Abigail Toenjes Selected Works

PORTFOLIO

ABIGAIL TOENJES

2023 - 2025

Dix Park Library

Graduate Studio 1 | Professor Jianxin Hu

Collaborators - Abigail Toenjes & Vamshi Pampana

This project is a proposal for a community library located in Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. Groups were tasked with creating two initial schematic design proposals. My teammate and I decided to move forward with my proposal for the next phase of the project where we developed technical drawings.

After conducting an initial site mapping analysis, I noticed a walking tour path was currently cutting through the middle of the site going from the northern side and surrounding historic buildings towards the park vegetation on the southern end. In effort to relate to the surrounding buildings and preserve the walking tour path, the initial proposal included two masses embedded within each other and featured two entrances (Level 0 & Level 1) in order to respond to the existing site topography.

All drawings and visualizations shown were created individually.

Digital software used in project: Revit, Enscape, Adobe Photoshop, AutoCAD, SketchUp, and Lumion

The wall section demonstrates the technical resolution of the cantilevering mass and the terracotta tile-clad façade enclosing a curtain wall system between floors. The accompanying plan details investigate the coordination between the building’s enclosure and its steel frame structure. Following a series of carbon footprint analyses, the steel system was selected for its balance of sustainability, constructibility, and structural efficiency.

Solarium

Design 7 | Professor Donna Cohen

Collaborators

- Abigail Toenjes, Daniela Zumpano & Sofia Sousa

Solarium is an adaptive reuse project located at 850 Third Avenue in Manhattan, New York. Groups were tasked with taking a preexisting office building and transforming the building to satisfy the growing need of affordable housing in New York City.

While conducting an initial site analysis, it became clear that the existing building’s facade, structure, and central core were in excellent condition. Maintaining these elements became important drivers throughout our design process. Another driving force in our design process centered around capitalizing on the direct sunlight hitting the building’s southeastern corner. In order to maximize this direct natural lighting, we designed an intertwined solar panel facade that will slice through the southeastern corner of the building, where the most direct sunlight occurs per day .

Triangular solar panels are integrated into the exterior skin of the building with the intent that energy saved from solar panels will reduce utility rates in affordable housing units and decrease the building’s carbon footprint. The facade itself would be composed of a structural truss system extending from slab to slab, framing triangular double-paned glass. Within these two glass panes would lie triangular solar panels, which would lessen in density descending towards ground level, following the results of the solar analysis.

While the group dynamic was very fluid and all collaborators had a hand in every decision and drawing, my main focus was the solarium addition form, digital modeling, rendering images, and facade structure.

Digital software used in project: Rhinoceros 3D, Grasshopper 3D, Adobe Photoshop, AutoCAD, Lumion, V-Ray, Ladybug Direct Sunlight Analysis, and PromeAI.

Winter Park Library

Design 6 | Professor Alfonso Perez

Winter Park Library, alternatively named ‘The Nomad’ is a proposal for a new public library and community center located in downtown Winter Park, Florida. This project is inspired by the city of Winter Park’s historical roots. Winter Park was founded as a resort community in order to appeal to wealthy northerners escaping the cold winter weather. The South Florida railroad ran through Winter Park, assisting in the town getting its origins as a transient town. The proposal site borders the Winter Park Sun-rail Train Station.

Digital software used in project: Rhinoceros 3D, AutoCAD, Lumion, V-Ray, Adobe Photoshop, and PromeAI.

A driving idea for the facility is built upon the nomadic origins of the city. Taking inspiration from the centuries of people that stopped in Winter Park briefly before traveling from place to place. This concept translates to the outspread organization of spaces within the building, which are all connected by a network of catwalks and pathways. Additionally, the migratory qualities of nomadic life inspired the auditorium, which serves as a central datum. Nomadic spaces are designed to be easily movable and adaptable to different uses. The auditorium provides a fluid space for the mobile and temporary activities occurring in the space. The physical boundaries of the auditorium are dissolved by the lack of enclosure, allowing sound to drift throughout the facility. The quiet atmosphere of the library creates an ideal area for an amphitheater styled auditorium, where sound can be heard from every area of the facility and the projection screen can be seen from every area within the facility.

