2. Early on in my design education I was taught that the creative process is an
itterative one.
To create something is not as simple as willing it into being, one must first THINK
about the issues at hand, study what has been done before, understand the
complexities and the context.
Next one must MAKE something, build, construct, explore their thoughts in a
physical way to learn about the realities and ambiguities of creation.
Then one must SEE what they have done, understand its being and represent it,
depict and explain their creation in a way that is equally well designed.
Architecture school has taught me that the creative process is in fact not a
process, but a constant cycle. You do not simply think, study, then design, build,
and represent. You think, and make, and see over and over until you understand.
And then you move on to the next project and realize you never really
understood at all,
and so we THINK and MAKE and SEE again.
3. THINK
01 INTEGRATED ASSISTED LIVING
02 BIBB CITY BRANCH LIBRARY
MAKE
03 A HOME FOR ROSE LEE
04 STACKING STOOL NO. 60
SEE
05 CITY MILL REHABILITATION
06 REV URBAN FOOD HUB 1.0
07 REV URBAN FOOD HUB 2.0
SMALL PROJECTS
6. BIRMINGHAM, AL
FALL 2014
INTEGRATED ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY
With a majority of people now living in cities as well
as a growing elderly population, the assigned project
focused on the relationship between these new realities.
The first phase of the project involved rethinking the
district plan for a section of the city of Birmingham and
then incoporating an assisted living facility within it.
The district plan my group proposed separated zones
within the district using building heights, with lower
areas acting as a more pedestrian downtown and
larger buildings for new offices, research facilities, and
housing projects. A proposed light rail system and more
extensive public transit would draw people into the city.
The integrated assisted living facility is divided into
two two large housing volumes which are connected
through a central volume containing communal spaces.
The lower level of the building is entirely public to
create a lively environment for the inhabitants. The
overall height of the building helps relate it to the taller
context within the district plan and encourage the
feeling of a second downtown within Birmingham.
01
3
8. Large scale office buildings and research
parks help connect the districts to the UAB
teaching hospital and university.
A large urban farming research facility would
provide a new industry for Birmingham, which
could also draw in other companies and non-
profits.
In collaboration with Will Gaskill, Maddie
Gonzalez, and Logan Thornton.5
9. Towers within the zones help separate the
districts while still connecting them to the
main downtown.
The existing warehouse district would be
rehabilitated as a pedestrain zone to provide
a nightlife and connect the city to Railroad
Park and Regions Park.
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11. The Independent Living housing tower is
single loaded to provide an opportunity for a
glazed corridor with photovoltaic panels and
vegetation panels.
The central volume of communal space is
topped with a rooftop “hill” and pool deck
with public stadium seating below to provide
a place of rest for pedestrians in the city.
The Assisted Living housing tower is double
loaded with retail space and dining spaces
located on the ground floor. The terrace on
the second floor provides outdoor dining
space for the residents.
88
16. The modern library as become a mixed experience,
with patrons coming to experience both engaging
public space and private thinking space. This project
challenged us as students to understand the direction
of the modern library and think of ways to incorporate
these two conflicting users in one space. My concept
centered around the experience of journey and
discovery within the library more so than holding
books. By dissolving traditional classifying systems the
stacks are free to encourage patrons to wander and
explore for themselves while also providing a variety of
reading and study spaces traveling across the site.
BIBB CITY, GA
SPRING 2013
BIBB CITY BRANCH LIBRARY02
Desk Stack Unit
13
22. In honor of the Rural Studio’s twentieth anniversary, the
thrid year students were given the opportunity to build
a new home for Ms. Rose Lee and her son Jason. The
Rural Studio had previously built Ms. Rose Lee a home,
however, it burned down shortly after its completion.
The fall students were tasked with the selection and
reconfiguration of two 20K houses, one with an added
bedroom, to fit Rose Lee’s needs. Prior to the end of
the semester the students set the foundations for both
homes and began raising the exterior walls.
As one of the spring students, our group was tasked
with the completion of the homes as well as the
selection of exterior finishes and landscaping. By the
end of the spring semester both homes were dried
in with drywall in place. At the end of the summer
Rose Lee and Jason moved into their new homes. The
proposed landscape design will be implemented over
the course of the next year.
