CHRISTINE GHOSSOUB PORTFOLIO | SELECT WORK SAMPLES
ARCHITECTURE + URBAN DESIGN AND PLANNING
M.S. Urban Planning (May 2020) | Columbia University B. Architecture (May 2016) | American University of Beirut christine.ghossoub@gmail.com LinkedIn Website
CONTENTS PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE I - Greenleaf Redevelopment Proposal | Washington, DC (Gensler | Summer 2019)
II - Penn Station Redevelopment | Baltimore, MD (Gensler | Summer 2019)
III - Westfield Montgomery Mall | Bethesda, MD (Gensler | Summer 2018)
IV - The Bethesdan Hotel / Double Tree Hotel | Bethesda, MD (Gensler | Summer 2018)
V - Pentagon Center – Building C | Arlington, VA (WDG Architecture | 2017-2018)
VI - 810 O Street | Washington, DC (WDG Architecture | 2016-2017)
VII - 99 Hudson: Virtual Reality | Jersey City, NJ (Perkins Eastman | Summer 2015)
VIII - Interior Renderings for Rouge: A Makeup Salon | New York, NY (Perkins Eastman | Summer 2015)
ACADEMIC PROJECTS / COMPETITIONS I - ULI Hines Competition | Miami, FL
(National Graduate Competition – Honorable Mention Recipient | Fall 2020)
II - GIS/Urban Analytics | Multiple Projects (GSAPP, Columbia University | 2018-2020)
III - Architectural Thesis: Reshaping the Quarry | Beirut, Lebanon (American University of Beirut | 2015 - 2016)
IV - Architecture: Tower Design | Beirut, Lebanon (American University of Beirut | 2014)
V - Surveying Regional Architecture | Dahr El Souane, Lebanon (American University of Beirut | 2011)
Greenleaf Redevelopment Proposal | Washington, DC (Gensler | Summer 2019)
Project Description The Greenleaf concept development plan was based on the vision to transform the Southwest neighborhood in Washington, DC, into a “Central Village” enhancing its value by connecting the neighborhood to its surrounding landmarks such as the Capitol Riverfront and The Wharf. These assets provide components essential to a vibrant neighborhood – transit access with a high concentration of retail and commercial activity within a five to ten minute walk and a green public realm that provides an active central park and gathering space essential to civic life. The concept development outlines an urban design and transportation framework that integrates these into a walkable structure of blocks and buildings that accommodate medium- to high-density development and creates active, pedestrian-friendly streets. Urban design strategies enable Greenleaf to have a meaningful impact in delivering a high-quality living experience to its residents and neighbors and enriches the surrounding residential and commercial communities by providing a diverse mix of housing types available to all incomes. My Role – Urban Design Intern For this proposal, I worked on rendering the master plan by creating an illustrative aerial view showing the full context of the neighborhood and its surrounding. This exercise was completed after I modeled the entire development and articulated the facades and streetscape / ground level elements of its buildings in Revit and SketchUp. I also produced sketches and diagrams for site analysis purposes showing proposed land use, public amenities, open spaces, circulation and phasing.
Illustrative Plan for the Greenleaf Redevelopment Master Plan Proposal
Site Analysis | Sketches and Phasing Diagrams Sketches
Phasing Diagrams Phase 1
Phase 3B
Phase 6
Model | Architecture and Renderings Aerial View
Street Level View
Penn Station Redevelopment | Baltimore, MD (Gensler | Summer 2019)
Project Description Penn Station in Baltimore, MD, is a classic Beaux-Arts historical building and one of the busiest stations in the Amtrak network. The proposal for the redevelopment of the station was based on community outreach and aims to transform the site into a vibrant mixed-use urban district and transportation hub to maximize the value of Amtrak’s portfolio. Some goals were to expand retail and commercial development within the existing station, deliver commercial development on Amtrak owned properties around the station, modernize the existing station, address the state of good repair deficiencies and expand the station to accommodate increased passenger volumes through 2040 and beyond. My Role – Urban Design Intern My role was to model in Revit massing options showing possible alternatives that integrate residential, commercial and public space elements following specific square footage and code requirements. I produced illustrative plans highlighting the proposed development and integrated green spaces, modeled a concourse and the extended bridge leading to it and produced diagrams showing accessibility and program on site.
