Jesus Mayen

cornell university architecture portfolio

spring 2025 architecture portfolio

jesus mayen jesus mayen

-ElectedasCollegeofArchitecture,Art&PlanningRepresentative,advocatingforuniversity-wideacademic,student-life,andequitypolicies.

-EngagedwiththeDeanofStudents,OfficeofCampusLife,andfellowassemblymemberstoaddresstransportation, financialaid,andwellness.

-Assembledbi-weeklytodraftlegislativeproposalsonacademicpolicy,sustainablecampus efforts,andfundingallocationsforstudentinitiatives.

JESUSMAYEN

jem469@cornell.edu|832.248.8050|Houston-Ithaca-NewYork|LinkedIn|ExtendedPortfolio

EDUCATION SKILLS + SOFTWARE

EDUCATION

SKILLS+SOFTWARE

Cornell University AAP College of Architecture, Art & Planning Ithaca, NY

CornellUniversityAAPCollegeofArchitecture,Art&Planning Ithaca,NY

Rhino3DEnscape BachelorofArchitecture(B.Arch)

May 2026

Grasshopper Lumion

Rhino 3D Enscape Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) May 2026

Design and Environmental Analysis Minor, Visual Rep. Concentration

Grasshopper Lumion DesignandEnvironmentalAnalysisMinor,VisualRep.Concentration

AdobePhotoshopArchiCAD 2021CornellAAPIntroductiontoArchitectureSummerProgram

Adobe Illustrator AutoCAD

Adobe Photoshop ArchiCAD 2021 Cornell AAP Introduction to Architecture Summer Program

AdobeIllustratorAutoCAD

Adobe InDesign Blender

AdobeInDesignBlender

National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)

NationalOutdoorLeadershipSchool(NOLS) Palmer,AK Model-Making V-Ray 30-DayAlaskanBackpackingExpeditionandLeadershipTraining Summer2023

Palmer, AK Model-Making V-Ray 30-Day Alaskan Backpacking Expedition and Leadership Training Summer 2023 Metal/Wood Work ClimateSudio Casting Revit

Metal/WoodWorkClimateSudio Casting Revit

JESUSMAYEN

CarnegieVanguard HighSchool Houston,TX 3DPrinting SketchUp EMERGEFellowship,DistinguishedDistinctionDiploma May2021 PhotographyDataMapping

Carnegie Vanguard High School Houston, TX 3D Printing SketchUp EMERGE Fellowship, DistinguishedDistinctionDiploma May 2021 Photography Data Mapping

jem469@cornell.edu|832-248-8050|Houston-Ithaca-NewYork

EXPERIENCE

AWARDS&AFFILIATIONS

EXPERIENCE

AAPCommunityCrewMentor

CornellNOMAS(NationalOrganizationforMinorityArchitecture Students)

CornellAAP,Ithaca,NY

March2025-Present FXCollaborativeMentorshipProgram

NOMABarbaraG.LaurieStudentDesignCompetition-3rdPlace

NewYork,NY Fall2024-Present

Cornell NOMAS (National Organization for Minority Architecture Students) January 2023 - current Executive Board - Public Relations Representative

January2023-current ExecutiveBoard-PublicRelationsRepresentative

Baltimore,MDConference

Fall 2024

-Developedthewinningproposalforthe’23Portland(1stPlace)and’24Baltimore(3rdPlace);leddesignresearch,draftedmodelsanddrawings.

MelvinH.CoulstonScholarship

- Developed the winning proposal for the ’23 Portland (1st Place) and ’24 Baltimore (3rd Place); led design research, drafted models and drawings.

-Organizeddesign-buildworkshopsforBaltimoreDesignSchoolstudents,facilitated‘oralhistory’exercises,andcreatedacollectiveinstallation.

- Organized design-build workshops for Baltimore Design School students, facilitated ‘oral history’ exercises, and created a collective installation.

CornellUniversity Fall2023&Spring2024 Third-YearFaculty-NominatedOutstandingProject

CornellAAP,Ithaca,NY Fall2023

-Culminated twoon-campusend-of-yearexhibitions,curatingcompetitionworkthathighlightedthepowerofparticipatorydesignandinclusion.

NOMABarbaraG.LaurieStudentDesignCompetition-1stPlace

Charles A.HolcombScholarship

Jon Hammond Building & Design

CornellAlumniFederationScholarship

Portland,ORConference

- Culminated two on-campus end-of-year exhibitions, curating competition work that highlighted the power of participatory design and inclusion.

