J. N I C H O L A S F I X SELECTED WORKS
J. N I C H O L A S F I X C O N TAC T
513.444.8850 fixj766@newschool.edu https://issuu.com/j.nicholasfix/docs/2020_portfolio
E D U CAT I O N
Parsons School of Design M.Arch II class of 2024 University of Cincinnati DAAP B.S. Architecture Minor in Art History class of 2021
EXPERIENCE
INC ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN Architecture and Interior Design Intern. Focusing on concept 2019 - 2020 and schematic design with experience in high end residential, hospitality, and experiential projects. Responsibility in procurement and vintage & original decorative arts curation. Development of presentation and documentation as well as design mood, palette, and atmosphere precedent schemes.
REVIVAL DESIGNS 2016 - 2019
Design intern and consultant. Interior staging coordinator and project manager, handling many of the phases of the design process from schematic design to final photography.
R. GERARD GALLERY / LEFTCOAST MODERN 2016 - 2019
Assistant curator and buyer of designer furniture and rare decorative arts. Focus in curatorial advising of private collectors. Sole employee - experience in mid-century modern furniture woodwork and upholstery restoration. Specialty in clientele relations, sourcing and presentation of private collections, and procurement of fine arts and pottery.
FW DESIGNS 2015 - 2018
Design intern and consultant. Real estate staging intern and interior photography stylist, assisting in every step of the design process, with an emphasis on lighting and hardware procurement.
ARTIST IMMERSION 2018
Spring/Summer course in Chianti, Italy studying oil painting and sketching. Skill development in spatial sketching and diagramming, visual communication techniques of depth, hierarchy, and composition, and improved understanding in structure/ landscape relationships and color theory.
SKILLS
AutoCAD Adobe InDesign Model Making Rhinoceros Adobe Illustrator Drafting & Sketching Revit Adobe Photoshop Mixed Media Microsoft Office Site Diagramming Woodworking
AWA R D S
Director’s Choice Award 2021 | University of Cincinnati Deans List 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 | Cincinnatus Scholar | Friends of Frank Duveneck Society Scholarship for the Arts | Joseph J. Strauss Scholarship of Architecture | International Study Abroad Scholarship | Scholastic Gold Key Arts Award | Academic All American Competetive Gymnast 2014, 2015, 2016
Folly #4
Ground Floor Plan
TA B L E O F CONTENTS RESIDENTIAL
Chelsea Corners Mixed Use | Multi Family | Metropolitan
Rowhouse / Artist’s Atelier Live / Work | Single Family | Urban
6 16
INSTITUTIONAL
Poetr y Foundation Cultural | Metropolitan
Exhibition Inser tion Academic | Campus
24 34
I N T E R V E N T I O N / PAV I L I O N
Poolhouse Communit y & Wellness | Urban Park
(R)evolving Doors Pavillion Play & Pleasure | Scenic Rural
Non-Place: New York Play & Pleasure | Metropolitan
Collage & Mixed Media
40 52 58 68
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
INC NYC Vandewater 14H | Metropolitan
76
A A LTO CAS E S T U DY D I AG RA M
CHELSEA CORNERS “Luxury” apartments in New York City has become a moot point; an unprecedented abundance, oversaturated with forgettable excess and extravagence. The term itself has lost all meaning. The time has come to reject trends, tropes, and template monotony & repetition and reconsider how we address housing in a cit y of individuals. Location, outdoor space, privacy, and the coveted “corner lof t” will continue to assert their dominance as sine qua non to a metropolitan Manhattan abode. Conceived as a collection of penthouses, a proposal for a 22-story tower negotiates privacy and intimacy with individuality within a collective. The form of the tower, inspired by the residential work of Herzog de Meuron, is directed by a set of stacked floorplans, each with a unique arrangement of units. Adhering to a five -foot by five -foot grid, the stacked block composition playfully alludes to the tetrising of a variet y of floorplans and distinct units, beginning with three floors of contemporary art galleries. The articulate ballet of folding picture windows and polished conrete frames each room, creating spatial identity for each zone, while maintaining an open floorplan, free of fussy & frivilous interior separations. Horizontal relief for the tower allows for communal terraces and elevated exterior sancturaires. The central vertical voids ascending the North and South elevations allow for multiple corner conditions within each and every unit. The residences are designed with dinstinct zones of public living and entertaining spaces and private program, separated by strategically placed volumes, which house & hide the utilitarian components. Composed of corners, the series of tetrised galleries, amenities, and apartments blends various lifestyles within the art-centered tempo of Chelsea.
