PHILADELPHIA, PA // 2015BETTER SIMPLEBy re-thinking readily available and inexpensive cladding materials, the building develops a special texture. A unique exterior space is cut out of the building volume for each unit. The four levels of residential units sit on top of a commercial podium and maximize the efficiency of the building volume by centralizing the circulation. *Project by Tyler at ISA
AROUND THE BLOCKPHILADELPHIA, PA // APTS + ROWHOMES // 67 UNITSThis adaptive reuse project for an abandoned industrial complex in Northern Liberties occupies the west edge of an important gateway block to North Philly. By strategically removing sections of the warehouse building, converting the remaining spaces to loft apartments, and inserting new rowhouse blocks on the surrounding site, the project reactivates all surrounding public streets, including a small street seemingly destined to be a service alley to surface parking. Each block of rowhouses is tailored to fit the particular character of its adjacent street, creating a diverse set of streetscapes. *Project by Tyler at ISA
COMPILING THE PROFILEPHILADLEPHIA, PA // MIXED-USE // 7 UNITSAs marginalized urban areas transition into desirable neighborhoods, seemingly problematic contextual elements like adjacent vacant land and elevated railroads can be treated as productive design constraints. This 6-unit apartment building shifts program to the long edge of a narrow site along the busy Frankford-Market elevated Blue Line in East Kensington, creating an interior façade facing an adjacent vacant parcel. With a roofline that connects the dots of a quirky zoning envelope, the elevation juxtaposes housing above with a storefront tucked underneath the El. *Project by Tyler at ISA
POST-FAB ARCHITECTURESANTURCE, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO // CONCEPTSan Juan's uncontrolled urban sprawl and ecological devastation is a tremendous burden for a small island. The Graft Tower is a net plus resources building that not only provides water, food, and energy for the neighborhood, but brings in revenue which subsidizes the building and many needed new jobs in Santurce. The building is located on New Monteserrate street at the intersection of San Juan's two arterial public transportation routes. The program on the ground levels is an epicenter of commercial activity and services to support the light rail hub. A tower at the south end of the site rises 38 floors and contains an eco-tourism hotel and living units for permanent residents. Construction of the building is unprecedented in its materials and methods. The structure is literally grown by grafting inosculate fibers around the basic skeletal frames of the commercial and housing units. As the organic material spreads upward and around the frames more are brought from off-site and placed by a mobile crane as necessary - the post-fab process. At crucial structural time intervals the structure is manually hardened in a process done by the permanent residents and […]
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