Nathalie J. Siegel, Associate AIA, LEED AP BD+C

2021 Architecture and Film Symposium – Submittal

As I subscribe weekly to bustler e-newsletter, I came across another competition entitled 2020 Architecture and Film Symposium that peaked my interest. During these days of Netflix and Amazon Prime, I recently watched a documentary and a movie that both creatively alter and or represent our perception of the built environment, in traditional, realistic, or futuristic ways.

Please kindly view my story with attachments.

Tradition and Imagination

When architecture professors attend a midterm review, their perception of a student’s work is built on observing the dialogue, presentation skills, generated models, and scaled drawings. When an audience is seated at a movie theater, their perception of a film is built on watching on a large projector screen from start to finish. These activities show how human beings use their senses to build a perception, due to tradition or manipulation.

Surrealism is a media of art that manipulates our perception of past, present, and the future in the built environment by juxtaposing imagery with realism.

An example of surrealistic perception is the Hudsucker Proxy movie, which is set as old Hollywood, during the Art Deco 1930’s with 1950’s scenery. The movie begins with a very dense lineup of skyscrapers and iconic buildings of New York City and Chicago as a miniature-scaled, fantasy cityscape of New York.

1930's and 1950's version of "New York skyline 1959" — 1930’s and 1950’s version of “New York skyline 1959”

New York skyline 1950's — 1930’s and 1950’s version of “New York skyline 1959”

The main setting takes place inside the Hudsucker building, which is a manipulated, tall version of the Merchandise Mart. Paneling details of the exterior facade still hold today onto the past of the Art Deco era.

Furnishings in the office interiors were filmed as miniature scale while full height ceiling windows and the backdrop of towering skyscrapers were filmed as “tall and narrow, unfixed dimension” surrealistic scaling.

A corporate executive falls to his death by jumping out of a full height ceiling window. This scene freezes into time-lapsed fragments as if the setting’s building height was one hundred stories. This causes the audience to question and conclude with a best educated guess on how long it realistically takes to fall from a high rise under fifty stories.

Human dimension, ergonomics, and common sense are deemed as satire and as perceptive roadblocks in the Hudsucker Proxy movie.

Another movie that filters and represents our perception in the traditional, present, and future in the built environment is a Netflix documentary, titled Chef’s Table, Season Two, Episode 1. This is a story on a creative, high sensory dining experience at a Michelin restaurant in Chicago, named Alinea. This surreal experience alters the audience’s perception of how we presently and traditionally eat and occupy the spatial needs for dining in a restaurant space.

This documentary experiments very well with futuristic imagery as the chef, Grant Achatz asks, “why does one have to eat on a plate with a fork?” The stage setting begins with him observing abstract art in an art gallery. He then designs a wild painting of varying scales of food including molecular sizing on a dining patron’s table, as his masterpiece.

This defines another example of how a viewer perceives a built environment with restaurant zoning and program requirements involving the function of eating traditionally. As the audience absorbs this as unfamiliar territory, they try to process and see if this futuristic experience is adaptable.

Filming shows how it can alter, represent, inform, and misinform our perception in ways we view the past, present, and future in a built environment, as much as being present in a space.

The Drafting Table of Nat’s Noshes

IMPROVISING THE ART OF CULINARY

Draw, draw, and draw until precise as my mentors from art and architecture school shared with us as a daily reminder post-it.

The drafting table of Nat’s Noshes is set up with a Moleskin-ruled notebook and a Sharpie pen. Brainstorming develops for food pyramid-compliant and well-cup-measured clean foods.

These culinary pieces of art are all homemade and not pre-packaged. Berries used in these stories came fresh from the orchard farm and pomegranates came from the produce aisle, rather than pre-packaged.

Since mid April, I have been channeling my passion for art and design into creative baking and cooking, via colors, textures, scents, visuality, plating, and presentation.

I designed a website from the start and have been documenting short stories inspired from childhood memories, adventures during the pandemic, and positive experiences into creative, noshable goods. This website has morphed from zero to over 3.5K views in just over three months, along with a high presence in social media.

Please help yourself in viewing samples of creative culinary art for healthy inspiration, social distancing dinner party ideas, or as creative ways to reset and enjoy summer, as normal as possible.

*Basically “clean” foods under 5 ingredients.

