Black/Fashion: Color and Culture

In collaboration with the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, fashion curation by theo tyson

fall ‘25

Process

“The grid” is a design guide to break the space symbolically and physically. Breaking the black as a monolith to redefining it as Black as a culture. 


Within my practice, I iterate best when making models to express my initial ideas. These models above represent past iterations of my previous designs before reaching the final design. 

Worked with a fashion curator from the Boston MFA, theo tyson, and designed a Black/Fashion: Color Culture exhibition space within the Linde Family gallery in the museum.  Throughout the semester, I explored the breadth and depth of black as a color and Blackness as a kaleidoscopic identity contextualized through fashion and visual arts, both historically and contemporarily. We were entrusted to ideate a design solution following her curatorial statement into 6 distinct sections: Good Mourning, Good Evening, Texture, Protest Dress, Kaleidoscope, and Afrofuturism. My project statement is inspired by the term "Sunday's Best," which is a term used by Black Americans during times of oppression and marginalization as an expression of freedom during Church to dress themselves in their best clothes. André Leon Talley’s capes, synonymous with his identity, are present and pivotal to theo’s curatorial vision for the exhibition. Talley’s religious upbringing is deeply rooted within the Black church, particularly through his grandmother, who instilled in him values of dignity, grace, and meticulous dressing for Sunday service, implementing the church as his first significant experience with fashion, ritual, and community.  

Final Models

Architect Christoper Alexander released in 2004-written over the course of three decades- The Nature of Order: An Essay on Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe. The four-volume set outlines the properties that Alexander believes underlie beauty in art, nature, and architecture. This exhibit will be the abridged 3D version of his manifesto. 

Quilts are a medium of design that can depict beliefs, commemorate, and educate the public on human rights violations, as well as represent groups and oppressed peoples. By placing quilts and equality quilts, it creates a dialogue between the two types of pieces within the same medium, showing its range. 

Renders

The Art of Sitting takes the gaze from the chairs as objects and focuses on the array of individuals who occupy them-loungers, perchers, thinkers, and nappers alike. A chair’s composition is shown through its design and style, but its true artistry is present when in contact with human form. The exhibition celebrates the sitter as an impromptu player in this duet, transforming an object of design into a vehicle for labor, repose, argument, or escape. After all, a chair without a body is not a chair at all; it is the human who gives it purpose.
 
To say “to sit” in Chinese is Zuò. The character is represented here as it plays into this statement of focusing the sitter as a focal point of a chair’s design. Reiterating the character to transform into a human.

 

Process Sketches

Panel Compositions and Drawings

The light acts as a participatory element within the exhibition. As the viewer sits on the benches, the light reflects the visitor’s shadow onto the chair on display. Mimicking the effect of the visitor sitting on the chair. 

Model

See/Saw

Mia Larkin, Madeline Thomas, and Emma Davis

summer ‘25

This final project draws inspiration from Allan Wexler’s Wall: I Want to Be Architecture, a quietly radical work that seamlessly blends construction logic with sculptural intent and spatial play. 

Reimagining Nourishment with Connecting for Families & Children

Mia Larkin, Annatruus Bakker, Hanaa Jiwa, Matthew Gershovich, Persis Ratouis, Rino Nishida, Siya Girdhar, Soo-Young Lim, Tailai Su

fall ‘25



Located in the heart of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Connecting Children and Families (CCF) is the biggest non-profit community resource center in the state. Their mission is serving the community of Woonsocket and Northern Rhode Island through family-centered programs, creating a caring, supportive network for those in need.

CCF’s food pantry, known as The Marketplace, currently serves over 250 families and is expecting an increase in clients in the near future. Volunteers and staff members made clear their two highest priorities are increasing capacity and cultivating community. As a team, we redesigned The Marketplace as a place where, in addition to receiving assistance, people want to return to: a space that brings people together and evokes a sense of comfort, safety, and familiarity.

