selected works, 2023-25
Thank you in advance for taking the time to view my work
I’m a first year M. Arch student at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design.
I came from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where I graduated with a degree in Architectural Studies. Before that, I was a filmmaking student at Emerson College.
I also breakdance and love hip hop.
This is a depiction of my current living situation in Philly, and some of the typical actions and objects that define my apartment (and in extension, me).
Contents
Liminal Horizons (competition), January 2025
Nerds Love Poets (studio project), September 2024
Deeper/Bolder (studio project), October 2024
Elements (design intensive), August 2024
LightHaus (competition), January -April 2024
Disrupting Interruptions (studio project), August-December 2023
A PROPOSAL FOR AN OUTDOOR RECESS AREA SHARED BY TWO ADJACENT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN WEST
PHILADELPHIA
SCHENK-WOODMAN is an annual design contest held by the University of Pennsylvania for first year M. Archs during the first week of the spring semester. This year, the brief requested an outdoor recess area with two sports courts, to be shared by a public and charter elementary school. We were given seven pavilion precedents to adapt into our proposal, with an emphasis on clear design intent and innovative use of the chosen pavilion precedent. We competed in teams of three, and placed third among twenty three teams.
PROJECT NOTES:
COMPETITION ENTRY:
2024 Solar Decathlon multi-family category (awarded 3rd prize)
PROGRAM:
5800 Cobbs Creek Parkway, Philadelphia, PA
1 basketball court and 1 volleyball court Manager’s office Equipment storage 2 restrooms
DURATION: One week
The site was a triangular patch of land between two intersecting grids in West Philadelphia:
ANDERSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
KIPP PREPARATORY CHARTER SCHOOL
TEAM:
Sam Gandhi
Jacob Geile Cindy Wang
INSTITUTION: University of Pennsylvania
Early iterations:
My team chose the Lakefront Kiosk, designed by Ultramoderne. Its radial structural system implies a focal point in the space, which we wanted to use in order to emphasize the most exciting conditions of the site’s existing slope and view corrdiors.
PRECEDENT:LAKEFRONT KIOSK (ULTRAMODERNE, 2015)
PROPOSAL:LIMINAL HORIZONS, 2025
5.Restrooms
1.Equipment storage
2.Basketball court
3.Manager’s office
4.Volleyball court
A 3 PART EXPLORATION OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF ART IN SCIENCE AND SCIENCE IN ART
At the beginning of the semester, we were each given a household object at random, from which we would derive a concept that would eventually materialize into an architecture. The project was split into three parts, with each building on what was learned from the preceding excersize. From project one to project three, each design grows in scale, beginning with a container for the given object and ending in an extension to the Institute of Contemporary Art near the University of Pennsylvania’s campus.
The object I was given was a paint spray gun:
3 rooms and a stair
PART I: container for the object
PART III: ICA museum extension (still in progress)
PART II:
DEEPER/BOLDER
In PROJECT I, the geometry of creativity (art) was seemingly more exciting than that of . I didn’t think this was fair. There’s such beauty in . This isn’t necessarily a secret, but its ability to inspire humans is often undermined by the instrinsic freedom of humanities-oriented fields. In PROJECT II, I used the given prompt to explore a creativity that is exclusive to , which resulted in a structural system in plan and overly cantilevered in section.
We were tasked with combining our PROJECT I containers with two colleagues, and deriving an aesthetic or abstract concept from the resulting stack.
ryan’s model: my model:
theme: re-imagined use of household objects
theme: intellect exploring creativity
yung’s model:
theme re-associated definitions of material
re-associating intellect by re-imagining creativity
A.
B.
...and we took our findings from both, hybridizing them into a new concept:
A
TWO WEEK SUMMER INTENSIVE RESULTING IN A PAVILION PROPOSAL IN THE HEART OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA’S CAMPUS.
To start, we drew and analyzed two exisiting floor plans:
In the hybridization, a primary circulation path supports precise siteline access to views
Charles Gwathmey House
Circulation is intuitive, providing a clear path which consolidates various rooms
A central vestibule and fragmented circulation create site lines which expose public areas and hide private ones
This floorplan design was the framework for the pavilion concept.
