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2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XIV

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Architecture plays a large role in the restoration and preservation of buildings. The projects featured in Part XIV of the 2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase focus on revitalizing spaces. 

Today, we look at various sites, including areas impacted by natural disasters, former industrial zones, federal buildings, and more. Each project blends old and new, demonstrating the ability to recover and reclaim using architecture and design.

Reclaiming Antakya: Post Disaster Community Recovery for Resilient Futures by Zeynep Dila Demircan, M. Arch ‘24
University of Maryland | Advisor: Ken Filler

The earthquakes that struck Southwestern Turkey and Northern Syria in February 2023 caused extensive damage, ranking among Turkey’s worst disasters in its history. The city of Antakya, especially, suffered severe destruction in its center, resulting in significant losses of lives, culture, and history.

This thesis presents a comprehensive plan to recover and reclaim Antakya’s center, enhancing community resilience through proactive design strategies. It focuses on a specific urban block, a key commercial, residential, and administrative hub across the Asi River and the historical district. The proposal outlines a multi-phased approach to transform this urban block, starting from the post-disaster period and concluding with its complete redevelopment. The phases include recovery, reclamation, reconstruction, and reconnection.

For the recovery phase, temporary shelter and gathering spaces are provided for residents within the grove area existing on the site, while efforts to engage stakeholders in the recovery process begin. Reclamation involves reforming the cleared area based on existing and new street systems, integrating new public streets and courtyards that make up the green infrastructure. Reconstruction involves rebuilding the site in smaller blocks, starting from the middle section and expanding to the upper and lower sections. The reconnection phase focuses on finalizing building blocks and reintegrating them into the larger context. 

This includes the creation of a new urban plaza and the introduction of programs aimed at fostering cultural and social resilience, as well as commemorating the earthquake through a memorial space within a community center. The proposal introduces two main building types: The Block, a mixed-use structure with a courtyard for residents, and The Hub, a community center featuring public spaces, a museum, gathering areas, and studios for local crafts practices.

In essence, this thesis aims to not only reconstruct Antakya’s physical infrastructure but also to cultivate resilient communities through place-making strategies. It endeavors to revitalize cultural and social life while fostering trust and collaboration, ultimately laying the groundwork for a robust and resilient future.

This project won the UMD Architecture Thesis – Director’s Award and the ARCC 2023-2024 King Student Medal for Excellence in Architectural + Environmental Design Research.

The Topographical Reactivation by Yanbo Zhu, M. Arch ’24
University of Waterloo | Advisors: Mohamad Araji & Shiyu Wei

Community Center Design at Kitchener

This design features three keywords: nature, history, and topography.

  1. NATURE: The site is located in the center of Kitchener, with the expansive Victoria Park to the south. However, due to roadways and parking areas interrupting the flow, it’s challenging for this landscape to permeate the site effectively. Simultaneously, with a site area of 15,000 square meters and a required building area of only 1,500 square meters according to the project brief, the strategy involves integrating small-scale structures with the landscape to address the issue of the site’s excessive scale.
  2. HISTORY: Within the site, there is an abandoned Charles bus terminal, with its main hall building well-preserved, but the historical elements of its platforms, bus lanes, and connecting corridors are poorly maintained. In the design, preserving the original waiting hall while removing other elements yet continuing its multi-linear spatial configuration is a critical historical stance.
  3. TOPOGRAPHY: On the eastern side of the site, there is an elevation difference of nearly four meters. In the design, a planted roof is utilized to seamlessly connect, allowing individuals to enter the building from the roof. Simultaneously, the height difference is employed to create outdoor stepped activity areas or sloped gardens. Additionally, to respect historical architecture, a partial sunken approach is employed in spaces like the art gallery and lecture hall, forming various topographical experiences.

This project won the Edward Allen BTES Award and the Second Prize SOPREMA Award. 

Instagram: @yanbo_zhu

Amending the Capitol by Garrett Krueger, M. Arch ‘24
Virginia Tech | Advisors: Susan Piedmont-Palladino, Paul Emmons & Scott Archer

The United States Capitol Building has long been an iconic symbol of the American government and democracy worldwide. Despite this, the United States has had many major events since 1892, and the Capitol has not had any representation of those events.

One example of stalled symbols of change is the number of representatives in the House. Since 1913, the House of Representatives in Congress has had 435 representatives, despite the population more than tripling since then. Many have had the idea to increase this number and expand the House. This idea gives an opportunity to design a new, larger chamber for the House to meet in. This thesis proposes a new chamber to redefine the architecture of the Capitol Building and symbolize the century of history that has yet to be represented in the Capitol.

The idea of making a new expansion to the iconic Capitol Building comes with challenges. This thesis was done amid historic turmoil and record lows in productivity in the House. This thesis also begs the question of whether the building that Congress meets in can be part of the solution. The House Chamber, when completed, had no electric lighting, let alone C-SPAN cameras and smartphones in every lawmaker’s pocket. This new extension aims to provide Congress with a workplace designed to address the difficulties it faces in keeping itself in order. As a whole, this thesis is about the idea of representing change. The nature of a democratic government is one of changing ideas and laws, and this project seeks to have the Capitol Building embody that aspect. Thomas Jefferson himself is known for saying rejecting change is like “requiring a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when he was a boy.” Congress needs a new coat. 

This project won the WAAC Crystal Award. 

Instagram: @vt_waac

Life, Death, and the Eternal Recurrence of Architecture by Geri Roa Kim & Kelvin Hu, B. Arch ’24
Pratt Institute | Advisors: Adam Elstein, Frank Gesualdi & Ashley Simone

Life, Death, and the Eternal Recurrence of Architecture proposes building anew as a form of preservation. Situated along the Arakawa River Island in Tokyo, this project is a story of a building that has grown over time since 1946. The building undergoes successive replication and revision every few years, each edition is built next to its predecessor, eventually becoming an endless, linear, horizontal skyscraper that constantly reinvents itself through time. 

This architectural approach, rooted in preservation, provides a tangible way to experience changes that normally unfold over centuries. Architecture, then, becomes a device to register time.

This project won the Best Degree Project of 2023/2024.

Instagram: @g.eroaii, @kelv.hu

Unbound Beirut: Reimagining Boundaries & Transforming Realities by Sima Fayad, B. Arch ’24
American University of Beirut | Advisor: Makram Al Kadi

This architectural thesis culminates in transforming Beirut’s iconic dome, The Egg, located in Solidere, into a multifaceted public space. It seamlessly integrates medical, educational, and cultural uses through a harmonious fusion of virtual and physical elements. This design transcends Solidere’s boundaries, fostering interaction among diverse user groups within a dynamic environment. Symbolizing Beirut’s resilience and revival, The Egg blends history with a vibrant future, redefining spatial inhabitation by bridging physical and virtual realms.

At its core, this thesis explores the intersection of physical and virtual spaces, emphasizing the enduring significance of tangible structures while delving into the growing realm of digital environments. It investigates how architects can utilize digital technology to craft emotionally and socially resonant spaces that transcend traditional boundaries. Envisioning a future where architecture integrates seamlessly with digital elements, the study challenges architects to reimagine spatial design.

The introduction lays the foundation by recognizing the pivotal role of physical spaces in our spatial understanding, positioning the thesis at the confluence of the tangible and intangible. As digital technologies increasingly influence our physical reality, this thesis calls on architects to incorporate digital elements such as virtual reality and internet connectivity into their designs. It highlights how these once futuristic concepts are now essential tools for creating visually striking, functional, and socially impactful architectural spaces. 

The thesis examines the redevelopment of Beirut’s downtown area, specifically focusing on The Egg, a striking dome in the Solidere district. This site symbolizes Beirut’s resilience and revival post-war, embodying the city’s enduring spirit while highlighting the economic barriers that modern urban landscapes can create. The Egg stands as a testament to Beirut’s cultural heritage, illustrating how architecture can blend the past with a vibrant future, bridging physical and virtual realms to redefine our concept of inhabiting space.

Instagram: @ard_aub

PENINSULAR PAPER CO. by Chase Dietrich, B.S. Arch ’24
Lawrence Technological University | Advisor: Masataka Yoshikawa

The project, PENINSULAR PAPER CO., began with an in-depth site analysis. The design was initially inspired by the natural gathering spots surrounding the existing building. This project aims to renovate and expand the existing structure, guided by the logic of these natural gathering points and the acute angles they form. The contemporary vision for the building’s renovation leverages these convergent points, ensuring the new design seamlessly integrates with the environment while enhancing functionality and aesthetic appeal. By focusing on these natural elements, the project promises a harmonious blend of old and new, creating a revitalized space that respects its historical context and serves modern needs.

This project won the Lawrence Technological University Chair’s Award.

Instagram: @chase.a.dietrich, @masataka.yoshikawa

Steamtown Revival by Mason Ramsey, James Gentilesco & Dalton Metzger, B. Arch ’24
Marywood University | Advisors: Jodi La Coe & James Eckler

The Joseph Biden Presidential Library uses various design concepts to best represent our president’s values. Green walls, aquaponics, water reuse, and bioswales all work together to visually demonstrate President Biden’s environmental priorities. These are new concepts for the proposed site in Scranton, Pennsylvania, currently occupied by the Steamtown Mall, a development that only hurt the economy and environment of the city, as Jane Jacobs argued. The entire site is to be replaced with biking and walking trails to best integrate the cityscape with nature. Inside this presidential library, one may visit Biden’s museum collection, browse through his personal selection of books, and even request access to presidential archives in this new landmark in a regrowing city.

Instagram: @ramsey_architecture, @gentilesco_architecture, @jodilacoe

“Navigating Uncertainty” in Lebanon by Karly Abou Dib, B. Arch ’24
American University of Beirut | Advisors: Trevor Ryan Patt & Rana Haddad

“Navigating Uncertainty” embarks on a detailed exploration of oil terminals, delving into their structural intricacies and temporal dimensions. By examining the historical significance, contemporary functionalities, and future uncertainties of these terminals, the study unfolds a narrative that seeks to craft a transformative blueprint for their decommissioning and sustainable future.

At the heart of this exploration is the concept of transforming challenges into opportunities for innovation through human collaboration. The uncertainty surrounding oil terminals is reimagined as a productive force, driving the evolution of a resilient and environmentally conscious infrastructure. The study proposes a shift from impermeable industrial containers to porous courtyards or “voids” that invite nature to reclaim and transform these spaces. This transformation symbolizes a transition from industrial to ecological, where past structures are enveloped by greenery and become communal spaces that foster biodiversity and community interaction.

Strategically designed “solids” are introduced within these voids, serving as eco-friendly program holders that benefit the environment. These solids house activities such as labs and workshops, green markets, and human energy-powered gyms, directly engage with and enhance their natural surroundings. The design and proportion of these solids vary based on their environmental impact, with programs that have a significant positive effect on nature occupying more prominent spaces.

The interface between the new solids and the voids is filled with community engagement opportunities and pathways that foster educational and cultural experiences. Visitors navigate through these transformed spaces, engaging with layers of information and activity that promote a deeper understanding of sustainability and its impact. This dynamic environment educates and inspires, cultivating a greener mindset among its visitors.

