NINO BOORNAZIAN
WORK SAMPLE
Bushwick Public Library | Yale School of Architecture | Individual Work | Fall 2016 This proposal offers itself up as a public urban landscape. Corbeled geometry is a motif repeated throughout the project to extract aesthetic and utilitarian potential above and below. Fanning stairs invite the neighborhood up to a semi-outdoor cafĂŠ or down into an intimate reading space. Public seating is integrated throughout the form, and light wells bring natural light into the lower level while doubling as reading nooks. The section posits that meaningful development can occur below grade, and that it should be considered in future development.
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
Bronx Market | Yale School of Architecture | Individual Work | Fall 2017 This proposal advocates for a new landscape on the site, one in which the actual buildings are a seamless extension of the ground. Incorporating the traffic flows of commuters, locals, market services, the ground plane is sculpted in a manner that gives rise to three volumes. These three volumes contain: a market, storage, and food incubator, while the space in between is a public park that can allow for some of the indoor activities to spill out. The storage and incubator shells are conditioned spaces whereas the market shell is unconditioned and seasonally reconfigured.
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
Housing + | Yale School of Architecture | Individual Work | Spring 2019 Funded by the ecosystems that make Honolulu special, recent development is normalizing and disconnecting the public realm from nature. A distinct relationship with water rooted in spirituality, agriculture, and recreation is in jeopardy. This proposal explores making the culturally significant ecosystems of Hawaii accessible to downtown Honolulu by harnessing natural resources, and converting them into regenerative public amenities. Where recent development has used landscaping, programmatic organization, and massing to retreat and repel, my project uses the same tools to invite, unite, connect, and educate.
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
New Haven House | Yale School of Architecture | Individual Work | Spring 2017 A proposal for a dual-unit home and housing community in the early stages of the 2017 Yale Building Project. My scheme was among 8 others selected for a further round of refinement by a team of my peers. Responding to our previously homeless client’s longing for both ownership and community, this design features a shared entryway with individual yard space and framed views. The landscaping strategy makes use of an existing change in grade to provide terraced outdoor zones for public and private interaction. Carefully placed apertures work in conjunction with the sheared form to provide a sense of ownership, security, and community.
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
Office Conversion Prototype | Yale School of Architecture | Group Work | Spring 2018
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
This proposal is a model for the adaptation of post-war high rise office buildings into mixed-use vertical neighborhoods with the potential to generate more than 15,000 new dwelling units in Manhattan. Permanent changes in work culture have rendered many post-war buildings as outdated for office use. This marketadaptive renovation strategy leans on the addition of shared amenity space to ensure a financially and ecologically sustainable preservation of existing buildings in Manhattan. The W.R. Grace Building exemplifies the standard middle-core office building, making it a viable example for the prototype. Teammates: Antonino Boornazian Samantha Monge-Kaser Miguel Sanchez-Enkerlin
Residential Office Amenity Air Shaft
The People’s Pocket Park (P³) | CUBE | Group Work | Spring 2020
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
I was the co-lead on a winning competition entry that was published by the Urban Design Forum. The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how we work, live, and interact with our environment. Proximity to outdoor space has never been more beneficial. Urban residents have become increasingly reliant on and engaged in their immediate neighborhoods, with public transit options reduced, socializing outdoors, and increased time in the home. In March, New Yorkers experienced a driverless NYC. With parks closed, we played on the sidewalk and walked in the street. Why, in the past, has unsafe, loud, and polluting vehicular traffic taken over our streets? In the wake of the pandemic, the City of New York must replace car and subway congestion with green infrastructure, such as cross-borough bike transit, bus-only lanes, and pedestrian streets. NYC’s initial rollout of Open Streets and Open Restaurants is a step in the right direction, but the implementation of these programs and their distribution lack foresight, equity, and proper management. Despite the shortcomings of these government programs, they have displayed NYC’s ability to respond quickly to a social and economic crisis. We must channel this energy towards the longevity of an equitable and sustainable future. Our city is in urgent need of creative solutions and political support that invests in the dignity of our most vulnerable communities. The People’s Pocket Park (P³) is designed for neighborhoods that have disproportionately borne the brunt of the pandemic as a result of longstanding economic neglect, poor air quality, and a dearth of outdoor space. P³ is a phased prototypical strategy that permanently implements green streets in a manner that is commercially viable, as well as pedestrian and environmentally friendly. Upon installment, each Pocket Park would introduce roughly 4,000 square feet of additional outdoor space available for commercial and public use. The scheme is adaptable to any urban corridor, with the exception of those along a bus route. P³ invites communities to shape their built environments. The People’s Pocket Park provides a space safe for pedestrians with improved air quality that nearby residents can personalize through public programming of their choice.
In order to achieve the longevity of Open Streets, our streets must be: 1. Good for business 2. Safe for pedestrians 3. Environmentally friendly 4. Conducive for commercial deliveries. In addition, infrastructure like storm drainage, garbage collection, bus routes, and access to fire hydrants must not be disrupted.
The implementation of P³ is broken down into three phases to allow for sustained effectivity in the event of gradually available funding. Phase 1 calls for the removal of parking, conversion to one-way streets, and the installation of temporary ramps to receive deliveries. Phase 2 replaces the temporary ramps with curb cuts and invites the community to paint murals using the new public space as their canvas. Phase 3 involves excavation, planting, and the installation of bioswales. Grass provides large permeable surfaces while trees grow to protect pedestrians from traffic and provide shade.
For the vitality of our neighborhoods, a reimagined streetscape becomes critical to ensure passersby feel safe and comfortable, social distancing guidelines are maintained, and local business can continue to operate and flourish. P³ fosters cross community interactions in outdoor spaces.