Winton Guest House, Frank Gehry
CONNECT site lines to desired pavilion center
CASCADE lines outward to create ground plane
VOID remaining area for a lower level study space
skylight
1.Green wall
2.Circulation
3.Rooftop garden
4.Enclosure
5.Perimeter detail
LIGHTHAUS
A NET-ZERO APARTMENT COMPLEX IN COLUMBIA, MISSOURI, DESIGNED TO ELIMINATE RESOURCE SCARCITY FOR MU INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
LIGHTHAUS aims to eliminate resource scarcity for international students in Columbia. Most convenience and grocery stores are located downtown, where only the most affluent domestic students can afford rent. International student living is relegated to the outskirts of town, where students must drive to purchase food and other supplies. Our site is located within walking distance of MU’s campus, and has a global market filled with goods from local international vendors.
The project is a multi-family, mixed-use complex which is net-zero in energy and near net zero in carbon emissions. Because of the long term energy savings, we were able to offer more affordable rent than most other apartments in the area. Several other living amenities are included, such as rentable EVs and an ecogym. By way of its proximity to campus, and resource-rich programming, LIGHTHAUS addresses the challenges of international student life in Columbia, MO.
I was one of the team leads, along with Turma Asokan, and was primarily responsible for energy modeling, life cycle analysis, material sourcing, ecogym design, and completing deliverables.
PROJECT NOTES:
COMPETITION ENTRY:
2024 Solar Decathlon multi-family category (awarded 3rd prize)
PROGRAM:
210 Orr Street, Columbia, MO
177,000 square feet
108 apartment units cultural market
agrivoltaic garden eco -gym
BIG TAKEAWAYS:
Net-zero in energy and near net-zero in carbon emissions
EUI: 32 before PV, 0 with PV
HERS Score: 38 without PV, 0 with PV
DURATION: One year
TEAM:
Sam Gandhi (team lead)
Turma Asokan (team lead)
Sydney Flowers
Asha Saifullah
Ben Hendricks
Milena Fisher
Tyler Hatten
Ezra Stimac
Jake Powers
Max Licktieg
FACULTY ADVISORS:
Lyria Bartlett
Dr. Jayedh Aman
Michael Goldschmidt
Jackson Reeves
INSTITUTION:
2. Rooftop PV array
3. Loose aggregate paving
4. Agrivoltaic garden
Perforated
42” smoke partition
Cross ventilation through apartments
1’ glass smoke curtain
Smoke evacuation fan
Stack ventilation in atriums
Sports Art
ecogym equipment Mukilteo, WA
TRANE HVAC equipment
La Crosse, WI
Superior Decks Hopkins, MN
WR Meadows wall/roof membranes Hampshire, IL
HALO LED lighting New Jersey
QCell PV panels Dalton, GA
Thermafiber Wabash, Indiana
USG Sheetrock Duke, OK Quaker Windows Eldon, MO
Kawneer curtain walls Kansas City, MO
We created a parametric script using contruction materials, quantities, window aperture, shading, and local climate data, and achieved a baseline EUI of 32 before adding any photovoltaic systems.
DISRUPTING INTERRUPTIONS
A THREE-PHASE MIXED-USE INFILL DESIGNED TO RE-ENHANCE BRENTWOOD’S SOCIAL ATMOSPHERE
Brentwood, MO is landlocked between two of St. Louis’s wealthiest neighborhoods (Ladue and Clayton). Its downtown is retail-focused and typically accessed by car. The jewel asset is the St. Louis Galleria, which attracts people from all over the city. Our project site is directly across from the Galleria.
Ladue and Clayton are host to several lucrative businesses. Because of this, affluent client needs for a centralized hub commodify some of Brentwood. There is every retail category that one could imagine, along with some restaurants and bars. That being said, everything is bound by cars. Therefore, interaction is naturally low. Due to the social atmosphere, Brentwood is a place of necessity. Unless you’re working or buying something specific, there’s little incentivization to visit.
Due to its unique and diverse retail, Brentwood is still frequently visited. With more streamlined access and interactive user experience, it has the potential to become an urban social hub as well.
Our project site is right next to a shopping mall which has an outdoor path designed for pedestrians (like an outlet). It’s filled with a coffee shop, restaurant, and some other retail and offices. THere is a medium-sized parking structure behind the mall. All of this is directly connected to the infill site.
The site is sandwiched between a busy street and an interstate exchange. To minimize noise pollution, the interior programs should be secluded.
The infill is a mixed-use development which will continue the existing pedestrian path and introduce collusive gathering spaces to energize downtown Brentwood.
1.St. Louis Galleria
2.Anderson Dog Park
3.Residential
4.I-170 inner belt expressway
5.The current focal point
6.Existing mixed-use development
7.New urban infill phasing plan
