Welcome from David Sprouls
David Sprouls
This is an unusual issue of Atelier because the majority of it was written before the COVID-19 pandemic, and part of it was executed during the lockdown of New York City. We have no way of knowing how this crisis will alter the way people live and work in the long term, but we do know we are at an inflection point, and that interior designers are going to have to reimagine the way they look at spaces as a result of what we have all been through. As educators, it’s our responsibility to lead that charge and, as always, NYSID’s curriculum will challenge students to envision how people can live better and more safely in our changing world, from hospitals to workplaces to homes.
In this issue, you’ll see the huge breadth of possibilities within the interior design profession. Our cover story, “Return to Optimism,” delves into the world of hospitality design through the lens of alumni at Stonehill Taylor. The hospitality industry has been deeply affected, and it’s our hope that there will be a flowering of safe public gatherings after the worst of the crisis is over, and that the restaurants, bars, and hotels will open to people overjoyed to be out again.
In the story “Cause Design Can Change You,” we look at the fantastic designs MFA-1 students created over the past two summers in the service learning studio, creating interiors that help victims of domestic violence overcome trauma and heal. The stories in this issue touch on our students’ and graduates’ designs of hospitals, residences, offices, counseling centers, hotels, and more.
The College has seen enormous growth in our online learning programs; and we’re lucky, for many reasons, to have had a strong digital-learning infrastructure in place. This allowed NYSID to be nimble as the threat of the COVID-19 mounted in NYC, and to provide a plan for the safety of our students, faculty, and employees, and the continuation of learning. I am proud of the numerous staff across nearly every administrative department, as well as our faculty, for working tirelessly over Spring Break to train others and for implementing our contingency plan in the face of COVID-19. The closing of the buildings helped many students and faculty who might have avoided distance learning to embrace it.
Before New York City was impacted by the coronavirus, we hosted the most successful annual gala in NYSID’s history, raising nearly $580,000 for NYSID’s scholarship fund. More than 350 members of the interior design community turned out to celebrate honorees Brian J. McCarthy, Gale Singer, Andy Singer, and Elizabeth Lawrence. The funds will help deserving students realize their dreams and ensure the most diverse and talented pool of students continues to flow into the interior design industry. We’re grateful to gala co-chairs and trustees Alexa Hampton, David Kleinberg, Dennis Miller, Susan Nagle, Betsy Ruprecht, and Maria Spears, and for the support of our design community. Thank you!
As always, we want to hear about interesting innovations, initiatives, and adaptations at your companies. Please reach out to the editorial team here.