SELECTED WORKS
Kana Takagi
Master of Architecture Graduate 2024
Sustainable System and Design Degree Option
Lighting Design Certificate
Computing Design Certificate
Kana Takagi
Lighting Designer
Sustainability | Lighting Design | Computer Simulation
As a designer with a passion for sustainability and innovative solutions, I collaborate closely with architects and consultants to create lighting designs that reduce energy usage, enhance user ’s well-being, and translate grand building concepts into a human-scale experience. My professional goal aims to rethink our approach to the
built environment by discovering innovative strategies f rom advanced technologies and historic architecture. E xploring the possibilities of architecture in both the past and the future would lead to unseen potentials of the built environment. My professional goal is to design for users’ wellbeing and comfort.
Education
University of Washington Seattle Campus
Master of Architecture
Ŋ NAAB accredited professional degree
Ŋ Sustainable System and Design degree option
Ŋ Lighting Design Certificate
Ŋ Design Computing Certificate
Ŋ Teaching Assistant of ARCH 200, ARCH 201, and ARCH 524
Ŋ Master’s Thesis: Impermanence of Light and Shadows
Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Design
Ŋ NAAB acreddited pre-professional degree
Ŋ Graduated in three years
Work Experience
Dark Light Design
Architectural Lighting Designer
Ŋ Assist with drawing sets for SD, DD and CD phases on Revit and AutoCAD. Draw conceptual diagrams for client and lighting coordination presentations.
Ŋ Problem-solve wattage usage to meet the Seattle/Washington energy code and LEED certifications without impacting design intentions.
Ŋ Coordinate with architects and consultants to create client’s desired lighting design, reduce energy usage, and enhance user’s experience.
Ŋ Review RFIs and submittal for Construction Administration.
Ŋ Visit sites to take field measurements and evaluate site conditions.
Ŋ Generate lighting simulations of luminaire levels on AGI32 to estimate architectural lighting conditions.
Jackson Main Architecture
Architectural Intern
Ŋ Drafted construction details and architectural drawings on Revit.
Ŋ Researched zoning, building, and energy codes for feasibility studies. Created renderings for residential projects on Enscape and Photoshop.
Ŋ Coordinated with regional representatives to make physical material boards for client presentations.
Florian Busch Architects
Architectural Intern
Ŋ Coded parametric design on Grasshopper to generate fenestration patterns on a concrete structure.
Ŋ Coordinated in a Japanese-English bilingual firm.
Ŋ Assisted in an iterative process using Rhino and handmade models.
Sept, 2022 – Jun, 2024
Seattle, Washington
Awards
Richard P. Bryant Scholarship Endowment
Annual Dean’s List 2021 – 2022
Donald L. Currie and Daniel W. Gladstone Endowed Scholarship
Annual Dean’s List 2020 – 2021
Machida Cherry Blossom photography competition finalist Zojoji Temple Autumn 2020 photography competition Finalist
Idaho FIRST Tech Challenge Dean’s List Award
Five Pillars Visual Arts Excellence Award
Sept, 2019 – Jun, 2022 Seattle, Washington
Activity
Solar Decathlon
Architecture Lead
Apr, 2024 – Present Seattle, Washington
Jun, 2023 – Aug, 2023 Seattle, Washington
Ŋ Lead the architecture team to design a netzero passive housing
Ŋ Compete in the 2024 Solar Decathlon cometition
Ŋ Bridge the gap between architecture and engineering students
NOMAS
Vice President
Ŋ Advocated for more support for minority students
Ŋ Seattle Design Festival 2021
College of Built Environments Diversity Council
Student Representative
Ŋ Collaborated with staff and faculty members to give voice to students and provide support
Planned effective strategies to communicate, provide resources, and raised awareness of justice, equity, inequality, and inclusion
Jul, 2021 – Aug, 2021
Shibuya, Tokyo
Volunteer
AIA June Solstice Event
Guest Speaker
Ŋ Raised awareness of discriminations faced by minority students and how they bring new perspectives to architecture.
Nov, 2023 – Mar, 2024
Seattle, Washington
Feb, 2021 – Jun, 2023
Seattle, Washington Sept, 2021 – Jun, 2023 Seattle, Washington
Mar, 2023 - Jun, 2023 Seattle, Washington
NOBORI BUILDING
Company: Florian Busch Architects
Role: Architectural Intern
Team Members: Principal - Florian Busch | Project Manager - Sachiko Miyazak | Designer - Dyro Yamashita
PARAMETRIC MODELING
The Nobori Residential Building is a mixed-used building located in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It showcases a refined integration of modern architectural elements with traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi. The building design aims to maximize natural light with expansive glazing with spectacular views of the surrounding landscape while also being structurally durable to the high seismic forces of Japan. Inside, the layout promotes a fluid circulation while ensuring a balance of privacy and openness. Through parametric modeling, the team successfully designed a facade pattern that best achieves all of these project goals in a short timeframe.