Nat’s Noshes

Navigating What’s Next… Post-COVID Workplace

What is next? This webinar was an interesting listen in different perspectives with a “first wave” of professionals on the impossibilities to predict what is next. Steelcase sponsored this discussion involving topics on design considerations and safety guidelines. Bar graph statistics were shown on how low percentages were for “pre-COVID” workplace employees on being “mobile”. Twenty percent or less was the highest percentage of employees in this group of demographics. Twenty percent or less. This percentage range shows us how our traditional and “comfort zone” mindsets are not immediately prepared to predict what will happen next for the future of our companies, clients, colleagues, and employees.

When returning to the workplace, without even referring to the bar charts of this webinar, the fact that there will be the same number of people in the building at the same time, will cease and desist. Thus, we have no choice but to allow for flexibility in our work schedules for staggered time periods for employees, clients, deliveries, and visitors to enter and exit, for those that choose to do so. Thus, the “work from home” phenomenon will surface more and more and become more of the daily norm.

While we watch the “work from home” phenomenon become a phenomenon, we also need to take action immediately, prepare, and strategize the increasing needs for safety in the office spaces. Our new strategy would also be based on adapting to the interior health and safety standards for each person entering, utilizing, and leaving common, shared spaces. These would not only include workstation cubicles, offices, but also the breakroom, corridors, stairways, fire escapes, lobby entrances, restroom spaces, etc.

Overall, our workplace needs to actively take action, become more resilient, offer accommodating standards proved legal by the city and state codes, abide all safety protocols, and training for still managing public office spaces for those that still prefer to work at-office or are deemed as “essential” workers. Basically our workplace during the “first wave” would probably deem as collaborative forces working together to make the environment safer.

Also, our workforce will need to be “fluid” and be open for new technologies and corporate advances to help improvise the wants of those that prefer to work “in-office”. The idea of struggling with work productivity and communication at home comes up as another topic. This webinar broadly covers practical ideas in all these areas to ponder, as this is all open-ended as an ongoing “project” to brainstorm.

Our competition for better health, safety, and wellness begins right now, just as architects practice architecture abiding health, safety, and welfare (HSW) codes, legally and in compliance.

Webinar Link

Commercial

EXPERIENCE LEVEL: 3 YEARS

Specifications
Starbucks Roastery Build Out, Michigan Avenue
Independent Contract with Toledo Twisted Iron, Industrial Designer
Chicago, IL January – March 2019

Bid for Proposal: CSI Division 05700 on Decorative Metal: Brass
Specifications Task List
Specifications Database

Architectural Work
Studio Spicuzza
Architectural Designer
Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL November 2017 – April 2019

River North Wine Bar | Restaurant: Proposed DD for back of bar, den/office area

Architectural Work
HKS Architects, Inc.
Architectural Designer
Tampa, FL October 2006 – January 2008

Fairmont Turnbery Isle Ocean Resort Hotel & Residences
Self-taught Revit using tutorials every early morning prior to work; Daily coordination with headquarters in converting Revit files of all floor plans, elevations, and sections into AutoCAD database for all phases; Drafted all hotel floor plan layouts, details, stair sections, stair elevation; Set up all index sheets, wall schedules, detail callouts, material specifications; Created detailed room matrix tabulation spreadsheet for all 35 floors; Assigned material selections for all interior walls of base levels; Verified last minute ramp and stair discrepancy issues, last minute changes to parking spaces per occupancy load and life safety ratings

Seminole Hard Rock Casino Expansion – Hollywood
Team work on redline coordination and edits in phases SD, DD, and CD; Set up all escalator and elevator detail sheets at edge of slab, researched elevator company brands for worst case scenarios for pit sizes; Updated openings in slab plans per elevator sections and specs, aligned all per wall section changes, and updated all with last minute pit size changes; Set up wall type sheets with new x-refs, matched new column wraps around building perimeter per wall types; Verified beam locations per structural drawings; Updated life safety sheets by verifying x-bracing locations to avoid overlap with door openings; Updated fire extinguisher locations per sheets

Revit Course at SAIC

School of the Art Institute – Adult Continuing Education Course
Chicago, IL 2019

This assignment was a progressive continuation of a residential design originated from hand sketches, field measurements, and AutoCAD drafting development. Also, this was an exercise in Revit modeling using assigned lineweights, shadow direction, and program requirements for the 2 story space.

The Life Cycles of Women in Architecture Submittal

As I subscribe weekly to bustler e-newsletter, I came across this competition and entered as I felt a deep connection with my “life cycle” as a woman in the architectural field. The Life Cycles of Women in Architecture Competition, sponsored by WOMENWHODESIGN.ORG

Please kindly view my story with attachments.

