Issuu

Common Ground

VOL . 2 / 2024 - 25

ARCHITECTURE + ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN DEPARTMENT Tyler School of Art and Architecture Temple University

Common Ground

COMMON G ROUND

Common Ground

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

A sampling of work from the 2024–25 academic year by students in the Master of Architecture and Master of Landscape Architecture programs in the Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University.

COMMON G ROUND

Acknowledgements

Tyler Architecture + Environmental Design Graduate Faculty Laurin Aman Stephen Anderson Kate Benisek Mauricio Bertet Sonja Bijelic Joshua Caplan Ryan Devlin

Jeffrey Doshna Sasha Eisenman Billy Fleming Clifton Fordham Sally Harrison Nathan Heavers Robert Kuper

Baldev Lamba Lynn Mandarano Christopher McAdams Pablo Meninato Taryn Mudge Jeffrey Nesbit Michael Olszewski

Jeffrey Richards Fauzia Sadiq Garcia Robert Shuman Jr. Sean Vance Jeremy Voorhees Na Wei

Kate Wingert-Playdon Andrew Wit

Philip Glahn Abby Ryan Guido Marcia Hall Jesse Harrod John Hatfield David Herman Jr. Kelly Holohan

Renee Jackson C.T. Jasper Simona Josan Jessica Julius Lisa Kay Nichola Kinch Joseph Kopta

Scott Laserow Dermot MacCormack Rebecca Michaels Leah Modigliani Emily Neumeier Odili Odita Karyn Olivier

Tyler Graduate Faculty Mariola Alvarez Gerard Brown Douglas Bucci Susan Cahan Tracy Cooper Mia Culbertson Chad Curtis

Matt Curtius Delaney DeMott Müge Durusu-Tanrıöver Amze Emmons Jane DeRose Evans Sam Fritch Mark Gibson

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Additional Architecture-Landscape Architecture Graduate Instructors Tim Barnes Jodi Baumgarten Ryan Byrne Gabriella Cesarino Michael Coll Zach Cross Jamie Ferello

Mark Gallagher Dan Garofalo Ken Jacobs Michelle Jacobs Tim Kerner Concetta Martone Mandy Palasik

Allen Pierce Amy Rivera Nathan Shampine Stephen Sousa Eric Tamulonis Bess Wellborn Yates Judy Venonsky

Sharyn O’Mara Pepón Osorio Alpesh Kantilal Patel Erin Pauwels Andrea Ray George Rodriguez Lauren Sandler

Dilmar Gamero Santos Bryan Martin Satalino Paul Sheriff Mark Shetabi Samantha Simpson Kim Strommen Corinne Teed

Jessica Vaughn Ashley West Mallory Weston Byron Wolfe William Yalowitz Nathan Young

COMMON G ROUND

Foreword

This is the second annual edition of the Tyler School of Art and Architecture’s Graduate Catalogue, showcasing a selection of work by graduate students in the Master of Architecture, MS Architecture and Master of Landscape Architecture programs. The catalogue features work from

MICROFORESTS uses the Miyawaki

REIMAGINING CHESTER WATERFRONT

design studios, and seminar and

forests ecological framework to inves-

focused on waterfront brownfield

workshop courses in 2024–25, offering

tigate woodland regrowth and forest

redevelopment of the urban waterfront

a snapshot of the evolving conversations

diversity in the Philadelphia—city

to increase public lands in the city

and interests shared by students and

and region. This is an ideal context to

of Chester. The studio engaged civic

faculty over the three-year course of

investigate the relationship of forests

leaders to guide urban infrastructure

study. While some course offerings recur

to regional infrastructures that include

decision-making.

each year, their content and emphasis

agricultural lands, housing and

shift over time. This publication series

industrial areas.

is intended to reflect those changes and ongoing developments.

Comprehensive Designs is essential to the professional development of

THE TINICUM MESH looks at long-term

architects and landscape architects and

sea level rise and its impact on marsh-

serves as a benchmark for the depth

Our programs are shaped by core areas

lands. The studio addresses strategies

and integration of learning within

of inquiry: ecological design and sus-

that consider time and change as com-

our programs.

tainable practices, socio-cultural design

ponents of a regenerative master plan.

innovation, and experimental thinking through making. These themes provide a framework for faculty to share their expertise and students to explore and

HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE VISUAL ARTS

Urban Ecologies features research

AND DESIGN IN NORTH PHILADELPHIA

seminar and design studio work.

focuses on health and wellbeing, accessibility and inclusivity and the need

RESILIENT DOWNTOWN PHILADELPHIA

for flexible and adaptable spaces in a

define their own interests. The catalogue

uses the design of mixed use multi-

is organized into five sections to reflect

magnet high school as the basis for

family housing to shape the urban

this structure.

exploring comprehensive design.

context. Projects address affordability,

Climate Resiliencies presents student work from three studios.

climate resilience and community as

DESIGNING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND

contemporary urban challenges that

ECOLOGICAL RESTOR ATION provides

shape housing and the urban context.

the framing for landscape architecture students’ capstone research and design

LOS ANGELES REFINERY FUTURE

addresses the land use of decommissioned refinery sites. The studio’s focus is on the creation of public space and amenities for neighboring communities that foster community vitality and

URBAN DESIGN THEORY AND PR ACTICE

projects. Each student carries out a

is a research seminar that asks students

yearlong research and design investiga-

to carry out research on contemporary

tion with a common focus on landscape

approaches to urbanism and the practice

restoration for the future of a site as

of design in the urban environment.

part of the design proposal.

social equity.

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Critical Perspectives serves to

opportunity for full-scale making

and material decay were required to

complement comprehensive design

and assembly in the field. The studio

understand the workflow of making

as an inherent part of graduate-level

focused on the use of flax as the basis

and unmaking processes to address the

design studies.

for both the building program and

positive impacts of bio-prototyping.

material studies and guided students to SÃO PAOLO CALLING: ART AND ARCHITECTURE IN THE TROPICS is a

course presented as part of the Tyler School of Art and Architecture

also analyze and address environmental impact and climate change as part of their work.

The work here exemplifies the values and aspirations of our design community. It reflects urgency and ambition with which our students approach the press-

Interdisciplinary Teaching Initiative.

AMBLER DESIGN/BUILD INSTITUTE is

ing issues of our time. We are proud to

The seminar course focused on artistic

a yearly course in collaboration with

support them in their education as they

and architectural developments in

Temple University’s Ambler Arboretum.

prepare to shape the future of our built

São Paolo to initiate interdisciplinary

Studio investigations initiated in the

and natural environments.

dialogue to form innovative insights

Linum Usitatissimum studio were carried

for students from programs across

out at full scale. Students built and used

the school.

‘flaxcrete’ to build a bird blind in the

ARCHITECTURE DESIGN THESIS parallels

arboretum.

landscape architecture’s capstone initia-

FUTURECR AFT , is a research seminar

tive. Each student carries out a yearlong

investigating the integration of emerging

research and design investigation that

tools, technologies and methods of

addresses contemporary issues affecting

architectural representation. Through the

and shaping design practice.

use of digital modeling and 3D ceramic

Material Processes highlights work from seminar/workshop courses and a design/build studio.

