Meera Ilahi | Selected Work

Meera Ilahi EXPERIENCES

milahi@

202-7463884

EDUCATION

Pratt Institute

New York, NY

The University of Edinburgh Scotland

SKILLS

• B. Architecture

• Graduating with Honors

• May 2023

• BA Architecture

• September 2017 - May 2018

Brandon Haw Architecture

New York, NY

June 2022 - August 2022

June 2021 - December 2021

Teachers Assistant

Pratt Soa

August 2021 - January 2022

OP.Architecture

Brooklyn, NY

January 2020 - May 2020

Cox Graae & Spack

Architects

Washington, DC

• Contributed to schematic design for a Hospitality Project in Sao Paolo, Brazil, creating renderings and drawing sets for clients and stakeholders

• Assisted with the submission of 100% SD and DD sets for a 665,000 square feet residential project in Brooklyn, NY, contributing to the production of essential renders and Revit drawings

• Teacher’s Assistant for Professor Jonathan Scelsa

• Taught tutorials on Adobe After Effects and Twinmotion

ACHIEVEMENTS

• REVIT/ AUTOCAD

• RHINO/ MAYA

• VRAY/ ARNOLD/ ENSCAPE/ TWINMOTION

• ADOBE SUITE/ MICROSOFT SUITE

May 2018 - August 2018

National Museum of Asian Art

Washington, DC

June 2016 - May 2017

REFERENCES

• Research Assistant for (2020, 2021) Jonathan Scelsa, (2023) Jason Lee

• Presidents List (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)

• Deans List (2018, 2019)

• Michael Hollander, Best Drawing Award (May 2021)

• Worked on The New Argonon Tower displayed at Melbourne Design Week

• A Speculative project which aims to create more resilient and equitable cities through innovative and sustainable design solutions. Aims to utilize technologies such as hydroponics and vertical farming to maximize space and minimize resource consumption.

• Assisted in the development of design proposals and presentations for commercial and institutional projects

• Participated in site visits and client meetings in the region, providing input on design decisions and responding to requests for information

Jason Lee jlee1027@pratt.edu

• Provided administrative support for The Curator of Contemporary Asian Art, Carol Huh

• Conducted extensive research on Asian and Middle Eastern art, contributing to the development of several exhibitions

• Assisted senior staff and educators to develop educational programs for museum visitors

Jonathan Scelsa jscelsa@pratt.edu

Lawrence Blough

lblough@pratt.edu

• Cofounder of Tentwenty design

• Associate Professor and Coordinator for the Advanced Design Studios at Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture

• Worked in Undergraduate Architecture Administration since 2010 as Assistant Chair, Associate Chair, and Acting Chair.

• Founder of OP - Architecture Landscape

• Professor and Coordinator at Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture

• Founder and Principle at Graftworks Design Research

• Professor and Head of Core Design at Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture

FREIGHT FUN

Critics: Jason Lee & Scott Sorenson

In an imagined future, leisure travel in the United States will consist of travel via truck along with commercial shipments. By combining the ideas of Dirty Realism with Future Electrification; this project aims to re imagine electric trucks as the new form of leisure transport in a country without a strong rail network.

FREIGHT FUN: EXPERIMENTAL DOMESTIC

Freight Fun addresses the lack of a standardized ground transportation system in the continental United States. Electric trucks allow us to reconsider the American Highway system. By combining the idea of Cargo transportation with leisure travel, the hub combines the traditional logistics hub with a transit hub.

Suggesting a future solution for this system with pods that dock on a truck chassis and decouple to plug into the hub. The transit hub contains civic programs embedded within the architecture for passengers to enjoy on their journey.

The Freight Fun domestic pods are designed to fit behind an electric semi-truck. The pods all aggregate in different configurations and allow for occupants movement through the space- sharing bathrooms and kitchens while on the move. However, once the truck reaches the hub, the pods are decoupled and docked in different configurations allowing those traveling to meet new people and experience different collective spaces.

