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OUR BLOG
Touring the Architects Studio
Young Creatives Step Inside the Design Process of the Institute's New Campus
This fall, a group of ten students and alumni from the Institute of Music for Children, along with their IMC Teachers Marquis Taylor and Ana Pineiro, had the unique opportunity to visit the downtown Manhattan offices of Steinberg Hart, the award-winning architecture firm leading the Institute’s expansion project. The visit offered a behind-the-scenes look at how major design work happens—and how the future of their own campus is being shaped.
The students toured the firm’s New York studio, where they learned about Steinberg Hart’s work around the world and saw firsthand how architects collaborate on projects that influence entire communities. They moved through open workspaces filled with models, drawings, and large-scale plans, gaining an understanding of how ideas become real buildings with purpose and impact.
“Architecture helps us understand how cities grow and how communities thrive,” shared acclaimed architect Malcolm Holzman, who met with the students during their visit. His talk offered a powerful perspective on how design affects everyday life and how creative thinking can shape the spaces where people gather, learn, and connect.
A First Look at the Institute's Expansion
The highlight of the day came when Néstor Bottino and Juan Manuel Garrido, the lead architects for the Institute’s expansion, presented the most recent updates on the project. They walked the students through the design journey—from initial concepts to the nearly completed architectural plans that will soon transition into the interior design phase.
The upcoming interior design work will be led by Sheva Lipsker, who will focus on shaping the look, feel, and functionality of the Institute’s new spaces. Renderings and drafts allowed the teens to visualize what their future classrooms, studios, and common areas may soon become.
Students Share Their Vision for the Future
To close the visit, students participated in a creative workshop where they were encouraged to sketch ideas, propose features, and imagine what they hope to experience in the new building. Their suggestions were thoughtful and rooted in their lived experiences as young artists.
Many emphasized the need for comfortable rest areas between classes, as well as spaces that encourage connection and community-building—places where students can meet, collaborate, and feel at home. Their input added a meaningful layer to the design process and reinforced the Institute’s commitment to student-centered creativity.
The visit to Steinberg Hart gave our students and alumni a seat at the table in the shaping of their own creative future. By engaging directly with architects and contributing their ideas, these students saw how their voices matter in the design of a space that will serve generations to come.
The experience exemplifies the Institute’s belief that young artists are not just learners; they are collaborators and visionaries whose perspectives enrich the community they help build.
