MasonBurress@outlook.com
SELECTED WORKS
SOCIAL HOUSING IN SAN JUAN
GABARET ISLAND VISITOR CENTER
SALK ARTISTS’ COLLECTIVE
BUILT/PROFESSIONAL WORKS 06:13 14:21 22:33 34:43 44:53
ATELIER-SHELDON MUSEUM OF ART
The Sheldon Museum of Art (1960) exists on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus as a late-modernist structure with post-modern ideals. Passed daily by students, children, and civilians, "The Sheldon" represents an underutilized, underexplored, and mysterious facility to most despite the University’s extensive efforts to increase outreach. Atelier studies threshold as a means to explore creating a prominent urban form, structure vs. skin, and curating exterior and interior perspectives; all of which are aimed to increase activity, provide improved ADA accessability, and increase building performance. Atelier is the threshold bridging the passerby and the existing fabric.
SPRING 2022
PROFESSOR: Beau Johnson
COLLABORATORS: Ethan Boerner
2022 SGH/DRI Design Scholarship Honor Award
PRINCIPLES
THRESHOLD DESIGN
PROGRAM ANALYSIS
PROGRAM PARTI
The three design principles: First, to create a prominent urban form by intentional placement on the site and its massing to reestablish the museum’s presence. Second, to reimagine the existing structure vs. skin relationship in a more symbiotic and beneficial way. Third, to utilize shifts in exterior and interior perspective to reinforce prominent urban form. Render by Ethan Boerner
The proposal punches a hole through the impenetrable and intimidating facade. Photography by Author
Currently a strong relationship exists between the main hall and subsequent program in the museum. The general massing is derived from splitting the symmetrical program layout of The Sheldon and rotating it on end, creating a tower in the garden. Drawing by Ethan Boerner
When rotated on end, the entirety of the entry floor becomes the gathering space. All floors above offer completely different perspectives and experiences. Drawing by Author
GALLERY ADDITION
FLEXIBLE GALLERY
EAST SECTION
This is the moment of looking from the existing art gallery on the second floor, through “The Connector”, and into the Atelier Gallery. Render by Author
The black stained CLT structure frames the gypsum board, which then frames the art. The edges of the gallery are fixed, while the interior walls are flexible, allowing the space to change should an exhibition require it. This flexbility is not currently offered within The Sheldon. Render by Author
The relationship between “The Tower”, “The Connector”, and the existing Sheldon Museum of Art is shown here. The curation of exterior and interior perspectives is evident in the window frames as well as slightly skewed nature of the ceilings to reinforce activities happening on each floor. The ceiling will slope up or down to either push the user to and from the new addition or to suggest a change in activity. Drawing by Ethan Boerner
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Each floor takes a unique stance in regards to art education and making. 1 - A multipurpose gathering and small event space offering a small lounge and reception area. 2 - A flexible and manueverable extension to The Sheldon’s art galleries. 3 - A public art archive and education space for students to examine art under a unique lens.
4 - An art making space designed for more messy art like pottery and sculpture making. It also offers a spray booth and test gallery area.
5 - An art studio focusing on painting and more delicate art requiring very special lighting conditions. 6 - Mechanical systems floor. Floor Plans by Author ic rediorum quistam dit? An tem ditum
Social Housing in San Juan, PR
The International Housing Studio focused on exploring how place shapes culture and ways of living, with climate being a central factor in the study of each chosen city. The aim was to understand how climate influences not just materiality, but also the design of spaces—determining room placement, spatial flow, protective layers, and the interactions between inhabitants. In San Juan, PR, where the climate is hot, humid, and sunny with extreme rainfall and hurricanes, the challenge lies in creating climate-responsive design. In a context where mechanically conditioned spaces are less accessible, this proposal emphasizes cross-ventilation while ensuring security and fostering communal living.
FALL 2023
PROFESSOR: Monica Rivera
CONTEXT IMAGE
SITE MODEL PHOTOS
The building is highly visible from the busy surrounding area but remains acoustically separate. The view from the nearby train station maintains a visual connection to the thoroughfare through breezeways and goods exchange area.
This proposal uses ground-floor breezeways to connect with neighboring passages, creating thoroughfares that enhance walkability and provide quicker access to the train station and university. The site placement also prioritizes smaller, quieter parks, offering moments of serenity in the busy area. | Building for site-model by Abigail Fonville, Henry Tu, and Alyssa Nathan | Photography by Song Li
FACADE RENDER
Perforated aluminum panels on each unit’s veranda protect outdoor leisure and interior spaces, with some functioning as pivot doors and others as shutters. These panels provide sun protection, privacy, and protection from hurricanes and heavy rain, while allowing airflow.
