Khalif Dowdy
Parsons School of Design School of Constructed Environments
The New School
Michael Graves School of Public Architecture Kean University
/ CONTENTS / SELECTED WORKS
SELECTED WORKS
PARK AVENUE TOWER
BURIALISM
BOOKWORM
FUTURES OF RESILIENCY
KRISS-KROSS
A SHELTER FOR COMPASSION
GREEN MILE
MORPHOLOGY
SYNAGOGUE
MOVIE FESTIVAL
URBAN DENSITY
CONTENTS
MODEL MAKING
DRAWING
PHOTOGRAPHY
AIANS Design Award: 2021 Merit Award
Professor: Darion Washington
Year: 2021
Location: 643 Park Avenue, New York City, NY
Program: Adaptive Reuse, Affordable Housing
The Park Avenue Tower is a 40 story mixed-use affordable housing proposal that engages the residents, as well as the public, with nature.
A large emphasis for the tower itself is the use of sustainable techniques to make it a net-positive building. The Park Avenue Tower also acts as a filter for the drastic pollution dilemma on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is powered using solar panels and wind turbines and rain water is recycled throughout the tower.
The proposal incorporates the original Park Avenue Armory, renovating the first floor to better accommodate shared spaces everyone can use and to create a more welcoming environment. It includes: a cafe, sustainable vertical farming area, electric car charging stations and bike stations for transportation.
Other shared amenities and public spaces include a sky garden, community kitchen, physical fitness area, auditorium, spa, and roof terrace. All communal spaces reach the exterior facade in some capacity to allow for nature to extend vertically and to create more intimate spaces that people crave within the concrete jungle of New York City.
/ / STUDIO 2104 / PROJECT 01: PARK AVENUE TOWER / RENDER
“TOWER EXTERIOR”
GREEN SPACE
HOUSING UNITS
GREEN SPACE
HOUSING UNITS
GYM
HOUSING UNITS
MUSEUM
/ STUDIO 2104 / PROJECT 01: PARK AVENUE TOWER / EXPLODED AXON VIEW
The front and back facade of the building folds in certain areas to allow natural lighting to peer into parts of the tower. The upper piece of the front facade holds plants and greenery in certain spots to help with the air quality.
Taking inspiration from flying buttresses of the Gothic era, the side facades act as structural support, while also opening up enough space between supports so that they do not cover natural lighting that should be going into apartments.
The facade of Park Avenue Tower is aimed to guide occupants towards the top of the building, creating exploration and excitement. The fold was pushed inward at the bottom and expanded outward toward the top to help create that feeling. The curvature allows for pockets of green spaces to be placed as well as for wind to be caught within the building to create better air flow.
All aspects of the tower are aiming to climb upwards, whether that is through building program or how people are supposed to move through the building itself. Park Avenue tower aims to be a productive structure which provides convenience and ease of access. This building extends the city vertically through its floor plates and amenities, bringing the city life as well as nature to the inhabitant’s front door.
Rain water is taken and stored within the building for residential and public use, as well as watering the building’s greenery. The building was oriented so that natural light could hit all of the open green spaces placed throughout the building program. Triple glazed windows control the amount of heat and natural light is let inside of the building. Solar panels and wind turbines are also used to help power the building.
Not only is Park Avenue Tower looking to be eco-friendly, it is also looking to make the lives of everyone sustainable as well. The greenhouse and the first floor armory rooms were moved upwards and spread across the building program to maximize more shared public space.
The building was oriented and opened up to allow greenery to traverse the building. While simultaneously helping to heat/cool the building and increase biodiversity, the plants and shrubs placed act as a filter for polluted air while also bringing habitants closer to nature.
“SPA
“SKY
Michael Graves College Travel Abroad Program
Professor: Darion Washington
Year: 2022
Location: Testaccio, Rome, Italy
Program: Factory, Museum
All throughout Italy, the country is riddled with grand historical buildings stuck in the past of the time it was made in, seemingly left behind by the civilization that created it. Behind every ruin, every facade, is a space waiting to tell its story.
Burialism explores the concept of rediscovery and exploration, taking the history of the neighborhood of Testaccio and showcasing its importance. Located near a cemetary, the building finds itself within Monte Testaccio, which is a mountain built upon broken and stacked Ancient Roman amphorae which were used to carried olive oil before they were disgarded.
The proposal uses Monte Testaccio as its crux and nestles itself inside of the stacked pottery, an ancient Roman ruin seemingly emerging from the man made mountain itself.
Burialism is a mixed used light manufacturing factory that combines itself with a community oriented museum space to help educate individuals about the history of Testaccio itself. The factory produces olive oil and glass oriented products below ground to connect back to the history of Monte Testaccio and the neighborhood itself.
