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2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part V

Welcome to Part V of the 2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase! In today’s installment, materiality plays a pivotal role in the functionality of buildings, designs, and various architectural processes. 

Cork, acrylic, steel, concrete, wood, timber, and wires – for many, they may seem like mere materials for building. However, the projects below invite viewers to think about these materials through a different lens. 

From rethinking raw material standardization to highlighting the benefits of mass timber, viewers are encouraged to think deeply about sustainable production and opportunities for innovation. Other projects focus on the use of cork as a sound-insulative and the integration of natural materials such as clay and man-made elements such as steel. 

L-Shape Modular Cork Shelving System by Suna Choi & Sara Mohamed, B. Arch ‘24
American University of Sharjah | Advisor: Tania Ursomarzo

This installation is designed to create a double-functional partition that provides sound insulation and serves as a shelving system. It will be installed between the open studio spaces in our architecture, art, and design college building (CAAD) to reduce noise while offering students a place to store their items. Additionally, it serves as an aesthetic decoration for the space.

We chose cork as the main material due to its excellent sound-insulative qualities. Plywood was initially selected as the secondary material to create the shelving planes; however, we later decided to use only cork to fulfill both sound insulation and shelving purposes. Cork is not only sound-insulative but also biodegradable and aesthetically pleasing with its natural color.

The L-shaped modules, consisting of three rectangular patterns, are strategically stacked to form a shelving system that can be used on all sides. To connect the cork L-shaped modules together, we experimented with different materials such as thin plywood and acrylic to create simple connectors. After multiple iterations, we chose acrylic for its transparency, which would not distract from the natural aesthetic of the cork, unlike plywood.

Finally, we painted the top view of the model (the shelving surfaces) using primary colors: red, yellow, and blue, inspired by Mondrian’s compositions.

Instagram: @suliman.studio, @suna.choi_i, @triptychnyc

MODULAR CORK ACOUSTIC INSULATION AND FURNITURE SYSTEM by Rabab Al-Ali & Razan Almajid, B. Arch ’24
American University of Sharjah | Advisor: Tania Ursomarzo

In approaching this project, our primary objective was to address the disruptive noise levels at the College of Architecture, Art, and Design (CAAD), where our site will be located. These noise levels are highly distracting for both students and visitors, necessitating an effective solution to enhance the acoustic environment. Our considerations for the site location are based on the noise levels. We identified the two loudest areas as the spaces between studios and the main entrance. These areas are particularly disruptive during pinups and reviews, necessitating a strategic approach to mitigate the noise and improve the overall environment.

Our aim is to design a flexible, easily movable, and rebuildable structure, ensuring multi-functionality. We sought to develop a solution that could be effortlessly relocated and reassembled multiple times, providing adaptability and improved acoustic management throughout the space. An additional benefit of our modular design is its versatility; the modules can be easily reconfigured into different types of furniture, demonstrating their efficiency and practicality.

We have selected cork as the primary material for our project due to its numerous advantages. Firstly, cork possesses excellent sound absorption properties, effectively addressing our main noise concern by significantly reducing noise levels and minimizing sound transmission between spaces. Secondly, its lightweight yet durable nature facilitates the easy construction, deconstruction, and relocation of our structure. Lastly, cork is a natural and sustainable material, harvested from the bark of cork oak trees without causing harm, making it an environmentally friendly choice.

Instagram: @ralali.arch, @rnm.arch, @triptychnyc

Wheel House by Tilden Reid Puckett, B.S. Architecture ‘24
University of Virginia | Advisor: Peter Waldman

I designed the Wheel House after experiencing land and water I know to be beautiful. Its sleek, sailboat-inspired lines and lotus flower aesthetics evoke a sense of tranquility and orthogonal organic beauty. The building’s foundation integrates seamlessly with the dam’s robust concrete structures, enhancing the synergy between natural and man-made elements. Inside, large windows and open spaces ensure an abundance of natural light, crafting an atmosphere reminiscent of being on an open ocean or beneath a cascading waterfall. Every detail, from the material strategy of utilizing the natural erosion of corten steel to the proportional light/heaviness that attributes to its vertical and horizontal harmony. 

The design draws inspiration from the works of renowned architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, known for his integration of structures with their natural surroundings; Tadao Ando, whose use of concrete and light creates spaces that are both minimalist and profoundly serene; and Peter Waldman, my studio professor of whom’s work intelligently collages materials into profound sculptures of place. With its placement, the Wheel House defines the nature around it. Built on a steep slope, its terracing and retaining walls allow it to seamlessly rest under, on, and above its environment. This project reimagines the home and presents a more careful architectural attention to beauty and art. I believe that when one looks at this structure, they can start to imagine the coarse roar of the water falling down the dam and feel the rippling wind stream across the reservoir. I designed the Wheel House to express further land and water I know to be beautiful. 

This project won the Duncan J. McCrea Memorial Award.

Instagram: @tilden.reid, @aschool_uva

Epiphytic-Retrofitting: Wooden Structures to Top Out Unfinished Constructions on the Galapagos by Paula Cano-Vergara, M. Arch ’24
University of Texas at Austin | Advisor: David Heymann

Epiphytic-Retrofitting: Wooden Structures to Top Out Unfinished Construction on the Galapagos Research explores potential applications of lightweight timber members to envision design possibilities that might lead to more environmentally responsive architecture, endemic to the Galapagos Island in Ecuador. 

The study focuses on ten wood species, both endemic and introduced—Avocado, Bamboo, Black Carob, Cascarilla Cinchona, Guava, Galapagos Guava, Machinel, Mahogany, Matazarno, and Spanish Cedar—to explore how timber can replace conventional construction methods and address rapid urbanization and the prevalence of unfinished concrete structures.

The title emphasizes two concepts: “Epiphytic,” referring to plants that use other vegetation for physical support rather than nutrients, and “Retrofitting,” a sustainable method for vertical growth and densification. The project aims to protect the fragile ecosystem by reducing the exploitation of natural resources and restoring endemic vegetation. The proposed vertical expansion utilizes lightweight timber from six selected species to complete unfinished buildings, up to 5 floors total.

The structural capacity of each species is determined by grain structure, categorized into three main types: 1) Curvy and wavy, 2) Irregular, and 3) Straight grain. Structural elements are designed based on standard branch and trunk diameters and lengths, with Mahogany and Matazarno ideal for joints, Spanish Cedar and Guava for primary and secondary elements, and Avocado and Carob for cladding and decking planks. The proposal also includes three vertical growth strategies that prioritize efficiency by branching to the nearest points from the top element to the next floor, based on [the types of] tree branching: Dichotomous, Monopodial, and Sympodial. Additionally, trusses integrate the vertical elements and transfer loads to concrete frames ranging from 3x3m to 9x15m.

