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people standing outside observing buildings surrounding them The City as Pedagogical
Space

Students at AAP NYC learn by immersion. New York City's natural and built environments drive topics for studios, classes, workshops, lectures, and extracurricular activities that engage with urban histories, buildings, infrastructure, and institutions.

From historic urban plans that define street patterns to landmark zoning that prescribes building envelopes, to technological innovations that push skyscrapers to new limits, to land-use policies that transform public space, to cultural institutions that shape public life and raise provocative questions about the fabric of society, the New York City experience is essential for students seeking to understand the built environment. Engaging with neighborhoods and communities across the five boroughs, students learn how to analyze complicated site conditions, access and map data, comprehend local politics, conduct outreach, form partnerships, and more. Studios, electives, and seminars across the disciplines use the city as a source of reference and inspiration.

Participating Degree Programs

Student Experience

AAP NYC studios and workshops center around local urban conditions from multiple perspectives. Faculty incorporate site visits, walking tours, meetings with community groups, and visits to local resources such as archives, museums, and fabrication shops in their curricula. Student work encompasses direct observation, community engagement, analysis, and speculation, integrating real-world scenarios with innovative modes of practice.

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Architecture faculty Florian Idenburg and Karilyn Johanesen review projects for their option studio titled Rewilding, Reworlding. 

Students in the urban design studio on a site visit at Montauk Cutoff, an abandoned railway in the Long Island City Industrial Business Zone.

M.S. AUD program director and Associate Professor of Architecture Jesse LeCavalier examines the studio's scale model of East Harlem.

From left: Students Tarjanee Manan Soni, Noah Gear, and Xinyi Huang (all M.S. AUD '25) prepare for final studio reviews at AAP NYC.

Design Tech Open Studio Exhibition 2025 on display at Cornell Tech in New York City, featuring work by Design Tech faculty, Design Tech Innovation Fellows, and the inaugural cohort of Design Tech master's students. photo / Jesse Winter

Students from the M.R.P., M.S. RS, and M.A. HPP '26 programs meet with Dariella Rodriguez, a community organizer from The Point Community Development Corporation, to learn about The Bronx is Breathing campaign for zoning that limits commercial expansion and supports cleaner air for residents.

B.Arch. and M.Arch. students traverse Field Work, an ecological project located in a wild meadow at the center of their studio site, Sky High Farms, in Pine Plains, New York.

Liam Anthony (B.S. URS '25) raises a question at the 2024 Cornell Real Estate Council (CREC) conference. photo / Jasmina Tomic Photography

Yuhan Li (M.Arch. '24) visits the Skyscraper Museum, which is dedicated to the architectural history and real estate of New York City, as part of the AAP NYC option studio titled Infrastructure By Other Means. 

From left: Students Nandini Mohan (M.S. AAD '24) and Chenxi Li (M.S. AAD '25) prepare for final reviews to wrap up their summer studio at AAP NYC.

Lauren Wang, Director of Climate Programs at Trust for Governors Island, leads a walking tour for CRP students and faculty.

Students head toward Nobuho Nagasawa's Luminescence on a walking tour of Hunter's Point South and Long Island City led by AAP alum and faculty member Hobum Moon (M.R.P. '14, M.L.A. '16) and Robert Balder, Executive Director of the Gensler Family AAP NYC Center.

Gina Wei and Cynthia Kuo (both M.Arch. '24) present their housing project Subtraction/Addition in SHoP's 360 VR room for the fall 2023 NYC option studio led by visiting architecture faculty Dana Getman and Steven Garcia.

CRP students met with WE ACT for Environmental Justice in Sugar Hill, Harlem, to learn about the organization's work in their community.

From left: students Jesus Mayen, Jose Ortega, and Jonathan Wilmers (all B.Arch. '26) visit Materialized Space: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph at the Met.

Architecture faculty Florian Idenburg and Karilyn Johanesen review projects for their option studio titled Rewilding, Reworlding. 

Career Development

Working closely with AAP's Career Development team, AAP NYC organizes events that help students prepare for the job market, whether perfecting their portfolios, researching firms, or connecting with Cornell AAP alumni. Activities include studio visits, portfolio reviews, mentorships, alumni engagement, networking opportunities, and more.

Contact

Contact The Gensler Family AAP NYC Center


11 East Loop Road, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10004
(212) 497-7595
aapnyc@cornell.edu

AAP NYC Social Media
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