JESSICA N. LUSCHERRhode Island School of Design / 2 College Street, Box # 092 / Providence RI 02903

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

RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN (RISD), Providence, RI Bachelor of Architecture

RISD Scholarship Program, Honor Roll 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, 2008

Scholarship-based Pre-college Summer Program

STATE COLLEGE AREA HIGH SCHOOL, State College, PA High School Diploma

High Honors Student, Top 7% of Graduating Class, Debate Team 2006-2009

I am looking for an entry-level position or internship as a designer in an architecture fi rm that will allow me

to broaden my education as a creative individual as I pursue my career and license as an Architect.

JESSICA N. LUSCHER Rhode Island School of Design / 2 College Street, Box # 092 / Providence RI 02903

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

PROFESSIONAL / ARCHITECTURE

• Internship experience at five separate firms.

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

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

Documentation, Facade Design, Layouts/Graphic Design, and Cost Calculations.

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

• OSHA Health and Safety Sertified, 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.

ACADEMIC / PERSONAL

• Intuitive design and aesthetic sense

• Strong fundamental knowlede of materials and methods of building, physics and geometry.

• Trained in color, composition, layouts and information design.

• Ability to learn computer programs quickly and apply them to projects as necessary.

• Bilingual German and English. Basic Spanish. USA/Euro Dual Citizen. Past residence in USA, Europe, and Asia.

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

thorough researcher. Innovative and resourceful problem solver.

SKILLS

PAYETTE ASSOCIATES, Boston, MA, USA

Translated our project’s facade concept into a parametric script which effi ciently modeled variations of the building’s

800+ unique vertical fi ns for shading. My script’s outputs were shared with our structural consultants, with in-house

building scientists and with Payette’s rendering team to discuss structure, lighting quality, and aesthetics.

FISCHER ARCHITEKTEN AG, Zurich, Switzerland

Worked on a competition entry for a 60-apartment complex in Zurich. Participated in site analysis and initial building

concepts, apartment layout design, client profi ling, and landscape/garden concepts. Designed the fi nal presentation lay-

out and all necessary schematic diagrams. Detailed fi nal 1:500 contextual plans. Drafted weekly Design Team meetings’

protocol, with German Language profi ciency.

BACHELARD WAGNER ARCHITECTS, Basel, Switzerland

Built topographic and mass models to assist in landscaping and façade studies for a 7-building, 360-apartment complex

planned for Schwamendingen, Zurich Switzerland.

EMCH + BERGER GESAMTPLANUNG HOCHBAU, Basel, Switzerland

Developed a book of remodeling concepts for the rooftop condition of a large multi-use facility in Basel. Presented my

schematic design ideas to groups including the project’s engineers and owners, in both German and English. These

presentations continued after the end of my paid internship.

ZULAUF & SCHMIDLIN ARCHITECTS, Zurich, Switzerland

Designed a built-in storage unit for a physiotherapy clinic; measured the offi ce space, completed CAD drawings and

models, and held client meetings to discuss her needs and my design ideas.

TechSTYLE HOUSE, Solar Decathlon Europe 2014, Versailles, France

Worked as a primary 3D parametric modeling expert on our 100+ student team, communicating our design aes-

thetic to consultants at Simpson Gumptertz and Heger (Boston) and Saint Gobain (Tensile Fabric Specialists in

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 coordi-

nate for when our team will build, display, and deconstruct the house June-July 2014 in Versailles, France.

RISD CAD LAB, Assistant to Technitian, Computer Lab Manager, Providence, RI

Hires, trains and coordinates the 27 student computer lab monitors for the RISD Architecture Department. These moni-

tors offer advice to students as they use RISD lab equiptment including computers, large-format scanners and plotters.

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

Elected by faculty to serve as one of six Project Design Managers of a studio in which 70 RISD students cooperatively

designed and built a permanent raised garden and two pavilions for the Pawtucket Community. One of six elected student

speakers at the Final Presentation to represent the project in front of the clients, invited town offi cials, our peers, and sev-

enteen visiting critics.

Design Intern, June-August 2013

Design Intern, June-August 2012

Intern, July-August 2011

Intern, June-July 2011

Summer Intern, 2008

Student Designer, 2013-Present

Lab Manager, 2013-Present

Student Leader, Spring 2011

DESIGN

INTERNSHIPS

JESSICA N. LUSCHERRhode Island School of Design / 2 College Street, Box # 093 / Providence RI 02903

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

ACADEMIC

LEADERSHIP

Art and Design Samples

Fine Art Samples: Painting, Drawing, Woodwork.............................................

