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Dmitry Kushnirsky

Master of Architecture, University of Washington, Seattle 2010 Bachelor of Fine Art, Cooper Union, New York 1993

After 13 years in print design I began to doubt the publishing industry as a place where I could make a meaningful contribution. Looking for a more complex environment and greater challenges, I sought a discipline where social and environmental issues were confronted in everyday practice. I also wanted to remain true to my love for design.

Architecture was the obvious choice. It pursues conceptually rigorous design solutions, while demanding pragmatism and an obligation to the physical world.

My goal is to apply my design and management expertise, in col-laborating with clients and colleagues to create places of enduring value. By respectfully using our material resources, we can create spaces that respond programmatically, while inspiring and nurturing our humanity.

Whatever space and time mean, place and occasion mean more.

Aldo van Eyck

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In the post Second World War era, Newark, New Jersey, like many east coast cities, be-gan a long arc of decline both in quality of life and population.

Conversely, Newark’s many strengths establish the city as an ideal staging ground for dense, transit-based development advocated by ur-ban planners and academics, as a response to climate change. The potential for the rede-velopment of the city has been recognized by developers and within the planning department of the city. However, the approach generally tak-en has been based on attracting large commer-cial tenants, marketing to the upscale apartment sector or allowing for cheap speculative construc-tion antithetical to existing city fabric. All three approaches ignore or undervalue existing re-sources, whether physical or social, and overlook a lack of amenities sought by the target groups.

This thesis proposed a strategy more con-sistent with the existing social and physical conditions found in the city. It advances a develop-ment type which takes advantage of the existing community assets and allows for retention of Newark’s industrial buildings as inexpensive centers for cultural production.

WORK AROUND: AN ENGINE FOR NEIGHBORHOOD SALVAGE IN NEWARK, NEW JERSEY THESIS PROJECT 2010

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reactivated shirt factory building

clear span shed public

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program at three scalesIronbound neighborhood Port of Newark

My design response envisioned Newark, not as a cheap bed-room community for priced-out New Yorkers, but as a place of inspiration and opportunity. I see Newark as a submerged landscape, a place whose value would be revealed as the wa-ters of the late twentieth century recede, with the city’s rich history and heterogeneous community playing a pivotal role in its re-constitution.

approaches to public space

architecture of fear planning models

a different paradigm

Prudential Arena

Gateway Center

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The approach to the existing mill build-ing was one of minimal intervention. Since no change of use was proposed it allowed the building to remain as raw rental space, activated by the new adjacent program. Retaining the building’s status as a work site was both feasible and appropriate. This is especially true under the current economic conditions which prohibit the tried and true condominium conversion. This approach to the existing building allows the structure to retain the rich patina of habitation which formed over its hundred-year existence. It protects the at-risk structure from demoli-tion, but more importantly, it preserves it as a place of making, where new ideas and projects can be carried out.

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New York artists would engage with the city, given the substantial savings and proximity to Manhattan. They have re-peatedly shown a willingness to sacri-fice comfort and amenities in exchange for more time and space required by their work. They bring social capi-tol and an ability to renew discarded cultural elements injecting them with fresh meaning. Newark is a city in need of the energy that can be brought in by working artists, who actively remake their environments, a paradigm not fea-sible through marketing schemes that propose arts districts as beachheads for gentrification.

By creating an environment where in-teraction is continually encouraged and where work, play and creativity can mix with the raw material available from the city, a symbiotic relationship is established. It nurtures both the art-ists, who are freed from the crushing cost of living in New York, and a city desperately in need of a new identity and fresh energy.

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DEPLOYABLE COASTAL RESEARCH FACILITY WINTER 2010The driving principle for this small remote research station was easy buildability. The exclusion of large construction equipment, necessi-tated components that break down into small pieces which can be han-dled by a small team. Other factors were tectonic expression, off-grid capability and minimal intervention on ecologically fragile sites.

The program consisted of a bunk house for four researchers, lab ar-eas and a shed to offer weather protection for a float plane. The final design incorporated a SIP-like panel system and an expandable primary structural system that could be adapted to different sites and larger research teams.

