MEGAN KORTENHOF ARCHITECTURE UNDERGRAD
EXPERIENCE Universal Design and Diversity: UCARE Student Researcher - College of Architecture, University of Nebraska - Lincoln Advisor - Sarah Deyong In depth research on universal design and implementation of research through extensive development of a proposal for a progressive student learning center on UNL’s campus. This project was conducted to contribute to professor Sarah Deyong’s future publication on studio teaching pedagogy.
2021 - CURRENT
Story, Worlds, and Speculative Design Lab: UCARE Student Researcher - College of Emerging Media Arts, University of Nebraska - Lincoln Advisor - Ash E. Smith Role as a lead student researcher and designer within an interdisciplinary design lab. High degree of focus on collaboration as the team works with Taliesin at Arcosanti to develop an immersive story telling experience through AR and conceptualize community-uplifting architecture for Seabreeze, NC.
2020 - 2021
EDUCATION University of Nebraska Lincoln – Current 3.87 GPA Honors Program Architecture, Major History, Minor
2018 - 2022
Burnsville High School 3.98 GPA Earned High Distinction Honors
2014 - 2018
SKILLS Proficient in Rhino Adobe suite - Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro Microsoft office UNITY V-Ray, Lumion, Enscape Working knowledge of Grasshopper Revit Auto CAD
0.1 FRAME Professor: Sarah Deyong
This proposal for a Student Learning Commons offers a new home for thinkers, creators and activists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The design is both literally and metaphorically a flexible framework, constructed mainly out of wood, to house the ever-changing needs of the community. The design, moreover, advances UNL’s mission on diversity and anti-racism, proactively integrating anti-ableist spatial strategies, and other inclusive narratives. UNL’s city campus was defined in 1926 by the Seymour Plan in response to the university’s rapid growth. The plan was based on Beaux-Arts principles, with distinct neoclassical structures framing quads and malls, laid out on a grid relating to the broader urban fabric. The mall running North to South as a continuation of 14th street marks the boundary between the academic core to the West, and the student housing and community spaces to the East.
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On either side of this mall is a treeline running through the middle of a large, open quad that is presently under-utilized due, in part, to its relatively vast scale and size. The proposal bi-sects the existing quad into two smaller quads with the building itself, while strengthening the connection to 14th street and the city beyond. The H-shape of the building activates each quad with activities and turns the mall into a street. The west block is dedicated to educational activities, and the east block, to resources, recreation and mixed-use spaces, thus corresponding to the west and east quads they face. And the use of dark, natural wood for the structure, floors and ceilings spatially foreground framed views of trees, bringing natural daylight and exterior views into the interior. UNL considers all outdoor space on campus as public, where a variety of activities can happen, including the staging of civilized, non-violent protests.
Project Team: Megan Kortenhof and Ethan Boerner | Fall 2020
The proposal meets ADA standards for accessible design, including fire safety and egress, but also goes beyond t incorporating several anti-ableist spatial strategies. Four lobbies/vertical cores give equal access to upper stories to horizontal circulation is marked with bays at 10 ft intervals, facilitating wayfinding for the blind; and visual relations b for the hearing impaired. Similarly, furniture layouts address a variety of study habits inclusive of people with differen both hand-washing and grooming facilities.
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them, by drawing on the research of Ellen Lupton and Andrea Lipps on The Senses: Design Beyond Vision, and people in wheelchairs; the ground floor is on grade with the exterior, removing the need for ramps and stairs; the between circulation and programmed areas, both horizontally and diagonally across floor levels, support way-finding nt mental (eg. ADHD) and physical disabilities. Each restroom is gender-neutral, with floor to ceiling partitions, and
Project Team: Megan Kortenhof and Ethan Boerner | Fall 2020
The program for the new Learning Commons builds on class research on UNL’s mission on diversity, equity and in UNL already has a food pantry but its visibility prevents many students from getting the help they need. Discreetly im East and West blocks create an active streetscape and define the edge of both quads. Entrances and large, sliding door and education. Each side of the streetscape is 18’ wide, ensuring two-way foot and occasional automotive traffic c performers, food trucks, parades, outdoor events, and pop-up vendors for the many student organizations focused student interaction on a daily basis. This proposal for a Student Learning Commons integrates spatial strategies and In coming years, community-oriented, multi-use spaces and workspaces resembling studios or workshops are proj be rearranged and tailored to new functions and ideas. But most importantly, integral to the proposal is the belief th this day, benefits all users of the UNL community.
