Posts

2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XIII

/in , /by

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This project won a 2024 AIA Triangle Student Design Award.

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

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @__b.berdan__, @scott_shall

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

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

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

The research is structured into two phases:

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

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

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

Instagram: @ard_aub

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

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

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

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

This project won the AIA Savannah Thesis Honor Award.

Instagram: @denzyl.zhang, @andre_bertassi

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @ard_aub

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @Golnarahmadi

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

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

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

This project was a Thesis Award Nominee. 

Instagram: @julyqi_, @junkoyamamoto_

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

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

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

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

This project won a 2024 MUSOA Studio Award.

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

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @ace_kuhns, @scott_shall

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

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

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

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

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

This project won the ​​2024 Jawaid Haider Award.

Stay tuned for Part XIV!

2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part VI

/in , /by

In Part VI of the 2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase, we take a look at projects that address various agricultural concepts. For these projects, agriculture is much more than just farmland. From agrotourism and community-centered food banks to using Twitch streaming to cultivate a transparent farming process, viewers are encouraged to expand their thinking about what agriculture encompasses. Scroll down to browse the award-winning projects!

Seed to Seed by Elyssa Hines, Bachelor of Science in Architecture ‘24
Washington University in St. Louis | Advisor: Zahra Safaverdi

Within Garden City, Kansas, industrial agriculture is the bones of the community: the land is dedicated to farming and much of the population works directly with industrial agriculture. While sustaining human life, this drains Garden City’s ecosystem. To name a few examples, the watershed is shrinking, soil health is decreasing, and the better part of four years has been spent in drought. Legislation to allow for positive environmental action is unclear, misleading, or both, resulting in no progress. This creates a need for a place-based community resource such as Seed to Seed.

Seed to Seed is a live-work research institute that explores the life process of crops in the arid grassland with the intention of redesigning the farming process. It merges typical laboratory work with collaboration in other fields and in-situ work with the farmers who will implement the community’s findings. Within the spirit of collaboration and transparency, researchers will use the streaming services Twitch and Nebula to live stream their work within the lab and create curated content to share with researchers globally. Seed to Seed weaves seamlessly between the need for transparency regarding agricultural practices in Garden City and the larger system of sharing knowledge globally, not only through digital practices, but also with academic, industry, and government partners at a variety of scales.

The institute is designed around the circulation of inhabitants physically and digitally. Physical reality is organized around inhabitants’ interactions and deliberation between public and private. Digital reality is designed through what is visible to the streaming services and curated content. The curated content’s audience is Nebula, and they interact with Seed to Seed through 360° cameras. These cameras are within spaces the in-person public cannot access, but the digital audience has a full view of these spaces. Twitch content is streamed using immobile cameras in public spaces that constantly have people moving through them, becoming dynamic through what is within the camera frame. All cameras ensure that the inner workings of Seed to Seed are transparent to all audiences, encouraging everyone to work towards a reimagined farming process.

This project was featured in Washington University in St. Louis’s Year End Show.

Instagram: @elyssa.lyssa.lys

Suspending Urban Farm by Kai Chen & Qiuxiao Tang, M. Arch ’24
University of Pennsylvania | Advisor: Simon Kim

“Suspending” is emblematic of the project’s essence—representing the delicate balance between innovation and tradition, the elevation of community aspirations, and the support extended to those in need. It encapsulates the project’s endeavor to uplift and sustain. Both metaphorically and literally, as it seeks to suspend not just the structures of agriculture and art within its bounds, but also the collective hopes and dreams of a diverse community. The aim is to ensure they are nurtured and allowed to thrive amidst the urban expanse of New York.

In this studio, we propose to design a vertical farm to grow and equitably distribute fresh food to those in need, while also serving as a cultural promotion platform. It will not only cultivate and provide culturally varied foods but also host performances and productions from diverse nationalities, addressing food security and celebrating global cultural heritage. Efforts to combat food insecurity will be enhanced by a diverse fair-pay workforce aiding any group in need, overcoming language barriers, and ensuring accessible, culturally relevant food. Situated in Seneca Village, this project pays tribute to its historical roots, provides a haven for the needy, promotes cultural diversity, and bolsters the tourism economy, aligning with New York’s commitment to equity and inclusivity.