Two Complexity and Mobility Studies...................................................

Photography Samples............................................................................

University of Hong Kong: Fall 2012

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

RISD Architecture Program (2010-Present)

Architecture of Ground and Sky: Re-imagining the Many Scales of Wine..........

Preliminary Thesis Investigations.........................................................

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

Providence Train Station and Hotel.......................................................

Urban Villiage: Reinterpreting the Cohousing Model..........................................

Digital Investigations: Rhino and V-Ray Renderings........................................

Design/Build: Student Leadership.................................................................

Summer Internships

Payette Associates.................................................................................

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

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

Bachelard Wagner Architekten.............................................................

Zulauf & Schmidlin Architekten............................................................

Table of Contents

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Art & Design Samples

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1) A Deconstruction. Oil paint, stitched thread, and

magazine clippings on layered canvas (13” x 24”)

2 ) Sleep. Selection from a series of long-exposure

photographs tracking sleep patterns, inspired by the

Automatic Drawing Movement of the 1920s. (11” x

17”)

3) Violin Box. Stained poplar wood, hand carved ( 8” x

6” x19”)

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COMPLEX SURFACE 1

Paper cones on fabric were used to

articulate and document complex curves

around Providence.

Instructors emphasize a designer’s need to experiment through making. Constructing and discovering with my hands is integral to my thinking process.

COMPLEX SURFACE 2

Flat stainless steel and aluminum sheets

fold up into cubes with high compressive

strength. Depending on the direction of

the exerted tensile force, the cubes fl ex to

articulate various textures.

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Photography helps me rapidly remember, reinterpret, and further inhabit the places I study.

LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHYPhotos taken with Canon Rebel XSi

Edited in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom

From August to December 2012, I chose to take a temporary leave of absence from

RISD in order to study as a visiting student in the Faculty of Architecture at the

University of Hong Kong.

There are multiple reasons why I chose this city:

Hong Kong is dynamic and rapidly-developing.

Hong Kong is highly functional, competitive and livable, yet decidedly different urbanistically and

culturally from other model cities.

Hong Kong demonthstrates multifaceted, integrated uses of its limited space.

The city’s density, verticality and high level of interconnectivity permeates all scales of its buildings

network. The subsequent volumetric organization deeply infl uences how its inhabitants live and

interact.

Living and learning in Hong Kong has made me more fl exible

intellectually, socially, academically, and in terms of design.

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This photograph was taken from a pedestrian overpass on my fi rst day apartment hunting in Causeway Bay in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Semester Immersion

Precedent: Tunneling Formwork

Room sized structural steel forms are aligned

side-by-side to cast the walls and fl oor slabs of

a building as a monolithic structure in a continu-

ous pour. This form system brings speed, quality

and accuracy to concrete construction. The reus-

able formwork is optimal for largescale housing

projects with repeating fl oorplans.

MASS TOWER AND HILLConcrete Construction for Housing

in Hong Kong

This project was carried out in cooperaton with a

3rd Year BA(AS) student at the University of Hong

Kong, Kelly Ziqi Zhao.

Though an indepth an alysis of Tunneling

Formwork, we aimed to design an innovative

construction system for insitu cast concrete

housing projects. The effective, economical

formwork precedent was pushed to overcome

its spatial limitations.

The fi nal structural system was applied to a

hypothetical site, simulating the steep, varried

terrain common in Hong Kong.

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Concrete Formwork

Our tunneling system is based on a specifi c set

of fi ve modular units, which can be arranged to

cast our spatial combinations.

A continuous load path

maintains structural effi ciency de-

spite spatial variance.

Splitlevels and Connections

creates varying spatial dialogues

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 our de-

sign investigation of tunneling

formwork are detailed below.

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A

The aggregation of formwork, cast insitu, creates a range of possible apartment relationships.

Units are created out

of groups of 3 splitlevel

spaces between corridors

(corridors in yellow).

Splitlevel units create

redundancy in circulation.

Corridors are reduced to

every three fl oors.

Apartments absorb this

redundant circulation,

allowing unit expansion and

variability.

