The Office of Academic Affairs awarded Taylor Renaud ’21 (MPSS), who worked on the capstone project featured on this page (along with Lindsey Draves), the Chairman’s Award for her overall performance at NYSID. At NYSID, capstone projects are long journeys that challenge students to brainstorm, conduct research, and synthesize all they have learned. The journey ends with a presentation to a jury of faculty and industry professionals. Our students work closely with faculty to create hypothetical designs that offer solutions to real-world problems.

Student: Taylor Renaud & Lindsey Draves
Project: Fenty Brands Retail Design
Program: Master of Professional Studies in Sustainable Interior Environments
Instructor: Luca Baraldo & Bethany Borel

Taylor Renaud, the 2021 Chairman’s Award winner for the MPSS, collaborated with fellow student Lindsey Draves on this flagship retail store for Fenty Brands in an existing three-story, 6,800-SF footprint in SoHo. The challenge from NYSID was to create a sustainable project that promoted social justice and diversity. Renaud and Draves chose to create a space for pop star Rihanna’s three Fenty Brands—Fenty (luxury clothing), Fenty Beauty & Skin, and Savage X Fenty (affordable lingerie)—because each brand is about the empowerment of people of diverse races, skin tones, and sizes. The overarching concept for the space became “a journey” of movement from the morning to the night, with each floor encompassing a different brand: The makeup brand on the main floor represented the preparation for the day, the clothing brand on the third floor represented the heart of the day, and the lingerie brand in the basement represented life at night. Natural light was a pivotal part of the design, both because of the concept and because optimizing natural daylight is a strategy to conserve energy. The existing structure only had windows in the front of the building, so they made the most of the natural light by removing about one-third of the third floor, allowing the daylight to spill down into the main floor, so people could experience the true shades of makeup on their skin. The third floor became a more intimate nook for the luxury clothing brand. They situated the lingerie brand in the basement, with little light. The duo made this darkness part of the design, creating an aura of lush mystery and daring (even adding a pole dancing studio in the back!).   

Part of the sustainability strategy of the design was sourcing the most sustainable materials from the fewest manufacturers possible. Renaud explained that when you source from fewer manufacturers, you cut down on transportation and reduce the carbon footprint of the interior. They used the Material Bank database to search out and evaluate the certifications of every product, going with recycled Cambria quartz, no-VOC paints from Clare (a minority-and-woman-owned business), and Madera wood floors, with a FSC certification that ensures they were sustainably harvested.

NYSID’s Master of Professional Studies in Sustainable Interior Environments (MPSS), led by David Bergman, RA, LEED AP, is a post-professional program structured to prepare designers to assume leadership roles in developing sustainable interior spaces. The guiding principles of the program are designing resilience to climate change disruption, giving students the tools to evaluate the carbon footprint of the spaces they create, and designing for well-being. The degree can be pursued in person or entirely online from anywhere in the country. For info visit: nysid.edu/mps-s.