Pedro Cruz Cruz
De Manera Isleña Initiator
Spatial Designer, Community Planner, Educator, Social Practitioner, Visual Artist, Researcher & Storyteller
Pedro Cruz Cruz is a Caribbean born Puerto Rican, currently based in Washington Heights, NYC. Cruz is a current Adjunct Lecturer of architecture at City College’s Spitzer School of Architecture where he is also a Comms and Engagement Associate for the new Place, Memory, and Culture Incubator for Harlem.
Cruz’s practice critically engages both digital and built environment projects in urban and rural contexts, often looking to BIPOC, and other marginalized histories to unlock and visualize new spatial imaginaries through politically and culturally informed design, community-led initiatives, interdisciplinary collaboration, and multimedia methodologies. Cruz is an emerging academic leader in design and climate justice pedagogy, a design lead for Jerome Haferd Studio and a core member, visual designer, and a core member for Dark Matter U (DMU).
Shadeen Dixon
De Manera Isleña Initiator
Spatial Designer, Visual Artist, Researcher
Shadeen Dixon is a Jamaican architectural designer based in Queens, NY. Dixon holds a bachelor’s degree in architectural technology from New York City College of Technology and a Master’s in Architecture from the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at City College.
Driven by her Jamaican roots and a deep exploration of Caribbean colonial studies, Dixon aims to create spaces that are visually striking and environmentally, socially, and culturally meaningful. As an advocate for housing justice, she is dedicated to addressing the housing needs of disenfranchised African-American communities. She strongly believes in inclusive decision-making and actively involves community voices in her work.
Dixon aims to integrate healthy, green and sustainable design practices and infrastructure, prioritizing environmental responsibility while ensuring affordability and accessibility for all residents. She envisions architecture as a catalyst for positive change, empowering communities to thrive in sustainable environments that withstand the challenges of housing justice and climate change.
Carlos Acosta Pérez
De Manera Isleña Initiator
Spatial Designer, Visual Artist, Educator, Material Systems & Technology Researcher
Originally from Puerto Rico, Perez earned his Bachelor's degree in Environmental Design from the University of Puerto Rico and completed his M.Arch at Pratt Institute. His academic journey has led him to become an architectural educator with experience as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute and an Adjunct Faculty Visiting Professor at the NYIT School of Architecture.
Through his own personal practice Identidad Studio, he engages architecture and design that centers speculation, and questions the purpose of objects, material culture and the spaces we make around us. He employs alternative materials and fabrication methods to create designs that are environmentally responsive, culturally responsive and adaptable.