AM J DESIGNS
Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser
Executive Creative Director, Executive Producer
THEA AWARD for Outstanding Achievement
Part spaceship, part cruise, part hotel, part immersive theater, part living game, part real-time world building engine, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser allowed guests to live, eat, sleep, and play out their very own Star Wars story for 2 days and 2 nights.
States of Europe Embassy
design nominated for feldman prize
zurich, switzerland
An embassy of an imagined Confederated States of Europe to be located on a lakeside site immediately south of Zurich's center. In an effort to straddle the conflicting priorities of maintaining public access to the park and establishing an appropriate level of security for the embassy grounds, the project proposes a sectional organization. The ground level is public; it allows pedestrians to continue along a waterfront path that hugs the lake-shore. The embassy itself is raised several stories up, which allows the considerable service and security requirements to be tucked "below grade" while the buildings themselves are provided views of the surrounding landscape on multiple levels. Designed for Demetri Porphyrios Advanced Studio at YSOA.
Hotel Eden
libreville, gabon
Drawing on Gabon's emerging ecotourism economy, Hotel Eden provides a resting point for travelers en route to the country's lush rainforests. With an organic form that takes advantage of Libreville's place on the equator and presents a striking profile along the water's edge of Port Mole, the iconic hotel serves as a landmark for the city and an announcement in the next step of Libreville's development. Designed for WorkAC Advanced Studio at YSOA.
Preliminary Palacios Pavilion
with scott ballard
palacios, texas
Palacios, TX is a small waterfront town that has historically had an open air dancehall out over the water. After a series of hurricanes left the previous pavilion unusable, the town rebuilt a new pavilion on the waterfront that could weather future storms. This initial scheme attempts to marry the tradition of circular dancehalls with the needs of a contemporary event space. The resulting plan includes a large event space, a smaller service area, and a porch, all of which are variations on tradition circular dancehall plans. Construction on a final design was completed in 2017.
City Center Restaurant
guatemala city, guatemala
The restaurant spans an unusually sloped site and draws on the rich architectural history of Guatemala's Spanish colonial past. While the lowest level creates an informal multi-level collonade, the side facing a large open stair begins to signal the importance of the space above, and the facade opposite the new congress building presents the most elaborate foce of the building. The building also builds up in section, with the kitchen and service areas contained in the lower level, restaurant seating above, and a roof deck that provide restaurant goers with sweeping views of the new center of Guatemala City. Designed for Leon Krier Advanced Studio at YSOA.
Rodriguez Center for Contemporary Glass
brooklyn, new york
Capitalizing on the unique waterfront site in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the project provides a marina for private boats and water taxis as well as ground transportation. Once at the site, visitors, artists, and employees alike proceed along the pier towards Manhattan, culminating in a deck and large view towards the Manhattan skyline.
The Shell
with adrienne brown & chris seifert
new haven, connecticut
To create a space that envelopes the visitor in an inviting yet otherworldly cocoon, this installation utilizes existing divots in the concrete formwork of rudolph hall as insertion points for plastic vacuuformed shells. Using the somewhat irregular spacing of this formwork along with the natural variation of the vacuuform process, the resulting installation is an organic lichen-like form. The installation covers a small niche, drawing notice to a previously subtle feature of the building.