Despite common perceptions of timber as an unsafe and inferior material compared to its competitors, this research advocates for its potential in developing safe, low-carbon buildings. Timber supports better forest management, curbs deforestation, and promotes the use of locally-sourced materials. Additionally, the research serves to protect and contribute data records of remote geographies like the Galapagos Island, the “living museum and showcase of evolution.”

Instagram: @utsoa

De-Framing the Built Environment by Drew Dunphy, M. Arch ’24
University of Miami School of Architecture | Advisors: Christopher Meyer & Joachim Perez

To design is to challenge what has come before to create something new. In today’s modern era of architecture, there has been an explosion of new programs and materials that facilitate the design process and have increased the production rate exponentially. In doing so, the profession has accepted standard practices as rules and allowed material use and industry to become rigid.

Challenging what makes architecture function as a profession is not easy, but it is necessary to continue driving innovation. Using mass timber as a case study, De-Framing the Built Environment looks holistically at manufacturing, architecture, and construction to break down what is immediately accepted as best practice. 

De-Framing the Built Environment breaks the process by which design goes from raw materials to an inhabitable space into three focus areas. Starting with the manufacturing process, it challenges the current centralized system of material sourcing and calls for a regionalist approach that emphasizes sustainable sourcing. From there, it stresses the importance of integrated design that reorients the cost from strictly economic to include ecological and temporal design costs. Finally, De-Framing the Built Environment rejects the accepted lifespan of a building by focusing on architecture that is easy to assemble, inhabit, and disassemble with a low margin of wasted material. 

Design, by its very nature, should be synonymous with innovation. While this thesis focuses on mass timber, questioning the process by which raw materials are transformed into space is a universal principle that must be applied across disciplines and building practices. You, as architects, designers, and construction professionals, are integral to this change.

This project was awarded an Honorable Mention by the University of Miami School of Architecture Faculty Award for Outstanding Thesis Work in the Master of Architecture Program. 

Instagram: @dunphy_27, @LU_lab_miami, @ateliermey 

Turning Tree Forks into Structures: An Experimental Analysis of a Minimally Processed Material Within the Age of Standardization by Zachary Chartrand, M. Arch ’24
Lawrence Technological University | Advisor: Scott Shall

Since the Industrial Revolution, the building industry has dedicated enormous energy to developing processes that can take raw, idiosyncratic materials and produce highly controlled, specifiable products. This has served the building industry well for years. Material standardization allows for standardized structural details and procedures that can be easily followed by the common builder, [allowing them] to produce structures that can be analyzed and designed based on the uniform properties of the building product. Unfortunately, this process rejects those materials that do not meet the uniformity required, regardless of their unique structural potential.

Recent advancements in digital analysis allow for the ability to identify unique qualities within raw materials. Advancements in computational technology allow for the optimization of a structural design to accommodate for these idiosyncratic properties. The development of a platform, involving digital analysis and computational design, would make this method of design available to the common builder and architect. The development of a process, using common construction techniques, would allow the common builder to build structures using these idiosyncratic pieces. The development of this platform for design, and system of construction, would demonstrate that advancements in technology can initiate a movement towards more sustainable architecture by reducing the amount of processing necessary to use raw materials in a structural capacity.

This will be studied by obtaining an inventory of tree forks and scanning them into a digital inventory. A script will then be developed that optimizes fork fitment to different assembly logics for shell structures. Next, a joinery system and system of construction will be developed that processes the forks based on data outputs from the script. Success will be measured in joint precision and structural rigidity.

This thesis won the 2024 CoAD Deans Award. 

Instagram: @scott_shall

Moore Square Indie Music Center by Daniel Knorr, Bachelor of Environmental Design in Architecture ’24
NC State University | Advisor: Zach Hoffman

Moore Square Indie Music Center gives a home to the indie musicians of Raleigh, fulfilling their three core needs: practicing, recording, and performing. The center contains practice and recording room clusters in addition to a main performance venue space. The center embodies the spirit of the indie music community through the use of rhythm and movement and a familiar gritty materiality that alludes to the idea of “garage” or “basement” bands. 

Interstitial spaces generate chance encounters between musicians and fans. This not only strengthens the indie music community, but more importantly, allows musicians to engage and grow their fan base.

The Stitch / Chance Encounters

The most important elements of the Center are the interstitial spaces that occur between major programmatic elements. These spaces act as an environment where chance encounters can happen between musicians and fans. This is especially important for indie music, a culture that thrives on strong interpersonal connections, and a strong dedicated fanbase. 

The entire Center is split down the middle, with the left theater half belonging to the community, and the right practice and recording half belonging to the musicians. The atrium space, “the stitch,” bridges the two halves of the Center together.

Materiality

The idea of a garage band has pervaded indie music culture since its inception. To capture this spirit, the Center uses materials such as cast-in-place concrete and raw metal, alluding to the origins of indie music. On the other hand, wood is used in the interiors of the practice studios to create a homey atmosphere, alluding to the idea of a sole musician practicing in their bedroom.

Texture and material are also used to signify the function of the spaces within the Center. The interiors of both the theater and the studios have highly textured acoustic paneling systems, whereas their exteriors are seamless and perfect. The exterior wood cladding of the theater serves to create an inviting presence that guides visitors into the theater. On the other hand, the monolithic concrete used in the exterior of the studios creates a fortress-like feeling, “protecting” the musicians inside.

This project won the ​​2024 AIA Triangle Student Design Award.

Instagram: @daniel.knorrr 

The Clay Huts and Metal Shed by Shixian Zhang & Ruozhao Cui, B. Arch ’24
Cal Poly University – Pomona | Advisor: Claudia Wainer

The Clay Huts and Metal Shed is a community-oriented ceramic arts and design center located in Elysian Valley. It is positioned with its north side facing the LA River and the future Taylor Yard development, and its south side overlooking the Lewis MacAdams Riverfront Park. The rich history of Elysian Valley, marked by a blend of manufacturing facilities, single-family homes, and a flourishing artist community, forms a distinctive backdrop for this project. The design merges existing industrial elements with new, organically inspired clay volume, aiming to create not just an artistic space for ceramic artists but also a vibrant community hub for the Elysian Valley neighborhood. 

