2. 2 cook field pavilion
academic individual
medium hand drawings, sketchwork, all combined with photoshop
Massing model made from wood and chipboard.
3 clifton library
academic individual
medium hand drawings, sketchwork, autoCAD, FormZ, all
combined with photoshop. Massing model made from
wood and chipboard.
5 confrontation workshop
academic individual
medium hand drawings, sketchwork, combined with photoshop
7 froebel and the westcott house
academic group
effort worked with Ben Breyley and Pat Mcloughlin. All
pieces including drawings were done collaboratively.
medium hand drawings, sketchwork, autoCAD, photography,
massing model, maple froebel set.
9 hickman chapel
academic individual
medium hand drawings, sketchwork, autoCAD, FormZ, all
combined with photoshop
12 acsa: 2009 green communities competition
academic group
effort worked with Alex Libengood, Silvia Piszczor, Eric
table of contents
Sicks, and Lauren Wetula. All pieces were done
collaboratively.
medium hand drawings, sketchwork, autoCAD, photography,
massing model, maple froebel set.
Content within this book represents work completed
during my undergraduate studies at Miami University from 15 techtown
2006-2009. Currently applying for M. Arch. academic individual
medium hand drawings, sketchwork, autoCAD, FormZ, all
combined with photoshop
18 selected works
academic individual
medium acrylic paint on canvas, graphite on sketch paper
1 john g. simenic table of contents

3. Cook Field is a popular gathering space for students and
faculty alike to relax, to play sports, and to exercise. The
dynamic quality of this design represents the activity that
is associated with Cook Field while still offering an open,
comfortable space with panoramic views out to Cook Field.
cook field pavilion
08.07-12.07
2 john g. simenic cook field pavilion

4. The site for Clifton library sits on an urban street corner in
Cincinnati, Ohio. Located between the University of Cincinnati
campus to the south and the more historic Clifton district to
the north, the corner site contains many unique opportunities
to serve as a link between the two districts. Also, the current
Clifton Library is seen as a landmark for learning and education
within the small Clifton community. Taking these observations, I
wanted to create a bright and inviting building that would serve as
a major landmark in the Clifton community as well as a landmark
that would link the campus district with the historical district.
clifton library cincinnati, ohio
03.08-05.08
3 john g. simenic clifton library

5. My concept was to create an active learning environment that
could be viewed by the public. I wanted to “show-off ” the learning
environment. To do this, I incorporated a large amount of glazing
that enclosed a grand atrium and a series of overlapping mezzanines.
All service oriented functions and bookcases are pushed to the east
wall, and all reading and learning spaces are pushed toward the west
wall glazing where there is natural light and views out to the historic
street corner and the University of Cincinnati campus to the south.
4 john g. simenic clifton library

6. n
ntatio
line of cultural confrontation
confrontation
onfro
ical c
line of economic
f phys
line o The goal of the Confrontation Workshop was to address a
diverse but largely impoverished neighborhood in Istanbul,
Turkey. Working with Turkish design students, our studio
sought to address the underlying cultural fabric that
made up the neighborhood and adjacent neighborhoods.
The neighborhood is located in an area that is between three
layers of confrontation. Acting as a major line of confrontation
to the east is the famous Istiklal Street which is an agglomeration
of high-end and low-end shops and restaurants. Also lying
to the east is a major line of cultural confrontation where
many people from both eastern and western Turkey have
settled creating a mixed community in terms of geographical,
religious, and economic backgrounds. Acting as a physical
barrier to the west is a six-lane street known as Tarlabasi Avenue
which completely separates the neighborhoods on boths sides.
confrontation workshop istanbul, turkey
07.08-08.08
5 john g. simenic confrontation workshop

7. My proposal was a community center that focused on
weaving together the cultural fabric of the neighborhood
into one gathering space that would bring together the
diverse population of the direct neighborhood and the
adjacent neighborhoods.
6 john g. simenic confrontation workshop

8. To begin studying Frank Lloyd Wright our studio
first sought to look at Wright’s design process.
Little is known about his actual design process but many
scholars believe that Wright’s design process was highly
influenced by his childhood experience with Froebel sets.
So our studio began by constructing Froebel sets out of raw
maple. The process began from a basic tactility with a single
natural material and simple design exercies. These simple
exercies were then taken and applied on a larger scale for
an international arts campus masterplan located adjacent to
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Westcott House in Springfield, Ohio.
froebel and the westcott house springfield, ohio
08.08-10.08
group members ben breyley, pat mcloughlin
7 john g. simenic froebel and the westcott house

