives that
enrich habitats across the globe. And we must continually
open ourselves to these imperatives. Work 8: Interior
Sites presents our students’ engagement with these ques-
tions through interior design.

Their proposals are located in a variety of neighborhoods:
New York City, Atlantic City, Guatemala City, the Sudan,
Brazil and Saudi Arabia. They demonstrate a blending
of cultures that challenge national borders, depend less
on non-renewable resources and celebrate historical,
cultural and local references.