Intersight 21

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water forest rain origins industry vulnerability growth refuge homelessness collaboration connection home foreclosure

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Photo by John Erickson

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54 – Stasis 160 – Seneca Bluffs Pool 146 – Coastal Dreams

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72 – A Millimeter of Space 142 – Amazing Grace

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Photo by Mike Shriver

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78 – Big to Small 108 – Retrofitting Suburbia

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82 – Azraq Camp

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122 - Are We There Yet? 72 – A Millimeter of Space 112 – Harrison Place

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Inspiration Intersight 21 Kevin Turner, MArch, MSRED, Fred Wallace Brunkow Fellow, 2018-2019 – Editor Elizabeth Gilman, MArch – Assistant Editor Stephanie Cramer, Miguel Guitart, Christopher Romano – Faculty Editorial Committee

Intersight The University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning student journal, Intersight, is an annual publication that celebrates the interconnectivity of architecture, planning, and design. Not just a showcase for student work, it is also a tool by which to explore the creative processes and pedagogy of the school – facilitating dialog and discussion on the notions of design, research, education, and relationship between them. The collaborative spirit of a joint school of architecture and planning is further enhanced by capturing the considerations of faculty, staff, and students, regarding their own contemplations of creative inspiration and process. The publication seeks to celebrate this collaboration between disciplines, and generate new opportunities to connect ideas across a variety of subjects and contexts.

Intersight 21: Inspiration Building on the foundations of Intersight 19 and Intersight 20, this year’s volume focuses on exploring how students formulate a design vision and carry it to fruition. Inspiration seeks to answer the question: ‘What inspires you?’ Design inspiration presents itself in a variety of ways. At times, it is an intense, illuminating beacon of clarity, showing the way forward. Sometimes it is a subtle, slow idea, hatching over the course of repeated iteration and revision. It can be singular or an amalgamation; highly

public or innately personal. It can be ever-present, or sometimes never arrive at all. The inspiration for a concept is a unique and special moment in any work of design. Today, it seems an obsession with measuring output, performance, and efficiency can overshadow the importance of inspiration in design work. The initial impetus of a project oftentimes occupies a small part in its final representation, sometimes even becoming a superficial tagline. This volume explores the role of inspiration as a generative element, not something manufactured or derived after the fact. Communicating and discussing these basic, fundamental drivers and motivations behind our ideas is critical in order to convey to others not only our ideas, but the deeper thoughts, histories, and memories from which these ideas emerge. Interrogating the initial notions of a project, this volume purposefully reincorporates generative processes into the discussion of work, and juxtaposes this with the inspirations and motivations of the designer themselves. Intersight 21: Inspiration examines the current inspirations of the School of Architecture and Planning, providing a platform from which to reflect and discuss these foundational motivations of not only our work, but of ourselves.

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Methodology

Insights

The theme behind Intersight 21: Inspiration is developed and shaped by the entire student body. To understand the influences and inspirations of the student, a baseline assessment was conducted across the school. A survey was distributed across classes and studios asking in the context of their design vision:

The results of the survey revealed a wide variety of interests across the student body. 191 discrete survey responses were received, the top five of these are Nature, People, Family, Future, and Art. Outside of these, responses trend along the same lines, with the large majority of these inspirations revolving around the natural environment and the people within it.

“In one word, what inspires you?” “How do you work with/from an inspiration?” Representing 374 students from both the Architecture and Planning departments, the survey results serve as a current cross section of the student body. The responses, graphically portrayed in the infographics of this section, were remarkable – in both the variety of responses, and the trends across years and experience levels. In parallel with the investigations of the student, work collected from students and studios is also subject to the same questions. The inspirations from each project are juxtaposed with the project author’s inspirations, allowing for a comparison of personal and design inspirations. In presenting the work in print, inspirational images for projects are collected into the beginning section of this book. While each project has its own inspiration, this collection of images allows the reader to see the overlaps and connections between many primary and secondary inspirations. The projects themselves are shown in the Appendix, the last section of this book. This structure allows for a non-linear reading of the volume, inviting the reader to retrace the inspiration of the original project author in creating their work. Similarly, the reader is able to create their own connections between inspirations and projects, allowing for an exploration along their own path of interest.

Graphically shown at right, these top inspirations are held across students of different programs and disciplines. While some are evenly distributed, others become more concentrated within a particular group. Reading more deeply, the voices of individual classes emerge, and show trends in how the interests and inspirations of students can change in the course of their studies. In uncovering the inspirations and influences of the school, the questions and prompts became difficult, and at times uncomfortable, to answer. Whether it’s from a lack of thought on the matter, or an aversion to sharing one’s personal motivations or biases, moving past this and sharing these generative thoughts allows us to understand more fully the intent behind the ideas. The mission of Intersight is to celebrate the work of students, and provide a platform for critique and reflection. While this volume encapsulates only a portion, these are the ideas which inspire our students, and by extension, the School. Understanding what these inspirations are, how they are used, and where they intersect enhances the collaborative discord between faculty, staff, and students.

Nature

Freshmen

Family

People

Sophomore

Junior

Senior

Art

Future

M.Arch 3.5 M.Arch MUP END MS.RED

how to: This volume is designed first to introduce the reader to the inspirations of project authors, before drawing them to the work itself. In this way, the reader may experience the same sequence of events that led each student to their conclusion. The first section of the book is dedicated to the inspirations. In the upper right corner of each, the inspiration is called out by name. Next to this, under ‘go to’, is a list of projects found in the last section of the book, the Appendix, which draw from this inspiration. Turn to the listed page in the appendix to reveal how this inspiration was transformed into a project. When browsing the Appendix of this volume, the ‘go to’ identifies the page location of the primary inspiration for a project. Flip back to this page number to see what influenced and inspired the project.

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Dean’s Letter Behind every act of making is inspiration. It is the clarity that channels creative impulse, and the energy the transforms ideas into community-enriching policies, plans, buildings and spaces. As our annual journal of student work, Intersight 21: Inspiration views the creative output of our students not from the final product, but from the essence of its beginnings. This carefully curated volume, edited by 201819 Brunkow Fellow Kevin Turner (MArch/MSRED ’19, Architecture BS ’17) offers a unique curatorial approach that extends a nearly 30-year tradition of the school. Indeed, the publication itself has inspiration at its heart, thanks to the vision of Steven Sample and Kathryn A. Brunkow to endow an annual publication on the pedagogy and life of the school. Inspiration takes place at multiple scales. At one level it is a window into our personal experience of the world and our relationships to the people and places within it. When viewed collectively, however, such reflections reveal far more. In its almost scientific mapping of inspiration, Intersight 21 documents the intersection of nearly 200 student responses to the provocation. It is within these spaces we find connected motivations across discipline and culture. A shared experience of the world emerges. Consider water as inspiration to a Situated Technologies studio’s responsive installation of rain sounds, with light and motion. The natural force is equally influential to the annual study abroad trip to the Monteverde Cloud Forest of Costa Rica, where this past summer students built a outlook that takes visitors above the tree-line for sunset views of the Nicoya Gulf, 5,000-feet below.

Our lasting impressions also situate us in a particular time and place. A senior architecture studio focused on affordable housing concepts for a gentrified downtown Buffalo shares an inclusive impetus with an environmental design studio project with a local nonprofit eager to extend services to the region’s LGBTQ community. Taken together, student inspirations reveal the intellectual roots and creative drive of our school. Ultimately, Intersight 21: Inspiration invites the reader to reconnect with his or her own creative openings. And isn’t that inspiration in and of itself? Robert G. Shibley, Professor and Dean

school of architecture and planning Robert Shibley Korydon Smith Joyce Hwang Daniel B. Hess

Professor and Dean Professor and Chair – Department of Architecture Associate Professor and Associate Chair – Department of Architecture Professor and Chair – Department of Urban and Regional Planning

faculty

staff

Craig Alexander, So-Ra Baek, Paul Battaglia, Martha Bohm, Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah, Nicholas Bruscia, Sean Burkholder, Brian Carter, Elaine Chow, Stephanie Cramer, Stephanie Davidson, Charles Davis II, Gregory Delaney, Alan Dewart, Mustafa Faruki (2018-2019 Banham Fellow), Stephen Fitzmaurice, Mark Foerster, Kathryn Friedman, Laura GarófaloKhan, Jordan Geiger, Miguel Guitart, Sarah Gunawan (2017-2018 Banham Fellow), Zoé Hamstead, Hiroaki Hata, Melinda Hoffman, Christopher Hogan, Matthew Hume, Joyce Hwang, Julia Jamrozik, Kellena Kane, Bumjoon Kang, Omar Khan, Ashima Krishna, Annette LeCuyer, Vincent J. LiPuma, Margot Lystra, Kenneth MacKay, Dennis Maher, Marguerite McAfee, Virginia Melnyk, Noellan Niespodzinski, Erkin Özay, G. William Page, Jiyoung Park, Alfred Price, Thomas Provost, Georg Rafailidis, Sasson Rafailov, Samina Raja, Nicholas Rajkovich, Christopher Romano, Bryce Sanders, Mark Shepard, Michael Silver, Robert Silverman, Jin Young Song, Jon Spielman, David Stebbins, Hadas Steiner, Edward Steinfeld, Despina Stratigakos, Karen Tashjian, M. Beth Tauke, Henry Louis Taylor Jr., Kerry Traynor, Daniel Vrana, Bradley Wales, Harry Warren, Sue Weidemann, Li Yin

Marion Brush, Corinne Cardy, Barbara Carlson, Teresa Bosch de Celis, Brian Conley, Holly Cook, Patricia Donhauser, Debra Eggebrecht, Sharon Entress, Christina Farrell, Norma Everett, Frida Ferrer, Wade Georgi, Jason Hatfield, Bradshaw Hovey, Alexandra Judelsohn, Enjoli Hall, Matthew Hervan, Robert Hill, Jeffrey Kujawa, Jason Kulaszewski, Danise Levine, Subbiah Mantharam, Bruce Majkowski, Doug McCallum, R.J. Multari, Jessica Naish, Rose Orcutt, Shannon Phillips, Donna Rogalski, Lindsay Romano, Maryanne Schultz, Samantha Stricklin, Heamchand Subryan, Rachel Teaman, Daniel Vrana, Heather Warner, Jonathan White

54

go to: water – 3 Students:

Faculty: Team:

Stasis Junior students Autumn Bender, Nicholas Bonora, Nicholas Eichelberger, Kaetlyn Hanlin, Bryce Karcz, Erik Louwagie, and Christopher Sweeney collaboratively designed, fabricated, and launched a buoyant wooden vessel, titled Stasis. This vessel became a design muse and instrument for the studio, investigating many fundamental questions that pertain to the tectonics of architecture—space and geometry, structure and skin, form and function, as well as material and construction. Working in pairs, the relationship between tectonics and ZDWHU ZDV IXUWKHU UH¿QHG WKURXJK WKH development of a proposed River-Station, which reintegrated people and water along the shoreline of the Erie Canal. 7KH SURSRVDOV H[SORUHG DQG UHÀHFWHG RQ the role of water in human settlement, and how we might arrive at new tectonic solutions to living in and along the water’s edge. Crest, by Sweeney and Bonora found inspiration in the threat of rising sea levels, and the more general adverse effects of climate change. Unda, by Hanlin and Bender, was inspired by the MÜbius Strip—a mathematical concept of one continuous surface with no discernible beginning or end.

Term: Program:

Autumn Bender, Nicholas Bonora, Nicholas Eichelberger, Kaetlyn Hanlin, Bryce Karcz, Erik Louwagie, Christopher Sweeney Elaine Chow Nicholas Bruscia, Christopher Romano (coordinator), Thomas Provost, Jin Young Song ARC 301, Fall 2018 BS Arch

To both Sweeney and Bonora, the interactions between people and architecture is a great source of LQVSLUDWLRQ 7KH LQĂ€XHQFH EXLOW IRUP FDQ have on people, and both the predicted and unpredicted outcomes of that interaction, shape their thinking. They consider architecture less about the LQLWLDO DFWLRQ DQG PRUH DERXW ORQJ WHUP implications. Hanlin has an appreciation for all types of art and communities. She also has a particular interest in the ability architecture has to help people, as well as enhance the world we live in by putting others and the environment before ourselves. Bender is fond of the peace and comfort that comes from being with nature. She is interested in the human psychological connection to architecture and how our senses impact this perception.

“We don’t design architecture for purely a visual sight, but rather, we design to invoke certain feelings and emotions.� – Autumn Bender, BS Arch

Group vessel ‘Stasis’, under construction

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How does your project relate to your initial boat construction? Christopher Sweeney and Nick Bonora: Our initial boat construction began with the idea of two dynamic elements—skin and frame. Both were separate pieces that were dependent on each other through D FORVHG ORRS V\VWHP RI WHQVLRQ DQG compression. In developing our design, we took this idea and brought it to a larger scale. The material properties we used in developing the boat focused on tension

and active bending. In Crest, we took a creative approach to interpret this at a larger scale. We were unable to use the idea of live bending and tensile fabric, because these methods do not work well for building construction. Instead, ZH GHFLGHG WR XVH D FORVHG ORRS V\VWHP through tension as our tectonic. Our frame (constructed out of glulam) was dependent on the skin (prefabricated panels) through a series of joint connections in order to support each other. The two elements

remained independent, but relied on each other for construction purposes. This allowed us to create several different details where the skin had a direct impact on the frame. Autumn Bender and Kaetlyn Hanlin: The undulating form found within Unda was a direct product of the curves found within our initial boat construction. The idea behind Stasis was to create a buoyant vessel completely reliant on tension. Here, the two main components of skin and frame, as mentioned before, produced an equilibrium of forces which surrounded the structure and allowed it to keep shape. We continued that idea of tension within our roof structure, which LPSOHPHQWHG D ÀH[LEOH PDWHULDO VHFXUHG around the frame to create an enclosure.

Where did you derive the more organic form of Crest from? CS and NB: In the initial approach to the project, we began to research different buoyant organisms. One of the most interesting organisms was the water strider. The fascinating part of this creature was the different movement patterns it was able to accomplish; these patterns were sporadic and didn’t clearly stick to one direct path. In addition to this, as the organism moved on the water, it always maintained a center of balance; this is something we decided to incorporate in the project. We also looked back to the canal for this idea of sporadic movement. The canal was the place of movement on a larger scale that, despite being very calculated, at times became very sporadic. The parallels between these two LGHDV EHFDPH D PDMRU LQÀXHQFH RQ RXU project. Our circulation wrapped around LQ VSHFL¿F ZD\V WR DOORZ IRU WKLV W\SH RI sporadic movement. It also allowed you to experience the project by being dropped off in different spaces without being FRQ¿QHG WR WKHP Project Unda, by Autumn Bender and Kaetlyn Hanlin – diagrams of vessel tectonics translation

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Unda – buoyant model photo

Unda – modular section

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Project Crest, by Christopher Sweeney and Nicholas Bonora – Section Model

What were some of the different ways you implemented the MÜbius concept in Unda? KH and AB: Undulation is present across many aspects of the project. Primarily, we designed the overall form to represent a ÀXLG PRWLRQ RI WKH VWUXFWXUH :H XWLOL]HG glulam to structure very dynamic curves. The programmatic layout of the project involved undulation, which is a direct product of the structural components. We also designed the spaces to be vast and intersecting with one another so that navigation throughout its entirety would FRQYH\ D ÀXLG PRWLRQ

+RZ GLG \RX UHODWH WKH ÂżQDO design to the surrounding context? CS and NB: There were various relationships to the land embedded within our project. The initial curvature began with identifying the curvature of

the shoreline. We also decided to relate the sectional relationship of our project to that of a lock. We found that the experience of being inside of the lock was so intense that we wanted to replicate these experiences in our project. The twist and turns throughout the program are based on different feelings we wanted to HYRNH WKH ÂżUVW RI WKHVH EHLQJ LVRODWLRQ :H VSHFLÂżFDOO\ PDGH WKH ZLQGRZV KLJK enough so you can’t tell what is behind them. We also wanted to embed the circulation so you are unsure of what is on the other side; this is something that we took directly from the locks. Our relationship to the land is very direct as well, we intentionally pulled back our circulation so that the end of the “partiâ€? curvature was also at the end of the land connection. KH and AB: There is a fairly obvious and rigorous relationship between the project and the water. Because the form completely consists of curves, we faced

a challenge of deciding where the depth of the curve would land within the water, and how this would ultimately affect the experience of visitors, as well as the overall buoyancy. There was also the FKDOOHQJH RI KRZ D ÀXLG V\VWHP FRXOG connect to solid land. We didn’t want the XQGXODWLQJ ÀXLGLW\ WR EH ORVW DW DQ\ SRLQW across the project.

What drew you to each of your inspirations? CS and NB: Throughout the entire project, the water was clearly the most exciting element. As playful and creative as it allowed us to get, it had some very serious constraints which brought a certain intensity to the project. A very real and obvious factor that is extremely relevant in a project like this one is rising sea levels. Due to climate change throughout the world, sea levels are rising at an alarming rate. About 80% of people on earth live within 60 miles of coastline. This

DOVR LQFOXGHV DERXW WKUHH TXDUWHUV RI WKH world’s megacities. As sea levels rise, most of our cities and population are put at risk. Buoyancy is a very plausible way of helping our cities survive. There are QXPHURXV H[DPSOHV RI Ă€RDWLQJ YLOODJHV in Southeast Asia. This idea should be something that is entertained more by designers and embraced as a way of dealing with these very real issues. In our project, we got creative with the way we approached water. Taking advantage of our curvilinear forms and sectional relationship to the water, we also brought a level of familiarity so the idea of buoyancy could be more plausible. KH and AB: We think there was initially a large mathematical procedure to the boat construction that was indirectly carried forward to Unda. We really wanted to keep the idea of tensile equilibrium DOLYH WKURXJKRXW WKH SURMHFW VR ÂżQGLQJ D precedent that redirected the concept into our own terms was something we were striving for. The M¸ELXV VWULS LV GHÂżQHG DV ÂľQRQ RULHQWDEOH Âś VRPHWKLQJ WKDW GRHVQÂśW begin or end. We thought this was a perfect example that pushed our initial concept to the next level, tying it to the LGHD RI Ă€XLGLW\ DQG EXR\DQF\ 8WLOL]LQJ D mathematical concept was very interesting to us because it wasn’t something that functioned or produced, such as a building; it was merely an intangible idea that we could manipulate and understand in a variety of ways.

Crest – Section drawing and programmatic plan

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go to: forest – 5 Students:

Monteverde Forest Overlook The Sustainable Futures Study Abroad Program takes place in the Cloud Forest of Monteverde, Costa Rica. As, one of the most biologically diverse places on Earth, the country and region create an opportunity to learn about and experience how the human race impacts the environment. In these incredible forests, species are going extinct faster than research is aware and it is expected that LQ WKH QH[W ÂżIW\ \HDUV FOLPDWH FKDQJH ZLOO have pushed the Monteverde Cloud Forest into extinction. This beautiful place speaks to the delicate balance of life and offers a clear view of the environmental problems the planet is facing.

Faculty: Term: Program:

Kamani Brown (UMD), Duong Diep, Casimir Garrison, Christopher Graham, Natasha Mendis, Jackson Pavlakis, Ryan Phillips, Matthew Shayo, Nicholas Wheeler, Xuang Xinghuai, Alex Yom (UMD) Sean Burkholder Stephanie Cramer Sustainable Futures, Summer 2018 END, BS Arch

Aside from the breathtaking location, the chance to build for the community served as a major inspiration the students. Team members Nick Wheeler and Ryan Phillips both relished the ability to not only build something themselves, but to create a project which celebrated the uniqueness of the environment and is imbued with meaning to the community.

“It’s the Maker’s Mark – evidence of the maker’s existence, their way of life, and their translation from thought to matter.� – Nicholas Wheeler, MArch

Embracing the landscape before them, students planned, designed, and constructed an outlook post above the forest. At an elevation of 5000 feet, it overlooks the mountains of Costa Rica and, on a clear day, offers views of the 1LFR\D *XOI ZKLFK OHWV RXW LQWR WKH 3DFLÂżF Ocean. The design of the outlook allows for a view without the interruption of a railing. Multiple levels allow for two railing heights, letting the railing disappear to create the view, imitating the sensation of standing on the edge of the cliff. Nicholas Wheeler removing formwork of structural beams

61

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battle the climate). The steel structural members were chosen based solely on what the Municipality had available for us. Every material used was in limited supply, except concrete and rebar. The most important design features of the outlook are the multiple deck levels, the bench, and the railing. These three HOHPHQWV FUHDWH GLIIHUHQW VSDWLDO GH¿QLWLRQV within the small area and allow for multiple levels of viewing. When standing at the edge of the upper deck, you can’t see the railing of the lower deck, which gives the illusion that you are standing on the edge of a cliff.

