Transparent Park
Instructor: Clare Lyster
Fall 2017
Translucent Park is predominately used in the winter season, and includes
ice-skating, hot tubs, heated pools, grassy/snowy fields for bonfires or picnics, a hot chocolate bar alongside the food-court, along with other such
amenities. In warmer months, the ice layer is removed to reveal the glittery
concrete surface made of terrazzo that is embedded glass, which allows the
atmospheric effects of the park to be retained all year long.
It is crafted of a series of mirrors, glass ceilings, clear railings, ice, and reflective, shiny metallic surfaces combined to yield the illusion of a shiny, reflective, mirrored, transparent, translucent, and floating landscape. The park is designed with these atmospheric affects in mind.
UIC Master Re-Design
Instructor: Judith De Jong
Spring 2019
Redesign of the UIC Master Plan, with a proposal to join South Campus and East Campus and blur the line of separation between them. Taking Walter Netsch’s original campus (the Quad) and rotating and flipping the concept into south campus, removes the idea of the Quad being the center of campus. Several of the buildings and their programs on the outer borders of campus were moved into these new locations to create a more "strip" shape of campus.
The proposal also aims to create an environment that invites in more Chicago citizens and creates a sense of community between the two. Urban landscape programs such as skateparks and dog parks invite students and Chicagoans to socialize with each other.
Living Pedagogy
Instructor: Judith De Jong
Spring 2019
This proposal deepens the relationship potential between living on campus and learning on campus by providing opportunities to learn outside of the classroom for residents and commuters alike. Based on ideas of the LLC- Living Learning Communities from current campus housing, the new housing organizes residents by College and major, or cultural awareness and interest, rather than by age, and offers tutoring, advising, resources, career fairs/events, networking, community, research, and pride in those chosen Colleges in the convenient location of the same buildings they reside in.
The proposal is composed of four separate buildings shaped to spell out the letter “U”, followed by 2 more letters “I” and “C”, to spell out the acronym for the University. Suites are mixed with traditional rooms in two of the buildings to create a mix of upper and lower classmen and to encourage mentorship and interaction. Collective spaces are found on every other floor, further encouraging interaction. Every PL building has at least one Faculty-In-Residence living amongst the students, which encourages student and faculty interactions while allowing easier access to resources and networking opportunities.
City Recreation Center
Instructor: Chris Frye
Spring 2018
Chicago is split into 50 wards, and in this location off of W Cermack and S Canal St in the 25th Ward, stands this project. A Recreation Center that analyzes the surrounding neighborhoods and its demographics,
this center is designed to provide all the needs of those that attend it, and create a sense of continuity and
connection. Through glass walls, roofs, and ramps, this atmosphere gives the illusion of there being no walls and ceilings, prompting openness and shared sense of community. The location in an area deemed an “industrial graveyard” promotes the neighborhood to expand into the surrounding area and bring it back to life. The pool that stretches across the site stems from the man-made canal, giving the illusion of swimming in the canal itself.
Perspective Corner Study
Instructor: Thomas Kelley
Spring 2017
How many corners are there? What does a corner do? How do people react to certain corners?
Dedicating a semester to studying these questions, a combination of patterns, scales, angles, and estimated human behavior were complied. Through the pattern of a repeating hexagon that changes in scale and has corners of various degrees, all of these variables were tested.
It was concluded that as the scale of the hexagon grew, the behavior shifted from viewing, to climbing the wall, to sitting within the hollow openings, to being able to lie down inside the hexagon and use the openings as doorways. As the angle grew more obtuse from 90 degrees, the corner would begin to disappear into the pattern, and start to appear less and less as if there was a corner.
Nested Colored Stacks
Instructor: Stewart Hicks
Fall 2018
The Thompson Center is round, public only in the first few floors, and has a large atrium that has been described as a “waste of space”. If the hole is to be filled, what is to be put inside?
The center has a need for more public spaces, and a way to make the people feel more like they truly can watch the politicians at work, as designer Helmut Jahn originally proposed.
The storefronts are taken from the simple geometry that are typically employed and used to create a catalog of 6 different designs. A range of 4 colors cycles through the designs, drawing from the idea of adaptable and changing programs, similar to the color and program variations in the 6 various floor plan designs.
Material Limitation
Instructor: Daniel Wheeler
Spring 2018
Roof Assembly
White rubber roofing membrane with self-adhesive over gypsum board (5/8" thick) that lies on top of 6” rigid insulation. For structure, Modular CMU blocks used as bond beams and reinforced with #5 rebar and casted in concrete from within each block.
Wall Assembly
2’x10’ cold rolled steel panels attached with z-clips to gypsum board which is protected by water barrier providing a 1” air gap over 3” rigid insulation and connects to modular CMU block wall that is reinforced with #4 rebar and concrete and is exposed to the interior space.
(First) Floor Assembly
Modular CMU blocks used as bond beams and reinforced with #5 rebar. Concrete that is casted in each block is polished and waxed as the floor finish.
Vertical Circulation
Instructor: Chris Frye
Fall 2016
The tower / skyscraper uses circulating elevators and staircases to ‘force’ people to interact with the entire building and all programs, creating a uniform and controlled circulation. Each “stack” of elevators is grouped by 5 floors, 2 elevators and 1 spiral staircase. The top floors lead to the first floors of the preceding (and parallel) stack, on the opposite end of the makeshift “cross” the building forms. Increased public access, separated program, and skip-stop floors all work together to develop community and increase interaction.
The elevators give the building a wrap-around design, showing a seemingly spiral shape staircase surrounding the building, with emergency staircases. The tops of each elevator stack also functions as a outdoor/green space.
Existing Replication
Instructor: Julia Di Castri
Fall 2015
The University of Illinois in Chicago has a proud heritage of Brutalist Architecture, designed by Walter Netsch in the 1960s.
This study was to test student’s ability to replicate a current style of existing building.
