Meet our 2020 Aronson Fellow, Daniela Lam

Earlier this year, the Tishman Center put out a call for applications for our inaugural Arnold and Shelia Aronson Fellowship. The fellowship is meant to support students that are working towards pressing sustainability and environmental justice issues. Our first fellow is Daniela Lam, a Parsons student and interior designer that is interested in using design to address issues of affordable housing, forced migration due to climate change and how marginalized communities will adapt to a rapidly changing world where floods, fires, hurricanes and other natural disasters (strengthened by climate change) will create even more uncertainty about where people can live.

We asked Daniela a few questions about herself, her project and what motivates her to do the work she is so passionate about.

What are you studying at The New School?

I am in [the] Parsons AAS Interior Design program (led by Affiliated Faculty member Nadia Elrokhsy), though I like to think I curated my own concentration in Sustainable and Social Impact Design. I complimented my degree with a variety of certifications from the Healthy Material Lab, a Pathways to Equity fellowship, LEED certification, and my personal research.

What inspired you to apply to the Aronson Fellowship?

A few summers ago I took a tiny house course at Yestermorrow Design/Build School, during which I met many eco-conscious tiny house dwellers. I knew the Tiny House Movement had a lot of environmental potential.  Once I set my mind on researching this topic, I serendipitously learned of the Fellowship through a Tishman newsletter. It was the perfect opportunity to do meaningful research that would make sure tiny house dwellers were not left in the margins.

How do you incorporate creativity into your career path?

Writing and storytelling helps me to imagine what another person needs to see, touch, and feel in a space. Design, after all, is an act of empathy.

What inspiration and values do you use to guide your work? 

I experienced hostile architecture from a young age while growing up in Peru. My country's economic instability and social insecurity manifested itself as bars on the windows and the spiked windowless walled perimeters around homes. Even growing up as an immigrant in Queens, I felt a lot of NYC's architecture was not designed for someone like me.. With inclusion as my guiding principle, I plan to democratize interior design. Everyone deserves beautiful and dignified spaces.

Keep an eye on our website and newsletter for updates about Daniela’s research and work with helping the Tishman Center to create an archive for the EJ work we have done. If you are working in or interested in architecture, housing policy and climate related migration, please feel free to reach out to us about her work.