Testaccio is an extremely historical neighborhood, so it was imperitive that the site adhears to that context. This town itself used to be Rome’s industrial center. Nearby the site is a pyramid tomb, a cemetery, Monte Testaccio, old and now repurposed slaughterhouses, and a marketplace. Now Testaccio is mainly known for its nightlight and food.
Olive oil was an all-purpose and essential product in the Roman world from 2nd century B.C. Olives and olive oil were an important part of the Mediterranean diet and cooking process (and still are, of course) but the oil produced from pressed olives was also used for many other purposes. New olive groves would be planted for production of olive oil products for the factory.
Rome also has an underground water system that loses 70% of its water yearly due to bad infrastructure. New water paths would be used to help irrigate nearby olive groves to help support the site.
The concept of Burialism explores how to uncover the ways history is perceived through the use of architecture and design. It is a form of display, and the individuals who enter the building are the active users of the occupied space around them, taking in the experiences as they traverse through each room.
Burialism is a passive way of digging up, most buildings are built to show, while this one is choosing to hide, and it is up to the user to discover the story the building wants to tell.
“STARTING PROCESS”
“EXCAVATION”
“ENTRANCE”
“EXHIBITION SPACE”
COMMUNITY DISTRICT: MANHATTAN COMMUNITY DISTRICT 12
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT: COUNCIL DISTRICT 10
SCHOOL DISTRICT: 06
POLICE PRECINCT: 33
FIRE COMPANY: E084
SANITATION BOROUGH: 1
SANITATION DISTRICT: 12
SANITATION SUBSECTION: 1B
OWNER-TYPE:PUBLIC
AUTHORITY, STATE, OR FEDERAL OWNER: SHOW OWNER
LAND-USE: MULTI-FAMILY ELEVATOR BUILDINGS LOT
AREA: 88,666 SQ FT
LOT FRONTAGE: 259.83 FT
LOT DEPTH: 341.25 FT
YEAR BUILT: 1966
YEAR ALTERED: 1986
BUILDING CLASS: ELEVATOR APARTMENTS - FIREPROOF (WITHOUT STORES) ( D3 )
NUMBER OF BUILDINGS: 1
NUMBER OF FLOORS: 22
GROSS FLOOR AREA: 150,236 SQ FT
TOTAL # OF UNITS: 170
RESIDENTIAL UNITS: 170
Professor: Venesa Alicea-Chuqui, David Mohney
Partner: Allison Arianna Ayala Villareal
Year: 2023
Location: Sarasota, FL
Program: Campus Masterplan
AIANS Design Award 2023
The “Futures of Resiliency” aims to foster an immersive ecosystem by implementing various strategies, including the creation of communal gathering spaces, outdoor learning areas, and art studios. It also integrates shading structures and brise soleil into the buildings’ facades and pedestrian paths to protect students from the Florida heat and encourage them to walk and bike around campus.
The implementation of wayfinding in the shading structures also aids new visitors/students in navigating the campus. In addition, the dorms have been designed to foster creativity and exploration, with three distinct courtyards and bridged walkways connecting each building. Another problem that this project address is the preservation of historical landmarks by incorporating them into the design and creating new spaces for gathering, connection, and education around them. Additionally, the project aims to mitigate storm surge impact by implementing strategies such as bermed-up areas of the landscape, extending the bayfront design past the site boundaries, and creating a constant and fluid flow of walkability and connection between spaces along the coastline. It also seeks to integrate water resources in the area and enhance recreational opportunities on the PEI Campus, and encourages resilient landscaping practices and local community involvement on campus while improving connection and circulation between campuses.
By taking the current landscape of the campus and manipulating it, the bayfront now creates new places for gathering, connection, and education. The bayfront is split into 4 zones, and extends itself past the boundaries of the site to not only build a new community, but also bolster the coastline for future sea level rise, flooding, and storm surges.
/ /
/ EXPERIENCE, PROGRAM, & CIRCULATION DIAGRAMS
These zones encourage the students to connect with the public that are adjacent to The New College, therefore making the campus itself a beneficial neighbor to the community. Certain activities and programs were placed along the bayfront design to create new experiences for each zone and foster a sense of exploration of the site from top to bottom. The design of the bayfront itself allows a constant and fluid flow of walkability and connection between spaces along the coastline.
ECOLOGICAL EXPERIENCE
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE EXPERIENCE
CULTURAL EXPERIENCE
/ / DIAGRAMS BY ALLISON ARIANNA AYALA VILLAREAL
/ EXPERIENCE, PROGRAM, & CIRCULATION DIAGRAMS
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE EXPERIENCE
/ RENDER
“BAYFRONT”
/