Portfolio Architecture and Design

Jessica N Luscher

I am seeking a challenging entry-level position as a designer in an innovative architecture firm where I can expand my design skills and gain expertise as I pursue my career and license as an Architect.

RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN (RISD), Providence, RI Bachelor of ArchitectureRISD Scholarship Program, Final GPA: 3.7 Bachelor of Fine Arts 2009-2014

HONG KONG UNIVERSITY, Hong Kong Semester Abroad, BA(AS)Faculty of Architecture, Visiting Student Fall 2012

PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS, Erie, PA Architecture, 2008Scholarship-based Pre-college Summer Program

STATE COLLEGE AREA HIGH SCHOOL, State College, PA High School DiplomaHigh Honors Student, Top 7% of Graduating Class, Debate Team 2006-2009

EDUCATION

TechSTYLE HOUSE, Solar Decathlon Europe 2014, Versailles, France

• Worked as a primary 3D parametric modeling expert on our 100+ student team,

• communicated our design aesthetic to structural consultants and Tensile Fabric

Specialists in USA and Germany to design the structure of our tensile membrane

house, with focus on ease of construction and Passiv Haus energy efficiency.

• Attended weekly Site Operations meetings with Shawmut Construction in RI, to

coordinate the 9 day construction/disassembly of the house

RISD CAD LAB, Technician’s Assistant, Computer Lab Manager, Providence, RI

• Developed leadership, management and conflict resolution skills while hiring, training

and coordinating the team of 27 student computer lab monitors for the RISD Architec-

ture Department.

• in charge of repairing and monitoring all CAD Lab hardware.

RISD DESIGN + BUILD, Blossom Community Garden, Pawtucket, RI

• Elected as one of six Project Design Managers of a studio in which 70 RISD MArch and

BArch students cooperatively designed and built a permanent raised garden and two

pavilions

• Elected as one of six student represenatives to speak at the Final Presentation of the

finished project. Represented our team for community leaders, clients, students and

faculty, 17 guest critics, and the media

ACADEMIC

LEADERSHIP

(1 of 2)

Student Designer, 2013-2014

Lab Manager, 2013-2014

Student Leader, Spring 2011

Rhode Island School of Design BArch 2014, BFA 2014, Providence, RI, USA

814.380.2461 / jluscher@risd.edu / Online at http://issuu.com/jessicaluscherr

Jessica N Luscher

Architectural Visualization Intern, June 2014-Present

Design Intern, June-August 2013

Design Intern, June-August 2012

Design Intern, June-July 2011

Design Intern, July-August 2011

Summer Intern, 2008

Rhode Island School of Design BArch 2014, BFA 2014, Providence, RI, USA

814.380.2461 / jluscher@risd.edu / Online at http://issuu.com/jessicaluscherr

(2 of 2)

HARTNESS VISION, Boston, MA, USA

• Creates precise, imaginative architectural visualizations to help clarify, strengthen and

communicate conceptual, narrative and aesthetic aspects of design projects

PAYETTE, Boston, MA, USA

• Designed an efficient parametric script to model project’s 800+ unique vertical fins for

shading

• My script’s outputs allowed us to instantly correct issues pinpointed by our structural

consultants, efficiently disperse fin geometry and density variations for lighting quality tests,

and produce precise building renderings and an efficiently fabricated physical model.

FISCHER ARCHITEKTEN AG, Zurich, Switzerland

• Completed a competition entry for a 60-apartment complex in Zurich

• Completed site analysis, building concepts, apartment layout design, client profiling, and

landscape concepts, all necessary diagrams, final presentation layout

• German Language: Drafted weekly Design Team meetings’ agenda in German

EMCH + BERGER GESAMTPLANUNG HOCHBAU, Basel, Switzerland

• Independently developed remodeling concepts for the rooftop condition of a large multi-use

facility in Basel in order to discern the project’s future

• German Language: Presented to the project’s engineers / owners in German and English

BACHELARD WAGNER ARCHITECTS, Basel, Switzerland

• Performed landscaping and façade studies for a 7-building, 360-apartment complex

planned for Schwamendingen, Zurich Switzerland

ZULAUF & SCHMIDLIN ARCHITECTS, Zurich, Switzerland

• Designed a built-in storage unit for a physiotherapy clinic

PROFESSIONAL

EXPERIENCE

Professional experience at six diverse firms in Europe and the United States.

