2012 Portfolio by Melissa How

MELISSA S. HOW melissahow@gmail.com +1 559 355 6310 318 Knickerbocker Avenue, Unit 3G Brooklyn, NY 11237 USA

contents Curriculum Vitae

GRADUATE WORK

Dismantle/Rebuild: A New Framework for Willets Point Symbio[a]sis: Gansevoort Peninsula Park Systematic Sites: Demilitarization as Generator Media Arts Quad: Community College Plaza Planting Design Collective Suburbia: Pluralizing Singularity

06 16 24 30 34

UNDERGRADUATE WORK

Hybrid Arts Center IMAGINE Immigration Museum Sustainable High-Rise

42 48 54

PROFESSIONAL WORK

Media Arts Center East Campus Complex LAUSD 9th Street Span

62 68 72

PERSONAL WORK

Nuit Blanche Renderings Electric Bike-In Cinema 2nd Nature/5th Sense Orderly Civilians

80 84 86 88

EDUCATION HARVARD UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN Cambridge, MA - 2010-2012 Master of Landscape Architecture, with Distinction

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Los Angeles, CA - 2002-2007 Bachelor of Architecture, Cum Laude

CENTER FOR ADVANCED RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY Clovis, CA - 2000-2001 Engineering & Product Development

FLOYD B. BUCHANAN HIGH SCHOOL Clovis, CA - 1998-2002 Valedictorian

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

curriculum vitae CONTACT

melissahow@gmail.com +1 559 355 6310 318 Knickerbocker Avenue Unit 3G Brooklyn, NY 11237 USA

MICHAEL VAN VALKENBURGH & ASSOCIATES - Freelance Brooklyn, NY - 8/2012-9/2012 Aided the MVVA competition team by producing graphics for the Waller Creek competition in Austin, TX. Aided in the generation of a submittal booklet for the competition as well as illustrative renderings. Supervisor: Danielle Choi [718.243.2044 - dchoi@mvvainc.com]

QUATRO DESIGN GROUP - Designer/Job Captain Los Angeles, CA - 7/2007-7/2010 Worked on three educational projects from competition to 100% construction documents, as well as four competition entries for institutional projects. Produced drawings, diagrams, presentation boards, and study models. Presented design concepts to clients and users and participated in design charettes with clients and stakeholders. Coordinated with consultants and clients to solve design, code, and standards issues. Led in house sustainability workgroup and LEED accreditation seminars. Supervisor: Javier Molina, AIA [213.625.1995 - jmolina@qdg-architects.com]

LEHRER ARCHITECTS - Intern Los Angeles, CA - 10/2005-2/2007 Created physical and 3D study models. Produced construction documents and presentation boards. Sourced materials and supplies for materials boards and client meetings. Developed packages for proposals and submittals of qualifications. Contacted media outlets and created graphic and image press packages for project publication in leading industry magazines. Supervisor: Michael Lehrer, FAIA [323.664.4747 - architect@lehrerarchitects.com] 02

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE HARVARD UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN Cambridge, MA - 1/2012-5/2012 Teaching Assistant - Landscape Core Studio IV Supervisor: Chris Reed, RLA [617.464.1140 - cr@stoss.net]

EXHIBITIONS INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE BIENNALE, ROTTERDAM Rotterdam, Netherlands - 3/2012-9/2012 Dismantle/Rebuild: A New Framework for Willets Point selected as featured project in Smart Cities: Parallel Cases 2

AWARDS/HONORS ASLA STUDENT HONOR AWARD - ANALYSIS & PLANNING 2012 Awarded by ASLA for Dismantle/Rebuild: A New Framework for Willets Point

ASLA HONOR & MERIT AWARD NOMINEE 2012 Nominated by GSD faculty based on academic merit and awarded by ASLA jury

USC SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE COMMENDATION 2006 Awarded for outstanding merit in Professional Practice coursework

NATIONAL ENGINEERING & DESIGN COMPETITION 2001 Regional Most Cohesive Team Awarded for group performance in design competition for threshold wheelchairactivated light switch

AFFILIATIONS -

LEED速 Accredited Professional Tau Sigma Delta Architecture Honor Society NCARB Intern Development Program ASLA student member

SKILLS GRAPHICS

Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, AfterEffects, Premiere) MODELING/RENDERING Rhinoceros 3D, Form Z, SketchUp, Grasshopper, V-Ray, Kerkythea DRAFTING Revit Architecture, AutoCAD ANALYSIS ArcGIS, AquaVeo, Ecotect LANGUAGES English, conversational French, conversational Bahasa Malaysia

ACTIVITIES -

Recupera Chile (Post-disaster economic recovery team) - Designer [2012] Orderly Civilians [Accessories and jewelry - http://www.orderlycivilians.com] Harvard GSD Penny White Traveling Fellowship juror [2012] QDG Sustainability Workgroup Communications Chair & Learning Coordinator Freelance Render Artist for Nuit Blanche, New York [2011 - 2012] San Gabriel Valley, CA Habitat for Humanity volunteer 03

graduate Work HARVARD UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN Master of Landscape Architecture I AP, with Distinction 2010 - 2012

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dismantle/rebuild:

A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR WILLETS POINT HARVARD GSD_SPRING 2011_LANDSCAPE CORE STUDIO IV ADVISORS: MIHO MAZEREEUW & CHRIS REED

