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2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part I

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Welcome to the 2024 Study Architecture Student Showcase!

Over the summer, we called on architecture school faculty from across the globe to nominate graduating students whose work exemplifies excellence in architectural education. The submitted work reflects the various skills and concepts taught in architecture schools while inspiring future architecture students. With the Fall semester in full swing, we are excited to share these outstanding projects with you over the next few months.

These projects will focus on topics ranging from climate change and revitalization to public health and housing. Tune in every Tuesday and Thursday for a new installment focused on a specific topic.

Today’s showcase features projects that are centered around technology. As the world continues to make technological advances, architecture must adapt. Technology can benefit architecture in many ways, as demonstrated by the projects below. From AI and VR to robotics and other digital tools, these projects highlight opportunities to utilize technology as an avenue for innovation and construction.

Nexus by Angela Hanna, M. Arch ’24
Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) | Advisor: Louis Hachem

In the dynamic landscape of modern education, “NEXUS” underscores USEK’s unwavering commitment to excellence in education, envisioning a state-of-the-art, smart headquarters that serves as a global hub of interconnected learning.

The Faculty of Robotics and AI represents technological advancements. The iconic dome houses the main auditorium for global educational events, and the surrounding ring encapsulates research laboratories. Innovative features such as dynamic partitions and a revolving stage enhance flexibility, while holographic technology dissolves physical boundaries, fostering a network of knowledge exchange. Sustainability is a cornerstone of the Nexus, employing passive and active methods to reduce energy consumption. Welcome to Nexus, where Architecture, AI and Nature align.

Instagram: @angela.h_, @usekschoolofarchitecture

Architronics: Utilizing Virtual Reality in Architectural Pedagogy by Dean Lambros, B. Arch ’24
Kennesaw State University | Advisor: Robin Puttock

This research is about integrating the recent advancements in VR technology as a way to ‘playtest’ and design in architectural pedagogy. To better gauge the interest in VR and prove the need for VR integration, surveys were conducted among students and faculty within KSU’s College of Architecture and Construction Management (CACM).

A ‘site analysis’ was then conducted within surrounding firms in the greater Atlanta area, leading to precedent studies of local firms that use VR in their practice. By utilizing the firms’ advancements, this shed new light on how VR could be implemented into architectural pedagogy, and why it hasn’t been incorporated into the curriculum yet.

This then led to an analysis of four architectural metrics: light, form, tectonics, and program. Each of these metrics were analyzed in VR through case studies that best exemplify their features. Doing so allowed for a more immersive and concise design approach, which explored new ways to collaborate and critique, and help obtain a better sense of scale within each space.

To compare the architectural design process between traditional pedagogy and VR-tailored pedagogy, a research study was performed on a test group of 14 first-year students implemented in the spring semester 2024 accelerated program. They performed a small-scale design project where half utilized VR-centric design and the other half utilized traditional design. The students were critiqued based on the four metrics previously analyzed by qualified jurors, which revealed that the VR design group outperformed the traditional group by 20%, as well as getting twice as high of a score in the ‘program’ metric.

This research, performed within KSU’s College of Architecture and Construction Management, was utilized to propose a 2nd-year Studio course centered around these findings. This comparative analysis on VR pedagogy versus traditional design justifies the need to move towards a more immersive construction industry.

This project was recognized as a Thesis Competition Finalist.

Instagram: @robinzputtock,

Building Trust: Maintenance and Care for Autonomous Vehicles by Dear Liu, James Vadasz & Catherine Yu, BS (Bachelor of Science in Architecture) ‘24
Washington University in St. Louis | Advisor: Constance Vale

This multi-modal transit hub proposes a new AV transportation and maintenance center for people to learn about and experience the latest technology. To further publicize the use of AV, our building deliberately displays the acts of maintenance through material choices, apertures, and curated spatial sequences. As a result, we imagine the building welcoming anyone passing by as a place of efficiency, comfort, and wonder. 

Our design focuses on aperture and pushes it to the extreme. What if the ground floor was a multitude of portals that led one to their desired stops and lifted the building up? How can the mere use of a singular element not only segment spaces both above and below but also provide the necessary structural support for the building? 

This project was collected for the Washington University in St. Louis Student Work Publication, Approach.

