2025 PORTFOLIO

line by line architectural portfolio adena nirutcha cartsonis

contents

the work shown in this portfolio is something that i can proudly call my own, however is also a product of constant discussions with my professors and, especially, late night idea exchanges (which laser cutters are broken, the impending future after graduation, what to make for dinner) with my studiomates. design is a messy, iterative, and collaborative process. failing to mention the people who made my studio experience feels ingenuine, because really, it is this kind of studio culture and community that creates meaningful work and has continued to push me into the designer i am today. adena nirutcha cartsonis

messy desk.jpg

cover: handdraft of modern language building, umich.jpg

[group/individual] [advisor] [year] [length] [materials] [softwares] [merit]

01

post, compost, trading post

02

ball topography

03

dense but light

04

forest row house

post office, adaptive reuse, consumer waste, paper making

basketball courts, slices of ground, cut and fill

09

men’s gymnastics, fieldhouse, solid void, topography

urban residence, spatial experiences, single family

03

10

14

02

01 post, compost, trading po post office, adaptive reuse, consumer waste, paper making

local grocers proximity site map.jpg

ost

individual work cyrus penarroyo ug3, fall 2024 14 weeks museum board, vellum, basswood, homemade food/fabric scrap paper, acrylic rhino3d, illustrator, photoshop, twinmotion 2025 taubman student show

eastern method

western method

carrots and kozo fiber

homemade recycled paper.jpg

designing postal alternatives for unwanted stuff the u.s.p.s. has been essential in shaping national communication networks, but faces siginifigant challenges today due to cultural, social, and technological changes. these shifts have also driven wasteful consumer habits, especially with the rise of e-commerce and returns, which often end up in landfills due to inefficient reverse logistics. the post is an intermediary between the consumer and retailer becoming a potential vehicle in addressing waste by repurposing unwanted items. post, compost, trading post is an adaptive reuse proposal for the south adams post office in ypsilanti, michigan focusing on confronting overconsumption behaviors by: 1. recycling food an clothing waste into paper for mailing 2. exchanging food and clothing for waste materials to support the community 3. generating compost to power building functions 4. using a pneumatic tube sysem to efficiently and transparently transfer mail

03

an “unwanted“ building due to less demand for postal services, the amount of space required for postal program has signifigantly decreased, and therefore can house postal operations in a much smaller space. the original building is split into the main postal programs and the remaining voids turn into organic spaces. the roof lightly caps these dense original cores, with a hanging catwalk that programmatically connects them.

transformation.gif

first floor plan.jpg

level 1.jpg

04

contrasting thresholds and parallel flows both buildings capture flows in parallel: the processing side receives donated food and apparel waste, sorts and shreds them, and distributes them to composting and paper-making areas. the post side mirrors this process, with private processing in the back and public services in the front. the vertical farm extends the processing space, with sliding polycarbonate panels that allow fresh produce to flow into the trading post. in contrast, the post operates as a separate building, functioning independently without direct access to the farm or composting areas.

office (sectionc).jpg c).jpg post post office (section

level 0.jpg level 0.jpg

05

post adjacencies the main way that this new post confronts overconsumption habits is through its adjacencies of spaces. the post and trading post are both clean spaces that are situated next to the composting and organic spaces. this jarring contrast between these spaces emphasize the building’s material waste processes as well as highlights the sheer amount of waste created by our everyday habits.

post, compost, trading post (section a).jpg

pnuematic tubes the new post office utilizes a pnuematic tube system, an old way of sending mail, to allow users to directly send their mail from the paper trading post to the post office. by fully showing the operations of mailing, growing, and composting, the community is sees how their waste is given a second life, encouraging the community to rethink the lifespans of unwanted items.

