The Sheila C. Johnson Design Center unites the four buildings that comprise the campus of Parsons The New School for Design and organizes a range of shared spaces around a new urban quad. New entries on Fifth Avenue and West 13th Street connect internally to provide access to the center’s new auditorium, galleries, archives center, student critique area, orientation center, and meeting rooms.

Stripped to expose its substantial concrete encased steel structure, the buildings’ character provides a raw and varied industrial context for new, more refined architectural interventions. A new transparent façade of deepset windows that wrap 250 feet around the complex’s perimeter frames student work within. Made possible through the generous gift of Sheila C. Johnson, the Center recognizes the urban context of the institution, reflects The New School’s commitment to the new, and places on view to the street the innovative work being produced at the University.