The first image shares a conceptual idea using grid paper to initially align the organizational skills and mindset of the traditional employment ratio of men to women in an architecture firm. First image shows female architect as “behind” a “flat” wall.

The second image shows all of the wild and freehand colors of breaking the norm with loosened possibilities.

These images display a graphic collaborative of life cycles from a female architect’s perspective.

Both graphic stories share different time periods that mold the cyclical status of a woman in a “man’s profession”, which still abides today, with some firms that choose not to progress with society. A female student endures the strenuous of the most strenuous days in architecture studio in just as much as a male student.

All professions have obstacles and social issues are natural happenstance. The idea of a female in architecture school traditionally is assumed to pursue a career as a decorator or a specialty not directly involved with architects and contractors. The ratio of women to men and was low when I was in school and within the next decade of firms. However, a slow increase in improvement has developed and still is developing as the profession becomes more modernized.

My first employment was an internship with a highly-reputed architect. The first day, my higher up gave me an apron and kitchen utensils for carving pumpkins for Halloween. This was a shock and hard to process as I was still mentally recovering from all-nighters in studio. Welcome to being a female intern fresh out of college!

After finally nosediving into projects involving model making, sanding, and gluing by hand, my next assignment was to bake cookies! The next day, my higher up hands over the apron again, baking utensils, and a cooking sheet for cookies as it was one of our employee’s birthdays. This turned into a cyclical pattern mixed in with very rewarding architectural roles as I started to build my resume and gain more experience.

Not only this ongoing obstacle in the profession but another turning point in the cycles of a female architect is the unfortunate current state of mind this world is in right now.

The key word, “traditional” has been famously stamped for centuries in this profession for the male to female ratio but also applies to working in an office setting.

This is the trick as the profession is trying to recover, no matter what the ratio of male to female is, but with a safer approach.

All in all, us female architects, are in hopes that our traditional social status will be revamped into more modern, mainstream, open-minded, and creative ways in order to preserve our ancient profession and withstand the next fire, together with all sexes.

Please enjoy these quotes from famous architects:
~Alvaro Siza, “Tradition is a challenge to innovation.”
~Walter Gropius, “The mind is like an umbrella – it functions best when open.” ~Zaha Hadid, one of my most admired, “There are 360 degrees, so why stick to one?”

Residential

EXPERIENCE LEVEL: 7 YEARS

Architectural Design
R. Morgan Rolontz Architecture
New York City, March – September 2022

Private Residence, Upper East (Carnegie Hill)
Building Review Set: Set up a building review set and updated schedules for Managing Agent, revised set per redlines requested. Set up final submittal including existing, demo and proposed plans, construction details, RCP plan, energy analysis tabular chart, lighting calculation analysis tabular chart (wattage per fixture, allowable watts per square footage, etc.), plumbing demo and proposed plans, plumbing riser diagram location sheets and plumbing fixture/fittings and appliance schedule
Pricing Set: Continued setting up a comprehensive, full CD set and additional schedules for contractors including kitchen and bath construction details and millwork sections, details, elevation sections, and schedules for millwork, appliances, doors, finishes, etc. Set up submittal and bid letter and sent out package to 4 contractors

Private Residence, Upper East (Lenox Hill)
Site visit, field measure and verify existing conditions
Design Development set for Client: Generate existing conditions plan and four (4) proposed plans
Window Manufacturer Submittal: Set up interior elevations and window detail sheets for proposed scope of work on new casement windows
Building Review Set: Set up a building review set and updated schedules for Managing Agent, revised set per redlines requested. Set up final submittal including existing, demo and proposed plans, construction details, RCP plan, energy analysis tabular chart, lighting calculation analysis tabular chart (wattage per fixture, allowable watts per square footage, etc.), plumbing demo and proposed plans, plumbing riser diagram location sheets and plumbing fixture/fittings and appliance schedule. Coordinated with engineers on MEP drawing set sheets, cut sheets, and load letter

Private Residence, Upper East
Site visit, field measurements of existing conditions
Building Review Set: Set up a building review set and updated schedules for Managing Agent, revised set per redlines requested. Set up final submittal including existing, demo and proposed plans, construction details, RCP plan, energy analysis tabular chart, lighting calculation analysis tabular chart (wattage per fixture, allowable watts per square footage, etc.)
Building Review Response Set: Delegated answers to managing architect’s questions in word document, revised drawing set of redlines requested, collaborated on supplemental supporting documents ie. cut sheets.