What was living in a Cloud Forest like?

Nicholas Wheeler, Christopher Grahm, and Matthew Shayo assemble bench on outlook

How did the project of an outlook come about? Nicholas Wheeler: It was the community’s idea to build an outlook–they started the project two years before our arrival. Construction was halted by a lack of funds, and halted again the following year by Hurricane Nate. In October 2017, Hurricane Nate had caused serious landslides which took out a portion of the main road, people’s homes. In the eyes of the community, the site had become a bad reminder of the natural disaster. The completion of the outlook was a form of closure to help the community move on from the disaster brought by Hurricane Nate.

What was the construction process like? Ryan Phillips: Designing the outlook came from one question, ‘how do we give

multiple observers a chance to take in the scenery, with such a small footprint?’ 7KH VROXWLRQ ZDV WR FUHDWH D PXOWL OHYHO scheme which functioned as both a step and a place to sit. This allows more individuals to occupy the area without obstructing anyone’s view. This idea also went into the design of the bench, which sits a little higher, so occupants won’t be obstructed by those in front of them. NW: The construction process was fast, muddy, and rewarding. The outlook had a very helpful set of restrictions; the site was already chosen and our foundation columns were already in place from two years before. The climate was extremely wet, so wood was out of the question, and the Monteverde Municipality only had a set amount of supplies available to us. We were given a $700 budget, which was spent almost entirely on locally sourced recycled plastic composite decking (to

RP: The most fascinating aspect about living in Monteverde was being introduced to the term ‘Cloud Forest.’ For more than a month, I was living about 1,400 meters (4,600ft) above sea level. We were living both inside of clouds and above them – able to see clouds forming right before our eyes. A key aspect we focused on in the project was the connection with the trees. Due to the high altitude, in some areas you were near the top of a tree, which allowed you to view the history conveyed by them. NW: Living in a cloud forest was like living in a cloud. The walk to studio was along the ridge of the mountain, and the view UHDFKHG DOO WKH ZD\ WR WKH 3DFL¿F 2FHDQ Don’t forget, clouds are made of water, and water is wet; that water provides life to thousands of different species. Every species has developed a different way to survive in its environment. Epiphytes are plants that grow on other plants (mainly trees). These plants are growing on every square inch of every tree in the forest. Leaves collect in and around the epiphytes, they decompose on the branches of their hosts and form soil. They form so much soil that the branch begins

63

to grow roots. All of this is happening high DERYH WKH IRUHVW ÀRRU DQG LW FUHDWHV DQ intense number of interdependent layers. This environmental structure, I think, should be considered in all aspects of human life; architecture, planning, design, bureaucracy, social structures, etc. Layers of artifacts, people, and places are all interdependent on one another.

What lessons did you learn, both from the institute and Monteverde? RP: The manner in which I thought about material and its relationship with nature changed. I learned to use material in a more creative way in order to preserve the environment and to reuse materials that already exist. The different characteristics RI QDWXUH DQG FOLPDWH FUHDWH D ÀH[LEOH relationship with materials. NW: There was an overarching lesson about human impact on the Earth, which was broken down into topics such as global warming, agriculture, and (mainly) awareness. In David Orr’s Ecological /LWHUDF\ WKH ¿UVW VHQWHQFH UHDGV ³,I WRGD\ is a typical day on planet Earth, humans will add 15 million tons of carbon to the atmosphere, destroy 115 square miles of tropical rainforest, create 72 square miles of desert, eliminate between 40 to 100 species, erode 71 million tons of topsoil, add 2,700 tons of CFC’s to the stratosphere, and increases their population by 263,000. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.�

Student teams brining materials to site

$HULDO SKRWRJUDSK RI ÂżQLVKHG SODWIRUP

64

go to: rain – 7 Students:

Pluvious Pluvious (adj.): of or relating to rain The installation Pluvious is a responsive environment that evokes the childhood sensation of playing in the rain. Imagined by the Situated Technologies Graduate Research Group, the installation utilizes sensing technologies to integrate sound, light, and motion, and acts as a means to investigate questions of spatial contingency and the limits of predictability WKURXJK DQ LQWHUDFWLYH PXOWL VHQVRU\ experience. The studio initially began by analyzing their own workspace using a variety of electronic sensors; they cataloged the environmental data of lighting, movement, weather patterns, and sounds. These various investigations allowed the studio to develop a systematic way of collecting data from a variety of sources and subsequently translate that into architectural form. As they channeled the incoming data into an instruction set, students used these natural sources to create the responsive apparatuses and immersive experience of rain inside the studio.

Faculty: Term: Program:

Shayan Amirirad, Nishika Niraj Dhariwal, Aubry Fan, Zach Fields, Heidi Flores, Ramola Khamitkar, Frank Kraemer, Jelani Lowe, Rania Moussa, Devanshi Shastri Mark Shepard, Jason Geistweidt ARC 606/617, Fall 2018 MArch–Situated Technologies

moves throughout the space. Lights embedded in the ceiling pierce the darkness and follow the user as well, creating a movable, personal raincloud within the installation. As a group, Situated Technologies studies how integrated technology and interactive media can change how a person feels, thinks, and behaves within or around architecture. Group member Heidi Flores turned to her experience as a musician to help inform the installation. While she realizes that many people are immediately drawn to aesthetics, she is most interested in how technology can change how a person react to and behave within a space.

“Sound can lead a project into a different direction, one that activates all the other senses besides sight.� – Heidi Flores, MArch

&XVWRP EXLOW UDLQ VWLFNV VXVSHQGHG IURP the ceiling and attached to motorized arms, are activated as the occupant Interior of Pluvious installation

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Systems diagrams of programed sensor array

How did the inspiration of walking through the rain translate into built form?

wanted the environment to feel nothing like a studio and to be an immersion of the senses. This is why we converted the room into a dark space, only illuminated by the small lights at the top.

Rania Moussa: Because we were imitating the sound of rain, the most important element that concerned us ZHUH WKH UDLQ VWLFNV 7KH\ DUH WKH ¿UVW thing anyone who came into the exhibition would focus on, so we had to be precise in creating the most natural sound of rain that we could. We wanted the sound of rain to follow the individual within the space. The purpose of the lights above was to imitate lightning; as one would experience the sound of rain, the visual effects of lightning would enhance the feeling of playing in a rainstorm.

What were some of the initial projects in the studio investigating?

Heidi Flores: Following precedent, we designed an event, mapped out the space, and tested sensors and rain sticks. Everything was based on that sound and experience we wanted to realize. We

HF: At the beginning of the semester, we analyzed Crosby 220 using sensors. We collected data regarding lighting conditions, people’s movements, weather patterns, and sounds in order

We wanted people to not only experience the sound aspect, but to have some visual connection to what was producing the sound. As we coded different variations of lighting visuals, we programmed subtle changes of light so it wouldn’t be overwhelming considering how dark it was inside.

understand how the sensors work, and to program them to obtain the information we needed. Taking the incoming data from the sensors, we were able to create responsive apparatuses. Precedents such as MIT’s SEEK and Omar Khan’s Open Columns inspired us to take our interest of using natural elements, rain and light, and transform them into an immersive environment inside the studio. RM: (DFK RI XV OHDUQHG FRGLQJ VSHFL¿F WR what we were interested in analyzing. The studio was divided into teams to construct the installation according to each of our strengths. Some created the structure, others tested rain sticks, and a few focused on the coding and wiring, which required a great deal of attention.

What were some of the challenges in building an installation like this? HF: An issue that immediately arose was having to decide what technology and sensors to use. There are multiple variations of sensors that can detect movement—from ultrasonic sound waves to passive infrared. Our initial research and work with sensors helped guide our choices for the installation. RM: Testing the sensors and actuators was a big problem. The whole exhibition depended on that technology working. )RU H[DPSOH WKH *ULG (<(6 ZKLFK ZRXOG detect the heat radiating off a person, had to be placed beneath the servo arms for it to not automatically activate due to the heat radiating off the servos. HF: As for creating the sound of rain, we did multiple variations of rain sticks. We ZDQWHG D VSHFL¿F VRXQG WR RFFXU D VWURQJ

rush of rain that would eventually trickle. We tried different hollowed out materials, as well as different mixtures that would go inside the rain sticks, to be able to produce the sound we wanted. Eventually, we settled on dry cacti with gravel and rice. This combination produced the closest interpretation of rain. We were surprised WKDW HYHQ WKRXJK WKH FDFWL VWLFNV KDG varying lengths and thicknesses, the RYHUDOO UDLQ VWLFN ÂżHOG SURGXFHG D EHDXWLIXO sound despite the material variation; it was even better than what we had planned.

How was the reception, did people experience the installation like you thought they would? RM: The initial idea was to feel at ease while in the installation. Many individuals who experienced Pluvious described the environment as peaceful, while others found it to be more fun.

Construction detail of rain stick connection, mounted on programmed servos

The sound produced by the rain sticks was interpreted in various ways, depending on the individual. Some thought it sounded like birds chirping, while others were reminded of a rainforest. We didn’t expect them to have different interpretations, but they all enjoyed it no matter how it sounded. HF: Some people even felt like they were in a room with snakes hissing. Despite their different interpretations, everyone seemed fascinated that they had created their own sound paths. Even with the different experiences and interpretations, we ultimately accomplished our goal of creating an environment that made people want to go back and experience it all over again.

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go to: origins – 9 Students:

Logging The research conducted in Logging investigates latent material possibilities within the medium of wood, by investigating material origins and the ethics of material consumption – two societal conditions that humans have increasingly become disconnected from. Its goal is to create a critical dialogue between humans and trees – two living creatures whose histories have been entangled since the origins of civilization. As is commonly understood, wood, which originates from trees, has been one of the most popular building materials, alongside clay and stone, for thousands of years. The tree has been vital in all spheres of OLIH DV SURYLGHU RI ¿UHZRRG DQG IUXLW DV protection from the elements, and later, as a building material. The destruction of forests by humans, in the face of climate change, calls upon us to consider the ecological impacts of our actions, and how best to use the raw materials at our disposal. The seminar research became enthralled with the rawness of the forest, and humans’ tendency to cannibalize this resource by transforming it into timber for use in the construction of space. The students partook in numerous expeditions into the forest to rekindle the relationship between humans and

Faculty: Term: Program:

Craig Brozowski, Eric Chambers, John Costello, Randy Fernando, Evan Glickman, Blake Kane, Elias Kotzambasis, Russell Roberts, Henry Saldana, Nathan Sikora, Cody Wilson Christopher Romano ARC 592, Spring 2018 MArch – Material Culture

trees. Through these deeply experiential interactions with trees (which often resulted in a combination of climbing, hugging, or speaking to the tree), each participant pondered the different methods in which the tree has contributed to our world. As these expeditions accrued, the tree was romanticized not as an abundant natural resource for consumption, but as D OLYLQJ FUHDWXUH ZLWK OLIH OLNH DWWULEXWHV Having observed the environment of the forest, students returned to embark on a SURFHVV RI WUHH IHOOLQJ¹WKH GRZQLQJ RI DQ LQGLYLGXDO WUHH XWLOL]LQJ D KDQG KHOG D[ %\ IHOOLQJ D WUHH D FRQGLWLRQ RI QDWXUH ZDV transformed into a condition of culture – the students experienced the death of a tree, the birth of timber, and more broadly, the origin of architecture. After felling, students began to process the tree, dissect its parts, and uncover its strange behavior. They studied how most, if not all, of the cultural innovations surrounding the use of trees have been attempts to standardize and homogenize the material. As a counterpoint to this historical trend, the aim of Logging is to embrace the living, unpredictable, and eccentric features inherent to all trees.

Quantitative analysis of a tree felling

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What inspired you most about the course/to take the course? Blake Kane: Logging offered an incredible opportunity to engage with raw materials in QDWXUH 7KH ¿UVW IHZ ZHHNV RI WKH FRXUVH consisted of taking long walks through forests. As a studio we analyzed tree growth and studied a wide array of tree species. Crucial to this course was the understanding of ‘forest etiquette’ – how to take and give back to tree ecosystems in a respectful manner. So often we generate GHVLJQV WKDW XVH VSHFL¿F W\SHV RI PDWHULDO with little thought given to where the material comes from or how we are taking from the environment. Logging offered insight into this essential process that all designers should be conscious of. Craig Brozowski: As an architect, you can never know too much about wood and trees. Here we were able to study different types of trees, logging processes, and conservation efforts.

What was your most exciting moment in the course? BK: One of the course requirements was to engage in taking from the forest, which meant chopping down a tree(s) and transporting it out of the forest to the shop (the location which was set up for milling the trees). The process of actually felling the trees was remarkable, to say the least. Watching two old growth trees fall and strike the ground with shear force truly makes you understand and appreciate wood as a building material. CB: The most exciting (and exhausting) day in the course was when we actually went out to take down two trees of our own. It was a lot of hard work, considering we were only using axes to cut and our bare hands to carry. It was all worth it though, just a great experience and a lot of fun. Choppy – Aerial drone photography of felled tree

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Anatomical analysis of a felled tree

How has this intense study on VXFK D SUROLÂżF PDWHULDO FKDQJHG the way think about it? CB: When you start to consider exactly what species of tree and even what parts RI WKH WUHH DUH XVHG IRU VSHFLÂżF SXUSRVHV it really makes you think more critically about what it means to say “this should be made out of wood.â€? BK: For some reason it has become ingrained in our minds that the material we work with is just there. Whether we have a general understanding of where it comes from or think it just randomly appears,

Exploration of material properties

there is never really a true and thorough understanding of the materials we have at hand. Often we use classic examples of architects creating buildings that over use or over accessorize with these materials. However, I would like to suggest that these problems start even earlier than when we go out to practice, and that we should take a closer look at how we are educating aspiring architects and designers. Many times a frantic student will walk into the shop, buy out all the balsa wood or chip board, and the next week a majority of that material will end up in a dumpster. Taking a more in depth and hands on approach

to understanding this material at an earlier point in our design careers and education may lead to more conscious material design and environmental awareness.

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go to: industry – 11

A Millimeter of Space The interface between the natural and KXPDQ PDGH DW D PDWHULDO VXUIDFH suggests the formation of an ongoing process, in which the relationship between materials and the environment is displayed. This study, developed by Justina Dziama, attempts to capture the qualities and characteristics of the undiscussed, immeasurably thin space at the surface of a building, so that we might observe the high impact it has on the experience of a space. The inspiration for the thesis was the SRVW LQGXVWULDO ODQGVFDSH RI %XIIDOR LQ which ruins, as sites of material agency, demonstrate the natural processes and transformations that take effect with a lack of human intervention and upkeep. The topography of this decaying, industrial architecture showcases materials as vulnerable embodiments of the past, subject to the threat of time. In this case, time becomes an important architectural element of these spaces. The surface level manifestation of time heightens our awareness about the lifespan of buildings, and helps us to see them as PRYLQJ SURMHFWV LQ D VXFFHVVLYH ÀRZ RI WUDQVIRUPDWLRQV 7KLV ¿OP LV GRFXPHQWHG through hyperphysical photographs which reveal a palimpsest of layers, bearing the

Student: Faculty:

Term: Program:

Justina Dziama Nicholas Bruscia (chair) Stephanie Davidson Georg Rafailidis Fall 2018 MArch – Thesis

physical traces of a continuously changing condition. By recording in this way, these DUFKLWHFWXUDO ¿OPV RU VNLQV DFW DV D IRUXP to discuss the junction between the natural and human made; the aesthetics of the aged surface and the important role it plays as a maker of space. Understanding design not only provides insight into the era in which a work is created, it also provides a means to explore the unknown, and discover the unexpected. Dziama’s upbringing has a great effect on her work. Growing up in a multilingual household, her interest in, and understanding of, other cultures was cultivated at a young age. These experiences have taught her that diversity is essential in problem solving – the more perspectives that are applied to a design problem, the more effective and enriching the experience. This constitutes an exploratory and iterative design process, enabling discovery and learning about people, and their relationship to the built environment.

“…it became less about the data, and more about building an intimacy with the ruined conditions…” – Justina Dziama, MArch A latex shroud, exhibiting material traces of the cast structure

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What do the shrouds in your images represent? Justina Dziama: A shroud usually refers to an item, such as a cloth, that covers or protects another object. A famous example is the Shroud of Turin, a piece of cloth which is claimed to bear the negative image of a man who is allegedly Jesus of Nazareth.

Demarcated casting area at Silo City

Shrouds, in this body of work, refer to latex rubber pieces, bearing the physical traces of a continuously changing condition from the industrial ruin and function as a means to isolate the material transformations that have taken effect with a lack of anthropogenic interference. They serve as a diagram of forces that have acted on the surfaces of ruins to express their exposure to the elements and reveal a complexity in what is essentially in the VSDFH RI D ÂżOP 7KH\ DUH D UHJLVWUDWLRQ RI environmental forces at play, which serve QRW DV D GHÂżQLWH DQVZHU EXW D UHVSRQVH to the question: ‘How can we begin to talk about the immeasurably thin space at the surface on the exterior of a building, and document or capture its interface between its material makeup and the outside?’

What drew you to explore such a topic? -' 0\ LQLWLDO FXULRVLW\ LQ SRVW LQGXVWULDO ruins stemmed from the pursuit of memory. My paternal grandfather Mykola Dziama, who immigrated to the United States from Germany with his family in the late 1940s, served as the primary driving force behind my initial interest in Buffalo’s abandoned industrial sites and old steel mills in which he worked. Personal drives and exploration of these places has allowed me to further explore my family history and how it connects to Buffalo’s industrial heritage, and reconstruct stories that were shared with me over the years. When I VWXPEOHG XSRQ P\ ¿UVW FDVH VWXG\ , ZDV Processed peeling of shroud from structure

drawn to how the space showcased the transformation of materials through age and decay which indicated to me a very direct and tangible way to experience the passage of time.

Did growing up and living in %XIIDOR LQÀXHQFH \RXU 7KHVLV" JD: Yes. I didn’t ever expect to do a thesis sited on the grounds of the Buffalo grain elevators, but following my passion and interest led me there. Exploring one of these spaces in its current state is a deeply impactful experience, both as a venerable feat of engineering and as a sublime environment of decay. My international exposure, as exciting, eye opening, and enriching of an experience it was, only reinforced for me how special and unique Buffalo truly is. The Buffalo Architecture I grew up exploring and identifying with inspires me to this day. You could say that things came full circle.

