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I could begin with a perplexing post-modern circular argument about the urgent necessity

to upset the teleological ordering of architectural history, or, better yet, about the porous

boundaries that exist between design, literature, textiles and architecture. I could flex my

intellectual muscles and dazzle you with recondite quotes from Judith Butler all the while

demonstrating my engagement with Charles Jencks. But I won’t. Don’t misunderstand, theory

has its place (I know my stuff and it can be hypnotically beautiful), but theory is not the only

driving force of my work. As with this little intermezzo, I want to show my whimsical side. My

interest is dominated by small spaces, expansive vistas, the American landscape (adventure!

travel!), rambling through woods, historical romps (Faulkner’s Rowan Oak, anyone?). In my

realm objects loom large, animals speak, good guys win, and everybody loves America

(America Yay!).Think Petit Trianon meets Daniel Boone. Well, perhaps something more akin

to the image of Drayton Hall with an underground Zumthorian gift-shop, while Babe the Blue

Ox grazes picturesquely in a nearby field. Too much? Perhaps. But this is not an exploration

of saccharine kitsch or a hipster fairy tale -- you can keep all that irony, thank you. In brief, I

am unabashedly, unashamedly, hopelessly in love with fine craft -- crafting too; I knit -- and

America’s vernacular traditions (I dance to the drumbeat of a colonial march) and all that is

optimistic and enthusiastic.

For: Santa Clause, J.D. Salinger, southern food, J.M. Coetzee, champagne, Swiss Family

Robinson, La Dolce Vita, gummy bears, dachshunds, John Steinbeck, and any variation of

the color tan.

Against: hearing people eat, beer, and being cold.

Index

1 Th esis Work tags: in progress, historic preservation, artifact, archive, reuse.

2 Lincoln Woods tags: dam, infrastructure, underground, wet and dry space.

3 HE[ART] tags: shipping container, reuse, art, humanitarian, business strategy.

4 Tiber Floods tags: Rome, monument, silt, river access, flood, narrative.

5 Housing Accumulation tags: senior assisted living, urban, housing, campus, aggregation, circulation.

6 Community Th eater tags: spatial organization, human scale, indoor and outdoor program.

7 Jewelry and Metalsmithing tags: manual fabrication, digital fabrication, small scale.

8 Community Garden tags: built work, accessible, recreational space.

9 Manual Representation tags: hand drafting, projection.

10 Textiles tags: knitted fabric, woven fabric, pattern, apparel.

11 Fine Art tags: drawing, sketching, figure drawing.

12 Production tags: construction work, ceramics, sewing.

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Thesis Work

in progress

DescriptionThe inheritance of place, the accumulation of past, remains a determining factor that perhaps most shapes a site’s present

condition, its present being.I argue that a current stance on preservation, recreating an artifact to be frozen in a period of time erodes the inheritance of an object or place, and that, rather, a participatory, active attachment between artifact and protagonist is a more lasting means of preservation.History already operates as a myth, a myth created by multiple authors amongst multiple biases. The creation of a new myth between artifact and individual prolongs and facilitates the great inheritance of

place. Inheritance of place is an accumulation of numerous narratives, countless artifacts, and the boundless interpretations of both. An archive instigates the initiative to order the accumulation, a means of unraveling the lamination so that object and interpretation begin to be situated side by side. An archive calcifies an instance into an entity and is the primary means for an index to occur. It stands as a space where he protagonist generates an identity, singular to the artifact, while curating it amongst others

and preserving its existence.

ProfessorsPeter Tagiuri

TermSpring, 2012

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THESIS WORKTHESIS WORKTHESIS WORK

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Lincoln Woods

art for hearts sake

DescriptionMy project looks to separate the three systems of the dam; the culvert, the spillway, and the sluice gate. Through separation, both in space and program, I aim to create a greater understanding of these systems in place. I also aim to facilitate a discovery of the history of site and the systems previously and

currently in place.Program and infrastructure illustrate means of dealing with an increase in water. Below-grade is a bath house complex. Water pools underground while above has the potential for water to flow over. Water below remains stagnant, while water above fluctuates and flows with weather and climate. The amount of infrastructure needed to allow for an underground structure facilitates the support of the spillway if inundated with water. Also, the wet program increases the amount of structure needed while allowing for humidity and moisture to penetrate in either direction. A long ramp will allow for access and a visual reference to ground change. As one processes down, the height of the damn begins to be physically felt as you pass below the height of the water. The retaining wall unit begins to shift and separate to allow for space as well as passageways. A grain immerges, one opposing the flow of water and one allowing for passage of people

and movement of water.