KATE WINGERT-PLAYDON Philadelphia, Pennsylvania May 30, 2025

printing, students explore new forms of making and speculative fabrication. BIO PROTOTYPING: (UN)MAKING MATERIAL ASSEMBLIES FOCUSED ON

LINUM USITATISSIMUM: FLAX AS A BIOGENIC BUILDING MATERIAL

BIOMATERIALS RESEARCH AND FABRICATION . The research seminar

represents design investigations in

explored digital fabrication and the use

the studio setting that lead to an

of bioplastics. Assembly, installation

COMMON G ROUND

Table of Contents

Climate Resiliencies 12

Los Angeles Refinery Future

Microforests

The Tinicum Mesh

Urban Ecologies 26

Resilient Downtown Philadelphia

Urban Design Theory and Practice

Chester City Reimagined

Comprehensive Designs 26 High School for the Visual Arts and Design in North Philadelphia 26

Designing for Social Justice and Ecological Restoration

Critical Perspectives 54

São Paulo Calling! Art and Architecture in the Tropics

Architecture Design Thesis

Material Processes 64 Linum Usitatissimum: Flax as a Biogenic Building Material 68

Ambler Design/Build Institute

72 F uturecraft 78

Bio Prototyping: (un)making material assemblies

ARCHITECTURE AND L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

L ANDSCAPE ARCHITEC TURE STUDIO

ARCHITEC TURE STUDIO

TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR

THESIS

THEORY + HISTORY SEMINAR

THEORY SEMINAR

COMMON GROUND

Clim Resiliencies

ARCHITECTURE AND L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

mate ARCH 8012

LARC 8152

Los Angeles Refinery Future

Micro-Forests

The Tinicum Mesh

Woodland Design Studio Fall ‘24

Wetland Design Studio Spring ‘25

Option Design Studio Fall ‘24

C O M M O N G R O U N D : C L I M AT E R E S I L I E N C I E S

Architecture Studio

Los Angeles Refinery Future Envisioning future land uses for oil refinery sites can support healthy and equitable communities. Environmental advocacy strengthens our communities and raises issues of equity in design desperately needed adjacent to oil refinery sites. Los Angeles has the largest concentration of oil refineries adjacent to residential populations, with fenceline communities at 90% burden from health hazards. Projects focused on Wilmington and Carson refineries in Los Angeles Counties total approximately 2350 acres, roughly double the size of Center City, Philadelphia. Part I envisioned future land uses of decommissioned refinery sites that culminated in a combined studio master plan. Part II connected this master plan to the existing communities with urban design strategies and architectural design solutions. Students selected an area of interest and created a framework for interventions while, in tandem, prioritizing public space for community vitality and equity. The refinery sites are embedded in the fabric of overburdened communities affected by pollution, and their redevelopment can dramatically shape them into healing grounds that are community-centered with long-term resilience in both economic viability and sustainable development.

INSTRUCTOR

STUDENTS

Fauzia Sadiq Garcia

Romina Broglia Carly Browngardt Keaton Bruce Michael Herrmann

Deborah Moura Kathryn Nocella Dylan Schrader

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Keaton Bruce

C O M M O N G R O U N D : C L I M AT E R E S I L I E N C I E S

LOS ANGELES REFINERY FUTURE

Romina Broglia

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Kathryn Nocella

C O M M O N G R O U N D : C L I M AT E R E S I L I E N C I E S

Landscape Architecture Studio

Microforests Woodlands and forests are important cultural landscapes and provide critical environmental benefits. The Northeast U.S. is home to diverse forests; however, extensive areas have been converted to agriculture, housing, industry, and infrastructure. Moreover, existing forests face threats from invasive species, disease, climate change, and continued development. While urban forest weaves through the fabric of cities and suburbs, there is a need for landscape architects and restoration experts to plant and tend new forests, especially in small pockets in challenging environmental circumstances. This studio explores the practice of creating microforests, also known as Miyawaki forests, named for a renowned Japanese forest ecologist who pioneered a method of planting many saplings in proximity in a small area to initiate forests. Some scientific literature on forest ecosystems suggests that it takes at least 150 years for a well-functioning forest to develop. Miyawaki aimed to get a forest started in three and speed up the process of forest succession. What strategies and methods are most effective and appropriate for planting a microforest? How do such plantings evolve over time? As the method has now been attempted around the globe, students investigated and reported on domestic and international examples to learn the approach before making proposals for tiny forests at Temple University’s Ambler campus and sister sites in the City of Philadelphia.

INSTRUCTOR

STUDENTS

Nathan Heavers

Ginger Hansen Ash Limes Castellana Alex Melian

Rosie Nalle Elyse Stuart

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Elyse Stuart C O M M O N G R O U N D : C L I M AT E R E S I L I E N C I E S

MICRO FORESTS

Rosie Nalle

Alex Melian

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Rest Stop

Point Breeze, Philadelphia, PA - Proposed Plan

Ash Limes Castellana

Ginger Hansen

C O M M O N G R O U N D : C L I M AT E R E S I L I E N C I E S

Landscape Architecture Studio

The Tinicum Mesh In urban waterfront communities, humans and wetlands must coexist in patterns that reflect historic attitudes about our relationship with nature. The historic patterns are often not healthy for either people or riparian communities. For places subject to sea level rise, this already fraught relationship is being stretched and broken, demanding a new development paradigm. This studio focused on the catalytic macro issue of long-term sea level rise and its impact on the existing remnant Tinicum marsh (John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge) and an adjacent vulnerable community (Eastwick, Philadelphia). The studio accepted that (a) the existing brackish marsh ecosystem will be radically transformed into a more saline open water condition, and (b) future sea level rise will first jeopardize and then eventually destroy the existing community and its infrastructure. We asked: “What is the right thing to do? Should we respond reactively and solve incrementally or respond proactively and reconstruct for an ideal, newly envisioned future?” Students developed a regenerative master plan. Based on the master plan, they designed key sites that explored the visual character and functional dynamics of a new paradigm for the intersection of land and water—the Tinicum Mesh.

INSTRUCTOR

STUDENTS

Eric Tamulonis

Ginger Hansen Ash Limes Castellana Alex Melian

Rosie Nalle Elyse Stuart

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Ash Limes Castellana

C O M M O N G R O U N D : C L I M AT E R E S I L I E N C I E S

THE TINICUM MESH

Ash Limés Castellana + Rosie Nalle + Elyse Stuart

Rosie Nalle

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Elyse Stuart

Ginger Hansen

C O M M O N G R O U N D : C L I M AT E R E S I L I E N C I E S

l su c in iti ly, e s d a v or all m l e i K m l v do as 57 C visu from con ic se ut ina an b tea ol g v n g g k. l 0 F a the dc Ki vin ar ark ve ED t in e M hou e6. ic ser e p p tra es W ha t nc bran z e h t h i t , y t h e ag ha M astle e in cts t easil axim , th stem vate ors t perie ey’s r e he le d x sn low sy t, t ’s C he nn uld d m r f rol to e rri e e Di ou lla yw co co an ate ont ed n co rsiv alt ay re an tle rs es s e w c W u de d l inde rom Cas isito pac s ing ater hen hid imm l of pe t f o s ag ha s C s f the at v een h an ng w as rk o les mb l-s nd ve d ee sta sel an so t etw e m ini rt w o am sy wh nter them ally, ack ity b hil sta s di netw 's se ring u w i ce ent ysic he b ctiv m lf-s 9 Th ive ark we e n ste a se rt5. tens he p he to ori ph t t n a d t sy o co ing di ex g e, t gri ated es c e e eat s of rk's inin stl . cre hanc es. t th cr rd pa nta Ca rld , en tanc tec als c ya the mai lla’s wo pro can ubi als n, re the dis To and on c nce nsee inde ver s illi t co e u s C ll o ee a d v a lev en m m th mo stan ized sev tfor rs to orm ogn pla mbe platf s rec me sed nd i rai les a mi

ure

c ori

sis

d, lan ey

aly

sn Di ing

, on cti tru ns Co

re oo

ng Ki

M ob B .”

