New Urban Mechanics
Project 1 S1NGLETOWN
S1NGLETOWN (Venice Biennale of Architecture) A speculative design exhibition on the rise of single-person households, framed as a fictional neighborhood. The project explored themes of solitude, urban density, and social infrastructure through custom-fabricated citizens and curated product solutions. The exhibition mixed narrative, design, and public engagement to reflect the shifting demographics of modern cities.
I was engaged early to help shape the concept, organize production, and serve as the main liaison between Droog, the exhibition designers, funders, and the festival team in Venice. I led coordination across creative, curatorial, and production teams, working closely with writers, exhibition designers, and product collaborators. I sourced product designers from around the world, managed shipping and install logistics, and hired a fabricator to bring our fictional residents to life. I secured Mondriaan Foundation funding through a successful grant application and secured Ymere, a Dutch housing developer, as sponsor for our printed newspaper. I also commissioned an architectural editor to develop content and tone for the publication.
To make the exhibition accessible and participatory, we printed newspapers for visitors to take home, featuring design commentary, fictional ads, and demographic research. This portable format extended the exhibit beyond the walls of the Biennale, giving the public a lasting and personal entry point into the city’s themes. Presenting speculative design in a format grounded in familiarity helped connect imaginative urban ideas to real-world behavior, infrastructure, and policymaking.
Project 2 ENERGY HEROS
ENERGY HEROES (Energy Upgrade California). Energy Upgrade California was a statewide initiative aimed at helping residents and businesses reduce energy consumption. The campaign spanned broadcast, digital, and community events, blending traditional media with creative activations like unplugged concerts, cold-water laundromat takeovers, and a solar eclipse event at San Francisco City Hall. I worked across many of these efforts and led production on “Energy Heroes,” a video series profiling California companies actively lowering their environmental footprint, including Sierra Nevada Brewing and Equator Coffee. The series made climate action feel grounded, human, and local.
I was involved from concept to delivery. I sold the series into stakeholders from California’s utilities, serving as lead communicator throughout. I sourced a small crew, hired a director, and developed the story arc to balance environmental education with human storytelling. I researched and contacted businesses, secured locations, and managed production logistics from shoot to wrap. I oversaw post-production and platform-specific editing, collaborated with PR for earned media, and managed usage rights and music licensing.
Energy Heroes had to work within a large, multi-agency campaign while staying nimble and authentic. The challenge was keeping the tone personal and hopeful, not corporate or heavy-handed. By focusing on independent California businesses and real operational changes, the series helped translate statewide energy goals into local, human-scale actions.
Project 3 REBUILDING BEIRUT
REBUILDING BEIRUT (Venice Architecture Biennale) Produced a research-driven exhibition for MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning, showcasing three speculative design interventions aimed at rebuilding Beirut’s urban fabric after the 2020 port explosion. The installation featured Living Heritage Atlas, a virtual and physical database of craftspeople; City Scanner, an environmental sensing tool mounted on Beirut taxis; and Community Streets, a mobility plan for reactivating damaged neighborhoods.
I was brought in to oversee concept development, budget distribution across departments, and execution logistics. I worked closely with faculty, researchers, and Biennale organizers to manage design constraints, coordinate limited faculty schedules, and unify the exhibition’s tone across different types of media. Balancing contributions from three separate MIT schools, I ensured each had meaningful representation within the final installation. I also managed infrastructure needs, shipping, and AV balance, ensuring that photos, projection, and sound could coexist in a single space without disrupting viewer experience.
Content included multiple videos, animations, interactive maps, photo essays, postcards, and a deconstructed camera showing how an open-source design could be 3D printed and assembled. In addition to supporting media development, I wrote the exhibition copy, catalog content, and PR materials, and produced a festival introduction with MIT faculty and the Dean of the School of Architecture and Planning. A key challenge was ensuring consistency and clarity across three distinct projects while keeping the installation physically inviting, technically functional, and visually engaging.
