Throughout my architectural career, I was an active educator,
sharing my passion, knowledge, and experience with architecture and interior
design students and inspiring new generations of professionals to pursue
careers in “social architecture.”
At the Fashion Institute of Technology, of the State University of New York, I taught advanced Institutional Interior Design, which focused on supportive housing for special-needs populations. Students did extensive research, identifying program needs and space requirements, and creating original designs. At the City College School of Architecture and Environmental Studies I conducted seminars and studio workshops in housing and urban design, neighborhood preservation, building renovation and adaptive reuse. I served as the professional consultant to the City College Architectural Center, providing technical assistance to non-profit, community-based organizations helping them develop and realize projects. In January 1985, during their winter break, along five of my City College students, I established a studio in Washington, D.C. Through an intensive design “charette” process, with my support and supervision, the students created the preliminary designs for the Federal City Shelter. A very significant project, it brought the plight of the homeless into the national consciousness and led to federal government funding for the renovation of a large old and deteriorated building and its adaptive reuse as a model shelter. |