ic ag

d orl W ey

d’s orl

isn dD an

W ey

m do ng Ki

ic ag M

Ecologies ild Bu

Stu

: on cti tru ns Co

tic ma

st Hi ,“

ram

iag

y an mp Co on

ti uc str on

57 C id. b d. 58 I b i d. 59 I bi 60 I

. 17 20

ARCHITECTURE AND L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Fig

Urb

an $$$

CONNECTION TO GREATER SOCIAL HOUSING NETWORK

NEED URGENT SHELTER

LONGEVITY SUPPORT

70 HOUSING UNITS INTERSPERSED 35 MARKET RATE UNITS 18 AFFORDABLE UNITS 17 PUBLIC HOUSING UNITS

LONG-TERM RESPONSE

CONNECTION TO GREATER SOCIAL HOUSING NETWORK

LONG-TERM RESPONSE

70 HOUSING UNITS INTERSPERSED 35 MARKET RATE UNITS 18 AFFORDABLE UNITS 17 PUBLIC HOUSING UNITS

LONGEVITY SUPPORT

COMMERCIAL RECREATION SUPPORTING URGENT RESPONSE CENTER

$$$

URGENT RESPONSE

CODE RED AND CODE BLUE HEATING AND COOLING CENTER

COMMERCIAL RECREATION SUPPORTING URGENT RESPONSE CENTER

NEED PERMANENT HOUSING

LARC 8153

Resilient Downtown Philadelphia

Urban Design Theory and Practice

Reimagining Chester Riverfront

Advanced Design Studio Fall ‘24

Research Seminar Fall ‘24

Public Lands Studio Fall ‘24

CODE RED AND CODE BLUE HEATING AND COOLING CENTER

ARCH 8131

URGENT RESPONSE

ARCH 8011

NT ER

ANENT ING

COMMON GROUND: URBAN ECOLOGIES

Architecture Studio

Resilient Downtown Philadelphia Resilient Downtown Philadelphia is a project situated in the evolving urban context of downtown Philadelphia. Through the design of a mixed-use, multi-family housing project, students investigate contemporary urban challenges—including housing affordability, climate resilience, and community activation—through a holistic process that integrates cultural research, site and precedent analysis, architectural design development, and sustainable technological strategies. Working within a defined Center City site, the studio focused on context and program development that was framed by climate-responsive systems thinking. Detailed material and assembly studies culminated in a comprehensive proposal represented graphically and through physical and digital models.

INSTRUCTORS

STUDENTS

Sean Vance Na Wei

Nada Aly Benny Buah Matt Celeste Josh Fekete Matt Goldstein

Justin Kemmerer Jake Kropf James Koel Ken Le Dylan Leik Jared Lista

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Jesenni Maisterrena Jessica Marrazzo Valentina Martinez Montoya Alyssa McDaniel Mimdaziha McGriff Jack Jaggs Nelson

Franco Reyna Verena Rezkalla Dan Schwartz Britney Sciarillo Payton Sucharski William Webb

Nada Aly + Alyssa McDaniel + Valentina Martinez Montoya + Verena Rezkalla

COMMON G ROUND: URBAN ECOLO G IES

RESILIENT DOWNTOWN PHILADELPHIA

Matt Celeste + Jake Kropf + Dylan Leik

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

James Koel + Jessica Marrazzo + Jack Jaggs Nelson

COMMON G ROUND: URBAN ECOLO G IES

Research Seminar

Urban Design Theory and Practice The Urban Design Theory and Practice Seminar investigates a range of modern and contemporary urban design theories to shape critical and analytical capacity for the practice of urban design. Public space, networks, social relations, urban ecologies and cultures are explored as integral to the design of the urban environment. Participants in the research seminar address recent historic contexts through in-depth research on contemporary and emerging approaches to urban design, including Ecological Urbanism, Informal Urbanism, Post-industrial Re-urbanism and Everyday Urbanism.

INSTRUCTORS

STUDENTS

Sally Harrison Gabriella Cesarino Tim Kerner

Nada Aly Romina Broglia Benny Buah Matt Celeste Joshua Fekete Matthew Goldstein Margaret How

Justin Kemmerer James Koel Jake Kropf Ken Le Dylan Leik Jared Lista Jesenni Maisterrena

ARCHITECTURE AND L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Jessica Marrazzo Alyssa McDaniel Mimdaziha Mcgriff Valentina Martinez Montoya Jack Jaggs Nelson Franco Reyna Verena Rezkalla

Dan Schwartz Britney Sciarillo Payton Sucharski William Webb

Inclusive Urbanism: Strategies for Designing Within Informal Contexts Romina Broglia

INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS, commonly

referred to as slums, squatter settlements, or shantytowns, are a universal feature of urban landscapes and a re-

Turner argued that informal settlements should not be seen as chaotic or problematic but as dynamic systems of self-help housing.

sponse to the socio-economic inequalities exacerbated by rapid urbanization. These settlements arise when housing

by the industrial revolution in the

the groundwork for modern urban

supply fails to meet demand, forcing

18th and 19th centuries. As industrial

policy. However, these early interven-

individuals to construct their own

centers expanded, waves of rural-to-

tions were largely limited to the Global

dwellings outside formal regulatory

urban migration created unprecedent-

North, ignoring the scale of informal

frameworks. Though often character-

ed demand for housing in cities like

settlements that would emerge in the

ized by precarious conditions, informal

London, Manchester, and New York.

Global South.

settlements also embody resilience

The inability of governments and

and innovation, challenging traditional

private markets to provide affordable

urban planning paradigms. This essay

housing for working-class populations

delves into the history of informal

led to overcrowded tenements and the

settlements from a global perspective,

emergence of unregulated, informal

examining their emergence, evolution,

dwellings. Neighborhoods such as

In his groundbreaking book Freedom

and the influence of key figures and

London’s East End and New York’s

to Build (1972), Turner argued that

programs, including John F. C. Turner

Five Points became early examples of

informal settlements should not be

and the Sites and Services approach. By

informal housing.

seen as chaotic or problematic but

exploring these aspects, this analysis reveals the complexities and potential of informal settlements within the broader context of urban development.

While these settlements were often vilified as centers of disease and crime, they also highlighted systemic failures in urban planning. Efforts to address

The roots of informal settlements

them, such as the creation of model

lie in the rapid urbanization triggered

housing and sanitation reforms, laid

One of the most influential figures in the study and rethinking of informal settlements is John F. C. Turner, a British architect and urban planner.

as dynamic systems of self-help housing. He emphasized the agency of residents, who, despite limited resources, created homes and communities tailored to their needs.