Instagram: @yohey.kim, @kaichen.architecture, @qiuxiaot

Revitalizing an Industry: Jute and Communal Empowerment, Bangladesh by Iana Ishrat, B.S. Architecture ‘24
University of Virginia | Advisors: Peter Waldman & WG Clark

The fibrous plant jute has an important history in Bangladesh. The once-thriving industry has seen closure and difficulties in recent years. But the high demand for plastic alternatives has rekindled interest in the natural fiber that plastic helped replace. 

This project uses architecture and design to revitalize an abandoned jute mill to establish a place of living-working space that can help the surrounding communities. Inspired by the communal traditions around rice cultivation, the project reimagines the arduous process of jute milling as a communal activity to create spaces that can inspire community and traditions around the production of jute products. 

The expansive and repetitive colonial-era factory invokes ideas of mass production. These structures are broken up strategically with alleys and courtyards to allow spaces that reflect a more human-scale work environment. 

The construction consists of two key parts. The first is a visitor center that can help educate the population about the important history of jute and its potential in the future. The second is the renovation of the factory and the construction of the central communal workspace. This area includes a mosque, library, office spaces, Bath house, indoor-outdoor workspaces and courtyard with a water-pool. The Mosque at the center of the site helps establish the factory as a central hub for the surrounding prominently Muslim population.

A small brick kiln is also established on site. This will provide material for the renovation and construction of the factory. With time, parts of the farmland surrounding the factory will be used for other crops like rice and vegetables to provide food for the workers. Some of this land will also be distributed among workers. They can utilize the brick from the kiln for any construction needs in their new communities. This initiative will help foster a sense of ownership and community building among the workforce.

Overall, the project seeks to revitalize the legacy of jute while empowering the local communities who play a vital role in its revival.

This project received the 2024 Exceptional Thesis Project accolade at the University of Virginia.

Instagram: @yana_ishrat, @aschool_uva

The Seed: A New Farming System that Bridges Urban and Rural Areas by Ziheng Li, M. Arch ’24
SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design)| Advisors: Andrea Bertassi, Aaron Wilner & David Gobel

The project is set in a broad expanse of land in Chengdu, a city characterized by its basin topography and predominantly cloudy weather. Addressing the challenges of rural depopulation, declining farmland, and the appeal of urban migration, the goal of this thesis is to create a new type of farming system that incorporates both traditional and modern farming techniques while also adding additional characteristics to help farmers gain revenue and close the urban-rural divide, preserving cultural heritage while enhancing sustainability. The design integrates residential modules with farming units, creating a cohesive and interactive community space that fosters rural culture within an urban context and contributes to urban food production. This system can grow and expand between urban and rural areas.

Instagram: @henoao_li, @andre_bertassi

A Framework for Regeneration by Lyric Barnik, Bachelor of Architectural Studies ’24
University of Waterloo | Advisor: Jaliya Fonseka

The Cambridge Food Bank is a 1,500sm food bank that integrates social services, food processing facilities, and community spaces. It is in Cambridge, Ontario with a continental climate that is relatively cold and temperate, with significant precipitation. The site, a contaminated brownfield with light-industrial infrastructure, was given to the Food Bank as a potential location for their new facilities. The proposed design explores a compact envelope, incorporating a pre-existing warehouse building and readapting the site into a communal greenspace. The design explores the regenerative multiplicity of food housed within a robust architectural framework.

The food bank sits at this unique intersection of food and community, partaking in duties of both production and social enrichment. The question underpinning this project begins by asking: How can the act of food heal us? How can the act of eating, making, shaping, growing, studying, and sharing food help to regenerate the body, community and land? The act of food is multi-faceted and its modes of expression are in constant flux. Thus, the proposed food bank looks at creating a set of infrastructures that can nurture this regeneration in whatever form it takes in the future.