Private Residence, West Village/Flatiron Area
Site visit and field measurements of existing conditions
Building Review Set: Set up a building review set and updated schedules for Managing Agent, revised set per redlines requested. Set up final submittal including existing, demo and proposed plans, construction details, RCP plan, energy analysis tabular chart, lighting calculation analysis tabular chart (wattage per fixture, allowable watts per square footage, etc.), plumbing demo and proposed plans, plumbing riser diagram location sheets and plumbing fixture/fittings and appliance schedule. Coordinate with Expeditor on Plot information, total construction, demo, electrical, plumbing cost calculations
Daily coordination with contractor and handling paperwork on COIs, Load Letters, Alteration Letter for building review set
Building Review Response Set: Revised submittal drawings per word document requests, attached required cut sheets, and revised comments in word doc

Private Residence, Midtown East
Site visit and field measurements of existing conditions
Building Review Set: Set up a building review set and updated schedules for Managing Agent, revised set per redlines requested. Set up final submittal including existing, demo and proposed plans, construction details, RCP plan, energy analysis tabular chart, lighting calculation analysis tabular chart (wattage per fixture, allowable watts per square footage, etc.), plumbing demo and proposed plans, plumbing riser diagram location sheets and plumbing fixture/fittings and appliance schedule
Coordinate with Expeditor on Plot information as well as total construction, demo, electrical, and plumbing cost calculations
Daily coordination with contractor and handling paperwork on COIs, Load Letters, Alteration Letter
Coordinated with engineers on specs for plumbing drawing development set
Building Review Response Set: Revised submittal drawings per word document requests, attached required cut sheets, and revised comments in word document

Private Residence, Connecticut
Pricing Set: Revision work only on second floor study elevations/partial plan layout and send to contractor

Private Residence, Midtown
Building Review Set: Revise set per redlines requested on lighting locations and switch lines in reflected ceiling plan and electrical plan, set up Plot Plan per Expeditor coordination

Private Residence, Upper West (Morningside Heights) Apt #1
Site visit, field verify existing conditions already generated and compare to engineer’s existing background drawings

Private Residence, Upper West (Morningside Heights) Apt #2
Site visit, field verify existing conditions
Set up existing background drawings – pending project

Private Residence, Upper West
Client Review: Updated/revised Paint schedule and added in 4 types of keypads in reflected ceiling plan

Private Residence, Hamptons
Client Review: Generated a footprint plan, full scale of client-sourced hanging swing chair

Private Residence, Connecticut
Pricing Set: Replicated hand-written marked redlines onto 4 full sets of Pricing set as well as digitally via Bluebeam PDF

Private Residence, Kips Bay/Flatiron Area
Pricing Set: Revised and updated pricing set, set up submittal with schedules and bid letter out to 4 contractors

Private Residence, Brooklyn
Set up exterior elevation sheet with placement for signage per contractor request for requirements during construction phase

Private Residence, Union Square/Washington Square/NoHo
Building Review Set: Coordinated and set up managing agent missing documents by sorting out files and emails into a more updated submittal package for managing agent office

Architectural Design
Jill Menoff Architect P.C.
Remote, New York City, October – November 2021

Residence, Carnegie Hill
15 story pre-war, RM (mixed res./comm.)
3,000 sf Phase 1 under construction, Phase 2 DD/Bid Set

Residence, Greenwich Village
6 story co-op, D4 (elevator co-op)
Drawing submittal to Building Management, Bid Set

Residence, Lincoln Center
6 story pre-war, R4 (res. unit in elevator bldg)
Specifications with local vendors, suppliers, manufacturers, showrooms

Residence, Upper West Side
(2) 16 story hi-rises, D4 (elevator co-op)
1,000 sf Bid Set, Building Management Set, and DOB Filing Set

Residence, Upper West Side
9 story pre-war co-op, D4 (elevator co-op)
1,800 sf under construction, Lighting and Power Plan on wall and surface mounted sconces, light load power calculations, revisions per contractor and architect revised dimensions

Design Competition Group Judge
National Kitchen and Bath Association
NKBA Design Competition
Puget Sound Chapter
45 submittal entries
Remote, May 2021