In Collaboration with:
JP Alexander Josh Banks
Lauren Barker Nathaniel Bartlett
Jack Bigbie Henry Boyle
Forrest Burleson Mike Callaway
Rubi Carrero Valyn Daconto
Krystal Duchene Ellise Gallagher
Will Gaskill Saxon Gibbs
Robert Gray Quinton Jones
Abby Katsoulis Kyle Keirsey
Jonathan Neely Will Ready
Caitlyn Salters Libby So
Samantha Speed Felipe Vaz
Sarah Wahlgren Tim Wang
FOOTWASH, AL
RURAL STUDIO SPRING 2014
A HOME FOR ROSE LEE03
19
27. East Section
3/16" = 1'
West Section
This diagram depicts the color
transformations of some native Alabama
vegetation from Spring to Winter
24
28. The Stacking Stool No. 60 was originally designed by
Alvar Aalto as an answer to the mechanized era. The
stool is comprised of three identical legs and a seat
which could be easily mass produced. At the Rural
Studio, we were challenged to replicate the stool
from scratch without the added benefits of machines.
The process involved research on the original
manufacturing of the stool as well as designing the
construction process.
In order to adhere to the original spirit of the stools,
several identical jigs were made to assist in the
bending of each leg. The legs were each steamed prior
to being applied to the jig where they would remain
for a minimum of fourty-eight hours. After they were
finished drying they would be removed from the jig
and finished. A total of nine legs were completed in
order to ensure the final stools were as accurate as
possible.
Reproduced in collaboration with
JP Alexander & Jack Bigbie
RURAL STUDIO
SPRING 2014
ALVAR AALTO STACKING STOOL NO. 6004
25
32. In order to embrace the growing focus on outdoor
living in Columbus with the introduction of new white
water rafting and kayaking to the river, the proposed
project incorporated a cafe, hostel, and kayak training
and retail center into an existing mill building.
This design proposal for the rehabilitation of City Mill
focuses on utilizing the ephemeral nature of light to
contrast the solidity of the buildings existing structure
and accentuate the original textures and tones. In order
to emphasize the structure’s history, communal zones
are focused along the main interior wall, originally the
facade of the building in 1852. The quality of light
along this wall is constantly shifting, transitioning the
spaces from public to private.
The interior wall is extended out of the west facade to
connect to the River Walk and create a public zone for
events and recreational activities. A perforated screen
along the west face of the addition creates a visual
rhythm which allows for a unique viewing experience of
the surrounding site and the activities that take place
along the River Walk.
COLUMBUS, GA
FALL 2013
CITY MILL REHABILITATION PROJECT05
29
38. A key element of the local food movement
is education and awareness about local and healthy
food options. The REV Urban Food Hub provides an
opportunity to create awareness through the merging
of different programs into one project and allowing the
adjancancies of these programs to educate users.
By opening views through the main dining
space to these different program areas, such as the
kitchen, garden, etc, people are able to view the
process their food goes through as they eat. This
allows for a level of transparency that larger food
corporations cannot provide. The understanding
comes from being able to witness this food process;
the appreciation comes from eating the food and
experiencing its benefits.
The space itself is unassuming to draw your
attention to its adjacencies. The space itself is still and
bright, the activity that permeates the space comes
from the apertures cut in the surfaces which show you
what lies beyond: the kitchen, the garden, the teaching
space, etc.
BIRMINGHAM, AL
SUMMER 2015
REV URBAN FOOD HUB 1.006
35
40. GARDEN SPACE
PARKING
DINING
WAREHOUSE
KITCHEN
REV
OUTDOOR SEATING
Permeable paving for existing parking and
potentially electric car charging stations.
This working garden provides organic produce
to the restaurant while also helping reduce the
heat island effect. The garden will be watered
from rain water collected and stored in rain
barrels on the site. This space will also hold
bike storage to help promote non-car traffic.
Solar powered lighting, operable doors and
windows for ventilation and skylights to provide
natural lighting. These different moves help
improve indoor environmental quality.
Outdoor seating space provides hardscape that
also allows water permeability. This space adds
to the overall experience and helps lessen the
heat island effect.
37
42. The second phase of the Urban Food Hub Project
was called the “dream hub,” and involved renovating
an abandoned school building to accomodate the ideal
programmatic elements of a Food Hub. The program
elements were arranged similarly to the original hub
project, focusing on adjancencies as a means of educating
users. After programming the building, I focused on the
warehouse program element to design in full.
The warehouse proved a challenge and an
opportunity to create a space capable of hosting multiple
events and uses. The main floor could be utilized for a
farmers market on Saturday mornings and a fundraiser
dinner on Saturday evenings while still maintaining its
function as the main distribution warehouse during the
week. The REV Urban Food offices are also located within
the warehouse to allow transparency in process and
greater flow.
