Selected Work 2025

(image) a dusty reality: 2023 ramifications of a sand crisis.

Michael J. Farris Selected Work

Between Two Walls, (below) Madison Square Park, NY Proposal. 2024.

“Michael is a symphonic thinker with the soul of an artist, and the discipline and leadership of a conductor... Michael navigated the inevitable curve-balls that came his way with humility, agility, and an unwavering focus on the big picture operation and the even grander mission at stake.” - Amy Devers, Host & Producer at Clever Podcast

“Michael has a determination and passion that is contagious.”

- Silvia Acosta, Professor Emerita of Architecture Rhode Island School of Design

“Michael never hesitated to cut his losses when it was called for, and I believe that to be a very telling sign of his leadership abilities.

- Ruchika Nambiar, Book Artist, Miniaturist & Writer

MICHAEL J. FARRIS

Brooklyn, NY | +1 949.355.1229 | michaeljfarris1@gmail.com | mikeyfarris.com

EDUCATION

RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN

B.Arch, Architecture; Minor: Theory, History of Art & Design, THAD

• Honor Roll Recognition, AIAS President, Office of Admissions Ambassador, Presidential Search Committee, Capital Planning Committee, School Podcast Host: rizdeology.com

• Teaching Assistant: Spatial Dynamics & Architectural Design

BROWN UNIVERSITY

Cross Registration Coursework

• Selling & Sales, The Entrepreneurship Process, Persuasive Communication, Sustainable Investing

ETH ZURICH

Exchange Semester: ETH Zurich, Switzerland

• Architecture Department; Studio Arno Brandlehuber focused on greenhouse typology in Almeria, ES

EXPERIENCE

RYALL SHERIDAN CARROLL ARCHITECTS

Architectural Designer

High end residential studio specializing in passive house single family homes in Long Island

• Designed and coordinated a 2,500 Sq-ft addition to a 1800’s farm house from SD to CD

• Schematic design for a 10,000 Sq-ft Boys & Girls Club in Vermont, 3D massing models/rendering

• Produced DD and CD documents for a home in Catskills, NY utilizing Vector-works/Rhino

UNION STUDIO

Architectural Intern

A 35 person studio specializing in large-scale housing and historic preservation in New England

• Interned on a part-time basis for 8-16 hrs per/week during full academic fall & spring semesters

• Modeled in 3D, rendered, and illustrated limited-income, single family home typologies

MACHADO-SILVETTI ARCHITECTS

Architectural Intern

A 30 person studio focusing on large scale community projects (e.g. museums, libraries, embassies)

• Modeled schematic iterations for a U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Columbia

• Solidified a comprehensive schematic design proposal for the Ogunquit Museum in Maine

PROJECTS (2023-2024)

TERRA CARTA DESIGN LAB TOP TEN GLOBAL FINALIST

Co-founder, Surplus

• ‘Surplus’ is a consolidated logistics platform that allows contractors to buy/sell/transport surplus construction material - creating circularity in a rigid linear construction industry

• £ 100,000 competition launched by His Majesty King Charles III and Sir Jony Ives of Apple

NEWLY AVAILABLE POP UP GALLERY

Curator/Organizer

• Organized a pop-up gallery in Tribeca, NY of 20 recent graduates from RISD, Yale and The Cooper Union School of Art. 400 in-person opening reception, generating $30,000 in sales.

• Learn more at: newlyavailable.net & @newlyavailable

TEDxRISD

Co-President & Operations Leader

• Proposed and attained a $25,000 budget to host RISD’s first-ever TEDxRISD conference

• On-boarded and led a group of 25 students on operations, marketing, and curation teams

• To date, videos have reached 60k international viewers. Learn more at: tedxrisd.com

Between Mist & Reality

A

Dusty Reality:

Ramifications of a Sand Crisis

Occupying The Third Space

Four Deceiving Columns

Newly Available

Horseshoe Addition

* Note: Projects with black titles embody architecture as a realized form, while those in gray trace a more fluid, experimental path, urgent gestures, raw explorations, and the pursuit of ideas before they are solidified.

Sea dwelling, (below) Catalina Island, CA. 2022

Between Mist & Reality

Swampland proposal for the Storefront for Art & Architecture

This proposal changes the Storefront for Art and Architecture into an immersive space for visitors to experience the transitional nature of swamplands through humidity, fog, and soft boundaries. By constructing three hyper-humid rooms with tinted PVC curtains and artificial fog, the installation blurs the line between natural and artificial, creating a sensory-driven environment for social encounters. Acting as a metaphor for the misunderstood landscapes of swamps, this intervention offers a platform to reconsider the dualities of New York City’s urban fabric and our relationship with the built and natural world.

