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2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XV

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Part XV of the 2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase highlights various intersections of the natural and built environments. The featured projects provide design solutions that address various environmental elements and ecosystems. Scroll down to learn more!

Lake Meredith Aquatic Research Institute by Carlos Cepeda Gomez, B.S. in Architecture ‘24
Washington University in St. Louis | Advisor: Zahra Safaverdi

Lake Meredith Aquatic Research Institute is a center that investigates water management, desalination, and local biodiversity in a man-made reservoir near Amarillo, in the Texas Panhandle. The lake contends with geological challenges from the Ogallala aquifer, Permian salt basin, and climate change. These features have caused diffusion points across the American arid regions, where the aquifer erodes the salt basin, forming brine pockets that then percolate into the water system through artesian pressure.

Salinification, lax water regulations, desertification efforts, and climate change effects have made the water reliance on the lake unreliable. During the emergency 2010-2014 drought, the lake dropped from 105 feet to a record low of 25 feet.

A diverse team of biologists, engineers, geologists, ecologists, and other specialists reside and collaborate at the institute. They engage local communities to educate them about the research conducted on-site while interacting with each other and the lake. The institute’s focus, systems, and research directions are decided sociocratically ensuring inclusivity, effective governance, and equity.

The Institute’s center around water, geology, and erosion was determined via an importance matrix—using six data sets affecting the lake’s surroundings: Weather, Salinity, Human Factors, Biodiversity, Water Levels, and Geology. The data sets and intersections were translated into a three-dimensional spider chart study. The concluding “blobs” created through data analysis were used through Boolean operations to develop an architectural language.

The building reflects its function, interior programming, and residents’ ethos, resulting in a blend of efficient, desalination, and scientific areas that develop research to protect the reservoir’s ecology. Its geological, cavernous structures diverge from contemporary architecture, allowing scientists to make eco-political statements on humanity’s abusive relationship with nature and advocating for dismantling systems of eco-exploitation and resource mismanagement. They address environmental catastrophes and innovative architecture and reconceptualize governance systems. The Institute’s community and purpose channel the scientists’ energy into activism, policy-making, and technological development, rather than self-radicalization, within the context of post-colonial and capitalistic frameworks.

This study focuses on water, sedimentation, and erosion, utilizing locally sourced materials to address local issues, enhance the local environment, and redefine the relationship between humans, nature, and architecture promoting intersectionalism between justice, equity, and environment.

Stó:lō Relationalities: Exploring Infrastructures of Climate Adaptation along the Fraser River by Wilson Tian Zhi Jiang, M. Arch ’24
Carleton University | Advisor: Jake Chakasim

This thesis confronts the issue of climate-induced flooding along Stó:lō, or the Fraser River in British Columbia. In November of 2021, the Sumas Prairie near Chilliwack flooded, creating what the agricultural minister Lana Popham described as the “largest agricultural disaster in BC.”  Many instances of flooding predate 2021, notably in 1894 and 1948, more recorded in Dirk Septer’s 2007 report Flooding and Landslide Events Southern British 1808-2006, and as old as 12,000 years ago. A conventional modern response to flooding is to build infrastructures like dykes that preserve the economic function of the land, perpetuating a colonial relationship to land dependent on technical, extractive processes which overlook existing cultural connections essential to climate adaptation. For its First Nations, Stó:lō has always been a formidable force, an interconnected ecosystem over 1300 kilometres long and home to migrating salmon for 9,500 years. Land sovereignty, defined through Indigenous cultural practices and ecologies, becomes a framework for approaching climate adaptation and decolonization, built on marginalized narratives from Indigenous and non-indigenous communities. The methodology follows three phases – encountering, entangling, and engaging – of indigeneity from a Chinese-Canadian perspective.

Encountering Stó:lō – Mapping exercises from the scale of the river to regional story maps. Macroscopic drawings document themes of climate, community, and infrastructure. Story maps of  ‘touch-down points’ document oral histories and anecdotes on architecture, infrastructure, and migrant labour.

Entangling Stó:lō – Explorations of embodied knowledge of Stó:lō by making, weaving, and interpreting. Initialized with a cedar basket-making workshop in Seattle, Washington, followed by weaving exercises on a custom-built Salish loom. This section concludes with a ‘Weirloom’ apparatus that interprets Coast Salish and Chinese Canadian history through craft.

Engaging Stó:lō – Design of a socio-ecological infrastructure over a creek near the Musqueam Cultural Center in Musqueam territory. Its program builds on the shared history of two marginalized groups on Musqueam-Chinese farms, synthesizing earlier research. The resulting structure combines indigenous basketry with an underlying beam-woven structure common to traditional Chinese bridges with a continuous space for exhibits and resting spaces, reminding users of entangled histories of place, cultural connections to water, and a fluid relationship to water and climate change.

This project won Carleton University’s 2024 OAA Guild Medal and was nominated for the Canadian Architect Student Award of Excellence.

Instagram: @wilson.tz.jiang, @jakechakasim

On the Edge: A Climate Adaptive Park for Battleship NC Memorial by Josh Gogan, Maggie Kroening & Stella Wang, M. Arch & B. Arch ‘24
North Carolina State University | Advisors: Andrew Fox & David Hill

On the Edge proposes a redesign for the parklands surrounding the Battleship North Carolina. The reimagined site celebrates a challenging narrative of place that reveals and highlights multifaceted histories while embracing infiltrating water. The new park transcends physical composition, serving as a dynamic memorial space connecting people, time, ecology, and climate through the goals of integration, adaptability, preservation, and restoration. The design proposes numerous site-specific community amenities, including a visitor center, a moveable tidal pavilion, a memorial bridge, and a hybrid shoreline. The result is a destination park that adapts to water as the climate and site shift, allowing the memorial to withstand the test of time.

