Susan kolber
select work 2009-2018
info references project list
academic body & movement 2009 coda parc 2017 living library 2018 water[CULT]ure 2018 archive bosque 2017 wedge edge 2016 model studies 2016-2017 color studies 2017-2018 pla incubator pavilion 2017
professional maidstone renovation 2013-2014 15th St. apartment 2015 shuddle headquarters 2015 above | below | beyond 2012
Susan kolber
kolber @upenn.edu | 773.308.6777 | susankolber.com
education
work experience
PennDesign University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA M.Arch & MLA 2020
OLIN Studio Philadelphia, PA Summer 2018 Joined a variety of teams and supported construction documentation for plazas in Los Angeles and Chicago. Researched demographic and spatial information for LA River Master Plan.
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Class of 2012 Major: Architecture Minors: Chinese, Urban Studies CET Chinese Language Program Hangzhou | Beijing, China 2010 Intensive six-month Chinese immersion
advocacy PennDesign Women in Architecture co-finance chair, raising funds for our 2017-2019 programming Spark! Mentorship Spring 2018 mentorship weekly collaboration with Henry C. Lea School 7th Grade Students. Equity x Design (EQxD) Blog Editor & Contributor San Francisco, CA 2014-2016 EQxD is an AIA SF committee. Their work and blog is leading advocacy, research, and providing solutions to the current culture & inequity within the field of Architecture. eqxdesign.com
McGriff Architects Designer, Project Manager San Francisco, CA 2014-2016 Project management for residential renovations and commercial offices spaces. Design and manage drawing production, client, consultant, and contractor communication. Developed new marketing strategy for company, managed office administration, trained new employees. Susan Kolber Design Project Manager & Lead Designer Wellington, FL | San Francisco, CA 2013-2015 Designed and led the complete renovation of Florida residence. Designed, created permit drawings, construction drawings, details, landscape plan, on site daily construction administration. Project Manager for San Francisco residential renovation including schematic design, permit drawings with historic consideration, material selection, construction administration.
Above | Below | Beyond Co-Creator Philadelphia, PA 2012 Formed partnership with Temple University Landscape Architecture Students, Diana Fernandez and Amy Syverson. Designed and produced exhibition to showcase designs re-imagining and re-purposing the former Philadelphia’s Reading Railroad site. Established the goals and objectives for the exhibition; raised funds using Kickstarter. designed an exhibition space and created exhibition installation at Next City to showcase student designs. Project was featured in ArchDaily and Inhabitat. Microsoft Research Intern Microsoft HQ, Redmond, WA Summer & Fall 2011 Extensive research and analysis of opportunities for growth in China. Wharton Management Teacher & Research Assistant Philadelphia, PA 2011-2012 Supported Professor Marshall Meyer’s Chinese Corporate Governance class (MBA and undergraduate). LA+ Journal Design Team Philadelphia, PA 2018 Layout, editing, and design work for PennDesign’s Landscape Architecture Interdisciplinary Journal LA+.
Pritzker Law Group Consultant Philadelphia, PA 2017-2018 Drawings and design work for zoning and real estate legal work.
skills
honors
publications
software RHINO, AutoCAD, Adobe Creative Suite: Premier, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, ArcGIS, Grasshopper, Maya, Revit, Sketchup, VRay language Intermediate Mandarin Chinese
2018 PennDesign Schenk-Woodman $3000 award for team competition
“Embracing Minimalism in a tiny bedroom,” Apartment Therapy, June 2017
2013 American Society of Landscape Architects Student Award of Excellence in Communication Above| Below | Beyond
“The Culture Behind Multi-Cultural Modernism,” AIA Young Architects Forum August 2015
2012 Alumni Commencement speaker at Walter Payton College Prep, Chicago, IL
“Architecture And... Debunking ‘Traditional Architecture Practice’, EQxD eqxdesign. com October 2015 “deconstruct & donate before demo,” susankolber.com October 2014
Body & Movement photography and drawing studies of body form and movement
University of Pennsylvania Fall 2009 Critic: Suzanne Brandt Software: Photoshop Media: Watercolor Paper & Graphite
+30’ hp
7’ lp
Coda Parc Philadelphia, PA
Coda Parc is a landscape, public realm, performance space, and playground that is inspired by the acoustic environment of the site, neighborhood, city, vegetation, and Delaware River. Using form and vegetation this park brings the visitors to the water through acoustic extremes of amplification and dampening. In our visual culture, our acoustic environment is secondary. Experiencing quiet is rare. For this existing site the sound of water is masked by the sounds of traffic. I experienced that the noise separates the city from the water, and that coupled with the polluted river isolates the community and city from engaging with the waterfront. This park challenges that division bringing water into the site, contrasting the urban sounds with the landscape. Visitors are agents of new sound through path materials, voice, vegetation, instruments, and performance space.
