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shade+water: cambodian elementary school

The project began with the simple observation that where there is shade, there are children playing, and where there is no shade, there are no children playing. The aim was to develop a simple and elegant response to the observed needs of the students while providing something useful and engaging for the community as a whole. The design utilizes the form of the existing bar building, which is then placed under a large kinked roof. Utilizing steel trusses and bamboo columns, the roof provides much needed shade to the existing open field. The space is defined on one side by the classrooms, and by the stepped seating area on the other. The stepped seats provide additional terrain for playing as well as seating space for village gatherings and performances with the expanded walkway serving as a stage. The geometry of the roof also allows the structure to collect rainwater, which can then be filtered and utilized as drinkable water for the students and people from the surrounding village. SHADE+WATER = LEARNING, COMMUNITY, HEALTH and FUN

MC hits southeast asia

this summer, i've been traveling across southeast asia through the USC school of architecture summer asia study abroad trip. the trip is two-fold. the first part of the trip is designated for travel, immersing students within a variety of asian cultures. as a group, we have visited china, vietnam, cambodia, and malaysia. in addition to this, i have also made a trip to both bangkok, thailand and bali, indonesia. the second portion of the trip is spent at the universiti malaya in kuala lumpur, malaysia where we are currently designing an elementary school outside of siem reap, cambodia. a post with my work on the school will be coming after the final turn in on august 11!

[picture located at the beach in bali, indonesia]

echo park school of performing arts: phase 5

the final couple weeks of the project involved a final passthrough of design work on our designs before beginning final production to capstone the semester. uh, enjoy!

echo park school of performing arts: phase 4

in this phase of the project, we constructed two large models to begin to understand the structural systems and details of our designs. these issues were explored through both a 1/4"=1' sectional model and a 3/4"=1' wall section. so check em out!

echo park school of performing arts: phase 3

in the schematic design phase of this project, we took one of the design schemes from phase 2 and further developed it, interrogating individual programs, their connections, and how they inform the form and experience of the building. the selected design was developed from the design scheme titled "the lift." this design utilized an initial diagram of a floating performance hall, creating a unique entry experience. utilizing the sectional geometry of the combined shape of the performance hall and sloping site, the occupant is initially addressed by a large, grand entry opening, is compressed underneath the mass of the floating auditorium, and then released into the grand lobby. in order to allow the performance hall to be suspended over this grand entry, a tower hosting the other programs stands next to and cantilevers over the hall, functionally similar to a crane. by utilizing this tower scheme, around half of the site is able to be utilized as exterior public space.

echo park school of performing arts: phase 2

after initial analysis of the site, we were to conduct programmatic studies and early formal development for the school, resulting in 3 separate design scheme proposals. the major programmatic elements for the design were the main performance hall, a smaller black box theater, studio spaces, practice rooms, offices and a secondary program of our choice, mine being a children's play space.

the urban kitchen

in 2008, la city council approved a year long ban upon new fast food restaurants being built in south la. while intentions were good, the most important piece of the movement was clearly left out; replacing the potential fast food spaces with new health conscious options. the urban kitchen looks to remedy this missed opportunity by introducing a healthy eating centered, multi-use housing project, right along the fast food highway that is crenshaw blvd. through the three step process of growing, cooking, and dining, the project looks to serve as a tri-fold example of a healthy and sustainable future in the heart of the problem.