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Independent contest entry / 2017 APR / SketchUp + Photoshop + AutoCAD
Project Brief
Out of 1,100 submissions from 85 countires and 26 finalists, I was chosen as 1 of the 3 winners of the competition. The “life of an Architect, Playhouse Competition 2017” was organized by Bob Borson, a licensed architect in Texas, USA. The winning playhouses were constructed and displayed on July 2017 at Dallas, Texas, USA. I procured the construction documents and provided them to contractor Brannon Perkison for assembly. The final result turned out very different from what I had originally proposed, due to lack of time and/or to valueengineering efforts. However, it is still amazing to see my playhouse come to life and enjoyed for possibly generations.
White Owl’s Den was auctioned to support the Dallas Court of Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and the young minds they represent. CASA is a non-profit organization of community volunteers who legally represent abused and neglected children in court.
Photographs
Interior photograph of the constructed playhouse, along with (2+3) exterior photographs of the playhouse. Photographs are taken by Bob Borson. The playhouse was presented in NorthPark Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA between June 12 to July 23 of 2017. (4) Mr. Borson’s handmade trophy that I received at a later date, for all the finalists of the competition as a token of his appreciation.
Sketches
I’ve prepared concept sketches of the White Owl’s Den before proceeding to finalize on SketchUp. The roof shingle concept never made it to the final proposed poster (2) or the construction drawing set (3.) But it somehow made its way back when the contractor in charge of building the playhouse has made the suggestion of adding it.
Technical Construction Drawings
Technical construction drawings (sized ANSI-D, 22”x34”) are prepared after I received confirmation from architect Bob Borson. I declined his offer of having a technologist prepare the sheets for me. Instead, I’ve taken the time to build the sheets myself and submit it to the assigned contractor in Dallas, Texas.
Independent project / 2019 FEB / Revit + Photoshop
Project Brief
With the growing student population rise of University of Toronto’s Visual Studies program, the Architecture Visual Studies Student Union’s (AVSSU) sought an architectural call-to-action to redesign the old Borden building located along 1 Spadina Crescent; adjacent to the newly-renovated Daniels Faculty of Architecture building.
The intent of my redesign is to respect and facilitate the needs of the growing LGBTQ+ and the Indigenous community that currently reside in the building. I presented in front of guest critics Victor Perez-Amado, Christie MacDonald, Allan Stone, and Barron Crawford; alongside fellow students and peers.
My proposal establishes a welcoming atmosphere using openness in its form and materials, while maintaining structural and heritage identity to the original building. The additional entrances encased in curtainwall symbolize cultural growth while showing transparency to individual identity. All the while establishing an efficient workflow and connectivity between each wing. By adding a bridge on the third floor, it promotes effortless access and students save time from having to traverse onto the second floor between classes. As a whole, I proposed a renovation that is both practical yet symbolic that promotes inclusive design through its openness, materiality, and accessibility.
3D Sections
A longitudinal 3D section reveals uninterrupted views to the first and basement floors. Dense wooden framing is used to support these new additions, along with interior finishes and outdoor-like furniture that weave and imbue a sense of Canadian landscapes. Upon entry, visitors are greeted to a nested library located on the basement level with its perimeter lined up with pin-up wooden columns. The nested space houses a cultural circle where visitors and students can gather around and be inspired to learn more about Indigenous culture.
Another section reveals the intricate additions made to the existing structure. Majority of the existing structure remains untouched, with the existing beams and trusses extending into the newly developed hangout and greenspace area on the third floor. This notion of re-usability is a nod towards heritage and highlights the importance of treasuring the past to create new memories.
Colour-Coded Exploded Views
An exploded view with colour-coded floors to aid with flow visualization. The diagram also highlights the uniquely-shaped skylight that peers down onto the third floor hangout areas and corridor green spaces. The expanded south wing serves as a multi-story studio room with a large curtainwall that faces the Daniels building; serving as a cultural connection and tie between the two buildings and faculties.
Team student project with Nataliya Yatsenko & Refaat Hossaini / 2017 AUG / Revit + Photoshop + InDesign / supervised by instructor Jordan Martin
Project Brief
The Artscape project focuses on architectural intention, purpose, and context as they apply to high-desnity, multi-storey, and multi-use urban design within the heart of Toronto. The intent is to redevelop a temporary parking space that lies on the prime corner lot of Queen Street West and Fenning Street; with the client, Toronto Artscape, seeking to build a mid-rise structure to provide housing for artists, as well as a gallery space, cafe, event space, and underground parking.
