Alyssa Carere - Architecture Portfolio 2023

SELECTED WORKS

ALYSSA CARERE

CONTACT

(905) 921 7254

alyssa.carere@gmail.com

LinkedIn Link

HELLO!

My name is Alyssa (She/Her). I am a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan (Ryerson) University.

As an artist and designer with vast interests and hobbies, I love a challenge and the ability to expand my knowledge of the world through art, people, and architectural design. I hope you enjoy browsing my various works!

ALYSSA CARERE

EMPLOYMENT

Empire 6 LARP Design/ Prop Lead

Feb, 2020 - Present

Assisting in interior design and set design of Sci Fi Themed Event space start-up. Head of props department and prop prototype lead. Contributing in designing sets and organization of space and spatial planning. Conceptual artist and fabricator.

Consulting AC Assistant Accountant

July 2010 - Dec, 2022

Consisted of communicating with clients as well as organizing and filing documents. Organization of client files and fufiled receptionist duties.

Best Buy Operations and Computer Sales Assosiate

Nov,2012 - Sept, 2018

Sold Computers, Tablets, software, and computer accessories. Dealt with any client problems or questions accordingly. Opened and closed the assigned department.

Design Link International Design Intern

July - August, 2015

Computerized 3D modeling for projects and for clients. Assisted with any jobs required in the office including paperwork and selecting textiles for projects. Key contributor to the design of large public access space.

CONTRIBUTIONS

Geary Works Heritage Study Student Research Assistant

January - April, 2021

Documented and researched a heritage assessment study for Geary Avenue, Toronto Ontario, under supervision of Itsi Peleg (Senior Urban Designer for City of Toronto) and Masha Kind.

Timber Fever Competitor

September, 2018

Worked in a team of 5 students from various universities to design and create structures out of wood within contest constraints to fulfill a program within a time limit of two days.

Inkwell Sugacayne Carnival DFZ Associate

May - June, 2018, Sept 2019 - Mar, 2020

Assisted in a group to design 3 different band outfit themes for Trinidad Carnival hosted in Toronto to bring Fabrication to Carnival. Involved in design and fabrication of 6 frontliner costumes. Created laser cut patterns, fabricated and assembled pieces, and sculpted hip and leg accessories.

Delight: Nuit Blanche Volunteer

September, 2017

Assemble design installation on presentation day as well as presented and maintained installation at the design booth and during Nuit Blanche over night.

Guinness Longest DNA Model DFZ Associate

Feburary - June, 2016

Assisted in a group with 2 other Architectural Sciences students and 3 Ryerson Biology students working together to break a world record of the longest DNA Model. Succeeded by reaching 43.5 meters at the Science Rendezvous event at Dundas Square. Participated in the design process and the fabrication process.

SKILLS

3D Modeling

Rhino 6.0 Grasshopper

Revit

Revit Dynamo

Other

Sketchup Pro

Blender

Rendering + Visualization

AutoCAD Enscape

Pepakura

Lumion 11.5

V-Ray 6 Twinmotion

Microsoft Office

EDUCATION

Bachlor of Architectural Science

Toronto Metropolitan (Ryerson) University

Toronto,Canada

2020 Graduate

Studio Abroad Program

Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences

Frankfurt,Germany

June 2019

ACHIEVMENTS

Toronto Fanexpo 2022

Masters of Cosplay Competition

Best in Show Award

2022

Emiru Worldwide Cosplay Contest

3rd place Overall 3rd place in Craftsmenship

2022

Dean’s List

Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Sciences

2019 - 2020

Guinness World Record World’s Longest DNA Model

2016

Ryerson University Admission of Excellence Award: 90%-94.99%

2015

HEART OF THE JUNCTION

Type: Academic-Cumulative Project

Design Typology: Educational Facility

Instructor: John Ingrao

Partner: Shahmir Adnan

TORONTO, ONTARIO

Centered in the middle of an open space in one of Toronto’s up and coming artists’ districts, the goal of this project was to bring an OCAD building to the current Junction Triangle neighbourhood. A site surrounded with distilleries, factories, and galleries, slowly metamorphosing from a heavy industrial site into a cultural and artistic hub. The design concept oversees this building as a heart of the junction with its left and right atrium moving sunlight through the building and centering it onto learning spaces where conversations are held to talk about art and culture. The idea takes into consideration community and communication being the foundation and “heart” of art and education. Our architectural inspiration from the industrial style of the surrounding context was applied using CLT and steel for the structure’s sweeping facade of corten steel fins that shield studios from over exposure of sunlight pouring in and giving the building a more dynamic feel. The facade drapes down and presents the gallery space like a curtain preparing the audience for a performance from the outside, perhaps drawing an audience closer. The two structural steel and aluminum atriums act as a canopy that open up and sweep over the rooftop garden space.

