Project
Karin Kei Nagano | Architectural Portfolio
2018 - 2020
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Karin Kei Nagano
email mobile
karin.nagano@yale.edu +1 (628) 236 9386
Curriculum Vitae Education
Work Experience
Expected May 2020 Yale University, New Haven, CT graduating with
2019, May - August Kengo Kuma and Associates, Paris, France worked as an intern for three months.
an expected Bachelors of the Arts in Architecture, current GPA of 3.88
07/2018 - 08/2018 University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK graduated from the Pembroke-
Kings Summer Program with a cumulative GPA of 4.0, relevant coursework includes The Making of the Modern Movement in Architecture 1890-1941
Primarily involved in the entire conceptual design for a competition project in Paris, producing design proposals, 3D renderings and 1:500-scale models for site, building and facade design. Worked in the development design phase for the Maritime History Museum in Saint-Malo, making study models to evaluate acoustical paneling and developing interior design on Revit. Worked in the conceptual design phase of an exhibition piece at the 2020 Vennice Biennale.
2019 - 2020 Apicella + Bunton, New Haven, CT part-time internship through junior and
senior year. Exposure to Revit through work on design development and construction documents. Experience with evaluating sample submittals and materials for interior and architectural design.
Skills Hand Drawing architectural drawings in pencil,
charcoal, ink
2017, May-June Wong Logan Architects, Berkeley, CA worked as a first-year summer intern for
Model Making comfortable with wood, foam, plexiglass, concrete, card / paper Digital Tools experience with formatting files for several types of laser cutters, CNC mills in wood or foam, 3D printing Photography experience with photographing and editing
one month. Exposure to schematic design for the adaptive reuse of a historical storehouse, evaluating budget and design constraints with the structural engineer. Worked in construction administration for a large-scale institutional project, designing fire emergency plans, visiting construction sites, collaborating on interior design and lighting. Helped in the landscape design for a residential home. Created and assembled the firm’s Statement of Qualifications for their latest project.
Software
Performing Arts Work
Rhino AutoCAD Revit
Adobe Suite BlueBeam
Languages English (native) French (native) German (fluent) Japanese (verbal)
2009 - present Professional Concert Pianist tour professionally in North America, Europe, Russia and Asia, performing both solo recitals and collaboring with major orchestras including the Montreal Symphony, Tokyo Philharmonic and the Bayerische Staatsorchester.
2014 - present Recording Artist signed as exclusive artist for Analekta label. Released first album in
2014 featuring 2 Mozart concerti, reached #1 in Canadian sales within first month of release. Released second album in 2017 featuring Bach, reached “download of the week” on Crossover Media, received worldwide critical acclaim for interpretation’s “level of care and consideration” (the WholeNote). Currently preparing for a third album featuring Schubert and Messiaen.
Selected Projects Dwelling in Landscape Living in Date-Land Pop Smith Clubhouse Nature Pavilions Food Hub
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Object Studies Lunch-Box Ornamented Sound-Box
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Material Studies Interaction The Log
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Spatial Studies Threshold Section through Building
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Living in Date-Land | Steven Harris & Gavin Hogben Studio, Spring 2020
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Dwelling in Landscape
This project involved designing a way-station for nomads at the Salton Sea. The experience of driving by tall date palms spurred the idea of creating a nomadic living community embedded within a date-farm. The typical lifestyle of an American nomad involves living within their vans. Given the unusually close relationship between the nomad and their vehicle, my proposition involves exploiting this relationship one step further, and enlists the van as a “working partner�. As such, each van occupies and harvests one row of date palms, managing the packaging and distribution of dates while also profiting directly from sales.
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Living in Date-Land
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Dwelling in Landscape
In order for the date-farm to become an inhabitable as well as working environment, I focused on exploring the personal van as an adaptable tool for harvesting.
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Living in Date-Land
Left, Right Above Right Below
Van Appliance Van Prototype, 1:16
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Dwelling in Landscape
Architectural Additions By turning the row of date palms into a liveable space for the van-owner, the notion of “home� ultimately changes in nature. Home becomes a place of irrigation, of harvesting, and of machines, mixed with activities such as tending, packing, trading, as well as napping, smoking, dancing and other leisures. In order to allow the mixed-use space to reach its full potential, I designed a series of tent-like pods, inspired by the Noguchi Lanterns, which function to accommodate a variety of activities. By the simplicity of their form, these can fluidly switch from sleep lanterns, to smokehouses, to meditation tents, to laundry baskets.