Urban highway edge, year 50

Focusing on the responsive integration of landscape and urban form, this project proposes a new vision for the highly polluted and politically contested Willets Point peninsula in Queens, New York. Drawing information directly from the land itself through the phytoforensic study of contamination and flooding levels and existing land ownership patterns, existing lots are dismantled and critical infrastructural systems are deployed. As time progresses, the highly organized phytoforensic grid of hybrid poplar trees is densified, removed, or allowed to succeed in response to yearly testing, corresponding with and creating positive change within the urban environment. Dismantle/Rebuild: A New Framework for Willets Point thus explores the relationship between the successional urban â&#x20AC;&#x153;forestâ&#x20AC;? and its accompanying interspecial and opportunistic vegetation in response to human and hydrological movement. In response to a constantly shifting landscape, new typologies and urban organizations are spawned that are uniquely suited to the contemporary marginalized urban environment. The layered infrastructural systems set in place respond fluidly to variable inputs such as landowner holdout or development trends, allowing for the development of an intelligent and resilient city that can accommodate variations in spatial demand and ecological conditions over time without sacrificing character or richness.

Existing context, land ownership patterns, and known contamination sources

LANDOWNER LOT REALTOR OWNED LOT

YEAR 0 - INTERVENTION

A B CITY OWNED LOT

Landowner hold out - prepare for relocation Salt-tolerant poplar grid planted

City owned lot dismantled Salt-tolerant poplar grid planted City owned lot dismantled Salt-tolerant poplar grid planted Leased lot preparing to be dismantled Salt-tolerant poplar grid planted

CITY OWNED LOT

C A

YEAR 1 - DENSIFICATION

Landowners sell land to city, lot dismantled Poplar grid growing, grid densified No reduction in contamination levels Poplars dying, grid replanted and densified Some reduction in contamination levels Poplars growing, grid densified Some reduction in contamination levels Poplars growing, grid densified

A B C

D C

YEAR 5 - GROWTH & MONITOR B

Large reduction in contamination levels New pioneer species growing, green paths begin No reduction in contamination levels Poplars dying, replanted Some reduction in contamination levels Poplars growing Great reduction in contamination levels New pioneer species growing Stormwater channels deployed

A B C

D C

YEAR 8 - REBUILDING A

A B

B C

Contamination mitigated Urban forest growing No reduction in contamination Contamination capped Contamination mitigated Poplars removed for development Great reduction in contamination Urban forest growing Stormwater channels converted to bioswales to accommodate increased runoff from urban growth

A B

YEAR 15 - URBAN GROWTH Urban forest growth - open space preserve Pedestrian pathways implemented Poplars replanted on clean soil Stormwater community garden created Urban fabric growth continues

Stormwater wetlands expanded Pedestrian pathways implemented

Urban forest management/succession scenarios

Grid densification and resultant branching path

Stormwater wetland illustrative and systemic section

Example of potential green path configuration

Build-out scenario 1 - Greater landowner hold out

Build-out scenario 2 - Manufacturing corridor

YEAR 8 - URBAN REBUILDING CONTAMINATION SUCCESSFULLY MITIGATED URBAN FOREST GROWING NO REDUCTION IN CONTAMINATION LEVELS CONTAMINATION CAPPED WITH CLEAN SOIL CONTAMINATION SUCCESSFULLY MITIGATED POPLARS REMOVED TO ALLOW URBAN DEVELOPMENT GREAT REDUCTION IN CONTAMINATION LEVELS URBAN FOREST GROWING STORMWATER CHANNELS CONVERTED TO Build-out scenario 3 - Development adjacent to BIOSWALES TO ACCOMMODATE INCREASED RUNOFF FROM URBAN GROWTH commercial areas

ABOVE: Potential site plan showing maximum build out, year 50 BELOW: Potential build out scenarios, showing commercial hub development, manufacturing corridor, and landowner hold out

Proposed cut & bridge building typologies per zoning

Dismantling/deploying scenario, year 5

Urban rebuilding scenario, year 15

Medium density urban growth scenario, year 50

This project was nominated by faculty at the Graduate School of Design to be entered into the call for entries for the Smart Cities: Parallel Cases 2 exhibition, a part of the 2012 International Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam. From a pool of student projects from universities around the world, Dismantle/ Rebuild was selected as one of the 23 student projects exhibited at the National Architecture Institute, and one of only two students selected to represent the Graduate School of Design.

Design of collaborative display

Project on display at Smart Cities: Parallel Cases 2 exhibition in Rotterdam, Summer 2012

In collaboration with the fellow GSD student, we designed a wall mounted triptych display that would creatively and equally highlight our two very diverse proposals for the Willets Point site. Accompanied by a pole-mounted touch-screen LCD display containing more in-depth documentation on the two projects, Dismantle/Rebuild was on exhibition for the entire summer of 2012. In additional, this project was awarded a 2012 ASLA Honor Award in the Analysis & Planning category 15

symbio[a]sis:

