[architecture hurts.]

2006-: University of Tennessee, College of Architecture + DesignPursing a Bachelor degree in ArchitectureExpected graduation: May 2011GPA: 3.51 out of 4.0Design GPA: 3.90 out of 4.0

2010: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,Center for European Studies and Architecture [CESA]Riva San Vitale, SwitzerlandSpending the full spring academic semester studying architecture through Virginia Tech’s satellite school in the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland. Curriculum focuses on civic interaction--including adaptive reuse in Europe’s public spaces, interpreting ‘the city in fi lm,’ and seminar discussions outlining professional practice in Europe

2002-06: Battle Ground AcademyMagna Cum LaudeGraduated: May 2006GPA: 3.83 out of 4.0Advanced Placement [AP] courses in Modern European History, English Language, English Literature, and Studio Art

2009: AIA Middle TN Sustainable Design CompetitionAmerican Institute of Architects [AIA] Middle Tennessee Chapter and Nashville Civic Design Center sponsered student design competitionwinner, “Exposure in Downtown Nashville”

2009: ACSA International Design CompetitionAmerican Collegiate Schools of Architecture [ACSA] Preservation as Provocation: Re-Thinking Kahn’s Salk Institute Competitionhonorable mention, “Into the Light: (re)Discovery at The Salk”

2009: Digital Fabrication Laboratory TechnicianUniversity of Tennessee, College of Architecture + Designoperate and service the laserCAM and three-axis CNC mill

2007-2008: Design Innovations ArchitectsStudent Internschematic design, record as-built measurements, redline shop drawings, catalogue mate-rials according to CSI Masterformat, organize project folders

2007: The Parent Company Construction, Inc.Field Engineer’s assistant surveyor; laboreruse laser surveying to site building components on the job site, measure grade, check elevations, organize RCP’s

2004: Flow Construction CompanyLaborerassist carpenters, haul materials, keep jobsite clean

2010: Verner Family SSOE International Scholarship

2009: Phi Gamma Delta Lincoln Fund

2007-10: Alvin G. + Sally M. Beaman Scholarship

2006-10: University of Tennessee Volunteer Scholarship

2006-10: Tennessee HOPE Scholarship

2006: Ed Rogers Memorial ScholarshipInaugural recipient, presented by the Architects, Contractors, and Engineers [ACE] Middle Tennessee Chapter

2005: Architects, Contractors, and Engineers [ACE] ScholarshipRecipient of the 2005 Middle Tennessee Chapter Scholarship

2009-: Construction Specifi cation Institute [CSI]

2008-: American Institute of Architecture Students [AIAS]

2007-10: Dean’s Student Advisory Council, College of Architecture

2007-: Phi Gamma Delta, Kappa Tau Chapter

Revit, Arcitecture and MEP versions

Rhinoceros

Grasshopper

AutoCAD, Architecture and Drafting versions

Form-Z

Sketch-Up

Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)

Microsoft Offi ce

*Hand drafting, sketching, montaging, writing

**references available upon request

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architecture hurts. it gets in our face, pushes us, calls us names. it can bully us into changing our routines. it can make us quiet, make us cry, make us uncomfortable. it can make us feel divided, feel separated, even feel in-ferior. it forces us to en-gage space whether we like it or not. architecture is un-sympathetic, it just does.it is for this reason architec-ture is such a powerful tool, and it is for this reason we can use it improve our condition.

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site plan

[CREATING SUSTAINABLE EXPOSURE IN DOWNTOWN NASHVILLE]winner, student design competition sponsered by AIA Middle TN | Nashville Community Design Center: ‘Bringing a Sustainable Education Center to Downtown Nashville’Architecture 471/431 . University of TN . Fourth Year . Fall Semester 2009

OBJECTIVE:To design a new, not-for-profi t Sustainability Education Center in the heart of the up-and-coming ‘SoBro’ [South of Broadway] neighborhood in downtown Nashville. This project involves creating a 30,000+ sq ft headquarters for four primary components: a community gallery to advertise new sus-tainable building solutions, offi ce space for the USGBC Nashville Chapter, a resource library, and a studio for the Civic Design Center. The extent of this project spans the conceptual, schematic, and design development phases.