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nclusion and leverages existing programs, such as the food pantry, town and gown events, and community outreach. mmersing a food pantry into a larger store works to destigmatize the need for assistance. Along the 14th Street mall, the rs allow the program to spill out onto both the street and the adjacent quads, utilizing the benefits of integrating nature can comfortably fit. This opens up opportunities to bring community events to the middle of campus, such as street d on diversity, equity and inclusion. Allowing these activities to happen in a well-trafficked area of campus promotes a novel program so that the new building can be a place for groups and individuals who strive for a more just future. jected to be prioritized over lecture halls and study rooms. The frame-like nature of the structure means spaces can hat designing for individuals that have been systematically disadvantaged or discriminated against, historically and to
Project Team: Megan Kortenhof and Ethan Boerner | Fall 2020
0.2 EASTON PAVILION Professor: Ellen Donnelly
“Antidotes to the ills of urban life” - In context of the present day, this can take on a new identity as promoting com one of the biggest detriments to the wellbeing of the human experience. Encouraging interaction between strangers a into a degree of living that is not only sustainable but actually fulfilling. The solution to the ‘ills of urban life’ c empathy, and other qualities we have lost in this industrialized/capitalist society. Education’s role in fostering empa and strengthen the community through using the structures to expand the preexisting meander. This does not requi education, and appreciation.
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mmunity to combat a highly individualistic society. The isolation of the individual (or individual families) is arguably and furthermore forming bonds for one another to lean into is crucial if we want to come out of these latest challenges can be as obvious as an increased immersion in nature, but it can also be the promotion of a sense of community, athy is important to note here. The Ames estate pavilion will deepen one’s connection with the surrounding nature ire an egocentric, assuming, building to do so, but instead attempts to be an undetectable platform for collaboration,
Project Team: Megan Kortenhof | Spring 2021
This specific proposal in Easton, MA is placed on the site in a way that celebrates the preserved landscape. Running North-South, it sits on the top of a slope, opening up to the greenery below. The bay of windows facing East highlights the larger expanse of the park. The North end frames the nearest most pond, giving the platform within the structure a picturesque backdrop. Likewise, the South end also gives uninterrupted views of the largest body of water in the premise, Shovelshop Pond. A punctured concrete wall screens the pavilion from the entry road and allows the pavilion to be not only inviting but also provocative. This border wall creates a courtyard effect, inviting city-dwellers immersing in the sometimes daunting natural scene an approachable way to interact with the immediate outdoors.
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The smaller historic buildings on the site will remain and be re purposed to house other programs such as a greenhouse and lab. The proximity of the pavilion to these buildings and the desire lines spawning from them was especially considered. Wooden panels flank the lengths of the pavilion and can open up or close down due to the respective time of day and year. This provides flexibility to shading needs and doesn’t requiring the building to be permanently screened. Windows under the panels also fully open to promote fresh air circulation, an accommodation necessary for sites like Easton where they experience both harsh winters and beautiful summers.
Project Team: Megan Kortenhof | Spring 2021
0.3 E. WARREN AVE Professor: Ellen Donnelly
This community center in Detroit, MI presents the opportunity to tackle a diverse range of issues as its nature is of versatility. The architecture strives to find a balance between celebrating the area’s history and uplifting the community by offering new habitats and ideas to flourish. This is intrinsically tied with creating a space that is not only welcoming to all its visitors but pulls community members in. Comfortable accessibility can be used in this way to fight the stigmatization, and in general, the issues that plague those who are poorer. Using the requested program in the right way can also allow diverse uses of the project to aid these goals. This project used a palette approach to develop a range of uses, manifesting in a ‘landscape of spaces’, so to speak. Keeping the program open can allow uses such as community gatherings, pop-ups, exhibitions, classes, and visitor information to take place. This in turn can allow the proposal to spill beyond its physical boundaries into multiple outreaches in the community.
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Project Team: Megan Kortenhof and Lizzy Kramer | Spring 2021
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
SCALE 1’-0” = 3/16”
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
SCALE 1’-0” = 3/16”
Our site is located in an area with TMSO restrictions, which means our response to the context relies heavily on these facade were utilized in a way that makes the community center a point of interest to passerbyers. We wanted to ensur spaces that can accompany needs high on the community’s list. This includes, but is not limited to, local business We also wanted to dedicate a portion of the site to outdoor space and break up the dense street facade with a pocket the first and second floors to fulfill a lack of their supply in the area.