GANSEVOORT PENINSULA PARK HARVARD GSD_SPRING 2012_OPTION STUDIO ADVISORS: MICHAEL VAN VALKENBURGH & ROSETTA ELKIN

Rendering of CSO barges, docked

Located on the Gansevoort Peninsula of the Hudson River Parkway in Manhattan, this project aims to promote the health and biodiversity of the Hudson River and increase opportunities for meaningful water edge interfaces for the city and its denizens. To accomplish this, the project proposes a system of combined sewer overflow (CSO) wetland treatment barges and suggests one potential design for a park that integrates the reuse of the treated effluent within a landscape that acts as both dock and transfer station. The project reimagines the typical waterfrontpier experience with a series of piers that offer varying means of interacting with the waterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edge and which are mediated by interstitial pillowing landforms that offer a gradient of open/active and hidden/quiet spaces. Intercepting the effluent that would otherwise be dumped into the river during forecasted storm events, the barges move up and down the parkway, becoming a barometer of both weather and water quality through their presence or absence. Reflecting the infrastructural tradition of the Gansevoort Peninsula as a former waste transfer station, the proposed park thus fosters a symbiotic relationship between landscape and infrastructure, creating a compelling experience not found elsewhere in the parkway or beyond. By embracing the working legacy of the peninsula rather than denying it, the site engenders positive change over the larger context of the Hudson River, becoming an emblematic and functioning part of the parkway.

ABOVE: CSO treatment system and barge network diagrams

Barge docks

Wes t Sid e Hi

Pile pier

ghw ay

Firehouse pier

Main pier CSO barge, typ.

Highway pier

Barge docks

(N) Whitney Museum

Underwater pier

Bathing pier North

50 ft

ABOVE: Site plan BELOW: Rendering of view from Main Pier towards Hudson River in winter

Valley CSO Barges Grass dunes

Sloping meadow

Valley

Sloping meadow

Grass dunes

50 ft

Overall planting plan

Sloping meadow section

Eryngium yuccifolium - Rattles. master Cornus sanguinea - Bloodtwig dogwood Iris versicolor - Blue flag iris 2-3’

4-5’

Clay soil, dry soil, shallow, rocky soil. Drough tolerant, prefers dryish, sandy soils. Blooms July - September

Sample plant selection

5-6’

S-D

2-3’

“Midwinter Fire.” Wet, saturated, or flooded soils. Organically rich, medium moisture, wellBright blue flowers. drained soils in full sun to part shade. Blooms May - June. Good fall color & flowers, blooms May - June.

Betula populifolia - Gray birch 10-20’

20-30’

T-D

Soils with poor and excessive drainage and dry, disturbed soils. Yellow fall foliage. Blooms in April.

Model

ABOVE: View of active path, looking towards valley BELOW: View of sloping meadows looking towards the Hudson River

systematic sites:

DEMILITARIZATION AS GENERATOR OF ECOLOGIES & ECONOMIES HARVARD GSD_FALL 2010_LANDSCAPE CORE STUDIO III ADVISORS: JULIA WATSON & PIERRE BELANGER

Projection of site strategy at year 50

This project envisions the demilitarized South Weymouth Naval Airforce base in Weymouth, Massachusetts as a generator of both community and economy. Through the creation and operation of a community owned and managed closed system, jobs for its surrounding three townships are created and necessary infrastructural services are provided by the community for the community. Incorporating a groundwater treatment and potable water distribution plant, constructed wetlands for sewage treatment, algaculture ponds for biofuel generation, as well as a biofuel-powered transportation fleet, the project is intended to connect community members and provide greater access to community centers, nursing homes and schools, opening up both the site as well as the tri-town community.

Rendering of biofuel station and water channels, year 50

The project is divided into two phases: Phase 1, which lasts for 15 years, is characterized by an introspective remediation of on-site contaminants and defines the site boundary at the interior of the existing wetlands. Phase 2, which starts after all remediation efforts have been completed at year 16, is focused on the extroverted generation of community prosperity by the provision of important infrastructures and services. The project is comprised of 5 intertwined processes: groundwater treatment and aquifer replenishment, sewage treatment, constructed wetlands, algae production, and contaminated soil treatment.

ABOVE: Regional effects & project phasing BELOW: Rendering of biofuel station and water channels, year 50

1 CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS (FREE WATER SYSTEM) + contaminated on-site soils + groundwater from on-site aquifers

WATER WITH DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER PRIMARY TREATED SOILS WILDLIFE & PLANT BIOMASS

3 ALGAE PONDS (OPEN SYSTEM) + water with dissolved organic matter from constructed wetlands + captured CO2 from plant biomass incinerator + seasonal operation

WATER WITH DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER CLEAN WATER DRIED ALGAE

5 VEGETATED SWALE & SPREADING GROUND + stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces & community

calamus - lepironia articulata cattails - typha latifolia soil level duckweed - lemna minor human - homo sapien sharp dock - polygonum amphibium treated runoff & sewage water small carp - cyprinus carpio white waterlily - nymphea odorata injection wells

PHASE 2 - CONSTRUCTED POND & SPREADING GROUND

+ clean stormwater runoff from vegetated swales + clean treated sewage water from constructed wetlands & algae ponds & bioreactors

CLEANER WATER PERCOLATION INTO AQUIFER

2 CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS (VEGETATED SUBMERGED BED) + primary treated soils from free water system wetlands

WATER WITH DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER SECONDARY TREATED SOILS PLANT BIOMASS

4 ALGAE BIOREACTORS (CLOSED SYSTEM) + cleaned tertiary sewage effluent from constructed wetlands + captured CO2 from Tri-Town Transportation fleet + steam heating system for year-round algae production

