Design Portfolio | 2019 - 2022

STATEMENT

My passion for architecture stems from my interest in exploring the boundaries of the material world. When discussing the relationship between site and intervention W.G. Clark writes:

It is our job to make building an act of understanding and adoration of the place... in the hope that our buildings will seem part of the place rather than just being sited on it, and will gain strength and meaning from the alliance.

This quote is part of the framework in which I build my design language. As an architect, how can I facilitate a balance between the natural world and the ideas we shape out of it?

This is a question I will continue to uncover the answer to as my academic and professional pursuits amalgamate into a career.

CONTENTS

FILLING THE VOID | CHICAGO INTEGRATED STUDIO 5 - 17

THE ATLANTA SHELF | ACSA TIMBER IN THE CITY COMPETITION 18 - 29

EXPLORATION OF VOLUME | DESIGN RESEARCH 30 - 37

MEMORIAM IN LIGHT | 3RD YEAR STUDIO 38 - 43

LUTHI FAMILY SUMMER HOME | DESIGN EXPLORATION 44 - 51

PROFESSIONAL WORK | C2K ARCHITECTURE 52 - 67

EXPLORATIONS WITH A.I. 68 - 73

ADDITIONAL WORK 74 - 81

RESUME / CONTACT 82 - 85

ACADEMIC WORK

FILLING THE VOID

4 MONTHS | FALL 2022 | 4TH YEAR | CHICAGO INTEGRATED STUDIO

This proposal tackles the challenge of integrating an affordable housing project with a new Chicago Philharmonic Center in the neighborhood of South Shore. There was a clear division between the different cultures associated with these two programmatic components as well as contextual socio-economic rifts within close proximity of the site such as historic redlining and income disparity. To respond to these factors, instead of forcing the architecture to have physical connection, this design utilizes the exemplification of forces found in geological rifts to activate voids and create a more powerful spatial connection.

By giving the Philharmonic and affordable housing programs room to breathe, they can evolve as individual statements, connected homogeneously through public green space in the center, serving as a pocket park for community activation and growth. By utilizing natural rift forces such as tension, rift, fill, erosion and the subsequent revitalization, this proposal breaks the chain of negative socio-economic rifts and through the injection of green space, unites cultures in a spatially positive way.

The green roof and public terrace allows the community to engage with the philharmonic center beyond the arts

The monolith signals entry to the public

The white pre-cast panels lighten the philharmonic’s presence on the streetscape and strike a visual balance with the accented black box theatre and entry monolith

These moments of vertical transparency initiate a philharmonic prefunction and exterior public spaces

The terraced public seating within the central green space allows the public to engage with the philharmonic externally through outdoor performances while serving as seating and forum space for the residents. These terraces are the only hardscaped region of the green valley, allowing the community to use the space dynamically to accommodate a multitude of activities.

public and creates an icon for the philharmonic

WEST ELEVATION

conversation between the spaces The use of lighter wood material on the ground floor creates a more intimate sense of scale with the public and serves as a plinth to ground the mass

NORTH ELEVATION

The central green valley acts as connective tissue between the major programmatic elements while pulling the community in and engaging with them at multiple scales. Leaving this space open and relatively unprogrammed was essential to allowing the community to activate the space how they please. A ramp located north of the housing allows the parking to fit under the site and connect both buildings while creating a structural grid for the housing to build off of.

These concept to detaildiagramsdemonstrate geological forces to controlthe Both cases allow the prioritize community engagement

todetail diagrams demonstrate how the proposal utilized a parti driven by tocontrol the different types of balconies found throughout the project. residents to inhabit erosion but in dynamically different ways that engagement or privacy.

E-W SECTION

The pre-function space of the Philharmonic center is a playful contrast of monolithic elements stagnated with transparency on different planes. The circulatory rift shown previously skylight highlighting the paths of movement throughout the interior. While the vertical openings on the ground floor expose the intimacy of the space to the public on the

Yeshcheulov / Tucker Rossi

previously in the massing diagrams acts as an orthogonal exterior.

This view depicts the formal expression of the previously shown vertical apertures on the exterior of the Philharmonic Center. The established pattern creates cross-sectional undulations that evoke a tectonic language of erosion and rifting found in geological formations.

THE ATLANTA SHELF

2 MONTHS | SPRING 2022 | 3RD YEAR | ACSA TIMBER IN THE CITY COMPETITION

Located in the heart of Midtown’s Art District, the Atlanta Shelf proposes a new scale of urban intervention, framed through the emergence of mass timber construction. As architects and city planners work to combat urban sprawl through established designs and methods, this proposal breaks the status quo. The metropolitan landscape of today is framed by a single plane of interaction on the ground, punctuated by high-rise mega-structures that can densely house programs and people. The Atlanta Shelf shifts the focus of design to the negative space found between these masses. By expanding the condensed programs of skyscrapers into the space between, communities will be connected like never before. This design provides a look into the future, utilizing timber at an unprecedented scale to combat the emerging issues cityscapes are beginning to encounter.

