This project proposes a new building for the University of Florence situated on Piazza Brunelleschi to reconnect the city with the school. The building features an entrance tower and two protruding arms that showcase the classrooms and exhibition spaces. The linear building contrasts with the curvilinear piazza design to foster movement. The project aims to engage the public and put the school and exhibitions on display through an interactive built form.

1. JANSEN MEALS

2. jmeals818@gmail.com
E-mail: jmeals818@gmail.com

3. CULTURAL FIBER
A NEW SCIENCE PARK
FRAMED RELATIONS
CULTIVATE
BIKE-TEL
reFRONT STREET
ENVELOPING KNOT
ABSTRACT WORK

4. CULTURAL FIBER Fort Point: Boston, MA
Tapping into the history of manufacturing
in Fort Point, this project aims to give the public
to the opportunity to experience the creation
and development of textiles, while concurrently
allowing them to contribute to the betterment of
the environment. The issue of clothing and fabric
waste is one that is plaguing not only Boston, but the
world. By creating a center for the reprocessing of
textiles, it creates a framework for the development
and future life of the building; allowing it to transition
from a program based primarily in manufacturing, to
education, to research.
As a building embedded within the
landscape, harmony between the interior and
exterior program is achieved in several ways,
including: open air markets, public gardens, a
sculpture park, and orchards. A mulberry plantation
would play a key role on the landscape as well, due
to their ability to attract silkworms, and would allow
for future growth in silkworm harvesting. As the site
ages, education/ economic growth is set to be the
main driving factor of the project, intended to give
students an education in multiple textile design
disciplines, while being sponsored, and or held by
major educational institutes in Boston.
In the decades following, research and
biotechnology would surge to the forefront, as
advances in the process of textile reprocessing
are made. Complementing the interior laboratory
research space; which, encapsulates the majority of
the building, private exterior parcels of landscape
would be dedicated to research as well, and
can include a variety of species ranging from the
mulberry trees, to bee farms, butterfly gardens, etc....
With the constant development of technology and
resources, this project has the capability to redefine
Fort Point and bring back to life the once flourishing
textile industry. partner credit: Nikita Choudhary
100,000 visitors daily
$155,000,000 annually
south station
SE view from A street
SE view from A street
SE view from A street
5 min
5 min
red
line
s
i
t
e
broadway
station
10 min
ica
400-500 visitors daily
$15,000,000 annually
convention center
50,000 event visitors
$60,000,000 annually
textile waste u.s.: 13.1 million tons per year
2030
2050
2100
textile waste boston: 230,000 tons per year
15% of textile waste is recycled each year
produce
grasp
grow N
50,000 pounds from boston marathon
resources used for one shirt
70% production/
disposal
5% transport
22% distribution
3% laundry

5. green roof
W27 primary steel framing
on a 35’x35’grid
6’ deep primary trusses
+ W18 purlins
central core bearing walls
16” hss columns
reinforced concrete louvers
concrete retaining wall
public activity nodes
circulation
landscape + water control
strategy axon N
site plan

6. manufacturing
market
exhibition/workshops
office
common space
manufacturing
market
exhibition/workshops
classrooms
common space
manufacturing
market
exhibition/work
resarch labs
common space
typical footprint
board form south facade: referencing interior textile manufacturing open north facade: taking advantage of diffused light
manufacturing manufacturing manufacturing
market market
market
exhibition/
workshops
exhibition/
workshops
exhibition/
workshops
office classrooms
research
commons commons commons
utilize site shift grid embed peel roofs link to city

7. 1. green roof: water collection/ harvesting
2. W18 steel purlin
3. 6’ deep composite steel truss
4. exhaust air vent
5. concrete bearing wall
6. supply air duct
7. W24 steel girder
8. 16” diameter hss column
9. W18 steel beam
10.floor finish
11. 18” RFAD on 3.5” steel deck with 4” concrete
12. 30” concrete retaining wall
13. waterproofing
14. 4” rigid insulation
15. drainage mat
16. steel reinforced 1’ thick concrete louver system
17. drainage pipe
18. 3’ mat foundation: create a “bathtub” due to wet soil
longitudinal section
2030 ground floor plan section details

8. approach on the channel market entrance

9. exhibition + education green roof

10. A NEW SCIENCE PARK Boston, MA
The Museum of Science currently exists
as a disjointed, underwhelming, and underutilized
site, built at an automotive scale. The Charles River
Dam Road provides a link between Boston and
Cambridge; while, the Museum creates a division
between the Charles River and nearby parks. By
using existing edge conditions examined on site,
a series of precedents were studied in order to
enhance and exploit the certain edge types. The
new Museum and Science Park take on the new role
of an icon and destination for the public of Boston.
This project sees that three main anchor
points of the museum (parking garage, entrance
tower, and the omni-theatre + planetarium) are left
in their current location but amplified to promote
the museum and activity. The interstitial space
between these points is where new edge types
are implemented, and community involvement is
encouraged. The transitional edge types are also
incorporated along the river, helping tie the building
into its surroundings, and allowing pedestrians the
chance to finally interact directly with the Charles.
N
existing edge conditions
1
7 8 9 10 11 12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
2 3 4 5 6
remedial edge conditions
implemented at the building scale

