architecture and design portfolio
“ I want a temple of spIrIt, a monument! ”
ARCHITECTURE
CONCEPT
the valley
de-fractured context station rebranding brutalism
fall 2022 spring 2022 spring 2021
spring 2022 spring 2021 sculptural synthesis
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+1.401.855.4980 brownell.c@northeastern.edu catsbrownell@gmail.com catbrownell.com
DE - FRACTURED
fall 2022 boston, ma urban design framework
the neighborhood of mission hill is best defined by its groupings of nodes around its primary axes; tremont street, columbus avenue, and huntington avenue.
the concept behind this urban design involves creating a series of patterns on the site and breaking them at key intersections, creating a new axis of activity and growth. the spaces that result are flexible and adaptable to infinite typologies and programs, cohesive internally and externally, and create connection through gathering, education, and access to nature.
a combination of interconnected plazas with space for transit and markets and a variety of housing typologies centered around internal courtyards develop a system of public and private spaces, fractured, but brought together through design.
THE VALLEY
spring 2022 madrid, es community center
located in a dense block in central madrid, this community center carves a valley of democratic multi-use space. blended into the street through floating brick facades and a pedestrian bridge, this community center provides a meandering path of program and freedom.
rather than considering the site as a blank space to be filled, i chose to consider it as a solid block to be carved into 9 distinct programs, thus its interpretation as a valley.
the valley itself is ecologically valuable, as the hot pools of the spa below feed and water the roots of the native cypress and eucalyptus trees that live above. these trees thrive in the environment and, through the wind tunnel effect of the structure, spread fresh air throughout the neighborhood.
underground floor 1
SCULPTURAL SYNTHESIS
spring 2021 boston, ma housing complex
this studio aims to develop a villagestyle community through sculpture and a synthesis of design techniques, applied through circulation, landscaping, and modular aggregation.
apartment style housing in boston has often fallen victim to cheap gentrification, and along with it, the residents of the city fall victim as well. this project aims to resynchronize the relationship between the individual, the community, and the landscape, through terraforming a parking lot into a valleylike escape among crippling urbanity and homogeneity.
the push and pull of the structure is representative of its interior and its inhabitants, providing structure in a turbulent area, and freedom to grow.
floor 1 floor 2 floor 3 floor 4
CONTEXT STATION
spring 2022 madrid, es transportation center
in a 4 day workshop, i worked from a two-dimensional set of rhythmic lines in a boundary towards a vaulted, multilayered transportation center. the arrangement within the bound, along with the lack of solid walls and ceilings, contributes to the pavilion-like and contextless nature of the structure, while maintaining the important archetype of a train station.
naturally, a location without context leads to a population with infinite context. those who pass through this train station are going to infinite locations for infinite reasons. this suggests a boundless infrastructure of transportation, able to exist in the middle of nowhere and earnestly used by an entire population.
REBRANDING BRUTALISM
spring 2021 boston, ma design study
this study re-imagines i. m. pei’s building 54 through digital and analog media, exploring how a rigid and brutal form can be warped and conceived differently. the goal of this exercise was the decontextualization of a beloved structure and idea, painting the style of brutalism in a new light that respects its history.
the work focuses on the rhythmic facade of building 54. i attempted to break and incorporate new patterns and styles, through mies style collages, spirograph visualization, and manual scanner manipulation.
+1.401.855.4980 brownell.c@northeastern.edu catsbrownell@gmail.com catbrownell.com