ACADEMIC | PROFESSIONAL | COMPETITION
MASTERS OF ARCHITECTURE | 2016-2020
architecture PORTFOLIO VOL 1 05.2020
VINCENT CUSUMANO
architecture PORTFOLIO VINCENT CUSUMANO
Vincent Cusumano Embodying the Renaissance Man Ethos My name is Vincent Cusumano; I am a former history student and entrepreneur turned architect. My life has taken me on a unique path before finally finding my place in architecture. Throughout my journey I have attempted to embody the spirit of the “renaissance man,� aspiring and working to be knowledgeable in a diverse number of subjects and skills. I am a former collegiate athlete, and in addition to architecture, I have extensive interests in sports science, communications, politics, business and real estate. Before obtaining my masters degree at the University of Cincinnati, I worked at an architectural studio in New York City and simultaneously ran a fully licensed expediting business. Today, I am already using some of the skills learned at UC to manage and refurbish a property just outside the school’s campus which is already providing housing to students and alumni.
My passion for architecture stems from my interest in the built environment of American cities and a yearning to leave a lasting legacy that looks to benefit future generations. I see myself as simply as a personable creator who, being the oldest of 5 siblings, has always sought to lead by example. I constantly strive to explore the unknown and adapt to meet the challenges that come from those experiences. Through the last several years I have made tremendous strides developing skills related to architecture and have created designs I am truly proud of along the way. Studying architecture and developing my passion has been an amazing experience and one that I enjoy sharing. I hope you enjoy viewing as well. ... To all of those who made this possible, thank you! This hot cocoa is for you...Cheers!
RESUME of the traveling architect Traveling and living throughout the US for my post graduate degree has provided me with invaluable experience and the ability to have been an intrical part of several different types of firms with varying specialties. The diversity of the work challenged me to adapt and to suit the needs of all types of clientelle and a multitude of different sites.
Relevant Skills
Court Atkins Group | Intern Architect
May 2019 - Aug 2019 High-end residential work and plantation planning Exterior plan produced in Autocad Interior plan documentation produced in Revit Site verification, analysis and zoning research
Work Experience | Pre-Graduate VCA | Junior Architect + Business Admin.
3D Modeling and 2D Drafting Rhino 6 + Grasshopper
Sketchup
AutoCad
Revit
Jan 2014 - July 2016 Mixed-use and commercial specialization Construction documentation in Autocad software Website re-design Business manager and book keeper Head of marketing and new employee hiring
Education
Rendering and Graphic Design V-Ray
Lumion
Photoshop
InDesign
Illustrator
Lightroom
University of Cincinnati | 2016-2020
School of Design Art Architecture and Planning Masters of Architecture (MArch 1 Program) Thesis: Regen Detroit Member of Graduate Student Association Member of DAAP Student Technology Lab
Occidental College | 2010-2014
Bachelors of Arts in History Student athlete: Div III Football (Captain) Member of Sports Business and Law Network
Site Analysis and Review Recap
Work Experience | Masters Degree Internships
Revu
Social Features General Office Tools Word
PowerPoint
axo_madness Brooklyn E-Market Park Outlook
Excel
part_to_whole Brooklyn E-Market Park
Physical Modeling 3D Printing Extensive use of Prusa i3 3D Printer in grad school facilities. Well versed in Prusa and Cura slicing softwares. Built Creality Ender 3 for personal use. Laser Cutting Materials used: Wood, Plexiglass Handcrafting Materials used: Wood, Foam, Chipboard, Acetate, Foam core, Balsa wood, concrete
Contact Info 973-722-7992 vcusumanojr@gmail.com @vcarchdesign
Advent | Intern Architect
Aug 2018 - Dec 2018 Professional and collegiate facilities specialization Construction documentation in Autocad Sketchup and Photoshop Rendering Site verification using Recap software
XLR8 Inc. | Founder/Lead Expeditor
Oct 2014 - July 2016 Expediting services for the tri-state area Started company with personal revenue Permit issuances for all trades (arch, eng, plumb) Building code compliance + violation rectification
Ware Malcomb | Intern Architect
Jan 2018 - April 2018 Mixed use and commercial specialization Construction documentation in Autocad software Site planning in Autocad software Site analysis and zoning research
Competitions Young Architects
Competitions Summer Studio 2017
Acadia 2019
Ubiquity + Autonomy Spring Elective 2019