This design takes the core values of the urban shelf and applies them at an approachable scale in the form of a layered park. Green space has become a commodity in the Arts District as development and gentrification have slowly spread into the area. By converting the site into a multi-story park, it not only improves the livelihood of the community, but gives people one more reason to visit the highly influential Arts District. Just like the trees of a forest, the shelf will green with age, as the natural environment envelopes the mass, creating a lively canopy for the city.

This elevation events and in the communitycenter,aswellasthe community

Thiselevation depicts how the shelf layers itself into the natural environment to serve the community. The ground plane becomes semi- covered gathering space for public forums while the hyper-ramps serve as spaces for an urban marketplace that fosters circulation around the site and neighborhood. The public pool housed community center, as well as the additional shelf amenities provide a way for residents of the arts district to engage with this proposal. Sitting atop the transparent community plinth is the short stay housing units for Arts District visitors who want to experience the vibrant culture of the area from a new lens.

PROGRAM

Site is cleared and the concrete foundation is poured with primary CLT columns mounted

Concrete and modular CLT shelf columns with first floors of community columns constructed

shelf assembled and attached to community center and hyper-ramp

Hyper-ramp installation and residential floors layered on top of community center

Final floors complete with playground, basketball court, park and bike path amenities installed on shelf

A series of master-plan iterations were developed at full scale to understand how an intervention of this size would impact the urban landscape. A major concern of a proposal of this magnitude is the lack of daylight reaching the ground plane. To mitigate this, a series of offset punctures are found throughout the shelf to create illuminating wells on the ground level park space.

The sketch below is an exploration of how the layers of the established urban fabric can be exemplified through both the shelf, and moments of verticality. These punctures will create a balanced composition with the horizontally dominant form.

[axonometric wall section] Prefabricated CLT components within a traditional rain screen assembly allow the materiality of the heavy timber to layer behind a transparent waterproof membrane, preserving life and aesthetic properties.

[Community Art Pool] Art from both local and resident artists is displayed for the community in a humidity controlled indoor public pool. With views of the shelf and cityscape layered over one another this space can be converted into a reflection pool allowing sculptures and hanging art to interact with the neighborhood in a unique way.

The site plan speaks to how the formal composition of the shelf reacts to the major streets and pedestrian paths in the surrounding area. The hyper-ramp courtyards and puncturing rapid elevators create dynamic site circulation at multiple scales while generating open programmable public space.

CONCEPTUAL EXPLORATION OF VOLUME

1 MONTH | FALL 2021 | 3RD YEAR | DESIGN RESEARCH

What role does a quantitative measurement play in the emotional relationship between people and architecture? This research targeted how the result of dividing mass by density can drastically alter the functions we assign to space.

COMPONENTS THAT CONNECT THEM ISOLATED?

[Result] Spatial characteristics such as longitudinal dominance and public/private were preserved when their volumes underwent the three transformations listed above

STUDY III: [SECTION] [FUNCTION TO VOLUME]

ARE SPACES MORE EMOTIONALLY IMPACTFUL LOCATION IS A PRODUCT OF THEIR FUNCTION?

This section cut from the axon shown on the previous page demonstrates the clear juxtaposition of intimate vs public spaces when daylighting is overlaid. This is a This often leads to the assumption of smaller volumes housing less engaging spaces, when in reality it is the location of the volume in the composition that has a apertures are capable of altering the perceived volume of space by creating a transparent moment where the building touches the sky.

WHEN THEIR VOLUME AND FUNCTION?

a common example of how buildings often place spaces with private functions near the core to allow rapid circulation around the perimeter of the overall program. a larger effect on the perceived quality of the space. When cut through larger spaces developed for constant public engagement, it’s clear that skylights and roof

MEMORIAM IN LIGHT

2 MONTHS | FALL 2021 | 3RD YEAR | MUSEUM PAVILION IN BLACKSBURG, VA

Tasked with designing a space that pays homage to the first black community and their homes in Blacksburg, VA, this proposal looked to monuments of memory found in ancient history. From precedents such as the Parthenon and Temple of Hera, the design captures the transparency of a solid object on a site. With this compositional foundation established, this pavilion redefines how we experience memories by creating skylights from the footprints of the homes and recasting their locations on the ground, allowing the public to engage with the physical history of a location in a new light.

[DD Site Plan] The focus of the landscape centers around the permeability of the pavilion’s mass in relation to the site. The memorial park is designed to engage at the pedestrian interacting with the museum. As a result there is limited parking, maximizing green space and allowing the form to sit uncontested in the environment. Early iterations of the skylights former streetscape of the community are visible in both plan and elevation (above) while the formal composition of the pavilion clearly draws from the rectangular form of Greek

pedestrian level to create a sense of occasion for the public skylights and their relative positions in relation to the Greek and Roman Temples to establish monumentality.

The final plan (right) takes inspiration from the previously mentioned monumental precedents (left) with the added injection of rotating vertical apertures at each entry which control the amount of light entering from the horizontal plane year round. Instead of the traditional sculptural monuments found in the Greek and Roman temples, the memorial pavilion captures the lost homes of the black community with their footprints projected in light on the ground (above).