Fall2023

CornellUniversity Spring2023

CornellUniversity Spring2022

JonHammondBuilding&Design May2024-August2024 DesignConsultant

May 2024 - August 2024 Design Consultant

-Collaborated directly with the founder on 7 residential new builds and renovations, including the extension of Cornell President Kotlikoff’s home.

-Collaborateddirectlywiththefounderon7residentialnewbuildsandrenovations,including the extensionofCornellPresidentKotlikoff’shome.

- Conducted site visits, translated field data into drawings, and supported code research, permitting, and compliance from SD to submission.

- Conductedsitevisits,translated fielddataintodrawings,andsupportedcoderesearch,permitting,andcompliancefromSDtosubmission.

- Researched materials and finishes, supported design programming, responded to RFIs, and coordinated with clients, contractors, and suppliers.

- Researchedmaterialsand finishes,supporteddesignprogramming,respondedtoRFIs,andcoordinatedwithclients,contractors,andsuppliers.

CornellAAPRegenerativeArchitectureLab(ReAL)

Cornell AAP Regenerative Architecture Lab (ReAL)

December2022-May2024 ResearchAssistant

December 2022 - May 2024 Research Assistant

-Plannedandbuiltnine8’rammed-earthcolumnsintheCornellPewEngineeringQuad withfundingfromtheCornellCouncilfortheArtsGrant.

-Planned and built nine 8’ rammed-earth columns in the Cornell Pew Engineering Quad with funding from the Cornell Council for the Arts Grant.

EXPERIENCE

- PartneredwithCornellEngineering’sstructurallabstosourceandtestregionalsoilsfromacrossUpstateNewYork,measuringmaterialbehavior.

- Partnered with Cornell Engineering’s structural labs to source and test regional soils from across Upstate New York, measuring material behavior.

- Supported research and wrote reports on rammed-earth’s decarbonization potential and structural resilience within circular construction systems.

- Supportedresearchandwrotereportsonrammed-earth’sdecarbonizationpotentialandstructuralresiliencewithincircularconstructionsystems.

CornellNOMAS(NationalOrganizationforMinorityArchitectureStudents)

Hotel Ezra Cornell (HEC)

Hotel Ezra Cornell(HEC)

DesignDirector

March 2023 - February 2024 Design Director

CornellNOMAS(NationalOrganizationforMinorityArchitectureStudents) ExecutiveBoard-PublicRelationsRepresentative

March2023-February2024

ExecutiveBoard-PublicRelationsRepresentative

-Developedthewinningproposalforthe’23Portland(1stPlace)

-Oversaw the design of interiors and installations for the 99th HEC Hotel School Alumni Conference, hosted at Statler Hall and Cornell campus.

-Oversawthedesignofinteriorsandinstallationsforthe99thHECHotelSchoolAlumniConference,hostedatStatlerHallandCornellcampus. -Led 50+volunteersinbuildinghangingstructuresforeventsincludingabanquet,cocktailreceptions,cateredhalls,andnetworkingforums.

-Organizeddesign-buildworkshopsforBaltimoreDesignSchoolstudents,facilitated‘oralhistory’exercises,andcreatedacollectiveinstallation.

- Led 50+ volunteers in building hanging structures for events including a banquet, cocktail receptions, catered halls, and networking forums.

-Culminatedtwoon-campusend-of-yearexhibitions,curatingcompetitionworkthathighlightedthepowerofparticipatorydesignandinclusion.

- Designedspatialelementsthroughcoordinationoftablelayouts,lightingschemes,menus,sound,anddécortoserve500+alumniandguests.

- Designed spatial elements through coordination of table layouts, lighting schemes, menus, sound, and décor to serve 500+ alumni and guests.

JonHammondBuilding&

Fehr Grossman Architects, Houston, TX

ArchitecturalIntern

Architectural Intern

JonHammondBuilding& Design DesignConsultant

Design DesignConsultant

June 2022 - July 2023

FehrGrossmanArchitects,Houston,TX June 2022-July2023

-Collaborateddirectlywiththefounderon7residentialnewbuildsandrenovations,includingtheextensionofCornellPresidentKotliko

-Produced and revised floor plans, elevations, S/E drawings, sections, and assembly details for 10+ commercial office, retail, and healthcare projects.

-Producedandrevised floorplans,elevations,S/Edrawings,sections,andassemblydetailsfor10+commercialoffice,retail,andhealthcareprojects.

- Conductedsitevisits,translated fielddataintodrawings,andsupportedcoderesearch,permitting,andcompliancefromSDtosubmission.

