NICHOLAS STEFANAKIS
Master Plan & Public Housing
BLUEROCKS AQUACULTURE MARKET
Net-Zero Seaweed Market and Kayak Outfit
Indigenous and International Art Exhibitions
POLLINATOR
Regenerative Almada
Program: Master Plan & Public Housing
Location: Almada, Portugal
Course: Design - University of Lisboa 2023
Team: Nicholas Stefanakis
Statement: Located in Almada, Portugal, the project develops a master plan followed by a public housing design. It integrates a green corridor at the neighborhood scale while providing diverse living conditions. A key feature is the co-living unit, offering affordable communal living for adults seeking shared housing opportunities.
Render | Street Facing Facade
Bluerocks Aquaculture Market
Program: Net-Zero Seaweed Market and Kayak Outfit
Location: Bluerocks, Nova Scotia
Course: Design Studio M.Arch 2023
Team: Nicholas Stefanakis, Claire Wilson and Camylle Arsenault
Statement: The proposal for Blue Rocks is a vision that combines industry and community through the integration of a public market and kayak outfit with supportive roles through sugar kelp farming. This approach was driven by the objective to integrate sustainable drivers and reach our net zero goals. The sugar kelp aquaculture farm serves as the vital centerpiece of the master plan, driving the design programs, technologies, and concepts. Its critical role in sustainability and community empowerment shapes all aspect of the proposal, ensuring an interconnected relationship between the built environment and the surrounding natural resources.
Drawing | C.Wilson & N.Stefanakis
Midterm
Design - Seaweed Research
Render | Approach to the Kayak Hut
Carbon Sequestration
Finding a sustainable solution that meets both environmental and social sustainability goals led to the decision to use architecture to support a sugar kelp farming operation. Our research showed that a small scale aquaculture farm would pay off the 390 tonnes carbon footprint of the building with 50 years. This calculation was completed using a humble 10% sequestration rate. Research has shown that it is likely that a 90-100% sequestration rate could be achieved.
Museum of Art & Culture
Program: Indigenous & International Exhibition
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Course: Design Studio Undergraduate 2023
Statement: The design aims to reinforce and blend into the urban context of downtown Halifax. The depressed ground level positions the building at a lower level, cocooning it within a protected courtyard. This shields visitors from the city’s daily affairs, inviting them into an eddy in the urban river. Within its formal steel structure, the museum’s program engages with its surroundings, offering a year-round exhibition of indigenous and international artworks. The design resonates with innovative resolutions at multiple scales, bridging the divide between public and private spaces offering a completely public ground floor.
Render | Museum Courtyard
Design Process
Room to the Building
Commencing the design at the intimate scale of a room, where every detail and proportion carries significance was a building block for this design. This exercise of spatial composition serves as the foundation, from which the design expands to encompass the entire building. Each room’s design informs the larger structure, a symbiotic relationship where user experience takes center stage. This approach not only lends authenticity to the form-finding process but also ensures that the design, whether at room or building scale, resonates with the human experience.
Sketch Models | Museum Gallery Spaces
Pollinator Project
Project: WWF Funded Multidisciplinary Student Project
Personal Role: L ead Designer & Lead Carpenter
Media Coverage: Dal News, CTV News Atlantic and Global News
The project was generously funded by the World Wildlife Foundation and represents the a convergence of student disciplines from Engineering, Biology and Architecture. Collaborating closely with grant holder Emily McLean and Professors from Dal. Architecture, the mission was to craft a space for bees and people to observe. Our journey led us through the creative exploration using prototypes design and built by a team of architecture students. The Pollinator Wall is now a space for students and passersby’s to sit, enjoy and understand the role bee’s play in our ecosystems.
Structural Prototype | Steam Bent Green Hemlock
Uprights
Bench Rails Footings
1.25” x 0.25”x 60” hemlock
2.5” x 1.25” x 72” hemlock
2” x 0.25” x 60” hemlock
8” x 8” x 12” concrete
Curved Lattice Wall
Prototypes played a pivotal role in realizing our vision, allowing us to shape a welcoming space for plants, people, and bees alike. In our pursuit of sustainability and locality, we designed and worked with locally milled hemlock, celebrating its natural beauty and resilience. Utilizing simple materials, we used the properties of green timber to create an elegant form which integrates into its environment. Scribing | Translating Digital to Physical
Team: James Barrett, Liam Farrar, Cesar Basilio, Patrick Stewart-Jones, Jack Kinnie, Emily McLean, Brian Lilly and Regan Southcott, Dalhousie Office of Sustainability
Finished Seat | Final Glue-up
Urban Wildfire Territories
Program: Speculative Mapping & Climate Architectures
Location: Okanagan Valley, Birtish Columbia
Course: M.Arch Thesis 2024/2025
Statement: This research addresses the climate-induced wildfire emergency in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. It examines ecological and urban conditions that interact with fire and proposes new territorial mapping tools. The goal is to integrate wildfire into planning and design, shifting from resistance to coexistence in wildfire-prone landscapes.
Thank You For Your Consideration