Scan the QR code to continue reading the remainder of the work online

COMMON G ROUND: URBAN ECOLO G IES

URBAN DESIGN THEORY + PRACTICE

Post-industrial Re-urbanism James Koel

THERE IS NO POST-INDUSTRIAL. There

is evidence of old industry everywhere you look. Abandoned ports, empty warehouses, vacant lots, and broken

Much of how contemporary American cities appear is a direct result of historical configurations and restructuring of industrial economy.

buildings. As Jason Luger points out, ‘Not only does this term not acknowledge the changes and restructuring that has occurred, it also minimizes

rather through the delivery of services,

manufacturing plant was within the

the contested histories of these

experiences, and quality of life.”3

inner city of Detroit. All of the materials

sites, long after industry has subsided.1 Residents of Flint Michigan are constantly reminded of an industrial past, in the same way that South Philadelphia residents will feel the effects of the nearby oil refinery long after operations ceased.2 Industries have only restructured, decentralized, become hidden, or moved elsewhere. As opposed to traditional manufacturing economies, cities focus more heavily on service industries. Urban centers in North America “now find themselves competing for population not through expanding industrial employment, but

Scan the QR code to continue reading the remainder of the work online

More broadly, geographers categorize three distinct historical configurations of industrial economy: concentrated, decentralized, and distributed. Much

and inputs were assembled on-site. In the 20s, Ford moved its manufacturing outside of the city, to the communities of Dearborn and Highland Park.

of how contemporary American cities

Technological changes spurred indus-

appear is a direct result of historical

trial restructuring. In 1956, the shipping

configurations and restructuring of

container was standardized. Prior to

industrial economy.4 The most notable

this, shipping required manual labor

example is that of Detroit. Detroit first

through breakbulk cargo handling.

began its decentralization in the 1920s,

This new development allowed for easy

as a result of the Ford Motor Company.

intermodal connections from ships to

Prior to that, Ford had perfected the

trucks, to trains and vice versa.

use of the assembly line for the manufacture of vehicles. The company’s first

J ason Luger and Schwarze, Tilman, “Leaving post-industrial urban studies behind?” Dialogues in Urban Research 0, no. 0, 8.

L uger, “Leaving post-industrial urban studies behind?” 8. See also Rachel Ramirez, “Activists helped shut down

C harles Waldheim, Landscape as Urbanism (Princeton University Press, 2016), 70.

Waldheim, Landscape as Urbanism, 70.

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

this oil refinery in Philadelphia. Now locals wonder what’s next,” CNN, April 15, 2024.

Urban Design for Consumption and Experience Dylan Leik

AS A CONTEMPOR ARY AREA OF archi-

tectural discourse, the built environment’s integration of late 20th-century capitalism brought about the rise of urban design for consumption and

...Design for consumption and experience involves the multiform ways in which cultural symbols, economic activity, and urban governance are combined to promote a capitalist future for the city.

experience. The modernist movement of the early 20th century was driven by a market that emphasized production,

and experience involves the multiform

primary exponents and/or critics. Two

and as society began to shift into a

ways in which cultural symbols, econom-

large practitioners of this theory were

postmodern world, capitalism became

ic activity, and urban governance are

Rem Koolhaas and Victor Gruen, with

less defined by production and more

combined to promote a capitalist future

Koolhaas being known for his designs

defined by consumption. Subsequent-

for the city. This shift was primarily

of shopping malls and entertainment

ly, increasing pressure was placed on

seen by the late 1990s and early 2000s,

complexes.4 And Gruen, being known as

architecture to perform as a marketable

where urban entertainment centers,

the “king of retail,” designing the first

commodity. For architecture to succeed

shopping malls, and themed districts

Mall in the United States.5 In regard

in a consumer market, it had to cater

like Times Square or Las Vegas became

to critics, notable figures such as David

to the diverse tastes and demands of a

spaces that were designed to maximize

Harvey, Sharon Zukin, and Henri

post-modern society, pairing a stylistic

consumption through a combination of

Lefebvre will be further discussed later

variety with instant recognizability, pri-

aesthetic appeal, retail, and entertain-

on in this paper.

marily through the use of brands, signs,

ment experiences.

images, leisure, and entertainment.2 Associated with finance, media, tourism, heritage, gentrification, and, above all, consumerism, design for consumption

Scan the QR code to continue reading the remainder of the work online

Like any other architectural and urban movement, along with it came theorists and practitioners who served as

nne Cronin, et al. Consuming the entrepreneurial city: A image, memory, spectacle. New York: Routledge, 2008, 8.

S ugarcanex, “Summary and Reflection on The Generic City”, 2015.

nna Klingman, Brandscapes. Architecture in the ExperiA ence Economy. MIT Press, 5.

J osh Harmon, et al, “The Rise and Fall of the American Mall.” Business Insider, Apr 13, 2021.

K lingman, Brandscapes. Architecture in the Experience Economy. 2-4. COMMON G ROUND: URBAN ECOLO G IES

Landscape Architecture Studio

Reimagining Chester Riverfront Notorious for its legacy of social and environmental injustice, Chester, Pennsylvania, needs massive change to revive this once vibrant and livable city. Public lands are essential for its redevelopment plans, and the riverfront is key. This studio addressed the quantity and quality of Chester’s public lands. The students engaged civic leaders in discussions about a new future for the city focused on the removal of toxic and blighting uses and the threat of sea level rise. They applied contemporary urban planning principles to create a new riverfront development plan accommodating the potential for 50% citywide population growth, back to its post-WWII peak, with equitable redevelopment that respects and connects the city’s original long-severed neighborhoods to the river. The Riverfront Master Plan focused on land use, transit-oriented urban design, and response to sea level rise within the context of an equitable development plan. Ten signature site designs explored the public open space, associated with transit, streets, infrastructure, adaptive reuse/ historic preservation, brownfield redevelopment, riparian restoration, education, recreation, and mixed-use neighborhoods.

INSTRUCTOR

STUDENTS

Eric Tamulonis

Francisco Batz Kelsey Fannon Katie Leekley Will Northington

Isabelle Rocca Jared Schwartz Celia Winters Eric Zhang

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Eric Zhang

COMMON G ROUND: URBAN ECOLO G IES

CHESTER CITY REIMAGINED

Group work

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Jared Schwartz

Kelsey Fannon

COMMON G ROUND: URBAN ECOLO G IES

Comprehensive

Desi 38

ARCHITECTURE AND L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

gns ARCH 8013

LARC 9995

High School for the Visual Arts and Design in North Philadelphia

Designing for Social Justice and Ecological Restoration

Comprehensive Design Studio Spring ‘24

Capstone Restoration Design Project Spring ‘25 COMMON GROUND: COMPREHENSIVE DESIGNS

Architecture Studio

High School for the Visual Arts and Design in North Philadelphia The studio projects use the site, setting and program of a new magnet high school for the visual arts and design as a platform for design investigation. The high school mission is to prepare students for art and design post-secondary education. The school serves the North Philadelphia catchment area and city-wide merit-based admissions. Studio investigations focus on new trends in high school design.

