Work Sample - Alexander Russo

foam (model completed by Alexander Russo)

academic - design

academic - make | installations, experiences, artifacts

x 32”) - CNC medium density foam (completed by Alexander Russo, Justin Ziegler, and Kenneth Kramer)

wellness + home retail + home fuel + wildlife

commercial residential institutional

design

oasis

Justin Ziegler

Kenneth Kramer

Advisor(s) - Mark Scott

Kevin Sullivan

Parke MacDowell

Program - health + wellness clinic

diagnostic screening center + lab fitness center + fitness park affordable microhousing community garden + greenhouses

Our team defines wellness to be a holistic cultivation of one’s health through medicine, activity, and community. Our program embodies this concept by providing much needed fitness space, communal gardens and greenhouses, affordable housing, and a neighborhood health clinic.

These programmatic features are architecturally defined by the stepping and overlapping of the masses, offsetting the spaces in order to establish their distinct identities while encouraging a sense of collective community.

Project Brief | “Oasis is a neighborhood health and community center designed to serve and strengthen Chinatown. The site is densely urban and reflects three centuries of Boston’s evolution and development.”

Fall 2022 | Payette CDR OpenLab Studio Location - Chinatown | Boston, MA Group - Alexander Russo

Building model 1/16”=1’ (20” x 12” x 10”) - acrylic, wood veneer, PLA, foam, misc. materials (model completed by Alexander Russo)

Floor 01

Public Atrium

Res Mailroom

Clinic - Diagnostic

Clinic - Imaging

Clinic - Waiting

Clinic - Mechanical

Clinic - Loading dock

Floor 02

Fitness Park

Fitness Changing Public Restroom Park Lounge

Clinic - Phlebotomy Clinic - Lab

Clinic - Staff Offices

Clinic - Staff Lounge

Clinic - Mechanical Clinic - Waiting Clinic - Mechanical

Floor 04 - 08

ADA Triple Res Unit (1 per floor)

ADA Single Res Unit (1 per floor)

Double Res Unit (1 per floor)

Single Res Unit (4 per floor)

Res - Laundry Lounge (F04, F06)

Res - Family Room (F05, F08)

Res - Co-working (F07)

Res - Park (F04)

(model

Monolithic quarter scale facade and window mock-up (42” x 66”) - CNC medium density foam (model completed by Alexander Russo)

1+1+1=4

Summer 2022 | Virginia Tech

Location - Downtown | Blacksburg, VA

Individual - Alexander Russo

Advisor(s) - Hunter Pittman

Henri de Hahn

Program - townhomes

multifamily residential single family residential bookstore audiophile + vinyl music shop cafe playgrounds

The corner lot combines a historic book and vinyl record dealer, unique dining experiences, a full range of housing options, a public plaza, and a novel rooftop playground and community space. Three separate structures create an urban collage of masses, colors, textures, and environments.

A strong focus on long term adaptability and future renovations were considered, resulting in a unique structural combination of precast concrete, mass timber, and dimensional lumber. Extreme care was given to each structures identity, configuration, and materials while maintaining an overall awareness of the new community that was to be created. Functional aspects of the project such as constructability and future lot subdivision were also considered.

Project Brief | A new mixed-use project is to be built in downtown Blacksburg, VA.

Mixed Use + Public Park + ADA Loft Residences

Construction Sequencing and Logistics

Structure fully prefabricated off-site and craned into place (175 ton all terrain crane)

First building to start in construction sequence

Second building to be completed

Crane + equipment staged on side street + site - minimal road closures

Structural Components

CIP Concrete Foundation + Lower Level

Precast Concrete Inverted Tee + L Beams

Precast Concrete Columns

Precast Concrete Walls

CLT Floor Plates

Finishes and Materials

Limestone Dry Stack Gabions + Creeping Plants (FL01)

Channel Glass Facade System (FL01)

Limestone Rainscreen (FL02 - FL03)

Galvanized Steel Standing Seam Siding (FL04)

Polished Concrete and Wood Floors (FLS1 - FL04)

the refueling station

2013-2014 | Middlebury College

Location - Route 7 South | Middlebury, VT

Individual - Alexander Russo

Advisor(s) - John McLeod

Program - fuel storage fuel dispensary wildlife rehabilitation vehicular adventure

Project Brief | A new gas station is to be built in rural Middlebury, VT. The undeveloped site along Vermont Route 7 lies outside of the historic downtown and surrounded by unremarkable offices and small town sprawl.