DWELLING ENTRANCE
The entry sequence features concrete walls, both perforated and solid, with steel-mesh screens for security, privacy, and hurricane resistance, creating a buffer zone for storage and a front porch that fosters community. | Model
DWELLING TO CITY
AGGREGATION PLAN
Looking out through the breezeway, onto the city. The breezeway is in constant shade, and provides a constant breeze. The flexiblility is shown as the interior spaces are allowed to bleed into the breezeway. All materials here are rugged as this is where the storm will pass through the unit | Render
Four units per floor revolve around a central communal area acting as a town square. Black-shaded areas are interior communal spaces (two cores, a grilling area, and a communal laundry area). The north and south halves are laterally shifted for privacy while maintaining visual connection from the “front porch.” This design emphasizes exterior spaces—breezeways, verandas, and communal areas—as the primary livable areas.
DWELLING TO CITY
Looking out to the city from the breezeway, through the bedroom, veranda, and facade system | Render
DWELLING A - PLAN
Unit A is a three-room, two-bath unit that shares a negotiable room across the breezeway with Unit B, allowing flexibility as needs change. The units are arranged linearly, with an equally sized breezeway that can be adapted to the users needs, and the end serving as a back porch.
DWELLING B - PLAN
Unit B is a four-room, two-bath unit. Here, a large banquet table is placed in the breezeway for dining, and desks for children to study at. The diagrams on the right show in greater detail how the space transforms during a hurricane. All rooms can access each other without having to step into the breezeway in storms.
GABARET ISLAND VISITOR CENTER
Three islands just north of St. Louis represent some of the last natural remnants of the Mississippi River. The southernmost island, Gabaret, is man-made, created by the engineering of the Chain of Rocks Canal to bypass the Chain of Rocks. This island is home to a significant convergence of cultural and ecological drivers that shape not only the island itself but the entire region. The following proposal weaves these drivers into a series of nodes, utilizing both horizontal and vertical movement to offer visitors a true understanding of the area’s drivers. A central aspect of the center is the river’s temporal nature, with the proposal designed to accommodate water level fluctuations of more than 50 feet.
FALL 2024
PROFESSOR: John Hoal
PROCESS & TESTING MOVEMENT
The project explores horizontal movement, which creates an immersive, enclosed experience within dense brush, and vertical movement, which builds a sense of obscurity before reaching the treetop for a broader perspective. This mirrors the innate, childlike urge to climb trees.
Models were used to calibrate the horizontal and vertical components of the proposal. These models were also crucial to siting the project, and understanding how the approach should be designed. This proposal is entirely experiential, and these models and sketches acted as a storyboard for the key moments.
APPROACH
INTERSECTION
CENTER ENTRY
From afar, the vertical component of the center peers above the trees, and becomes a landmark and method of wayfinding within the area. This is viewed from the entry point at the Chain of Rocks Canal Levee.
The three components: Roots, Trunk, and Leaf all intersect at the point of entry. This is where the decision must be made to further be embraced by the forest, or to resist it.
Perspective of the intersection of the three parts, forming the entry to the Gabaret Island Vistor Center.
FACADE
PASSIVE STRATEGIES
The linear form of the building allows for maximum passive strategy potential as well as ensures the surrounding ecology stays at the forefront of the experience.
The several layers between interior space and the bottomland forest create a metabolic environment. This part of the proposal acts as the leaf, utilizing the multiple layers to collect rainfall, capture dew, harness solar energy, and protect
BOARDWALK
All program within the interior space is encouraged to spill onto the boardwalk via large bi-fold or sliding aluminum doors. The boardwalk terminates at an exhibition space and event space.
Resting on concrete piers, the entiresteel structure contains two autonomous components: the thin roof and board walk (margin of a leaf), and the self-contained interior space (stalk) | Physical Model
ASCENSION Moving up through the tower is intended to give the visitor a true understanding of the scale of and the space created by the tree. More importantly, this experience gives the visitor a sense of what it means to emerge from the canopy. The result of this experience is a cultural and ecological understanding of St. Louis region that is otherwise unobtainable: that’s being equidistant from the St. Louis Arch and the Chain of Rocks, as well as being flanked by the Mississippi river and the Chain of Rocks Canal.