CLEAN WATER BIOFUEL ALGAE

6 NATURAL WETLANDS + clean stormwater runoff from vegetated swales + clean treated sewage water from constructed wetlands & algae ponds & bioreactors

VEGETAL GROWTH & BIODIVERSITY PERCOLATION INTO AQUIFER

media arts quad:

COMMUNITY COLLEGE PLAZA PLANTING DESIGN HARVARD GSD_SPRING 2011_DYNAMIC LANDSCAPES ADVISORS: PIET OUDOLF & ANDREA HANSEN

View of north lawn in summer

Sited in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California on the Los Angeles Mission College campus, this project was a planting design for a course co-taught by visiting instructor Piet Oudolf. Intended as a retroactive redesign of the Media Arts plaza, whose namesake building I had helped design in my professional work prior to my graduate studies, this project reimagines the conventional “mission” style that the school is named for and proposed a striking new planting design for the campus’s gateway plaza. The design proposes the creation of four intimate lawns that incorporate seating, each corresponding to its surrounding buildings and main driveway turnaround. A stormwater detention ‘arroyo’ feature cuts through the quad, further defining the lawns and creating usable spaces for studying, resting, and gathering. As the climate of the San Fernando Valley is extremely hot and dry during the summer months, drought tolerant and low maintenance plants were privileged, except in the arroyo plantings which need to withstand high moisture levels during storm events. Each lawn has its own characteristic plant color derived from the dominating terra cotta color of the campus, with complementary colors of pink, green, purple-blue and yellow defining the plant selection. In keeping with the tradition of the culinary and arts institute, plants which have interesting or unusual forms and which been historically useful to humans in edible or medicinal practices (or close relatives for ease of maintenance) were also specified.

North Lawn

Central Lawn West Lawn

East Lawn Arroyo

South Lawn

Overall planting plan

The conceptual planting design consists of groups and scatter plants, with accent trees for shade interspersed. The groups consist primarily of perennials and grasses in alternating bands, with accent plants of the same color scattered into the grasses and grasses scattered into the perennials.

Breakout plan - colors

Breakout plan - accents

grasses

Rendering of north lawn in spring

Lavandula stoechas ‘Otto quast’ - Spanish lavender Evergreen shrub Full sun, little water once established. Dense, mounding from 20-28” high, 1836” wide. Blooms mid-spring to mid-summer.

Salvia elegans ‘Frieda Dixon’ - Pineapple sage Perennial shrub Full sun, regular water. Tolerates poor soil, but good drainage necessary. 5’ tall, 5’ wide. Blooms late spring to frost.

Setcreasea pallida - Purple heart Deciduous groundcover Full sun or partial shade, little water once established. Tolerates poor soil. Fast growing12-18” tall. Blooms in summer.

Cordyline ‘Electric Pink’ - Dracaena Palm Ornamental evergreen perennial Full to partial sun, little water once established. 2-4’ tall and wide. Blooms in spring.

Chondropetalum tectorum - Cape rush Evergreen grass Full sun, tolerates wet areas or little water once established. Tolerates poor soil, but good drainage. Slow growing to 2 to 3 ft. high, equal spread. Flowers are unimportant.

Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ - Switchgrass Ornamental grass Full to partial sun, little water once established. Tolerates poor soil, but good drainage. Fast growing 4’ tall in bloom, and 2-3’ wide. Blooms in summer, dramatic fall foliage.

Panicum virgatum ‘Dalla blues’ - Switchgrass Ornamental grass Full to partial sun, little water once established. Fast growing clumps up to 5’ tall. Blooms midsummer, foliage turns yellow in fall.

Nassella tenuissima - Mexican feather grass Ornamental grass Full sun, little water once established. Airy clumps 12-24” tall and wide, 30” tall in bloom. Blooms in summer.

Santolina rosmarinifolia - Rosemary-leaved Santolina Evergreen shrub Full sun, little water, drought tolerant. Well drained soil. Small shrub, 2’ tall, 4’ wide. Blooms in summer.

Artemisia douglasiana - Mugwort Evergreen perennial Full sun to shade, drought & moisture tolerant. Well drained soil. Small shrub, 2-3’ tall, 3-4’ wide. Blooms in summer.

Juncus patens - California gray rush Evergreen grass Full sun to partial shade, will tolerate constant moisture or drought. 12-24” tall and wide. Blooms in summer.

Carex pansa - California meadow sedge Evergreen grass Full to partial shade, drought tolerant. Up to 12” tall and 1-2’ wide. Blooms in late spring.

Sample plant selection

View of east lawn in summer

collective suburbia:

PLURALIZING SINGULARITY IN THE CONTEMPORARY CITY HARVARD GSD_FALL 2011_PARIS STUDY ABROAD STUDIO ADVISOR: ANNE LACATON

Rendering of south facade

Situated on the border between Paris, the city, and Paris, the region, this project is located in an industrial district in the 18th arrondisement known as Porte de la Chapelle. Set away from the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s historic core, the district is home to an assortment of low density industrial warehouses, high rise social housing, abandoned railway tracks, and some of the only remaining unbuilt land in Paris. Embodying an immense capacity for transformation, the site thus begs the question: What defines the quality of life for the inhabitants of a city in dire need of space, and how can we harness the potential of the existing and the unbuilt to improve quality of life? Conceived as a response to the increasing detachment and placelessness of the Parisian banlieue, or suburbs, this project also seeks to bridge the socioeconomic housing divide between the city and its outskirts. To accomplish this, the elements of a detached single-family housing typology (typically associated with greater space) are carefully examined and strategically translated and inserted into a multi-family housing framework (typically associated with density and compaction). Thus, this project envisions how a series of detached housing units might be aggregated and inserted into an existing and under-utilized building to form a vibrant community that includes both residential and mixed-use amenities such as office, retail, storage, and parking space.

