Second Year (Spring 2023)

A collection of my work in the second semester of my second year, under the guidance of Ryan Scavnicky.

The studio designed a new building in North Hill, Akron which would transform into a festival once per year. The metamorphosis of the building is itself one of defining moments of the festival and largely plays a role in connecting the people of North Hill together. The transformation of the building was developed through exploration into video games and concepts of the "Duck" vs "Decorated Shields" architectural theorems.

*This project was chosen to be featured in the CAED X Gallery. Find it here: https://caedxgallery.com/

The Medina Family Library

In 1959, a fiction story titled Storms of Jupiter was published by Constance Medina in
North Hill, Ohio. The story focused on a dystopian world where the remaining human race moves to Jupiter following the destruction of Earth. However, those that successfully arrive at
the new colony now struggle under an evil dictator. The story focuses on a young girl, Anna, who was born at the colony, only knows the ways of the capital city, and must support her family by any means necessary after her father dies. During this turmoil, she finds the secret the government was so desperately trying to hide; that Earth was never destroyed. The story battles with themes of control of information and history, technology, and a warning to protect Earth from human greed, ultimately ending on a cliffhanger that sent the people of North Hill into a craze.

65 years after the series was published, Constance’s granddaughter, Camilia, opened a community library in her grandmother's hometown and celebrated her success by hosting the fair outside of the library. The library was built as a reminder to the community about the influential power that reading can have, by covering the building in the tool; books. Every year, on May 19th, Constance returns to North Hill, where they celebrate with food, games, and live readings. This festival is very special to the people of North Hill, as this is one of the only times in the year where everyone indulges in a shared fantasy culture.

The Medina Family library features multiple book-like structures in the front, some of which are shifted up, similar to how a book self might appear. During the festival, designated structures slide out on tracks in a fanning motion, in order to create new movement paths and open outdoor book stalls. The book stalls provide food, refreshments, activities, and most importantly, books, to visitors. Festival goers are free to take as many books as they wish, but are encouraged to leave a donation in return, so the library can continue the tradition of providing reading materials to everyone. The festival is one of the most important times of the year in North Hill, bringing out everyone in the community to come together and celebrate.