The project transforms an industrial site into a vibrant green space through the development of a porous wetland. This wetland enhances social well-being, supports biodiversity, and aids in natural water treatment and flood mitigation. It serves as an educational hub promoting environmental sustainability and highlights the role of wetlands in urban ecosystems. By integrating water into the site, the wetland mitigates flood risks and improves urban microclimates, showcasing how industrial areas can be reclaimed by nature

Instagram: @ard_aub

Global Educational Center for IT Specialists and Migrants in Istanbul by Anatolii Savoskin, Diploma in Strategic Interior Design / Private Master Degree ’24
IE University | Advisor: Elvira Munoz

For my graduate project, I tackled the challenges faced by skilled migrants, drawing from my own experience and that of friends worldwide. Using design tools, I aimed to provide solutions by identifying a real client in crisis and repurposing an underused building. Researching the client’s needs and challenges was pivotal in shaping our design strategy. We chose a historic building in central European Istanbul, strategically located near public amenities and transportation hubs to cater to our target audience: migrants with IT backgrounds. Detailed user mapping helped to understand their expectations and needs. My design concept focused on four key elements: an Al educational center, a rebranding campaign for Blackberry, integration of multicultural design elements reflecting migrants’ cultures, and a transition from classical to modern styles throughout the building’s floors.
Instagram: @iearchdesign, @anatolii_savoskin

Extending The Patchwork | The Pier by Jillian Sproul & Olivia Nunn, M. Arch ’24
Toronto Metropolitan University | Advisors: Joey Giaimo & Julia Jamrozik

Located in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, a tourist beach town, the project proposes an extension of the current pier providing opportunities for vendor expansion. The new pier proposal is achieved through the implementation of subtractive and additive heritage strategies. It provides locals with the agency to expand their business onto the structural modules that will aggregate as needed based on future growth, extending the existing vendor and architectural patchwork. The existing main pavilion has been opened up as a midpoint for resting and [eating]. The newly designed end pavilion embraces the past entertainment values of the site, showcasing live performances and expansive views out to the water. The form of the performance structure is shifted to align with the main street of the town, inviting visitors to adventure through the entirety of the pier, especially during sunset, when sun rays reflect off of the metallic panels. The two-storey performance pavilion is accessible with the feature ramp leading tourists on a journey separated from the busy vendor stalls. The total pier addition allows the current architectural and vendor patchwork to be valued as a key component to the pier’s long-standing success since 1899.

The physical model utilizes three types of wood to visualize the architectural patchwork of the current pier and the proposed extension. The burnt maple represents existing components of the pier, while the cherry represents existing components that have undergone renovations. This is contrasted with the basswood that represents the proposed patchwork extension.

Instagram: @jilliansproul, @olivianunn14

Reshaping Red Hook: Creative Placemaking and Connective Infrastructure. by Matthew Tepper, B.S. Architecture ’24
University of Virginia | Advisor: Mona El Khafif

From a manufacturing and transporting port to a refined and vibrant community hub, the masterplan analyzes the demand to unify the Red Hook, Brooklyn neighborhood to its adjacent post-industrialized, underutilized waterfront. It looks at a series of 19th-century waterfront warehouses as a symbolic reference to its connection with shipping and connectivity within the New York Harbor and a dilapidated water’s edge to activate opportunities for public engagement and hospitable, engaging programming. 

Red Hook, named by the Dutch in the 17th century, references its red clay soil and brick construction methods, as well as its jutting peninsula forming into the Upper New York Bay. In the late 19th century, Red Hook was the busiest freight port in the world, serving as the center of the city’s cotton trade. Later on, with the rise of Robert Moses, the Gowanus Expressway and the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel were built in the 1940s, followed by the first federally funded public housing projects in New York City. While Red Hook’s socioeconomic status declined due to a decline in maritime trade and employment access, its economic outlook is rising again as new businesses, artists, and artisans are beginning to bring vitality.

The program explores indoor, outdoor, and interstitial moments as means for a creative ecosystem, expanding a sense of connectivity through the Cobble Hill Tunnel within neighborhood bounds. The Cobble Hill Tunnel, the oldest tunnel in New York City, was rediscovered in the 1990s after being inactive for over 120 years in Downtown Brooklyn. It was imagined to stretch to Red Hook but was never fulfilled. In reimagining the existing lack of public infrastructure within Red Hook, this physical and symbolic representation would allow for connectivity across Red Hook while recognizing the neighborhood’s rich history. 

Forming an experiential approach to this connectivity aims to foster and maintain local, community-driven growth. The proposal intends to re-establish the water’s edge with a realignment of the existing Red Hook gridded organization and shift vehicular traffic to prioritize pedestrian experiences and modes of public transportation. To enable economic incentives for development, existing two-story warehouse buildings will expand upon their mass-timber structure as an extension of contemporary mass-timber building codes to provide a relationship between working and living environments. The existing parking lot will transform into Red Hook’s public square to support local artists, and a central amphitheater will serve as the concluding nexus of the tunnel. These transversal relationships can ensure dialogue between above- and below-ground environments as a new typology for untapped programming and real estate investment.

Instagram: @mattportfolio, @aschool_uva

Fluid Landscape: A Speculation on Edge by Marla Stephens, M. Arch ’24
University of Florida | Advisors: Charlie Hailey & Jeff Carney

Architecture for a Fluid Landscape: A Speculation on Edge, addresses the ephemeral nature of dwelling on Florida’s coastal edge. This project aims to unearth Florida’s fluid strata to resurface a forgotten timeline of architectural ruins and stories lost at sea and to reinterpret future coastal habitation for an accreting landscape. Using Wilbur-by-the-Sea and Cape Canaveral, Florida as stations for witnessing and recording the evolution of an edge, this project will begin to negotiate the nature of impermanence and symbiosis of architecture along the shore. 

As time passes, layers of stories, artifacts, ecologies, and technologies are embedded within the anthropogenic landscape. Is time as fluid as the littoral edge? Is there a way to work between the layers, to establish a permanent marker of change, to record the unfolding of time on an uncertain edge? Time moves quicker and shorter here, each day is a different coast. On the edge, change is felt at a more alarming rate. Here we bear witness to the ecological impact we have made; impacts which are felt slowly, suddenly, or all at once. Can architecture make us notice more? Notice the imprint of a seashell along the shore, and the fluttering of the saturated sand made by a sand flea hiding beneath the surface; to the detrimental effects of toxic runoff which tarnishes the shore with a nauseating green film, and the infrastructural damage inflicted by hurricanes and rising tides. We must notice more, to slow down time once again and decelerate our current path towards exponential degradation, to restore Mother Nature’s natural procession.

This project will collect and unearth objects and stories found along the fluid landscape while using the Florida Houses of Refuge as a generative part for testing markers on the coast. The Houses of Refuge were ten stations along the east coast of Florida constructed for the sole purpose of saving the lives of shipwrecked persons, yet they evolved into much more. This project uses the forgotten coast of Chester Shoal as a proving ground for ever-evolving iterations of stations that witness the transformations of an ephemeral landscape.

Instagram: @charlie.hailey, @marla.stephens

Conservatory of Theater: A Spot Light in the User by John M. Campis-Bobe, B. Arch ’24
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico | Advisor: Pedro A. Rosario-Torres

The decline of performing arts in contemporary culture can be attributed to a lack of cultural identity. Historically, theater served as a platform for societal reflection and discussion of political and sociocultural issues. Today, this art form has lost its prominence in many countries, necessitating a revival to inspire a new generation. To address this, the project employs the concept of a perfect prism to contrast its surroundings, highlighting the performance space as a vital expression of cultural identity.

Located in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, near the urban train’s last station, the project identifies existing entities and highlights those proposed for improvement. By linking the urban core, it establishes a new theatrical district with an axis running from the town hall through Marti Street to the Theater Conservatory. The conservatory’s design incorporates six strategies from modern theater culture, seamlessly integrated into the urban context, emphasizing both external and internal engagement. Its purpose is to create a series of encounters between performances and spectators, inviting exploration and contemplation throughout the city. For example, urban niches carve fenestration within each façade, showcasing rehearsal rooms, foyers, and terraces to residents and visitors passing by. The black box theater is cantilevered from the building façade, marking the culmination of the theatrical district axis. Inside, there are adaptable spaces for various scenarios that aren’t restricted by a fixed arrangement. This expands on the versatility to reconfigure to the constant changes in our contemporary culture. To improve the user experience and accessibility, an elevated urban plaza is created, bridging the conservatory with the surrounding urban fabric and inviting community interaction. Due to the tropical climate, sustainable features include natural ventilation on all floors, permeable pavement, solar panels, and an underground cistern for water storage.

The final model reveals the axis that unifies the new theatrical district and an alternative route from the train station, designed to enhance pedestrian access. By integrating urban connectivity, cultural engagement, and sustainable design elements, the conservatory sets a new standard for functionality and environmental stewardship, marking a transformative icon for new cultural expression. 


Instagram: @johncampiss

Archi-eulogy: Negotiating Ruination in the Urban Void by Glory Nasr, B. Arch ’24
American University of Beirut | Advisor: Sinan Hassan

In a dense alleyway of a residential suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, lies a neighbourhood-sized construction site, halted at the excavation stage. Where once stood the Laziza Factory, the first brewery in the Levant that was demolished in 2017, remains a 20-meter-deep manufactured chasm, vestiges of the unfinished construction of a high-end, Starchitect-made residential project. The chasm resembles a tomb with no capstone, a tomb for the demolished brewery and the immaterialized lofts, but more importantly for the notion of architecture as a practice above the human realms of economic crisis. The result is an absurd condition caught between architecture, geology, and ruin. 

With this urban condition as the site of the project, Archi-eulogy stands as a manifesto 

critiquing the method with which we build, developing an architecture that is inherently one of nonarchitecture. Building on the image of the site as an urban tomb, Archi-Eulogy proposes the acceptance of death through a lowering of a literal and metaphorical capstone onto the construction site over a 100-year cycle, corresponding to the average lifespan of a building. The capstone houses an art gallery and archival space, preserving the memory of the original brewery. Each height above the street level corresponds to a year, creating a geological stratification of the building height. As the capstone descends 0.5 cm a week 

for a century, matter accumulates and decumulates in the pit. The pit houses a parking space on the upper two floors, while the bottom three floors are left as public space for the residents of the neighbourhood. Once the capstone closes and the excavation is remediated, the project enters its second phase, becoming a curated ruin-scape, allowing for informal uses of the public park. Finally, hundreds of years into the future, archaeologists descend into the pit through its towers, exhuming the archaeological body buried in the tomb. By literally and metaphorically closing the urban tomb, the project aims to remediate the violence the unfinished construction inflicted on the neighborhood. 

This project was the 2nd Prize Winner of the Areen Projects Award for Excellence in Architecture and won the Dean’s Award for Creative Achievement.

Instagram: @ard_aub

Stay tuned for Part XV!

2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XIII

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Public spaces take the spotlight in Part XIII of the 2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase. The featured projects include recreation centers, parks, memorials, performance spaces, multi-faith facilities, city centers, and more!

Each student’s design was crafted with community needs at the top of mind. They utilize strategies ranging from reducing height in response to residential locations and combatting hostile architecture. They are also intentional about the use of materials with mediums such as wood, steel, and glass playing a role in curating the visitor experience. Each project aims to promote equity, education, belonging, socialization, and connectedness within their communities.

Scroll down to view these inclusive, accessible, and vibrant public spaces!

Tarboro Road Recreation Education Center by Lucas Stott, B. Arch ‘24
North Carolina State University | Advisor: Marshall Purnell

Compelled to provide vital community forums, recreation, and green spaces to East Raleigh, the 30,000-square-foot Recreation Education Center (R.E.C.) has created a gathering location for residents while linking local neighborhoods to Raleigh on a broader scale.

E. Edenton St. and New Bern Avenue have become defining features of East Raleigh, bringing in a surge of traffic from Downtown Raleigh. This results in a corridor of commercial properties and roadways that divide low-income neighborhoods. R.E.C. uses its visibility of these high-traffic roads to revitalize the region.

R.E.C.’s L-shape shields the neighborhood, opening towards the local community and protecting it from the intruding larger-scale city. Two diaphanous frames visible from the intersection attract new visitors intriguing fresh faces that would otherwise never visit the region. The existing historical educational building, converted into a 200-seat event hall, encourages public forums and community-building, breaking down barriers that traditionally separated East Raleigh from the rest of the city. 

