Jack Collins Portfolio v2

Selected Works v.02

jackrc@umich.edu | +1 (614) 315 - 9224

Ann Arbor,

Atelier

Michigan

HAY | atelierhay.com

EDUCATION

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, MI

Master of Architecture (Advanced Standing)

Bowling Green State University - Bowling Green, OH

Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Environmental Design

April 2024

April 2022

Honors College | Dean’s List 2018 - 2022

EXPERIENCE

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, MI

Stamps School of Art & Design Equipment Staff 2022 - Present

Work Study in the STAMPS DigiFab Lab responsible for operating equipment and helping students. The equipment includes our FDM, SLA, and SLS 3D printers, CNCs, Laser Cutters, Vinyl Cutter, and Embroidery machine.

OakBridge Timber Framing - Loudonville, OH

Architectural Designer

As a summer intern I was responsible for leading two residential projects from conceptual floor plans to construction drawings. My work included frequent client meetings, 3D modeling, heavy timber structural model, elevations, sections, floor plans, and details.

GreenScapes Landscape Company - Columbus, OH

Landscape Architecture Intern

Summer interns rotated around several sectors of their business including landscape design, project management, landscape maintenance, construction, and their nursery with a comprehensive hands-on approach.

INVOLVEMENT

Agora Journal of Urban Planning and Design Content Editor

National Architectural Accrediting Board

American Institute of Architecture Students

PUBLICATION

THE PLAN Journal

Summer 2021

Summer 2019

Hybrid Mass Timber + Additive Construction: Projection an Urbanistic Building System for Social Housing Co-Author Volume 7 / 2022 Issue 2

Topological Transmutation of the Urban Heat Island: Experimenting Ecological Urbanistic Intervention of Public Space in Toledo Research Assistant

ScholarWorks@BGSU

Volume 7 2022 Issue 1

Architecture in Anime: Miyazaki’s Motifs Author

Honors Project - 4/27/2027

“If you only face forward, there is something you will miss seeing”

- Vash the Stampede

Jack Collins, Assoc. AIA

“People’s lives don’t end when they die, it ends when they lose faith”

Itachi Uchiha

I Timber Nest

Timber Nest

Bowling Green State University | Summer 2022

Program: ARCC 2023 International Conference Poster

ABSTRACT - To challenge timber structural systems in dealing with density and complexity of urban condition, theoretically, we selected a site that allows the building to interface with both a metro line and a bus station in downtown Atlanta. By overlaying a timber building complex onto the transit hubs, the design celebrates dynamic urbanism of the city.

Six timber structural prototypes were developed in residential, commercial, and public areas to address the demands of a mixed-use building complex. The tall structures utilize modular timber construction systems to allow the building to grow for future expansion.

Urban Corridor, hovering over both the train and bus stations, provides recreational and marketplaces not only for the community above, but also the neighborhood beyond. Community Corridor mediates between the residential tower above and the urban public space below, with communal amenities arranged throughout the entire floor. Both join as one long-span bridge structural system, extending to the east bend to connect Office Tower along the main commercial street. By integrating a central rigid-core of CLT and concrete composite shear wall system with the peripheral GLT rigid post-beam framing system, Office Tower provides column-free spaces to maximize flexibility of office layout.

The Timber Nest, rooted in a transit hub, transforms a complex transportation site into adaptive homes for the collective as well as a sustainable model for the city.

Team:

Yong Huang - Faculty

Jack Collins - Student

John Kent - Student

Christopher Fletcher - Student

In response to the current housing crisis, the Timber Nest maximizes the number of residential units while maintaining healthy, productive, and enjoyable living/working environments through a massing strategy of super-imposition.

Hovering over both the metro line and bus stations, the Timber Nest celebrates downtown Atlanta’s urban dynamics. By overlaying dwelling units onto the existing transit hubs, the design explores a new high-density and mixed-use typology for a more sustainable urban living condition.

