"Approaching Value" is a 1:1 model of an architectural office. Swamped with paperwork, a closer look reveals what defines this practice: each document is like a clue, explaining some kind of loophole in the bureaucracies that restrain architectural practice. Referencing a cohousing project designed by the fictional office, the zoning and permit documents describe the building as a duplex of two standard rowhouses, whereas the rental and ownership papers suggest its division into six to twelve apartments. The appraisals and cost estimates measure the profits of each arrangement and their accompanying material mockups designed to reduce labor. Other documents show hacks of setbacks and egress. This is a model of a practice that hacks systems of value to put forth more fluid aesthetic, domestic, and practical paradigms.

This project was completed as an M.Arch Thesis at UC Berkeley under Neyran Turan and Andrew Atwood, and was exhibited in Bauer Wurster Hall in May of 2024.