• Project Categories: large/small-scale housing, academic, mixed use, laboratory, interior/refurbishing

and urban design/landscaping

• Tasks: Competitions, Schematic Design, Design Development, Site Surveial and Analysis, Site and

Project Documentation, Facade Design/Parametrics, Layouts/Graphic Design, Final Renderings, Cost

Calculations

• Digital and physical modeling, parametric modeling/scripting and digital fabrication.

• 10-hr OSHA Health and Safety certification, on-site small-scale construction experience

• Mac and Windows, AutoCAD, Revit, Archicad, Rhino 3D (Grasshopper parametric modeling. basic Python

scripting knowledge), Adobe Creative Suite, Lightroom, VRay and VectorWorks.

• Bilingual Swiss German/English. Basic Spanish. USA/Switzerland Dual Citizen. Past residence in USA, Eu-

rope, Asia leads to an understanding of diverse world cultures, lifestyles, building and living environments.

• Fine Arts/Architecture Double Bachelors degrees included crossdisciplinary design and technical instruc-

tion in fields including Graphic, Interior, and Furniture Design, Drawing, etc (in addition to completing all

courses required for an Architectural License in the USA)

• Able to learn computer programs quickly and apply them to projects creatively and intelligently

• Hardworking, determined, focused, and self-disciplined. Socially outgoing and collaborative

STRENGTHS

Jessica N Luscher

BArch Academic Work (2010-June 2014)

BArch Thesis: Stillness in Motion: Excavation of an Alpine Soundscape.............

Breath of the Mountain: A Voice for Each House............................

Architecture of Ground and Sky: Vineyard and Winery Design .................

Mass, Tower, Hill: Concrete Formwork Design for Housing in Hong Kong..........

Providence Train Station and Hotel................................................. Urban Villiage: Reinterpreting the Cohousing Model....................................

Solar Decathlon Europe 2014: TechStyle Haus.....................................

Recent Professional Experience (2010-Present)

Hartness Vision................................................................................ Payette..............................................................................................

Fischer Architekten..........................................................................

Emch + Berger Gesamptplanung Hochbau.....................................

BFA Fine Arts Work (2008-2013)

Fine Art Samples..............................................................................

Table of Contents

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RISD BArch Thesis, Thesis Award Nomination

Part 1: Drawing and Making Ideas through Process

The drawings below were produced throughout the first

half of my thesis research period. This hybrid hand-dig-

ital drawing process allows me to develop and distill

ideas for a project concept and further investigation.

Elements of each piece were then carried into the final

work, which is portrayed in more detail in the following

pages. The works are created with a mixture of hand

drafting, acrylics, ink, graphite and computer enhance-

ment via Rhino, Vray and Photoshop. Each drawing is 64

inches tall.

STILLNESS IN MOTION: EXCAVATION OF AN ALPINE SOUNDSCAPE

Part 2: Collecting Sound in the Oeschinen Valley

The Oeschinen Valley is a special place in the central Swiss Alps which I have had the priveledge of exploring repeatedly both while I lived in neadby Zurich and long after I moved to the United States.

The project tests how a site can be experientially excavated, collected and amplified into a single enclosed space using sound. The Sound Vessel is designed to excavate and amplify the subtle sounds of nature in order to enhanve the visitor’s understanding of this place.

The excavation relies on basic physical properties of sound waves, water and ice, and the existing geometry of the particular site. The project is designed to have a low impact on the existing site, but a large impact on the people who move through it.

The lake center is the ideal location to successfully

excavate sound from across the valley due to the

specific mountain geometry, glacial water properties,

and connection to various fluctuations in the site. (See

Diagrams to right)

RIGHT: In order to build the sound vessel, a site-

specific dry dock and crane are constructed at the

edge of the lake. The empty structure remains on the

shoreline while the soundvessel drifts into the water.

The Dock is reappropriates as a boat dock for the

nearby hotel, but hikers will wonder what prompted

the Dock’s construction and they will feel the absence

of the vessel which it is built to support.

LEFT: This Site Plan shows the roads and

hiking routes which connect the Oeschinen

Glacial Lake to the Swiss Alpine Trail Network

and its popular hiking lodges in the mountains

above, as well as neadby Kandersteg, a popular

tourist destination nestled in the valley below.

Final Sound Vessel Path

Sound Sources

Lake Inlets/ Water Sound

Sound gravitates towards cooler air near lake surface

Mountain bowl geometry bounces sound into lake center

Front a distance, the largely

submerged Sound Vessel looks like

a floating disk.

Swimmers and boaters can

sunbathe on the gently sloped roof

or enter the submerged portion of

the vessel through the oculus.