-Traveledforsitevisits,workingwithsurveyors,engineers,andcontractorstodocument fieldconditions,andformatthemintotechnicaldrawings.

- Researched materialsand finishes,supporteddesignprogramming,respondedtoRFIs,andcoordinatedwithclients,contractors,andsuppliers.

-Traveled for site visits, working with surveyors, engineers, and contractors to document field conditions, and format them into technical drawings.

- Researched materialsand finishes,supporteddesignprogramming,respondedtoRFIs,andcoordinatedwithclients,contractors,andsuppliers.

- Reviewed local codes and zoning regulations for the development of drawing sets to meet compliance standards for approved permit approvals.

-Reviewedlocalcodesandzoningregulationsforthedevelopmentofdrawingsetstomeetcompliancestandardsforapprovedpermitapprovals.

Cornell Student Assembly (CSA)

Cornell AAP Representative

CornellAAPRegenerativeArchitectureLab(R ResearchAssistant

April 2022 - June 2023

CornellStudentAssembly(CSA) April2022-June2023 CornellAAPRepresentative

-Plannedandbuiltnine8’rammed-earthcolumnsintheCornellPewEngineeringQuad

-ElectedasCollegeofArchitecture,Art&PlanningRepresentative,advocatingforuniversity-wideacademic,student-life,andequitypolicies.

-Elected as College of Architecture, Art & Planning Representative, advocating for university-wide academic, student-life, and equity policies.

- PartneredwithCornellEngineering’sstructurallabstosourceandtestregionalsoilsfromacrossUpstateNewYork,measuringmaterialbehavior.

- Engaged with the Dean of Students, Office of Campus Life, and fellow assembly members to address transportation, financial aid, and wellness.

-EngagedwiththeDeanofStudents,OfficeofCampusLife,andfellowassemblymemberstoaddresstransportation, financialaid, andwellness.

- Supportedresearchandwrotereportsonrammed-earth’sdecarbonizationpotentialandstructuralresiliencewithincircularconstructionsystems.

-Assembled bi-weekly to draft legislative proposals on academic policy, sustainable campus efforts, and funding allocations for student initiatives.

-Assembledbi-weeklytodraftlegislativeproposalsonacademicpolicy,sustainablecampusefforts,andfundingallocationsforstudentinitiatives.

AWARDS & AFFILIATIONS

EDUCATION

- AAP Community Crew Mentor

- ASSOCIATIONPublication(Vol. 13):TerraFirma

- Urban Land Institute (ULI) Hines Student Design Competition

HotelEzraCornell(HEC) Design Director

- Oversawthedesignofinteriorsandinstallationsforthe99thHECHotelSchoolAlumniConference,hostedatStatlerHallandCornellcampus.

Ithaca, NY - Cornell AAP March 2025 - Present

CornellUniversityAAPCollegeofArchitecture,Art&Planning Ithaca,NY

Ithaca, NY - Cornell AAP

Cleveland, OH

-Led50+volunteersinbuildinghangingstructuresforeventsincludingabanquet,cocktailreceptions,cateredhalls,andnetworkingforums.

- Oversawthedesignofinteriorsandinstallationsforthe99thHECHotelSchoolAlumniConference,hostedatStatlerHallandCornellcampus. -Led50+volunteersinbuildinghangingstructuresforeventsincludingabanquet,cocktailreceptions,cateredhalls,andnetworkingforums.

Rhino3DEnscape BachelorofArchitecture(B.Arch) May2026

-FX Collaborative Mentorship Program

Brooklyn, NY

- NOMA Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition - 3rd Place Baltimore, MD - Conference

-Melvin H. Coulston Scholarship

- Third-Year Faculty-Nominated Outstanding Studio Project

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY - Cornell AAP

- Designedspatialelementsthroughcoordinationoftablela

April 2025

- Designedspatialelementsthroughcoordinationoftablela

GrasshopperLumion DesignandEnvironmentalAnalysisMinor, VisualRep.Concentration

Winter 2025

Fall 2024 - Present

AdobeIllustratorAutoCAD

Adobe PhotoshopArchiCAD 2021CornellAAPIntroductiontoArchitectureSummerProgram

FehrGrossmanArchitects,Houston,TX ArchitecturalIntern

Fall 2024

AdobeInDesignBlender

Fall 2023 & Spring 2024

NationalOutdoorLeadershipSchool(NOLS) Palmer,AK Model-Making V-Ray 30-DayAlaskanBackpackingExpeditionandLeadershipTraining Summer2023

