Selected Works 2022 | 2023 | 2024
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MB Studio Internship
Synthesis of Design Intent and Construction Detail
Appelt Aggieland Visitors’ Center
Structural Strategies and Concise Integration
Climbing Castells
Learning Through Urban Cultural Exploration
Colony Ontology
Digital Manipulation of Objects and Machines
Urban Introspector Representational
Summer 2024 Internship
Office | 10440 E Northwest Highway Suite 301, Dallas, Texas, United States
Principals | Matthew Beam & Mylea Beam
MB Studio | The Architecture Collective
During the summer of 2024 (May 13th to August 8th), a unique opportunity opened to work at MB Studio. As a design intern directly under the principals of Matthew Beam and Mylea Beam, an informative experience unfolded. Work included a variety of disciplines in various stages of design development, the most notable projects including the Nguyen Residence (design development and construction documentation) and Emerge Salon Suites (conceptual design through to construction documentation).
Even though MB Studio is small by definition, the environment felt similar to a medium-sized firm of 10 - 20 employees. Various Dallas area firms had formed The Architecture Collective, sharing experience and resources to make this a reality. The result was an incredible setting where learning and growth came naturally. Working here and gaining valuable insight from industry professionals proved invaluable. The greatest among these insights included synthesizing design intent and construction detail. Similar to how projects start at Texas A&M University, concepts and research form the basis for how each project responds to the client’s unique situation and identity. From the conceptual design phase features aiming to provide great function are included, eventually refined during the construction documentation phase. This fusion enlightened a new way of thinking about design.
Most of the documentation shown here is of the Nguyen Residence. Various documents developed for eventual construction show the coalescence of design elements intended to serve various functions. Important among them is a large overhanging roof that provides a horizontal datum and shade for Mrs. Nguyen, who is a frequent gardener. Hidden drain downspouts inside the columns help clarify the façade defined by the roof, with a secondary datum used for clerestory windows serving a similar function. Shown on the right are two plans from Project Oasis. Besides focusing on construction documents, design work also punctuated time spent at MB Studio, including rendered plans and programming.
Fall 2023 Studio
Site | College Station, Texas, United States
Instructor | Andrew Hawkins
Collaborator | Marc Coates
Texas A&M University needs an upscaled visitors’ center that can provide space for the rapidly increasing flow of visitors each year. Understanding that traditions would be a major part of the visitors’ experience at Texas A&M, rhythm was chosen as a concept to reflect the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band’s commitment to spirit. Designing rhythmic structural and voided space as a method of enchanting the visitors’ A&M experience thus became the driving concept behind our proposal for the Appelt Aggieland Visitors’ Center.
As an integrated studio, the focus lay on designing functioning structural and mechanical systems that would replicate real practice. As a tool for concise integration mass timber frames were arranged rhythmically to encapsulate the massing of the project while also fitting into the core concept. Mechanical systems were placed into the floor space in between the levels allowing for the ceiling to remain open and the rhythmic structural frames to remain visible. Further integration strategies such as placing lighting inside the double beam frames of the structure allowed for cohesion in the overall design.
Rhythmically arranging the parti massing allowed for a simple yet site-specific approach that was influenced by the rhythmic urban planning of the greater Texas A&M University campus. The first level was split into three forms to allow for covered outdoor space as tour groups gathered and dispersed. Secondfloor massing was designed to connect each first-floor volume so that interior flow was unbroken.
Spring 2023 Studio
Site | Gràcia, Barcelona, Spain
Instructor | Miguel Roldán | David Espuña
Barcelona Architecture Center
Individual Project | Study Abroad
Gràcia is one of Barcelona’s oldest and most culturally significant neighborhoods. Its rich geographic history between the Collserola Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea helped foster a unique farming community. Ancient streams provided water for farming efforts, and the resulting community organized long plots of land in an early urbanization effort. Through time, Gràcia has become architecturally similar to the rest of Barcelona, yet culturally it stands out. Festa Major de Gràcia, celebrated every year in the fall, is one of the biggest holidays celebrated in the region. The culture here is rich, but still very urban.
In an attempt to create a unified expression between the cultural hub that Gràcia is today with the architectural and geographical history of its past, an abstraction of the geometry of the streams was combined with historical vernacular architecture. The design functionally acts as a climbing gym to aid in the preparations of Festa Major de Gracia’s iconic human towers (castells), as well as an open-air garden that can allow the dense neighborhood some room to breathe. Climbers can choose between tall endurance routes on the upper level, which connects through a slope to the major road of the area, or more traditional climbing walls on the lower street level.
The site, shaded green and located north of the Plaça de la Vila de Gràcia, is in an ideal location for Festa Major de Gràcia. Ancient streams and nearby plazas are also closely connected.
Spring 2022 | T4T Lab
Site | Unspecified Grain Elevator, Colorado, United States
Instructor | Gabriel Esquivel | Patrick Danahy
Collaborators | Maggie Martin | Aidan Lozano | Sophie Trevino
An advanced architectural object, created using various artificial intelligence tools, theoretical research, and a multitude of creative design processes. It started with an assemblage composed of grain elevators that inspired Le Corbusier and evolved into an indistinct duality between the invasion of apian and human machines. Both function in the creation of an autopoietic machine; one that can sustain itself. Each constituent part is simultaneously equal in ontology, yet creates a whole greater than its parts. A synthesized object ambiguous in scale, apart from the grain elevator complex it rests upon.
Artificial intelligence played a large role in the creation of the object. Perceptual image rearranging (LPips / Quadtree) and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) were used during iterative massing, material defining, and representational efforts. Gilles Deleuze’s Difference and Repetition and Graham Harman’s Object Oriented Ontology informed the majority of research used to craft the object’s narrative. Softwares such as Grasshopper created the various machines that live within the object, and Rhino was used for modeling. The process of designing this object often involved a multi-disciplinary approach between both modeling software and A.I. programs.
Vignettes of the object are ambiguous. Their order is not immediately apparent, and only certain stand-out details can be identified. Some include the ground and sky conditions, each representing a component machine. Each element of the object, such as vernacular forms, machines, and materials contributes to the assemblage in their own way.
Depicted in the above images are two of the machine components that infest the object. Apian machinery, shown on the left, appears almost alien, yet inhabits the object in the same manner as human machinery, which is shown on the right. Does the object belong to the Anthropocene as defined by an age dominated by man?
International Studies
Site | Various Urban European Locations
Individual Project | Study Abroad
During my time spent abroad in Europe, photography allowed me to document my travels. More importantly, however, it created an avenue for urban exploration and introspection. Most of my life up until this point was spent in suburban or college environments, which limited my ability to explore, get lost, and dream whilst amid an urban landscape. Daydreaming in particular allowed me to compose myself during breaks from my studies or represent the urban locations I experienced through stylistic photography. Even though my suburban life has been disconnected from the urban, I still dream about the architectural landscape.
Clear Reflections, a photo I captured in Madrid, marks the start of my introspection. Inner reflections can make a cautious man. By dreaming in unfamiliar spaces I interpret, analyze, and memorize. Does the reflection of the past mark a greater designed future? Vertical Dream (Concise Fog) attempts to answer this idea. Enveloped by fog, Sintra offers a vertical idea. One of conciseness. Past informs future, yet dreaming of designs from bygone eras only results in more fog. Can I manipulate an urban environment only by dreaming? Ancient clarifies the dream, but only in diminishing amounts. Continued urban exploration is good for the soul. The discovery of Serene Madeleine I & II and their relationship to the dream make it all clear. A contemporary dream, urban evolution, and clarity from the fog. Only memory remains, but design is always in my future.
