Portfolio
Architecture
Kahli Merriman
Kahli Merriman Skills Work Experience
Contact
+1 607•591•7393
kahlimerriman@gmail.com
Los Angeles, CA
About
Originally from Ithaca, NY, I moved to San Francisco, CA to get my B.A. in architecture at the University of San Francisco. After graduating cum laude, I moved to Los Angeles, CA to get my M.Arch at the University of Southern California. Outside of work, I love traveling to new places, cooking vegan dishes, and hiking/camping around California whenever I get the chance.
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER, LEO A DALY 2023-PRESENT
At Leo A Daly, I assist architects, engineers, medical planners, and interior designers with an array of technical tasks, design decisions, and sustainability documentation for the design of the VA West Los Angeles critical care center and central utility plant. In addition to my work on the VA project, I run the sustainability group and monthly meeting series for the office, I assist in the tracking of our AIA 2030 commitment for the firm, I’m a leader of the events committee, and I organize the weekly Lunch & Learn presentations.
INDEPENDENT RESEARCHER, UNIV. OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 2022
During my master’s program, I presented an independent research proposal that was accepted and funded by USC School of Architecture donors to conduct research on Garden Architecture in Singapore during the summer. During the summer, I studied over 30 buildings that had green facades, green roofs, and dense gardens in order to make conclusions about the benefits of the garden aesthetic in sustainable design.
INTERN, TANNERHECHT ARCHITECTURE 2020
During my time as an undergraduate intern at TannerHecht in San Francisco, I work ed closely with architects and designers to assist with editing drawings and models in Revit, AutoCAD, and SketchUp, attended site visits, conducted project and material research, and contacted the local building/planning departments. This was a wonderful small firm to begin my professional work experience in.
CASHIER/RUNNER, DELI BOARD 2018-2020
Deli Board is a well known lunch spot in San Francisco which can accumulate lines that wrap around the block. At the deli, I worked the register, memorized ingredients, ran food to the dining areas, and assisted with cleaning. Overall, it was a fun and rewarding position that required clear communication with a lot of multitasking.
Education
M.Arch, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 2020-2023
Master of Architecture with a certificate in Sustainable Design.
B.A. in Architecture, UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO 2016- 2020
Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and Community Design with a minor in Environmental Studies.
Study Abroad, JOHN FELICE ROME CENTER 2019
The spring semester of my junior year was spent studying in Rome, Italy.
2023
Tau Sigma Delta: Honor Society for Architecture
2021
William and Neoma Timme Traveling Fellowship
2020-2023
USC Merit based scholarship
2016-2020
USF University Scholarship
03. Park Terraces
01. Outside-In Duplex
02. Sky Park
06. Photography
04. P-arch
05. VA Hospital
OUTSIDE - IN DUPLEX
M.Arch, Spring 2021
Los Angeles, CA
This project objective was to design a micro-dwelling duplex to be placed as an accessory dwelling unit in an existing backyard in Los Angeles. The duplex was to be less than 1,200 sq/ft and it must coexist with the existing garage on the site.
My design resulted in an 1,190 sq/ft dwelling that literally brings the outside, in. The floor plan consists of 47% outdoor space by forcing the users to circulate through exterior cooridors and patios and focusing on fluid transitions between the indoors and outdoors. There is a private outdoor space attatched to each bedroom as well as several community outdoor social spaces. The Outside-In house overall captures an enhanced quality of natural light, fresh air circulation, and a connection with the outdoors and surrounding environment. I was then tasked with turning this duplex into a 10-12 unit community on a larger residential lot. This lead to designing an 11 unit complex with units being attached by a lightwell inbetween them. I continued to further this idea of outside-in within the units and larger site plan. Both the duplex and the apartment community explore the relationship that users have with their natural surroundings and neighbors.
CONCEPT DIAGRAM
TRANSVERSE SECTION
SITE SECTION
LONGITUDINAL SECTION
SITE PLAN
FLOOR PLANS
SECTIONAL OBLIQUE
CLAMSHELL OBLIQUE
SECOND FLOOR SITE PLAN
FIRST FLOOR SITE PLAN
SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE
BALCONY VIEW
ENTRANCE VIEW
AMENITY VIEW
INTERIOR VIEW
DUPLEX #2 SECOND FLOOR
DUPLEX #2 FIRST FLOOR
DUPLEX #1 FIRST FLOOR
DUPLEX #1 SECOND FLOOR
SKY PARK
M.Arch, Spring 2022
Los Angeles, CA
The project objective was to design a 40,000 sq/ft cross-laminated and mass timber high-rise building to function as a mixed-use Center for Social Justice. The site is located on a 35,000 sq/ft abandoned lot in Los Angeles’s Chinatown neighborhood.