Porte de la Chapelle as envisioned as gateway to the city

HOME

DRIVEWAY & STREET

PRIVATE DETACHED RESIDENCE - Enclosed, insulated, separate, acoustic & visual privacy, spacious, modifiable - Bedrooms, kitchen, living rooms, bathrooms, dens - Event space (parties/gatherings) Cooking Studying Living (Sleeping, eating, washing, playing, etc.) COLLECTIVE HOUSING TRANSLATION:

MOTORWAY ADJACENT TO HOUSING UNIT - Public, hardscaped, tree-lined - Concrete, pavement, trees - Homeowner & guest parking Play area Loading Circulation COLLECTIVE HOUSING TRANSLATION:

ADJACENT MOTORWAY & GUEST PARKING

DETACHED MULTI-STORY APARTMENT

BACKYARD

GARAGE

PRIVATE OUTDOOR SPACE - Enclosed, vegetated, shaded, large, quiet - Plants, trees, seating, water feature, lawn - Event space (parties/gatherings) Gardening Productive space (vegetables, flowers, fruit, etc.) COLLECTIVE HOUSING TRANSLATION:

COVERED, OFF-STREET PARKING - Enclosed, secure, covered, unfinished, flexible, changeable - Bare floor, large roll-up doors - Parking Storage Workshop Converted bedroom/studio COLLECTIVE HOUSING TRANSLATION:

WINTER GARDEN

PARKING SPACE/STORAGE UNIT

Translation of the typical detached suburban home into multi-family housing

insertion of user-defined housing unit

parking/non-light sensitive spaces offices

ABOVE: Existing building section and proposed intervention BELOW: Proposed building section with enlargement of residential area

offices outdoor balcony areas public circulation retail/commercial/public amenities

housing tenant storage parking/non-light sensitive spaces

ABOVE & BELOW: Flexibility of interior streetscape and housing units over time

undergraduate Work UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Bachelor of Architecture, Cum Laude 2002 - 2007

Hybrid Arts Center IMAGINE Immigration Museum Sustainable High-Rise

42 48 54

hybrid arts center USC CAMPUS

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA_FALL 2006_TOPIC STUDIO ADVISORS: YO HAKOMORI & KULAPAT YANTRASAST

Rendering of project and plaza

Located at the heart of the USC campus in Los Angeles, the Hybrid Arts Center was conceived as having two disparate sections that would react to one another in a dialogue between tradition and innovation, orthogonal and curvilinear. Based on underlying surrealist principles of womb-like architecture and studies of the effects of non-rectilinear space on the artistic mind, the distinctive form of the student art building is rendered as a faceted jewel composed of a system of continuous surfaces. These facets sinuously wrap around curvilinear programmatic spaces that can be partitioned and changed as classes grow and shrink. Thus, the art center evokes sculptural ideas of artistic expression and the center’s biomorphic form takes on two connotations within the context of the site: first, as the “heart” of campus in which the organic form literally suggests organs of the body and second, as a plant pushing up from roots buried deep below, breaking through the building’s ‘regular’ façade. In contrast, the administrative and theatre building is an exploration of traditional modernist-functionalist lines favored by traditional offices. Clad in bamboo, the roof and sunshading system span both buildings, protecting them and presenting a united façade to the campus. The interstitial social space between the administrative building and the organic form of the arts building draws people in, creating a convenient pathway through the building and exposing visitors to and encouraging them to participate in the activities occurring inside.

Detail section through faรงade

3d modeling blob studies

Second floor plan

ABOVE: Light study of interstitial space between buildings BELOW: Model

Roof garden/deck

Classrooms

Communal space

CafĂŠ

Film studios

BELOW: Conceptual sketch

Communal space

Offices

Central corridor

Administration

Offices

Auditorium Back of house/ backstage area

Lobby

Gallery

ABOVE: Longitudinal section through building BELOW: Transverse section through building & site

i.m.a.g.i.n.e. immigration museum

MACARTHUR PARK, LOS ANGELES UNIV. OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA_SPRING 2007_THESIS STUDIO ADVISOR: AMY MURPHY

Render of project in park

The Interactive Museum of American Generational Immigration and Native Exploration (IMAGINE) is dedicated to an understanding of the process and effects of immigration, as well as the various modes in which differing cultures understand time and space, both relatively and contingently. Incorporating a non-profit research and educational institute aimed at adult education, the design of the museum is based on the conceptualization of the immigration path as a series of linear and non-linear narratives that intersect and influence each other. Located in the multi-culturally diverse and historically significant area of MacArthur Park in Los Angeles (one of the major entry points for Latino immigrants today), the museum experience is conceived around the capturing of â&#x20AC;&#x153;narrative strandsâ&#x20AC;? that weave in and out of time and space, creating continually shifting museum experiences that recall the often haphazard journeys of American immigrants. Incorporating state-of-the-art digital technologies that trace and capture patterns of visitor traffic and electronic kiosks whose information changes in accordance to the various trajectories chosen by the visitor, the museum experience is one that is constantly in flux, presenting new and different perspectives with each subsequent visit as the collection grows with each new story collected.

