Tom Hilsee

BFA, ArchitectureMassachusetts College of Art and Design2015

215-290-6053thilsee@tomhilsee.comtomhilsee.com

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ALTHOUSE ARBORETUM

Professional Projectwith S.A.V.E. Allianceas Lead DesignerPottstown, PA2014-2016

Directed Students Against Violating the Earth (SAVE), an environmental education non-profit, in documenting the existing site and 19th century farmhouse (to be renovated) and lead a design proposal for a new classroom/event space.

Facilitated design charrettes with students, board members and neighbors in developing a strategy for 30 acre site, and in the design and development of the new classroom, towards grant proposals.

New classroom is to be net-zero passive house, with no HVAC or fossil-fuel powered heating. 1,000 sq ft, with space to seat over 50 people. Existing farmhouse will be converted into a communal lounge and offices.

Presented with Legacy Award from SAVE Alliance for efforts in leading design work.

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PARKING TRELLIS

Professional Projectwith William Schaefer & Assoc.Design Development and ConstructionCambridge, MA2016

Worked with the principal and one other in developing parking trellis design in drawings, 3d and physical models. Responsible also for value engineering, materials purchasing and built construction. Many design decisions occured on-site as well.

Constructed of 2x4 and 2x6 pressure treated pine, hung with colored joist hangers and bolted at joints. 2x2 slats lie loose across the top.

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RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION

Professional Projectwith Aspenberg BuildersOcean City, NJ2013

Worked on a construction team to renovate 1910 historic balloon-framing 10,000 sq. ft. shore house.

House needed to be completely gutted and jacked up almost 2 feet to level. Majority of the structure was replaced and reinforced with steel beams and engineered lumber. Modifications included re-partitioning interior, building new staircases, dormers, decks and a rear 3-level addition.

Worked in collaboration with masons who re-built column footings.

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THIS IS ME! THIS IS MY PLACE!

Academic ProjectArchitecture Degree ProjectMass. College of ArtDudley Street, Roxbury, MA2014-2015

Degree project examining a re-design of public housing. Design allows for a ‘persistence of being’ through spatial self-expression. In a political system that restricts and oppresses lower classes, mass housing becomes a mechanism for control— thus the dwelling becomes the frontline in the battle for person freedom.

Program included ground level street-front retail, 10 family units and a library on site.

Interviews were conducted with residents of the area, both in and outside of public housing. Research was conducted with the aid of Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative. Information was compiled into a book, recognized with an award by the Architecture Dept.

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HOUSE FOR A HERMIT

Academic ProjectMass. College of Art2014

Need-driven living environment for the ‘North Pond Hermit’ of Maine, living off-the-grid and without social contact. Design emphasized need for self-sufficiency through adaptation of existing ‘found’ structure.

Existing structure is an abandoned grain storage built crica 1800 by Scandanavian settlers. The making of it into habitatable, passive house, running off-the-grid, consisted of heavy insulation, solar gain, and a utility network to capture rain water, grow food/livestock, power a generator (with solar panels and wind turbines) and produce heat from a wood-fired furnace.

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ASTRONOMY TOWER

Academic ProjectUniv. New Mexico2012

In a dream, an astronomer makes their ascent up the spine, the stairs of an improbable tower. The climb slices through cubes— a rupture birthing space. Moonlight glows on the exposed walls, radiating the desert night.

Site was set on the Plains of San Agustin, New Mexico. Program, structure and material are intentionally abstract, a ‘dream-like’ form.

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PLACES AND PATHS

Personal ProjectBoston, MA2014 - 2015

A study of the reciprocal relationship of “city places” and the “paths” that connect and give life to those places.

A 6’x6’ map was derived from interpreting and recording the locations of storefronts, parks, plazas, stations, libraries and other such public spaces, conversations with inhabitants on spatial identity, navigational perception, place-naming etc. and observing places of gathering and the routes available to reach them.

Exhibited in juried ‘All School Show’, at Mass. College of Art, April 2015.

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PAINTING THE BRIDGE RED

Personal Projectwith Billy Hilsee, Matt McCarterOcean City, NJ2013

The last remaining remnants of the old swing railroad bridge crossing the marsh; a platform oasis, used only by the derelicts. Our architectural act is to simply paint it red, to remind the casual user of its existence; calling them to explore, to climb.

Published in Ocean City Patch, Oct, 2013 with interview.

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MAPPING LEBANON

Academic ProjectAmerican Univ. Beirut2014

An investigation of conditions in village, valley, region and nation scale aimed at discovering a cause-effect narrative and producing an argument for needs. Maps were done as part of a site analysis of the historic villages of Abadiye and Beit Meri in the Hi-Metn region of Lebanon.

Maps illustrate the morphology of river valleys in Lebanon, their threatened existence and the relation to mountain towns that are seeing the mode of land-production shift from local agrarian use to housing development for the expanding urban area of Beiruts service-based-economy.

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DYNAMIC STRUCTURES

Academic ProjectAmerican Univ. Beirutwith Noor Bitar, Ghalia Korban, Mira Bou-Matar2014

A group experiment in creating a dynamic mechanism for an interactive/responsive structure. The research sought to answer: how does assembly, dimension, ground connection, pattern and bracing effect movements, deflection, form and structuralintegrity?

Interactive models were constructed to experiment with ways a user could “distort” the structure before a 1:1 structure was built on campus. The final structure is designed to allow “shearing” by users to alter the pitch.

1/2” wood members with metal pin connections partially hung from trees by cable.

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SQUARE CHAIR

Academic ProjectMass. College of Art2013

Poplar2’ x 2’ x 3’Mortise and tenon (mitered)

Exhibited in curated, ‘Working with Wood’, exhibit at Mass. College of Art.