Students from Kent State University's College of Architecture and Environmental Design have unveiled ten remarkable architecture projects that demonstrate innovative approaches to both residential and civic design. The featured works include a community-focused treehouse with a woven wicker facade, modular fire stations with dynamic panel systems, and seasonal pavilions that adapt to environmental rhythms.

The projects were developed by second-year undergraduate students during the 2024-2025 academic year as part of foundation studios taught by professors Brendan Ho, Jean Jaminet, Bill Lucak, and Laure Nolte. According to the school's statement, these works reflect the college's commitment to imaginative and instrumental design practices that combine analog and digital processes while exploring systems of form, space, and order alongside abstract and concrete thinking.

Among the standout residential projects are three innovative cabin designs that explore different architectural approaches. Hope Look's "Tilt Cabin" investigates the intersection of geometry, landscape, and enclosure through a sequence of extruded and sheared frames that transform into volumetric elements. The design features offset frames that articulate thresholds, define spatial boundaries, and modulate light while responding directly to the sloped terrain.

Sandy Chikh Alchabab's "Tectonic Bloom" explores the relationship between structure, light, and landscape through a system of projected wall panels. Using sequential projection techniques, walls and roofs unfold to generate voids that act as apertures, modulating daylight and casting shifting patterns across interior surfaces. The design features two interlocking volumes with embedded and elevated conditions that blur the line between architecture and environment.

Isabella Correia and Payton Kittle collaborated on "Beneath the Shell," which reimagines the pavilion as a layered framework where community gathering and solitary retreat interweave. Through sculpted shell forms and dynamic joints, the design shifts between open, light-filled public spaces and intimate, enclosed sanctuaries. The adaptive architecture features three nested shell layers that compact for warmth in winter and unfurl for communal life in summer.

The urban infill projects demonstrate innovative approaches to dense city environments. Ryan Maloney's "Urban Treehouse" emerged from intensive physical model-making exploring the structural and aesthetic potential of woven wicker. Drawing inspiration from bamboo, the form is defined by interlacing curvilinear elements that create a parasitic architecture embedded within a dense urban site in Kent, Ohio. The project embraces public engagement through an open plan supporting community events, with private sleeping quarters elevated in suspended wicker-wrapped pods that glow like lanterns at night.

Jacob Newcomer's "Ecological Living" project examines how domestic space might embed itself within a system that prioritizes synthetic ecologies and power generation. Using inlaying as an integration process, the design thickens architectural elements such as lush garden spaces and high-tech solar plants to embed typical living spaces within them. Expansive solar panels generate energy for the surrounding urban fabric while the second floor facilitates cultural and social events within a large garden venue.

The fire station designs showcase bold approaches to civic architecture and emergency services infrastructure. Anthony Sherry's "Vertical Fracture" reimagines the traditional fire tower as a modern landmark for training, observation, and civic identity. Beginning with a simple rectangular mass sculpted through Boolean subtractions, the design features a spiraling central staircase that serves as both circulation and structure while supporting essential firefighter training including vertical rescue, ladder operations, and evacuation drills.

Ryan Shaw's "Confluence" presents the fire station as both essential infrastructure and civic landmark through three elevated, interlocking volumes wrapped with intricate panels that enhance dynamic motion while modulating light and enclosure. The design features an intermediate level between ground and elevated volumes that serves as a threshold where public and private zones merge, with a centrally located apparatus bay anchoring the plan.

Lindsay Nagy's "Operative Folds" engages the dialogue between architecture and terrain on a steeply sloped site bounded by elevated roadways. The project comprises three interrelated volumes: a base embedded in the earth and two perched masses above that mediate between public and private programs. Each volume features faceted roof planes that fold to generate enclosure, aperture, and spatial hierarchy while the re-contoured ground plane merges with the building's base.

Michael Conrad's "Linear Shift" reimagines the fire station as an open civic space that educates, invites, and fosters community connection through raised plinths that emerge from the ground. The design consists of three linear volumes that shift across the site, with two solid elevated masses framing a transparent central spine housing primary circulation. Wrapped in modulated panels, the outer volumes feature strategically aligned openings that blur the boundary between wall and roof.

Garrett Scott's "Kinetic Skin: Fire Station 28" asserts civic presence through a performative billboard facade featuring modular panels on a structural scaffold that serve as both skin and signal. These dynamic panels act as an interface between building and city, broadcasting public identity, framing views, and revealing interior activity. The scaffold forms the building's horizontal spine, organizing public, administrative, and operational zones while twin FS28 signs anchor the building's urban identity.

According to the school's faculty, students were challenged to take creative risks, experiment with emerging techniques, and reimagine how space can be shaped and experienced. The program encourages curiosity, experimentation, and rigor while aiming to cultivate designers prepared to thoughtfully shape the future of the built environment. These foundation studios serve as critical platforms for design exploration where students engage with topics ranging from ecological and cultural contexts to performance-based design strategies, reflecting Kent State University's commitment to transformational architectural education that pursues experimental and creative design thinking.