What was your conclusion or takeaway from the work? JD: A couple of points came up upon UHĂ€HFWLQJ RQ WKH ZRUN 2QH ZDV WKH DVVRFLDWLRQ ZLWK WKH ZRUN RI -RUJH 2WHUR Pailos in his performance of preservation. In his series “The Ethics of Dustâ€?, pollution that has gathered on historic monuments is transferred onto latex casts. The work ZDV WKH UHVXOW RI D VSHFLÂżF FOHDQLQJ process in which latex was sprayed onto the interior walls of UNESCO world heritage site, then peeled off, gently lifting dirt from the surface. My own method is not revealing what once was, but isolating the changes in chemical conditions that have taken place. There is a tactility to which the liquid latex is applied by hand onto various degrees of texture. This process actually took on a very opposite approach, and was much more aggressive. Through casting the shrouds,

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I began to accelerate the decay and made the exposed surface more vulnerable to elemental conditions, rather than trying to retain its original appearance. In a way it was a “performanceâ€? of encouraging the deterioration, and embracing the aesthetic beauty of what is at the surface and what is beneath it. The exploration has largely been an attempt to understand my attraction WR UXLQHG VSDFHV LQ WKH SRVW LQGXVWULDO landscape of Buffalo. At the beginning of the research, I operated in an almost empirical way to try and justify this attraction. As I developed the method of making the shroud, it became less about the data I was collecting and more about building an intimacy with the ruined conditions, the interface of the structure’s exterior. Through enduring the wind, sun, and precipitation alongside these surfaces in the casting process, and encountering the organisms that dwell within the cracks which are populated by insects and vegetation, a further closeness developed similar to how one might experience an DIÂżQLW\ IRU QDWXUH ZKHQ WKH\ÂśUH KLNLQJ IRU instance. Through this investigation, I was able to develop a method of recording that enabled me to capture an entirely new set of qualities besides what could be achieved through digital photography. By removing physical material in the shroud, tactile recordings were produced that went beyond those captured through the lens of a camera. Each piece became an object of DJHQF\ LQ LWVHOI DQ XQUROOLQJ RU Ă€DWWHQLQJ of its host surface devoid of form. My hope is for others to engage with the shrouds LQ D VLPLODU PDQQHU DV WKH\ DUH VWDQG LQV for the surfaces they originated from. The pieces serve as a reminder to tune into our surroundings and highlight the world of complexity that is revealed when we zoom in on A Millimeter of Space. $ VKURXG RQ GLVSOD\ DW ÂżQDO WKHVLV UHYLHZ

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go to: vulnerability – 13

Winter Storm Vulnerability On October 12, 2006, Buffalo, New York was hit with a severe snowstorm. The Western New York region is no stranger to KHDY\ ODNH HIIHFW VQRZVWRUPV KRZHYHU this particular winter storm occurred very early into the fall season. Nearly 24 inches of snow accumulated over the course RI D KRXU SHULRG 6HYHUDO VLWXDWLRQDO elements led to this storm having a VLJQL¿FDQW LPSDFW RQ WKH FLW\ RI %XIIDOR The resulting impact garnered a State of Emergency and a federal Major Disaster Declaration. The snowfall amounts of this storm were not out of the ordinary for Buffalo, but the timing of the storm resulted in widespread power outages throughout the region. Some of those power outages lasted beyond a full week. The number of resulting impacts from the October storm of 2006 had a lasting impact on the city and the community members who lived through the damage and extended power outages. These LPSDFWV KDG QRW \HW EHHQ TXDQWL¿DEO\ measured beyond an initial debris removal cost estimated at $169 million. Through examining the impact on Buffalo’s utility, this report illustrates the true economic impact that severe winter snowstorms can have on cities.

Students:

Faculty: Term: Program:

Juweria Dahir William Siegner Tom Voigt Ji Young Park URP 538, Spring 2018 MUP

Why was it important to study events from an economic/ statistical perspective? Juweria Dahir: Through examining the impact that the storm had on Buffalo’s utility, we were able to illustrate the true VLJQL¿FDQFH LQ WHUPV RI HFRQRPLF LPSDFW that severe winter snowstorms can have on cities – even those who may deem themselves to be winter cities.

What drew you in the most about the research? JD: Studying the urban utility after a snowstorm itself is very interesting. Urban utility is calculated by using mean income, mean housing cost, and mean commuting costs. These three variables are used to determine the quality of life in a city and can give perspective to the health of an urban environment. It was interesting to study Buffalo, because the city presents a unique climate that doesn’t allow for traditional ‘natural disasters’ but makes up for that with its annual snowfall. Looking at the data, we calculated the annual utility for Buffalo and selected a known winter disaster period in a particular year to justify the changes we observed in our utility graph.

We predicted that ‘the October 2006 storm should have a negative impact on the utility curve,’ and were very surprised to see that the storm didn’t have any impact on the utility curve. We hypothesized this FRXOG EH GXH WR SRSXODWLRQ RU HIÂżFLHQF\ Interestingly, when we tested out the two possibilities, we found that the storm’s HIIHFW RQ XWLOLW\ LV PDVNHG E\ WKH Ă€XFWXDWLRQ of the population. As Buffalo’s population is QRW VLJQLÂżFDQWO\ ODUJH D PLQRU Ă€XFWXDWLRQ RI WKH SRSXODWLRQ FDQ KDYH D VLJQLÂżFDQW impact on the annual average utility.

How has this research challenged your understanding of Buffalo as a winter city? JD: ,W ZDV FKDOOHQJLQJ DW ÂżUVW WR understand how vulnerability in urban environments can occur at the city wide or neighborhood level. Once we started ORRNLQJ FORVHO\ DW RWKHU VRFLR HFRQRPLF connections in the data, it was clear that Buffalo neighborhoods are exponentially different and can have different levels of resiliency.

77

Block Group analysis of Economic Sensitivity (left) and Vulnerability (right)

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go to: growth – 15

Big to Small $ PXOWL IDFHWHG VWXG\ RI WKH WHOHVFRSH KRXVHV RI WKH %URDGZD\ )LOOPRUH neighborhood, Big to Small is a collection of work from 13 graduate architecture students. The works investigate and celebrate the typology of the “telescope house� – a Buffalo vernacular worker’s cottage, characterized in elevation by a series of successive additions, each stepping down in scale. Students explored various modes of representation as a means to reveal stories of human life, occupation, and adaptation through time, and to promote greater discussion around the history, people, and architecture of Buffalo’s East Side. The artworks found connection in the materiality of the neighborhood, observing seemingly mundane conditions, but once investigated, tell a tactile story of the evolution and use of the space over time.

Students:

Faculty: Term: Program:

Laura Carless Thomas Foederer Evan Martinez Gregory Delaney ARC 629, Fall 2018 MArch – Urban Design

their work. This led them to develop their particular styles to convey more fully the message of what they observed. Martinez instead drew inspiration from context and environments, at times completely omitting the built structure from his works, bringing the interstitial open space between the houses to the fore.

“The numerous times I’ve experienced a moving piece of art have stayed with me, shaping the way I view the world and engage with it as a designer.� - Tom Foederer, MArch

Varying inspirations and aims took hold amongst students. Laura Carless, Tom Foederer, and Evan Martinez each sought to convey change, reality, and nature, UHVSHFWLYHO\ DV LW DSSOLHV WR WKH %URDGZD\ Fillmore neighborhood. Carless and Foederer both cite an DUWZRUNVœ DELOLW\ WR DIIHFW DQG LQÀXHQFH WKH observer as a foundational underpinning to The Life of a House II – Evan Martinez

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Why did you choose your method of representation? Laura Carless: I chose collaging over line work as a way of allowing each drawing to express a different mood, while still maintaining a sense of consistency for the series. Tom Foederer: I am captivated by the idea of pure black and white drawings and how high contrast, along with inverting black and white, can be used to introduce concepts. Evan Martinez: I wanted to experiment ZLWK D QRQ WUDGLWLRQDO PHWKRG RI representing architecture, e.g. linework, rendering, etc., because my focus was so much more about the context of the telescope house and its natural environment.

Why did you choose your VSHFL¿F YLHZV" LC: There’s this one house, the last RQH RQ D GHDG HQG EORFN ZKLFK KDV somewhat of a privileged place within a thriving landscape. In each work the house is framed as part of a picturesque composition to articulate this almost pastoral setting that has only evolved through unique urban circumstances. TF: I began the drawings by working directly from photographs and adjusting the crop to make strong visual compositions. In truth, the drawings ZHUH ¿UVW DQG IRUHPRVW DQ H[HUFLVH in composition for me, yet as I spent more time working on them and through critiques and edits, concepts began to emerge that were not necessarily driving forces initially. EM: I think I stuck with the classic architectural views because they were the most familiar to me, but also as a way to keep the drawings in the realm of architecture, rather than abstracting them Day and Night – Thomas Foederer

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Imprints on the Landscape – Evan Martinez

to a point where they would no longer be viewed architecturally.

What was revealed about your house’s urban context through your drawings? LC: Most of the houses we studied were revealed in elevation only when the neighboring houses were torn down. It ZDV VWUDQJH WR VHH WKLV ZHOO PDLQWDLQHG telescope house situated within a mature landscape, where from some perspectives it appeared to be the only house on the block. The telescope houses have the unique capacity to express time; just by looking at them you can see signs of change, such as a jog in the roof line, contrasting siding, or a hastily constructed patio. These lead us to piece together a narrative of the life of the house and its many adaptations.

TF: 7KH ÂżUVW WLPH , ZHQW WR WKH %URDGZD\ Fillmore area of East Buffalo was the second week of the semester, to document our chosen telescope houses. I was immediately struck by the uniqueness of the urban environment. The notion that this vast portion of the city was once a GHQVH EOXH FROODU QHLJKERUKRRG \HW ZDV now characterized by the widespread demolition of homes, was fascinating to me on a spatial, social and economic level. The understanding that the only reason we could document these buildings so intimately was due to the demolition of their neighbors was always present and added weight to the project. To this end, the drawings are a representation of a VSHFLÂżF PRPHQW LQ WLPH EM: I learned about the neighborhood and context in which the houses exist, VSHFLÂżFDOO\ WKH HIIHFWV WKDW GHPROLWLRQ

of hundreds of houses has had on the neighborhood. It was interesting to realize that the phenomenon of the telescope house in Buffalo is only really apparent because of their demolition; the typological uniqueness of the telescope house is evident only on its sides and back, which were at one point meant to be the most private facades, as opposed to its front, which was always exposed to the public. Through the demolition of entire neighborhoods, the backs and sides have now been exposed to the public, and what’s left in between are empty lots of unruly and unkempt lawns which provide the perfect views of the houses’ unique SUR¿OHV

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go to: refuge – 17

Azraq Refugee Camp The refugee camp at Azraq, Jordan is located 47 km, or 30 miles, from the -RUGDQ 6\ULDQ ERUGHU (VWDEOLVKHG LQ WKH wake of the Syrian Civil War, the camp, as of 2016, serves a population of over UHIXJHHV $V IDPLOLHV ÀHH WKH FRQÀLFW RI WKHLU KRPHODQG WKHLU DUULYDO LQ the camp brings shelter and safety, but also creates a new set of challenges in rebuilding a new life. /HPPD $O *KDQHP MRXUQH\HG WR $]UDT in the summer of 2018, where she joined DQ LQWHQVLYH GD\ ZRUNVKRS WR KHOS construct a new school for the camp, sponsored by Emergency Architecture & Human Rights (EAHR). EAHR is a group dedicated to designing and building facilities for those facing humanitarian HPHUJHQFLHV FXOWXUDO FRQÀLFWV DQG KXPDQ rights issues. Utilizing the typology of a riad, the school FRQVLVWV RI ¿YH FODVVURRPV FHQWHUHG around a courtyard. The structure also acts as a community center, hosting additional HYHQWV DQG IXQFWLRQV +HUH $O *KDQHP worked on site with other designers from around the world, in addition to local community members from Azraq and from the nearby Za’atari camp. Designed by EAHR to be a sustainably built intervention, the structure is created using

Student: Group: Term: Program:

/HPPD $O *KDQHP Emergency Architecture & Human Rights Workshop, Summer 2018 MArch

DJH ROG ORFDO FRQVWUXFWLRQ WHFKQLTXHV DQG community involvement. $O *KDQHP ZKRVH IDPLO\ LV RULJLQDOO\ IURP Syria, holds a close connection with the work being done and the local community. $O *KDQHP IRXQG LQVSLUDWLRQ LQ ERWK WKH architectural work and the community of SHRSOH DURXQG KHU ,Q KHU ÂżUVW GD\V DW WKH camp, as she entered a refugee tent, she realized it carried the same smells as her IDPLO\ÂśV KRPH $O *KDQHP ZDV HDVLO\ DEOH to connect with the refugees over common experiences they had years ago, as some were around her age and from the same area of Syria as her family. As a graduate of the Material Culture Graduate Research Group, the integration of construction method and construction material helped reinforce her understanding of building, as well as her love of architecture.

â€œâ€Śa material-heavy approach to architecture works well in disaster relief, because you’re usually working in a foreign land with very little resources and/or technology available to youâ€? - Lemma Al-Ghanem, MArch Azraq school under construction

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What did an average day’s work entail? Lemma Al-Ghanem: My mornings in Azraq would start around 4:45am. After getting ready, another volunteer and I would ride our bikes the two miles to the building site. The morning ride was always my favorite part of the day because the sun wasn’t unbearable yet. We’d take D UROO FDOO RI HYHU\RQH ZKR ZDV WKHUH and determine how many workers were needed. I had to translate all of this since, I was the only one on the team who spoke Arabic. I would answer questions, and help with the brick making, mixing, sieving. Throughout the day I would be routinely pulled away from whatever I was doing to facilitate material resourcing, and helping with whatever other communications were happening. I also helped with the constantly changing design of details, like the color of the mortar or other materials.

On many days during lunch, some of the other workers and I would get to play with some of the village children, who would come by to use the playground next to the site. Most of these children were Syrian refugees and it was amazing to learn from their strength and tenacity. I’d often sit with workers while making bricks, and talk about Syria, or some of the struggles they have been going through. Listening to how hard their journey has been really put the importance of the work we were doing into perspective.

Can you describe the process used to make materials? LA: The main technique is called Compressed Earth Stabilized Block, or CESB—which essentially means a mixture of soil, clay, and cement is pressed into the form of a brick. The technique is simple, but the details of the process become much more complex. Custom machines

were designed to produce the bricks with a PROG PDGH IRU WKH VSHFLÂżF PHDVXUHPHQWV of the needed blocks. The machines WKHPVHOYHV DUH KXPDQ SRZHUHG WKH\ don’t need electricity or fuel to work. The mixture of clay, lime, cement, water, and soil had a very precise ratio as well. We had to mix by hand, so there was a lot of sieving the soil. We used a ‘cracking test’ across sample blocks with different ratios to see what worked best. Since we were using two different types of blocks, we also needed two different mixtures.

Why this approach? LA: One of the goals of EAHR, especially in Azraq, is to train people—to make the bricks, how to apply them, how to construct a vault—and to do this in a sustainable way without any electricity or pollution. The transfer of knowledge, in both directions, was just as important as the structure. It was a way to share NQRZOHGJH WKURXJK D ORZ WHFK RSHQ source.

:KDW LV WKH VLJQL¿FDQFH RI WKH building? LA: The building itself is based on the common Arabic riad, which organizes rooms around a central garden courtyard. There are three main components to a riad: water, greenery, and air. Each classroom has a glass wall which faces their own courtyard, so classes can be held inside or in the courtyard. It’s a cool design choice, they basically have two classrooms. These aren’t just program elements, they also act as a passive form of air conditioning for the classrooms. The design recreates common riad components within itself. It’s a great homage to the history and heritage of the people living there; it helps keep those cultural elements alive. For the refugees living here, that means a lot. Central hallway of new school at Azraq

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Lemma Al-Ghanem (right) translating drawings on-site

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go to: collaboration – 19 Students:

Roots The National Organization of Minority Architecture Students’ (NOMAS) annual competition receives proposals from teams across the country. This year, the entry VXEPLWWHG E\ WKH 8% FKDSWHU ZRQ ¿UVW place. The proposal, Roots is a scheme to create a green gateway for the future Obama Presidential Library in Chicago, while also giving back to the surrounding Woodlawn Community. 7KH WHDP LGHQWL¿HG D OLVW RI LVVXHV UDQJLQJ from food access to job training, and sought to create a proposal that addresses the core needs of the community. The project is designed to provide employment, health services, education programs and housing at the heart of the Woodlawn neighborhood. Integrated urban agriculture is one of the pivotal components in achieving these goals. Access to healthy food is important for everyone, especially in places where there are high rates of GLHW UHODWHG KHDOWK SUREOHPV ,W FDQ DOVR RIIHU DJULFXOWXUH EDVHG WUDLQLQJ DQG UH entry opportunities for different people in the community – children, students, H[ RIIHQGHUV DQG IDPLOLHV LQ ZD\V WKDW FDQ change negative perceptions. Plantings also consume carbon dioxide throughout the life of the building, and produce grown

Advisor: Term:

William Baptiste Xuecheng Ca Liangying Chen Joenette Cobb Michael Hoover Elias Kotzambasis Evan Martinez Unnati Patel Brian Carter NOMAS Competition 2018

and harvested from the gardens can be sold and prepared in local markets and restaurants. Organic waste can be composted on site and redistributed for gardens in the neighborhood. 'HVLJQHG RQ WKH EDVLV RI D WHQ \HDU SODQ to develop facilities and transform 63rd. Street into a greenway, the project would serve as a means to connect, embolden. and empower the Woodlawn community. The compelling proposal and top honor are indicative of the team behind the drawings. A natural crossroads for students from all years, UB NOMAS has built itself upon a culture of peer mentoring, and passing knowledge from one generation to the next. The connection of the group has eclipsed its origins in advocating for minorities, growing into a platform for all people from which issues of inclusion and representation can be addressed and spoken to.

“NOMAS has a certain familial relationship about it‌ the solidarity of the team is amazing.â€? – Elias Kotzambasis, MArch

Rendering of public square in ‘Roots’

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What were some of the more important research elements of Roots? Unnati Patel: The Woodlawn community has a strong historical, social and economic background which we incorporated in our initial research. That helped us to articulate our concepts and develop a design strategy that could H[SDQG RYHU D \HDU WLPH SHULRG We all worked on different aspects, and at the end merged all ideas into one design. I was interested in a major public space that can be a driving force to engage people from the community. Through our research, we found that Woodlawn has many vacant plots, which could be utilized to accommodate this type of community space. Evan Martinez: We cycled through a ORW RI LGHDV DW ÂżUVW DV WR ZKDW ZDV PRVW

Rooftop greenhouse and planing area

important for the community, based on the research; with a major interest in health and wellness. We thought about making WKH SURMHFW LQWR PHGLFDO RIÂżFHV DW RQH point, but discovered existing medical RIÂżFHV QHDUE\ WKDW VHUYLFH WKH FRPPXQLW\ This actually helped us in pursing health DQG ZHOOQHVV WKURXJK RWKHU FRPPXQLW\ based means.

always interested in working with a diverse group of people. I joined NOMAS because it is one of the student groups at UB which encourages diversity among the architecture profession. I took the opportunity to join the competition team to connect with other students on a bigger platform where we can present ourselves. We get a chance to learn from other students all across the globe.

Why did you join NOMAS? EM: I joined NOMAS because I wanted to be a part of a team – to collaborate on a design project and experience the process of a design competition. Xuecheng Cai: Learning with others about design through teamwork was my original intention for joining, and the competition experience and the award are just DGGLWLRQDO EHQH¿WV UP: As an International student, I am

Did being a part of NOMAS, or being a minority student, LQĂ€XHQFH KRZ \RX DSSURDFKHG research or design? EM: , WKLQN LW KDG DQ LQĂ€XHQFH LQ RXU research in terms of our goal to meet the needs of the entire community, including the underprivileged and minority communities in the neighborhood. We focused on programs that were, in our opinion, currently not meeting the needs

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Aerial view of garden connection path

of the African American community and other minority communities, or programs that were disproportionately unavailable, compared to the larger population of Chicago and the nation. XC: Just joining an organization doesn’t change anything for me. The experience of this competition, and cooperation within WKH JURXS KDV EHHQ WKH UHDO LQÀXHQFH on me. It has helped me develop a better application of software skills and teamwork, along with more mature design ideas.

UP: Being a part of NOMAS, I had a chance to meet with a diverse group of people. That’s how I learned more about community backgrounds, and how their current issues and concerns need to be considered while designing.

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go to: connection – 21

Students:

Good Neighbors Good Neighbors is a design project, set in the East Side of Buffalo, NY, that proposes a set of three houses and workspaces for, three very different families on a single undivided lot. Known as ‘the City of Good Neighbors,’ the studio highlights a particular condition within the American urban, architectural, and social scene. Students were given the needs of three distinct families – a house for a writer, a house for a musician, and a house for a painter – and developed architectural forms which respond to the connections between the families and their neighbors, LQ RUGHU WR GHVLJQ XQLÂżHG \HW SULYDWL]HG dwellings for the residents. Andrew Abbey found inspiration in nature and history, and connected the neighbors with The Path, a scheme meant to guide neighbors together.

Faculty: Term: Program:

Andrew Abbey Gwyneth Harris Charles Wingfelder Miguel Guitart ARC 501, Fall 2018 MArch – 3.5 year

The various interpretations of the same needs are a synthesis of experience and perspective. Abbey has always been fond of history and the restoration of the built environment in an effort to update older, less accessible buildings. Wingfelder VHHNV WR ÂżQG ZD\V WR LPSOHPHQW QDWXUH LQ designs because of the impact it has on people in general. Harris also has a deep respect and passion for nature, and a commitment to environmental stewardship.