The form stems from extending the view to the outside from any and all angles inside the buildings. Without any hard edges the exterior appears soft and the studios within have more light and can view the city from almost all angles. The buildings’ concept being the “heart” calls for a soft exterior just like how the heart should be soft and organic.

MASSING CONCEPT

ROOFTOP GREENSPACE

- SEATING WITH LIGHTWELL CANOPY

- SOLAR PANELLING

- TURF FOR SITTING AND ACTIVITIES

PARKING, LOADING, AND BACK ENTRANCE TO MAIN ATRIUM

Separation of programatic spaces.

Accentuating views towards the front.

Sweeping left and right atrium through the center of the structure and sweeping the second skin accross the facade for light protection.

Fanning out atriums to provide a canopy for the upper rooftop gardens.

SECOND FLOOR 2

MAIN FLOOR 1

GALLERY

CAFE

LIBRARY

WORKSHOP

CLASSROOM

LECTURE HALL

CRIT SPACES

BASEMENT 0

STAIRWELL

BATHROOMS

DARK ROOM

ADMIN SPACES

LOADING

SUPPORT SPACES

STUDIO SPACES

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INTERWOVEN CONNECTION MILAN

Type: Academic Competition

Design Typology: Fashion Pavilion

Instructor: Baruch Zone

MILAN, ITALY

With thousands of pounds of clothing moved into landfills every year, Interwoven amasses a large amount of clothing and recycles it into a massive structure to bring fabric out of landfills and into the public eye, shoving the amassed waste into the viewers face and bringing to the surface how fast fashion is spiraling out of control. Woven around each beam, each piece of clothing is organized by colour and connects those who originally wore the articles together. The hulking forms captivate all who walk by on the unifying runway. Located within the central vista of Parco Sempione, it captures the essence of fashion design and relates it back to its core which is the human connection. The installation takes inspiration from the maypole, a tall, typically wooden structure that is seen in various European folk festivals where a community dances around the pole, interweaving fabric as they run by each other creating a beautiful and intricate pattern just as human kind is woven together through their responsibility for this waste. As those who pass by observe the scale of the massive woven structure, it gives them a visual representation of the scale of waste produced by fast fashion and just how much of it ends up in landfills.

WOVEN RECYCLED COLOUR COORDINATED FABRICS

STRUCTURE

The fabric is treated with a hydrophobic chemicals to avoid discolouration and weathering, and is wrapped around HSS steel pipes. The vertical portions of the pipes are placed in concrete into the ground for further structural stability, and the full structure is connected to each other with various joints to avoid movement with the wind.

ART AND LIVING FRANKFURT

Type: Frankfurt Exchange Studio

Design Typology: Arts and Living Community

Instructor: Y.T. Leong

FRANKFURT, GERMANY

The Istend District is an up and coming district where work-life balance thrives. This proposal introduces a space that can keep up with Frankfurt’s blooming population expansion as immigration has continued to increase at a fast pace with young professionals flooding into the city. This influx requires space and housing for these individuals to work and live at an affordable rate. Therefore, the A&L (Art & Living) District provides the space and the affordability to do so. The A&L District promotes community and togetherness within living spaces that connect to sharable and rentable workspaces for any form of project whether that be cooking, photography, workshops, etc. These can be used to work individually or in teams as required. These spaces may promote other dwellers to experiment with new hobbies and ideas that they can then bounce off of each other and develop. Goods made on site can then be sold at the cafeteria restaurants or retail spaces run by the occupants of the complex, promoting the start of small businesses and fine craftsmanship.

FORM

Each form is separate from each other with the Work and Work & Live spaces only connected by floor slabs for easy access while also creating a distinct separation of work vs. living.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

EXTRUSION

The base of each residential form acts as communal pedestals for the inhabitants. The Gallery and Restaurants are where artists present their work to each other and visitors of the site.

GALLERY

PUBLIC LOBBY

RESIDENT LOBBY

CONCIERGE 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. | A&L DISTRICT FRANKFURT 22

WORKSPACES

WORK & LIVE UNITS

SOCIAL HOUSING

RETAIL SHOPS

GREEN SPACE

RESTAURANTS AND GROCERY CAFETERIA

CIRCULATION & COMMUNITY

Floor plates allow free movement throughout the buildings that move away from tight corridors and promote outside living and creates a neighbourhood on each floor.