The Urban Corridor and Community Corridor bridge the residential tower above and transit hubs below through a composite bridge structural system and programmatic intervention. An elevated green park at the Urban Corridor level provides public amenities including adaptive urban market spaces. Additionally, a public swimming pool is integrated into the train station’s roof top structure that not only mitigates noise pollution and vibrations of the passing trains but also anchors the site as a unique urban feature for the entire community.

We use Passive Design Strategy to overcome the complex site constraints imposed onto the linear “L” shape plot area. By placing residential units along the 360-feet longnarrow-band, we maximize the naturally ventilated spaces between units and reduce excessive heat gain through minimizing west façade exposure. Residents not only enjoy their private balconies but also benefit from shared communal spaces between units with a design that promotes collective and engaging social activities through the layered vertical neighborhood.

Six timber structural prototypes were developed in residential, commercial, and public areas to address the demands of a mixed-use building complex. The tall structures utilize modular timber construction systems to allow the building to grow for future expansion.

The Timber Nest, rooted in one of Atlanta’s transit hubs, transforms a complex transportation site into an adaptive home as a sustainable building model for the city.

Superimposed residential tower onto public transportation infrastructure.

Roof terraces provide diversified public space and angular urban edge defines public entrance.

Bending façade optimizes surface area and volume of apartments and provides opportunity for fenestration.

Rigid timber frame structure system provides flexibility for residential unit arrangement.

In response to the current housing crisis the Timber Nest accommodates 100 units (24 x 2 BD, 52 x 1 BD, 24 x Studio) with additional shared community open space for healthy living.

Future expansion through infill could add 50 units increasing current occupancy by 50% to accommodate 150 units in total.

Future expansion through increased building height (FAR) could add 50 units increasing current occupancy by 50% while maintaining shared community open spaces.

Winter Solstice: passive solar design optimizes the amount of sunlight to enter the apartment units.

Summer Solstice: passive solar design prevents excess heat gain in units.

Structural cavity between two vertical units provides naturally vented MEP and duct workspaces.

Truss Bridge System (Urban Corridor + Community Corridor)

CLT Panel Wall / Floor / Roof Semi-Monocoque System

Rigid Frame w/ Diagonal Bracing Reinforcement System

Wall-Frame (Dual System) w/ Reinforced Bracing Frame System

Continuous V-Column w/ CrossBracing Beam Framing System

V-Column w/ Cross-Bracing Beam Framing System

II Entropy

Entropy

Bowling Green State University | Fall 2018

Program: First Year Studio

Prompt:

For this project the professor assigns everyone a word. This word is to be used as the parti for every assignment and should flow between multiple forms of mediums and a model with no limitations.

Definition:

1. A thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system’s thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system.

2. Lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder.

At the start, the avenue I explored revolved around mental health. The thought of organization breaking down into chaos reminded me of Alzheimer’s, something very prevalent to my family. I started researching the decline of the mind and observing MRI brain scans. To me, these images resembled a puzzle and at any point, they could just fall away just like the mind. For the initial drawing, I created a puzzle falling apart that represented and symbolized a brain as age takes over and a sense of oneself is lost.

The next avenue I researched was the physics definition. After discovering the work of Jeremy England and his thesis in 2008, “Theory and simulation of explicit solvent effects on protein folding in vitro and in vivo”, I found inspiration and started experimenting with models. This distinguished MIT professor used statistical physics arguments to explain the spontaneous emergence of life. In layman’s terms, entropy caused the big bang and started life. For the final model, I decided to create a model going from organized to chaotic representing the big bang and the entropic characteristics it holds.

Transformation Models | Plexiglass and Wood Cubes

“Losing yourself” | Graphite and Bristol Board 11 x 17

Entropy Experiment | Glass and Crescent Board

Models based on experiment | Crescent Board

Study Models | Plexiglass and Wood Cubes

Study Models| Crescent Board

Final Model | Plexiglass and Wood Cube

III

Perspective Ambiguity

Bowling Green State University | 2021

Program: 2021 Architecture Student Design Competition

Prompt: Design a structure focusing on the physical properties of materials by reimagining mortarless block construction defined by parallel walls. This competition is hosted by the National Concrete Masonry Association, Bowling Green State University, and the Ohio Masonry Association.