SALK ARTISTS’ COLLECTIVE
The following proposal builds on the iconic and unbuilt Meeting House at the Salk Institute, by Louis Kahn. The meeting house is where Jonah Salk pictured a setting where he could bring Picasso to meet his scientists. It was designed to house the scientists, and the following proposal is the addition of 6 artist residences as well as a place of intersection for artists and scientists to create dialogue. Located northwest of the Salk Institute and loosely inspired by the Acropolis, the Meeting House explores the relationship between skin and core, with Kahn dividing these elements into distinct concrete forms. It is situated at the boundary where flat sandy loam gives way to a valley that leads to the ocean cliffs.
SPRING 2024
PROFESSOR: Robert McCarter
The intersection and meeting space contains meeting rooms arranged around a central series of galleries. The meeting space separates itself from Kahn’s proposal.
ELEVATION STUDY
Pictured is a view from the valley on the west side of the proposals. The artist residences are in the foreground, while Kahn’s scientist residences are in the background.
The massing uses datums from Kahn’s proposal and continues them into the top and entry floor of the meeting space. As the building descends, it begins to erode into the valley. Spaces are carved out from the rock-like form and massive walls are folded to create both inward facing and outward facing meeting rooms.
INWARD MEETING ROOM
OUTWARD MEETING ROOM
TOP FLOOR PLAN
The meeting rooms are thoughtfully designed, yet adaptable spaces. While the exact topics that scientists and artists will discuss remain unknown, their interactions are undeniably impactful, with numerous areas of overlap. Both groups seek environments of serenity and comfort—places where ideas can flow freely, and where collaboration is facilitated in an open, unconfined setting.
The outward meeting rooms prioritize views of the landscape rather than the art. These spaces will be quieter in nature, and will foster different discussions.
The proposal is accessed via a ramp that utilizes changes in elevation and walls to subtly separate users from the artist and scientist residences to the north. Upon entering, visitors circulate and descend through inward and outward meeting rooms until reaching the galleries on the lowest level.
The main gallery uses the full height of the proposal to bring top light into the protected gallery.
Largely built into the hillside, the galleries form a direct connection to the artist residences to the North.
The main gallery maintains a direct relationship to the meeting spaces above.
RESIDENCE ENTRY
SECTION BB
ARTIST RESIDENCE
The residences are entered through spaces between them that reconnect the artist to the landscape.
The units are pushed into the Earth and topped with a “brown roof”, maintaining the views experience from within Kahn’s scientist residences.
The residences maintain Kahn’s notion of the skin and core, but reimagine what this means for artists.
BUILT/PROFESSIONAL WORKS
After completing my third year in architecture, I secured an internship at Polynomial in Omaha, NE. Following my undergraduate studies, I was offered a full-time position as a project manager intern, where I split my time between the office and the shop, gaining hands-on experience in both design and fabrication. I contributed to and led several projects, including an in-house clamp rack (pictured right), a steel plate fence, and large revolving glass whiteboards (proposed). Among the featured community-based projects, I played a key role in the first public works I helped bring to life. The skills I developed at Polynomial have profoundly shaped the lens through which I view architecture.
SPRING 2021 - FALL 2023
Polynomial Omaha, NE
SUMMER 2024 - CURRENT
Christner Architects St. Louis, MO
NUIHC GRAPHIC
In collaboration with Alley Poyner Machietto Architects and the Nebraska Urban Indian Health Coalition (NUIHC), Polynomial adopted the challenge of bringing iconography in the form of a graphic band of panels to the NUIHC building. Following schematic design, Polynomial was brought in for Design Development and Shop Drawings. I was put on the project as project manager following Design Development. The graphic band consists of large aluminum tube frames anchored to existing brick, with CNC'd Black ACM Panels and White ACM backer panels screwed to the aluminum frame's face. Project Manager | Field Measuring, Detail Design, Submittals, Shop Drawings, Fabrication, and Installation
3015 ADDRESS PLATE
FABRICATION/INSTALLATION
SANDWICH DETAIL
3015 Address Plate
The steel address plate mimics geometries present on the cabin, while perforations provide an understanding of the cabin's relation to the system of lakes. Photography by Author
The two C-Channel members sandwich the two laser-cut steel plates, which provide the housing for the village-issued address plate. Magnets are used to fasten the edge of the 10 GA. Plate while allowing the housing to easily open up in the event of the village modifying the issued address plate. Photography by Author 10 GA. Lasercut Mild Steel Plate, Mild Steel Shim, and Mild Steel C-Channel all plugwelded together--No Fasteners. The rubber-coated C-Channel Post was placed in a 10"-diameter concrete footing.
