Portfolio 2013

MARK KENJI WICKENS715 Castro Street, SF, Ca.Wickens.M@gmail .com 410.271.7225

Situated in a developing neighborhood in West Berkeley, the project was designed to bridge the gap between the neighborhood’s industial past and its current identity as a diverse, creative community !lled with architects, artists and young families. The building consists of a large open plan mar-ketplace with storage and prep facilities above. The market sits over an underground parking garage and an ancilliary building acts as a cafe and community meeting space.

Constructed around an elegant concrete and steel frame, the building is sheathed in glass and corrugated aluminum siding. A number of deli-cate details, including cedar siding, perforated aluminum panels and cus-tom fabricated steel windows, give the otherwise monolithic structure an ephemeral, inviting ambiance. The central produce market is softly lit from above with a sawtooth skylight system; a nod to the factories which still pepper the surrounding neighborhood.

WEST BERKELEY BOWL

Location: Berkeley, CASize: 40,000 Sq. Ft. Completion: Fall, 2009Budget: $40 Million

Made possible by a generous grant from the federally funded American Recovery & Reinvestment Act, Golden Valley Health Centers comissioned our team to design a facility to accomodate their “Senior Health and Well-ness Center”. This non-pro!t health organization serves California’s Central Valley including low-income residents, seasonal migrant workers, south-east asian refugees and Modesto’s homless population.

The project was concieved as a central hub at which patients could receive a variety of care in a single visit. In an e"ort to give the project a warm, in-viting aesthetic, natural wood trellises and accents were used throughout the project. We also worked with Bay-Area artisans, Heath Ceramics, to develop colorful accent tiles which were used throughtout the project.

GOLDEN VALLEY HEALTH CENTERS

Location: Modesto, CASize: 50,000 Sq. Ft. Completion: Fall 2012Budget: $20 Million

Situated in the rapidly developing neighborhood of Emeryville at the foot of the San Francisco Bay Bridge this 130 unit assisted living facility integrates itself smoothly into a neighborhood of condominums, retail complexes and corporate campuses. A street level cafe attracts local neighbors and provides a link between the facilities’ residents and the surrounding com-munity.

Developed around a large central coutryard, rooms are #ush with natu-ral light and fresh air. A steel and glass atrium provides a sheltered area in which residents can exercise, socialize and relax. In addition, a planted roof top terrace provides sweeping views of the Berkeley Hills and the San Francisco skyline. The team worked extensively with a local artist to produce the sculptural wood and steel staircase at the center of the main lobby.

AGESONG APARTMENTS

Location: Emeryville, CASize: 28,000 Sq. Ft. Completion: Winter, 2009Budget: $32 Million

Occupying a fourteen acre site at the end of the number 7 subway line with views of Shea Stadium, Flushing Meadows and the 1964 Worlds Fair Grounds, this massive urban re-development project intends to serve as an anchor and catalyst for the continued development of the rapidly grow-ing neighborhood of Flushing, NYC.

Composed as a monolithic base containing retail, parking and entertain-ment facilities with six residential towers above, the project serves to el-evate residents above the bustling street life below. Above the retail plat-form, an expansive terrace houses 1,200 residential units, multiple gardens, children’s play areas, tennis & basketball courts, !tness centers and spas providing for a unique residential experience in an urban setting as dense as New York City. As of 2013, Flushing Town Center was the #1 selling resi-dential complex in the entire city.

FLUSHING TOWN CENTER

Location: Queens, New YorkSize: Retail + 1,200 Housing Units Completion: 2014Budget: $1.5 Billion

Working with the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, our team was tasked with developing approximately 150 units of middle-income family housing for two disused plots of the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard site. We adopted a site strategy of placing housing blocks around a series of parks and communal gathering spaces in an e"ort to develop strong community bonds and take full advantage of the spectacular views from the hill top site.

Due to the substantial scale of the project, a special emphasis was placed on di"erentiating each housing block and giving owners a sense of indi-viduality while still being integrated into the larger community. While many units share common features internally, each block contains unique archi-tectural elements and color schemes to add character and variety.

The team worked closely with a number of landscape architects to ensure a seamless integration of the built and natural environments. Native plant species were placed amongst the site to maximize their relationship with the existing topgraphy. Due to the toxic nature of the underlying serpentine bedrock, planting, site drainage, and integration with existing utility systems required extensive design and coordination amongst the various factions.

HUNTERS POINT SHIPYARDS REDEVELOPMENT

Location: San Francisco, CASize: 150 Housing Units Completion: TBDBudget: $100 Million

Working with UCSF, we worked to expand and modernize the school’s pri-mary dining facility at it’s Parnasus Campus in central San Francisco. The team worked closely with design !rm Pentagram to develop the project’s color scheme, signage and menus and with materials manufacturers to develop the project’s aestetic.