11. N
ground floor plan
transverse section
base volume identify anchors augment anchors locate program engage pedestrians link+define campus

12. north point park perspective butterfly garden + greenhouse

13. CULTIVATE Goose Island: Chicago, IL p u r p o s e o r i g i n
r e v e a l p r o c e s s
physical connection greenspace use
site respects sensory engagement
As Goose Island aims its future toward
the tech industry, a demand for supporting program
+ offices has surfaced. With the existence of the
nearby culinary school, this projects core program
found itself rooted in food technology, specifically
GMO’s. With the vast possibilities GMO’s present
to solve hunger issues, improving understanding
of the concept is vital. This building proposes an
experiential tour that moves culinary students and
the public through the building, showcasing reveals
into research and experiments.
Varying interior programs such as: vertical
gardens, labs, offices, lecture halls, markets, etc...,
revolve around the central atrium, the hive of the
project. The atrium carves the core of this building
into its own piece of the tour experience. Kinetic
pods house labs that travel between floors to meet
the need of the experiment housed. This focal point
draws attention to not only the research it embodies,
but the buildings layered activity. In all, Cultivate
seeks to inform and prepare society for the future of
our food systems. partner credit: Karen Vankovich
Kendall College
Wrigley Global
Innovation Center
Culinary Institute
potential partner
potential partner
model photos N

14. UP
GMO Research Facility MVIDK
1" = 20'-0"
1
1st Floor Plan gross sf - 25,000
75% efficient
DN
DN
GMO Research Facility
2974 Ped Path Way
Goose Island, Chicago, IL
41.90 N 87.65 W
MVIDK
High Tech Office Design
IDS Spring 2017
Vankovich + Meals
MEZZANINE A-102
1" = 20'-0"
Mezzanine
gross sf - 8,000
65% efficient
T
GMO Research Facility
2974 Ped Path Way
Goose Island, Chicago, IL
41.90 N 87.65 W
MVIDK
High Tech Office Design
IDS Spring 2017
Vankovich + Meals
4TH FLOOR PLAN A-104
1" = 20'-0"
1
4th Floor Plan
gross sf - 27,000
85% efficient
O Research Facility
4 Ped Path Way
se Island, Chicago, IL
0 N 87.65 W
MVIDK
High Tech Office Design
IDS Spring 2017
Vankovich + Meals
8TH FLOOR PLAN A-108
1" = 20'-0"
1
8th Floor Plan
gross sf - 24,000
80% efficient
MO Research Facility
974 Ped Path Way
oose Island, Chicago, IL
1.90 N 87.65 W
MVIDK
High Tech Office Design
IDS Spring 2017
Vankovich + Meals
9TH FLOOR PLAN A-109
1" = 20'-0"
1
9th Floor Plan
gross sf - 18,000
80% efficient
ground floor site plan
mezzanine
labs + offices I multi
market + lecture hall
labs + offices I multi
labs + offices I prime
labs + offices I prime
labs + offices I prime
communal gardens
restaurant
cafe mezzanine
typical floor (3-7)
eighth floor
ninth floor
N
sun |
solar panels on the ends
of facade extrusions capture
energy for the boilers
grey water |
sloped landscape and
roof-bound gardens collect
water for waste flushing
composting |
food waste enters a cyclical route
to fuel the vertical garden which yields
produce for restaurant utilization
N

15. employee + visitor paths
start end

16. reFRONT STREET Cuyahoga Falls, OH
This phased urban initiative seeks to
reactivate Front Street through the design of
three main projects. The first is the Design Forum,
a renovation of the Arts Center, with an ecological
esplanade leading to the second project: the
Experiential Lumber Facility. A tree nursery extends
the program of the lumber facility to the exterior, and
leads to the final project: Multilateral Symbiosis, a
residential housing community.
01: Design Forum encourages collaboration
through visual stimulation. Each floor has a form
of gallery or viewing space, inviting the occupants
to move freely and explore the building. The
abandoned bank vault from the buildings original
design, becomes a destination piece of its own, able
to house numerous forms of interactive pieces of
art. The flexibility of the spaces, allows the Art Center
various possibilities to introduce new arts and trade
courses, and expose the creativity process.
02: The Experiential Lumber Facility, blurs
thelinebetweenindustrialfabricationandconsumer
experience. This project includes classrooms, a
wood workshop rentable for both professional
practice and public courses, and a small market that
sells the products made on site. The main gallery
creates the connection between the wood-shop
and retail market, with an experiential hallway that
showcases the woodworking process in the shop.
03. Multilateral Symbiosis is a residential
development set atop retail shops and a merchant
market. Cuyahoga Falls is seeing a rising population
of young homeowners who desire compact, cheap,
and more communal ways of living, setting the stage
for this project. An elevated green yard, connects
the customizable apartment units, retaining private
courtyards for the residents, while creating a new
social agora for the members of the public and
residents alike.
Multilateral Symbiosis
Experiential Lumber Facility
Design Forum
N
03
02
01