9. The goal of the Westcott House masterplan was to explore
Frank Lloyd Wright’s design process and to weave landscape
and built structure into one. The result is a masterplan design
for a multi-functional arts campus that sits low and quiet
in the midwestern landscape connected to the Westcott
House by only subtle landscape features. The sublety of the
design seeks not to dominate the Westcott House but to
compliment it by displaying similar design philosophies.
8 john g. simenic froebel and the westcott house

10. hickman chapel mill run, pennsylvania Built by the local residents of Mill Run in the early twentieth
08.08-10.08
century, Hickman Chapel is a small church located atop a gently
sloping hillside. Today, it is a part of the Western Pennsylvania
Conservancy and is a subject of possible refurbishment. The goal
of this design project was to not only preserve the church, but also
create a space that could serve community homecoming events.
9 john g. simenic hickman chapel

11. Sitting just miles away from Frank Lloyd Wright’s
Fallingwater, I began by using the Froebel process for my
design. This involved using a kits of parts and establishing
how design elements could be arranged with select site
elements in the landscape. My design centered around
refurbishing the basement into a useable community area.
Within the design, a large outdoor hearth sets up a
synergetic relationship between the indoors and outdoors,
and sliding doors allow the the space to completely
open up to the environment. Natural materials that
are warm in color are also used to make the basement
and patio blend into the landscape so that the stark
white chapel remains the focal point of the hillside.
10 john g. simenic hickman chapel

12. 11 john g. simenic hickman chapel

13. The goal of the 2009 Green Communities Competition was
to rethink current communities and their relationship with the
environment. Our group’s goal was to rethink a community in
Cincinnati, Ohio known as Over-The-Rhine (OTR). Located
adjacent to the downtown, OTR was once a flourishing community.
Today, approximately 60% of the standing buildings are vacant, making
a dense urban fabric that is not so dense at all. Using the concept that
the greenest brick is the one that is already there, our group came
up with ideas on how to preserve and reinvigorate a once thriving
community that could set an example for communities to come.
Looking at OTR as the focal point of the competition, our group
examined Cincinnati at multiple levels of scale while looking for
opportunities to rethink sustainability in the community. Knowing
that sustainability is not about small production systems, our group
sought larger concepts on how OTR can function on a more sustainable
level by working with the barebones of what is already there.
acsa: 2009 green communities competition
01.09-05.09
group members alex libengood, silvia piszczor, eric sicks, lauren wetula
faculty sponsors john blake, thomas dutton, scott johnston
place honorable mention
12 john g. simenic green communities competition

14. Using our “greenest brick” theme, our group saw great
potential in taking existing buildings and turning them
not only green, but into sustainably responsible foci, that
permeate into the conciousness of the entire community.
We not only looked into sustainable production systems,
but also into urban agriculture and how rooftops and
available green spaces can be used for this purpose.
13 john g. simenic green communities competition

15. On a larger scale, our group saw an opportunity to rethink
transportation within the city of Cinicinnati. Below an eight-lane
avenue exists the largest abandoned subway system in the United
States. Running over 16 miles long, this abandoned system runs
all the way to the outskirts of Cincinnati. Also, barracading the
south of OTR is a long line of parking structures that physically
seperates OTR from the downtown area. From these stipulations,
we saw an opportunity to turn the underground subway system
into a bikepath, which would not only lessen the need for the
burdening parking structures, but also lessen the carbon footprint.
14 john g. simenic green communities competition

16. Resting on the banks of the Mad River and just blocks away from
downtown Dayton, Ohio, Techtown is the site of a future business
park which will eventually contain fifteen multi-functional, low-rise
office buildings. Using an existing HOK masterplan, our studio, was
asked to design an efficient office building for the rising creative class
as defined by Richard Florida’s book The Rise of the Creative Class.
Thinking in terms of efficiency and economy I began the
design process by coming a up with a simple kit of parts that
consisted of a simple cube and simple 1:2 and 1:3 proportions.
Working from a this kit of rectangular parts I began to play
with ideas of framing and movement. The result is three
major forms; a tall central form and two rectangular forms
that intersect and slip past and through the central form.
techtown dayton, ohio
09.09-12.09
15 john g. simenic techtown

17. The central form functions as the circulation core, while the two
adjacent rectangular forms serves as tenant spaces. Working from
a simple palette of materials I sought to express each form with a
distinctive material so as to create a compelling spatial composition.
16 john g. simenic techtown

18. I wanted the tenants to have a sense of connection to the downtown
area, the Mad River, and the outdoor environment. A large fenestrated
southwest facade serves the function of connecting the tenants to
downtown, while large cut-out patios provide connections not only to
the outdoors but framed views to downtown Dayton and the Mad River.
17 john g. simenic techtown

19. selected works
the whirling dervishes the kanyon mall
acrylic paintings on canvas istanbul, turkey
18 graphite john g. simenic selected works