Art | Noah Darwin Lee

Masaryk Cultural Center5/24/26

Reimagining the statue of Tomáš G. Masaryk on Chicago's Midway Plaisance to reflect the Czechoslovakian leader’s vision of democracy and Chicago’s Czech immigrant history.

For Nootan Bharani’s Architecture of Memory, spring 2026, with Horn Ray Koh and Keyang Xie

Architectural model of the proposed cultural center at night, its glowing interior set into stepped green terraces around the Masaryk statue

The existing bronze equestrian statue of T. G. Masaryk on its tall stone plinth against a clear blue sky

Dedicated in 1955, the existing monument likens Masaryk to a Blaník Knight, a Czech legend about a mountain in which knights rest until the country was under threat. The monument has mattered to Chicago's dwindling Czech community and to the University of Chicago, where Masaryk lectured over a century ago.

Color site plan of the Midway Plaisance showing paths, tree planting and the rectangular footprint of the proposed building

By inverting the elevated plaza upon which the monument stands, we brought the statue closer to face-level. Drawing on contemporary Czech public sculpture, my hope was to encourage interactions with passersby on more equal and transparent ground.

Laser-cut chipboard model pieces laid out on a workbench with cutting tools

Sheet of hand-drawn sections and elevations through the terraced site

Overhead view of the finished model showing the sunken courtyard, statue plinth and angular green terraces

The tiered green mounds are a nod to the Czech landscape and are designed to house the ACASA archive. ACASA stands for the 'Archive of Czechs and Slovaks Abroad' and is currently stored at the University of Chicago. It is the largest archive of its kind in the world, but currently lacks adequate space.

The model lit from within at dusk, seen from ground level across the terraces

Close view of the model's illuminated glazed base beneath the dark landscape above

Says Quentin5/13/26

acrylic on canvas, text
24x16 in
in Expositions Magazine vol. 13

Painting of a pale draped form beneath a large convex mirror, surrounded by red and ochre architectural fragments

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ISACream Stand4/17/26

An idea for a building dedicated to ice cream attached to the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (ISAC).

For Nootan Bharani’s Architecture of Memory, spring 2026

Model of the ice cream stand with a domed glass lantern, red and green model trees on a white base

Pencil plan and section drawings on graph paper held down at the corners

Digital model showing the brick pavilion with its stepped entrance tucked against a large blank wall

Customers can head upstairs to the hemisphere to sit and eat ice cream, looking out at the students crossing the paths to get to class. Does the hemisphere look more like a cone or a scoop? Additional seating frames the exterior and conforms to the paths, taking the form of stone terraces evocative of zigurrats and pyramids inside the institute.

Digital model from the opposite corner showing the canopy and stair

Colored elevation of the pavilion with tall red-framed windows under a projecting roof

Hand holding the model's thin white dome ring above a cutting mat

Since my first year of college, I had wished for an ice cream shop anywhere around campus. When I was assigned to design a space embodying the feeling of "joy," I couldn't resist the draw of an ice cream stand.

Hands assembling the curved white model walls and the perforated dome

The completed white model with dome and model trees, photographed on a classroom table

The model glowing from within, its lit dome surrounded by red and green trees

Pittsburgh Embassy12/10/2025

An 'embassy' for the food and languages of Pittsburgh. The site is on a parking lot north of the Allegheny, a short walk from the famous Randyland and the Mattress Factory.

For Luke Joyner and Casey Breen’s Revision, Expression & Portfolio Design, fall 2025

Render looking down a narrow court between a stepped pink wall and a plain yellow one, a white canopy overhead and daylight at the far end

The site as it stands, a parking lot off an alley behind brick and painted buildings under a clear autumn sky

Sketchbook page with a hand-drawn map of Pittsburgh’s rivers and neighborhoods above a pencil perspective of the entrance front

Pencil ground-floor plan on tracing paper, rooms and furniture drawn around a central spine

Not all embassies and consulates have to be government offices. I pictured a kind of local embassy, a place where people from area can come learn, teach, cook, and eat.

Teaching should be as accessible as learning. Inspired by Pittsburgh's mission-driven organizations like Conflict Kitchen and City of Asylum, I designed a place that makes it easier to learn and teach languages across a myriad of formats spanning conference rooms, lecture halls, classrooms, outdoor amphitheaters, and community kitchens.