17. 01 DESIGN FORUM
main gallery vault gallery

18. vertical circulation
basement floor ground floor mezzanine
third floor
relocate hvac utilize environment program re-clad facade systems axon
flex spaces
gallery spaces
rentable spaces
UP
UP
UP
UP
UP
UP
Basement Floor
Ground Floor
Mezzanine
1 Work/ Flex Space
1 Work/ Flex Space
2 Gallery Space
3 Reception/ Retail Space
1 Work/ Flex Space
2 Gallery Space
3 Storage Space
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
Site Plan
UP
UP
UP
UP
DN
DN
Ground Floor
Mezzanine
Third Floor Axonometric
Return Air
Supply Air
Lighting
1 Work/ Flex Space
2 Offices/ Rentable Space
3 Kitchen
1 Work/ Flex Space
1 Work/ Flex Space
2 Gallery Space
3 Reception/ Retail Space
1
2
3
1
1 2
3
Safe Gallery Detail Site Plan
Longitudinal Section Perspective
UP
UP
DN
DN
Mezzanine
Third Floor Axonometric
1 Work/ Flex Space
2 Offices/ Rentable Space
3 Kitchen
1 Work/ Flex Space
1
1 2
3
Safe Gallery Detail Site Plan
Longitudinal Section Perspective
UP
UP
DN
DN
Mezzanine
Third Floor Axonometric
1 Work/ Flex Space
2 Offices/ Rentable Space
3 Kitchen
1 Work/ Flex Space
1
1 2
3

19. 02 EXPERIENTIAL LUMBER FACILITY
main gallery framed workshops

20. retail
gallery
woodshop
workshops
loading + storage
ground floor second floor connection details
base volume
systems axon define spaces develop entrances circulate expose

21. 03 MULTILATERAL SYMBIOSIS
living space elevated courtyards

22. DN
UP UP
first floor second floor roof longitudinal section
base volume shape break wrap connect activate

23. FRAMED RELATIONS Florence, Italy
Filippo Brunelleschi deserves a piazza that
can live up to his name and the legacy he created
in the city of Florence. Instead, Piazza Brunelleschi
is nothing more than a mere parking lot with few
areas dedicated solely to pedestrian movement. It is
not an urban or social hub, despite its prime location
between major Florentine monuments including
the Duomo and the Ospedale degli Innocenti. This
project creates a new multi-functional building for
the University of Florence; which, is situated on the
piazza, and will reconnect the city with the school.
This project aims to engage the public
through the use of a solid interactive built form,
while putting the school and exhibition space on
display. The entrance tower aims to emulate the
effect of a typical Florentine tower through its
function and form. Two arms protrude from the
tower to create areas that showcase both the class-
wing and the exhibition-wing, allowing the public
and students to gain different perspectives on the
building. Furthermore, the strong linearity of the
building extension is contrasted by the curvilinear
piazza design, in order to foster meandering and a
more dynamic dialogue between school and site.
cattedrale di
santa maria del fiore
galleria dell’accademia ospedale degli innocenti
14,000 visitors daily
4,000 visitors daily 1,000 visitors daily
model photos
N

