Mass Timber High-Rise Skyscraper Project
Team: Ethan Cheng + Nasser Nduhi
Featured Student Work on Northwestern University's Architectural Engineering & Design Program website
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The Arboris Heights Project, located in Chicago’s vibrant West Loop, aims to transform a challenging urban site into a sustainable hub of community engagement. A high-rise officebuilding that is seamlessly integrated with its surroundings, Arboris Heights combines a mass timber structure (whose 20’ x 20’ grid is also expressed on its façade), community-centric design, and sustainability to redefine modern collaborative workspaces while harmonizing with the urban landscape.
Mixed-use Urban & Landscape Design
Team: Ethan Cheng + Hajra Malik + William Marchetta
Featured Student Work on Northwestern University's Architectural Engineering & Design Program website
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Located at the intersection between Logan Square and Lincoln Square, the design of District West is predicated on the idea of a central cultural core, enlivened by the river flowing through it, that stitches the surrounding urban fabric together. Drawing from the few major performance spaces in the Chicagoland area, the plan is centralized around a large proscenium theater. A library, museum, public park, and amphitheater support this performance space to create a core of cultural jewels that activate the riverfront for the residents of the district.
Timber Pavilion — 4 Day Design Challenge, South Korea
Team: Hajra Malik + Ethan Cheng + Kayla Tillman + Brian Parness
Sound Oasis on Nodeulseom, a manmade island on the Han river in the heart of Seoul, aims to provide a place of respite and quiet from the hustle and bustle of the city around it.
Located on an abandoned helipad on the east side of the island, the Oasis is an ode to the vernacular of traditional Korean architecture — as seen in its timber louvers, linear spatial arrangement, and adherance to the concept of baesanimsu — while being unafraid to reinvent in ways that represent a modern South Korea.
The familiar form of a pitched roof is flipped, creating a dramatic skylight that collects rainwater for reuse throughout the pavilion. Meanwhile, the simple and open layout provides flexible ways for curators to present musical artworks and exhibitions in relation to the natural soundscape of the island and the river.
Mixed-use Public Sports Facility
Team: Polen Ton + Ethan Cheng + Mairi Glynn + Shuting Lai
Featured Student Work on Northwestern University's Architectural Engineering & Design Program website
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Bike Barns is a hypothetical cycling center located near the Bahá’í Temple in Wilmette, Illinois. With a comprehensive list of facilities such as a full-service bike shop, café, spin stu-dio, and multifunction event space, our focus for the building was on implementing high performance strategies throughout the design process.
The façade of the cycling center is inspired by the natural wave of the irregularly shaped site as well as the adjacent North Shore Channel, while the curved curtain walls and vertical timber louvers maximize views of the Temple across the river and natural light throughout the building.
Several high-performance design elements are implemented throughout the center, such as the inclusion of an on-site energy generation system powered by wind turbines and solar PV arrays, a greywater system that recycles greywater from sinks and showers, and year-round air conditioning that utilizes a ground source heat pump for radiant floor heating.