katie zezyus
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
THEATER AND CREATIVE COLLECTIVE
Baltimore, Maryland is a city where industry and the arts coexist, with vibrant studios, galleries, and concert halls set against the backdrop of historic factories and warehouses. The design of the Baltimore Art House merges the creative with the mechanistic to create a collaborative space where individuals work together as an artistic and cultural machine to power the theater and other ventures.
The creative collective’s housing embodies these ideas of interconnectedness through a detached catwalk corridor that links the living units to the building’s workshops, studios, and performance spaces. This performative circulation echoes the movement of the Baltimore Belt Line, a railway which is located south of the site. While the artists work together to power the theater, the Art House itself is powered by the community. In addition to the public’s support of the performances, the “artistic machine” draws from the natural conditions of the site to reduce energy costs and enhance comfort for those living and working at the Art House.
15 Weeks / Spring 2023
Art (concert halls, art galleries, artist studios,...)
Industry (warehouses, manufacturers, factories,...)
Belt Line Elevation and Concept Image
“The Corridor”
Summer Passive Strategies
In summer, the Belt Line-facing window wall draws fresh air through the catwalk corridor to create a buffer between the humid exterior and the conditioned interior. Windows and operable walls provide cross ventilation, ensuring airflow through the residential and creative areas.
Winter Passive Strategies
In winter, the low-angle sun heats the corridor, serving as a thermal buffer between the cold exterior and the conditioned interior. The trombe wall gradually conducts heat into the living and creative spaces, with vents enhancing the heat transfer through convection. Radiant floor heating provides additional warmth.
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA
EMERGENCY RESPONSE FACILITY
Situated in the Hill District, the design for Fire Station 44 focuses on efficiency to allow for quick and orderly firefighter turnout in the event of an emergency, and visibility, to rebuild trust with a historically underserved community. As both a public safety facility and a community gathering space, these concepts are integral to the design.
The firefighter response program, including the apparatus bays and PPE storage, is aligned perpendicular to Bedford Avenue to allow for an efficient exit route. Community gathering spaces and firefighter residential areas are oriented due south to capture sunlight and open up to the community. Where these two forms intersect, the building enhances visibility with a visual connection between the community space and apparatus bays, while efficiently housing the firefighter response staircase. Both the public and the firefighters enter through this central joint.
15 Weeks / Fall 2022
opposite: Response Stair and Roof Garden Connection
Building Conception Diagram
To highlight visibility and transparency between the Hill District community and the firehouse, the building features channel glass on the portions of the facade holding the apparatus bays, community space, and second egress stair. The remainder of the facade is treated with metal panels that match the proportions and verticality of the channel glass.
Wall Section through Community Space and Firefighter Residential Areas
“Transparency” Conceptual Study
Facade Treatment
Firefighter Response
Section through Apparatus Bays, Community Space, and Firefighter Residential Area
Section through Apparatus Bays, Community Space, and Firefighter Areas
Scale: 1/8” = 1’ 0”
COPENHAGEN
COHOUSING
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
PARKING GARAGE ADAPTIVE REUSE
Located in the multicultural neighborhood of Nørrebro, the Copenhagen Cohousing design creates a strong connection to the site’s history, surroundings, and community. Reacting to the area’s legacy of activism against unwanted redevelopment and restrictive “ghetto laws,” the building uses the existing parking garage structure to revive a C-shaped housing block that previously existed on the site but was demolished between 1980 and 1999 in relation to this trend.
Inspired by the concept of Danish Folk High Schools, non-formal residential schools offering diverse learning opportunities in many subjects, the project fosters community engagement through shared learning and living spaces. The parking ramp is retained on the ground level to house classrooms and workshops for public use, while the apartment floors feature unique “village-like” layouts with generous communal spaces to support a range of social activities.
8 Weeks / Fall 2023
opposite: Exploded Axonometric and Concept Diagrams
Amphitheater on Public Ramp
Cohousing Communal Corridor Space
Åboulevard Elevation
C - C 0 1 2 3 4 5 10 m
Section through Public Courtyard and Cohousing Floors with Building Massing Diagrams
Community Exhibition / Pop-Up Space
Amphitheater
Boules Courts
Game Room
Åboulevard
Section
Communal Workshop / Creation Space
Smedegade
Communal Workshop / Creation Space
Learning / Workshop Space
Smedegade
INSTITUTE FOR BROADER IMPACTS
UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA
GEOLOGY RESEARCH AND PRESENTATION CENTER
Located on Penn State’s University Park campus, the IBI Research Center is a hub for sharing scientific discoveries and expanding knowledge in the field of geology, the study of Earth, its history, and the processes that act on it. Taking inspiration from geodes and fossils, natural artifacts with a rough exterior and a hidden crystalline interior, the building features rough rock-like structures that house vibrant research and learning spaces.