PennDesign LARP Spring 2017 Critic: Misako Murata Software: Rhino, GIS, Grasshopper, Photoshop, Illustrator
Studies of the proposed site auditory conditions 1. Site Amplification/ Dampening Plan 2. Amplify 3. Dampen 4. Sound 5. Reflection 6. Refraction 7. Diffusion 8. 9. 10. 11. Form Acoustics 12. Disperse 13. Concentrate Vegetation Sounds 14. Rustling Leave 15. Crunching Leaves 16. Wisping Grass
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Site Sections 1. Pier Edge 2. Whispering Wall and Quiet Steps 3. Amphitheater 4. Parc Entrance with Varied Sounds 5. Sidewalk along Christopher Columbus BLvd. Evergreen Buffer 6. Sidewalk along Christopher Columbus Traffic Noise Exposure
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1. Site Plan 2. Existing Vegetation 3. Rain Garden 4. American Beech Grove 5. Loose Forest 6. Lawn 7. Wetland 8. Upland Meadow 9. Evergreen Buffer
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1. Trestle Path on decaying pier
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above: study section of a kinetic structure, combining library and grow space
Living Library Philadelphia, PA The library of today, the library of Philadelphia, the library of East Parkside- what is a library in the context of our head downs, finger swiping stance to the world? What is a library in the context of this Neighborhood—whose nearest Library is a mile and half away. East Parkside is a neighborhood uniquely placed adjacent to Philadelphia’s largest park, Farimount Park. It has a strong community with historical mansions that once faced the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 and now looks onto expansive lawns that hide a highway and the Schuylkill River. The core of East Parkside has pockets of long time residents and patches of vacant lots, several religious institutions, three schools, and two community gardens all within a few blocks. As an element of urban design, the “Living Library” explores how this space can transform the relationship of the community to not only to the site but also broadly the experience of technology and landscape especially within the context of Fairmount Park. The living library, emerges as a gradient of landscape and technology. Plants, books, machines coexisting blending the experience of learning and creating. Libraries and conservatories have roots as grand public places-spaces of escape, work, collections, seeking, wandering, learning, gathering and pleasure. As books become intangible, and information unlimited, we still need these tactile experiences and sensations. A new library for East Park Side unfolds, blurs, glows and grows. It counters the vastness of Fairmount Park-it contains. This library is sensory. Texture, scent, weight is taken away in a digital landscape, so we bring the garden and the contemporary library together.
PennDesign ARCH Spring 2018 Critic: Danielle Willems Software: Rhino, V-Ray Photoshop, Illustrator
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previous: first level plan of new library, existing school and site 1. modular tetrahedron shape used for massing study 2. tetrahedron volume joins on faces creating a variety of masses, colors indicate different programs 3. models reveal cracks formed when faces meet 4. modified tetrahedron model at different scales inspire volume of building 5. plaster landform studies 6. volume and ground studies 7. kinetic structure studies inspired facade
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10 1. kinetic facade 2. glass paneling 3. hinge mechanism 4. structural frame 5. kinetic facade open 6. kinetic facade closed 7. structural frame 8. kinetic facade on massing 9. section of building 10. garden reading room
11. computer lab 12. theater 13. outdoor theater 14. garden laboratory 15. entrance pavilion 16. offices 17. laboratory 18. reading room 19. garden 20. robot workshop
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Manchester/Pine Barrens Mile 20- 70’ ELEV
Toms River Mile 1- 50’ ELEV
Barnegat Bay Mile 0- 0’ ELEV
Quarry Site - 5500 acres
Bay Site- 137 acres
Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer
quarry ground water
Sea Level Rise
pine barren surface water
barnegat bay water
Water [cult]ure Toms River & Manchester, NJ Susan Kolber + Byungdoo Youn
Working with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection this studio proposed design strategies for New Jersey’s new Coastal Resiliency Plan. My Partner Byungdoo Youn and I reframed sea level rise, fluctuations of ground water, and surface water by creating immersive experiences in order to shape a new identity and understanding of water in Toms River and Manchester, NJ. These adjacent suburban towns on the Atlantic coast are projected to continue to grow, and they have unique water histories and relationships to their ocean shore, rivers and drinking water. These towns were severely affected b y H urricane Sandy, and they face aquifer water depletion as their population grows. Inspired by the natural burnt orange color of the surface water caused by the unique geology and ecology of the Pine Barrens, the perfectly clear quarry water and the muddy bay water, we imagined mixing these water typologies at a range of scales to create curiosity and interest in the unique water conditions of this region as they shift over time with population growth and climate change.
