Blog

built

sacred tent

Client: The Harvard Episcopal Chaplaincy
Designed: March-August 2020
Constructed: August-September 2020

Consecrated: October 4, 2020

Construction team:
Benjamin Bromberg Gaber, Sarah Shapiro, Connor McCann, Justin Beebe, Rita Powell, Meredith Wade, Matthew Gin

graduate

thesis: reproducible reproductive

In the 1930’s, the New Deal sought to produce 1,500 post offices cheaply, effectively, and quickly, so the federal government “adopted the perfectly justifiable expedient of designing [these] smaller buildings in groups conforming to certain types” (Federal Architect, July 1934). In this process, standard formal solutions provided a consistent expression of identity across the country’s postal facilities. Each building, however, with its choice of materials, organization of circulation, and ornamentation of the facade and public interiors, was also made to reflect a local identity.

Federal commissions have historically been preoccupied with delivering a consistent and fluid formal language. Modular and factory-produced construction methods dominate contemporary architectural practice, so how might federal commissions mobilize these methods? Under such circumstances, how would a reproductive health clinic be designed today? This project proposes a method for designing a network of buildings in which individual instances demonstrate a collectively coherent formal strategy, that is simultaneously sensitive to the specificities of the site. Similar to the post office in being sites of transactional interactions which are nationally in-demand, these clinics will help us evaluate the capacity for designing unique buildings that can span national geographies and sensibilities.

research

research: new post occupancy

An ongoing research project, I have so far visited 70 New Deal post offices across the Northeast and Upper Midwest.

With my partner, Sarah Shapiro, we documented the buildings through photos, drawings, podcasts, and poems. Some of these works can be found at www.NewPostOccupancy.com. or on social media: Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.

Some works were shown at the BAAA Gallery, Cambridge, MA in December 2018.

Photos courtesy of BAAA Gallery. Photography by Shikun Zhu.

graduate

option studio: the dovetail, a universal building in london

This studio, part of a semester abroad asked us to consider what it means to design a universal building at Canada Water, London. If the structure of a building is the first to go up, and last to be torn down, how can it be designed to adapt to continuous adaptation of use and program within? The project was designed in defined chapters to ensure an iterative process.
Envisioned as one large room, the structure allows the building to be subdivided into smaller parts as various user groups move in and out. If floor to ceiling heights are some of the greatest barriers to change of use in a building, this proposal’s alternating single and double-height spaces enable a variety of programs to adapt to the building.
Activation of the facade and public space is critical as this building is positioned on the corner of a large development site, so single height space is shifted to the corner, and a tension structure was added to free the corner. The back corner is open to allow light and air to the whole floor plate, and ensure the circulation systems can evolve over time. It also creates a semi-public space for the surrounding buildings.
The structure creates large public spaces but can also be transformed over time to adapt to use within, and in neighboring buildings. The thickened floor slabs in the final version highlight the double height sandwiches, and reduce solar heat gain while celebrating the structure. Although it is an irregular building, it is both universal and specific, efficient but memorable.
An external limit was that all of the deliverables had to fit inside a wedding box to enable transport back to Harvard.

graduate

option studio: no shirt, no shoes, no park

Mikyoung Kim with Bryan Chou | Fall 2017

This project creates public space in the Boston Seaport neighborhood that suggests methods of occupation but does not dictate the activities of its users. It allows for the users to negotiate amongst themselves what activities will happen here, when, and how. It will allow for groups of all shapes and sizes to gather and participate together.

Cities must create cohesive spaces for public gathering while incorporating all different kinds of activities in the same place. Parks should offer sites for social respite and friction for people at all times. The brief also called for a public space that could be used for massive protests, while being an enjoyable place for small groups of people.

The project began with an exploration of materials and models that capture kinetic activity in static form to create an engaging environment that would encourage movement throughout the site. The connection between the city and site was analyzed and diagrammed. Retail L’s were proposed to attract people to the project beyond times of protest.

An undulating skin topography was then placed above, composed of hexagons at the scale of human occupation. At various “suggested” places of program, the spaces aggregate together to allow for flat or angled gathering places at the small, medium, and large scales. The fractalized units of pentagons allow for fraying of structured space; enabling any user of the space to choose how to occupy the specific moment, and permit a wider variety of topographic elevation.

