Portfolio - Carson Voelker

Fall 2019 Spring 2026

+ SELECTED WORKS

+ + Carson Voelker

Carson Voelker

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+Hello!

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The series of selected projects provides a comprehensive overview of my creative journey at Oklahoma State University and Princeton University, highlighting my current ideas, capabilities, and obsessions in design. The projects presented span a timeline of my growth as a designer and individual, expressing architectural concepts and methodologies that interconnect from one project to another, forming a catalog of expanding knowledge. Each project, while distinct, has contributed to the advancement and formation of my own perspective on architecture, considering the role of history, light, reuse, contextual integration, materiality, and other essential elements for effective design. While the works shown reflect my individual effort, their realization relies on the invaluable support, mentorship, and guidance of faculty members, peers, and friends throughout my education.

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Selected Works

Table of Contents Weave

Architectural Objects of San Siro

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Of Straw & Timber A Post-Disaster Community Center

Fisac & Facade +

Housing for Mexico City

A Central Ribbon

Bridging Boston University

Regional Characters

Converging Typologies

Carson Voelker

Weave: Architectural Objects of San Siro

Project Title:

Location: Date: Instructor(s):

Milan, Italy Fall 2022 Blake Mitchell, Awilda Rodriguez & Paolo Sanza

Weave explores architectural reuse as an active design process, manipulating inherited materials into a series of crafted components.

As Milan’s iconic San Siro Stadium transitions toward a contemporary fan experience, the project seeks to salvage and reimagine its architectural riches. The domineering red structural trusses that define San Siro’s iconic roof line migrate inward to construct a new spatial experience, transforming into vertical supports that pierce the stacked fan concourses and extend outward to shape a rippling exterior skin.

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What once served as the roof membrane of the canopy now becomes an exterior lattice of woven architectural fabric. This manipulated envelope rhythmically opens and closes, allowing beams of patterned light to animate the interior concourses.

Within the stadium, a forest of airy structural forms rises from the lowest level, engaging fans as they navigate the concourse network.

The assertive circulation systems of San Siro’s past also evolve: former rotating ramps reappear as leaping avenues of interior movement, guiding visitors toward the arena’s energetic core.

Selected Works

+ Leather Weaving at Milan Design Week

An Existing Architectural Identity

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Carson Voelker

Structural System

Architectural Skin

Hierarchal Circulation Paths Concept Diagram Stadium Objects

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Selected Works

Structural Experience Upper Level Procession

Ground Level

Middle Level

Upper Level Concourse Strategy Floor Plans

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Carson Voelker

Polycarbonate Roof

Roof Structure

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Skin & Structure Each architectural element of Weave employs skin and structure to execute its conceptual intent. From vertical joists to the woven outer layer, the design immerses fans in the essence of San Siro while simultaneously establishing a new identity for the stadium.

Woven Skin

Vertical Joists

Stadium Bowl

Vertical Trusses

Concourse

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Selected Works

Fan Experience Complementing the conceptual strategies of skin and structure, concourse bridges and exterior lighting enhance the overall user experience.

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Carson Voelker

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Woven Skin Facade Architectural fabric, originally part of San Siro’s canopy, is reinterpreted to echo the patterns of local leather artisans.

Selected Works

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Carson Voelker

Primary Vertical Structure Tension Structure Polycarbonate Roof Steel Sub Structure

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Fabri

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Concrete Slab Retaining Wall Gravel Backfill Soil

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Structural Bay During Design Development, connection points were refined through experiments with innovative tectonics and the structural logic of the skin system.

Selected Works

ic Bracing

1 | Tensile Cable to Joist Connection Fabric Structure

Exterior Skin

2 | Truss to Column Hinge Connection

3 | Vertical Joist Hinge Connection

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Carson Voelker

Of Straw & Timber: A post-disaster community center

Project Title:

Location: Date: Instructors: Team: Contribution:

Rolling Fork, Mississippi Fall 2024 Paul Lewis (Arch) Guy Nordenson (Eng) Mariana Garcia Rendon Site and Interior Planning, Structural Diagrams, Line Drawings, & Group Models

On March 24, 2023, a large and violent tornado tore through the small community of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, devastating homes, infrastructure, and the town’s architectural anchor, City Hall.

Of Straw and Timber responds to Rolling Fork’s recovery by organizing disaster relief around rapid training in straw and timber construction. The program includes a wall-system production hall, multiuse offices, and a training center, which assemble into three rotated masses that carve out interstitial spaces for gathering and exchange.

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The structure develops through the interaction of two primary systems: a dimensional lumber truss canopy and a load-bearing straw bale wall.

Although spans remain consistent, each truss shifts its point of connection, creating a parametric canopy that enables sectional variation, establishes spatial axes, and produces distinct architectural identities. Material texture, tone, and color deliberately draw from the surrounding landscape and regional vernacular, using warmth and saturation to counter destruction and reinforce continuity, familiarity, and collective resilience within the civic fabric.