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Living in Date-Land
Hanging Pods
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Dwelling in Landscape
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Living in Date-Land
Site Plan
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Dwelling in Landscape
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Boardwalk; Market Area
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Production Tents; Packaging Area
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Mixed Tents; Sleep, Play, Work, Eat, Restrooms
4 “Backyard Jungle”; less structured tents 5 Lagoon
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1 VAN
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Living in Date-Land
Left Right
Program Detail Exploded Axonometric
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Dwelling in Landscape
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Living in Date-Land
Section Part 1
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Dwelling in Landscape
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Living in Date-Land
Section Part 2
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Dwelling in Landscape
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Living in Date-Land
Section Part 3
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Dwelling in Landscape
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Living in Date-Land
Section Part 4
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Dwelling in Landscape
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Living in Date-Land
Section Part 5
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Dwelling in Landscape
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Living in Date-Land
Section Part 6
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Dwelling in Landscape
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Living in Date-Land
Left Right
Boardwalk Market Sleeping Pod
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Dwelling in Landscape
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Living in Date-Land
Section Rendering
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Pop Smith Clubhouse | Turner Brooks & Adam Hopfner Studio, Fall 2019
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Dwelling in Landscape
This clubhouse was designed to respond to the needs of the Pop Smith Little League baseball organization in New Haven. Located behind Hillhouse High School, Pop Smith currently serves a growing community of families, however with limited facilities. This project aims to address this problem by providing a communal clubhouse that engages children on and off the fields, and that promotes the meditative nature of their athletic practice. Children often play for long hours in the premises of the fields while their parents work. The site was originally not designed to host such long periods of unsupervised leisure time. In addition, it includes areas, such as the adjacent parking lot, which are particularly vulnerable to teenagers involved in deliquent activities. This project proposes minor, low-budget landscaping changes that would consolidate the site and create a convergence towards one central node, the clubhouse. Placed in between the fields, the parking lot, and the surrounding woods, the clubhouse is positioned to serve as a bridge-factor between the organic beauty of nature and the game of baseball, inviting the community to become part of that bridge. By dissolving into the surrounding woods, the building provides a space for imagination and immersion, responding to the needs of children who aspire to succeed in their sport. Most importantly, it aligns with the fundamental values of the Little League, based upon strenghtening the integrity of the community through parent-child activity.
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Pop Smith Clubhouse
Model
Basswood 1:1/16
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Dwelling in Landscape
The project involved the re-orientation of the baseball fields to have them face the woods. With these slight landscape changes, the clubhouse becomes an interstitial space between nature and the sport.
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Pop Smith Clubhouse
Left Right
Existing Site Modified Site
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Dwelling in Landscape
Ground Floor Plan
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Pop Smith Clubhouse
Above
First Floor Plan
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Second Floor Plan
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Dwelling in Landscape
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Pop Smith Clubhouse
Section Drawings
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Nature Pavilions | Turner Brooks & Adam Hopfner Studio, Fall 2019
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Dwelling in Landscape
These series of pavilions were designed to be weaved into Beaver Ponds Park, a marshland located in the north-west of New Haven. For the past few years, the New Haven department of Parks and Recreations has aimed to open this natural landscape to its surrounding communities by integrating a series of trails punctuated by stations for shelter and observation. My pavilions stem from the structure of the cubic grid with an emphasis on vertical movement. As such, it attempts to replicate the language of the tall, slender birch trees which are a main characteristic of New England nature. Visitors enter a space for shelter and observation while remaining fully connected to their surroundings.
The structure is primarily made of wood, a material which evolves over time and according to its environment. In its state of intertwinement within the woods, the pavilion is intended to have a life of its own and to adapt in conjunction with the landscape.
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Site Plan
Nature Pavilions
Model
Basswood 1:1/8
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Dwelling in Landscape
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Nature Pavilions
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Isometric drawing
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Atmospheric drawings
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Dwelling in Landscape
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Nature Pavilions
Site Drawings
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Food Hub | Michael Schlabs Studio, Spring 2019
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Dwelling in Landscape
Site Allegory For this assignment, we began by interpreting the given site. Located in down-town New Haven, our project was to be nestled in the middle of a semi-residential and semi-commercial block. In its current state, the site is surrounded by several backyards whose sense of privacy is visibly eroding: the delineating fences are crumbling, allowing for pedestrians to crawl through their openings. My site allegory identifies the phenomenon of dissolving private spaces, and creates a narrative in harmony with this trend. I identified and extruded backyard areas based on Sanborn Maps ranging from 1886 to 2019. These drawings then extend towards the future, suggesting that the battle between private and public space will eventually disappear completely.