My own exchanges and stories with other people broaden my imagination, to see my project from many different perspectives, as many different users might. – Gwyneth Harris, MArch

Charles Wingfelder responded to the seclusion that can be felt on the site, to create intimate, yet connected enclosures and spaces. Gwyneth Harris, inspired heavily by nature and art, found ways to implement simple circular forms as symbolic gathering places between the houses and families. Model photo of main gathering space in ‘Social Circles’, by Gwyneth Harris

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How does your inspiration/ concept interact with the Neighbors? AA: The Path provides a link for each of the six structures on the small, shared lot in downtown Buffalo. The three houses and adjoining studio spaces are situated on the property to provide individual privacy while also allowing for special moments of communal interaction. The North side of the lot features a split in the path that creates a sunken green space featuring newly planted trees and several access points. This is overlooked by a raised seating/gathering area that allows for book signings, picnics, art shows, and community gatherings. The south side of the lot, dominated by the existing trees, sees the path split again, winding around the tree bases and creating a smaller sunken area that is naturally shaded in the summer months. The steps of The Path also act as seating areas, providing for a number of different options for the residents and community members to engage with the site. CW: It challenges our ideas about public vs. private space. It sounds contradictory, but turning the buildings backs to the street ends up bringing the public space further into the shared private space. Even that phrase “shared private” is an interesting oxymoron.

Model Photo of ‘Social Circles’, by Gwyneth Harris

How do you implement your inspiration into the built form? Andrew Abby: In any built work, the surrounding landscape and environmental factors play a large role in determining the outcome of the project. Nature cannot be ignored or overlooked, and must be implemented as a key component of the entire design process. I used this philosophy to assist in my design of The Path for the Good Neighbors Studio. Charles Wingfelder: I like to let the things I make lead me in a way. Once

you have an orienting principle like that, you can just make small decisions along the way that bring you closer to it. It’s this kind of reciprocal process where you are generating something, but it’s feeding back into you. Gwyneth Harris: I carved circular communal courtyards out of the orthogonal forms of the surrounding buildings. Glazing delineates the intersection where the circles meet the orthogonal buildings.

GH: The two circular courtyards in my design organize the program into two distinct zones – the three homes ring a domestic communal space, while the three studios are centered around a shared creative space. The curved glazing facing inward, towards the courtyards, focuses attention on these common spaces, reinforcing connections between the neighbors and inspiring creative collaboration. Furthermore, the circles function democratically, inviting participation equally from all sides.

Did this project challenge your notion of what architecture is? CW: I think ‘Architecture’ with a capital ‘A’ is a process of working out the problem, and the end product is creating a new solution. More than that, it’s about exploring all the different possible solutions as well. What’s even more interesting is that exploration requires a methodology, which can also be designed. I think there’s a practical aspect of architecture, which Good Neighbors dealt with through

Site plan of ‘Collective Commons’, by Charles Wingfelder

residential design. This seems to me the most fundamental and familiar form of architecture, and as such reinforced, rather than challenged, my notions of what architecture is.

programmatic brief. Not only was I designing for the people who will be living on the site, but also for the surrounding community and for those in the future who have yet to live there.

AA: My concept of architecture had SUHYLRXVO\ EHHQ WKDW RI GHVLJQLQJ WR ¿W WKH needs of the people you are designing for. This project did challenge my notion of architecture and forced me to continuously UHWKLQN DQG UHVKDSH P\ LGHDV WR ¿W WKH unique properties of the site and spatial/

Site plan of ‘The Path’, by Andrew Abby

Site plan of ‘Social Circles’, by Gwyneth Harris

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go to: home – 23 Students:

Affordable Housing

Faculty: Term: Program:

Rachael Goff Katerina Kalyoncu Traven Tong Stephanie Cramer (Studio) Bradley Wales (Small Built Works) ARC 606, Spring 2018 ARC 448/548, Fall 2018 BS Arch, MArch – Inclusive Design

In the United States, the pervasiveness RI DIIRUGDELOLW\ SUREOHPV DPRQJ ORZ income renters stems from a shortage of appropriately priced housing and the low and decreasing incomes of renters. While renters are become poorer, the supply of affordable and available housing is shrinking. The Affordable Housing Initiative within the School of Architecture and Planning seeks to address this issue not just in Buffalo but in communities around the world.

IRFXVHG RQ ORQJ WHUP DIIRUGDELOLW\ matching construction with sustainable initiatives and material attenuation. Addressing maintenance affordability as a crucial aspect, the course developed a prototype small house with green walls, a rainwater collection system, and solar tiles.

Two courses explored the challenge, tackling design from different angles. The Inclusive Design Graduate Research Group, instructed by adjunct professor Stephanie Cramer, investigated Buffalo’s East Side Neighborhood, providing not only quantitative analysis of the context, but a qualitative capture of the neighborhood through photography and collage. To fully grasp the logistics of a design/build proposition, the studio built an exact model of at traditional home, through which topics of social responsibility, material strategy, construction innovation, and best energy practice could be analyzed and iterated upon.

0$UFK VWXGHQW 5DFKHO *RII UHĂ€HFWV RQ KHU own experience living in houses similar to the ones explored in the studio: “Minor details are often overlooked, and can FDXVH ORQJ WHUP SUREOHPV IRU WKH XVHUV RI the space. Principles like this have been developing in my mind since I was a child; they will continue to do so as I gain more experiences in my life.â€?

A seminar led by Bradley Wales, clinical assistant professor of architecture,

The collective motivations and inspirations of the students in these courses speak to a wide variety of backgrounds in much the same way that Affordable Housing must address a multitude of issues.

“We can design, plan, and build for a single person up to an entire nation. This reminds me that every decision made contributes to the collective well-being of people.� – Katerina Kalyoncu, MArch Assembling a scale construction model in ARC 606

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Conceptual collage – Rachael Goff – Affordable Housing Studio

Conceptual collage – Traven Tong – Affordable Housing Studio

What did you learn from researching different typologies of affordable housing?

During the collaging phase, what were you most trying to express or represent?

Traven Tong: The current state of housing typologies does not accommodate a universal design standard, making it just livable. When researching typologies, the most effective affordable homes were the ones that were, obviously, affordable but also provide for a comfortable living situation.

Rachael Goff: I tried my best to show how two different families or users could inhabit the same home while still representing themselves on the outside and not having to give up control over their share of the exterior of the home. I also wanted to exaggerate the importance of the single front door that leads to the homes of two different families. What the door contained behind it was as great and important as the entire home itself.

Katerina Kalyoncu: Each typology GHÂżQHV DIIRUGDELOLW\ GLIIHUHQWO\ ZKHWKHU LW LV reduced initial cost, reduced monthly utility payments, or reduced equity payments. There are different typologies for a reason, each one accomplishes something different. We can use these discoveries to appropriately assign the correct affordable housing and implement them into the development of a new typology all together.

TT: The collage was built upon the interesting features from houses along Wende St. I found that the transparency DQG XVH RI JODVV ZDV HIÂżFLHQW DQG provided a unique feature that I noticed only in the street that I studied. There was a transition from bay windows to long industrial windows that I wanted to show.

KK: The collaging phase was crucial in representing the neighborhood’s characteristics. When I visited the neighborhood, it was clear to me that it was a collection of all different types of families that were connected and outspoken. I was approached a couple of times when I wandered the streets, and began to realize that this neighborhood is extremely well networked by orienting their lives towards the streets. There were always people looking outside their windows and people stopping if they were walking on the street or even driving to talk to someone they were passing. 7KH FROODJH DPSOL¿HV WKLV QHLJKERUKRRG orientation towards the street, and how as a community as a whole they promote safety and maintain relationships.

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Do your personal histories/ H[SHULHQFHV LQÀXHQFH \RXU work? RG: Absolutely, every house and apartment I lived in growing up has LQÀXHQFHG P\ GHVLJQ WHQGHQFLHV , RIWHQ felt like the spaces I lived in were not designed with the people who would be living there in mind. I have very clear PHPRULHV RI ¿QGLQJ LVVXHV ZLWK WKH SODFHV that I lived in, and those memories always live in the back of my mind. For example, I remember touring an apartment with my mother, and I noticed that the kitchen had QR WKUHH SURQJ RXWOHWV PHDQLQJ DSSOLDQFH use in the kitchen would be hazardous. Minor details are often overlooked in the GHVLJQ SKDVH RI D SURMHFW DQG FDQ FDXVH ORQJ WHUP SUREOHPV IRU WKH XVHUV RI WKH space; principles like this have been developing in my mind since I was a child, and they will continue to do so as I gain more experiences in my life. KK: My own histories or experience have QRW VSHFL¿FDOO\ LQÀXHQFHG P\ ZRUN EXW , try to be extremely aware of the histories and experiences of the people around me. I read quite often about the trends of our housing market – what people are looking for in their homes, and what we currently have to work with as architects, planners, and designers. It comforts and grounds me to have this information and it ultimately shapes how I respond to my work.

How are the two class’s approaches similar/different? RG: The Affordable Housing Studio was geared more towards design, and less towards proving that the numbers would actually result in an “affordable� home. Small Built Works focused on how to maximize the design to guarantee a lower cost of living. [In the previous studio] most of the design decisions were directly linked WR D FRVW VDYLQJV +HUH ZH IHOW PRUH OLNH

Taxonomy of facade expression – Rachael Goff – Affordable Housing Studio

we were designing a home that would be nice to live in and just happens to be affordable. KK: The projects are similar in the sense that they are developing an affordable home; however, each brings a different approach to the design. This is what makes affordable housing so interesting and complex. There is no right answer. 7KH $IIRUGDEOH +RXVLQJ VWXGLR GHÂżQHG affordable as initial building cost and lifestyle. The Small Built Works project GHÂżQHG DIIRUGDELOLW\ DV HYHU\ PRQWKO\ FRVW being reduced as much as possible.

Can you expand on how materiality relates to affordable housing? RG: The goal of the Small Built Works project was to provide its residents with ORQJ WHUP DIIRUGDELOLW\ $W HYHU\ OHYHO RI GHVLJQ DIIRUGDELOLW\ RYHU WKH ORQJ WHUP was crucial. This led to the decision to include a “growing wall� with a water collection system, which can serve as food production over a user’s lifetime. The solar tiles on the roof were incorporated to UHGXFH WKH HQHUJ\ ELOOV RYHU WKH ORQJ WHUP

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What is the best way we, as architects and designers, can continue the conversation on Affordable housing? RG: We need to prove that making affordable housing does not take away your ability to design. This seems to be the stigma that designers have around affordable housing; but this isn’t the case. While luxury materials and spaces are less likely to be used, your ability to design

Site plan – Option B – Small Built Works Seminar

spaces that residents enjoy using and living in is still possible. That drives me to continue. TT: Affordable housing can always be improved upon. While the current system works, we should still test the limits to improve housing for all. KK: The best way to continue the conversation is to test new ideas at a small scale. This approach would allow us to monitor the success of design features.

From there we can adjust and slowly grow from a single prototype home, to a street, to a neighborhood, to a city, and then to an accepted affordable housing typology.

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Longitudinal Section of Tiny Wood House – Small Built Works Seminar

&XUEVLGH 5HQGHULQJ RI 7LQ\ :RRG +RXVH LQ¿OOLQJ D YDFDQW ORW ± 6PDOO %XLOW :RUNV 6HPLQDU

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go to: home – 23 Students:

Faculty:

City / Life The City/Life studio puts a focus on the urban dwelling as a threshold between self and society, between the local and the goal, and between nature and culture. The balance between these conditions changes at different scales – from room to city. An understanding of the sociocultural environment of the city, and how a proposal situates itself within that context, is critical in developing good urban form. The following housing proposals share D VWURQJ IRFXV RQ FUHDWLQJ D FRPPXQLW\ orientated living environment. 0RUJDQ 0DQV¿HOG DQG 6WDQLFND 0DWKXULQœV Transitional Living Community aimed to eliminate the stigma of homelessness, allowing residents to have a sense of permanence and ownership in their state of transience.

Term: Program:

Kyle Donnelly/Matthew Straub 0RUJDQ 0DQVÂżHOG Stanicka Mathurin -XVWLQ 1HX (GLQDP 6HJEHÂżD Charles Davis II Annette LeCuyer (coordinator) Bradley Wales Laura Garofalo ARC 403, Fall 2018 BS Arch

0DQVÂżHOG DQG 0DWKXULQ DUH ERWK LQWHUHVWHG in the multidisciplinary nature of combining practical and conceptual thought. For this project, they were inspired by the idea of empathy, particularly in regard to homelessness. Straub and Donnelly are interested in how architects, planners, and designers have the freedom, capability, and power to have an impact on the future. This idea evolved with the project as they focused on issues of foreclosure in Buffalo, aiming to provide a community with hope for a better future.

Matthew Straub and Kyle Donnelly’s Ambrytown acted as transitional housing for displaced homeowners, helping them prepare to reenter into homeownership.

1HX DQG 6HJEH¿D ZHUH LQVSLUHG E\ WKHLU own personal experiences and range in HGXFDWLRQDO EDFNJURXQGV 6HJEH¿D KDV lived in Lagos, Nigeria; Accra, Ghana; Tokyo, Japan; New York City; and Buffalo; while Neu has studied in private, public, and homeschool environments. The dynamics of the authors’s pasts led them to create a community that is both internally and externally supportive.

-XVWLQ 1HX DQG (GLQDP 6HJEHÂżDÂśV Urban Village was designed to accommodate families that homeschool or work from KRPH XVLQJ PHWKRGV RI ÂżQH JUDLQHG urbanism.

“The opportunity to provide housing for the homeless population allowed us to design with empathy and compassion.â€? Âą 0RUJDQ 0DQVÂżHOG DQG 6WDQLFND 0DWKXULQ

How did your inspiration LQÀXHQFH \RXU GHVLJQ" 0RUJDQ 0DQV¿HOG DQG 6WDQLFND Mathurin: We wanted to keep the goal of helping people transition to a more stable home as central point in the project. The idea of transition led us to consider the transient nature of the occupants and how that would affect the design of their housing. For example, we incorporated greenhouses as a way for occupants to contribute to a part of the building that would continue to grow after they had moved on. On a visit to Cornerstone Manor, the women’s center of the Buffalo City Mission, we realized the importance of incorporating programs that would help people in more ways than simply providing shelter. We included an educational center, a medical center, a daycare, and a larger scale community kitchen that is supplied with produce from the rooftop community garden. Matthew Straub and Kyle Donnelly: Experiencing foreclosure and the loss of D KRPH SXWV PDQ\ SHRSOH LQ GLI¿FXOW DQG unfortunate positions. We wanted to utilize our design as a way to give these people a place of hope and comfort. By offering DIIRUGDEOH KRXVLQJ WR WKLV VSHFL¿F JURXS

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Sectional axonometric of ‘Ambrytown’, by Kyle Donnelly and Matthew Straub – Professor Charles Davis II

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the project developed, we began to look LQWR KRZ RXU GHVLJQ FRXOG LQĂ€XHQFH WKH area on a social level. We decided to incorporate public programs that would EHQHÂżW SHRSOH LQ QHHG VSHFLÂżFDOO\ Another point of interest that grew with the project was the idea of bringing green space into the city. JN and ES: As we learned more about each other, we found that we both came from a wide variety of educational backgrounds, including boarding school, private school, homeschool, and public school. Our experiences within these different settings fueled our design intentions. Site plan of ‘Urban Village’ -XVWLQ 1HX DQG (GLQDP 6HJEHÂżD Âą 3URIHVVRU $QQHWWH /H&X\HU

residents are surrounded by those going through similar, if not the same, situations. Our ultimate goal is to help people get back on their feet. -XVWLQ 1HX DQG (GLQDP 6HJEHÂżD We wanted to establish a community within the city based on variations in educational systems. This led to the development and use of the tartan grid system as a way to make the housing complex feel more like a small, intimate village.

Was there one main driver or did you have multiple interests?

Is your inspiration for this project something that inspires you more broadly in life? MM and SM: Designing with the occupant in mind is something we aim to always keep central to future projects. The goal of helping the people that will be using the building should be a design driver from the beginning, since every detail could have an impact on someone’s GDLO\ OLIH 7KH LQÀXHQFH RI VRFLDO IDFWRUV was particularly important to this project. We wanted to tackle the societal stigma of homelessness through housing that embodied acceptance, encouraged community participation, and inspired hope in the residents.

MM and SM: Aiding the homeless population was always the focal point of our project. Everything that developed afterward stemmed from the one core focus of providing food and shelter to as many people who needed it as possible.

MS and KD: 7KH LQVSLUDWLRQ ZDV VSHFL¿F to this project. I grew up with people who ORVW WKHLU KRPHV VR , NQRZ ¿UVW KDQG about the hardships that follow in the wake of these situations. It’s amazing the difference that a warm home and private room can make in a person’s life.

MS and KD: Our project evolved through multiple drivers rather than just one. We were initially interested in affordability and how that might affect design on different scales, from the resident to the city. As

JN and ES: It doesn’t necessarily LQÀXHQFH XV RQ D GD\ WR GD\ EDVLV 2XU project is more about where our life experiences have led us to and how they have shaped who we are as people today.

:KDW GLG \RX ¿QG PRVW challenging about the project? :KDW GLG \RX ¿QG PRVW rewarding? MM and SM: There were many times during the design process where we had to question if the design was becoming WRR VXSHU¿FLDO DQG GLVPLVVLYH RI WKH needs of the occupants. We had to be careful to continuously keep in mind the comfort of the transitional occupants as well as those who would reside in the emergency shelter spaces. It was great to see that after primarily focusing on housing as many occupants as possible we were able to visually see the results. For example, we were able to house a range of approximately 450 to 730 people, accounting for families, couples, and individuals. Though we realize that these are only numbers, it’s still great to see what a difference a building like this could theoretically make for the community. MS and KD: We found that creating affordable architecture that still has a high sense of design and that doesn’t become monotonous was the most challenging aspect of the project. The most rewarding SDUW ZDV ¿JXULQJ RXW KRZ WR LQWHJUDWH green spaces throughout the building. JN and ES: The most challenging part was, for us, also the most rewarding. Creating a village within the city was GLI¿FXOW EXW ZRUWK LW DV WKH GHVLJQ FDPH together in the end.

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8’-2” 8’-11”

10’-3”

7’-8” 19’-6”

8QLW D[RQRPHWULFV LQ µ7/&¶ ± E\ 0RUJDQ 0DQV¿HOG DQG 6WDQLFND 0DWKXULQ 3URIHVVRU %UDGOH\ :DOHV

Elevation of ‘TLC’

11’-0”

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go to: inclusion – 29 Students:

Pride Center Environmental Design students worked with the Pride Center of Western and New York to assist in expanding its services, and reach to make the Western New York region an inclusive, safe and healthy community for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals. The studio investigated and proposed a variety of design, planning, and programming recommendations, meant to enhance the services offered by the Pride Center, as well as its integration within the community. Research conducted assessed who PCWNY currently serves, and RSSRUWXQLWLHV WR H[SDQG 6SHFLÂżFDOO\ the studio considered ways to improve RXWUHDFK DQG SURJUDPPLQJ IRU VSHFLÂżF segments of the LGBTQ community, including people of color, older and younger individuals, lesbian and bisexual women, people of different abilities, immigrants and refugees, working professionals, and substance users. Each group faces unique challenges, which serve as the inspiration behind prototype designs and policies. In teams, students conducted research to learn more about the unique needs and experiences of LGBTQ stakeholder groups by conducting interviews with community members. This

Faculty: Term: Program:

Travis Alexander, Vanhnida &KDQWKDYRQJ $OH[ &RKHQ <RXQJ Alvin English, Brendan Labeck, Sung Joon Oh, Ryan Phillips, Joseph Quinn, Hayden Rogue, Allison Smith, Hanbin Wang Molly Ranahan END 450, Fall 2018 BAED

work informed ideas to expand the current KHDOWK IRFXVHG SURJUDPV DQG UHDFK D broad section of the local community. These initiatives include: Merchandise and Fundraising: Creative revenue streams are not just an important source of funding, but also create opportunities to connect with the community while utilizing the values of LGBTQ identity. New Services: The Community faces a number of challenges, very often overlooking minority segments of the community. Environmental Design: Reimagining the Center’s space and changing utilization can engage the urban context, and strengthen relations with neighbors. New Location: Projecting forward, guidelines for a new space investigate how the Center could serve not only Buffalo’s LGBTQ population, but the region as a whole. New Programs: A new space and programming is a vital component to the long term goal of reaching the entire local community.