Grass Planter
Project Leads: Antonino Boornazian Madeleine Reid Project Team: Natalie Bartfay Braham Berg Ira Gamerman Diksha Jain Tom Redstone Matthew Sheridan Abigail Thomas
Bioswale Mural Public Programming Delivery Path Truck Path
P³ is an adaptable kit of parts that is informed by community outreach. The process empowers neighborhoods to shape their built environments while reaping the social, environmental, and economic benefits of green infrastructure.
Salem Farm | MADE Architecture | Professional Work | Fall 2019 At MADE Architecture I had the good fortune to work on a ground up guest house and pool house from project initiation through completion of construction documents. Sited on a 360 acre plot of land in Kingston NY, both structures pay homage to surrounding out-buildings while adding a subtle flair of country modern. The 2,800 sq.ft guest house features a gambrel roof as a nod to the dilapidated barn that once stood in its place. The presiding concept is that of an upside down house with bedrooms on the group floor and a generous lofted living space above.
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
Candid Co Reception Desk | MADE Architecture | Professional Work | Fall 2019 At MADE Architecture I worked as a project manager responsible for the design, budgeting, co-fabrication, and installation of a reception desk for Candid Co. This piece greets the visitor upon entry to the client’s Flatiron District headquarters and projects an aesthetic identity for the office. Oak plywood panels edged with solid oak strips serve as the primary building block of the design. Felt surfaces sit flush on slightly thinner panels to celebrate adjacencies, material contrast, and shifting planes. The form is divided into three modules allowing for smooth transportation, assembly, and disassembly.
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
Cradle Chair | Yale School of Architecture | Individual Work | Fall 2018 Cradle Chair integrates circular geometry and complementary materials to achieve comfort, structural integrity, and a light, minimal aesthetic. The design mediates between comfort and stability, producing aesthetic harmony as well as moments of material contrast. Marketed as a dining or office chair, the ergonomics of Cradle Chair promote an upright yet comfortable posture that can be sustained for meals or meetings. I designed and built this project as part for a seminar at Yale called The Chair. The wooden components are shaped using CNC technology and the frame was hand bent and welded using the metal shop in the fabrication lab.
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
When Life Gives You Lemons | Furniture Projects | 2015 - 2016 I built these two pieces using wood and metal off-cuts sourced from the scrap bins at Uhuru Design. The coffee table features a resawn and book-matched oxidized maple slab. Hand carved inlays echo the primary gesture of flipping open, and doubling the surface area of the initial piece. I made the record cabinet while attending the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine. It features shop sawn and bookmatched front and side panels, as well as an original solvent transfer print on the pulls. I got a lot of satisfaction out of converting materials destined for the trash into useful new creations.
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
Community Center | Root Studio | Internship | Summer 2014 As an intern for Root Studio, I was involved in the design and construction of a community center for Organizaciones Indias por los Derechos Humanos en Oaxaca (OIDHO), an organization that advocates for the rights of indigenous people facing discrimination in the city of Oaxaca. Under the guidance of local artisans and architects, I worked alongside community members as we harvested stone, mixed mortar by hand, and stacked adobe bricks. In my penultimate semester of study at Connecticut College, I published a research paper on the de-stigmatization of vernacular materials and Root Studio’s responding efforts. Additionally, I constructed a physical model of the Community Center that is currently on display at Connecticut College.
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
San Juan Mixtepec | Root Studio | Internship | Summer 2014 Using traditional building techniques and collective labor, rural communities in Mexico have historically worked together to build homes utilizing affordable, resilient, and regenerative local supply chains. In the town of San Juan Mixtepec, Root Studio has worked to rectify and repair these relationships through the hiring of local craftsmen, and by inviting the community to unite and relearn the proper harvestation, and implementation of adobe bricks. As part of a larger ambition to house 20 vulnerable families, I was involved in the construction of a new home for a single mother named Paulina Agustina Chรกvez Hernรกndez and her family. San Juan Mixtepec is a particularly vulnerable town in which 60% of men immigrate and only 16% return. Large families are often abandoned by their primary income-earners and 68% of homes have only one room. By utilizing vernacular building techniques, these communities could build their homes larger, harness natural resources, and afford essential appliances which 68% of homes lack completely. In collaboration with several other Mexican architects, Root Studio has developed a prototypical home that harnesses regenerative resources and can be easily reproducible by the community in future projects. The home that I worked on is directly adjacent to the Hernรกndez family where it stands as a testament to the environmental, health, and cost related benefits of vernacular materials.
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
Jim Vlock Building Project | Yale School of Architecture | Internship | Summer 2017 For the 50th anniversary of the Jim Vlock Building Project, Yale partnered with Columbus House, a non-profit organization that has been providing solutions to homelessness in the New Haven area since 1982. Columbus House offers emergency shelter and a continuum of housing and services designed to help people who are homeless to move towards independence. I was elected as a Field Crew Manager to oversee the construction of this 1000 sq.ft dual-unit home. Responding to our client’s longing for ownership, security, and community, the design features a shared breezeway and entryway as well as spaces for seclusion and solace. Our work was published in: the Wall Street Journal, ArchDaily, the Journal of American Institute of Architects, Architizer, Dwell, The New Journal, and Curbed.
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
Sketchbook | Portraits
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
Sketchbook | Portraits
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
Sketchbook | Beach Scenes
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
Sketchbook | Industrial Vignettes
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622
Sketchbook | Country Vignettes
antonino.boornazian@aya.yale.edu www.ninoboornazian.com 917 518-7622