Lucas Kamal-Portfolio 2024

work.

lucas kamal

01

Academic, individual

Shenandoah Pubic Library

Academic, group

Milan Civic Center Academic, group

Thinkpad Competition, Individual

Modal Shift(s)

WPI

Modal Shift(s)

419-International Housing Studio

Project Dates: August-December 2023, 1st Year M.Arch

Team: Lucas Kamal

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Critic: Derek Hoeferlin

What once was empty surface parking along a busy steetcar line in New Orleans’s French Quarter is now 24 units of mixedincome housing designed to provide a unique community for the musicians of New Orleans and their families.

This project presents a shift away from the atomoized and mechanized status quo of American multi-family housing by drawing inspiration from both the unique spectrum of public-private spaces and vernacular climatic strategies present in the French Quarter.

The building retains but expands upon New Orleans’s architectural identity in many ways. Namely, a central courtyard connected to the street by two carriageways acts as the social heart of the building. It can easily transform from a lush and tranquil retreat to a lively social space due to its ground floor adjacency to the residents’ music rehearsal spaces, as well as a public farmer’s market.

By learrning from the rich history of New Orleans’s Vieux Carre, Modal Shift(s) dares to dream of a brighter future.

The site lies between the historic French Quarter and downtown New Orleans, along the historic rampart wall. The difference in the urban fabrics of the two areas is quite pronounced-the French Quarter block consisting of many different small buildings with varying heights and uses connected by carriageways, loggias, and courtyards, versus the downtown block typically consisting of one large building with little to no inner-block outdoor space.

Rampart St. Site Model (group effort)

New Orleans Courtyard Typology Study

Model Creation Process

Threshold Study Exercise: Halifax, NS, CAN

unit plan: “flex” unit, outdoor room variation

unit plan: studio unit

unit plan: four bedroom unit

External glulam structure hosts balconies, outdoor showers, vegetation for evaporative cooling, and water collection systems

street-fronting facades are wrapped in shutter system to provide personalized thermal regulation, adjustable levels of privacy, and architectural variation

Shenandoah Public Library

Architectural Design IV

Project Dates: August - October 2021, 3rd year B.S.`

Team: Lucas Kamal, Danforth Kenerson, Talia Mamayek

Location: Miami, FL, USA

Critic: Navneet Magnon Anand, Shichao Liu

As suburban sprawl continues to envelop the United States, libraries stand as one of the few great public spaces left in many communities.

The Shenandoah Public Library is no different. Standing alone in a sea of almost exclusively single family homes, our project aims to provide access to more than just books - a sense of community, de-institutionalized tools and educational spaces, and the exchange of ideas and experiences between the members of the diverse community it serves.

To solve the question of “what will the library of the future look like?” We approached the design of the library through three scales: Urban, Human, and Technical.

By tackling sustainability through these three angles, our design for the Shenandoah Public Library achieves true sustainability by investing in not only the local environment, but also the people who call it home.

While combating urban sprawl is a multi-faceted issue architecture alone cannot solve, our design aims to start a conversation by proposing a community center - a type of “third place” that this area severely lacks. This brings us to our building’s concept of Tidal Movement - which is meant to not only pay homage to Miami’s oceanfront heritage, but also symbolize the constant ebb and flow of ideas, knowledge, and cultures that the library facilitates among its community.

By redesigning the immediate street-scapes to induce a lower demand of personal vehicle traffic, we aimed to take space away from cars and give it back to people, creating a true focal point for a community desperately in need of one.

Existing SW 21st Ave Right of way, Image courtesy of Google Street View

Proposed SW 21st Ave Right of Way

As Architectural Engineers, we also explored what technological strategies can be employed to lower our site’s Energy Use Intensity (EUI). Our task was to make our building as close to net zero as possible, which would mean a site EUI of 0. Our combinatiton of passive design strategies and energy modeling practices using DesignBuilder Software to optimize active design strategies, resulted in a -2.01 Net Positive Site EUI.

Cooled by reversible HVLS ceiling fans

Operable exterior windows

Outside air enters covered veranda

Cooled air dispersed through operable interior windows

Denholm Square

Major Qualifying Project

Project Dates: October 2022- March 2023, 4th year B.S.

