Architecture Portfolio

MELA ILIYA Selected Works 2023

DIFFERENT TOGETHER: Three Degrees of Life -Page 10

OASIS: Rewilding The Desert -Page 20

THE CONNEXION: Connec琀椀ng The Urban and The Hinterlands -Page 30

WORK EXPERIENCE University of Michigan, 2023 Graduate Student Instructor • Instruct discussion sessions in person and assess exams and assignments.

• Provide feedback on exams and assignments developed by the lead instructor.

• O昀昀er feedback on grading rubrics and answer keys created by the lead instructor.

• Conduct o昀케ce hours and/or problem-solving sessions.

• Par琀椀cipate in instruc琀椀onal team mee琀椀ngs alongside the lead instructor and other GSIs. • Administer and manage a Canvas site for my discussion/lab/studio sec琀椀on.

Atelier Jean Nouvel (Paris) + Atelier BCN(Barcelona), 2022 Intern • Aided in prepara琀椀ons for client presenta琀椀ons.

• Assisted with 3D visualiza琀椀on, modeling, prototyping, and/or component design.

• Contributed to the produc琀椀on of drawings, speci昀椀ca琀椀ons, and tasks related to construc琀椀on administra琀椀on.

• Engaged in various stages of architectural projects, including preliminary design development, schema琀椀c design, and working drawings.

EDUCATION University of Michigan, Present MArch, Master of Architecture Int’l University of Catalunya, 2021 Master of Bio-Digital Architecture University of Jos, 2018 Bachelor of Science in Architecture

SKILLS Autodesk Revit Rhinoceros 3D Auto CAD Sketchup Adobe Illustrator Adobe Indesign Adobe Photoshop Lumion Enscape V-Ray Grasshopper Microso昀琀 O昀케ce ArcGIS Pro

DBMX Limited, 2021 Architectural Designer I • Established ini琀椀al design concepts and collaborated with the design team to enhance them.

• Generated schema琀椀c presenta琀椀ons and conceptual renderings for client presenta琀椀ons.

• O昀昀ered design assistance for the 昀椀naliza琀椀on and implementa琀椀on of design concepts.

• Contributed to the crea琀椀on of drawings from ini琀椀al design through construc琀椀on documents.

• Collaborated with project architects to ensure precise technical and contractual documenta琀椀on for diverse projects.

• Coordinated with the project team to integrate design intent into construc琀椀on documents and produc琀椀on.

• Engaged in all project stages, including conceptual design, presenta琀椀ons, schema琀椀c design, design development, construc琀椀on documenta琀椀on, and produc琀椀on.

• Developed graphic presenta琀椀ons, 3D renderings, and construc琀椀on drawings.

• Facilitated communica琀椀on among project teams, clients, vendors, contractors, and consultants.

• Provided technical guidance and inven琀椀ve solu琀椀ons to address intricate technical and design challenges.

Mega Projects Interna琀椀onal Limited, 2019 Intern • Collaborated with consul琀椀ng engineers and product vendors.

• Supported in the administra琀椀on of construc琀椀on ac琀椀vi琀椀es.

• Reviewed work alongside intermediate or senior-level sta昀昀 for intent, quality, and precision.

• Generated renderings or other graphic documents for mee琀椀ngs, presenta琀椀ons, or submi琀琀als.

• Engaged ins review and enhancement of o昀케ce e昀케ciency and produc琀椀on.

HONORS/ RECOGNITION Taubman College, 2021- 2024 NR-Kuieck Memorial Fellowship A merit scholarship o昀昀ered to students who have displayed commendable academic performance and have shown great career promise Taubman College, 2023 W23 Student Work Spotlight

My work was selected as one of the best in the winter 2023 studio and was pubished in college’s website Gombe State, 2014-2018 Gombe State Scholar

DIFFERENT TOGETHER THREE DEGREES OF LIVING PROJECT LOCATION: Detroit, MI YEAR: 2023 PROJECT TYPE: TEAM

Di昀昀erent Together creates a community that is greater than the sum of its parts by capturing the essence of density of living, diversity of lifestyles, and di昀昀eren琀椀a琀椀on of collec琀椀ve spaces.

