Category: EXPO 2024 Courses

Air quality poses a fundamental challenge in nearly all urban contexts. Especially within high-density residential communities, utilizing the built environment (i.e., buildings) to improve air quality and enhance quality of life becomes crucial.
The thesis project proposes a design solution to reduce smog impact in Shenzhen’s urban village. Origami techniques are applied to maximize surface area to capture and neutralize pollutants; Titanium Dioxide coating filters are applied to the folded surfaces.

This approach addresses unique challenges in the urban village while enhancing aesthetics and functionality. By implementing the air filtering forms on the rooftop, added programs alleviate high-density living issues. By focusing on Shenzhen’s urban village, the project highlights urban disparities and offers a scalable solution for similar communities globally.

Human civilization has long found sanctuary in Mother Earth’s embrace. Now, technology enables us to transcend Earth’s limits and explore uncharted territories. Space agencies are preparing missions to Mars, focusing on humanity’s future on the Red Planet. Despite technological advancements confirming interplanetary travel’s feasibility, many designs overlook the emotional and social needs crucial for society. Designing public networks on Mars to address these human experiences is vital.

The project selects Hera Planitia on Mars for its geography to establish a safe habitat. Design considerations include creating adaptable spaces of various sizes to meet Mars’ harsh conditions, ensuring comfort and well-being. The goal is to explore how physical conditions can enhance human relationships within habitats, fostering growth in challenging environments. Plans include constructing circular buildings and accessible link structures, utilizing local resources. Future investments in advanced equipment will enable larger, sustainable structures, expanding society’s scale and exploration possibilities.

As the economic conditions of cities have chosen to favor capital interests over egalitarian needs, low-income communities have been displaced for the benefit of stakeholders. Hyper-development of trendy business models and unaffordable housing have forced residents to give up their agency, resulting in them being stripped from their habitats. How can design reclaim the lost lands in a gentrified urban context?

Sunset Junction in the city of Los Angeles provides an opportunity to explore how design can be used as a form of resistance against inequity in affordable housing.
By taking advantage of the low density of LA relative to other cities, this thesis proposes to eliminate five lanes of traffic and occupy that territory with housing, local businesses, and promenades. Selected unoccupied lots will be filled with lightweight parts that can be freely moved around to meet individual and communal needs. The proposal therefore serves as a prototype to be deployed in neighborhoods with similar infrastructures and patterns of displacement.

The 20th Century oil-fueled global economy enabled faith in infinite growth. Climate disasters, conflict, and increased extraction costs pose an existential threat to the carbon-based way of life. Contemporary visions of dystopia imagine the end of this carbon age is the end of progress itself. The inevitable sunset of the carbon age will overturn human relationships with space and speed. I believe the physical remnants of the carbon age can be repurposed to serve the changing needs of future civilizations.

I am designing a system to deconstruct obsolete transportation architecture into mass-customizable architectural components. Although I can only speculate on future programs and forms, the post-carbon era will undoubtedly be defined by a surplus of defunct machines. I believe future architects will quarry these boneyards to create intentional, even beautiful, structures for human habitation.

Carl Elefante says, “The greenest building is one that is already built.” (1) Modern buildings are designed to last 30-60 years – what if we renewed and built to last a minimum of 250 years? This thesis champions terra cotta for its low-carbon properties, compressive strength, ease of maintenance, and aesthetic possibilities. Some of the oldest artifacts that tell our evolutionary story are ceramic vessels dating back to 10,000 BCE.

Architectural terra cotta manufacturing has almost disappeared in the US. By designing a terra cotta innovation and production facility, and retrofitting a 1928 industrial building, the project introduces terra cotta as a viable architectural and structural building material for low-rise construction and adaptation. Optimization strategies and new technology make it a compelling alternative to concrete and metal.

Within the field of architecture, the design process is predominantly driven by the sense of sight, a dominant force in shaping our perception and appreciation of architecture. In our visually-focused environment, there is a critical need to heighten the importance of our sense of smell, as it evokes memories and emotion, therefore elevating users’ overall experiences.

Promoting awareness of our olfactory sense is essential due to the intricate connection between olfaction and neuroscience, which plays a pivotal role in shaping our interpretations, recollections, and emotional reactions. An olfactory museum is an effective approach to this education. It offers a curated environment where visitors can explore and appreciate a wide range of scents. This immersive experience not only enhances their comprehension of the olfactory sense but also deepens their insight into its influence on perception and well-being.