Illustrative Plan for the Penn Station Redevelopment Proposal
Proposal | Massing Options and Diagrams Option 1
Option 2
Westfield Montgomery Mall | Bethesda, MD (Gensler | Summer 2018)
Project Description The goal of the Westfield Montgomery shopping complex redevelopment was to transform a purely commercial site into a mixed-use, transit-oriented sustainable development including new apartments and hotel rooms. Some key strategies that improved both walkability and sustainability on site were the transformation of major streets into “Woonerf” / complete streets for enhanced pedestrian and biker flow and the addition of parking underground. These strategies would increase pedestrian safety, reduce outdoor air pollution and alleviate vehicular traffic. My Role – Technical Architect My role in this project was to develop full architectural drawings including plans, elevations, sections and other details for the package submitted for Montgomery County Planning Board’s approval. For most drawings, I used Revit to show dimensions, structural elements, façade components and technical details. I used Adobe Creative Suite applications (i.e. Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign) to render elevations and plans highlighting exterior materials and colors reflecting the general character of the buildings on site. I had the opportunity to attend client and consultant meetings exposing me to techniques for communicating design ideas and facilitating discussions between different participants.
Edited Rendering for Westfield Montgomery Mall Redevelopment
Architecture, Structure & Programming | Overall Ground Floor Plan
Architecture, Structure & Programming | Street Section and Parking Plans
Architecture, Structure & Programming | Sections & Elevations
The Bethesdan Hotel / Double Tree Hotel | Bethesda, MD (Gensler | Summer 2018)
Project Description The plan was to rebrand the DoubleTree Hotel in Bethesda. The renovated building would be the Bethesdan Hotel. The new plan included renovated rooms, larger public amenity spaces, a new restaurant and retail spaces. My Role – Technical Architect I worked on architectural drawings for a progress set including demolition plans, elevations, sections and façade details.
3D Model: New Façade Design Option – The Bethesdan Hotel
Architecture & Interior Design | Proposed Interiors and Exterior Façade Details
Architecture & Facade Design | Details
Pentagon Center – Building C | Arlington, VA (WDG Architecture | 2017-2018)
Project Description Planned at the intersection of 15th Street and South Hayes Street in Arlington, VA, Pentagon Center – Building C has a strategic location. The concrete high-rise is at proximity of the Pentagon City Metro Station and Amazon’s planned National Landing headquarters. The mixed-use building has market-rate apartment units including retail at the ground floor and a parking garage below grade. Some key features are the amenities at the rooftop level and the two private courtyards providing open green spaces integrated within the building for the use of its residents. The project was planned to be, at a minimum, LEED Certified. My Role – Junior Architect I created for this project full architectural drawings, multi-family unit layouts, and both interior and exterior renderings for schematic design and design development phases. I also gathered material samples to consider for the façade and interior design components such as lighting fixtures, flooring and tiles, after meeting with manufacturers to discuss technical details and specifications.
Pentagon Center – Building C: Rendering
Architecture | Exterior Renderings Rooftop Design and Amenities
Courtyards
Architecture | Interior Renderings
Level 4 Corridor – Option 1
Level 4 Corridor – Option 2
Architecture | Interior Renderings
Bathroom Options
Kitchen Options
Architecture | Unit Layouts
810 O Street | Washington, DC (WDG Architecture | 2016-2017)
Project Description 810 O Street (today called “Perla DC”) is a LEED Gold certified multi-family unit and condominium building located in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC. It is fully constructed and operational. My Role – Junior Architect I worked on developing full architectural drawings, from schematic design to construction documents phases, including site plans, façade design and structural details.