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Food Hub
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Dwelling in Landscape
Food Hub Design Designed to be built in the middle of a block in Downtown New Haven, the Food Hub unfolds as a series of glass pavilions that communicate with their surroundings. Providing space for cultivation, food preparation, consumption, physical exercise and education, the five pavilions are intended to serve as performative platforms that interact directly with the surrounding buildings and backyards. Through topology and circular form, the food hub mimicks the spatial language of a courtyard theater.
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Food Hub
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Model
Chipboard & Acrylic 1:1/16
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Dwelling in Landscape
Ground Level Plan
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Food Hub
Basement Plan
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Dwelling in Landscape
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Food Hub
Section Drawing
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Lunch-Box | Michael Schlabs Studio, Spring 2019
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Object Studies
Lunch-Time These series of drawings abstract spatial relations between real-life, culinary elements. In particular, they explore the programs of food preparation, presentation and consumption, honing down on the specific example of the french terrine. .
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Lunch-Box
= Diagram of feast around a terrine
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Object Studies
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Lunch-Box
= Diagram of a terrine’s arrangement
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Object Studies
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Lunch-Box
= Diagram inside a terrine
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Object Studies
Lunch-Box Based on our exploration, we created a Lunch-Box to exercise spatial thinking and organization. Designed to hold an amalgam of various amuse-gueules related to the terrine, the box can unfold into six different positions, each time allowing for new combinations of appetizers. Some boxes become accessible while others are not, creating a randomized culinary experience.
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Lunch-Box
Model
Basswood Lunch-Box Canvas Joints
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Object Studies
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15 steps of folding
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Lunch-Box
Unfolding Diagram
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Ornamented Sound-Box | Kent Bloomer Studio, Spring 2019
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Object Studies
This studio culminated in the design of an ornament and of its holder. Inspired by the musical sculptures in TvĂsĂśngur, Iceland, my holder is a concrete structure which emits different tones. The structure consists of five domes that merge into a network of vaults, each amplifying a distinct resonance, so that the entire space echoes the five-tone harmony of traditional Icelandic music. In response, I designed a fractal emitting outwards to replicate the various sound propagations occuring within the structure. The five domes are ornamented differently according to the distinct tone they emit.
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Ornamented Sound-Box
Sketches exploring fractals and repetitive ornament
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Object Studies
Diagram of ornament’s evolution
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Ornamented Sound-Box
Model
3D Print & Paper 1:1/8
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ProjectInteraction Title | Studio Name Davies Studio, Fall 2018 | Trattie
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Material Studies
Design and architecture are metaphors for physical, social, spiritual and intellectual interactions. In this exercise, the general concept of interaction is explored in its purest sense. I made a model out of a natural material (light) and a synthetic material (mylar), and placed these in interaction with time. Made of triangles with varying thicknesses of mylar, the model reflects and refracts light differently throughout the time of day. Therefore, the enclosed space fluctuates depending on the position of the sun.
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Interaction
Model
Mylar 1:1/8
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Material Studies
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Interaction
Charcoal and ink sketches exploring the relationship between interior and exterior spaces
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Project Title NameDavies Studio, Fall 2018 The| Studio Log | Trattie
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Material Studies
This exercise was assigned to explore the materiality of wood, in particular its physical and tensile limitations. In order to do so, my approach was to delineate specific characteristics of wood’s organic qualities. In the following sketches, the Log is represented as one continuous thread as opposed to a solid block. This single-line representation was then translated into a series of sketch-models. The Log was shredded, baked, soaked, then re-assembled into a continuous, fluid entity.
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The Log
Exploration of contour
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Material Studies
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The Log
Wood explorations of line-spaces
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Threshold | Michael Schlabs Studio, Spring 2019
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Spatial Studies
Responding to the binary between order and chaos, the Threshold spatially communicates the tension and progression between the two forces.
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Threshold
Plan Drawing
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Spatial Studies
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Threshold
Threshold exploring porosity and density Scale 1:1/8
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Section Through Building | Bimal Mendis Studio, Spring 2018
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Spatial Studies
One of our first architectural assignments was to create a three-dimensional section of a spiritual dwelling. I chose to represent the Mosque of Sultan Hasan by three-dimensionalizing its three key spaces. They appear as vignettes embedded within a two-dimensional section. Each space has a different vanishing point, reflecting where one’s eye is directed as one occupies the space.
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Section Through Building
Model
Museum Board 1:1/16
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Spatial Studies
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Section Through Building
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Project
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Category
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