Selected Works

+ Straw Wall Assemblies

Dimensional Lumber Construction

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Carson Voelker

Section Model Lumber to Straw Relationship

Truss Layers to Whole

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Internal Truss Connection

Form & Structural Development Starting at the 1:1 scale of a timber joint, each design iteration refines the interdependent straw and timber system.

Selected Works

Integrated Systems Diagram

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Carson Voelker

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Site Massing & Plan Landscape conditions respond to the project’s massing, organizing vegetated zones, playgrounds, straw-wall assembly areas, and seating.

Selected Works

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Carson Voelker

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Timber Structure A dimensional lumber truss canopy spans the staggered masses and shifts its connection points to create variation in height and orientation. The canopy generates dynamic spatial conditions by forming interstitial spaces, guiding circulation, and producing layered sectional identities throughout.

Selected Works

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Carson Voelker

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Selected Works

Structural Integration Walls and trusses depend on one another: the walls uphold the truss, and the truss, in turn, stabilizes the roof, creating a mutually reliant structural system.

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Carson Voelker

Project Title:

Fisac & Facade: Housing for Mexico City

Location: Mexico City, Mexico Date: Spring 2025 Instructors: Florencia Pita Team: Favor Idika Contribution: Planning, Design, Physical

Plaster Modeling, & Project Visualization

Drawing from the facade of Miguel Fisac’s apartment in Daimiel, Spain, the project reimagines community-driven residential design through massing, facade, and ecological strategies.

Within Mexico City’s notable Centro neighborhood, three apartment towers rise from the remnants of a former public produce market and define a central courtyard that organizes social and ecological life. Modular units compose the towers and vary in color, depth, and articulation, forming terraces, balconies, and interstitial spaces that foster interaction.

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Textured facade panels mediate sunlight, support vegetation, and frame views, while curvilinear massing and elevated pathways extend circulation across rooftops and planted zones.

The project integrates temporary housing, small-family units, and multi-species habitat to weave ecological and social networks into the dense urban fabric. Color, texture, and greenery unify the design and reinforce visual, spatial, and programmatic continuity.

The towers negotiate between ruin, nature, and city to produce a resilient, vibrant community rooted in cultural and ecological context.

Selected Works

Classical Fluting

Cast-in Place Facade Systems

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+ Miguel Fisac’s Daimiel Apt.

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Carson Voelker

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Facade Block System

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Facade System Development Early in the design process, plaster facade models were used to translate lessons from Miguel Fisac’s concrete panel work into a distinct architectural language. Material experiments were conducted with structural additives, pigments, dyes, and colored flakes to refine both aesthetic and structural performance. Various fabrication methods were tested, ranging from 3D-printed frames to vacuum-sealed and silicone molds, ultimately using a reusable mold that enabled consistent, repetitive casting of plaster blocks

Selected Works

Plaster Facade Study Corner Model

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Site Massing & Reuse Rotated towers and vegetated voids transform the existing produce market, reimagining circulation across and within the site, creating visual connections, and supporting systems for new community and ecological programs.

Selected Works

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Residential Massing & Pathway Varied housing unit modules compose the apartment towers, guiding meandering pathways that connect terraces, rooftops, and communal spaces.

Selected Works

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Carson Voelker

Project Title:

A Central Ribbon: Bridging Boston University

Location: Boston, MA Date: Fall 2023 Instructor(s): Blake Mitchell & Nathan Richardson Team: Jordan Hill & Nick Lehrer Contribution: Massing Design, Visualization,

Diagrams, & Physical Model

By enclosing Interstate 90 and layering diverse programs above it, the project transforms infrastructural division into social continuity, reconstituting the campus as a single, connected body

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Guided by A Civic Vision for Turnpike Air Rights in Boston, our group focused on Parcels 4, 5, and 6. During a week-long site visit, each member examined the site’s layered history, social divisions, and architectural constraints, exploring strategies to repair a fractured student body. We asked how South Campus and its surrounding neighborhoods might integrate into and strengthen the broader social body of the university.

In response, a base layer of commercial programs draws South Campus students into a shared campus core, while lawns and quads encourage North Campus students to engage with this new center. To address the ongoing housing crisis, residential forms interlock above the public realm, where terraces and pocket parks soften transitions between public and private space. A prominent research tower anchors the composition, reinforcing Boston University’s identity as a research campus and completing the programmatic framework across all three parcels.

Selected Works

North Campus

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5 Parcel Map

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+ South Campus Housing

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Carson Voelker

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Site Program Model Above Interstate-90, architectural bodies and programs prompt social rejuvenation, attempting to reverse the road’s detrimental impact.

Selected Works

1 | Align to Context Street site lines and the organization of adjacent forms outline the overall generated massing, allowing for light and continued street modules.

