The athletic facility at the Illinois Institute of Technology is currently insufficient for not only the school’s varsity athletes, but also... Show moreThe athletic facility at the Illinois Institute of Technology is currently insufficient for not only the school’s varsity athletes, but also for the school’s club teams and student body. A larger facility is needed to supplement the Keating Sports Center, which is small and currently the only athletic center for the campus. This new facility will include a lightweight and ingenuitive structural design in combination with architectural engineering ideals that challenges the Miesian typology of the rest of campus. My project will incorporate an original structural design and explore the use of suitable building enclosure materials and their thermal properties in order to make the building as efficient as possible. M.S. in Architecture, December 2011 Show less
This project is a mixed-use high rise which will incorporate the program of the newly constructed high rise buildings of retail, hotel, and... Show moreThis project is a mixed-use high rise which will incorporate the program of the newly constructed high rise buildings of retail, hotel, and condominiums with the program of the existing Powerhouse Arts District, art gallery, auction house, art work spaces, and artist lofts. In order for this combination of program to occur and to retain developer interest in this high rise tower, relationships between the program were investigated. Typical “inefficient” or unleasable spaces in a traditional high rise were used as opportunities to incorporate these art district programs into the site. Artist lofts were design on the perimeter of the mechanical floors to take advantage of double height spaces as well as privacy. Art galleries, and an auction house was incorporated on the lower service level in order to take advantage of loading/unloading access. Art work spaces were designed around program which required column free spacing and a sunken art plaza was designed to add additional frontage to different retail and art programs located below grade. The design of both the high rise and its program intends to restore the deteriorating identity of the Powerhouse Arts District in Jersey City, NJ. Show less
The project will seek to create an environment for that fosters living, community, and learning for graduate students at Illinois Institute of... Show moreThe project will seek to create an environment for that fosters living, community, and learning for graduate students at Illinois Institute of Technology. Show less
Transforming abandoned grain elevators while redefining the normal Casino typology. Understanding the capabilities of abandoned grain... Show moreTransforming abandoned grain elevators while redefining the normal Casino typology. Understanding the capabilities of abandoned grain elevators and how they can be reused to create a successful design. Sponsorship: Felsen, Martin Show less
In China, too much population causes early retire age, one child policy, extremely high housing pressure, too little land for open space,... Show moreIn China, too much population causes early retire age, one child policy, extremely high housing pressure, too little land for open space, little or no public facilities. Also, it causes the lost of many long tradition. The losing of multi- generational living is just one of them. This project is a humanistic response to the social problems. Sponsorship: Denison, Dirk Show less
City is made up of diversity and density. Diverse factors make activities and different relationships in a city. These are very sensitive to... Show moreCity is made up of diversity and density. Diverse factors make activities and different relationships in a city. These are very sensitive to other factors’ changes. Their various responses make city dynamic and finally characterize the face of a city or a town. Buildings are one of dynamic factors in a city. The building facade which determines building’s identity marks the transition between outside and inside. The facade has a strong relationship between building programs and urban activities. Their looks make a huge effect on urban environment. But buildings’ configuration is fixed once design choices are made. Buildings are conceived as a rigid objects and inflexible, unresponsive, and unsustainable. Considering that buildings are the largest contributor to the city environment, building should be responsive to changes and facade performance should be more active to building programs. Adaptive building facade will be the means that can address these challenges. Show less
Every generation builds its own city in terms of the social, economic, technological and cultural conditions of its time. We have the... Show moreEvery generation builds its own city in terms of the social, economic, technological and cultural conditions of its time. We have the opportunity to put forward a new model of urban development that responds to the new conditions of habitability for the start of the 21st century. The fact is that we no longer live in a compact metropolis, but in a discontinuous metapolis, an extensive territory criss-crossed by road and rail transport routes and occupied by kernels of population, logistics centers, industry parks and shopping and leisure centers around which people (local, national and foreign) move according to their needs. In this situation it is as necessary to propose strategies for the renewal and compaction of the urban centers as for the integration and protection of the elements that constitute the natural and