Pop Up Drop Off

Critics: Duks Koschitz & Robert Brackett III

The Pop up Drop off serves as an easily deployable drop-off location for film plastic recycling. The largerscale inflatable structure, Pop Up Drop Off, was selected for exhibition at the NYC Design Pavilion in 2022. This was made feasible thanks to a collaboration between Pratt’s d.r.a. Lab and Pneuhaus.

In Collaboration with Hannah Bacsoka, Defne Çeltikçi, and Ileana

Hernandez

POP UP DROP OFF

Pop up Drop off’s colorful patchwork of recycled material draws attention to how much film plastic we use in our daily lives. The project stands as a physical visualization of film plastic waste and its environmental issues, such as plastic bag recycling. The Pop-Up’s double saddle shapecreated by a pattern consisting of concentric square tubes - serves a dual function: the concave spaces act as collection areas, while the convex spaces form the roof of the structure.

THE NEW DATUM

Critics: Leonard Leung

A new building type in the flood averse zone of the Rockaway peninsula. Providing room for expansion and adaptation as the communities needs change.

In Collaboration with Ashkan Efard

THE NEW DATUM

The Rockaway peninsula is a vulnerable community sensitive to the inevitable effects of climate change. This proposal for a community center re-imagines the typical building typology. The subway elevation of 30’ is the new datum.

The project aims to redesign the ground as a flood-able ecosystem inspired by swamps. The exoskeleton structure establishes an infrastructure that hangs and supports all programs.

PROCESS: STRUCTURAL ADAPTABILITY

SEQUENCES OF PRIVACY

Critic: Eunjeong Seong

Rethinking conventional housing in Brooklyn. Sequences of Privacy houses over 200 people with shared spaces for community gathering and a ground floor nursery.

In Collaboration with Jiayu Zhu

DOMESTIC LIVING ALTERNATING AND OPEN WALLS

This domestic housing project situated in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn is to transform the conventional bar-shaped building layout. The strategy involves delineating the walls and creating unique openings and spaces in the boundary walls that divide private residences and communal areas, thus creating a fresh style of living. This approach enables individuals to socialize with acquaintances and neighbors in the hallway from the seclusion and convenience of their homes. The shared areas are crucial components of the community and living experience, forming a front porch condition within a larger scale format.

MAGNETS IN MESH

Magnets in Mesh is a film production extension to the Harlem School of the Arts. The proposal consists of a double layered facade system housing self supporting structural “magnets” with glass suspended between them. The exterior second skin is a mesh wrapper which allows light to penetrate the work spaces discreetly. The film screening spaces are housed inside the magnets to create the optimal environment for film screening. As the “magnets” puncture the mesh, the structure behind is revealed.

Critic: Jonathan Scelsa

Domino model of stacked I beams providing structural support for the slabs. Stairs and Circulation rest on the exaggerated I beams providing a platform for the stairs.

Design process sketched in plan and section. Exploring the layered facade in section with layered levels of the interior as demand for lighting changes.

MAGNETS IN MESH FILM PRODUCTION IN HARLEM

Magnets in Mesh is a film production extension to the Harlem School of the Arts. The proposal consists of a double layered facade system housing self supporting structural “magnets” with glass suspended between them. The exterior second skin is a mesh wrapper which allows light to penetrate the work spaces discreetly. The film screening spaces are housed inside the magnets to create the optimal environment for film screening. As the “magnets” puncture the mesh, the structure behind is revealed.

1) Structure conforms to angle of rigged seating for theater spaces.

2) Theaters are encased, to optimize lighting conditions for film screenings.

3) Magnet forms are darker programs with cafe spaces, theaters, and ticket booth, & lobby for the theaters.

5) The second mesh adds a layer of opacity, diffusing the light for working zones.

4) Curtain walls wrap the light filled spaces: the offices and film editing studios.

Meera Ilahi Professional Work

PROFESSIONAL WORK

BRANDON HAW ARCHITECTS

Renders for the Faena Hotel were all completed in Enscape.

PROFESSIONAL WORK

BRANDON HAW ARCHITECTS

Renders for the Brooklyn Waterfront were all completed using Revit cloud render.