New York, NY Chicago, IL Cincinnati, OH
Ocean Grove, NJ
Nashville, TN Los Angeles, CA
Bluffton, SC
Contents
Academic Work
Community
Mobility
Discovery
Brilliancy - 40 -
Journey - 44 -
Creativity - 48 -
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Professional + Supplemental Work
Advent - 58 -
Court Atkins Group - 62 -
Ware Malcomb - 66 -
VCA - 70 -
XLR8 Inc. - 74 -
Supplement - 76 -
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Academic Work
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Community Brooklyn Army Terminal
E-Market + Distribution Center = Economic Growth Site Location: Sunset Park, Brooklyn, NY Programs Used
Featured on
Located in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn NY this modular E-market pairs with the nearby Brooklyn Army Terminal which is being used as space to service startups, small manufacturing and entrepreneurs. Focusing on small business design 3 different modules are developed for both small retail, the booming e-market which needs less space for operations, and distribution to help both industries. Today, over 89% of America’s 30.4 million firms are small businesses which are operated by 20 employees or less. Enticing small business to Brooklyn Army Terminal can potentially mitigate the separation created by the local Gowanus Expressway that divides the culturally diverse communities of Sunset Park and the up-and-coming industrial center.
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Sunset Park is a diverse cultural milieu seemingly changing entirely in only a few blocks as one walks the community.
Above is the Gowanus Expressway which creates an uninhabitable area of parking that divides Sunset park from its industrial waterfront where gentrification is starting.
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The goal of the E-Market Center is to bring together the disparate areas of Sunset Park that are detached from their waterfront. This collage was created to signify the holistic community of Sunset Park. It combines the local residential and commercial Sunset Park facade typologies and lettering into a rectilinear form that is being incorporated in the newly proposed design.
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Mobility Re:Gen Detroit | masters thesis
Modularity + Movement = A Rejuvenated Motor City Site Location: Detroit, MI Within the last half century the city of Detroit has suffered greatly from the downfall of the American car industry. Massive job losses led to race riots and rampant depopulation and destruction of the built environment at a massive scale. With many communities destroyed, the city now takes on the characteristics more similar to that of a rural area. In Detroit today, access to healthy food options is low and the large scale of the city’s limits make public services incredibly inefficient. Re:Gen Detroit is an architectural starting point to counter these specific problems. Modular urban farming and market hubs will be created throughout influential points in the city to bridge the gap between downtown where wealth is starting to be accumulated and the rest of the city. Over time, the forms and architectural principles from these hubs can be taken and be re-established to other vacant parts of the city. This urban realignment around town centers will densify the population of Detroit to make public services more efficient. It will also give communities a sense of place and increase the city’s production resulting in a diversification of Detroit’s post-industrial economy. With the value of the land increasing people will take greater responsibility for the protection of their local communities and increase the city’s currently low tax base.
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Programs Used
Award Finalist
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The aesthetic behind Re:Gen Detroit is inspired by the colorful “comic book-esque� street art murals scattered throughout the city. These murals provide a lively scene and give the people a sense of place when traveling the city. Although many might see it as just backdrop for the area it is extremely important to Detroit as it highly contrasts the gray and dismal urban decay that has set in. Specific murals are unique to and stand out in areas of over gentrification where culture seems to be lost.
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Many post industrial cities in the US represent hope through refurbishment for those observing from the outside but for many living in Detroit’s suburbs there is an underlying fear of return and a negative historical cycle. In “Deep Dark Fears� above Detroit is represented as an unrealized monster that takes revenge on those that abandoned it to time.