Battleship Park in Wilmington, NC presents a contrast between the natural and built environment. Through our experience and analysis of the site, we asked ourselves as designers how this could adapt to consider people, time, ecology, and climate more cohesively for the greater community of Eagles Island. On the Edge explores Battleship Park as a space of education through experiences of integration, adaptation, preservation, and restoration. The site’s adjacency to the USS NC and views to Wilmington highlight the need to convert the current parking lot into five additional acres of park space. The new design elevates portions of the site by five feet and depresses areas for water to escape, allowing the site to embrace water over time with the construction of wetlands and rain gardens. Hydrologic remembrances are revealed at points along the path, staining the timber elements to remind visitors of sea level rise. At moments where the path converges, existing memorials are placed to provide contemplation. Within these explorations, users will engage with the site’s native species; encouraging the prosperity of the site as it continues to change. Native plantings act as wildlife attractions, softening edge conditions and generating educational opportunities. 

Over time, sea level rise and climate conditions will infiltrate the site. On the Edge allows users to experience the amenities of the park and the Battleship as water overtakes. 

This project won the 2023 National ASLA Award of Excellence in Student Collaboration, the 2024 North Carolina ASLA Student Award of Excellence in General Design, and the 2023 AIA Aspire Student Design Award. 

Instagram: @kroening.3dm, @davidhillarch, @stellawang_2 

High Seas, Low Lands: When Water Creates Spaces by Aya Youssef, B. Arch ’24
American University of Beirut | Advisor: Trevor Patt

Understanding the relationship between architecture and climate change necessitates a detailed scientific comprehension of their causality. Collaborating with the National Geographic Society, this initiative explores how architecture can mitigate climate change impacts through innovative building practices. Central to this approach is the integration of biorock technology, a process that forms solidified building materials underwater using mineral accretion. This technique not only produces materials with a zero carbon footprint but also harnesses the ocean as a novel construction medium.

Biorock technology leverages natural electrochemical processes to precipitate minerals from seawater, creating strong, durable materials akin to limestone. This environmentally friendly method significantly reduces carbon emissions traditionally associated with concrete and steel production. Furthermore, the biorock structures support marine ecosystems, promoting coral growth and enhancing biodiversity.

The design process is inherently adaptive, taking into account site-specific environmental and geographic conditions. This allows for procedural iterations, ensuring each project is tailored to its unique context. The result is architecture that harmonizes with its surroundings, minimizing ecological disruption and maximizing sustainability.

At its core, this approach is both planet and human-centered, emphasizing the importance of ecological balance and human well-being. By utilizing the sea as a construction medium, this initiative opens up new possibilities for sustainable architecture that not only reduces carbon footprints but also contributes positively to marine environments. This paradigm shift in building design signifies a promising step towards addressing climate change, showcasing how innovative architectural practices can lead to sustainable and resilient built environments.

This project was recognized as the Best Degree Project of 2023/2024.

Instagram: @ard_aub

BREAKWATER – Breaking the Cycle by Adrian Mora, M. Arch ’24
University of Maryland, College Park | Advisors: Julie Gabrielli, Brian Kelly & Marcus Cross

A significant portion of the world’s population is concentrated along coastlines. Climate change has produced hazardous environmental conditions that threaten coastal populations, including many poor, vulnerable communities. The built and natural environment within this diverse boundary zone must be redeveloped as a self-resilient system that can protect its inhabitants from climate-induced hazards. 

This project acts as a testbed for the ecological urban renewal of the Baseco Compound, a high-density urban neighborhood located on an artificial island within Manila Bay. An underutilized lot adjacent to the island’s beach and a small mangrove nursery has been transformed into a series of urban spaces defined by three distinct modules inspired by vernacular stilt housing. The modules also feature traditional and experimental construction techniques being pioneered in the Philippines, including structural bamboo, recycled plastic cladding and bamboo-reinforced concrete. Two residential modules, the Bahay Patayo and the Bahay Kublihan, explore different configurations of two-bedroom units that offer varied levels of density. The Kapwa Community Center module will serve as the new focal point for the neighborhood, providing multi-functional amenity spaces for public use and shelter during emergencies. 

The renewal of the built environment will be coupled with the restoration of the natural mangrove forests that previously occupied Manila Bay. The new buffer zone will also create an adaptable living barrier that will mitigate the impact of storms and flooding on the community and the rest of the Baseco Compound. The proposal will provide amenities that promote activities to support the neighborhood’s self-resilience and environmentalism within the urban context. Establishing a critical connection between new residents and the emerging grove will encourage active stewardship of the local environment.

This project won the UMD Architecture Thesis Award.

Instagram: @amora.art.photos, @umdmappschool

Building Biodiversity: Architectural Interventions for Mangrove Restoration and Community Engagement by Emily Bigelow, M. Arch ’24
Lawrence Technological University | Advisor: Scott Shall

Biodiverse ecosystems play a critical role in maintaining the health of the world. They help to combat climate change, prevent natural disasters, and mitigate the spread of diseases among other benefits. Mangrove ecosystems are biodiverse habitats that provide more important benefits including carbon sequestration, water filtration, and coastal erosion mitigation.

However, these habitats are frequently threatened by human development and construction practices that prioritize speed and profit over sustainability. Current conservation strategies, which involve regional-scale coexistence, struggle to address this issue because the demand for more human settlements remains higher than the demand for wildlife preservation. As more ecosystems are compromised by urban landscapes, the regional balance between the two shifts in favor of humans at the expense of the environment.

These problems are worsened by the imposition of building strategies that are foreign to a climate region. This practice not only reduces occupant comfort and increases energy demands, but also disrupts natural processes like the flow of water and predation patterns. Vernacular architecture, on the other hand, has an intimate relationship with the surrounding environment and has been adapted to provide comfort within the given conditions. These practices can provide insider knowledge of the local climate and ecosystem to produce new developments that aid in restorative projects rather than harming them.

This thesis seeks to find a symbiotic development strategy, wherein architectural interventions benefit biodiverse ecosystems along with human constituents. It explores innovative and indigenous strategies for urban integration with mangrove ecosystems which reduce habitat destruction and promote restoration. This project recommends a transformative strategy for urban development that makes use of indigenous building techniques and ecological principles to guarantee a symbiotic coexistence of mangrove ecosystems and human infrastructure.

This project won the CoAD Chairs Award, 2024. 