S O U T H E AS T P E R S P EC T I V E
S O U T H E L E VAT I O N
N O RT H E AS T A S XO I TN E
S EC T I O N
F LO O R S 5-2 2
14 A, B, C, D Studio + Terrace | Studio | One Bedroom + Den | One Bedroom + Den and Terrace
16 A, B, C One Bedroom + Terrace | One Bedroom + Den, Library, and Terraces | Two Bedroom + Terrace
15 A, B Two Bedroom + Study and Terrace | Three Bedroom
PENTHOUSE A (“Bachelor Penthouse”) One Bedroom + Bar, Terraces, Rooftop Deck, and Pool
M O D E L U N I T, 1 5 A , A XO N
R OW H O U S E / A RT I S T ’ S AT E L I E R A noteworthy French fashion photographer relocating from Greenwich Village desired a space to live with her three teenage daughters, requiring a photography studio, gallery and exhibition space, library, of fice, and grand entertaining space to soirée with celebrity clients. The result is a home which incorporates airy, illuminated spaces arranged in a symbiotic organization of double -height public, semiprivate, and private rooms. Completely fluid, or partitioned of f as necessary, the house, studio, and gallery act organically as the inhabitants’ lives do, fluctuating bet ween private personal lives and group gatherings. Theatrical thresholds, pocket doors incorporated into millwork, act as a functional stage set and allow the client to expand the entertaining space as necessary to frame events of various scales attended by the artistic social scene. The vertical circulation between vaulted spaces is highlighted by a sculptural stair. The performative characteristics of the residence pay homage to the principals of mise en scène, and the multiple levels of the home function much like balconies within a theater. The formal programmatic organization of the home, conceived as a series of volumes, each one propotional to the intimacy of a black box theater, is inspired by Maison de Verre by Pierre Chareau et al. The rowhouse takes inspiration from the Italianate architectural context, while sculptor Xavier Corbero’s home in Spain, Parlour in Brooklyn, and Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana in Rome serve as formal precedents. The classical arched windows respect the 19th century architecture of the neighborhood while opening the live/work residence up to sunlight and views. The four -story gallery encompassing the front, South facade activates the streetscape while the central library invites natural lighting in through skylights and a court yard.
F R O N T E L E VAT I O N , S O U T H
E 13TH ST
BOLIVAR ALLEY
BOLIVAR ALLEY
SITE
C O N T E X T / P R O P O RT I O N FACA D E S T U D I ES
FO U RT H Sleep
THIRD Study
S EC O N D Live / Play
GROUND Entrée
S U BT E R RA N E A N Create / Exhibit
LO N G I T U D I N A L S EC T I O N
T RA N SV E R S E S EC T I O N N O RT H Exhibition / Gallery
T RA N SV E R S E S EC T I O N S O U T H Studio, Kitchen, & Library
T RA N SV E R S E S EC T I O N S O U T H Entrée, Living, & Bath
T RA N SV E R S E S EC T I O N N O RT H Entrée, Living, & Bedrooms
S TA I R P E R S P EC T I V E
P O E T RY FO U N DAT I O N With cultural interest in the expressive arts growing in Cincinnati, a proposal of an institution, inspired programmatically and spatially by John Ronan’s Poetry Foundation in Chicago, was conceived. The site is a corner lot adjacent to Washington Park, a redeveloped neighborhood landmark and symbol of cit y renewal and revitalization. The form of the building combines classical proportions and repetitive rhythm of the surrounding Italianate architecture with unobstructive, clean modernity. The proportions dictating the form and geometric relationships of the structure are established by datums provided by the architectural ornamentation of the neighboring context, and implemented in both plan and section. Large picture windows oriented both introspectively towards a central courtyard, as well as out ward towards the park create a light, ephemeral space that serves as a sanctuary, highlighting views of the surrounding dialogue between urban and natural environment. The poetry center includes a gallery exhibition space, main library, meeting rooms, proofreading, listening and recording studios, copy space, private of fices, communal workspace, archives, and a grand performance space overlooking the park, mezzanine, and roof top deck - all connected by a ceremonial stair. Each space is crafted with a nuanced reevaluation of historic proportional geometric relationships intended to speak sof ty but resonate deeply. A reliance on subtle angles inspired by the walking path previously carved into the lawn of the site informs the language of the building, while the circulation and organization of spaces creates a dynamic dialogue with the park and streetscape.