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Detroit’s Land Dilemma
The sheer size of Detroit creates many problems for the government and the people it serves. The land encompassed by Detroit’s city limits is larger than the cities of Manhattan, Boston, and San Francisco combined. The already ill equipped fire, police, garbage disposal, water, and electric departments have are made even more inefficient due to the land they have to cover. The people who aren’t helped by the public services refuse to pay their taxes and the city continues to lose valuable revenue. An architectural and urban design solution is drastically needed to increase the value of this vast amount of land. If the land is made productive Detroit can take its biggest weakness and turn it into a strength to launch it into the future.
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Urban Acupuncture
Re:Gen Detroit would be established on sites near buildings of architectural and cultural significance for Detroit such as such as Book Tower, Michigan Central Terminal, and the Eastern Market. These areas, or anchor points would be catalysts for further growth throughout other parts of the city.
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A Mobile, Modular Renaissance
Similar to the production of the car before it, ReGen modular units will be designed and manufactured in Detroit in order to suit the needs of the occupants. The modular units can be made mobile and can be retrofitted similar to their model-T predecessors. If the urban design challenge is tackled the city can be re-activated.
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A City by the People for the People
Re:Gen Detroit is a celebration of the individual and their productive capabilities. By increasing the value of smaller areas of land within Detroit the people will take increased responsibility for their local communities. If wealth is not allowed to spread evenly throughout the city those on the fringes will continue to be forgotten.
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Discovery Columbus Industry and Science Center Contrasting Form + Iconic Architecture Site Location: Columbus, IN
Programs Used
The Columbus Industry and Science center is a designed campus plan that coincides with the modern architectural design of Eero Saarinen of North Christian Church in Columbus Indiana. Large scale exhibition halls are designed with alignments that contrast the rigidity of North Christian’s verticality. This contrast in view and form creates the visual affect of emphasizing the church itself. The path through the site directs pedestrians towards North Christian making the church its heart. Different levels on the exterior and interior of the exhibition halls make Saarinen’s church into an intellectual and spiritual beacon.
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Brilliancy Cincinnati Performing Arts Center Primary Form + Light + Performance Site Location: Cincinnati, OH
Programs Used
The Cincinnati Visual and Performing Arts Center looks to become a jewel in the heart of the Mt. Adams area of Cincinnati. Inspired by paper and light models linear perforations on the proposed building become the main characteristic of the design. The building looks to create a dichotomy in terms of light use. These strips allow light to come in throughout the day allowing art to be viewed easily with natural light. At night, the building transforms to become a jewel on the hillside as the juxtaposition of shapes creates a performance all its own. The form of the building takes the shape of the principal shapes of architecture, the circle the square and the triangle. Extrusion and juxtaposition of these forms creates unique spaces on the exterior and interior of the building.
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Journey Constellation Cabins | YAC competition 2017 Historic Reverence + Night sky viewing Site Location: Roccascalegna, Italy
Roccascalegna Italy is home to an old Norman Fortress atop a high cliff-side peak. The local community has generated a tourist based economy surrounding the site. In order to bolster the town’s economy the Italian government and The Young Architects Competition joined together to create an architectural competition focusing on the design of observatory cabins. The design prompt called for spaces of meditation and stargazing while respecting the site’s historic qualities. Constellation Cabins are a design that looks to fulfill the needs of the community and the tourist while becoming beacons for potential growth on the mountainous landscape. Walking paths join together several small reflection spaces where those inside can rest comfortably while the observe the architectural beauty of the fortress and natural beauty of the stars above.
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Programs Used
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Final design iterations were inspired by the iconic cylindrical Norman towers of the Roccascalegna fortress that remind us of man’s capabilities to architecturally intervene in the most challenging of landscapes.
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The final design includes a system of small outpost towers that allow for the expansion of the tourism industry around the site. Each tower would have enough space for 4 people to camp comfortably and opened to the night sky.