This project involves the adaptive reuse of an existing industrial building, which serves as a shell for the newly proposed clay volumes. The design strategy begins by categorizing program spaces into enclosed and loose types. Each clay volume, distinct in its form, encompasses a variety of enclosed functions. The interstitial spaces between these volumes, designated as loose programs fostering interaction and community engagement. Additionally, the design incorporates two sculptural gardens within these volumes. The clay huts deform the metal shed perimeter and break down the scale of the building, making it more approachable and relatable to the community.   

The material palette is a harmonious blend of clay and steel, symbolizing the integration of traditional craftsmanship with industrial production. The clay walls, constructed of rammed earth, feature a scalloped facade that lends a tactile, organic feel to the design. The primary structure utilizes the existing metal framework, altered and updated to support the new programmatic volumes. This interplay of materials is a defining characteristic of the design, with some areas showcasing an overlap of clay and steel through openings, while in others, the metal shell stops short, allowing the clay volumes to peek through. 

The juxtaposition of the clay huts against the metal shed highlights the contrast between stereotomic and tectonic, creating varied transitions in different spaces. For instance, upon approaching the building, one can see both the clay and corrugated metal cladding simultaneously. Entering the building through the open programs, visitors experience the interplay of the metal shed, steel structure, and clay huts. Once inside a clay volume, the surroundings are entirely enveloped by clay finish, offering a distinct spatial experience.

Instagram: @claudwain

Debunking the Myths of Wood: Mass Timber Contemporary Architecture to the Rescue of Cultural Heritage by Neftalí X. Luciano-Castillo, B. Arch ’24
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico | Advisors: Manuel De Lemos-Zuazaga & Pedro A. Rosario-Torres

Wooden architectural heritage represents an invaluable asset in the cultural and historical narrative of Puerto Rico. With its unique characteristics, craftsmanship and carpentry of a bygone era, it stands out from other architectural styles. Moreover, wooden heritage serves as a catalyst for reevaluating our approaches to designing and constructing buildings. As society gravitates towards sustainable practices, the resurgence of wood as a primary construction material offers a promising opportunity. This resurgence not only revitalizes historical structures but also enables a harmonious coexistence between traditional wooden architecture and contemporary design. However, this traditional architecture is often misjudged and misunderstood due to the poor knowledge and involvement of people in their culture, and the lack of legislations in favor of heritage preservation. Due to these and other external threats, these structures have begun to disappear from our urban fabric, leaving not only a void in space, but also in our culture and identity.

As a response to these factors, the proposal seeks to promote the preservation of wooden architectural heritage through community engagement, tourism, education, testing and manufacturing, in a design that serves as a living laboratory that combines historic structures with mass timber construction. The synergy between historic preservation and the incorporation of contemporary architecture signifies a unique chance to embrace the past while paving the way for a more sustainable future. The project’s location is the Central Aguirre Historic District in Salinas, Puerto Rico, an old sugar cane company town that houses a collection of historic wooden structures. The design is organized into three main volumes: a restored and repurposed historic building that houses museum spaces; a second volume that contains a manufacturing laboratory; and a taller volume that functions as a school of wooden architecture design and conservation. The main goal of this project is to serve as a catalyst for the preservation and restoration of historic wooden structures in Aguirre and all around Puerto Rico.

Instagram: @neftalixavier

Harmonic Convergence by Nicholas Owens, M. Arch ’24
Lawrence Technological University | Advisor: Masataka Yoshikawa

This project explores spatial and structural design, inspired by the concept of a ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’ and music. The initial phase focused on finding objects and integrating music, using guitar strings and thick wire to symbolize sheet music, representing order in chaos.

In the representation phase, the project incorporated methodologies from Neil Denari and Borges. The transition to 2D representation utilized Maya to create music stand models linked by chains, with six layers of wire illustrating chaos and order visually.

During development, Rhino was used for initial designs and Zbrush for refinement, creating a wire mesh structure. This phase emphasized materiality and spatial dynamics, resulting in a unique architectural design facilitating gallery spaces and visitor pathways.

The final phase integrated the structure with its landscape, showcasing LED wires and spatial potential. Interior renders highlighted the gallery space’s unique characteristics, creating a quasi-moiré effect with overlapping glass structures. The project envisioned future enhancements, including wire animation to visualize music flow, enhancing the visitor experience and reflecting the project’s foundation in music and organized chaos.

Overall, the project is a sophisticated blend of design, representation, and development, creating an innovative space that intertwines musical and structural elements to find order in chaos.

Instagram: @owensarchitecturaldesign, @masataka.yoshikawa

Stay tuned for Part VI!

2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part II

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

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 XXIII

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @ale_camchomez87 , @arqwave

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

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

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

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

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

The project is divided into four programmatic phases:

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

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

 

Instagram: @__chapm1 

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @brettwltr, @aliki.economides

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

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @dttreleven, @alterstudio

See you in the next installment of the Student Showcase!

2023 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XXII

In Part XXII of the Study Architecture Student Showcase, the featured student work addresses agricultural challenges including food deserts, climate change, and disruptions to agricultural production. These thesis projects propose designs that promote community engagement, learning, sustainability and systems to advance sustainable production practices. Browse these outstanding projects and share them with a colleague.

Urban Farmers Market Center by Allyza-Danica Valino, M.Arch ‘23
Lawrence Technological University | Advisors: Daniel Faoro, Eric Ward, Farris Habba & Kurt Neiswender

This project will aim to re-envision urban food systems by providing a programming framework that promotes community engagement and learning. Many urban cities suffer from “food deserts”, places where there is no access to fresh produce. Eastern Market breaks that rhythm in Detroit, and this building will aim to strengthen the market’s presence in the city through greater community engagement. The building will house programs that educate all generations and demographics on urban agricultural practices. Adults can be equipped with skilled agricultural / food science knowledge that may incubate businesses. Children can learn the basics of food preparation and sustainable agriculture. Nonprofits like Gleaners’ Cooking Matters will have spaces to promote their learning programs, which educate lower-income families and individuals on budgeting and healthy cooking. Local organizations that combat social issues such as the Charlevoix Village Association will also have spaces to meet. Ecologically, the building will follow LEED criteria in terms of solar energy collection, sustainable material usage, and promote the existing pedestrian-friendly environment that Eastern Market possesses.  

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

Agritecture: Integrated Interventions for Agronomy Production by Eixanette Laytung-Bardeguez, B. Arch ‘23
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico | Advisor: Pedro A. Rosario-Torres

At present, agronomic production processes have acquired crucial importance for the development and success of organizations in various traditional and industrial sectors. However, it is undeniable that they also face a series of challenges and problems that affect their efficiency, quality, and profitability.

