This thesis claims to develop alternative energy-harvesting systems by looking at their residential-scale implementation in order to facilitate the economical autonomy of a community, coincidentally improving its living conditions and resilience to natural disaster. 

Taking New Orlean's Lower Ninth Ward as a testing ground for a new energy scenario, it investigates the energy consumption of its inhabitants from hydro-kinetic turbines located on the Mississippi River. 

A water based infrastructure deploying water towers and micro electrical grids systems would enable a community to fight against power outages. Ecological remediation is also facilitated by engaging the edges of the Lower Ninth Ward and creating a buffer zone of vegetation able to absorb possible surges, creating aquaculture farms to be tended by the local community.

The infrastructure and housing is elevated, protecting the community from flood damage yet allowing for the various farming typologies now possible.

Because the natural action of sedimentation previously present along the banks of the Mississippi are currently prevented by the Army Corp of Engineers' work to defend the city of New Orleans against flooding, the area's soil is depleted engendering the sinking of New Orleans. 

This thesis researched the implications of the energy industries represented in Louisiana and their lack of support to the state's infrastucture. This thesis created a prototype of renewable energy harvesting. By using the natural variation in the elevation between the Mississippi River level and the level of the Lower Ninth Ward, energy would be created and stored by circulating water to the site and enabling the natural sedimentation.

The interaction between the water infrastructure and the houses culminate in a pooling filtering system where the water of the aqueduc flows in. The pool located on the roof would fill with sediments over time and could be used to plant filtering vegetation for the house's brown water system. This second layer of sedimentation could be used towards the homeowner's personal benefits. 

This two part studio investigates the use of organic photovoltaics (OPV) printed on flexible plastics as a source of energy in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The first part of this project creates an architectural unit for a facade, capable of holding the OPV material and orienting it so as to maximize its efficiency.

The "ConeFacade" is an example of pre-fabricated flat-packed unit which can fold to create the optimal angle necessary for the OPV's function. This unit comprises six CNC'd folding panels which were perforated in places for ease of assembly as well as for ventilation and light. 

Connected to electronics, each unit can charge a battery to its full potential while releasing its surplus in a ventilation system attached to the unit to create a more confortable environment for the Rio climate. The battery-stored energy can be used at night to light the interior side of the panels as well as the ventilation system.

The second part of this studio was to implement the unit onto the site of Rio's Uruguayana Street Market and transportation hub.

Two high-rise buildings provide housing and create a plaza for the market during the day and a concert and gathering place at night. The surface area of both market's roof and the southern facades of the high-rises would gather enough energy for the needs of both the market and housing.

The Poly-Acoustic Tile is an interactive project using sensor-based programming to create sentient architecture.

The Poly-Acoustic Tile is a remote controlled unit which modifies the acoustic quality of a space. It provides three states; a passive reflective state, a buffering state, and a sound modifying state. All reactions were programmed via Processing/Arduino and Max for Live. 

Further speculation was undertaken on the potential of a sentient anechoic surface which reacts to ambient sound. The surface would geometrically change depending on the amount of sound generated locally. A Firefly/Grasshopper definition linked to a microphone was programmed to parametrically change the texture of that surface. 

Vault 201 is a thin-masonry vault constructed by the MIT Masonry Research Group for the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum as part of the 2010 Why Design Now? National Design Triennial.

The vault was designed within specific constraints with a Grasshopper definition keeping the geometric catenary load paths within the 1.5" brick thickness and creating structural stability. The double curvature of the vault provided additional structural integrity.

The design process included the creation and construction of a CNC wooden formwork to support the construction of the brick layer in compression, a full construction documentation for permitting in a public space, and a full scale prototype to test the design's structural limits. 

Kitsune Bamba (the place of the fox) is located in the tsunami-hit town of Utatsu in the Minami Sanriku district of Japan. After the devastating tsunami which wiped the town to the ground, the village needed a community center. Kitsune Bamba responded to this demand and expanded to a town-wide system of emergency detection.

Kitsune Bamba acts as an Onsen, the traditional Japanese community baths, and emergency center with kitchens, laundry facilities and gathering spaces.

A system of potable water fountains dispersed throughout the town would also act as beacons indicating if the population needs to evacuate the town and regroup at the community center located on higher grounds.

The site's proximity to the two schools and its higher elevation makes it an ideal spot for the population to retreat in case of a tsunami. It also provides wide views to the town and the port below, helping the population in assessing the situation and the conditions below before they return to their homes.

The ECO House responds to the 3/11 Tsunami that hit Japan. The premise of this studio led by Yung Ho Chang and Nick Gelpi at MIT, was to create disaster relief housing for under $10,000.

The Eco House is a prototype for material reuse; the rubble collected directly on site is used in a gabion-style wall system and the whole house is designed to run independently from the electrical or water distribution grid.

The roof of the house is a great water funnel, directing water into a filtration system and temporarily collecting it to distribute throughout internal water filtration and heating systems.

The gabion wall system consists of a flat-shipped steel frame which requires no on-site welding so the house is quickly and easily fabricated. All parts of this architectural proposal were built at 1/2 scale to demonstrate feasibility and material assembly.

The gabion can receive various types of fill; rubble from destroyed housing, recycled plastics and other materials are organized by weight and density before being placed strategically within the gabions.

A clerestory of flat shipped windows provides natural light and allows for the desired pitch of the roof while attaching to the gabion system underneath. 

Design collaboration with JD Sassaman.

As New York's Bowery was developing in the early 2000's, this studio investigated the development of a hotel on a small parcel of a New York City block.

While in a tourism industry hotels resonate with rest, this boutique hotel played with the carnal side of the hotel stay. Unlike pornography which shows all, the Erotic Hotel plays on the glimpses of others in their most private moments; through internal louvered courtyards into the bedrooms, through peeping wholes in bathrooms. By allowing sight of curated moments into others lives, the residents behavior is enhanced, aroused.

Collages and roulages were created to illustrate the theme and effects desired within the space.

Material studies with molded wax and felt were photographed then collaged into the hand-drawn architectural plans and sections to represent the desired moods and atmosphere within specific places.