Instructor: Emma Silverblatt
Location Team
01 TETRA HOMES
Trumansburg, NY
Julian Helbling
Tetra Homes introduces a low-income housing solution in Trumansburg, New York, blending functionality with prefabricated manufacturing to serve those just below the Area Median Income (AMI) and fostering multi-generational community living. Each cluster of three buildings shares a central brick core, linking units like Tetris pieces. This design supports diverse living spaces, from studios to four-bedroom homes, while maximizing thermal performance with a continuous insulated envelope to reduce maintenance costs. Prefabricated structurally insulated panels (SIPs) produced nearby emphasize sustainability, cutting transportation costs and emissions while allowing for easy expansion and reducing construction time. Adjacent industrial land will house panel production and a reuse center, fostering a local circular economy for housing materials and appliances. The project prioritizes natural lighting through clear-story windows for privacy and sunny interiors. The central brick core encourages community interaction while maintaining privacy, addressing residents’ desire for communal spaces like areas for small barbecues.
>>>Flea Market
With a neighboring site to be zoned for industrial use, the SIP wall panelling will be manufactured and delivered, lowering the transportation costs and encouraging future uses of new infrastructure.
Multi-generational Housing Plan
Studio+1BD+2BD
Studio+4BD
Studio+4BD
1. Second Floor Apartment 2. Patio 3. Second Floor Core 4. First Floor Apartment
Bedroom View
First Floor Core
Instructor: Alberto Iacovoni
02 STAIR OF STORIES
>>>Monument for Migrants
Location
Rome, IT
Amidst the escalating migration issue in Rome, my project stands as a “Living” museum monument, an ever-evolving, dynamic space that reflects the ongoing, real-time experiences and stories of migrants, raising awareness and facilitating engagement between migrants and non-migrants. Located at Rome’s Tiburtina Station, a bustling intersection between the train and bus services, Stairs of Stories engages with the sunken site and the two pre-existing buildings, repurposing them to provide temporary shelter for these migrants. The staircases serve to connect all parts of the site providing walkways, seating, and access to the green rooftop. A universal symbol of transition and movement, the staircase metaphorically represents the journey of migrants—ascending from challenges, navigating through uncertainties, and moving towards new possibilities.
Exploring parametric design through the tactile manipulation of paper—bending, compressing, and elegantly expanding— revealed the potential of materials to transform space dynamically. This process of unfolding became the conceptual foundation for the monument’s form.
Inspired by this expansion, the structure seamlessly transitions from a staircase into a museum, fanning out toward Tiburtina Station. This gesture symbolizes the unfolding narratives of migration, where each step represents movement, transition, and adaptation. As the staircase expands into the museum, it mirrors the opening up of stories, the dispersion of experiences, and the revelation of hidden histories.
3.
1. “Living” Museum
2. Pre-existing building repurposed as a Cafe and Locker Room
Pre-existing building repourposed as a temporary Shelter for Migrants
4. Multipurpose Park
Tiburtina Partenze
ViaGuidoMazzoni
ViadellaStazioneTiburtina
ViaTiburtina
TiburtinaBusStation
Connecting 2 Ends of the Site
Park
Open Air Cinema
Soccer Field
Sunday Flea Market
Front and Back End
Stairs as Seating
3rd Level access to Rooftop
Installation Space
2. Seating Area
3. Main Entrance
4. Immersive Experience
5. Walls as a Canvas
6. Intimate Conversation Booths
7. The “Living Museum” is a space that truly lives, breathing with the stories of those residing in the adjacent shelter. It serves as a vibrant platform for storytelling, where the narratives of migrants are not merely told but experienced, fostering empathy, understanding, and a sense of shared humanity. The space itself is designed to be temporary and adaptable, ensuring that it can evolve to reflect ongoing research, new narratives, and the diverse tapestry of migrant experiences.
1.