ProfessorsNick Depace

TermFall, 2011

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LINC

OLN

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CULVER

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SLUIC

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SPILLW

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HE[ART]

art for hearts sake

DescriptionA government funded studio reusing shipping containers to stimulate economy and generate environmental thought. Focus remains on design while incorporating an entrepreneurial business plan throughout the process. HE[ART] seeks to answer the question of what scheme of design can satisfy the wants of a well-developed world and the needs of a developing country simultaneously. A device emerges as a student run art gallery and a sister structure standing as a school, workshop, or community center amidst a developing nation. A relationship of exchange in thought, craft, and revenue is established. Design emphasizes the adaptability, modularity, and deployability while making use of local materials for insulation and local hands for

installation.+ Featured at Better World by Design

Symposium

ProfessorsMarkus Berger and Peter Dean

TermSpring, 2011

Markus Berger and Peter Dean

TermSpSSSpSpSpSpSSpSpSpSSpSSpSpSpSpSpppppring, 2011

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HE[ART]popopopopopopoppppp

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lililiiilililillloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

HE[ART]HE[ART]

Tiber Floodsbringing rom

ans back to the river

DescriptionIn roman narrative, the river is the bearer of the brothers Romulus and Remus, bringing them to land at the shore line of our historically rich site. Also present is the Circus Maximus. The Circus stands in the valley between the Aventine and Palentine hills, the same site where the brothers competed for Rome, one at each hill. Following the middle point of the Circus Maximus , an inscription of a datum line runs directly through the site reaching the water. From here a strong grain and gesture is introduced to connect the permanent monuments that have historically been present on the site to the central line tied to the Circus. These monuments stand on the same ground as the central vein and make up the highest elevation for the proposed plan. From this elevation, a series of platforms and ramps decrease in elevation until they submerge underwater at the Tiber’s shore line. As the Tiber waters begin to rise, a slow concealing of the design occurs until the monuments stand as islands floating on the water. However, as the water recedes, the design begins to reveal itself. Certain grooves, steps, ramps, and platforms begin to collect the silt and debris left behind by the Tiber. This silt is swept along the surface, caught in pockets or inclines, revealing a sort of gradient leading back to the water.

ProfessorNick DePace

TermWintersession, 2010

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Liv

ing Description

A site plan and program illuminate the inhabitants as a member of the city versus an insular campus seemingly divorced from their surroundings. Through the aggregation of a unit fit to the comfort of the individual living within, the buildings take form. The geometry of the unit dictates the direction in which they multiply in plan while the location of the bearing walls manipulates the structure above in section. As the unit is repeated, an interior space develops. The means of circulation remains on the exterior facade, promoting visibility. However, the interior courtyard stands free of horizontal circulation and remains private to whoever travels within the space. Water flows from the roof on a concentrated slope and cascades from the top most point to the ground, adding a visual weight to the center. The collected water then acts as a source for climate control within the units.

ProfessorAlmin PrsicTermFall 2010

Ground Floor

First Floor

Second Floor

HOUSINGIn

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of U

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Hands full, Mr. Wyler removed his glove with his teeth, the sickening mixture of leather and saliva prompting a choking feeling in the back of his throat. Fighting nausea and straining to remain balanced, Mr. Wyler shuffled up to the entrance of his apartment complex. His pink arthritic hand was assaulted by the cold as he thrust it deep into his overcoat pocket. At this point he would usually be feeling for the jumble of metallic objects in his silk lined pocket wondering why he had so many damn keys. However as his short, rotund frame tottered along, he soon came into the gentle glow of the entrance way and took out the solid plastic rectangle that served as his key: Mr. Wyler, with much relief, grabbed it and used it to unlock his door which automatically swings open to receive him.

