Whether I realized it or not, I have always been interested in architecture and the built environment. From drawing floor plans at the age of eight to taking an architecture class in high school, it’s always felt right. Over the years my knowledge of the field has grown and my love for architecture along with it. As a graduating fifth year student with a passion for sustainable design and historic preservation, I know this knowledge and love will continue to grow for years to come.
emma detter
717.481.0225
emgdetter@gmail.com Philadelphia, PA
education
bachelor of architecture expected 05/2025 minor in historic preservation
3.55 GPA | cum laude
Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia, PA
study abroad 01/2024 - 04/2024
University of Arkansas Rome, Italy
experience | work history
project designer I 05/2024 - current mulá group Lancaster, PA
volunteer at Greenbuild 11/2024 USGBC Philadelphia, PA
server 08/2020 - 12/2023
Scooter’s Restaurant and Bar Lititz, PA
server + host 08/2018 - 07/2020
Brickerville House Restaurant Lititz, PA
Skills
communication
collaboration + teamwork
site analysis
design development construction documentation microsoft office + bluebeam adobe illustrator, photoshop, + indesign revit, autocad, rhino, lumion, enscape, + twinmotion
01 schuylkill river grandstand pp. 4 - 11
02 school + evacvuation center in malawi pp. 12 - 17
03 point breeze + grays ferry community garden pp. 18 - 25
04 strawberry mansion house of peace pp. 26 - 29
05 miscellaneous projects pp. 30 - 37
01 schuylkill river grandstand
partner reagan cope
location Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA
typology cultural year fall 2023
On a narrow site wedged between the Schuylkill River and Kelly Drive is a deteriorating and weathered grandstand seasonly used to watch the local regattas. The goal of this project was to create a new grandstand to replace the existing one while also creating a series of interior spaces to program the site year round.
We believed that mass timber was the defining component of the building while working through the design process. Although later told it would be required for the structure, it was already an integral part of the design thoroughly influencing every aspect of the grandstand.
The project began by analyzing the site and surrounding area along the Schuylkill River where the rowing competitions take place every year. We began by dissecting paths traveled, wind patterns and speed, solar orientation, comfort charts, humidity levels, building codes, and more to develop a general understanding of the requirements for a future building on the site might require.
The connectivity between the site, river, and anyone interacting with any aspect of the building or site was of the upmost importance as we wanted to create something that would also function as an extension of the Schuylkill River Trail.
seam zinc
water channeled from the three lowest points on the roof spill out onto sculpted fans into the bioswales for rain collection.
wood louvers
standing
CLT structure
concrete
dark brick exterior polycarbonate
vertical
louvers and polycarbonate hollow cellular panels on the west facade
second floor plan
7. grandroom
8. support kitchen
9. restrooms
first floor plan
10. press + commentator boxes
11. administrative offices
12. mechanical room
13. telecom/av room
1. grandstand
3. security office
4. concessions
2. women’s olympic art display
5. main entrance
6. restrooms
REAGAN COPE AND EMMA DETTER
02 school + evacuation center in malawi
partner emma vormschlag
location Chikwawa, Malawi
typology educational
year fall 2024
Climate change is an issue becoming increasingly relevant to the global population. One of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change is Malawi, where schools face an influx of internally displaced people during climate disasters and access to education suffers.
The concept for this project in Chikwawa focuses on providing a replicable framework to integrate the functions of a school and an emergency shelter into one cohesive facility. In response to the region’s susceptibility to climate disasters, the facility aims to enhance community resilience without sacrificing education. The scheme prioritizes durability and adaptability, utilizing sustainable materials that can withstand environmental challenges. Flexible spaces facilitate both dynamic learning environments and efficient areas for emergency response, ensuring the accommodation of displaced families during a crisis. The facility can serve its dual purpose effectively and contribute to the relief efforts of the entire Chikwawa community.
These sketches represent potential iterations of module configurations during the design process. School blocks were suggested with a pinwheel configuration to form a defined exterior space. Areas dedicated to evacuation functions were suggested with a “C” configuration to provide an easily manageable and larger space for evacuees and relief groups.
The completed module features partial stationary walls with plenty of operable elements to open up or close the interior as necessary. These operable elements include a foldable partition dividing the interior space, horizontal louvers, overhead doors, and sliding shutters.
The module is also designed to be used as a structural skeleton that can function as an emergency shelter equipped with the evacuation strategy throughout the full module rather than one third of it. This allows for further expansion of the school, evacuation center, or overall sheltered space for the community.
03 point breeze + grays ferry community garden
location Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, PA typology cultural year fall 2022
The first part of this project was dedicated to neighborhood analysis where I focused on the changes in greenspace and thresholds from Rittenhouse Square to East Passyunk. I found that the more equitable neighborhoods had a better sense of greenery and vegetation surrounding the homes, while the less equitable neighborhoods had less trees and lower quality urban spaces. It is important to focus resources in neighborhoods that deserve the enrichment that trees, parks, and public spaces provide to be able to create a more equitable Philadelphia.
The rest of the project was the design of a community garden and center situated on a full block between Point Breeze and Grays Ferry. Growing Together, a nonprofit gardening group, already has a community garden on the site, but the goal was to expand the size and capabilities of the existing garden to better accomodate more residents and provide a market and other related services to the neighborhood. Food scarcity and variety of nutritious options are difficult in this area and in order to uplift the surrounding communities there needs to be more viable local options.
T2
reflections
The reflection in a window is indicative of the quality of its surrounding environment, mirroring trees, a house across the street, or nothing at all.
T4 reflections
Even though this window to be well taken care of, comparison to the previous the reflection is of a house the street reflecting an disconnected from nature. Rittenhouse thresholds
T1
double door entry
This double-wide wooden door, similarly found across Delancey, elevates the elegance of the home and entry.