Instagram: @emilybigelow_designs, @scott_shall

Disrupting the Global Supply Chain in Architecture – A Hyper-local Approach to the Built Environment by Frangiscos Hinoporos, M. Arch ’24
Carleton University | Advisor: Sheryl Boyle

The building industry has come to rely heavily on the global supply chain with materials such as concrete, glass and steel becoming ubiquitous. From manufacture to construction, these materials adversely contribute to climate change. This thesis embraces a circular economy and uses data and design to inform how a hyper-local materials ecosystem for construction could be achieved locally; proposing how, over the next century, steps towards circularity can be achieved in Ottawa. By establishing hyper-local supply chains that only use materials local to the region, the goal of this thesis is for Ottawa to become minimally reliant on the global supply chain. Local materials in this case are defined as materials extracted from the Ottawa area and ones extracted from existing built structures. Through experimentation, prototyping, design, and research this thesis explores concepts and presents a design proposal that enables Ottawa’s future to become unshackled from the global supply chain.

This thesis is separated into three distinct parts. Part I envisions a Regenerative Building Center that helps facilitate the move away from the Global Supply Chain. Situated on the footprint of a soon-to-be-demolished public works building in Ottawa, the design utilizes the existing foundation as well as other building components to create a center that espouses the ideas that this thesis stands for, bio-based local materials, radical reuse, design for disassembly and more.

Part II explores materials, locality, and supply chains, going in-depth on broader global scales as well as focusing on Ottawa. In this part, a rough account of potential materials diverted from landfill in the Ottawa area is taken, and local availability is assessed.

The last part, Part III imagines speculative futures, in the form of 3 distinct typologies each one 25, 50, and 100 years into the future. Here a future that is gradually less and less reliant on the Global Supply Chain is imagined, to the point where minimal reliance is required and Ottawa’s architectural ecosystem is fully circular and self-sufficient.

This project won the Maxwell Taylor Prize, through Carleton University’s Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism. It was also awarded the CAGBC Scholarship for Sustainable Design and Research, through the RAIC Foundation

Instagram: @frankhinoporos, @csaltarchitecture, @carleton_architecture

Aquatic Bio-Park: Harmonizing Public Space and Water Treatment by Andrew Hertz, M. Arch ’24
New York Institute of Technology | Advisors: Marcella Del Signore & Evan Shieh

The relationship between water and the built environment continues to challenge designers. Water, although an obstacle in design, is a defining element among many urban environments; it influences ecology, building typography, social equity, social gathering and economy. Sao Cristovao of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is no exception. 

The Aquatic Bio-Park is designed to serve the community of Sao Cristovao. Rivers emanating from the mountains to the west merge with the city’s urban systems and canals and out to the Guanabara Bay to the east. The canals carve through the urban fabric, often running parallel to major roads, highways, and places of gathering and commercialism. While rich in culture and industry, Sao Cristovao’s inequities, access to urban systems and green space burden the community and environment.  

The bio-park addresses the challenges of inequity, access to water, purification of water bodies, urban heat, and so on. While confronting these issues, the bio-park also celebrates the local culture, ecology, and the utility of water. Using three different grounds: the lowest ground treats the canal water, which is channeled into the site, and purified through simulated marshlands through multiple filtration stages. The highest ground provides the public with open space, vegetation supported by the processed water, and visual connections to the filtration ponds below. Lastly, the middle ground merges the public space with water treatment. Bridging across the ponds creates a physical connection and understanding of the processes of filtration. At the destination of all grounds, whether water treatment, park or spectacle, they unify. At this point of celebration, the results of the journey are on full display: flourishing vegetation, purified water, and a place to gather, observe and learn. These grounds taper off into the urban landscape extending public space into the site. 

Throughout Sao Cristovao, there are numerous canals and implementation opportunities. Different canals carrying varying quantities of water can adjust the scale of each bio-park, as required. Servicing multiple areas throughout the region would theoretically reduce the urban heat concentration, provide public space and clean water, all while celebrating the culture and ecology of the local community. 

Instagram: @marcelladelsi, @ev07

Building Resilience: Innovative Architectural and Planning Strategies for Ecological Restoration in Qinghai’s Deserted Landscapes by Bochuan Zheng, B. Arch ’24
Rhode Island School of Design | Advisors: Junko Yamamoto & Leeland McPhail

This thesis explores the interplay between architectural innovation and planning strategies for ecological restoration in Qinghai, China, a high-altitude grassland region severely impacted by desertification. The area, primarily dependent on herding, faces challenges from overgrazing, over-cultivation, and sparse rainfall, which threaten the livelihoods of pastoralists and lead to conflicts over resources like land and water. The study proposes integrated architectural and planning approaches focused on sustainable land management and resilient infrastructure development to mitigate these threats and ensure stable, sustainable habitats for local communities. Particularly, the research emphasizes cultivating two resilient plant species, Saxaul (Haloxylon ammodendron) and Cistanche Deserticola, which are well-suited to harsh climates. It details how tailored architectural solutions enhance planting efficiency and safety, accelerating ecological restoration and improving community living conditions. The findings provide a blueprint for addressing similar environmental challenges globally, demonstrating that merging ecological science with architectural and planning ingenuity is crucial for enhancing community resilience and socio-economic development and mitigating the impacts of desertification and climate change.

This project was recognized as a Thesis Award Nominee.

Instagram: @innerpeacechuan, @junkoyamamoto_, @risdarch

Stay tuned for the final installment, Part XVI!

2023 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XXIII

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Athletics and wellness are at the forefront of the designs featured in Part XXIII of the 2023 Study Architecture Student Showcase. The displayed projects range from sports centers dedicated to improving the quality of life for those living with disabilities to facilities that draw on the connection between health and design – demonstrating how the built environment can foster healthy lifestyle change.

ENLACE (CONNECTION) by Alejandra Camacho Meza, B.Arch ‘23
Universidad Anáhuac Querétaro | Advisor: Jorge Javier

An Adapted Sports Center can provide a dignified space for those living with a disability or who wish to start a rehabilitation process to improve their quality of life. At the same time, it can empower this “small” sector of the population that not only has a presence in the delegation but throughout the state of Querétaro.