Commercial spaces and community resources are organized separately into two elevated frames, with an atrium acting as the convergence point and entry. The first frame, a 24-foot deep truss, suspends across the landscape, revealing the commercial gymnasium and activity spaces it protects. Ramps down to the gym address difficult topography to reduce the R.E.C.’s height in response to its residential context. The second frame floating over the atrium provides vital educational resources to the underprivileged community, fostering skill development to improve employment chances in a rapidly transforming economic landscape. Curved aluminum panels coating the floating frames are perforated with a pattern that interacts with light and shadow, creating a unique experience. 

The north end of the site is grafted into the neighborhood’s skin. The form tilts open to reveal an outdoor space optimized to bring in local pedestrian traffic, encouraging residents to treat it as their backyard. Enclosed between the building and forested paths on the north side, a large open court becomes an important anchor on the site, freely defined by community-organized events and activities.

This project won a 2024 AIA Triangle Student Design Award.

A Hostile City, Inequitable Privatization of Public Spaces by Bailey Berdan, M. Arch ’24
Lawrence Technological University | Advisor: Scott Shall

Hostile architecture is a term used to describe design strategies that are intended to deter certain groups of people or behaviors in public spaces. While bench dividers and ground spikes are widely recognized examples of hostile architecture, their impact goes beyond these small-scale designs. Hostile architecture is pervasive in areas such as policy, law, and privatization, and it can have serious negative consequences on a community’s economy, walkability, and overall environment. 

To address this issue, one potential solution is parasitic architecture, which is a practice that is not commonly used but is often employed as a response to dysfunctional conditions. Parasitic architecture involves the creation of structures that are attached to or embedded within existing buildings or infrastructure, utilizing underutilized or overlooked spaces. This approach has the potential to combat hostile architecture and empower communities to reclaim their right to public spaces. 

By repurposing underused spaces, parasitic architecture has the potential to increase the availability of public spaces, reduce the costs of new construction, and foster a sense of community ownership and engagement. Additionally, these structures can be designed to be flexible and adaptable, allowing them to evolve and respond to changing community needs over time. Overall, parasitic architecture represents a promising approach to combat hostile architecture and create more inclusive, accessible, and vibrant public spaces. By empowering communities to collaborate and take ownership of their public spaces, parasitic architecture has the potential to create more livable, sustainable, and equitable cities.

This project was a finalist for the ARCC King Student Medal Award.

Instagram: @__b.berdan__, @scott_shall

Counter [con]text by Zeina Medlej, B. Arch ‘24
American University of Beirut | Advisors: Rana Haddad & Dr. Howayda Al-Harithy

This thesis investigates how tactical public space interventions within Beirut’s neoliberal landscape can create heterotopic spaces that counteract dominant urban narratives. The study is grounded in the theoretical frameworks of Michel de Certeau, David Harvey, Henri Lefebvre, and Michel Foucault, focusing on how architectural constructs can reflect and engage with diverse social narratives beyond the homogenized, capitalist-driven designs.

The central question guiding this research is: How can tactical public space interventions within Beirut’s neoliberal landscape create heterotopic spaces that counteract dominant urban narratives?

The research is structured into two phases:

Phase 1: Initial disruption through punctual tactics. This phase involves programmatic interventions at 18 strategically chosen sites around Beirut. Each site is selected to reflect and challenge various neoliberal rationalities, aiming to create a series of small-scale disruptions that collectively unsettle the status quo and open up possibilities for transformation.

Phase 2: Tactical integration for large-scale disruption. This phase focuses on a single, impactful site—Martyrs’ Square—to implement a significant tactical intervention. The intervention transforms Martyrs’ Square into a multifunctional, dynamic urban space that serves as a cultural hub and community center. By integrating historical, cultural, and social elements, this transformation challenges and redefines the socio-spatial narratives of Beirut. The thesis proposes a heterotopic constellation of spaces that operate outside conventional time-space frameworks, fostering inclusivity, resilience, and public engagement. By opposing the dominant urban narrative, these tactical interventions aim to contribute to the creation of a more diverse and inclusive urban environment in Beirut.

Through this research, the thesis aims to demonstrate how tactical interventions can serve as powerful tools for social critique and urban transformation, ultimately fostering spaces that are not only physically distinctive but also socially transformative.

Instagram: @ard_aub

Urban Legacy –  Preserving Cultural Continuity in Land Scarce Singapore by Denzyl Zhang, M. Arch ’24
Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) | Advisors: Andrea Bertassi, Aaron Wilner & David Gobel

This thesis looks at how memorial spaces might be integrated into urban parks, with an emphasis on the Sanctuary of Passage, a prototype for ecological and culturally sensitive memorial architecture in Singapore’s Ang Mo Kio-Bishan Park. The design tackles the issues of urban congestion and the displacement of customary burial grounds caused by the urgent requirement for living space in increasingly urbanizing regions. The thesis suggests a paradigm in which memorial spaces coexist alongside recreational places while also improving the ecological and social fabric of urban surroundings. The Sanctuary of Passage is based on the idea of a journey through sorrow, expressed by a series of ascending spaces that represent the phases of bereavement. 

Each level of the construction provides a unique experience with nature and architecture, allowing for a gradual shift from grieving to recollection and healing. The proposal draws on the natural dichotomies of visibility and obscurity, enclosure and exposure, and nature and architecture to create a dynamic place that respects and reacts to Singapore’s unique cultural traditions around death. 

The thesis concludes with a design that reimagines the function of memorial spaces in urban environments, arguing that they may be effortlessly incorporated into the city’s landscape, acting as crucial public places that provide consolation and connectedness. By doing so, it establishes a precedent for future developments across the globe, implying that combining urban growth with memorialization techniques may produce places that commemorate the past while also benefitting the present and future.

This project won the AIA Savannah Thesis Honor Award.

Instagram: @denzyl.zhang, @andre_bertassi

The Intragames: Shaping the Olympics for Local Publics by Weilin Berkey & Valentine Batteur, B. Arch ’24
Pratt Institute | Advisors: Evan Tribus, Cathryn Dwyre & Alex-Pierre de Looz

The nonprofit known as the International Olympic Committee can influence real-world social conditions through its corporate and financial power, thus making the [Olympic] Games a potential catalyst for new participatory publics. However, historically, the Olympic Games have struggled to benefit the host city beyond economics. Based on our research of previous Olympic Villages in recent years, they fail to acknowledge and engage with local programs and architecture, which we identify as the vernacular of the host city. 

Ironically, the goal of the Olympic Games is to embrace different cultures and to promote collectivity. Our research shows that, in fact, it produces negative effects on the host city by standardizing the way it deploys new venues and temporary housing. World-scale events like the Olympics often ignore local communities for profit. How might distributed hybrid vernacular venues amend the relationship between corporate goals and local needs to create new participatory publics within resident neighborhoods?

The Intragames hypothesizes that the use of vernacular typologies in combination with public spaces, will encourage locals to participate in collectivity sponsored by the Olympics. Currently, the upcoming Los Angeles 2028 Olympic plan focuses on improving existing infrastructure but neglects the potential connectivity among/between distributed venues. Layered with the existing competitive events, we want to incorporate new recreational and leisure Olympic events that the local fans can participate in along the LA River. Experimenting with combinations of vernacular typologies and Olympic programs is critical to our distributed venues’ longevity and future use. Additionally, having a deep understanding of the vernacular landscape will allow us to revitalize the forgotten concrete banks of the LA River and its connection to the city. 

This formula for designing new public venues will allow local spaces to be integral to urban-scale events. These additional programs will surpass the short timeframe of the Olympics, leaving new integrated publics along the river and changing the lasting impact of the games.

This project won The Best Degree Project of 2024, Undergraduate Architecture at Pratt Institute. 

Instagram: @wberkarch, @v.b._design, @pressg5, @pneumacat, @delicatemunch

The Spaces In-Between: The Making of an Urban Network by Dana Kanaan, B. Arch ’24
American University of Beirut | Advisor: Dr. Howayda Al Harithy

In Beirut’s urban environment, the absence of and the treatment of public spaces has led to the weakening of community ties, fragmentation of communities, and urban isolation. This is exacerbated by rigid boundaries that separate districts and hinder social interaction, as public spaces are crucial for community cohesion. Moreover, there is an abundance of interstitial and in-between spaces that are underutilized and leftover. The rigid boundaries that separate districts and neighborhoods, whether physical or mental, combined with the neglect of these leftover spaces contribute to the fragmentation of urban communities and hinder social interaction. This is because social interaction occurs in the public realm. Thus, this fragmentation in the public sphere exacerbates the weakening of community ties and urban isolation.

Interstitial spaces in between buildings, especially those that act as ruptures in the urban fabric, can be activated and used as an opportunity for a network of connectivity. These interstitial areas can be activated through methods such as layering, dissolution, dissociation, and blurring. The objective of creating a blurred space is to foster social interaction, which emerges during periods of liminality and ambiguity. Therefore, a network of private spaces is created in the absence of public spaces utilizing interstitial and in-between spaces. 

This project was nominated for the Areen Projects Award for Excellence in Architecture

Instagram: @ard_aub

Urban Projections by Tessa Laplante & Julia Nahley, M. Arch ’24
The University of Texas at Austin | Advisor: Matt Fajkus

“Urban Projections” addresses the notion of a cultural landmark in the context of an evolving city. With the massive amount of development happening at such a rapid pace in Austin, it raises the question of how the city will maintain and continue to define its own cultural identity. In order to maintain it, [this] design includes a film museum, while live performance spaces continue to define the city’s culture. A key intention for the site is to encourage circulation through the urban block towards nearby greenspaces including Republic Park and Shoal Creek. The heart of the block is defined by an elevated and rotated performance space, which sculpts the public plaza beneath. A film museum wraps around the block at the third level, serving as a plinth that begins and ends at Republic Park. Liminal spaces are emphasized in the project, with vertical circulation and intermission spaces celebrated and shared between programs.

The notion of projection is repeated at all scales of the project, reflected in the projection of the building’s structure onto the exterior facades. A steel mesh acts as a surface for the projection, as well as a thermal barrier to filter light and movement between interior and exterior spaces. A steel frame with CLT cores and floors is utilized as a replacement for concrete in conjunction with steel trusses that support the cantilevered theater spaces and wrap the upper levels. As visitors process from the main lobby into the more private spaces, they experience a sequence of atmospheres generated by different relationships between wood and steel. Specifically, in spaces where the program is flexible, the relationship between materials is clear, with transparent glass exposing the building’s primary steel members and CLT floors. In contrast, the interiors of the theaters are entirely wood to encourage concentration for the experience. 

This gradient of privacy through materiality reflects the project’s overarching intention to blur the boundaries between programs without compromising the essence and needs of the programs themselves. In an effort to establish a cultural landmark, liminal spaces are celebrated to encourage new relationships within the site, rendering them just as important as the more defined programs. These shared moments exist as a stage for the city to maintain and continue to define its cultural identity.

Instagram: @tessamarie108, @julia_nahley, @mf.architecture

Expo 2025 by Trever Bellew, B.Sc in Architecture ’24
University of District of Columbia | Advisor: Golnar Ahmadi

For the spring semester of 2023, students were required to design a pavilion for the 2025 World Expo that will take place in Osaka, Japan. The World Expo is a global event that showcases the best in technology, sustainability, and architectural design. With the theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives,” the Expo aims to present innovative solutions and ideas that positively impact human lives. It focuses on sub-themes such as saving lives, connecting lives, and empowering lives, highlighting the Expo’s commitment to addressing global challenges and creating a better future.

Being originally from Brazil, I challenged myself to create the Brazilian pavilion. [This design drew] inspiration from Burle Marx, a plastic artist, and architect who designed the most iconic boardwalk located in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I crafted an organic shell that encompasses the entire pavilion program. The project’s aim was to create an immersive experience that transports visitors to a jungle-like setting while educating them on various topics related to mental and physical health through the exhibit rooms. 

