College Work

BASTION

Bastion is a proposal for a museum and community center located in Old Point Comfort, Virginia. The site of our project marks the first location enslaved Africans were brought to the colonies in 1619, as a result, our Museum is dedicated to preserving black history and culture in America where today, black America and black Americans are under assault.

Our project centers around the concept of creating three large seawalls, to serve as elements that protect the galleries and learning spaces as well as to protect the building from flooding given that our project is located on a coastline that is prone to storm surges annually and stands to be significantly impacted by climate change in the coming decades. 

The main axis line of our project runs through a memorial ramp that will slowly fill up with the rising tides and rising sea levels over time, providing a large reflecting plane. The axis runs directly to Luanda in Angola, the former capital of the Kingdom of Ndongo, where the first enslaved Africans were taken from by the Portuguese. In order to combat the rising sea levels,. We have raised the surrounding grade by 4 feet, additionally, in the event of storm surges, we have designed mechanical flood gates to provide protection for the buildings occupants and for the collections.

class: arc 409 - Architectural design VIII

Project team: Mason K. Malsegna

Instructor: professor lawrence c. davis

Awards: Nominated for king&king Prize

Tools Used: hand sketching, sketchup, RHINOCEROS, meshroom, vectorworks, illustrator, photoshop, Autodesk flow, lumion, premiere pro, audition, quixel mixer, quixel bridge, maya

Atheneum: Unearthed monuments

Atheneum is a proposed extension to the Università degli Studi di Firenze’s Architecture library. The project plays host to approximately 100,000 regular-print books as well as a swath of other print media such as newspapers as well as an audio-video library and a space to house and care for archival materials.

The project centers around the core tectonic operation of the cutting of the ground plan to reveal monolithic blocks of knowledge. The two main points of access to the main promenade come directly from the public piazza as well as directly from the existing school of architecture. These processional, monumental staircases allow the Students and the General Public to access these blocks of knowledge equally, additionally, to the public eye from the street all that is visible is the clad structures. This illusion that these are solid, thick tectonic elements is only broken when the user enters the project and sees that they are in fact light, book-filled elements. Additionally, the tops of the monoliths sits at street level creating a processional field of cypress trees while preserving elements of the existing market stalls, allowing for the public condition to infill the tops of the monoliths along the edges of the cut line.

class: arc 407 - Architectural design vi

Instructor: professor david shanks

Tools Used: hand sketching, sketchup, RHINOCEROS, meshroom, vectorworks, illustrator, photoshop, lumion, premiere pro, audition

POLYCOMPLEX+ is an extension of POLYCOMPLEX, which introduces the new programmatic addition of a daycare center on the SU campus. The main focus of our design was to create a space that was well lit, appropriate with each programmatic element, and could be acoustically conducive to the daycare program, working to separate itself from the busy street, walkways and BUILDINGS that surround the site. Our main design move to achieve these goals was to put our building underground, this is done to create a completely independent and homogeneous sound environment, especially since the daycare rooms where children will be in sit in excess of 10 feet underground. To make sure we still have adequate lighting in our project, we created a large courtyard that separates the two main volumes of the project. In the smaller volume we have the nursery space on the lower level and the office on the upper level. In the larger volume we have a playroom and learning space for older kids and above that we have an enclosed outdoor play area. Additionally, by having the ventral courtyard that spans both levels of the project, natural ventilation and the ability for air to enter and exit the project through that core with the added help of the stepped exterior play area to allow more air to circulate throughout the project.

class: arc 311 - building systems design ii

Instructor: Dr. nina sharifi

team: stephanie mitchell

Tools Used: Climate Consultant, SketchUp, Rhinoceros, DIVA, Lumion, Illustrator, InDesign, Meshroom, ReCap Pro, Premiere Pro, Audition

The Syracuse Play Projects are a series of proposals for a revitalization and a dedicated artist space next to the Roblar Rock Quarry in Syracuse, NY. The project contains artist production spaces, public galleries and an auditorium that open onto an open sculpture garden.

The concept is focused on the idea of Play. Working to sit lightly and playfully on the site. The three large programmatic units are interconnected by a series of sweeping ramps that connect to existing hiking and biking trails, bringing the community into the spaces. The ramping system is comprised of kinetic panels, providing the project with a renewable source of energy. The three large sheds are interspersed along the ramping system with private studios and galleries situated farther away from auditorium, near the project entrance.

class: arc 208 - Architectural design iv

Instructor: professor elizabeth krietemeyer

Tools Used: Arc GIS, SketchUp, Rhinoceros, Vectorworks, Balsa Wood, Museum Board, Corrugated Cardboard

Silo City Art Depot is a master plan for the development of an artist colony and exhibition space in Silo City, Buffalo NY.

Silo City is a former hub for grain production and storage in Buffalo, NY. Following the demise of the Erie Canal, the massive site became unused and has fallen into disrepair. The proposed scheme combines artist workstations, an exhibition space, a public dance pavilion, sculpture garden and a large public auditorium. The project is a stepped tectonic invasion of the existing site and silos. All of the manufacturing machines, print machines, and acid baths sit inside of the existing silos. The artist working spaces sit COMPLETELY above the ground level to provide natural light and access to the adjacent sculpture garden. The dance pavilion and the auditorium sit halfway in and out of the ground plane as the privacy of the spaces increases. Ultimately the exhibition space and archive sit completely below the ground level.

class: arc 207 - Architectural design III

Instructor: professor valeria rachel herrera

Tools Used: SketchUp, Rhinoceros, Vectorworks, Rockite, Glycerin Soap, Balsa Wood, Acrylic, Oil Paints

class: arc 207 - Architectural design iii

Instructor: professor valeria rachel herrera

Tools Used: SketchUp, Rhinoceros, Rockite, Glycerin Soap, Balsa Wood, foam

The Syracuse Archive serves as a library, archive and gathering space for the public in Downtown Syracuse, NY.

Conceptually, the design of the project centers around the idea of the stage and the backstage. Inspiration is drawn from Potemkin villages of the former Soviet Union and MVRDV’s Glass Farm. The main facade of the project is comprised of PANELED glass imprinted with historical images of the square the building sits in and of SYRACUSE. This is to showcase the duality of a building that contains the past while having the present day reflected on it. The building has three large vertical elements in it, one carrying the circulation, one carrying the library and one carrying the auditorium and classrooms.

class: arc 108 - Architectural design ii

Instructor: professor nicole mcintosh

Tools Used: SketchUp, Rhinoceros, Illustrator, Vectorworks Architect, Museum Board, Balsa Wood, Acrylic, Transfer Paper

class: arc 222 - building systems design i

Instructor: professor daekwon park

class: arc 222 - building systems design i

Instructor: professor daekwon park

class: arc 107 - Architectural design i

Instructor: professor jonathan louie