Japan Drop 2

Osaka!

Osaka is one of my most favorite places I travelled to during my time in Japan.  I got to see many famous places as well as a spontaneous festival that truly inspires me to this day.  The culture of the city is more relaxed than the rest of Japan and the citizens here do things a little differently.  While most of Japanese people ride the right side of the escalator, Osakans ride the opposite.  Paired with a heavier dialect, this city is far different from the polished jewel that Tokyo maintains.  This rustic 80’s-90’s quality that Osaka has is something that I wish I could find in a city on the east coast.

Twisted Timbers

At the end of an amazing promenade of murals, The Village of Arts and Humanities on Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, creates an amazing energy and an overpowering togetherness in the community around it. This interlocking togetherness and warmth is one of the main inspirations for Twisted Timbers. Interlocking, wood joinery is a major feature of the building; using it to filter light as well as make the eye dance around the facade.  This architecture plunges itself down into the ground and twists back up around the center core.  This core contains the circulation as well as a dramatic lightwell that pulls daylight all the way to the basement.  Functioning primarily as a recreation and meditation center for the community, this structure also plays host to local farming with a large open space on the main floor for a Food Co-op.  Twisted Timbers is a landmark at the end of this terminus that helps the Village continue it’s amazing work for the community of North Philadelphia.

Elkins Lookout

The Elkins Lookout is a pavilion that gives its surrounding forest a new perspective for visitors.  Using a module of varying scales, the space filters light, as well as elevates the adventurer using an extended path up to the trees.  When interconnected, the modules create a cylindrical form that is perforated to frame views.  These punched views give lookout points for people to observe all the wildlife and nature in Elkins Park.

PCAC

Studio Fall ’17

The Philadelphia Center for Arts and Culture (PCAC) houses three programs: a theater, a gallery and a library. These functions are vital to the community as they are sources of culture and knowledge.  This structure is situated at the corner of Spruce and 18th Street- a prominent neighborhood of Philadelphia near Rittenhouse Square Park.