2024 Portfolio

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS

Chancellor’s Graduate Fellow

Master of Architecture + Master of Urban Design (Dual Degree) | 2023

MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Cum Laude, Honors

Bachelor of Science in Architecture & Environmental Design | 2019

Theodore *Teddy Levy

urbanist, architectural designer

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS

Chancellor’s Graduate Fellow

Master of Architecture + Master of Urban Design (Dual Degree) | 2023

MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Cum Laude, Honors

Bachelor of Science in Architecture & Environmental Design | 2019 c: 301.357.3267 e: teddy.levy4@gmail.com

SKILLS

REVIT

SKETCHUP

ARCGIS

ADOBE CREATIVE SUITE

MICROSOFT OFFICE

RENDERING

URBAN ANALYSIS

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowship

Washington University in St. Louis | 2019-2023

Full tuition scholarship & stipend

AIAS CRIT Scholar

American Institute of Architecture

Students | 2019

People’s Choice Design Award

American Institute of Architects

Maryland| 2017

Etkin Johnson Student Scholar

Urban Land Institute | 2017

LEADERSHIP & SERVICE

Search Committe for the Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Washington University in St. Louis, Sam Fox School

Graduate Student Member, Baselines: Fairness and Diversity Committee

Washington University in St. Louis, Sam Fox School

Student Instructor, IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) Committee

ROBERT A.M. STERN ARCHITECTS

NOMAS Chapter President

Morgan State University

Student Instructor

Morgan State University

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Planner II - Community Planner

Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commission | Largo, MD | Oct 2023-current

• Ensuring compatibility of proposed development to area master plan(s).

• Project Manager for placemaking projects in Prince Georges County, Maryland.

• Wrote scope of work for Suitland Cultural Arts Action Plan ($150k project budget).

Architectural Design Consultant

Design Brian, LLC | Remote | Nov 2023-current

• Interior design for single family residential projects.

• Construction documentation and architectural detailing in Revit.

• Management and procurement of contractor services.

NOMA Research Fellow - Design Researcher

ROBERT A.M. STERN ARCHITECTS | Remote | Spring 2021

• Research into previous RAMSA work on affordable housing.

• Created two case studies on firm’s new affordable housing pipeline.

• Taught a workshop for highschool students interested in architecture.

• Assistance with the firms IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) Committee.

City Studio STL Fellow - Architecture & Planning Intern Trivers | St. Louis, MO | Summer 2020

• Architectural (technical) assistance for community revitalization and stabilization projects.

• Utilized Revit, and Sketchup for a market-rate housing project in an Opportunity Zone.

• Created existing building plans and program options for a transitional housing project.

Summer Associate - Architecture & Planning Intern

Streetsense | Bethesda, MD | Summer 2019

• Utilized Revit, Sketchup, Indesign,and Enscape.

• Environmental Graphics, 3-D modeling, and architectural design for lifestyle retail centers.

• Created a “brand book” that defined brand design, physical program layout, material selections and tone for a confidential hospitality client’s entry into its luxury hotel portfolio.

CRIT Research Scholar - Design Researcher

American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) | Washington, D.C. | 2019

• Grant funding from AIAS to perform student research on affordable housing.

• Worked with mentors at Mithun to develop research agenda.

• “Zine” that explains policy, precedents and models an architectural solution.

Research Assistant - Community Engagement & Data Analyst

CBPR Research Study, Principal Investigator Dr.Tonya Sanders | Baltimore, MD | Spring 2019

• N.I.H. funded through Morgan State’s Community Based Participatory Research program.

• Created a literature review and conducted door to door community surveys.

• Hosted workshop listening sessions with community residents.

• Utilized Atlas.Ti to code resident interviews.

Student Intern - Architecture

Ayers Saint Gross | Baltimore, MD | Summer 2018

• Program Analysis, 3-D Modeling, and Construction Documentation for projects as needed.

• Worked on predesign in Sketchup for an East Baltimore Health Center.

• Created site model in Revit for Higher Education project.

• Created plan graphics and written narrative for large public works project.

ELEMENTS OF URBAN DESIGN: BAE: BLACK AESTHETIC EMPOWERMENT

METRO DESIGN ELEMENTS: GWINNETT CULTURAL GREEN

INTRO URBAN DESIGN: BRIDGING THE GAP

INTERNATIONAL HOUSING: “LIFE AT HOME” - Cagliari, Italy

DEGREE PROJECT: AFROFUTURISM & INFINITE FUTURES IN ST. LOUIS

BUILDING DESIGN I: A COMMUNITY FOOD HALL

Architecture Studio

“LIFE AT HOME”

Location: Cagliari, Italy

The intent of the International Housing studio is to understand the design implications of a variety of cultural and climatic conditions. This project represents the design of a series of co-housing units located in the city of Cagliari, Italy. This mediterranean climate requires design responses that address the need for cross ventilators but also serve as gathering points that define levels of privacy. This element is that of the patio/terrace. A contemporary element has also been added in the use of polycarbonate screens as mediators of privacy to the City of Cagliari. The historic urban design rules of the city have caused further restraint. A more intimately scaled unit assemblage of six stacked flats became the appropriate design solution. However, once aggregated upon the site, a greater number is possible while still retaining individual identity amongst the collection of residents.

