Seven students from the Williamsburg High School from Architecture and Design visited the Starbucks Design Studio in Midtown Manhattan in order to get a better understanding of what professional designers and architects go through when presented with a project. The New York office of Starbucks Design Studio is responsible for the interior design and architecture of all Starbucks stores in the eastern United States. These students not only participated in a tour of their offices, but they also spoke with Starbucks architects and designers on how they recently renovated a restaurant at American University in Washington, D.C. into a Starbucks location. The students learned about the professionals’ budget constraints, location constraints, and the large number of people professionals collaborate with in order to make informed design decisions.
WHSAD students Joseph Rivera and Xavier Flowers speak with one of the Starbucks Store Design architects about their AutoCAD work.
Near the end of the visit, WHSAD students then had time to meet in small groups with Starbucks architects in order for these professionals to view the students’ design portfolios and their work on AutoCAD.
A special thanks go to Sheryl Danielan and the rest of her Store Design East team for providing our students with this learning opportunity.
