Dezeen School Shows: a proposal to transform a subway station into a community hotspot for art and culture is among the projects from interior design students at Pratt Institute.
Also featured is a wildlife centre for children that encourages environmental awareness and a bathhouse that highlights issues of global water insecurity and contamination.
Pratt Institute
Institution: School of Design
Course: BFA Interior Design Thesis
Tutors: Melissa Cicetti, Ji Young Kim, John Nafziger and Alexander Schweder
School statement:
"The BFA in Interior Design at Pratt Institute prepares students to engage in critical inquiry through theoretical and applied research, establishing them as innovators and leaders in the field of interior design.
"The curriculum addresses emerging and innovative technologies, sustainable practices, interdisciplinary collaboration and issues of ethical and social responsibility in a diverse and global context.
"Seeing the possibility of design as an agent of change, interior design at Pratt expands the potential of professional practice, design education and our understanding of the built environment.
"The programme culminates in a thesis project developed in the final year of study. Work is done under the direction of a thesis advisor and is completed within one year.
"The thesis provides students the opportunity and freedom to pursue a topic in depth, building on the studies they have undertaken during their time at Pratt."
The Corner That Knew Your Name: Bodega as a Civic Monument by Kiana Abraham
"This project reframes the New York City bodega as a civic monument shaped by stories of belonging, trust, survival and generosity. Fleeting daily transactions are embedded into the ground as living documentations of people in history.
"Anticipating a future where bodegas cease to exist, it preserves their physicality and context within daily life in an age of growing urban isolation.
"If we let these places disappear without a trace, the question is no longer only about bodegas. It is about whose labour, whose presence and whose life is worth remembering in the footprint of New York City."
Student: Kiana Abraham
Course: BFA Interior Design Thesis
Tutor: Melissa Cicetti
Email: kianaabraham.studiobloom[at]gmail.com
The Nesting Ground: An Immersive Habitat for Play and Discovery by Sophie Betz Buckingham
"Set within the Williamsburg Bridge, this immersive, nature-based environment fosters environmental awareness for young New Yorkers through play and exploration.
"On weekends and after school, children and caregivers engage with sensory-rich landscapes and wildlife, enjoying a unique urban sanctuary designed for discovery, connection and hands-on learning about the natural world."
Student: Sophie Betz Buckingham
Course: BFA Interior Design Thesis
Tutor: Alex Schweder
Email: sophiebuckinghamstudio[at]gmail.com
Connection Within Division by Hwanoh (Alex) Cho
"The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) produces fragmented spaces at ground level, disrupting continuity between neighbourhoods.
"This project transforms the space below the bridge into an interiorised public environment that offers comfort and safety.
"By reorganising and activating the structural rhythm, the design reclaims this residual space and establishes a new point of connection within the city."
Student: Hwanoh (Alex) Cho
Course: BFA Interior Design Thesis
Tutor: Ji Young Kim
Email: hcho645[at]pratt.edu
Coexistence Grounds by Chulin (Carina) Deng
"Urban expansion and increasing human activity continue to disrupt the habitats of migratory birds, making new forms of ecological awareness, protection and care increasingly urgent.
"This thesis explores the coexistence of humans and birds through a spatial system that supports observation, rescue, education and public engagement.
"The design integrates a bird rescue centre, exhibition spaces, dining areas and landscape pavilions, which are all connected by low-impact circulation that minimises disturbance to the surrounding environment.
"The image presents a flight rehabilitation space within the rescue centre, where injured or weakened birds can gradually rebuild strength, relearn flight and prepare for safe release back into the wild."
Student: Chulin (Carina) Deng
Course: BFA Interior Design Thesis
Tutor: John Nafziger
Email: carina.chulindeng[at]gmail.com
Echoes in the Crack: Listening, Movement and Collective Urban Memory by Jiaqi Gao
"Cities are filled with sound, yet people rarely listen. Every day experiences often happen in parallel, rarely intersecting or being shared.
"In response, this project uses listening to activate urban cracks, collecting stories and translating movement into spatial sound.
"Through this process, invisible experiences become perceivable, allowing narratives and urban flows to intersect and resonate. Ultimately, these experiences converge into a shared and evolving collective urban memory."
Student: Jiaqi Gao
Course: BFA Interior Design Thesis
Tutor: John Nafziger
Email: jiaqigao019[at]gmail.com
Accumulating Traces by Ruhani Kathuria
"This thesis challenges conventional interiors that neutralise context and erase use. It proposes an alternative interior where marks, repairs and traces of action accumulate rather than vanish.
"Through performative protocols, space becomes an evolving archive, materialising presence and dispersing authorship across time and collective participation.
"This requires designers to think less about preservation of perfection and more about stewardship and long-term transformation, expanding the role of the designer beyond form-making.
"The designer becomes someone who constructs conditions for participation, interaction and accumulation, rather than dictating a singular outcome."
Student: Ruhani Kathuria
Course: BFA Interior Design Thesis
Tutor: Alex Schweder
Email: kathuriaruhani[at]gmail.com
Building as Spatial Performer: A Responsive Interior Shaped by Water, Light and Wind by Xinyi (Tiffany) Xu
"This project transforms Pier 57 into a spatial performer that responds to natural elements such as water, light and wind. The project aims to help individuals affected by urban stress to reconnect with their senses and nature.
"Through porosity and guided circulation, the design uses enclosed passages to choreograph a transition from urban stress toward natural restoration."
Student: Xinyi (Tiffany) Xu
Course: BFA Interior Design Thesis
Tutor: Ji Young Kim
Email: xxux23tiffany[at]gmail.com
Connective Tissue by Alvin You
"This thesis proposes a distributed network of youth-centred creative spaces, which are embedded within New York City public housing.
"By inserting adaptable modules for art, music and mentorship, the design strengthens existing social networks, while supporting safety and expression.
"The aim was to position creative infrastructure as an early intervention to address systemic disinvestment and to support long-term community resilience."
Student: Alvin You
Course: BFA Interior Design Thesis
Tutor: Melissa Cicetti
Email: alvinyzh8[at]gmail.com
A Bathhouse for Cleansing by Rahil Nimesh Mandalia
"This thesis proposes a bathhouse on the Gowanus Canal that questions bathing as a cleansing ritual against the reality of water contamination.
"Water from the canal is filtered within the bathhouse and each phase of filtration is paired with a distinct bathing experience. As a result, patrons are invited to contemplate global water insecurity."
Student: Rahil Nimesh Mandalia
Course: BFA Interior Design Thesis
Tutor: Melissa Cicetti
Email: rmandali[at]pratt.edu
Above and Below by Nathipong Piromtheeravanich
"The 14th Street–Union Square station is reimagined as a community transit hub, extending the vibrant life above into the underground.
"The design is guided by social attraction and sensory experience. It introduces markets, art, performances and gathering spaces, transforming transit into an active, experiential layer of movement, culture and collective urban life."
Student: Nathipong Piromtheeravanich
Course: BFA Interior Design Thesis
Tutor: Ji Young Kim
Email: npiromth[at]pratt.edu
Partnership content
This school show is a partnership between Dezeen and Pratt Institute. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.