The project aims to establish a gradient upon which di昀昀erences can converge to form a dynamic community of people that live disparately within exis琀椀ng housing typologies Di昀昀erent Together is a collec琀椀ve living project designed around three core ideas - density of living, diversity of lifestyles, and di昀昀eren琀椀a琀椀on of collec琀椀ve spaces - to complement the dynamic essence and spirit of Detroit’s demographic. Density, in this case, refers not to the hyper-e昀케cient packing of people into compact boxes, but to the crea琀椀on of a microcosm in which everyone can have be琀琀er things by sharing. Diversity of lifestyles refers to the designing of a gradients rather than binaries between disparate demographics of people and the unit typologies they inhabit within the community. Through di昀昀eren琀椀a琀椀on in the scale, program and

JOHN C. LODGE SERVICE RD

JOHN C. LODGE FW Y

SITE PLAN SCALE: 3/64” = 1’-0”

LEGEND

SEMI-PUBLIC 6. Leasing Office 7. Community Workspace 8. Flex Event Space

SEMI-PRIVATE 1. Lobby 2. Mail/Packages 3. Bike Storage PUBLIC 4. Repairs Workshop 9. Grocery / Fresh Market 5. Trash Storage / 10. Cafe Collection 11. Fitness Center 12. Daycare

Ground floor Plan

Second floor Plan

Third floor Plan

Fourth floor Plan

Fifth floor Plan

Six floor Plan

SPLIT

BLOCK

co-living frame single co-living

pose frame

co-living family

hug

SHAPE

DISTRIBUTE

shared work-

event

bike margym

cafe

daycare

SUBTRACT

ACTIVATE

The site for this project, situated in Midtown West, contains many charged adjacencies that have informed the site strategy of this project.

With the John C Lodge freeway on the west side of the site, it became important for the proposal to bu昀昀er the noise and pollu琀椀on in that direc琀椀on.

The North and South sides of the Site contain unoccupied buildings that could be redeveloped in the future, which prompted moves that would help to reinvigorate their standing as viable subjects for reuse. The East side of the Site was to contain a 1-acre public park, which would be integral to the spirit of the project and its ability to engage with the larger community of Midtown West as this was the side of the site with the most tra昀케c and connec琀椀on to adjacent residen琀椀al communi琀椀es.

SHARED

11BR CO-LIVE UNIT • 394 sq. ft. per person • Shared: Bathrooms, Kitchens, and Common Space • Private: Bedrooms

8BR CO-LIVE UNIT • 409 sq. ft. per person • Shared: Common Space, Kitchen; Laundry and Common Spaces Distributed across

1BR UNIT • 530 sq. ft. per person • Shared: Laundry and Common Spaces Distributed Across Building • Private: Entire Unit

PRIVATE

3BR UNIT • 1544 sq. ft. per family • 515 sq. ft. per person • Shared: None • Private: Entire Unit, InUnit Laundry, Private porch

A

1 2 3

B

4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12

C ROOF + EXTERNAL WALL (A)

B

1) PERFORATED METAL SCREEN 2) 8” RIGID FOAM INSULATION 3) DRAINAGE MEMBRANE 4) METAL CONNECTION PLATE 5) TIGHT FIT BOLTS 6) SCREWS 7) 5/8” GYPSUM BOARD 8) 3-PLY CLT (4”) 9) 2” FIBERGLASS BATT INSULATION 10) CONNECTION BRACKETS 11) AIR GAP 12) STUCCO FINISH 1

2

3

4

5

6 FLOOR (B) 1) 5-PLY CLT (6 - 7/8”) 2) SHEAR STUD 3) CONCRETE SLAB 4) 1 - 1/2” RIGID INSULATION 5) HEATING SCREED 6) 1 - 1/2” CONCRETE FINISH

C

1 2 3 4

7 8 9 BALCONY (C)

5 6

OVERALL WALL SECTION SCALE: 1/2” = 1’-0”

ENLARGED DETAILS SCALE: 1-1/2” = 1’-0”

1) CONCRETE PAVERS 2) IMPERMEABLE MEMBRANE 3) PRE-FAB CONCRETE PABVER 4) GLULAM SLAB EXTENSION 5) BATTENS 6) CEMENT FIBRE SOFFIT 7) STAINLESS STEEL GUTTER 8) TRACK FOR SCREENS 9) FOLDING PERFORATED METAL SCREEN

EXPLODED BALCONY AXONOMETRIC DETAIL SCALE: N/A

The Landscape of the site is split into three di昀昀eren琀椀ated collec琀椀ve spaces that each open up to increasing degrees to the public. The public park serves the en琀椀re surrounding community, ac琀椀ng as the core of the community’s engagement with Detroit.

