WHSAD students along with the teachers and mentors who supported during the process From this past October to last week, students have been working with WHSAD teachers and community mentors in developing innovative products. Throughout the course of the Incubator project, students have learned how to plan, pitch, and execute on their ideas, and how to modify their work based on feedback from teachers and mentors. Due to the efforts of teachers Ms. Pia Moos and Mr. Ira Geringer, and mentors Sinclair Smith, Director of Groundfloor Incubator at School of Visual Arts; Noel Wiggins, co-founder of design and manufacturing company, Aeraware; and Bill Harvey, a sculptor and housewares designer, musician, supporter of WHSAD for many years; … [Read more...]

From left to right: Juniors, Jonah Vazquez and Ariana Lowery; Seniors, Trevon West and Dante Meade For the 2nd year in a row, The Williamsburg High School for Architecture and Design juniors/seniors took part in Ruth Sergel’s living art that commemorates the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. On March 25th, 1911 the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire took the lives of 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women and girls. The tragedy began a movement to deal with dangerous working conditions in the city. This commemoration is a capstone for the students following a unit of study on immigrant communities at the turn of the 20th century. This year our students commemorate the lives of seven victims of the fire, many coming from the same … [Read more...]

As the weather warms and the calendar pushes along, WHSAD seniors get closer to the culmination of their years of high school study. Such closure brings them closer to life beyond WHSAD, and while the "real world" and its trials and tribulations beckon, many students have already taken some significant steps into such reality. Through internships, after-school programs, and partner projects, WHSAD students, in particular the seniors, have had ample opportunities to get tastes of punching the clock and developing networks that they can call upon in their future career searches. One such example of real-world experience is this year's Bushwick Generator project. The following includes an overview of the project and student narratives … [Read more...]

Through the internship application and interview process, students gain valuable real-world experiences. For the 10th year in a row, WHSAD hosted its annual Internship Interview Breakfast. Partner organizations, such as Silman Structural Engineers, The Park Avenue Armory, Heritage Equity Partners, and others, conducted over forty interviews with two dozen students who applied for summer internships. In the following narratives, students share their thoughts regarding the experience, including why they applied to specific internships, how they prepared for their interviews, and advice to future students who will be applying and interviewing for internships. I applied for the internship at Silman Structural Engineering and the World … [Read more...]

Students familiarize themselves with the day's agenda. Thank you to The Park Avenue Armory for being a consistent partner of WHSAD's. Through trips, artist-in-residence partnerships, internships, and employment, WHSAD students have enjoyed tremendous opportunities due to the generosity of The Park Avenue Armory. In the following narratives, students who attended this most recent trip recount their experiences and the impressions those moments left. On Thursday, March 14, a group of WHSAD students visited The Park Avenue Armory. On this trip we did several activities. One of the activities was a scavenger hunt throughout the first floor of the Armory. We were able to freely roam throughout the rooms on the first floor. Inside … [Read more...]

Joshua, Police Comissioner O'Neill, and Justin together at the 75th Precinct Neighborhood Violent Crime Strategy Meeting.  As a community-based school, WHSAD recognizes the need to develop lasting relationships with organizations in order to inspire and advocate for our students. Ms. Dana Rachlin and NYCTogether bring a crucial element to WHSAD, and we appreciate the organization’s continued support of our future leaders. The following narrative comes from the NYCTogether website. Ms. Rachlin and her team have been instrumental in bringing adolescents and New York City police officers together in creating a dialogue that promotes constructive relationships for the betterment of the city’s future. WHSAD’s students have enjoyed … [Read more...]

WHSAD students, along with Guidance Counselor, Ms. Terraferma, and Junior Architecture teacher, Ms. Moos, show off their final products. Makeville Studio is at 119 8th St. in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn. Part of Makeville’s mission is “ to educate, inspire and empower people to build and fix rather than consume and dispose. We do that by providing affordable access to shop space, the right tools for the job, and small classes led by craftspeople who love to teach.” WHSAD Guidance Counselor, Deborah Terraferma, provides her thoughts on what the Makeville program has to offer students. Makeville provides students with a hands on woodworking experience in a studio setting. WHSAD Junior Edgar Cruz uses the band saw to cut his … [Read more...]

WHSAD students and Senior Architecture teacher, Mr. Alain Codio, present Mr. Paul Stache with the final designs. Thank you to Mr. Paul Stache and the employees of Smoke Jazz for hosting WHSAD students. The following narrative was written by WHSAD Junior, Johnathan Walker. The month of January we celebrate Black History Month. To honor this month WHSAD students did a collaboration project with the owner of Smoke Jazz Club, Paul Stache. The club can be found in Harlem, Manhattan, 2751 Broadway, New York, NY 10025. You can take the 1 train to 103st and walk a couple of blocks to get to the club. Smoke Jazz Club even has its own website showing performance times and information about the club. On February 27, 2019, Mr. Codio, … [Read more...]

From left to right: WHSAD Senior, Darryl Jones; Green-Wood gravediggers, Felix Hernandez and Gustavo Padilla; WHSAD Seniors. Antonio Rojas and Anthony Gonzalez; and Green-Wood’s Manager of Restoration and Preservation, Neela Wickremesinghe As one of WHSAD's original internship partners, Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn has long been a place where students have learned about history, preservation, and restoration. Since 2009, WHSAD students have participated in summer internships at the cemetery, learning how to restore monuments and working with different materials. In the summer of 2017, the WHSAD interns had the unique experience of helping to research and designate the Freedom Lots -- public lots that are the final resting places of a … [Read more...]

Mr. Codio, Senior CTE Instructor, said this about the project: “[WHSAD] was presented with a Black History Month project from the Department of Buildings. Over the past four years, they've been coming to WHSAD to do design projects, and for Black History Month, this year, they’re emphasizing jazz clubs in the New York City area. Rather than looking from an architectural standpoint, the Department of Buildings is looking at the culture and the buildings that helped foster jazz culture. Lisa Lewis, Director at New York City Department of Buildings and one of the coordinators of this project, proposed that we design pieces for some of the historic New York City jazz clubs, such as Esther and Carol, Birdland, Smoke Jazz, and various others. … [Read more...]