Instructor: Visting Professor Jose Morales, MGM Arquitectos

SITE PLAN (GROUND LEVEL)

GROUND UNIT PATIO VIEW INTO INTERIOR

St.Louis Ave.

The Smith Family moved back into the city for the good education, new services and affordability provided in North St.Louis. Mr.Smith works at the NGA as a spatial analysis and likes to take the circulator from his home in Jeff Vanderlou to work. Mrs.Smith works at Cortex but bikes to work via the Brickline Greenway. The younger Smiths attend Stowe Middle College and Sumners High. The youngest child is a promising tennis player and she takes lessons at the Tandy Rec Center.

THE SMITHS

Lauren is a lifelong Ville resident. She has always wanted to own a home and start a business but she didn’t know how. Working with The Ville Collab she has been able to craft a wonderful business plan that she has leveraged to get capital to purchase a cornor building which she lives above. On the ground floor she has a Black skin centered aesthetician shop. Selling soaps and services catered to skinconcerns of those with darker skin.

LAUREN

Billups Ave.

“BAE: Black Aesthetic Empowerment”

Location: NorthCity St.Louis, Missouri

What is BAE?

The prioritization of Blackness in place, that puts value on the reality of the way Black people live-occupy and commune in their neighborhood.

Extends value to Black bodies and organizations representing the community interest.

Enhances the real Black aesthetic that includes moments of leisure and avoids emplacement.

B.A.E. traces the history of three NorthCity St. Louis neighborhoods: The Ville, Jeff-Vander-Lou, and St.Louis Place, to stabilize and repair historic oppression under the principles of the Green New Deal and the Black Leisure Movement..

Project Components: Cultural Loop Trail, Neighbors Program, Scattered Site In-Fill Housing, Light Manufacturing, Community Facilities, and a reconstructed Grand Blvd with Bus Rapid Transit.

Produced in collaboration with Jennifer Wang & Catherine Hunley

Instructor: Professor Linda Samuels, Phd

Goals

*Of the Black Experience in St.Louis

Preserve Memory Dialogue with the Past, Present, & Future

“AFROFUTURISM

& INFINITE FUTURES IN ST. LOUIS”

Location: Jeff-Vander-Lou, NorthCity St.Louis, Missouri fairgroundspark

The Ville Neighborhood

70Grand Bus Route *cities highestbus ridership 10minwalk

1/4mile - 5 min walk NGA

St.Louis Place Project Site

cultural network diagram

North St. Louis is the physical heart of St. Louis’ Black history, much of which has been lost to outside forces. The project positions a cultural center on North Grand Boulevard, a facility dedicated to preserving local Black memory through storytelling, in the spirit of Afrofuturism—a movement dedicated to bringing diasporic traditions to the present as a way of learning from the past. The 45,000-square-foot facility comprises seven discrete galleries, each containing a story of the local Black experience. It invites Black residents to share in the history-making by recording their own memories of living in St. Louis.

Instructor: Professor Julie Bauer

Present day Black Americans find their roots in West Africa. Drawing from the West African tradition of fractal space making, the building is formed from a series of interlocking cubes. Each cube holds a story and where they intersect “slippage” between volumes occurs. Encouraging patrons to complete a curatorial loop. Structural rammed earth and brick construction provides a tectonic and architectural experience that intensifies the connection to cultural heritage.

Dick Gregory Gallery & Performance Space inner courtyard

7 Galleries taking on the stories of...

1. Black Visual Art

2. Arthur Ashe and Black sportsmanship

3. Annie Malone and Black entrepreneurship

4. Black Neighborhood Erasure

5. Dick Gregory and Black Music

6. Future Stories yet unknown

7. Everyday Blackness

A series of brick terraces ground the building and extend the storytelling experience into the neighborhood.

City of Logone Birni Cameroon Palace Fractal

Ogiamien Benin Palace Fractal Spatial Precedents

2040 TRENDS:

Access to Nature

Due to the covid pandemic more people want convenient access to open and green space, better air quality, ability to socially distance, and retain recreational activity.

Weathering the Storm

Climate Change will see the Atlanta regions climate continue to shift with an increase in floods and drought. This will make water conservation and harvesting essential techniques for any future development.

