ARCH. PORTFOLIO // 2025
Hi, I’m Shane. I am pursuing a bachelor’s degree in architecture at NJIT, currently battling through my 4th year studio. I am passionate about all fields of design and the ways it can be used to shape experiences and environments, and I most appreciate architecture as a medium to explore these opportunities. I am far more interested in the creative/conceptual side of design, but I do understand that technical knowledge, in both hard and soft skills, is the limit to these creative ideas, and I work hard to make sure one side is never out pacing the other.
I have a particular interest in graphics and typography design and I often try to implement them into my architectual projects and representation. I don’t think it’s always incredibly successful, but I much prefer to fail at making work that excites me rather than succeed at something I know will work.
Email // sjw29@njit.edu
Phone // (908)-323-4905
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05 Organ Donor
S23 STUDIO IV // ex. 04
Rhino 7, Illustrator, Photoshop
Embracing the fragmented form, industrial context, and comlicated history of the Meadowlands, NJ, this aviary and bird watching tower serve to regenerate an ecosystem stolen from the wildlife through generations of economic and capital abuse.
The galvanized steel structure is scattered with compositions of disassembled shipping containers. They serve both birds and humans, creating moments of rest, shade, connections to the site through the framing of different views, and feeding platforms.
The site is so significant to birds because it exists along the Atlantic Flyway, a major migration route along the east coast. Before the site was blighted by industrialism, it was a major resting stop for these birds and would attract hundreds of species - the goal being to reestablish the site to its former function while calling attention to the forces that destroyed it.
It exists just 10 miles from the Elizabeth Port, giving it easy access to used and deteriorating shipping containers. After these containers are disassembled, the frames are wrapped in a chain link mesh, allowing for designated bird care takers to hold on to and care for birds that arrive to the site injured.
Spanning across the fragmented pieces of land and water, the structure works hard to draw connections to the site without becoming too impending on the existing ecosystem.
All steel members (AESS I-beams and HSS beams) are connected via bolted connections, with each joint clearly visible to occupants, sometimes exaggerated to create more resting moments for birds. The main structural components are thicker than regular steel, and every piece is galvanized - all in service of resisting the high levels of corrosion from the salt water. Steel’s unique ability to perform under tension and in cantilevered moments is taken advantage of as much as possible to create a sense of lightness in the heavy structure.