This project was received the Dept. Chair Award Senior Year Capstone and an Honorable Mention at the USGBC Detroit Student Competition

Instagram: @ale_camchomez87 , @arqwave

Sports Recreation Adapting Communities in Puerto Rico by Christian A. Pérez-Montalvo, B.Arch ‘23
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico | Advisor: Pedro A. Rosario-Torres

The objective of this project is to look for modern and functional architecture that reflects the motivation and enthusiasm of young people and inspires Roberto Clemente’s desire to help young Puerto Ricans come true.

The architectural program calls for a modern educational and sports center in the Roberto Clemente Sports City Park in Carolina, Puerto Rico. The goal is to address the challenges that Puerto Rican youth (ages 13 to 17) face when trying to develop their athletic capacities due to various negative factors that impede their full potential.

The proposal is based on rescuing and renovating the disused existing sports facilities and combining them with an educational purpose that integrates academics and sports, guaranteeing a positive impact on society. The axiality concept focuses on the complex’s functionality, creating a central axis that helps circulation between the different areas.

The architectural design focuses on functionality, accessibility, and youth safety. A sports school and recreation center are designed to function as a dorm, supplying a focus on educational performance and sports therapy. The rooms are spacious, well-lit, and equipped with the necessary elements.

The project is divided into four programmatic phases:

  1. Sports Phase: includes the construction of modern facilities to foster physical development and athletic skills, such as baseball and soccer fields.
  2. Education Phase: includes classrooms, library, and computer rooms to ensure a good educational environment.
  3. Therapeutic Phase: supplies specialized therapies, such as psychotherapy and physical therapy, for those youth who need emotional and physical support.
  4. Dormitories Phase: offers accommodation to young people with athletic abilities and good academic performance, allowing them to improve beyond their limits.

In summary, the proposal looks to turn the Roberto Clemente Sports City into a first-rate educational and sports center, where young Puerto Ricans find support to develop their potential and learn values such as hard work, integrity, and teamwork. The project helps young people from different origins and situations, improving their quality of life and allowing them to develop sports careers, for the country’s benefit.

 

Instagram: @__chapm1 

Movement Legacy: A Bioethical and Epigenetically Grounded Architectural Framework for Healthy Lifestyle Change Brett Walter, M.Arch (professional degree) ‘23
McEwen School of Architecture, Laurentian University | Advisor: Aliki Economides

Strong correlations between environmental stressors and absolute mortality rates have been shown in medical research for decades. New research in neuroscience, environmental psychology, urbanism, and medicine have identified many of these specific factors, which include quality of light, noise levels, ease of wayfinding, sense of safety, opportunities for socialization, and proximity to nature, however, these are not yet widely understood or adopted by the design community. A novel approach that better leverages the scientific literature to inform design is required. Recent discoveries in epigenetics further reveal the immense impact our environment has on intergenerational human health through a process called epigenomic editing. Simply put, our built environment and the nudges it can provide for better lifestyle choices, such as exercising, can positively impact us via epigenetic mechanisms which change the expression of our DNA. These changes in gene expression improve cellular function making us more resilient to disease and are then passed down to our next generations, thereby providing the blueprint for how our children’s cells will operate.

This thesis argues that design and health are inextricably linked to bioethical questions that require deeper exploration and ought to compel designers to reframe their role and responsibility in community health. A new theoretical framework is developed that aligns design elements at multiple scales with evidence-based principles, which elicit positive health outcomes through increased physical activity prevalence. Informed by the framework, a network of design interventions for Sudbury, Ontario demonstrates how the built environment can foster healthy lifestyle change. The broad accessibility to – and significant impact of – physical activity galvanizes its centrality in the picture for comprehensive public health. When we nurture our physical health, improvements to mood, cognitive function, relationships, sex life, professional life, and longevity follow, bringing positive changes to community mental health, economic strength, and environmental sustainability.

This project received the Thesis Commendation Architectural Research Centre Consortium (ARCC) King Medal for Excellence in Architectural & Environmental Design Research, the TD Bank Graduate Scholarship in Architecture: Design for Human Habitat and the RAIC Foundation Vince Catalli Scholarship for Sustainable Architectural Innovation

Instagram: @brettwltr, @aliki.economides

Kits Pool Redux by Dylan Treleven, M. Arch ‘23
The University of Texas at Austin | Advisor: Kevin Alter

Kitsilano Pool is a popular outdoor swimming facility in the Kitsilano neighborhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Situated along the shores of English Bay, the beach and surrounding park were formerly the site of a Squamish first nations settlement before white homesteaders claimed the land in the late 19th century. The pool was built in 1931 and remains one of the largest saltwater swimming pools in North America, measuring 137 meters in length. It is open for swimming during the summer season and provides space for sunbathing, lounging, and picnicking with expansive views of the bay and surrounding mountains.

Rising king tides and increasingly violent storm surges have caused extensive damage to the pool in recent years. In response, the local community is reassessing the viability of its design. Kits Pool Redux proposes a resilient and sustainable reimagining of the pool and park to address the growing challenges posed by climate change while maintaining the recreational functionality and iconic aesthetic presence of the current structures. The project begins with a fundamental acknowledgment that the shoreline is always in flux. Consequently, the old concrete sea wall and swimming basin are to be demolished and reincorporated into a permeable riprap breakwater that lines the beach.

Atop this curving, protective mound of boulders sits a raised boardwalk that connects the high ground at the northeastern and southwestern corners of the park. Like strangely precious flotsam deposited along the shore, the boardwalk is dotted with small attractions such as a camera obscura, a carousel, and a pair of sound mirrors that allow friends to whisper to one another across the bay. At the southwestern tip of the park is perched a distinctive event hall with a café and gathering spaces that greet the urban edge at the highest elevation on the site. At the foot of the hall, the riprap and boardwalk wind outward to form a jetty that further protects the beach waters. It houses restrooms, showers, and saunas while providing moorage for a floating pool-shaped swimming dock that deftly rises and falls with the tides.

This project was nominated for the Design Excellence, Advanced Studio, Spring 2023 Award

Instagram: @dttreleven, @alterstudio

See you in the next installment of the Student Showcase!

