I have recently graduated with a Master of Architecture from Catholic University of America in Washington, DC with a focused concentration on 'Digital Design and Manufacturing Technologies,' where I was fortunate to be recognized on numerous occasions for my design and fabrication work. In early May of this year, I will have the opportunity to present my graduate thesis project at the school's Graduate Superjury Cerimony where projects which received a unanimous commendation from both their committee and at the final review with invited guest critics.
The primary focus of my interests lies in the philosophical implications of digital design practice in architecture. I tend not to focus on any single technique in the production of form, rather choosing to favor an experimental approach which allows me to evaluate a wide variety of means and methods, each of which I see the value of in their own respect. This enables me to gain experience in a wide range of graphic, drafting, 3d modeling, and scripting software each time expanding my own personal design language and critical viewpoints. Admittedly, I have a wandering mind and am always attempting to bring disparate research fields into the theoretical discussion of architecture and design culture, past research interests have touched on anything from 14th Century Military Fortifications to Shape Memory Alloys to Autonomous Robotics to Catastrophe Theory and so on, no field is out of bounds for me.
Radical Craft, Chicago, IL, US, Project Designer/ Project Manager
Contract work for a shortlisted proposal in Rhode Island for a public art/ façade project; Responsible for design, documentation, budgeting, feasability assesment, grasshopper scripting & 3D modeling, engineering & product rep. correspondence, and presentation documents
EL Studio, Washington, DC, US, Intern Architect
Responsible for a range of duties through all phases of design including construction documents, conceptual & design development, presentation & web drawings, and construction administration/ management.
The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, US, Teaching Assistant: BIM & The Parametric Model
Supervisor: Andrew Cocke, AIA, LEED AP; Visiting Lecturer
Assignment grading and red-lining construction documents, absentee course lectures, primarily responsible for Revit training & questions
The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, US, Research Assistant: UD:DC
Supervisor: Terrance Williams, FAIA; Tenured Faculty, Director of the Urban Design Studio
Coordination, conversion and interpolation of 20 years of student urban design studio projects into a unified figure ground of DC and design, presentation and graphics for the Design DC 2011 Conference held at the Washington Convention Center & corresponding special exhibit
The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, US, Research Assistant: Race & Architecture Lecture Series
Supervisor: Elizabeth Emerson, RA; Visiting Professor
Design and graphics for all advertising and promotional materials, and arrangement & organization of an interactive lecture format
The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, US, MArch, Architecture - Digital Design and Manufacturing Technologies
Simultaneously investigated at various scales ranging from global/local ecologies to building and product development processes, this concentration considers advanced and innovative design technologies as catalytic tools for design inspiration and investigation. The Design Technologies concentration continually examines the transformative opportunities of emerging technologies during all phases of design, from conception through construction and far past completion. Interdisciplinary in nature, the concentration engages itself in emerging and innovative fields of inquiry and research collaborating with the profession as well as pre-established organization within the university, such as CUA Design Collaborative (CUAdc) and the Design Lab. The Design Technologies concentration is comprised of four separate yet inter-related components of specialization: Advanced Material Research and Theory, Computational Design and Morphology, Digital Fabrication and Design/Build, and Sustainable and Environmental Technologies and Theory.
The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, US, BArch, Architecture
4 Year, 126 Credit-Hour Pre-Professional Undergraduate Degree (Bachelor of Science in Architecture):
An NCARB Accredited Degree Program
The undergraduate program is offered for those desiring a foundation in the field of architecture as preparation for continued education in a professional degree program, or for employment options in fields related to architecture.
Graduate Thesis Superjury Selection / Unanimous Commendation, Nomination
2011-12 Catholic University of America Graduate Thesis Program
Project Title: 'Catastrophic Intent: Actualizing a Form of Human Knowledge'
Recognition: Shortlisted selection to present for the 'Best In Thesis Prize'
Thesis Advocate: Andrew Cocke, LEED AP; Principal HERE Design; Asst. Professor CUArch
Thesis Commitee: Lou Boza, Ann Cederna, Elizabeth Emerson, Matthew Geiss, and Mark Lawrence
Special Thanks to: Travis Akiwowo, Lindsey Dehenzel, Ryan Goodman, and Alex Lorman
Note: **Graduate Superjury presentation to take place on May 4th, 2012**
Working Prototypes Exhibition: Design to Destruction, Other
2010 Smart Geometry: Working Prototypes
Barcelona, Spain
Project Title: 'Simulating Flocking Agency as Structural Optimization Technique'
Workshop Cluster: D2D - 'Design to Destruction'
Faculty Advisors: Sam Conrad Joyce, Univeristy of Bath & Dr. Al Fisher, Buro Happold
Recognition: Acceptance into competitive SG2010 application process and exhibited work as part of the Working Prototypes Exhibition which featured at the Disseny Hub Barcelona gallery from 15 December 2010 through 27 Febuary 2011.
Graduate Foreign Studies Research Grant, Scholarship
2009-2010 Catholic University of America GFS Research Grant
Project Title: 'Restless Architecture Syndrome: Multi-modal Sensation and Utilization'
Recognition: Competitive application process for current graduate students who formerly studied abroad as part of the Patrick Cardinal O'Boyle Foreign Studies Program to propose independent research pursuits. My research proposal presented an artificial pre-history for the digital architecture and design practice so prevalent in contemporary culture and traced these historical tracts through a broad overview of emerging techniques in the production of form.
Finalist / First-Runner Up & Scholarship Recipient, 2nd Place
2009 Catholic University of America Undergraduate Senior Competition Studio
Project Title: 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless City: SHAWpl (public library)'
Studio Critic: Elizabeth Emerson, Visiting Asst. Professor
Recognition: First Runner-Up/ Firrst-Alternate and ultimate receipient of a scholarship and admittance into the Patrick Cardinal O'Boyle Graduate Summer Foreign Studies Program which is a 3-month accelerated entry graduate program at the School of Architecture and Planning. We began our travels in Malta through Southern Italy with a stop at the infamous Casa Malaparte in Capri, Italy for an intensive one week studio project with famed french architect Odile Decq then to Rome for a three week advanced mapping studio and ending our travels through Northern Italy.
Foreign Studies Studio Critics: Chris Grech, Dave Shove-Brown, Mark Lawrence, and Michael Abrams
National Runner-Up / 1st Alternate, Honorable Mention
2009 AIAS National Chair Affair Competition
Project Title: 'Scissor Chair'
Team Members: Chris Brown and Mateusz Dzierzanowski
Recognition: A special recognition award not typically given out as part of the yearly competition which was voted in by the jury to recognize a 7th national finalist who would serve as a single alternate in case a situation arose where one of the six finalists were unable to ship their furniture pieces to the AIA National Convention for the judging and voting for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes in time.
Special Thanks to: Lindsey Dehenzel (Model) & Lou Boza (Faculty Advocate)
National Merit Award / Special Recognition: Innovation, Award
2007 AIAS Vinyl Institute Competition: Milwaukee Transit Hub
Project Title: 'Collaboration: A Progresion of Time and Movement Through Space'
Team Members: Chris Brown and Mateusz Dzierzanowski
Recogntion: A national merit award for 'Usability,' and 'Innovation' awarded for the innovative use of Vinyl sheet material for quick and easy transit station advertising and the ability to raise the funds required for cheap construction technique solely through advertising revenues.
Special Thanks To: Matthew Geiss (Faculty Advocate)