LUTHI FAMILY SUMMER HOME

1 MONTH | SPRING 2021 | 2ND YEAR |

DESIGN EXPLORATION

This vacation home for a small family focused on three extracted elements of experience: movement, view and public v private. All of these ideas were catalyzed through the focal object of a large tree present on the site. The home finds a passive balance between the social and private moments of the residents’ interaction with each other and the surrounding environment.

The orientation of the home plays a key role in distinguishing the function of each space through daylighting. The sun peers through windows on the east wall and illuminates the kitchen and dining room in the morning, passively ushering the inhabitants into the space. The southern windows in the private region allow for sunset views in the evening which help mediate the transition between the pace of the day and relaxation of the evening.

NORTH ELEVATION

EAST ELEVATION

These sketch models allowed for an early understanding of the home’s presence as all the material was a relief from the bristol (”site”) and constructed using only folds. This demonstrates the negative space that is created by imposing a new form on the site. Using these observations I was able to reiterate many overlooked or potentially limiting factors such as how the elevation of the site affects the manner of approach.

PROFESSIONAL WORK

3 MONTHS

|

C2K ARCHITECTURE

SUMMER 2022

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PORTLAND, OR

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ARCHITECTURAL INTERN | VISUALIZATION FOCUSED

This 11 week internship was focused on developing strong visualization and 3D modeling skills for a wide array of projects spanning from multiple mixed-use developments to rehabilitation centers throughout the west coast.

UNIT LAYOUT STUDIES | MIXED USE

UNIT LAYOUT STUDIES | MIXED USE

ADA RAMP BY ELEVATED POOL DECK | MIXED USE

CENTRAL ELEVATOR/ILLUMINATED ICON | MEDICAL

CORRIDOR STUDY | MIXED USE

EXPLORATIONS WITH A.I.

ONGOING | INDEPENDENT RESEARCH | MIDJOUNREY / STABLE DIFFUSION

With the rapid rise of A.I. generated images in media, I explored early applications of this technology on architectural facades through the Midjourney algorithm.

PERFORMANCE, SCALE, ORGANIC GEOMETRY INPUTS: LAYERED BALCONIES, STREETSCAPE, MOTION, FACADE

ADDITIONAL WORK

ASSORTED SKETCHES: FISHER BUILDING, YAMASAKI WORKS, FIRE ESCAPES, TREES | FALL 2022

CLOUD TOWERS | FALL 2022

SWISS INSPIRED ADVERTISEMENT FOR VIGEVANO | FALL 2019

SCHEMATICS FOR A CUSTOM BED STAND AND INTEGRATED CLOSET | SPRING 2021

BAS RELIEF OF AN AXONOMETRIC DIAGRAM | SPRING 2020

RESUME

TUCKER ROSSI

ARCHITECTURE | 4TH YEAR | B.ARCH

MY PROFILE

https://issuu.com/tuckerrossi

tuckerrossi@vt.edu

331 Buck Hill Rd North Trumansburg NY, 14886

I strive to design thought-provoking architecture that pushes the profession in new and exciting directions through emerging technology with a focus on sustainability. Academic pursuits have provided foundational knowledge concerning the design process, critique and analysis, conceptualization, peer engagement and team leadership. Professional experience has cultivated digital media skills and increased profiency with industry standard software as well as high end architectural and interior visualization.

EDUCATION

VIRGINIA TECH

B.ARCH | 2019 - PRESENT GRADUATING MAY 2024

SKILLS

WORK EXPERIENCE

ARCHITECTURAL INTERN (ACADEMIC)

| AUGUST 2022 - NOVEMBER 2022

BOOTH HANSEN - 333 S DESPLAINES ST, CHICAGO, IL 60661

This internship allowed me to work on both academic and professional projects under the guidance of mentors from this firm. I worked on a wide variety of projects that cultivated skills in 3D printing, fabrication, and sustainable system modeling and design. -Analyzed and modeled daylighting and energy saving measures for a sustainability analysis -Developed, modeled and 3D printed a series of massing iterations for a high rise proposal -Accurately modeled and integrated site context in sketchup

ARCHITECTURAL

INTERN | MAY 2022 - AUGUST 2022

C2K ARCHITECTURE - 1645 NW HOYT ST, PORTLAND, OR 97209

In this 11 week internship I gained experience working in a team environment on a variety different phases of projects from design development to construction documentation with a focus on design visualization and rendering.

-Produced high quality interior and exterior visualizations through a multi-program workflow -Presented and engaged with clients -Contacted product representatives for custom design components in multiple proposals -Conducted both site and precedent visits -Constructed 3D models from plan, section and elevation drawings -Designed multiple unit plan schemes for mixed use projects -Engaged heavily in design critique with colleagues

I co-founded R/T Landscape & Design and managed multiple high-end properties on and around Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of NY. This operation provided hands on experience with a design build workflow and constant client engagement.

-Completed accurate site measurements for transcription into digital medium -Worked closely with clients to materialize their vision to transform their property -Drafted site plans for land modification

RECOGNITION

tuckerrossi@vt.edu