2023 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XIX

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Welcome to Part XIX of the Study Architecture Student Showcase! As Urbanism continues to shape the study of architecture, today’s student showcase highlights projects that impact Urban Life. 

The featured designs seek to optimize the use of the available space while creating cohesive and functional built environments that meet the needs of all city dwellers. They also confront issues that impact urban spaces by addressing the increasing carbon footprint of the DFW Metropolitan Area and predicting a future where a massive electric vehicle charging car park replaces the greenspace of NYC’s Central Park.

Shifting Super Block by Yenifer Diaz, B.Arch ‘23
The New York Institute of Technology | Advisor: Prof. Michelle Cianfaglione

This research aims to answer the reasons for vacancies and how to solve the problem, especially in a city like New York. To create a shifting superblock with a seamless

Live | Work | Play, a “city within a city,” where neighborhoods are not disconnected from the empty lots and abandoned buildings, and where services are available to anyone.  

How do we build a neighborhood through the integration of Live | Work | Play?

The aim is to create a superblock-type concept where neighborhoods are not disconnected. It began with research on zoning and its limits on building laws and regulations, to “What is a superblock?” and expanded to “What is a 15-minute city and how can it be integrated into a city like New York?”

Instagram: @michellecianfaglione, @nyitarch, @exdarchitecture

“A City Within a City”: Culturally Sensitive Architecture Adaptation in San Francisco by Zijie Zhou, M.Arch ‘23
University of Utah, School of Architecture | Advisor: Valerie Greer, AIA, LEEP AP, NOMA

My site, located at Portsmouth Square in San Francisco, is positioned between the towering skyscraper side of the city and the low-rise Chinatown side. Throughout its rich history, Portsmouth Square has functioned as a significant community plaza for local Chinese immigrants, providing opportunities for entertainment and socialization for over 100 years. However, with the rapid influx of tourism and urban development, Portsmouth Square has become a point of conflict for the local Chinese residents and tourists, deterring both parties. This dissonance, reflected in the lack of connection between culture and architecture, has effectively created a divide — a cultural gap — between San Francisco and Chinatown, which is now referred to as “a city within a city.”

The tension and disconnect that exist between the two facets of this location can only be met with a considerate and nuanced approach. With sustainability and longevity in mind, I aimed to design beyond noteworthy architecture; instead, I aim to establish a structure for something more intangible – a community gathering space that embodies the values of rich culture and a diverse community. This conscientious design was intended to protect and enhance the quality of life for the local Chinese community, preserving their cultural heritage and identity while also encouraging community cohesion with those who are visiting or don’t explicitly belong to the Chinatown community. To achieve my goal, I aspire to cultivate a new cultural identity that resonates with the locals’ sense of belonging and loyalty.

The symbolic architectural design serves as a beacon of light that resonates within the hearts of every community member, illuminating the entire community living space. Through this architectural platform, I hope to foster social connectivity and strengthen the ties between people, communities, and cultures. This culturally sensitive approach will not only establish a landmark structure for visitors from all over the world but also establish a solid foundation for a vibrant community hub for local residents.

Welcome to the Carmart by Maggie McMickle, M.Arch ‘23
University of California, Berkeley | Advisors: Rene Davids and Greig Crysler

In the blocks surrounding Douglass Park in Chicago, over 80% of households are led by single mothers. In addition to performing paid labor to financially support their families, these mothers also perform thirty hours of unpaid domestic labor for their families per week, leaving little time for rest, play, or personal development. This project proposes a monolithic housing collective that spans three city blocks, sitting on the viaduct of an unused rail line. Domestic labor is outsourced to dedicated programs that stretch into the surrounding neighborhood. Collective meals are hosted in the shared kitchen and dining facility, and an on-site cafe is open to both residents and the public. A laundry service takes dirty clothes and returns them washed and folded. Children are cared for at different ages in different facilities, with a nursery and daycare for young children, an after-school program for the nearby elementary and middle school, and a recreation center for older children. By freeing overburdened mothers from this domestic labor, they are able to rest, play, and nurture themselves and their children.

Since the inception of the automobile, the urban fabric of modern American cities has been altered. With the emergence of electric vehicles, there is the potential for a new way we can design our cities around the automobile; now, the car has the potential to leave an impact on buildings. This thesis, entitled, Welcome to the Carmart explores the idea of creating an auto-centric megastructure in Central Park in New York City – the least car-dependent city in the States, to provide a critique of the car. The narrative of the Carmart provokes what may be considered a dystopian future for urbanists, the greenscape of Central Park is bulldozed and replaced with a massive EV charging car park. Through a narrative that imagines a dystopian future, the project embodies themes of consumerism, capitalism, the American dream, and the social and urban implications of creating spaces for cars that take away from the character of cities. 

This project won the Chester Miller Award.

Instagram: @magg_zzz, @r.davids, @carmart.usa

Prospect Offices in New Orleans by Leah N. Bohatch, B.Arch ‘23
Tulane University | Advisor: Ruben Garcia-Rubio

The site is in the Business District of New Orleans in-between Uptown and Downtown, near many places of communal gathering and public interaction. Camp St. and Andrew Higgins Blvd. mark the intersection of visitors and locals, highlighting the site as a corner of importance and an area for improvement in how the community can interact and be showcased. This will be accomplished through an inversion of the typical interior plaza wrapped by a program. 

This proposal calls to wrap the plaza around the building as a programmatically independent staircase that relates the pedestrian to the surrounding views and displays the inhabitant to the city. This strategy is accomplished by creating an object building to allow circulation around the building. The programmatic strategy includes a system of concrete slabs and columns along a 20’ x 20’ grid that becomes the frame of the project and is related to the city scale. Within this larger frame, human-scale polycarbonate boxes plug into the structure and create smaller-scale unique interactions at each level of the project that relate to New Orleans vernacular architecture such as porch-style, semi-communal office spaces, and balcony-mezzanine offices and walkways. 

