GWC: Meet the Creatives

Green Window City is a collaborative effort between local creatives and business owners to build installations in shop windows, with upcycled elements rerouted from the waste-stream. This year’s exhibition of five, one-month installations is curated by Seth Amman of Arch&Type, funded by DuPont, and hosted at The Tool Library. GWC is a project of Creative Reuse NY, under the non-profit organization Buffalo
is Creative, Inc. that programs CreativeMornings/Buffalo. So, we’re gathering to hear from this fresh curation of GWC creatives on the day of the exhibition opening! Join us, fellow creatives.

Sign up, sign in, register here, and head over to your email for the live recording’s Zoom link. Huzzah!

Delaram Haghdel is a junior in college, majoring in Architecture and minoring in Philosophy and
Theatre at the University at Buffalo. Her hometown of Shiraz, with its diverse architecture, is a
rich source of inspiration in design for her. She is passionate about serving underprivileged
populations, which she has done through volunteering with various organizations, such as the
Journey’s End Refugee Services, and the Community for Global Health Equity at UB. She has
always been fascinated by passive, sustainable, and inclusive architecture. She has particular
interests in topics such as utilizing your surroundings to their fullest potential and creating
accessible design for underrepresented populations, such as people with disabilities. Through
tackling these challenges, she is committed to creating a long-lasting meaning in the built
environment through the lens of design and architecture.
Currently, she is active in UB Seismic Design Team, American Institute of Architecture
Students, Honors College, Research, and Mentoring.

Kaylen Rasua, current UB Architecture grad student as well as seasonal Architectural Drafter for a historic preservation firm (Lawless & Mangione). Raised in the Bronx, NY and currently residing in Buffalo. Passionate about designing and building as well as using skills gained throughout the years as a creative outlet. In my free time I love to run and enjoy spending time with my 11-Year old Pug. I hope to one day open up or work for a firm/ business focused on innovative and creative projects which help communities in need on both a national and international level.

Damian Majkrzak was born in Long Island, New York in 1999. Having grown up as his father’s handy-man, he has acquired the skill of hand craft and passion for fine details. Fast forward two decades, he started studying architecture at the University at Buffalo where he used skills such as designing, building, and problem solving to cultivate his own artistic style. Much of his work is based on form finding with fabric formwork systems. Damian’s future endeavor is to create innovative solutions in the architectural field with systems that are driven by new technologies.

My name is Tom Stankowski, and I am a senior at the University of Buffalo. This May, I will be graduating with an Undergraduate Degree in Architecture, and a minor in Environmental Design. I was born and raised in Buffalo, NY where I’ve spent my time climbing and bouldering, hiking, playing soccer, going to Bills games, and creating not only architectural designs, but models and furniture, too. I currently work at ELEV8, an architecture firm in Orchard Park, where I am working on residential and commercial designs for projects in Buffalo and Utah.
I decided on studying architecture at the University at Buffalo initially because of the passion of design and construction my grandfather and father instilled in me. My grandfather studied architecture briefly in college, and remained passionate about it his entire life. While my father worked as a contractor, and got me involved in numerous home renovation projects. With the opportunities the School of Architecture presented, I was able to do more hands-on/tangible projects involving full scale construction and model making. From the very start, I fell in love with architecture, and the freedom of design. Soon I plan to continue onto a masters degree architecture program, and design more residential projects in the near future. Over this upcoming summer I plan to travel the country in a van I renovate!

Hi, my name is Kira Podmayersky, and I am currently a senior at UB's school of architecture. I grew up in a rural area of the Hudson Valley where I spent my childhood exploring the outdoors, playing sports, reading, writing, and creating art.

I came to Buffalo to further my education in 2018, where I've found great communities both inside and outside of school, and I have been here ever since. I decided to study architecture so I could combine my love for creating art with science. It fuses my interests with nature, as I heavily focus on organic, nature based themes.

Nowadays, I spend a lot of my time reading and connecting with friends, as I reminisce on my solo travels across the country where I hiked throughout various National Parks to soak up their beauty.