Instagram: @Golnarahmadi

Shopping Shells to City Cells by Ruyue Qi, B. Arch ’24
Rhode Island School of Design | Advisors: Junko Yamamoto & Leeland McPhail

Shopping malls, spanning an area equivalent to 33+ Manhattans, are key symbols of consumerism. Built for short-term savings, these malls often become abandoned due to high maintenance costs and the rise of e-commerce. In the United States, out of an estimated 1,150 malls, it is forecasted that only about 150 may remain operational by 2032. Despite numerous closures, new mall construction continues as developers aim to attract shoppers with the Next Big Thing. Abandoned shopping malls (large size, connected layout, huge parking, enclosed structure, and strategic positioning) have the potential to be transformed into compact cities to nurture a future that is both eco-efficient and interconnected. 

Large abandoned shopping malls are large enough to become diverse and mixed-used neighborhoods. They can provide housing units with fixed infrastructure cores and flexible layouts, depending on the climate and needs. Additionally, abandoned malls could evolve into walkable neighborhoods connected by escalators and platforms. Existing escalators can create a unique urban environment where residents can easily navigate between different areas. Transforming vast parking lots into parks, gardens, and farms could enhance connectivity to nature and mitigate the urban heat island effect. Enclosed shopping malls depend solely on mechanical systems to provide a controlled climate inside, introducing natural ventilation could significantly lower their carbon footprint. By strategically repurposing abandoned shopping malls, we can revitalize neighboring areas by enhancing community involvement, boosting the local economy, and creating new communal spaces and facilities.

This project was a Thesis Award Nominee. 

Instagram: @julyqi_, @junkoyamamoto_

Beating Heart: A Joe Biden Presidential Center by Nick Biser, Aidan Knupsky & Kaiden Estep, B. Arch ’24
Marywood University | Advisors: Jodi La Coe & James Eckler

Located in the heart of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Beating Heart is a Presidential Center for Joe Biden housing his presidential archives, a museum, and a new gathering space for the community. Taking a symbolic approach to the design, the building is split between a massive tension cable glass facade and a tall stone building. These two different approaches are brought together by an all-encompassing canopy. This symbolic design follows President Biden’s aim to unite individuals, no matter how different they may seem on the outside. The organic shape of both the canopy and facade represents the changing nature of the American spirit and people. Instead of a traditional Presidential Library, Beating Heart conveys more of Biden’s wishes and beliefs. 

At the center of the building is a massive cylindrical Heart of America – a brilliant spiral stair clad in Cor-ten steel that stands in contrast to the rest of the building. The Heart extends over 120’ high, going past the roof for all of Scranton to see. The entirety of the first floor diverts from the typical museum program of a Presidential Library. The front half is surrounded by seemingly endlessly tall glass that surrounds the occupant in an indoor/outdoor space. This winter garden preserves native vegetation and reclaims what was once a desolate parking lot into a reborn green space. The glass facade supported by thin tension cables creates a visually seamless transition between the reworked streetscape and the interior. 

In coordination with the winter garden is a Living Learning Lab serving as a space for the Scranton Community to learn more about the vegetation in the winter garden as well as ecological conservation techniques. Lastly, the first floor hosts a large, double-height Community Room, which features a large learning stair for the community to gather and discuss current events and issues. The museum section occupies the upper stories having the occupant flow in and out of the central Heart. The exhibits rotate around two symmetrical interior atriums allowing clear visibility and transparency throughout the museum. The active rooftop provides a space to fully view the Electric City of Scranton. 

This project won a 2024 MUSOA Studio Award.

Instagram: @nick_biser, @biser_architecture_and_designs, @aidanknup07, @kaiden_estep, @jodilacoe

Regarding the Commons: Addressing the current social and economic power dynamics as they manifest in the public realm by Magdaline Kuhns, M. Arch ’24
Lawrence Technological University | Advisor: Scott Shall

In the United States, “the Commons” has historically been a contested issue. The definition of the Commons began in Medieval Europe regarding areas of unrestricted resources of food and materials; in modern times, this definition has expanded to include digital commons, urban space, health access, and the ability to practice culture (IASC, 2023). Before the birth of the Nation, Native peoples viewed the land as a common resource, unable to be owned. European ideals introduced the idea of ownership and commodification to this hemisphere of the globe, and with it, a limiting bounding of space.

There are many factors at war with each other when determining what “public” actually means. Is safety more important than freedom, and when regarding safety, whose safety is being addressed? What role do capital and ownership have in the creation of boundaries between public and private? What “buy-in” should be required for an individual to take part in the public realm? As Li et al. describe in their work about publicness, “Space can gain its publicness through…’ purposeful occupation’.” (“Defining the ideal public space…”) The rights of all individuals to use public spaces for these purposes have been long-contested, making it a crucial conversation to be considered in the modern production of architecture and urban areas.

This work aims to fill a void many have observed in the modern manifestation of public space. People’s lived experiences in the city do not always reflect the supposed publicness of the space, but through intentional acts of occupation, a new version of the Commons might be fully realized. The architectural solution to this issue will include the physical and digital utilities commonly required by nomadic people groups – the group that needs the Commons most – available without restriction.

Instagram: @ace_kuhns, @scott_shall

Manus Mouvere by Dillon Alexander Brown, M. Arch ’24
Pennsylvania State University | Advisor: DK Osseo-Asare

This project seeks to explore ineffable ideas in a physical space: designing a multi-faith facility in a multi-faith society. Based in Central Park, New York City, this building facilitates five distinct religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. These five were selected from the census data of New York City. 

In preparation for the design, interviews were conducted at a temple with a religious leader for each religion, coinciding with a tour. Additional interviews with fellow students occurred to gain a more rounded understanding of each faith, their temple needs, and what could possibly lie for the future of the religion. With this information, five temples were designed within a single building and connected by a neutral secular space. 

Additionally, to explore the form of space the use of watercolor and pigment theory was used to see how different colors blended, or didn’t blend. This was done to explore how the culture of one faith may physically reside with another faith. The intuition gained from this exercise granted knowledge of how an idea may become overwhelmed and how much contrast is physically needed to keep a faith true to its own idea.

The exterior of the temples are angled to face their respective religious customary directions, but also act as geometry that encourages visitors to sit and face each other, a gesture to encourage dialogue. The building is designed to cross-pollinate understanding and promote tolerance between its visitors. It is representative of the existing religious landscape of New York City, and America as a whole.

This project won the ​​2024 Jawaid Haider Award.

Stay tuned for Part XIV!

2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part VII

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Welcome to Part VII of the 2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase! Today’s featured projects highlight spaces that serve their local communities. The student work below functions as more than just community centers, but as cultural and educational hubs as well. Each design presents an opportunity to transform communities by supporting the local economy, enhancing sustainability, creating an enriching environment, and more!

Tarboro Road Community Center by Maggie Kroening,  B. Arch ‘24
NC State University | Advisor: Doug Pierson

Tarboro Road Community Center

Anchors: Connecting Community to Landscape

Architecture has the power to include or exclude, establish connections, foster pride, and generate emotion. In turn, when considering public projects, architects have the choice to design for all, promoting a more equitable built environment. This philosophy is exemplified in my design for Tarboro Road Community Center, called “Anchors,” bridging design aspects of both landscape and architecture.  

This informed my project parti: landscape as anchors of gathering. After delineating existing trees on site, the program is placed at the least intrusive spaces, preserving the canopy. Overall, the enclosure is created for the program, and mass is subtracted to reveal entry, instilling a beacon and public park for the community. This site resides in the historically underserved community of East Raleigh. Thus, my project, “Anchors” needed to function larger than a community center, acting as a social nexus as the region urbanizes.

The design maximizes green space by elevating private program spaces to the second floor. This dedicates the entire ground plane to community use, featuring a plaza, recreation, seating, landscape gathering, an enclosed café, lobby, and gymnasium. By creating an urban plaza and elevating private amenities to the second floor, the entire ground plane functions as a public space for the community.  

In designing a space for a community, it is important to reflect on memories of what makes a space meaningful, which are often rooted in nature.  At Tarboro Road Community Center, nature is not just integrated, but celebrated. The landscape incorporates elements that evoke memories of meaningful outdoor experiences. The terraced seating also overlooks the recreation court, allowing viewership during games.  A naturalized playspace not only offers children a safe environment but also incorporates bioswales for sustainable runoff filtration, reinforcing the center’s commitment to ecological celebration.

The Tarboro Road Community Center exemplifies the integration of architecture and landscape, where the natural environment and community needs converge. By preserving the historic trees and maximizing public green space, the center not only honors the past but also prepares for the future as East Raleigh evolves.  

This project won the 2024 AIA Triangle Student Design Award

Instagram: @maggie.k, @podarchitecturedesign, @ncstatedesign

Aguirre Cultural and Visitor Center: The Revitalization of Abandoned Industrial Areas in the Communities by Sebastián R. Medina-Colón, B. Arch ’24
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico | Advisors: Pedro A. Rosario-Torres & Juan C. Santiago-Colón

The project is located in the Aguirre community in Salinas, Puerto Rico, and focuses on the former Aguirre Sugar Mill, situated near the coast and the community. This sugar mill was an economic pillar of the southern region in Puerto Rico since its establishment in the late 19th century. It spurred an economic boom centered on sugar production, becoming one of the largest and most productive facilities in the Caribbean. However, over time, the sugar industry faced economic challenges, and the sugar mill closed its operations in the 1990s. This closure caused several problems in the community, including the loss of jobs, population, commercial areas, and hospitals, leaving a forgotten and ruined community.

As a solution to this problem, the architectural proposal focuses on highlighting the area’s cultural, historical, and economic aspects. The main programs include a cultural and community center with recreational spaces, auditoriums for various local activities, a community market, and exhibition spaces with educational facilities to stimulate artistic and cultural interest in the area. Additionally, a visitor center is implemented to promote the local economy, which includes a virtual and interactive exhibition to present the history of the place and the processes used during that time, as well as commercial spaces, restaurants, and more.

The project advocates for returning the waterfront to the community by removing visual barriers and obstacles that currently restrict access to the coast. The intervention involves using part of the existing structures to preserve the sense of place, while new interventions are carried out in the deteriorated areas, fostering a strong urban node that highlights the cultural, economic, historical, and artistic activities of the place. The project focuses on three buildings selected for preservation. Two of them, formerly two-level warehouses, are proposed as the building for art and culture, oriented towards the community, and the community building facing the sea. The third and largest building of the sugar mill is designated for a commercial and exhibition space.

Instagram: @sebastianmedinacolon

Centro Juvenil Reginal, De Fomento Educativo y Cultural by Salma Orozco Orozco, B. Arch ‘24
Universidad Anáhuac Querétaro | Advisors: Alfonso Galván & Jorge Javier

The project aims to create an innovative youth centre that will become the heart of the social and cultural life of Cadereyta de Montes, radiating its influence to neighbouring states. This space will be designed so that young people can explore and enhance their talents and skills in both the educational and cultural spheres. In addition to fostering individual development, it will seek to promote positive values and community integration, strengthening ties between the inhabitants of the area and reducing violence rates. 

The project also contemplates the revitalisation of urban spaces in Cadereyta de Montes, turning the youth centre into a tourist reference point in the region. It will seek to stimulate urban activity in the city, generating economic and cultural opportunities for its inhabitants. In short, the youth centre aspires to be much more than a meeting place for young people; it will be an engine of social and urban transformation in the entire community.