Instructor: Sydney Maubert
03
LIBERTY EXCHANGE
My vision for Libery City, Miami, is deeply rooted in the community’s social fabric and cultural practices, particularly the significant role of religion and community engagement in shaping the neighborhood’s identity. Acknowledging the significance of religious ceremonies and the vibrant social life surrounding church activities, particularly among the church ladies with their elaborate preparations in hats, hairstyles, nails, and attire, the design taps into a profound cultural narrative that highlights the need for communal spaces for gathering and socializing. This new flea market in Liberty Square aims to rejuvenate the community spirit lost with Flea Market USA’s closure. This market introduces adjustable booths and customizable rollup doors, granting vendors exceptional flexibility for their products. More than a marketplace, Liberty Exchange is a testament to the area’s vibrant spirit, designed to promote inclusivity, local businesses, and a deeper community engagement.
Location
>>>Flea Market Miami, FL
Designated mural walls foster community self-expression, encouraging individuals to personalize the space. Intersecting the facade, the these walls offer a shaded path to the main entrance.
Incorporating glass tilt-up doors into the flea market design effectively blurs the outdoor and indoor environments, creating a seamless transition that enhances the fluidity and circulation of the space.
The market booths are designed with easily adjustable garage doors that roll up to adjust the space based on the users preferences and space needs.
Door Closed
Designated Mural Wall
Door Open
Flea Market Open
Flea Market Closed
Instructor:
Andrea Simitch
04 SCREEN HAUS
>>>House made a Home
Location
Ithaca, NY
Inspired by Tatiana Bilbao’s Los Terranos and its distinct pavilions surrounding a central garden, this home in Ithaca, NY, unfolds into three specialized structures, each serving a unique program around a central garden. Tailored to the lifestyle of two video game producers, the residence includes the “Screen House” where every wall and surface is transformed into an interactive screen, creating a vast canvas for digital experiences. The Screen House concept reimagines the idea of living spaces as immersive digital environments, where the boundaries between physical and virtual blur. This approach not only caters to the specific lifestyle of video game producers but also extends to envision a communal digital hub, inviting wider community engagement through shared virtual experiences. Inviting the public into the Screen house, the Porch House draws inspiration from the traditional Ithaca house typology, embodying the quintessential porch as a pivotal element that bridges public and private realms. After screen time concludes, the boys withdraw to their Bunk House to disconnect and unwind.
Designed to welcome interaction with the Cascadilla community, the porch serves as the threshold between public and private as it welcomes the public into the residence.
Every surface and wall is a screen, offering an immersive experience in games, movies, and virtual reality, creating a vibrant, new world for family, friends, and neighbors.
A concrete residence featuring shared living spaces on the ground floor that is intersected by the personal spaces in the concrete volumes above.
The Porch House
The Bunk House
Instructor: David Costanza
05 GABLED ARCHIVES
Location >>>Branch Library
Auburn, NY
My research has moved through a broad array of complex considerations ranging from material research to the development of a programmatic narrative in response to urban, site, and environmental conditions. Integrating my library precedent, Tama Art Library by Toyo Ito, my material precedent for cross-laminated timber, Haus Gables by Jennifer Bonner, and my site Stewart Park in Auburn, NY, I began to dissect the symbiotic relationship between structural elements—columns, walls, and roofs— and how these components collectively dictate spatial organization and programmatic possibilities. Through an analysis of roof gable intersections, I’ve derived spaces that are defined yet flexible, utilizing variations in wall densities and lengths to segment open areas without compromising the integrity of an open floor plan. This approach not only enhances spatial functionality but also enriches the architectural dialogue between form and function.
Ground Floor Plan
CLT Wall Detail
Instructor: Mark Cruvellier
06 THE PERISCOPE TOWER
>>>Structural Systems Model
Location Architect Team
Seinäjoki, Finland
OOPPEAA
Amanda Choi
Minori Kawakami
Jack Mieszkalski
The Periscope Tower in SEINÄJOKI, Finland, by OOPEAA is an observation tower that addresses the dialogue between human users and the pre-existing natural landscape. The project involves conducting a thorough analysis of the building’s structural systems, understanding its design concepts, and replicating it in a scaled physical model. The Periscope Tower features a load-bearing structure made of cross-laminated timber for the inner core and an external wooden frame, aligning with the concept of a simple wooden structure to emphasize sustainability and local materials. Designed for inclusivity and accessibility, the tower boasts interstitial spaces and visual semi-transparency through wooden frames.