Unit Formation and Sectional Circulation Logic in Three Steps

Alternatively, the spaces

become double-height

building voids for cross-

ventilation and sunlight.

Unit ExamplesUnit 3:69 m2 + patio

Unit 2:88 m2 + patio

Unit 1:185 m2 + patio

Apartment Section

Upper Two

Splitlevels

Plan 1:100

Lower / Entrance

Floor

Plan 1:100

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Splitlevel apartments are aggregated around hallways, which

occur every three fl oors (in yellow).

Process

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LEFT: The models below were

constructed in order to inves-

tigate various design concerns

including mold-making tech-

niques, casting proceedures,

concrete properties, various

spatial ideas, module aggrega-

tion, and site integration.

RIGHT: These are our drawings

and models as presented for

discussion at the end of the

semester.

The fi nal concrete model was

cast in 19-stages in order to

represent a 9-story structure.

(60 x 60 x 40cm)

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Advanced Studio: Re-imagining the Many Scales of Wine

Preliminary Thesis Investigations

Solar Decathlon Europe 2014

Advanced Studio: A Train Station in the Urban Context of Providence, RI

Urban Design Principles: Three Types of Housing in Providence, RI

Digital Investigations: Explorations with Rhino and Vray

Architectural Design Principles: Design and Build Garden

RISD Architecture

Silvia Acosta, S 2013

David Gersten, F 2013

Johnathan Knowles, F 2013

James Barnes, S 2012

Ann Tate, F 2011

Peter Dorsey, S 2011

Adrienne Benz, S 2011

The Architecture is built to register the visitor within the surround-

ing landscape. Through natural and constructed datum lines, the

architecture frames landscape, extends landscape, and provides

varying understanding of time, scale, and material in the vineyard.

The farmers market is constructed for the Ground.

The greenhouse is for the Sky.

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ARCHITECTURE OF GROUND AND SKYCinematic Manipulation for Constructed Understanding

Advanced Studio: Re-imagining the Many Scales of Wine, Silvia Acosta, Spring 2013

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Farmers Market Cross Section facing South

Restaurant Section and Farmers Market Elevation Facing West

An earth berm holds the foundation for the cantilevered roof of the farmer’s market. The gentle rise and fall of the berm along the structure’s length allows

each cantilevered beam to rise or fall with the changing height of its earth restraint. A large amphitheater space becomes an expansion space for the mar-

ket, as well as a fl exible location for outdoor music festivals hosted by the winery and adjacent vineyard restaurant.

The farmer’s market is constructed for the ground.

Greenhouse Longitudinal Section Facing East

Greenhouse Roof Struc-tural Diagram in Section

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Greenhouse PlanThe greenhouse is constructed for the sky.

From the greenhouse entrance, the vineyard sky is framed by an ellipse. The natural horizon line is eliminated and individuals are left alone with the

expanse of the moving sky. However, as one walks along the edge path of the greenhouse, the path slopes upwards, rising above the framing ellipse and

reconnecting individuals with the horizon line at the other side of the structure. These two vantage points help visitors understand their place within the

vineyard environment (see perspective images).

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Preliminary Thesis Investigations, Process Work

Thesis Prepatory Seminar Professor Lena Georas

Thesis Advisor Professor David Gersten

BREATH OF THE MOUNTAIN:

A VOICE FOR EACH HOUSE

Over the past four years, I have been repeatedly mentally and

physically drawn back to a rock house located high within the

Swiss Alps. This is one of three houses scattered across this

otherwise desolate mountain range.

Responding to the site’s in the varying atmospheric and wind

conditions, I designed a set of metal organ pipes, to be built

into the roof of each rock house.

When the wind rolls up the mountain from the valley below,

the pipes will voice the wind from the roof of each house.

The calls, infrequent, unpredicable and faint, carry across

the mountain bowl, through the lowering light and frequent

storms,. They create a soundscape, compressing distance

between people and places.

Phase 1: Organ Pipes (1.06.2014- 1.22.14)

Metal organ pipes, built into the roof of each existing moun-

tain lodge, catch the wind on the mountain and provide

each house with a unique tone and pitch.

The voices of the three isolated houses in the mountain

bowl permeate the shifting clouds, creating a soundscape,

compressing distance between people and places.

