Flower rhymes with tower was a studio with a focus on addressing inefficiencies in man-made building systems through the precedent study of natural living systems. The studio attempted to resolve the design solutions through the use of the parametric modeling plug-in Grasshopper for Rhinoceros. This approach allowed the design solutions to question basic assumptions of what architecture is through the generation of novel geometries that blur the relationships between surface, form, and structure.

MUS(mixed·use by social filter) is a mixed-use apartment complex located on a site in Manhattan which houses a community of college students, post-grads with small families, and elderly Manhattanites. The design of the complex is the output of a filter system responding to the 3 occupant types' (OT) lifestyles. The goal of the project is to reinterpret the way people function in their homes by creating spaces that are a response to the common objects people use (and values placed on those items by society), instead of a response to the occupants.

The Egg is a space designed for visiting professors and guest lecturers at the NJIT campus. The focus of the project was on creating a private, neutral space for relaxation and contemplation. The Egg depends on the campus parking deck as its host building from which it has taken root seemingly temporarily, as is the nature of its inhabitant's use of the space. The living functions of the project have been assigned to the efficiency of an Airstream 28 International Signature Series trailer, which resides inside the parking deck. The Egg has been retrofitted to the trailer, and acts as a retreat space that is full of light, but little else.

The Viewing Platform was designed as a space to overlook a non-specific island in a non-specific place. The form is the result of an exploration into the relationship of wall & floor surfaces as simple rectilinear planes. Thinking of the wall & floor planes, and their thicknesses, as flat vectors led to a view of these vectors as a simple plaid pattern. Shifting the thickness of the plaid bands with restrictions on each axis (all planes along the same axis move together) translated into shifting the wall & floor planes to allow for occupant access and programmable space. The residual spaces become the information center about the island - with space for a wall map and island model, the viewing platform, stairwells, and walkways.

The Pre-Fab Birdhouse is a project I designed for a charity auction, for Princeton Community Housing. The task was to create a birdhouse or "redesign" a purchased birdhouse to the specs of the artist/architect. The charity included the likes of local artists and architects (including Michael Graves). My design was later featured on ApartmentTherapy in February 2008. The design of the birdhouse was my interpretation of pre-fab, affordable design at a bird's scale. It used self-supporting slotted panels, which after assembled created not only the interior space of the birdhouse, but a set of leg posts, multiple perches, and a feeding ledge. The version produced for the auction was made out of 3/4" cedar panels.

The Moire Clock was another charity auction piece my office was involved in, this time for the Trenton After School Program(TASP). My design for the clock is a product of an investigation into the quintessential components of a timepiece, and the reevaluation of those components. This clock replaces the traditional “hand & number” style with striated panels. These panels, one replacing the hour hand and one replacing the minute hand, rotate creating moiré style patterns. The striations gradiate from color to black with the colored ends pointing toward the traditional location of the numbers. The viewer can determine the time by looking at which direction the color points, or by memorizing all possible moiré patterns created by the panels and which times they represent.

The Self-Stool is a project which came about after thinking about the inherent structure of furniture, and an attempt to simplify that structure as much as possible. A task no doubt undertaken many times over in the design world. My response to this question was to force the structure of the piece to rest solely on the structure of the user. Centered on a single pivot point, the self-stool relies on the human legs as structure, which reduces the form of the stool to that of an over-sized spinning top. Containing a large air pocket within the center cavity of the stool allows for limited cushion and flexibility, complete with friction rings on the seat, and a hand groove for added balance support.

The Coaster project stems from the need to constantly carry a coaster around with you while enjoying a drink. After leaving moisture rings on all flat surfaces in my apartment, it occurred to me that it would be so much easier if the coaster was simply attached to the glass. As a result, the proposed design calls for a flexible silicone which fits around most standard drinking glasses, as well as having an inner groove for wine glasses. The perimeter of the coaster forms a perforated moisture groove to catch the dripping condensation, which is then absorbed by a ring of absorbent stone to prevent the moisture from dripping back out of the groove when you take a sip.