t h i s i s a c o l l e c t i o n o f w o r k s f r o m m y s t u d i e s , e x p l o r a t i o n s , a n d e x p e r i e n c e s
2 0 1 7 - 2 0 2 3
My name is Daniel Wolberg; I am an Architectural Designer from Denver, Colorado. I graduated with high honors from the University of Colorado Denver and majored in architecture, specializing in digital and physical fabrication technology and small-scale design-build. I recently spent the 2022-2023 academic year living in Helsinki, Finland while studying industrial timber architecture and human centered design, where my interest in architecture was further explored.
I am a materialist. I believe architecture starts from an understanding and respect of the materiality. It is the designer’s responsibility to begin each project with intention, care, a bit of playfulness, and curiosity to create meaningful and lasting experiences for others. Simplicity and sustainability in design require great attention to detail and comprehension of context to achieve.
I am always looking for opportunities to grow professionally and personally: to explore new ideas, techniques, materials, and to learn from others’ experiences. In addition to architecture, I am passionate about woodworking, ceramics, graphic design, and quite simply, the process of making things. I also love to spend my free time reading and enjoying a good cup of tea.
AALTO UNIVERSITY
THE WOOD PROGRAM
SEPTEMBER 2022 - JUNE 2023
An intensive one-year program focused on industrial timber architecture design and building. Sustainable timber design, forestry practices, and material studies are a few of the additional studies accompanying the primary build project. The Wood Program is international and interdisciplinary with a very small team of 10-20 students each year.
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
BS.ARCH SEPTEMBER 2017 - DECEMBER 2019
Magna Cum Laude
Dean’s List / 2017 - 2019
Outstanding Graduate of Fall 2019
Experience
HUOJUA
SIDEWAYS FESTIVAL + AALTO UNIVERSITY CAMPUS 2023
The final build project for the Aalto University Wood Program was a movable pavillion that was originally installed for the Sidewyas Festival in Helsinki, Finland. It is now located on the Aalto University campus for the students’ use.
BARTENDER
LOCUST, CAFE ROZE, PINEWOOD SOCIAL
JANUARY 2021 - AUGUST 2024
Making craft cocktails in multiple fast-paced and fine dining restaurants throughout Nashville.
FURNITURE MAKER
FREELANCE
JANUARY 2020 - PRESENT
Custom small-scale furniture projects focusing on simplicity in materiallity and functional design.
LVTD DESIGN CO.
DESIGN + FABRICATION
JANUARY 2020 - AUGUST 2020
Designer at a furniture and architectural installation company. Responsible for drafting CAD shop drawings and collaborating with architects and clients. Specialized in 3-axis CNC machining but worked in both the metal shop (MIG welding, plasma cutting) and the woodshop (hand finishing, custom joinery).
LANGUAGE
ADOBE SUITE
InDesign Photoshop Illustrator DIGITAL DESIGN
Rhino Grasshopper Revit
FABRICATION
Woodworking CNC machining Metal working
ENGLISH
Native
BUILT PROJECTS
ACADEMIC PROJECTS
PERSONAL
H U O J U A
YEAR: 2022 - 23
LOCATION: Helsinki, Finland
TEAM: Yuki Arima, Kim Gygax, Lennart Huybrechts, Maria Ilina, William Le Gresley, Fraser Plaxton, Adam Smith, Ikuyo Tanabe, Yi-Hua Wang, Daniel Wolberg
PROFFESSORS: Laura Zubilaga. Jaakko Torvinen, Pekka Heikkinen, Mauri Konttila
Huojua is a multisensory, nomadic timber pavillion made from repurposed wood. It was designed and assembled in Helsinki, Finland by a team of 10 students as part of the Aalto University Wood Program. It’s structure, reminiscent of a willow tree, is meant to provide users with a space for pause, tranquility, and reflection as well as shade from the sun and elements.
The hanging wooden ‘curtains’ are allowed to gently sway in the wind, giving the pavillion its name Huojua (in English; to sway) all the while playing with the surrounding sounds and light. The mass timber used was sourced from exisitng materials owned by Aalto University and collected from previous projects. As a nomadic space, Huojua was designed to be easy to assemble and disassemble in only a few hours.