pneumatic tube animation.mp4

06

pneumatic tube wheeeeeeeeeee.jpg

compost.jpg

food processing.jpg

paper workshop.jpg

07

section model side proflie.jpg

section model.jpg

processing (section d).jpg

08

02 ball topography

basketball courts, slices of ground, cut and fill

understanding topography as a field this exercise was an introduction to topographical standards and representation to kick off the beginning of the ug2 winter semester. a 50’ by 48’ basketball court was situated onto a site local to the university while understanding site as a field condition. the deliverables include a 1:48 site model, an original topography site plan, an edited topography site plan, and a spot elevation.

individual work jono sturt ug2, winter 2024 one week chipboard, basswood rhino3d, illustrator, photoshop

bball topography.jpg

cut and fill.jpg

09

03 dense but light

men’s gymnastics, fieldhouse, solid void, topography

dixboro dam ann arbor site map.jpg

individual work jono sturt ug2, winter 2024 14 weeks bristol, basswood, poplar wood, cork, corrugated cardboard rhino3d, illustrator, photoshop

topography as a field, sports as a field a fieldhouse is a building concept that balances a field of play and the programmatic spaces that support that kind of play. this project focus on housing competitive men’s gymnastics while also simultaneously housing a quiet community space for the adjacent neighborhoods of the dixboro dam in ann arbor. dixboro dam site map.jpg

10

section b.jpg

level 1.jpg

section a.jpg

section a.jpg

dense but spacious, heavy but light the form is diagrammatically ruled by the contradiction of “dense but light“. the programmatic spaces of the men’s gym (the house) are compressed into the corner of the gymnasium (the field), forming a dense block. yet, there are moments where the surrounding topographical field and the gymnasium field leak into the block, creating voids and moments of relief. the roof follows the same logic. its vast span and folding, which seem to anchor it into the ground, give it a heavy, massive presence. in contrast, the lightweight space frame system that structurally supports the roof creates a tectonic tension, emphasizing its lightness.

11

assembly isometric.jpg

assembly and abstraction the wooden model diagrammatically captures the main formal moves of the gym, reinforcing the relationships between solid versus void, field versus house, and the roof system versus the fieldhouse system. the model was constructed using the bandsaw box approach, where material was extracted from a stack of 2 x 6 poplar planks and reassembled as noted in the above diagram.

roof.jpg

programmatic.jpg

full model.jpg

12

siting ana

field and house

aglyph.jpg

e anaglyph.jpg

viewed best with 3D glasses

13

04 forest row house

urban residence, spatial experiences, single family

siting_1.jpg

siting_2.jpg

balancing extremes this urban residence controls experience through the contrast of tight compressive circulation to expansive domestic spaces. when first entering, residents have no visual conception of the bedrooms, kitchen, living room, and courtyard. it is only after they travel out from the tight continuous stair halls that residents experience a release and are introduced to domestic spaces. the house is diagrammatically ruled by this idea where tight circulation and expansion work on both sides of the house. this residence is an urban adaptation of bohlin cywinski jackson’s forest house.

individual work laura walker ug1, fall 2023 six weeks museum board, basswood, foam core, corrugated cardboard rhino3d, illustrator 2024 taubman student show

level one.jpg

level two.jpg

14

endless circulation upon entering the house, residents only see the long, condensed circulation spaces that run directly through the house in both directions and bypass the domestic spaces of the house.

In this circulation area, the focus is soley outward to the neighboring houses, street, and

circulating (section b).jpg

occupying (section c).jpg occupying (section c).jpg

occupation when the residents enter the domestic areas, the space opens up and reveals a binary stacked organization between public and private areas separated by a courtyard. The slanted roof perpendicular to the courtyard view creates a contraposto effect where the eyes are drawn to the courtyard while the body is pulled in the direction of expanding space.

15

core model full.jpg core model_1.jpg

core model_2.jpg

transitioning (section a).jpg

transitions this short section highlights the highest point of tension between between the narrow circulation and the expansive domestic spaces. the balcony pulls back elongating the circulation space while allowing the two floors to combine into a double height space, making the contrasting effect even more extreme.

16

fin. thank you.