In collaboration with 3-Form, a resin panel manufacturer, we designed and fabricated a curved, translucent resin panel wall which integrates both lighting and way-!nding signage. Soft accent lighting throughout the project was achieved using LED strip lighting projecting down through the translucent resin panels.

Building to extremely rigorous hospital health-code standards, the team worked carefully with food service equipment manufacturers to ensure compliance while maintaining a clean, streamlined dining experience.

UCSF MOFFITT DINING COMMONS

Location: San FranciscoSize: 10,000 Sq. Ft. Completion: Summer 2012Budget: $15 Million

As a Christmas gift in 2011, I received my !rst iPhone. In searching for a sim-ple, yet elegant case for said phone, I was dismayed to !nd nothing which suited my requirements. Namely, it had to be durable, minimal and display an elegant simplicity in keeping with the aesthtic of the iPhone itself.

After a fruitless search, I decided to design my own. I worked through a number of prototypes before arriving at a simple, yet elegant design us-ing two strips of leather connected with one length of sinew. (see photo, far left, middle.) Over the next year, as demand grew, I began designing a number of other carry goods including billfolds, passport cases and clutches. In 2012, I launched a successful online pop-up shop around the holiday season.

Coming from an architectural background, I’ve found the transition to leath-er to be quite natural. It posessess a rigidity which allows it to be shaped and sculpted yet simultaneously conveys a softness and timless elegance.

LEATHER CARRY GOODS

Collaborating with a number of small businesses, I’ve spent time working with them in developing a cohesive brand identity through design.

Through this process, I’ve had the opportunity to work across a variety of mediums including web design, graphic design, architecture, photography, and video.

Current projects include collaborating on a magazine documenting the in-tersection of design and co"ee culture, multiple documentary !lm compa-nies and a number of small design and technology comapnies. Freelanc-ing as a designer has allowed me to peer into the worlds of various !elds to which I’m unaccustomed to, and serves to broaden my understanding of design and it’s applications in the contemporary environment.

GRAPHIC DESIGN & BRAND IDENTITY

PHOTOGRAHY & DESIGN - FREELANCE // SAN FRANCISCO // 07.2012 - PRESENTFreelance creative providing photo, video and design services to businesses and individuals.

KAVA MASSIH ARCHITECTS // SAN FRANCISCO // 08.2006 - 7.2012Designed and developed a broad range of projects, guiding them from schematic proposals though design

development and on-site construction administration. Work included housing, commercial, institutional and

hospitality work around the Bay Area with budgets ranging from $100,000 - $40,000,000. Interfaced frequently

with clients, consultants and contractors. Enjoyed the fast paced problem solving of project management.

PERKINS EASTMAN ARCHITECTS // NEW YORK CITY // 1.2005 - 7.2006 Collaborated in project design and development on large scale, mixed use projects. Participated in design

competitions involving prominent civic proposals. Gained experience managing large, complex proposals

involving extensive project teams.

MILOBY IDEASYSTEM // NEW YORK CITY // 5.2004 - 1.20058PSLFE� UP� EFmOF� BOE� EFWFMPQ� DMJFOUT�� CSBOE� JEFOUJUZ� UIPVHI� BSDIJUFDUVSF � HSBQIJD� EFTJHO� BOE� BMUFSOBUJWF�DSFBUJWF�NFEJVNT��8PSL�JODMVEFE�UIF�EFTJHO�PG�DSFBUJWF�PGmDF�FOWJSPONFOUT �DVTUPN�GVSOJUVSF�GBCSJDBUJPO �XFC�marketing campaigns and retail product development.

SKIDMORE, OWINGS AND MERRILL (S.O.M.) // NEW YORK CITY // 05.2002 - 09.2002Designed and fabricated large scale architectural models for presentation in the 2002 Venice Bienalle . Worked

with materials suppliers and computer aided fabrication methods.

Tulane University School of Architecture - Masters of Architecture 1, 2004

Tulane University School of Architecture - Bachelors of Architecture, 2003

DIGITAL: AutoCAD // Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom, Dream Weaver // Final Cut Pro X

Form-Z // V-Ray // SketchUp

ANALOG: Architectural Model Building, Carpentry, Leather Craft, Sewing, Film Photography, Development &

Printing, Hand Sketching

EDUCATION

MARK KENJI WICKENS

[email protected] // 715 CASTRO STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94114 // TEL: 410.271.7225

EXPERIENCE

SKILLS

Mark is a designer with an affinity for clean, refined & thoughtful design. He has a practical, well round-ed skill set which allows him to approach design problems from a structured and analytical perspective. He is able to quickly produce design and presentation materials which clearly communicate craft, process and concept development. Lastly, Mark believes that no matter the scale of the project, the quality of the final product is communicated in the minutia, details and attention to craft that differentiate good from great.