UCLA, 2023 - 2024
The purpose of this facade system is two-fold. First, harnessing the naturally occurring light of bioluminescence to produce a building facade with a glowing electric blue light which requires no electricity. Second, utilizing algae as an air purification system to help clean the air and combat climate change. Algae absorbs CO2 and produces most of the world’s oxygen, around 60%.
Multiple 3D printed PLA test prints were conducted by 3 main control methods:
1. Manipulating the number of control points, 2. Changing the location of control points in the x, y, and z direction, 3. The duplication and layering of control points.
UCLA, FALL 2023
Crystal Core is a cutting edge facility which offers a transformative process and an alternative to the current approach to and view of death. Currently in Los Angeles, acres of land are occupied by headstones. Crystal Core provides an alternative to the current outlook and process of death in the form of our public commons. Our ritualistic burial space shows life after death through the transformation of crystallization and becoming a piece of a larger whole. And the crystallization of the heart represents a transformation and transference of energy from an earthly corporeal being into another form existing on a different plane.
UCLA, WINTER 2024
At Owens Lake, this polygon features two BACMs - brine and tillage. The design of the building and landscape is directly tied to offering visitors a unique experience at every turn through varying perspectives of elevation and multiple meandering pathways, ensuring that you’ll never take the same path twice, even in one visit.
The experience by car is that of the “Lazy River,” with a main winding roadway which passes through the polygon, along the tillage, and curves around buildings and infrastructure which provides a multi perspective view. The experience by foot is that of the “Intimate Ramble.” A network of elevated undulating catwalks encourages visitors to experience as much of the variety of the brine landscape as possible.
UCLA, FALL 2023
Bioluminescent algae has two performance qualities - light generation and the removal of CO2. For the purpose of this mask, both elements will be utilized to help purify the breathing air of the wearer and illuminate the wearer in the dark.
For this mask design, the relationship between the face and the mask was considered and its relationship to a branching design. Underneath our skin lies a complex system of veins and arteries which portray a branch-like pattern. The location of veins and arteries in the face were mapped onto a 3d surface of a face.
UCLA, WINTER 2022
Housing children and young adults through community sharing, inclusive food distribution, and educational workshops.
Through the food distribution service of the center, free meals are provided for all visitors in need. In addition to dining, study rooms and work equipment are provided for students in need of a quiet place to do school work or use the computer. Practicing sustainability, the facility also focuses on engaging visitors through educational lessons on nutrition, cooking, and gardening in conjunction with the open rooftop vegetable garden.
UCLA, FALL 2023
In modern day bustling downtown Seattle, piercing through the moody fog, a soft and inviting glow emanates from various textures of perforation, layering, and transparency with cascading waves from the glamorous Seattle Theater for Performing Arts, a central hub for the arts and hosts performances, events, and galas.
UCLA, WINTER & SPRING 2023
Silos with corroded facades on supports that do their job adjacent to a standard warehouse shed are confidently situated on site of a concrete manufacture. Despite the manufacture's obvious visibility from vantages across the neighborhood, there is a common acceptance of the industrial environment and a tacit (un) acknowledgment by its surroundings. This project reconciles with the vantage in which sites such as this concrete manufacture are usually viewed: from the aerial perspective. Using various sun studies, the concrete silos have been renegotiated back to ground level. In doing so, the public is unable to accept the space as off-limits. As the sun moves, the building responds eliciting the capacities of its presence.
UCLA, FALL 2022
Design of a Los Angeles Department of Power and Water substation in Westwood. The station features a visitor's center which allows people to observe some of the inner workings of the station and machinery. An upward curved rooftop deck provides aerial viewing of the expansive landscape. The surrounding landscape has been designed to mimic the "natural" landscape of Owens Lake, CA featuring brine and tillage. Meandering paths allow visitors to experience the strange elements of the land up close.
UCLA, SPRING 2022
Series of anti facial recognition face masks designed to prevent detection by AI facial recognition software Yolo V8. Masks have been designed to confuse the AI recognition and produce a misclassification resulting in classifications including a clock, vase, flower pot, and pizza.
UCLA, SPRING 2022
This 20 unit courtyard style apartment complex is located within a flag lot. Drawing from standard courtyard style apartments, the relationship between public and private spaceThe focus of this design is to convert commonly public spaces such as shared courtyards which often go unutilized, into optimized private spaces in the form of a private interior courtyard. The target resident of this apartment complex is a remote working professional. Designed for a work-at-home lifestyle, this apartment helps maintain separation of work and home while in the same space. A large interior balcony courtyard within each apartment naturally divides the work space from the home and creates an indoor/ outdoor living space.
UCLA, WINTER 2022
This botanical garden is dedicated to the study and display of herbs and to educate visitors on identification and their uses. The design is based on a grid, with randomly rotated buildings and raised herb beds at intersecting points. This allows for clear navigation through the program. The buildings are constructed with concrete and glass for light and plant visibility, and they feature flat roofs for rooftop access to allow visitors to experience the herb collection from a different perspective and scale and see the collection as a whole.
© 2024 AllyMajkaStudios |
Los Angeles, CA
Architectural and Design work by Ally Majka
UCLA M.Arch 2024