Instagram: @dearliuweihang, @de_architects_, @jamesvadasz2, @catherineyu.qh, @constancevale, @washu.architecture

CITY IN POCKET, Level up TODAY! by Rachana Charate, M. Arch (Urban Design) ’24
R V College of Architecture | Advisors: Anup Naik & U. S. Maiya

This exploratory thesis looks at creating a people- and market-friendly urban environment by synthesizing AI computational analysis and generation to increase the efficiency and quality of architecture and urban design.

Cities are complex environments in which multiple factors play a role in shaping a liveable neighbourhood. The cities consist of many distinct data sets and stakeholders. The city development process is single-handed and static. The crafting and timely updating of zoning regulations represent a constant challenge for municipal governments, more so when said regulations attempt to guarantee that goals of liveable parameters are met and an equitable urban experience is ensured. Traditional standards and practices for a city continue to function and evolve, largely based on historical patterns and outdated workflows and are no longer adequate.

The current process for the design of an urban realm typically involves a team of architects, designers and planners that conceive a handful of schemes based on zoning requirements manually or with the help of CAD software. They may intend for the plan to achieve a set of performance goals (sociability, economic, environmental, etc.), but quantitative analysis is rarely conducted early and consistently through the design process. This makes it difficult to understand the full range of approaches that are possible on a site and the relative performance of each scheme. In order to best accommodate rapid urbanization while making cities more liveable, and equitable, designers must utilize quantitative tools to make informed decisions about their designs. Computational analysis and generative design techniques have been successfully used at the building scale to test numerous designs and quantify their performance, but are challenging to apply at the urban scale due to increased computational expense, difficulty in limiting inputs, and more stakeholders involved in the process. The purpose of this project is to introduce a methodology for AI generative models, capable of evaluating performance goals based on the information available at each step of the development and communicating the impacts on those goals of any decisions regarding land use, density and form, etc.

The City in Pocket proposes AI computational and generation, where the real and virtual are constructed as part of the same urban fabric, which will allow a re-thinking of long-established fundamental architecture and urban design values. It will contain an ever-accumulating amount of content, expanding infinitely, layer on layer. New media and the network-facilitated distribution will turn more people into both consumers and creators. While individuals may create and publish content, multi-authored channels will be created. The tool space is location-based, users can create 2D and 3D geo-tagged maps, reports, photographs, paths, zones, spatial data and recommendations, giving order and meaning to the city. An open framework of AI will allow anybody to freely contribute to the city and will breach the gaps between different areas, departments, expertise, and the general public and increase efficiency and quality.

Instagram: @_charate_, @usmaiya.design

Bespoke Moon by Austin White, B. Arch ’24
Kennesaw State University | Advisor: Jeffrey Collins

Welcome to Bespoke Moon, the next high-tech, component-based system that allows architects and designers to fully immerse themselves in design once again.

Designers grow up nurturing a passion for design, then eventually attend school to hone their skills. However, bringing these designs to life in the built environment involves a lot of tedious work and time to ensure safety, structural integrity, and compliance with codes. With that in mind, I aim to transform our traditional processes.

Bespoke Moon’s component-based system utilizes 3D-printed, prefabricated steel components that lock, seal, stack, and interlock in a unique way, allowing them to connect with one another and incorporate structure. These connections enable the components to withstand all weather and climate conditions in the future, potentially an extraterrestrial environment, reflecting an industrial outer-space aesthetic.

This high-tech component system is powered by Bespoke Moon’s new AI, which assists in generating these components, allowing architects and designers to focus solely on design. Moreover, the components generated from other designs provide an opportunity to create a library of Bespoke Moon components. This enables reuse in various ways in new designs across a variety of scales. The ultimate goal of this high-tech, component-based system is to allow architects and designers to dive back into design, as they were taught and born to do, by integrating artificial intelligence to revolutionize conventional construction and design processes in modern architecture.

This project was awarded third place in the KSU Architecture Thesis Competition 2024.

Operative Approaches: Potential in Limits in Design Process by Chantal Shahmooradian, M. Arch ’24
Toronto Metropolitan University | Advisors: Carlo Parente (Supervisor), Kate Myers (Second Reader) & John Cirka (Program Representative)

In the realm of architecture, limits are often perceived as obstacles, however, this research reimagines them as powerful catalysts for creativity. By embracing constraints and leveraging operative approaches– with structured systems revealing a comprehensive array of possibilities within project limitations– architects can unlock new depths of innovation within the design process. This research explores the transformative potential of working within limits, through the use of a variety of tools such as drawing, digital media, AI, and physical models to illustrate how constraints can inspire inventive solutions.

