AVIVA NOVICKSELECTED PROJECTS

AGRARIAN CENTER

For this studio, each student chose to focus on a different aspect of the program for this Center for Urban Agrarian Culture. The portion shown here are two connected buildings - a community kitchen designed by another student and a community dining and event space designed by me. The project explores our relationship to the land, water, and the food we grow.

3/16” = 1’-0”

EARTH BRICK HOUSINGGRADUATE THESIS

The Qechua people of the Andes Mountains face certain challeneges in the 21st Century that threaten their way of life and ecosystem. For generations they have farmed on terraces on the slopes of the mountains. Tourism, and the decreasing profitability of agriculture have led to overdevelopment of the region and over 75% of these terraces to become abandoned.

After spending a month traveling in Peru, I wished to address these challeneges through my role as an architect. By analyzing all of the resources available and organizing them as an autonomous system, the Qechua people can maintain control over the growth and income of their communities, the tourists can continue to visit, and the land is protected.

These abandoned farming terraces can be turned into vibrant self sustaining communities, restoring them to their original use plus more.

IN ADDITION TO ASSISTING IN FARMING AND COMMUNITY BUILDING PROJECTS, THE WOMEN OF THE ANDES SPIN ALPACA WOOL INTO YARN TO WEAVE INTO FABRIC. THESE FABRICS ARE USED TO PRODUCE CLOTHING AND BLANKETS FOR THEMSELVES AND FOR SELLING IN THE MARKETS

THE ALTITUDE IN THE ANDES MOUNTAINS CAN REACH OVER 6,000 METERS / 22,000 FEET

THE PRACTICE OF FOOD CULTIVATION HERE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED OVER HUNDREDS OF YEARS

RAINWATER COLLECTION IS INTEGRATED INTO THE NEW HOUSING SYSTEM

THE EARTH BRICK WALLS ABSORB HEAT FROM THE SUN DURING THE DAY AND RELEASE IT AT NIGHT WHEN OUTSIDE TEMPERATURES FALL, KEEPING THE HOME WARM AT ALL TIMES

A PRESS IS USED TO FABRICATE STRONGER COMPRESSED EARTH BRICKS AT A FASTER RATE

FARMING TERRACES HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED ON THE SLOPES OF THE ANDES MOUNTAINS FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS. THIS PRACTICE IS STILL IN USE TODAY, BUT OF THE 1 MILLION HECTARES OF TERRACES IN THE ANDES, 75% ARE NO LONGER IN USE

BENEFITS OF TERRACE FARMING TECHNOLOGY:

RETAIN HEAT ENERGY FROM SUNGRAVITY FED IRRIGATION SYSTEMINCREASE SURFACE AREA AND CREATE ARABLE LANDPREVENT SOIL EROSION AND SURFACE RUNOFF

AN EARTH BRICK CONSTRUCTED HOUSING SYSTEM IS INTRODUCED ONTO THE ABANDONED FARMING TERRACES. THE SYSTEM REACTIVATES EXISTING ABANDONED INFRASTRUCTURE AND INTEGRATES FARMING, HOUSING, AND ACCOMODATIONS FOR VISITORS.

CROPS SUCH AS POTATOES, CORN, AND QUINOA ARE CULTIVATED HERE

VISITORS, BOTH FOREIGN AND LOCAL, STAY IN THE HOMES OF THE FAMILIES LEARNING ABOUT FARMING, WEAVING, AND BUILDING, AND PROVIDING LOCAL FAMILIES WITH ANOTHER SOURCE OF INCOME

COWS, LLAMAS, AND ALPACAS ARE RAISED FOR FOOD. ALPACA WOOL IS SPUN INTO YARN TO PRODUCE CLOTHING

WEAVING

ECOSYSTEM

CONSTRUCTION

AGRICULTURE

CLOTHING PRODUCED FROM ALPACA WOOL CAN BE SOLD IN MARKETS IN THE SURROUNDING AREAS, PROVIDING ANOTHER SOURCE OF INCOME

THE QECHUA PEOPLE AND THEIR ANCESTORS HAVE INHABITED THE ANDES MOUNTAINS FOR GENERATIONS, BUILDING HOMES, FARMING, AND CREATING COMMUNITIES ON THE STEEP SLOPES OF THE MOUNTAINS