The architectural manifestation of these guiding principles relies upon a reciprocal exchange between landscape, building and community. The site is divided using the physical and social forces of the site and a matrix of programs are formed, with the food bank radiating from the center of the grid. With a regenerative and circular landscape strategy in mind, the proposed programs study how new energy can be collected, old energy can be reused and long-term growth can be accommodated. In addition to traditional plot urban farming, alternative agricultural systems like a permaculture food forest, a livestock farm and a bio-filtration pond are proposed. The architectural concept proposes a compact square enclosure structured with a robust mass timber column grid, decoupled from the wall assembly. Four porches are created, establishing an interstitial zone between outside and inside as a lightweight shading canopy. A regular saw-tooth structure rests upon the timber frame, spanning across the entire building providing solar energy, collecting rainwater, and dispensing soft daylighting year-round. The spacious grid allows for programmatic flexibility, placing activities with a public appeal along the perimeter to best use the porches.

This project won the Soprema Award. 

Instagram: @lyriclmiracl

Centro de Agroturismo by Montserrat Sánchez Villaseñor, B. Arch ’24
Universidad Anáhuac Querétaro | Advisors: Patricia Cutiño & Jorge Javier

The focus of the Agrotourism Centre is primarily on the cultivation of wheat as a raw material. Integrating the whole process, from the sowing and harvesting of the wheat to the production of high-quality flour and the elaboration of artisan bread. The latter, characterised by its unique particularities rooted in the local culture, with the aim of becoming a true emblem that identifies and distinguishes Tejocote. 

A crucial element of this project is the integration of tourism in each of the production stages. The aim is to generate controlled and sustainable tourism in a decisive and strategic manner. The primary objective is that the main beneficiaries will be the inhabitants of Tejocote, who will experience a significant boost to their local economy thanks to the economic spillover from this agrotourism model. 

This centre not only offers an authentic and educational experience for visitors, but also contributes to the economic development and strengthening of the cultural identity of Tejocote.

Instagram: @arqwave, @arquitectura_anahuac

Red Mountain Pavilion by Daniel Icaza Milson, M.Arch ’24
University of Texas at Austin | Advisor: Nichole Wiedemann

With support of El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association, Tonkawa Tribe and Blackland Collaborative, this studio focused on Milam County, Texas, which straddles the Blackland Prairie and Post Oak Savanah traversed by three rivers –Brazos River ((Río de los Brazos de Dios), Little River and San Gabriel River– flowing to the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to the Camino Real, the area is punctuated by settlements including the Rancheria Grande, Spanish Missions and Freedom Colonies. The area is a place of convergence, connecting diverse peoples (and places) for over 10,000 years.

The Brazos River and its tributaries define the undulating, verdant landscape that surrounds Red Mountain, a sacred mountain for the Tonkawa tribe. These lands are still plentiful today – supporting the farms and ranches of Milam County. Embracing the economy and ubiquity of prefabricated metal structures, the Red Mountain Pavilion is arranged so that the visitor is reoriented from the restored Blackland Prairie and Little River toward Red Mountain, the origin of the Tonkawa. The building is staggered so that the landscape completes the experience of the visitors.

Instagram: @nicholewiedemann, @dash.ing.dash

Aloha Permaliving: Bridging People, Flora and Fauna by Chris Caracena, B. Arch ’24
Cal Poly University – Pomona | Advisor: Pablo La Roche

This permaliving project in Hilo, Hawaii, promotes sustainable and symbiotic agricultural living in the  Hilo Community, by integrating agricultural practices that coexist with the local flora, fauna and residents, the project creates an environment where ecological balance and human well-being go hand in hand addressing food security issues in Hawaii. This affordable housing project creates a sustainable and interconnected ecosystem that thrives on agricultural abundance and collective well-being. 

Instagram: @pmlaroche

Beetecture: Connection between Bees and Architecture by Yaimi L. Cartagena-Santiago, B. Arch ’24
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico | Advisor: Pedro A. Rosario-Torres

Throughout history, architecture has primarily focused on solving problems related to humans; however, humans consistently overlook the fact that they are part of a much larger world than themselves. In the current context, there is a steady increase in bee mortality worldwide. Various media outlets have attempted to draw attention to this issue, but the efforts of environmentalists, journalists, and a political minority have not generated a strong enough impact to effectively address this phenomenon. The purpose of the APIC (Apiculture Production and Investigative Center) project is to develop an architectural proposal that addresses the challenges faced by apiculture, focusing primarily on the devaluation of this practice and its impact on the scarcity of agricultural production.