-NOMA Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition - 1st Place

- Charles A. Holcomb Scholarship

Portland, OR - Conference

Cornell University

CarnegieVanguardHighSchool Houston,TX

- Cornell Alumni Federation Scholarship

Cornell University

-Producedandrevised floorplans,elevations,S/Edrawings,sections,andassemblydetailsfor10+commercialo

Fall 2023

-Producedandrevised floorplans,elevations,S/Edrawings,sections,andassemblydetailsfor10+commercialo

Metal/WoodWorkClimateSudio

Fall 2023

-Traveledforsitevisits, workingwithsurveyors,engineers,andcontractorstodocument

-Reviewedlocalcodesandzoningregulationsforthedevelopmentofdrawingsetstomeetcompliancestandardsforapprovedpermitapprovals.

Casting Revit

Spring 2023

-Reviewedlocalcodesandzoningregulationsforthedevelopmentofdrawingsetstomeetcompliancestandardsforapprovedpermitapprovals.

Spring 2022

3DPrintingSketchUp DistinguishedDistinctionDiploma,4.3GPA May2021

PhotographyDataMapping

CornellStudentAssembly(CSA) CornellAAPRepresentative

-ElectedasCollegeofArchitecture,Art&PlanningRepresentative,advocatingforuniversity-wideacademic,student-life,andequitypolicies.

-EngagedwiththeDeanofStudents,O

-Assembledbi-weeklytodraftlegislativeproposalsonacademicpolicy,sustainablecampuse

jem469@cornell.edu

jem469@cornell.edu | 832-248-8050 | Houston - Ithaca - New York

Minority Architecture Students)

January 2023 - current

’23 Portland (1st Place) and ’24 Baltimore (3rd Place); led design research, drafted models and drawings. Baltimore Design School students, facilitated ‘oral history’ exercises, and created a collective installation. exhibitions, curating competition work that highlighted the power of participatory design and inclusion.

May 2024 - August 2024

on 7 residential new builds and renovations, including the extension of Cornell President Kotlikoff’s home. data into drawings, and supported code research, permitting, and compliance from SD to submission. supported design programming, responded to RFIs, and coordinated with clients, contractors, and suppliers.

on 7 residential new builds and renovations, including the extension of Cornell President Kotlikoff’s home. into drawings, and supported code research, permitting, and compliance from SD to submission. supported design programming, responded to RFIs, and coordinated with clients, contractors, and suppliers.

(ReAL)

I am a designer who views architecture as a way to respond, by the belief that our world should reflect the people and places it serves. My work is shaped by a curiosity for how space can hold memory, support community, and respond to urgent, unprecedented needs. We are responsible for learning, unlearning, and imagining better ways of being and living with one another.

December 2022 - May 2024

columns in the Cornell Pew Engineering Quad with funding from the Cornell Council for the Arts Grant. structural labs to source and test regional soils from across Upstate New York, measuring material behavior. on rammed-earth’s decarbonization potential and structural resilience within circular construction systems.

columns in the Cornell Pew Engineering Quad with funding from the Cornell Council for the Arts Grant. structural labs to source and test regional soils from across Upstate New York, measuring material behavior. rammed-earth’s decarbonization potential and structural resilience within circular construction systems.

March 2023 - February 2024

installations for the 99th HEC Hotel School Alumni Conference, hosted at Statler Hall and Cornell campus. structures for events including a banquet, cocktail receptions, catered halls, and networking forums. coordination of table layouts, lighting schemes, menus, sound, and décor to serve 500+ alumni and guests.

June 2022 - July 2023

elevations, S/E drawings, sections, and assembly details for 10+ commercial office, retail, and healthcare projects. surveyors, engineers, and contractors to document field conditions, and format them into technical drawings. regulations for the development of drawing sets to meet compliance standards for approved permit approvals.

April 2022 - June 2023

VII VII

crescent fall ‘23

hyperhabitat fall ‘24

hyperhabitat

terra firma: new grounds the crown spring ‘23

structural model fall ‘22

structural model

terra firma: new grounds fall ‘22 the crown the emerald polywired crescent

polywired spring ‘24

VIII misc. misc. fall ‘23

A selection of architectural works not as impositions, but as responses—rooted in community, regeneration, material honesty, and spatial agency. Each project begins with a commitment to listening and contextualizing, designing with intent to repair, reconnect, and reimagine our held relationships to time and place, while protecting and uplifting what is already there.

