Architecture

KEYSTONE: A HEALING COMMUNITY

Denver, Colorado

The focus of this project was aimed at aiding the single mother and her children and using cohousing as the healing environment for which this type of family would be able to thrive. The typology of cohousing would act as the foundation for motivated, low-income, single mother families to make the transition from public assistance to personal self-sufficiency through subsidized housing. Whether fleeing domestic abuse, on the verge of homelessness, or simply down on luck, this community has the capacity to form a supportive family through the guidelines of cohousing. A community that is safe, affordable, and empowering is a community that can transform the home and its reaches into a place of healing. It must be a place where kids can play freely, adults can support one another, and where they all together be heard and understood. Simply put, the cohousing community would be giving the power back to individuals that have felt powerless.

CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF VIETNAMESE ARCHITECTURE

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The design for a center for the study of Vietnamese architecture required a sensitivity and awareness to the history of Vietnam and how it has shaped the eclectic array of the built; where it has been and what it can be in the future. This project drew on both the vernacular and phong thuy principles while paying heed to the proportions and scale of the French Colonial adjacent structures. The ultimate goal was a step in the direction of the contemporary vernacular, a place that addressed the climatic limitations and social customs of the region to truly celebrate the awe-inspiring country that Vietnam is. With a series of connecting arcades and organic form of the gardens to link and bond the built, this site acts as a retreat from the city for both students and the public. The blank, white stucco walls are backdropped with local bamboo and teak, allowing the outdoor spaces become rooms themselves. The interior, open air spaces capture the outdoor courtyards through a series of screens, exposing, just enough, what lies inside the walls of the complex. The ultimate aim was to create a push in a unique direction, to give Vietnamese Architecture an identity unto itself.

 

RE-IMAGINING THE HARBOR

Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen….the city of beautiful people, flawless bicycle transportation, and… an industrial infused harbor front. The site, backed by Dong Energy and outlined by the harbor, had incredible potential to embody everything that the city stands for. This site became a mixed use, mixed typology, and most importantly, a community based imagining of what the harbor front could be. Environmental factors were key, especially in the massing of the built form within a country that treasures its sunlight. This was not a place for people to simply live, but a place that is a community encompassing a live, work, and leisure mentality. The life, in this community, is brought to the pedestrian oriented streets in which spontaneous interaction can thrive.

 

LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOND EXPANSION PROJECT

Eugene, Oregon