Community collage – Vanhnida Chanthavong

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Rendering of LGBTQ recording lounge

What was your inspiration on this project? Hayden Rogue: Inclusion Vanhnida Chanthavong: Education Ryan Phillips: Expansion Joseph Quinn: Fundraising

What was the group’s research process? HR: Our group aimed more towards WKH GHVLJQ DVSHFW RI WKH 3ULGH &HQWHU and developing a programming that would appeal to the public outside of the LGBTQ community. In order to develop a suitable design, it was essential that ZH ¿UVW UHVHDUFKHG SURJUDPV KRVWHG DQG sponsored by the Pride Center to gain a better understanding as to how many VXE JURXSV XQGHU WKH /*%74 XPEUHOOD were being provided for and which were

not. For this part, I took to studying the Pride Center’s calendar and listing the events and noting each by frequency. After compiling events and programming dependent upon the time of year, we visited the director of the pride center to touch base, ask questions, and receive his helpful insight. Next, we began brainstorming events not already offered WKDW ZRXOG LQWHUHVW DQG EHQH¿W SHRSOH in and outside the LGBTQ community. The design phase contemplated QHZ ORFDWLRQV XQLTXH VSHFL¿FDWLRQV regarding the LGBTQ community (gender neutral restrooms) and adding suitable facilities needed to host our suggested programming (e.g. voice recording studio WR KHOS WUDQV PXVLFLDQV WUDLQ WKHLU YRLFHV during their transition). VC: :H ¿UVW HGXFDWHG RXUVHOYHV RQ WHUPV and verbiage, then conducted initial research on some of the key stakeholders,

recurring issues, and similar frameworks. We proceeded to meet Damian, the president of the Pride Center. He provided background on the center and highlighted some of the goals he was looking to achieve while working with our studio. I was impressed with the services available to the community. The hardest part of the research realizing the challenges the LGBTQ community faces every day. This ZDV VRPHWKLQJ WKDW , DV D QRQ /*%74 member, was simply uneducated on. RP: We started by meeting with the client and learning about the history of their current center. From there, we expanded our research by investigating issues WKDW LPSDFW WKH /*%74 FRPPXQLW\ particularly hard; things such as, ageism, substance abuse, and lack of support, just to name a few.

JQ: The combination of general research on the topic and a conversation with the stakeholder made it exciting to move forward toward thinking up possible solutions. That direct interaction with a UHDO ZRUOG ÂłFOLHQW´ ZDV UHDOO\ LQYLJRUDWLQJ DQG EHQHÂżFLDO WR VHH WKH SRWHQWLDO WR DFWXDOO\ LPSDFW DQG LQĂ€XHQFH FKDQJH

What did you learn through working in and with the Pride Center community? HR: I came to realize that there’s only so much that can be understood through academia material and there is a lacking amount of academic research done regarding the LGBTQ community. It helps to do your own research as well as to be formally educated on the fundamental terminology and history of people within the community. In order to really XQGHUVWDQG WKH VSHFL¿F LVVXHV WKRXJK LW is important to actively communicate and maintain that line of dialogue. What was particularly useful was connecting with VHYHUDO RWKHU JURXSV ZLWK VLPLODU WDUJHW demographics and learning what they’ve done to become a valuable source to their community. VC: The Pride Center community is extremely under represented. There tends to be separate groups within the community, and its challenging to raise awareness and involvement without stepping on the toes of other groups within Buffalo. RP: We learned that one of the largest FKDOOHQJHV LV DJHLVP /*%74 LQGLYLGXDOV over the age of 65 do not have a safe VSDFH 7KH FXUUHQW /*%74 JHQHUDWLRQ turns to social media, and meet in virtual spaces, creating a large gap between the youth and the seniors. Younger members are also left without mentors, missing guidance and advice from older community members.

JQ: I learned through my prior work with the Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab how our communities can struggle with inclusiveness. I applied those lessons to my work with the Pride Center. I sought to learn deeply about something that I have no personal frame of reference or experience with and through research and outreach I can work toward that learning goal. I used this experience to educate myself so that I can pass those lessons on to others and better help the ongoing success of the Pride Center.

the same. Having a grasp in a variety of groups yield a stronger perspective.

How does this capstone project PDNH \RX UHĂ€HFW RQ \RXU studies?

RP: The main goal of environmental design is to help people – all people. Planning for the future requires you to not only envision how we can improve the current design, but how to incorporate individuals that are misrepresented, and were never included in any form of planning to begin with. It is also important to note, planning for “all peopleâ€? doesn’t work by simply coming up with a list RI LWHPV WKDW ZLOO EHQHÂżWV DOO JURXSV RI people. Everyone is different, and require different needs, some more than others. To plan for all, you have to spend time to research and interview each group, so everyone is heard and is represented.

HR: Studio projects generally do not FRPH ZLWK LPPHGLDWH JUDWL¿FDWLRQ ,W ZDV a process that by the end I was personally able to enjoy the elevation of the fruits RI P\ ODERU 7KH NH\ WDNH DZD\V IURP environmental design are seen in the way it shifts perspective, and encourages communication between planners and the community towards a mutual goal. There may be journal articles and published works available online, however, that’s only the tip of the iceberg of what’s needed to determine the course of any project. There shouldn’t be a great reliance placed upon what’s readily available at our ¿QJHU WLSV VRPHWLPHV WKH PRVW IUXLWIXO information comes from spending a day in someone else’s shoes or meeting different people and listening to their experiences. VC: The Environmental Design program highlights topics such as the built environment, transportation, and policies. 7KH SURJUDP SURYLGHV D ÀH[LELOLW\ LQ RXU choice in research and focus. However, this studio allowed us to look into RQH VSHFL¿F FRPPXQLW\ UDWKHU WKDQ D geographical space. I think it is extremely important to be aware of and understand all groups and communities. It is easy to plan and design as if we were all one in

JQ: This has helped me consider both FRPPXQLWLHV DQG WKHLU VXE JURXSV ZKLFK ultimately come together to form a whole. &RPPXQLWLHV WHQG WR VHOI VHJUHJDWH EXW the most interesting things tend to happen at the edges, where different communities interact to create a fusion of new energies and ideas. As I move forward in my career in Buffalo, I will utilize these teachings to consider how to listen to the community and bring their voices together.

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go to: growth – 15 Students:

Retrofitting Suburbia This combined studio brings together graduate members from each discipline of the School – Planning, Architecture, and Real Estate Development. Each program brings with it its own perspective on the built environment, views which can be at times in sync with, or in opposition to, each other. The convocation of these different voices, however, generates the conversations needed to tackle tough issues, and create comprehensive proposals that address a multitude of issues – from design, to feasibility, to community engagement. Student teams were tasked with the analyzing, evaluating, and redeveloping the Eastern Hills Mall. Located in Clarence, NY, the mall, once a center for retail and commerce, has waned into obsolescence in the face of online retail. Teams developed a comprehensive PDVWHU SODQ IRU WKH DFUH VLWH considering aspects of urban design, sustainability, character and context, and the greater community. The basic redevelopment premise of creating a new town center for the community was shared across all proposals. Each team proposed a unique vision to which this center could be tied – Art, Wellness, Water, and Parks. These themes grew from a study

Faculty: Term: Program:

Christopher Jacobs/Yaqi Li/ Sylvester Mallardi/Elizabeth Parker/ Jeffrey Rehler/Michael Stellrecht, Mustafa Ardalan/Joennette Cobb/ Peter DiBiase/Ezra Littman/ Michael Velasco/Pengchong Zhou Hiro Hata Mark Foerster ARC 607, Fall 2018 MArch, MSRED, MUP

of the site and surrounding region, to discover potentials the site could bring to the region. The studio grappled with the design of good urban form, exploring how a planned system can facilitate sustainable growth – ecologically, economically, and urbanistically. Jeff Rehler, MUP, cites his upbringing in Buffalo’s Southern Tier, an area that has been struggling economically, as an inspiration to create plans and places with positive social and economic impacts. Sylvester Mallardi, MArch, is interested in the ability to create something real, ZLWK SRWHQWLDO WR LQĂ€XHQFH WKH ZD\ SHRSOH think, feel about, and question the spaces they’ve experienced. Christopher Jacobs, MSRED, has been a homeowner in Buffalo for 15 years. “I’ve seen the rejuvenation of the city and its neighborhoods. I really wanted to become a part of the renaissance.â€?

“I hope that in the future, I can look at this redevelopment with my children and say “See that building? I know who came up with that idea!� – Chris Jacobs, M.S. RED Model photo of activity park, surrounded by new development

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In a word, what was the inspiration behind your project?

precedent for an urbanized and vibrant business location.

Mustafa Ardalan: Water

CJ: The focus of the project was to create a catalyst site, and rough master plan for the redevelopment of the Eastern Hills Mall in Clarence, NY. Our vision was based on Health & Wellness, with programming and planning supporting active lifestyles.

Jeff Rehler: Connectedness Sylvester Mallardi: Wellness Chris Jacobs: Repositioning

What were some of the main goals of your project? MA: Creating a sense of place, providing both an active and passive recreational experience, and unique experiences overall were the main goals of each project. JR: In our plan, we tried to create an active place for healthy living. We wanted this to be a central hub to enhance FRPPXQLW\ ERQGV SURYLGH D \HDU URXQG health and wellness destination, set

SM: To create a catalyst, we used a dynamic network of open public spaces that are conducive to healthy living, and have direct relationships to the buildings surrounding them through a variety of programs.

How did you mesh and interact with the other disciplines? MA: With my background in architecture and planning, I took the responsibility

for the layout of the Master Plan, as well as redesigning Transit Road, the major thoroughfare running along the site. JR: Surprisingly well – I highly valued the interdisciplinary perspectives, and learned an amazing amount from my teammates’ approach to problem solving. SM: Designing, drawing, modeling, UHQGHULQJ 6LPLODU WR WKH ZD\ D ¿UP would work, the team and I developed a good relationship through constant communication and shared design ideas. Along the way we learned more about each other’s discipline as well as our own by working together to solve problems that arose. CJ: I functioned mostly as a generalist – we were fortunate to have a fantastic team of specialists. I helped with developing the FRQFHSW WKH ¿QDQFLDO PRGHO DV ZHOO DV our physical model for our catalyst site. It was a great opportunity to work with others from different backgrounds and learn how they approached the same project through a different lens.

How has working with mixed disciplines added or changed your view of your own career? CJ: I think the developer has a large role to play in guiding design and planning. With a site as big as this one, the developer needs to guide all of the disciplines to reach the best project possible. The Eastern Hills Mall redevelopment will take time, and it’s possible that architects, planners, city RI¿FLDOV DQG RSLQLRQV DERXW WKH SURMHFW will change over that time. The developer will be the constant throughout the project. That being said, it’s critical to have a good team with strong leaders in all of the disciplines. SM: Working in unfamiliar territory is always challenging, and tackling it head 0XVWDID $UGDODQ SUHVHQWLQJ WR FRPPXQLW\ PHPEHUV DQG RI¿FLDOV

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Rendered view of activity park

on allowed us to create a successful proposal. I do feel the architect should have a say in development and planning decisions because the more communication between the architect and other disciplines, the more ideas and potential for better design. JR: This experience really drove home the value of effective collaboration, and opened my eyes to the huge amount of LQIRUPDWLRQ V\QWKHVLV UHTXLUHG IRU D ODUJH scale development effort. The perceived divide between planning policy and urban design can sometimes be a hindrance – we should be working to close it, because these are highly interrelated.

Rendered view of water integration into public space

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go to: adaptation – 31 Students:

Harrison Place In Spring 2018, a multidisciplinary graduate studio in architecture and planning conducted a reuse study of the former Harrison Radiator facility, currently know as Harrison Place, located in Lockport, NY. The hulking facility – spanning 480,000 VTXDUH IHHW DFURVV ¿YH EXLOGLQJV ¹ VDW vacant for years after Harrison Radiator moved its operation to elsewhere in Lockport in the late 1980s. Today, however, the site is being viewed as a critical connector between downtown Lockport and surrounding residential neighborhoods. The research process focused on the existing economic, physical and social conditions of the surrounding context. Additionally, multiple methods of physical and economic development were cataloged and evaluated. These explorations formed the basis for three different development concepts, each based on central themes of sustainability, live/work/play, and integration into the urban fabric. Each concept represents a series of ideas which were intended to stimulate further discussion and consideration of the redevelopment amongst the community.

Faculty: Term: Program:

Matthew Abbott, Elizabeth Bengel, Craig Brozowski, Qiuyu Chen, Ning Ding, Megan Edwards, Michael Heitz, Yaqi Li, Johnny Lin, Peter Murphy, 0DOLN 0XUUD\ 0DULH 0\HUV 6KHDULQJ Tera Perilli, Greg Pinto, Jeff Rehler, Samantha Su, Irene Turlan, Douglas Wessells, Penchong Zhou Harry Warren ARC 526, URP 526, Spring 2018 MArch, MUP

What was the approach to researching the site? We began our research by looking into recent master plans, economic studies, and development studies for Lockport and the rest of Niagara County. We researched current zoning codes, existing building plans/ selections, and the history of Harrison Place – the former headquarters of the Harrison Radiator Plant and manufacturing complex, constructed between 1917 and 1930 – and its relationship to Lockport as a whole. A team dedicated to site analysis researched historical landmarks in Lockport and gathered important information about the city, such as Walk 6FRUH GDWD FULPH VWDWLVWLFV DQG VLJQLÂżFDQW cultural amenities, such as the Lockport Cave & Underground Boat Ride. The economic analysis team researched the local economy, including industry trends and major employers in the area, using NAICS codes for the City of Lockport. Areas of growth and decline ZHUH LGHQWLÂżHG IRU /RFNSRUW DQG WKH Western New York region. The team was also responsible for documenting current economic and property development incentives, both statewide and local. Renovated walkways in ‘Harrison Gardens’

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How did each team implement the research and concepts onto the site? (DFK RI WKH ÂżQDO FRQFHSWV UHYROYHG DURXQG three central themes: 1. Environmental design and sustainable development 0L[HG XVH GHYHORSPHQW ZLWK DQ emphasis on “Live, Work, Playâ€? 3. Urban connectivity and the relationship between Harrison Place and the surrounding neighborhood. Harrison Complex: Through improved SDWKZD\V DQG ELNH VKDULQJ VWDWLRQV DQG added bust stops, this project aims to connect the current site to the surrounding neighborhoods and the city’s expanding JUHHQZD\ V\VWHP /RZ FRVW ODQGVFDSH improvements would open the space to HYHQWV ZLWK VWUHHW OHYHO SURJUDPPLQJ WR RIIHU FDQDO KHULWDJH WKHPHG DFWLYLWLHV such as a Maritime center and historic

Map of surrounding context of Lockport, NY

boat display, a theatre, and food market. A rooftop brewery and greenspace above Building 3 would connect to the heritage of the site through copper brewing kettles and themed seating. A solar array atop Building 3 would generate energy for the site. Harrison Gardens: Emphasizing sustainable development, Harrison Gardens proposes to maximize the site’s green infrastructure and minimize LWV HQYLURQPHQWDO LPSDFW )LUVW SKDVH LPSURYHPHQWV LQFOXGH ELNH UDFNV QHZ street lighting and pathways connecting the site to the Erie Canal Heritage Trail, a community garden and event space. The alleyway between Buildings 2 and 3 would IHDWXUH VWUHHW OHYHO UHWDLO ZLWK DSDUWPHQWV DQG D VWDUWXS EXVLQHVV FHQWHU RQ WKH ÀRRUV above. Ecofriendly treatments include cisterns and bioswales throughout the site, a rooftop solar array, the creation of

D QHZ JODVVHG HQFORVHG DWULXP LQ %XLOGLQJ 2, and the use of bricks from select site demolition to pave the parking lot and alleyway. LifePort: $ PL[HG XVH GHVWLQDWLRQ IRU millennials, LifePort ZRXOG SURYLGH Ă€H[LEOH RIÂżFH VSDFH IRU VWDUW XS FRPSDQLHV DQG a mix of apartment types. Recreational and lifestyle amenities, including a food PDUNHW ÂżWQHVV FHQWHU UHVWDXUDQWV a brewery and gallery space, would FRPSOHWH WKH OLYH ZRUN SOD\ HQYLURQPHQW Site residents and guests can retreat to the roof for lush walking paths, a green “maze,â€? and seating areas. Buildings 2 and 3 would be connected by a glass walkway, offering views of a refurbished water tower on the site, as well as the neighborhoods and cityscape beyond.

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Central entrance to ‘LifePort’

Erie Canal Heritage center in ‘Harrison Complex’

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go to: adaptation – 31

Unoriginal Things $Q LQYHVWLJDWLRQ RI WKH %URDGZD\ )LOOPRUH district, Foederer’s project for Unoriginal Things began with a simple observation. :KDW ZDV RQFH D WKULYLQJ ZRUNLQJ FODVV neighborhood with a dense housing fabric, had become irreparably changed through a sustained effort by the City of Buffalo to purchase derelict homes and subsequently demolish them. This paradigm, not unique to Buffalo, was done without a plan for what this entirely new urban condition ought to be in the future, thus leaving a place characterized by a deteriorated housing fabric and an emergence of linked green space that weaves through it. The aim of the project then became to argue for the validity of a new, looser urban fabric, and a rejection of the overly optimistic expectation that with enough time the original character of this, and similar neighborhoods, will be restored. The project began with an analysis of some of Buffalo’s typical urban forms. ,QFOXGHG LQ WKLV ¿HOG ZRUN ZDV Guercio and Son’s, a grocery retailer in West Buffalo. The building, as it exists today, is an aggregation of previously separate storefronts tied together with several other volumes that comprise an extensive back of house operation. This building represents a simple yet compelling idea of

Student: Faculty: Term: Program:

Tom Foederer Erkin Özay ARC 605, Fall 2018 MArch – Urban Design

what can happen to existing architecture when it optimizes underutilized space. This concept of reuse and adaptation became an inspiration for the project, and an informant on formal manifestations. The project is an experiment at multiple scales; the scale of the neighborhood and the scale of the individual unit. The overarching goal of the project was to provide a new residential development at the epicenter of the Broadway Fillmore district, that represented the paradigm of the surrounding neighborhood. In this sense, the overall plan for the site mimicked the shifting void spaces that characterized the area, and began to offer a continuity for pedestrian movement through itself, while furthermore beginning to posit how these spaces could be utilized and programmed for public use. Reserving a shared space for circulation while optimizing the overall dimensions and material character, allowed for a maximization of programmatic malleability.

“Shaping experience is the fundamental role of the designer” – Tom Foederer, MArch $GDSWDEOH LQ¿OO GHYHORSPHQW RI WKH QHLJKERUKRRG

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Section of proposed housing

What is ‘underoptimized space’? Tom Foederer: ‘Underoptimized space’ UHIHUV WR WKH OHIWRYHU DOOH\ZD\V DQG LQ between spaces that were previously not SDUW RI D VSHFLÂżF EXLOGLQJ , IRXQG Guercio and Son’s to be inspiring, primarily for the VRUW RI SLHFHPHDO XVHU GHÂżQHG JURZWK that led to its current shape. It is not a SXUH IRUP E\ DQ\ PHDQV \HW LW VDWLVÂżHV the logistical complexity that is required of a grocery store in an urban environment through stitching together once disparate VWUXFWXUHV DQG UH SXUSRVLQJ WKH LQFLGHQWDO alleyways on the lot lines.

Is there a connection to housing affordability in the work that you’ve done? TF: Though my project does not explicitly address this in terms of analytical data,

the notion of affordability and ease of construction was a driving force for the project, which develops over 3 phases. The initial phase would include the construction of a prefabrication workshop on the North East corner of the site. The idea being that, through developing a worker collective, a degree of empowerment could be infused into the population through the ability to quickly construct quality homes at a reasonable price. Further to this point, the design of the module allows for adaptability and a reorganization of the units. In this way, homeowners could expand their homes ODWHUDOO\ RU YHUWLFDOO\ ZLWKRXW VLJQLÂżFDQW added construction cost.

What is the most important idea of the project? TF: The key concept that kept arising from

this project was the idea of user agency and adaptability. Early in the design, process it became clear that a rigid design would not be suitable for the place or the population. Rather, the project called for a design that could grow and bend according to the user’s needs. In keeping with the spirit of the studio, where we were looking at the ‘unoriginal things’ that comprise the built landscape, it was clear that certain forms are especially resilient and able to adapt to demands being placed on them. It was this notion that led me to develop a form that spoke to the place and time of its context, and whose resilience was proven.