This project proposes a mixed-use housing development in Downtown Binghamton, NY, engaging the city’s historic core as both an urban ruin and a site of renewal. Informed by the language of erosion and geological formations, the architecture is shaped through carving—revealing fluid walkways, caved interiors, and open atriums. These spaces are interconnected by bridges, ramps, and staircases that thread through a fiveway grid, aligning circulation with sightlines and framing key landmarks at pivotal turns.

At the center, a food market and outdoor gathering garden activate the remnants of the former Binghamton National Bank. The structure’s stone facade is preserved and reimagined as an open-air atrium—a microclimate park and civic room where light, vegetation, and collective life are held.

The design layers material by using glass, greenery, and recycled concrete from the site’s former parking lot to form the cross-ribbed concrete waffle slab, paired with stone and exposed brick found throughout Downtown and the site itself. These textures reinforce a connection to place while reworking past material memory.

Rooted in wellness, environmental consciousness, and community engagement, the project establishes a flexible urban ecosystem. Shared gardens, meditative zones, and accessible public areas are woven throughout the building, fostering a deeper connection between the mind, body and soul. By integrating green systems and structured circulation, The Emerald proposes a new model for urban living that honors what remains and shapes what’s to come.

I I the emerald the emerald

Downtown Binghamtown, New York

completed

course

Spring 2024

Design VI Mind, Body & Soul instructor

Andrea Simitch

Downtown Binghamton’s architectural evolution reflects its industrial past, civic court district, and cultural heritage, marked by Beaux-Arts, Art Deco, and Gothic Revival structures. Once a symbol of economic prosperity and manufacturing, the city’s core now embodies a duality—active and bright in moments, yet marked by abandonment hinting a historic quietness at its heart.

The Emerald exposes lost landmarks embedded within the site’s fragmented 5- way grid, reconnecting them to the present city. Through carving, framing, and the spatial reorganization of public and private thresholds, it reconsiders how history, structure, and shared space can shape new forms of urban life in Downtown and revive a collective memory that has long been overlooked.

City Of Binghamton Press Building Stone Opera House Saint Mary’s of the Assumption

Broome County Courhouse Library

Existing Surrounding Alleyways

Existing Accessible Rear Facade

First City National Bank

Presbyterian Church

A photo collage and hand-cut paper composition capturing Binghamton’s layered past, revealing its alleys, forced perspectives, and the ruin-like textures of its built environment.

Sectional Tresholds – Carves & Structural Grid

Sections illustrating the interior residential thresholds, bridges, and hallways, showing the flow between private and communal spaces, alongside carved forms that open views to site landmarks. The cross-ribbed concrete waffle slabs supports the roof through the five-way grid, with walls bending to follow the grid’s caving structure.

A series of models also capture the interplay of form, structure, light, and materiality. From paper cuts and glass to 3D-printed grids and ribbed concrete roof formworks, each model explores the site’s history, structural systems, and spatial dynamics, revealing a layered approach within a rigid framework that physically bridges past and present.

Paper model - Shadow depth manipulation.

Excavated paths and circulating balconies.

Glass model- layering and transparency.

3D Printed model - Ribbed concrete roof grid system.

Section through Bringhamton National. Bank –

Cutting through the former bank façade, the grid reveals spatial layering of the carved microclimate atrium, market space, and private residences above. The density of the concrete structure allows for deep carvings at the pedestrian level, while becoming heavier and more massive above, supporting the stacked residential volumes and reinforcing the transition from public to private.

Meditative AtriumCarved void of light and stillness.

Concrete Model - 2’ x 2’ x 2’ = 1” public-private treshhold.

Residential EntranceAlleyways transformed into community park.

The Crescent Enfield Community Pantry in rural Enfield, NY, addresses food insecurity by combining public-private spaces, adaptable circulation, and a food cultivation. A meandering boardwalk connects pedestrians, cyclists, and the disabled throughout the landscape. The architecture follows the site’s natural terrain, with a winding roof that creates communal spaces and private areas as needed. The massing, inspired by barn typology, features radially arranged timber frames, and ramps that extend interior programs outward.

On-site collaborative housing allows volunteers to live within the pantry, fostering connections between staff and shopgoers while promoting a circular lifestyle. The pantry serves as both a food resource and a communal hub, integrating food education and preservation with the surrounding environment to ensure long-term growth. Flexible circulation offers users the choice to engage with both indoor and outdoor spaces, creating an adaptable and welcoming environment.

ENFIELD, NEW YORK

SUBURBAN URBAN

WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK

A one-mile boardwalk loops around the site, marking the distance of an urban food desert and connecting key programs through the landscape.

The winding roof follows the natural slope, covering interior and exterior circulation to provide continuous shelter throughout the site.