Final Constructed Project. Photo Credit: http://perladc.com/
Architecture | Model and Technical Drawings
Perspective – 3D Model
Level 1 Floor Plan
Glazing Types Details
Architecture | Façade Materials and Details
West Elevation
99 Hudson: Virtual Reality | Jersey City, NJ (Perkins Eastman | Summer 2015)
Project Description 99 Hudson, a condominium skyscraper in Jersey City, is the tallest building in New Jersey. My Role – Intern Architect During my summer internship, I collaborated on a team of architects and visualization specialists to implement Unreal Engine 4 and build an immersive presentation of the ground floor area of the tower. I experimented with another intern, Rosa Manzo, several material and rendering options through scripting. We created a virtual reality environment highlighting material properties in the lobby space and included motion and sound effects. We showcased our experiments using Google Cardboard and Oculus headsets in a firmwide presentation at the end of the internship.
99 Hudson Rendering
Virtual Reality | Unreal Engine Snapshots
Interior Renderings for Rouge: A make-up salon | New York, NY (Perkins Eastman | Summer 2015)
Project Description Rouge is a make-up salon located in Midtown East in New York City. My Role – Intern Architect I produced using 3DsMax interior renderings and perspective views for the salon space with a focus on lighting and material finishes, furniture details and design elements. Renderings were touched in Adobe Photoshop.
Rouge Perspective Rendering
Rouge: A Makeup Salon | Interior Renders
ULI Hines Competition | Miami, FL
(National Graduate Competition – Honorable Mention Recipient | Fall 2020)
Project Description "WEcreate" is a mixed-use transit-oriented development proposal for a site located between the Wynwood and Edgewater neighborhoods in Miami. As a hub for art and innovation, the project aims to tie the physical divide between Wynwood and Edgewater through an elevated bridge linking the two sides, increase accessibility to the site by introducing a new transit station at its center, and to maintain development growth that is authentic and anchored in the cultural, creative character of the two neighborhoods. The master plan proposal was developed by a team of five graduate students of GSAPP , Columbia University, cooperating and bringing ideas from three different disciplines: Urban Planning, Real Estate, & Architecture. The design was coupled with a phasing plan of three stages based on a financial model developed in Pro Forma. I worked in collaboration with my colleagues on analyzing the site by mapping datasets for land use, existing bus/subway infrastructure, existing buildings and other elements using GIS. Then, I investigated the zoning and code requirements for this area in Miami. The master plan development was modeled in Rhino based on these standards (i.e., allowable land use, maximum height and FAR, setbacks, new subway station standards) and other considerations such as the development’s relation to its immediate surroundings and the enhanced street design that we introduced (i.e., turning vehicular streets into pedestrianonly streets, adding a continuous biking path). Sustainable strategies such as bioswales for water filtration and solar panels for energy generation were implemented. I created renderings that highlighted the open public spaces, green spaces and the creative character preserved on site.
WeCreate Master Plan - Renderings
Final Submission | Full Sheet and Master Plan Final Sheet for Submission
Master Plan
Multi-family Performance Center Condo MakerSpace CreativeSpace and LivingLab Innovation Bridge MoMA Miami Parking Garage Boutique Hotel Multi-family Condo Condo University of Sao Paulo Ext. MarketPlace Tri-Rail 27th Street Station Gary Nader Arts Center Condo Condo Multi-family Multi-family Multi-family Multi-family
Final Submission | Diagrams and Renderings Diagrams
Prototypes and User Journey
Final Submission | Phasing and Section Diagrams
Phasing Diagrams
Site Sections
GIS/Urban Analytics | Multiple Projects (GSAPP, Columbia University | 2018-2020)
Description During my studies at GSAPP, Columbia University, I took several courses related to Geographic Information Systems and Urban Analytics. I learned how to collect opensource data, clean and filter data of various types (i.e., socioeconomical, environmental, demographic), perform spatial analyses operations using ArcMap or other programs for data analysis (i.e., Excel, Python) and produce maps and graphs to analyze data. That process helps to answer specific urban planning questions. The analysis outcomes were used to provide recommendations that would lead to meaningful changes in urban planning and design in New York City. The next few pages of this document showcase samples from a few exercises and final projects produced for these courses.
