The Charmed Life
1998

An inquiry into the nature of the mysterious rural physical fabric (of grain elevators, silos, strange machinery, collapsing barns and vast meadows) that was a significant part of my childhood existence, and a heavy influence on my development as a person.

The Garden: Tower, Bridge, Threshold
Cleveland, Ohio 1996

The Cleveland Cultural Gardens are situated in a strip of urban greenway that exists within one of the most rich cultural centers in Cleveland. In addition to problems with siting and accessibility, the gardens, intended to be a representation of the many ethnic cultures of the city, have lost much of their original meaning and have been forgotten by many of the citizens of Cleveland. As a metaphoric site intervention, a series of towers is proposed for this site, each straddling Doan Brook. Doan Brook is the threshold of the two sides of this valley, and one of the prime barriers preventing many of the neighborhood inhabitants from utilizing the gardens. The Towers shall serve a threefold purpose: tower, bridge and threshold. Tower, in that they offer monumentality, isolation, and opportunity for critical reinterpretation (from above). Bridge, in that their forms shall both imply and provide a connection from both bordering neighborhoods into the valley. Threshold, in that they mark and bridge the datum which serves to divide the site metaphorically, physically and psychologically.

This piece was produced in concert with a publication that was presented at the 1996 ACSA conference on "The City" in Detroit, Michigan. (Copies are available upon request.)

Catholic Chapel
Oberlin, Ohio 1994

There were three primary goals in the design of this project. The first was to design a chapel which addressed the liturgical changes that the Catholic Church adopted under the Second Vatican Council. Second, the chapel needed to be an obvious shift from the continuous, homogeneous space one experiences in everyday existence. The third goal was to address context in a meaningful way. The building was to respect the proportions, layering and scale of its surround, without mimicking anything explicitly. The building was to feel right in the space, but be obviously new, obviously of its age.

Ohio Edison Design Competition
Akron, Ohio 1994

The charge was to design a speculative office building for downtown Akron that integrated forward-thinking concepts in energy efficiency. To qualify for the competition, entrants were required to submit not only a concept illustration, but also schematic construction documents and energy-use calculations to show how the building would perform over a fifty year time frame. The team included architects, consulting engineers and architectural interns. The design shown here placed fourth in the competition among fifty entrants.

The Egg Tower
1998

Computer model-sculpture of a tower built to house a precious metallic egg. Essentially, a formal study.

An Urban Doorway
Kent, Ohio 1996

At a critical urban site (which, in a way, is the doorway to the city of Kent), the effects of installing a single doorway onto an existing building are studied. The study examines the question, "What is a door?"