Team: Lucas Kamal, Danforth Kenerson, Talia Mamayek, Max Wojtas

Location: Worcester, Massachusetts, MA

Critic: Soroush Farzin, Leonard Albano

While Worcester is the second largest city in New England to only Boston, its downtown is still feeling the effects of decades of disinvestment. After the exit of the city’s manufacturing and industry in the 1960’s, the city’s identity was changed forever, and the downtown core stands as little more than a memory of its former glory.

In 2016, the City of Worcester announced their Downtown Urban Revitalization Plan (URP) along with their commitment to increase the City’s housing stock, density, walkability, and accessibility.

Our proposal for Denholm Square is an answer to an RFP that is one of many new housing developments planned under the URP. Replacing the old Denholm mall building is our mixed-use, mixed-income development that caters to the variety of familial structures that call Worcester home.

Through an inclusive co-design process that involved the community of Worcester, our project envisions a more just future for North American housing - one that sees social and environmental sustainability as one in the same.

Introduction

This project brings together a group of interdisciplinary students across the Social Science and Policy Studies (SSPS) Department and the Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering Department. The aim of this project is to reimagine public housing in Worcester through a participatory design process focused on flexibility, community, and accessibility.

The socio-economic landscape of the 2020s is volatile and uncertain, and as such, families require flexibility and innovative design. Across the country, many developments in the public or affordable housing sector have been “cookie-cutter” projects, built by public housing agencies (PHAs) and wealthy developers that do not understand the needs of a family or low-income individuals in 2023. Housing in America has been plagued by institutional racism, skyrocketing prices, and lack of availability, creating harmful conditions for the public. Public housing stocks have been depleted and worn down since their introduction, and affordable housing has struggled to keep up with inflation, stagnant wages, and other factors. Urban areas and post-industrial cities, such as Worcester, are in desperate need of updates to policy and design to incorporate the needs of a modern American family.

Background

Since the first public housing project was established by the Public Works Administration in 1935, public housing in America has been a topic rife with subversion, discrimination, and instability. Previous federal administrations, including the Nixon, Obama, and Trump administrations, have made serious policy efforts at stopping support for public housing and shifting it to the private and voucher sector. From the clearing of a Black neighborhood for the first public housing project to the discrimination against Black World War II Veterans in VA home loans, culminating in the effects of redlining that are still prevalent today, the housing industry has never been kind to minorities in the United States.

Worcester itself has some uniquities and constraints that make design different. As multi-generational housing rises across the country, Worcester is following the same trend, if not an exacerbated one. Census data demonstrates that there is a significant gap in Worcester between family size and household size, meaning there is a significant number of non-nuclear families. Additionally, the City of Worcester has begun funneling significant resources to public or affordable housing. When Worcester received its lump sum as a part of the American Rescue Plan, they dedicated significant resources to the project. Other strategies such as the implementation of inclusionary zoning would all be helpful in advancing the issue of housing in Worcester.

The site chosen for the architectural design of this project is the Denholm building at 484-500 Main Street in Worcester. The building is currently owned by the Worcester Redevelopment Authority after a $3 million purchase and is a part of the city’s Urban Revitalization Plan.`

Excerpts from research paper “Revised Affordable Housing for the Modern Family - A Major Qualifying Project Submitted to the Faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute”

Figure 1: Current and proposed zoning in Worcester’s URP

Figure 2: Trends of multi-generational housing in the United States

Literature Review

To draw inspiration and lessons for the design, we looked at three primary precedent studies: The Next21 House of Osaka, Japan which focused on their “two-step housing supply system”; the House of Generations in Aarhus, Copenhagen that examined a “minivillage structure”; and the Brock Commons Tallwood House in Vancouver Canada to look at mass timber and post and plate construction and identify benefits and weaknesses. Second, we examined the literature background on public participation in design. This literature was used to guide us towards the form of participation we used (focus groups) and help to identify strengths, weaknesses, and caveats to this strategy.

Methodology

In this project, we aim to use participatory design to create a framework for socially and environmentally just affordable housing that incorporates principles of flexibility and accessibility.