The thesis advocates for a holistic view of design tools, not merely as means of production but as active agents in the creative process. It demonstrates how models and drawing techniques can shape design outcomes from the earliest stages, fostering a dynamic and iterative approach. Through the use of exercises that implement transforming physical models, with chosen limits, the study underscores the critical role of limits in defining problem spaces and guiding the creative journey.

A key focus is the distinction between given constraints and those chosen by designers, showcasing the architect’s skill in navigating these boundaries. The research highlights heuristic reasoning’s impact on design decisions, balancing the benefits of guided problem-solving with an awareness of cognitive biases. Visual explorations with the use of dynamic physical models with limits demonstrate the potential of these approaches as key pedagogical tools which can enhance the way designers and architects approach design problems, fostering innovative design thinking strategies.

Operative approaches are explored through physical models inspired by 3D puzzles, which serve as inspiration for problem-solving methodologies within defined limits in the design research. These models reveal the rich spatial possibilities that emerge within set constraints, offering new avenues for creative exploration that exist within the limits.

By showcasing a series of innovative design solutions derived from these explorations, the thesis illustrates how constraints can be harnessed as opportunities rather than hindrances. This approach not only enhances architectural creativity but also provides meaningful insights and outcomes, demonstrating the profound potential of limits in the design process.

Instagram: @chantal_shah, @dastorontomet, @tmu_archgrad

Cadences of Being: Architecture for the Living by Anna Kosichenko, M. Arch ’24
Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University)| Advisors: Paul Floerke (Supervisor) | Stanislav Jurcovic (Second Reader) | Carlo Parente (Program Rep)

Architecture is an artifact frozen in time, a physical ‘time stamp’ – an object that reflects its environment and values. While such physical ‘time stamps’ define our relationship with mortality, it begs the question: “What is the future role of burial architecture in the realm of living?”

‘Funeral Machine’ is a conceptual representation of current outdated, mechanized and costly burial practices are centred on the efficiency of the process rather than the experience of users, facilitating further physical and metaphysical disconnect between life and death.

New technologies for sustainable dying provide an opportunity to reform the ritual of mourning and use the built form to redefine culture’s relationship with mortality and grief. The proposal provides a space for grieving in a city, crafting architecture that values human-centred experience and shines a light on death as part of life.

Instagram: @enot_sosna5, @tmu_archgrad

The Architecture Factory by Steven Fallon, M. Arch ’24
Boston Architectural College | Advisor: Sam Landay, AIA

The Architecture Factory contemplates craftsmanship in the context of contemporary architecture and re-imagines the role of the Architect in a new age of digital design and construction. Standing amidst the global housing and climate crises, the project asks how we can utilize robotics to not only advance construction and design efficiency but also enter a new age of design that is built upon excellence in the craft of building.  

The ideas of this thesis are represented through the design of a factory on the site of a previous machine shop on the waterfront of East Boston, Massachusetts. Inside, a new studio space takes hold, where architecture comes to life in the form of physical construction, a craft that is taught and learned, experimented with, and refined. No longer would architecture be represented just by drawings, but by physical and material representations of the designer’s imagination, built directly in the studio. Wielding the powers of the robot and computer to their advantage, here, the robot becomes a prosthetic arm and extension of the architect, while the architecture transcends from concepts and representations into physical, tangible creations.

The project first delves into the fabrication and construction methods of our future homes. It then examines the design and construction of the factory itself, considering the human interaction with the building process and asking how we can bring light to the processes that build the world around us. Robots construct their own factory and provide humans the space to observe the performance of construction from a distance. Architects serve as maestros of a robotic symphony, guiding these machines and orchestrating a performance of precision and efficiency-driven construction, resulting in an architecture that is founded in the fundamental elements of architecture – material, craft, and construction.

This project was awarded Commendations: Master of Theis Excellence – Architecture. 

Instagram: @stevenfallon7

Stay tuned for Part II!

2023 Study Architecture Student Showcase - Part XIX

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @michellecianfaglione, @nyitarch, @exdarchitecture

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This project won the Chester Miller Award.

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

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @rubgarrub

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @samiarabkirchner

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

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

This project received the Outstanding Senior Capstone Project Award.

Instagram: @petehall01

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

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

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

Instagram: @eliot_sauquet

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

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

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

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

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

Instagram: @emerymcclurearchitecture, @ryantuckerplayle

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