PennDesign LARP Fall 2018 Critic: Sean Burkholder, Molly Bourne Software: Rhino, GIS, Grasshopper, Photoshop, Illustrator
QUARRY SITE
EXISTING FLOODING
PROJECTED FLOODING
1. Pine Barren Orange Surface Water 2. Bay Water 3. Inland Flooding 4. Future Development 5. Toms River High School East 6. Manchester Township High School Toms River faces the continual threat of sea level rise and population growth. We selected two sites one adjacent to Barnegat Bay on the Atlantic Ocean and the other at an old Quarry Site located 15 miles inland where we propose a large scale housing development. Both sites are located near schools, so our interventions can be used as water learning and play sites. The Bay Site connects the orange Pine Barren water overtime to the bay water as the ocean rises. This large canal will be used as a visible marker of sea level rise. The Quarry site mixes Pine Barren water and quarry water together in a series of pools that also filters the new developments’ storm water. The regions’ aquifer lies just below the ground and the Quarry site will also serve as visual indicator and a recharger of the water table.
BAY SITE
EXISTING
PROJECTED SEA LEVEL RISE
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QUARRY SITE
MIXING POOLS
Above: Image of the natural swimming pools mixing the orange Pine Barren water and the clear quarry water. Swimming in sand quarries is extremely dangerous because of the depth, temperature drop and unstable edges. This design proposes a floating pool in the Quarry Lake that is connected to a series of orange water filtration pools. The image below shows the orange water pools that clean water that goes to swimming pool and recharges the aquifer. Opposite: The image above shows the 200’ wide, 1/4 mile long canal that will be a visual indicator of sea level rise as the orange surface water will begin to mix with bay water as the ocean rises. This canal is visible to the school that lies behind it. The image below shows a path through the pine forest at the Bay Site to an orange Pine Barren pool.
BAY SITE
MIXING CANAL
QUARRY SITE
MIXING POOLS
BAY SITE
MIXING CANAL
72’
74’
76’
78’ 80’ 82’ 84’
86’
QUARRY LAKE 1”=200’
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Quarry Site Grading 1. 1”= 200’ portion of existing 2’ site grading 2. 1”=200’ Proposed 2’ contour grading plan with site water flows 3. 1”=30’ 1’ contour detailed proposed grading plan
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77’ 78’
83’ 82’
81’
79’
80’
78’ 77’
76’
79’ 78’ 77’ 76’
73’
75’ 74’
71’
69’
73’
72’ 71’ 70’
ORANGE FILTRATION POOL 1 PITCH PINE & ATLANTIC WHITE CEDAR
ORANGE FILTRATION POOL 3 GREY BIRCH BOG
67’ NATURAL SWIMMING POOL SWAMP PINK
69’
QUARRY SWIMMING
68’ 67’
1”=30’
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Archive Bosque Penn Museum, Philadelphia, PA This archive pavilion is an elevated aggregation of memories creating new shapes and ideas about who you are and are not. This space acts as a web through the existing courtyard, revealing trapped objects weaving into and through the existing museum. Enter into a cascade of twisted glass, soft light, with floating objects that rise around you, an infinite hole with the tops of floating feathered moss covered branches flank you. Archives like human memory are these selective fragments of life, rearranged, manipulated, only containing meaning that we have assigned. The Penn Museum selects objects that have been taken from their earth, culture, and global origins and hides them in a basement. The archive of this new space snakes and surrounds you, splitting open for volumes of gathering, learning and observing. The elevated archive spine becomes a filter and guide.
PennDesign ARCH Fall 2017 Critic: Gisela Baurmann Software: Rhino, GIS, Photoshop, Illustrator, VRAY
above: Conceptual model of interior right: View of addition from courtyard
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1. Ground Level Plan Program diagram 2. Level 3 3. Level 2 4. Ground Level 5. Basement 1 6. Basement 2 7. Garden 8. Archive Circulation diagram 9. Level 3 10. Level 2 11. Ground Level 12. Basement 1 13. Basement 2 14. Exhibition space 15. Education space
24,000 sqft 12,000 sqft 10,000 sqft 8,000 sqft 54,000 sqft
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wedge edge Brewerytown, Philadelphia, PA This studio explored connecting Brewerytown Neighborhood to the Schuylkill River through a dynamic path. that not only connects but takes the users through variety of ‘cuts’ in the landscape. Some cuts are the removal of all top soil above the Wissahickon Bedrock Wedge Edge proposes creating a variety of cuts in the landscape. Wedge Edge proposes creating a variety of cuts in the landscape and using the soil from those cuts to create landforms on vacant land to broaden Fairmount Park’s reach into communities.