Keeping in mind these objectives, we developed research questions to guide our analysis:

R.Q.1 : To what extent does the inclusion of flexible design for social housing affect the quality of life for various living scenarios?

R.Q.2 : How do different groups in Worcester view the state of the city, and what contributes to these differences or similarities?

R.Q.3: How can the inclusion of participatory design affect the architectural design process?

To address these Research Questions, the objectives stated in the introduction guided our methodology:

Analyze the housing characteristics of Worcester to illustrate the trends within the city and provide a comprehensive overview of the political landscape surrounding housing inequality in Worcester.

Investigate remedies for the lack of affordability and availability in the affordable housing stock for a variety of living scenarios.

Encourage and incorporate sustainability that reflects the needs of the community and designs for long-term resilience

Excerpts from research paper “Revised Affordable Housing for the Modern Family - A Major Qualifying Project Submitted to the Faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute”

Figure 3: Participatory Design Session Workflow

Participatory Design and Public Feedback

The primary method for achieving the goals of this project was the creation and execution of a participatory design process. The first step in creating this participatory framework was establishing the most important information to gather. This project sought to combine qualitative and quantitative data, keeping in mind the advantages of focus groups in eliciting elaborate, thoughtful qualitative responses, while still gathering quantitative data that informed our design. For the qualitative data we asked a number of open-ended and discussion-based questions in the focus group. These questions were about familial structure, engagement in local political processes, and access to community resources.

To recruit participants, we contacted Alex Corrales and Erin Wilson of the Worcester Housing Authority. They let us speak at a Jurisdiction Wide Residential Council meeting, made up of residential leadership of different buildings as well as staff of the Worcester Housing Authority. Here, the group presented the project and received contact information from residential leadership that were interested in organizing focus groups with their residents. We scheduled focus group sessions with residents of Lincoln Tower at 11 Lake Avenue as well as WPI students.

Activity 1

In Activity 1, participants responded to a variety of questions using time estimates, ranking systems, and binary choices. Activity 1, Part 1, evaluates how many hours per week participants spend in different spaces. Next, we asked participants to rank the importance of these same spaces on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being least important and 10 being the most important.

Activity 2

In Activity 2, we provided the participants with cards that detailed different spaces, such as “Bedroom”, “Kitchen and Dining”, “Living Space”, “Bathroom”, a blank card that could be made into any space they thought would be appropriate, and thin white strips that were used to show connection between rooms, hallways, or dead space, whichever the participant chose. We asked them to create rudimentary floor plans of their ideal apartment. The full plan can be found in Appendix 1. Examples of these floor plans are shown below.

Figure 4: Activity 2 responses

Excerpts from research paper “Revised Affordable Housing for the Modern Family - A Major Qualifying Project Submitted to the Faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute”

Egress Requirements

Egress requirements for all buildings are outlined in Chapter 10 of the Massachusetts Building Code. Important requirements to take note of include:

Point Block Access

Our project takes full advantage of a point-block access design to create more livable, family and community oriented, as well as better daylight and ventilated designs. Point access blocks are single stair buildings with units centered around the stairway. With only one means of egress, point block buildings allow units to stretch completely across the floor plate, accommodating more bedrooms and space for multi-generational, non-nuclear, or larger families. While commonplace throughout much of the world, point access block designs in buildings above 3 stories are illegal in most North American jurisdictions, due to the IBC requiring two means of egress.

Census data for the City of Worcester suggests that a large gap exists between the amount of families with a non-nuclear structure, and housing accommodations catered toward the service of non-nuclear family structures (Census Bureau, 2022). This phenomenon is not unique to Worcester however, as apartment buildings across the US often lack apartments with multiple bedrooms. This issue is created in large part by the requirement of two means of egress, henceforth the double loaded corridor. Cutting the floor plate directly in half, the double loaded corridor makes having larger, familyfriendly apartments nearly impossible. Double-loaded corridor designs also suffer from little daylighting, inability to cross ventilate, and poor urban noise dampening.