The staff and volunteers of CCF were incredibly inspiring to our process. They are operating with incredibly limitedresources, so our goal was to remove roadblocks and create even greater flexibility in the space to empower the team. By removing a few walls, we increase the space for storage inthe pantry. This intervention also expands the area where families and volunteers gather. Such an open and communal space within the marketplace serves as space to foster connection with and between families and volunteers, as well as operational flexibility for future events and needs of CCF.Within this layout we preserve existing programs in the space,including private family rooms, the office area and kitchen, while increasing the volume of storage so that CCF can meet growing nutritional needs of the community.









Our design encourages meaningful connections between families, staff and volunteers with designated areas to connect and feel at home in the space. By adding tables and a coffee machine to the waiting area, volunteers can directly connect with waiting families. We made room for a kids play area and even a coffee machine — allowing this space to even further embrace community connection. 

Renders

In our proposal, we create an open and communal shopping area which is accessible, and volunteers can walk alongside families with ease. This design prioritizes flexibility where the open space creates a welcoming environment and community and also affords easier operational circulation of people and goods.














We propose natural, repurposed materials, including wood from food pallets, burlap sacks from rice or coffee beans, alongside chalkboard walls, building upon the value of accessibility CCF staff expressed, while economizing the project. 

Flexible and modular designs are an important part of this plan. By including modular walls and sliding doors, we increase versatility throughout the interior, allowing the CCF team to arrange the space to meet different programming demands.

Modular Shelving Unit

Modular Corner Shelving Unit

Studio 4

Balance
“Unity in Opposites”

fall ‘24

This design studio is synthesizing the lessons learned in prerequisite studios. Integrating previous studio concepts, we are asked to develop and execute a design process that will culminate in a design solution for a small facility located in Regent Square, specifically Frick Park.

Nature v. Structure
Nature itself is organic and follows fluid forms. This duality manifests by blending open, green spaces with carefully structured forms. Taking inspiration from the Northern Oak leaf around the site, it is juxtaposed with rigidity from the nearby neighborhood street grid pattern.

Static v. Motion
Bikes are inherently about motion, designing that incorporates movements in form and function. Curved lines in the structure represent motion of bikes. Static functions slow down and make points of interest on the site for the users as repair stations.

Studio 3

Sustainable Community Housing
“Interlocking Diversty”

Partner: Shaista Rahim

spring ‘24

Focusing on Pittsburgh's ever-growing diverse population, we must address the limited housing available for these communities. We plan to convert an existing parking lot in the Oakland area into sustainable housing for graduate students and the immigrant population.


 

Studio 2

A Museum of ____
“Museum of Unearthing” 

fall ‘23

Located at the intersection of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Susquehanna Rivers. Pittsburgh’s location and history were a catalyst of the rapid expansion and industrialization of steel, glass, and coal. Calling for skilled workers to mass-produce these materials within the city from the late-19th to mid-20th centuries.

 

            

              

      

Studio 1

Accessible Community Space
“Geometric Grove”

 
spring ‘23

This studio focused on the Braddock area in Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania, more specifically the Braddock Avenue corridor between 6th Street and 11th Street. Conducting research in nearby Pittsburgh neighborhoods in comparison to Braddock. Using the process of forced lines, and geometric cracking to result in a series of lines, and folding along the lines to create a building. 

Foundation Studio

fall ‘22

Foundation studios focused on learning the distinction between public versus private spaces. This studio also taught hand-drafting site plans, floor plans, and section cuts. Placed in a river in Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania, and assigned to build a boat dock to respond to the river.

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) is an international organization supporting architecture schools through peer reviews, awards, conferences, and design competitions. It fosters a network of faculty and schools committed to educating a diverse student body.

My internship with ACSA was a transformative experience that provided invaluable insight. ACSA is an international association of architecture schools, with the University of Pittsburgh as an associated chapter. Focusing on a resource for architects, designers, and instructors. Within the eight weeks, I learned skills focusing on graphic work and data analysis for their social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn). In addition to professionalism, time management, networking, and learning new software. This experience has influenced my perspective on future education and career aspirations.

My artwork has gone through many phases throughout my life. Experimenting with new media has varied my approach to each new piece, leading me to brainstorm different prompts and draw inspiration from the world around me.