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FIRST FLOOR SITE PLAN

SECOND FLOOR PLAN

RESTAURANTS AND GROCERY

SUSTAINABILITY

Solar panels are placed along rooftops that gather solar energy to help power the entire complex. Within the gardens that line the living spaces along each floor, vegetables that are grown can either be used individually or sold to the kitchens and culinary spaces that exist in the complex. This

also provides a source of fresh ingredients for meals made and sold in the lower restaurants. All of the garden space that lines the building collects rainwater that nourishes the gardens and any excess water is drained, filtered, and added to the community’s water supply to reduce wasted water.

DOUBLE UNIT

The panels that act as a secondary skin along the work and craftsmen complex are inspired by a bird’s eye-view of the treetops of Frankfurt’s well known Pollarded Trees that define certain spaces around the city. There are three panels in total all made with different types of rattan and wicker. Each design is a different pattern of treetop woven around a wooden frame that allows a controlled light to enter the workshops while creating a beautiful shadow design within as the sun moves around the buildings.

FRANKFURT TREES

PANEL 1 PANEL 2 PANEL 3

Photo taken by Matt Kieffer

THE TINY HOUSE OASIS

Type: Competition

Design Typology: Tiny Living

Contributors: Hadley Milos, Didara Mansurova

BRITISH COLUMBIA , CANADA

Concerned with the wellness of its users, The Oasis invites comfort in isolation and promotes independence with sustainability in a postpandemic world. The concept is to be flexible and transformable by the user while thriving in biodiversity. The central roof structure holds the roof and rooftop garden where rainwater feeds the plants along the top and any excess water runoff drains through and into the vertical garden lining the interior wall. Any water collected in the centre of the roof is separated and filtered to be reused by the inhabitant for cooking, washing, etc. At 300 sq ft the house is meant to be prefabricated and can reside almost anywhere in Canada - the site pictured here is in British Columbia. The round exterior provides panoramic views to the ever changing Canadian scenery and stems from indigenous plans of yurts, tipis, and igloos, while also sliding to provide shading from the sun or opening up to provide more space that connects to the outdoor scenery. The opened interiors are spatially efficient with the center space being designed for utility and the rest capable of transforming as needed with a subfloor that houses active systems (generator, rainwater collector and filter, etc.) and storage for personal belongings, bedding and sitting space.

SECTION

ROOF GREEN GARDEN

INTERIOR GREEN WALL

CLOSET AND CABINET SPACE

STORAGE EMBEDDED IN FLOOR

KITCHEN AND TABLE SPACE

BED EMBEDDED IN FLOOR

BATHROOM SPACE

INTERIOR THERMAL GLASS SLIDING DOOR

EXTERNAL SHADING SLIDING DOORS

HOUSE PLAN

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RAINWATER COLLECTION

Water collected is seperated through two water filtration systems. One for the plants to be fed through filtering and feeding the rooftop garden where any extra water filters down into the interior gardens where fresh herbs and vegtables are grown through a cocunut husk fibre matt. A second carbon filter collects water at the center of the roof system, which slides down and is stored at the lower portion of the shelter to be used later.. Along the bottom is storage, an infloor bed and access to a generator to power the whole house.

STRUCTURAL CONNECTION #1 ROUND FRAMING CONNECTION

STRUCTURAL CONNECTION #2 INTERIOR ROUND FRAMING CONNECTION DOUBLE

VERTICAL GREEN GARDEN WITH MESH STRUCTURE

TIMBER FRAMING CONCRETE FOOTING

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HEX FLEX INTERACTION INSTALLATION

Type: Academic

Design Typology: Insillation

Instructor: Vincent Hue

Contributors: Hadley Milos, Ernest Tse, Shahmir Adnan, Nina Meshaka, Victoria Beck, Calvin Liang

TORONTO, ONTARIO

The interactive installation aims to invoke a person’s curiosity and toy with it upon investigation. Each hexagonal module contains an infinity mirror lit up with the use of LEDs that create an illusion of depth and mystery. As a visitor approaches the reflections, their curiosity peaks, the petaled fan that was once closed rotates and opens up covering the reflection behind it, and revealing a beautiful pattern that the lights behind shine through. The fan covers up the reflection and hogs all the attention.

The sensor behind the fan of each module reacts to the oncoming motion of the visitor and sends that information to an arduino. This causes the motor of that panel of the fan to rotate and, because that panel is connected to the others like a train, the flower opens. The system closes once motion disappears and once again it returns to its original postion. The modularity of the system allows easier installation, dispide the size of the spaces provided.