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INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS HOUSE SPRING 2009This adaptive reuse project took advantage of two existing cam-pus buildings which currently house a hydraulics laboratory. Pre-fabricated components were built off-site and floated to the waterfront buildings to be placed atop existing post tensioned concrete bends. The positioning of the elements was dictated by program requirements, views and solar exposure.

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NORTH WEST ELEVATION

SCALE: 1/8”=1’

Material re-use diagram

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This project combines a complex academic program with issues of urban design and planning. During a week-long master planning charrette an overall cam-pus design was created weaving the school buildings into a busy Seattle neighborhood. In this new decen-tralized master plan, the School of Transportation acted as a primary gateway to the Northwest Institute of Sustainable Technologies.

The building form invites interaction by changing the pace of motion, either encouraging the speedy spiraling to the building’s roof that overlooks the con-stantly shifting cityscape, or allowing for the leisurely contemplative moment at the plaza exhibit level.

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SCHOOL OF TRANSPORTATION FALL 2008

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This interdisciplinary studio in-cluded a substantial planning component that explored the proposed upzoning of Seattle’s Little Saigon neighborhood. The process included presentations to community development groups, members of the planning board and other stakeholders.

The final building design included retail, residential and office space.

Two and three level townhouses as well as flats provided for a variety of living spaces intended to encour-age a diversity of tenants. While maintaining a standard street wall facade on the north, the back of the building consisted of stepped terraces opening up to views of Mount Rainier. The terraces were arranged to provide spaces with varying degrees of privacy.

MIXED-USE HOUSING IN LITTLE SAIGON FALL 2009

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Maximum build-out for Little Saigon

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NORTH

R O O F P L A N 1 ” = 4 0 ’

S E C T I O N 1 L O O K I N G S O U T H W E S T 1 / 8 ” = 1 ’

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S E C T I O N 1 L O O K I N G S O U T H W E S T 1 / 8 ” = 1 ’

THE SWIM SHED: NATATORIUM IN DISCOVERY PARK SPRING 2008Careful site selection was a key ele-ment in the execution of this project, sited in a public park. It evolved into a mediation between the dramatic open landscape of Discovery Park and the programmatic needs of the natatorium.

Through the lifting of the ground plane and thoughtful integration of the existing topography, the building engaged the user in a series of exciting spacial sequences.

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S E C T I O N 1 L O O K I N G S O U T H W E S T 1 / 8 ” = 1 ’

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THE PUYALLUP TRIBE LONGHOUSE Environmental analysis was conducted using Autodesk’s Ecotect for a proposed tribal housing project designed by Environmental Works, a not-for-profit community design center, The final report made suggestions for improving energy performance, day lighting and selection of shading devices.

GRAPHIC DESIGN My 13 years as a graphic designer included hands-on work and management of a variety of print projects. They encompassed book design, package design, marketing work and award-winning educational products with multiple ancillary components.

DIGITAL FABRICATION A Solid Works and Grasshopper workshop considered digital fabrication technology within an architectural context. It included Grasshopper definitions which could be applied to any three dimensional surface to generate a supporting rib structure. The final model used laser cut 3/16 luan, creating an object d’art for my son Nate (pictured) to ponder.

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PERSONAL WORKDrawing and painting continue to provide a means of thinking about a broad range of issues and act as a starting point when approaching design problems.

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215 YORK STREET HISTORIC RESTORATION 2001-2003Taking a building in Jersey City, New Jersey from a derelict shell to our family home confirmed my decision to pursue architecture as a vocation.

HUD’s 203K funding and a vacant building grant was used for the renovation of this Civil War-era row house (which included a three storey addition). This process allowed me to wear the hats of owner, designer and contractor.

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“WINDY” GALAXY SLOOP REHABILITATION 2004-2005Left to rot in a Maryland boat yard, this 1962 Bill Tripp classic got my attention. A partner and I took on the keel-up rehabilitation that included structural work, glass work and in-terior fabrication and finishing. Working on a boat opens up possibilities for learning in a way no static structure can. The boat con-tinues to sail in New York harbor, sometimes raising money for charitable causes. For more images and current sailing schedule see http://www.thewindygalaxy.com.

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CONTACT kushnirsky@gmail.com 503 n 780 n 9969 690 Fort Washington Ave. 1-D NYC 10040