Spaces For Equity 2024 - Ethan Seemungal Upenn M.arch Portfolio

SPACES FOR EQUITY ETHAN SEEMUNGAL

2 0 2 4

MISSION This arc hitec ture portfolio foc uses on ex p l o r in g how arc hitec ture c an c ontribute to c rea tin g a more inc lusive and equitable world. The po r tf o l io features projec ts that delve into various t h e m e s , inc luding dec olonization, addressing the fo o d c r isis in Philadelphia, and reimagining existin g b u ildings to transform our spac es for the f u tu r e .

The aim is to provoke new ideas and persp e c tive s on how arc hitec ture c an positively impac t s o c ie ty and promote soc ial c hange.

THE CORBIN RESIDENCE STUDIO 601 LED BY HINA JAMELLE NYC

2023

The Corbin Residence is a home for creativity. The building is mixed use , a split between an art gallery and apartment units. Every artist wants the chance to experience the creative culture of New York City , but for many this isn’t feasible due to the cost of living in NYC. The Corbin residence allows artists to experience New York The apartments are available to artists at a subsidized rate In exchange for their artistic contribution to the Corbin gallery and the fidi community. This project will open Fidi and New York City to a demographic of people who would never get the chance to live in this area otherwise. The ground level is a display for the artwork , a moment for commuters, visitors and the artists to see their works displayed publicly. The lower levels are used for creating. Artists are given studio spaces , for making , places to teach , and talk about art. The goal of the Corbin Residence is to enrich and assert the existing artistic presence of lower Manhattan. This project speculates on how the existing corbin building can be reimagined for the future.

INDIGENIOUS LAND

ELEVATION

THE ELEVATION SHOWS THE NEW FORMATION BEING ORGANIZED THROUGH A SERIES OF VERTICALS. THE FORMATION ALLOWS THE CORBIN BUILDING TO KEEP ALMOST ALL OF ITS ORGINAL WINDOWS IN PLACE.

BROADWAY

JOHN ST

ELEVATION

FORMATION ADDED TO THE CORBIN

RESIDENTIAL PLAN

THE FLOOR PLAN HOST A SELECTION OF STUDIO, ONE BEDROOM AND TWO BEDROOM APARTMENTS. EACH FLOOR HAS SHARED ARTIST STUDIOS NEAR THE RIGHT EGREES. THE GOAL IS TO INSPIRE COMMUNAL CREATVITY AND INSIPRATION.

8TH FLOOR

ACCESSIBLE UNIT

ART GALLERY AND MAKING SPACES

APARTMENT UNITS/ARTISTS SHARED STUDIO SPACE

The Corbin Residence is located in The financial district, a neighborhood that can be described as a gallery of public installations due to works from Noguchi, Jean Dubuffet, Mark di Suvero and many more sprinkled throughout the area. The Corbin residence will help shed light on the existing work.

The art from the neighborhood flows through the fulton center because of the MTA art and Design initivative, and into our gallery and working spaces.

SKY REFLECTOR NET/ MTA ARTS & DESIGN

SUBWAY

GROUND PLAN SHOWING ART GALLERY , WORKING SPACES AND FULTON CENTER

FULTON CENTER

ART GALLERY

3D SECTION

GROW CAHLLOWHILL STUDIO 601 LED BY EZIO BLASETTI PHILLY

2023

“Across the Philly region, one out of every 10 households doesn’t have access to affordable, healthy food on a consistent basis, according to 2020 data. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) considers these households “food insecure.” Almost 250,000 people in Philly lack access to nutritious food to live a healthy life.”

Low income areas outside of center city and university city have a hard time getting access to affordable , healthy food.

In these areas known as “Food Deserts”, “shoppers typically seek to navigate the convenience stores, dollar stores and low-end grocery stores that sell food that lack nutritional value.” According to a study by Philadelphia’s Department of Health, those who live in North Philly, as opposed to Center City, have a decreased life expectancy of nearly 20 years .

Callowhill is the key to addressing food insecurity that affects lower income neighborhoods within Philadelphia. GrowCallowhill is a trigger for Callowhill to become the main source of fresh food production and distribution for the city of Philadelphia, giving it an identity of a crucial food district that improves the lives of struggling Philadelphians. The project takes advantage of indoor vertical farming and food distribution centers created by a system of pavillions attaching to rail park.

