Individual Master’s Project

Guided by a vision of breaking Houston’s reliance on the car and reconnecting its citizens to one another and their ecology; the Harrisburg Corridor is a self-sustaining walkable car free neighborhood where one can live, work, and play.

Central to the Harrisburg Corridor is the elimination of cars; there are only two through streets which allow cars and the rest of the site is strictly pedestrian only. Looking towards the future of self-driving cars and the increased use of light-rail, no on-site parking will be provided to any of the residents or visitors, which will radically change the city-scape.

Running along the green light-rail line, the Harrisburg Corridor will provide access to public transportation to ease the pain of giving up a car. The light-rail stop will be at the center of the mid-rise mixed use zone where restaurants, cafes, and shops create street life.

The mixed use zone will be a series of courtyard buildings. The ground floor of all the buildings will be designated for commercial spaces. The second floor will be designated for flexible office space. The third and fourth floors will be residential. Following findings that anything above 4 floors leads to reliance on elevators, and that people need a connection to the street to support their psychological well being, the buildings do not exceed four stories. All units are designed to be no more than 50’ in depth to provide natural light and ventilation - aiming to break the city’s reliance on mechanical systems.

A green belt replaces existing train rail lines and industrial sites and creates a wild prairie that can be used by visitors and residents. The prairie serves to educate visitors about the ecology of Houston - and the detrimental effects of its current mistreatment. Most importantly the prairie will absorb rain water helping the city’s widespread flooding issues.

To highlight the site’s unique identity the Atlantic Coffee Plant will be preserved, acting as one bookend to the Harrisburg Corridor and its main landmark. The Plant will be rehabilitated into an incubation hub where innovation can thrive.

The series of open courtyards act as the civic core of the neighborhood; providing gathering and social spaces. A series of overhangs provide shelter from Houston’s hot and humid climate. Most importantly the Harrisburg corridor strives to connect people and so focuses on providing inviting and climatically responsive public spaces.

The buildings act as gatekeepers between the hard urban edge of the Harrisburg corridor and the wild rural prairie. Transitioning from a linear footprint along Harrisburg boulevard to the elevated housing along the prairie: the buildings create a connection between the urban and rural.

Mist focuses on facilitating a conversation, while erasing the inherent hierarchy of an interview.

Mist embodies the duality of an interview in its form – one half white and round while the other black and angular - but unifies the two seemingly disconnected halves by the exchange of sound.

The sound mirrors amplify and concentrate the conversation – allowing for an interview to occur across great distances while maintaining clarity.

Mist’s mysterious and iconic form will surely intrigue the public, generating participation in the interview.

A commentary on Post-Modernism and Philip Johnson - the project questions the setting of the Architecture School at the University of Houston in Johnson’s 1985 plundered design from Claude-Nicolas Ledoux.  

By altering the two iconic assets of Philip Johnson’s building: the atrium and the temple crowning the building - the students take back the Architecture Building -  freeing themselves from the confines of the whore’s archetypal post-modernist creation.

Reclaiming the temple on top of the building is vital as the only element prominently altered from the original sketch of Ledoux - Johnson’s personal touch. The atrium as empty space wasted - only there to impress and serve no function for the students who suffer in poorly designed studio spaces is eliminated by a form that fills it almost entirely.

Group Studio Project | Fall 2016
Team Member: Jimmy Martinez
Concept & All Images: Masha Cohn

The Ascension Baths strive to bring the user in connection with their mind and body, through the process of ascension. the user enters through a towering atrium: lit from the above by a skylight. Looking up through the tunnel of light, the user overwhelmed by both the scale and light: disarming them for the ritual of the bath house.

The experience begins by ascending to the changing rooms, where the users begin the transition to enlightenment. The ritual of changing out of clothing and into a swimsuit will highlight the user’s commencement of the upward journey.  After changing, the user is encouraged to use the sauna or steam room to relax and open their minds to the intention of the levels above: to turn inwards and achieve enlightenment. The user ascends to the athletic diving pool where the experience of ascension is reversed and made into a cycle  by diving between levels of the baths.

The Geometric Lamp is a reinvention of the traditional Turkish lamp, using the most advanced digital fabrication tools. 

Fabrication: 3D Printing

Design Software: Grasshopper in Rhinoceros

An acoustic and light ceiling system for Loading Dock jury room at the University of Houston College of Art and Design.

The grid wave is structured around a regular  grid of 6 x 6 rows. Even though the grid presents an impression of regularity, it is an illusion.  The protrusions undulate to create a wave  when viewed from certain angles, bringing the cloud to life. 

The dropping of the wave in the middle will provide direct light for student pin-up presentations.  The soft light will create a pleasant atmosphere that is sure to foster creativity and camaraderie.