The proposal aims to recognize and address these problems in quantity, quality, and regulation losses in production phases under the recognition of reasons such as dependence on arable soils, exposure to climatic and biological factors of the soil, and management situations.

To overcome these difficulties, the Agritecture proposal implements strategies that promote the optimization of production processes by creating a fully regulated ecosystem in laboratory and greenhouse spaces through Agricultural Biotechnology. In this way, certain crop factors such as plant germination, survival against pests, and the different seasons of the year can be guaranteed. These agrobiotechnology methods would promote crop quality and maximize production to four times what would be achieved using traditional methods.

The project located in Lajas, Puerto Rico highlights a context recognized for its scenic and cultural value towards traditional crops. Complying with this site selection criterion, it was necessary to integrate and illustrate the transition of the different production methods in the area from their traditional planting, the combination of methods in an experimental station, and then, the industrial approach through agricultural biotechnology. The rest of the location strategies and the visitor’s route are based on framing the particularity and richness of the context. Conceptually, we can appreciate it on the site plan from the context grid with its planting lots. According to the context organization, the alignments were projected on the perimeter of the site. In it, we see the footprint of the building, three volumes or fragments located in the lots, and projected tours. Seeking to negotiate with the site instead of imposing itself with what is established and at the same time maintaining the vision of the traditional crops of the area.

This project was nominated for the Medal for Excellence in Design, Francisco Luis Porrata-Doria 

Instagram: @elaytung

PLANT: LA by Spencer A. Thornton, B.Arch ‘23
Cal Poly Pomona | Advisor: Mitchell De Jarnett

PLANT: LA

Spencer A. Thornton

The residents of East Los Angeles currently suffer from a dearth of access to fresh produce. The area has very few options for residents to access fresh, nutritious food. A 2023 study found one in three low income Angelenos experiences food insecurity.

Located at the intersection of Soto St. and Mission Rd., PLANT: LA supports the local community of East Los Angeles through the pairing of a highly lucrative cannabis cultivation business with a neighborhood food charity and urban farm. The profits from the cannabis grow act to subsidize the urban farming component of the project. 

STIIIZY Joint Efforts is the non-profit arm of this major cannabis company. Their Mission statement reads: “GIVE TO GROW – Community matters. It’s what brought us here and helped build our brand. It’s why giving back is just as important as growth, it’s who we are. STIIIZY continues to be one of the most engaged cannabis companies in the industry.”

In partnership with STIIIZY Joint Efforts, PLANT: LA combines three main programs:

  1. An Urban Farm administered by STIIIZY Joint Efforts, where residents and specialists collaborate to grow produce to feed up to 2,640 people. 
  2. Office Space (subsidized by STIIIZY) for related food injustice nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles.
  3. A Cannabis Cultivation and Distribution Facility administered by STIIIZY.

PLANT: LA does not house an on-site retail cannabis dispensary. 

Programmatically the project organization is broken into thirds, the terraced gardens, the cultivation facility, and the tower. Produce is grown in the terraced garden as well as the floors above and below the marijuana grow. It is then packed and either driven across the elevated bridge to the Food Pantry or distributed into Lincoln Heights via automated delivery systems. The cannabis grow is in the middle of the project. The marijuana is grown, dried, and trimmed in this portion of the facility. It is then distributed to STIIIZY dispensaries across LA County. 

The tower is comprised of offices for both STIIIZY Joint Efforts and the LA Food Bank, increasing the philanthropic outreach of PLANT: LA. 

Instagram: @tonofthorn@ seen_in_the_idc

Farm Housing by Miguel Serna, B.A. in Architecture ‘23
University of Illinois at Chicago | Advisor: Alexander Eisenschmidt

West Englewood is a neighborhood on the southwest side of Chicago with a population of 20,000 residents. Ranking fifth out of 77 neighborhoods in Chicago in terms of economic hardship, it is also known as a “food desert.” 51% of residents have been convicted (making it hard for them to find jobs) and 59% of families have reported food insecurities (with 6 out of 10 children living in impoverished conditions). This project, therefore, aims to offer housing as well as jobs for individuals and families in need. It occupies fourteen vacant blocks and is composed of a raised farm, with a public market and community programs below, and two different sets of apartments above. While all units are small, they spatially interlock across two floors, where the bottom floor makes space for a shared corridor between two neighbors, which in turn leads to the main corridor. Each renter is also given a strip of farmland that can be cultivated for consumption or, with the help of local organizations (such as I Grow Chicago and Growing Home), can be sold at the market below.

Instagram: @Eisenschmidt_a

The Dilemma in Detroit by Marina Iodice & Daniella Vlakancic, B.Arch. ‘23
New York Institute of Technology | Advisor: Evan Shieh

Our project was formed off of the challenge to reform underutilized highways in the U.S. into something greater. Given a plethora of highways to choose from, we chose Detroit’s I-375 for a multitude of reasons. While researching we discovered Detroit’s food insecurity struggles, as well as how the highway disconnected and plowed through thriving neighborhoods such as “Black Bottom” when it was created. With this in mind, we decided to create something that would not only reconnect and re-stitch the community back together but also help relieve food insecurity as well. 

We proposed to transform the I-375 into an opportunity to help relieve food insecurity by making it into a prototype test site for farming. We intend to accomplish this by meshing small-scale agriculture and large-scale community gardening. By doing this we hoped to help fill in the missing links in Detroit’s local food economy and also make the process more visible and integrated into the community. We accomplished this through applicable architecture such as a mile-long stretch of greenhouses, an Agrihood (Agricultural neighborhood), community gathering sites, farmers markets, restaurants, community gardens, and even traditional farmland. Our main focus being the Greenhouse and the Agrihood. 

Having greenhouses was crucial to have on our site since we are located in Michigan where there are harsh winters. The greenhouse encases urban farming such as hydroponics as well as community programs such as an amphitheater. The Agrihood was born when we were considering different ways to have the community live and interact not only with food but with each other. It’s a neighborhood that consists of terraced housing/gardens, as well as public amenities. The architecture promotes interaction by including centers to trade crops with neighbors and communal dining.

