MPSS Alums Korina Athanasiadou and Samantha Berlanga Are Putting Sustainability Into Practice at CetraRuddy
Korina Athanasiadou and Samantha Berlanga
NYSID alums Korina Athanasiadou ’22 (MPSS) and Samantha Berlanga ’22 (MPSS) work as interior designers at CetraRuddy, an award-winning architecture and interior design firm based in New York. These graduates of NYSID’s Master of Professional Studies in Sustainable Interior Environments say that sustainable design is a priority for their firm and that their knowledge of it contributed to their hiring. CetraRuddy Principal and Director of Interior Design, Ximena Rodriguez, recently tapped Athanasiadou and Berlanga to elevate their co-workers' knowledge of sustainable design principles and practices.
NYSID’s Office of Career and Internship Services helped Berlanga use Handshake, a website where employers post internships and job opportunities for students, to find her current position. She was hired as a part-time interior designer before she even graduated. Athanasiadou was hired immediately after graduation. Says Berlanga, who has an undergraduate degree in architecture, “The degree in sustainable design enhanced my profile and made me stand out in this competitive world of interior designers.” Adds Athanasiadou, who has an undergraduate degree in architectural engineering, “From the very first time I interviewed, my principals were interested in the Masters (in Sustainable Interior Environments) and how I might contribute to the sustainability of their projects.”
Berlanga says, “Many firms are beginning to create stronger culture and awareness around sustainability, and this is particularly true of CetraRuddy.” The designers suggest one reason there is such an emphasis on sustainable design at CetraRuddy is that adaptive reuse is built into the company’s brand.
The firm is active across many sectors, but is especially well-known for its significant office-to-residential conversions; Athanasiadou notes that she has been working for months on one such conversion in Lower Manhattan, which is among the largest in the nation’s history. Berlanga is engaged in a different office-to-residential project, where she is focused on designing amenity spaces ranging from game rooms to lounges and kids’ playrooms. She’s applying her deep knowledge of biophilia to all of these spaces, designing details that bring nature indoors.
The Power of Specifying Sustainable Materials
When clients are seeking LEED Certification for projects, there are benchmarks to meet, and Athanasiadou and Berlanga can help their employer meet those standards. Even when a client isn’t seeking LEED certification, their projects can be designed to be healthier and have reduced carbon impacts. “In interior design, we have this power to select better, more sustainable materials for spaces,” says Berlanga. “For example, we have vendors come into our office almost every Wednesday to present their products (at Lunch & Learns). I’m always curious about the story behind the product. I ask, ‘What are your health-conscious design practices?’ and ‘How do you source the materials for this product?’ Asking these kinds of questions leads to the manufacturing of better products.”
“Greenwashing’ is common,” adds Athanasiadou. “Just because a manufacturer says a product is ‘eco-friendly’ doesn’t mean it is. That's why the research part of sustainable design is really important. At trade shows, I ask companies that are new to us, ‘Is this paint low-VOC (Volatile organic compounds)?’ and ‘Is this wood FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified?’ I keep asking the vendors for products with recycled materials, and then the companies come back to you with upcycled products. It’s very important to share these experiences with team members.”
Educating the Whole Team
CetraRuddy Principal and Director of Interior Design, Ximena Rodriguez, has recently asked Athanasiadou and Berlanga to share their expertise with their colleagues more formally. Berlanga represented her company at the Metropolis Climate Expo in September, with the directive to bring what she learned back into the office. Athanasiadou and Berlanga will collaborate on an in-house catalog of products they have already been vetted for sustainability, as well as a resource guide that makes it easier for their colleagues to evaluate materials. Their task is to facilitate transparency between the designer and vendor, and Berlanga says, “Searching for more reliable information and certifications is the right way to do it.” Athanasiadou and Berlanga advise every designer to:
Ask about HPDs and EPDS. An EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) is a document that transparently communicates the environmental performance/impact of a product or material over its lifetime. An HPD (Health Product Declaration) is a document that provides information on the contents of the product and the potential health-related hazards of those contents.
Make sure materials are “Declare-label red list free.” A product with a Declare label undergoes chemical analysis and lists 100% of the ingredients intentionally used in the manufacturing of the product. A red list free product has been proven to be without chemicals known to be harmful to human health.
Ask about the life cycle of the material, from cradle to cradle. Understand how the materials are made and sourced. Are they sourced locally? Ask about what will happen to the product when it reaches the end of its primary use: will it be disposed of, or can it be recycled or repurposed?
"We know that the best way to design a sustainable project is for the whole team to be thinking sustainably from the very beginning," says Rodriguez. "So we appreciate the work the MPSS program is doing in helping prepare the next generation of designers to integrate sustainable design practices into every project."
Change Starts With Expertise in Sustainability
Athanasiadou and Berlanga were able to hit the ground running when they were hired at CetraRuddy, because the MPSS prepared them. Says Berlanga, “My favorite courses were the studio projects. They were an opportunity to bring together what I had learned about sustainable materials and the human connection with nature, which is a crucial aspect for well-being in interior environments, and apply this to the real world.”
About NYSID’s MPS in Sustainable Interior Environments
NYSID’s one-year Master of Professional Studies in Sustainable Interior Environments (MPSS), led by program director David Bergman, RA, LEED AP, Assoc. AIA, is a post-professional program structured to prepare designers to assume leadership roles in developing sustainable interior spaces. The guiding principles of the program are giving students the tools to evaluate the carbon footprint of the spaces they create, embodying circular design, and designing for well-being, resilience, and environmental justice. The degree can be pursued in person or entirely online from anywhere in the country. To learn more, reach out to David Bergman.