The artificial intelligence software Midjourney was used to generate design ideas from reference photographs of geological forms and existing architecture, shaping the project’s innovative aesthetic. The IBI building is comprised of three “rocks” spread across the site, housing the research center and presentation theaters. The structures are connected by underground basement levels that contain geology-specific installations and exhibitions.
10 Weeks / Spring 2024
opposite: Structural Shell Axonometric
Elevation Facing Paterno Library
Section through Research Presentation Lobbies and Underground Exhibition
Midjourney Image Prompt: “Walter Niedermayr’s Hinteruxergletscher XXIII photograph (2004)” as architecture
Image Prompt: Blend “Ensamble Studio Installation” with “Walter Niedermayr’s Hinteruxergletscher XXIII”
Midjourney
BY LAND AND BY WATER
SELINSGROVE, PENNSYLVANIA
NATURE CENTER AND KAYAK RENTAL
Along the Susquehanna River, the Isle of Que boasts a rich ecological history and a deep connection between the community and the natural landscape. Inspired by the intimate experience of being inside a kayak—immersed in nature yet protected—the Nature Center and Kayak Rental connects visitors with the environment while offering shelter from the elements. This is achieved through individually pitched roofs that frame views of the shoreline and river, extending beyond their respective rooms to create covered outdoor spaces.
The rack system, designed to store kayaks vertically, doubles as a framing element for views. Operated by a pulley system, it seamlessly lifts kayaks from the launching platform, integrating functional storage into the architectural facade.
8 Weeks / Fall 2021
opposite: Exploded Axonometric Diagram
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
MIST INSTALLATION
As the original inhabitants of the Seattle region, the Duwamish tribe lived in harmony with the environment for centuries, carefully tending to the land and waters that sustained their traditional way of life. However, when European settlers arrived in the 1850s, the Duwamish were forcibly displaced. As their presence and culture were erased, rapid urbanization drastically altered the landscape, creating heat islands and river pollution that still impact Seattle today
The “Ghost of a Longhouse” evokes the form of the traditional Duwamish longhouse, using high pressure mist nozzles and a stainless steel pipe structure to create a “ghost” of the past. This mist installation, symbolizing the boundary between realms, gently cools visitors while inviting reflection on the history and legacy of the Duwamish people. As part of a larger effort to reclaim and revitalize ancestral Duwamish lands along the heavily industrialized river, the “Ghost of a Longhouse” contributes to reviving the landscape’s historic roots and Indigenous spirit of place.
10 Weeks / Fall 2024
opposite: Duwamish Sites in Seattle Map
Historic Duwamish Village and Longhouse Locations, Pre-1916
Historic Waterways and Marshlands, Pre-1916
Redlined Neighborhoods, 1936
Section through “Ghost” Installation and Plaza with Nozzle Detail
UNCODED
BEHAVIORS
DESIGN RESEARCH
AMERICAN SHORT STORIES
In collaboration with Professor Amadeu Santacana, this research explores the intersection of literature and architecture, deriving architectonic strategies from the narrative structures and spatial dynamics found in American short stories.
The project examines works like The Swimmer by John Cheever (1964), which follows Neddy Merrill, a suburban man who decides to swim home by traversing a series of backyard pools in his affluent neighborhood. By creating architectural drawings that translate the behavioral narratives and spatial sequences within these stories, the research explores alternative design strategies that challenge conventional spatial relationships and traditional design codes.
Ongoing / Fall 2024 - Present
opposite: Research Methodology Excerpt with The Swimmer
“He did not want to be seen on the road in his bathing trunks but there was no traffic and he made the short distance to the Levys’ driveway, marked with a PRIVATE PROPERTY sign and a green tube for the New York Times. All the doors and windows of the big house were open but there were no signs of life, not even a dog barked. He went around the side of the house to the pool and saw that the Levys had only recently left. Glasses and bottles and dishes of nuts were on a table at the deep end, where there was a bathhouse or gazebo, hung with Japanese lanterns. After swimming the pool, he got himself a glass and poured a drink. It was his fourth or fifth drink, and he had swum nearly half the length of the Lucinda River. He felt tired, clean, and pleased at that moment to be alone, pleased with everything.”
- excerpt from The Swimmer by John Cheever (1964)
PRIVATE PROPERTY NO TRESPASSING
glasses and bottles and dishes of nuts were on a table at the deep end
a bathhouse or gazebo, hung with Japanese lanterns the pool
the pinheaded birds the gazebo
ARCHITECTURE OF ESCAPISM
THESIS RESEARCH
DREAMS AND REALITY
Escapism is an inescapable part of human nature. Throughout history, different societies have sought escape by romanticizing the past or envisioning an idealized future to avoid or critique reality. While escapism provides a vital respite from the hardships and monotony of everyday life, the digital age and era of mass media consumption have intensified society’s dependence on escape for fulfillment.
The goal of this research is to create a new architectural typology—a physical manifestation of escapism—that allows people to engage with their dreams and memories while confronting the reality of existence as it is.
Ongoing / Fall 2024 - Present
opposite: Toupie Fantoche Model and Escapism Timeline