Instagram: @deesignsss, @marina.designs_, @ev07

Center for the Promotion of Fiesole Organic Olive Oil Farming by Emma Schnelle, Geneva Sinkula & Joseph Eichstaed, M.Arch and B.Arch. ‘23
The University of Texas at Austin | Advisor: Smilja Milovanovic-Bertram

The objective of this project is the design of the Center for the Promotion of Fiesole Organic Olive Oil Farming. Our client is the Association of Biological Organic District of Fiesole, a non-profit association, founded in 2018. It is composed of olive oil-producing farms, municipal administration, university professors, sectors of professionals and private citizens whose aim is the sustainable management of resources of the Fiesole area in the promotion, dissemination and protection of organic production methods in the agricultural field for the community. 

This project won the Design Excellence Award.

The Loop Lisboa: A Closed Loop Approach to Protecting Portugal from the Climate Crisis by Eryn Cooper, B.Arch ’23
New York Institute of Technology | Advisor: Farzana Gandhi

40% of Portugal’s arable land and pastures are increasingly affected by severe drought and rising temperatures. This has resulted in an increased dependence on food imports, which rely on transportation infrastructure that is often compromised due to wildfires, landslides, and floods. This project offers a solution for the city of Lisbon to locally grow crops that have decreased in production due to climate change.  

Situated between the Tagus River waterfront and an existing commuter rail line, the project takes advantage of the site conditions for access to the fishing industry as well as providing multiple means of transporting excess food to communities in need. Formally an oil refinery, this adaptive reuse project transforms the narrative of the site from what was once harmful to the environment to a system that aids communities affected by the climate crisis. 

The project operates as a closed loop, zero waste, climate resilient system comprised of food production, off-grid renewable energy, and public education. Each component of the master plan collects, stores, and utilizes renewable energy to produce food through processes including vertical farming, aquaponics, rooftop farming, and more. In times of crisis, components may operate on a decentralized system as well as adapt to grow several crops in order to supplement the production of decreased crop yields. 

Public paths bring visitors through the heart of production spaces and lead to market areas where visitors develop farm-to-table awareness, thus leaning further into Portugal’s cultural importance on fresh food sources. Acting as a public park as well as a food production system, the complex system of paths allows visitors to have a unique experience upon every visit. Each trail loop provides different insight into the project’s systems relating to energy, markets, transport, water collection, and food production. Through public education, transportation, and resilient food production, this thesis provides a holistic approach to remedying the effects of the climate crisis in Portugal.

This project received the Michael T. Berthold Energy Conservation Award.

Instagram: @eryncooper, @nyitarch

See you in the next installment of the Student Showcase!

2023 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XIX

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @michellecianfaglione, @nyitarch, @exdarchitecture

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This project won the Chester Miller Award.

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

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @rubgarrub

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @samiarabkirchner

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

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

This project received the Outstanding Senior Capstone Project Award.

Instagram: @petehall01

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

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

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

Instagram: @eliot_sauquet

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

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @emerymcclurearchitecture, @ryantuckerplayle

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

2023 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XVIII

Welcome to Part XVIII of the Study Architecture Student Showcase! Today, we take a look at student work that focuses on empowering women across the world, from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Chicago. Each project addresses the systemic inequalities and marginalization women face and proposes architectural solutions to promote education, safe spaces, violence prevention, and the dismantling of colonial and patriarchal structures.

KUSHIRIKIANA: Une approche architecturale collaborative et résiliente supportant la prévention de la violence sexuelle à l’Est de la République Démocratique du Congo by Jonathan Kabumbe, M. Arch ‘23
Laurentian University – McEwen School of Architecture | Advisor: Dr. Emilie Pinard

Sexual violence against women and children in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo is a problem rooted in a long history of violence and raises a number of political, security, cultural, economic, and educational issues. The latter three issues relate specifically to discrimination against women, their economic vulnerability, and poor access to education. Social architecture provides the socio-economic and educational principles that can empower a community. Predominantly male, the building process expands these avenues specifically for women. This thesis explores how architecture, in particular the construction process, can contribute to transforming the image of women in order to support the prevention of sexual violence in Eastern Congo. The thesis revolves around the creation of an architectural guide for NGO development projects, and its application in the design of a women’s crafts and agriculture center in Businga, South Kivu province. (translated from the original French version) 

This thesis received the following accolades: 

– Thesis Commendation

– RAIC Student Medal

– RAIC Honour Roll

– AIA Academic Excellence Medal

– BTES Edward Allen Award (Medal)

– Ontario Association of Architects – Exceptional Leadership Through Design Excellence Scholarship: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion [$2500]

– Nominated by the School for the Canadian Architect magazine Student Awards of Excellence

Instagram: @jonathan_kabumbe

Women Inequality: A New Malala Center for Guatemala by Ariana Caquías-Acosta, B.Arch ‘23
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico | Advisors: Pedro A. Rosario-Torres & Juan C. Santiago-Colón

Women have been marginalized due to inequality, discrimination, and lack of opportunities. Through spaces, design, and architecture, we can provide opportunities and tools for women in these conditions to balance this disadvantage. The project seeks to generate an architecture that contributes to solving problems, with a focus on design in response to the specific needs of inequality towards disadvantaged women.

This research was conducted for Guatemala, the country with the highest rate of gender inequality in Latin America. Women represent 51% of the population, with a 62.5% rate of illiterate women. Statistically, 11% of girls and adolescents between 11 and 19 years of age have not received any formal education, representing the highest percentage of those who cannot read or write in the region.

The project expands on an existing Malala Center in the location, as an organization that seeks and prioritizes education and equal resources for women. Malala Centers have a program for the education of indigenous girls in Guatemala. The educational programs proposed by the centers are taught in indigenous languages and are based on indigenous culture reinforcing skills in favor of personal and socioeconomic development. The educational foundation Fe y Alegría, and the municipalities become stakeholders for this proposal.

The final objective of the Malala Center is to ensure the full and effective participation of women and girls and establish equal opportunities for leadership at all decision-making levels in political, economic, and public life.

Instagram: @caquiasacosta

Viaduct Housing by Tim Wood, B.A. in Architecture ‘23
University of Illinois at Chicago | Advisor: Alexander Eisenschmidt

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

Instagram: @Eisenschmidt_a

Her Block by Phebe Davis, M. Arch ‘23
University of Oregon, School of Architecture and Environment | Advisor: Elisandra Garcia

Women experience gender-based violence all too often – whether it be psychological, physical, or sexual.

Violence against women exists in all sectors of our lives: violence in politics (laws restricting access to abortion and gender-affirming healthcare), violence in the workplace (unequal pay or sexual harassment), violence in healthcare (not being heard by healthcare providers), violence in education (being discouraged from pursuing ‘masculine’ fields, specifically those in STEM), and violence at home (domestic violence).