ADMINISTRATION & EDUCATION BAR EXISTING COMMUNITY CENTER REMNANT & ENTRANCE MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS BAR

EXHIBITION “STORYBOARD” INTERACTIVE DISPLAY WALLS STRUCTURAL WALLS

SOLAR SHADE LAMINATED GARDEN

ABOVE: Conceptual building component study BELOW: Conceptual rendering of project in context

ABOVE: Model in context BELOW: Site & roof plan

Transverse section through building

6th Street level plan

Second level plan

Park level plan

Detailed wall section

sustainable mixed-use high rise

EXPOSITION PARK, LOS ANGELES UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA_SPRING 2006_TOPIC STUDIO ADVISOR: THOMAS SPIEGELHALTER

Render of exterior garden area

The mixed-use sustainable high rise project draws upon the field of aeronautics for its inspiration, with the jet engine serving as a model for the way in which project handles ventilation. Although the jet engine is an active system that relies on energy inputs to function, its efficiency and ability to harness energy created by pressure differentials through its compartmentalized design provide for exciting possibilities that are translatable into building design. With this in mind, the high rise incorporates light and air wells that surround the building’s central core, creating a chimney effect that draws warm exhaust air out of the building, providing passive climate control and cross-ventilation that is necessary in the Angeleno heat. In order to sustainably combat the heat gain and glare caused by the area’s low-rise buildings, the project also borrows from the compass barrel cactus, a plant native to the region’s arid climate, which has the odd habit of always leaning towards the south as its shaded north half tends to grow faster. Thus, habitable building mass (such as office and sleeping blocks) is placed towards the north side of the building to protect from heat gain and glare, while a dense covering of louvers mimics the cactus’s thick needle cover, which help protect it from the harsh desert sun. Programmatically, the tower incorporates exhibit areas for the adjacent California Science Center, aeronautic laboratories and scientist quarters, offices, conference rooms, a restaurant, helipad, educational mechanical systems exhibits, as well as wastewater and compost recycling systems incorporated within the landscape.

Level +2 (Science exhibit)

Study model

Level +5 (Scientists sleep quarters)

Level +11 (Conference room)

CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS Sewage from restrooms and cafe is gravity fed and processed through the constructed wetlands to provide cleansing to tertiary standards

COMPOST PIT Utilizes treated effluent and solids from constructed wetlands and building waste to create fertilizer

PHOTOVOLTAIC ARRAYS Photovoltaic arrays on the ground and incorporated into the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s louvers work together with the biomass system and wind turbines to power the building

SERVICE CORES

MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

EVERGREEN GROVES

Pulled out to exterior on the west and east sides to shade building core

Building mechanical systems in the basement are exposed at ground level as an educational exhibit for visitors

Located to north of building to provide evaporative cooling as a counter to the hot Santa Ana winds

RECYCLING DEMONSTRATION Recycling and waste chutes with windows expose the daily amounts of trash generated within the building

DECIDUOUS GROVES

STORMWATER COLLECTION

Existing deciduous trees are kept on the south side of the building to provide shade in the summer months and allow sunlight penetration during the winter months

Collection basins are designed to store rain and treated grey water year round for irrigation and as decorative water features

Site plan depicting sustainable features

Axonometric study of building

Ecotect wind analysis

Section through building

professional Work QUATRO DESIGN GROUP Designer/Job Captain/Sustainability Workgroup Coordinator 2007 - 2010 Media Arts Center East Campus Complex LAUSD 9th Street Span

62 68 72

media arts center

LOS ANGELES MISSION COLLEGE QUATRO DESIGN GROUP_2007-2009 ROLE: JOB CAPTAIN/DESIGNER

Project under construction

Envisioned as a welcoming gateway to the Los Angeles Mission College campus, the Media Arts Center was intended to house the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expanding fine and performing arts program. Consisting of a 3-storey building in the heart of the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campus, the project is currently under construction and is expected to open in the spring of 2013. Upon completion, the center will house a multi-purpose theatre and lecture hall, an art exhibition gallery, a recital room, production studio, screening room, classrooms, faculty offices, and studios. My role in this project was two-fold as both job captain and junior designer, working closely with the design principal and senior designer on the designs for the initial proposal and coordinating the project drawing set through to the construction documentation process. As an integral part of a small design team, I was given the opportunity to lead user group meetings and charettes and presented ideas to the clients during Schematic and Design Development review meetings. In addition, I was part of the team that brought the project to the Division of State Architects (DSA) backcheck appointments, revising documents on the spot. On this project, I also coordinated with structural, landscape, and MEP consultants, working with them to develop details and solve egress and code issues.