learning environments. Projects prioritize the health and well-being

This includes the need for flexible and adaptable spaces that address

of the community by considering sports facilities, significant

teaching and learning modalities, accommodating a range of learning

common spaces, exterior spaces, universal accessibility, inclusivity,

methods—group projects, individual study, mentoring and collabo-

and the integration of updated technologies.

ration. Design directives include transparency between teaching and

INSTRUCTORS

STUDENTS: SECTION 1

Robert Shuman Section 1 Mauricio Bertet Section 2

Nada Aly Matt Celeste Matthew Goldstein Jack Jaggs Nelson Jake Kropf Dylan Leik

STUDENTS: SECTION 2

Jesenni Maisterrena Valentina Martinez Montoya Franco Reyna Verena Rezkalla Payton Sucharski

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Benny Buah Joshua Fekete Justin Kemmerer James Koel Ken Le Jared Lista

Jessica Marrazzo Alyssa McDaniel Mimdaziha McGriff Dan Schwartz Britney Sciarillo William Webb

Jake Kropf + Franco Reyna

COMMON G ROUND: COMPREHENSIVE DESIG NS

HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE VISUAL ARTS AND DESIGN IN NORTH PHILADELPHIA

Matthew Goldstein + Jack Jaggs Nelson

Nada Aly + Valentina Martinez Montoya + Verena Rezkalla

Matt Celeste + Dylan Leik

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Jesenni Maisterrena + Payton Sucharski

COMMON G ROUND: COMPREHENSIVE DESIG NS

HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE VISUAL ARTS AND DESIGN IN NORTH PHILADELPHIA

Justin Kemmerer + William Webb

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Alyssa McDaniel + Mimdaziha McGriff

COMMON G ROUND: COMPREHENSIVE DESIG NS

HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE VISUAL ARTS AND DESIGN IN NORTH PHILADELPHIA

James Koel + Jessica Marrazzo

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Joshua Fekete + Ken Le

Benny Buah + Dan Schwartz

Jared Lista + Britney Sciarillo

COMMON G ROUND: COMPREHENSIVE DESIG NS

Landscape Architecture Studio

Designing for Social Justice and Ecological Restoration Landscape architects address complex social and environmental issues through design and restoration across a range of scales and contexts. The Landscape Architecture Capstone Restoration Studio is a yearlong inquiry beginning with a research project and culminating with a design, investigating a pressing concern of our time. The Capstone Project explores and expresses a thesis crafted by

Capstone Projects included designs for the unhoused on

research through design. Students develop a restoration plan as

Philadelphia’s waterfront; urban walkability in the Tacony neigh-

part of their landscape architectural proposal, a unique aspect of

borhood; Hispanic cultural expression in a public plaza in Trenton;

Temple’s program: foregrounding the need for landscape architects

community-based ecological restoration within a regional park;

to design for ecological services. Whether on urban or natural lands,

mediating flooding with wooded wetlands in suburban New Jersey;

students face the contemporary crises of climate change, biodiver-

making visible the underlying geology in a remnant woodland in

sity collapse, and social and environmental injustice. Each student

Manayunk, and enriching connections between people and nature

brings a distinct perspective to the challenges of a site and responds

along Pennypack Creek.

with respect to the landscape and its communities. The 2024–25

INSTRUCTOR

STUDENTS

Nathan Heavers

Francisco Batz Kelsey Fannon Katie Leekley Will Northington

Isabelle Rocca Jared Schwartz Celia Winters Eric Zhang

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Kelsey Fannon

Eric Zhang

COMMON G ROUND: COMPREHENSIVE DESIG NS

DESIGNING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION

Isabelle Rocca

Jared Schwartz

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Celia Winters

Francisco Batz

Will Northington

COMMON G ROUND: COMPREHENSIVE DESIG NS

Crit of well-defined, minimally invasive displays was an approach used by several

THE TR ANQUIL QUALITY of the space made possible by the implementation

of Albini’s Italian contemporaries (with, in Tafuri’s perspective, markedly less

success). Among those exploring novel disruptions to exhibition arrangement, it

was perhaps in Brazil under the discretion of the Bardis where the most similar

transposition of intentions and modes of realization were adopted. “The task of a museum,” wrote Pietro Maria Bardi in 1951, “should be to make resound, to

ARCHITECTURE AND L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Perspectives

ical ARCH 9280 + ARTH 8560

ARCH 9996

São Paulo Calling! Art and Architecture in the Tropics

Architecture Design Thesis

Interdisciplinary Graduate Seminar Fall ‘24

Architecture Design Thesis Spring ‘25 + Summer ‘25

COMMON GROUND: CRITIC AL PERSPEC TIVES

53 53

History + Theory Seminar

São Paulo Calling! Art and Architecture in the Tropics “Sao Paulo Calling” was offered through the Tyler Interdisciplinary Course Initiative and was a collaboration between art history and architecture. The seminar focused on artistic and architectural developments in Sao Paulo, the largest megalopolis in the Southern Hemisphere, from the early 20th century to the present day. Course material was organized chronologically to analyze major

featured the intersections among political activism, art, and design,

trends and key figures that influenced Sao Paulo’s artistic, urban

discussing topics such as urban interventions in favelas, the cultural

and architectural landscape in recent history. Particular focus on

impact of migration, and recent exhibitions at the São Paulo Museum

movements like Concretism and Brutalism highlighted prominent

of Art (MASP) that address themes such as sexuality, Afro-Atlantis,

figures such as Waldemar Cordeiro, Lina Bo Bardi, João Vilanova

and gender, and alternative artistic and design expressions including

Artigas, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, and Rosana Paulino. The course

film, theater, dance, music and street art.

INSTRUCTORS

STUDENTS

Mariola Alvarez Pablo Meninato

Russell Berg Kayla Bruce Margaret How Kyra Jackson

Justin Kemmerer Merve Koksal Piper Kozar-Meyers Robin Morris

ARCHITECTURE AND L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Fernanda Senger Sarah Ulrich William Webb Gillian Yee

Class field trip to São Paulo, May 2025

Tyler’s Joseph Alfred Janczuk Memorial Scholarship Fund supported a week-long study trip to São Paulo. This allowed class participants to connect their classroom learning in Philadelphia with the artworks, architecture, and the city itself.

The first-hand experience extended learning beyond the classroom. Class participants observed changes in the city from weekdays to weekends, morning to night. They walked the Avenida Paulista which was a focus of many class discussions. First-hand observation of architecture and sites, and artworks in museums and galleries allowed class participants to identify patterns and connect what they learned in the classroom to observations in the city.

