Moments of Hope ADU - 2024
Oyster Restoration - 2024
Midway to Somewhere - 2023
Pattern Project - 2023
Form Follows Ritual - 2022
As a part of Middle of Broad Studio, a semester-long class at VCU focusing on
community-engaged projects, two of my peers and I designed an ADU for the organization Moments of Hope Outreach.​
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Moments of Hope is a non-profit that supports those experiencing homelessness and poverty in Richmond and the surrounding area. Working alongside them, my team and I remained true to the organizations mission and thoughtful ambition to place many ADU’s across Richmond in hopes of providing shelter and a new beginning to those in need.
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The project required a plan between 500 and 700 sq/ft, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, a kitchenette, built-in furniture, and an outdoor space. Further consideration of cost and future reproduction guided the design process.
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​MoB Studio, Emily Smith Fall 2024
In collaboration with Mia Green & Areej Ghazenfer
Concept models exploring what a home could be.
Guiding phrases were (clockwise):
A house as a protector
a connector
a lighthouse/viewfinder
an extension of the alley
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a series of making a home poems
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secluded and detached
one of many
new found sanctuary that shelters the mind and body
from outside frets
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a sideways path
am i welcome?
it's raining but the patio's dry
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foundations
on foundations
framing life
for someone to sit by the window sill
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what came before and still stands
now among another
with an affinity for living
will this likeness provide a stable ground for more to come?
​Ideas of protection, a continuation of the surrounding landscape, and a house as a wall were explored through the translation of sketch to model.
A number of forms with unique characteristics and possibilities were created.
Square footage: 615 (with patio ~ 831)
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The site plays a key role in the final layout of the home. Consideration of privacy and noise from the alley lead to a plan based on a separation of public and private.
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To accentuate the importance of routine, the homes plan reflects the suns path. In the morning, residents have the warmth of the sun coming through the window of the dining niche and in the evening, go to sleep with the set of the sun.
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A patio extends the living space outwards and is designed to mimic the interior.
Cardboard and paper section cut model displaying ceiling height change between the public and private spaces.
Ideas of separation guided the sofa design as the client expressed a need for two seating options . To create conceptually strong space, I utilized this opportunity to propose a custom solution.
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Painting
Sketchbook