Conceptual site & programmatic layout study sketches

SCHEME B

SCHEME A

Diagrams of preliminary schemes showing varying form of campus arroyo

Derivation of preliminary schemes

CLASSROOMS

STUDENT MEETING

SUPPORT SPACES

ADMINISTRATION SCREENING ROOM THEATRE RECITAL AREAS

EXTERIOR AWNINGS

CIRCULATION AREAS

ART STUDIOS

ABOVE: Exploded programmatic axon of scheme at schematic design BELOW: Rendering of project at 25% CDs, courtesy of Quatro Design Group

PRODUCTION STUDIO

RECITAL ROOM

COMPUTER LAB

GREEN ROOM

LOCKERS

SERVICE YARD

AUDITORIUM LOBBY

GALLERY WOODSHOP

Plan of ground level at 100% CDs

ABOVE: Interior view of lobby at 100% CDs, courtesy of Quatro Design Group BELOW: Exterior view at 100% CDs, courtesy of Quatro Design Group

east campus complex

LOS ANGELES MISSION COLLEGE QUATRO DESIGN GROUP_2009-2010 ROLE: DESIGNER

Rendering of central plaza and science building, courtesy of Quatro Design Group

This design-build project, located just east of Los Angeles Mission College’s main campus, will be the district’s first project to be designed and documented entirely with Building Information Modeling (BIM). Currently under construction, the anticipated LEED certified Platinum building will be home to a 3-storey 95,000 sf science lab building, outdoor amphitheatre, sheriff’s campus station, and a separate single storey 9,000sf central mechanical plant. As a part of the design team, I worked on the competition proposal documents, working closely with the senior designer to determine the materials, aesthetics, and general layout of the building’s program and also designed the initial proposal for the exterior landscape. Later, during the Schematic and Design Development phases, I worked on designing the building floor plans, outdoor amphitheatre, and building sections and elevations in Revit. As one of the firm’s LEED accredited staff, I performed exterior glazing calculations for LEED documentation of the science building and aided in its redesign to meet LEED requirements. Additionally, I was given responsibility for the overall design of the campus’s central mechanical plant, whose staggered design and striated concrete block façade elevates an often overlooked and undervalued building to one of aesthetic interest in proportion to its highly visible location adjacent to the street below.

1. Solid

2. Split

3. Push

4. Resolidify

5. Differentiate faces

6. Height to grade

7. Add stairwell

8. Slope to grade

9. Add service yard

BOILER ROOM

CHILLER YARD TELECOM ROOM

SERVICE YARD

CHILLER ROOM Central plant massing and formal studies

Campus site plan at schematic design

ABOVE: Science building and central plant (foreground) under construction BELOW: Science building faรงade and glazing system under construction

9th street span school

LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, K-8 QUATRO DESIGN GROUP_2009-2010 ROLE: JOB CAPTAIN/DESIGNER

Rendering of interior campus at 25% CDs, courtesy of Quatro Design Group

The LAUSD Central Region 9th Street Span project consists of two schools that share a single campus located along ‘Skid Row’ in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. A LAUSD K-5 elementary school and a charter middle school operated by Para Los Niños will share social and play spaces with separated classroom buildings. Due to the tight urban site and less than savory neighborhood, buildings are placed along the property lines in order to maximize play area and form a defensible perimeter. This approach provides an urban street edge to meet the surrounding urban context while minimizing typical chain-link fenced playgrounds and allowing the entire campus to be easily supervised from any point. As both job captain and designer for this project, I aided in the development of site strategies that would allow the project to meet funding requirements (such as the Small School Sites legislature) and worked closely with the clients and the board of trustees in a preliminary design charette. Tasked with ensuring that each room met the school district’s standards in terms of area layout and furnishings, I was able to ensure that crucial design concepts were carried through the project from its inception to 100% CDs. Furthermore, this project was the school district’s first project designed in Building Information Modeling (BIM) software and the second project in the office to be documented and designed solely in Revit.

ABOVE: Site analysis diagram BELOW: Existing site

Site analysis diagram

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

KINDERGARTEN PLAYGROUND

GYMNASIUM & MULTIPURPOSE ROOM

CAFETERIA & LUNCH SHELTER

LIBRARY

PLAYGROUND & PARKING GARAGE

MIDDLE SCHOOL

ABOVE: Conceptual study diagram of protective window grille as design element BELOW: Conceptual elevation studies

EAST ELEVATION

SOUTH ELEVATION

NORTH ELEVATION

WEST ELEVATION

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Third level

MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARY

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PLAYGROUND DECK GYMNASIUM/ MULTIPURPOSE ROOM

Second level

HEALTH CENTER

MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARY

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GYMNASIUM/ MULTIPURPOSE ROOM PARKING GARAGE KITCHEN & CAFETERIA

SERVICE YARD

LOCKER ROOMS

Ground level

Axonometric diagrams of programmatic spaces by level

KINDERGARTEN PLAYGROUND

ABOVE: Rendering of project in context at schematic design BELOW: Aerial image of project under construction, April 2012

pERSOnal Work 2007 - PRESENT Nuit Blanche Renderings Electric Bike-In Cinema 2nd Nature/5th Sense Orderly Civilians

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freelance rendering

NUIT BLANCHE, NEW YORK FREELANCE WORK, 2011-2012 COLLABORATORS: MICHAEL LOWELL

Rendering of NBNY proposed ferry and kayak lights in the East River

In collaboration with Michael Lowell of Juices and Milks, a series of visualizations of proposed art installations was commissioned by Nuit Blanche New York (NBNY), an arts collaborative that hosts an annual art festival in Brooklyn that runs for one night, from dusk until dawn. Depicting the physical appearance and intended atmosphere of various proposals by renowned artists, the visual style of these images were intended to reference NBNY’s over arching concept of “bringing to light.” Typically, these visualizations involved the transformation of daytime images to moody night scenes lit by multiple projections and LEDs and incorporating large crowds. Used throughout the NBNY website and on printed material, these images were also shown to potential sponsors of the event to garner additional support.