The project’s location is the municipality of Hatillo, in the north coast of Puerto Rico. Currently, there is the Puerto Rico Institute of Beekeeping Education, Research, and Development (Hatillo School of Beekeeping), which offers theoretical and practical courses in beekeeping management. The place in turn offers a balance between tropical and subtropical climates, allowing for versatile beekeeping and the possibility of collecting beehive products for much of the year.

The APIC project, as a proposal, is based on the integration of various architectural programs. The main objective of the project is to bring together in a single facility all the activities related to beekeeping, which are currently very fragmented. This installation offers the opportunity to address the challenge of reconnecting architecture with nature. The project aims to maintain the bee population through responsible beekeeping practices, monitor and safeguard the pollination service for multi-floral agriculture, limit damage caused by pests and diseases to ensure bee safety, provide accessibility to the public encourage community sensitivity, and guarantee and promote the future of the local beekeeping industry. Social programs that can be developed within the facilities are proposed to integrate society into the beekeeping culture. The programs are classified into four general zones: beekeeping education, beekeeping production, apitourism, and apitherapy. In conclusion, this project represents a commitment to sustainability, biodiversity, and environmental consciousness while emphasizing the vital importance of bees in our delicate ecological balance.

Instagram: @yaimilizz

Río Verde & Parques del Río Verde Corridor by Hector Michael Miranda Sanchez, M. Arch ’24
University of Puerto Rico | Advisors: Omayra Rivera Crespo & Jose R Coleman-Davis

The sustainable Río Verde project consists of three buildings and a floating greenhouse interconnected through an agora and bridges, with a prominent focus on mixed-use. Most of its space program was determined based on the needs of the community. For instance, the Zoology department at UPRRP required a herbarium, laboratory, and storage space. Similarly, the Río Piedras community needed a place to promote their farmers’ market (agromercado). These spaces were provided, connecting the entire community system while preserving existing green systems. On the other hand, this project also introduces new urban and social public spaces. Additionally, the site borders two green areas: the University of Puerto Rico and the Plaza de la Convalecencia. As a result, the ecological corridor Parques del Río Verde is proposed, integrating directly with the proposed building. Its purpose is to implement a new green system in the urban area of Río Piedras, improving environmental conditions in a highly urbanized and paved city while serving as a bridge between other existing green systems. Furthermore, Río Verde and its corridor aim to promote biodiversity, sustainable and resilient elements, and integration with community agriculture, cultural and economic activities, visual landscapes, and the pre-existing urban fabric of Río Piedras. Ultimately, this project aspires to be an exemplary reference in sustainability, offering a solution within the green construction industry to address the current environmental crisis and mitigate accumulated impacts over the years in Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Instagram: @mike_mird, @uprarchitecture

Stay tuned for Part VII!

2023 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XXXII

/in , /by

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!

2021 Study Architecture Part VI

/in /by

We are so excited to present another part of the 2021 Study Architecture Student Showcase. This year, we doubled the amount of submissions and will be able to feature over 40 students in this series. Stay tuned for two more posts coming soon. This week, we feature work from Savannah College of Art and Design, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, The University of Texas at Austin, and University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. These students’ work explores the intersection of architecture and memory, feminism, technology, and ecology. Check out Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V.

 

Antechamber: The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial by Haili Brown
Savannah College of Art and Design | Advisor: Huy Ngo

In 1945, the United States detonated the world’s first nuclear weapon. It was considered a success, a marvel, and an advancement. It was said to be for the betterment of society. The more they tested, the more they scarred the earth, and the more they scarred the community. The wind blew the scars east. Then, the United States bombed Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The scars stretched further. One hundred thousand people now gone, the whole world watching, and no one moved an inch.

The site that I selected for this memorial was Tippipah Point, Nevada, which falls in Area 16 of the Nevada National Security Site. It is a mountainous peak that rests atop six underground detonations that originally belonged to the Shoshone People but was stolen under the guise that the land would be used for good. This, of course, was a lie. It became a site of mass destruction where military crews would be subjected to nuclear exposure only one mile from ground zero. Many of these troops would report feelings of overwhelming uncertainty and a realization of the malicious power of the bombs. Nevertheless, they remained complicit.