PennDesign LARP FALL 2016 Critic: Rebecca Popowsky Software: Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator Hand drawing, Watercolor
above: Plan of triangulation used to measure entire site overlaid with ink wash that represented water seeping through existing retaining walls. right: ink wash tests
Mixed Media conceptual plan of site and cuts in the landscape original scale 1�=30’ plan Schuylkill River on left Proposed section of site Next Page: Section of large cut exposing bedrock
Structured fields & Form Studies of geometric organizations in models and drawings.
PennDesign LARP/ ARCH FALL 2016, SPRING 2017 Software, Hardware: Rhino, CNC, Laser Cutter Medium: Concrete, Paper, Concrete, Foam, Wire, Straws, Plaster
Color Studies Visual Studies test color, representation and drawing methods.
PennDesign ARCH FALL 2017, SPRING 2018 Software: Rhino, Grasshopper, Photoshop, Illustrator
susan kolber : visual studies 180214
[clock cut]
[SUSAN] [KOLBER]
PennDesign | Fall 2017 | ARCH 521 | Nate Hume
PLA Incubator Pavilion team project: Amanda Gruen, Yinying Chen, John Dai & Susan Kolber PLA Incubator investigates a culture generated by specific transformations of craft. A single crochet stitch as a fragment and an aggregation of stitches that form the hyperbolic shape, the infrastructure becomes an incubator—a womb—for artifacts. The pavilion, pregnant with artificial, easily replicable relics, carries distinctive, historic objects into space and crash lands onto an unsettled planet where the structure itself colonizes and reproduces. A conversation about the role of a museum in the digital age requires an exploration of issues of authenticity and cultural heritage.
PennDesign Fall 2017 Critic: Gisela Baurmann Software: Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator, Autocad Media: Cast Foam, Concrete, Copper Wire, Flex Tubing
Maidstone Renovation Wellington, FL Gut renovation to modernize floor plan, finishes, landscape, & add an outdoor living pavilion
2013-2014 Lead designer & project manager: Susan Kolber interior designer: Eva Quateman Interiors general contractor: Eco-Pure Construction structural engineer: Universal Engineering, Icon Design Group
above: New Kitchen with below b/w image of kitchen before renovation
a unique mix of native and tropical green, muted blue and silver plants organized to create a private yet expansive garden lead landscape designer: Susan Kolber landscape contractor: Hadden Landscape Inc
McGriff Architects San Francisco, CA
Samples of projects from McGriff Architects including an apartment renovation and a tech office design
Fall 2014-2016 Software: Autocad, Sketchup, Photoshop
15th St. Apartment McGriff Architects San Francisco, CA Interior Design: Luft Design photo credit: Colin Price gut renovation, drawings through design development
PLAN NOTES
WALL LEGEND
1 REFINISH FIREPLACE 2 FULL HEIGHT PANTRY
DEMO WALLS
3 TRASH
NEW WALLS
4 FULL HEIGHT STORAGE BUILT-IN 4 FULL HEIGHT STORAGE BUILT-IN 5 SHOWER BENCH 6 LINEN CLOSET, ACCESS IN BATHROOM 7 3'-10" VANITY
EXISTING WALLS
8 PARTIAL HEIGHT HANGING CLOSET 9 (N) FLOORING THROUGHOUT
MASTER BEDROOM
BATHROOM
13'-2" x 14'-5 12"
4'-6" x 9'-8"
STAIR
KITCHEN
5'-11" x 9'-8"
10'-4" x 13'-4"
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4 5
I 8
03 -
B
102-
C D
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1
01 4
KING SIZE BED
5
15'-10" x 11'-6"
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J K 6
LIVING ROOM
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3 E F
DOWN
10506 -
OFFICE 10'-11 12" x 11'-9"
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H
CLO 2'-0" x 2'-0"
03
A1.4
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01 -
A
7 04 -
4'-6"X3'-0" TABLE
TYPICAL
9
HALL 1 40'-0" x 3'-2"
DEMO CASED OPENING
BREAK IN LIVING ROOM TO ACCOMODATE PLAN AT 14"=1'-0"
DEMO CASED OPENING
2440 15TH STREET
DATE: 07/29/2015 SCALE: 1/4" = 1'-0"
A1.1- PROPOSED PLAN
1'-41
2"
3'-0"
3'-0" 3'-6"
7'-1"
2'-6"
6'-8" MATCH BATHROOM DOOR HT 6'-8" 3'-0"