The plaza wraps around the building as it is folded along the grid of columns. This allows for a program to be placed at each stair ranging from work areas to outdoor stages. Also, terraces are used as extensions of the offices to allow for a seamless interaction between an interior work environment and a shaded exterior office space. The destination of the continuous exterior plaza is a community roof garden that allows for 360 views of the city and a plaza on the roof plane. The stormwater runoff from the roof garden and the terraces is drained through an attachment to the building’s columns.

Instagram: @rubgarrub

Revitalization of an Automotive Industrial Area by Joshua Díaz-Arroyo, B.Arch ‘23
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico| Advisors: Pedro A. Rosario-Torres, Luis V. Badillo-Lozano & Manuel De Lemos-Zuazaga

This research is about breathing new life into deserted automotive factories scattered across the globe, with a particular emphasis on those that occupy sizeable plots in urban areas, impeding the growth of cities. The project strives to tap into the latent resources that these empty lots offer, leveraging the pre-existing infrastructure, structures, road access, and location to uncover their full potential.

Located in the Northwestern United States, specifically in Detroit, Michigan, is the Central Square. This area has been deemed part of the “Rust Belt” due to the numerous deserted automotive factories there. The project’s objective is to infuse life back into the area by reviving social and cultural activities, improving the economy, and increasing accessibility to surrounding communities. To achieve these goals, spatial programs and a central square are implemented, connecting the communities and integrating the programs seamlessly. 

The proposal entails the integration of a Car Museum, an office tower, and commercial areas. The existing structure, formerly intended for vehicle assembly, spans four levels in a horizontal layout. As part of the proposal, the existing building is divided to create a spacious longitudinal plaza that spans the entire site. This plaza serves as a versatile exterior space, connecting the various programs and facilitating seamless movement between them. The proposed design seeks to optimize the use of the available space while creating a cohesive and functional site that meets the needs of all stakeholders. Furthermore, it was the designer’s deliberate choice to erect a tower in order to produce a striking visual contrast to the project’s predominantly horizontal design. To achieve this, a diagrid is employed, which is reminiscent of the exoskeletons of factories, wherein the structural framework of the building is left bare and visible. The existing structure houses the automobile museum and offices, while the commercial district comprises four other new buildings.

The ambitious project seeks to delve into the vast expanse of space and express its distinctive characteristics, while simultaneously discovering the promising possibilities that abandoned automotive factories may offer. The proposal also aims to motivate and encourage others to unite with available resources and foster innovative ideas.

BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS OF PLACEMAKING ON FARM CHICKENS by Chidera Ndubueze, BSAED (Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Environmental Design) ‘23
Morgan State University | Advisor: Samia Kirchner

Placemaking is an approach used when designing and planning public spaces to promote urban vitality, health and well-being, and social interaction. This principle has been used to design and revitalize public spaces and urban plazas to become sociable and capable of achieving a multiplicity of activities. Placemaking principles should be incorporated when designing chicken habitats because they will positively affect the behavior of chickens and the production of eggs. The behavioral setting for this research will be the Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm in Baltimore, MD. The farm was established to combat food deserts and provide food on the plates of Park Heights residents. It maintains a principle of bringing Cleaner Greener Foods to less fortunate communities in Baltimore. The priority group is the chickens on the farm. The common chicken breed at Plantation Park Heights is the ISA Brown. This is a crossbreed of chicken with sex-linked coloration. They are docile and provide optimum egg production. This study will focus on the question: “Can principles of placemaking be incorporated into chicken habitats, and how does it affect the behavior of chickens?” This research will be conducted through interviews and storytelling (via the Facing Project), surveys, and questionnaires. The process for this research involves a comprehensive literature review on the study of the behavior of chickens from birth. The design project involves designing a chicken coop/ conservatory that is sufficient for the number of chickens on the farm. The coop design will provide spaces for feeding, nesting, and social activities.

This project received the Outstanding Research Poster Award at the 28th Annual Undergraduate and Graduate Research Symposium, Morgan State University.

Instagram: @samiarabkirchner

The Critical Application of Metabolic and Mobile Architecture to the Modern Urban Fabric by Peter Hall, Bachelor of Sc. in Architectural Sc. ’23
Western Kentucky University | Advisor: Shahnaz Aly

Urban analysis of architecture has taken multiple and diverse directions that in some way try to create a city that is accessible and walkable. NULU Flats takes on the approach of mobile architecture and metabolic theory to create a functioning microcosm of both ideas applied critically in a growing urban environment. The project, at around 90,000 SF, applies ideas of “megastructure” by creating a building skeleton that can evolve with the needs of the city on the linear path of time. The lower two levels of the structure are incorporated into the megastructure as a static piece of the building that contains necessities such as parking, mercantile space, and workspace. The following six floors are suspended residential modular units. With the flexibility to swap modular units and create new spaces, the project provides a critical application of metabolic and mobile thought.

This project received the Outstanding Senior Capstone Project Award.

Instagram: @petehall01

Reframe: Looking Inward, Gazing Outward by Nadia Calderón & Eliot Sauquet, B.Arch ’23
Southern California Institute of Architecture | Advisor: Peter Testa

Reframe, a proposal for the Museum of the 20th Century located in the Tiergarten District of Berlin, is centered on the superposition of volumetric, urban typologies and domestic thresholds through the construction of multipart views. By reintroducing site-specific architectural tropes related to urban housing, the project promotes an unstable, anticipatory character of architecture that is subject to constant reprogramming and transformations. The proposal focuses on the juxtaposition and overlap of two spatial logics: the arrangement of urban block typologies, and the integration of small-scale, domestic interiors. The objective of the project is to reactivate the immediate built environment of Berlin by inserting instances of domesticity into the expansiveness of a field of monuments.

The proposal for the Museum of the 20th Century expansion draws on the architectural and domestic history of Berlin by referencing the façade and configuration of L-type housing. By over-scaling and continuously aligning L-types, nested, sunken courtyards are generated between the discrete parts of the scheme. In aggregating large-scale urban typologies and domestic interiors, the project generates a series of close-knit gallery spaces that unravel across the site and reconstruct a pattern of circulation that is inveterate to Berlin. The project is focused on the creation of key sightlines and nested courtyards between volumetric components, and it further addresses the configuration of Berlin housing typologies by establishing a perimeter wall that intimately frames unfolding views and spatial processions. The scheme challenges conventional modes of perception by foregrounding the museum as a place of past and present cultural production that is continuously responding to the activities of Berlin. By encouraging the users to inhabit the space of the museum as they would inhabit housing, the experience of viewing art becomes substantially more intimate and imbued in the context of the city.