24. site plan
courtyard N

25. 0
+3m
0
+3m
-1.5m
0
+3m
+61cm
0
N
GREEN SPACES
REFLECTING POOL
BASEMENT FLOOR
GROUND FLOOR
1 2 3
1. SMALL AUDITORIUM
2. BOOKSHOP/ STUDY AREAS
3. PARKING GARAGE
1 2
1. LOBBY
2. CAFE
0
+3m
-1.5m
0
+3m
BASEMENT FLOOR
1 2 3
1. SMALL AUDITORIUM
2. BOOKSHOP/ STUDY AREAS
3. PARKING GARAGE
0
+3m
0
-1.1m
0
-1.15m
GROUND FLOOR
FIRST FLOOR
SECOND FLOOR
1 2
1. LOBBY
2. CAFE
1
1. EXHIBITION SPACE
1
2
3
1. STUDY AREAS
2. LARGE AUDITORIUM
0
+3m
-1.5m
+3m
0
-1.1m
0
0
+3m
+3m
0
-1.1m
0
0
+3m
0
+3m
0
-1.1m
0
+3m
-1.5m
0
+3m
+61cm
0
N
MAIN
MAIN V
GREEN SP
REFLECTIN
BASEMENT FLOOR
GROUND FLOOR
FIRST FLOOR
1 2 3
1. SMALL AUDITORIUM
2. BOOKSHOP/ STUDY AREAS
3. PARKING GARAGE
1 2
1. LOBBY
2. CAFE
1
1. EXHIBITION SPACE
SITE
basement
base volume
front elevation longitudinal section
separate + expose entrance tower piazza connection public engagement
ground floor second floor third floor

26. courtyard
stair tower

27. BIKE-TEL Ohio Erie Canal: Akron, OH
Situated on Lock 25 of the Ohio Erie Canal
Towpath Trail, the main objective of this project is
getting the average, everyday person staying at a
“bike-tel” (bike hotel) interested in cycling, and is
accomplished in multiple steps. The first of which, was
separating the primary programs of the building:
living/kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and bike storage.
By detaching these programs into small modules
and connecting them by means of a continuous
path, that in turn connects to the existing bike path, it
forces the user to encounter biking, wantingly or not.
By lifting the building on top of the lock, it
gives the opportunity to allow the bike-tel to become
a beacon to all that encounter it, and since the site
lies directly adjacent to not only the bike path, but to
a main road, the extent of its influence is vast. The
glowing translucent box on the forefront of the lock,
provides storage for rental or personal bicycles;
as well as, showcasing its contents. The living and
bedroom modules are equipped with movable
façade panels, as to both be able to open to the
nature and or provide privacy if needed. This project
is both a beacon and private retreat, allowing the
temporary cyclists to be gradually introduced to
biking, and cultivating a comfortable and highly
unique experience, unattainable elsewhere.
model photos floor plan N

28. base volume situate define program separate program orient elevate + expose shroud connect to path
Oak: Wood Panels + Structure + Floors
Polycarbonate: Bike Storage + Bathroom Facades
2x4 End Joists
SIP Panel
Radiant Heat Floor
Wood Decking
End Joists
Panel
iant Heat Floor
od Decking
Polycarbonate: Bike Storage + Bathroom Facades
2x4 End Joists
SIP Panel
exploded axon + details
sip panel
radiant heat
wood deck
oak panels polycarbonate
longitudinal section

29. street perspective
interaction diagram

30. bedroom
courtyard path

31. ENVELOPING KNOT Not Sited
The nest of the Baya Weaverbird is truly
a work of architectural expertise in nature. The
process of the weaverbird building his nest can take
up to 18 days, 500 trips and 3500 strands of leaves
and it is not even a guarantee that the structure will
be used. The structure of the nest is very heavy
and tightly woven at the top, and the entire nest is
supported by a single knot. This demands precision
from the bird, otherwise the complete structure would
fall to the ground and waste the many resources
that went into the fabrication.
The importance of the knot in the process
of weaving a nest, serves as the basis of inspiration
for this project: a biomimetic facade on a non
situated public program, with a corner glazed curtain
wall. Through a series of processes and iteration,
a form for the knot-facade was derived. Folded
steel plates derive their geometry from the action
of knotting, and vary in size to simulate the woven
structure of the weaver nest. The panels peel away
from the curtain wall, for not only shading purposes,
but to allow users to inhabit the interstitial space,
much like the birds in their nest.
x
x
x
x
x
elevation floor plan
details

32. x
x
x
x
x
may 9 a.m.
baya weaverbird process iteration screen model section perspective
may noon may 6 p.m. individual modules knot modules shade calibration view calibration offset facade system

33. interior perspective

34. ABSTRACT WORK
Various abstract work has been created in
an attempt to understand the basics of architecture,
while remaining unburdened with creativity. The
Transformation Drawing, is the result of a series of
figure ground studies, resulting in a two unrelated
end-motifs connected by a series of transitional
lines and media, to create a cohesive image.
The Cube Fractal, takes a series of previous
‘cube’ iterations and stitches them together, in order
to utilize a series of layers that create transitions
between spaces, resulting with a cube-like form.
The Sensory Wall, attempts to visually
connect two main program: a lobby and interactive
gallery; while, retaining division. The wall is made of
a series of vertical planks, that protrude to varying
distances, creating an interstitial space that melds
the separate spaces. Tiered floors encourage the
users of the space to become more conscious of
the act of transitioning between spaces.
transformation drawing
sensory wall cube fractal