HOW IT WORKS

PROCESS

FANS

SENSORS AND ROUTER

ACRYLIC WITH TINTED FILM

MIRROR BACKING

WIRING

PLYWOOD CASING

ARDUINO AND ELECTRONICS

PLYWOOD BACKING

CASING SUPPORT

EXPLODED AXO

DFZ: GUINNESS WORLD RECORD GENHOME

Type: Academic Design Typology: Installation

TORONTO, ONTARIO

Partnered with students from Ryerson University’s Faculty of Science, Design Fabrication Zone partnered 3 Architectural Science Students to work on fabrication of “There’s No Place Like GenHome”. This brought on the goal of applying for the Guinness World Record for the longest DNA sequence model.

It is made up of a bendable wood veneer exterior, and thick, laser cut MDF as its structure along the inside, “There’s No Place Like Genhome”, was achieved at the length of 43.5 meters and was presented at Ryerson’s Science Rendezvous 2016. The project was made in modules, set up and surveyed by the representation of Guinness who gave the stamp of approval for our accomplishment.

Media Coverage:

StartUp Here Toronto - https://bit.ly/3mmFp9P

The Eyeopener - https://bit.ly/3NTLXbF

Photos taken by Matt Kieffer

DFZ: CREATE FOR CARNIVAL

Type: Academic Design Typology: Performance Art

TORONTO, ONTARIO

Created for Carnival with FZ x DFZ, this introduced students to taking on the challenge of designing looks with SugaCayne Designs for the annual Toronto Trinidad Carnival. Carnival costume design is built on traditional craftsmanship. In mas camps (studio warehouses) cultural techniques and tradition are brought into the designs and then “taken on the road” and celebrated as freedom of slavery. SugaCayne, founded by Candice and Dwayne Dixon, combines the beauty of Carnival costumes with modern day fabrication in the form of 3D Printing, laser cutting, and more.

The goal of the partnership between Ryerson University’s Design Fabrication Zone and SugaCayne Carnival was to fully develop three themes, with designs from each theme made for one man and one woman, for a total of 6 costumes. The overall theme of this year’s Toronto Carnival was VENOM. This theme sparked the concept of Project Inkwell and then converted into the three themes Calligraphy, SquidInk, and CMYK.

Media Coverage:

NowToronto - https://bit.ly/38Sg0l5

The Carribiean Camera - https://bit.ly/38WYcp6

Photos taken by Samuel Engelking

TIMBER FEVER 2018

Type: Academic Design Typology: Build Competition

TORONTO, ONTARIO

Presented by Moses Structural Engineers, students from local universities teamed up in a total of 16 different groups and built wooden parklets on the theme of the 4th annual Timberfever design build competition. The goal for this year was to design and build a structure with the limited materials supplied in the form of two-by-fours and plywood within the span of 32 hours that could hold up 2 large water tanks and allow access of water to those using the structure. The design had to be assembled to incorporate seating for two or more people, built-ins for the water tanks, and shading elements. Students were then judged on design development, the structural integrity including easy access of replacing the tanks, and construction quality. After construction and judging, the structures are displayed outside of Ryerson University Campus.

Media Coverage: Daily Commercial News - http://bit.ly/3NoeOoN EllisDon - http://bit.ly/3Qeu7SO

Photos taken by Moses Structural Engineers Inc.

EMPIRE 6: LARP STARTUP

Type: Concept Art

Design Typology: Startup Design

TORONTO, ONTARIO

Empire 6 re-invents what Live Action Roleplay (LARP) is, bringing technology and science fiction to an otherwise typically high fantasy and medieval style roleplaying game. Started by Avery Blackstone, this startup gives players an opportunity to explore their corner of space, involving survival, mediumto-low combat, politics, and commerce brought to a Western Sci-fi World.

The game involves heavy set design and prop design of which I have helped work on, supplying room layouts for the first trial game and 3D concept art and prop planning. A large portion of the planning and design focused on the incorporation of technology and visual components such as screens, interactive touch pads, and LEDs into the set. The structural considerations also upheld these standards, as several walls were required for mounting monitors, and acoustic consideration was made for placement and connection of speakers.

Empire 6 Website: https://www.empire6.ca/

ADDITIONAL WORKS 07

A collection of projects created on personal inititaive and commissioned work.

NATURE’S COLLECTION - Makeup and Photography

STRAWBERRY BOWL - Graphite Drawing

DEKU BY AMANDACOS. - Cosplay Editing