SCOPE:As an urban plan, this project is about exposing ‘opportunities:’ to intervene on a site in such a way as to create a dense urban condition, which still offers integration between landscape and building. It further hopes to take advantage of the ‘typical’ urban block, utilizing the sug-gested height of a ‘downtown building’ as an opportunity to add high-rent program overlooking the Nashville skyline. On the ground, the ‘open’ threshold connecting the busy ‘Ave. of Sciences’ and the interior courtyard offers tremendous opportunity for programmable retail shops.

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ground lvl plan

ORGANIZATION:To ‘expose’ the building’s programmatic opportunities, the plan is open, transparent, and ad-justable. A tall glass ‘private’ bar creates the North edge for the site, utilizing the con-sistency of Northern light and the added height needed to see out over downtown; a short glass ‘public’ bar engages the ‘Ave. of Sciences,’ pushing up to its sidewalk to catalyze movement in and through the ground level’s consumer amenities, and into the park space. Because each ‘bar’ is largely free-plan, each offers the opportunity for its programs to swell or defl ate depending on how much space is necessary. For example, the exhibition gallery can occupy the length of the east wing, or be reduced with its sliding doors into smaller galleries, classrooms, etc. Since the ‘open-ness’ of the free-plan is visually integrated with the ‘openness’ of the views out to the courtyard, the ‘glass bridges’ invite impromptu functions like weddings, or conferences.

SUSTAINABILITY:This project hopes to expose ‘sustainability’ most signifi cantly by being completely un-sustain-able. ‘Sustainability’ denotates endurance, staticism, and existence: it is my hope my building accomplishes none of these things. I design it to be versatile, changing, and temporary. Because ‘sustainability’ should be more than just a marketing fad, I am concerned more with how this building will exist in the future, not just perform. Performance is a given. This project is cre-ated from modular, factory-standard recyclable materials (except MEP and Solar systems), and ev-ery single one of its connections (except the foundations and masonry mortar joints) are quickly removable. The goal for this building is to be entirely disassembled, and able to be hauled away in 53’ standard shipping containers.

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lvl 3 plan

lvl 2 rcp

mep system

structure axon

SYSTEMS:This building exposes three levels of systems: moving, building, and mechanical systems.

The ‘moving system’ includes the glass stair towers that occupy the short end of each wing, and the concrete elevator core in the knuckle of the two wings. These objects exist independently from the building’s structure, working as exposed perimeter ‘bearing walls’ for each wing.

The ‘building system’ includes the three levels of building structure. The ‘bones’ of the build-ing are galvanized steel columns, supporting a 2-way system of double-cantilevered glulam beams. The ‘fl esh’ consists of individual pieces of dimensional lumber used as a screen for the exposed ceiling, and decking for the fl oor system. It also includes the interior perimeter curtain--opera

SYSTEMS (CON’T):ble glazing walls created from dimensional lumber and ‘low-e’ glass panels. The ‘skin’ is exposed through its reclaimed exterior scaffolding system--erected to fi rst construct the building within it, then to hang the skin’s photovoltaic lattice panels of ‘solar ivy’ shading screens from.

The ‘mechanical system’ includes the HVAC, electrical, and plumbing components. The individual heat pumps + heat recovery ventilator allow effi cient temperature control for each building wing, and exists as a tight enough package to embed inside the wood screen plume which hovers above each fl oor. Each wing’s system culminates in a glass return case, both showcasing the components of each system and also providing a liquid-crystal display interface to visually monitor the sys-tem’s energy use. This visual bar graph hopes to make users more aware of energy consumption.

