Brian Kim, Portfolio by Brian Kim

BRIAN KIM

Hi, My name is Brian Kim.

I am in my last year of the M.Arch program at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture, with an expected graduation date of May 2025

My academic and professional interests focus on sustainable design practices, environmentally responsive architecture, and the integration of built and natural systems. These interests were further deepened by my minor in Landscape Design and Planning during college.

After graduation, I would like to work in an architectural firm to further refine my skills, expand my understanding of architectural practice, and develop my design thinking through collaboration and hands on experience. My immediate goal is to earn my architectural license in the United States, enabling me to take on greater responsibility in shaping impactful projects. Ultimately, I aim to create adaptive, resilient, and forward-thinking spaces that integrate with the natural environment and enhance community well-being.

CoLiving Expandia: Filims Beneath the Canopy

Arch 562 (Winter 2024): +Upzone

Instructor: Sharon Harr, Adam Smith 1

ArborCiné: Films Beneath the Canopy

Arch 552 (Fall 2023): Odeon

Instructor: Steven Mankouche 8

The Future in Forgotten Spaces

Arch 672 (Fall 2024): Eternal and the Ephemeral

Instructor: Lars Grabner

Home of Social Integration and Healing

Studio V (Fall 2020): Expanding Youth Opportunity

Partnered Project with Hoyoung T. Lee

Instructor: Julia W Robinson, Angela L. Cousins

LA Studio Modeling: Redesigning Site

LA Studio(Fall 2019)

Instructor: Bradley Agee

CoLiving Expandia:

Arch 562 (Winter 2024): +Upzone

The Upzone+ Studio, part of the broader Collectives initiative, focused on rethinking Housing in Ann Arbor’s TC1 Transit Corridor Zoning District. Addressing challenges such as rising housing costs, suburban sprawl, and climate change, students were tasked with Designing dense, mixed-use neighborhoods that prioritize affordability, equity, and sustainability. Projects emphasized innovative housing typologies, flexible unit designs, and sustainable materials to Create shared resources and foster collective living. By integrating urbanism, materiality, and advanced building systems, the studio aimed to redefine how communities can live together in adaptable and inclusive environments.

Films Beneath the Canopy

Instructor: Sharon Harr, Adam Smith

The design of the building begins with creating a unified ground level that fosters public engagement while integrating more private pocket courtyards for block residents. Shaping the general massing was guided by Two key goals: ensuring that at least 80% of residents have satisfying outdoor environments and access to spaces for activities, and Designing streets and squares with multifunctionality to enhance city life and mobility.

Parti Diagram

Perspective view of the Courtyard

Starting with a simple site-shaped perimeter block, the massing was divided into four zones using intersecting circulation axes. Building heights were adjusted to respect the surrounding context, with the East side lowered to provide sunlight to adjacent residences. A central courtyard serves as the heart of the block, with refinements adding variety and adaptability across the zones.

Parti Diagram

Studio Unit interior view

CoLiving Expandia offers adaptable living opportunities Designed for multigenerational families and households of varying sizes. The concept emphasizes Flexibility, enabling residents to expand or downsize their living spaces as their needs evolve, ensuring a personalized and accommodating living experience.

Seasonal Change (Family)

Yearly Change (Visitors)

As families grow, their spatial needs increase, often leading to overcrowding or forcing members to relocate for more space. CoLiving Expandia addresses this challenge by Providing the option for families to expand their living areas within close proximity, allowing for deeper connections and shared experiences. This flexibility not only strengthens family bonds but also creates space for visitors, fostering a sense of community and togetherness.

Axonometric View: Typical Residential Floor Layout (Levels 2-5)

The ground floor is a multifunctional space that includes a Grocery, Restaurant, Shops, and Cafe. It also features a Central courtyard between the two building wings, designed as a community space with a garden and seating areas. This courtyard provides opportunities for social interaction, relaxation, and fostering a sense of community among residents and visitors.

Courtyard (Community Garden)

Axonometric View: Ground Floor Layout (Levels 2-5)

(Commercial)

The building utilizes a Type 3B construction type throughout, with a Bearing wall system providing structural support. On the first floor, designated for commercial spaces, CLT (cross-laminated timber) columns are employed to support the floors above. To distinguish the residential floors from the commercial level, the facade features gray fiber cement boards, creating a clear visual differentiation between the two uses.