Year2024,NewYorkCity.Credits:DanielChoconta,FredHorton,JyiotindraIdris

looking north on kenmare st. at dusk, seeing the rooms illuminate the street & sidewalk (above)

initial concept sketches (left, right)

exploded diagram of the three humid rooms with a swampland superimposed on facade

looking west on sidewalk, peering into activity in rooms

inside room looking onto kenmare st., interior allows for benches

A Dusty Reality: Ramifications of a Sand Crisis

Destructioninthepursuitofpreservation-adystopianlookatresidentialsand-making

Five sand factories dot the coastal beach town of Laguna Beach, California. After noticing a lack of tourists, the homeowners took it upon themselves to replenish the pristine beaches through a bottom-up sand-making initiative. Their single-family home topology made it conducive to occupying the space between, beside, and adjacent to one another.

This thesis looks at this proposal in 50-year increments. What does the beach look like in 2025 versus 2175? Rocks are brought in from local home development projects and pulverized into sand. As the years progress, factory workers occupy the homes they share close contact with. The owners grew weary of the constant sound, dust, and work necessary to preserve beaches and fled to other destinations. A dystopian future is produced, all in the act of preservation.

Year2023.Advisors:CaraLiberatore,EvanFarley.ThesisProject.

two tons of sand in my apartment to test thesis of living with sand, day to day (Providence, RI) .

initial concept sketches of elevated sand factories/residential homes

CRUSHER VIBRATING SCREEN SAND WASHING

A Dusty Reality: Ramifications of a Sand Crisis

thesis ‘artifact’. (above)

Understanding how sand could move through urban lots through the construction of a sand ‘hourglass’

image showcasing year 2225 of sand making (nothing much left of the community)

A Dusty Reality: Ramifications of a Sand Crisis

(2025) Large rocks arrive from nearby communities to start the pulverization process. Factories are embeded into the street scape.

As the machines grow, the residences start to shake and the sound becomes ear-piercing. The city of Laguna quickly sets up an official noise ordinance. Machines are now only able to run on a 30 minutes on, 90 minutes off cycle.

(2175) Large 100 mile long pipes have been set up, sucking rocks from the depths of the ocean floor.

As the machines turn on, the conveyor belt shoots rocks from factory to factory. This quantity and density of sand replenishment produces a large amount of soot, and it begins to accumulate on the structures themselves.

(2225) the beach has been restored to its original state, at the cost of the communiy.

A Dusty Reality: Ramifications of a Sand Crisis

year 2025: Drawing of the first sand factory embeded in the neighborhood streets of Laguna Beach, CA

A Dusty Reality: Ramifications of a Sand Crisis

year 2075: Drawing of the second sand factory embeded in the neighborhood streets

Occupying The Third Space

Installation in Providence, Rhode Island

In an attempt to create an familiar yet unfamiliar object, we envisioned a wall. A wall creates comfortable surroundings on the outside, but what about within? By entering a space not designed for human interaction nor the ability of maintaining prolonged conversation, we uncover a third space. The interior of a wall is a space only thought of in terms of enhancing our pleasure on the exterior. As we enter the in-between, we blur and dissociate the boundary in which the function of a wall is programmed to do.

Collaborator: Jesse Calderon. Yr: 2019

axonometric drawing showcasing 2 x 4 stud wall embedded between column structure (above)

image inside the wall cavity, 13” width (above)

image of breaking through the wall, unveiling the “insulation” inside the wall (above)

performative photograph (above)

documenting the bodies shape as one exits/enters the wall (above)

structure of wall (above)

Four Deceiving Columns

Educational pier proposal for Miami harbor entrance

During Emperor Hadrian’s reign in Rome, he ordered Apollodorus of Damascus to rebuild the Pantheon. Upon arrival at the Pantheon, you are greeted by a typical Etruscan-style Temple, large overhanging eaves, widely spaced columns, and a deep front porch. It is not until you venture inside the structure that you witness the magic the pantheon reveals. Similarly, the four columns in my proposal for the pier along the entry port of Miami act as an element of deception. They individually highlight a given element: water, wind, rain, and atmosphere. To partake in the magic, you must venture beneath the pier into each individual column.

