Collaborative Desk Research in NYC+Köln

In collaboration with Köln International School of Design (KISD) and 15 other institutions worldwide, Anne-Mette Krolmark, MFA Interior Design 2011, submitted research and documentation representing 20 desks in New York City. Her contribution will represent Parsons, NYC and the USA in a book publication and an upcoming traveling exhibition.

The project is initiated and coordinated by Dr. Uta Brandes at KISD in Cologne, Germany and includes contributions from India, Japan, Brazil and Spain to name a few.

“The desk has become much more than just a practical and functional piece of equipment – the digitalization of the office did little to change this fact. The desk is a subjective, highly emotionally charged item: a personal field of action. It marks territories and provides information on both the status of its occupiers and their private preferences and desires. Factual-practical and emotional-communicative aspects intermingle on its surface and inside its drawers. Thus, the desk is always identified in a twofold way: as both a material and symbolic object.” — Prof. Dr. Uta Brandes