Instagram: @orsa.mx, @salma_orozco123, @arqwave, @arquitectura_anahuac

HYOO•GUH by Cristian Salvador Díaz Castillo & Lian Alejandro de la Puente Pozada, B. Arch ’24
Tecnológico de Monterrey | Advisors: María Guadalupe Peñuñuri Soto, Jocelyn Erandi Reyes Nieto, Luis Antonio Valle Cordero & Marco Tulio Muñoz Lopez

Hyoo Guh is an architectural project strategically located in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, inspired by the Danish philosophy of “hygge,” which promotes the enjoyment of life’s simple pleasures. On a site of almost 30,000m², 11 towers will be built, including 4 mixed-use towers and 6 residential towers, generating a population density of 600 inhabitants. However, the project aims to attract all people who seek to celebrate life and generate community through architecture. Promoting this, Hyoo Guh’s main attraction is a central library, which along with the overall project, seeks to create an inclusive ecosystem for all, especially for children, in a way that promotes education and cultural development in an accessible and stimulating way for all ages.

The Danish philosophy of “hygge”, which focuses on warmth, intimacy, and the enjoyment of simple, cozy moments, has guided every aspect of Hyoo Guh. This approach is reflected in every detail of the design, creating an environment that invites relaxation and shared enjoyment, where users not only want to be, but to live, and spend most of their time. 

In addition, Hyoo Guh offers three different paths, each one of a distance under 600 meters, and marked with a different color that defines a different route, adapted to different users, these paths are intended to allow users to explore and experience the project in unique ways. Completing all three tours once adds up to one mile of distance, enriching the visitor’s experience.

The vision for Hyoo Guh is to become a landmark in the city, a place where people will go not only for necessity but for the pleasure of enjoying a welcoming and enriching environment.

Finally, Hyoo Guh aims to set a new standard for community and wellness in Hermosillo, creating an environment where every person feels not only welcome but deeply connected and enriched. Its library will not only be a center of knowledge, but a place where community flourishes, inspiring everyone to live with gratitude and full enjoyment.

Instagram: @teccampusson, @tecdemonterrey, @eaad.tec, @yochi_02

Wine, Water and Architecture: A Multiscale Approach to Terroir Expression by Carmen Al Chahal, B. Arch ’24
American University of Beirut | Advisors: Sandra Frem & Makram El Kadi

Focusing on Anjar within the expansive 215,000 sqm plot of the Bekaa Valley, this thesis seeks to demonstrate that architecture, when thoughtfully integrated into the wine-making process, has the potential to materialize and strengthen the links between terroir and wine production at multiple scales. By addressing water-sensitive processes responding to the challenges, fostering wineries as cultural hubs for local communities, and drawing inspiration from the site’s nature and potential, architecture can play a pivotal role in enhancing the sustainability, connectivity, and cultural richness of the wine industry.

Instagram: @ard_aub

Stay tuned for Part VIII!

2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part III

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Welcome to Part III of the 2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase! Today’s installment answers the question: “How can architecture serve as an avenue to celebrate and preserve cultural heritage and history?”

The award-winning student work below highlights various ways to honor history and culture. Innovative methods include using indigenous construction to promote ecotourism, illuminating transient Holocaust sites using artifacts and survivor testimonials, multi-modal exhibitions, and more. These projects also include diverse subject matters ranging from an exploration of the history of Toronto’s Caribbean Carnival to analyzing North and South Native American artifacts.

The Making of Mas’: Archiving Toronto’s Caribana by Jasmine Sykes, M. Arch ‘24
University of Toronto | Advisor: Jeannie Kim

Toronto’s Caribbean Carnival, originally known as Caribana, is an event that transforms architecture and urban experience through communication, performance, and social exchange. Originally a one-off parade for Expo ’67, Caribana has become North America’s largest cultural festival. Caribana’s impact extends beyond Toronto, with a geographic, economic, and spatial impact that is global in scale. The festival’s growth has prompted a shift in its traditions, raising concerns about its distancing from Caribbean roots. These concerns are reflected in the lack of an archive documenting Caribana’s history. This thesis advocates for the preservation and understanding of Caribana’s cultural and spatial legacy in Toronto.

Instagram: @jasmine_sykes

A Journey from Ancient Roots to Modern Revelations: Designing a Coptic Orthodox Museum & Cultural Sanctuary in the heart of Washington DC by Yostina Yacoub, M. Arch ’24
Temple University | Advisor: Prof. Sally Harrison

This thesis explores the reinterpretation of traditional Coptic architecture within the context of a contemporary museum, memorial, and community hub in the heart of Washington DC. The project aims to bridge the knowledge gap between Pharaonic Egypt and modern-day Egypt, illustrating the cultural, religious, and political shifts that have shaped the nation while narrating the story of the Copts, the indigenous people of Egypt.

Furthermore, it aims to honor the 21st-century Coptic martyrs and shed light on global Coptic persecution, serving as an educational platform for both the Coptic Diaspora and the general public, highlighting the Coptic Orthodox community’s history, faith, art, architectural heritage, and contributions.

Instagram: @yostinay

Nayala: Cultivating Architectural Memory and Identity by Ryan Saidi, M. Arch ‘24
The Catholic University of America | Advisor: Ana Maria Roman Andrino

This thesis unveils earthen chambers of memory, reflection, and hope, shaping the city’s trajectory towards renewal. In Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, co­lonialism led to architectural amnesia, obscuring precolonial heritage. The city now seeks a revival, a vibrant hub of memory to reclaim lost architec­tural forms for a sustainable future. Nayala emerges as this sanctuary, bridging buried traditions with emerging dreams. 

This thesis was one of three to be placed on the University’s final Super Jury.

The Museum Remembering North and South Native Americans by Kelly Locklear, Bachelor of Environmental Design in Architecture ’24
NC State University | Advisor: Patricia Morgado

The Museum Remembering North and South Native Americans is located in the small town of Pembroke, NC, land of the Lumbee Tribe. The Museum holds a collection of Native American artifacts from both North and South America gathered from the Smithsonian Museum. Two artifacts are of particular interest: 

– A Dugout Canoe: made by the Lumbee tribe. The entire community comes together to carve the canoe from a burnt tree. My people used canoes such as this to travel the Lumber River and to hunt fish. 

– A Totem: made by the Tlingit Kiks.ádi Clan in southeast Alaska, used as a symbol to commemorate those lost in the 1804 Battle of Sitka. 

It was important to approach the design taking into consideration the meaning of these artifacts as well as the best conditions to view and interact with them. 

For Native American cultures, earth and sky are sacred. There are main two elements: 1) mass, representing the earth from which spaces, niches, and openings to view the artifacts are carved, and 2) plane, representing the sky, used to bound the space and transform light. To externalize the spiritual qualities of the sky to this culture, the interior of space is oriented along the astronomical north. The roof is split; one part retains the orientation of the town’s grid (N-S) while the other aligns with the astronomical north. 

As the visitor approaches the entrance from the town, they are offered views into the museum through openings on the east façade. Visitors enter the museum through a vertical slit in the mass and step on a floating platform. Upon entering, they abandon the orientation of the town grid to experience the spiritual orientation of Native Americans. They are offered a view of the main pieces of the collection, the Totem and the Dugout Canoe, but cannot access them until they enter below. The path leads visitors to the final space, one of reflection of the Native American cultures and from where they can have a full view of the Totem as well as of the Lumber River where dugout canoes have been used for centuries.

This project won the 2024 AIA Triangle Student Design Award.

Instagram: @locklear.design, @patriciamorgadomaurtua

Spirit of Place through Material and Cultural Lifecycles in Ghardaïa by Sarah El Ouazzani, M. Arch ’24
McGill University | Advisor: Alan Dunyo Avorgbedor

Among dunes and oases, the vast desert spans 33% of the Earth’s surface. Within this expanse lies Ghardaïa—a city where architecture unfolds in harmony with the unhurried rhythm of the Algerian Sahara in North Africa, embodying the essence of slow architecture through its lifecycle properties. Here, the rhythms of nature and culture shape the spirit of the built environment, ensuring that architectural design blends harmoniously with its surroundings and nurtures a sustainable ethos benefitting both the community and the landscape.

The Mozabite community thrives through an architectural approach rooted in eco-centric principles, where the lifecycle properties of local materials and cultural practices seamlessly intertwine amidst Ghardaïa’s landscape. Influenced by this unique ecological environment, its architectural essence produces a unique phenomenological dimension. It fosters a distinctive cultural atmosphere that profoundly influences both the body and the mind, shaping communal existence and creating an authentic local spirit of place.

This project seeks to reclaim cultural and sustainable landscapes, transcending conceptual design to express the unique relationship between material lifecycles, culture, and embodiment in Ghardaïa. Through a multi-modal exhibitionary approach, this project curates embodied culture, crafts, and material lifecycles of the Ghardaïa natural and built environment alongside original audiovisual documentation and situated experience within an immersive installation. 

In The Forest, Don’t Touch Anything by Sarah Turkenicz, MLA ’24
University of Toronto | Advisor: Liat Margolis

This thesis is about the transient history of Jews who sought refuge in the forests across Eastern Europe during the Holocaust. Unlike urban post-Holocaust sites, this history lacks enduring, tangible infrastructure and artifacts. In the forest, concealment was paramount, and any disruption of the natural environment posed an existential threat. Embedded within an evolving landscape, the remnants that do exist today are undocumented, unprotected and disappearing. Through conducting primary research of physical remnants and oral testimonials of the last living survivors, this thesis illuminates the transient nature of Holocaust sites, reshaping our perception of them not as mere collections of features, but recognizing them as landscapes.

This project won the Daniels Faculty Graduation Award – Heather M. Reisman Gold Medal in Design. The Gold Medal is awarded to the graduating student demonstrating exceptional achievement in design in architecture, landscape architecture, or urban design. It was also, submitted to the 2024 ASLA student awards.

Instagram: @uoftdaniels

Notes on a Conjectural Form* by Peihao Jin & Zamen Lin, B. Arch ’24
Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI_Arc) | Advisor: Russell N. Thomsen

History, as we know it, is only one of many facts. Our thesis perceives history as non-linear, where there is no singular cause and effect, but a field of multiple possible interpretations. Each site therefore exists not purely in its present moment but contains an accumulation of its histories, a compounding of its past, present and future. Histories, not history. Absences, not just presence. The site of Estonia’s Tartu Cultural Center today exists as petrified pieces of something old and a living piece of something Other. Akin to a palimpsest, it comprises the memories of what once existed but also the embalming of the living present. 

Our thesis proposes selecting, reading, interpreting, integrating and mediating traces embedded beyond existing contextual conditions. Aspects of excavated histories are conflated and manipulated to form a complex ecology of systems, suggesting possibilities for organization, form and tectonics. Steering clear from the literal reconstruction of history, the registration of selected histories produces a series of local reactions that inflect and deform the whole. Histories registered here are not of symbolic significance but one of multiple non-sign readings, where the sign and signified no longer exist in one-to-one relationships. This heterogeneity enables the architecture to enter into multiple relationships that refuse to settle into fixed nor stable hierarchies; an uneasy whole.

*The suggestion or reconstruction of a reading of a text not present in the original source

Instagram: @rntarch, @peihao_jin, @zamenlmh

Reviving the Lao Vernacular: Preserving Culture through Floating Communities by Juliana Viengxay, B. Arch ’24
Kennesaw State University | Advisor: M. Saleh Uddin

The goal of this project is to strengthen a community through a series of cultural activities coexisting with nature with treehouses, houseboats, and a community center through ecotourism in Laos. There has always been floating communities on land and water due to the amount of rainfall and monsoons from May to October. With a strong focus on elements such as material, form, and structure while preserving the local culture. [This project aims] to improve the economic well-being of the indigenous people while fostering symbiotic links between visitors and the land while educating tourists about the culture.

Analyzing the indigenous way of construction to understand the complexities of Laos architecture. The proposal to utilize the ease of construction is heavily emphasized with a series of connections of tied bamboo, and steel nodes. The proposal combines increased efficiency, and maintaining cultural authenticity. Research methods to support the objectives of this project is through site analysis, existing case studies, and design testing to make proper design decisions.  

