Emily Sanders - Selected Works

Emily Sanders

selected works

Washington University in St. Louis Master of Architecture, Dec. 2023 Master of Public Health, Dec. 2023

Clemson University Bachelor of Architecture, May 2017

Contact : emsanders502@gmail.com

A Blue Zone for St. Louis Degree Project, Fall 2023

ADDITION TO THE UNBUILT

International Center for Literature Option Studio, Spring 2023

THE LIVING COMMUNITY

Multi-family Residence Centered on Outdoor Living Core Studio, Fall 2020

EXOSKELETON 30

Multi-modal Bridge Core Studio, Fall 2014

Sustainable Bicycle Infrastructure Urban Design Option Studio,

CREATING CONNECTIONS 42

Neighborhood Sustainability Core Studio, Fall 2020

Infrastructure for Daily + Crisis Conditions

Analysis + Proposal

RESEARCH + PRACTICE

SEGREGATION BY DESIGN

Causes, Consequences, and Mitigation Research Assistant, Fall 2022 - Present

GENDER-EQUITABLE TRANSPORTATION

Foundations of Geographic Information Systems Project Public Health Elective, Research Poster, Spring 2022

DENTAL CLINIC RENOVATION + ADDITION

Beale Air Force Base, CA Davis Stokes Collaborative Architects, P.C.

COMMUNITY RESTORATION + LONGEVITY

Degree Project Studio (Fall 2023)

Professor: Allison Mendez

Location: Wellston Neighborhood, St. Louis, MO

Primary Health Goals:

Increase life expectancy using Blue Zone principles

• Improve mental health outcomes and decrease loneliness

• Decrease transportation stress for women and aging adults

This mixed-use building and multi-purpose site is designed for human comfort and health by increasing community life expectancy, especially for women and aging adults. By combining systems thinking approaches and public health frameworks with sustainable strategies, the spaces are designed to conveniently connect people with one another and to necessary resources. The building consists of public programming (first floor), outpatient behavioral health and nutrition clinics (second floor), and independent senior living (third, fourth, and fifth floors). The remainder of the site includes public programs such as athletic fields, bioswales, urban agriculture and a farmer’s market.

Architecturally, the building utilizes natural materials, open courtyards, and nodes of interaction to further decrease stress. Vertical facades with undulating balconies nod to the neighborhood context, while the pentagonal massing and carved central courtyard allows for proper daylighting, improved views, minimal site disruption, and simple ground floor circulation. The public spaces and vertical circulation are highlighted with glass facades, to emphasize social health and physical movement.

A Blue Zone for St. Louis

figure 1-6: massing sequence diagrams

1. ORIENTATION 2. DAYLIGHTING

3. ACCESS

4. VIEWS + PRIVACY

5. TOPOGRAPHY

Cafe Grocery Store Salon Wine Bar Retail

Laundromat Alterations Fitness Center Nutritionist Mental Health Independent Senior Living

figure 7: study model of human + building systems

description: From the structural skeleton to the circulation of elements, parallels can be drawn between architecture and the human body. Each system is crucial to the body it serves. This study model simultaneously explores the anatomy of bodies and buildings along with their kinetic abilities.

figure 8: vehicle ownership + walkability regional map

figure 9: Wellston health diagram

figure 10: metrolink key diagram

figures 11-14: systems diagram of neighborhood

figure 15: schematic site model with test massing model figure 16: site plan

figure 17: ground floor plan figure 18: second floor plan figure 19: fourth floor plan

20: behavioral health courtyard collage render

figure

figure 21: north elevation figure 22: exterior render figure 23-28: diagrams of elevation schemes figure 29: axonometric elevation

ADDITION TO THE UNBUILT

Option Studio (Spring 2023)

Professor: Robert McCarter

Location: Rome, Italy

Primary Health Goals:

Design for occupant focus and healthy working conditions

• Utilize sustainable materials and improve air quality

• Provide each occupant with green space while still ensuring privacy

This project is situated in the Roman Forum, sited in an alternative reality where Terragni’s Danteum was built true to his vision. A series of projects evolved from studies on ascending residences above the realm, similar to the journey users experience ascending to Paradise in the Danteum. The building features climbing internal circulation from the ground floor library and external circulation along connected patios, with internal and external entries into each unit and gathering spaces with urban views of the Roman Forum.

Social and mental health are critical to the wellbeing of the building’s residents (literary scholars). The residents can seek inspiration in the meandering organization of bookshelves in the suspended library levels, where they may bump into other scholars or find remnants of another’s research. Semi-public spaces, such as courtyards and dining rooms, also become catalysts for discourse and camaraderie. Furthermore, the mass timber structure provides natural respite for scholars’ long working hours, boosts focus, improves mental wellness, and contributes to sustainable building construction.

