NOAM NISSEL
ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO 2025
PORTFOLIO THEME: USER EXPERIENCE
Each project in this portfolio began with a careful analysis of the building’s users, from their daily activities to their needs and ambitions. This understanding shaped each design around the people it will serve.
Professional
Kitchen
Landscape
Academic
Graduate Student Housing
Cruise Library
Social Pavilion
Interdisciplinary
KITCHEN CABINETRY DRAWINGS
Commercial Property | Apartments
Purpose of Project: VBC Drawing Set
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Tools: Revit
Date: 04.15.2023
I was assigned to update and coordinate kitchen cabinetry drawings that would be applied to +30 apartments. Updating the layout to meet Philadelphia housing grant requirements with our change of manufacturer became one of the main focuses.
Coordination Involved:
• Manufacturer: product review (material qualities and options).
• Purchasing Team: ordering (counts).
• Factory Team: implementation (plumbing wall locations & end-to-end dimensions).
• VP of Design: company drawing standards and layout (graphic standards & markups).
Reworked the kitchen cabinetry layout to meet all clearances & tolerances as per appliance spec sheets. Created cabinetry Revit families following manufacturer dimensions.
MIRRORED KITCHEN UNITS MAINTAIN THE SAME DIMENSIONS
SCALE: 14
KITCHEN AXONOMETRIC VIEW 2
Cross referenced the manufacturer catalog with ADA adaptability standards, such as the toe kick height and removable vanity.
SCALE: 1/2" 1'-0" 8
LANDSCAPE PROPOSAL
Educational Center Courtyard
Purpose of Project: Client Funding Project
Location: Livingston, NJ
Tools: Rhino, AutoCAD, Lumion, Ai, Ps, Id
Date: 10.29.2024
A landscape designed to harmoniously unite all ages.
An administrator of an educational center in my hometown community inquired about creating a re-design of their courtyard area. This proposal was presented to donors as a visual tool to potentially receive funding.
Serving as a central gathering space, the courtyard is located between the high school, middle school, dining hall, and pickup areas and must accommodate various age groups.
Core Design Principles:
• Multi-Generational Design: High school students need a space to eat. Lower school students need a space to play and even learn to grow their own food. Parents & grandparents could enjoy the outdoors while waiting during pickup.
• Adaptability: From teaching to small gatherings, the design should suit various types of events.
• Safety: With small children roaming near a roadway, safety is integral to the design; both safety in the courtyard and when crossing the street.
Design Process
EXISTING PATHWAYS
EXISTING PATHWAYS
EXISTING PATHWAYS
PROPOSED PATHWAYS
PROPOSED
PROPOSED PATHWAYS
PATHWAYS
MAIN CIRCULATION an experiential journey that facilitates better connections in and around the site.
MAIN CIRCULATION an experiential journey through the site.
MAIN CIRCULATION an experiential journey through the site.
Dining
Pickup Area
High School Pickup Area
PROPOSED PROGRAMMATIC AREAS
PROPOSED PROGRAMMATIC AREAS
PROPOSED PROGRAMMATIC AREAS
INDIVIDUAL/SMALL
INDIVIDUAL/SMALL GROUP SEATING a space for time alone or with friends.
INDIVIDUAL/SMALL GROUP SEATING a space for time alone or with friends.
GROUP SEATING a space for time alone or with friends.
CLASSROOM SEATING a space for learning in the outdoors. ~35-40 people
CLASSROOM SEATING a space for learning in the outdoors.
CLASSROOM SEATING a space for learning in the outdoors.
~35-40 people
~35-40 people
GRANDPARENTS CIRCLE a space for growing your own food. ~25 people PLAY ZONE a space for playing with friends. ~15 people
GRANDPARENTS CIRCLE a space for growing your own food. ~25 people
GRANDPARENTS CIRCLE a space for growing your own food. ~25 people
PLAY ZONE a space for playing with friends. ~15 people
PLAY ZONE a space for playing with friends. ~15 people
Site Plans
Existing Proposed
Patio and Group Seating: Umbrella
Built-in Bench Seating
Television Shrubs: Conceal Bollards (paint black)
Children Gazebo
High School Side Pickup Area
Small Playground
Pergola Swings: Face Active Areas
Patio Seating
Trees: Visual Barrier
Pronounced Crosswalks
Enlarged
Dining Hall Entrance
Middle School Entrance
Stone Bench Seating
Pickup Area
ADJACENT PROPERTY
Grandparents Circle: Veg. Garden
Garden Storage
Pergola: Organic Form Mirrors Nature
Multi-Purpose Space Entrance
Built-in Bench Seating
This render was specifically tailored to the donors. Captured from a driver’s seat point of view, this is the perspective that initially ignited the donor’s idea to fund the project.
SCHOOL NAME
GRADUATE STUDENT HOUSING
A Network of Housing Communities
Purpose of Project: Urban Housing Studio
Location: Fenway–Kenmore, Boston, MA
Tools: Rhino, AutoCAD, Lumion, Ai, Ps, Id
Date: 05.03.2022
An architect should always envision what their client may need beyond what is requested of them. This apartment complex is built for graduate students and focuses on the relationship between socialization and separation. Many students have a need for both time with friends and time to relax in the comfort of their private space.
This complex consists of four buildings on the site, each with 21 apartments. With outdoor seating, all four communities interact with each other visually and spatially. Indoor seating in each building fosters a smaller, tight-knit community between residents. An even smaller community of two to four people can form within one’s apartment and when an individual needs time alone, their private room serves as their save haven.