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ground lvl plan

lab lvl 2 plan

lab lvl 3 plan

cc lvl 2 plan

cc lvl 3 plan

[INTO THE LIGHT: (re)DISCOVERY THE SALK]honorable mention, international student design competition sponsered by ACSA: ‘Preservation as Provocation: Re-Thinking Kahn’s Salk Institute’Architecture 372 . University of TN . Third Year . Spring Semester 2009

OBJECTIVE:Designed in the 1960’s under the talented hand of Louis I. Kahn, The Salk Institute represents a reformation of Humanist value in the 20th century. However, its triumphant scientifi c break-throughs have expanded this complex to a point where it is out of space. The dilemma here con-cerns how one can add facilities while still preserving the empirical narrative in Kahn’s design, engaging the existing architecture with the new to make the notion of discovery more provocative.

SCOPE:The brief calls for additions to the Salk campus similar to Kahn’s original masterplan--a commu-nity/conference center, and hotel/apartments for visiting scientists; however, three more ad-ditional laboratory wings are included in the brief, aside from the two built by Anshen+Allen in 1996. To create this masterplan the scheme reclaims Kahn’s main element--the central axis of procession--and extrudes it to the Eastern perimeter of the site, as an ordering device for the new laboratory, community center/hotel, and underground additions.

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perspective of museum cells

ORGANIZATION:Beginning the experience underground at the Eastern border of the site, one moves through the entirety of the campus buildings in a Rationalist sequence of archetypical procession, start-ing the journey in the pits of darkness (eastside, underground) and ultimately ascending into the light (westside, courtyard). The programmatic components are organized along this path according to four points in the Empirical discovery process: rumination, evaluation, refl ection, and revela-tion. Rumination includes the Eastern perimeter areas, specifi cally the new laboratories, com-munity center/hotel, and underground museum path. Evaluation includes excavating and expanding the area underneath the Anshen+Allen additions. Refl ection consists of the space where one breaks through the ground plane, and starts moving slowly up through the daylight, from underground. Revelation takes place in Kahn’s subliminal courtyard, looking forward to the infi nite horizon.

SYSTEMS:Light and darkness govern all the design decisions in this project. In the new (above-ground) construction translucent concrete panels enclose the envelop of each building [see wall section], with the only direct glazing reserved for the balcony decks of the laboratory and community cen-ter, which stare across the main ‘axis of procession’ at each other. The fl oor and ceilings in these spaces are sleek, even planes of light. The ‘ceiling’ is made of continuous translucent glass panels to hide all the lighting and mechanical systems. The ‘fl oor’ is made from refl ective, damage resistant rubber insulation panels. The underground procession, museum cells, and parking garage are created from thick, dark cast-in-place concrete. Light and air only enter these spaces from controlled incisions in the ground plane, above [as shown in wall section].

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[VARIABLE SPEEDS: CREATING A MOVING TRA NSIT PARK in CHATT ANOOGA ]Architecture 371 . University of TN . Third Year . Fall Semester 2008

OBJECTIVE:Chattanooga, Tennessee once again has the opportunity to become the largest transit hub in the Southeast: the arrival of the mammoth new Volkswagen manufacturing plant reignited interest in developing a MAG-LEV [monorail] line to connect Chattanooga’s outlying Hartsfi eld-Jackson Air-port to the major Atlanta, and Nashville International Airports. This high-speed connection would predicate introducing a major infrastructure terminal into downtown Chattanooga, something to fa-cilitate moving users along this transit line, but also something to provide a new visual ‘gate-way’ into the growing, changing city of Chattanooga.

SCOPE:This project is therefore two-sided: one part must be a ‘gateway,’ and one part must be a ‘path.’ The ‘gateway’ becomes the critical arrival/departure point for the day adventurers coming in to the city, and the daily workforce going out. The ‘path’ becomes a link--merging with the existing University of TN-Chattanooga greenway--to fl ow through the station, sweeping up visitors and car-rying them down the length of the site, out towards the University and the developing riverfront area. This wave is programmed to respond to various ‘speeds’ of the people using it, creating zones for those who stop, those who move, and those who pause, as they fi lter down its path.

