The Fifth Avenue Hotel is pleased to host Haptic Futures: Sustainable Materials in Design Innovation, co-presented with Rhode Island School of Design on the occasion of Climate Week NYC.
This program brings together a network of global leaders for a conversation on design and innovations in the responsible development of materials, tapping into overlaps between industry and experimentation. This program also highlights RISD’s partnership with Hyundai Motor Company and HRH King Charles III’s Sustainable Markets Initiative through the Terra Carta Design Lab—a global competition that invites students from four of the world’s most prestigious design schools to develop high-impact and commercially viable solutions to address the damage being done to our planet.
A reception with the panelists will follow the conversation.
This program is open to guests of The Fifth Avenue Hotel and is otherwise by invitation. To inquire about attendance, please write to experiences@thefifthavenuehotel.com.
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ANDREW HAARSAGER
Founding Director, Cartier Retail Innovation Lab
Andrew Haarsager is a strategic innovation advisor who works with iconic brands and cultural institutions to define and develop initiatives that cross industries, from luxury retail to museums to world governments. Andrew most recently served as the founding director of the Cartier Retail Innovation Lab in Brooklyn, a division established to design and test new and experimental forms of retail experiences for the renowned luxury brand. Prior to Cartier, Andrew led strategy for award-winning design firm Tellart, working with a diverse clientele that ranged from Google to the Smithsonian to the U.A.E. Prime Minister’s Office, as well as roles in fashion and contemporary art. In 2024, he founded Land, a retail startup centered on personal climate resilience. Andrew splits time between New York City and the Hudson Valley.
SANGYUP LEE
Executive Vice President and Head of Hyundai & Genesis Global Design Center, Hyundai Motor Company
SangYup Lee is a renowned automotive design leader currently serving as the Executive Vice President and Head of Hyundai & Genesis Global Design at Hyundai Motor Group. With a rich career that began at prestigious firms like Porsche and Pininfarina, he has built an impressive portfolio over more than two decades. Lee’s journey includes pivotal roles at General Motors, Bentley Motors, and Volkswagen Group, where he led design for iconic models such as the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and Bentley Continental GT. Since joining Hyundai in 2016, he has played a key role in shaping the design language of the brand, contributing to notable vehicles like the GV80 Coupe and the IONIQ 6. His innovative vision has earned him numerous accolades, including recognition as Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business and the World Car Person of the Year in 2023. Since 2018, he has worked closely with Rhode Island School of Design to produce design innovation through biomimicry. A graduate of the ArtCenter College of Design and Hongik University, SangYup Lee continues to influence the future of automotive design through his commitment to creativity and excellence.
CHARLOTTE MCCURDY
Biomaterial Fashion Designer & Researcher
Charlotte McCurdy is a designer and researcher who works at the intersection of emerging technology, futures, and existential threats. Her work on carbon-negative materials—including a garment made of algae, bamboo, abalone, and glass for Phillip Lim—was featured as part of Nature: The Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial in 2019, Waste Age at The Design Museum, London, and was most recently included in Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, Dezeen, Wallpaper, and Vogue, and has been supported by the MacArthur Foundation, Swarovski, and The United Nations Office for Partnerships. She holds degrees in Global Affairs from Yale University and Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design. She teaches courses at the intersection of climate change, design research, and experimental design.
CÉLINE SEMAAN
Founder, Slow Factory
Céline Semaan is a Lebanese-Canadian designer, writer, artist, speaker, and advocate working at the intersection of environmental and social justice. Céline is the founder of Slow Factory, a 501c3 public service organization addressing the intersecting crises of climate justice and social inequity — filling the gap for climate adaptation and preparedness, building community power through open education, narrative change and regenerative design. As a part of this work, Slow Factory produces a conference series promoting sustainability literacy called Study Hall, the first science-driven incubator in fashion called One X One, and a range of other offerings. Céline writes for New York Magazine: The Cut, Elle, Refinery29, and Huffington Post, among other publications. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, CNN, Vogue, Refinery29, Scientific American, Fast Company, and Teen Vogue and many other outlets. Céline’s first book, A Woman is a School, launches this fall.
DR. SARAH B. CUNNINGHAM, moderator
Vice Provost, Rhode Island School of Design
As RISD’s inaugural vice provost for strategic partnerships, Dr. Cunningham drives transformative initiatives like the Hyundai Regeneration Studio and the Center for Complexity, forging impactful collaborations with prestigious organizations such as the Sustainable Markets Initiative Terra Carta Design Lab and Tiffany & Co. Her work catalyzes and expands the role of arts and design in fostering new knowledge and just societies, exemplified by projects like “XFM,” which connects the arts to forced migration research. With experience in building organizational capacity for novel solutions and material development, she is frequently connecting people across industry, non-profit, and academic sectors, Dr. Cunningham has launched significant programs at Virginia Commonwealth University and the National Endowment for the Arts, influencing policy changes in over 25 states. A distinguished scholar with a PhD in philosophy she seeks to amplify the power of design and the arts to inform equitable and sustainable futures.