Water Datum Line Plan

Roof Plan

Radial Geometry

Machine Room Plan

40’ of seasonal

water level

change due to

glacial melt

Part 3: How It Works: Sound Physics Study and Demo Models`

Model 1: Vibratios Resonate via Sound Box

The vibrations of the metal spring are inaudible until a

styrofoam cut is inserted into the spring, allowing the

vibrations to resonate. (from silence up to 60 decibels)

Similarly, a vessel in the datum line of the water will

amplify otherwise inaudible vibrations in the water.

Model 2: Buoyancy, Cable Tension and Pitch

A vertical column of water provides an upward buoyant

force on an aluminum can anchored by an elastic

cable.

Varyations in the water level change tension in the

cable and the frequency with which cibrations are

propogated through the cable to the can.

Similiarly, pitch of the sound produced inside the sound

vessel will vary with the depth of the water in the lake.

(seasonally varying lake depth +-40’0”).

Axon illustrating the lock and

tackle pulley system (red) which

teathers the Sound Vessel to

the lake bottom. The tension of

the cable is regulated by a large

walking crank located in the

machine room.

Part 4: Details and Presentation

A final 1/2” = 1’0” model was constructed from

various thicknesses of lasercut baltic birch

plywood, which was stained, painted and laquered

to represent various materials. The model was

presented suspended in a sheet of engraved

plexiglass symbolizing the water plane of the lake.

For more drawings and information on this project

please visit my online portfolio.

The model is constructed radially, using 13 simple flat modules which notch together (ribs are designed on a 15 degree increment)

The following two pages summarize a project

which led directly into my thesis project on

the understanding of site and place through

sound.

There are several seasonally inhabited

buidings located throughout the mountain

bowl. In order to create a network between

these distant locations, I designed a series

of organ pipes to be mounted on the roof of

each mountain lodge. Via this sound network,

the Breath of the Mountain provided a unique

voice for each house, regardless of time of

year or seasonally varying occupation.

ABOVE: Experiential section showing the hiking route from the Oeshinen Lake up to the Fruendenhuette. (Lodges marked in red).

BELOW: Exloded Secton Perspective the Fruendenhutte.

BREATH OF THE MOUNTAIN: A VOICE FOR EACH HOUSE

Freundenhutte 2562m

Temporal hiker’s lodge, open mid-June to beginning

of October. accommodates 40 people in dormitory

style bunks a 7 hour hike from the Oschinensee.

Freundenhutte Building Crosssection depicts the integration of the organ flue pipe into the roof

I subsequendly designed and built a set of four wooden organ pipes at human scale. The pipe organs allowed me to translate the interactive sound network between the mountain houses into an interpersonal connection formed between strangers in the Architecture building. The medium, sound, remained the same.

This project led directly into my Bachelor of Architecture Thesis.

ABOVE: Sudies of common organ pipe sections. Depending on materiality and sectional conditions, organ pipes can be designed to imitate many different families of instruments. Pitch is varied via pipe length.

ABOVE: Studies of a harmonica

ARCHITECTURE OF GROUND AND SKYCinematic Manipulation for Constructed UnderstandingAdvanced Studio: Re-imagining the Many Scales of Wine, Silvia Acosta, Spring 2013

The Architecture is built to register the visitor

within the surrounding landscape. Through natu-

ral and constructed datum lines, the architecture

frames landscape, extends landscape, and pro-

vides varying understanding of time, scale, and

material in the vineyard.

The farmers market is constructed for the Ground.

The greenhouse is for the Sky.

The Farmer’s Market is constructed for the Ground.

The Farmer’s Market is constructed for the Ground.

FaF rmr er’s Market Plan

Farmer’s Market Cross Sectionshows arc of the roof moving with the flow of the earth berm

Farmer’s Market Shade Structure, seen from performance amphitheatre.

Greenhouse Interior View, Facing South

The Greenhouse is constructed for the Sky.

Longitudinal Section Facing East

Greenhouse Plan

The Greenhouse is constructed for the Sky.

Roof Structural Diagram

(In cooperaton with a 3rd Year BA(AS) student at the University of Hong Kong, Kelly Ziqi Zhao)

Through an indepth analysis of Tunneling Formwork,

we aimed to design an innovative construction system

for insitu cast concrete housing projects. The effec-

tive, economical formwork precedent was pushed to

overcome its spatial limitations. The final structural

system was applied to a hypothetical site, simulating

the steep, varied terrain common in Hong Kong.