VertiScape

Design 7 | Professor Donna Cohen

Collaborators

- Abigail Toenjes, Daniela Zumpano, Sofia Sousa

VertiScape is a two part project. Part one explores Manhattan as a whole with the final goal of using the preliminary research to locate a site. New York City has a remarkable diversity in building ages, ranging from centuries-old brownstones in historic neighborhoods to the iconic skyscrapers of the early 20th century. The mid-19th century brought forth historical structures like Federal Hall ,while contemporary architecture like the One World Trade Center continue to shape the city’s skyline in the 21st century. In our initial research, we found that the most broad diversity in building construction ages happens in Lower Manhattan. Lower Manhattan has both the oldest and newest construction of New York City, and its architectural diversity reflects its long history. Over the centuries, it has witnessed numerous waves of immigration as well as economic development. Additionally, Lower Manhattan showcases the NYC shoreline which has expanded over time to accommodate the growing population of New York. The three selected streets, William Street, Broadway, and West Street act as seams patching buildings of diverse ages together. All work was collaborative for this project and passed through all members before reaching final stages however, I focused primarily on research and perspectival explorations.

Digital software used in project: Rhinoceros 3D, Adobe Photoshop, AutoCAD, Lumion, V-Ray, and PromeAI

Our site is an extension of Lower Manhattan’s continuously growing shoreline. This decision was made in order to preserve a large amount of the existing Manhattan and the already condensed cityscape. The building and ground’s shifting forms are conceptually inspired by the shifts in shoreline growth over structure, circulation, and experience. VertiScape is designed to address the challenges of progressing climate change, specifically focusing on rising sea levels shoreline hotel, incorporating vertical extensions of Battery Park in order to protect the most vulnerable, yet important green spaces from future detriment due more green space, amenities, dining, public restrooms, and a hotel readily available to Battery Park. In the event that sea levels rise, the first floor of programmatically of the building. While there is direct access to the building’s core on the east side of the complex, the extension of Battery Park on ground level provides users park. The park esplanades invite users directly into the tower, blending the interior with the exterior threshold. Green spaces are vertically dispersed throughout as well as organizing the itinerary of the building.

Battery Park City, while taking into account the limited greenery throughout Lower time throughout Lower Manhattan, which translates into the building’s programmatic levels along the shoreline of Lower Manhattan. It aims to create a sustainable and resilient due to rising sea levels and flooding. VertiScape enhances Battery Park by providing programmatically crucial spaces begins 24 feet above sea level, this guides the ground and form users a natural experience through ramped walkways around the tower and through the throughout the tower, juxtaposing the ‘concrete jungle’ tagline associated with New York City

St. Ambrose Master plan

Graduate Studio 3 | Professor Zach Hoffman Collaborators - Abigail Toenjes, Allie Richards & Valerie Li

This studio emphasized analog drawing techniques as a means to address environmental concerns in a 60-year master plan for St. Ambrose Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. Our group’s design focused on reorienting the church’s campus towards the east and west in order to act as a bridge between the Walnut Creek Watershed at the northern edge of the site and the Rochester Heights community towards the south. Crucial spaces across the campus are reconnected through cloisters with selective panels. These panels filter sight lines across the site in order to reorient and guide users throughout the east-west axis of the site. After meeting with the church’s priest, we learned of the congregation’s desire for an outdoor worship space. Through several iterations, we developed a design that nestled the chapel at the north end of the site, framing views toward the wetlands

Guided by the three pillars of St. Ambrose Church, Worship, Wisdom, and Work, we used these principles to inform and orient our phasing for the project. The group dynamic was highly collaborative, with shared responsibility for research, design development, and conceptual direction. I was primarily responsible for the hand-drafted line work, shading details, digital modeling, and post-production documentation. Valerie led the physical modeling, while Allie embellished drawings with details, watercolor, and charcoal..

Digital software used in project: Rhinoceros 3D and Adobe Photoshop

Physical mediums used in project: hand drafting (charcoal, graphite, and ink), watercolor, and mixed-media collage.

Thank You.