{2} The Joint Structural tripod joint precedenttested to breaking
{1} The Cube Precedent exploring species grain and texture
{1}
{2}
The Frame 1.5m x 1.5m footprint. Assembled in under 20 minutes by 3 people with no tools
{1} Bench design layout and mockup sketches {2} Kim adjusting our 1:10 scale model
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{2}
Interior photo of light filtering through the roof canopy and hanging curtains at Sideways Festival 2023
{1} Daniel assembling column-beam connection bolts
{2} Kim and Daniel guiding top beam pairs into place
{2}
{1}
{3} Interior at Sideways Festival Summer 2023
{3}
Exterior after final assembly at Sideways Festival Summer 2023
Scan QR to watch Aalto University interview about Huojua
Private spaces are pushed to the outermost edges to create a centralized public zone that is accessible from all directions. This allows the private zones to exist uninterrupted while maintaining easy circulation.
Atelier Library
YEAR: 4th Year
LOCATION: Denver, Colorado
TYPE: Public Library
PROFFESSOR: Ron Faleide
An atelier is a workshop or studio, especially one used by an artist or designer and as a public resource. A library provides access to information or other databases of knowledge. This project merges these ideas into the a public studio, a place where public learning meets craftsmanship and access to tools otherwise costly or unavailable.
Programmatically, the library is broken up into four zones: the studio, the gallery space, the reading nook, and the amphitheatre. The studio on the second floor is a free plan with a column structure, which creates a rigid form that can be flexibly programmed. Throughout the spaces, there is clear visual connectivity, especially towards the center of the library where the gallery space exists and where local artists and craftspeople can display their work. Moving out from there, a series of embedded nooks in the exterior wall make up the reading area. After exiting the building, an outdoor amphitheatre focuses attention into the central space and can be used for performances, lectures, or other public events hosted by the library.
SITE ANALYSIS
In the Lower Highlands neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, the Atelier Library sits on a drastically sloping site. Surrounding this site lay mixed-use and residential buildings with a maximum of 3 stories. Two street grids collide and overlap to create a unique triangular site boundary that is accessible at each corner at different elevations.
As a public building, it is important to be easily accessible from all three street corners to draw users into the central lobby space. The ability to enter at different levels because of the sloping site provides more versatility in circulation and use.
Steel and Glass Skylight
EXTERIOR BRICK FACADE FLAT ROOF
Curved brick cuts reveal entryways
STRUCTURAL COLUMNS
Vaulted brick arches
Structural timber beams
Open plan to allow flexible program
Storage + auxilery funcitons
GALLERY STUDIO
Curved glass doors
Reading nooks imbedded into exterior walls
Amphitheater Steps
Vaulted Brick Amphitheater Lobby Desk
Reading Nooks Lounge
Restrooms
GALLERY
Sidewalk
Restroom Lounge
Storage + mechanical
1
Reception Entry at second floor
Classroom + workshops
2
Hallway
Staircase
Studio
Kitchenette
Studio
rowlock sill continuous flashing
backer rod and seal movement gap shelf angle 2” rigid insulation
water drainage
roof
embeded weld plate
plate angle support
precast conrete slab
{1}
defines Form Form directs Path
Non-space
YEAR: 3rd Year
LOCATION: Denver, Colorado
TYPE: Daycare + Motel
PROFFESSOR: Tyler Michielli
Non-space is a conceptual project about optimizing otherwise unusable “poche space” as the focal point and attempting to merge two otherwise drastically different functions. The first level is a daycare for low-income families while the upper levels are designed as a motel lobby and temporary housing units for individuals traveling or living in transcience. This project seeks to stitch back together a sense of community and shared responsibility within that community while asking the question: what is public and what is private when needs are not met?
The daycare is organized around a central playspace made from the primary vertical circulation to the motel. Curved walls ripple from this topographic centerpiece forming a more fluid and comfortable space for children. The individual units are minimal but self-contained with a bed, shower, and desk, providing for necessity while helping the user to find a more permanent solution. The motel lobby acts a transitional space up to the private units, but is primarily used for movement and connection.
