DAVID S. SCHNEIDER
dstephens.schneider@gmail.com
EDUCATION
University of Texas at Austin
Master of Architecture
University of Colorado at Boulder
B.A. [Philosophy], B.ENVD [Architecture]
EMPLOYMENT
HR Design Dept 05.2022-Present
Senior Designer
Tulane University 12.2021-05.2022
Adjunct Instructor
Trahan Architects 06.2019-11.2021
Project Designer
Ennead Architects 10.2016-06.2019
Architectural Designer
University of New Mexico 01.2015-08.2016
Visiting Assistant Professor
Macek Furniture Company 10.2014- 12.2014
Contract work
SELECTED PROJECTS
Menil Bungalow Rennovation + ADU
HR Design Dept. | Houston, TX
Involvement: SD | DD | CD | CA
Wimberley Residence
HR Design Dept. | Wimberley, TX
Involvement: DD | CD | CA
Pinckney Residence
HR Design Dept. | Wimberley, TX
Involvement: SD | DD | CD
Meikle Residence
HR Design Dept. | Wimberley, TX
Involvement: SD | DD | CD
Superdome Capital Improvements
Trahan Architects | New Orleans, LA
Involvement: SD | DD | CD | CA
Ochsner Center for Innovation
Trahan Architects | New Orleans, LA
Involvement: CD
Riyadh Exhibition + Convention Center
Trahan Architects | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Involvement: Competition Entry | Shortlisted
Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact
Ennead Architects | Eugene, OR
Involvement: RFP | SD | DD | CD | CA
Jefferson Health Specialty Care Pavilion
Ennead Architects | Philadelphia, PA
Involvement: SD | DD
MIT Stephen A. Schwartzman College of Computing
Ennead Architects | Cambridge, MA
Involvement: RFP Entry
Yangtze River Estuary Chinese Sturgeon Nature Preserve
Ennead Architects | Shanghai, China
Involvement: Winning Competition Entry
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Tulane University, Adjunct Instructor
Courses Taught: Integrated 3rd Year Studio | Professional Concerns II (BIM)
University of New Mexico, Visiting Assistant Professor
Design Courses taught:
Fourth Year Undergraduate Studio | First Year Graduate Studio | Second Year Graduate Studio Seminar Courses taught:
Politics, Culture and Architecture | Tracing the Poetic | The Architecture of Elsewhere Guest Reviewer
Columbia University, City College of New York, NYIT, NJIT, Tulane University, University of Colorado
HONORS
2015-2016 Lecturer or Affiliated Teacher of the Year
University of New Mexico
2014 Oglesby Prize Endowment
University of Texas School of Architecture
Honor Society Member
Tau Sigma Delta
Dean’s Ambassador
University of Texas School of Architecture
Nominee: Design Excellence
University of Texas School of Architecture
PROFESSIONAL
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON KNIGHT CAMPUS
ENNEAD ARCHITECTS
LOCATION: EUGENE, OR STATUS: BUILT
Architecture, knowingly or not, shapes the effectiveness of the cultures that it harbours and protects. As Bruno Latour has argued, there is no place in which this mutual definition has escaped scrutiny as much as the space of the laboratory. But as we begin to understand more about the embodiment of knowledge, discovery and innovation are being rethought as case studies in proximity and entanglement. It is within this dialogue that The Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact finds its power as a new initiative to expand the University of Oregon’s already existing strengths in interdisciplinary scientific research and training.
As both formal gesture and programmatic desire the new facility foregrounds collaboration and innovation in scientific discourse all in the service of accelerating the pace of societal benefit and impact of this research. The project includes laboratories designed for interdisciplinary research as well as the home of the Universities’ Graduate Internship Program, Professional Development Program and a Research Innovation Facility. Innovation spaces are programmed to sponsor university based startup ventures, and to liaise with local industry partners. In addition, this new campus will house various core facilities including a clean room and a variety of fabrication facilities which will vastly expand the capabilities of research at the University.
My involvement with the project began with initial interview preparation and continued through 100% CD. The time spent on the project included many responsibilities, from authoring iterative massing and facade studies, working on the design and coordination of the facade through construction documents as well as a design assist process, the design a pedestrian bridge connecting the Knight campus back to the historic University fabric, and the design of an interior bridge.