2 | Split Program and Void for Light A commercial pedestal responding to neighboring row houses lines the base layer, with residential units stacking on top. Cores are subtracted to allow for light.

3 | Break & Interlock Rigid residential forms mold into a cascading array of interlocking masses; a series of social platforms further dissolve rigid program boundaries.

4 | Add, Subtract & Skin Student housing masses are further molded through additive and subtractive transformations; the research tower is united through a flowing mesh skin.

Form Development Throughout my undergraduate education massing models have dominated my design process, communicating grand moves and ideas quickly.

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Research Tower Pushing Boston University towards the identity of a research institution, shifting blocks of academic and student programs rise above campus.

Selected Works

Student Programs Layered terraces, sweeping lawns, various outdoor amenities, and a commercial base program prompt the reactivation of Boston University.

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Student Housing Residential towers shift and open out to public quads and lawns, allowing sunlight to plunge within.

Selected Works

Traffic Below Beneath residential blocks and student lawns, Interstate-90’s traffic elicits its eternal hum.

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Carson Voelker

Travel Journal: Sketching as Communication

Project Title:

Location: Date: Instructors:

France, Germany, the Netherlands, & the UK Summer 2022 Nathan Richardson & Jerry Stivers

Graphic journaling provides an opportunity to study architectural objects, spatial contexts, and their complementary details. Working by hand, away from the computer, encourages key aspects of architectural visualization to emerge, including perspective, shading, and overall page composition. During my travels, I focused my observations on religious spaces, monumental forms, and public art.

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Selected Works

Travel Study Entries Hand Sketching

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Carson Voelker

Regional Characters: Converging Typologies

Project Title:

Location: Date: Instructor(s): Team: Awards:

Edmond, Oklahoma Spring 2023 Jerry Stivers (Arch) Cristina McCoy (Eng) Nick Lehrer (SD only) 1st Overall Design 3rd Lighting Design HM Planning Efficiency

The array of Architectural objects composing Edmond’s historic and industrial masses aid in generating a catalog of architectural conditions, influencing the fusion of typologies participating in its boom town legacy.

Downtown Edmond, Oklahoma offers an array of dining, shopping, and entertainment venues woven into its historic blocks. Along these streets, locals and tourists alike gather for festivals and live music.

Each architectural element reflects deep Oklahoma roots through luminous red brick, ornate detailing, and a distinctly human scale.

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In contrast to these stout masonry buildings, industrial forms rise along the western railroad tracks. Metal gables and angular structures recall Edmond’s industrial past, signaling the infrastructure that once drove the city’s establishment.

Regional Characters investigates structural, environmental, and architectural conditions across the Schematic Design, Design Development, and Construction Documentation phases. Following the Schematic Design phase, the studio gradually transitions from collective inquiry into focused individual exploration.

Selected Works

Gabled Roofs

+ Storefront Bases

Expressed Structure

Punched Openings

+ Historic Tectonics

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Carson Voelker

Master Plan Axonometric Multi-Modal Hub

Line Railroad

Split & Rotate

Form Diagram Massing Development

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Raise the Roof!

Void for Hierarchy

Selected Works

EM

CA

Floor Plan Key 1

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Outdoor Terrace Workroom File Room Dispatch Office Closed Office Reception Open Office Security

9 Mechanical 10 Delivery Room 11 Women’s Suite 12 Men’s Suite 13 Ticket Office 14 Terminal Office 15 Coffee Shop 16 Retail

Second Floor

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VEL 2 - Final = 20'-0"

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Ground Level

1” = 32’ Floor Plans

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Carson Voelker

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Night Experience An illuminated metal mesh wraps the jumping sawtooth roof, lifting to reveal the primary entry and brick base.

Selected Works

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Carson Voelker

Initial Form and Materiality Concept

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Schematic Design Initial design considerations for SD encompassed basic form and material judgments, utilizing historical and adjacent architectural objects as a basis.

Exterior cladding options, structural design, and the overall programmatic organization additionally claimed priority within the 4 weeks, with the entry sequence and secondary mass remaining unresolved.

Selected Works

Building Form & Skin Resolution

Design Development Alongside environmental and structural analysis, DD presented dynamic advancements from basic conceptual moves to refined modifications.

The primary facade system matured into a rhythmic perforated metal, the northern retail mass morphed into a cohesive counterpart, and the entry sequence cohesively integrated within the entire terminal.

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Train Terminal Lobby Interior materiality reinforces conceptual moves further, utilizing storefront proportions for a brick base and rhythmic timber paneling, reflecting the internal structure of industrial forms.

Selected Works

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Exterior Conditions Public gardens, lawns, pathways, and a sawtooth canopy above the exterior train platform elevate the human experience.

Selected Works

Corrugated Metal Roof

Steel & Timber Structure

Second Floor

Mechanical System

Skin

Ground Level

Integrated Systems Diagram

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+ THANK YOU !