I have designed an experience that will implore the users to reflect on their responsibility, both in life and in architecture, by emphasizing their decisions as they make their way to the finale. This will result in a greater awareness of their actions and the effect they have on themselves and those around them. This is a start toward a more empathetic and socially proactive future. The three ways I planned on doing this were transience, choice, and finality. Transience would urge quick decision-making due to a one-hour time limit on the site, the choice would give the users control over their outcome, and finality would exemplify the permanence of our decisions by allowing users to only enter and exit once.

In the creation of my form, I took an approach of free will; we all start off at different points and we all end at different points based on the reality that we create. This translated into a free-flowing and unpredictable mass, resulting in a series of corridors that would pass through, above, and below each other. All parking plateaus do not lead to all final points, which begin this journey of free will upon entry to the site. In areas where the corridors intersect, users are given a chance to either pull a lever to open one door and close another, or to proceed through the one already open. This makes their decisions deliberate and pointed.

At the end of the corridors rest finale points. There are twelve possible finales that the users may experience. Only some of them have a view of the memorial sculpture below. The outer perimeter houses 3-foot-wide openings that offer the users a personal experience when choosing which view they want to take in, while the inner ring remains open to forge a more collective experience. The decision of which one to ruminate within is left up to the user.

 

On Beauty and Power: A Female “Cyborg-ienne” Phenomenon by Cayce J. Anthony, M.Arch ‘21
University of Tennessee at Knoxville | Advisors: Mark Stanley, Jeremy Magner, Jennifer Akerman
Awarded the 2021 Faculty Thesis Award

Power camouflages itself with beauty and grafts itself into our societies through covert cultural and political operations that influence individual perceptions and behaviors—what we pay attention to, follow, purchase, believe—until we, humankind, adapt, conform, or become socially “othered.” 

Few spatial realities embody the tension between these immaterialities as the female form.

Power leverages beauty to reinforce the existing social strata—one that relies on a western-American beauty tradition that is aggressively, and often maliciously, thin, white, and youthful.  

This project fabricates environments, objects, and ultimately subjects that complicate and push back into the established social strata and beget a more autonomous, hybridized, “cyborg-ienne” female phenomenon, to speculate how beauty and power might be reprogrammed in future social mutations and to question our contemporary moment.

Follow Cayce on Instagram: @cayce.anthony

 

Foreign + Familiar by Bella Chou, Coleman Brink, and William Hachtman
The University of Texas at Austin | Advisor: Kory Bieg
2020-21 Design Excellence Award Winner: https://soa.utexas.edu/life-work/student-affairs/student-awards/design-excellence/2020-2021-design-excellence-winners (Internal UTSOA award)
Pending upcoming feature in Tribeza, a local magazine in Austin

Technology is ubiquitous. Our relationship with electronics, both hidden and overt, has become integral to our everyday lives and has reformed how we interact with and perceive the world around us. In the perpetual pursuit of utopia, futuristic machines constantly propose a new and improved way of living. Some prospective technologies speculated to become part of our contemporary lives include flying cars, nanobots, and 3-D printed food. While many of these proposals seem to be more applicable to temporally distant societies, our rapidly changing environment and needs suggest these future technologies could be implemented in the near, rather than distant, future. Despite the vision of a seamless integration of these technologies, a question of the spatial requirements to house these technologies arises.

Technology is a tool to change how we live, but contrary to our reliance on it to complete even the most mundane of tasks, technology is often tucked away in the periphery of our buildings and minds. Our project explores ideas of human viewership and interaction with the digital. Set in a near, speculative future, we wanted to confront our complacency of existence—what are the implications of space-making with a non-human centered focus? Architecture as a discipline has become constrained. In our constantly changing world, architecture is stable. Our explorations play with destabilizing the status quo. Programmatically, our project is a spectrum of human occupation, with technology taking precedence while humans become the periphery. Our projects are highly speculative, but rooted in our observations of human interactions with technology. This is just one of many potential futures.

This studio was broken into two parts. The first being entirely group-focused where the overall formal and site developments were made. In accordance with the studio’s vision, all this was done using Grasshopper, machine learning, and scripting. Therefore, all the exterior and formal elements seen were developed using this process.

The second half of the course was focused on individual projects and developments within the larger context and narrative of the site. For this, each group member focused on an object scale applying to the overarching narrative, and then designed this object to their selected building’s program. These programs were applied to various buildings across the site ranging in size and complexity.