BIRMINGHAM, AL
SUMMER 2015
REV URBAN FOOD HUB 2.007
REV URBAN FOOD PROJECT
HEADQUARTERS & OFFICES
TEACHING KITCHEN +
ADDITIONAL CLASSROOM
BREWERY WITH OUTDOOR
SEATING OPPORTUNITIES
FOOD RELATED INCUBATOR
RETAIL SPACES + CAFE
INCUBATOR KITCHENS +
CATERING KITCHENS
MAIN HUB + MARKET SPACE +
EVENT SPACE CAPABILITIES
PREP + STORAGE AREA WITH
TABLE STORAGE SPACE
FOOD TRUCK CLEANING
+DOCKING SPACES
TEACHING GARDEN +
GREENHOUSE + COMPOST
RESTROOMS + DUMPSTERS +
OTHER UTILITIES
BUSINESS INCUBATORS +
RENTABLE OFFICE SPACE
COURTYARD + OUTDOOR
DINING SPACE
39
48. The First Federal Building Coworking Space strives to
address the need for new businesses to have creative
and collaborative spaces for growth and innovation.
The first two floors of the building focus on the need
for various levels of privacy and comfort to conduct
business. The space is divided into a cafe space for
socializing, a “library” space containing long tables
for spreading out, small conference rooms for focused
problem solving, and a board room for more formal
business needs.
Color and materiality of different surfaces helps enforce
the different levels of interaction and noise level
throughout the spaces.
BIRMINGHAM, AL
SPRING 2015
FIRST FEDERAL COWORKING SPACE08
45
50. As our first true design project, the River House along
the Chattahoochee River presented many issues,
particularly those of topography and a difficult climate.
For my design I chose to emulate a rock outcropping
I had discovered on a hike. The home would read as
both foreign object and a piece of the landscape. The
building form allowed for the living spaces to have
ample sunlight and the private spaces to be located
behind a series of shading panels.
The outdoor spaces included patios along the main
facade of the building facing the river and River Walk
for more public events, while terraced gardens along
the side of the home provided a more private yard feel.
BIBB CITY, GA
FALL 2012
RIVER HOUSE09
47
52. The artist Arthur Ganson is known for his whimsical
machines which incorporate complex gears and
systems as well as random household objects. As
students we were assigned one of his machines and
tasked with the creation of a forgery using only the
available film footage of the machine. Our assigned
machine was the Machine with Housefly, which used
a series gears attached to wires to dangle a plastic fly
around a mounted lightbulb.
Our team created several jigs to replicate the gears
and learned to sauter and weld in order to assemble
the final machine.
Created in collaboration with
Jacob Guerin & Shirley Fung
FOUNDATION UNIT STUDIO
FALL 2011
MACHINE WITH HOUSEFLY FORGERY10
49
54. Excerpt from the Intro:
“The era of modernism was both lengthy and
diverse. This encylopedia attempts to connect the many
facets of the modernist movement and how it influenced the
future of design. We chose to focus not only on the different
ideolgies within the timeline of modernism, but also the
many players and technologies that inspired them. From the
advent of steel and trains to the molded plywood chairs of
the Eames, from the curves and ornamentation of the Art
Nouveau to the clean white lines of the International Style;
we hope you will find inspiration in these pages and a better
understanding of modernism.”
Created in collaboration with
Shelby Craig & Samantha Speed
SPRING 2015
DICTIONARY OF MODERNISM11 ar • chi • pe • di • a
/’ärkə ‘pēdēə/
noun
A book arranged alphabetically giving information on many
aspects of modern architecture and design, published by
Grooms & Gamble
Image from Le Voyage dans la Lune
le voyage dans la lune
noun
a 1902 silent film directed by Georges Méliès; follows a
group of astronomers who travel to the Moon in a cannon
propelled capsule to explore the Moon’s surface; widely
regarded as one of the most influential films in cinema
history.
/l’vwajaz da la lyn/
51
55. 122
Modernism is an era of design
influenced by rapidly developing
technology.Advancementsinbuilding
materials, industry and transportation
became the source of inspiration for
new projects and a new aesthetic;
however, other developments in
technology also influenced the
direction of design. With the advent
of photography in the 1830s, the
act of representing and viewing the
world carried a new meaning. Not
only was it possible to see images
from areas all around the globe, but
the availability of film helped bring
the ideas of modernism to life.
