YOUTH HOSTEL
05 06 04
SCULPTURE
The Met West Museum
The Met West museum, situated in the Santee Alley, nestled in the heart of the Los Angeles Fashion District, embodies a connection with surroundings and open program. The envisioned museum, featuring a ‘tensegrity’ based tectonic system, seeks to harmonize elements and principles of Eames House and Craig Green’s Spring 2024 Menswear Look 9. Essentially, the design compromises a frame-and-infill volumetric system that is deconstructed and reassembled making way for a comprehensive system of loose fit and tight fit program. Similarly, cables are used as an integral structural element as well as for demarcating different spaces and programs.
Medium: Rhino, Illustrator, Photoshop
Materials: Paper, String, Sticks
Course: Architectural Design IV
Professor: Cait McCarthy
The Eames House exemplifies an honest use of materials, where steel framing, open web joists, and interlocking decking create a visible structural framework. This rigid, industrial grid contrasts with its organic surroundings while extensive glass infill fosters a seamless connection between interior and exterior spaces. The facade, a geometric composition of various glass types, colored panels, and Cemesto board, balances transparency and solidity. Wooden planks along a concrete retaining wall further enhance permeability, emphasizing the house’s integration with its environment.
Craig Green’s Look 9 from the Spring 2024 Menswear collection deconstructs and re-imagines everyday garments, transforming jeans and a shirt into a bold, cohesive ensemble. The design contrasts discreet inseam stitching with exaggerated, brightly colored seams that serve both aesthetic and functional roles, creating a sense of controlled deconstruction. These prominent seams enhance adaptability, suggesting instant customization while inviting tactile interaction. The outfit further incorporates zigzag stitches for cohesion and overcast stitches edging a draped fabric layer, adding depth and visual intrigue.
Inspired by the deconstructed yet cohesive aesthetics of the Eames House and Craig Green’s Outfit, this model explores the transformation of a uniform cubic frame through strategic deconstruction and reassembly. The initial cubic structure is systematically disassembled into layers while preserving its overall integrity. These layers are then reassembled in their original orientation, suspended by string tension to maintain structural coherence. Additionally, volumetric shapes are integrated along the outer edge, reinforcing the irregularity of the facade while ensuring structural stability through strategic points of contact with the framework.
The museum enhances community engagement through a publicly accessible event space on the ground floor, designed to draw people inside. Its open facade seamlessly connects with both the natural and built environments while promoting social interaction by offering passersby a glimpse into the ongoing creative processes within. With elements that appear to float and overlap, the museum’s design invites curiosity and exploration. Importantly, the spaces and programs within are also deconstructed, yet cohesively tied together through thoughtful circulation paths. These pathways guide visitors on a journey through the stages of fashion design, from inception to display, culminating in a top-floor exhibition space that celebrates the artistic journey.
Experiential Vignette
BUILDING DIAGRAMS
Nexus Commons
This project proposes a new housing typology for students and young professionals, where shared rituals—nourishment, wellness, and learning—become the foundation of communitybuilding. The harsh winters of Syracuse, coupled with physical divisions created by I-81, and the general lack of accessible communal spaces & amenities have deepened the feeling of disconnection in the city’s fragmented fabric. This scheme introduces a layered system of private and collective spaces that foster meaningful social interactions at multiple scales. At the core of the design are three distinct housing typologies: the House of Nourishment, the House of Wellness, and the House of Learning. Each offers a modular unit layout with private bedrooms and a central shared space, reinforcing the idea that personal rituals are enriched when complemented by collective engagement. The House of Nourishment features communal kitchens, dining areas, and urban farming courtyards. The House of Wellness incorporates shared bathhouses and relaxation spaces while the House of Learning integrates study lounges, small libraries, and an amphitheater to promote intellectual and creative exchange.