The refueling station wants to be a refueling station, facilitating automobility and enabling freedom. It does not want to be a restaurant, or a store, or a house, or anything but a refueling station.

Yet it offers respite within its pavement boundaries. Vehicles are drawn in from the steady flow, pausing briefly to fill up fuel tanks, before once again joining onward progression. Visitors are captivated by the wildflowers and wildlife that has been allowed to engulf the site around the tanks. Above ground fuel storage opens up the possibility for new fuel technologies and minimal site destruction. The structure interacts with the seasons and provides a relaxing but novel experience.

Site massing study models (10” x 5” x 7”) - medium density foam, acrylic, walnut, PLA (models completed by Alexander Russo)

make installations experiences artifacts

pontiac projects | lawntower 1.1

2015-2016 | Cranbrook Academy of Arts

Location - Bloomfield Hills, MI

Individual - Alexander Russo

Advisor(s) - Bill Massie

Program - play fun curiosity happiness community neighborhood property ownership

- 1.3

Project Brief | While living at Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills – a wealthy enclave to the northwest of Detroit, Michigan – I purchased a small plot of land in nearby Pontiac to work on. A once booming industrial center for the automotive industry in Detroit, Pontiac had faced a steady decline in the past few decades and contained an abundance of vacant land. My property had an array of houses on it throughout the century, the last of which had been razed roughly ten years prior.

Lawntowers were furniture sized living experiments to construct a vertical grass landscape. Damaged discarded SIPS were upcycled to cast concrete landscapes that would support grass towers. Seed impregnated soil “burritos” were wrapped in cheese clothe and wire mesh with internal irrigation pipes. The concrete would catch soil and seed runoff and introduce new growth. Wheels allowed the lawntowers to migrate around the studio and get plenty of light.

pontiac projects | the forklift swing

Project Brief | Interested in bringing the backyard swing set into a bold new environment, I set out to have a bit of playful fun with a forklift, some rope, and a piece of wood. Alongside Lone Pine Road in Bloomfield Hills lies the historic Cranbrook campus. Locally renowned as an elite K-12 boarding school, neighbors often forgot that the architecturally esteemed grounds also hosted a graduate art academy and all the creative mischief that entails.

Cars normally sped past the unassuming stone wall and copper roofed studio, but were delightfully surprised to find grown adults happily swinging back and forth…

Focused on occupying contrasting spaces and abstractly moving within those spaces – the forklift swing was an intriguing spectacle in a typically unused buffer zone, a simple party trick that brought the peripheral into focus.

2015-2016 | Cranbrook Academy of Arts

Location - Bloomfield Hills, MI

Individual - Alexander Russo

Advisor(s) - Bill Massie

Program - play fun curiosity joy surprise wonder happiness community neighborhood

pontiac projects | my little star

2015-2016 | Cranbrook Academy of Arts

Location - 133 Houston St. Pontiac, MI

Individual - Alexander Russo

Advisor(s) - Bill Massie

Program - play fun curiosity joy happiness wonder holiday cheer community neighborhood

Project Brief | As the holidays were approaching and my neighborhood was lacking in festive spirit, I decided to create a beacon of hope on my bleak lot. There were a few caveats though. I had been told that the “low hanging fruit” would often go missing thanks to a mischievous group of local kids - so height was paramount. My yard had no electricity naturally, and my ladder was too unstable to reach any higher...

