Pratt Undergraduate Architecture Advanced Design Studio, in collaboration with Bronx-based Mothers on the Move (MOM), presents THE AIR WE BREATHE at BronxArtSpace in Hunts Point from May 30-June 13, 2026 sponsored by Pratt Center for Community Development’s Taconic Fellowship.
This exhibition is both a learning space and a public prototype. It connects community organizing, student design, and material innovation to explore how healthier building materials can support environmental justice, healthy housing, and climate resilience.
Rooted in decades of Bronx-based advocacy for clean air and healthier communities, THE AIR WE BREATHE builds on that legacy by linking neighborhood knowledge with design education and emerging bio-based material systems. Through student work, public storytelling, and research into healthier building futures, the exhibition examines how bio-based materials such as hemp can help reduce toxins, improve indoor air quality, lower carbon emissions, and create pathways for the local green industry.
“You go to Home Depot, you’re just paying, you’re not part of that creative process…But here you can empower people to actually make,’’ envisions Wanda Salman, Executive Director, Mothers on the Move.
Centering the Bronx as both site and leader, the exhibition reflects Pratt SOA’s commitment to socially engaged design pedagogy while asking a bold question:
How can healthier building materials help create healthier homes, neighborhoods, and futures?
The Air We Breathe Design Studio was led by Prof. Maria Vrdoljak, with community engagement and circular materials advisors Bhavini Kapur and Jeremias Emestica, alongside research assistants Alexsa Ortiz-Reyes and Saddqa Bahidrah. Participating students include Saddqa Bahidrah, Olivia Huang, Laura Jimenez, Crystar Lopez, Annika Nielsen, Julia Orsini, Alexsa Ortiz-Reyes, Larisa Ramos, Shreya Singhal, Saori Takahashi, Jaelyn Valles, and Delaney Walwyn.
About the Taconic Fellowship
About Mothers on the Move
Event Details and Registration