Volumetric Zones
Work: community garden (nurtured by residents), built-in tables for desk work (overlook the garden)
Social: community seating, armchairs (overlook the social area)
Facade Scheme - Single Unit
1. Program
4. Sunlight
2. Full Shell 5. Views
3. Initial Facade Positioning 6. Shade
First-Floor Level
SEATING GARDEN
Second-Floor Level
Third-Floor Level
Fourth-Floor Level
Community:
To mitigate loneliness, this structure utilizes a staggering single corridor system that overlooks the interior courtyard. This performs as the main circulation pathway and provides programmatic zones.
Daylight:
South facing apartments are removed from the fourth-floor level and a large glass roof allows for maximize sunlight.
Social Compression and Release
A blunt transition between public and private spaces generates an immediate feeling of serenity and complete isolation within one’s home.
CRUISE LIBRARY
Public Library and Social Space
Purpose of Project: Site, Space, & Program
Location: Leather District, Boston, MA
Tools: Rhino, AutoCAD, Lumion, Ai, Ps, Id
Date: 12.14.2021
Located on the border of Chinatown and the Leather District, the I-93 highway creates a divide between the two communities, with distinct cultural characteristics that emerge from each side. Conducting a site analysis over the course of three weeks, I noticed different needs amongst both communities. The Leather District is work oriented with business-casual clothing and folks walking quickly to their destinations. Chinatown is socially oriented where outdoor space is essential for community involvement.
The Cruise Library incorporates large decks on all upper levels connected through an exterior staircase with built-in seating; this enables people to utilize all outdoor spaces without having to step indoors. Sleek and subtle, yet powerful in design, the Cruise Library aims to suit the needs of all its users.
User Experience
Compression and Release
Bridge Communities
Gentrification
Distractions
Residents Traditional vs Modern Culture
Outdoor vs Indoor
Thought Bubble
Sections switched AA and
Third-Floor Level: career, language, and citizenship centers.
Second-Floor Level: main literature, and private seating.
First-Floor Level: public seating, coffee shop, and auditorium.
Circulation & Program
A Day in the Life of
Portraying the daily routine of four distinct categories of people, this diagram communicates how user experiences play a major role in the design of the library’s circulation that is crafted for optimal efficiency.
Users’ Needs Program Form
a grinder. a “chiller.” a counselee. a counselor.
(1) Grabs Morning Coffee
(2) Heads to Quiet Study Area
(3) Acquires Librarian’s Help
(4) Gathers Books
(5) Focuses on Work
(1) Picks up Daily Newspaper
(2) Grabs Morning Coffee
(3) Socializes Indoors
(4) Enjoys a Show
(5) Relaxes on Rooftop Deck
(1) Walks to Support Center
(2) Checks in with Receptionist
(3) Waits to be Called
(4) Meets with Counselor
(5) Picks out Resourceful Books
(1) Walks to Work
(2) Grabs Morning Coffee
(3) Uses the Restroom
(4) Meets with Individuals
(5) Goes to Lunch
SOCIAL PAVILION
Library Pavilion
Purpose of Project: Site, Space, & Program
Location: Chin Park, Boston, MA
Tools: Rhino, AutoCAD, Lumion, Ai, Ps
Date: 10.22.2021
Welcome to Social Pavilion, a pop-up library and assembly hall in one! Tectonic bookcases create several distinct zones throughout the first and second floor levels, allowing the structure to have multiple personalities.
From small reading spaces to large spaces for private and public events, this pavilion finds the balance between the necessities of a library and the functionality of an assembly hall.
Chinatown Gate
I-93 Highway
Leather District
First-Floor Level
Second-Floor Level Section A-A
Roof Tectonics
Circulation Models
The models below demonstrate how various orientations influence the circulation through the site.
Study Model Final Model
Tectonic Structural Components
Bookcase Exploded Axonometric Detail
Bookcase Exploded Axon
NY PUBLIC LIBRARY DRAWING SET
Yorkville Branch | Front Entrance
Purpose of Project: WJE Repair Proposal
Location: New York, NY
Tools: 3D Scanner, AutoCAD
Date: 06.14.2024
The front masonry staircase to the Yorkville Branch of the NYPL showed signs of cracking and spalling. I was responsible for creating a drawing set that proposed a scope of repairs.
This task included:
• Gathering on-site data using a 3D scanner and measurements.
• Converting the 3D scans to linework drawings.
• Preparing the final document to articulate Scope of Work with pertinent information.
Portraying the staircase curvature and
HISTORIC FENCE
3D MODEL
National Cemetery
Purpose of Project: WJE Historic Preservation
Location: PA
Tools: Rhino, Cyclone 3DR, 3D Printer
Date: 07.03.2024
In an effort to restore portions of a historical fence, ultimately through iron casting, I was tasked with creating a 3D model replica based on the provided measurements.
Fabricating this 3D model resulted in a $3,000+ cost saving from hiring an external consultant.
The project goal was to achieve an accuracy of 1/8” relative to the original posts when comparing the 3D Rhino model (on the left) with the 3D scanned post (on the right); the final design yielded a 1/16” accuracy. The bell-curve graph illustrates this, with the center/green portions representing its precision.
3D Model Created in Rhino
National Cemetery Fence - Post Cap and Pickets
Cyclone 3DR Analysis
3D Model Overlay - Point Cloud Data