ABOVE: Rendering of “Asalto,” a proposal by artist Daniel Canogar BELOW: Rendering of “In the Woods,” a proposal by artist Camille Scherrer

Rendering of NBNY proposed ferry and lights in the East River

electric bike-in cinema

NUIT BLANCHE, NEW YORK

INSTALLATION PROPOSAL, 2011 COLLABORATORS: MICHAEL LOWELL, MAX TIBERI, NIL TIBERI

Rendering of the bike-in cinema

Tying into the established bicycle community of Greenpoint, the rising tide of environmentally-centric community events, and increasing need for alternative energy systems, the Electric Bike-In Cinema proposed the creation of a bicyclepowered outdoor cinema for Bring to Light NYC 2011, an annual dusk-to-dawn arts and media festival held in Green Point, Brooklyn. The project was a collaborative one that included members from the across the film, web, art, and design fields. Taking advantage of the possibilities offered by bicycle generated electricity, this project engages ideas of individual sacrifice and community reward through the creation of an impromptu community based on the creation of light. Here, visitors are attracted by light in the form of a cinematic projection and brought together as a community through the story unfolding on screen. Powered by the cycling of one person, the projection continues as long as that individual is willing to keep pedaling. Thus, the actions of one personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sacrificial work becomes directly tied to the enjoyment of others. In order to ensure that the film continues uninterrupted, other members of the community must come forward to work to preserve the spark of light that brings them together.

2nd nature/5th sense

IN THE GARDEN OF EATIN’

EXHIBITION DESIGN PROPOSAL FOR WA|HH - LE LABORATOIRE X PHILIPPE STARCK ROLE: DESIGNER

1. SELECT

2. SPRAY

3. SENSE

Instructions for enjoyment

RECYCLED PLASTIC BUCKETS Plants irrigated with collected rainwater

BEANS

FRUITED PLANE Vine-growing plants (i.e. tomatoes, grapes, etc.) RECYCLED FRAMING STRUCTURE Presents a solid face to the exterior so vegetated interior is partially hidden...Surprise!

GRAPES

CONSUMERS Visitors are encouraged to pick fruits, creating a simultaneous space of production and consumption LUSH EDIBLE VEGETATION Plants may either be ingredients of the aerosol “tastes” for a layered effect or complementary produce

LETTUCES

Examples of fruits and vegetables planted in garden

Building upon numerous living wall precedents scattered throughout Paris, 2nd Nature/5th Sense: In the Garden of Eatin’ explores the viability of such artificial landscapes as a spaces of alternative urban agricultural production in dense urban environments. Through the consideration of vegetated walls and ceiling systems as providers of growing medium and nutrients for edible plants, the project superimposes the horizontal onto the vertical and the overhead, challenging the notion of the ground as the primary agricultural plane and exploring the spatial implications of growing food with limited resources in the confines of a city. A proposal for the accompanying exhibition for Le Laboratoire x Philippe Starck’s WA|HH line of flavor sprays, the project touches upon the surreal, juxtaposing historic-mythic concepts of landscape (i.e. agricultural fields, pleasure gardens, Eden, etc.) with molecular gastronomy and the immediacy of consumption, olfactory feedback and satiation. Research conducted on enhancing the viability and production of vertical and overhead gardens will be translated into an actual “garden” of edible plants such as fruits, vegetables and herbs used in the production of the sprays. Visitors will be encouraged to pick an edible and layer it with an aromatic aerosol prior to eating, creating a complex mélange of scents, tastes, and textures that ties together the basic act of growing to the hyper-refinement of an aerosol particle through the simultaneous production and consumption of food.

Proposal for pickable exhibition garden

orderly civilians

JEWELRY & ACCESSORIES ONLINE RETAIL STORE, 2008-2012 ROLE: OWNER & DESIGNER

Gold dusted and leafed apple rings and filled globe rings

Orderly Civilians began in October of 2009 as an extension of my interest in handmade crafts, jewelry, and design. Conceived as a first step into the business and retail world, Orderly Civilians began with one product, the apple ring, and operated mostly through word-of-mouth and a small online store. Today, the enterprise has grown to include a line of scarves, necklaces, and globe rings, selling to customers in over 30 different countries and maintaining a presence at local street fairs, such as Bloomfest in downtown Los Angeles. In my products, attention to detail and craftsmanship are stressed, and I take immense pride in designing every aspect of the storeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from the product itself to the business cards and packaging, all hand made from 100% post-consumer repurposed plotter paper tubes and boxes commonly found in architectural and design offices. Conceived of and designed using an array of fabrication processes that range from hand to digital, the aesthetic of Orderly Civilians is best understood by its name, reflective of the impossible dream of an industrialized utopia wherein each person lives and works responsibly. Future store offerings will expand upon this theme, incorporating materials such as wood, wool felt, and metal for rugged, yet streamlined design concepts.

ORDERLY CIVILIANS Woven linen scarflets

MELISSA S. HOW melissahow@gmail.com +1 559 355 6310 318 Knickerbocker Avenue, Unit 3G Brooklyn, NY 11237 USA