In my design, the project acts as an inviting green public amenity for both building employees and the greater Los Angeles population, as it is important to maintain a visual and physical connection to green spaces in urban areas. The building also features many passive cooling strategies such as building overhangs, operable windows, low-emissivity curtain wall glass, insulative green roofs, and ample greenery for shading and cooling benefits. This project explores the idea of a building itself becoming a publicly accessible park through its lanscaped ramp system which aims to increase the well being of the humans who work and reside in urban areas that are too often concrete jungles and heat islands.
STRUCTURE DIAGRAM
GREENERY DIAGRAM
PRIVATE OFFICE
PRIVATE OFFICE
PRIVATE OFFICE
MEETING ROOM
JANITOR
CONFERENCE ROOM KITCHEN
SEVENTH FLOOR PLAN
1/24” = 1’-0”
SITE SECTION
3-ply cross laminated timber
Rigid insulation
Drainage Membrane
Soil
Concrete pavers
3-ply cross laminated timber
Concrete topping
DETAILED WALL SECTION BUILDING CHUNK DETAIL
BUILDING CHUNK DETAIL
Concrete basement
Purlins
Glulam beams
Glulam columns
Aluminum cap
Double-pane glazing
Aluminum mullions
HVAC ducts
PHYSICAL MODEL
STREET VIEW
OUTDOOR LOUNGE VIEW
PARK TERRACES
M.Arch, Fall 2022
Los Angeles, CA
This project objective was to design a 200,000 sq/ft mixed-use building located on Wilshire Boulevard next to the lush MacArthur Park in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. The project required each designer to be mindful of the existing building on site, the street running through the site, and the metro station next door.
In my design, I aimed to respond directly to the surroundings by creating a bridge between the urban landscape and the large green park. This was accomplished by extending two grand entrances into MacArthur Park in order to pull the lush greenery onto the terraced outdoor shopping center. These generous roof terraces act as large public lounge and flexible spaces surrounded by greenery. Mindful conditions over the street and pedestrian connections to the adjacent metro station plaza were also executed. This project explores the idea of a public park being pulled up onto and into a neighboring building in order to continuously be greeted with views of nature even after one has left the park.
CONCEPT DIAGRAMS
SITE PLAN
FLOOR PLANS
PLAZA VIEW STREET
PHYSICAL MODEL
SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE COLLAGE
P-arch
M.Arch, Spring 2023
Los
Angeles, CA
This project was my master’s thesis and my thesis statement was as follows:
As the world’s population continues to shift towards urban life and our cities densify, it is imperative that we find innovative ways to integrate nature into our urban landscapes. P-arch argues the built environment can and should act a platform that fosters a deep connection between humans and the natural environment, which is an increasingly vital task due to climate change, rapid population shifts, and the rising cost of land without the proper funding for nature conservation. Therefore, P-arch is a 52-story biophilic mass timber tower, connected to Pershing Square Park in Downtown Los Angeles, which specifies a new type of architecture. One that merges public park infrastructure and private residential development. The project serves as a future model for how architecture can assist in bringing both public and private experiences closer to nature, even in dense urban landscapes where space is limited. P-arch proposes a metropolitan architecture that prioritizes park space by marrying public infrastructure and private architecture, and in doing so, P-arch serves as a new kind of zoning classification for the contemporary city, one that will merge innovation and nature into a seamless urban experience for the modern human.
STREET VIEW
INTERIOR VIEW
ROOFTOP VIEW
GARDEN VIEW
PARK CONNECTOR VIEW
VA HOSPITAL
Leo A Daly, 2023-Current
Los
Angeles, CA
This project is a 450,000 sq/ft critical care center, as well as a new central utility plant, boiler plant, and loading dock, all located on the VA’s campus in West Los Angeles. I began working on the project at the beginning of the design development phase and it is now in the construction documents phase.
My contribution to this project thus far have included space planning tasks with medical planners, sustainable material selection with interior designers, working with technical architects to create all ceiling plans, ceiling details, and door schedules in Revit, collaborating with engineers on HVAC and lighting integration, coordinating sustainability goals with a small team, working with consultants for LCA reports, and completing over half of the LEED documentation required for the submittal. The scale and complexity of this project has proved to be a great learning experience for me in my early career.
Image created and owned by Leo A Daly.
“Space is a subjective phenomenon, not an objective fact.”
-Eckhard Feddersen