Western Elevation

Teeter Road

Botswick Road

Site Plan – Enfield, Upstate New York – 4.5-acre (197,210 square feet) agricultural plot

Multiple access points enable seamless movement between interior and exterior spaces across the building and site.

Boardwalks, ramps, and radial walkways overlap to form a continuous circulation loop that links interior programs with the landscape.

Bioswales

The bubble diagram translates programmatic square footage into scaled circular forms, highlighting the spatial hierarchy of each use and illustrating how circulation connects and overlaps program zones across the site.

Roof Wood Cladding

Radially-Framed Columns

Cross-Braced Timber Framing

Accessible Sloping Ramp Shopping Cart Circulation

Stepped Program Subdivisions Supportive Program Extensions

Communal Panoramic Courtyards

Hyperhabitat reimagines Brooklyn’s Pier 7 as a regenerative model for future waterfronts — one that heals past ecological erasure while adapting to the realities of rising urban density and climate change. By transforming the existing grid of wooden piles into a new structural and ecological framework, the design revives lost habitats and fosters layered interactions between human, marine, and plant habitats. Rather than privatizing the edge, the proposal treats it as a shared evolving terrain where research, housing, recreation, and ecology are deeply intertwined.

Through the coexistence of flora, fauna, and human habitats, the site becomes a living infrastructure. Tidal flows feed oyster nurseries, restored marshes filter water, and vertical forests grow alongside elevated housing and public boardwalks, supporting enviromnental socioeconomic community resilience in one cohesive system. This master plan is not just a new typology — it’s an ecological and civic shift: one that invites people to live with the water, not against it, and to regenerate the future from the foundation of what was left behind.

The Brooklyn waterfront has undergone a radical transformation, from its origins as an ecologically rich wetland to an industrial hub and, most recently, a site for high-density redevelopment. This project acknowledges the site’s historical loss of habitat due to infill, hard-edge infrastructure, and rapid urbanization. The goal is to reintegrate ecological and public spaces while responding to rising urban needs.

New York Native Waters Wetlands Lost Manmade Infill 17th Century 21st Century (Today)

Manahatta

Manhattan

Queens

Brooklyn

Governor’s Island Pier 7

Erie Basin

Buttermilk Channel

Atlantic Basin

We envision a hyper-habitat, a mixed-use ecosystem, curating experiences through ecological restoration, blending the boundaries between natural and human habitat.

In the face of rising density and climate change, how can we design a waterfront that restores lost habitats, supports evolving urban life, and reshapes the way we coexist with water?

Positioned as an ecological recreation destination accessible by ferry or foot, the project promotes physical, social, mental, economic, and environmental wellness. It aims to foster, sustainable jobs, educational hubs, and community programs — all grounded in the site’s cultural and ecological history.

Fauna Habitat Human Habitat

Flora Habitat

Governor’s Island

Pier 7

East River

Buttermilk Channel

Upper New York Bay

Hudson River

Briklyn Bridge Park

Manhattan

Hyperhabitat reimagines the hard industrial edge as a softened shared terrain where flora, fauna, and human habitats can coexist. By reclaiming and reutilizing the existing 10x10’ grid of wooden piles beneath Pier 7, the design transforms a relic of industrial infrastructure into a regenerative scaffold for vertical ecosystems — a foundation for restoring lost marine and plant habitatsto support new ways of living along the water.

The flora habitat reinterprets Brooklyn’s original ecological landscape — marshland, grassland, shrubland, and forest — as a stacked, regenerative vertical system. Organized by sunlight and water proximity needs, these plant communities are embedded into the structure of the project, allowing the restoration of native ecologies.

Brooklyn, New York

Pier 7

Pier 7?

Brooklyn Bridge Park

Piers 1 – 6

Manufacturing Warehouses

Piers 8 – 12

Early development of the vertical habitat system began with sun and wind studies, responding to daylight access, prevailing wind patterns, and microclimate to drive regenerative spatial form.

This project reimagines the typical NYC waterfront building—low-rise to high-rise—as a vertical ecological system. By embedding layers of shrubland, grassland, and forest throughout the architecture, it proposes a new model where density and habitat restoration coexist within the built form.

The waterside reclaims the existing pier structure to grow habitats from the water and support housing above.

What if the future of NYC’s waterfront buildings wasn’t just vertical living — but vertical ecology?

The inland side transforms high-rise development into an ecological section, weaving native landscapes into vertical living.

Vertical core as garden spine.

Piles regenerating wetland systems.

Habitat under elevated living.

Tidal oyster beds in motion.

