AWARDS

THESIS PRIZE

This thesis project aims to question how people inhabit the built environment after a disaster and attempts to develop an architectural design proposal for new and novel solutions to such conditions. Considering the many possible scenarios that could present themselves as threats to human habitation, generating new solutions for living within extreme conditions will become a contemporary necessity, less as questions but instead as requirements for survival. The effects of nuclear war continue to be one of the most threatening possible condition for human life on the planet. With the Doomsday Clock currently set to an all-time shortest length of only 100 seconds, this hypothetical future presents itself as an extremely relevant possibility that must be addressed immediately or else face the resulting conditions. B.O.B.(or Basic Occupiable Body) is a deployable pneumatic shelter intended to create a habitable environment for post-fallout survival and other relevant situations within the built environment where something needs to be both impermanent and novel, while still providing a place of respite from disaster. The concept of the B.O.B. system allows for almost infinite combinations to offer any possible forms of post-fallout habitation. By combining the correct size Body along with all of the required hardware, a pneumatic shelter can be created that offers all of the customizability of traditional residential living, but now with an additional element of radiation protection! The generic form of the B.O.B. is flexible enough to accommodate any required programming, while double-walled, Pb vinyl structure offers structure.

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Student Presentation

DISTINCTION

The parti of the design is two bars, the top pivoted over the bottom bar to allow for expanded spatial conditions, creating a covered outdoor performance viewing area and a green roof lounge. The building demolished to make way for the dance center is integral to the design itself. Because of a firm belief in material and energy conservation, the demolished building is reused in two ways: first to fill the berm covered in plantings which offers a connection up to the second floor. Secondly the rubble is used as aggregate in land formed concrete tilt-up panels which structure the first floor. This contrasts the glulam construction and wood slat façade of the upper bar. The material idea is a heavy, thick lower bar connected to the earth and the history of the site, and a delicate wood stat bar that pivots above. All of the details tie back to the material and tectonic logic of the project, creating a design rooted in a history of place and a call for movement.

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Student Presentation

The Voting House seeks to architecturally respond to the modern social issue of voter turnout. In the November 2016 election, Milwaukee had 182 polling locations open. In the 2020 primary election, the city opened just 5 polling locations. Data suggests this lack of polling locations disproportionately affected Black Voters in the city and surely depressed voter turnout for the city. The Voting House rigorously canvasses the city at a spacing distance of 2 miles, ensuring a maximum one-mile travel distance to complete our given right to vote. The Voting House seeks to standardize our right to vote. Polling places have few regulations and take many different forms throughout the city; school gymnasiums, libraries, historic structures, etc. The architecture that surrounds the voter should be standard as the process seeks a true democratic form. The Voting House is comprised of three parts, the Skin, the Scaffolding, and the Voting Program. The Skin of the folly protects the function, shielding the process when needed but allowing views to the process as well. The Scaffolding supports the democratic act; without it, the folly and democracy crumble. The Voting Process takes the form of a linear bar, protected yet transparent in nature. While The Voting House has a prototype, the folly must be whimsical in its form as it must stay where it lands. Therefore, the folly takes the shape of the community; a basketball court will be utilized in some neighborhoods while a library may support others. The Act of voting is not longer a rare occurrence, it becomes part of the community, a piece of architecture people see day after day.

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Student Presentation

MERIT

This site is located along Estabrook Parkway alongside the Milwaukee River. A short walk from six bus stops and free parking makes this a prime location for community engagement. With multiple paths forming into one right next to the site, fishermen along the river, and a soccer park not too far away, the three of us knew we wanted to create something for families and individuals to relax and enjoy the outdoors while still being able to practice social distancing. Each pod structure is set up to be completely interactive whether people come to read and relax on their own, take a book from the little free library that we added, or leave notes and drawings for one another. Each of us came into the project having similar ideas and inspiration that we wanted to utilize. We knew we wanted to have at least three different pods in order for people to remain social distanced but still have a place to relax and communicate with strangers. For this reason, we did not want the pods to be closed off, we wanted to make a wall that kept people apart from one another, but also provided people with the ability to talk and share ideas. With having a strict budget, we knew we had to use our materials and money wisely. All of the wood and composite decking were donated recycled materials in order to make the frame of each pod, other materials were purchased and recycled from Habitat for Humanity.