International Center for Literature

1: axonometric wall section

figure

figure 2: second floor plan with site context figure 3: library rendering

THE LIVING COMMUNITY

Multi-family Residence Centered on Outdoor Living

Core Studio (Fall 2020)

Professor: Monica Rivera

Location: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Primary Health Goals:

Encourage communal, outdoor dining, therefore improving social connection and digestion

• Utilize passive strategies such as daylighting and natural ventilation Provide access to fresh produce and means for preparation

The challenge in designing Puerto Rican housing is maintaining cultural traditions of large gatherings while protecting the inhabitants from the natural elements. This residence re-imagines the traditional sequencing of tropical housing by placing the kitchen and dining rooms at the initial threshold of the unit. The forward public spaces allow residents to entertain without guests encroaching upon their more intimate spaces. Large fruit trees fill the gaps between outdoor dining porches, providing natural shade for resident comfort and accessibility to native produce. A series of private spaces, including a back patio for outdoor showering and drying laundry, allow for passive strategies such as cross ventilation.

This housing project promotes physical, mental, and social well-being through formal strategies and programmatic elements. Communal dining is associated with lower rates of obesity and chronic diseases, better moods, and greater social support, while outdoor dining slows digestion and improves one’s relationship with food. A public kitchen and nutritionist offices provide amenities to support nutritious choices. Social interaction nodes are woven throughout the building to create a more robust sense of community.

Lawful Good Neutral Good Chaotic Good

Lawful Neutral

True Neutral Chaotic Neutral

Lawful Evil Neutral Evil Chaotic Evil

figure 2: context vegetation analysis, images from Google Earth

Bedroom

Bedroom

Bedroom

figures 5-9: evolution of kitchen-porch threshold

EXOSKELETON

Core Studio (Fall 2014)

Professor: Clarissa Mendez

Location: Canyon

Primary Health Goals:

Provide flexible routes for cyclists and pedestrians • Minimally disrupt the environment

Three distinct layers of structure create an exoskeleton in an otherwise desolate canyon. The underlying frame composes a fragmented, curved form that evokes physical and visual movement in multiple dimensions. An immediate structure breaks the organic shape into modular, triangular fragments. The final skin is a chaotic repetition of severe, wooden members at varying angles, forming a physical barrier from the environment.

The geometric and material properties of the bridge extend the natural landscape through two distinct paths. The first is an elevated route above the canyon, allowing the pedestrian a quick path with brief glimpses of the surroundings through the structure. The second caters to travelers wishing for a slower journey with an extensive pedestrian outlook.

Multi-modal Bridge

1: final model photograph

figure

figure 2: biking path

figure 3: biking and walking path

figure 4: walking path

5-6: final model photographs

figure

LIFE CYCLE

Sustainable Bicycle Infrastructure for Daily + Crisis Conditions

Urban Design Option Studio (Spring 2021)

Professor: Linda Samuels

Location: Houston, TX

Primary Health Goals: Reduce resident mortality and displacement during natural disasters, specifically flooding events

• Promote active transportation (specifically e-bikes) as a daily and crisis transportation strategy

• Provide spaces for protest when resident wellbeing is threatened

Houston’s I-45 serves as a dividing line between resources and populations. Residents on the East side of the highway travel by public transit and carpooling at higher rates and face greater environmental stress due to their proximity to the floodplain. To answer the call of the Green New Deal, this project aims to utilize the changing landscapes of energy, transportation, technology, ecology, and democracy to reach under-served communities.

To mitigate the systematic discrimination while providing sustainable transportation, an elevated network of bicycle routes is proposed. These routes are re-purposed from existing highway and roadway infrastructure and provide evacuation routes for residents during increasingly frequent flooding catastrophes. By connecting tangible and intangible community resources through multi-modal transportation, citizens and non-citizens can contribute daily towards a healthier community and adapt these spaces where crisis arises, which are increasing in frequency. A vertical hierarchy of community spaces to increase visibility and provide safety also supports oppressed minority neighborhoods and highlights their fight to survive. An interconnected system of community assets fosters knowledge transfer, community feedback, and social engagement through resilient, equitable infrastructure.

Site Specific Goals + Objectives

figure 2: parti of spatialized goals + networks figure 3: existing conditions map

figure

created with graduate students Bette Dunn + Nakesha Newsome

figure 4: infrastructural optimism components figures 5-7: protest, health, and education networks

figure 8: dual purpose infrastructure diagram

9: collage render of daily condition

10: collage render of crisis condition

figure

figure

CREATING CONNECTIONS

Neighborhood Sustainability Analysis + Proposal

Urban Design Elective (Spring 2023)

Professor: Matthew Bernstine

Location: Mark Twain Neighborhood, St. Louis, MO

Primary Health Goals: Increase walkability and bikeability

• Increase the number and variety of local healthy food options

• Improve air quality by increasing green space and providing a highway buffer

Mark Twain is a low-income, minority neighborhood, bounded by two large cemeteries to the north, an industrial park to the east, and a wide highway to the south. These urban conditions have led to widespread vacancy, low resource access, and neighborhood isolation. The student team identified five neighborhood goals: mobility, food, vacancy as opportunity, health, and identity. The proposal’s strategies include the creation of more neighborhood entrances and connections to the cemeteries, revitalization of the Mark Twain School as a neighborhood anchor and community center, and introduction of a highway cap park and pollinator pathway.