T2
flower boxes
T3
decorated stoops
Almost every home has a form of flower boxes on their windows, varying from home to home they improve the street environment.
Stoops are seen as a gathering spot, once decorated they serve solely as an entrance. However, Madison Sq. serves as one giant “stoop” for the street.
window appears of, in previous one, house across an environment nature.
T5
decorative window bars
T6
“storm” doors
As one progresses towards South Philly from Rittenhouse, the appearance of window bars becomes more common. This was one of the first seen, boasting visual appeal and functional purpose.
South Philly thresholds
T7
Many different places use storm doors in front of the main door to a house, in some parts of Philly, they use screened doors with metal bars.
interior window bars
Although this form of window bars is less obvious to people walking by, it is invasive to the residents of the house.
T8 surveillance
Security is a high priority for everyone, especially in different parts of the city. Security cameras in addition to the barred door is evident of that.
T9
the end of an era
Scattered around South Philly are abandoned houses not safe for residing in with boarded-up doors and notices around properties. This abandonment is seldom found in Rittenhouse or wealthier neighborhoods.
SpruceSt
WolfSt
DalySt TreeSt
As a compilation of the semester’s work, my final project aims to create equity on the border of two of the neighborhoods in South Philadelphia, Point Breeze and Grays Ferry. The project relocates the existing garden to the southern side of the site and creates a greenhouse, ramped green roof, marketplace, and exterior plazas and pavilions for the public. The goal was to create a series of public environments for the surrounding neighborhoods to use and resonate with as their own, while also creating a slight buffer between the residential and commercial faces of the property.
04 strawberry mansion house of peace
location Strawberry Mansion, Philadelphia, PA
typology cultural
year spring 2022
The House of Peace is a series of nonsecular structures to house one of George Nakashima’s Altars of Peace. The building and site are crafted to connect citizens of Strawberry Mansion and surrounding neighborhoods in Philadelphia in a space that promotes equality and fellowship. Of the series of buildings, one houses the Altar of Peace, another serves as a multipurpose space, and smaller modules serve as individual meditation pods. These spaces are meant to serve the community while encouraging both meditation and conversation to promote a universal peace.
The design focuses on the engagement of Strawberry Mansion residents with the outdoors and neighboring PowerCorps, a group that helps employ the community. The series of buildings feature an outdoor garden, sanctuary, three meditation pods, and an enclosure containing the Altar of Peace itself. The intent behind the design was to be as minimally invasive to the site as possible, ensuring clean transitions between interior and exterior while facilitating conversation and interaction with one’s environment.
05 miscellaneous projects
Over the last four and a half years there has been quite the accumulation of projects and assignments. The final section of my portfolio serves as a little peek into several other projects taking place in Rome, Philadelphia, and anywhere but nowhere.
designation of architectural districts in Primavalle
changes in topography through Primavalle
new additions to the park
potential nodes + paths
movement through site
site plan of the park
IL PARCO DEL POPOLO
location Primavalle, Rome, Italy
typology cultural
year spring 2024
The neighborhood of Primavalle primarily consists of social housing Mussolini built during his regime. Although serving the community as shelter, these groups of buildings lack some elements many people deem necessary in their built environments. The existing Parco Anna Bracci is currently overgrown and does not supplement the community’s need for outdoor space. Rather than integrating a new program and building on this site further distancing the community from the outdoors, I controversially opted to rehabilitate the park and create nodes of activity for the community. In places where there is limited outdoor space, it is crucial to cultivate what is already there for public use especially in a world where green spaces quickly disappear around us.
final
connections through rome
location Rome, Italy typology
year spring 2024
Students were tasked with summarizing our sixteen weeks of classes, boards, and observations of Rome into one board for a class called “Architecture of the City.”
We learned how the monuments of Rome were once connected together and how these connections changed or disappeared over time. I was particularly drawn to how Rome grew around the river and the points at which the separation of the two sides of the city were breached. The growth and modernization of Rome can be documented through where bridges were and are located and what they aimed to connect to.
church adaptive reuse
location Germantown, Philadelphia, PA
typology residential year fall 2023
As the primary part of my first historic preservation class, students were tasked with an adaptive reuse conversion of St. Michael’s Lutheran Church. It has been abandoned for the last several years and serves as a relic of Germantown’s origins a few centuries ago. My goal with this project was to maintain the character defining features of the church including the organ pipes, stained glass windows, and the soaring height of the space.
The main entrance and altar space preserve this height while the organ pipes remain in place as well. The stained glass windows were modified to allow clear openings for residents to the outside however are still prevalent on the exterior of the building.
st. michael’s lutheran
the past, the present, + the future
location typology cultural year fall 2021
Each student chose a book and was tasked with designing a space where a user would eventually read the chosen book. I chose I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. Angelou details her life and explains how she was able to continue after the trauma she endured as a child. This is reflected in my design as a user enters the space and walks up a set of stairs where they eventually reach the book. On their way back down, a frosted glass wall separates the two sets of stairs and becomes increasingly noticeable. Through the glass the user is able to see the vague silhouettes of someone else ascending the staircase where they first began their journey, symbolizing the ability to be able to grow in life while reflecting on past trauma or a past version of oneself without neglecting the past.
3d interpretation of mondrian
location
year fall 2020
As one of my first projects at Jefferson, the aim of this project was to interpret the assigned Mondrian painting (pictured bottom right) in a series of points, lines, or planes. The only absolute requirement was that one side of the completed model must look like the painting. A rather controversial move for some crititcs, I maintained all of the lines as lines opting to create volumes from the spaces between them. A huge part of creating this model was determining which lines overlapped others and where, and I managed to successfully organize every single line in Mondrian’s New York City I (1942) with complete accuracy.
