New School Grads Rock • Laura Belik

Smithsonian Fellow Laura Belik (Parsons MA Design Studies 2016) looks through a box of archival documents for a project on African-American architects. Laura studied architecture as an undergraduate at University of São Paulo, and has lent her talents to numerous projects, including the X Biennale in São Paulo, the Latin Lab at Columbia University, and Michael Sorkin's Terreform studio. Her Design Studies masters thesis examined the Minhocão, an elevated highway in São Paulo currently under review for decommissioning and repurposing, with a focus on the ways in which people use debates over public space as a way to work through ideas of democracy, justice, and the right to the city. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in a university where she can combine her interests in architecture, urbanism, and social justice.