REFUGIO DE MESA

IN COLLABORATION WITH: ZOE CANO, YIFAN ZHANG

INSTRUCTOR: MARC NEVEU

The Mesa Refuge is a collaborative project involving students from the University of Washington, Arizona State University, and a local organization specializing in compressed earth bricks. This partnership allowed us to merge innovative ideas and sustainable construction techniques, resulting in a remarkable addition to the Iglesia Cristiana El Buen Pastor Church.

Together with the students, we explored new design possibilities while considering the principles of security, privacy, and a sense of place for asylum seekers. Simultaneously, the local organization’s expertise in creating compressed earth bricks played a crucial role in constructing a structure that harmoniously blends with its surroundings while minimizing its environmental impact.

By bringing together the knowledge and creativity of the university students and the sustainable building techniques of the local organization, the Mesa Refuge stands as a testament to the power of collaboration in creating safe and welcoming spaces for individuals seeking asylum.

Our vision for this addition focuses on security, privacy, and creating a welcoming environment for individuals seeking asylum. It serves as a respite from the challenges they may face on their journey, providing a safe haven where they can feel secure and protected during their time at the church.

Assembl

INSTRUCTOR: NICK SHEKERJIAN ASSEMBLÉ is a project that seeks to find a solution to post pandemic health centers. Located in Tempe, Arizona, this project aims to better the experience of locals who use Kiwani’s Park Recreational Center. This project revolves around the idea that structure is a stage and centers itself around human movement. The design challeneges traditional building strategies.

Like a stage, the design aims to blur the lines between the performer and the audience. Because of it’s anonymity, it allows users to experience the structure as if they were a performer, but also provides spaces for performers to perform. Thus it combines both formal and informal spaces for dance. The platforms and staircases are deliberately designed with regard to human movement with the intention of mimicking a stage design.

The project includes a 2 - level fitness center, an auditorium, collaborative and office spaces, and small and large dance studios. Ultimately, users are able to not only experience performance outside, but also within the structure.

STRUCTURAL DIAGRAM

FORMAL + INFORMAL DIAGRAM

Wash Ways Apartments

IN COLLABORATION WITH: ANEESA DAAS

INSTRUCTOR: DARREN PETRUCCI

The Wash Ways Apartments is a sustainable housing project completely revolved around the natural desert landscape of Scottsdale. The design invites the nearby desert wash through a series of xeriscaping throughout the entirety of the site.

The design aims to blur the lines of where landscape ends and structure begins. Each floor plan is designed to maximize views, sunlight, and interaction with nature. The roofs and windows are deliberately designed with regard to sun patterns and the intention of mimicking the surrounding trees and vegetation.

Each building is built according to the topography of the site. Ultimately allowing for a slope among the buildings and window arrangements that enable more privacy. Each parking space is accompanied by its own tree to create an illusion of parking in a forest. Each element of this design grants net-zero emissions and a design that physically dissolves into the desert landscape.