My name is Oskar Frick, and I was born in Stockholm, Sweden. After graduating from Fredrika Bremer High School in 2014, I moved to San Francisco to further my education in the architecture program at the Academy of Art University. At the academy, I learned to approach each project with a curious mindset by creating site-specific architecture with innovative design solutions. Having obtained my Bachelor of Architecture degree in the spring of 2020, I realized my passion lies in sustainable and innovative design. While studying architecture at AAU, I was on a full athletic scholarship competing for the university’s Division II golf program. Being a student-athlete for five years made me into a responsible, hard-working person.
Upon completing my studies at AAU, I seized the opportunity to learn Grasshopper by taking an online Udemy course. Discovering the vast potential of the Grasshopper software, I decided to pursue a Master’s degree in Building Technology at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. During my time at TU Delft, I expanded my knowledge of sustainable practices and parametric design Through the use of Grasshopper, I gained proficiency in optimizing buildings and shading systems. As part of my master’s thesis, I developed a shading and latent heat energy storage system for lightweight dwellings that can be easily installed. Based on simulations, this system can reduce annual energy consumption by 7-9% in a 28.8 m2 living room. My project received a final grade of 8.5/10. For more information, feel free to scan the QR code to access the TU Delft repository.
I hope you find my portfolio interesting. Cheers!
Contact
oskar.frick95@gmail.com
+46.702.39.49.98 oskarfrick.com
Architecture Competition | 2024
BArch Thesis Project | Fall 2019 - Spring 2020
BArch Studio 6 | Spring 2018 BArch Studio 8 | Spring 2019
Studio 5 | Fall 2017
690 HARRISON 01
Competiton: Buildner Unbuilt Awards 2024
Typology: Mixed-use
Site: SOMA district, San Francisco
Software: Rhino 7, Grasshopper 3D, Revit, Blender, Adobe CC
PROJECT BRIEF
690 Harrison is an 18-story, mixed-use development in San Francisco’s SOMA District, blending residential and office spaces through innovative design. Shared dual-opening elevators and separate lobbies provide seamless circulation. Four elevators serve the first seven floors of office space, while two extend up to the 18th floor to access the 52 residential units, including studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments.
Addressing the scarcity of green space in downtown San Francisco, the project prioritizes community well-being with a generous public green area. Starting at Harrison Street, the space ascends to a grass-covered plateau featuring a beer garden and private access to the residential accommodation. The ground floor includes dual lobbies, a 3,900-square-foot commercial space, and a large venue accessible from 3rd Street, the office lobby, and the second-floor green terrace.
The design concept begins with a bold ramp and robust base that transitions into a stepped tower. Parametrically generated floor plates and staggered façade, inspired by 3XN’s Quay Quarter Tower, provide undisturbed corner views on alternating levels, balancing aesthetics and functionality. On the right-hand side, visualizations of all tested façade concepts are displayed. The room layouts are developed in Revit using the Rhino.Inside.Revit plugin to ensure a smooth and efficient workflow, and then brought back to grasshopper again for environmental analysis.
Section diagram
Facade explorations
Animation
Public green space
Office entrace from Harrison St.
ENVIRONMENTAL SIMULATIONS
The occupants well-being drives the project’s approach, with sun and thermal comfort studies conducted in Ladybug and Honeybee within Grasshopper. These studies ensure optimal visual comfort, maintaining a daylight factor above 2% in all key spaces while preventing overheating. To address potential summer overheating, active exterior roller blinds are incorporated into the design.
Simulations point out that the high percentage of exterior glazing leads to significant heat loss during nights and winters. To address this, krypton gas was chosen over an argon mixture for the double-glazing cavity, effectively minimizing convective heat loss. Additionally, the Low-E coating was repositioned from glazing surface #2 to #3. This adjustment allows more solar radiation into the glazing cavity while reflecting internal long-wave infrared radiation, enhancing thermal performance.
Class: BArch Thesis Project | Fall 2019 - Spring 2020
Typology: Workplace
Site: SOMA District, San Francisco
Mentors: Philip Ra, Mini Chu
Software: Revit, Enscape, Rhino 6, Adobe CC
Academy of Art Spring Show
2020
1. Central core
3. Four cores
5. Separate structures
2. Massing separation
6. Central atrium
4. Facade pattern
THESIS STATEMENT
Architecture must challenge the health and wellness issues that are common among employees who are working in poorly designed office spaces. This begins with reinventing the concept of a downtown workplace by designing it around the employee’s well-being. Implementing sustainable strategies, as well as integrating large green spaces in the building, will maximize wellness and productivity.