Despite the numerous advantages and large global presence of point block designs, special interest groups in the US have long fought against the legalization of this design, citing fire safety as their main concern. This is despite the fact that a 2009 US Fire Administration report found that the average death rate in countries where point block access is allowed in buildings over 65’ in height was significantly lower than in the US. Still, we have adapted our point block design to be more compatible with US fire code. Opposed to a traditional point block design which opens directly into a small corridor connecting the units it services, we have separated our stairwell into a fire-rated core, that then opens up into the interior. This design aims to bring all of the economic and social benefits of traditional point block access designs into a package that is irrefutable by United States regulatory frameworks and special interest talking points.

A New Point Block Access.

The role that legalizing point-block access can play in mitigating the United States’ housing crisis cannot be understated. Point block access designs unlock countless opportunities for the re-development of small parcels of land, and can help fulfill the affordable “missing middle” housing typologies that have been absent from American construction for decades. It can also facilitate dwellings that are more communityoriented and family friendly, with its increased shared space and unit sizes. Combined with a comprehensive zoning reform such as Worcester’s URP, point access block designs can unlock opportunities for small property owners, aspiring homeowners, community based developers and land trusts, as well as housing co-ops to build affordable housing on multiple scales - from small suburban infill, to large urban perimeter blocks (Larch Lab).

Figure 5: Denholm Square, building 1 level 2 key plan

Structural Design

Having selected mass timber as our structural system, we are set apart from many of the other projects completed at this scale in the United States. As such, we modeled our structural system after a unique mass timber system used in the construction of the Brock Commons Tallwood House, a student residence building at the University of British Columbia. We have adapted this system to meet the needs of our affordable housing project, incorporating its use of steel connectors, glulam columns and CLT plates.

In concept, the design is similar to point supported precast concrete; however, the slab in this case is CLT paneling with a concrete topping. The concrete topping improves acoustic and vibration performance and improves the fire resistance of the CLT panels. The most important part in this design is the use of the steel connectors. Capping the top of each glulam column sits a steel connector with anchoring pins that fasten to the glulam columns and secure the CLT panels in place. Highlighted below in blue in Figure 6, the steel plate also helps distribute the point loads from the CLT slabs across the end of the glulam columns, which reduces bearing stresses.

Summary of Design and Loads

To ensure that the building is structurally sound, we used RISA-3D Version 20.0 design software to develop computer models for a typical frame. These models were analyzed with the loading conditions for dead load, live load, wind load, and seismic load. The loads applied to a structure are divided into gravity loads and lateral loads.

To design structural members, the team needs to assess the gravity and lateral loads transferred from floor slabs to columns. The tributary area method allows us to estimate the total gravity load that each structural member must support. This method involves calculating the floor area surrounding the column, bounded by the panel centerline. This area is known as the tributary area. The gravity load supported by the column is equal to the gravity load per unit area times the tributary area. For example, the shaded areas in Figure 7 represent the tributary area associated with each column.

Figure 6: Custom Steel Connector Detail

Figure 7 & 8: Governing Load Determination and Deflection of Governing Loads

Figure 7: CLT Column Grid Tributary Areas

Excerpts from research paper “Revised Affordable Housing for the Modern Family - A Major Qualifying Project Submitted to the Faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute”

Milan Civic Center

Architectural Design V

Project Dates: January - March 2021, 3rd year B.S.

Team: Lucas Kamal, Danforth Kenerson, Talia Mamayek

Location: Milan, Italy

Critic: Vince Camalleri, Sienna Mamayek

Studio V was our introduction to architectural detailing, and our project challenged us with using our technical skills to maintain the architectural design integrity of an unbuilt competition design that we did not design ourselves.

We chose SDArch’s proposal for the Milan Civic Center, mostly because of the challenges curtain wall would pose to our engineering. Long vertical mullion spans, curtain wall to green roof, and corner mullion joins were just a few of the details we solved in the short 7-week time span we had for this course.

By making engineering decisions informed by climate, cost, and thermal performance, we were able to maintain the original architects’ vision and bring their space to life.