This project is not about the hexagons, it’s about the moments; the geometric forms are the vehicles for unlimited journeys. Materials are applied to enable activities, but the edges and colors hide the “intended” program in favor of a more fluid experience.

VR views – click on arrows or eyeballs to change views, arrow keys (swipe on mobile) to navigate
MyLumion

graduate

gsd: communication for designers

Emily Waugh | Fall 2017

Final project for GSD 2341: Communication for Designers

(View in full screen)

From the project brief:

This assignment combines all of the lessons learned throughout the term— finding the story, making a case, framing your project, constructing a narrative, writing clearly and convincingly, telegraphing your message, choosing / making images, and public speaking.

Prepare a proposal for a project in your hometown that will highlight or celebrate the hometown phenomenon you presented in Assignment 4. You will not be designing the project, but are asked to design a proposal to submit to the town council to present the case as to why this phenomenon (and therefore, project) is relevant to the town, what it will be, where it will be sited, and how you expect this to change the image/perception of the city.

professional

professional: populous

Populous Architects, Boston, MA

May 2017-August 2017

 

Helped with design charette for college football stadium competition and model building

Created internal college athletic facility database – collected data, floor plans, & information for top 5 NCAA D-1 leagues and all NCAA D-1 hockey schools

Inserted school and facility background information on 119 schools and 1,337 athletic facilities (location, year built, cost, number of athletic surfaces, sqft, seats, etc) into Excel + Tableau database

Collected spatial and floor plan information for 22,500 rooms

graduate

core iv: olympic flame development, inc.

Jennifer Bonner | Spring 2017

With Khorshid Naderi-Azad and Marianna Gonzalez

This project rethinks the role of luxury in multi-family housing today. It injects cultural phenomena (including the GIF, the representation tool engaged with throughout the semester) that are symptomatic of our lives into the traditional residential typology of Boston, the triple decker, to propose a new set of typologies that more productively engage with who we are, how we live, and what we care about.

We closely studied the song “Bad & Boujee” by the Atlanta rappers Migos, which expresses the dichotomies embedded in contemporary conditions and ambitions.

The artists drink champagne while eating microwaved ramen, they smoke weed inside a BMW X5 while pulled over at a housing project.

Contemporary luxury is about layering. This project uses the ways that people misread objects, forms, spaces, and social constructs, to shape a housing development where all people can share city. Through purposeful misreading, it obscures and disguises luxury in the contemporary city.

Olympic Flame Development consists of 135 buildings that are variations of 5 new residential typologies. These 5 types are all alterations of the traditional triple decker. Variations on luxury were produced by taking the volume of the 5 types, stretching and squashing the mass to produce different heights and slenderness ratios while maintaining the same number of occupants.

No building in the development matches another, but no building is foreign. The urban fabric is cohesive but not monotonous. The project revamps the ordinary triple decker to embody the complexities that we experience in our contemporary lives by layering and misreading.

graduate

core III: mixed-use hotel tower in doha

Elizabeth Christoforetti

Despite traditions of hospitality within the harsh environment, Doha is a segregated city (expressed as a waffle). In this project, the nested distribution and mixing of programs, people, and environmental systems/structures attempt to provide answers to questions of social and environmental responsibility, bringing the users together (expressed as a pancake).

Programs are distributed such that user groups shift up and down throughout the building, sliding past one another. Tourists using the gym and restaurant are forced by the locals checking out the art gallery, who are forced past the migrant workers in the clinic, who are forced past the service workers using the kitchen facilities.

On one side of the central core are the private rooms with access to views of sunrise and the Persian Gulf. With Vierendeel trusses throughout the floorplates, the public programs can be located on the opposite corner, creating cantilevers when the program requires a large floorplate. The rigid, cellular private half of the building provides structure while also creating a constant dichotomy between private and the freeform, cantilevered public spaces. Above these enclosed, fully conditioned cantilevers are gardens, wrapped in an additional layer of building envelope for maximum environmental efficiency. This double enclosure creates additional opportunities for interaction between users of different programs, across public and private space, while expressing a stance towards energy use in a climate like Doha’s. Through the social and spatial organization, a new architecture is proposed to fully enable the political and social agency of the hotel users and wider community.