I am interested in what constitutes a safe space for women. If we can create safe spaces for women, those spaces will be safe for almost everyone.

Once safety is achieved, empowerment can begin. This is how we will combat the violence that we experience, by creating a space that instills confidence in young women to fight back against the violent, patriarchal society that we exist in.

I recognize that my project alone will not dismantle the patriarchal society in which we live, but will hopefully spark inspiration for others to try to design with women in mind.

This project was recognized as one of “10 selected projects by the University of Oregon – Dezeen Magazine”

Instagram: @phebedvs7, @_elistudio

The Sundarbans’ Heroines: Gender and Climate Change in Action by Farzana Hossain, B.Arch ‘23
Cornell University | Advisors: Lily Chi & Felix Heisel

“The Sundarbans’ Heroines: Gender and Climate Change in Action” presents a comprehensive framework that empowers women through various tools to promote sedimentation, nurture mangroves, and safeguard freshwater resources. These initiatives aim to support the cultivation of indigenous infrastructure built upon local practices of living and working with water. In doing so, this project raises essential questions: How can design empower communities to adapt to a changing landscape? How might the vernacular inform and contribute to systemic amelioration to facilitate those most vulnerable to the climate crisis? 

The Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta river in Bangladesh receives 1.2 billion tons of silt each year from the Himalayan glaciers. This silt is vital for 600 million people relying on the delta for freshwater. Mixing with the Bay of Bengal’s saltwater, it forms the world’s largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans. The British East India Company arrived in the 17th century and gradually extended its control over vast territories in the Indian subcontinent. Motivated by the strategic importance and abundant resources of the Sundarbans, the British colonial regime had a profound effect on the local population and the delicate ecology of the Sundarbans. While the locals celebrated the “Bonna” season, characterized by floods and silt deposition, the British aimed to control and manipulate these natural phenomena. Their interventions, such as clearing mangroves, constructing polders, and developing railroads, disrupted the annual cycle of silt deposition necessary for land elevation against rising sea levels. Consequently, silt accumulation diminished, leading to the obstruction of riverbeds. Inadequately designed polders exacerbated monsoon flooding, while saltwater intrusion damaged arable land during dry seasons.

Today, the degradation caused by colonial infrastructure is causing men to migrate to urban areas in search of employment, leaving rural women to bear the brunt of these environmental disasters.

This project won the Charles Goodwin Sands Memorial Award (Thesis Prize) 

Instagram: @felix.heisel

Jubilant Emigration by Alex Torres, B.Arch ‘23
Cornell University | Advisors: Peter Robinson Sydney Maubert

Set in the 1980s Salvadoran Civil War, this investigation starts with acknowledging the history of violence against trans female sex workers who made their living tending to military soldiers of the time in La Praviana, San Salvador. With the continued need for trans female sex workers to escape violence today, this thesis calls for the reactivation of the Salvadoran National Railway that will serve as a moving infrastructure that mobilizes queer bodies away from harm. The site of intervention is an antique railcar of the national railway, known in English as “The Silver Bullet”. This intervention will transform the interior railcar into a place for rest, utility, sex, empathy, and celebration. 

This semester-long thesis culminated into an exhibition that lasted for a week inside the Sibley Hall basement, room B56.

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

2023 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XV

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @ewalke_ , @scott_shall

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @scott_shall

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

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

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

This project was awarded the first place CDFL Capstone Travel Award

Instagram: @jakewlindley, @jassencallender

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

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

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

Instagram: @glorivette_correa

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

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

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

Instagram: @monicahigbee, @halahb2

Architectural Neural AgilityVisions of Architecture through SensationPerceptionand Self by Skyler Howell, M. Arch ‘23
University of Idaho | Advisor: Hala Barakat

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

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

 

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

Instagram:  @ponyboysky, @halahb2

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

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

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

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

2023 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XI

Welcome back to another week of the Study Architecture Student Showcase! In Week XI, we highlight student projects that use space as an avenue to create equitable community resources. From neighborhood civic buildings to multi-faceted housing units, this week’s featured projects address bridging societal gaps and emphasize the importance of creating opportunities for social interaction and dialogue between diverse communities. By taking a look at the projects below, you will learn how each student project proposes a space that promotes inclusivity and fosters community connections.

Center for Tolerance by Rebecca Dejenie, B.Arch‘23
The Boston Architectural College | Advisors: Peter Martin and Robert Gillig

This design imagines the Roxbury Crossing station as a free station as it becomes a new node for the city of Boston. The Center for Tolerance is a civic building that would allow different activities from music studios, makerspaces, food court, material exchange library, multi-purpose classrooms, exhibits, offices, studios, therapy clinics, and meditation spaces, to gardens with seats to encourage users to sit and converse with one another. As the site is located on the border of two neighborhoods, it will provide a spatial bridge for people from different backgrounds to come together to heal. This building will be used as a resource for all – especially those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. This building is a representation of what equity in the built environment can look like.

This project was awarded the Best of B. Arch Degree Project 2023.

Dis-Luxury from Luxury: Inequality Brought by Consumerism and Luxury Reimagining by Eduardo A. Caraballo-Arroyo B.Arch ‘23
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico | Advisors: Pedro A. Rosario-Torres, Luis V. Badillo-Lozano & Manuel De Lemos-Zuazaga

In Curitiba, Brazil, an architectural project is reimagining luxury and addressing social division to foster a community that values inclusivity, sustainability, and social equity. By challenging the pursuit of material wealth and status, this project aims to create an inclusive society where individuals feel fulfilled and valued. The project recognizes that luxury is often associated with abundance and comfort but can lead to marginalization, inequality, scarcity, and disconnection within communities. In a capitalist and consumerist society, luxury is marketed as an asset of ease and comfort, perpetuating social divisions and excluding those who cannot afford it. To address this problem, the architectural project seeks to interconnect both ends of the wealth spectrum through spaces that foster communication, action, and self-development.

The objective is to design an urban-social space that combines the rewards and necessities derived from luxury. This space offers physiological resources, developmental opportunities, a sense of belonging, and luxurious experiences, becoming a social equalizer and a support system for the community. By emphasizing the emotions associated with luxury, such as power, confidence, security, and contemplation/enjoyment, the project creates spaces for interactions and community communication. Elements such as small-scale farming, community/cultural integration, open spaces for social and community activities, and emancipatory and cultural educational spaces are included in the program. The project also aims to reduce limitations by embracing degrowth and minimalist systems.