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2018

2010

2000

Demolition of vacant property on block creates holes in the urban fabric

Rendering, showing scale and character of new structures

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go to: boundary – 47

Poetry Square Leticia Avila developed Collections as a theoretical addition to the University at Buffalo’s library system on the South Campus. By both positioning it in front $EERWW +DOO DQG HOHYDWLQJ WKH PDLQ ÀRRU the project preserves the integrity of the campus’ main axis. The building would house a special poetry collection and act as a nest, shelter, library, and museum. $YLOD ZDV KHDYLO\ LQÀXHQFHG E\ SHRSOH FRPPXQLW\ DQG PRUH VSHFL¿FDOO\ integration. After visiting Brazil last year, she became inspired by Lina Bo Bardi’s Museum of Modern Art of São Pauo (MASP) and its tactics for creating public space. Avila is very interested in the possibilities within architecture, planning, and design that can improve cities and create better quality of life. Both in life and in Architecture, Avila is attracted to the simple, the practical, the pure, and the UHDO DQG VKH WULHV WR OHW WKRVH LGHDV UHÀHFW in her designs.

“The ultimate goal is to give back to the community the space borrowed ...� - Leticia Avila, MArch

Student: Faculty: Term: Program:

Leticia Avila Brian Carter ARC 503, Fall 2018 MArch – 3.5 Year

What is the ultimate goal of the elevated building? Leticia Avila: The ultimate goal of the elevated building is to give the space borrowed by the building back to the community, providing an outdoor, public gathering space.

Who is the intended “publicâ€?? LA: I was interested in the underlying ideas of community and public space within Bo Bardi’s design in SĂŁo Paulo. Anyone in the community or school can use the gathering space.

What is the relationship between different spaces and poetry? LA: The open public space is for everybody and completely accessible at the ground level, where the public can experience poetry on screens. The special collection room is a safe space for poetry. This room is not for everybody, only for SHRSOH ZLWK D VSHFLÂżF LQWHUHVW LQ SRHWU\ The accessibility is controlled because the material is delicate, expensive, and rare.

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Rendered view of public space below library

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go to: history – 33

Are We There Yet? The mass appeal of the automobile in the years following World War II marked a major transition for Buffalo, NY, as what was once considered a luxury exclusive to the upper class became DQ RSWLRQ IRU PLGGOH LQFRPH FLWL]HQV As part of a greater trend sweeping the nation, the Buffalo region experienced XQSUHFHGHQWHG JURZWK LQ WKH PLG th century as enhanced transportation routes and modernization introduced development in formerly rural settings. This process subsequently spurred WKH ÂżUVW VXEXUEDQL]DWLRQ DQG UHWDLO development outside the city, in towns such as Tonawanda and Amherst. The family car vacation became popular, leading to the construction of businesses catering to tourists. The built environment that came out of this period has not only had a profound economic, social, and cultural impact on the area, but additionally remains a template for current developmental patterns. Are We There Yet?, a study by the Graduate Preservation Studio, works towards understanding the role Niagara Falls Boulevard (Boulevard) had in this narrative, and how its meaning has changed throughout history. The Boulevard is presently considered one

Students: /HPPD $O *KDQHP 1DWDVKD 'DYUDGRV (PLO\ 0ROO 0DULH 0\HUV Shearing, Tabitha O’Connell, Tera Perilli, Gregory Pinto, Yizhi Shi, Thomas Voigt Faculty: Kerry Traynor Term: URP 581/582, Fall 2018 Program: MUP – Historic Preservation

of the region’s busiest commercial strips. Stretching 17.8 miles, it contains a range of property types and architectural styles spanning multiple decades of history. This study examines patterns of growth and development on the Boulevard. Surveying major portions of the Boulevard and documenting trends, students engaged with maps, city directories, and other sources to locate areas with extant structures and analyze precedents that dealt with similar circumstances. The studio then developed proposals that incorporated these elements into a planning and preservation framework for future design along the entire Boulevard. These guidelines make the most out of existing structures, and implement strategies which allow them to exist in a modern context through the techniques of planning and historic preservation. As a regional conversation around the future use for these structures wages on, the studio focused on locating areas of high historic value, and determining ways to establish stronger connections between them. Although there have been instances of eliminating valuable history for strip malls and subdivisions, it is impossible

for preservationists to change the past. Rather, it is their job to evaluate the events that have occurred and the role they have SOD\HG LQ RXU KLVWRU\ &ULWLFLVPV RI PLG century architecture’s design and longevity that are rooted in aesthetic value do not consider the structures’ historic context, which is an equally valid reason for seeking their preservation. 7KH SUHVHUYDWLRQ ¿HOGœV JURZLQJ LQWHUHVW LQ PLG FHQWXU\ UHVRXUFHV RIIHUV DQ RSSRUWXQLW\ IRU WKH %XIIDOR 1LDJDUD UHJLRQ to improve one of its most iconic facets. As Niagara Falls Boulevard continues to evolve, seemingly mundane structures from the recent past must not be overlooked.

“Learning about the stories of the past and how they take shape today has always been an interest‌planning and preservation are ways to bring more obscure elements from the past to the forefront.â€? – Gregory Pinto, MUP

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Sign in front of the Algiers Motel on Niagara Falls Boulevard

124

and homes, cottages, motels, to today’s modern hotel. Tera Perilli: Throughout the studio, we examined the typologies of residential development, transportation, tourism, and retail along the Boulevard. We then took inventory of its resources, analyzed precedents, and then came up with recommendations for the future use. Another classmate and I looked at tourism DORQJ WKH %RXOHYDUG DQG LWV PLG FHQWXU\ motels. /RRNLQJ DW PLG FHQWXU\ PRWHOV DV KLVWRULF structures seems a little radical. Yet by XQGHUVWDQGLQJ WKHLU VWRU\ WKHLU FKDUDFWHU GH¿QLQJ IHDWXUHV DQG WKHLU LQÀXHQFH RQ Niagara Falls Boulevard, I discovered an appreciation for them and a desire to preserve those remaining for future generations.

How is the Boulevard similar to or different than the precedents you studied?

$GDSWDEOH LQÂżOO GHYHORSPHQW RI WKH QHLJKERUKRRG

What was the group’s process in researching the Boulevard? Natasha Davrados: We collected KLVWRULFDO PDSV GDWLQJ EDFN WR WKH PLG 1800s to see how the study area changed over time. We also georeferenced 36 of those maps over modern satellite imagery to see what structures and roads matched up, when they appeared and disappeared, and sometimes how they changed shape or path. This helped identify areas of SDUWLFXODU LQWHUHVW IRU ¿HOG YLVLWV DV ZHOO DV pockets of intact fabric that contributed to our proposals.

Gregory Pinto: As a group, we also looked into the evolution of the area over time. One thing which stood out to me was the interconnectedness of these histories. The evolution of the commercial strip couldn’t have happened without the development of a major transportation system and residential development. Marie Myers-Shearing: We traversed the entire Boulevard via a combination of car, bus, and walking to understand its unique urban fabric. I found the evolution of tourist accommodations the most interesting – lavish hotels, simple tourist camps

ND: ,W ZDV GLI¿FXOW WR ¿QG FRPSDUDEOH FDVH studies since we were dealing with recent past preservation. Our study area was also longer than most precedents. The Boulevard has the distinction of not only EHLQJ VLJQL¿FDQW LWVHOI DV D GHVWLQDWLRQ IRU honeymooners, vacationers, and, later, fans of car culture, but also terminating in WZR VLJQL¿FDQW OHJDF\ FLWLHV GP: The commercial strip isn’t unique, and W\SLFDOO\ WKH\ DUHQœW GHHPHG VLJQL¿FDQW DW face value. But they remain an important part of our history and the systems we have today. The Boulevard is special because it’s part of a collective heritage IURP WKH SRVW ZDU HUD WKDW LV QRZ VHHQ DV historic. TP: One precedent I looked at was the Doo Wop Motel District in Wildwoods, N.J., a thematic district and successful commercial strip composed of a series of

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Current strip mall developments along the Boulevard

PLG FHQWXU\ PRWHOV WKDW ZHUH SUHVHUYHG and rehabbed for modern day uses. Like Niagara Falls Boulevard, it has an DEXQGDQFH RI PLG FHQWXU\ PRWHOV WKDW retain historic characteristics that could be preserved through inclusion in a thematic historic district.

Why is it important for urban planners and designers to preserve aspects of our history? GP: I think that preserving history is a necessity for urban planning. It not only provides an opportunity to learn about how we have gotten to where we are today, but produces a collective identity that allows areas to thrive. One of the most important tasks as planners is to create environments that are welcoming and meet the needs of those who live there. Preservation is one of the most impactful ways in which we can improve an area without radically changing it.

TP: I think it is important for urban planners and designers to preserve aspects of our history because it tells the story of both the people associated with these structures and America. Throughout WKLV SURMHFW RXU IRFXV ZDV RQ SRVW ZDU resources. We are approaching a time ZKHUH PLG FHQWXU\ DQG PRUH UHFHQW past building are reaching the age of being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Often the preservation of resources from this time period is neglected due to personal taste and lack of consideration. I think it is important to FRQVLGHU WKHVH UHVRXUFHV DV VLJQLÂżFDQW contributions to our past. MMS: Not all history is pretty (strip malls, vast parking lots, etc.) but it is important to understand these aspects of planning and design in order for us to hopefully be better planners and designers for the future.

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go to: ritual – 35

Students:

Nesting Balasana

Faculty: Term: Program:

Lukas Fetzko (UB) Jo Nedergaard (ASoA) Andreas Thiis (ASoA) Jan Buthke (ASoA) Bob Trempe (ASoA) Arkitektskolen i Aarhus, Spring 2018 Aarhus Exchange

Lukas Fetzko developed Nesting Balasana with Jo Nedergaard and Andreas Thiis in Spring 2018 during an exchange program at the School of Architecture– Arkitektskolen i Aarhus–in Aarhus, Denmark. This project was designed as a physical translation and exploration of the yoga pose balasana, inspired by the transitions between the posture’s use of the body, mind, and breath.

Fetzko is inspired in particular by the relationship between space and QDWXUH +LV LQWHUHVWV ZLWKLQ WKH ¿HOGV RI architecture and design lie within the unknown and the action/reaction aspect of space, how unfamiliar and unexpected situations play a strong hand in decision making, the history of spaces, and the ability for spaces to change and take on new meanings over time.

By focusing on an awareness of the body and mind, the “nest” encourages introspection, contemplation, and mindfulness. In this way, the team believed that they could help users create stronger connections with their chakras, ultimately helping people become more balanced, peaceful, and present.

“I am extremely interested in the action – reaction aspect of space, the unknown or serendipitous, and the ability for unfamiliar or unexpected situations to force us to make decisions.”

The team applied parametric modeling techniques to explore possibilities within the limit of their 2x2 meter site. They designated ample time to optimizing the production process, maximizing the HI¿FLHQF\ LQ WHUPV RI ERWK PDFKLQH XVH and assembly. The slots in each module allowed for loose connections within a single layer as well as a tight, strong connection as additional layers put pressure on the ones below.

- Lukas Fetzko, MArch

Modular full scale installation

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Scale models of different modules and their aggregations

Can you elaborate more on “chakra�? Lukas Fetzko: We took the essence and concept of “chakra� as the start of the design process. This focus was on both how the body inhabits physical space, and how the mind inhabits mental and spiritual space. We wanted to design a space which allows one to shift between activity and stasis in these two states. These transitions between activity and stasis, or mental space and physical space, form the framework for the project – a sort of inhabitable threshold.

What led to your different design choices? LF: The project brief outlined a “Human Nest� made out of wood, which already lent itself to a modular system. We spent

a lot of time experimenting with different module sizes, spaces, and aggregations. The ability to construct the project at full scale was a required consideration and led us to optimize various aspects of the PRGXOH 7KH ÂżQDO FURVV GHVLJQ FRXSOHG with the varying aperture sizes, allowed enough variation to construct an organic space out of an orthogonal system.

Is the structure intended to be something that is sought out or chanced upon? LF: The intention is for people to enter from within the building, move through the space and stop at the large space. There isn’t an intended use within the space; the purpose is to just stop, breath, and think. It is a space that one would happen upon, DV WKH ORFDWLRQ LV VHPL UHPRWH DQG LW LV intended for one person at a time.

Can you elaborate on the site and why this project is site VSHFLÂżF" LF: The project was designed to be site VSHFLÂżF DQG WKH VLWH ZDV GHVLJQDWHG WKURXJK WKH SURMHFW EULHI ,WV VSHFLÂżF location in the building allows it to be connected to both the interior and exterior. However, we did disassemble and reassemble the nest in another location for an exhibition. If I could change anything, it would be both increasing the tolerance of the tile slots (to allow easier assembly/ disassembly) as well as add a larger variation in aperture size to allow more variation in the apparent density of the nest.

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Dimensional parameters of module

Full scale installation at the building threshold

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go to: ritual – 35 Faculty: TAs:

Ritual Space Ritual Space is a collection of ten structures, each designed and constructed E\ VWXGLR WHDPV LQ ¿UVW \HDU GHVLJQ VWXGLR Finding its beginnings in the development of an interlocking joint system, students adapted this tectonic item into an evocative, spatial proposal. The form and space grew from, and responds to, the spatial needs of the body as it undergoes or conducts the ritual of life. These rituals IROORZHG VSHFL¿F DVSHFWV RI ¾KRXVH OLIHœ and include: – Gathering – Food Preparation – Eating – Bathing – Resting

Term: Program:

Matthew Hume (coordinator) Karen Tashjian Dylan Burns, John Costello, Justina Dziama, Kelsey Habla, Tom Horvath, Elias Kotzambasis, Rachel Mordaunt, Kim Taracena, Kevin Turner, John Wightman ARC 102, Spring 2018 BS Arch

as one traverses each house. As an outside occupant between the houses, the interstitial relations of the two groupings allow for an alternative experience. The houses are not to be read as separate entities, but as a dialogue exchange – creating and rearranging a bespoke pattern of personal rituals as the occupant follows their own path through the structures.

“What interests me about design is its potential to affect the way people interact on a daily basis, through things that are not very tangible.� – Rosanna Valencia, BS Arch

7KH VSHFLÂżF FKRUHRJUDSK\ RI WKH ULWXDOV ZHUH GHÂżQHG LQ WKH ÂżUVW VHPHVWHU DV conceptual frameworks. As group SURSRVDOV WHDPV FROODERUDWHG WR UHÂżQH the initial concepts, develop connection GHWDLOV DQG FUHDWH SODQV IRU IXOO VFDOH construction. The ten schemes were delineated into two ‘houses’, each with WKH ÂżYH ULWXDOV UHSUHVHQWHG 7KHVH KRXVHV are sited on the top ridge at Artpark, in Lewiston, NY; with the two groupings arranged to create a progression within themselves, and parallel experiences Ritual spaces under construction at Artpark

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How does the built structure relate to the ritual? What experience is supposed to be conveyed/created? Denice Guillermo: In Laminar, the rest/repose ritual was made for optimal comfort and tranquility. The concept of ODPLQDU Ă€RZ ZKHUH D JDV RU OLTXLG WUDYHOV LQ D VPRRWK Ă€XLG PRWLRQ GHÂżQHV WKH XQGXODWLQJ Ă€RRU 7KH UHVXOWDQW RI WKLV Ă€RRU LV WKH FUHDWLRQ RI D YDULHW\ RI DQJOHV permit the body to inhabit the space DQG ÂżQG FRPIRUW LQ QXPHURXV SRVLWLRQV strengthening the main concept of the ULWXDO 7KH XQGXODWLQJ Ă€RRU WKHQ OHDGV WR D Ă€DW VXUIDFH ZKLFK DOORZV IRU D PRUH accustomed style of rest. John Henning: The built structure allows for multiple people to use it at once. We wanted to allow for different seating positions/heights for each person. Rosanna Valencia: We observed the different ways that people eat, whether in groups or alone. More intimate areas are created in the pockets of space that the curvature of the form creates. Here, people can sit in larger groups, versus the more solitary and smaller seating in opposite areas. Surfaces change their purpose depending on where they are in space, some are seating areas, places to eat on, or areas for comfort to rest your feet on. The placement and density of the vertical posts work to guide you through the space, but also regulate the amount of lighting so that areas are well shaded as you partake in the ritual. Petreen Thomas: The experience in Nest draws from how people interact in their own living rooms; things such as a group of people sitting on one couch together, or someone sitting in a chair by themselves yet still apart of the interaction. Our structure was able to embody this experience by delineating two unique, yet connected. The enclosed space allows for Resting ritual drawings of project ‘Laminar’

XS WR ÂżYH SHRSOH WR VLW DFURVV IURP HDFK other and communicate, while the open portion is more of an intimate experience for those sitting adjacent from each other, apart from the rest but still able to communicate with them. Lauren Bechkingham: As an eating ritual space, the structure has multiple surfaces at various heights for people to pick and choose where they sit and eat. The choice between inside versus outside, lit versus shaded, relates to the ritual and where a particular person would choose to eat. Iza Dabrowski: We wanted the user to experience some fatigue when entering the structure. That is one reason why WKHUHÂśV DQ LQFOLQH ZKHQ VRPHRQH ÂżUVW walks in. After turning around and entering the main bathing area, the body is meant to sink into the space and experience relief. The bathing ritual is meant to be a relaxing, relieving, and calming experience.

How does your structure relate to those around it/adjacent? Katelyn Broat: The structure was placed on of the end of its. Scythe was able to open up to the rest of the projects because of its parabolic nature and orientation with its growing wall facing south. RV: Sagano was set next to the structures for of food preparation and gathering. After you prepare food you would move onto the next structure to facilitate the ritual of HDWLQJ DQG ÂżQDOO\ JDWKHULQJ

What were the challenges of building full scale? DG: )XOO VFDOH EXLOGV EHFRPH FKDOOHQJLQJ around the details; measurements must be meticulously made in order to match the design that was made digitally. However, it is important to accept the fact that there will always be some kind of human error.

It was rewarding to learn the necessary process of building, from unscaled concept PRGHOV WR ÂżQDO GHVLJQ PRGHOV GUDZLQJV creating individual parts in shop, and IXOO VFDOH EXLOGLQJ RQ VLWH 3URGXFLQJ construction documents helped me to learn the exact procedure, notations, and necessary information that went into building Laminar. In the end, it was truly rewarding to see the hard work that was put in result in a functional and stable structure that succeeded in performing our concept. However, the lack of communication that sometimes occurred in working with a group of people, with

varying degrees of work ethics, became a challenging aspect of building. JH: What was most rewarding was seeing a design that’s only been on paper and a computer screen come to life. The most challenging part of the project was designing a joint to hold it all together. $IWHU VHYHUDO LWHUDWLRQV ZH ¿QDOO\ KDG D strong idea. PT: The biggest challenges were dealing with how the wood interacted with the weather, and seeing how much the design and measurements changed as the project grew bigger. But, with all these trials and

Students assembling project ‘Scythe’ (group at left), and project ‘Nest’ (group at right)

HUURUV LW ZDV DOO ZRUWK LW WR ÂżQDOO\ VLW LQ WKH structure and say “yeah, we made that KDSSHQ ´ ,W GHÂżQLWHO\ PDGH WKH SURMHFW IHHO more real, and you learn how much the design and what you hoped to experience changes once it goes from paper to full scale structure. Blayne Burnside: Hate is a strong word, but it is certainly the appropriate word to describe my personal feelings with the process of actually manufacturing all of the pieces for assembly in the Fabrication Workshop. I simply found the assembly preparation stage to be tedious and

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unenjoyable, as it felt more like carpentry than architecture to me. However, it is a very valuable experience to have nonetheless, and thankfully I had group members that favored Shop, allowing me to take charge in the graphic side of the project.

Looking back, has the building experience affected how you design today? LB: The building experience has taught me how important it is to make drawings understandable and clear to avoid errors or miscommunication in the actual building process. DG: I believe that, with all of the important lessons that came with the building process, I have gained a better sense of PDWHULDOLW\ ZRUNLQJ WZR GLPHQVLRQDOO\ WR WKUHH GLPHQVLRQDOO\ DQG OHDUQLQJ WR WDNH the surrounding site into consideration.