Parametric Modeling
From Handmade Models to Coding
During my summer internship at Florian Busch Architects in Tokyo, I was responsible for exploring patterns of the exterior facade. I made CAD and physical 3D models to create multiple iterations. The patterns follow code regulations, programs, and views from the site. The final pattern was later programmed on Grasshopper to further explore variations of the pattern.
Handmade Models
Construction Completed in 2023
Grasshopper Coding on Rhino
Drawings
Axon Sections
Elevations
CHAPTER AT EUGENE
Company: Jackson Main Architecture
Role: Architectural Intern
Team Members: Principal - Katerina Prochaska | Project Managers - David Huang | DesignerJessica Ishizaka
COMMERCIAL HIGH-RISE
As an Architectural Intern at Jackson Main Architecture, I used Enscape to create renderings for the Chapter at Eugene (Excelsior Tower) student housing development in Portland, Oregon. When my project manager tasked me with renderings for the client, I aimed to depict how the targeted demographic—college students in an unfamiliar urban city—would interact with the space that architects designed to encourage students to find a community in their new homes. When the client asked me to produce more renderings for successfully capture the vision of their project, I discovered my passion for designing spaces that felt deeply personal to the people inhabiting them.
North and East Facade
Roof Top - North Area
Roof Top - South Area
North Entrance and Cafe Storefront
BIRCH HALL DORMITORY
School: University of Washington
Degree: Master of Architecture
Class: ARCH 506, Housing Studio
Instructor: Elizabeth Golden
HOUSING DESIGN EXPLORATION
For the final project of ARCH 506 Housing Studio, I explored design strategies for college dormitories to be more comfortable for the diverse student population at the University of Washington. The dorm accommodates students who come from different backgrounds with unique personalities and interests. Birch Hall is a home away from home for incoming freshman students, who make up the majority of the on-campus resident population. One of the challenges faced by freshman students is finding their community and making themselves at home on the large campus. The dorm addresses these problems by being located in an area of the campus without any residential development, creating spaces for students to socialize, and dorm room layouts with a balance of privacy and openness.
Feasability Study
Concept Development
Iteration 1
Iteration 2 Iteration 3
Site Analysis
Observations
The residence hall is located on the South campus of the University of Washington, an area with high urban development because of the college football game. It is easily accessible by the general public of Seattle with close proximity to bus stops and the UW Link train station, high vehicle traffic, and massive parking lots. Despite the lack of student population compared to other parts of the campus, the South campus is home to the Department of Engineering, the School of Environmental and Forest Science, and the Medical Schools. On-campus residents walk a long distance to attend these departments’ classes. In addition to that, many dining halls and UW’s largest gym, free for all students, are located here. Building a dorm on this site would be a convenient location for students and invite more students to build a community on the South campus.
Forestry Buildings
Engineering Buildings
Medical Center
Sports Facilities
Food
Link Station
Bus Station
Circulation
Renderings
Slice of Life on Campus
The amenity spaces are designed to help students find their community in their home away from home by encouraging social interactions. With a variety of amenities available, they support a broad aspect of a college student’s life. The cafe allows students to study for classes while drinking coffee. The entertainment room offers free access to gaming equipment to play with other students. The open deck presents a scenic view of Mount Rainier visible from the South campus on sunny days. The renderings aim to depict how college students would engage with these spaces if amenities designed to initiate interactions were more common on campus.
Typical Dorm Room Floor Plan
“I stand at a distance, like a person who comes from another world”
~ Andreas Gursky
CULTURAL KITCHEN
School: University of Washington
Degree: Master of Architecture
Class: ARCH 505, Design Build Studio
Instructors: Steve Badanes + Jake LaBarre
DESIGN BUILD + CONSTRUCTION
The Neighborhood Design Build Studio built a cultural kitchen for the UW Farm on the University of Washington Seattle campus. The scope of the project was to create an outdoor space for the college’s agriculture community to gather and participate in events hosted by UW Farm. As a studio, we collaborate with clients to design and build a space that suits their desires and needs. My role in the team was calculating the structural forces, drawing construction documents on Revit, and building the roof and trusses.
Sun Studies
Winter Solstice
Construction Details
Drafting
When the studio class was drafting construction details as a team in preparation for building the structure, I was responsible for these detailed drawings. I labeled the truss numbers on the roof plan, adjusted the roof joinery details to make the dimensions accurate, and hid unwanted elements in the section view to clean up the drawing for a client presentation.
Roof Plan
Roof Joinery Section
Truss Structure
Multi-Purpose Space
Roof Joinery
Usability
On Site Sketches
Personal Work
ARCHITECTURAL SKETCHES
When I visit a new city, I draw the buildings that I visit. Free-handing sketches allow me to carefully analyze the space and record my observations. Sketching helped me improve my diagramming and drafting skills at work and have a better memory of the building.
