Constantin Boym
Chair of Industrial Design
Pratt Institute
Constantin Boym opened his design practice in New York in 1986. In 2009, his studio Boym Partners Inc was a winner of the National Design Award. Boym brings a critical, experimental approach to a range of products that infuse humor and wit into the everyday. His work is included in the permanent collections of many design museums, including The Museum of Modern Art in New York. Since 2015, Boym has served as chair of industrial design at Pratt Institute.
Constantin Boym | The Imperative of Travel
In the age of economic globalization and heightened geo-political tensions, travel abroad has become an essential component of design education. Acting as both a window and a mirror, the foreign places highlight students’ own preconceptions about their way of living and their built environment, and provide a catalyst for a critical creative response. Constantin Boym will share his insights on the problems and possibilities of students’ educational travel. In March 2016, a group of Pratt ID students traveled to Cuba for a groundbreaking workshop with Cuban design students at ISDI in Havana. For over fifty years, Cuban economy has been operating in externally imposed condition of limited resources. As Cuba opens up to a seductive influence of Western economy, the society is facing a dilemma about the country’s long-term future. Will Cuban design production follow the American model of unrestrained growth and abundance, or will it plot out an alternative strategy?