The semi-public plaza raised on a plinth becomes a hub for more contained ac琀椀vi琀椀es that cater to residents while s琀椀ll allowing the larger community to par琀椀cipate. The semi-private courtyard within the building becomes the center for more in琀椀mate ac琀椀vi琀椀es and engagement among residents

OASIS REWILDING THE DESERT PROJECT LOCATION: YEAR: 2020 PROJECT TYPE: TEAM

Each year, the week-long “Burning man” fes琀椀val held in Black Rock City a琀琀racts more than 80000 people, which brings serious waste pollu琀椀on to the site. 40% of the waste is compostable, and volunteers can collect 23000 pounds of recyclable waste each year. The exis琀椀ng waste treatment measures are to transport the waste to a waste treatment center 200 km away for land昀椀ll treatment, and they are not economical and environmentally friendly.

Therefore, with the help of compos琀椀ng technology, we hope to build a complete closed loop of waste treatment, from the recycling of waste by volunteers, the recycling of waste by compos琀椀ng tower, the use of clinker for plant plan琀椀ng, the genera琀椀on of economic value or withering of plants as raw materials for compos琀椀ng.People throw waste into the compos琀椀ng tower, and they will be rewarded with plant seeds and mature soil. The seeds will be planted around the compos琀椀ng tower.

The compos琀椀ng tower is built in the way of co-construc琀椀on. Most of the components are prefabricated in the factory and transported to the site to complete the equipment. The use of local soil, ash, thatch and other materials, mor琀椀se and tenon, binding and other low-tech construc琀椀on methods, as far as possible to reduce the impact on the environment.

1 Set Founda琀椀on

2 Construc琀椀on of compost part structure

3 Filling skeleton construc琀椀on

4 Fill the wall with earth

6 Build external area

6 Set up fog net

Prefabricate the corresponding structures in the factory, construct the founda琀椀on of compos琀椀ng tower with steel structure on site, and reserve the splicing interface. Install the base of the top swivel.

Bamboo, wood, thatch, branches and other materials are bound into 昀氀akes to form the 昀椀lling skeleton of the compos琀椀ng part of the wall.

Timber is used to build the beam column structure and stair area of the external area to form the outer ring corridor space for waste related ac琀椀vi琀椀es.

The main beam column structure in the compos琀椀ng area is installed and spliced on site, and mor琀椀se tenon connec琀椀on is adopted.

The ash, thatch and other coagulants are mixed into the soil to enhance its toughness. Using the construc琀椀on template, 昀椀ll the soil into the skeleton wall, reserve the holes and entrances, and 昀椀nally smooth the wall.

Improve the bo琀琀om steps, stairs, second 昀氀oor roof and other details, and build the top fog net and water delivery system.

THE CONNEXION CONNECTING THE URBAN AND HINTERLANDS PROJECT LOCATION: Plateau, Nigeria YEAR: 2018 PROJECT TYPE: TEAM

The connexion is a metroplolitan train sta琀椀on located along Bauchi ring road, Jos. The facility aims to create a sustainable, future proof, communal transport system that addresses the needs of two-third of the city’s working class who reside in the surburbs. As a strategy for economic development, the system connects with two neighboring ci琀椀es in the North and South.

Situated between two dis琀椀ncts landscapes, the building tries to reconcile the urban skylines with the natural environment.The building’s aesthe琀椀c langage draws its inspira琀椀on from the local cultural context and the innova琀椀on of modern building technology. This union embodies the de昀椀ni琀椀on of the city’s rich historic background and its enthusiasm for future development.

The design incorperates certain green building measures as well as biophilic design principles as a way of checking the facility’s maintenance cost.

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Active Mines and Energy Production Sites Metal Mines Geothermal Production Sites Industrial Mineral Mines Gemstones Mines Oil Fields