A wooden star was built and fitted with solar powered rope lights that would begin rhythmically flashing every night at dusk. The star was hung high atop a utility pole at the corner of the lot. The star was intended to inspire a friendly competition of holiday cheer amongst the neighbors - who wasted no time noticing it and inquiring when theirs would be done and installed.

Only one star could be a guiding light through the neighborhood though...

pontiac projects | lawnpump 1.1

Project Brief | Once the ground had thawed in the spring, I headed back to my land with a shovel to do a bit of spring landscaping.

The Clinton River Trail bordered one side of my triangular lot and was a primary reason I purchased the property. My backyard provided direct access to 17 miles of relatively flat and straight terrain, which further connected with a vast regional network of more flat multi-use trails. Interested in providing passersby a temporary detour and a subtle contrasting experience, I introduced an undulating narrow path of four large bumps alongside the main trail.

It turns out that birds were just as intrigued with the fresh dirt and miniature hills as trail-goers. Upon completion, robins and jays would run up and down the peaks and troughs of soft dirt, scouting the terrain around for snacks and good views. So I decided they needed a few more perches to give them an even greater vantage point to scout from.

2015-2016 | Cranbrook Academy of Arts

Location - 133 Houston St. Pontiac, MI

Individual - Alexander Russo

Advisor(s) - Bill Massie

Program - play fun curiosity happiness community neighborhood property ownership

painting with robots

Spring 2021 | Virginia Tech

Location - Blacksburg, VA

Individual - Alexander Russo

Advisor(s) - Frank Weiner

Materials - Masonite hardboard acrylic paint ABB robot math errors surprises happy accidents

Project Brief | Paintings exploring color, geometry, robotics, and the Fibonacci sequence.

The paintings were designed to be collaborative pieces between myself and an industrial ABB robot. I would make a series of marks - lines, stripes, bars - and then the robot arm would paint its own series of marks based on a computer model of my intended marks. My precision, or lack thereof, would be highlighted by the robots own movement and mark making - overlapping and missing each other.

COVID-19 and logistics didn’t allow the collaboration - so the paintings remain half finished awaiting a future robot...

joints

Spring 2021 | Virginia Tech

Location - Blacksburg, VA

Individual - Alexander Russo

Advisor(s) - Frank Weiner

Materials - 1-1/2” PVC birch plywood stainless steel acrylic diffuser sheet

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A sculptural study of atypical joining connections between common objects performed as an exercise in reenvisioning how objects come together. The spatial conditions of the joint were considered along with a range of possible scales. Extra care was taken in constructing environments to photograph the objects within.

Project Brief

Study how parts meet through a single material - joints, joining, intersections, inside, outside, around, between, within.

light sack

Project Brief | Design a luminaire focused on the intersection of handcraft and digital fabrication.

Intrigued by the idea of bringing the warmth of a campfire indoors, I set out to make a sack of warm light that could be hung above from the ceiling or tossed onto the ground. The sack is made of 8 flexible plywood panels woven together, while the bulb is housed separately in an all-terrain cradle that protects it when tossed about. The all-terrain cradle also gives form to the sack when picked up and allows it to slump with gravity when resting on the floor.

Winter 2014 | Middlebury College

Location - Middlebury, VT

Individual - Alexander Russo

Advisor(s) - Christopher Nielson

Sam Ostrow

Materials - birch plywood

string

IKEA corded socket

LED bulb

high end residential

fabrication

1 2 3 4

kern/rockenfield inc.

2015-2018 | Kern/Rockenfield Inc.

Location - New York, NY

Professional - fabricator installer finisher

Supervisor(s) - Chris Acquaviva, Michael Andrus

Manager(s) - John Kern Larry King

Project Brief | All parts custom fabricated, machined, welded/brazed, and finished (sanded, polished, patinated, etc.) from stock material.