A continuous load path maintains structural efficien-

cy despite spatial variance.

Splitlevels and Connections creates varying spatial dia-

logues and scales and masks

the repetitive building piece.

Terracing of Units adapts to a sloped site. It

creates views and outdoor

space at the unit level.

Project Goals in Diagram

The three main goals of

the design investigation

of tunneling formwork

are detailed below.

MASS, TOWER AND HILLConcrete Construction for Housing in Hong Kong

LEFT: The tunneling system is redesigned as a specific set of five modular units which can be reused to cast countless

spatial combinations while maintaining the system’s original efficiency and cost effective characteristics.

ABOVE: Numerous concrete models were made to experiment with concrete properties, formwork design, and spatial pos-

sibilities.

BELOW: The axon below diagrams the floor-by-floor concrete construction system, followed by the insertion of prefabricat-

ed door and window modules.

MODELS: Models were built to consider concrete prop-erties, unit aggregation, formwork design, and spa-tial possibilities.

BELOW: The plan and Longitudinal section below portray the final structural system applied to a hypothetical 90 degree

arc, simulating the steep, varied terrain common in Hong Kong.

Plan

Longitudinal

Section

90 Degrees

DIAGRAMS BELOW: The formwork was developed to allow for apartments which vary in section as well as in plan.

Cross Section

Units are created out of groups of 3 split-level spaces between corridors (corridors in yellow).

Corridors are reduced to every three floors to eliminate redundancies.

Apartments absorb this redundant circulation, allowing unit expansion and variability.

BELOW RIGHT: The Final Concrete model (scale 1:50), represents 9 stories of split-level housing. It was cast in 19 stages to mimic the proposed floor-by-floor construction method. The final model weighed about 45 kilos.

Proposed Station

ABOVE: Urban Massing Proposal for the development of downtown ProvidenceBELOW: Train Station, Hotel and Conference Center plans

EXIS

TIN

G C

ON

DIT

ION

Ground Floor: Train Station Hall, Bus Terminal, Mixed-Use Commercial

Floor 2: Conference Center with Ballroom

Floor 3: Hotel Lobby, Restaurant, and Upper Ballroom

TRAIN STATION, EXCHANGE PLACE AND HOTELA Public Center for Providence, RIAdvanced Studio, Spring 2012

This design explores Train Station as:

City Threshold Historical Reference Providence Icon for IdentityCommercial Enterprise Hub

A new, larger train station and interchange hub in downtown Providence will connect Providence to an extensive network of cities in the Northeast. The improved access will increase exchange of capital, flow of people, entertainment, and culture, and make Providence a much more attractive place to live and work.

The massing of the station hall above the tracks expresses the powerful axis of moving trains below and imparts this energy to the cityscape.

The building’s diverse mixed-use program will promote the train station as an important and vibrant place in Downtown Providence.

Floor 4-7: Typical Hotel Floor

N

Train

Tr

acks

Tra

Waterfront

Downtown

2nd Floor confer-ence rooms with train lobby view

Hotel

Cross section showing hotel reorientation over train tracks

2nd Floor confer-ence rooms with train lobby view

Longitudinal section showing train rein-

tegration through train building’s diverse

user groups

Hallways upstairs allow views into the train hall.

Double-height ballroom and lobby area connect into the hotel restaurant.

RestaurantBallroom

Bus Terminal

LobbyHotel Lobby

State House Views

RISD Urban Design Principles. Fall 2011

Considering an urban context in post-industrial

Providence, I was asked to design housing in

proximity to Brown University’s Medical School.

50 units for medical students, 50 units of elderly living50 units of Faculty Hotel

I designed two apartment blocks that integrate

housing for the elderly, graduate students, and

families of medical students and young faculty.

The floorplan aims to promote cooperative

family-style living, giving residents the option to

make the best of their generally displaced living

circumstances.

Private Room

Shared Space

Private Room

Shared Space

Atrium Cross Section

Unit SectionThrough Shared Dining Room

URBAN VILLAGE:Cohousing Model Reinterpreted

1 TO 3 BEDROOM UNITS (wach with livingroom and bathroom)

UNIT QUADS(around shared living areas )

PAIRS OF UNITS (around front porches)

BUILDING ATRIUM(with communal ammenities)

form around aform

N

2nd Floor Plan 4th Floor Plan

TECHSTYLE HAUSSolar Decathlon Europe 2014An international team of students from three univer-

sities collaborated to design and build the first-ever

Solar Decathlon entry to incorporate a complete tex-

tile enclosure. The house, built to Passivhaus energy

standards and powered exclusively by solar power, was

built first in Providence and then in Versailles, France

for the 2014 Solar Decathlon competition.