Instructor: Martin Miller
07 BUBBLE BUTT
Location >>>Chair Ithaca, NY
The Bungee Bubble Chair reimagines seating through a system of modular, air-filled cushions suspended by tensioned cords. Each cushion is made from perforated PVC laminate ripstop, stitched together to encase an inflatable rubber-plastic ball. When inflated, the balls expand outward, bulging through the perforations to create a dynamic, bubble-like texture. This flexible mesh system allows the cushions to be stitched together and strung onto the chair’s structural frame, creating a lightweight, adaptable seating experience. The Bungee Bubble Chair challenges traditional notions of comfort and assembly, introducing a lightweight, reconfigurable seating system that can be applied to various frameworks beyond its initial form.
ARCH 3308 | Spring 2024
Instructor: Emma Silverblatt
INFLATOPIA
>>>Inflattable Bubble
Location
Team
Photographer
Ithaca, NY
Raihaan Bose
Anson Wigner
“Inflatopia” is an innovative architectural project that explores the potential of inflatable structures to create flexible, adaptable spaces. Spanning 18 by 35 feet, the structure’s form is uniquely shaped by the walls and environment surrounding it, allowing it to seamlessly integrate into a variety of settings. Drawing inspiration from the architectural experimentation of the 1950s, the project challenges traditional concepts of permanence, offering a dynamic, lightweight, and easily deployable space. Its modular design ensures adaptability to various functions, from communal areas to exhibition spaces, while its durable, weather-resistant materials provide both functionality and aesthetic appeal.
“Inflatopia” embodies a forward-thinking approach to architecture, prioritizing flexibility, innovation, and environmental responsiveness.
Jack Mieszkalski
Instructor: Ekin Erar
09 YELLOW ROOM
>>>Fabric Space
Location Photographer
Ithaca, NY
Danel Donaeva
Anson Wigner
Our installation re-imagines the mirrored enclosure near the upper Plate of Milstein Hall, initially designed by OMA as a lounge area for rest and reflection but now re-purposed for critiques. This shift has left a need for a dedicated space to pause and recharge. To address this, we introduce a curtain wall along the mirrored panel, creating a semi-private zone within the bustling Plate. The mustard yellow hue evokes warmth and joy, inviting moments of calm. The interplay between mirrored surfaces and the curtain’s shifting color gradients creates a dynamic, immersive environment, amplifying both physical and mental reflection. Our intervention enhances the space by highlighting the reflective utility fabric and warping mirror effects, adding elements of joy and playfulness. By restoring the original intent of reflection and rest, our design transforms the enclosure into a vibrant yet contemplative space. This revitalized area offers a much-needed pause amidst the academic intensity of Milstein Hall.
Team
PUPFORATED PLAYHOUSE
>>>Dog House
Location
Design Firm
Construction Firm Milwork
Dallas, TX GFF Design Suffolk Woodhaus
Designed during my summer internship in Dallas for the Bark + Build competition, this innovative dog house was exhibited at NorthPark Center. Crafted from triangular panels with varying perforations, the structure creates an ever-changing interplay of light and color, as dogs have limited color vision. The convertible playhouse seamlessly integrates elements of play, featuring a transformable exterior that expands into a fold-out ramp, and a balcony that elevates a small dog’s experience while providing shade below. The design promotes physical activity with circular openings for dogs to run through, while also featuring a relaxing, enclosed bed and integrated food and water bowls that provide leisure and nourishment for the pup. Just as easily as this playhouse is activated, the owner can restore the house back to its compact initial geometry, and can stand as a visually captivating architectural piece, bringing life to any backyard.
Ground Floor
Second Floor
Ramp Section: Ramp is down and balcony is folded up
Roof Section - Ramp is up
Section: Balcony is folded out Back Section
Balcony