MeMeMeMeMeMeMeMMMeeMMM tatatatalllllll orororrgagaaag nnnnn ppipipeppes,s,s,,sss bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbuuiuiuiuiiiuiuuiuiuuiuuuuiuuuuuuuuu ltltlltlltlllttltltlttltlt iiiiiiiiintntttntttnttntnttntntntntttttoooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooo ththhhttththe eee eee roroorororororororoooooffffffofooooofoffofooffoooofofoooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooof ff f f fffff f eaeaeaeaeeaaaaaeaeaaaaeaeaaee ccccchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhchhhchhchhchhccchccccchch eeeeeeeeeeee iiiiiixixixixxxixixi tsttssststtttttstttttssststssssttttttssstttttttstttttinininnninnnninninininnnnnnnnniinnnninnnnnnnnnnnggggggg gggg momomommommouuuuuuuuununununnnnnnuuuuuuununnnnnnuunnuunuuunnuuuuunnuuunnnuuunuunnnuunnnnnnuuununnnuuuuuuunun----

tatataaatataaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaainininin llodododddoddgeggegegg , , caccaatcctchhhhh ththeeeeeeeee wiwiwiwiwiwwwiwwwiw ndndnnddddndndnddndnd oooooooooooonnnnnnnnn ththhthtththtthttht eeeeeeeeeee mmoooommmooooomooommooooooooomooommomomomooommoooooommoomooomoooooununuununununuunununnnuuu tatttatataaaataaatttaatatt ininininininnininnnnn aandddddn ppppppppppprrrrrorooooooooooorrooooorrorooroooooooooooorooooooooorroooooroooroooooooooovivivivvviiviviviiviiiivvivvvvivivvvivvviivvivvvivvviviivvivivvvvivvvviddedededededededdddeddddeddddddededdddededeeeeeededededededededddddedededddeeeedededeeededede

eaeaeaeaeaeeaeaeaeeeaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee chchchch hhhhhhhouououououseseses wwwwittthhh a a a unununununniqiqiqiqiqiqueueueueueeueu tttttttononono eeeeee ananananandddddddd piiipppipippppppipipipippippppppipipippippipppipippppiiipippppppppppipippiippppppppp tcttcctttctctttttcctttccctcctcttttccccttctctctctcctttcctctctcctctctcccctctctccccctctcccctctccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.h.hhhhh.hh..hhhhh

ThThThTTTTThThTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT e e ee vovovovov icicicesesesee ooooof f fff ththththt eeee ththt rereee e isisololatateded hhouuuuouusesessesesses sssssss iiiiiinininnnininnnininnn ttttttttttttttttttttthhhheheheehehehh mmmmmmmoooouuuuuuoouuuuuuuuouuouuuuuuuuuo nnnntttttnnnnnntnnntnnnnnnnnnnntntnnnnntnnnnnnnttnnnntnnnnttttnntttnnttttnntaiaiaiaiaiiaaiiaaaiaiaaaaiiaaaiaaaaiaiaiaaaiaiaiaaaaaiaaia nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

bbbbobobobbobbb wwlwlwlw pppperere mememeemeatatataa e eee e ththht eee shshss ififftiitingng cclolol ududs,s ccccrereeeatatatatininininggg g g aaaaaaa sosososososososounununnnnnnnnnnnnnunnnnununddddddddddddsssddddddsdddddddsdddddddddddddddsddsdddddsdddddssssddsddddsddssdsdddsdsdddddddddddd caccccaccacacacaaaaacacacacacaaaacacacacaccacacapepepepepepepepeppeeppeppeppeppepepepeeeeppppeepepeepeeeppp ,, ,,,, ,,,,, ,,, ,,,,,,,,,

cocococococ mpmpmmprererer sssssss inininiingg gggg dididiststs ananna cecececee bbbetete weweenen ppeoeoplplp eee anaana dd plpllp acacaccccesesesessesesess..

The wooden organ pipes above (22” to 48”) were built and handed to critics and audience

members at one of my benchmark critiques. The playful, inquisitive and communicative

dialogue which followed connected individuals and became a piece unto itself.

Organs and Organs: Call and Response

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Phase 2: Stillness and Motion (1.22.14 -2.07.14)

This machine was developed to further personify and utilize the wind at the

roof of the Rock House, this time as a source for mechanical energy.

During our thesis exhibition, the wind machine was dormant. The tactile

potential energy of the wind machine in this state, its potential to transform,

alluded to a past life and a potential future.