Above: Model detail of public program cantilevers

Provocation image – Doha as segregated city and waffle or future potential ideal city as pancake
Plans
graduate

core II: circulating + rare book library

Max Kuo

An extended precedent analysis of the Sou Fujimoto Musashino Art University Library analyzed how although the spiral organization suggests a gradient of experiences, the interaction of users with books and social dynamics among users is fairly homogeneous.

Analytique of Sou Fujimoto's Musashino Art University Library
Analytique of Sou Fujimoto’s Musashino Art University Library

 

This proposal offers a range of experiences for the users although it is suggestive of a consistent experience throughout with platonic geometry and the same pixelated shelf system as found in the precedent. Public, fully accessible, circulatory portals skewer the buildings, instigating incisions, clefts, cantilevers, and shafts. The resultant networks and their associated shelving system and level of transparency to the sky or to the landscape offer a variety of experiences into each building and within each building. The puncture of the facade by the portals enhances the formal and programmatic organization of the library while also providing the public with new experiences within the park. By trading public space in the Boston Fens Park for enhanced public pathways that connect users to the MFA, the city, and the park, the library reinforces its relationship to the site. The divide of the river and difference in formal systems allow users of the library, MFA, and park to engage with the seemingly arbitrary distinctions between circulating and rare library collections, and the status and attitudes towards each held by the larger knowledge and arts communities.

Above: View of library from above

ground floor plan
Ground floor plan

Third floor plan
Third floor plan

Render from river
Render from river

Physical model
Physical model

circulating
Circulating library from river, shows foundation system

Circulating library
Circulating library

Rare library
Rare library

Rare library physical model
Rare library physical model

Rare library physical model

graduate

gsd: making sacred spaces

Christine Smith
Final project for GSD 4368: Making Sacred Spaces

The Cathedral of Saint Thomas More, located in the Columbia Point neighborhood of Boston will serve as a paradigm for future cathedrals because of its liturgical arrangement and architectural details. The arrangement of the cathedral’s programs and liturgical furniture enhances the experience of the congregation joining the clergy in worship. Located in a politically important location within Boston, and oriented to honor the patron saint of statesmen, the cathedral will serve an important role within Boston’s Catholic and political community. Built with simple materials, the church reflects the values of the congregation while enhancing the congregation’s spiritual experience. Congregants and visitors from around Boston and the world will look forward to their time spent celebrating the liturgy together as they celebrate the glory of God, praise Christ, and yearn for a future redemption.

Above: View of the altar

Full report:

View of altar

Plan of the Cathedral of Saint Thomas More
Plan of the Cathedral of Saint Thomas More

View of communion
View of communion

 

graduate

core II: cancer club

Max Kuo

Although millions of people are diagnosed with cancer each year, undergoing treatment is an isolating and lonely process. This is especially true for millennials; for whom it is rare to be diagnosed.
This project for a cancer “club” inserts itself into the existing cancer treatment infrastructure as a healthcare facility that not only battles the disease and treats member’s symptoms, but also cares for the member’s social well-being.

Although the project centers around communal spaces, the treatment and housing of the members is the primary concern for the club. Thus, the architecture is based around the individual private nodes, the guest rooms and treatment rooms, designed on a rotated 13’x13’ grid to enable full handicap accessibility while preserving privacy. The aggregation and integration of public and private spaces creates a fluid experience for members, in which they are able to socialize with fellow members constantly while still being able to find moments of quiet and private refuge. By distributing public and private spaces throughout the project around a central atrium, the architecture is an enjoyable and flexible social experience on each floor and throughout the building. The facade treatment reflects this sifting of public and private spaces; the material treatment and orientation represents the difference in use of the space, while the geometry breaks down the barriers between intimate and community spaces. The facade also reflects the clubs position within Brutalist Boston.

Instagram, similarly blurs these lines, allowing for the merging of public and private spaces through the exposure of private spaces to a general social media platform while private users can interpret and experience public spaces on their own.

