Corey Norman
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Department of Architecture
Jury
Leo Chow
Iker Gil (Chair)
Quilian Riano
Robert L. Wesley
Amanda Williams
My name is Corey Norman I am a fifth-year student from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (CPP) and the Publicist of CPP’s first student chapter of NOMAS. I was born in Madrid, Spain and was raised in Tampa, Florida. I joined the Marines when I was twenty-two years old and it brought me to Camp Pendleton in Oceanside California where I did my first tour to Afghanistan. When I left the Marine Corps, I did not hesitate to walk straight into a college. I started at Mt. San Jacinto College where I finished my journey playing football and started my long-life dream of becoming an architect. After two years there I transferred to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and here I am today. Being an architect has been my goal in life since I was a little boy. I would draw plans and elevations for my late grandfather in Georgia, not knowing exactly what I was doing at the time. All I wanted to do was bring my drawings to life and engage with them in some way or form. My grandfather was the one who introduced me to what architecture was and told me “that is exactly what architects do, bring drawings to life.” That moment drove me through all my hardships in life and led me here. I am finally doing what I love, and I cannot wait for the day I design something that people can walk through and touch, knowing that it all started from a pencil in my hand.
Joshua Tree Writer’s Retreat creates an introspective space for writers underground and spaces for activities above. © Corey Norman.
Joshua Tree Writer’s Retreat. © Corey Norman.
Corey stands out for being relentless in his questioning of the architect’s role, particularly by implementing techniques of architectural representation—and of representation in the broader sense for BIPOC in the discipline.
Wendy Gilmartin, Lecturer, California State Polytechnic, Pomona, Department of Architecture
My goal in life is to finish school and graduate this semester and transition into a master’s program. After that I want to start my career in architecture and work in a big firm that specializes in commercial, healthcare, and higher education projects. I plan to use the money to help with my transition to achieve my master’s and to sustain my family and I through this pandemic.
The Apple Music Wellness Center focuses on altering employees’ moods, mental health, and creativity by incorporating music, sound, and ambience into architecture. © Corey Norman.
There are four rooms in total and each have their own representation of wellness: Mind (Blue), Spirit (Gold), Will (White), and Emotion (Magenta). © Corey Norman.
Apple Music Wellness Center. © Corey Norman.
Over this past summer, Corey, with a group of other Cal Poly Pomona students, organized and launched the student chapter of NOMAS at the college. This speaks to Corey’s activism and care for others in the program. His near fearless exploration of new approaches to representation techniques, technical integration, social practice in design and radical sci-fi futurism in design—among many other interests—is motivating for other students in his studio sections too.
Wendy Gilmartin, Lecturer, California State Polytechnic, Pomona, Department of Architecture
Courthouse in Los Angeles. © Corey Norman.
Courthouse in Los Angeles. © Corey Norman.
Hollywood Central Park Film Archive seeks to truly reconnect or heal the “wound” of the freeway cut/edge with an architecture that connects the freeway to the neighborhood. This proposal cuts up the park into a series of pathways/bridges that travel over and down the old US Route 101, leaving the bottom exposed to above. The architectural structure is a film archive with a base that penetrates the embarkment of the freeway. These connections develop horizontal and vertical circulation throughout the park, the archive, and the city. © Corey Norman.
Corey Norman
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Department of Architecture
Corey Norman
is a fifth-year student at California State Polytechnic University Pomona (CPP) and the Publicist of CPP’s first student chapter of NOMAS. Norman was born in Madrid, Spain and raised in Tampa, Florida. His late grandfather encouraged him to draw plans and elevations as a little boy which was his first introduction to architecture, even though he did not know it at the time. Norman joined the Marines when he was twenty-two years old and served his first tour in Afghanistan. When he left the Marine Corps, he was able to start his life-long dream of becoming an architect. Norman believes that all the hardships in his life have led him to a place where he can finally do what he loves and cannot wait for the day he designs something that people can walk through and touch, knowing that it all started from a pencil in his hand.