MOTEL UNITS
Single units are self-contained as a private space for users. The double height lobby space is filled with individual staircases allowing extreme privacy and seclusion.
TOPOGRAPHIC CIRCULATION
Amphitheater steps form where the primary circulation is needed. Motel access is embedded into the central daycare playspace where the escalator cuts through the floors.
DROP
YEAR: 1st Year
LOCATION: Nemrut, Turkey
TYPE: Landscape and Pavillion
PROFFESSOR: Amir Alrubaiy
Using an inactive volcano ridge on Mount Nemrut, Turkey as the site, DROP rests off the edge and suspends the user into an outlook of the site. The procession is broken up into 3 separate experiences: the climb up the mountain, the cut through the landscape, and finally, the drop into the view.
The untouched mountain climb acts as the first piece of the experience, a palette cleanser while traversing up the natural landscape. Nearing the top, a cut into the landscape guides the user through an artificial canyon that grows in height, depriving the user of the view while narrowing towards the entry of the pavillion. The outlook is embedded into the edge of the mountain at the end of this cut. The user enters the pavillion where they gradually descend down a series of interlocking forms, each with a more open view than the previous. Once the user descends down the last form, they become suspended onto a platform with a fully realized view of the volcano.
01
ASCENTION
Following the natural landscape, the user first ascends Mount Nemrut, glimpsing a piece of the view as they walk along the volcano ridge.
OUTLOOK
02 CUTTING THROUGH
An artificial canyon cuts through the top of the mountain and hides the views from the user while directing them inwards towards the outlook.
03 SUSPENDED OFF
The outlook is embedded and suspended off the volcano ridge, hidden in the landscape. Dropping down each level reveals opening views.
03 SUSPENDED OFF THE EDGE
01 ASCENDING THE NATURAL LANDSCAPE
02 CANYON CUTTING THROUGH
{1} Cliff facing section
{3} Ascending the site model
{2} Cliff facing elevation
{1}
{2}
{1} Model from above {2} Model the volcano side
{1}
Sfs
YEAR: 2022
LOCATION: Nashville, Tennessee
TYPE: Furniture
A pair of custom, minimalist floating shleves made from Sassafras hardwood. Simple mitred edges on the frames and dato slots allow the shelves to slide side-to-side for easy installation. The primary concept was to create a set of shelves that hid all the installation connection points and could be modular in its use and design.
Dato notch and mitered corners
Using the natural grain and knots of the wood
Shelves floating by hidden fasteners in frame components
Æ i
YEAR: 2020
LOCATION: Denver, Colorado
TYPE: Furniture
Æi is a custom fabricated bar cart and countertop. This project was designed and built with plasmacut 20 gauge sheet steel (naturally oxidized with vinegar), MIG welded steel square tube, and CNC milled white ash hardwood for the wine shelf and the white ash countertop.
VORONOI PATTERN SCREEN
Plasma cut 20 gauge sheet steel
Designed in Grasshopper
WHITE ASH WINE SHELF
Holds 6 bottles tilted for storage
Finished with Osmo Polyx Oil/Wax
3-axis CNC milled
{1} CNC milled wine shelf {2} Shadows play with the voronoi pattern
{2}
{1}
Oxidized steel adds depth and contrast to the neutral, light grain of the white ash
WHITE ASH COUNTERTOP
Finished with Osmo Polyx Oil/Wax Chamfered edge profile
WHITE ASH SHELVES
Finished with Osmo Polyx Oil/Wax Nesting into steel frame
SHEET STEEL
20 Gauge
Plasma-cut Voronoi grate
Naturally oxidized with vinegar
2-PIECE STEEL HINGE
1 INCH SQUARE STEEL TUBE
18 gauge MIG welded
Watercolor painting of {1} Dogwood flower and {2} Rowan berries October 2022
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{2}
Löyly Sauna Case studies in Helsinki Summer 2019
d c . w o l b e r g @ g m a i l . c o m + 1 ( 7 2 0 ) - 3 1 7 - 6 2 8 2