The overall building form has undergone many design considerations. It began with a clocktower design that proudly stood out on the corner of the lot, and ended with a design that is both practical yet respectful. Fun fact, a large tree stump was used to help orient its location.
Facade & Structural Exercises
3d model views of the proposed mid-rise and mix-use structure for artists showcases an “ARTSCAPE” graphic that sits proudly on the corner curtainwall facade. The facade mixes both historical and urban precedences; symbolizing the acceptance of both past and future cultures within the art community.
Additionally, our team collaborated to ensure that all structural requirements are met while adhering to our design intent. It was crucial to harmonize our ideas into something realistic by performing structural load calculations as well.
Residential Artist Suites
Typical 1-Bedroom Suite. (1b) Typical 2Bedroom Suite. Totaling to 18 comfortable suites. Toronto-based Artscape is a nonprofit urban development organization that makes space for creativity and transforms communities. The space offers residential and workshop space for artists to thrive in.
Real Estate Magazine
My team and I generated a 40-page pseudo real estate package that describes the proposal as an already-built structure. The page layouts are intended to be read by potential suite buyers who are looking into leasing or buying their future home. The magazine strictly follows a CMYK colour scheme; with the word “Art,” and the first three letters of each heading, being colourized.
Independent student project / 2017 AUG / Revit + Photoshop + PowerPoint
Project Brief
The Passive Habitat highlights the use of sustainability and environmentally conscious materials. The building required LEED certification and to meet the site restrictions of a pre-existing property. I used this as an opportunity to implement new technologies in the proposal, as well as taking advantage of various energy saving techniques to design a highly sustainable residential home.
Energy-Savings
The detached home was designed with large south-facing 150sqm. of roof area that allowed for the mounting of 54 solar panels. In turn, the home generates 60,652 kWh/year, or 168.09kW/day.
Layout and Floor Plans
The home layout takes advantage of the maximum height allowable by municipal bylaw, which in turn allowed for greater indoor headroom. Additionally, the design makes use of livable basement space that is equipped with a recessed outdoor recreational area that allows for more natural sunlight to peer into the space, as demonstrated in the sun study section.
Independent student research / 2021 DEC / MS Word + Photoshop / supervised by Professor Ipek Mehmetoglu
Synopsis
My writings focused intensively on demystifying the imagery of 1996 European currency design and how it facilitates the movement of architectural awareness on a global scale. It also inquires how elements of society and an imagined community contribute to the construction of European identity in the context of global and national instabilities throughout the recent decades. It is only after these topics have been critically interrogated that we can surmise whether or not the circulation of abstractions (de)motivates stability of both architectural pedagogy and European national identity.
My research essay has been awarded the Patricia and Peter Shannon Wilson Undergraduate Research Prize scholarship in May of 2022. It also earned its place in University of Toronto’s TSpace which serves as a free and secure online research repository to disseminate and preserve scholarly records, including graduate-level student research.
Independent student research / 2020 FEB / Photoshop + MS Word
Synopsis
Corktown Commons is an inquiry towards recent developments to urbanism and to better understand the legacies of industrialization and their effects on the contemporary public realm. Students of the ARC253: Close Readings in Urban Design course were challenged to pick an existing site in Toronto to better understand context, theory, and resulting urban designs. Broadly speaking, three conceptual lenses guide these inquiries into these issues: controversy, metabolism, and publicness.
Equipped with a subjective view, I personally visited and inhabited the place from the perspective of one (or many) of its visitors. Afterwards, a narrative via graphic illustration was established to conjure a moment and illustrate the foregrounding questions of publicness. This is paired with a research essay that took a form of a pseudo-website that quoted and taken lessons learned from Margaret Crawford’s “The World in a Shopping Mall” and “Blurring the Boundaries: Public Space and Public Life.”