FOOD PRODUCTION + DISTRIBUTION

“Vertical farming is the process of growing crops vertically to maximize space, usually in a controlled indoor environment. This method results in high crop yields, allows for year-round food production in any climate, and enables farms to focus on goals ranging from food safety to quality.” This indoor method is extremely efficient, some vertical farms “are 100 times more productive on the same footprint of land than a traditional farm.”

DNA TO FORM

forms of pavillions were dervied from AI scans of plants, roots and tree trunks. These scans were translated into 3d objects by changing the pixel charcteristics to voxels the forms are the physical form of plant dna at different scales.

Vertical Farm Pavillion

STRUCTURE / CALCULATED STRESSES

After deriving the form through Ai generated scans , the next step was to figure out how the pavillion needed to be structured.

This study shows areas of the form that needed structure and renforcement, This pattern informed nestlike structure of the pavillions

THE HANDSHAKE

STUDIO 501 LED BY DANIELLE WILLEMS DECOLONIZATION

This PMA and Boathouse extension was developed through the lens of decolonization. In high school I was able to work at an art gallery in the east village called Kenkeleba house. The gallery was run by my mentor and renowned artist Joe Overstreet, his mission was to make a space to give underrepresented artists of color who were overlooked by mainstream art institutions a space to show their work. The gallery also placed emphasis on education and teaching art history by giving jobs to public school students in the city. There are very few spaces like this in the country that have significance.

INDIGENIOUS LAND

A big symptom of colonization is land ownership. The PMA is built on the land of the Lenape people. The museum understands this and has a statement of acknowledgement.

The Lenape people were forcefully removed from their territory, there is a claim that the land was purchased from them but, The Lenape people didn’t believe in land ownership, In fact they believe living in harmony with nature.The Handshake addresses this injustice in multiple ways through design.

RESPONSIVE ART PROGRAM

Trying to embody the ethos of Mr. Overstreet, My project “The Handshake’’ is a critique on the colonial foundation the museum is built on. Rather than display and curate artwork taken from other cultures , the handshake decolonizes the museum by giving local artists a space for their work to be curated in hopes of nurturing up and coming artists of philly.

The Handshake redefines the given program; Instead of an extension of the PMAs collection, The building will include a rotating gallery , a contemporary gallery and a staff gallery. .

STUDIO 501 LED BY DANIELLE WILLEMS

DECOLONIZATION

SITE AND MATERIALITY USED AS TOOLS FOR DECOLONIZATION

Colonialism not only removed The Lenape from their territory but their innovations using nature were completely ignored.

The Lenape used the wigwam style of dwelling to house their families. The structure used local wood to create a structural frame then used bark and straw to enclose the structure.

PHILLY

2022

To pay homage to the Lenape innovation, the tectonicity of the ribbon matches the structure of the wigwam at a larger scale. This structure will be susceptible to plants growing onto it, allowing nature to mesh with the building itself.

The landscape of the site becomes a place for native plants and crops to be grown. Aquatic plants such as Wild Celery can also thrive due to the new body of water being reintroduced.

Plants are encouraged to grow on the facade blending nature and architecture together

The land behind our site was originally a body of water, Water Works used to pump water for the city has been built over , and through the lens of the lenape tribe that is a crime on nature.

To honor the Lenape , I’m bringing back the water into the back of the project and naming it the Lenape reservoir giving the tribe a physical presence on the site.

Boating is more accessible due to the new Lenape Reservoir

ART PROGRAM LAYERS

The Rotating Gallery will be curated by (city of philly) The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy.

They take submissions from artists all over philly and try to give them funding they are committed to making art more accessible. The handshake will give them a physical space that they can always curate local artists. This will give more people opportunities.

The Contemporary Gallery will serve to highlight specific artists from Philly, who have been overlooked, or up and coming. This space is to give these artists their own show for an extended amount of time.

The Staff Gallery is dedicated to the PMA staff , allowing them to curate their own art work, and express their voices with creative freedom. This will allow in-house talent to shine but also help to restore a broken relationship between PMA and its staff.

EDUCATION

Across the ribbon there are education vessels, Here there is space for making artwork. In addition students will learn how to archive artwork, the students will continuously work on a growing archive of the artwork revolving in and out of The Handshake.

BOATHOUSE MAKING/ARCHIVE

STAFF GALLERY CONTEMPORARY GALLERY

ROTATING GALLERY

READING/WRITING

PHYSICAL MODEL 1/16” = 1’-0”

T H A NK Y O U