The main strategy revolves around luxury as an emotional reaction. Luxury consumption triggers psychological responses associated with trust, power, contentment, and security. The architectural design incorporates pathways and axes that lead towards focus areas, lifting the first level and creating porous volumes to enhance openness and connection. Strategically positioned openings offer views towards the focus areas, creating voids and spaces that provide experiential and spatial experiences. By implementing this design, the project aims to address luxury inequality, foster social cohesion, and create spaces that promote inclusivity, equal access to resources, and a sense of well-being for all members of society. Through its transformative power, this project challenges conventional notions of luxury and redefines its role in creating a more connected and equitable world.

Instagram: @_eaca23

Kordilyera Vernacular Inspired Interpretive Center in Paradise Hills, San Diego by Greco Cosente, B. Arch ‘23
NewSchool of Architecture and Design |Advisor: Raúl Díaz

With historical and cultural aspects of Paradise Hills being mainly single-family dwellings from the 1950s and its relation to the military, specifically the navy, a demographic group of the Filipino population has emerged throughout the years. Generic designs of suburban parks do not cater to the needs of the current population. In an attempt to advance green space, park designs drawing from culture with the architectural language of pavilions are explored. The project caters to bridging the gap between community park design and Filipino residents through a Kordilyera-inspired Interpretive Center in Paradise Hills, San Diego; A reinstitution of cultural identity for U.S.-born Filipino-Americans.

The project was awarded the Outstanding Design Award – Degree Project.

U Belong: A New Live/Work Housing Prototype by Jada Rezac and Margaret Phillips, M. Arch ‘23
Kansas State University |Advisor: Zhan Chen – Assistant Professor

The current housing crisis in the US challenges architecture to address a critical need while presenting the opportunity to propose new solutions. The studio, titled: In With the New, operates as a laboratory in which to explore innovative possibilities for multi-family living. Students design new models that reframe housing as a multi-faceted domain, able to navigate various scenarios and support diverse communities.

Jada and Margaret’s project responds to the evolving needs of contemporary living by integrating residential units and workspaces. The project uses a calibrated arrangement of U-shaped modules to create new possibilities for both living and working.

The unit clusters maintain a high degree of porosity, which allows more access to natural light and promotes cross ventilation. These considerations enhance human comfort and productivity while presenting an innovative strategy for improving the overall health of its inhabitants.

The relationship between living and working units and their arrangement also seeks to alleviate social isolation. The units are grouped into smaller neighborhoods, fostering familiarity and more meaningful social interactions. Communal spaces within these neighborhoods and intersecting circulation paths also help build a stronger sense of community within a large complex.

The project was nominated for the Nominated for the Heintzelman Prize at Kansas State University.

Instagram: @jadarezac ; @margaret_rose_phillips ; @studiozhan

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

2022 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part II

We are back with week two of the 2022 Student Thesis Showcase featuring six more projects from schools across the US and Canada! This week’s projects explore the intersection of architecture and feminism as well as gender. If you missed it, make sure to check out Part I of this series.

We will be sharing these projects on Instagram at @studyarchitecture and @imadethat_ so let us know what you think there.

WINDS OF CHANGE by Leila Ghasemi, M.Arch ’22
Southern California Institute of Architecture | Advisor: Elena Manferdini

Do we have the capacity as architects to influence politics and bring social changes?
Does architecture still have a utopian agency to shape our future societies?

This thesis addresses Iran’s current situation, particularly the social injustice against women, by using architecture’s tools and analytical strategies through space, objects, videos, sounds, lights, materials, projection mapping, and the medium of dance to explore the role of new spaces of protests in social activism. Since Iran’s 1979 Revolution, Women have long faced legal, political, economic, and social challenges in Iran. Women are not allowed to work specific jobs, polygamy has become legal, and women have lost the right to divorce. For 43 years, Iranian women have not been allowed to express themselves through their bodies. The Islamic Republic mandated wearing a head covering, or hijab, in public. All females are required to cover their hair and dress modestly from puberty. Women cannot take off their compulsory hijab, cannot sing solo, cannot ride a bike, cannot dance.

Women have no place to protest and defend their human rights and make their voices heard against this cruelty. This thesis tries to create an opportunity to express dissent away from government surveillance or the immediate threat of police action. This thesis establishes a platform for activism and self-expression through the human body and tests the capacity of utopia (Hypothetical utopias) and activism in space. The platform for activism is an installation that includes an open inner space as a raised stage surrounded by an outer corridor, which together portrays and enacts women’s activism and government. The outer corridor is dark and narrow enough that people must enter it one at a time. There is a path with live google earth mapping of Azadi street in Iran where projected on the ground and pictures and videos of the 1979 Iran revolution on the wall that show we should move beyond this history. The inner space includes black fabrics offset from walls to create a dark area with a black box in the center where dancers perform. A camera hangs above the box to film dancers performing as live broadcasts are projected on the three black screens, and simultaneously, their expression through the camera is broadcast live to the whole world.

Iran’s government forbids all forms of activism (social, political, environmental). This multidisciplinary approach uses tools from architecture and dance to do more than each can do in isolation; it connects spatial strategies of architecture and the critical capacities of dance. This project will enact and empower the Iranian women protesting the mandatory hijab. The thesis creates a utopia, a fantasy reality, a truth that is not true, an act of optimism that shows something does not exist yet but could exist if we wanted it. This project will enact a piece of good news in this impossible situation in Iran through women’s choreographers to present the reality of the current situation in Iran and create a desire for the change we need to build. This is a revolution, through architecture and women’s body expression, to create a platform to protest for Iranian women’s activists, which could be developed everywhere, and people worldwide could see and hear them.

Watch Leila’s thesis presentation

Instagram: @leilaghasemi.la, @sciarc_manferdini

Architectural Design Strategies in Reentry Facilities: Post-Incarceration by Carly Chavez, M.Arch ’22
University of Florida | Advisor: Lisa Huang

The U.S. has one of the highest recidivism rates in the world. The population of women in prisons is rapidly increasing and thus creating gender-specific problems. Addressing these problems is often difficult because attention is focused on male inmates representing the majority prison population. All individuals, post-incarceration require housing, education, and work opportunity; however, research shows that women have a higher need for reintegration with the community and regaining custody of their children. Research also shows that the application of gender-informed policies is effective in reducing the recidivism rate. This acknowledges that men and women have different needs, and policy should address and respond to those differences. This project examines the conditions for women before, during, and after incarceration. The objective is to understand the gender-specific needs of women, what problems are being addressed, and how. Then, develop design strategies for women’s reentry facilities after incarceration. Ultimately, the research intends to contribute to the effort of reducing the number of women returning to prison, and to define the prominent external forces impacting women released from prison. This project focused on understanding these forces and the problems created to identify which issues can be translated into a solution in the built environment. This research proposes a multi-faceted women’s transitional facility as a building typology to support the effort to reduce recidivism.

