Luke Cowper's architecture portfolio includes several projects he designed for school studios focusing on sustainable designs that incorporate natural elements. The projects include a boat house for Spofford Lake with event space and boat storage modeled after tree branches and leaves, an addition to Casa Gaspar in Spain separating living and work areas like footsteps, and a parking garage in Keene, NH with a helical ramp inspired by local mills. Other projects are a graduation stage for KSC using interchangeable lumber parts and a Student Success Center addition to the library designed like a mathematical formula for student achievement.

1. Luke Cowper Architecture Portfolio

2. Never go backward.
Attempt, and do it with all your might.
Determination is power.

3. [Contents]
Spofford Lake Boat House
Casa Gaspar Addition
Keene Parking Garage
Graduation Stand
Student Success Center

5. Spofford Lake Boat House
Location: Spofford, New Hampshire
Prepared for: Keene State College, Studio II
Spofford Lake is a multi-use lake
where many people in the area come
in the summer to live and rent to
participate in water sports such as
fishing, swimming, boating and hiking.
It is home to the Spofford Yacht
Club that has open since 1898. With
the need for more space and better
access to the water the goals for the
project were to incorporate a large
event area for functions and other
gatherings that includes a full kitchen,
handicap bathrooms and offices for
administrators. A new boat storage
facility with men’s and women’s locker
rooms were also a main focus. Boats
need to be easily transported from the
docks to storage each winter.

6. These goals were tied into the
natural wooded surroundings and
portray the birch trees on site and the
idea of a dense canopy covering the
site. The site is based on the flow of
a tree branch from the cusp to new
bubs growing further into the future.
Starting with a dense area and slowly
thinning out as you move closer to the
water
Site Section
Process Models
1 2
3 4
Site Modle

7. A
A
Section A
The floor plan of the event building is based on the
structure of a leaf. The main lobby and hallways represent
the stem and veins while the rooms portray the blade that
sits in-between and around the stem and veins. This creates a
natural flow throughout the building tying it back into the
site and overall parti of the project.
The boat storage and locker rooms are housed
in a separate building also representing the
structure of a leaf. The stem is portrayed by the
divider between the men’s and women’s locker
rooms. The ceiling is punctured with multiple
openings representing the stomata, allowing
light to enter in specific areas.
Event Building
Boat
Storage
Floor 1
Floor 2
Floor Plan

9. Casa Gaspar Addition
Location: Zahora, Spain
Prepared for: Keene State College, Studio I
Casa Gaspar, designed by Alberto
Campo Baeza, is best characterized
as the epitome of minimalistic design
following the idea that less is
more. There is a special relationship
between air, light and shadows along
with a connection with nature. The
request for total independence fuels
the design with for walls making an
enclosure with three equal parts
with only the center covered and a
courtyard on either side creating a
grid. There are strong connections
between closed and open space, and
between white and light.

10. Section A Section B
A
B

11. While sticking to the mindset
that less is more, the task for this
project was to work with two
shoe designing clients to place
an addition adjacent to Casa
Gaspar with strong Spanish and
minimalistic traits. Keeping strict
geometry and the same grid system,
the design goals were to separate
work, sleep and living areas.
Each space represents one shoe
walking as depicted by the different
roof elevations and staggered
courtyards. Clerestory windows
provide light to the work and living
areas on the south facing walls
without allowing for to mush solar
heating.
B A B B B B B
A
A
A
A
2A

13. Keene Parking garage
Location: Keene, New Hampshire
Prepared for: Town of keene, Collab design
Due to the increase in popularity of
Keene, NH and the growth of small
businesses and attractions the
town needs to increase its parking.
Businesses on Main street have
parking directly in front of their
stores and the need for additional
parking that is in walking distance was
a necessity. The site proposed by the
town is ideal due to its close proximity
to local stores and restaurants,
while not adding any additional
traffic to Main Street.

14. Proposed Site
Shopping
Courtyard Keene
Attractions

15. Working collaboratively with three other classmates
our design goals include the application of a flat-deck
parking structure integrated with a spiral helix ramp to
blend forms for an aesthetically pleasing structure.
Easy floor to floor circulation as well as covered
parking for simplified snow removal in the harsh New
England Winter. These values, along with a facade
styled after the iconic mill buildings of old time Keene,
make this ideal for the new transportation hub for the
city of Keene.
Floor 1
Floor 2 - 4

17. Graduation Stage
Location: Keene, New Hampshire
Prepared for: Keene State College, Studio III
Keene State College graduation
takes place every May on the beautiful
and flourishing Fiske quad which is
the main quad and gathering point
on campus. The current graduation
stage has been used since the late
1980’s and the 25+ years has left
it in very poor condition and an eye
sore on what should be the student’s
and families proudest moment. Each
year the stage is assembled and
unassembled in a matter of weeks by
the grounds crew then it is left in
storage for almost a year. For this
upper level project we were given
the task to design a new graduation
stage using only conventional
lumber and construction techniques.
It must be easy to assemble with
interchangeable parts, while also
being aesthetically pleasing.

18. Audience Seating
Academic Buildings
Proposed Stage Sight
Appian Way

19. The geometric arc of the
structure was derived
from looking at steel
framed domes and rotating
them to create a half
shell or wave like form.
Triangles were used for
each part of the arc to
permit a larger over hang
and easy construction.
Entering the stage from
the rear allows graduates
to face the crowed before
walking which gives time
for family and friends
to take picture of the
front rather than the
side. The middle section
of the stage has a height
higher than the sides to
create a hierarchy over
the podium and emphasis on
receiving the diploma. The
canvas material stretched
over the top will provide
shelter from rain and
wind while also giving the
grounds crew a lighter
material to move around.

21. Student Success Center
Location: Keene, New Hampshire
Prepared for: Keene State College, Studio III
Keene State College offers
specialized services that promote
the growth and prosperity among
the student community. However,
currently decentralized and
lacking visibility, these important
and individually successful services
do not benefit the students in an
inclusive and comprehensive manner.
As a part of an upper level
architectural studio, rooted in
Problem Based Service-Learning
practices and sponsored by industry
practitioners, I engaged in the design
of a Student Success Center. As an
addition to the existing Mason Library,
this project proposed a convenient
central location for the following
departments: Writing Center, Math
Center, Wellness Center, Disability
Office, Global Education Office, and
Career Advising.

22. First Floor Interior
Section A
Process Models

23. Floor 1
Floor 2
Second Floor Interior
A
The design goals were
to incorporate all these
departments into a 25 to
30 thousand square feet
area. My design is based
on a formula for success;
each student has the ability
to succeed given the right
tools and variables. The
individual departments are
the variables students can
use to create their specific
formula for achieving
success. With this formula
in mind I began with the parti
of a parabola which led to
the final function, flow,
and form of the building.
The arcing hallways
mirroring the glass façade
depict the way a parabola
arcs on the x and y axis of
a graph. A main goal was
to allow as much natural
light into all departments
without allowing too much
solar heat gain. To prevent
this, the mullions vary in
depth to shade south facing
walls in the spring and
summer but allow heat gain
in the winter when the sun is
at a lower angle.

24. Luke Cowper Architecture Portfolio