Stress caused by working in a poorly designed office space in combination with unhealthy corporate culture has damaging effects both economically and medically. Studies have shown that working in an office that incorporates greenery, social spaces, and sustainable design can boost productivity and wellness. Software corporations such as Google, Apple, and Facebook have recognized that, and as a result, they have developed their workplaces into large campuses. These campuses house an array of alluring amenities such as fitness centers, social areas, cafeterias, green spaces, and leisure spaces. However, this corporate campus model comes with a significant drawback; it requires a lot of space. This type of campus is not possible in a downtown setting, where most office buildings and workers are located.
The aim of this thesis project is to create a repeatable model, inspired by the software campus type, and adapt it to a densely populated downtown setting. That includes providing programs such as green spaces, a wide range of amenities, and a healthy workspace on a limited urban site footprint. These programs are distributed evenly throughout the height of the building. Providing green spaces and amenity spaces on different floors will enable all workers to have quick access to these spaces.
Wellness and sustainable design go hand in hand. Therefore, focusing on providing as much natural ventilation and daylight as possible is a criterion for the form generation. Providing a large open atrium in the heart of the building that opens up toward the south in combination with floorplates no deeper than fifty feet will provide optimal light and natural ventilation throughout the whole building. At the base of the atrium, there is an open public green space that allows the community to participate taking advantage of some of the features the architecture affords.
DESIGN STRATEGY
The building’s design is based on a strict sustainable criterion to achieve 100% natural ventilation and daylight. This is achieved through strategic cutouts located at different levels of the building’s massing, which allow air and light to penetrate and reach the backside of the building. These cutouts are utilized as green spaces for the building’s occupants and the public.
1. Extrusion
3. Opening up to street & sun
2. Cutout for ventilation & sun
4. Equal access to greenspace
3rd Street Elevation
FLOOR LAYOUT
The usable floor area is spread across the building around a large central atrium, with a core and exit on each side of the atrium. Supporting facilities such as restrooms, server rooms, and storage rooms are located in the northern corner, away from the street. Workspaces and amenities are situated on the sides facing southeast and southwest. Green spaces are available on every third floor, providing equal access to all occupants.
5th floor workspace
2. Circulation around atrium
1. Shared workspace
63o 24o
sunshades
Green shading
Light shelves
COYOTE HILLS 03
Class: BArch Studio 6 | Spring 2018
Typology: Visitor Center
Site: Coyote Hills Regional Park, Fremont, CA
Mentors: Lise Barriere, Joseph King
Software: Revit, Enscape, Adobe CC
PROJECT BRIEF
Coyote Hills Regional Park has a rich and diverse history that spans centuries. It was once a seasonal hunting and settlement site for the native Ohlone tribe. Later, during the Cold War, it became home to a Nike missile base before being transformed into a regional park. The visitor center’s design aims to educate guests about the site’s historical uses. The Nike missile launch site is located northwest of the visitor center, while the native Ohlone village is situated in the marshlands to the northeast. These two locations serve as bilateral axes that align the building elements. The visitor center’s native axis is dug into the ground, reminiscent of how the tribes utilized the site’s resources and ecology in a subtractive way. In contrast, the Nike axis “hovers” above ground, symbolizing lightness and flight.
“Levitating”
Nike Missile Launch Site
structure
Built into the hill
Ohlone Village
Section detail model Exhibition wing
Natural stack ventilation are utilized for ventilation. Inlets are located under the exhibition wing to take advantage of the prevailing northern wind.
Exterior sunshades and overhangs promote a homogeneous interior lighting condition while also reducing solar heat gain.
The building is equipped with purple piping to reduce water waste. The reclaimed water is used for subsurface irrigation and toilet flushing.
Low to zero VOC building materials are used to preserve sensitive wildlife in the park. Locally sourced materials and fly ash concrete mixture reduce embodied energy.
A water-sourced heat pump powers a low-temperature radiant floor heating system. Electricity for the system is supplied by monocrystalline photovoltaic panels. Surplus electricity is stored in sodiumion batteries for later use.
