Architectural Designer | 2022 - current
Penn State University | 2016 - 2021
While architecture is an profession where communication is innately visual and non-verbal, the importance of literature can never be overstated.
It is true that a picture speaks a thousand words—if you know what you’re looking at. Prose offers a medium to explain what your eyes tell you. It impresses on you the driving theories or ambitions of a project that images do not show.
Text expounds on why a particular structure is so prided by its designers, its tenants, or its users. While a render shows the final, polished product, literature explains the process from genesis up until that point.
Writing is a vulnerable medium, where a designer can reflect on the stress or lessons learned from a project.
Biting Off More Than I Can Chew?
April 10, 2021
Biting Off More Than I Can Chew?
I am pushing myself to condense the clarity and thought-provoking ability of two semesters of work into just one.
Prior to starting my own, I had no delusions about how rigorous conducting an Architectural Thesis was.
At Penn State, conducting Undergraduate Thesis research is condensed into ONE SEMESTER. As far as I know, most, if not all, of architectural programs require Thesis projects to span a whole academic year.
Understandably then, our Thesis projects should be half as refined and profound if they are half the duration of their counterparts.
I refuse to follow along with that however. I want my Thesis project to be just as profound—if not more so—than other soon-to-be graduates.
I am pushing myself to condense the clarity and ability to provoke thought of two semesters of work into just one.
As a silver lining, this Thesis semester has taught me a great deal about time management and the importance of work-life balance.
The (un)Successful Job Interview
March 29, 2021
The un(Successful) Interview
Although my interview with Populous didn't end with an extension of a job offer, it made me reassess and improve my beliefs and work as a designer.
Roughly a year ago, I interviewed with another sporting-design giant in Populous, and while it didn’t result in employment, I counted it as a beneficial and informative experience.
They were upfront with advice to increase the technical ability and clarity within my designs, as well as urging me to follow the always relevant adage of ‘quality over quantity’. While at the time it felt like a bit of a gut punch, I humbled myself and set my sights on following their suggestions point by point.
Their words have followed me for the past year and have never left the forefront of my mind as I have progressed through my 4th and 5th years. I have tirelessly worked on updating my website, portfolio, and even my beliefs as a designer, to reflect the expectations and design strategies of Sports + Entertainment architecture firms.
This determination and willingness for evolution not only serves me well in school, but in life as well as in an office environment.
Musings on Sports Architecture
March 29, 2021
Musings on Sports Architecture
It is no small secret that the Sports + Entertainment side of Architecture is where my heart lies. Here, I have compiled my shower thoughts and beliefs on this topic.
Is the outdoor Stadium the modern equivalent of the Roman Colosseum? Yes . . . but not quite. Read to find out why.
Why is attending sporting events and their palatial venues—and in the particular case of America, tailgating—such a vital and beloved activity in American culture? Hint, it has something to do with the guiding ethos pervading our entire culture: the American Dream.
The design of sporting venues and athletic facilities is no easy task. It is easy to dismiss this design Practice as the work of engineers, where the considerations of egress, accessibility, and the sciences behind the playing surfaces are dominant. Yet, the most successful and memorable Stadia are created by renowned architects.
Generating unique, yet comfortable seating bowls . . creating an interior and exterior palette that reflects the city and home teams . . designing building envelopes permeable to horizontal elements like wind yet resistant to vertical elements like solar gain and precipitation. These are the design decisions, made my architects, that makes venues stand out from the crowd.
Critiquing & Analyzing Bjarke Ingels' Oakland Ballpark Design
March 29, 2021
Critiquing BIG's Oakland Ballpark Design
A collision of my two favorite topics: biophilic design and Sporting venues. Yet, in this instance, the two could have been integrated much better than they were.
A collision of my two favorite topics: biophilic design and Sporting venues. Yet, in this instance, the two could have been integrated much better than they were.
Why is centerfield so deep and angular, rather than rounded? Why is there little space for attendees to catch home runs in the outfield stands.
Attendees will be left staring a shipyard gantry crane looming over the outfield. It neither looks nice nor offers an avenue for fans to interact with the game.
The ground-to-roof glazing on this Ballpark could be mistaken for the typology of Airports or Office buildings. Nothing about this façade communicates 'Baseball'.
Why isn't outfield oriented towards the adjacent Estuary?