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Student Presentation

Howard Fuller, Barbara Miner and Ken Leinbach are social activists based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They place emphasis on sustainability, ecology, equal and quality education, and community. With these commonalities in mind, an inhabitant specific co-living dwelling was designed. The space was programmed in such a way that the very public areas were directly removed and made entirely separate from the living-based spaces in order to preserve the inhabitants privacy. This was done within the living-based spaces as well as by the separation of semi-private and private areas. This was accomplished through an elongated hallway encompassing an exterior courtyard. Private areas containing an individual bedroom, bathroom, office, and porch for each occupant extend towards the river, further separating from the semi-private space while also prioritizing views. In the design process, Howard, Barbara and Ken's age was a main consideration. They are all in a later stage in life and it was agreed that limiting verticality would be beneficial to circulation and mobility. So, the dwelling is all contained to a ground floor with some ramping down into the private bedrooms. The community center is also sunken into the ground, due to the accessible roof feature, and it was important for us to keep that ease of mobility, so we opted for a stair/ramp hybrid to ensure that anyone and everyone can enjoy the space. Additionally, an emphasis on windows was also a key consideration so one can maintain a relationship with green space and the riverside view even when indoors. Overall, the main goal was to create a space that serves a wide variety of purposes both public and private, while still maintaining and prioritizing a sense of privacy and engagement for the inhabitants.

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Student Presentation

Curving Co-Living, located on 2114 North Riverboat Road, is a co-living development designed for Howard Fuller and Nyesha Stone, two prominent Milwaukeeans with a love for their communities. This is a project that emphasizes community and togetherness at its core. To provide opportunities most effectively for its residents, Curving Co-Living promotes opportunities for community building and growth while still providing Howard and Nyesha the space that they need to maintain their personal lives. Upon entry, Howard and Nyesha descend a ramp into the primary gathering and living space that contains spaces for eating, cooking, and socializing. A long window to the south, which is positioned low to the ground, opens a clear and intimate view of the river. The northern part of this open concept room contains a large kitchen, suitable for hosting gatherings and for community cooking. From here, a series of processional arms extend from the main body, with the subsequent rooms being separated by hallways that are made of pinches, pulls, and lifts on these arms in reaction to the sloped site conditions. The arms and hallways serve to separate Howard and Nyesha’s public and work life from their private life, which was rather important to Nyesha. The bedrooms are located on the southeastern corner, with Howard’s bedroom on the lower level and Nyesha’s bedroom on the upper level. Due to their layering, Howard has direct access to the rain gardens and river, while Nyesha has a balcony looking over the river.

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Student Presentation

This project was focused on the idea of addressing a long span and living object problem. Located in Grafton Wisconsin there is an abandoned grass airfield in which this designed World War One aerospace museum shall be incorporated into with active use. The museum not only features relics and decommissioned planes from the era but also live operable aircraft. The planes displayed in such a manner that they can be moved about the space and more importantly that they can be taken outside for display and active flight. The project design and shape began by research and diagraming of the space of Grafton and planes of WWI. From these diagrams 3D forms were extruded and articulated in a manner to begin shaping the buildings positive and negative physical spaces. The spaces began to be carved out to fit the program of space that features use from maintenance, education, dining, social, and much more. The positive building shape then was wrapped with a skin that features designs from the research and diagrams done early on and negative spaces encased with large glass panes that act as skylighting components completing the flow of the space. This 53,512 square foot museum is not only a tribute to the past advancements in the world of aviation during the first world war but an architecture marvel to the process and lineage one takes from beginning to end when given a blank canvas.

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Student Presentation

The Bliss Spa and Boathouse is focused on the theme of being peaceful, natural, and relaxing. Located at the base of a 40’ bluff just south of the Urban Ecology Center on the Milwaukee River, the building is located away from the noise and busyness of the city to indulge guests in a peaceful getaway. As visitors approach the building, they have the choice to take a direct stair route to the entrance or take a longer ramp that winds in and around the natural environment that give guests the option to experience a relaxing nature walk before entering the building. At the entrance of the building, there is a boardwalk consisting of ramps and stairs that surround the entire building to address all accessibility needs to the dock and nearby trail. The Spa and Boathouse is elevated on stilts to both protect the existing environment at the site, while also protecting the building from potential flooding. The building also features a green roof to provide more natural habitats for the surrounding environment. The plan of the building is divided into various wedges that meet at the center of the building, where the communal areas of the lockers, bathrooms, changing rooms, and showers are located connected by a main circulation loop. When people enter the lobby and make their way to this central circulation, they can then distribute to the spa, boathouse, or dock.

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Student Presentation

The site located alongside the Milwaukee River and near the ecology center sits within a densely populated neighborhood, affords the residents with great hiking trails, beautiful views of the river and an overall great atmospheric experience. The Casts is designed to belong on the site and contribute to the experience of the area. When designing all aspects of this project, the following three concepts were strictly followed and are seen in use, linearity, openings, and the relationship between light and heavy. These concepts are seen within material choices, structure, various wall and corridor widths, corridors spilling in and out of baths, wider opening giving the user a sneak peek into other areas, and even the kayak ramp that slopes downward 40 feet towards the river. Everything was taken into consideration to enhance the overall experience of the site and of the program that consists of 7 different types of baths, a sauna, locker rooms, kayak storage, a training area and more.