Certification
National Kitchen and Bath Association
NKBA Floor Plans & Specifications Specialist Badge
Remote, January 2021

Design Competition Group Judge
National Kitchen and Bath Association
NKBA Design Competition
Minnesota Chapter
45 submittal entries
Remote, August – September 2020

General Interior Design
River North Luxury High Rise
Independent
Chicago, IL January – November 2020

One Superior Place Studio, 1 Bath, 650 sf
One Superior Place 1 Bedroom, 1 Bath, 740 sf DD
One Superior Place 1 Bedroom, 1 Bath, 740 sf ID and Graphics Package

Architectural Design
Harding Partners
Architectural Designer
Chicago IL April 2019 – March 2020

Lloyd Lewis House Restoration
Frank Lloyd Wright original

Davenport House
Frank Lloyd Wright original with Garage, Exercise, Library

Kitchen and Bath
Studio Spicuzza
Architectural Designer
Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL November 2017 – April 2019

Residence, Texas single family 2 story detached home
Residence, Lincoln Park 1 story vintage flat
Lannon Residence, Lincoln Park 1 story flat
Residence, Gold Coast 2.5 story brownstone
Residence, Northbrook 2 story attached townhome
West George Residence, Lincoln Park 2.5 story brownstone
Residence, Streeterville 2 story attached townhome

Lobby and Corridors
Studio Spicuzza
Architectural Designer
Merchandise Mart, Chicago, IL November 2017 – April 2019

Edgewater Park, Lakeview 12 story vintage condo midrise, corridor renovation
5 North Wabash, Loop area vintage midrise, corridor renovation
1000 Plaza, Gold Coast high rise tower, corridor renovations
1212 N. Lakeshore, Gold Coast 68 story, 2 high rise tower, corridor renovations

Architectural Work
HKS Architects, Inc.
Architectural Designer
Tampa, FL October 2006 – January 2008

Veranda Condominiums New Construction
DD and CD document packages of redlines and coordination; Comprehensive verifying of un-coordinated DD packageDrafted DD into CDs via updated redlines; Verified all old x-references linked into original drawings by re-aligning all levels of roof plans and exterior elevations; Verified all balcony widths, CJ locations, pre-cast notchings, roof plan perimeters, and set up a “clean drawing” command in eliminating duplicated line segments, purged overlapped layers, and duplicated linear dims; Set up a storefront window database of mullion dims, specs, additional sheets; Verified exterior cast stone trimmings on stone cladding by aligning exterior face with face of pre cast; Created roof details by drawing out its components

Department of Buildings (DOB), Building Review Architects/ Engineers, Expeditors; Permit Filing, Code Research – 5 Yrs

EXPERIENCE LEVEL: 5 YEARS

R. Morgan Rolontz Architecture
New York City, March – September 2022
High end custom residential projects
Coordinating and revising construction documents pertaining to requests per building’s review architect/engineer or expeditor prior to DOB submittal.

Walter Sedovic Architects
Remote, New York City, February – March 2022
Religious, Brooklyn: Presbyterian Church
Submittal work for Landmarks Preservation Commission including roof studies, existing condition photograph layouts, etc.

Jill Menoff Architect P.C.
Remote, New York City, October – November 2021
Residence, Upper West Side: (2) 16 story hi-rises, D4 (elevator co-op)
Building Management Set and DOB Filing Set

City of Chicago
Department of Buildings, Department of Water Management
Seasonal Architectural Assistant
Chicago, IL, 2014 – 2019

Task List

Department of Water Management
House Drain Inspection division (Permit Reviewers, Stormwater Engineers)
Chicago, IL March – April 2019
Upload scanned documents of work zone sketches showing street names, roadway layouts, roadway/sidewalk widths, and work zone layouts with a permit number assigned, all into the Archived Sewer Permits directory for year 2019 As-Built projects database for the Department

Department of Buildings
Easy Permit Process (EPP) division
Chicago, IL July – September 2018
Print barcode cover sheets for completed EPP applications for final submittal; highlight EPP paper applications; data entry processing of EPP application info

Department of Buildings
Electrical Sign Permit division
Chicago, IL July – September 2018
Update permit review status online per Reviewer request to “approved”, regularly update spreadsheet record of all applications submitted and approved

Department of Buildings
Architectural division (Project Managers, Permit Reviewers)
Chicago, IL June – September 2014
Chicago, IL June – September 2015
Chicago, IL June – September 2016
City code research before final approval