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Creativity ExTramics | acadia compeition 2019
Scripted Extruded Ceramics Spring Elective
Programs Used
ExTramics explores the use of scripted work paths for producing texture and variety in robotic extruded clay printing. The scale and complexity of printable geometry continues to increase with the progression of technology. Comparatively the level of detailing beyond overall massing has remained relatively constant. Given the potential impact that robotic extrusion printing may have on the world of architecture and construction, the method used to add detailing and character needs to be taken into consideration. Typically with robotic extrusion printing, complex levels of detailing are not evidently distinguishable. ExTramics attempts to embed the detailing into the work paths themselves which can be reused and applied to a variety of printable geometries. Kuka Robotic arm and respective plugin were utilized for the extruded prints.
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Creativity Studio Models
Hand + Laser Cutting + 3D Printing School of Design Architecture Art and Planning Programs Used
Technology Used BEAM Dynamics Laser Machining Center Epilog 36EXT Laser Engraver Prusa i3 MK3S 3D Printer Creality Ender 3 3D Printer
Over the span of 4 years while obtaining my architectural masters degree I have constructed several studio models. Initially, I handcrafted many models but struggled mightily with my craftsmanship. However, I challenged myself to greatly clean my craft and understand the technology surrounding the architectural model making process. By my last year at DAAP I was producing models I wouldn’t have thought possible. On several occasions I took the lead in managing several site models for entire studio classes to utilize for smaller scale bay models. Working closely with the Rapid Prototyping Center at DAAP I was able to utilize the latest technologies to build anything from my imagination. Pictured is the site model for our 2019 Spring Studio class where I was one of the two lead coordinators for fabrication. It depicts the area surrounding the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park Brooklyn at 64th scale. The model is made of laser cut plywood for the buildings, a standoff lifted, laser engraved acrylic for the land and streets. The model was attached to a base made of plywood with a black stain finish which is seen beneath the clear acrylic to add depth and materiality to the model. 53
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Professional + Supplemental Work
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Advent Finneran Pavilion | villanova university Brand Clarity + Visual Storytelling Office Location: Nashville, TN
As a technical designer at Advent I was apart of a team that was responsible for enhancing the “visual storytelling” of spaces within the realm professional and collegiate sports. With a focus on the human scale, these spaces would effectively increase recruit and fan engagement while providing brand clarity for the school and its athletic programs. On the design team, I was specifically tasked with analyzing and confirming measurements for pre-existing spaces to be renovated. I utilized ReCap software from digital scans to generate elevations and floor plans and Sketchup models for presentation and designation of new graphic or video displays on site. I was apart of many graphic design decisions for displays and coordinated with installers for the best materials to be used in conjunction with Advent’s final product. Villanova recently transformed Finneran Pavilion into an elite training ground and a dream destination for recruits. The 360-degree concourse celebrates Wildcats basketball and the championship culture that has been created at Villanova. Renovations took the fan experience to the next level with enhanced amenities and cutting-edge technology. On the exterior of the pavilion is a new plaza for pre- and post-game activities which builds excitement before tipoff. On the interior of the space are innovative touch screens and interactive displays create new ways for fans to explore the program’s history.
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Programs Used
Images provided by Ewing Cole Architects59
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Court Atkins Group Eldred Residence | palmetto bluff, sc
Materiality + Iconic Low-country design Office Location: Bluffton, SC
Programs Used
Featured In
At Court Atkins Group I was a part of the residential design team. I worked primarily in Autocad and Revit softwares drafting floor plans, elevations, reflected ceiling plans, fixture plans, and energy efficiency analyses. I was closely involved in the several plantation building departments and their residential requirements for residential designs that were harmonious with the plantation communities. Court Atkins Group believes that architecture is timeless and embraces a sense of history and tradition while seamlessly connecting with the local environment. The Eldred’s vision for their low country home was closely adhered to and our team was fully responsive to their specific design vision.
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Ware Malcomb Southport Logistics Park | wilmer, texas Efficiency + Standardization + Planning Office Location: Chicago, IL
During my first co-op experience at Ware Malcomb I was assigned to planning and site analysis for large scale commercial transportation hubs and developments. I was made familiar with local transportation codes to make large sites easily navigable, and worked to produce appealing planning maps for project presentations with clients. Ware Malcomb was awarded the services for a 1.1 million SF Class A industrial building and a 400,000 SF speculative facility at the Southport Logistics Park. The overall design was to suit the needs of new distribution and e-commerce fulfillment centers with a focus on attracting more e-commerce end users. This major site, located adjacent to the South Dallas Union Pacific Intermodal Facility, was entirely re-planned to include mass grading, road networks, and major utility infrastructure that complemented the targeted market and logistics profile of the region. Building designs utilized tilt wall panels incorporating integrated aluminum accents at the entryways, sophisticated lighting and contemporary window lines.