Similarly, the photographs of the wind machine capture a thin place within

motion, from which one can imagine the 4th dimension.

“Architecture is the archive, the collector, machine and instrument. It captures, holds, and tells, for it is at once a structure and a ruin, haunted by a storied past and a potenial future. We imagine its life, reciprocal to our own, and anticipate the motion from its present stillness.”

**These four pages represent preliminary thesis investigations executed

during the fi rst four weeks of 2014. For more current work, please see my

personal website.

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TECHSTYLE HAUSSolar Decathlon Europe 2014

The Rhode Island School of Design, Brown University, and Germany’s University of Applied Sciences Ehrfurt (FHE) have united to design and build the fi rst-ever Solar Decathlon entry to incorporate a complete textile enclosure. The house, built to Passivhaus energy standards and powered exclusively by solar power, is being built fi rst in Providence and then in Versailles, France for the 2014 Solar Decathlon competi-tion.

MY LEADERSHIP:

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Structural Construction Detailing

Detailed the required structural sections, footing plan, fram-

ing plan, structural fl oor plan, structural roof plan, and struc-

tural details for the Design Development deadline for sub-

mission to Solar Decathlon Europe.

3D Parametric Modeler

Worked closely with consultants at Simpson Gumpertz and

Heger (Boston) and Saint Gobain (Tenside Fabric Specialists

in Germany) as a primary 3d parametric modeling expert on

our 100+ student team, communicating our design aesthet-

ics and needs to fi nd the best spatial and structureal solu-

tion for our house’s tensile membrane enclosure.

Construction Coordination

Attended weekly meetings with Shawmut Construction in

Rhode Island to coordinate Site Operations for when our

team will build, display, and deconstruct the house in June-

July 2014 in Versailles, France.

ABOVE: Current Renderings of our tensile membrane design and photos of the mock-up house,

currently in construction in a warehouse in Providence, Rhode Island.

ABOVE: My script’s outputs were used to discuss the desired shape of our tensile structure with our structural engineers and tensile membrane consultants.

BELOW: These drawings are part of our structural drawing set, drawn by me and submitted on behalf of our team at the end of Design Development.

Until 1850, Providence had the largest train station in

the United States

In 1950, the Providence Train Station was downsized

and relocated away from downtown.

Pre-1950 Station

RI Statehouse

Current Station

TRAIN STATION in the Urban Context of

Providence, RIRISD Arch Advanced Studio, Professor James Barnes,

Spring 2012

The Train is an important element

of Providence’s industrial history.

In 1850, due to heavy reliance on industry, Provi-

dence had the largest rairoad station in the Unit-

ed States. When industry diminished, the train

was relocated out of the city and was replaced

by the automobile.

As car travel becomes less affordable, the

train makes Providence more accessible to

commuters. It connects Providence to an

extensive network of cities in the northeast,

including Boston and New York City. Ease

of access increases exchange and makes

Providence a much more attractive place to live.

The Train has potential to revitalize

modern Providence.

City Threshold Historical Reference Providence Icon for IdentityCommercial Enterprise Hub

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EXI

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Proposed Station

Providence Mall

Downtown Providence

Old Station

Mall

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Gradient West to East from public commercial to

low-rise residential (blue). To

the west, housing blocks at

higher density retain 1st fl oor

mixed use space.

Larger Arterial Roads are connected by smaller

feeder streets.

Permanent Trolley Line runs from the Kennedy Plaza

bus terminal to connect the

mall, train station, and resi-

dential zones of the district.

Urban Plan

Providence Place Mall

RI Statehouse

Waterfront

Train Station

Downtown

Complementary Streets

Francis Street

Providence

Mall

Station, Mixed

Use, and Hotel

4-story row houses,

with mixed use fi rst

story

Why is the Pedestrian Parallel defl ected in a way that prevents it from framing the statehouse axially?

The ambling turn of my Pedestrian Parallel allows the monumental Statehouse to be slowly discovered by

curious pedestrians. This contrasts Francis Street, which already forms an axial relationship and frames the

building. Based on the speed of traffi c in these locations, each street has a unique character and approach

to the State House.

Taking advantage of the bustling train station and the activity on Francis Street, the stores and restau-

rants on the Pedestrian Parallel create a walking-safe area that links the state house lawn and the park

surrounding the Providence waterway and downtown.

