Image
Spring 2026
Transit designer Liliana Torres designs spaces used by millions of New Yorkers.
As an associate at Urbahn Architects, she focuses on public infrastructure projects with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Since graduating from NJIT, Torres has worked on subway stations across New York City, helping transform them into accessible spaces that allow people with disabilities, seniors, parents with strollers and everyday commuters to move independently.
“Everything I learned at NJIT continues to translate into my professional life,” said Torres. “The values, the sense of responsibility and the commitment to helping others never stopped at graduation.”
Torres received this year’s Emerging Designer Alumni Award from NJIT – a recognition that marks a powerful full-circle moment in a career defined by public service, empathy and community-centered design. Urbahn describes her as “a brilliant transit designer who possesses an uncanny ability to transform complex accessibility challenges into seamless, intuitive solutions.”
Her most recent design upgrade was completed at the Church Avenue subway station in Brooklyn.
“I’ve worked on more than 14 stations across New York City to make them accessible, and there’s nothing more powerful than seeing someone move independently through a space you helped design,” she said.
She describes transportation design as a quiet but transformative force. “Transportation architecture is invisible to most people, but it quietly shapes their daily lives. It’s not a monument — it’s the kind of architecture that truly changes lives.”
Raised in the Dominican Republic, she grew up in a place where accessible infrastructure is limited, shaping her understanding of how design can either restrict or empower.
“When I think about myself as a little girl growing up in the Dominican Republic, I never imagined I would one day contribute to infrastructure used by millions — that feels like building a legacy much bigger than myself,” she said.
At the core of that work is empathy. “Architecture is about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. Designing
with empathy is what turns spaces into tools for independence and dignity,” Torres explained.
Even the smallest details matter. “One inch can change someone’s life. In accessibility design, that small difference can determine whether someone moves independently or struggles, and that awareness guides every decision I make.”
Torres’ path to this work was shaped at NJIT, where she found not only rigorous academic training, but a community that believed in her.
As an Albert Dorman Honors College student, Torres was deeply involved in campus life and service-oriented initiatives, experiences that continue to influence her leadership style today. “Helping others without expecting anything in return is what opened doors for me, and it’s why I feel a responsibility to mentor and support others now,” she said.
