New Hyde Park architecture student Elise Park was one of 13 New York Institute of Technology undergraduates supporting construction of a new exhibit on the school’s Long Island campus that opened on Feb. 7.
The exhibit, “Autonomous Urbanism: The Exhibition,” is led by Evan Shieh, an assistant professor of architecture at the university. Constructed from student-built 3-D printed and laser cut models, signage, podiums, and wall panels, it focuses on the impact driverless vehicles will have on the future built environment of cities.
Park, 23, was heavily involved with the exhibition production, sourcing materials, laser cutting, creating floor plans, and assembling the final models. Outside of work on this exhibition, she is a teaching assistant to Shieh.
“I learned and have developed so many skills as we worked to bring this exhibition to life,” Park told New York Tech News. She said her work on this exhibit with Shieh helped her grow as a designer.
The exhibit, which is based on Shieh’s book of the same name, aims to promote pedestrian-first design and serve as a resource for urban designers, students, and the public to imagine how autonomous vehicles will change transport, mobility, and car-centric infrastructure in cities.
Other significant projects Park has worked on during her time at NYIT include redesigning study spaces and technology in Brooklyn middle-schools and designing a modified form of a community land trust for The Bronx’s West Farms neighborhood that supports individual housing ownership. After completing her undergrad degree this spring, she plans to obtain a master’s in urban planning in a few years.