COMMON G ROUND: CRITIC AL PER SPEC TIVES

SÃO PAULO C A LLING! A RT A ND A RCHITECTURE IN THE TROPICS

Atmospheric Bodies: Franco Albini and Lina Bo Bardi’s Radical Exhibition Displays Russell Berg (Architecture)

THE TR ANQUIL QUALITY of the space

made possible by the implementation of well-defined, minimally invasive displays was an approach used by

The task of a museum ... should be to make resound, to interpret with perspicacity and appropriate technique, those monuments that sing.

several of Albini’s Italian contemporaries (with, in Tafuri’s perspective,

pure, unprepared observation … from a

knowledged an explicit debt to Albini in

markedly less success). Among those

point of view that eliminates exaltation

saying that “Bo [Bardi] was captivated

exploring novel disruptions to exhi-

in favor of critical rigor.”

by Albini’s suspension motifs that

bition arrangement, it was perhaps in Brazil under the discretion of the Bardis where the most similar transposition of intentions and modes of realization were adopted. “The task of a museum,” wrote Pietro Maria Bardi in 1951, “should be to make resound, to interpret with perspicacity and appropriate technique, those monuments that sing.” For Lina, this would be accomplished at MASP by abandoning “evocative refinements and contours” and “instead providing the viewer with

Both Albini and Bo Bardi began their careers under Gio Ponti—Albini in his architectural firm and Lina at his magazine Domus—although the extent of their collaboration or overlap remains speculative. Albini and P. M. Bardi likely became acquainted with one another through their ties to Rationalist circles in the 1930s and 40s. Bea Jones stated that Bo Bardi “very likely encountered Albini’s Brera exhibit installation and his other seminal works through her editorial direction.” She further ac-

Scan the QR code to continue reading the remainder of the work online

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

allowed artworks to hang in the air and occupy the same space as the viewer.” Other accounts suggest an interplay between the careers of the designers. Anagnost wrote that Albini and Bo Bardi “seem to have been involved in a mutual borrowing over the course of four decades.” The origins and unfolding of this prolonged exchange shed light on the similarities shared by these figures, though different determinations are made apparent as well.

Body Parts, Bodies Apart: Hudinilson Jr.’s Process of (Re) Suturing Gillian Yee (Art History)

THROUGHOUT HIS PR ACTICE,

Hudinilson Jr. emphasized how the use of new techniques and processes in art should, in turn, generate new

... the use of new techniques and processes in art should, in turn, generate new ways of seeing and perceiving new behaviors in how images are made and circulated.

ways of seeing and perceiving new behaviors in how images are made and

thus, possibly, relegated to the realm

yet simultaneously making it unread-

circulated. In the case of xerography,

of “the Other.” Furthermore, by utiliz-

able or otherwise difficult to read. The

doing so required exploiting the very

ing developing strategies of imagery

reconfiguration and disfiguration of

technologies that were lauded by the

transgression, decentering, and un-

the human form not only encourage

Brazilian dictatorship of the time

settling, this artist’s work can be seen

new ways of seeing but also reflect

for its ability to facilitate bureaucra-

as directly confronting governmental

the violence that often accompanies

cy; its precision, efficiency, and pur-

censorship and repression through

certain ways of seeing, especially in

ported “neutrality” of its mechanical

the dissemination of images of queer

the context of late 20th-century Brazil,

duplication were utilized instead to

eroticism and “perversion.” As his

where homosexual identity was not

emphasize bodies and perspectives

processes of deconstructing and recon-

widely accepted.

that the regime sought to silence. The

structing the body through methods

aforementioned “trajectory of Narcis-

of suturing pertain specifically to the

sus” prevalent in this artist’s work can

male homoerotic/homosexual body, we

be construed as a response to identity

might additionally view these “queer

fragmentation and the anxiety of being

flesh-scapes” as making the queer body

subjected to another’s gaze—and,

hypervisible to the point of voyeurism

Scan the QR code to continue reading the remainder of the work online

COMMON G ROUND: CRITIC AL PER SPEC TIVES

Thesis

Architecture Design Thesis The Architecture Design Thesis provides students with an opportunity to pursue a self-directed research and design—from an initial question to a fully developed architectural work. The thesis is a year-long exploration rooted in architecture and design inquiry and building on broader theoretical and cultural discourse within the discipline. Thesis topics address contemporary issues affecting and shaping design practice.

INSTRUCTORS

S T U D E N T S + ADV I S O R S

SPRING 25

Sally Harrison SUMMER 25

Kate Wingert-Playdon Taryn Mudge

Romina Broglia + Pablo Meninato Carly Browngardt + Taryn Mudge Keaton Bruce + Jeffrey Nesbit Michael Herrmann + Sean Vance

Margaret How + Kate Wingert-Playdon Deborah Moura + Andrew Wit Dylan Schrader + Bob Shuman

ARCHITECTURE AND L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

SUMMER 25

Ken Le + Fauzia Sadiq Garcia Jesenni Maisterrena + Sean Vance Brittany Sciarillo + Sean Vance Dylan Leik + Jeff Richards Matt Celeste + Jeremy Voorhees Dante Formosa + Kate Wingert-Playdon

Franco Reyna + Pablo Meninato Jared Lista + Stephen Anderson Jake Kropf + Laurin Aman James Koel + Jeffrey Nesbit Payton Sucharski + Laurin Aman

The Last Lookout Keaton Bruce

OUR FOREST has been entirely designed.

Through the production of artificial boundaries, unassuming objects, and pervasive cultural imaginaries, the United States Forest Service (USFS) constructs American forests in the image of a naturalized occupying state.

The forest we inherit need not be the forest we leave behind, but the forest we ultimately construct must first be the forest we imagine.

Contemporary architecture, in its reliance on this manufactured forest, sustains violent neoliberal fantasies of

Based on the Multiple-Use Sustained-

displacement disguised as world-saving

Yield Act of 1960 which set forth five

visions of productivity and progress.

productivity mandates for USFS man-

So how might we imagine the future of architecture, of our forest, of resistance? If the Forest Service is a tool of an occupying state, a new vision of the forest is delayed until the current system of commodification and nationalization is dismantled. This project speculates on a final form—the last lookout—and asks how this end can be just as valuable as a beginning in realizing a new future—an architecture after the Forest Service.

aged lands (watershed, logging, recreation, range, and wildlife), the project satirizes five architectural endings of the forest: the MAUSOLEUM, the PENITENTIARY, the MUSEUM,

acontextual superimposition on the

the COMMONS, and the AFTERLIFE.

Oregon State Capitol Complex.

Each forest, rendered in plan, perspective, and physical model, investigates the symbiotic relationship between forest imaginary, architectural vessel, urban form, and political agency in an

The forest we inherit need not be the forest we leave behind, but the forest we ultimately construct must first be the forest we imagine.

Scan the QR code to continue reading the remainder of the work online

COMMON G ROUND: CRITIC AL PER SPEC TIVES

ARCHITECTURE DESIGN THESIS

Mass Timber Urbanization: An Ecological Industry Dylan Leik

WITH THE CURRENT URBAN TRENDS

and the scars of our industrial past, my thesis asks a simple question: “What if ... the post-industrial cities of tomorrow

Rather than restoring the industry of the past, this vision proposes a regenerative industry of the future, one that grows with the city and not in spite of it.

grew from the urban forests we planted today?” My thesis proposes a regenerative

restoring the industry of the past, this

system shaped by time. In contrast to

alternative, transforming post-indus-

vision proposes a regenerative industry

the rigid authority of the Radiant City,

trial sites into productive urban forests.

of the future, one that grows with the

it embraces a cumulative, adaptive

These renewed landscapes will heal

city and not in spite of it.

urbanism, resisting finality and

degraded land, sequester carbon, and provide renewable lumber for mizeduse mass timber construction, paving the way for vertically dense, lowcarbon cities built from wood instead of concrete and steel. The aim is not to erase or replace the existing city, but to catalyze a new urban metabolism, one that integrates ecological renewal with sustainable growth. Rather than

Relying on increased density and the large-scale planting of urban forests, my project unfolds through 11-year phases. At its core, it combines mass timber construction with large-scale urban forestry, aligning urban renewal with the ecological cycles of multispecies tree plantations. Rather than treating the city as a fized composition, the thesis reimagines it as a living

Scan the QR code to continue reading the remainder of the work online

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

responding to shifting socioeconomic and enviornmental conditions. The model integrates vertically dense high-rises with mid- to low-rise buildings, mixing lower-level public and commercial spaces with upper-level habitation, and while not site-specific, it is tested in Buffalo, New York, to evaluate its viability within a postindustrial, forest-compatible landscape.