1. Parapet to Green Roof

Detail Drawn by Talia Mamayek

Green Roof

1. Vegetation

2. SDS Extensive Substrate

3. FL 150 Filter Layer

4. Drainage Layer

5. 3 1/2” extruded polystyrene

6. hot rubberized asphalt w/primer

7. 8“ concrete deck

Curtain Wall Head

1. 1” double glazed IGU

2. 6” mineral wool

3. 3” air space

4. HRA membrane

5. AVB membrane

5. Above to Below Grade

Detail Drawn by Lucas Kamal

2. Green Roof Drain

3. Curtain Wall Head to Green Roof

3 5/8” standard brick 1 1/2” air space

Brick Tie 16” OC

Through-wall ashing

4. Exterior Wall to Floor Slab

Detail Drawn by Talia Mamayek

Detail Drawn by Danforth Kenerson

4” rockwool

Detail Drawn by Lucas Kamal

Paver Roof

1. 1 1/2”paver

2. paver spacer

3. drainage layer

4. 3 1/2” extruded polystyrene

5. hot rubberized asphalt w/ primer

6. 8” concrete deck

External Wall

1. 3 5/8” common brick

2. 1 1/2”air space

3. adjustable brick tie, 16” OC

4. 4” ROCKWOOL insulation

5. 3M Air and Vapor Barrier

6. 5/8“ gypsum wall board

7. steel frame 16” OC

8. 6” air space

9. 5/8” gypsum wall board

6. Interior Courtyard Curtain Wall

Detail Drawn by Lucas Kamal

Transition

Exterior Wall Analysis Paver Roof Analysis

Total Thermal Performance:

R-Value: 28.42 ft2 °F/Btu

U-Value: 0.034 Btu/h ft2 °F

Total Thermal Performance:

R-Value: 26.40 ft2 °F/Btu

U-Value: 0.041 Btu/h ft2 °F

Thermal Gradient (L)

Thermal Gradient

WPI ThinkPad

WPI 20221 Innovation Challenge, 3rd place

Project Dates: July 23-25, 2021, summer between year 2 & 3 B.S.

Team: Lucas Kamal, Emily Coughlin

Role: Architecture and design, visualization

Location: Worcester, MA, USA

In an attempt to de-densify study spots on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic, temporary tents were put up around WPI’s campus. While these spaces were extremely popular, demonstrating a desire for outdoor study spacethe tents left much to be desired.

Interviews and surveys with students and faculty revealed a lack of outlets, uncomfortable furniture, rain & mud rendering the space useless for weeks, and other weather-related concerns the main issues with these temporary spaces.

As a member of the campus community, and an advocate of studying outdoors, I recognized the need for a comfortable, flexible, and configurable space that leaves much of the program and floor space for the end users to determine.

The WPI Thinkpad embraces its context by being able to adapt to all four seasons that Massachusetts has to offer, and by offering a space malleable to the needs of students and faculty alike.

The Thinkpad is situated in an under-used lawn that is well connected to main campus buildings. This strategic location alleviates overcrowded study spaces and creates a new focal point on the north side of campus.

Where do WPI Students Prefer to Study?

How Likely would you be to study in an outdoor / semi-enclosed environment?

All surveys created with contributions from Emily Coughlin

When studying on campus, do you mostly study in groups or individually?

The concept for the WPI Thinkpad was entirely driven by the members of the WPI community surveyed. Of the 151 responses over the 2-day span of the project, we learned that while there was a strong consensus among students to implement a space such as the Thinkpad, there were no indications of a strong collective preference between individual and group study space. With this in mind, we left the program of the Thinkpad to be entirely flexible to its users at any given moment. Interior walls can be re-configured to accommodate large groups or solo study sessions, desks can be moved and joined to create mini classrooms, or removed entirely to play host to a club event or organization.

The Thinkpad’s concept of flexibility and malleability is evident not only with its uses, but how it can transform over all four seasons. A large portion of the building’s envelope consists of accordion-style folding glass doors that can transform the outdoor pavilion into an enclosed refuge from rain, snow, or other forms of inclement weather at a moment’s notice.

A professor hosts a class on a Winter Evening

Students gather in between classes on an Autumn morning

By embracing a community driven design approach, the WPI Thinkpad creates value for the WPI community. It reflects the students’ and faculties’ desires for an outdoor study and learning space, alleviates popular study spaces on campus from overcrowding, and encourages collaboration at a school that heavily invests in the project based learning model.