The project promotes skill-sharing with weaving classes and the development of craft markets and supports the existing floating market to strengthen community engagement with Lao culture. This innovative ecotourism project embraces immersive experiences and ecological methods in an effort to rebuild indigenous communities understanding their way of living. The idea behind the project is to design treehouses that in the forests and boathouses that are rooted in rivers while increasing engagement.

This project won First Place in the KSU Architecture Thesis Competition in 2024. 

Mercado Urbano, Tierra y Raíz by Andrea Lomelí Ruiz, B. Arch ’24
Universidad Anáhuac Querétaro | Advisors: Alfonso Galván & Jorge Javier

This architectural project aims to redefine not only the physical landscape but also the very fabric of the community. This integral market is presented as a beacon that illuminates the possibilities of empowering and renewing the social and solidarity economy in this remote environment. 

Based on the tradition, identity, character and history rooted in every corner of Cadereyta, this project emerges as an architectural manifestation that seeks to re-establish harmony with the territory and connect with the rich history that defines this locality. 

Awareness, respect for the environment and history are the foundations that enable this market to become a visible and locatable symbol, an urban node that links service properties through interaction. 

This integrated market is not only a transaction centre; it is an architectural response to the importance of local consumption and its benefits. It is a reminder that to truly get to know a city, one must explore its markets, understand the stories that weave through its aisles and connect with the people who pass through them. 

At its core, this project seeks to restore the population’s connection to its origins, re-establishing harmony with the territory and connecting with the rich history of Cadereyta de Montes and reconnecting with its roots.

Instagram: @andrea.lomelir, @arqwave, @arquitectura_anahuac

Stay tuned for Part IV!

2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part II

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In Part II of the 2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase, we take a look at projects that focus on education. From supporting the social integration of neurodivergent students to designing a Makerspace for a university, the featured student work addresses education in various capacities.  

Today’s installment includes proposals to build schools and increase the accessibility of education in underserved communities, designs for South Korean Hagwons, and more!

Sustainable School in Bangladesh by Cesar Augusto Borges dos Santos, B.Sc in Architecture ’24
University of District of Columbia | Advisor: Dr. Golnar Ahmadi

Elin Nordegren once said, “Education is one thing no one can take away from you.” This powerful statement underscores the importance of establishing an elementary school in Modhubagh, a densely populated and predominantly low-income area in Dhaka. Currently, the absence of a local elementary school forces children to embark on long and arduous journeys to reach distant educational institutions. This situation not only hinders their academic progress but also exacerbates the cycle of poverty that grips the community.

According to UNICEF, only 19% of children aged 3-5 in Bangladesh attend an early childhood education program. This alarming statistic highlights the urgent need for more accessible educational facilities. By constructing a new elementary school in Modhubagh, we can ensure that children have better access to quality education, thereby laying a strong foundation for their future.

The proposed school will serve as a beacon of hope, providing a safe and nurturing environment for the children of Modhubagh. It will offer a comprehensive curriculum designed to foster cognitive, social, and emotional development. Moreover, the establishment of this school will create job opportunities for local residents, further uplifting the community.

In summary, building an elementary school in Modhubagh is a transformative step towards breaking the cycle of poverty and empowering the next generation. This project is not just about constructing a building; it is about building a brighter future for the children and the community as a whole.

Instagram: @Golnarahmadi

SNAPD by Baraa Abdolkarim, Yusuf Abdul-Rakib, Lauren Cepeda, Alondra Egure, Angel Estrada, Aneida Flores, Luis Flores, Marianne Friedel, Lorena Gonzalez, Brianna Guerra, Douglas Long, Isabel Vera Lopez, Simran Maredia, Kawa Ojo, Bylasan Shalabi, Jesus Sifuentes & Kyndal Thompson, B. Arch ’24
The University of Texas at San Antonio | Advisor: Armando Araiza

The project was designed for the entrance of the new Makerspace in the newly finished Science and Engineering Building at the UTSA Main Campus. The design allows students from all majors to showcase projects made in the Makerspace as well as welcome students to work on new projects. The studio explored the concept of folding, while transforming 2-dimensional surfaces into 3-dimensional volumes. The volumes organically flow throughout the Makerspace Lobby, displaying the concept of growth and transformation. Color and lights were incorporated into the design in order to illuminate the project and make it feel like an immersive and interactive experience for those entering the Makerspace Lobby.

Field Station: A Land Based Elementary School by Huê Bùi, M. Arch ‘24
University of California, Berkeley | Advisors: Neyran Turan (Primary Advisor) & Liz Gálvez

Field Station proposes a land-based elementary school as a response to the growing disconnect between people and land in industrializing rural Vietnam.

Land is big and school is small. Field Station is situated in Bac Giang, Vietnam, and centered around the lychee tree, the region’s key agricultural export. The school is located on an existing field to foster direct, place-based knowledge. The school is realized as a trail, integrating local land maintenance practices into both its pedagogy and architecture.

In the flat topography of the site, lychee trees are grown on mounds to help the roots stay above flood level and protect them from weeds. Field Station comprises interventions around these lychee mounds, organized like an almanac that suggests how architecture can adapt seasonally to facilitate different programs and spatial organizations during different planting stages throughout the year. The scroll drawing experiments with depicting both time and space in a two-dimensional medium. Read from right to left, the drawing aims to depict Field Station at four points of activation: Spring school during flower development, Summer school during harvest, Autumn school during ground preparation, and Winter school during canopy development. 

Land time is long and school time is short. Yet both are cyclical, rooted in repetition and resulting in growth. Field Station explores time across scales: the time of a human, a tree, a school year, an annual crop; the time of growth and decay. Using primarily bamboo and lychee bi-products (branches, leaves, fruits), the interventions aim to promote regenerative agriculture through various composting strategies, proposing the restoration of land depleted by mono-crop as an essential component of land education.

Instagram: @nemestudio, @office.for.example, @ucberkeleyarch

Social Ribbon by Brandon Rosas, Eddie Lam & Huiying Tan, M. Arch ’24
University at Buffalo | Advisor: Jin Young Song

The competitive college entrance process in South Korea has led to the proliferation of Hagwons, after-school private learning institutions. We also observe an emerging trend of commercialized “Study Cafes” in most Hagwon districts. A Study Cafe is a hybrid space between a cafe and a reading room in a library. This project explores a novel integration of Study Cafes into a “vertical school,” maximizing the performance of the cafe space in the context of classroom spaces in Hagwons.

The Study Cafe spaces are all connected as a flow of socialization, like a ribbon. The “social ribbon” is a new vertical school typology featuring vertical and diagonal circulation to encourage social interaction, relaxation, and other diverse activities. This ribbon transforms the Hagwon spaces, creating versatile, programmatic areas that blend the boundaries between levels, including Study Cafes, mini libraries, lounges, and galleries. Accessible from the ground to all levels, the ribbon offers students the freedom to engage in collaborative or private activities, easing the stress of their daily routines. The verticality is designed to provide efficient and diverse behaviors, not only as places but also as means of circulation.

Additionally, the ribbon incorporates a series of angled and protruding balconies that provide outdoor space and shade, enhancing the building’s performance. This design gesture is highlighted on the north façade, serving as a prominent feature that activates both the building’s interior and exterior.

Instagram: @ubuffaloarchplan

Hagwon On The Move by Toni Vargas, Omar Ibrahim & Staci Tubiolo, M. Arch ’24
University at Buffalo | Advisor: Jin Young Song

Hagwon On The Move proposes a transformative intervention in the heart of South Korea’s Hagwon (private institutions) culture. We understand that young students have the most interactive, meaningful, and enjoyable social activities ‘before and after’ classes. While the current Hagwon culture focuses on efficient learning, the architecture lacks the sense of a ‘place’ to linger. We aim to extend this particular ‘before and after’ class time as much as possible. Through an extended walking experience within the building, the project redefines the traditional private cram school experience, creating a vibrant, inclusive learning environment for students of all ages.

The building emphasizes the social and physical benefits of walking, inviting users to explore its 7-story structure via a moderate 1:25 continuous ramp. While the north-facing side of the building is reserved for efficient learning spaces, the south-facing side is highly dynamic, accommodating various programs including flexible studying spaces, a library, and activity lounges.

Ascending to the open roof, users are treated to engaging views across the building through a central atrium, transforming the walking experience into a spectacle. The constant change in the angle at which the floor slabs meet the façade introduces double-height balcony spaces, reconnecting users with nature. This shifting, angular design is clad in terracotta panels that mirror the fluidity of the ramp behind and provide shade and thermal comfort. Additionally, terracotta baguettes extend underneath the panels to provide extra shading where needed.

Hagwon on the Move offers students the opportunity to engage with their peers and surroundings in a dynamic setting that contrasts with traditional education spaces. Embracing innovation and community, the project is poised to re-evaluate the learning experience in vertical spaces.

Instagram: @ubuffaloarchplan

Down Syndrome: A Path to Independence by Luis D. Maldonado-Albertorio, B. Arch ’24
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico | Advisors: Pedro A. Rosario-Torres, Juan C. Santiago-Colón & Manuel De Lemos-Zuazaga

Down Syndrome is a condition observed in different parts of the world, and people with this condition are often perceived as incapable of doing what a neurotypical person would do. However, in many cases, these individuals do not achieve independence because appropriate approaches for their integration into society are not adopted. There is a mistaken belief that a simple program will solve their problems. People with Down Syndrome may have intellectual disabilities, motor difficulties, and some distinctive features in their bodies, but this does not mean they cannot improve and advance toward a successful life. It is crucial to work with them from an early age to achieve great results in adulthood.

The project proposes an idea where architecture performs a central role in creating a space specifically designed for people with Down Syndrome to learn and progress towards an independent life.

The architectural proposal is located in Puerto Rico, in the city of Ponce, at a site that is currently an incomplete and abandoned sports complex. This represents an opportunity not only to improve and develop a master plan for the complex but also to implement an educational proposal for children with Down Syndrome. Being located in an existing sports area, the project will help improve the users’ motor skills and allow for the “Special Olympics” to take place for this community, fostering an exchange of experiences and learning between neurotypical individuals and children with Down Syndrome.

From an architectural perspective, the idea is to implement ludic areas that will make learning efficient and enjoyable, helping to improve both mental and motor aspects. Additionally, various programs specifically designed for these users are implemented, such as the simulation of a home, located in volumes of geometric shapes. These colorful geometric shapes aim to help the users clearly identify different spaces.

Instagram: @daniel_albertorio30

Architecture for Autism Spectrum Disorder: In Search of Social Integration for People with ASD by Jorelma Alfaro-Padilla, B. Arch ’24
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico |Advisors: Pedro A. Rosario-Torres, Juan C. Santiago-Colón & Manuel De Lemos-Zuazaga

Over the years, statistical studies have demonstrated the exponential increase in diagnoses and prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) globally. This is a lifelong condition implying that each diagnosed individual receives personalized treatment, and it is primarily characterized by its impact on individuals’ communication skills. With the growth of this community, the need for spaces that foster the social integration of the autistic community with the neurotypical population has become more apparent. Although the autistic community must be fully attended to, early diagnosis and care allow for the identification of strategies and the insertion of individuals with the condition into environments that enable full development adjusted to their abilities. In this context, architecture becomes a tool for designing spaces that meet the needs of autistic users, such as through the use of sensory design theory, allowing for spaces that promote the social integration of these users.

This architectural proposal is located in the town of Caguas, Puerto Rico, on a lot adjacent to a cluster of existing schools. The proposal comprises a set of structures subdivided according to their use: education, treatment, and integration; leading to the creation of five structures: an amphitheater, a treatment center, a K-12 school, a gymnasium, and a school of fine arts. The placement of these structures seeks the social integration of the autistic community through the creation of a connecting axis that facilitates the creation of spaces for interaction between school communities through urban spaces, as well as the interaction of neurotypical and autistic school communities in the fine arts program. As part of the educational program, the implementation of retreat spaces in classrooms for autistic students was considered, so that in the event of overstimulation or lack of stimuli, they can take a moment to recompose themselves and use a space that, in addition to being designed for their needs, becomes an element for the façade design of the K-12 school. Additionally, the structures feature sensory gardens which, together with the vegetation, provide an outdoor retreat space and an area for social interaction. Architecture, in these respects, becomes a mediator for the social integration of autistic users, enabling interactions among users.