“Pedestrian

Parallel”

Pedestrian Zone

Hotel

Floor 2: Conference Center with Ballroom

Floor 3: Hotel Lobby, Restaurant, and Upper Ballroom

Floor 4-7: Typical Hotel Floor

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Train

Tr

acks

Trac

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

Original Concept Sketch

SITE CONCEPT: Train Tracks as a Reorientation Within the City

The massing of the station hall above the

tracks expresses the powerful axis of moving

trains below and imparts this energy to the

cityscape.

2nd Floor conference rooms

benefi t travelers and the hotel

and allow views into the train

station.

Taxi Pickup

Waterfront

DowntownConference Center

Train Platforms

Hotel

Ho

tel

Ele

va

tors

{{{{Surrounding

The new Providence Train Station reinstates itself as a center of urban life.

INCLUDING

FO

ST

ER

S

Heightened Pedestrian Traffi c

CREATES AN Activity Hub

Public Platform

Mixed Use DevelopmentTransit

Hotel

Retail

Restaurants

Conference Center

Transport

City Events

Political Podium

Activism

Advertising

Blood Drives

FO

R

Diverse User Groups

Extended Hours of Business

Environmental Pollution

Transport Interchange

Automobile Commuter Congestion

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PROGRAM CONCEPT:

Train Reintegration Through Train Building’s Diverse User Groups

Transport Interchange

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Hallways upstairs allow views

into the train hall.

The open ground fl oor axially connects

the train station (south) and the bus

terminal (north).

The terraced north end of the building provides

spectacular views of the Rhode Island State House.Double-height ballroom and

lobby area connect into the hotel

restaurant.

StatehouseRestaurant

Ballroom

Bus Terminal

LobbyHotel Lobby

N

This section was handdrdrafted and inked for the fi nal critique at 1/8th” scale.

URBAN VILLAGE:Cohousing Model Reinterpreted

RISD Urban Design Principles. Professor Anne Tate

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 dorm units for medical students,

50 units of Faculty Hotel

50 units of elderly living.

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The diverse groups of residents addressed in this

project have all been displace from previous living

arrangements to some extent. Thus, attention

was placed on designing living arrangements that

would encourage social interactions and allow

residents to develop a sense of community.

I designed two apartment blocks that integrate

housing for the elderly, graduate students, and

families of medical students and young faculty.

The fl oorplan aims to promote cooperative family-

style living (unit description continued on next

page).

Bedrooms. Each unit has between one and three

bedrooms.

Pairs of Units are grouped around front porch

spillout areas, which encourage the hallway to

become an active, inhabited space.

Each Unit Quad shares a common dining and

living room, which have the option of expanding

into the kitchen and living spaces of the two larger

apartment units.

A Shared Atrium rises through the center of the

building, uniting the Unit Quads.

Unit SectionThrough Shared Dining Room

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Private Room

Shared Space

Private Room

Shared Space

Section through Building Atrium

Units become more private on the top two fl oors,

after the middle atrium is capped. The four

central apartment units expand, absorbing the

center portion of the double loaded corridor that

is continuous on fl oors one and two. This creates

larger units with increased privacy.

2nd Floor 3rd Floor 4th Floor

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RISD Arch Digital Representation, Professor Peter

Dorsey, Spring 2011

RISD Architecture promotes using the computer not

only as a mechanism for representation, but also as

a tool for creativity and design investigation.

This course focused on Rhinoceros 3-D modeling

software and Vray rendering software. The course

also covered the Adobe Creative Suite, AutoCAD, and

introduces the Rhino Grasshopper Plug-in.

DIGITAL INVESTIGATIONS

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BLOSSOM: designBUILD

RISD Architectural Design Principles, Professor Adrienne

Benz, Spring 2011

In this 12-week studio, 70 RISD students designed,

then constructed a public garden and two open-air

pavilions for the Chinese Christian Church of Rhode

Island. Beginning with individual work, we formed

groups of four, then twelve, then twenty-four, and

fi nally, seventy students, in order to merge ideas.

We had an amazing experience working closely

with real clients, seeing our project realized as

a full scale, and learning how much detail was

required to complete it. I learned an incredible

amount about teamwork, communication, organi-

zation, and leadership.

LEADERSHIP:

The images on this page show my personal idea sketches for the project, along with models constructed by my fi rst 4-person design team.

