In order to address the homeless population in the downtown area, the Brownsville City Design Studio partnered with the City of Brownsville in a research initiative that took into account the betterment of businesses in tandem with the well-being of the population with the overall goal of supporting both groups. A series of focus groups were conducted with representatives of both parties and local social service organizations in order to brainstorm, connect and identify common goals, issues, assets, and strategies for implementation. Work for the project included researching and collating data, preparing reports and analyses, managing communications with stakeholders, and organizing project materials and meetings.

Introducing FIND-UR-FOOD, local foodie-certified delivery that works when you travel. A mobile application that better connects travels with their destination and local, authentic food experiences. Users can explore local-recommended bites that are close by, swipe to add it to their plate of things to try, and get it easily delivered to their hotel room door.

Alluminare seeks to explore how fashion can exist outside the spotlight through the incorporation of resin with textiles to create wearables that reflect a hard softness and transform in emphasis. During the day, initial thoughts are formed about a garment- its form, the fabrics, and how it fits to the human body. It is only when darkness falls that the true nature of a piece is revealed. Different areas are colored and covered, and the transition from light to dark highlights distinct geometries that may not initially be apparent. Through the generous support of Art N’ Glow, Alluminare is an inquiry into materiality, hybrid textiles and viewer experience. Completed as part of Lunar Gala 2019: Anomie and research on the creation of photoluminescent resin textiles.

This project was funded [in part] by Carnegie Mellon’s Undergraduate Research Office as part of research on the creation of photoluminescent resin textiles.

Winner of an Award for Artistic Excellence as part of Meeting of the Minds 2019, Carnegie Mellon University's Undergraduate Research Symposium. 

Featured in The Pitt News article

Made in collaboration with Stephanie Smid&Mariana Alberola.

Winner of an Award for Artistic Excellence & runner-up for the Undergraduate Environmental Research Award as part of Meeting of the Minds 2019, Carnegie Mellon University's Undergraduate Research Symposium 

Made possible through the support of the American Institute of Architecture Students through the CRIT Scholar Program

This project was funded [in part] by Carnegie Mellon’s Undergraduate Research Office. These results represent the views of the author and not those of Carnegie Mellon University.

Thank you to Mary-Lou Arscott, Joshua Bard, Lola Ben-Alon, Cyrus Dahmubed, Jeremy Ficca, Charles “Scooter” Hager, Kent Harries, Lauren Herckis, Noah Theriault, and Matthew Zywica for the unwavering guidance and support. Special thanks to Arthur Notaro for the dirt.​

As one of the oldest construction typologies in existence, earthen construction serves and impacts billions of individuals worldwide. However, as a material that has served as the basis for civilizations, lifestyles, and spaces to be built upon for centuries, earth has seen waves of (ab)use, shifting, and trauma by humans. We now associate it with pollution and laden it with toxicants, only to then excavate and dump it, cover it up, and hide its imperfections beneath layers of asphalt and concrete. 

Dirt Forms looks to connect people back to their surroundings, one another, and the material world around them through the power of earth. The project highlights earth as a means for space and place-making: a way to inform thought, action, and collaboration through the creation of an introductory guide to adaptive earthen construction techniques. 

By looking at implementation in Pittsburgh, an opportunity arises to widen the impact, usage, and audience making with dirt can have by navigating the unique challenges of working in a post-industrial context. Through a hands-on process of making with the material, Dirt Forms encourages individuals to share their process and experiences in order to add to the evolving lexicon of earthen construction and further the potentials of earth as a material for sustainable creation in architecture and design, now and in the future.