All portions of the projects were targeted and designed for a virtual reality experience, as required by the studio. With that in mind, each individual project was designed with immense detail and immersion, allowing for a user to be consumed by their future world. Every interior and render is meant to be experienced with this perspective. 

Generating a project with this methodology required a strong sense of vision and communication. Our narrative was the centerpiece in developing a cohesive project, while allowing each team member to explore a “future” technology that they thought would influence architecture and the project statement. This is the future that we envision to be familiar, but greatly foreign. 

Follow them on Instagram: @colemanbrink, @ciaobellabellachou, @will_hachtman

 

Water! Please: Remember, Reveal, Reconnect by Maria Pozo & Adele Isyanamanova
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign | Advisor: Professor Bartumeus
First Place (tie) for Graduate Studio Award

Sant Feliu de Llobregat, an industrial and agrarian city in Catalonia, Spain, is historically familiar with the destructive and dangerous consequences of seasonal flooding, but it also experiences a lack of water most of the year. Smart water management is necessary for the region, but the municipality cannot afford expensive infrastructure that would solve the problem quickly. How do we manage water with as little intervention as possible? How do we activate water memory and connect people to the essence of the place? How do we use water to promote biodiversity and ensure sustained ecosystem health? 

This design proposal achieves three interconnected objectives: remembering the industrial and ecological history of Sant Feliu de Llobregat, revealing the previously hidden life of water in the city and beyond, and reconnecting human and non-human ecosystems through water.

 

BOUAZIZI OPPORTUNITY CENTER: A Global Icon and a Local Resource by Bryan Samuel & Francisco Hernandez, M.Arch ‘21
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign | Advisor: Professor Murray
First Place (tie) for Graduate Studio Award

In recent years, a relatively small country has had an outsized influence on the Arab world due to the promulgation of protests via social media. From the self-immolation of a lowly street cart vendor to the dethroning of decades-old dictatorial regimes, the internet has become synonymous with one word in Tunisia: revolution.

Protests have continued into 2021. While the Arab Spring addressed some issues of democracy and freedom of expression, economic issues continue to affect Tunisian quality of life. The Bouazizi Opportunity Center is a community internet center in Tunis, Tunisia, but it is also much more than that. It provides studios and workshops for personal skill development as well as a physical and digital marketplace to provide a direct avenue toward economic independence. The Bouazizi Opportunity Center is a resource to the local community and a global symbol for hope and unity.

 

 

For more student projects, check out Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, and Part V. 

 

 

2021 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part IV

/in , /by

Welcome back for Part IV of the Study Architecture Student Showcase. This week, we are featuring award-winning work from architecture students hailing from University of Pennsylvania, Savannah College of Art and Design, and The University of Texas at Austin. Make sure to check out Part I, Part II, and Part III. Follow along on Instagram @imadethat_. 

 

Cloned and Clashed by Megan York, M.Arch and Eddie Sheng, M.Arch
University of Pennsylvania | Advisors: Ferda Kolatan + Caleb Ehly
Published in UPenn’s journal, Pressing Matters 10, published in Summer 2022

Iconoclash is when one does not know, one hesitates, one is troubled by an action for which there is no way to know, without further inquiry, whether it is destructive or constructive.
—Bruno Latour, ICONOCLASH: Beyond the Image Wars in Science, Religion, and Art

The question of what is original and what is replicated is posed within the new nature of this artificial landscape. The original and the clone are lost in translation as they interrelate within a new technologically driven environment.

The New York Savings Bank building evokes the spirit of capitalism and value in its late 19th century aesthetic. The dialogue of the mundaneness of the machine and the spectacularity of the monument are also questioned; how to make them one and the same and equivocally present. The machinery of the cloning mechanics inherently clashes with the presence of monumental aesthetics.

The new monument generates a series of dialogues in relation to the power of value in technology, what we perceive as original and replicated, the homage toward the gleam of temples, and the interdependent relationship of the mundane and the spectacular. Columns clash with ventilation, ziggurats clash with machines, and intricate drums clash with new materials and synthetic environments, inevitably redefining the role of the monument in contemporary times.