N O RT H W ES T A XO N
ROOF
F I G U R E /G R O U N D S I T E - C O N T E X T D E N S I T Y S T U DY
P R O P O RT I O N
VAU LT E D S PAC ES
P U B L I C / P R I VAT E
Final basswood and plywood scale C Omodel U RT
Office Terrace
Open to Below
Workspace up
dn
up
Office Office
Conference
Perform
FO U RT H Collaborate / Celebrate / Perform
Record
Open to Below
Open to Below up
Copy
up
dn
up
Layout
Archive
Record
THIRD Overlook / Create / Preserve
up
Open to Below
Library
Open to Below up
dn
up
Proofreading
Meeting
S EC O N D Read / Relax / Meet
up
up
Gallery up
Lobby
Office
FIRST Exhibit / Entrée
S EC T I O N S
E L E VAT I O N S
EXHIBITION I N S E RT I O N The University of Cincinnati School of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning’s original 1952 studio building, the Alms Building, was chosen to be studied, observed, and explored as the structure and site of the assignment. This structure was to be expanded upon on the West elevation to include a new West entry as well as gallery and critique space. After observing the existing structure and evaluating the relationship each space has within the open studios, the flexibilit y and adaptiveness of the studios in a social, but still semi-private environment became vital to how the building functions. The circulation was largely controlled vertically, in stairwell “shaf ts,” but began to expand and flow freely on each floor within the graduate studios. The concept of blurring rigid vertical circulation with open floorplan studios became the parti for the organization of the new space. Diagrams of how the stairs intersected each floor and the angles they produced became influential throughout the design process. The final insertion proposal is a space inspired by the work of Alvar Aalto and his institutional projects, which rely heavily on geometric window planes and large expanses of brick. The gallery critique space is designed around a central communal stair, which acts to encourage vertical circulation, contrasting while enhancing the circulation of the existing building. Accessibilit y issues with the existing structure are also remedied, with inclusivit y and equal access paramount to the new organization of the studios in relation to the exhibition space.
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PA RT I D I AG RA M Draf ted
L AY E R E D P L A N , E L E VAT I O N , A N D S EC T I O N A N A LY T I Q U E Draf ted
E X T E R I O R S T U DY Draf ted
L AY E R E D S I T E , U N FO L D E D E L E VAT I O N , P L A N S , A N D C I R C U L AT I O N S T U DY Draf ted
OV E R LO O K POOLHOUSE As communities become more heavily involved in concepts of human wellness, fitness, and an improved feeling of physical health, its important the public, semi-private, and private spaces reflect the ideologies of their inhabitants. Following the success of a redeveloped communit y pool and playspace in Cincinnati’s cit y center, a semiprivate spa and series of pools was proposed to replace an impractical and unattractive existing membership pool overlooking the skyline. The site boasts uninterrupted views of downtown from an overlook atop one of the cit y’s surrounding hills, and the topography and gentle slope of the site was the inspiration for the form of the resulting spa and poolhouse. Partially subterranean, many of the interiors nestle into the hillside. The organization follows a central axis defined by a retaining wall, creating separation and privacy for the new pools from the greenspace at street level. Looking at European precedents for programmatic organization, such as Alvaro Siza ’s Campo Maior poolhouse and Peter Zumthor’s Therme Vals, the result is a space that unfolds with the landscape, providing minimal intervention with the existing site. Spa program nestles itself within volumetric grottos, carving intimate spaces for respite and rejuventation. A large sloping lawn acts as a performance and gathering space for the site while the elongated, slender proportions of the pool create ample poolside terraces. The interior subterranean spaces are dramatically lit by light wells and skylights that puncture the otherwise thick envelope, creating a serene safespace enveloped by privacy. Baf fles placed in groupings allow for seasonal flexibilit y and the abilit y to close of f pieces of program for changing times of day.