Instagram: @eliot_sauquet

I can’t BREATHE because I won’t CHANGE by Ryan Playle, M.Arch ’23
University of Texas at Arlington | Advisor: Ursula Emery McClure

“I can’t breathe because I won’t change” deals directly with one of Arlington’s most toxic areas. The interchange zone of I-30 and 360 is not only undergoing a massive highway infrastructure reconstruction but is also one of DFW’s most heavily trafficked areas, and it is surrounded by major industrial sites and power grid distribution networks. 

These factors make it one of the densest carbon production zones in Arlington and an overall unhealthy environment. Ryan, who commutes through this interchange daily, found this area both challenging and screaming for a new future. His project accepts that reducing the carbon producers in this area is presently futile and instead, he must design a new infrastructure that negates the carbon. Working with the diverse scales and conditions that highway interchanges create (above, below, and aside,) Ryan designed carbon collectors that can be attached or embedded into the current TX DOTD highway construction methods. These mushroom-capped collectors act like huge vacuums, sucking up the carbon monoxide emitted by the producers and processing the pollution internally. In conjunction with their technological duties, the S.C.U.M. (Smog Collecting Umbrella Mechanisms) towers signify the east gateway to the city of Arlington.

They create a dramatic and signature infrastructure identifying ARL, similar to the St. Louis Arch or the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The “I can’t breathe because I won’t change” project may have been initiated from a toxic observation but in its conclusion, generates not only a healthier Arlington but also a more identifiable Arlington. 

This project was featured in a community exhibit for the City of Arlington.

Instagram: @emerymcclurearchitecture, @ryantuckerplayle

See you next week for the next installment of the Student Showcase!

2023 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XV

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Welcome to Part XV of the Study Architecture Student Showcase! Healthcare and Well-Being are the central themes of today’s highlighted student work. The projects below demonstrate how intentionality around design and architecture can support the well-being of society, playing an essential role in everyday life. Today, we dive into pieces that reinforce dwelling through spatial culture and reimagine architecture through the lens of a matriarchal community in rural Uganda. Viewers can explore project plans for a site in Puerto Rice that serves as a creative and cultural therapy center. And a classroom designed with adaptive design elements and sensory-friendly features to support neurodiverse and disabled students. Read on for more details!

Made with Matriarchs: Crafting Heritage-Oriented Futures with the Karamojong by Ethan Walker, M.Arch ‘23
Lawrence Technological University | Advisors: Scott Shall (Committee Chair), Joonsub Kim (Member), and Edward Orlowski (Member)

In the rural northeast of Uganda, the ethnic Karamojong are experiencing unprecedented pressures to change their ways of life (Knighton, 2017). As semi-nomadic pastoralists, these peoples are dependent on the health of their herds which is contingent on the health of their ancestral lands. Studies show that land health has deteriorated due to climate change, overgrazing and lack of mobility producing a vulnerability context that has attracted international attention. Interventions by foreign actors and the national government have attempted to improve public health while making recurring calls to transform Karamojong culture away from pastoralism towards sedentism and farming (Dbins, 2013). While appropriate in particular cases, the overwhelming call to cultural transformation could be at odds with the capabilities of the land, potentially undermining the pastoral ways of life. These globalizing influences extend beyond policy-making and have fundamentally altered the process of architectural production and construction in the region.

In response, this thesis proposes an iterative, heritage-based approach to design and construction, crafted to mitigate the increasingly harmful effects of globalization upon the traditionally semi-nomadic societies of northern Uganda. In this approach, alternative futures are imagined by reconsidering the role of the architect in relation to the pre-colonial keepers of the built environment; the Matriarchs. When working within this alternative arrangement, architects would work responsively with Matriarchs, lengthening the process of interaction in favor of a responsive design methodology that strengthens the Matriarchs’ power of architectural self-determination. Strategies to equip pastoralist architecture with greater autonomy are imagined, proposed and filtered through a Matriarch-led process to determine what is appropriated, effective and ultimately in the best interest of their desired way of life.

Instagram: @ewalke_ , @scott_shall

This project was selected for the ARCC King Medal and won the LTU Deans Award – Best Project.

Home Grown: Reimagining Dwelling Through Spatiaculture by Devin Derr, M.Arch ‘23
Lawrence Technological University | Advisors: Scott Shall (Chair), Dan Faoro (Member), and Sara Codarin (Member)

To dwell is to feel at home in a space that: maintains nature (both human and non-human), provides protection, freedom, and peace, and implies a general intent to remain (Heidegger, 1971). To inhabit is to view both house and land as mere assets of monetary value. Without dwelling, people can feel uprooted or disconnected from their homes, and the home itself can disrupt or compromise the ecosystem that hosts it. Unfortunately, home design in the U.S. rarely makes dwelling a priority and often glorifies investment-centric metrics to increase profits and value of the land-stances that encourage inhabitation.

Dwelling not only demands a balance between human-created and naturally occurring environments, but also the simultaneous improvement of both. To achieve dwelling many ancient cultivation practices like permaculture, horticulture, silviculture, and arboriculture are necessary. These practices have a central focus on maintaining and improving natural environments because the benefits they reap directly rely on the natural environment’s well-being. If architecture leverages the 17,000 years of ecological knowledge that these fields have generated, then true protection, freedom, support, peace, and balance may begin to take root (Rasmussen, Wayne D., et al., 2022). Using trees and other living botanicals as a source of structure and enclosure, this thesis aims to trade inhabitation and its associated ailments for an architecture that is quite literally cultivated and alive. There is currently an imbalance of the built and natural environments caused by the commodification of land and architecture, which is best addressed with dwelling reinforced through spatial culture. To investigate this proposition, an extrapolative study of Spatiaculture Dwellings will be applied to several environment and ecosystem types and then analyzed on their performance using the qualifiers that define dwelling.