ENSURE THAT SOCIAL AND PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES MAINTAIN COMMUNITY WELL-BEING AND BALANCE WITH THE ENVIRONMENT

IN ADDITION TO ASSISTING IN FARMING AND COMMUNITY BUILDING PROJECTS, THE WOMEN OF THE ANDES SPIN ALPACA WOOL INTO YARN TO WEAVE INTO FABRIC. THESE FABRICS ARE USED TO PRODUCE CLOTHING AND BLANKETS FOR THEMSELVES AND FOR SELLING IN THE MARKETS

THE ALTITUDE IN THE ANDES MOUNTAINS CAN REACH OVER 6,000 METERS / 22,000 FEET

THE PRACTICE OF FOOD CULTIVATION HERE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED OVER HUNDREDS OF YEARS

RAINWATER COLLECTION IS INTEGRATED INTO THE NEW HOUSING SYSTEM

THE EARTH BRICK WALLS ABSORB HEAT FROM THE SUN DURING THE DAY AND RELEASE IT AT NIGHT WHEN OUTSIDE TEMPERATURES FALL, KEEPING THE HOME WARM AT ALL TIMES

A PRESS IS USED TO FABRICATE STRONGER COMPRESSED EARTH BRICKS AT A FASTER RATE

FARMING TERRACES HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED ON THE SLOPES OF THE ANDES MOUNTAINS FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS. THIS PRACTICE IS STILL IN USE TODAY, BUT OF THE 1 MILLION HECTARES OF TERRACES IN THE ANDES, 75% ARE NO LONGER IN USE

BENEFITS OF TERRACE FARMING TECHNOLOGY:

RETAIN HEAT ENERGY FROM SUNGRAVITY FED IRRIGATION SYSTEMINCREASE SURFACE AREA AND CREATE ARABLE LANDPREVENT SOIL EROSION AND SURFACE RUNOFF

AN EARTH BRICK CONSTRUCTED HOUSING SYSTEM IS INTRODUCED ONTO THE ABANDONED FARMING TERRACES. THE SYSTEM REACTIVATES EXISTING ABANDONED INFRASTRUCTURE AND INTEGRATES FARMING, HOUSING, AND ACCOMODATIONS FOR VISITORS.

CROPS SUCH AS POTATOES, CORN, AND QUINOA ARE CULTIVATED HERE

VISITORS, BOTH FOREIGN AND LOCAL, STAY IN THE HOMES OF THE FAMILIES LEARNING ABOUT FARMING, WEAVING, AND BUILDING, AND PROVIDING LOCAL FAMILIES WITH ANOTHER SOURCE OF INCOME

COWS, LLAMAS, AND ALPACAS ARE RAISED FOR FOOD. ALPACA WOOL IS SPUN INTO YARN TO PRODUCE CLOTHING

WEAVING

ECOSYSTEM

CONSTRUCTION

AGRICULTURE

CLOTHING PRODUCED FROM ALPACA WOOL CAN BE SOLD IN MARKETS IN THE SURROUNDING AREAS, PROVIDING ANOTHER SOURCE OF INCOME

THE QECHUA PEOPLE AND THEIR ANCESTORS HAVE INHABITED THE ANDES MOUNTAINS FOR GENERATIONS, BUILDING HOMES, FARMING, AND CREATING COMMUNITIES ON THE STEEP SLOPES OF THE MOUNTAINS

ENSURE THAT SOCIAL AND PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES MAINTAIN COMMUNITY WELL-BEING AND BALANCE WITH THE ENVIRONMENT

smoke out

fire contained

waste in

compost out

Cooking Structure Assists Thermal Mass and Reduces Indoor Air PollutionBuilding Forms Assist in Water Collection & DistributionConnect to Existing Water Infrastructure Thermal Mass Maintains Indoor Temperature Compost Toilets Generate Feritlizer for Agriculture Brick Module Controls Light

