Mackenzy Kropa | Architecture Portfolio

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PORTFOLIO “ Architecture + Design ” Toronto, Ontario CA c. 1996

[ MACKENZY KROPA ]

MACKENZY KROPA 10 Locheed Blvd, Toronto, ON +16476257210 mkropa@laurentian.ca

May. 18 . 2018.

To Whom it May Concern, I am writing to introduce myself and to inquire about obtaining work opportunities within your firm.

I am a graduate student of the McEwen School of Architecture, Laurentian University graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Architectural Studies. The program focused on practical applications through design studios, with ongoing design build projects, as well as community design projects. The curriculum largely emphasizes the use of local natural materials with the goal to maintain a sense of place within design. My education is focused on team- building and problem solving within architecture and design.

To compliment my practical education, I have also completed two undergraduate co-op placements; one design build practice, taking place in an industry related field, the second with a design firm. The objective of these co-op placements has been to gain practical insight and understanding of the technical aspect of architecture and design. Through my four years of architecture I have begun to develop a refined approach to materials, demonstrating the relationship between lightness and negative space through Minimalism.

I am pursuing a placement within your company, primarily because of the firm’s work in residential and renovation areas of architecture with specific interest in the firms attention to detail and maintaining the history of the neighborhood. This is the area of architecture where I would like to specialize and therefore, I believe I would be an enthusiastic participant and further support the dynamic projects of this company. The firms ability inspire by design with practical use of space incorporating contemporary design with modern requirements is another feature that is appealing and as I am a proven excellent team player, I am certain I will apply lend my learned skills to any project. I am confident that while this will be an excellent opportunity to acquire more knowledge and further support my studies that I will also enhance the work environment of the firm through hard work, organization and creativity. In the previous year I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work as a finish carpenter and prior to that as a residential framer. I bring to the firm technical, hands-on knowledge and understanding of the physical and material aspects involved in the makings of an architectural project.

I would greatly welcome the opportunity to discuss my placement with your company at your earliest convenience. I look forward to speaking with you and I thank you for your time and kind consideration.

Sincerely,

Mackenzy Kropa

MACKENZY KROPA 10 Locheed Blvd, Toronto, ON +16476257210 mkropa@laurentian.ca

I am a Graduate student of the McEwen School of Architecture, Laurentian University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Architectural Studies.

The past four years of architecture studies have helped me refine my approach to materials, demonstrating the relationship between light and negative space through Minimalism. I am seeking opportunities in design that will combine construction, art and architecture and I am excited by the work projects carried out by your firm.

WORK EXPERIENCE JC Enterprises Toronto, Ontario 2016 - 2017

JC Enterprises Toronto, Ontario 2015 - 2016

Carpenter, Pilbros III Toronto, Ontario 2015

MD Renovations Toronto, Ontario 2014 - 2015

Architecture Coop Student During this Cooperative term, I advanced within the company, which provided an opportunity to participate in design build work in collaboration with my supervisor in Etobicoke. This experience also provided increased understanding of material and schematic design in the development of residential projects.

Job Duties Include: client consultations, building code, working with various trades, Rhino - Renderings and final design build.

Finish Carpenter - General Contractors Apprentice Apprenticing under a licensed carpenter, this design build enabled me to gain first-hand experience in the renovation and construction of custom homes. This has provided me with an opportunity to enhance my skills in architectural drawings and design in various stages of architecture.

Job Duties Include: Crown Moulding installation, Custom closest/ Cabinetry, Flooring installations and various other home renovations.

Architecture Coop student The placement involved working in residential framing. The work required that I learn how to read construction drawings and use these to further my construction abilities and material understanding. This opportunity enabled me to understand practicality and what can be difficult from a design to build frame of mind.

Job Duties Include: Construction of home frames from foundation to roof. Utilizing construction drawings to fulfill job specifications. Working collaboratively with the construction team. Following safety protocols on the job site.

Renovations Working alongside a Freelance subcontractor, I learned the basic principles of General Contracting.