 

AREA 10 by Sophie Liu Ribeiro Da Silva, B.F.A. in Architecture
Savannah College of Art and Design | Advisor: Daniel Brown
Awarded the Chair’s Senior Design Achievement Award for SCAD | Featured on Dezeen

As part of the Nevada Testing Site, Yucca Flat was the host for over 900 bomb tests. In the end, at over 300 feet deep and measuring 1,150 feet in diameter, Sedan Crater is the site for AREA 10. It will inform people of the consequences of nuclear war on humanity and nature through learning spaces that use exhibitions, viewing points, and atomic gardening. The goal is for the visitor to leave with a deeper understanding of history and a sense of growth from this dark past.

With the site being heavily contaminated by radioactivity, the challenge was to find solutions to how to create a lively building in such a deeply scarred place. Janice C. Beatley started research on the flora of the Nevada Testing Site. However, she passed before she could complete her thesis, so the site is a research center for atomic gardening – a method where radioactive water genetically modifies plants so that they can grow even in contaminated soil. Apart from that, the communities surrounding Yucca Flat were deeply affected by the water and soil contamination, therefore, the building functions on a living machine that collects water from the contaminated soil and purifies it through the plants themselves. When you are walking to the building, you are walking between mass destruction and the possibility of growth. As you learn from the spaces and absorb the deep, and rich history of the site and nuclear war, you ascend to the top of the tower. In the end, you can see the entirety of Yucca Flat and all of the gardens planted inside the craters, giving a sense of catharsis from all the heavy information that you have absorbed.

In terms of programming, there will be a lot to do and explore. The one thing that an 18-story tall building in the middle of the vast Nevada desert can do is plant curiosity in those who are visiting. It is with this curiosity that they are intended to explore the learning and experiential spaces that AREA 10 provides. Not only will there be areas with panels of information about the site and nuclear war, but in the library, visitors can research more of the site’s history. In the laboratory, they can experiment with plants and their possibility to grow. There are video rooms with reels of the explosions of the 1950s in the site and a bleacher configuration that sits in the crater, recreating the experience of someone watching the bombs going off. Throughout the upward journey, there are classrooms where you can take summer classes to learn about the genetics of plants and their modifications. There are also contemplation pods where you can only see the nature surrounding you, inciting a more spiritual connection. There is even a sensorial space, where you can experience the presence of noise and echoes, before entering a room that is completely noise-canceling to simulate how your hearing becomes numb after an explosion.

Follow Sophie on Instagram @sophielribeiro. 

 

 

 

In’terminal: Reunion District by James K. Jung, M.Arch ‘21
Savannah College of Art & Design | Advisor: Huy Sinh Ngo
Featured on Dezeen | AIA Merit Award For Outstanding Thesis Project,  AIA Henry Adams Medal, Peer Choice Outstanding Thesis Award, & Dean’s Award in Architecture

In’terminal is a multi-modal transit hub that embodies the transformative power of architecture in the creation and evolution of the built environment. Redefining streets not only as spaces in-between but as places to promote social interaction and refuge, the project aims to promote a sustainable urban lifestyle by transforming an abandoned parking garage into social infrastructure. By reconciling mobility as the public realm prioritizing social capital, In’terminal adopts placemaking strategies layered in rich, shared spaces where a community becomes the domain of many; a common network and a fabric woven with empathy to unify social identity and sense of belonging.

The site is located south of downtown Dallas near the entrance to the city passing the Trinity River that is connected by two bridges: Jefferson Blvd Viaduct and Houston St Viaduct. The site is an abandoned parking garage structure of about 160,000 square feet. The ground floor also consists of parking lots that are underutilized after the demolition of the Reunion Arena in 2009. 

There are diverse communities surrounding the Reunion District, including low-income neighborhoods, Hispanic communities, and young metro-renters in downtown Dallas. By adapting and reusing the abandoned parking garage, In’terminal investigates future mobility through the realm of architecture by integrating the redefinition of streets as more than spaces in-between buildings or the lowest level of access for the public. Instead, it proposes a multipurpose “archetype,” which allows accessible social activities that catalyze intermodal connections between air and ground movements to the last mile of users’ journeys: biking and walking.