Instagram: @scott_shall

Newson Conservatory of Music by Jacob Lindley, B.Arch ‘23
Mississippi State University | Advisors: Jassen Callender and Mark Vaughan

I am fascinated with the analytical, poetic, and metaphorical connections between music and architecture. This can only resonate with someone if they understand how to read music. There are so many other connections besides simple scripting, though. Making one of those connections evident to people is important to me: so that more of the world can physically connect something that is so familiar in some genre or another [music] to the way we experience “city,” certainly a city that has a rich history in the blues music. I believe that our world needs more positive influence, particularly in the physical realm. I have and continue to believe that architecture can allow us to aid in the effort to foster positive environments. Architecture should enhance our planet and meet the needs of a society that will make a lasting impression for generations. This is my legacy. In humility, we walk and observe that around us to understand the psyche – that true reflection can be obtained through the simplest of measures.

Architecture should remind you who you are. Architecture is dependent upon the individual and the landscape as its sources of life. It should be a mechanism for empowering, and supportive in its greatest capacity of manifesting life – not only life physically, but life that is generated in the psychological realm too. The rituals of daily life inform the architecture of its role in that support, and, in return, the architecture celebrates the best in life, the individual.

This project was awarded the first place CDFL Capstone Travel Award

Instagram: @jakewlindley, @jassencallender

San・Arte: Art as a Healing Tool by Glorivette Correa, B.Arch ‘23
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico | Advisors: J. Omar García Beauchamp & Pedro A. Rosario-Torres

The global mental health system is deteriorating, so much so that a large part of the population suffering from a mental disorder does not receive the necessary treatment or any type of help, due to lack of information, insecurity, fear of discrimination or lack of services. While the population served is limited to a general traditional treatment, which in many cases is not the help they need. For this reason, the objectives of this project are to expand the traditional medicine market, by developing new spaces that focus on providing other treatment alternatives (such as artistic-creative therapies), and explore the architectural capabilities that can be achieved together with art and nature, to meet the appropriate conditions in a space to provide these therapies.

This project focuses on the island of Puerto Rico, specifically in the town of Ponce. San・Arte’s proposal aims to develop a center focused on arts, culture and healing. A Cultural and Artistic Creative Therapy Center is then created to positively serve the community and the people. A place that helps raise awareness and educate people about mental health. The center offers four different therapies: art therapy, dance-movement therapy, music therapy and drama therapy. The center also has spaces for artists, theater (indoor and outdoor), and an intensive creative retreat which serves as a safe space away from everyday life and where professionals or those who attend (not necessarily artists) can once again feel inspired, motivated and creative. The center also has different green areas such as terraces and an aromatherapy garden, thus providing different semi-public and semi-private spaces. The number of people who need psychological assistance continues to grow. The arts are an excellent communication tool that also helps us to connect with other people and that is what this proposal seeks.

Instagram: @glorivette_correa

Designing Outside the Lines for Neurodiverse Children by Monica Higbee, M.Arch ‘23
University of Idaho | Advisor: Hala Barakatu

The number of children with developmental disabilities or that are neurodiverse that live within the United States is a rising number. Children aged 3 through 17 are stripped of equitable opportunities within early learning environments and are often filtered through the education system with little to no accommodations for learning or independence in the built environment.

My aim for this project is to systematically identify adaptive design elements and sensory-friendly features that can improve the average classroom and promote independence for individuals with disabilities or who are neurodiverse in the built environment. In doing this, I also aim to find and develop a learning environment that changes the negative attitudes towards disabilities and teaches others how to better adapt the built environment to everyone regardless of ability or disability.

Instagram: @monicahigbee, @halahb2

Architectural Neural Agility: Visions of Architecture through Sensation, Perception, and Self by Skyler Howell, M. Arch ‘23
University of Idaho | Advisor: Hala Barakat

How do we know that our fundamental beliefs of this world are our own? The problem is that the lack of “freedom of will” influences our neurological synaptic pathways; these pathways are strengthened or eliminated passively based of our individual experiences. Frascari was hinting at this notion when he stated, “Just as we think architecture with our bodies, we think our bodies through architecture.” Our vision of reality exists through our nervous systems ability to sense and perceive our environment. Paying attention to perceptions makes way for our nervous system to produce conscious or unconscious thoughts; thoughts can provoke emotions, and exists not only within the present, but memories of the past, and visions of the future. 

This project explores the way our nervous system builds reality through sensations like sight, touch, hearing, and smell while filtering stored object-oriented information known as “schema.” According to Edelman, “Our neural networks are a deeply embodied phenomenon that leads to architectural genesis.”

 

In order to break free from traditional architectural design-thinking, this project proposes a new vision of architecture by actively stimulating neuroplasticity. We need to evoke our nervous systems’ ability to adapt through deliberate actions allowing architects to break free from our existing paths. Translating the architectural design-thinking process by creating new models of an action-oriented “architectural neural-agility” within architectural-genesis.

Instagram:  @ponyboysky, @halahb2

Communal Healing by Tanner Mote, B.Arch ‘23
Ball State University | Advisors: Robert Koester and Sarah Keogh

Younger generations want to live in cities and yet most neighborhoods are afflicted by limited housing choices, disconnection from food sources and public transportation, and often are also dangerous environments for pedestrians. These problems have made existing neighborhoods undesirable. So, how can neighborhoods be systemically redeveloped to address current concerns so that they don’t become exacerbated in the future?

This project proposes the strategic implementation of infill housing and urban food production in the redevelopment of existing neighborhoods. The McKinley neighborhood in Muncie, Indiana was chosen as the location to test this thesis. Initial designs create additional housing that offers different living opportunities, from single-family dwellings to accessory dwelling units. Each design enables
residents to grow their own food via raised beds or vertical towers in an incorporated greenhouse. The ability to be self-sufficient and the visibility of food production will educate and inspire the community and promote continued progression toward sustainable living. Later phases could provide the neighborhood with varying scales of community spaces such as shared gardens, food markets, and education centers to attract and support community members. These latter phases will also have to address existing patterns of public transportation and correlated pedestrian paths for better connectivity.

See you next week for the next installment of the Student Showcase!