At seventy Mr. Wyler had moved, in his words, into a new ‘establishment’ and he was reluctantly happy with the change. Mr. Wyler bore discomfort with ease (it gave one the chance to complain and to criticize), but he grudgingly had little to say in the negative. He would gladly have stayed in his former home, if the burden had not proved too much for the aging educator. Mr. Wyler was never a man one could easily ascribe any of the qualities of youth, save expect stubbornness -- curmudgeon was a badge of honor Mr. Wyler wore with pride -- but poor eyesight, loss of hearing, and crippling arthritis conquered even this truculent being.

Yet Mr. Wyler had found the arrangement had perfectly suited his needs. Creaking stairs gave way to the wonder of the elevator; cold, narrow passages lined by newspapers, books and coffee-cups were replaced by the smooth tread of carpets, clean lines and wide, airy progressions; and tiny views of a vast and much neglected garden were substituted for a scenic (and in Mr. Wyler’s eyes) proprietary view of the river. The easy demarcation of horizontal and vertical glows to mark the coming and going of an apartment’s entrance was, although never verbally acknowledged by Mr. Wyler, of great help.

Returned once more to his new environment this obdurate old bachelor happily strolled, safeguarded from cold winds and old neighbors, to his commodious apartment. Tucked safe within and muffler, hat, gloves, and shoes removed, Mr. Wyler ruffled about in his refrigerator and greedily sought out his meager dinner. Groaning with pain, Mr. Wyler advanced to the living are and eased back into his chair. Food in hand and an expansive view before him, Mr. Wyler sat back to gaze at the illuminated scene. Yes, Mr. Wyler was happy.

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Comm

unity Theater

DescriptionA public theatre space, indoor and outdoor, resting in a national park. Design immerges from the frequency of use/visitation of the programmed spaces. Using the scale of the body as a source of spatial organization and experiential site analysis, the

architecture is defined.

ProfessorPari Riahi

TermSpring, 2010

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MMUNITYMMUNITYMMUNITY

Jewelry and M

etalsmithing

small scale fabrication

DescriptionUsing both computer aided design to digitally fabricate as well as traditional manual fabrication and

metalsmithing.

ProfessorErin Scully and

Term 2009-2010

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1 South

Interior View of Entire Fence Elevations Scale : 1/8” = 1’-0”

2 West

5 South

6 WestExterior View of Entire Fence Elevations Scale : 1/8” = 1’-0”

3 North 4 East

7 North

8 East

Comm

unity Garden

shared accessible recreation space

DescriptionGroup design project investigating the relationship of an efficient use of space with the opportunity to engage the community by designing planting beds of different proportions and orientations. Spaces for kneeling, standing, and sitting are integrated throughout each of the four planting areas. This combination of differing bed types allows each member of the community to work where they are most comfortable, while further integrating the various demographics of Elmwood.

+ Kneeling beds are larger and low to the ground, and are fitting for families.

+ Seated beds are shorter and are proportioned to arm length. The angle of the wall is ideal for wheelchairs to pull in comfortably and gain easier access to

the planting area. + Standing beds are at table height, and are proportioned for comfortable reaching length. Elderly users are able to garden without leaning or bending

into discomfort.ProfessorPari Riahi

TermSpring, 2010

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Manual R

epresentationan exercise in drafting

DescriptionDrafting techniques using a variety

of subjects, physical and imagined.

ProfessorJack Ryan

TermFall, 2009

Text

iles

fi ber

art Description

Textile techniques using both a loom and a knitting machine. Design focusing on pattern and repeat with an intent for apparel or product.

ProfessorAnne EmleinTerm2010-2011

Well hello there! Do you like my vintage knitted bathing suit?

Fine Artundergraduate w

ork

DescriptionExperience in figure drawing, spatial and still-life representation, sculpture, textiles, and digital media.

ProfessorsVarious Professor

TermFall 2006 - 2009

Pro

duct

ion

rece

nt p

roje

cts Description

Various works done in sewing, ceramics, and construction. Construction work done as a volunteer with Red Feather Development Group building a straw bale home. Ceramics pieces are slip cast porcelain.

Term2011

74 transit providence757.876.0

kcrace@

st., ri 02906109

risd.edu

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