THIRD FLOOR PLAN
FOURTH FLOOR/MEZZANINE PLAN
SOUTH FACADE
MIT COLLEGE OF COMPUTING ENNEAD ARCHITECTS
LOCATION: CAMBRIDGE, MA
STATUS: CONCEPT DESIGN
The Stephen A Schwartzman College of Computing marks a historic structural shift for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The new college will bring multi disciplinary research in computation from across the campus and create a singular space for the incubation of new ideas and a plateau for cross disciplinary exchange. A key component of the mission of the College is to create the ground for an ethical discussion of what computation is, what it does, and how technology can be best deployed to support human flourishing.
Ennead architects proposal finds its grounding in closely examining the existing fabric of the MIT campus, and specifically those spaces that promote exchange among the different colleges. This study found its muse in the Infinite Corridor, a hallway in the historic center of the campus that links together disparate buildings and disciplines, and acts as a conduit for the open exchange of knowledge within the culture of the campus. The architecture of the proposed college re-imagines that infinite corridor as a vertical section, a continuous loop of connection that would provide the opportunity for serendipitous exchange among the new faculty that will occupy the space. At the same time this gesture opens up the floor plate, giving the gift of light to those working within the space. The light coming into the space is filtered through a porous screen that expands, contracts and modulates in order to shatter the light and deliver it as a soft effervescent presence.
My involvement with the project centered largely around the development of the initial conceptual and architectural ideas for the project and coordinating those ideas across the various members of the team. These conceptual foundations led directly into the development of diagrams, perspectives, and sections that were used in the formal RFP submission and interview.
YANGTZE RIVER CHINESE STURGEON NATURE PRESERVE
ENNEAD ARCHITECTS
LOCATION: SHANGHAI, CHINA
STATUS: WINNING COMPETITION ENTRY
Rapid industrialization has changed the physical and cultural landscape of China in immense and still emerging modalities. This development and industrial upheaval has also had a profound impact on the ecological systems that nurture the natural world across the country. One species that has been severely impacted by the changing ecosystems is the Chinese Sturgeon. The damming of the Yangtze River to create the Three Gorges Dam fundamentally altered the ecosystem that the sturgeon needed to thrive and has left it critically endangered. Given these realities the Chinese Sturgeon Nature Preserve is imagined to promote a dual purpose. On the one hand it provides a world class facility for the study of sturgeon, in an attempt to understand how the species can be saved. On the other it provides an opportunity to educate the public about the ecological crisis being face within the country, with the sturgeon representing a call to action.
The building itself is divided based upon these different functional animations. Two wings of the building contain pool for the study of sturgeon breeding patterns, and general health within changing ecosystems. The central node within the complex contains a behavioral research pool for the sturgeon that acts as a simulation of the Yangtze River in all of its myriad twists and turns from glacial plateau to the East China Sea. This central node also contains all of the exhibition spaces that inform the visitor experience of the sturgeon and educates patrons on the importance of stewardship in the modernizing landscape of China. These three distinct spaces are united by a PTFE roof that in tis turn is supported by a glubam truss system. The iconic architectural expression is intended to mark out a space that will attract visitors in order to awaken them to the ethical and ecological crisis at hand.
ROTATE STURGEON POOLS TO DEFINE CENTRAL COURTYARD AND AXIS
DEFINE WETLAND FOR WATER FILTRATION, CREATE VIEWS TO THE YANGTZE RIVER
CONNECT BUILDING MASS WITH CENTRAL SPINE AND ROOF STRUCTURE
DEFINE ENTRY SEQUENCE WITH FRESHWATER POOLS, AND FINLESS PORPOISE DOMESTICATION POOLS
DEFINE VISITOR EXPERIENCE IN THE LANDSCAPE AS WELL AS SERVICE ACCESS TO THE POOLS
SUPERDOME CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS
TRAHAN ARCHITECTS`
LOCATION: NEW ORLEANS, LA
STATUS: BUILT
Caesars Superdome is a 72,000 seat venue that serves as the home of the NFL New Orleans Saints. Trahan Architects was responsible for all design efforts required to meet the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District’s expectations for a $450 Million Master Plan addressing Capital Improvements that focus on the following primary objectives:
-Facility and team related revenue enhancement opportunities (or operating cost savings)
Additional branding opportunities
-Fan experience and amenities — including application of new technology
-Evaluation of various building systems to determine useful life and timeline for required replacement
My involvement in the project related specifically to the design, documentation and CA of new ADA platforms in the building. In order to create the platforms large portions of the seating bowl and associated structural members had to be demolished. Within the long span structure of the Superdome, this modification to the structure altered the major truss systems providing lateral stability for the building as a whole. So a major piece of the design work was close structural coordination with the engineering team, as well as coordination and design of a set of video boards that acted as the scar tissue to seal the cut to the existing seating bowl.