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SECOND FLOOR PLAN
SCALE 1’-0” = 3/16”
e rules decided upon by the community that will occupy it. Restrictions such as the opacity allowance of the building re that we created a space on our site that could be used by the whole neighborhood. We did this by creating versatile pop-up spaces (ie. retail), a bakery and coffee shop, a local restaurant, and a space for artists and makers of all ages. t park that blends into the circulation of the building. One and two bedroom apartments were chosen specifically for
Project Team: Megan Kortenhof and Lizzy Kramer | Spring 2021
CORRUGATED CORTEN STEEL
CORRUGATED CORTEN STEEL
GRAVEL
TIES FOR CORTEN STEEL
PLATE FOR TIES
FLOORING SUBFLOOR WOOD FLOOR JOIST
GLASS
STEEL WINDOW FRAME
WOOD WALL STUDS
PLATE FOR CEILING FINISH CEILING
4” CONCRETE SLAB 5-1/2” RIGID INSUL. 4” CRUSHED STONE UNDER SLAB COMPACTED FILL
WALL SECTION
SCALE 1’-0” = 3/4”
PRECAST CONCRETE PRECAST CONCRETE STRUCTURAL WALL SYSTEM 3-1/2” INSULATION DRYWALL
0.4 MONTESSORI Professor: Hillary Wiese
Montessori investigates the capacities of education to rehearse new forums for critical thinking beyond the pedagogical imperatives. The school engages with a pedagogy of play, where learning and participating are paralleled activities centered around the fun-loving, non-hierarchical, and do it yourself spirit of the Fluxus and other avant-garde collectives in the 1960s. The use of play as a teaching strategy is not a radical idea. Progressive education theorists like Friedrich Froebel, John Dewey and Maria Montessori all believed that learning through playing was “serious work” – it promotes agency, imagination, exploration and social awareness in children. However, by the time children reach adulthood, the imagination, freedom, and leisure associated with play slowly diminish. Yet even as play turns into work, the desire to play is ever-present in the adult contemporary world. Play is sublimated into our culture in other ways: through myths, the justice system, ritual ceremonies, war and art.
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Project Team: Megan Kortenhof | Spring 2020
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Education, then, offers a mode of play – one that requires balancing autonomy with instruction, open-ended inquiry with results and institutional demands. The school’s ultimate goal is to continue this pedagogical practice of play as an imperative tool for rethinking educational programs and the spaces we occupy. The pedagogical practices of play declare that social imagination should guide practices of architecture. Social imagination is an important skill that should not be hindered from a young age. It denotes our future intellectual activity centered around critically observing social contexts and utilizing available resources in favor of new social possibilities. Designing architecture that focuses on human experiences and desires.
Project Team: Megan Kortenhof | Spring 2020
0.5 BRUTALIST PLAYGROUND Professor: Hillary Wiese
The temporality of a material is something that instinctively sparks a fascination within the human mind. Its ability to feel and portray the forces of nature and of human interaction is powerful and has an unending capacity to influence. Ruins from times of war remind us of an ugly influence that is easy to push to the back of our heads unless we are face to face with the remainders of destruction. It is often the memories we long to forget that are the most important to keep around. A material holds more value not in a pristine condition but as a translator of a memory. Experiencing the memory is the best way to hear its message, therefore perfect preservation should not be of concern but interaction with what has been presented instead. Walking through a place that has experienced the wrath of destruction conjures up feelings one can get no where else, it is, above all, a material’s most important quality.
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Project Team: Megan Kortenhof | Spring 2020
The exploration of the temporality of concrete became a rich precedent for a children’s playground. Diverting destructive zones. Auto destructive areas are an underutilized way to let children blow off steam and push back again pressing to adults is more times than not a space they can handle on their own. The auto destruction playground’s as decision making and confidence that are missing in recent parenting styles.
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from the stereotypical playground and veering towards and outdoor educational area gave rise to a focus of auto nst the trend of over parenting seen today. Allowing children to create and play in areas were danger might seem too three areas, developed off of extensive reference exploration, allows children to build important character skills such
Project Team: Megan Kortenhof | Spring 2020