PA RT I D I AG RA M
SITE PLAN Draf ted
PLAN Draf ted
C H A N G E A N D WAS H R O O M S , S M A L L P O O L A N D CA BA N A Draf ted
SAU N AS , P LU N G E P O O L S , C H A N G E , LO U N G E Draf ted
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S O U T H FACA D E - A E R I A L V I E W Draf ted
( R ) E VO LV I N G D O O R S PAV I L I O N A t wo-day design charette rooted in the reevaluation of doors as “plug & play” architectural features, mindlessly copy/pasted, led to the conception of a pavilion insertion in a scenic, rural park environment. The design began with inspiration from the following poem: Snow Walking through a field with my little brother Seth I pointed to a place where kids had made angels in the snow. For some reason, I told him that a troop of angels had been shot and dissolved when they hit the ground. He asked who had shot them and I said a farmer. Then we were on the roof of the lake. The ice looked like a photograph of water. Why he asked. Why did he shoot them. I didn’t know where I was going with this. They were on his property, I said.
When it’s snowing, the outdoors seem like a room. Today I traded hellos with my neighbor. Our voices hung close in the new acoustics. A room with the walls blasted to shreds and falling. We returned to our shoveling, working side by side in silence.
But why were they on his property, he asked. —David Berman
The final design, “a room composed of a series of organically fluid and manipulatable rooms,” themselves comprised of revolving doors, which are able to articulate and tranform into linear baf fles, is inspired by Mario Botta and the architecture of the Italian Neorationalists.
N O RT H W ES T A XO N
P L A N D I AG RA M S | P L A N SY N T H ES I S
S O U T H W ES T E X P LO D E D A XO N
E AS T / W ES T FACA D E
S O U T H & W ES T E L E VAT I O N
N O RT H / S O U T H FACA D E
N O N - P L AC E : N E W YO R K C I T Y Following my second internship at INC, I experienced a deep melancholia resulting from “homesickness” - only now, being back “home.” The confusion and ambiguit y of home as a place and a space, and what that means with identit y led me to Jean François Lyotard’s The Postmodern Condition . Lyotard’s assertions apropos places lacking true ownership, program, clear function, or identit y led to his concepts of “Non-Place.” Interested in these ideas, also, was my coworker and longtime collaborator, Billy Keidel. Together we began to reminisce on ritual, routine, and repetition, particularly our walk from our apartment in East Village to INC ’s studio in West SoHo. Temporality, in both distance and time, became a peculair and precarious component to our daily procession, where the commute would shift as restaurants, bars, galleries, and all the businesses that make New York the quintessential walking cit y were discovered. The street provided invigoration; pedestrians were models, muses, and actors, and avenues became their catwalk and stage. Manhattan as theater is nothing new - although 2020 became a catastrophic tragedy for the energy and electricit y of the city’s heartbeat. Antonin Artaud’s The Theater and its Double enforced our attitudes, informed by Rem Koolhaas’ Delirius New York , that the choreography of commute and role of routine in a cit y with infinite stimulation was an exploration worth examining and intervening in during the pandemic. “Non-Place: New York” is our attempt to expand upon the framework of the theater of Manhattan and the interior urbanism conditions of interstitial Non-Places, particularly on Houston St. Houston acts as a border bet ween Lower Manhattan neighborhoods. Through a series of insertions, composed as architectural follies to be explored and inhabited day & night at varying degrees, voyeurism of the cit y is emphasized through structural scaf folding as ambiguous in its temporalit y as much of New York’s dynamic cultural identities. The follies are a tribute to Christo, who passed away this year and inspired us with the haunting, infamous, and iconic Central Park Gates.