Medium: Rhino, Illustrator, Photoshop, Lumion Materials: Paper, Wire Mesh, 3D Printing Course: Architectural Design V Professor: Saba Salekfard
House of Learning
Scale: 1’ = 1/4”
House of Nourishment
Scale: 1’ = 1/4”
House of Wellness
Scale: 1’ = 1/4”
House of Innovation
Scale: 1’ = 1/4”
The massing takes on a contingent form with three loops, strategically arranged to generate a sequence of courtyards that serve as urban gestures. These courtyards operate as semi-public gathering spaces, further activating the site and extending the project’s impact beyond its immediate residents. The massing is carefully adapted to its surroundings—responding to the major street edge with a public plaza, while maintaining sensitive transitions to the low-rise housing nearby. The ground floor integrates live-work units, supporting entrepreneurial ventures and blurring the boundary between living and working environments. Between the housing clusters, intersecting ritual spaces emerge—hybrid programs that bridge different rituals and spark unexpected interactions. A bathtub-library offers a space for relaxation and study, a cooking class within a sauna blends nourishment and wellness, and a greenhouse amphitheater transforms learning into a performative experience. These spaces challenge conventional housing models by embedding shared rituals into everyday life, making them visible and accessible. A pedestrian corridor extends beyond the site, linking to the broader urban fabric and reinforcing connectivity. Along this corridor, a series of urban follies—light pavilions, shaded seating, and interactive installations—enhance the experience and encourage engagement at different times of the day and across seasons. The landscape strategy integrates soft infrastructure, using permeable surfaces, urban farming pockets, and shaded gathering spots to create a resilient, adaptable environment.
Pavilion
A space designed in form of a pavilion to exhibit comic books. The idea is to perceive a space as a holistic approach to a singular item displayed in it. To achieve this, a part whole dialectic is metaphorically weaved through the pavilion. Implied edges are incorporated in the design with a central void connecting all sections together. Hence, spaces tend to preserve their autonomy while being contingent- just how a comic book preserves the suspense in the flow. Every vertical surface is conceptually made from a single strip of paper with slits and folds. This surface manipulation preserves the compositional logic and dynamics of comic book panels on a page. Additionally, the dynamics are accentuated by integrating the Raumplan method, where the idea is to create a dynamic section where movement takes place through plan and section simultaneously. The main aim is to link the experience of reading a comic book to walking through a space that preserves the inherent narrative and organization of a comic book.
Medium: Rhino, Illustrator, Photoshop
Materials: Paper, Foam
Course: Architectural Design I
Professor: Greg Corso
Conceptual Plan
Youth Hostel
The building, designed as a youth hostel, uses its geometry to respond to social and surrounding context of downtown Syracuse, NY. The windows are angled and aligned to get the best possible views. Since the neighboring building is in close proximity to the east facade, moat habitable spaces are directed away from it. The west facade, however, faces strong winds which are streamlined by the tapering trapezoidal shape of the building. The central atrium is angled to receive maximum exposure from the sun. The facade of the building established an interesting dynamic with the enclosure. In sense, it is one single element that wraps around the enclosure and simultaneously defines the structural massing. While integrating with the floor panels to form one coherent massing, differentiates opaque material from the glazing and rises up or down to establish different spaces. As such, the facade dictates the enclosure, and in turn, the enclosure dictates the facade.
Medium: Rhino, Illustrator, Photoshop, Climate Consultant
Materials: Paper, Museum Board
Course: Architectural Design II
Professor: Tung Nguyen
Senior Center and Bathhouse
Nestled beside Deckertown Falls on Caitlin Mill Creek, these bathhouses and senior center seek to immerse visitors and residents in a profound sensory experience, inviting individuals to connect with their surroundings on a deeply personal level. By consciously employing curves as a phenomenological design principle, the structure seamlessly adapts to the latent attributes of the site and its topography in order to create an environment that exudes feelings of security, forgiveness, and effortless navigation. Moreover, the curvature enables panoramic views in every direction, enabling a harmonious connection with the natural world. The architecture not only takes the shape but also sustains an ever present awareness of its surroundings, fostering a profound connection between the inhabitants and the environment. With an inherent sensibility to the land, the design aims to empower the landscape rather than overpowering it.
Medium: Rhino, Illustrator, Photoshop, ArcGIS
Materials: Clay, Plaster, 3D Printing
Course: Architectural Design III
Professor: Lauren Scott
Program Diagram
Sculpture
Selected work from Sculpting Methods Class. Mediums include alginate casting, woodworking, and paper folding.
The first piece was an experimentation of alginate molding and casting using plaster. The free-flowing form is meant to deceive the viewer from the crafting method.
The second piece was made from wood with the aim of utilizing a 9-feet by 3-inches by 1-inch wooden plank only, down to the last piece.
The third piece aims to explore woodworking techniques. The fourth piece is an abstract representation of a Palsa landscape.
Materials: Alginate, Plaster, Foam, Wood, Paper
Course: Sculpture Methods I
Professor: Jared Leclaire
Medium: