pla–kappa: a cautionary tale of accumulation
North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
2017, Speculative.
Team: Tei Carpenter, Arianna Deane, Ashley Kuo
A speculative design for a new floating island, archipelago, and ecosystem in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre coproduced between nature’s ocean currents, organic matter, and accumulations of human-made waste. Selected as a winner of the LA+ Imagination Competition and included in a forthcoming publication. Please visit this
link for further information.
pla–kappa: a cautionary tale of accumulation
North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
2017, Speculative.
Team: Tei Carpenter, Arianna Deane, Ashley Kuo
A speculative design for a new floating island, archipelago, and ecosystem in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre coproduced between nature’s ocean currents, organic matter, and accumulations of human-made waste. Selected as a winner of the LA+ Imagination Competition and included in a forthcoming publication. Please visit this
link for further information.
pla–kappa: a cautionary tale of accumulation
North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
2017, Speculative.
Team: Tei Carpenter, Arianna Deane, Ashley Kuo
A speculative design for a new floating island, archipelago, and ecosystem in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre coproduced between nature’s ocean currents, organic matter, and accumulations of human-made waste. Selected as a winner of the LA+ Imagination Competition and included in a forthcoming publication. Please visit this
link for further information.
big brothers big sisters houston headquarters
Houston, Texas, USA.
Expected Completion: Winter 2017.
Team: Tei Carpenter, Min Chen, George Hewitt, Adelina Koleva, Nora Leon, Elizabeth Stanfel.
A new 20,000 sf headquarters for national non-profit mentoring organization Big Brothers Big Sisters located in downtown Houston. Manipulation of color and standard building systems allows for increased visibility of the organization through a dynamic faciality on the exterior and creates openness with a three-story atrium at the entry. Within the context of Houston’s car-centric culture, the building is designed to be experienced at a range of scales and speeds.
big brothers big sisters houston headquarters
Houston, Texas, USA.
Expected Completion: Winter 2017.
Team: Tei Carpenter, Min Chen, George Hewitt, Adelina Koleva, Nora Leon, Elizabeth Stanfel.
A new 20,000 sf headquarters for national non-profit mentoring organization Big Brothers Big Sisters located in downtown Houston. Manipulation of color and standard building systems allows for increased visibility of the organization through a dynamic faciality on the exterior and creates openness with a three-story atrium at the entry. Within the context of Houston’s car-centric culture, the building is designed to be experienced at a range of scales and speeds.
big brothers big sisters houston headquarters
Houston, Texas, USA.
Expected Completion: Winter 2017.
Team: Tei Carpenter, Min Chen, George Hewitt, Adelina Koleva, Nora Leon, Elizabeth Stanfel.
A new 20,000 sf headquarters for national non-profit mentoring organization Big Brothers Big Sisters located in downtown Houston. Manipulation of color and standard building systems allows for increased visibility of the organization through a dynamic faciality on the exterior and creates openness with a three-story atrium at the entry. Within the context of Houston’s car-centric culture, the building is designed to be experienced at a range of scales and speeds.
the mentorium—exhibition design
Houston, Texas, USA.
2016, Proposal.
Team: Tei Carpenter, George Hewitt.
A translation of the tangram dissection puzzle into three-dimensions to produce an interactive exhibition space of objects, panels, and seating that is reconfigurable and encourages play.
the mentorium—exhibition design
Houston, Texas, USA.
2016, Proposal.
Team: Tei Carpenter, George Hewitt.
A translation of the tangram dissection puzzle into three-dimensions to produce an interactive exhibition space of objects, panels, and seating that is reconfigurable and encourages play.
fisheries observation pavilion
Nunavik, Quebec, Canada.
2016, Built.
Team: Tei Carpenter, Min Chen.
Sited atop a rock outcropping in the tundra of northern Quebec, this design/build pavilion is for the observation and conservation of spawning Atlantic salmon. A flip of the ridge line reorients the traditional pitched roof silhouette using readily available local materials with non-standard joinery details. A custom camouflage print is under development based on textures and colors of tundra flora such as caribou moss and lichens.
fisheries observation pavilion
Nunavik, Quebec, Canada.
2016, Built.
Team: Tei Carpenter, Min Chen.
Sited atop a rock outcropping in the tundra of northern Quebec, this design/build pavilion is for the observation and conservation of spawning Atlantic salmon. A flip of the ridge line reorients the traditional pitched roof silhouette using readily available local materials with non-standard joinery details. A custom camouflage print is under development based on textures and colors of tundra flora such as caribou moss and lichens.
fisheries observation pavilion
Nunavik, Quebec, Canada.
2016, Built.
Team: Tei Carpenter, Min Chen.
Sited atop a rock outcropping in the tundra of northern Quebec, this design/build pavilion is for the observation and conservation of spawning Atlantic salmon. A flip of the ridge line reorients the traditional pitched roof silhouette using readily available local materials with non-standard joinery details. A custom camouflage print is under development based on textures and colors of tundra flora such as caribou moss and lichens.
drift house
West Fallmouth, Massachusetts, USA.
2015, Built.
An extensive renovation of a 1950’s beach house on Cape Cod blurs interior and exterior spaces by lifting existing collar ties, introducing large graphic window elements, and replacing a stud wall with a wide sliding glass door. The design incorporates custom millwork and a playful custom rope and pulley window system, a nod to the house’s nautical context.
drift house
West Fallmouth, Massachusetts, USA.
2015, Built.
An extensive renovation of a 1950’s beach house on Cape Cod blurs interior and exterior spaces by lifting existing collar ties, introducing large graphic window elements, and replacing a stud wall with a wide sliding glass door. The design incorporates custom millwork and a playful custom rope and pulley window system, a nod to the house’s nautical context.
drift house
West Fallmouth, Massachusetts, USA.
2015, Built.
An extensive renovation of a 1950’s beach house on Cape Cod blurs interior and exterior spaces by lifting existing collar ties, introducing large graphic window elements, and replacing a stud wall with a wide sliding glass door. The design incorporates custom millwork and a playful custom rope and pulley window system, a nod to the house’s nautical context.
suite 303 salon
New York, New York, USA.
2013, Built.
Located in a historic cast-iron building in New York City’s NoHo neighborhood, this renovation for celebrity stylist April Barton’s Suite 303 Salon maintains an open floor plan, while using the salon’s main elements, such as a color bar and hair washing station, as space defining anchors that concentrate activity. The design integrates custom light fixtures and mirrors, a graffiti mural by artist Jordan Betten, and a custom light box by artist Leo Villareal.
suite 303 salon
New York, New York, USA.
2013, Built.
Located in a historic cast-iron building in New York City’s NoHo neighborhood, this renovation for celebrity stylist April Barton’s Suite 303 Salon maintains an open floor plan, while using the salon’s main elements, such as a color bar and hair washing station, as space defining anchors that concentrate activity. The design integrates custom light fixtures and mirrors, a graffiti mural by artist Jordan Betten, and a custom light box by artist Leo Villareal.
feral urbanism: reimagining detroit
Detroit, Michigan, USA.
2011, Speculative.
An architectural speculation on the latent value embedded in vacant property lots typical of post-industrial cities. Re-appropriating water infrastructure, this project keeps existing houses and institutions intact seeking to build a lightweight, open and flexible intervention. It overlays a new industry of sustainable aquaculture over Detroit’s industrial past, juxtaposing a synthetic, cultivated nature with a city that has gone wild.
feral urbanism: reimagining detroit
Detroit, Michigan, USA.
2011, Speculative.
An architectural speculation on the latent value embedded in vacant property lots typical of post-industrial cities. Re-appropriating water infrastructure, this project keeps existing houses and institutions intact seeking to build a lightweight, open and flexible intervention. It overlays a new industry of sustainable aquaculture over Detroit’s industrial past, juxtaposing a synthetic, cultivated nature with a city that has gone wild.
feral urbanism: reimagining detroit
Detroit, Michigan, USA.
2011, Speculative.
An architectural speculation on the latent value embedded in vacant property lots typical of post-industrial cities. Re-appropriating water infrastructure, this project keeps existing houses and institutions intact seeking to build a lightweight, open and flexible intervention. It overlays a new industry of sustainable aquaculture over Detroit’s industrial past, juxtaposing a synthetic, cultivated nature with a city that has gone wild.
about
Tei Carpenter is an architectural designer and educator based in Brooklyn, New York. She received her M. Arch degree from Princeton University where she was awarded the Howard Crosby Butler Traveling Fellowship in Architecture and her B.A. in Philosophy from Brown University.
Tei has worked in the offices of Toshiko Mori Architect and Steven Holl Architects in New York, as well as Shigeru Ban Architects in Tokyo.
Her current research investigates the ambiguous line between the natural and artificial; the relationship between waste and geology; and the role of typical and generic systems in architecture.
Her design work and writing have appeared in Artforum, Cite, Pidgin, and Plat. Previously, she has taught design studios and seminars at Cornell University, City College of New York, and at Rice University as the Wortham Visiting Lecturer.
Currently, Tei teaches design studios at Brown University and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.