Le Voyage dans la Lune, often
creditedasthefirstsciencefictionand
narrative films, was released in 1902
and directed by the French filmmaker
Georges Melies. The glorification of
technology and science in the film
reflect the growing curiosity amongst
the general population. Films such as
Le Voyage dans la Lune allowed for a
visual exploration of the possibilities
of the future without concern for
current relevance. This kind of
experimentation with technology and
form would help movements such as
Futurism find recognition through the
medium of film.
a b c d e f g h i j k l m
123
Image from Le Voyage dans la Lune
n o p q r s t u v w x y z
124
Centrale elettrica Sant’Elia for La Citta Nuova, 1914 Tower of Babyl from Metropolis
a b c d e f g h i j k l m
125
In 1927 the German film
Metropolis, created by Fritz Lang,
was released as one of the first
feature-length films of the science
fiction genre. The storyline follows a
dystopiansocietyreliantonmachines
and the divide between those who
run the city and those who make
the city run. The film itself provided
extensive commentary on the nature
of working conditions and the social
climate of the industrialized world.
From a design standpoint, the urban
landscape of the city was heavily
influenced by the work of the Italian
Futurist architect Antonio Sant’Elia.
Much of Sant’Elia’s work envisioned
the mechanized city of the future,
embracing the industrialized age.
Because his work was so ahead of
his time, few of his works were ever
built; however, his influence in films
such as Metropolis and the aesthetic
of futuristic architecture allows his
designs to live on.
n o p q r s t u v w x y z
127
The introduction of film and
photography into the world of design
helped architects represent their
work in new ways and imagine worlds
that could previously only exist on
paper. This new medium allowed for
a more playful and forward-thinking
outlook on design, imagining new
building typologies such as high-rise
offices and housing towers as well
as transportation hubs and industrial
centers. Although often viewed
as outlandish, these architectural
explorations would find a home in
the world of cinema in films like
Metropolis and Le Voyage dans la
Lune where they could reach masses.
This widespread recognition helped
propel the modernist movement
and inspire a generation of forward-
thinking designers.
Promotional poster for the film Metropolis, 1927
128
“”The trick, intelligently applied,
today allows us to make visible
the supernatural, the imaginary,
even the impossible.
- Georges Melies
l129
SOURCES
Avgitidou, Angeliki. “Architectural Dystopian Projections in the Films Metropolis, Brazil and The
Island.” Ed. Vassilis Vlastaras. Utopia. ASFA, 2010. 164-169.
Curtis, William J. R. Modern Architecture since 1900. London: Phaidon, 1996.
Le Voyage dans la Lune. Directed by Georges Melies. 1902. France: Star Film Company. Film.
Metropolis. Directed by Fritz Lang. 1927. Germany: Paramount Pictures. Film.
Neumann, Dietrich, and Donald Albrecht. Film Architecture: Set Designs from Metropolis to Blade
Runner. Munich: Prestel, 1999.
Winokur, Mark, and Bruce W. Holsinger. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Movies, Flicks, and Film.
Indianapolis, IN: Alpha, 2001.
52
56. As a supplement to our Architectural History class at
the Rural Studio, we were assigned a structure in the
area to paint as a way of better understanding the
vernacular architecture. My assigned buildings were
both located on North Ward St. in Greensboro, AL.
The building on the right is the Cedar House, a Rural
Studio project, while the building on the left was an
abandoned shack a few homes down.
The recreation of both buildings required extensive
measuring, photographing, drafting, and color studies
and provided an interesting lesson in texture and
composition.
WATERCOLOR
SPRING 2014
SHACKS12
53
58. In order to better understand the importance of
shadow and light in a space each student was
assigned an architect to research and write about.
To supplement our study, we also rendered a space
designed by our assigned architects that featured
compelling light qualities. My assigned designers were
Charles and Ray Eames and the rendered space comes
from their home.
The utilization of materials, concrete floors, sheer
curtains, textured glass, etc. created interesting
shadows and and ephemeral light within the space.
It was difficult to translate the many different patterns
using graphite and helped me better understand the
intricacies of light in a space.
GRAPHITE
SPRING 2012
EAMES HOUSE12
55
60. As one of my first projects in architecture school, the
study and representation of an insect proved to be
the most challenging and rewarding experience. Each
student was assigned to capture their own insect,
which we then drew in many different forms to better
understand how it functioned. We began with large
scale charcoal sketches and mechanically drafted
studies.
The final rendering required a detailed look at our
insect and the many colors and patterns that made it
unique. The moth I rendered had wings which were
incredibly reflective and luminescent, which was
difficult to capture. The experience taught me about
the complexity of color and the importance of study in
representation.
PRISMACOLOR PENCIL & GRAPHITE
FALL 2011
INSECT RENDERINGS12
57