Above: Site model in context

Diagram of public spaces
Diagram of public spaces

 

detail model
1/4″ = 1′ Detail physical model of facade

 

Physical model at 1/16" = 1'
Physical model at 1/16″ = 1′

 

Ground floor plan
Ground floor plan

 

Second floor plan
Second floor plan

 

Fifth floor plan
Fifth floor plan

 

Site model in context
Site model in context

 

Rendering of central atrium
Rendering of central atrium

 

Looking out onto park from private room
Looking out onto park from private room

 

Elevation
Elevation

 

graduate

gsd: ouagadougou bus shelter network

Diébédo Francis Kéré

This project proposes a network of bus shelters throughout Ouagdougou, Burkina Faso that will improve public transit experiences for residents and visitors, provide community public spaces, promote education for all ages, provide electricity for the public and lessees, and create rent-able spaces. A design for one medium-sized shelter is explored but a network of various sized shelters is proposed. The shelter captures solar energy to power lights and electrical outlets while the roof provides maximum shade during the dry season and water protection during the rainy season. The interesting roof support design would be attractive during the day and when lit from within at night. In addition to seating for bus users, the benches could be used by community members, and the central chalkboard could host tutoring sessions, business meetings, or children practicing drawing and writing.

This design was produced for a January Term course dealing with construction in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. One design from the class’s work will be constructed during Summer 2016 in Africa.

Above: Rendering of shelter during day showing engagement of community members and bus users in the central chalkboard and seating area.

Site Plan

Plan showing how the shelter would interface with buses and enable gathering and learning

 

Typical Plan

Other possible sizes and combinations of modules; bottom left also demonstrates a possible configuration to host a small shop

Night

At night, the rebar supported structure would produce interesting shades and designs, which would enhance the night-time experience of the street

Section

Lightweight yet durable, the structure is easily constructible and replicable across the city.

The proposal uses cheap materials available locally like concrete, rebar supports, and metal roofing as well as solar panel technology

The proposal uses cheap materials available locally like concrete, rebar supports, and metal roofing as well as solar panel technology

graduate

core I: quad neighborhoods dorm

Cristina Parreño

This project, a dormitory, proposes a system of quad rooms composed of two doubles lofted together in order to maximize the use of space in order to fit the given programs. These quads were then arranged to create neighborhoods of quads, providing 3 different living styles for students according to their preference for more individuality, smaller clusters, or larger groups. Certain requirements pertaining to program, overall dimensions, and facade design were given. The efficiency of the quads enable 330 beds to be accommodated in this proposal, 60 more beds than required, and significantly more common space is produced.

Above: Axonometric view of dorm – individual wing at bottom left, small cluster wing at right, and group at top

Unit Plans

Top and bottom plans of group quads and twin quads showing similarities and differences about layout and access

 

Plan

Plan of proposal, arrows showing means of access to each grouping of quads

Renderings

Renderings showing three wing types (from left: cluster, group, and individual)

Sections

Sections of three wing types (from left: cluster, group, and individual)

Physical Model

Physical model

graduate

core I: extensive/intensive

Cristina Parreño

This project uses a transformation system based in Grasshopper to create an architecture that uses intensive processes of convection and conduction thermodynamics in a first state, and the process of radiation in the second to inform the extensive properties. Through a thick envelope, compact structure and central temperature/people circulation system, the first state utilizes the attributes of the stack effect and a central chimney to drive and enhance its thermodynamic system. As the armature unfolds the geometry (in Grasshopper) into a second, exposed state, the radiation and shading enables a completely different thermodynamic and organizational environment. The proposal references, enables, and explores the dichotomy between environments, geometries, thermodynamic systems, and circulation systems.

Above: Exposed state – hot environment

Diagram

Process diagram of shapes used in Grasshopper transformation system; shape selected based on maximum exposure to sun in compact state and maximum exposure to sun and wind in the exposed state

Diagram

Two states analyzed for properties of convection and ability of the building to produce a stack effect

Drawings

Plans and sections of compact and exposed states

Animation

Animated gif showing transformation between compact to exposed states in Grasshopper – although building intended to be able to transition between states in Grasshopper, two states were intended to be static building designs

Diagrams

Program diagram showing where room moves in Grasshopper armature

Render compact

Compact state – cold environment

Physical model - compact

Compact state physical model

Physical model - open

Exposed state physical model

gis

gis: when in rome map

Interactive web map produced for Professor Marjorie Lehman’s List College Senior Capstone Seminar. The project asked students to synthesize their List College and Columbia majors while also relating to the topic of the seminar, “The Jewish Book.”