1st floor plan
2nd floor plan
RICHMOND YARDS 04
Class: BArch Studio 8 | Spring 2019
Typology: Mixed-use, Residential
Site: Richmond, California
Mentors: Goetz Frank, Bradley Sugarman
Team: Oskar Frick, Fabio Lemos
Software: Revit, Lumion, Adobe CC
Animation
Richmond - S a n Francisco
CONTEXT
Richmond is located across the bay from San Francisco and has a population of just over 100,000. It is part of the larger Bay Area metropolitan. During the 20th century, the Richmond waterfront was a major hub for heavy industrial manufacturing sites. Most notably, the Ford Assembly Plant and Richmond Shipyard, which provided armored vehicles and Liberty ships to the Allies during World War II. Since then, the waterfront has undergone significant revitalization with many new residential and commercial projects. However, remnants of the old industrial waterfront still exist, and a few sites have become landmarks.
3 STEP 4
Site
Site
x 300’
500’ x 300’
Extruded 75’
Extruded 75’
Block carved out to represent the dry docks at the shipyard, while also allowing daylight and natural ventilation into spaces.
Block carved out to represent the dry docks at the shipyard, while also allowing daylight and natural ventilation into spaces.
Spine added to connect all bars.
Spine added to connect all bars.
PROJECT BRIEF
Richmond Yards is a transit-oriented housing complex near Richmond Ferry Terminal. The complex is designed with sustainability in mind, incorporating both passive and active strategies. It features 182 units, including work-live spaces, studios, one- to three-bedroom apartments, and townhouses. Additionally, there is a hotel on the premises, located in the southernmost “Bar,” that caters to guests attending events at the nearby Craneway Pavilion. Richmond Yards also boasts a large public parking garage that serves commuters who work in downtown San Francisco. A strategically located public plaza at the waterfront between the garage and the ferry terminal is home to a beer garden, coffee shop, and grocery store.
4th floor plan
2. Private courtyard
1. Public plaza
SCOPE OF WORK
The project was designed in collaboration with a classmate. The main objective of the studio was to become more comfortable with the collaborative process that is crucial in modern architectural practice. Tools such as BIM 360 in Revit were utilized to enhance the efficiency of the modeling process.
I was responsible for creating the master plan, designing the 2nd to 5th-floor layout and all unit plans, and developing sustainable, mechanical, and structural strategies. Additionally, I completed post-production of the renderings in Photoshop.
Studio
Hotel suite
2-Bedroom 3-Bedroom
1-Bedroom
3/4” Hardwood Finish
1 1/2” Gypcrete
Floor Heating Pipe
1/4” Acoustic Mat
3/4” Plywood
11 7/8” TJI Joist
Bat Insulation Res. c hannel
5/8” Gypsum Board
5/8” Gypsum board VDR
6” Bat Insulation
3/4” Plywood
5/8” Gypsum Board
WRB
1/2” Rigid insulation
2” Double Furring Exteiror wood siding
HIGH LINE ART CENTER 05
Class: BArch Studio 5 | Fall 2017
Typology: Assembly building
Site: Chelsea District, New York
Mentor: Carol Buhrmann
Software: Rhino 6, Enscape, Adobe CC
W26thSt 10th Ave
Hudson Yards Development
The High Line Decommissioned elevated railway revitalized into a public park/walkway.
Site: 279 10th Ave
The High Line Art Center is situated at the corner of W 26th St. & 10th Ave. The buildings uniquely interact with the High Line by allowing users to access the 350-seat auditorium situated directly above the High Line, through an ADA regulation ramp. The design of the High “Line“ Art & Performance center is inspired by the cubist painting Violin and Glas 1 (1918) by the Spanish artist Juan Gris as seen below. The polygon shapes found in that specific painting directly inspired the form and layout of the spaces. The center is active both day and night. During the day, the center dedicates the performance spaces and classrooms to the school of the arts. When the night comes, the center opens up to the public hosting an exhibition space, restaurant, outdoor bar, and an amphitheater.
As seen on the right-hand side, the various patterns and geometries found in the Juan Gris painting are mapped out in first 2D drawings, then translated into physical models to convey further the depth the painting offers. The geometrical discoveries and patterns in the various models were combined and overlayed over the project site to inspire the building form and circulation.
Manhattan
Hudson River
Chelsea District New York City
Upscale Manhattan neighborhood with exclusive stores, active nighlife and diverse performing arts venues.