COMMON G ROUND: CRITIC AL PER SPEC TIVES

XYLEM

Mate

Provides structural support.

BIRD BLIND ELEVATION

Processes

PITH

Central part of plant, similar to the cortex.

ARCH 8012

Linum Usitatissimum: Flax as a Biogenic Building Material Option Design Studio Spring ‘25

AARRCCHHIITTEECCTTUURREE AANNDD LLAANNDDSSCCAAPPEE AARRCCHHI ITTEECCTTUURREE: :TTYYLLEERRSSCCHHOOOOLLOOFFAARRTTAANNDDAARRCCHHI TI TE E C CT TUUR R EE

Design/Build Workshop Summer ‘25

Research Seminar in Technology Ceramic 3D Printing Spring ‘25

CCO OM MM MOONN GGRRO OUUNNDD:: M MAT ATEERRII A L P R O C E S S E S

Research Seminar in Technology Biomaterials Spring ‘25

ARCH 8133

Arch 3060/9480

ARCH 8133

Ambler Design/ Build Institute

Futurecraft

Bio Prototyping: (un)making material assemblies

1 Existing Conditions

FLAX URBANISM

OMETRIC

After the urban decline of the late 20th Centruy, city areas were left with collapsing buildings, the bones of local industry, and toxic browfield sites. Any new construction relies on crabon intensive material.

2 Introducing Flax

Flax will be planted on smaller lots and in community gardens. It can be harvested, proccessed and produced manually by the community members.

rial 3 Flax Urbanism

As the industry grows, industrial flax growing and proccesing can happen within the urban fabric renewing the local community and economy.

R BI

E EL

TIO VA

Architecture Studio

Linum Usitatissimum: Flax as a Biogenic Building Material The building industry is a major contributor to global warming, responsible for 37% of total carbon emissions globally. A significant component of that environmental impact comes from the embodied carbon of building materials, in particular masonry and cement-based products. The design studio focused on research and development of biogenic building material that, instead of relying on heavy mineral extraction and protracted, energy-intensive manufacturing processes, leverages the carbon-sequestration potential of organic plant life as a key ingredient. Flax, or Linum usitatissimum, is a food and fiber crop that has

initiatives have made significant efforts to revive the use of this

been cultivated in regions of the world with temperate climates for

material because it is a “climate-positive plant that’s easy to grow.

millennia. The use of flax was an essential component of the agri-

It requires little to no chemical inputs or irrigation. It protects

cultural based economy of early Dutch and German colonizers of

waterways, remediates soil, and provides pollinator habitat.”1 The

Philadelphia. However, the use of the material in North America

studio supported this effort by considering how the unused

has all but disappeared since the industrial revolution. Recent

portions of the flax plant might be deployed as a building material.

INSTRUCTOR

STUDENTS

Jeff Richards

Hannah Bennett Ella Brindo Nina Heller Ella Horvat Tharani Kannan

Ryan MacMurray Cloe Rivest Siah Thach Graham Thomas Lorenzo Trevino

Source: PA Flax Project

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

1 Existing Conditions

FLAX URBANISM

2 Introducing Flax

Flax will be planted on smaller lots and in community gardens. It can be harvested, proccessed and produced manually by the community members.

3 Flax Urbanism

As the industry grows, industrial flax growing and proccesing can happen within the urban fabric renewing the local community and economy.

ARCH 8012 / PHASE 1

Study Region “A”

ADAPTIVE REUSE

Area: 5.74 Acres

Study Region “B”

Area: 12.05 Acres Publicly Owned Buildings

Westmoreland St.

Lehigh Ave.

Identifying and Redensifying Vacant Areas

Privately Owned Buildings

STUDY REGION “B”

Publicly Owned Land

Allegheny Ave. Huntingdon St.

Privately Owned Land

STUDY REGION “A”

Identified Brownfields

29th St.

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY

PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART

DEL

ARE AW

Bus Routes 19th St.

20th St.

21st St.

Cumberland St.

28th St.

30th St.

31st St.

Clearfield St. SCHUYLKILL RIVER

Bus Stop

RIV

Indiana Ave.

PHILADELPHIA CITY HALL

York St.

RE-DENSIFICATION OF LAND VACANCY

O AS

A VAC

Steel Heddle Building Flax is converted into building material for various uses such as facade, insulation, or floor and wall boards. Materials are designed as a kit-of-parts.

ARE

FLA

CTIO

O L PR

ERIA

MAT

N-

G (O

TIN

RVES

)

SITE

ASS EM

BLY (O

N-

SITE

)

Modular pieces are designed for ease of both assembly and disassembly, requiring almost no skill to put together.

-D

SIFI

CA TIO

SIN CES

PRO

RE-DENSIFICATION OF BUILDING VACANCY

NCY

F LA

WTH RO XG

The new flax-based residential typology serves as a means for re-densification.

Nina Heller + Graham Thomas

C O M M O N G R O U N D : M AT E R I A L P R O C E S S E S

LINUM USITATISSIMUM: FLAX AS A BIOGENIC BUILDING MATERIAL

STEM STRUCTURE

CUTICLE

Regulates water intake

EPIDERMIS

Protects internal structure

CORTEX Stores starch and enables photosynthesis

PHLOEM Transports water and glucos. Harvested as line for textile

Hanna Bennett + Ella Brindo + Tharani Kannan + Graham Thomas

CAMBIUM

Tissue connecting phloem and xylem. Targeted by retting.

XYLEM

Provides structural support.

PITH

Central part of plant, similar to the cortex.

Cloe Rivest

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Hanna Bennett + Ella Brindo + Tharani Kannan + Graham Thomas

EMBODIED CARBON OF BUILDING MATERIALS The building industry is a major contributor to global warming, responsible for 37% of total carbon emissions globally. A significant component of that environmental impact comes from the embodied carbon of building materials, in particular masonry and cement based products. Biogenic building materials such as hempcrete, bamboo and cork block have been developed in an effort to de-carbonize the building industry.

Siah Thach

C O M M O N G R O U N D : M AT E R I A L P R O C E S S E S

Architecture Studio

Ambler Design/ Build Institute The Ambler Design/Build Institute was based on design studio work from spring 2025. The project included architecture students and faculty working in collaboration with horticulture, engineering, city and regional planning, and community development, and fibers and materials programs to develop a new biogenic building material made from flax, the latin term for which is “linum usitatissimum.” What began as a study into carbonpositive, biogenic building materials, grew into an investigation at a range of scales from the planetary, to urban, to material. This investigation culiminated in the installation of a “bird blind” at Temple's Ambler Campus and an exhibition at Temple Main Campus.