The interactive map was designed to be a companion map to Professor Burton Visotzky’s book, Aphrodite and the Rabbis: How the Jews Adapted Roman Culture to Create Judaism as We Know It (St. Martins Press, 2016), which details the impact of Greco-Roman society on Judaism. It places all of the Jewish settlements in context with Roman civilization, and allows users to look at the primary material referenced in the text at their leisure.

Check out the map here

Aphrodite and the Rabbis (formerly titled When in Rome) also includes a static map (page 7) which references the Jewish settlements of the Roman World in the context of modern political boundaries.

WiR_Static

undergrad

design III: inhabiting connections, final

Professor Karen Fairbanks

Final permanent pavilion network system in Istanbul. System of interventions that use universal languages (sports, dance, cooking, eating, etc.) to connect locals with curious outsiders like students and travelers.

Board designed to be read as a single day from morning on the left to night on the right with the “Lot” site that involves dance and sport on top and the “Atrium” site that involves cooking and eating below. Originally 130” x 36”

Project teammates: Lauren Espeseth, Rhea Schmid, Sara Shalam

d3_final
Click for more detail

Published by the Barnard + Columbia Architecture Society in TKTNK 2: Portfolio (May 2015, pages 42-45)

2015-05-19 15.26.08 2015-05-19 15.26.36

undergrad

design III: inhabiting connections, midterm

Professor Karen Fairbanks

Using analysis of previous resource research by my group and a transportation-oriented group, the midterm proposal was a temporary structure based on connecting people physically and socially to the Galata Greek School, the site of the 2nd Istanbul Design Biennial. The scaffholding structure allowed for a view of the city (its traffic and development), connected people across a busy street, and mimicked the abundance of construction sites around the city.

Project teammates: Lauren Espeseth, Rhea Schmid, Sara Shalam

Above: Physical model, taking into account topography of site and temporary aesthetic of pavilion

 

Section of proposal showing connection to, through, and within the proposal. Also represents physical connection of structure to site
Section of proposal showing connection to, through, and within the proposal. Also represents physical connection of structure to site. (Click to view more detail)

 

Perspective view from proposal looking towards traffic
Perspective view from proposal looking towards traffic

 

Drawing detailing the materials and their adaptability and reuse
Drawing detailing the materials and their adaptability and reuse

undergrad

design III: resources in istanbul

Professor Karen Fairbanks

This traveling studio is focused on how students tackle design issues in Istanbul, a city in a foreign country, through issues related to resources in the city. The city’s morphology was analyzed with special attention paid to the horizontal development of the city and the treatment of city’s public spaces.

Project Teammate: Rhea Schmid

Above: Photoshop analysis of historical and current Taksim Square photos

Mapping of horizontal development of Istanbul
Mapping of horizontal development of Istanbul

 

Selection from diagrams of Istanbul development
Selection from diagrams of Istanbul development

gis

gis: datascapes and the informal city

Professor Leah Meisterlin

This course focused on various representational techniques that are possible through web mapping which can represent information available but invisible in the city. The initial project was an analysis into the educational attainment of people born in the United States including a static and interactive Mapbox map (click to view map). The final project was to produce a static and interactive web map (click to view map) that investigated available data and visualized the changing demographics around Canal Street. This project comments on the availability of data and the representation of that lack of data.

Above: Interactive final project web map. (Click here to view project on the class site)

data_educational
Static map of investigation into educational attainment of domestic-born residents as compared to immigrants in New York City

 

Interactive web map of investigation into educational attainment of domestic-born residents as compared to immigrants in New York City
Interactive web map of investigation into educational attainment of domestic-born residents as compared to immigrants in New York City. (Click here to view map)

 

Final project static map comparing data visualization techniques employed in final web map by year
Final project static map comparing data visualization techniques employed in final web map by year

competition

sukkahville competition

Gather: The Sukkah of Sticks

Sukkot, like most Jewish holidays, is a time for gathering. While we no longer gather the first fruits to bring to the Temple, we come together in the sukkah to celebrate with family and friends, and appreciate nature in temporary dwellings. Our proposal emphasizes this notion of gathering through its organization, as it allows its users to assemble on the inside, while the aggregated natural materials make up the envelope. These units are spaced to allow light and views to permeate the structure in our interpretation of this traditional, temporary sanctuary.