S I T E M A P - H O U S TO N S T. , LOW E R M A N H AT TA N
Layered Mapping Diagrams
A XO N S Follies 1-8
Folly #3
Elevation 1/16” = 1’ - 0”
W ES T E L E VAT I O N | G R O U N D P L A N , T Y P I CA L P L A N
Folly #3
Axon
S O U T H W ES T A XO N | CAT WA L K P L A N Folly 3 - Between Chrystie & Forsynth Sts. / Houston St. Playground
Folly #2
P L A N | A XO N | E L E VAT I O N Folly 2 - Houston, 1st St., & 1st Ave. / Peretz Square
Folly #4
P L A N | A XO N | E L E VAT I O N Folly 5 - Houston & 6th Ave. intersection / William F. Passannante Ballfield & Playground of the Americas
Folly 3 - Between Chrystie & Forsynth Sts. / Houston St. Playground
Folly 12 - Houston St. / in front of the landmarked Cable Building by McKim, Mead, and White
P E R S P EC T I V ES Follies 1 & 6 - The East “End” of Houston / gateway to John V. Lindsay East River Park
M I X E D M E D I A S T U D I ES Folly 7 - The West “End” of Houston / gateway to Pier 40 and Hudson River overlook
C O L L AG E & MIXED MEDIA Robert Motherwell asserts, “ The greatest aesthetic achievement of the 20th century was the development of collage. Collage became a method of conceptual critique and journaling of the relationshiops between proportion, material, and hierachy in my architectural and interior work. The digital and technological reliance architectural drawing has on the computer has led to an increased separation between work and the ideas, intentions, and hand behind them. By balancing digital drawings with analog drafting, sewing, and collaging, my creative process of iteration has gained a more homogenous attitude in conveying concept. Prompted with the question, “ What is the role of tectonics in landscape architecture?”, the following exploration began t wo-dimensionally as an exercise experimenting with the relationship bet ween physical “layers,” an amalgamated translation of the organizational strategies implemented in Rhino and AutoCAD. Papier Colle and traditional drafting began as the backdrop, while charcoal, oil pastel, hand sewing, tape, and found objects play in a negotiation of hierarchy. The result is a series of works that allude to spatial qualities through persectival techniques and the visual and physical creation of depth. Materialit y and media are suggestive of a palette explored in the subsequent explorations in landscape architecture in an urban environment.
M I X E D M E D I A S T U DY
M I X E D M E D I A S T U D I ES
D I AG RA M S Draf ted
S E W N A N A LY T I Q U E D RAW I N G
I N C N YC VA N D E WAT E R 1 4 H Starting in January of 2019, I began working in INC ’s SoHo studio, where I gained experience and responsibilt y working on projects ranging from high-end hospitalit y to residential model units and amenit y spaces. While working under the creative direction of Adam Rolston, the importance of strong conceptual design rooted in an immersive exploration of precedents and formal architectural and interior design themes became the foundation of all projects. INC addresses each project with a sensitivity to all scales (“from curtains to curtain walls”) through the lens of portrait artists, led by the ideology that “context is king.” This passionate pedagogy continues to inspire my approach to all design disciplines. INC ’s multidisciplinary studio enabled me to work as both an architectural and interior designer. For The Vandewater, a ground-up high-rise condominium building in Morningside Heights, INC took inspiration from the context, particularly the grandeur of Columbia Universit y’s campus. I operated as an interior designer for the furnishing and finishing of the model unit, under the guidance of Rolston and senior associate, Louisa Revitte. The conceived client was a professor of archaeology and their partner, an international business entrepreneur, along with their two children. The attitude of the unit exudes casual sophistication and cultural celebration in a comfortable family space, tailored around the couple’s expansive mixed media and photography collection. I was responsible for the execution of concept design, procurement of furnishings, both vintage and custom, and curation and placement of original art and handmade pottery exhibited throughout the home. Interior design collaborators include Kasia Cyrulik and Savannah Scoville.
R E N D E R I N G A N D P L A N - P R O P E RT Y O F I N C N YC - P H OTO S C O U RT ESY O F C I T Y R E A LT Y
P H OTO S C O U RT ESY O F C I T Y R E A LT Y
P H OTO S C O U RT ESY O F C I T Y R E A LT Y
P H OTO S C O U RT ESY O F C I T Y R E A LT Y
J. N I C H O L A S F I X T H A N K YO U
513.444.8850
fixj766@newschool.edu
For information and images of my professional work, architectural models, mail art, poetry, or fine art collages and oil paintings, please contact me.
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