MY LEADERSHIP:

Structural Construction Detailing

Detailed the required structural sections, plans, and

details for the Structural portion of our Design Devel-

opment deadline for Solar Decathlon Europe.

3D Parametric Modeler

Worked closely with our Tensile Fabric Specialists

as a primary 3D parametric modeling expert on our

100+ student team in order to find the best spatial and

structural solution for our house’s tensile mem-

brane enclosure.

Construction Coordination

Attended weekly Site Operations Coordination meet-

ings with Shawmut Construction to coordinate the

project construction schedule.

ABOVE: Current Renderings of our tensile membrane design and photos of the mock-up house while under construction in a warehouse in Providence.

ABOVE: Output from my grasshopper script, which allowed us to share the desired shape of our tensile structure with our consultants.

BELOW: Drawings I made which were part of the structural drawing set submitted by our team at the end of Design Development.

PROFESSIONAL WORK SAMPLES (1 of 4)

HartnessVision

During my summer at HartnessVision, I worked as

part of a four-person team of visualization consul-

tants. We use strong transdisciplinary skills, spatial

understanding, and creative/aesthetic talents to create

precise, imaginative architectural visualizations. Our

design input helps clarify, strengthen and communicate

conceptual, narrative, and aesthetic aspects of design

projects for consulting architectural, landscape and

urban design firms.

All of the imagery on this page was created in close

collaboration with the members of my team at Hart-

ness Vision and in dialogue with client design teams

including Sasaki Associates (Boston), Perkins + Will

(Atlanta) and Utile (Boston).

Architectural Vizualization Intern, June 2014- PresentBoston, Massachusetts, USA

At Payette, I translated a project’s facade concept into an extensive parametric script which efficiently modeled variations of the building’s 800+ unique vertical fins for shading. My 3D models were shared with our structural consultants, building scientists and the rendering team during the Design Development phase of the project. I attended meetings with these consultants to contribute to discussions on facade structural issues, lighting and shading, and building imagery. I also built the 1/8” scale sectional model of the building and rendered the images shown on this page.

PROFESSIONAL WORK SAMPLES (2 of 4 )Design Intern, June-August 2013Boston, MA, USA

PROFESSIONAL WORK SAMPLES (3 of 4 )

During this three-month internship I worked in a 3-person team on a competition entry for a 60-apartment complex in Zurich. I participated in all design phases from site analysis and initial building concepts to apartment layout design, client profling, and landscape/garden concepts.

I was in charge of designing the final presenta-tion layout and illustrating all necessary sche-matic diagrams. I detailed the final 1:500 con-textual plans. During Design Team meetings, I drafted the weekly agenda with German Lan-guage proficiency.

Design Intern, June-August 2012Basel, Switzerland

Emch+Berger AG Gesamtplanung Hochbau

During my summer internship, Emch + Berger was coordinating the massive renovation of a large multi-use facility in a suburb of Basel. I was put in charge of photo-documenting a section of the building’s rooftop which originally held a covered swimming pool, a fitness center, a small 90-seat auditorium, and multiple garden terraces.

I was asked to develop a series of remodeling concepts for this portion of the project, which I then presented through manual and digital sketches in powerpoint and printed book formats to groups of outside professionals, including the project’s engineers and owners, in order to facilitate a dialogue regarding possibile design options. My presentations were conducted in both English and German.

PROFESSIONAL WORK SAMPLES (4 of 4 )Design Intern, Summer 2011Basel, Switzerland

RISD’s BArch program is unique because it allows Architecture students pursuing their professional degrees towards licensure to concurrently pursue a supporting, enriching BFA, with a strong focus on thinking through making. This thinking is inherently important to architectural design.

Paper cones on fabric were used to articulate and document complex curves around Providence.

Flat stainless steel and aluminum sheets fold up into cubes with high compressive strength. De-pending on the direction of the exerted tensile force, the cubes flex to articulate various textures.

BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS SAMPLE WORK

Violin Box. Stained poplar wood, hand carved ( 8” x 6” x19”) Oil paint, sewn thread and paper collage on layered canvas (13” x 24”)

Thank You!Please do not hesitate to contact me for more information.

Jessica Luscher

Rhode Island School of DesignBArch 2014BFA 2013

jluscher@risd.edu814-380-2461Portfolio online at http://issuu.com/jessicaluscher