HOW IT WORKS

HOW ITS BUILT

Excavate Soil Mixed with Cement and Aggregates, Use Pres to Create Bricks Sidewalls of Dwelling Are Built as Retaining Walls

base = 2/3 height

Roof is Constructed as a Flat Arch Create Berms for Form, Circulation, and Thermal Mass Longer Spans Can Have Secondary Support Planting and Circulation on Top, Living Below

Connect to Existing Water Infrastucture

HOW IT WORKS

Building form assists with water collection and circulation

Thermal mass maintains indoor temperature

Cooking structure assists in thermal mass and reduces indoor air pollution

Compost toilets create fertilizer for agriculture

Brick module controls light

HOW ITS BUILT

Excavate Soil mixed with cement and aggregates, press used to create bricks

Sidewalls of dwelling are built as retaining walls

Roof is constructed as a flat arch

Create berms for form, circulation, and thermal mass

Longer spans can have secondary support

Planting and circulation on top, living below

SOUNDVIEW HOUSING

This project is a collaborative effort of myself, another architecture student, and two landscape architecture students. It looks at a large area in the Bronx neighborhood of Soundview, and attempts to connect and rejuvinate an existing NYCHA Housing Project to the surrounding neighborhood and park through diversity of program and housing types and reconfiguration of the open spaces.

CINEMA

This cinema questions the very nature of the typical movie theater typology. Given how easy it is to watch movies at home, this project also questions the way we watch movies in the 21st century. In an attempt to answer these questions, five different movie watching experiences were designed with varying desgrees of interactivity.

LIGHT BOX TOY

This project started with the simple idea of a lighting object and added the component of an educational game. This light box encourages children to learn how to spell and count, and also invites them to customize their environment by modulating the amount of light emitted.

CIRCUS CAGE

The Cage is a once of a kind, custom fabricated acrobatics apparatus developed for Circus Warehouse in Queens, New York. It provides the performers with unique choreography opportunities, and can be easily taken apart into smaller pieces for easy transport after which it is reassembled on site.

SONY WONDER TECHNOLOGY LAB

This project involved updating two floors of the Sony Wonder Technology Lab in midtown Manhattan as a joint venture between Big Show Construction Management, where I was employed, and Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership. Included in the museum are interactive exhibits where visitors can learn about motion capture technology, robotics, animation, and the history of technology.

JET BLUEIn Jet Blue’s Terminal 5 at JFK Airport in New York, this elliptical steel ring hovers over the main space, supported by over 200 cables. The 43 LED screens around the circumference of the ring can display flight information and other digital media. During my employment at Big Show Construction Management, they were hired to oversee the engineering, fabrication, construction and installation of the ring as well as the AV work for the screens. The ring was initially designed by Rockewell Group and developed further by Gensler Architects.

5 LUQUER STREETBROOKLYN, NY

This is a residential renovation project in the developing neighborhood of Red Hook in Brooklyn, NY. I participated on the design of this house while working with Gil Even-Tsur, a Brooklyn based architect. The house was almost 100 years old, originally a fisherman’s home, and was renovated to accomodate a small family.

Because it is a small home, it was crucial to analyze the site so as to maximize the natural light and air coming into the home, and to create a very efficient design to make a smaller space feel quite large and comfortable.

The major change to the house was to move the staircase to the part of the house that received the least amount of sunlight, in order to allow the residents to live in the area that received the most amount of natural light.

The other crucial design decision was to leave the ground floor entirely open, with no sparation between the kitchen, living room, and dining area. This creates an uninterrupted area full of family activity and unity.

GROUND FLOOR PLAN SECOND FLOOR PLAN

The original wood burning stove in the living room area was preserved for use in winter to offset mechanical heating costs.

Living Room, Dining Area, and Kitchen are all one open space to promote a greater sense of spaciousness and connect the family activity.

Both bedrooms open to the outdoor terrace on the second floor.