Team:

Jack Collins - Team Leader | Design, Renders, Model

Gage Rudasill - Design

Jordan Akey - Design

Andrew Waina - Design

Awards: 1st Place Best Model 3rd Place Best Design 3rd Place Best Build

Perspective Ambiguity

An exploration of how perspectives change based on the entrance and exit of an underground space, this collage was used to illustrate our initial idea on how to showcase these different views. The form created after was derived from altering parallel walls to give the perception of claustrophobia and agoraphobia based on perspective.

Parti | Photo Collage

Site Render

Transformation Diagram

Back Elevation

Front Elevation

Final Model | Mini CMU, Dirt, Leaves, Wood

After the three winning designs were chosen by the judges, the rest of the teams were split up to help as builders. The final build was constructed over several weeks with eight students. Because of time and material constraints, the final build had to be a downsized version but still maintained the initial concept of exploring perspectives. After multiple building days of digging, the blocks were placed and glued with Liquid Nails with dirt poured in the openings for additional stability. It received third place prize for Best Build and is the prominent project shown in the CMU Design video recap to be used as a marketing material for future competitions.

Site Render

Topological Transmutation of the Urban Heat Island: Experimenting Ecological Urbanistic Intervention of Public Space in Toledo

Team:

Yong Huang - Author

Jack Collins - Research Assistant

John Kent - Contributor

Christopher Fletcher - Contributor

Laura Miles - Contributor

Cody Ellerbrock - Contributor

Josh Davids - Contributor

Megan Daly - Contributor

ABSTRACT - The exodus of urban dwellers to suburbs and the countryside, dramatized by the pandemic, has both escalated the UHI effects of cities and expanded the carbon footprint at a greater pace, further contributing to the climate crisis. Traditional remedies to mitigate UHI are reactive to existing urban conditions and less well equipped to address the complex urban issues holistically at multiple levels. This design-based research explores topological transmutation as a twofold design approach. It aims at testing alternative design approaches of urban environments that will address UHI issues based on a holistic attitude toward ecological urbanism, while simultaneously investigating mutation as a design strategy that could renegotiate, reconnect, and recreate new centers of public space. Toledo, a legacy city in the Midwest, was selected as the model for this design-based research due to its intensifying social inequality and urban decay and climbing UHI effects. Prototypes of adaptable and sustainable design concepts were tested in selected sites representing typical urban situations. Urban interventions to the public space are envisioned to enrich everyday spatial experiences in the streets, neighborhoods, and the city.

Hybrid Mass Timber + Additive

Construction:

Projecting an Urbanistic Building System for Social Housing

Team:

Yong Huang - Co-Author

Jack Collins - Co-Author

John Kent - Contributor

Eduardo Hidalgo - Contributor

ABSTRACT - Mass timber construction has been cultivated as an environmentally sustainable and cost effective approach for housing typology. However, repetitive and regularly shaped timber structural systems for larger scale affordable housing applications tend to be homogeneous, lacking unique and personalized spaces for both individuals and the collective, hindering the progress of more diversified and inclusive living communities. Concurrently, rapid additive (3D-printed) building construction has begun to emerge in the single-family housing market due to its benefits of mass customization, reduced onsite labor costs, and time efficiency. However, present production and building typology at a single-unit-scale are still limited for complex social housing projects. This research aims to integrate mass timber and rapid additive construction into a hybrid system. Hybrid affordable housing, through mass timber construction and additive manufacturing processes, is intended to evolve into environmentally conscious architecture as an extension of nature. It not only provides healthy and adaptable physical spaces but also supports everyday urbanism as a response to diversified personal needs and desires for a more sustainable future.

“See you space cowboy...” - Spike Spiegel

Amboyna Burl | 24k Gold and Gun Metal

Fountain Pen (2015) Honorable Mention Olentangy High School Art Show