Drawn from the experience of a forest, our sukkah provides shade during the day, shelter at night, and a sense of comforting enclosure, yet exposure to the natural surroundings. Exploring the ideas of transience and permanence, our sukkah is designed for visitors passing through, or people gathering, sitting, and dwelling within.

Partner: Sara Shalam

View on Sukkahville website

Above: Perspective of sukkah during the day

 

Perspective of sukkah during the night
Perspective of sukkah during the night

 

Plan of sukkah
Plan of sukkah

 

Section of sukkah
Section of sukkah

undergrad

design II: barnard college library proposal

Professor Peter Zuspan

Using the program and site analysis from the midterm, a proposal was designed to utilize and exploit the peer pressure created in the library in a positive manner. Through books that could be removed or rearranged on the shelves, users can organize and occupy each reading room according to their own personal study habits and desires. The entire proposal is designed to encourage users to utilize the social system of the peer pressure, in addition to responding to the unique built environment and circulation of Barnard College. In addition, the proposal adds green space as well as performance space, which is limited on campus.

Above: Perspective of connection between buildings

Cross section of proposal showing reading rooms, performance space, and panopticonal peer pressure system created
Cross section of proposal showing reading rooms, performance space, and panopticonal peer pressure system created

 

Plan of ground floor showing peer pressure
Plan of ground floor showing peer pressure

 

Plan of 3rd floor showing rearrangement of academic materials
Plan of 3rd floor showing rearrangement of academic materials

 

Plan of 4th floor showing peer pressure within the proposal
Plan of 4th floor showing peer pressure within the proposal

 

Plan of roof showing circulation throughout the site
Plan of roof showing circulation throughout the site

 

Elevation of proposal from Broadway
Elevation of proposal from Broadway

 

Detail section of reading rooms and stacks. Through rearrangement of academic materials, users not only glean new connections between subjects, but also create the perfect study environment for themselves
Detail section of reading rooms and stacks. Through rearrangement of academic materials, users not only glean new connections between subjects, but also create the perfect study environment for themselves

undergrad

design II: barnard college library program

Professor Peter Zuspan

Before proposing a library design to replace the existing library on Barnard College’s campus, analysis of library social systems and the site was undertaken which focused on the “peer pressure” that organizes and controls social systems. Using the example of the panopticon, an analysis of the libraries on campus revealed a similar pressure to focus on studying. In addition, the analysis revealed the social system of occupying space through placement of books and other belongings. The proposal also included an interest in rearrangement of books throughout the library, and the unique academic connections that may be made through the new relations. Then analysis of the site was undertaken revealing the agglomeration of several different building types, and the “jig-jogs” of the site which force users to constantly turn during circulation. The midterm project presented these findings.

Above: Analysis of library users and occupation

d2_program_campus
Analysis of Barnard College campus existing “jig-jogs”

 

d2_program_jigjog2
Photo analysis of Barnard College campus circulation flow

 

d2_program_jigjog
Photo analysis of Barnard College campus circulation flow

 

Analysis of peer pressure of panopticon
Analysis of peer pressure of panopticon

gis

gis: methods & case studies

Leah Meisterlin

Introductory GIS class work to teach basic GIS methods thorough projects placed in context of New York City, including analysis of the wifi hotspots in NYC, and Brooklyn families on welfare.

The final report analyzed the impact of 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games on the quality of life in Atlanta and the state of Georgia using GIS.

View final report here (best if viewed in full screen; landscape if on mobile)

Above: Percent change in quality of life by census tract between 1990 and 2000 compared to tracts within 5 miles of Olympic venues, Atlanta Metropolitan District

 

Paid and free wifi spots in Manhattan by community district
Paid and free wifi spots in Manhattan by community district

 

Analysis of Brooklyn households receiving food stamps
Analysis of Brooklyn households receiving food stamps

 

Quality of life index used for final report and analysis
Quality of life index used for final report and analysis

 

Quality of life index by census tract in 1990, Georgia
Quality of life index by census tract in 1990, Georgia

 

Percent change in quality of life by census tract between 1990 and 2000 compared to tracts within 5 miles of Olympic venues, Atlanta Metropolitan District
Percent change in quality of life by census tract between 1990 and 2000 compared to tracts within 5 miles of Olympic venues, Atlanta Metropolitan District

undergrad

design I: ps 101 edible schoolyard

Leah Meisterlin

An analysis of the existing school found that it is imposing from the view of a child due to the materials used, the scale of the school, and the concentration of the materials. The proposal atomizes and reintroduces the existing materials of the school while increasing recreation space and adding new programs to the space including gardens, classrooms, and community space accessible throughout the day. The new programs and more approachable design seeks to inspire students and community members to live healthy lives.