PopUps for All

More retailers are favoring smaller retail footprints due to less demand, overhead costs, and changing consumer needs. Grocers and clothing stores will begin to shrink the size of their stores as they plot their future course.

Future of Work

Majority of blue collar “office workers” will have the option of working from home at least partially. Asynchronous work week and need for in-home office.

“GWINNETT CULTURAL GREEN”

Location: Gwinnett County, Georgia

Gwinnett County has a mall problem. This project proposes a wholistic strategy for redeveloping the dead Gwinnett Mall and surrounding retail center into a 24/7 mixed use town center. A 70-acre museum and recreation park with new microretail live/work villages take over the existing Gwinnett Mall property. The new urban districts embrace the park, while a network of biking and walking trails connect to the existing neighborhoods and other regional destinations. The site strategy considers ecological features with storm water management and future MARTA heavy rail expansion.

Instructor: Professor John Hoal

Project Goals

Repair the disconnected urban fabric by creating new mobility options around and to the site.

Create new opportunities for small businesses to thrive by using a live-work model.

Increase Walkability Cultural Preservation Transit Oriented Promote Small Business

Support the growing Asian and Black population with new cultural museum offerings that showcase their history in Georgia.

What is a micro-retail district?

>The micro-retail districts represent the principles of a 24 hour community but center the retail and other work forms of work as apendages to the home. Catering this community to those who are entrepreuners or single owner businesses. This offering allows for the home as salon or storefront as well as traditional office. These options are included in three distinct typologies with a variety of combinations.

form based code

Take advtange of the projected inclusion of Gwinnett County into the MARTA system with a station next to I-85.

District One would be the first test district. This property would encompass the outlet mall parcels. Today (2021) used as mostly luxury car dealerships and fast food restaurants. As land is cleared, it will be conveyed within the project boundaries to the former gwinnet mall property. Our new “Gwinnet Cultural Green”. The land cleared will form the landscape of the north park and outdoor amenities including the bandshell and festival grounds.

District Two would continue development to the Eastern edge of the former mall outlots. At this time, the roadwork would be in place and the outdoor park amentities completed. Work would include the creation of the three museum offerings and extention of the building form based code to the eastern site parcels. Remediated land would be conveyed to the park landscape to create the land-form for the remaining site work.

cultivate

“A COMMUNITY FOOD HALL”

CURTAIN WALL

FACADE ARCH Architecture

BUILDING SYSTEMS

Location: Old Goucher - Baltimore, Maryland

HOW CAN WE GROW A SENSE OF COMMUNITY SHAPED BY FOOD?

This project marries the understanding of systems in the design of a community food hall. The project starts with food as a system that has the capacity for many transformations. The understanding obtained is then applied to the architecture of the food hall. A facility composed of structural mass timber arches that define the dining spaces and architectural quality.

Instructor: Professor Leon Bridges, FAIA, NOMAC

GREEN ROOF WITH FARM PLOTS

STRUCTURAL ARCHES

WHAT MAKES A MEAL?

Urban Design Studio

“BRIDGING THE GAP”

HOW CAN PARKS & GREEN SPACE PROMOTE CONNECTION BETWEEN DISPARATE COMMUNITIES?

This project seeks to address the problems facing an innercity community in Baltimore, MD by proposing a large scale redevelopment framework that focuses on transportation, growth, and investment. Through research and precedent, my partners and I have broken down the site improvements into re-investment districts in addition to a linear “greenway” park, bus rapid transit, and the daylighting of the Jones Falls River.

Instructor: Professor Gabriel Kroiz

THE GREENWAY

GRAFFITI ALLEY

PASSIVE REC. WALKING TRAIL

LANDSCAPE MAZE

URBAN FOREST

HUMAN SIZE GAMES HAMMOCKS WATERFALL ROCK CLIMBING

EARLY INDIVIDUAL CONCEPT

WHATS WRONG WITH I-83?

Currently the elevated I-83 viaduct serves as a connector of the region but a divider of the city. The creation of the interstate at the edge of the affluent Mount Vernon neighborhood didn’t cause any harm to the centrally located wealthy enclave but had a lot of consequences for the adjacent communities. The land was seen as undervalued despite its proximity to downtown and instead much of it is currently used for jail purposes. What pockets of housing remain are either abandoned or massive public housing complexes.

The site focuses on communities that have the lowest income in the city of Baltimore while also featuring its highest population of Black residents - known as the “Black Butterfly”. It is adjacent to the communities that have some of the highest residential incomes and the most white residents - known as the “White L”.