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Design Phase Project Manager

1 out of 6 total students chosen by faculty to act

as team leaders during the design phase of the se-

mester.

Final Presentation Speaker

1 out of 6 students chosen by faculty to present the

fi nished project to the client, the town, our peers,

and seventeen visiting critics.

Project Documentation Head

1 out of 6 students chosen by faculty to organize

photography, video, and presentation design for the

project.

Images on this page depict various stages of the project’s construction, along with images of both permanent pavilions after completion.

Summer Internships

I was born in Zurich and moved to the United States when I was eight years old. Returning to Switzerland for summer architecture internships in Zurich, Basel and B aden has been a great way for me to maintain my German language skills and stay in touch with my birth country, while gaining valuable work experience in exciting and busy design environments.

I have also had the wonderful opportunity to work for Payette Associates in Boston, Massachusetts during Summer 2013.

During my fi ve summer internships, I have worked on a variety of projects, ranging from designs for large and small-scale residential projects to small-scale interior renovation work; from designs for retrofi tted multi-use buildings to designs for highly controlled scientifi c research environments.

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Bruggerstrasse 37CH-5400 Baden

During my summer with Payette I participated in the Schematic Design

and Design Development phases of one of the fi rm’s most exciting current

projects, an interdisciplinary scientifi c research building for Northeastern

University in Boston. After building a detailed sectional model of the building

at 1/8” scale, I translated the project’s facade concept into an extensive

parametric script which effi ciently modeled variations of the building’s

800+ unique vertical fi ns for shading. The variable outputs of my script

were used to begin a dialogue with Arup (our structural consultants), along

with in-house building scientists and Payette’s rendering team, in order to

discuss structural issues, lighting quality, and aesthetics.

PAYETTE ASSOCIATES, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Architecture Intern, June-August 2013

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PAYETTE ASSOCIATES, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Architecture Intern, June-August 2013

During this three-month internship I worked with a team on a competi-

tion entry for a 60-apartment complex in Zurich. I participated in all de-

sign phases from site analysis and initial building concepts to apartment

layout design, client profl ing, and landscape/garden concepts. I was in

charge of designing the fi nal presentation layout and illustrating all nec-

essary schematic diagrams. I detailed the fi nal 1:500 contextual plans.

During Design Team meetings, I drafted the weekly protocol with German

Language profi ciency.

FISCHER ARCHITEKTEN AG, Zurich, Switzerland Design Intern, June-August 2012

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FISCHER ARCHITEKTEN AG, Zurich, Switzerland Design Intern, June-August 2012

I was put in charge of the graphic representation

of the building’s context at 1:500 (fi nal drawing

pictured to the right). The garden plan was inte-

gral to the overall concept of the apartment block,

“my house is my castle in a green oasis. ”

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The layout that I designed for the fi nal project presentation (6 landscape A0-size boards) is meant to graphically reiterate the building’s undulating facade

concept, which helps give the apartments their unique identities and gives the project an address.

FISCHER ARCHITEKTEN AG, Zurich, Switzerland Design Intern, June-August 2012

Emch+Berger AG Gesamtplanung Hochbau

EMCH + BERGER GESAMPTPLANUNG HOCHBAU, Basel, Switzerland Summer Intern, 2011

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 fi tness 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.

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By the end of the summer, we

had decided on the fi nal remodeling

concept for the space, which centered

around a new, 300-seat auditorium to

replace the covered swimming pool and

fi tness center. With the addition of now

supporting program, the new auditorium

would complement the programs that

were planned for the lower fl oors.

In one fi nal meeting after the

completion of my internship, I proposed

the VectorWorks drawings on the right

to the project’s owners and engineers,

as two variations of the remodel. Both

of these were pronounced feasible, de-

pending on future decisions regarding

budget.

Basel, Switzerland

Summer Intern, 2011

I built topographic and building mass models to assist in

landscaping and facade studies for a 7-building develop-

ment containing 360 apartments, planned for Schwa-

mendingen, Zurich, Switzerland.

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During this internship, I was given the lead role in a

project to design a built-in storage unit for a phys-

iotherapy practice. The project included visiting the

offi ce space with the client and again to take measure-

ments for CAD drawings and models. Multiple meet-

ings were held with the client to discuss their needs

and my design ideas.

JESSICA N. LUSCHERRhode Island School of Design / 2 College Street, Box # 93 / Providence RI 02903

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