Instagram: @jorelma_a

Stay tuned for Part III!

2023 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XXXII

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In Part XXXII of the 2023 Study Architecture Student Showcase, each project highlights water in various capacities. Viewers can browse designs ranging from the reimagining of a floating Girl Scouts campsite to a holistic hydrotherapy spa. The featured student theses and designs also address threats to water by proposing systems for water collection and distribution and creating new infrastructure for wastewater plants.

Glacier Jane by  Lauren Beemer, Tess Brown, Sandra (Lindsey) Chaplik, Ryan Fitzsimmons, Kayla Flyte, Dean Hemminghaus, Alex Hernandez, Samantha Labrosky, Alexander Laudone, Patrick Moorhouse, Tyler Muir, Michelle Petrik, Tyler Quick & Jade Rolon, B.Arch ‘23
Marywood University | Advisors: Jodi La Coe & Maria MacDonald

Glacier Jane envisions a zero-energy revitalization of Mariners’ Camp at Girl Scouts’ Camp Archbald, where urban activist Jane Jacobs trained her powers of observation on the riparian ecology surrounding Ely Lake. In 1938, Mariners’ Camp was constructed for a teenage troop on the north shore of a 45-acre glacial lake and boasted the first floating cabin ever built for the Girl Scouts of the USA. Today, Mariners’ Camp includes three pontoon platforms, two of which have floating cabins, a separate troop house with attached latrines, a standalone outhouse, a water station, platform tents, and a campfire circle.

Floating on the pristine waters of Ely Lake as they slowly flow into nearby Meshoppen Creek before joining the north branch of the Susquehanna River en route to the Chesapeake Bay, Glacier Jane will serve as a living laboratory for water research. Its gardens – planted with native species on the roofs, hanging from the railings, floating in the water, and terracing the landscape – will integrate with the dense lily pads and vegetation ringing the sunny side of the lake and with the surrounding shade of the evergreen forest to filter chronic acid rainfalls and nitrate-ladened, stormwater run-off. In addition to improving the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay, Glacier Jane will also extend the Girl Scouts’ focus on combining observation, self-reliance, and harmonious living with hands-on, STEM educational activities.

This project won the Second Prize, Retrofit Housing Division of the 2023 Solar Decathlon Design Challenge.

Instagram: @glacier_jane, @jodilacoe, @tessrose13, @alaudone, @maria_iarch, @marywood_architecture

Aquatecture as Mitigator of Water Scarcity by Yolyanne A. García-Meléndez, B.Arch ‘23
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico | Advisor: Pedro A. Rosario-Torres

Global warming is a problem that occurs over long periods of time. It affects us little by little, but we increasingly notice the change it produces in our daily lives. With global warming, a number of problems arise that affect human lives, one of these is drought. Due to the high temperatures on the planet, the availability of water reduces while its demand increases. According to scientists, “the predictions point to a considerable increase in droughts: for every degree that the temperature increases, we will see a 4 percent reduction in rainfall, so we will suffer reductions of between 5 and 20 percent.” This affects humans, animals and the agriculture of a place. If drought extends too long, what we know as famine can occur. Drought depends on the climate and it can be caused by two different variants that affect the weather, thus causing a lack of rain. The first one is natural, either by changes in atmospheric patterns or variations in solar activity. The second is caused anthropogenically, with the main reason being global warming due to bad human practices against the environment.

The project’s location in Copiapo, Chile, is a town located in the Atacama region and desert, and one of the driest places in South America. Chile is big on crop exportation and importation for its agriculture is very important. It is also known for its history of dry seasons and a big drought that lasted for about 10 years. The proposal seeks to collect and distribute water to the nearby crops. The idea was to create a water pump experience, using the water from underground canals that the visitors could see and learn from, while also enjoying the process of collecting water and distributing it to the crops. Spaces for restaurants, a museum and stations with important information aim to create awareness of water management and usage. The project also serves as an information center and tourist spot, with the goal of maximizing water for crops and food for the city.

Instagram: @y_anne_

Education Point by Francesco Manninno, B.Arch ‘23
New York Institute of Technology | Advisor: Evan Shieh

Duluth, MN, is a mid-size American city that historically relied upon declining mono-industries (like ore + timber) and mono-functional transportation modes to fuel its economic growth. Education Point is a Marine Research + Development Satellite Campus proposal that provides a blueprint to transition the city’s future towards education and tourism as more sustainable industries. Located on Duluth’s shoreline at the termination point of Interstate I-35, the project spans over and transforms an underutilized highway to reconnect the city to its shoreline while simultaneously providing a local educational hub for neighboring university institutions and the greater public.

Instagram: @studio.fs2, @ev07

Industrial Interface: A Transparent Relationship Between Wastewater Treatment and The Human by Leah Bohatch & Camille Kreisel, B.Arch ‘23
Tulane University School of Architecture | Advisors: Cordulla Roser Gray & Ammar Eloueini

Wastewater treatment is currently an isolated system despite its importance in serving civilians, creating a linear relationship that wastes a limited resource while harming the health of its source: the body. Such isolation has further harmed the environment due to civilians’ lack of knowledge and overuse. Additionally, such physical and social separation has made citizens more unlikely to adapt to wastewater reuse methods because of misconceptions about safety standards.  

Miami’s current wastewater plant, located on the flood-threatened Virginia Key, requires an assessment and renewal of systems that should be raised, work on a network, separate different water types for efficient cleansing, reuse treated water for facility use, and invite the public into the process. A micro WWTP in Miami is proposed to run a cycle of water treatment and reclamation that supports the heat-stricken city by reprogramming a cooling aquatic center to act as an example for future plants. This redefinition of infrastructure proposes a rejuvenated future in which civilians can experience the necessity and amenity of wastewater infrastructure. 

This new interface is represented in a ribboning red path of circulation that fluctuates between snaking around mechanical systems or inhabiting the mechanical space as a volume that enables the user to experience the treatment cycle. The user moves in a multisensory path of observation and inhabitation, allowing them to reflect on their own impact on the municipal water cycle, as well as experience a new relationship with treated water in which waste is no longer the end, but the beginning, of a treated community spring through a sauna, splash pool, and bathhouse. The stripped plaza allows for exterior cleansing of city runoff as a gradient strategy composed of vegetation, gravel, and enhancement ponds, merging the mechanical and landscape.

This project won the AIA Louisiana 2023 Celebrate Architecture Scholarship and the Tulane University School of Architecture Outstanding Thesis Award 2023

Instagram: @leahb_arch, @ckreisel_arch, @tulanearch

SULIS: Hydrotherapy Centre and Spa by Alanis Baez Colon, BFA Architecture ‘23
Savannah College of Art and Design | Advisor: Daniel Brown

Minerva Sulis: Celtic goddess of healing and sacred waters. 

In the bustling modern world, where stress and tension have become an everyday reality, the need for holistic healing has become increasingly vital. Water has been known for its remarkable mental and physical healing properties in many cultures. Sulis Hydrotherapy Centre and Spa seeks to create a haven of tranquility, where the power of water is harnessed to promote a deeper state of well-being. The building and site design marry to create a journey for its users, where water is highlighted as a transformative element in healing the human body, mind, and spirit. 

Nestled in the French Broad River Park, North Carolina, Sulis harmoniously integrates with its surroundings. Situated next to a flowing river, the building takes inspiration from the natural allure of water to create a sensory experience that fosters healing. From end to finish, the site design aims to create an immersive journey for users of all ages allowing them to engage and connect with water in diverse and captivating ways. Finally, at the end of the journey, visitors reach their final destination- Sulis Hydrotherapy Centre and Spa. 

Sulis encapsulates the belief that water holds remarkable healing properties by offering a range of pools and spas, each carefully designed to cater to the different needs of the users. A large central public pool at the ground level serves as the heart of the facility, aiming to promote a community-centric space where users of all ages can immerse themselves in the soothing waters and interact with each other. On this level, we can also find the Hydrotherapy pool area where specialized treatments are available for those seeking specific physical therapies. The programmatic elements on the upper levels housed within the cantilevered wings are dedicated to creating a more intimate connection between the users and the water. Here, we can find spaces such as private baths, where users can immerse themselves in mineral waters and heal their minds through meditative therapies. These diverse offerings allow visitors to tailor their experience and find solace in a personalized healing journey. 

The façade design was inspired by the fluidity and transparency of water, and its interaction with sunlight creates a captivating façade that constantly transforms throughout the day. Instead of completely concealing the robust steel exoskeleton at the core of the design, the façade celebrates it by still allowing the steel to visually shine through a composition of a lightweight and dynamic material that mimics the cascading and rippling nature of water. The steel exoskeleton acts as a framework upon which the facade elements are anchored, accentuating the fluidity and movement of the design. From night to day, the ever-changing pattern of light and shadow, embraces the dynamic qualities of water and light, offering a visually stunning experience for both occupants and passersby. It establishes a strong connection to lightness, while still expressing the strength and stability of the underlying structure, leaving an unforgettable impression on all who behold it. 

This project was awarded Best Senior Project.

Cultural Infrastructures: Cisterns as Urban Artifacts in Yazd by Najmeh Malekpour Bahabadi, M.S. in Architecture and Historic Preservation ‘23
Texas Tech University | Advisor: David Turturo

Yazd is a city in the arid central plateau of present-day Iran that arose around a water source in the protective Shirkuh mountain range. This water source established Yazd as an important stop on an ancient trade route, the secondary branch of the Silk Road. Water structures and facilities, including Ab-Anbars (cisterns for local water access), Yakhchaals (ice houses), Asiab (mills), Hammams (bathhouses), and Payaabs (underground ponds), played a significant role in shaping the city. These buildings are located on qanats, elaborate underground canals that guided the city’s development. Today, most of the qanats within the city are drained and have therefore lost their initial function. Some water structures are abandoned and others have been adapted to serve new purposes.

This research considers the contemporary water crisis of Yazd to bring attention to the forces that allowed these ancient water structures to shape the city both historically and presently, after losing their initial function. In particular, this project focuses on cisterns as an architectural typology. The implication is that cisterns comprise a generic architectural form that is bound to the public space and public buildings of the city. This project uses analytical drawings to identify the significance of a building type in forming the city. Such typologies are of particular value for discussing both a building’s singleness and shared features. In other words, this project is concerned not only with the forms of buildings in isolation but also with the external forces that shape those buildings and are shaped by them. As such, the cisterns act as a historical grammar for a city shaped by the architecture of water.

Instagram: @na.malekpour, @davidturturo

Still Waters Run Deep – Mobilizing Architecture through the Art of Quilting along the Lachine Canal, Montréal, Canada by Ashleigh Abraham, M.Arch ‘23
Laurentian University | Advisors: Shannon Bassett (Advisor), Claire Weisz (Second Reader) & Heather Braiden

This design research and proposal gives voice to the histories of Montréal’s Black community which, until now, have largely been untold, save through oral histories. The design proposal is for a community centre for the Black communities of Montréal’s Little Burgundy and Pointe St. Charles. This includes a Community Pool and Centre for Oral Archives, located on one of the derelict post-industrial sites along Montréal’s post-industrial Lachine Canal.