There is an abrupt transition for incarcerated women as they finish their prison sentence, ultimately contributing to a higher likelihood to repeat offenses. Generally, this is the result of a lack of support for helping women transition into “normal” life. This project establishes that the architecture of transitional programs should reflect the specific needs of women to create an environment conducive to successful reentry into society. How does the architecture of transitional facilities change when children, community, and skill development are incorporated as part of the solution? This research advocates for a gradual reuniting of women with their children that parallels other efforts necessary to reintegrate women into the community. The architecture to support this program must establish the facility as a connection to the community with a focus on developing relationships between women, their children, and the community.

Architecture in Drag by Michael Evola, M.Arch ’22
Toronto Metropolitan University | Advisor: Marco Polo

Through imitation and parody, Architecture in Drag challenges architecture’s identity. “/” is an imitation of a building, a ballroom and a home. Situated in New York City, the birthplace of modern drag culture, / begins by separating and interconnecting two rowhouses through a horizontal structural grid. From the grid, all of its characters (program and circulation), are hung and interconnected through fluid architectonics. By hanging its characters, / removes the ground on which architecture rests upon. In its place, a series of fluid spaces affect the other. In this manner, space is boundless, inviting and encompassing. Similarly, / invites its audiences to customize it. Although its characters are organized within a grid, this, like the power of the grid within architecture is a false truth. Thanks to its semi-fixed industrial characters, all of /’s characters are free to be moved and be re-arranged Thereby, / has exactly half a plan. The industrial connections enabling this feature are appropriated from their intended use, like the appropriated fixtures drag performers utilize to re-arrange their identities. No material should be off-limit in the construction of architectural ideas. Moreover, no idea should be considered non-architectural. Architecture in Drag challenges the ground defining truths within abstractions such as architecture and gender. / is the byproduct of this challenge, it is a performance of architectural ‘truths’ parodied as fluid.

Instagram: @mikeevola

A Gender-Based Violence Architecture: Protection and Empowerment of Women by Isamar Collazo, B.Arch ’22
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico | Advisor: Pedro A. Rosario

Currently, there is a lack of places to protect female victims of domestic violence, focusing on self-help programs to assist them in becoming independent and reintegrating into society. The existing shelters isolate women from their environment, which makes the transition process difficult during reintegration into their context. Therefore, this project aims to protect female victims by promoting their independence through therapies, workshops, housing, and recreational activities so that they may have the necessary tools to return to the outside world. Also, most of the women that report the most cases are mothers of two or more children.

This project will allow the mother to be with her children by providing safe spaces for education and play areas for the kids. Creating a space close to their context will enable them to reduce the sense of isolation they experience while receiving the help they may need. Some of the site selection criteria were: to locate the project in densely populated areas, locate where there are more reported cases and where there is a lack of nearby shelters. The project is located in El Salvador due to the fact that it has the highest number of femicides (female-focused homicides) per capita among Latin American countries. Research shows 6.8 per 100,000 women, which represents 435 femicides per year. Most of these incidents have been reported in the capital city, Santa Tecla, San Salvador.

Dismantling the Architecture of Othering: Queer Reclamations of Space by Minette Murphy, M.Arch ’22
Carleton University | Advisor: Piper Bernbaum

This thesis positions itself around the opposing forces of architectural normativity and queer spatial production. It investigates heteronormativity and its spatial manifestations, in order to engage in the practice of queering space as an act of resistance. By researching the heteronormative order, and typologies such as the public toilet and the private home, it seeks to demonstrate architecture’s complicity in the process of othering queer bodies. Applying a norm-critical perspective to spatial phenomena, it encourages architects to divest from contributing to this form of spatial violence.

Next, it explores the act of queering as a contestation of the normative order through design. Continuing to dismantle various facets of heteronormative spatial production, six design explorations consider the body through a multi-scalar approach. As the site where queerness is initially produced, the body is where all contestations must begin. The first question ‘what is the body?’ deconstructs the normative body which forms the basis of all architectural standards in order to explore the concept of a fluid and relational body. The second ‘what is the layered body?’ analyzes the heteronormative imposition of meaning on clothing and the spatial implications of layer, while subverting both through costume. The third ‘what is the shared body?’ questions the privatization of the body and its various functions, and proposes opening private spaces up to new experiences. The fourth ‘what is the protected body?’ investigates spatial conditions that limit the safety of queer people, and mobilizes mechanisms innovated by the heteronormative order against itself. The fifth ‘what is the worshipped body?’ reflects on the abjection of queerness and implants queer rituals of joy into places that prohibited them. Finally, the sixth ‘what is the transcendent body?’ recounts moment of queer world building, and engages in open-ended experimentations of queer futurity. Throughout the whole document, this thesis seeks to question, reveal, subvert, and transform. Ultimately it will conclude that there is no one way to ‘queer.’ In all its forms, ‘queering’ is a practice of resisting normativity that should be embedded in the architectural practice of all.

Instagram: @minetteyo, @piperb

Offerings and Inheritances: Reconstructing Altars for Queer Vietnamese Kin by Thompson Cong Nguyen, M.Arch ’22
Carleton University | Advisor: Piper Bernbaum

How do we offer our selves – as diasporic, queer, Vietnamese families in settler-colonial Canada – to honour our ancestral kinship ties while creating space for new, authentic rituals and traditions? ‘Offerings and Inheritances for Queer Vietnamese Kin’, my architectural thesis at the Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism at Carleton University, Ottawa, investigates how practices of ancestral worship are performed in everyday sites scaled to the body, the street and the nightclub. This involved multi-modal and multi-scalar artistic explorations of offerings and identities which prompted the design of three new altars fitted to a suitcase, an urban storefront and a queer clubbing event. Each altar offers new fields of inquiry that embrace the mess of queer diasporic identities and affect how space is conventionally created through architectural design. This process invites designers, scholars, and queer, diasporic kinfolk to collectively reconstruct new practices of belonging for our ancestors, kin and our multi-adjectival selves.

Instagram: @thompydraws, @piperb

Check back next week for Part III of the Study Architecture Student Showcase.