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ground lvl plan

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ORGANIZATION:The scheme is organized like a machine: simple, direct, and effi cient. Each bay accommodates a specifi c set of uses, and is linked to the other bays at various points by the fi ngers of the greenway that run through the site. The left bay (the ‘stop-ing’ bay) accommodates the covered bus stop and parking lot. The middle (‘move-ing’) bay is for those who pass through the site en route to somewhere else--programmed with a bike/segway rental station at the top of terminal, it fl ows down as a giant path, through an expansive farmers’ market shed, and out into downtown Chat-tanooga. The right bay (the ‘pause-ing’ bay) is for those who are casually moving through the site--pausing to glance back at the giant information screen hanging from the train station, or to grab coffee and a quick bite at the organic restaurant at the top of the path.

SUSTAINABILITY:This project investigates a greater problem: how can we re-think (and re-invent) the way we move through the city? Catalyzed by the growing problems of air pollution, fossil fuel consumption, and the ‘heat island effect,’ how can we re-program the means by which we circumnavigate urban areas to reduce these problems?. As a gateway into ‘new’ Chattanooga, this project has the hidden opportunity to infl uence the way people will see Chattanooga. Programming the various pathways of this experience with sustainable infrastructure--including a bus stop, bike and segway rentals, and special elevated photovoltaic pathways--hopes to push the necessity for the personal automo-bile (and its large asphalt parking lot) underground. The way each path encounters program--by engaging it--creates a more dynamic urban experience, one where streets can cut through build-ings, offering a more direct (and more interesting) way to experience the urban grid.

Narrative: A man drowning in frustration and grief sits lost in a waiting room chair. Unable to cope with his pain, he rises, then stumbles off shakily to get a breath of fresh air. En route to the veranda, he stumbles across the grieving

machine, hiding unassumingly in plain sight.

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I press my hand to its cold fl esh—then step back—startled how effortlessly the heavy vault door pushes aside. As this barrier slides away I notice the intense

rush of light inside fades to a faint bath.

I step inside.

Perplexed and curious, my eyes survey the interior of warm silvery fl esh: a plain wooden chair with no joints; a small steel cabinet lined with one volume of each religious manual; a machined sign post bearing the notice: “POWER OUT BEYOND THIS

CURTAIN; PLEASE PROCEED TO THE CHAPEL THROUGH THE DARKNESS.”

A chapel.

Lifting my eyes from the last words of the text I abruptly notice a heavy black curtain staring at me. I push its thick velvet skin aside. As the rings of its curtain rod clank away I feel the lights dim around me. I hear gears begin to turn

swiftly as I plunge inside.

Void of any vision, I take a step into the black abyss—the smooth fl oor moves ef-fortlessly beneath my clumsy feet. I take another. And another. As I wade through the darkness my anguish returns to me—Where is this chapel? How long is this

hallway?

I move faster now—feverishly—hoping my delirious steps will deliver me farther and farther from my suffering. With each step the echoes grow, distancing me from the world I leave behind. My hallway continues to grow. I keep moving, trying to

push my pain away.

After some time I pause, exhausted, struck by the consciousness of my surround-ings. I hear myself panting—the gentle sound resonates for miles.

Where am I?

As I move farther, I begin realize for the fi rst time how alone I am—traveling through the vastness of empty black space. Isolation—it is here, in the darkness, I can come to terms with myself and absorb my grief. It is here I can transcend

my suffering—meditating in the deep abyss.

There is no time, no space. I close my eyes and disappear.

Some time later I feel something begin to return inside me. It starts small—a spark buried in the depths of my soul—growing stronger, getting larger as it comes to the surface. I can feel it push through the brink of my envelope —stretching the skin as it tries to force its way out—then, in a rush of pain and catharsis—POP!

Something bursts.

My body levitates. I feel the comfort and solace pour out of me into the unknown. I collapse to my knees.