This project was collaboration with tects, where we advanced digital workflow. Using veloped app, we models and explored through AR and us to visualize decisions in real-time scale within the

During our reviews, ed in a fully immersive, gree projection allowed our models ings to surround peers at full scale. immersive space an interactive walkthrough ronment, where around the room project as it unfolded

was developed in with SHoP Archiintegrated their digital tools into our Using a SHoP-dewe imported our explored the site and VR, allowing and test design real-time and at full site context.

reviews, we presentimmersive, 360-deprojection room that models and drawsurround our critics and scale. The circular space functioned as walkthrough enviwhere we could move room and narrate the unfolded around us.

Facing the water, the boardwalk reveals floating habitats and regenerated wetlands emerging from the pier’s existing pile grid.

The promenade view reconnects the city through Brooklyn Bridge Park, framed by the adjacent high-rise towers.

–2 Private Tidal Cultivation Level –1

Research Level

NYC Ferry Landing

Mixed Semi-Public Research + Education

Market- Rate Residential Units Stu, 1, 2, 3 Beds.

End of Rowhouse Retail Block

Habitat Restoration Commercial + Retail Research + Education

Oyster reefs, wetland regeneration, and floating marshes for ecological resilience.

Marine research labs, hatcheries, and ecological monitoring stations along tidal pools.

Ground-floor businesses, seafood markets, restaurants, local vendors and eco-focused retail, tied to site ecology.

Public + Recreation

Waterfront promenades, boardwalks, and floating parks for and active leisure spaces.

Residential High-rise inland apartments and waterfront rowhouses.

Inland begins from typical low-rise to high-rise

0 Public Pedestrian Level

+1 Public Park Promanade Level

A submerged hatchery space allows hands-on interaction with marine restoration education engagement.

Semi-Public Research Boardwalk

Tidal Habitat Restoration

Entering by ferry reveals a continuous landscape of restoration, from waterline to walkway.

Above the podium, green bridges act as balconies — connecting living units and supporting vertical ecology.

A path from the BQE leads beneath the building into the park — where habitat remains protected, open, and continuous.

firma terra firma

Ithaca, New York

Terra Firma: NewGrounds is an experimental installation that explores the ecological and structural potential of ancient rammed earth construction as a response to the modern building industry’s environmental impact. With construction responsible for nearly 40% of global CO₂ emissions, the project highlights the urgency of rethinking material practices. It consists of nine monolithic earthen columns, each 18” in diameter and 8’ tall. Built through material testing, the columns demonstrate shear compressive resilience, and a response to Ithaca’s regional soils.

Drawing from historical pisé techniques, the process involves moistening and compacting earth in layers using metal rods—creating a solid, rock-like form once dried. Rooted in ancient practices, Terra Firma repositions the act of building as both resistance and reverence, showing the potential of process-driven architecture to reconnect humans with the earth, using it to envision new, low-carbon possibilities. This project challenges industrialized norms by revisiting one of architecture’s oldest, most sustainable methods.

Gravel Level and Compation

Thick Sloped Base with Integrated 6” Diameter Central Shear Key

Foundation Type I: Inverse Shear Key

Foundation Type II: Central Shear Key

Protective Concrete Cap with 4” Shear Key

1’–6” Diameter Rammed Earth Column

Erosion Lime Checks

Concrete Foundation

Cylindrical WFormwork

Lime Checks

Rammed Earth

Concrete Cap

THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THE COLUMNS

Excavating the Site. Marking the Columns.

CONSTRUCTING THE COLUMNS

Constructing the Foundation Formwork. Preparing the Concrete Mix for Pouring.

THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THE COLUMNS

THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THE

THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THE COLUMNS

Casting the Nine Foundations. Adjusting Sono Tube for Ramming. Preparing Soil Mixture with Water.

THE COLUMNS

CONSTRUCTING THE COLUMNS

Pouring the Soil Mix (Earth)

Leveling and Measuring the Earth. Ramming the Earth down the Tube.

Extending Sono Tube Above To Ram.

Pouring, Leveling, Ramming, part II.

Foundation testing with lime on gravel.

Casted foundations before gravel infill and compation.

Foldable multi-use foundation formwork.

Compressive testing in Structural Engineering Lab.

Rammed earth unwrapping of sono tubes.

Finished columns drying and self-healing in tube.