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Student Presentation

The approach of the project is through the Milwaukee Centennial Arboretum. The project is terraced into the hill so that visitors can experience emerging from the dense forest with an unobstructed view of the river. With its back against the bluff, the project merges with the landscape itself. The sloping roofs of the spa and boathouse create a gently winding and accessible pathway from the top of the bluff to the floodplain below. The boathouse is elevated safely above the floodplain while the spa nestles higher up the slope to gather its own light and views. Water gardens cascade down the terraces and slopes interspersing with the building program to weave the structure to the site. One of the advantages of connecting the building so closely with the hill is that it is a natural shelter. The thermal mass capacities of the earth, the masonry, and the water are augmented with geothermal strategies. Only the necessary program areas are enclosed so that visitors can completely immerse themselves in the natural setting.

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Student Presentation

Subalpine Phoenix focuses on architecture’s role in the climate crisis and developing new ways of thinking about complex problems in hopes of discovering new solutions. Our task was to choose an ecosystem to research, identify current crises, and implement novel design strategies to help combat the chosen crisis. The subalpine ecosystem experiences wildfires; this proposal manipulates the land to facilitate ecological prosperity during and after such an event. To promote a thriving ecosystem, man-made modules are repeated strategically around the 25 acre area to create a landscape that caters to the needs of organisms. These modules also protect and inhibit the spread of fire. The introduction of infrastructure such as fog harvesters, lightning rods, smoke pipes, and seed distributers, to the ecosystem furthers resilience for post fire growth. The exploration of new methods of representation and simulation influenced the design processes, which take advantage of the ever-growing industry of video games. The Subalpine Phoenix is modeled using Unreal Engine and presented in an interactive format in which viewers can virtually walk around the landscape. Visit the link below to view a video walkthrough of Subalpine Phoenix: https://youtu.be/leAoY6_jwvM

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Student Presentation

The Riverwest Dance Center fulfills urban development principles by aligning with the primary elevations of adjacent buildings. While this longitudinal orientation appears inhibitive, the architecture continually encourages movement from the public streetscape to the semi-private spaces across varying layers and scales. A latticework of structure steel and Corten not only generate a unified façade, but its permeability reveals an intricate layering of polycarbonate, vision glass, and specular paneling. Voids emphasize essential spaces which puncture-thru in the form of 3-tubes. The tubes encourage movement from west-to-east, where: beginning proud of the western lattice, the tubes slide through the lobby, eventually terminating beyond the eastern façade. Continuous paneling, a reveal below, and a 60-foot-long skylight emphasize the momentum of the tube. The 32-foot-wide lobby provides unimpeded movement for community members to access the eastern outdoor spaces for summer performances. A monumental staircase reinforces this directionality while providing vertical movement into the second-floor studios. Relationships between the latticework and the puncturing tubes are apparent in the tectonic study. Section 01 of the tube sill emphasizes the cantilever as supported by the structural steel back-span which slips-atop the foundation wall as it proceeds from west-to-east. Plan 02 demonstrates the dominance of tube wall as it slides past a typical exterior wall. Reveals allow the specular paneling to slice-thru the outmost layers of adjacent walls. In this way, the main idea of west-to-east directionality is manifest not only at larger scales of space and form, but are present within the intricacies of the project.

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Student Presentation

HONORABLE MENTION

The WWI Airplane Museum is a “living” museum designed to display fully functioning aircraft. It occupies the center of an opening between three runways on an existing grass airway north of Milwaukee. To generate the plan, a circular quarter segment is divided into two components by a second non-concentric circle. The main component becomes the primary exhibition space, expanding in plan and section so that the artifacts “lift off” as the ceiling soars higher along its length. The subsidiary plan component serves to consolidate non-airplane program areas to preserve the integrity of the main exhibition space. This main exhibition space opens on each end and to the sky via a band of skylights. In addition, a set of superstructures punctuate the entry and terminus points, linking the building to the landscape. The circular geometry also extends into the landscape, creating fleeting glimpses as visitors negotiate curving roads, pathways, and landscape elements. The exterior form is considered in dialogue with the interior realm. A butterfly roof reaches toward the sky, hinting at the organization and quality of spaces inside while ascribing to its own logic.

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Student Presentation

The shopping mall in America as we know it today is failing. Rippling Meadows is a design that proposes what could be its future. As part of a larger loop around Southridge Mall, this design provides a rewarding journey through a series of sprawling flower meadows within a dizzying conservatory. The architecture throughout the journey is unified by a complex wood core and two spanning walls of terracotta and painted metal. The gardens and architecture work together to allow visitors to engage with dramatic and complex systems and subtle and focused details. Inspiring choices or thoughts that impact a person beyond their visit.

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Student Presentation

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Student Presentation