USC Architecture XpoInstructor: Kate Chiu
Aguedal vient d’une racine berbère ‘gdl’ qui signifie garder, protéger, réserver.” Justinard, L. (May 1936). Les propos du Chleuhs: Aguedal, sagesse, et poésie [Words of the Chleuhs: Aguedal, wisdom, and poetry]. Revue de l’Aguedal, 1. This thesis explores the erasure and reclamation of Amazigh vernacular architecture—an adaptive, resilient tradition shaped by nomadism, ecological intelligence, and […]
As climate change intensifies, the construction industry continues to be a major contributor to environmental degradation through excessive resource extraction and pollution. This project seeks to challenge traditional methods of material selection by encouraging designers to adopt more sustainable, localized alternatives. Focusing on marine-based resources, the initiative explores how natural processes can offer innovative solutions […]
flux begins with the idea that architecture continues through the objects we live with. Personal items don’t just fill space; they shape it, imbue it with meaning, and transform it over time. This project scales that concept up, proposing eight hinge-connected modules that act as spatial generators. Each functions as a stage for daily life—supporting […]
This thesis project explores how standard orthographic drawings, much like literature, communicate stories through visual and pictorial clues. By examining parallels between architectural representation and narrative techniques in literature, film, video games, and comics, the project challenges the notion that architecture is limited in its expressive capacity, demonstrating that drawings themselves can act as narrative […]
The world is constantly changing, and yet buildings remain static. As our cultural, social, and environmental landscapes shift, the spaces that we inhabit often stay underused, forgotten, or abandoned. Core and shell construction offers an adaptable architectural solution: By building the structural/infrastructural framework (cores) and exterior enclosure (shells) the interior is left unfinished for future […]
Considering we live in an advanced age of modern technology, we are still drawn to ancient megalithic structures. Humanity maintains an unresolved relationship with these structures and a connection to our past. In a world where technology is heavily integrated into our daily lives, these stone pavilions offer humanity a sanctuary and complete detachment from […]
In the Last Days of the City is about how resistance defines architecture — in creation and destruction. Cairo’s political upheavals are understood first, in relation to its volatile urban growth; then through a single instance of building, the naadi on Gezirat el-Warraq. Cairo is caught in a cyclical loop of regime and resistance. Each […]
Los Angeles is a city shaped by spectacle—defined by its car-centric infrastructure and an urban language that thrives on instant attention and sensory overload. In a landscape built for speed and surface, the future city dweller—the hopeful pedestrian, the carless student—finds little space to pause, reflect, or simply be. This thesis proposes a network of […]
Public bathrooms are not neutral utility—they are relics of social control. Gender-segregated restrooms are vestigial structures of a patriarchal past, encoding binary ideologies into architecture. This project reclaims the bathroom as a biopolitical site of collective care. It proposes a modular, expandable public sanitation system that uses public land, fire hydrants, and sustainable water filtration […]
Two bodies field the impacts of the built environment’s destruction post-disaster: those who face damage to the structures they occupy, and the policies that govern their status after the event. United in an inverse relationship, insurance companies rely on risky behavior to shape profits while policyholders embrace the moral hazard of establishing themselves in places […]