Syracuse University School of Architecture
B. Arch.
Syracuse School of Architecture
The project, located along the Hudson River, showcases 9 sculptures by Tony Smith, an American sculptor who synthesizes geometric abstraction and expressionism. The gallery design takes inspiration from the geometric formal language of Tony Smith’s sculptures.
The Gallery was formed out of a gridded arrangement of Octahedral & Tetrahedral. These forms were inspired by the geometry of Tony Smith’s sculptures, understood through their process of digital modeling. The models of sculptures are then incorporated into a digital walk-through experience through Enscape.
The proposed enclosure material for the building is a 50:50 Sawdust-Cement composite material.
Design Iterations
The Chiminea House references traditional domestic architecture, centering everyday life around the hearth. With no walls dividing interior space, movement is unrestricted throughout the Chiminea house. Furniture is designed to be functional and space efficient to take advantage of the home’s 400 square feet.
Like its namesake the chiminea, the house achieves versatility through simplicity, taking advantage of the hearth to serve a primary role in everyday life.
Roof Deck and Switchgrass Rainwater Collection
Syracuse, New York
Partner: Grant Portelli
The program of Laborers Center is focused around returning the agency of labor to retired metalworkers and aims to do this by reconnecting the act of labor with the ownership of it’s output. The tower is isolated from the ground structure to accommodate multi-phase construction and design adjustments.
Book-Shelf was designed as part of a modern furniture class. The design combines functionality, ease of assembly, and playful linear forms into a highly functional piece of furniture.
The shelf has level and sloped surfaces to accommodate both objects and books. The design eliminates the need for bookends as books can be stacked at an angle. Linear cuts in the sloped surfaces allow for weight reduction while not compromising on functionality. Assembled out of a singular 4’ x 8’ sheet of 3/4” birch plywood.
Westcott, Syracuse, New York
The Branch Community Center is an annex to the Petit Branch Public Library introducing a courtyard, classrooms, and a workshop to the Westcott neighborhood. The arms of the annex frame two outdoor spaces for learning and community organization. Skylights are introduced into the existing library to offset the reduction in windows from the annex.
Project modeling techniques were developed through material manipulation of wood, cement, card-stock and moss.
Thesis Partner: Chay Phelps
Located within the arid regions of California, the Salton Sea fell victim to a wrath of anthropic development, resulting in a steady decline in the health of both the lake and its residents. This project aims to research how design and construction can combat the creeping humanitarian crisis of the global water shortage. Salton Sea, California
Desiccated Assemblies responds to this growing catastrophe, providing arid regions with low water consumption materials and innovative construction processes. By focusing solar radiation using a Fresnel lens, temperatures reach over 2000°C, fusing local silica within regional sediment into Silica Glass
Through digital programming and structural analysis, a CNC, solar-based fabrication process can produce unique arrangements of silica bricks, designing parametric vaults through the calculation of structural stresses.
The design principles of this project seek to rectify a portion of the damages that desiccation and hydrological pollution have on our environment.
The local biota inspires the sculptural forms, showcasing the design versatility of parametric, compressive vault structures.
One of the largest North American birds, the American White Pelican soar with incredible steadiness on broad, white-and-black wings. Their large heads and huge, heavy bills give them a prehistoric look. On the water they dip their pouched bills to scoop up fish.
33% of the North American population of White Pelicans winters at the Salton Sea.
A stately, clumping palm can reach 100 feet in height.
Large palm shoots sprout from the base of a dominant trunk and small, yellow flowers hang in long sprays. Female trees bearing the sought-after dates.
Widow Skimmers are areal predators that prey on other insects such as mosquitoes, acting as a balance to the
It has a main taproot, mostly longer than the plant is tall, taking advantage of the ground moisture. In desert flats, the short 3 inch plant can be easily obscured, by downstream-washed debris that easily collects on the spineflower skeleton.
Although Date Palms now can be found growing in many parts of the world, these palms originated in the Mediterranean region.
Spineflower
(Chorizanthe rigida)
Shallow wetlands wetlands are the only place you’ll find these amphibians as a result of competition from exotic bullfrogs. However, this subspecies is better able to coexist with invasive exotic species compared to other leopard frogs due to its ability to breed in relatively shallow, flowing water.
When desiccated, the plant’s spiny skeleton is dark gray or of medium browns, and blends in easily to the desert ground colors.
Common Centipede ranges between 4 and 5 inches long. During the daytime they can be found underground or under rocks. Centipede mothers take care of their eggs coiling around and grooming them.
The lowland leopard frog is believed to be extirpated from 50% of its historical habitat range due to loss of habitat, fragmentation and introduction of non-native species.
There is one pair of legs for each segment except for the first and last segments, 21 or 23 pairs in total.
The design exercise utilizes the silica bricks computed into stable compressive structures.
The complexity of the forms aims to demonstrate the design versatility using one method of producing a building through the fusing of silica.
This project develops on an assemblage of tools, machines, and fabrication methods, utilized in the construction of innovative architecture, to combat increasing water scarcity within desiccated landscapes.
Project Partner: Emmei Gootnick
Perennial Cultivation seeks to re-imagine the meaning of community in the existing context of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw neighborhood, specifically through the focus on hydroponic, aeroponic, and traditional systems, in order to provide a solution to the existing urban food desert.
6 Unit types were created for the arrangement of unique forms that slide out of the mass of the building. These disturbances create an appealing array of overhangs, windows, and balconies
Three income-restricted apartment buildings are proposed to expand housing opportunities for the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Community on our allocated plot of the project site, alleviating some of the local need for affordable housing
This project cultivates a community where residents of the project and locals alike can pursue healthy lifestyles and relationships, through addressing a part of Baldwin Hills Crenshaw’s systemic food insecurity, and preserving ownership of space.