Above: Section drawing showing accessibility of proposal, divisions between school and community space, and proximity between recreation space and gardening areas.

Warped drawing representing intimidating view of existing school building
Warped drawing representing intimidating view of existing school building

 

Analysis of existing school and concentration of intimidating materials
Analysis of existing school and concentration of intimidating materials

 

Diagrams showing increased access to recreation space during cold weather, increased access for community members, and more programmed space
Diagrams showing increased access to recreation space during cold weather, increased access for community members, and more programmed space

 

Plan/program diagram based on access and ideal adjacencies
Plan/program diagram based on access and ideal adjacencies

 

Perspective from recreation area showing accessibility of programs within proposal
Perspective from recreation area showing accessibility of programs within proposal

 

Perspective view from Park Avenue representing more comfortable approach from a child's perspective
Perspective view from Park Avenue representing more comfortable approach from a child’s perspective

 

1st floor plan
1st floor plan

 

3rd floor plan
3rd floor plan

undergrad

design I: third SPAce

Rosalyn Shieh

Spa uses physics of heat to eliminate doors, permitting 24 hour access. The heat and personal space required for each program organizes the spa experience for users. Within the spa are also third spaces that create a space for socializing and interacting outside of the home and workplace regardless of weather or time of day. The spa programs add much needed spa and publicly accessible programs to the site, 6th Avenue and Vandam, NYC.

Above: Longitudinal section representing temperature of program as user moves through spa

Spa program experience diagram based on heat and personal space of users
Spa program experience diagram based on heat and personal space of users

 

Exploded axonometric view showing temperature experience as user moves through space
Exploded axonometric view showing temperature experience as user moves through space

 

1st floor plan
1st floor plan

 

2nd floor plan
2nd floor plan

 

Section including public and spa programs
Section including public and spa programs

 

Perspective of spa exterior, Vandam Street
Perspective of spa exterior, Vandam Street

undergrad

design I: ice melting analysis

Professor Rosalyn Shieh

Analysis of ice dropping into water droplets from plaster and metal ramps compared to “ideal” water drops. Concludes that metal creates more centralized water dispersion and droplets than plaster melting structures.

Above: Metal compared to ideal

Comparison of ice melting to ideal - plaster, left; metal, right.
Comparison of ice melting to ideal – plaster, left; metal, right.

undergrad

perceptions: hair growth analysis & salon concept

Nicole Robertson

An analysis of hair growth after shaving hair, describing the directions in which hair grow over time and the directions in which the razor shaves.

Concept for a ‘pop-up’ hair shaving salon in Times Square providing tourists with location to shave. Proposal also serves as a tourist surveillance device with exterior mirrors for police officers.

Featured in Columbia University GSAPP Abstract 2012-2013 

L-R: growth of hair over 3 months, main directions of hair growth, main razor paths, salon expansion following form of hair analysis, salon allowing interior for shaving and exterior police surveillance
L-R: growth of hair over 3 months, main directions of hair growth, main razor paths, salon expansion following form of hair analysis, salon allowing interior for shaving and exterior police surveillance.

undergrad

abstractions: abstracting a social system

Todd Rouhe

The project began by considering the social system of deciding to sit or stand on the subway. A Cheerio system was devised to record and map that social system and was tested around a public park bench.

The analysis and results were then used to propose a social intervention in Sara D. Roosevelt Park using a series of canopies with musical instruments and a system of seats that were limited, forcing social interactions similar to the choice of sitting or standing on the subway.

Featured in Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP) Abstract 2012-2013

Above: Impact on social system of intervention

Social system diagrams of decision to sit or stand on subway
Social system diagrams of decision to sit or stand on subway

 

Cheerio system and analysis of Cheerio system from Sara D. Roosevelt Park
Cheerio system and analysis of Cheerio system from Sara D. Roosevelt Park

 

Intervention of musical instruments in park
Intervention of musical instruments in park