Excerpted from Ashleigh’s thesis:

Keywords: water heritage, public space, deindustrialization, eco-gentrification, oral histories, spatial justice, quilting, stewardship, Montreal

“The project maps the relationship with Montréal and water. Through the proposed re-greening and anticipated gentrification of the Lachine Canal, the critical histories of residents, neighborhoods and industrial workers have been neglected. Only through oral histories their narratives have lived on, acknowledging a fraught, yet rich and diverse history of Montréal’s industrial era. Through the intersection of interdisciplinary theory and place-based investigation, this thesis explores how architecture might utilize water as an agent to challenge existing power structures to offer cultural inclusivity and stewardship. The craft of quilting is used as a methodology for employing oral histories and establishing a framework for equitable access to the Lachine Canada. The framework established is applied to one of the canal’s discarded industrial sites, addressing spatial injustices and opportunities for community engagement within the realm of public space.

This thesis was inspired by a walk along the Lachine Canal with my grandfather, during which we discussed the canal’s history and the politics that shaped its current state. My grandparents were born in Montréal to parents from the Caribbean Island of Barbados and witnessed the city’s evolution firsthand. Oral histories were essential to their everyday lives. Offering insights into the history and experiences of a community that cannot be found in conventional records. These extraordinary tales included hardship and success, happiness and sorrow, frustration and perseverance. In her later years, my grandmother never lost her sense of belonging. She frequently referred to “home” as her childhood residence on Atwater Avenue, once in the St. Antoine neighborhood. Her residence has been demolished, and her neighborhood is unrecognizable. However, her memories were as strong and vivid as when she was a child. My grandmother’s home was expropriated and demolished, forcing her family to relocate to a place that would never feel like “home.” They persevered in maintaining strong ties to the people and locations they once frequented, despite being uprooted. They may have encountered obstacles, but they were not vanquished by their situation. In spite of adversity, they became community pillars. They forged ties with a community split apart by people and structures that did not recognize their value and place within the urban fabric of the city.”

This project won the McEwen School of Architecture (MSoA) Architecture and Society Award.

Instagram: @shannonbassett

See you in the next installment of the Student Showcase!

2023 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XXX

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In Part XXX of the Study Architecture Student Showcase, we take a look at student work that addresses ecological challenges. The featured projects include housing structures that mitigate flooding, coastal urban parks, prairie education centers, visualizations of toxic destruction, and more. Each design invites viewers to reflect on the connection between human and non-human environments, whether by providing ecological interventions or embracing toxic sites of ecocide.

Revitalizing the Meander by Alec Paulson, B.Arch ‘23
Tulane University | Advisor: Ruben Garcia-Rubio

Revitalizing the Meander is a project that seeks to mitigate flooding issues along a portion of the Upper Kebana River (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) through soft ecological interventions while also creating new connections across the river where they are currently missing. Most of the housing on site along the river is poorly constructed informal housing built close to the bank due to a lack of space with the rapidly growing city population. This informal housing easily floods due to the winding meanders of the river and contributes to erosion along the banks. 

The proposed masterplan for the site relocates residents who live in flooding-prone areas to new housing structures which also function as bridges, creating new connections across the river and providing amenities to residents. These connections are determined by where green streets can continue across the river, allowing pedestrians new modes of travel. Zooming into the bridge structure that was further designed at a higher resolution, one can see the connection that is created between the two proposed green streets on either side of the river. Bioswales from the green streets are continuous over the bridge structure, filtering runoff water. On one side of the structure, a market acts as an entry point to the bridge while on the other side, new housing relocates those prone to flooding. The bridge has arms that extend off it, fostering additional connections to lower levels of the structure, as well as to the river and the slow mobility path that runs along the river. In the center, urban agriculture provides a local food source for the surrounding neighborhoods and helps to mitigate fluvial flooding. 

This project was presented at the International Union of Architects (UIA) World Congress of Architects in Copenhagen 2023

Instagram: @rubgarrub

NATURE: RECLAIMED by Jason Hayden, M.Arch ‘23
University of North Carolina at Charlotte | Advisor: Chris Jarrett

In “Walking the Walk: A Path towards Praxis Inspired by an Ecological Reading of The Tale of Genji and a Japanese folktale,” Marjorie Rhine discusses the growing disconnect of the relationship between human and non-human environments. Critical of the perception of Japan as a society in harmony with nature, Rhine adopts the term ‘ecoscape’ from the field of urban ecology, offering a way of conceptualizing the complex interplay of the built and natural environments that is less human-centered. 

“Nature: Reclaimed” proposes a perspective into how a coastal greenway park shifts the balance over time between human and non-human environments in an adapted coastal urban park, which illustrates the conflict between rising sea levels, loss of native habitat and human’s perpetual desire for control over nature.

This project won the AIA Henry Medal.

Instagram: @jhayden.ii

Environmental Education Center by Ivan Flores, AAS (Pre-Architecture) ‘23
College of DuPage | Advisor: Mark Pearson

PROGRAM STATEMENT:

This project explores the relationship between architecture, ecology and environmental stewardship. Students are challenged to design a prairie environmental education center that will provide educational outreach to the COD community. The project site is located directly adjacent to the Russell R. Kirt Prairie, an 18-acre natural area on the College of DuPage main campus.  

The design intent of this studio project is to create an innovative and thoughtfully conceived prairie education center that will provide educational programming on sustainability, environmental stewardship and ecology. This center includes spaces for education, research, and outreach. Projects should educate visitors (and COD students) about the importance of the region’s natural heritage, as well as physically connect visitors to the prairie landscape itself. 

Successful design projects must include a clearly articulated design concept and engage the natural context of the site.  Projects are intended to embody the idea of environmental stewardship and sustainability. 

DESIGN CONCEPT:

This design expresses the beauty of unique patterns formed by nature. As one walks through the prairie, the sights of tall grass and trees become overwhelming. This inspired the building’s sun shading strategy through materiality and visual appearance. The earth’s topographical map creates distinctive complex patterns that are implemented into the building’s exterior stairs. The circulation’s design intent was to reflect the particular paths in the prairie with various level changes and curves. Apart from implementing the following unique patterns into the design, there are key elements that accentuate views of the prairie to further express the beauty of unique patterns formed by nature. A long plan accommodates the space with ample views of the prairie. The roof’s pitch slopes upward to accentuate views of nature.

Instagram: @ma_pearson75, @cod_architecture

Rock and Roll by Zihua Mo & Chunyu Ma, M.Arch ‘23
University of Pennsylvania | Advisor: Simon Kim

This project is an ecological architectural initiative poised in Los Angeles’s Inglewood Oil Field. It devises an evolutionary future for the historically industrial site, bridging gaps between technology, ecology, and synthetic nature to reimagine a thriving, non-human-centric, biodiverse habitat.

Within this biodome, four architectural characters breathe life into the project. These are the Manimal, Putant, Fungle, and Outsect, each serving as a sanctuary for animals, plants, fungi, and insects respectively. Originally positioned in a grid pattern, they autonomously operate within their domains, engaging in a unique ‘rock and roll’ motion, synergistically transforming the old industrial heart of Inglewood into a revitalized natural space.

The Manimal is a marvel of bio-engineering, nurturing synthetically developed, intellectually advanced animals. These life forms, combining the grace of nature with the precision of technology, gradually assimilate into the ecosystem, their waste contributing to a vibrant ‘Waste Lagoon.’ This vivid waterbody, contrary to its name, is a source of nourishment and a symbol of rebirth, the raw material for the neighboring Putant.

The Putant, swayingly mimicking nature’s breeze, harbors and nurtures the next-generation, pollutant-absorbing plants. These green soldiers mature inside the cultivation chamber, their seeds eventually dispersed by the Putant’s gust-like motions, sowing life across the transformed oil field.

Symbiotically supporting this green wave is the Fungle, a mobile architectural body enriching the soil with vital nutrients. The Fungle rolls across the landscape, absorbing deceased organic matter, and utilizing it to cultivate various fungi, whose spores are then disseminated, forming a natural cycle of life and decay.

Overseeing this intricate world-building is the Outsect, a hovering haven for mechanical insects. It regulates material exchange within the field, deploying these mechanical insects for tasks ranging from delivery to capturing animals. Moreover, it functions as an atmospheric purifier, inhaling air for power, purifying it, and also drawing from the Waste Lagoon to disperse nourishment across the field.

Instagram: @zihua_mo, @cyyyy_ma, @ibanez.kim

Center For the Advancement of American Architecture at Fallingwater by Frank Michel, Jason Loeb & Roman Marra, BA. Arch ‘23
Miami University | Advisor: John M. Reynolds

The Fallingwater Center for the  Advancement of American Architecture is located at the  Pony Field, neighboring the Barn at Fallingwater, Mill Run, Pennsylvania. The facility will act as a visitor center set in the core of the Lands of Fallingwater, that would complement and dovetail its sibling experiences with the Fallingwater Institute. With an audience of the general public, from scholars/practitioners to laypersons, the Center attempts to promote the public understanding and appreciation of American architecture through educational programs.  From the sense of understanding the ‘DNA’ of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, we were able to move away from copying the historical monument, but instead, use its language (the integration of nature that informs its special and tectonic identity) enabling us to express the sensual content of place that became so integral towards our discovery of developing the prospect of the Modern Vernacular. The landscape is seen as a connection piece unifying paths connecting from the site. Using the established lines between the barn and the center, the intersection created a grid-like pattern that gave the feeling of a farmland topography (using native plants of the midwestern vernacular) that develops the relationship between trail and road, barn and visitor center, trail and Fallingwater. With the path of these routes, the site allows for a continuation of the journey from site event to site event, as well as being a place in of itself to explore and experience.

Instagram: @Fpmichel_design, @jasonloebdesign, @marrarchitecture

Paradigms of the Post-Natural by Charlotte Rose Bascombe & Andrea De Haro, B.Arch ‘23
Syracuse University School of Architecture | Advisors: Jean-François Bèdard, Britt Eversole & Julie Larsen

Paradigms of the Post-Natural is a thesis that rejects architects’ predilections for greenwashing. In doing so, we depict the inevitable evolution of our environment and embrace the beautifully toxic and grotesque environments that are evidently created. Specifically, we are interested in ecocides, exploited areas in which animals are forced to genetically adapt as they experience the destruction of their habitat by humans. 

We focused on the Athabasca Oil Sands in Alberta, Canada, and Chornobyl in Ukraine, two preeminent sites where industrial activity has caused a direct threat to ecological well-being. Chernobyl is an example of a disaster where the release of toxic compounds has had long-term effects on the genetic evolution of species creating a radioactive wildlife refuge. The Alberta Oil Sands is an oil reserve that highlights the detrimental effects of mining, resulting in contaminated wastewaters that release heavy metals into nearby bodies of water. These polluted environments forced humans to evacuate, while other living species were left behind to absorb the contaminants. 

Depicting these unimaginable environments, we collaborate with MidJourney, an artificial intelligence text-to-image generator. Site-specific research determined our text parameters. Using keywords such as “Iodine-131” and “polycyclic hydrocarbons”, compounds found on both sites, helped us visualize the toxic destruction. Other terms, such as “grotesque” and “photo-realistic” helped maintain a consistency in the aesthetics of these scenes. After generating our productions, we emphasized their ecologies through the microscopic scale, which led us to create material studies influenced by the characteristics of the generated scenery. Fusing our images with physical models resulted in a feedback loop that allowed for more agency in imagining alternative futures. We used various materials to reflect the detailed environments, providing us with the ability to precisely recreate the animals’ habitats. Alternating between MidJourney and model-making was crucial for the development of the final images.

Our thesis depicts the unavoidable evolution of these environments and their accompanying organisms. “Ecologies in Disguise” is an atlas that we produced, set in the year 2550, that documents a paradigm shift in the relationship between humans, flora, and fauna, where the lack of human contact becomes a defining characteristic of the new era. The impact of current “ecocides” are threatening all types of organisms, causing them to fuse and entangle with chemical substances that swarm through the environment. What ultimately emerges is the aesthetic sublime; ecosystems that simultaneously have the power to compel and destroy us. 

See you in the next installment of the Student Showcase!