The ground level and second level of the hub are a mixed-use program that encourages social connectivity open to the public by creating diverse novel activities and essential infrastructures promoting the health and well-being of the public. The third level is parallel to the bridge level which is the spine between the city of Dallas and the suburban districts. It also crosses the Trinity River where the bridge proposed to be reimagined as a pedestrian-friendly promenade connects the surrounding districts to the Trinity River development.

Follow him on Instagram: @faithfulnes / @archiosaurus 

 

A School for Colombo by Brandon Raettig and Yossef Shabo
The University of Texas at Austin | Advisor: ​​Professor David Heymann
Recipient of the  Editors Choice Award in a UNI Competition, 2020-21 Design Excellence Award,

Located within Rajagiriya, a suburb just outside of Colombo, Sri Lanka, we have proposed a speculative school for the performing arts that desires to function as a “well” for its community. Two principles drove the design from the earliest phases: 

  • The community must always have space to gather no matter what conditions exist on the ground plane.
  • The school must be viewed as “incomplete” because finished architecture cannot meet the needs of a changing society.

With climate change becoming a more pressing issue every year, the city of Colombo and its suburbs must brace themselves for far more flooding. The norm in civic architecture today is to place public spaces at the ground level. However, when floods occur, these spaces are no longer hospitable. Due to our proximity to a canal that harbors deadly viruses, the problems are only multiplied. With the insertion of our school, we strive to create a space that maintains the possibilities of public ownership. Our bowl condition acts as a dam to preserve safe spaces within and above. In dire conditions, the public may arrive at our school by either boat or floating debris, where they can find temporary refuge in the form of fresh water, food, and shelter. When the ground plane becomes habitable, the edge condition where the perimeter walls meet the ground becomes a hub for local artisans and vendors to meet their community. 

Bamboo serves an important role within our proposal, acting as a binding agent to bring the community and the performers at the school together. Fifteen percent of the site is dedicated to the cultivation of bamboo; this farm is housed within the center of the project, establishing a zone we have named the oasis. It is the role of nature to enhance the tranquility of the spaces. The dense plantings additionally reduce the heat load of the mass by reducing the sun’s direct contact with the surfaces. As the bamboo culms reach maturity, they are used for the construction of the tower’s bamboo screen as well as for the shelter pods during flooding. This is where the concept of the “incomplete” comes into play. The quick growth cycle of bamboo means that the material is almost always available. As space to shelter the community becomes a priority, structures can be assembled quickly to meet this need. Hypothetically, the scaffolding of the tower could be positioned in any direction, allowing for constant flexibility. 

Follow them on Instagram: @brandon.raettig and @youssefshabo.

 

Shibuya Urban Theatre by Taisuke Wakabayashi & Emily Tejeda-Vargas
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign | Advisor: Professor Botond Bognar
Finalist for the Graduate Studio Award 

Tokyo’s most famous characteristics are the crowded streets, busy crosswalks, and covered architecture. Facades are infested by billboards, ads, and banners and are indeed the main economic, socio-cultural, and geo-specific feature of the site. Recognizing the facade of advertisements as a typology, we’re proposing an anti-type. In this project, rather than more billboards, we are proposing that the program, activities, and movement of people become the ad; the real face of urban life. 

If someone approaches the building from the east, crossing Shibuya Square, they face a three-story open plaza full of art installations. There, they’ll meet the travelers from the underground train, the workers, and the students, using the cafes and stores from the basement and first level. If one continues through the grand stairway, they will find the second level; a green viewpoint, to sit, relax, and contemplate the first show: the city. On the third and fourth floor, we find the semi-public library and private studios for worldwide famous artists conducting their next groundbreaking project. A curved ramp takes you from the fifth to the seventh floor, through the temporary gallery where a fashion show might be taking place, and to the main hall for private events and outdoor seating. From the eighth to the ninth floor, there is a permanent gallery for conventional art collections next to an outdoor amphitheater. The 10th floor is for the nightclub, bar, and restaurant, facing the best views of Tokyo and ascending to an 11th floor green terrace at the very top. 

This is how the project not only includes museums, installations, art galleries, libraries, outdoor galleries, cafes, a Nike Think Tank, and an urban theater but becomes the Urban Theatre. By turning activities, or rather the visibility of activities into the advertisement, this project aims to respond to economic needs and financial feasibility, while creating exposition and interconnectivity where people meet and manifest.