Ritual Drawings of project Sagano

JH: In deciding where to go to school, I toured UB’s freshmen studios. Seeing their IXOO VFDOH SURMHFWV DQG DOO RI WKHLU RWKHU KDQGV RQ SURMHFWV , PDGH P\ PLQG XS WR DSSO\ WR 8% 7KH IXOO VFDOH SURMHFWV DUH a great way to introduce students to the design process and I think there should be more projects throughout each year. It really helps students understand the whole process from design to construction. I always imagine what my project will look like at full scale, how it effects the site, and how people will experience it. RV: The building experience was useful LQ WKDW LW ZDV YHU\ KDQGV RQ DQG LW ZDV WKH ¿UVW WLPH PDQ\ RI XV HYHU JRW WR experience building at such a large scale. It has made me design through a lens of practicality and wholeness, from the way that we integrated one system into GLIIHUHQW IDFHWV WR ¿W RXU QDUUDWLYH ,W DOVR made me reconsider the value of group working and the input that we all contribute

knowingly or not, that made the project VXFFHVVIXO 7KH ¿QDO GHVLJQ ZDV DFKLHYHG through an extensive iteration of models, it was important that we kept an open mind and worked harder after each criticism. I see the value in other people’s input and don’t completely solidify my ideas because there is always room for improvement.

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Ritual spaces – 8 months post-construction

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go to: enclosure – 37

Cages The work in Cages explores the qualities of material boundaries and enclosing conditions that relate structure and skin, establishing critical connections between WKH QDWXUDO DQG WKH DUWLÂżFLDO LQ WKH PDWHULDO experience. Through the production of wooden structures with considerations of matter, fabrication, form and emotion, the research and structures explored operations of transverse physical and visual relationships. Working with wood allowed the design teams to approach aspects of assemblage, joinery, or lightness, but also permitted work with potential expressions in terms of mass, continuity, and weight. The material exploration of wood took place at three different scales, dealing with structure, facture and texture: for the structure, teams worked on the arrangement of and relations between different elements of the supporting system; for the facture, teams ZRUNHG RQ WKH GHÂżQLWLRQ RI WKH MRLQWV WKDW brought all elements together; and for the WH[WXUH WHDPV ZRUNHG RQ WKH GHÂżQLWLRQ RI WKH DSSHDUDQFH DQG WKH IHHO RI WKH ÂżQDO VXUIDFH ÂżQLVK The design incorporated the notion of a space for the inspiration, introversion, UHĂ€HFWLRQ DQG LVRODWLRQ RI WKH ERG\ DQG mind. This consideration gave additional

Students: /HPPD $O *KDQHP (OLDV Kotzambasis, Eric Chambers/Blake Kane/Swapnil Patil, Evan Glickman/Cody Wilson Faculty: Miguel Guitart Term: ARC 606, Spring 2018 Program: MArch – Material Culture

information on how to explore a material from a programmatic perspective, providing an intuition on aspects like the occupation, the scale, the access, the PDQLSXODWLRQ RU WKH RSHQQHVV RI WKH ÂżQDO piece. Designing and building in groups, the students behind the constructions considered the unique inspiration of wood, and its many properties. Wood offered a connection to the tectonic qualities of the North American building tradition and a national architectural identity. It is also a universal resource and a sustainable material that implies a critical connection with nature, linking the natural and the DUWLÂżFLDO Wood is at once traditional and contemporary. Few materials can be considered more intimately connected to and respectful of the environment, connecting past and future in the way wood does.

“What inspires me are the interactions between human and structure, site and nature, the tactile and sensual...� - Evan Glickman, MArch Curving Involute by Evan Glickman and Cody Willson

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What was your project based on? Blake Kane: A large amount of initial research and exploration went into understanding wood joinery. We chose Chidori – a type of Japanese wood joinery system –as one of the main precedents of study. Chidori methods are unique in that each system uses simple dado notches WR PDQLSXODWH ZRRG LQWR GLPHQVLRQDO forms. The simplicity of manufacturing and construction of this wood system lead to D YHU\ FRPSHOOLQJ ÂżQDO FUHDWLRQ $OO ZRRG pieces were cut to the same length and notched using the same dado method. The system was designed to take advantage of WKH GLPHQVLRQDOW\ RI WKH FKLGRUL V\VWHP forming space purely through wood joinery. Evan Glickman: The basis of our studies started with thin wood strips, bent into ODPLQDWHG GHODPLQDWHG ÂłERZ´ SLHFHV pinned together. The idea behind this was to use the natural grain of the wood in order to strengthen it while at the same WLPH XVLQJ ZRRG LQ D ZHDNHQHG XQ natural state in which one can look at and question its stability. But as the system progressed it shifted focus to expanding the modular system of “bowsâ€?. 7KH ÂżQDO PRGXOH ZDV FRQVWUXFWHG IURP eight bows that were laminated at their ends into a triangular shape, which are then bent perpendicular to their plane, and glued at their apex. This series of laminations are the only joints holding the system in shape, and allows modules to Ă€H[ DQG EHQG ZKLOH DOZD\V UHWXUQLQJ WR WKHLU QRUPDO VWDWH RI Ă€H[ 7KH ÂżQDO IRUP RI WKH ERZ PDNHV D complementary structure, a system that balance forces between two joined members. When one member is placed in compression, the other cancels these loads with tension. In the bow, the veneer of the slices holds them in a

Blake Kane assembling panels within ‘Chidori’ system

tensioned shape. When compression is applied to the top slice, the bottom slice compensates with tension. This creates an internal structure that harnesses the unique duel structural properties of wood. 7KH PRGXOH FUHDWHV D QDWXUDO ÀRZ IURP one module to another; lines of action are carried through the system. Through a series of modules and plates, the system grows naturally into a cylindrical shape. Lemma Al-Ghanem: Our project took inspiration from textiles. We were very interested in the idea of clothes or skin being the smallest enclosures we inhabit. We wanted our design to be an extension of enclosure while being at the same scale – a very small enclosure that protects and shields you, like armor, from the world while providing a safe space for solitary contemplation and inspiration.

How is your project designed at various scales? BK: Each scale can be seen nested throughout the 1:1 chidori system. Nodes that connect each level are arrangements of smaller chidori joints interlocking together. Stepping a scale up from these smaller interlocking moments, modular cubes can be seen repeating throughout the entire project. If you view the project in its entirety, the “large scale�, or overall space/enclosure, takes shape. Every moment within the project is a form of wood connection. EG: We were very interested in bending wood from the beginning, so the project started at the small scale. Testing various methods of bending wood – wetting, steam bending, lamination/delamination – were all different treatments we looked at. Although they were different processes,

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‘Chidori’ by Eric Chambers, Blake Kane, and Swapnil Patil

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they all started as a thin strip of wood that followed the grain. Ultimately, we found WKH ODPLQDWLRQ GHODPLQDWLRQ SURFHVV PRVW interesting as it allowed for a wider range of forms and continuing studies. $W WKH PHGLXP VFDOH WKH ODPLQDWHG delaminated bows started to become the center of attention. While the bow LWVHOI ZDV QRW WRR GLIÂżFXOW WR ÂżJXUH RXW the connection from one bow to the next became problematic. The pin connection was ultimately the winner as its allowed for WKH V\VWHP WR JURZ LQÂżQLWHO\

7KH ÂżQDO PRGXOH ZDV LQ D VHQVH DGGLWLRQ E\ VXEWUDFWLRQ :H VLPSOLÂżHG HDFK ERZ to just two strips, then glued three bows together to create the curvy triangle module. Using two of the modules they were glued to the apex of the bend bows. 7KLV FUHDWHG WKH ÂżQDO PRGXOH ZKLFK proliferated into the larger system. LA: Our project interacted with large scale the least, but it has the ability to grow exponentially based on a modular system. A major focus was the joint, the way in which we attached each “scaleâ€? to the

next one is done through a simple weave, allowing the modules a certain degree of ÀH[LELOLW\ WKDW GH¿QHV WKH SLHFH DV D ZKROH but still kept in tight contact. The small scale of the module was designed to sit extremely closely to the body, and have a direct dialogue with the user. The pieces were crafted with a very VRIW ¿QLVK WR LQVXUH PD[LPXP FRPIRUW when they made contact with skin.

What is the most important aspect or result of this project, for you personally? BK: Expressing the potentials of wood as a building material is the most important aspect of this project, in our personal opinion. Wood is one of humanity’s oldest building materials. Joinery is a deeply URRWHG KXPDQ LQWHUYHQWLRQ WR ZRRG DQG has been developed by many different cultures for thousands of years. Expressed in this project is the idea of both human and material working harmoniously to create space. LA: Textiles are heavily steeped in feminist history. In many cultures across the world, textile work is done by women. Being the only woman in the studio I was highly interested in this “soft artâ€? – as people derogatorily put it. I was interested in how to take a very hard material like wood, and WXUQ LW LQWR D VRIW Ă€H[LEOH EODQNHW WKDW KDV the power to shield and protect in many ways like bark does for a tree. EG: This was unlike traditional studio projects where you design something and almost never see it come to life. With this project, we were able to work and constantly make something new. Having the ability to take a step back and say “Wow, I really made thisâ€? is really one of the best aspects of the project.

&ULWLF 'HOQD] <HNUDQJLDQ H[SHULHQFLQJ VWUXFWXUHV DW ÂżQDO UHYLHZ VSULQJ

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/HPPD $O *KDQHP DQG (OLDV .RW]DPEDVLV GHPRQVWUDWH PXOWLSOH FRQ¿JXUDWLRQV RI 5HÀH[LYH )DEULF

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go to: curiosity – 39

Amazing Grace Natalie Harack’s Amazing Grace is an instrument, created by modifying a traditional shopping cart, that collects environmental data and physical artifacts. The objective of this project was to build an instrument to probe the site through inquiry, insight, and impression to develop a representation of environmental phenomena. The vehicle integrates the inquiring of quantitative and qualitative data from the old Bethlehem Steel site in Lackawanna, NY, in order to develop new approaches to site impressions. In order to spur “out of the box� thinking, students randomly drew one item or action from each of the following: – Quantitative metrics – Vehicles – Collections – Qualitative assessments 1DWDOLH GUHZ ZLQG VSHHG D FDUW KXPDQ made objects, and abandonment. The goal of this project was to change impressions of what lies behind us and what lies before us. The data collected helped to visualize and explain the site history, allowing the viewer to develop new philosophies concerning the process of time and notions of abandonment.

Students: Faculty: Term: Program:

Natalie Harack Nicholas Rajkovich ARC 545, Fall 2018 MArch – Ecological Practices

“I am interested in the possibilities to design spaces that affect the experiences of the occupants.� - Natalie Harack, MArch Harack’s project was inspired by the idea of redevelopment with an informed methodology from the book, Curious Methods, by Sean Burkholder and Karen Lutsky. These methods carry through with Harack’s fundamental inspirations of designing for sustainability and creating spacing that generate unique experiences for the occupants.

What kind of data does the instrument collect? Natalie Harack: To use the device, you push the cart to your desired collection point, take down the collection stop data RQ D SUH PDGH FROOHFWLRQ VKHHW ZLWK WKH attached clipboard), wind data (using the anemometer which is attached to a wind direction device on the front of the cart), collect the site artifact (which is then stored in collection bins located in the cart), and lastly write out what feelings were evoked from being on site (also using the attached clipboard). Then you continue Natalie Harack, on site with ‘Amazing Grace’

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to your next point and repeat the process. Data collected includes: &ROOHFWLRQ 6WRS 'DWD WLPH RI FROOHFWLRQ coordinates of collection. :LQG GDWD GLUHFWLRQ VSHHG WHPSHUDWXUH conditions, and cues from the landscape (the angles of vegetation due to the wind) 6LWH $UWLIDFW KXPDQ PDGH REMHFW 4XDOLWDWLYH $VVHVVPHQW DEDQGRQPHQW A clear idea of time was found through the comparison of the data from each stop point. The Bethlehem Steel site is currently D EURZQ¿HOG ZKLFK LV JRLQJ WKURXJK remediation, parts of the site are complete and others are not. When analyzing the collected data, I was able to associate different areas of the site to phases of the remediation process. This information led to the development of a site impression that takes a deeper drive into the three time periods that have become apparent: the site as Bethlehem steel company, WKH VLWH DV D EURZQ¿HOG DQG WKH FXUUHQW state of remediation. This shows the importance of the site’s history in helping the redevelopment.

,V WKLV SURMHFW VSHFLÂżF WR WKH Bethlehem Steel plant? Amazing Grace with built in anemometer to collect wind data

NH: The device was designed to be used for the site, the qualitative assessment RI DEDQGRQPHQW UHĂ€HFWV WKH FXUUHQW Bethlehem steel that has been abandoned since the closing of the company. However, the device could also be utilized on other abandoned sites to help redevelopment efforts.

Can you elaborate more on “notions of abandonment�? NH: The notions of abandonment are in regards to the qualitative assessment of the site, which is collected by the user by writing the feelings brought on from visiting the abandoned site. Moving into the site impression, ideas of abandonment are

UHĂ€HFWHG WKURXJK WKH SKDVHV RI WLPH DQG the historical data. These notions relate to the Bethlehem site due to it being an DEDQGRQHG EURZQÂżHOG

How do site impressions LQWHUDFW ZLWK RU LQĂ€XHQFH Amazing Grace and the notion of time? NH: When analyzing the collected data, I was able to associate different areas of the site to phases of the remediation process. The collected information led to the development of a site impression that takes a deeper drive into the three different time periods that elaborate on the site as Bethlehem steel company (Right), WKH VLWH DV D EURZQÂżHOG 0LGGOH DQG WKH site now in remediation (Left), to show the importance of the sites history to help the UHGHYHORSPHQW (DFK SRUWLRQ UHĂ€HFWV LWV time period through overlays of present and historical buildings, newspapers that UHĂ€HFW WKH IHHOLQJV RI WKH VLWH DW WKDW WLPH WKH KXPDQ PDGH REMHFWV IRXQG LQ WKH DUHD and overlays of present and past wind data (through the use of wood dowels WR UHĂ€HFW WKH FXHV LQ WKH ODQGVFDSH The site impression is meant to make people think about the history of the site and how Bethlehem steel once provided HFRQRPLF DQG VRFLDO EHQHÂżWV WR WKH community. When abandoned, negative feelings were associated with the site. The redevelopment of an abandoned site FDQ UHVWRUH VRFLDO DQG HFRQRPLF EHQHÂżWV for the community. There is potential for abandonment to be transformed into something than can help a community.

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Amazing Grace, on display with site impression data

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go to: imagination – 41

Coastal Dreams Coastal Dreams is a speculative futures project, envisioning the cities along Lake Erie as subjected to extreme winter weather conditions in the face of global climate change. Sara Svisco developed a narrative, which depicts life in 2391, as the lake begins to experience alarmingly high ZDWHU OHYHOV UHVXOWLQJ LQ WKH ÀRRGLQJ RI nearby coastal cities. In Svisco’s narrative, local municipalities fund projects in response to the continuous environmental threat. They build retaining walls along the shoreline in an attempt to preserve their cherished way of life. However, these walls still failed. Water levels continued to rise, and ÀRRGV EHFDPH LQFUHDVLQJO\ PRUH YLROHQW Residents worked together to maintain the ZDOOV DQG DGG WR WKHP HYHU\ ¿YH \HDUV $IWHU RQO\ ¿IW\ \HDUV WKH ZDOOV VXUSDVVHG the city in height. Completely barricaded from its northern enemy, residents had become accustomed to this omnipresent force that held their fate at bay. Then, in D ÀRRG EUHDNV WKH ZDOOV DQG ZUHDNV havoc on the city, burying it for over one hundred years, and leaves it completely devoid of any sign of life.

Author: Faculty: Term: Program:

Sara Svisco Sean Burkholder ARC 606, Spring 2018 MArch – Ecological Practices

study the ruins and past effects of climate, as well as to explore how to rebuild after this ecological recovery. Svisco herself is from Buffalo, NY, and has Charles Wingfelder, always been very conscious of her impact on the environment – trying to reduce her personal effect as much as possible. 2YHU WKH SDVW ÂżYH \HDUV RI VWXG\ 6YLVFR has become particularly aware of how the practice of architecture can affect the environment at a much deeper level. For Svisco, the intent behind design is equally as powerful. The potential for a building or installation to evoke such intense responses from observers has always been intriguing to her. “Design, in general, impacts so many aspects of everyone’s lives, and if I can have a hand in making it a positive, memorable H[SHULHQFH ,ÂśG EH VDWLVÂżHG ´

“I think the opportunity to use architecture as a means of remediating our environmental impact is so inspiring‌â€? – Sara Svisco, MArch

Decades later, after the region thaws, a team of researchers return to the city to The forces of nature reclaiming the environment

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What was the full story behind your images? Sara Svisco: The images are snippets of a longer story we developed over a couple weeks during the semester. It’s written from the perspective of an explorer returning to a region of the planet that’s undergone a catastrophic climate event. The story provides a brief view into the growth of this coastal city and how its response to rising water levels created a precarious situation for its residents. The bulk of the story documented the

experiences of the group of explorers who returned to the region after it was deemed safe to revisit.

Why did you forecast such a future for the Great Lakes Cities? SS: We were really encouraged to get creative with this assignment. We knew we should try and tie it into our “real� studio project, but we didn’t have the traditional limits of our world to worry about. Our research in studio before this point had

been focused around studying coastal conditions along Lake Erie, so I decided to play out one scenario to the extreme. The story plays up the effects of rising water levels and, honestly, the concept doesn’t seem entirely impossible. I think what’s intriguing about the story is that it’s not too IDU IHWFKHG

Did living and working in Buffalo LQÀXHQFH \RXU SURMHFW" SS: Not directly, no. This project was all about creating a world that wasn’t bound by the limitations of this world; so, in a way, I used my experiences from Buffalo to imagine what wouldn’t happen here.

In your opinion, what is the value in speculative futures projects such as this? Are the methods and subjects of representation more effective at communicating? SS: We actually found real value in removing ourselves from this world and designing for another universe. Surprisingly, familiar themes we would expect to see in this world came up in our projects. I think this way of working allowed us to shed the “best practicesâ€? method of design and formulate a new DSSURDFK 5DWKHU WKDQ SUREOHP VROYLQJ our designs were focused around an experience. Later in the semester, we had WR ÂżQG D ZD\ WR WUDQVODWH D GHVLJQ SURSRVDO for the story into a design proposal for the real world, and a lot of the designs were focused on amplifying an experience rather than solving a problem.

7KH PDVVLYH SURWHFWLRQ ZDOO HUHFWHG E\ FLWL]HQV LQ WKH IXWXUH WR KROG EDFN FDWDVWURSKLF ÀRRG HYHQWV

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Collage drawings depicting ‘The Flood’, encapsulating the city in ice for 600 years

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go to: surplus – 43

No. 2 City life is always accompanied by sporadic interactions with homeless people lingering on the streets, in transportation hubs, or other various public spaces. Due to their appearance, they are often misrepresented as useless members of society. Homelessness in metropolitan areas is caused by several factors, such as lack of affordable housing, mental illnesses, VXEVWDQFH DEXVH DQG ORZ SD\LQJ MREV Being victims of these circumstances, homeless people thrive on being “bottom feeders,â€? collecting plastic and glass bottles from the streets which are sold to recycling centers for money, so they may later buy food. Their mode of survival has become vital in creating a cleaner landscape. While their need for nutrition has received aid, another layer of physiological necessity is yet to be solved—shelter. A contemplation of urbanite survival based on primitive life hack–No. 2 (Number 2) is a series of model studies of objects to induce comfort of homeless individuals on the streets. The project used HDPE plastic bags, with the title based on WKH 5,& 5HVLQ ,GHQWLÂżFDWLRQ &RGH RI the material and, at the same time, the essence of recycling. The project explores

Student: Faculty: Term: Program:

-RVH 5XHO 9 %R]]ROR )DELD Miguel Guitart ARC 632, Fall 2018 MArch – Material Culture

VSHFLÂżF VWUDWHJLHV UHODWHG WR WKH WHFWRQLFV of the knot and weaving, as a condition that brings together basic constructive traditions with contemporary architectural production. Establishing a bridge between the intellectual and the physical, the project and the course explore material practices leading to architectural solutions, applied to the constructive and the emotional alike. No. 2 is composed of three woven pieces, which protect an urban nomad from the KDUVK OLIH LQ WKH FLW\ 7KURXJK WKH UH XVH of plastic bags, each object manifests a variety of interventions and differences in texture using the most abundant material in the city. Before the development of agriculture, humans thrived on migrating to where resources were abundant. In cities, the urban nomad functions in the same way as their predecessors, by gathering UH VHOODEOH LWHPV RU WULQNHWV WKDW HYRNH an emotional connection to them beyond SK\VLRORJLFDO QHHGV :LWK WKLV D PXOWL purpose container for survival is made.