MENIL BUNGALOW RENOVATION AND ADU
HR DESIGN DEPT.
LOCATION: HOUSTON, TX
STATUS: BUILT
This project includes the renovation of two existing bungalow structures and the addition of two accessory dwelling units.
The design for the ADUs is conceived as an understated, complimentary backdrop to the quiet rhythm of the Menil bungalows.
Through a compact form, and respectful material palette, the ADU would be easy to overlook from the tree lined streets of the campus. Capped by a hip roof that recedes asymmetrically away from the drive, the simple hardie-clad structure is interrupted by two metal-clad formal insertions. One manifests as a curious box that peaks above the roof - foreshadowing a central light chimney within. The other is a metal wrapped stair that rises towards the front of the unit and serves to expand the courtyard buffer between the site’s two rentable units.
Volume and light become the unexpected showcase on the upper level, where ceilings follow the roof line and arrive at the filtered light chimney. Common spaces are stitched under the punctured volume of the splayed ceiling and offer spacious impressions of the unit. A wet core yields to the adjacent volume with compressed ceilings that house hvac ducts above.
Given the various sites and variety of potential uses for the units, modularity was given important consideration to allow adaptation to location and program. Variations on one footprint allow for garage or carport options. Our design proposes three configurations for the ground floor with flexibility in the amount of storage, office, or bedroom space. The second floor also offers various amenity options including a walk-in closet, a small office, or private outdoor deck.
WIMBERLEY RESIDENCE
HR
DESIGN DEPT.
LOCATION: WIMBERLEY, TX
STATUS: BUILT
Envisioned as a weekend refuge from the humid sprawl of Houston, the Wimberley house acts as both a threshold and transect of its quiet Hill Country site.
As a threshold the massing of the house runs parallel to the entry drive, forming a stark visual wall within the landscape. This wall is punctured by a singular void that invites entry by intensifying the openness of the sweeping views that unfold beyond. This gesture suggests that while the house is important as a place of shelter, the true refuge and escape is the place that the house defines and intensifies.
As a transect the massing of the house and its rooms maintain a consistent elevation along the major slope of the site. At its east end the house is grounded in a small grove of trees at the top of the slope. Here the site is experienced as haptic and tactile. At the other end, the house floats off the ground and is punctuated by a large void defining a balcony space. With the absence of the ground the experience of the site is increasingly cerebral, engaging and highlighting auditory, visual, and olfactory qualities of the landscape.
The hierarchy of programmed spaces run as a gradient along this transect with the guest wing and living/dining/kitchen located just off the grounded deck space and more private spaces of the primary bed/bath, kid’s bedroom floating off the ground and opening on either side to the landscape beyond.
ACADEMIC
TOGETHER WE WALK, SEPARATELY BETWEEN WORKS
LOCATION: ALBUQUERQUE, NM
COLLABORATORS: MIRA WOODSON, KRISTEN SHAW
Together we walk Separately is an exploration of the sky and the ground using phenomenological instruments to bring the two into more immediate conversation. These instruments are composed of a reflective disc to capture the sky and a reflective net that gathers the ground. These simple devices are arranged with and against each other within specific topographical and topological conditions. Their intentional arrangement invites viewers to peer into the deeper rhythms and complexities that abide within the matter that exists all around us and to uncover portals and windows into unexplored dimensions of embodied experience. The passage of a cloud over the sun is a monumental event if a space has been made for that change to be brought into focus. These instruments, and their continual calibration, marks an attempt to find that level of phenomenological resolution and to recast architecture as a study of different material arrays that gather and enhance the world around them.
In their current state these instruments are very much ready-made. Using off the shelf wire mesh and optical supply polished metal discs. In order to further expand their effectiveness it is important to design and fabricate these instruments using the ready-mades as formwork to adjust the geometry of the instruments in order to fine-tune their capacity as condensers and collectors of human experience.
Together we walk Separately was conceived in response to the profound sense of disconnection that emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. While the proliferation of digital tools has created new realms of efficiency and effectiveness, these digital pathways necessarily separate us from the bodies we inhabit and the soles of our shoes that ground us and bind us to the earth. As that ground becomes more unsteady with the impending climate emergency we felt an urgency to re-engage with the world and with each other through different analog pathways and connections. At a fundamental level this work asks how embodied experience can recalibrate our ethical attitudes towards the ecosystems we inhabit without reliance on connection to digital infrastructures and the inherent energy consumption that those networks rely on.
