The hotel project was a semester long project in which sought to stitch together the CMU campus to the highly foot-trafficked adjacent neighborhood. Due to the vast amount of out-of-town visitors, a hotel was proposed. Investigation in site approach and grading, solar orientation, and mixed-use design features were all considered in order to integrate into this highly complex project. Passive and green practices were stressed and research was completed in order to determine the best building envelope suited.
The gym project was a semester long project that sought to include physical activity as a means of bringing distant neighborhoods closer together. This gym facility had numerous functions - it housed the typical indoor sports, but also included outdoor fields as well. What made this project stand apart was its use of a roof top garden and walking area. This green roof was one of many passive building techniques implented; others being the use of trombe walls as well as large glazed areas to take advantage of the greenhouse effect to capture heat over the cold winter months.
This thesis project was a year long and investigated ways of reinterpreting the typical Pittsburgh rowhouse. By using solar and shadow studies, optimal site orientations were established in order to make these homes both more well-lit and able to passively receive and store heat. A ground level plaza space was designed that connected to a contemplative public park. The intention of this project was to create an oasis of sorts for that area in the hopes for future development trends.