INSTRUCTOR

STUDENTS

S T U D E N T C O L L A B O R AT O R S

Jeff Richards

Ella Horvat Ryan MacMurray Siah Thach Graham Thomas Lorenzo Trevino

Nada Ally Hannah Bennett AJ Bracy Ella Brindo Brandon Delia Dante Formosa Tharani Kannan

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Cloe Rivest Nina Heller Jessiemae Iquina Jack Jaggs Nelson Justin Kemmerer Jared Lista Jesenni Maisterrena

Britney Sciarillo Payton Sucharski William Webb Dylan Wilson Zoszia Zabrenski

BIRD BLIND AXONOMETRIC

Group work

C O M M O N G R O U N D : M AT E R I A L P R O C E S S E S

AMBLER DESIGN / BUILD INSTITUTE

FLAXCRETE BLOCK 1.0 The research and design of the spring and summer semesters culminated in the development of Flaxcrete Block 1.0. This biogenic masonry unit is conceived to support ease of assembly and disassembly. An internally embedded flax-twine reinforcement is CNC-wound with natural, flax-seed resin used as an adhesive binder. In lieu of traditional mortar, the block allows for a vertical matrix of post-tensioned flax twine for increased strength and stability.

CNC-milled flaxcrete molds

CNC-wound flax twine reinforcement Post-tensioning wedge Flax twine reinforcement embedded in block Cast flaxcrete block

Flax twine held in tension

Flax blocks dyed with organic admixture

Group work

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

BIRD BLIND ELEVATION

Group work

C O M M O N G R O U N D : M AT E R I A L P R O C E S S E S

Technology Seminar

Futurecraft This course investigates, speculates on, and designs for the integration of emerging architectural tools and materials for making and representation through research, discussions, tool/material/method-specific projects and representational studies. The course examines cutting-edge design tools explored and tested through and within the discourses of architectural design. Investigations were carried out through the production of 3D-printed ceramics as exemplars for discussion about other emerging design tools and processes: large-scale 3D/4D printing, robotics, AR/MR/VR and AI. Speculative projects focused on the role of design and representation and the development of a graphic language. This paralleled the use of emerging tools in the development of design processes for making—from small-scale artifacts to large-scale architectural facade systems.

INSTRUCTOR

STUDENTS

Andrew Wit

Matthew Celeste Austin Davis Michael Herrman James Koel Ken Le

Dylan Leik Jesenni Maisterrena Deborah Moura Kathryn Nocella Hibiki Tomizawa

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Austin Davis

C O M M O N G R O U N D : M AT E R I A L P R O C E S S E S

Matthew Celeste

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

James Koel

FUTURECRAFT

hand\ed

Dylan Leik

C O M M O N G R O U N D : M AT E R I A L P R O C E S S E S

FUTURECRAFT

Kathryn Nocella

Hibiki Tomizawa

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Ken Le

Jesenni Maisterrena

C O M M O N G R O U N D : M AT E R I A L P R O C E S S E S

Technology Seminar

Bio Prototyping: (un)making material assemblies The seminar focuses on research through making to encourage hands-on learning with bio materials and fabrication. The course uses prototyping of bioplastic biomaterials to explore novel material assemblies that intentionally decay. Through iterative processes, students crafted their own unique

specific site for their installation. The installations were small in

mixtures and methods. Students transformed goopy bio matter and

scale. Some students created a carefully placed object, while other

flat bio fabrics into 3D forms using various hand, digital, and hybrid

students created a field network composed of many dispersed ob-

fabrication methods. Methods included casting, sculpting, sewing,

jects. The installations decomposed, as intended. Students observed,

knotting, fusing, laser cutting, drilling, and combination methods.

studied, and documented the decomposition process. The decom-

Students developed their own fabrication workflows. Workflows

position studies were mostly conducted through firsthand observa-

included using a makerspace tool directly with bioplastic fabrics,

tions and photography. Some students cared for their decomposing

digitally printing molds for casting bioplastic goop, building a form-

assemblies by restitching, reattaching, or adding components. From

work for sculpting bioplastic fabrics, and combination methods.

these studies, students substantiated their findings. The final review

Ultimately, each student designed and crafted a material assembly, installed at Ambler Arboretum of Temple University for four weeks.

showcased and celebrated the making and unmaking processes throughout the semester.

Ambler offered diverse site conditions, and each student selected a

INSTRUCTOR

STUDENTS

Laurin Aman

AJ Bracy Joshua Fekete Matthew Goldstein Jake Kropf Jared Lista Mimdaziha McGriff

Deborah Moura Kathryn Nocella Dylan Schrader Dan Schwartz Payton Sucharski

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

Prototypes / Mixtures and Methods Tests / Students: Payton Sucharski (top and above), Jared Lisa (right above and below), and Jake Kropf (far right above and below)

C O M M O N G R O U N D : M AT E R I A L P R O C E S S E S

BIO-PROTOT Y PING: (UN)M A KING M ATERI A L ASSEMBLIES

Assemblies / Site assembly diagram / Students: Payton Sucharski (top), Jared Lista (above)

Observations / Material Decay / Students: Mimdaziha McGriff (top-left), Jake Kropf (top-middle), Payton Sucharski (top-right), Matthew Goldstein (bottom-left), Deborah Moura (bottom-middle), and Kathryn Nocella (bottom-right) 80

ARCHITEC TURE AND L ANDSC APE ARCHITEC TURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITEC TURE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many thanks to Cake Life Bake Shop for donating their eggshells. To support the Bio Prototyping course, funding for materials, equipment, and machine time was generously provided through the Innovative Teaching with Makerspace Technology Grant, which is sponsored by the Loretta C. Duckworth Scholars Studio, University Libraries and the Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT) at Temple University. Much gratitude to the students for their willingness to engage with uncertainty and make change.

Observations / Site study / Student: Deborah Moura (above and left)

Process / Mixtures and Methods Tests / Students: Mimdaziha McGriff (left) and Kathryn Nocella (right)

Process / Loretta C. Duckworth Scholars Studio Makerspace of Temple University / Student: AJ Bracy (center-right)

Observations. Site studies. Student: Jared Lista (above and right)

C O M M O N G R O U N D : M AT E R I A L P R O C E S S E S

Tyler School of Art and Architecture Temple University 2001 N. 13th Street Philadelphia, PA 19122 tyler.temple.edu/aed-graduate-programs

© 2026 Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University All rights reserved. Copyright for individual images belongs to the individual artist as listed on each page. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the artist or the Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University.

DIREC TOR OF ARCHITEC TURE

Kate Wingert-Playdon CHAIR OF ARCHITEC TURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

Sasha Eisenman G R ADUATE PROG R A M HE ADS

Nathan Heavers Jeffrey Nesbit G R ADUATE C ATALOGUE COORDINATOR

Mauricio Bertet C ATALOGUE DESIGN

Modern Good Matt Bouloutian, Tyler BFA ‘99 Mary Filiatraut, Tyler MFA ‘03 PRINTED BY

Sea Group Graphics, Inc.

ARCHITECTURE AND L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: T YLER SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Tyler School of Art and Architecture 2001 N. 13th Street Philadelphia, PA 19122

Scan the QR code to learn more about Tyler’s graduate programs in architecture and environmental design

tyler.temple.edu/aed-graduate-programs