CABINET W/ OPEN SHELVING ABOVE STORAGE BELOW
2 2'-612"
A1.4
BATHROOM 1/2" = 1'-0"
3 1'-4"
30" REFRIGERATOR
FROSTED GLASS
KITCHEN 1/2" = 1'-0"
6"
6'-712"
2
DATE: 07/29/2015 1/4" = 1'-0" SCALE: 1/2"
A1.4
CENTER SINK & FAUCET ON WINDOW
KITCHEN 1/2" = 1'-0"
2440 15TH STREET A1.3-RCP
3'-0"
1'-0" 3'-0"
30" RANGE CENTERED ON WINDOW
7'-412"
1'-0"
30" RANGE HOOD
RETRACTABLE DOORS
2'-112"
FROSTED GLASS 4'-0"
SHELVES BEHIND CABINET DOORS
3'-0"
4'-0"
A1.4
2'-2" 1'-3"
4'-0"
1'-3"
3'-2"
DISHWASHER 1 A1.4
10'-412"
KITCHEN 1/2" = 1'-0"
SHUDDLE HQ McGriff Architects 2015 San Francisco, CA photo credit Colin Price Tenant Improvement schematic design and pricing for start-up office space
OTE LEGEND
6'-0"
℄
10'-3"
℄
MISSION STREET 10'-3"
℄
10'-3"
℄
6'-0"
14'-0"
SHED FURNITURE INDICATES RNITURE PROVIDED BY TENANT
4'-0"
42" TALL STORAGE FURNITURE BY TENANT
TV 5'-0"
5'-0"
8'-0"
CONF. RM 2 9'-0"X11'-07"
CONF. RM 3 9'-0"X11'-07"
RECEPTION
PHONE BOOTH 4'-4"
3'-0" 3'-0"
BATHROOM
REF
3'-0"
KITCHEN/ DINING
10'-0"
CONFERENCE 1 17'-05"X13'-0"
DW
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PROPOSED PLAN 1/8" = 1'-0"
604 MISSION SHUDDLE OFFICES FLOOR 9
above | below | beyond Philadelphia, PA recipient of the 2013 American Society of Landscape Architects student award of excellence in communication Diana Fernandez and Amy Syverson from Temple University’s landscape architecture program and Susan Kolber from University of Pennsylvania’s architecture program collaborated to create Above Below Beyond, an exhibition of student design work inspired by Philadelphia’s Reading Railroad. Above Below Beyond was meant as a springboard and a catalyst, a conversation starter that could help spread the word about this historic infrastructure. The Above Below Beyond project culminated in a sixweek open exhibit that was documented through our website and in a run of 300 newspaper-style “Exhibit Catalogs.” We raised $6165 for Above Below Beyond through the online crowd-sourcing platform, Kickstarter.com--over 104 backers donated between $5 and $500 each to support our cause. Local, national and international media covered the Above Below Beyond exhibit. We were featured in ArchDaily, Inhabitat, Next City, The 34th Street Magazine, The Temple News, the Design Philadelphia Shaker and Curbed Philly.
University of Pennsylvania & Temple University 2012 Advisors: Stuart Appel, Lolly Tai, Julie Beckman, Ariel Genadt
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1. exhibition attendees documented their ideas for the railroad 2. exhibition conceptual model: which included hundreds of suspended terrariums containing plants and found objects from the railroad. LEDs illuminated the piece at night. 3. exhibition closing panel discussion 4. Next City- A birds-eye view of Next City’s office and the “Storefront for Urban Innovation” which hosted the Above Below Beyond exhibition 5. Event Space- The exhibit celebrated it’s opening night as an official event for Design Philadelphia, an annual city-wide design festival. The show had a great turn-out, with a lively standing room only crowd from 6 to 10pm. 6. Open Exhibit- We kept the exhibit open to visitors 7 days a week for 6 weeks. On weekends, the coordinators of Above Below Beyond were available to answer questions or just to chat. 7. Storefront- During business hours, we stashed the boards away and Next City used their office as usual. At night, the installation lit up the storefront with hundreds of blue and white LEDs, causing many people passing by to stop and do a double take. 8. The exhibit ended in a panel discussion that explored how student involvement can encourage development of sites like the Reading Railroad. The panel included Paul vanMeter of VIADUCTgreene; Ashby Leavell, Longwood Gardens graduate fellow; John Struble of the Reading Viaduct Project; Ariel Genadt, PennDesign Lecturer; and Mark B. Thompson, architect for Fairmount Water Works.
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