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Programs Used
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Water’s Edge | Lake Elsinore, California
Mananitas Park | Mananitas, Panama
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Georgian Bay Waterfront Development | Owen Sound, Ontario
Christian University | San Juan Capistrano, California
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All renderings produced in conjunction with third party teams
Vincent Cusumano Architect Wyndam Skyline Tower | atlantic city, nj
Modern Design + Ocean front aesthetic Office Location: Bluffton, SC
Programs Used
Coming out of my undergraduate degree I decided to help my father and his architectural business and it was here that my interest in architecture bloomed. Being a small firm of ten people, I had numerous responsibilities in just my two years there. Some of the responsibilities included revamping our website, managing expenses, hiring new employees, obtaining new work through new marketing strategies and national RFQs and maintaining licensing requirements for 27 states. I eventually became familiar with AutoCad and took intro level classes in Manhattan to bolster my productivity for the firm. By the end of my second year with the firm I was drafting floorplans and elevations, became VCA’s representative at the NYC Dept of Buildings and was managing our third party rendering team to meet the visual requirements of the client. At Wyndham Skyline Tower VCA was responsible for creating the aesthetic for the exterior facade as well as a new redesign for the pool and lobby. I worked closely with our rendering team and architects to design an entrance that emulates the flowing of water to match the surrounding environment of Atlantic City using linear lighting surrounding the lower facade. 71
Mediterranean Shipping Company | Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
PC Richard Harlem | New York, New York
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177 Main | Manasquan, New Jersey
PC Richard Flatbush | Brooklyn, New York
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XLR8 Orange Theory Fitness | staten island, ny Building permit filings for all trades Office Location: New York, NY
In my second year working for my father I started my own expediting firm with the revenue made from VCA called XLR8 Inc. I provided building permit issuances for all construction related trades in the tri-state area. Much of this work included resolving construction violations and working with clients to prepare their sites for construction up to NYC Department of Buildings standards. I represented several clients including Orange Theory Fitness, PM Pediatrics, PC Richard & Son and City Wine Cellar during that time. Orange Theory Fitness in Staten Island required permit issuance for architectural, structural, plumbing, electrical and fire services. Each trade comes with its specific requirements for filing to code before construction can start. If proper filings are not made the city government can evict the tenant for illegal construction. Each construction project I represented with XLR8 has been successfully built and continues to serve their respective communities.
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Boroughs Serviced Manhattan Brooklyn Staten Island
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Supplemental Work COVID-19 Co-Op Cabins | pocono mts, pa Isolation + Modularity Personal Interest Pursuit
Programs Used
In order to bolster my design and visual skills I have pursued my design related interests outside of my professional and educational realm. The COVID-19 pandemic has recently shifted design thinking in the architectural world. With technology being made more readily available and people being more connected than ever before isolation is becoming an increasingly viable solution to potential crises. New design strategies surrounding ease of construction and cost to quickly fulfill the needs of a sudden movement of people during times of need should be paramount for architectural designers who rarely get to influence design for the “common man.” Pictured is a potential design for “co-op isolation cabins” that can either take on larger families or small groups of people. Almost makeshift in design, the overall massing is created from custom shipping containers that are fitted together to create shared living spaces and are placed on a concrete platform allowing the cabin to adjust to diverse landscape of a more mountainous area.
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Supplemental Work Architectural Photography
Personal Study of Monolithic Forms Various Sites
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Supplemental Work Paper Space
Paper Folding Techniques + Scale Spacial Conceptualization Exercises
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Supplemental Work Hand Drafting
Seagram Building Materiality and Structure Exercises
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