1
The Vandals of Centralia: The Consequences of Extractivism Through the Lens of Vandalism / 2021 DEC / ARC451HF: Architecture and Extractive Landscape
2
The Svalbard Seed Vault: An Architecture that Prepares for the Inevitable / 2021 APR / ARC351: History of Architectural Knowledge
3
The Use of Spolia in Late Antique Rome: Ripples of the Past Creating Waves of the Future / 2021 APR / FAH309: History of Rome
4
The Heroical Baroque: The Unfolding of Virtues Through Architecture / 2021 APR / FAH371: Baroque Architecture
5
The Glass Canon: Modern Irony of the Crystal Cathedral / 2021 MAR / ARC351: Global Modernism
6
Heroicizing Landscapes: Formalizing Cities as Sites of Disturbance / 2020 DEC / ARC356: History of Landscape Architecture
7
The Gap Between Drawing and Building Fulfilled by Virtual Reality / 2020 DEC / ARC353: Architecture and Media
Independent student project / 2019 JAN / Gouache on paper, pencil on paper
Project Brief
Sketching the Line is a direct reference to TTC’s public exhibition that aims capture transit commuter moments in the form of drawings. As a frequent commuter of TTC, this was an opportunity for me to use this as my subject matter of my diptych.
The aim is to visually express the difference between a ‘drawing’ and a ‘painting’, juxtaposing hasty monochromatic sketch lines to colourful paintbrush strokes. When viewed together, the two canvases form a single image of a subway’s interior. Its disarranged presentation represents the bustling movements of the subway, and the two canvases work together to form a sense of progress–from the idea to the real, and from ‘drawing’ to ‘painting’.
Independent student project / 2022 APR / Poster boards with glue
Subheading 1
My interactive (flippable) posters celebrate Hans Moderman's philosophy of his Shared Space movement, encouraging viewers to recognize signage as a governing standardized force that redefines spaces and alters human behaviour.
My research and art is based off Modnerman’s work, a Dutch road traffic engineer who discourages the implementation of traffic regulations and road signage to improve road safety. His traffic philosophy was executed in a Northern Dutch of Makkinga in 1998. To this day, his "shared space" approach continues to encourage drivers to slow down, take responsibility, and interact with others; leading to reduced accidents and more social, human-centered streets.
Independent contractor work / 2022 JUL / Photoshop
Project Brief
Mangadex, a manga scanlation group, reached out to me to create a t-shirt design as part of their merchandise line-up. My illustration features their mascot “Dex-chan” wearing a summer bikini. Normally she wears a typical Japanese uniform - so the big question was how to maintain her imagery and likeness in her new summer costume.
This illustration pays homage to a few elements that can be typically found in manga; like the use Ben Day Dots for the background, the rectangular paneling, and the vertically-oblong speech bubbles. I’m grateful that they sent me a free t-shirt to celebrate our fruitful collaboration. And as a token of gratitude, I offered to give them a few modeling shots along the shores of Spiral Beach in Victoria.
Independent contest entry / 2023 APR / Photoshop
Subheading 1
This is a fan art piece of Hatsune Miku, a Japanese virtual “vocaloid” idol that debuted in 2007. Due to the nature of Miku’s upbringing and personification, many have speculated the inner workings of her being. In this piece, I chose to reveal a glimpse of her “humanity” underneath the digital veil that Miku is commonly perceived as. Crypton Future Media, the developer of the vocaloid, confirmed that every iteration of Miku, whether it be thru music videos or fanart, is considered canon.
This was submitted to Crypton Future Media’s illustration contest to celebrate Hatsune Miku’s 16th anniversary.
Independent volunteer work / 2025 APR / Photoshop
Project Brief
’ve had the pleasure of working with Erica Sangster, principal architect at DAU Studio, Victoria, to establish the logo and brand identity for Building Equality in Architecture West (BEAW). I worked closely with her and a group of other volunteers of the same profession, including my coworking architects Selena Kwok and Roya Darvish from Low Hammond Rowe Architects.
BEA is a volunteer led non-profit which was formed to promote equality and inclusion in architecture and related professions through advocacy, mentorship, and networking. Similar to BEAT (Toronto), BEAC (Calgary), and other chapters in Canada; BEAW strives to advance the achievements, experience, and visibility of women and groups underrepresented in architecture and related professions in the province of beautiful British Columbia.
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My Interests & Background
Although I'm a fan of neo-futurist buildings (like Calatrava's QuadracciPavilion), I'm more of a "hygge" person who resonates with warmertones and comfortable convenience. I vibe to J-pop, technomusic, and lo-fi beats to stimulate my creative thinking. 🛋️🌻
Contact Information
> For professional inquiries, you can reach me at nicolloAbe(at)outlook(dot)com.
> Connect with me on LinkedIn (click).
> View my CV (click).