1 - 3 | Shower doors (5), water closet doors (5), transom windows (5) and enclosures (5) mirror polished stainless steel, custom pulls mirror polished stainless steel, custom hardware, custom glazing (assist - team of 6 - fabrication, finishing, installation)

4 | Makeup vanity, sink vanities (2), medicine cabinets (4), mirrors (2) mirror polished nickel plated brass and bronze, custom glazing, custom mother-of-pearl vanity tops, custom hardware (lead - team of 3 - fabrication, finishing, installation)

5 - 6 | Office desk custom satin/brushed stainless steel louvers, patinated brass trim, steel subframe

kern/rockenfield inc.

2015-2018 | Kern/Rockenfield Inc.

Location - New York, NY

Professional - fabricator installer finisher

Supervisor(s) - Chris Acquaviva, Michael Andrus

Manager(s) - John Kern Larry King

Project Brief | All parts custom fabricated, machined, welded/brazed, and finished (sanded, polished, patinated, etc.) from stock material.

1 | Elevator entryway enclosure, front door, sliding door, matching office doors (2), and jambs (2) blackened satin/brushed solid steel, custom glazing, custom hardware, patina (lead - team of 4 - fabrication, installation)

2 - 3 | Inset door pivot (2) steel, custom hardware, brass bushings, prefinished prototype

4 - 5 | Shower and water closet doors, jambs (2), transom windows (2) satin/brushed brass, bronze, patina, custom hardware (lead - team of 4 - fabrication, installation)

Alexander Russo

Objective

Trade Experience

Professional Experience

Education

Skills

alexanderr@vt.edu

484.554.0138

I am a dual degree architecture and construction management graduate student seeking a full time design and/or construction position in the Mid-Atlantic or Northeast regions.

Architectural Metal Fabricator | OSHA 30 Certified Kern / Rockenfield Inc. New York, NY 2015-2018

- Fabricated high-end residential metalwork for renowned architecture firms

- Coordinated site installation in response to GC and architect concerns

- Coordinated with project managers and trade partners on site to execute projects

Graduate Teaching Assistant

Myers-Lawson School of Construction, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 2023-Present

- Trained 80+ students in BIM (Revit, Navisworks, Bluebeam Revu, Microsoft Project, etc.)

- Mentored 60+ students on leadership, team building, and conflict management.

Office Assistant

Center for Design Research (CDR), Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 2023

- Planned, designed and reviewed exhibition materials

- Coordinated installation of exhibit at historic Branch Museum in Richmond, VA

Graduate Teaching/Research Assistant

School of Architecture, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 2020-2023

- Designed and fabricated clay printer for an ABB industrial robot

- Analyzed and reviewed concept design for student led design-build project

- Reviewed student work, responded to inquires, and managed grading for 150+ students

Student Project Co-Leader

Faculty Research, School of Architecture and Design, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 2022

- Managed and coordinated design and fabrication of faculty material research project

- Installed in Virginia Tech’s Creativity and Innovation District (CID) LLC Residence Hall

Graduate Teaching Assistant

Myers-Lawson School of Construction, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 2022

- Reviewed student work, responded to inquires, and managed grading for 40+ students

Customer Service Specialist

The Home Depot, Inc. Phoenix, AZ 2020

- Optimized customer experience during peak COVID-19 restrictions

- Reviewed purchase orders and scheduled deliveries

MS, Building Construction Science & Management 2023

Myers-Lawson School of Construction, Virginia Tech

Master of Architecture Candidate 2024

School of Architecture, Virginia Tech

- OpenLab Studio, Payette + Center for Design Research (Virginia Tech)

BA, Joint Degree - Architecture | Studio Art 2014

Middlebury College

- Magna Cum Laude, Highest Honors

Revit, Rhino, Adobe Suite, Navisworks, MS Project + Office, Bluebeam

Fabrication + Finishing + Machining: Metal, Wood, Composites, Plastics

Laser Cutting + 3D/FDM Printing + CNC Machining

Installation/Sitework: Metal, Wood, Glass, Composites

Basic Construction Knowledge: Electrical, Plumbing, Structural, Finishes