Jessica Nolasco (above with project) and Mouhamadou Dieng (below with project) are the 2024 Recipe for a Room winners.
Jessica Nolasco and Mouhamadou Dieng, two Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture students from The City College of New York, won the 2024 Recipe for a Room competition, which was hosted by the AIANY Interiors Committee.
The model-making contest—about building spatial, sculptural, miniature rooms—benefits Terra Firma, a New York City-based non-profit organization supporting newly arrived immigrant children and families in gaining access to quality healthcare and legal representation.
The contest asked student competitors to create a safe, temporary, portable room for two displaced persons: one parent and one child; each room had to be constructed of items one might take when leaving a previous life like a bag, coat, favorite shirt, shoes, family photos, etc. Two-person teams, each comprised of a student and architect mentor, designed portable shelters that can be folded up into suitcase-size packs.
Nolasco, M Arch '26, won in the Judge’s Favorite category for her project “In Bloom,” which was in collaboration with Samantha Josaphat-Medina, co-founder of Studio 397. Dieng, B Arch '25, won in the Audience Favorite category for his project “METROSOFT,” which was in collaboration with Nicole Vlado Torres, fellow for Design Trust for Public Space.
Spitzer students Olivia Langford, MLA '26, and Gabriel Pena, M Arch '26, also presented their completed rooms to a live audience. Nolasco and Dieng’s projects can both be viewed here.
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