"If architecture is any good a person who looks and listens will feel its effects without noticing"- Carlo Scarpa
JOHN GREGA
Experience
September 2020-Present
CAMPUS PLANNING INTERN
KEAN UNIVERSITY
Worked on producing drawings for projects on campus while also collaborating with design team for integrations. Currently leading the Sukkah Village Student Competition sponsored by Princeton University
September 2019- February 2020
TEACHER ASSISTANT
KEAN UNIVERSITY
Helped with in class lectures, graded weekly homework, kept grades and attendance for 40+ students and was available for one on one help.
August 2019- December 2019
URBAN LANDSCAPE INTERN
WALKSPAN INC.
Conceptualize, design, and recommend ideas for placemaking. Worked on before and after renders of placemaking. Produced cross sections drawings for Downtown Brooklyn Pilot Study
August 2019 - October 2019
RESEARCH ASSOCIATE
ORENTREICH FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCES
Helped the research team conduct "Comparative Study of Older Adult Neighborhoods in Manhattan, New York" while also providing before and after renders for the study.
PRINT PORTFOLIO
CLEAN BLOCK URBANISM
Mott Haven, New York City
It has been over a year since the world has gone into shutdown. The effects that COVID-19 has had on our lives will remain for decades to come, but COVID-19 is surprisingly not the biggest threat we face daily. There have been close to three million deaths worldwide from COVID-19. The same amount of people die every year from outdoor air pollution and its side effects. One in nine deaths is related to air pollution. Modern architecture has created airtight and thin-walled buildings that recycle used air, and when that air becomes contaminated, there is no way to circulate it efficiently or quickly. When going to the outdoors for filtration, the air pulled into our buildings is also contaminated, being filled with pollutants such as fine particles, black carbon, and sulfur dioxide. When COVID-19 makes indoor life hostile, and air pollution continues to make outdoor life hostile in our cities, where does one go? I have started to look into buildings as an air filter. The goal is not to hide people from the outdoors, but to consider more how architecture itself can start to clean the atmosphere and create healthy spaces for the body and mind. My project looks into the COVID-19 data of New York City to find the marginalized communities that would be most affected by air pollution, utilizing housing and mixed-use programs to shelter these people and clean the air in the process.
CENTURY SQUARE CULTURAL CENTER
Wenzhou, China
This project looks at reflecting the monumental scale with the human scale and returning the space back to the people of the city under its biggest plaza. While also using the context of the wetlands and rivers to help connect with the matrix of Wenzhou and criticizing the Chinese Government that uses the monumental scale to enforce their power and order by taking the project underground the cities most important centerpiece and out of the view of the Wenzhou People’s Government Building
PLAINFIELD TRAIN STATION
Plainfield, New Jersey
Looking into the Raritan Line I knew I wanted to work on site that not only impacted the travel for those using the railway but also the community around it. Adding education, commercial, recreational and secuirty functions to a part of Plainfield that was lacking these assets. The sweeping park can connect both sides of the terminal while also giving Plainfield park in an area where there are none and currently under the required amount of greenspace for the population.
BEACON'S ARCHES
Mt. Beacon, New York
Beacon sits at the bottom of a mountain of the same name and is home to a prominent hiking and mountain biking community. A trail starts on the outksirts of the town that leadss up to a fire tower at the top of the mountain. However along the path there is no ressting points or areas to collect water, hangout with friends or even take some time to read a book. Beacon's Arches is the gateway to the mountain that signifies the begining and ending of your trek up and down the mountain. Whetehr you are preparing for a bike ride or waiting for your hiking crew, this will be the point of start and end.