After a long pause, I sigh—throw my head back—and take a deep breath. I stand to go, and as I turn I notice something: the fl oor moves much more stiffl y now under my feet. Confused I take a step forward, back the way I came, toward the door. WACK! I jump back in terror as I feel the soft velvet curtain touch my face. I pause for a moment. Timidly, I reach for the curtain, fi nd it, and cautiously pull it away. The same dim light as before reappears, casting its soft glow over the silvery

interior. I step out bewildered.

How could this be?

I smirk, letting out a soft laugh of disbelief as I shake my head. I turn, take one last glance at the dark abyss peeking out at me from the curtain, then turn

around, open the door, and walk back out into the hospital.

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[CREATING A POETIC MACHINE: ‘. . .IN MY DARKEST HOUR’]Architecture 425-‘Poet Tech’ . University of TN . Fourth Year . Fall Semester 2009

OBJECTIVE:‘…In My Darkest Hour’ is a grieving machine. Its purpose is to use mechanization as it is in-tended: as a means to an end. The ‘means’ here uses the machine as a vehicle to facilitate the dissemination of grief, triggering the user to let go; the ‘end’ is the climax of this experi-ence, resulting in a catharsystic breath of peace and solace. The machine holds its ‘means’ in an acoustical chamber, using reverberating microphones to create a cathedral within a closet. It is my intention to place this machine in a hospital--unassumingly in plain sight--for those visitors, swollen with grief for their loved ones dying within the hospital’s walls, to stumble upon.

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[EDGE CITY: CREATING FORM THROUGH URBAN FABRI(k)]Architecture 271 . University of TN . Second Year . Fall Semester 2007

OBJECTIVE:To create a metal fabrication factory for the edge of North Knoxville, Tennessee, right under an elevated section of Interstate-40. Sitting in no-man’s-land, underneath an old interstate over-pass, this project reclaims ‘useless’ land to create a metal shop with space for production/fab-rication, and exhibition gallery, administrative offi ces/design studios, employee facilities, and a lecture hall. Occupying the ‘dead zone’ between the well-established downtown area one block south, and the derelict district of homeless shelters one block to the north, this site has sev-eral unique conditions.

SCOPE:Developed historically as two separate neighborhoods, at the point where these districts con-verge, two different urban grids collide--offering a division between ‘production’ (south) and ‘administration’ (north). The production facility (organized on the regular ‘south’ grid) is planned with effi ciency in mind, organizing spaces from right (where raw materials enter) to left (where fi nished products exit) sequentially. The administrative wing (organized on the chaotic ‘north’ grid), sprawls out from underneath I-40 creating a visually engaging form to mark this facility’s presence, both on the street and interstate levels.

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OBJECTIVE:To redefi ne the traditional wooden park bench. This project asks several questions: how can a park bench be easily fabricated, easily transported, and easily assembled? How can it utilize the prop-erties of its ‘material’ without looking boring? How can it be adjustable? This solution, created from only several pieces of recycled plywood, explores how a park bench can be digitally cut, stacked fl at as individual pieces for transport, and assembled with increasing amounts of ‘sections’ to change the usability and form of the object.

[UT ZERO ENERGY HOUSE: ‘FALLING LEAVES’]Architecture 425-‘Digital Fabrication’ . University of TN . Fourth Year . Fall Semester 2009

OBJECTIVE:To create outdoor lounge furniture for the University of Tennessee ‘net-zero’ energy pavilion. Made to resemble a collection of fallen leaves scattered around the pavilion, this object is lightweight and multi-purposeful in its design. Its porosity allows for lightweight construction, making it mobile, but also ensures the campus grass it sits on will not die. The arched shape cre-ates a three-person bench, but when fl ipped over functions and as a rocking lounge. Parametric de-sign programs allow the pattern and density of the structure to vary.

[(re)INVENTING THE PARK BENCH]group project, additional members: Walter Smith, Matt Childress Architecture 425-‘Digital Fabrication’ . University of TN . Fourth Year . Fall Semester 2009

clay adkissoncadkisso@utk.edu