geographical landscape of our environment. The challenge of constructing a new neighborhood on the boundary between the city of Valencia, in Spain, and it’s orchard (the famous ‘Huerta’) will enable to explore this open and dynamic new hybrid condition of the territory and to propose a new model for the construction of the urban fringes. I would like to address the challenge of integrating the landscape that surrounds the city of Valencia, the landscape we have inherited from our ancestors. To do this it is necessary to reformulate the very concepts of urbanism with which traditionally is operated in the city. The word 'urbanism' was coined by Ildefons Cerdà to designate the science of urban growth, a process based on the implanting of a rational grid, superposed on an agricultural layout, in which the owners of a plot of agricultural x land had transferred to them the ownership of a plot of urban land eligible for development. It is this principle that has informed and overseen the urban expansions of the 19th century and the modern city of the 20th, the typically North American low-density city and the historical revivalism of the end of the last century. But the challenge facing urbanism now is to manage to make the city grow, integrating into our developments the anthropological and cultural elements of the landscape that surrounds us - constructing and conserving are accomplished in the same act. As against the old city-country dichotomy I now propose to bring about an intelligent transition between these two formerly antagonistic modes of dwelling, an integration that lets us recognize the social and cultural value of -in this case- the landscape of the Huerta of Valencia and incorporate it into the urban fabric by means of appropriate management strategies. Given an increasingly uniform global society, we need to recognize the specific cultural and landscape values of each territory as fundamental to the quality of life of the people who live there and to reaffirm a distinct identity that can provide a competitive advantage. Because of this, in contrast to the town planning of the 20th century, conceived on the basis of the speed of the car, I would like to propose a new model of 'urban-agricultural' development that guarantees the creation of a high-quality local environment. More than designing a city, I would like to create habitable environments that effectively resolve the different factors that give people the assurance habitability at different scales: the neighborhood, the landscape and the home. M.S. in Architecture, July 2013 Show less
The aim of this project is to develop a cluster of hybrid houses in Evanston designed to produce energy and reduce resources consumption in... Show moreThe aim of this project is to develop a cluster of hybrid houses in Evanston designed to produce energy and reduce resources consumption in comparison to the houses surrounding it. The project goals are to demonstrate performance improvement. Maximize sun exposure and the interaction between the houses and its gardens. To raise awareness that it is possible to live in a more environmentally friendly unit without hardship is another purpose of the project. Sponsorship: Denison, Dirk Show less
The aim of this project is to develop a cluster of hybrid houses in Evanston designed to produce energy and reduce resources consumption in... Show moreThe aim of this project is to develop a cluster of hybrid houses in Evanston designed to produce energy and reduce resources consumption in comparison to the houses surrounding it. The project goals are to demonstrate performance improvement. Maximize sun exposure and the interaction between the houses and its gardens. To raise awareness that it is possible to live in a more environmentally friendly unit without hardship is another purpose of the project. Sponsorship: Denison, Dirk Show less
By refashioning the design and programmatic use of an offshore oil rig into a luxury hotel for ecotourists, a new age of responsible travel... Show moreBy refashioning the design and programmatic use of an offshore oil rig into a luxury hotel for ecotourists, a new age of responsible travel may emerge. By twisting the symbol of oil dependency into an ecologically preserved, environmentally accountable and revenue-producing prototype, the ideals of reuse, energy and environment can be viewed through a new lens. This design creates interesting and innovative living spaces and environments aided by sustainable integrations to create a “living machine” that establishes connections between all building systems as well as inhabitant inputs and outputs resulting in an energy independent habitat. Show less
The building systems, envelope performance and building use efficiency of the IIT Tower will be analyzed for evaluation of the current... Show moreThe building systems, envelope performance and building use efficiency of the IIT Tower will be analyzed for evaluation of the current building energy use and occupant comfort levels. Energy modeling tools will be used to demonstrate the achievement of superior building performance and better occupant comfort levels through proposed design interventions. The transformative design will also result in a holistic improvement in building performance. Show less
Producing and designing a prototype hybrid use development strategy for a neighboring pair of preexisting historical building in Chicago’s... Show moreProducing and designing a prototype hybrid use development strategy for a neighboring pair of preexisting historical building in Chicago’s North side community of Lakeview. Show less