View towards the Courtyard

ArborCiné: Films Beneath the Canopy

Kerrytown, Ann Arbor, MI

Arch 552 (Fall 2023): Odeon Instructor: Steven Mankouche

In our architectural studio, we centered our efforts on designing Odeon, a movie theater tailored for the prestigious Ann Arbor Film Festival, situated on a distinct wedge-shaped site in Kerrytown. The project drew inspiration from the Greek term “Odeon,” denoting a small-roofed venue for singing and concerts. The studio commenced with students selecting precedent studies on theaters, extracting key concepts to integrate into their designs. Crafting a new cinematic space in Kerrytown required establishing meaningful connections between our diverse precedent studies. The objective was to transcend conventional design boundaries, merging diverse influences to shape the Odeon movie theater into a space that harmoniously combines with the neighborhood in Kerrytown.

Precedent Study

Busan Cinema Center Busan, South Korea (2012), Coop

I chose the Busan Cinema Center as my precedent study, which is about 10 times larger than our site and offers a vast outdoor gathering space. Notably, it features two large cantilevers, with the main cantilever extending about 280 feet, making it one of the world’s longest cantilever structures.

The Busan Cinema Center integrates Mountain, Hill, and Valley elements. Cinemas and theaters are located in the Mountain, while offices, bars, and restaurants are in the Hill building. Valley is located between Mountain and Hill and this place is freely accessible, serving as a passageway for people to move in and out, even during inactive periods.

Himmelb(I)au

Site, Ann Arbor

Busan Cinema Center in Site

Site Comparison (Scale)

(Image created by Coop Himmelb(I)au)

ArborCiné: Films Beneath the Canopy

The key concepts I aimed to integrate from the Busan Cinema Center into my new design included the notions of Cantilever, dynamic space, and a connection with nature. In the initial stages of my design process, I scaled down their Mountain and Hill concept into a more organic representation, embodying Tree and Rock elements. By repositioning the cantilever, I then crafted my new design. Each building has its own theaters and unique programs, ensuring their utilization even during periods when the theaters are not actively in use.

Mountain & Hill Tree & Rock

(Busan Cinema Center) (Site, Ann Arbor)

Parti Diagram

New Design

Section Perspective (01) through two Theaters

To attract people to my site even during times when the theaters are inactive, I incorporated two distinct rock climbing areas on the exterior walls. These engaging spaces invite everyone to freely participate and relish the climbing experience. Although the exterior surface may initially seem flat, a closer look reveals discreet protruding elements — inviting opportunities for individuals to utilize them as climbing holds. Beyond the theaters and exclusive programs, the remaining facilities, including offices, a kitchen, and a gallery space, are strategically located on the first floor.

Rock Climbing Activities

I envisioned an open gathering area beneath the cantilever, initially considering it for an outdoor theater. However, considering the specific weather conditions in Ann Arbor, I enclosed the space with curtain walls, topped with wooden finishes resembling a comforting canopy. This design aims to provide a relaxed and inviting atmosphere. The theater area is surrounded by curtains, allowing movie watching in a darkened ambiance. When the theater is not in use, the curtains can be drawn aside, allowing natural light to flood the space and offering an open view.

Section (02) through Main (Tree) Theater

Interior View of Tree Theater

Overall Program Diagram - Exploded Axon

The Future in Forgotten Spaces

The “Of the Eternal and the Ephemeral” Studio invites students to explore the relationship between Architecture and Time, focusing on how the built environment responds to transience. The studio challenges students to Examine how architecture can express, utilize, and respond to the forces of nature and the passage of time, encouraging designs that embrace the “no longer” and the “not yet” while reflecting cultural and temporal shifts.

My project focuses on Transforming Abandoned schools into Adaptable Housing and community spaces. Motivated by the challenges of finite resources, limited land, and housing shortages, this approach preserves existing structures with minimal interventions.

Arch 672 (Fall 2024): Eternal and the Ephemeral Instructor: Lars Grabner

This project focuses on the Challenges of finite resources, limited urban space, and housing shortages. Growing urbanization and resource depletion demand more sustainable approaches to construction and land use. Repurposing abandoned buildings not only addresses these issues but also responds to the passage of time by transforming outdated structures into adaptable, community-focused spaces that embrace sustainability and resilience.

Resources Housing Prices and Construction Costs CoreLogic National House Price Index Houses under Construction: Fixed-Weighted Price Index

& Gravel

Limited

Sand

Repurposing abandoned schools has many Advantages, including their central locations, durable construction, and cultural significance. These buildings are well-suited for housing and community spaces, with adaptable floor plans, natural lighting, and strong materials that ensure safety and longevity. Preserving schools not only reduces carbon emissions but also retains their historical and architectural value, strengthening neighborhood identity and connection.

A study of 39 Abandoned Schools

Street view of William T. Sampson School

Commercial (Shop, Grocery, Restaurant, Office)

Recycle Remanufacture Reuse Landfill

Location: Half and One-Mile Radius (Source: Interboro)

Carbon Saving for Building Types

Repurposing

Repurposing an existing building, 50-75% reduction in embodied carbon

Repurposing existing buildings instead of demolishing and constructing new ones significantly reduces carbon emissions, with potential reductions of 50-75% in embodied carbon. Demolition and new construction not only emit vast amounts of CO2 but also waste valuable resources, creating long-term environmental consequences. By prioritizing reuse, we can minimize pollution, conserve resources, and prevent leaving behind an environmental debt for future generations.