Job duties included: drywall installation, mitring, plastering, flooring, basic plumbing, deck and fencing and finish painting

EDUCATION Sep 2014 - Apr 2018

Sep 2014 - Apr 2018

MCEWEN SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Sudbury, Ontario, Canada Bachelor of Architectural Studies - B.A.S Graduate

ACHIEVEMENTS OUA Athlete Laurentian University’s Mens Varsity Soccer Team [1 year captaincies] Academic Laurentian University’s deans scholarship

TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY 2D 3D Plugin Physical Modeling

AutoCad | Adobe photoshop | Adobe Illustrator | Adobe Indesign Rhino [Rhinoceros] | Revit | AutoCad V-Ray Rendering Hand crafted | Shop workmanship | Laser cutting | 3D printing

REFERENCES David T. Fortin Director & Assistant Professor McEwen School of Architecture

DTFortin@laurentian.ca

Ted Wilson Master Lecturer McEwen School of Architecture

twilson4@laurentian.ca

James Culotta Capentry Mentor JC Enterprises

james@dc83designs.ca | 416 828 4267

Joe Cosentino General Contractor JC Enterprises

Jcenterprises4@gmail.com | 416 951 5824

INTEREST

Japanese Design | craft | architecture | Product design | simplified products for everday use

| Contents |

modern stool 1 brewery block 7

HOS 15 canoe 21 Halo 23 digital rendering, craft + models , photography

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| Modern Apartment Stool | solution to exponential growth in toronto living confinements personal project | toronto, ON 2018

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Solution_ the modern day issue for many torontonians is space. It’s seems that the population continues to grow which in turn increases the pressures on the housing market. people are finding it more and more difficult to maintain space. This project attempts to address this growing concern.

The stool is designed to be modular. By definition, the intention aims to relate to a design as a series of independent units that can be combined in a number of ways. In this particular case, the legs and seat of the stool can be deconstructed and reconstructed at the ease of the user. A simple slotted design, shown in the figure to the right, depicts the ease with which the stool can be configured. The material is a simple and light quarter inch plywood. The four pieces combined have a total width of one inch. The simplicity of the hexagonal shape and the intention behind the design lend themselves to the name for this piece “The Modern Stool�.

TOP: plan view rendering RIGHT (TOP): plan view piece assembly RIGHT (BOTTOM): diagrammatic connection details

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BOTTOM : series users / interpretations of product design RIGHT (TOP): modular deconstruction / compartmentalization

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north facing exterior rendering

| Brewery Block | brewery retrofitting design studio | sault ste marie individual | 2017

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preserve.create Previously owned by the iconic ‘Soo’ Falls Brewing Company, the 116 year old bottle house has always had a prominent history within the tapestry of the northern city as a beer catalyst.

In tandem with my thesis, for this project I have restored the building back to its original form. What I have proposed is an adaptive renovation of the space allowing for an experience of not only the brewery company but also the elements of which the city was founded on; steel, sandstone and timber.

The programmatic design encompasses a microbrewery and art exhibit. The minimal imprint on the existing structure stays true to the culture of the weathered brewery while key pathways mediate flow and add to the aesthetic.

The second floor mezzanine connects each platform in the front and back of the structure. The intermediate space connects the two programs, serving the overall purpose to combine a cohesive showcase of beer, art and architecture. Participants are able to move from one program to another, all the while surrounded by a space which is representative of the history of Sault Ste. Marie.