Location:MiamiHarborEntrance,Flordia.Critic:SilviaAcosta.Yr:2022

massing model of pier in iami harbor (bottom) sea floor, first, second floor plans (above)

early sketch study of column arrangement and dimension

Four Deceiving Columns

1. four oversized columns inserted into pier

2. columns become apertures for wind, rain, sound, and sky

pier proposal at Miami harbor entrance (above)

3. columns sit on sand piles with steel and concrete structure spanning between

4. concrete slabs poured with openings for assembly space

Four Deceiving Columns

water column (above) and perspective of entrance (below)

sky column (above) and perspective inside column (below)

sketch model studies of column arrangement and dimension

Newly Available

A pop-up art show featuring twenty emerging artists in Tribeca New York

Nineteen graduates from The Rhode Island School of Design, Yale School of Art, and The Cooper Union converge visions to introduce their diverse creative practices to the City of New York.

Determined to inspire discourse, these painters explore boundary-shattering mediums and techniques: Scope and scale are up for debate, while color and pattern are under investigation. United by an unwavering dedication to their craft and a fierce appetite for exploration, their “why not?” philosophy propels the art of painting into the future.

Winter, 2024. credits: Emma Caamno, GraphicDesigner, Aanya Arora, ExhibitionDesigner, Fred Horton, ExhibitionDesigner, Jyiotindra Idris, ExhibitionDesigner, Daniel Choconta, ExhibitionDesigner

front vinyl of gallery space (above)

setting up for Newly Available gallery (above)

axonometric of Newly Available Gallery (above) on Wythe St.

photos during opening night of Newly Available Gallery (above) by Aidan Gale Burke

east wall elevation with 2 x 4 stud wall and paintings (above)

west wall elevation with 2 x 4 stud wall and paintings (above)

north elevation (above)

Addition

Substantial addition to a 19th century carriage house

A client who owns an 1800s carriage house in Andes, New York, wanted a substantial addition. Our proposal consisted of a simple “U” that hugged the exisitng structure, which included a 25'-0" x 25'-0" wood-framed sunroom, a screened porch, open air porch and a new mudroom.

Year2024,AndesNY. RyallSheridanCarrollArchitects.Progress:Inconstruction

EXISITING GARAGE

NEW SCREENED PORCH

NEW OPEN AIR PORCH

EXISTING HOUSE

EXISTING WELL

proposed sunroom addition site plan (above) new first floor elevation featuring glass sun room, screen in porch and mudroom (above)

new addition axonometric drawing (left) existing 1800’s carriage home (right)

EPDM ROOF MEMBRANE

METAL DRIP CAP

2 X 6 PARAPET WALL

3/4” SHEATHING

SLOPPED TOP RIGID XPS INSULATION

3/4” SHEATHING

2 X 4 OVERHANG LADDER

CEMENT BOARD SOFFIT WOOD AND STEEL FLITCH BEAM NEW WINDOW

EXPOSED ROOF RAFTERS

NEW WINDOW 5/8” DRYWALL

MINERAL WOOL BATT INSULATION

2’ RIGID MINERAL WOOL INSULATION SLOPPED WOOD SILL

3/4” SHEATHING

3/4” VERTICAL FURRING STRIPS (BLACK)

3/4” VERTICAL WOOD SIDING BOARDS

2 X 6 WOOD STUD WALL WARMBOARD STRUCTURAL SUBFLOOR

PARGE COAT XPS INSULATION 2 X 12 RIM JOIST

SPRAY FOAM INSULATION

3/4” PLYWOOD VAPOR- OPEN WATER RESISTIVE BARRIER HARDWOOD FLOOR

2” RIGID MINERAL WOOL INSUALTION

DRAINAGE MAT

CONTINOUS FOUNDATION WALL WATERPROOFING TO BOTTOM OF FOOTING

CONTINOUS VAPOR BARRIER SLOPE OF FOOTING WITH MORTAR (TYP.)

4” PVC PERFORATED PIPE FOR FUTURE RADON EXTRACTION IF NEEDED

PIN TO BEDROCK MIN #5 REBAR GROUTED INTO BEDROCK MIN #6 @ 48” SPACING

3”XPS 3/4” PLYWOOD

proposed

section through entire home (above)

sunroom rendering (above)

NEW SUNROOM ADDITION

(image) Reconnecting with Providence: 2020. Inflatable Installation.