“My work is a projection of myself...combining design with other artistic forms only makes it more robust.â€? – Fab Fabia 7\SH Âą %ODQNHW

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What are the rolls of the different pieces you made? Fab Fabia: Type 1–Blanket LV WKH ÂżUVW RI the series. Historically, humans used found objects to create a second/third protective skin when they were in transit for hunting or migrating. Animal skins, leaves, and branches of trees were usually found in the artifacts as their choice of material WR FUHDWH D EODQNHW OLNH FRYHU XS )DVW forward to now, plastic bags are plaguing different streets of metropolitan areas around the world due to people’s lack of environmental awareness. Conversely, the number of plastic bags and their accessibility make them the new found object of the modern era. Type 2–Hat is the second of the series. This next iteration envisions an increase of mobility for survival and the protection of the most important part of a human body–the head. While migration increased, humans became more susceptible to a number of threats in the environment. Typically, the human head was targeted by predators and still is the gateway for various common diseases. The hat adds up another layer of security and promotes agility for the wearer–it becomes a symbol RI DQ DUWLÂżFLDO VWUHQJWK Type 3–Vessel is the last model of the series, it embodies the essence of JDWKHULQJ 0DGH RXW RI UROOHG XS SODVWLF bags to mimic the surface of a puffer jacket and bound together by twisted plastic sheets, the object functions as a reversible coat for the urban nomad. The ÂżUVW VLGH ZRXOG EH WKH ÂłJDWKHULQJ IDFH ´ which has a series of loops for holding bottles and other things. The other side would be the “storing face,â€? which allows the gathered things to be held inside the shell. It also acts as a sleeping bag for the user–a vessel for the body. The prints on the plastic bags were intentionally shown to capture existing Material and weaving explorations of plastics

businesses in the urban landscape. The object becomes a collage of where people largely spend their money and a great map of a homeless person’s track.

What drew you to create these pieces for homeless individuals? FF: Coming from a different climate, I am fascinated by the aspect of layering clothing during winter and how important a thick second skin is for survival. I thought of the history of humans in this harsh environment and how they would scavenge for things to keep themselves warm with, and how those actions paralleled homeless individuals gathering things (i.e. cans or bottles) for money to buy food with.

Is there a perceived correlation between homelessness and plastic bags/refuse that you wanted to address? FF: Absolutely. Both homelessness and the plastic bags are agents of mapping the city.

How important is the fashion component to this, and what does it bring? FF: The topic of the class–weaving matter–encouraged me to look at existing woven products that are available in the market, all of which express the notion of warmth. At the same time, I am always fascinated by blurring the line between second (fashion) and third skin (architecture) and how the earlier is more accessible and related to the human scale, more personal.

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All three types, covering the entire body

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go to: collage – 45

Fabrica13 Throughout the studio, Michael Hoover GUHZ LQVSLUDWLRQ IURP 5LFDUGR %RÂżOO DQG his design techniques. The art of collaging seemed to best represent how he created spaces by chance and unconscious WKLQNLQJ 7KURXJK DGDSWLYH UH XVH %RÂżOO ZDV DEOH WR UH LPDJLQH DV IRXQG VSDFHV In this way, form and function were disassociated.

“I found a freedom in just making instead of thinking.â€? - Michael Hoover, MArch Hoover used casting techniques to create VROLG YRLG LQYHUVLRQV ZKLFK FDSWXUH WKH DEQRUPDO VSDFHV IRXQG LQ %RÂżOOÂśV )DEULFD and allow for an abstract and tactile spatial analysis. The newly casted spaces act as containers for a seminary that can be UH RFFXSLHG DQG FUHDWH DQ HYRFDWLYH DLU RI uncertainty in their arrangement.

How did you use the idea of chance to create spatial relationships? Michael Hoover: I numbered the new spaces and ordered them randomly in a list. I then stacked the spaces vertically LQ WKH VDPH RUGHU DV WKH OLVW 7KH ÂżQDO iteration possessed a sculptural quality,

Student: Faculty: Term: Program:

Michael Hoover Georg Rafailidis ARC 502, Spring 2018 MArch – 3.5 Year

evoking tension while maintaining a strong composition. By stacking the volumes, the spatial quality was maximized through overlaps and intersections.

What draws you to collage? MH: I remember as a child I was always so fascinated by cutting and pasting from old magazines. I believe my inspiration came from within that intuitive process.

How did program affect your design and representation choices? MH: I had no idea what the program of my building was until two weeks before ¿QDO UHYLHZ ,W ZDV SLFNHG RXW RI D KDW and I chose a seminary. I began to look at WKH VSDFHV LQ D QHZ OLJKW VSHFL¿FDOO\ IRU the use for a religious lifestyle, academic activities, and recluse. The building’s height created extraordinary experiences. The top tower became the ideal living quarters for the high priest as a space for pure serenity and concentration. I really wanted to blur the lines on the classic solitary view of seminaries and give the scenes this cheerful yet melancholy atmosphere.

Stacking of volumes create overlap and exterior spaces

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Renderings of monastic recreation spaces

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go to: boundary – 47

UB Cultural Campus – Madrid Frank Kraemer and Jelani Lowe drew from their experiences while studying abroad in Madrid, Spain. They were immediately drawn to the physical barriers that separate the public and private domains in Madrid. They investigated this duality by layering transparent planes, exploring how to use transparency as a link between public and private aspects of program, while simultaneously providing necessary privacy. Kraemer and Lowe were very interested in blurring the boundaries of where the architecture ends, and the city begins. The team explored the creation of space, circulation, visual permeability, and enclosure through the same language of duality and transparency. The overarching concept of the project was dealing with the intermingling of these two conditions through a process of concealing and revealing. The project utilizes the layering of transparencies to create a type of opacity that blurs the lines between public and private.

Students: Faculty: Term: Program:

Frank Kraemer Jelani Lowe Miguel Guitart ARC 406 LAB, Summer 2018 Study Abroad – Madrid

individual and the collective public, and its ability to make people feel. He actively tries to engage with these ideas and qualities through his own design work. Lowe believes that architecture should be the manifestation of an embedded cultural consciousness. His thoughts on GHVLJQ ZHUH VHYHUHO\ LQÀXHQFHG E\ ZRUN he completed through an internship in India. This, along with his time in Madrid and his experiences growing up in Brooklyn, cultivated a core design ideology that observes the dichotomy between public space and the urban fabric, and its implications on issues of public empowerment.

“We were very interested in the concept of blurring the boundaries of where the Architecture ends and the city begins.” – Frank Kraemer and Jelani Lowe, MArch

Kraemer, coming from a multicultural background, has an innate sensitivity to how the built environment shapes and represents a culture. He is fascinated E\ DUFKLWHFWXUH¶V LQÀXHQFH RYHU ERWK WKH Adjacent bands connect to disrupt boundaries across the site

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What was living in Spain like? Frank Kraemer and Jelani Lowe: Living in Spain was fantastic, and the cultural difference was drastic. For both of us the concept of a siesta was really interesting. It was a completely different concept of public space and sociality that we wanted to integrate into our project. That is basically how our interest in the public/ private dichotomy initially began.

Why do you think the public/ private was separated by the boundaries you saw? FK and JL: We saw that there were really clear and permanent boundaries that

Formal process diagrams

were around each property, and found out that this separation was ingrained in the community. The concept of privacy is really different in Spain than it is in the USA. There is a big emphasis on separating the urban fabric from the more residential and private realms.

What observations did you incorporate into your design process? FK and JL: We brought a lot of concepts into our design process, and tried to understand how they are embedded in WKH FXOWXUH DQG DUH VLJQLÂżFDQW DVSHFWV RI design. For example, the concept of the

public sphere is a facilitator of a quality urban fabric, whereas in America the footprint of a building is seen more so in relationship to its individual qualities rather than its connection to the fabric. From our background in environmental design, we were already very interested in the LQĂ€XHQFH RI SXEOLF VSDFH RQ WKH PDNLQJ of architecture. We both feel that our experience in Madrid gave us a different take on ways to integrate the uniqueness of public space into the forming of new architectural relationships.

Exploded axonometric

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Rendering of courtyard spaces connecting banded volumes

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go to: geometry – 51 Student: Faculty: Team:

Seneca Bluffs Public Pool Brianna Mancini’s proposal for a community pool is rooted in process. An intensive analysis of precedents generated concepts, which were then collaged together to generate a synthesis drawing. This new geometry formed the basis and inspiration for both the conceptual and formal paradigms of the proposal.

Term: Program:

Brianna Mancini Mustafa Faruki Julia Jamrozik (coordinator) Virginia Melnyk Noellan Niespodzinski Sasson Rafailov Jon Speilman ARC 201, Fall 2018 BS Arch

7KHVH FRQFHSWV LQÀXHQFHG WKH SURMHFWV organization, ground condition, and spatial delineation. The material properties of wood, juxtaposed with that of concrete, manifested these concepts beyond a formal level.

Located at Seneca Bluffs Park on the banks of the Buffalo River, the project hugs the shoreline and, in some instances, protrudes over the water to develop a strong connection between structure and river. The main gathering area is pushed toward the back of the site to allow for privacy in the complex from neighbors and vice versa. This form was derived from different quadrants of the collage, which follow the concepts of: – endless circulation – levitation vs. grounding – view curation

“I’m interested in how a single design or piece of architecture can have an impact at both a micro and macro scale” – Brianna Mancini, BS Arch Drawing of community pool concept for Seneca Bluffs Park

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How did you start the project? Brianna Mancini: Beginning the semester we studied three different SUHFHGHQW KRXVHV 0\ ¿UVW KRXVH ZDV the Zumthor House by Peter Zumthor, whose organizational properties I found WR EH LQWHUHVWLQJ :KDW ¿UVW ORRNV OLNH D ORQJ 8 VKDSHG KDOOZD\ DFWXDOO\ KDV VPDOO HOHYDWLRQ FKDQJHV DQG ÀRRU FKDQJHV that allows for a multitude of options in circulation. Sky House, by Kiyonori Kikutake, has an interesting metabolic style of architecture allows its relationship to the ground to change over time. Lastly,

the Sheats-Goldstein Residence uses a simple, bold geometry to guide the body through each room to a panoramic view. These formed the main concepts behind the collage, and later, the project.

How did working through the FROODJH LQĂ€XHQFH \RXU SURFHVV" BM: The collage was a helpful transition from the precedent studies; It allowed for me to take the information I had accumulated and start thinking about it in a more abstract and spatial way. I started by taking drawings or ideas from

my precedent analysis, modeling them in ' WKHQ PDQLSXODWLQJ DQG LQWHUVHFWLQJ the components in different ways until relationships were created.

What do each of the quadrants of the collage mean? BM: Each quadrant is linked to different strategies used when approaching the site. The idea of endless circulation is expressed through the slight elevation changes throughout the site that allow for RSWLRQV LQ FLUFXODWLRQ 7KH LGHD RI ÀRDWLQJ versus grounded is expressed through the materiality of forms; there are components that are made of concrete cutting into the ground, while the other components are made of wood are thinner and elevated aboveground, together they create this LGHD RI ÀRDWLQJ LQ VHFWLRQ 7KH LGHD RI D viewing device was implemented through the curation of views through form. Bold, geometric volumes direct the main views of the occupant while on site.

¾3HRSOHœ DUH D ODUJH LQÀXHQFH to your project – how is this manifested? BM: People affect my project in the sense that, when designing the project, I took into consideration the demographics of Buffalo, the people that would be utilizing the site, and the immediate neighborhood. Most people that go to public pools are families or a single person looking to swim for exercise. This led to a couple of decisions; one being that all of the programs are set back and pushed onto the river on site to allow for privacy from/for the neighbors. Also, the pools are separated in distance and elevation to allow privacy for people swimming laps away from the family pools. The project is set up to allow for certain options in circulation, and for people to experience different perspectives throughout the site. Conceptual hybrid collage, emphasizing geometric relationships

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Perspective vignettes along boardwalk

Site plan

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go to: perspective – 53 Faculty:

TA:

Operations 7KH ¿UVW \HDU DUFKLWHFWXUH VWXGLR LV IRU PDQ\ WKHLU ¿UVW IRUD\ LQWR GUDZLQJ modeling, and design thinking. It is the studio with the most unadulterated view of both architecture and its profession, and is one of the most formative experiences in a young designer’s career. With a focus on the process of making, the Operations studio utilized logical rulesets, or operations, to investigate form, light, materiality, and the experience of space. Logics of folding, assembly, subtraction, or WUDQVSRVLWLRQ HDFK GH¿QH D SURMHFW 3DLUHG with an exhaustive series of material H[SHULPHQWDWLRQV DQG H[SORUDWLRQV ¿UVW year students were introduced to the basics of architectural design. To understand how this process has affected them, several students were interviewed and asked to share what originally inspired them to come to architecture school. They were then asked how their experiences in architecture thus far may have changed their conception of architecture. Many of the students stated that their original reason for coming to architecture school was a way for them to improve the lives of others. It seems that most now have a deeper understanding of

Term: Program:

Stephanie Cramer Korydon Smith (coordinator) Beth Tauke Nida Ali, Justina Dziama, Lukas Fetzko, Zach Fields, Tom Foederer, Michael Gac, Rachael Goff, Thomas Horvath, Elias Kotzambasis, Sara Svisco ARC 101, Fall 2018 BS Arch

how spatial design can affect a person’s experience, and indeed improve their lives. Ultimately, these notions of inspiration and PRWLYDWLRQ KHOG E\ WKH ¿UVW \HDU FRKRUW have the potential to shape and lead the school forward in the years to come.

What made you choose architecture school? Ehler Htoo: , ZDQW WR JR WR WKLUG ZRUOG locations and use my knowledge of architecture to better the lives of people in need. Michael McGeorge: I have always been interested in architecture, observing it around me and trying to come up with good designs for places. Paige Kaminski: When I was in high school, I enjoyed my drafting classes, VR , JRW D \HDU DUFKLWHFWXUH GHJUHH , always enjoyed building and designing houses. Therefore, I decided to continue my education in architecture, and I hoped school would lead me to building structures for those in need. Catie Shadic: I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do in college. I had an interest in Archeology, Meteorology, and Architecture; then I took an architecture class in high Critique session with students and TA, Tom Foederer

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I also learned that the texture and grain could express emotions and attitude. The basswood was able to create a space where the user would feel comfortable being vulnerable and open.

How did you use natural forces to shape your space for people? PK: I created interesting and unique lighting patterns. The texture of the space lends itself as a performance space for the light. This project made me more interested in what I can do with light, and how I can use natural forces and elements to create a space of solitude and comfort.

)LUVW \HDU VWXGHQWV FDVWLQJ SODVWHU IRU WKH ÂżUVW WLPH

school. I really enjoyed it, so I choose to study architecture. Do Anh Shavindya Seneviratne: I was interested in architecture because I saw it as a way to improve the spaces that people often occupy. I also wanted to study how architecture affected humans interaction with both space and each other. Thomas Stankowski: Well, I grew up helping my dad with contracting work. That lead to a fascination with designing buildings and the idea of shaping how people live within a space.

'LG \RX ÂżQG DQ\ LQVSLUDWLRQV LQ the materials you used? CS: I was drawn toward basswood because of its simple geometric nature. The planes are smooth but when used

properly one can create texture. The different colors of the basswood was an added bonus to promote movement throughout the space as well as the materials orientation. Through this semester I have come to believe that architecture is based on the creating an interactive space that can move the user both physically and emotionally. DS: I worked with metal because its UHĂ€HFWLYH SURSHUWLHV DOORZHG DPELHQW OLJKW to bounce around my project. I used the UHĂ€HFWLYH OLJKW WR HOLFLW D PRRG RU IHHOLQJ from the people in the space. This project taught me the importance of how space can shape people. Charlie Stevens: I used both chipboard and basswood in the early stages of my project. I was able to use the grain of the wood to convey directionality to the user.

EH: Through a series of casted models, I DUULYHG DW DQ / VKDSHG FDYLW\ DV P\ EDVH IRUP $V , EHJDQ WR URWDWH DQG UHFRQÂżJXUH WKH / VKDSH , IRXQG WKDW LW QDWXUDOO\ OHG to a compression and expansion design. 7KH LQQHU PRVW VSDFH UHĂ€HFWV WKH H[WHULRU light carried in via the organization of forms. This interior cavity is lit from a single source in the top corner that acts DV D OLJKW ZHOO 7KURXJK WKH XVH RI WKH expansion and compression, there is a spatial sequence and experience that enhances the space.

How did your operation change your understanding of architecture? MM: I used folding as my operation, and enjoyed allowing the layout to be determined by this ruleset. Through this project, I came to have a new appreciation for order and repetition. By using the operations of folding, rotating, and scaling, I have come to understand that architecture depends on geometry, but I also consider how the user perceives the space. Ryan Storto: This project made me understand that we create spaces for people to use, view, or occupy.

TS: The operation I used was folding. I like the idea of creating a space that can form a unique shape that establishes an aesthetically pleasing interior and exterior. I now have a better understanding of how to create a space that can interact with the users’ emotions. For me architecture is rooted in the idea of creating space that compliments a person’s ideas.

How has your concept of architecture changed? What is architecture to you? EH: I learned that architecture is making space, and the experience of a person in that space is important. I now understand that every detail is important, and you need an explanation for everything you do. Architecture to me is a key for change. , ZDQW WR KHOS XQGHU GHYHORSHG FRXQWULHV through architecture; therefore, it is a key to successfully achieving my goals.

Group sketching exercise during lecture

Ibnul Ahsan: I initially thought that architects were at the service of the client. Now I understand that the architect has control of the design. Architects are ‘tyrants’ that design a program, informing the users where to go and how long to stay there. PK: Architecture to me is creating a space that people will enjoy being in, looking at the details and thought put into the aesthetic design and technical layout. CS: In architecture, we must begin with the basics and build upon them. It is a slow process, but eventually we will get to WKH ÂżQDO SURGXFW Bianca Wilson: Architecture is a deeper interpretation of other people’s ideas that uses logic and systems to create design. MM: I have expanded my concept to embrace modernist ideas of breaking traditional space, and I have taken high

consideration to the way space interacts with human senses, including those EH\RQG WKH WUDGLWLRQDO ÂżYH VXFK DV VHQVH of belonging and sense of privacy. RS: Architecture, for me, has changed drastically. My new outlook is the relationship between a space and the human body through program, materiality, textures, precedents, and countless inspirational works that are located within the real world.

“Architecture is taking an idea >LQVSLUDWLRQ@ DQG ÂżQGLQJ D million different ways to bring it to life.â€? – Charlie Stevens, BS Arch

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The School of Architecture and Planning University at Buffalo The State University of New York 125 Hayes Hall %XIIDOR 1< www.ap.buffalo.edu www.ap.buffalo.edu/publications

Intersight is an annual publication that highlights the work of the students at the School of Architecture and Planning at the University at Buffalo. The intent of this journal is to record and discuss current academic and cultural activities of the school. This issue LQFOXGHV FRXUVHZRUN FRPSOHWHG WKURXJKRXW WKH DFDGHPLF \HDU RI 7KLV LVVXH also includes outside competition and independent work from students. All photographs and drawings are courtesy of the editor, Visual Resources Center, contributors, and students unless otherwise noted. Every reasonable attempt has been made to identify owners of copyright. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the publisher, except for copying permitted by section 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press. Every effort has been made to see that no inaccurate or misleading data, opinions, or statements appear in this journal. The data and opinions appearing in the articles herein are the responsibility of the contributor concerned. (GLWRU .HYLQ 7XUQHU )UHG :DOODFH %UXQNRZ )HOORZ Assistant Editor: Elizabeth Gilman Faculty Editorial Committee: Stephanie Cramer, Miguel Guitart, Christopher Romano Production Assistants: Camile Brown, Mira Shami, Martin Vargas, Courtney Vona, Charles Wingfelder, Brenna Zanghi (students), Rachel Teaman (staff) Printed by: Keller Bros. & Miller, Inc., Buffalo, NY Typset in Interstate and Arial Š 2019 School of Architecture and Planning University at Buffalo, The State University of New York All rights reserved 21 | First Edition &DWDORJLQJ LQ 3XEOLFDWLRQ 'DWD Intersight Volume 21 ,6%1

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