Geographic Information Systems | Mapping Climate Change Vulnerability in NYC Sample Extracted from Full Report
Link to full report: https://issuu.com/christineghossoub/docs/gis
Advanced Spatial Analysis | Redefining Access to Parks in NYC Full Poster
Enlarged Maps for Streetscore and Strava Top Running Routes
Architectural Thesis: Reshaping the Quarry | Beirut, Lebanon (American University of Beirut | 2015 - 2016)
Project Description Thesis Question: “How can waste be reused and transformed into building materials and landscaping elements to revive and reshape a wounded mountain site in Beirut, Lebanon?” In 2015, solid waste management in Lebanon was a rising issue that remains unsolved until this day. Following the closure of a major landfill site in Beirut, waste rapidly accumulated in the streets endangering the environment and public health. This thesis explores ways to recycle waste into useful materials for both construction and landscaping. The site chosen is an abandoned quarried mountain where waste can be an ‘opportunity’ to bring it back to life and reshape its lost natural elements. For my final architectural thesis, I produced physical models using various materials. First, I recreated the existing site in its natural shape, then, its current damaged condition, and finally some different variations of how it could be revived with an intervention using buildings and structures made from recycled waste materials. Some key strategies were the introduction of a water collection pond to irrigate constructed terraces from waste “caissons” for agriculture, filtering and recycling facilities including composting for the organic type of waste to be used for growing plants on site, and several public programs that would make the site a destination: artist workshops where craft is produced from recycled waste and sold onsite, an auditorium and display areas for showcasing the processes of waste management, and other recreational activities such as rock climbing to take advantage of the natural components of the site. “Best Paper Award” in the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture recipient
Final Architecture Thesis | Reshaping the Quarry
Model Manipulations: Original, Existing and Proposed Site Conditions
Final Architecture Thesis | Reshaping the Quarry Plans
Site Section
Final Model
Final Architecture Thesis | Reshaping the Quarry Renderings
Architecture: Tower Design | Beirut, Lebanon (American University of Beirut | 2014)
Project Description The tower design is the product of an architectural studio taken in my fourth year at AUB. Following an analysis of the site in Beirut, Lebanon, I created a design and a model for a high-rise building that weaves together three key programs that are already existing in the site’s neighborhood: office, residential and shared public space. The skyscraper is composed of three main volumes. The top-most contains residential units, the bottom one contains the offices and the middle one houses shared public areas including a library and a restaurant. The residences overlook a large green roof with public amenities which cover the rooftop of the middle volume of the tower. For this project, I collaborated with a structural engineer who overviewed the design and made suggestions on optimal structural systems to use, such as a bracing system for the bridge and the central core to disperse the weight of the top volume all the way down to the ground, which enhanced the project’s overall safety and stability. The project ranked in the top 10 of the class.
Architecture | Tower Design Initial Sketches
Architecture | Tower Design
Digital Model
Rendering and Sketch Model
Architecture | Tower Design Façade Section and Detail
Interior Rendering – Library space and ramp to roof level
Surveying Regional Architecture | Dahr El Souane, Lebanon (American University of Beirut | 2011)
Project Description This architecture summer course introduced techniques for site surveying. I produced multiple drawings by hand, using pencil and ink, of a traditional house and its surroundings in a Lebanese town. The drawings include figure-ground maps exposing relationships between the built environment and the road network, overall site plans, elevations, sections and details highlighting façade materials and crafting, and traditional methods of construction with wood and stone.
Surveying Regional Architecture | Ink and Pencil
Figure Ground Maps
Phasing Diagrams: evolution of the grid
Surveying Regional Architecture | Ink and Pencil Site Plan and Site Sections
Site Plan: House and Surroundings
Surveying Regional Architecture | Ink and Pencil Ground Floor Plan
Roof Details
Surveying Regional Architecture | Ink and Pencil Elevations and Section
Surveying Regional Architecture | Ink and Pencil Details