Neighborhood Vision Statement: By 2040, we envision Mark Twain as a safe, opportunity-rich community with a diversity of people, public places, green areas, housing, and transportation and food options. This vision embraces existing assets and infrastructure to create an economically vibrant and resilient neighborhood. Mark Twain will be better connected to other St. Louis neighborhoods and opportunities and will become an integral part of the surrounding urban and social fabric. We are committed to honoring local heritage while celebrating and honestly engaging the neighborhood’s history.

figure 1: existing conditions

BUILDING FIGURE GROUND

Building Figure Ground

BLOCK FIGURE GROUND

Block Figure Ground

VEHICULAR NEIGHBORHOOD ENTRANCES

ONE WAY STREETS + DEAD ENDS

most tree cover concentrated in

135 intersections

1 parkway (Kingshighway Blvd)

0 fully tree-lined streets (Ashby, Queens, Leahy, Thekla come closest)

60’ average commercial street width

30’ average residential street width

100% of interior residential streets have parallel parking

20 in-use surface parking lots

STREET FIGURE GROUND

figures 2-7: selected neighborhood diagrams of urban conditions note: diagrams produced in collaboration with Madeleine Starr + Angie Hoffman

FOOD ACCESS

Goal: Increase the number and variety of healthy food options in the neighborhood

Design Strategies:

1. Convert vacant buildings and lots into restaurants + retail + gardens along commercial corridors

2. Green buffer produces food for animals and pollinators

3. Partnership with Senior Living Center to provide food and gardening activities for residents

Possible Metrics:

Number of grocery stores

Number of gardens

Average distance to grocery store

Percentage of diabetes

Percentage of obesity

Percentage of poor overall health Participants at neighborhood garden

MOBILITY

Goal: Increase walkability and bikeability both within the neighborhood and between Mark Twain and surrounding areas

Design Strategies:

1. Increase pedestrian access points into the neighborhood

2. Increase pedestrian and cyclist access points into the cemetery to encourage physical activity

3. Create walkability corridors near commercial zones and green spaces

Possible Metrics:

Miles of sidewalk

Miles of bike path

Miles of bus routes

Number of users on built paths

Percentage of car use

Walkability score

Walkable intersection density

figures 8-9: selected framework plans note: maps produced in collaboration with Madeleine Starr + Angie Hoffman

figures 10-11: prospective futures collages

SEGREGATION BY DESIGN

Causes, Consequences, and Mitigation

Research Assistant

Supervisor: Catalina Freixas

Location: KingsVille Neighborhood, St. Louis, MO

Primary Health Goals:

Decrease neighborhood crime and improve safety

• Improve economic opportunities and means for low-SES, minority residents

Implement vertical farming infrastructure to provide local produce

The Segregation by Design (SBD) project is an ongoing analysis of St. Louis neighborhoods utilizing the B.E.S.T. Framework (Beautification, Education, Services + Safety, and Technical Assistance + Training). This project supports local neighborhood groups in KingsVille, a community which straddles the Kingsway East and The Ville neighborhoods, and has identified Hickey Elementary School as a key partner and community anchor. The project culminates in a thorough publication of research and proposed mitigation strategies. A select number of pages are shown to demonstrate the breadth of research and quality of work produced.

figures 1-2: pages from

figures 3-4: pages from SBD book

figures 5-6: pages from

GENDER-EQUITABLE TRANSPORTATION

Foundations of Geographic Information Systems Project

Public Health Elective, Research Poster (Spring 2022)

Professor: John Cruz, MUP

Location: St. Louis, MO

Primary Health Goals: Understand women transportation needs and identify genderequitable improvements

• Promote women’s safety while utilizing public transportation

Women have specific transportation needs unaccounted for in malecentric, multi-modal transportation plans. Existing transportation systems favor drivers and bi-lateral travel instead of “trip-chaining”, traveling with children or relatives, and transit riders. A MetroLink audit was compiled with existing transportation and demographic data to measure safety and accessibility. Accessibility was lower in Northern MetroLink stations but higher in Northern MetroBus Stops. Vehicle Ownership was low in St. Louis City, and public transit gaps exist in low vehicle ownership and high female populations. Existing transportation systems should be upgraded and expanded to meet localized female needs.

Methods

DENTAL CLINIC RENOVATION + ADDITION

Beale Air Force Base, CA

Role: Project Coordinator + BIM Manager

Firm: Davis Stokes Collaborative Architects, P.C.

Location: Yuba County, CA

Primary Health Goals:

Decrease patient stress during dental visits

• Improve staff circulation to treat patients quickly and perform work tasks efficiently

The U.S. Air Force requested a renovation and addition to their existing one-story dental clinic on Beale Air Force Base. The floor plan was reworked into an H-form with concentrated staff services in the rear for efficient staff and patient circulation. This project also required medical planning for the clean and dirty storage spaces, laboratories, and radiology spaces and matching existing exterior materials and interior finishes, which was extensively coordinated with the Air Force end users. Natural light and views in patient rooms were of critical importance to the design team, increasing patient mindfulness during potentially stressful visits.

figure 1: dental treatment room rendering

figures 2-3: selected project construction documents

figures 4-5: selected project construction