East State Street, Downtown Ithaca, New York

Luben Dimcheff

Situated along East State Street, this library design responds directly to the site’s steep topography. An bridge descends from the road above a 20-foot retaining wall, connecting pedestrians from Downtown Commons to the lower park below through the form, serving as both an accessible entry point and an extension of the street to the landscape, integrating the creek and forming a sloping park from the sidewalk, framing the library as both a civic anchor and a quiet retreat. The building is structured around a grid of 32-inch-thick rammed earth walls, celebrated for their

compressive strength and thermal mass. They rise from concrete foundations to a double-curved green roof, with perpendicular cuts that shape program of varying density, allowing for a balance of light, openness and privacy throughout the library. Intersecting x-frames provide lateral support for the rammed earth walls, while extruded beams support a suspended metal mezzanine that introduces a secondary level within. The roof is fully supported by the compressive structure below, is walkable offering views of the city and park.

Treating the soil as the crown of the site, the library’s footprint becomes the roof and raises at different corners based on sun exposure and the existing retaining wall that slopes down with the street. An accessible open-air rammed earth ramp becomes the bridge from the street into the creek, directly carving through the library. Rammed earth walls congregate in parallel direction to allow for constant uninterrupted views.

Direct public access pedestrian traffic to creek, library, and roof.

Uninterupted views towards the creek through linear circulation.

Carvings in rammed earth are created for change in light density.

Perpendicular carvings form a path of circulation with constant views.

Program is divided upon daylight. Shelves are suspended within walls.

Catwalk

Denser carvings Administration

Quite Spces

Communal Spaces

Six Mile Creek

Cornell Campus

Hiking Trail

Exploded Axonometric Assembly

The 32” load-bearing rammed earth walls are stabilized by embedded brackets and X-frames that maintain structural compression over time. A concrete cap connects the wall to the green roof above, shielding the earthen material and holding the suspended mezzanine and roof. Protective layers are integrated for passive performance. Wooden shutters filter angled sunlight, while insulared glass panels and operable curtain walls open the space to the surrounding park.

Instructor: Luben Dimcheff

Walkable Green Roof

Exploded Axonometric Assembly

Skylights

Reinforced Concrete Roof Cast

Hanging Sound Panels

Wooden Window Shading Louvers

Hanging Support Frames

X-Frames Tension Cables

Frosted Glass Railing

Rammed- In Stainless Steel Grill Floor Mezannine

Double-Panel Insulated Curtain Wall

Rammed-In Bookshelves

On-Site Rammed Earth Wall Segments

Hanging Interior ADA Accessible Stairway

Sloped Exterior ADA Compliant Ramp

Recycled Concrere Floor Slab

Overall Interior Structural Assembly Exterior Axonometric

The Ilulissat Icefjord Centre, designed by Dorte Mandrup, is an architectural landmark situated along the UNESCO-listed Icefjord in Greenland. The building’s sweeping boomerang form is designed to harmonize with the Arctic landscape that frames the surrounding ice sheets and shifting environment.

Structurally, the Centre features a radial curved roof system supported by a series of acute triangular I-beam trusses.

This 3’ x 5’ hand-built structural model emphasizes its exposed truss system and unique semi-cantilevering framework that blends itself upon the harsh terrain and climate conditions.

Constructed entirely from hand-cut balsa wood, the model showcases the radial roof assembly and structural displacement through 52 consecutive shifting frames, each individually angled.The base is molded from plaster to represent the site’s natural topography, with wooden dowels embedded as foundation piles.

By carefully reconstructing the roof assembly and truss system, the model highlights the interplay between structure and landscape, paying homage to the preserved Arctic terrain and Dorte Mandrup’s identity. Through this fabrication process, the model serves as both a technical study and a representation of itsarchitectural ingenuity, completed Fall 2022

Structural Systems

Mark R. Cruvellier

Ana Samaniego & Manuela Camayo

Sibley Dome, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Martin Miller

Polywired is a parametric design study that explores the tensile potential of thin wire hangers, reconfigured into an expansive hexagonal honeycomb system. Each hanger interlocks by hooking into the end of another, forming a woven, flexible network of unstructured hexagonal frames. This geometry allows for expansion and contraction based on applied tension, creating a system that is both adaptable and structurally integral, geometrically incapable of coming apart. Its simplicity allows for quick assembly and easy replication at different scales.

Initially assembled as a flat network across the floor, the system can be lifted into a suspended, canopy-like formation. The resulting structure acts as a semi-transparent, floating textile of wire, shifting and swaying in response to movement and air. With no fixed boundaries, the interconnected frame holds the potential for infinite extension, forming a dynamic, interactive surface that challenges conventional structure, and enclosure. Its responsiveness and modular logic open possibilities for different installation systems.