Nekelle Thomas
Pennsylvania State University
College of Arts and Architecture
Examine the Existing. This collage is a composition of photos of existing campus buildings, reorganized into a dense and repetitive field. It reflects my initial attraction to institutional spaces, their order, repetition, and density, and the way they bring people together. The rigid alignment reflects the structure of institutional space, while subtle misalignments and overlaps introduce moments of chaos, introducing a sense of human presence how community connects the structured environments. © Nekelle Thomas.
Jury
Teri Canada
Lisa C. Henry
Camille Martin-Thomsen
Robert L. Wesley (Chair)
Amber N. Wiley
“Some of us aren't meant to belong. Some of us have to turn the world upside down and shake the hell out of it until we make our own place in it.”
― Elizabeth Lowell, Remember Summer
This mentorship is an opportunity for me to turn my world upside down by engaging with leading creatives and designers, many of whom may share experiences and paths similar to the one I hope to follow, as well as architects who will expose me to entirely new ways of thinking about architecture. Through this mentorship, I hope to challenge my current perspective and expand how I understand the role of architecture theoretically, historically, and experientially.
Memories in Motion uses textured, protruding brick as a spatial metaphor for memory, moments that surface, linger, and demand attention. The wall becomes a collective archive of alumni experiences, where individual memories are not fully revealed but suggested through bricks that extend outward. These represent shared moments between those who were lost and those who remain, acting as connectors between past and present. While visitors cannot access the full depth of each memory, the act of protrusion symbolizes how certain moments refuse to be buried, reaching forward to be felt rather than fully known. © Nekelle Thomas.
Memories in Motion. © Nekelle Thomas.
Nekelle Thomas has the perseverance, dedication and the intellectual creativity necessary to become a future leader in community design and city planning.
Orsolya Gaspar, Assistant Professor of Architecture, Pennsylvania State University
The Parkforest Middle School. In this project, I focused on integrating systems that support student comfort and belonging over time. Sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students are distributed across all the top two floors, encouraging interaction and continuity between grade levels. The top floor is designed as a safe haven specifically for sixth-grade students, with the library and a large light-filled hall. The supportive environment helps them adjust to middle school while still allowing opportunities to mingle with their peers. © Nekelle Thomas.
The Parkforest Middle School. © Nekelle Thomas.
Nekelle Thomas
Pennsylvania State University
College of Arts and Architecture
Nekelle Thomas
is a current fourth-year architecture student at Pennsylvania State University pursuing a bachelors in Architecture. Raised in the United States with family roots in Antigua, she was first exposed to construction and building practices on the island. These early experiences shaped an understanding of the work required to create functional spaces that foster community. Long before studying architecture, Thomas was already building, drawing inspiration from projects found online, sketching building ideas, and creating spaces using cardboard and other materials found around their home. Creating has always been a grounding practice, even before it was consciously understood as such. In high school, Thomas was formally introduced to architecture through a technical and structural lens, learning how ideas translate into buildable reality. In college, she rediscovered architecture through the lens of spatial, communal, and experiential design. Over time, their understanding of architecture evolved from a purely technical discipline into a medium for storytelling, preserving memory, and shaping collective experience. By combining three stages of architectural experience: hands-on making, technical design, and narrative-driven design, Thomas is particularly interested in community-led planning that prioritizes meaningful, functional, and healing spaces.