Projected Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Building Materials

Source: Zhong et al. 2021.

CO2 Reduction in Numbers

Source: “Understanding the Carbon Cost of Demolition.” Restore Oregon, 12 Apr. 2021.

Metric Tons of

1,383

483,479 Gallons

1,028

The pod system is designed to address the challenges of converting schools into housing by creating modular bathroom and kitchen pods. Each Pod is divided into smaller, flexible pieces that can accommodate fixtures like sinks, tubs, and stoves, allowing users to customize configurations based on their needs. These pods are constructed from aluminum sheets bolted together for easy assembly, with a unifying top piece for stability. The modular design ensures adaptability while optimizing functionality within limited spaces.

Possible Pod Layouts

Individual Pod Elements: Kitchen, Bathroom, Door, Extension

Pods are strategically placed to optimize the existing school layouts. In areas with wide corridors, Pods are inserted to reduce corridor widths and provide additional space for housing units. Where corridor space is limited, pods are integrated directly into the units to maintain functionality. On the first floor, spaces are repurposed for community needs, such as offices, shops, restaurants, or gardens, enhancing the program’s flexibility and creating vibrant, multifunctional spaces for residents and the neighborhood.

Pod Integration in Various School Layouts

Interior View: Gym Transformed into a Community Indoor Garden

1 Bedroom (classrooms) McFarlane School Mason School Kosciusko School

Higginbotham School

McKerrow Elementary School Detroit Transition School

HOME OF SOCIAL INTEGRATION & HEALING

Hawthorne, Minneapolis, MN

Partnered Project with Hoyoung T. Lee

Studio V(Fall 2020): Expanding Youth Opportunity Instructor: Julia W Robinson, Angela L. Cousins

Young people of transition age are learning to become adults. At the present time, those who are college ready and college bound are given a four-year period to gain social, living and job skills that prepare them for adult life. Youth who are graduating from high school, or leaving the foster care system and entering the job market directly are not provided time to adjust to adult life. Many such youth find themselves without housing or support systems. The goal of this project is to provide youth with services and activities that prepare them to be productive citizens, with such programs as housing, education, job training, therapy, child care and recreation.

Mississippi River is on the right, not only providing view of both the nature and the city but also providng outdoor activities and easy connection to the nature.

The location was most suitable for this project because it is not too close nor too far away from the neighborhood, and has a number of important facilities within walking distance. Facilities located around this area include educational, medical, recreation, religious, and community buildings. Bike paths around the Hawthorne area are well-developed. Bus routes are well-placed around the Hawthorne area. With all these transportation systems, we tried to locate the building where it is easily accessible for the users.

Site Perspective View towards the main streets (Braodway St)

Site Perspective section through Mississippi River (Partnered Work with Hoyoung T. Lee)

W Braodway Ave - 94

(Partnered Work with Hoyoung T. Lee)

has become a more serious issue since COVID-19. Therefore, a social isolation treatment/ rehabilitation is a vital program for many unstable youths today. Enclosed gathering spaces, lounge, library, eating spaces not only provide interactions between residents, but also provide place for education, job training, therapy, child care and recreation.

Gathering Space (Partnered Work with Hoyoung T. Lee)

Lounge Library

Eating Space

A rehabilitation apartment complex will be built for transition-age youth who live in seclusion or are not com fortable interacting with others in their community due to incarceration, trauma, and/or mental illness. The rehabilitation apartment complex will provide a safe living space for youth. Help recover safely from trauma and transition into independent adults. Teach how to interact safely with integrity. Promote sharing of culture and development of cultural and societal identity.

View towards Mississippi River (Partnered Work with Hoyoung T. Lee)

Parti Diagram

Redesigning Site

Bohemian Flats, Minneapolis, MN

LA Studio(Fall 2019)

Instructor: Bradley Agee

This project asks students to create a Mississippi River front plaza using each of the spatially defining categories that the class have explored (LANDFORM, VEGETATION, and STRUCTURE). The goal of the project is to define a spatial enclosure and to create meaningful human experiential spaces.

Despite being located in the heart of Minneapolis and adjacent to a traditionally underserved community, Bohemian Flats is an underutilized public resource. The site has neve been planned or programmed to its full potential, and it is disconnected from its physical, social, and historical contexts. In order to reach its full potential, not only the Mississippi river was brought in to the site to engage more visitors, but also the Bohemian Flats was extended towards the river to create more interaction between natural elements and the visitors.