Changing the Narrative* Housing for All

by Teddy Levy

To have shelter is one of the most basic tenements of human existence. However, the history of public housing in this country is stained with the cruelties of injustice despite its founding principle to provide “decent and safe accommodations.” From a historical standpoint, public housing has neglected minority communities - primarily those home to Black people. At best it can support those with the lowest wages who are most in need and at worse is fosters a continuance of generational poverty.

Today government-subsidized “public housing” at a national level is not sustainable. For the purpose of making a program that works for some, it neglects a larger population at a variety of income levels who are still unable to afford a place to call their own.

The primary issues we see today that are affecting affordable housing are this: The inability of older and less economically stable residents to maintain their properties in instances of ownership due to a rising cost of living (a.k.a. gentrification). Impoverished and younger individuals and families unable to find housing that does not require more than 20% of their monthly wage. The above data is quite deplorable but not necessarily shocking as most individuals can relate to these effects, no matter where they live. While most might think this is a problem for the politicians and those in social policy, I believe that architects and designers can thoughtfully contribute to solving this issue.

Therefore, with this CRIT Scholar research project, I proposed that affordable housing should be for all! I decided to craft a zine booklet as the product of this research. The content in the zine makes sense of trends affecting the American housing system and documents case studies of affordable housing to inform the design of a prototypical housing solution. The findings presented in the zine target a variety of groups: those in the public who may not have “the language of architecture” and traditional design professionals.

The zine starts with a basic understanding of the considerations of designing housing for any condition but brings forth the notion of community. I began to question this meaning with my research mentors from Mithun, who guided me throughout the CRIT Scholar program. Through our conversations and research, I found that the concept of community was the most prominent feature in several affordable housing case studies.

What does community mean in an affordable housing model? I have been able to conclude that “community” often means a group of people with similar interests, ethnic, and social ties. I also found that “community” works differently at a variety of scales. I chose to document this at what I saw as the scale of the block and that of the neighborhood.

After collecting valuable information for my case studies through on the ground fieldwork and having an opportunity to talk to some of the designers’ of these projects thanks to mentors at Mithun, I was then able to move forward with a prototypical design solution.

I chose to design a scale-able model. One that I see as fit for a variety of urban conditions. The program makes use of the thin dimensions of rowhome architecture (16’ wide) and assigns a paired volume. Illustrated amongst three levels are four to five households of potential users coexisting in relatively comfortable living quarters. Due to the specially designed nature of the units, the goal is to encourage the inhabitants of these spaces to age in place for a period of around five to ten years. While the design of the building is practical in a rental model, the most effective way for such a building to work for its community would be under co-ownership. Common ownership ensures that housing would be affordable to all potentially interested parties. I see this as an excellent way for small scale developers and community activists to begin working towards an equitable future as it concerns housing in America.

Using the zine format as a tool, I hope to continue the discussion of “how do we design for affordability and the community at large?” The study of affordable housing typologies is the perfect way to further this discussion.

The Basics

100

For every extremely low income households there are only

29 adequate, affordable, and available rental units

$7.25

In no state can a person making the federal minimum wage of afford a two bedroom apartment at market rate

On Average Millenials Spend

45% of income on rent

53% of millenials struggle with purchasing a home due to down-payment costs

*data obtained from the National Low Income Housing Coalition & U.S. Census

VERTICAL LIVING

These are stacked dwelling units. We know these today as apartments. Each is an aggregate of the unit below often with little variation. By stacking more people on top of one another, you are only limited by the technology for construction and the zoning laws in the place of the development. In situations with limited space but a greater need for housing this solution may be appropriate.

AGGREGATED ACROSS FLOORS

ANCILLARY DWELLING

An ancillary dwelling is a secondary dwelling unit usually located on a smaller part of a residential lot. This unit type is smaller than the primary residence and can be attached and or detached to the primary residence. This is sometimes called the “granny flat”.

ANCILLARY DWELLING

STACKED DWELLINGS

SINGLE FAMILY

A standalone dwelling unit that is independent from any other dwelling units. The home usually features it’s own lot and can be found in your typical suburban neighborhood.

INDIVIDUAL LOT DWELLING

MISSING MIDDLE...

A term that describes the spectrum of building types commonly missing in our communities. These types of homes combine a little bit of everything! The aggregation of the typical vertical apartment while dealing with varying scales of densisty as small as that of your typical single family residence. ?

creating a design solution

For Good Imagined as a space for those transitioning from homelessness or can serve as a retail pop-up. This space is a blank canvas.

For A Minute

Imagined as a space for those transitioning from homelessness. This unit would have greater turnover. For the housing insecure.

For a While

Traditional apartments for single individuals, couples. 5+ year renters. For everyone.

For The Long Haul

This is the largest apartment and features three bedrooms. This apartment gets access to the best views and a rooftop patio that makes family living more enjoyable in a urban setting. This unit is for family.