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LEFT : existing structure RIGHT : juul diagram

11 TOP: Main floor plan BOTTOM : west- facing elevation RIGHT (TOP): floor two plan RIGHT (BOTTOM): east facing elevation

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surfaces

steel paneling

wire framing

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LEFT : exploded - isometric drawings of elevated surfaces and walkways RIGHT (TOP) : rendering of enterance experience BOTTOM (BOTTOM) : addition enterance

HOS [haus - humans of sudbury ] student residence + plubic parking structure design Studio | toronto, ON 2018

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TOP: floor plans BOTTOM : axonometric diagram

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Ideology. located at 30 Cedar Street, The HOS design is two-fold, it provides the university’s students with living spaces but also offers each demographic of the community with an environment where they can collaborate, study, work and inspire. The name, “Humans of Sudbury” (HOS) is derived from this concept of collaboartion. The design of the structure is situated on this particular site to harness the environmental aspects and mitigate them for user comfort. The structure is essentially an eight story high-rise combing the compactness of an inner city structure with the efficiencies of both public and private parking. The structure is opaque in appearance which affords natural light to penetrate the structure during the day and has a subtle glow at night produced by the user within. This light, while soft and elegant, also provides a sense of security for an otherwise dark section of the community .

The buildings’ graduated living from the dormitory style to the privatized condos, encourages permanent living in downtown Sudbury which is not currently typical of the area. The intention of the structure is not only to promote culture, but also to exemplify living standards within the downtown core.

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19 LEFT: dormitory room orientations RIGHT (TOP): condominium bedroom render RIGHT (W): dormitory render RIGHT (BOTTOM): apartment style render

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cedar strip + carbon finer overlay

cedar strip base

laminated stems [white ash ]

strong back + individual forms

cedar strip canoe Design + build

Below: axonometric construction diagram

design Studio | sudbury, ON 2018

Left: Major Stages of construction Right: Photographic process

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form;function This project allowed us to design - build an entire project. doing so allowed us to understand the construction and material limits.

The Canoe was a combination of trialed ideas and styles, guided by a member of the local community. Our projects emphasized craftsmanship, and details seen through the pattering and choice of material. The process taught us the extents of each material and gave a better understanding of what could be achieved with each piece.

The canoe is constructed with Cedar strip lumber as the body of the canoe, combined with solid crosspieces (thwart) of cedar to strengthen the vessel. The exterior is wrapped with a woven carbon fibre overlay for added stability. Finished with a clear coat epoxy resin the fifteen foot carbon cedar strip canoe is a hybrid design of natural and made made resources.

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HALO architectural installation ( design + build ) digital fabrication | McEwen school of architecture individual | 2017

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Tesselate This tessellated installation consists of a configuration of glowing, ring modules. The design is arrayed, rotated and scaled for a three-dimensional effect. Ring modules consisting of 3, 5, and 6 glow sticks are tessellated and modulated to form Halo. Plexiglass elements serve as the main structural connections and function as ‘nodes’ in the ‘network’ of elements. The connectors are designed similar to ‘wrenches’, allowing for a snap connection between the ‘wrench’ slot and the rings. This provides a simple and efficient construction connection utilizing variable sizes of 2, 4, and 6 inches. Additional glow ring configurations are added onto the vertical axis of the structure to provide more depth and free-forming aesthetics. The finished structure is currently hanging from the ceiling of the faculty auditorium. The final three-ring module, as arrayed across the overhead panel, achieves an organic fluidity that provides a distinctive series of ‘halos’ that give off the gently light and unique experience of both the lightness and intimacy of the auditorium space.

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| modeling | Left depicted is a 1:200 model of my designed truss arrayed across a load bearing spine RIGHT (TOP) 1:1 detail connection with top studs RIGHT (BOTTOM) 1:1 detail of top connection notched into header

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[artwork] digital rendering models architectural drawings photography

HOS student residence laser cut model design + build design Studio | sudbury, ON 2017

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| digital rendering | both LEFT and RIGHT we designs genereated for a clients home entertainment unit.

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| retail store plan | Hotbox Vancouver finalized floor plan outlining key product placement and flow.

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| digital rendering | Hotbox Vancouver finalized design depicted with key colors and concepts.

Studio.éť’ Studio. black

HOTBOX van

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| HOS | Humans of Sudbury was one of my favorite site analysis pieces. I was able to understand the community and their stories and try to produce these stories is a simple image, A clear and concise photograph.

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