andrew
perkins (select works)
dwelling on waste Buffalo, NY is a city which was thriving just 50 years ago. But the post-industrial city has outgrown itself. A residue from outdated infrastructures and a dwindling population is left behind: abandoned buildings lining entire blocks. It’s a city whose residents and enterprises are struggling financially, a city – like many in the world – facing a great deal of scarcity. Abandoned properties risk arson, drug activity, depreciated property values. Accompanying this is an alarming dependence on consumption, with little regard to the inevitable products of waste. This project began by observing the breach between architectural practice and the actualities of the postindustrial city. Why are there homeless in a city full of vacant buildings? Can and should ethics surmount legal restraints? What role may the architect play in coordinating these social and economic tensions with the built environment? How can the discards of modern society mingle with the forgotten structures of a past era?
buffalo, new york / 2011 - 2012
dwelling on waste For $800, a blighted property is saved from demolition. I move in without heat, electricity, or running water bringing myself from detached designer to deprived occupant. In situ research then provides the basis for the project, as I begin to adapt the house and my lifestyle according to immediate conditions as well as foreseeable futures. Scavenged waste objects and materials from surrounding neighborhoods are used as an abundant source of building material, and through rationing and prioritization, necessary conditions for living are met and, eventually, exceeded. The process of retrofitting the house while living in it explores an alternative form of domesticity - where need and resourcefulness become a means of inspiring new forms, assemblies, and organizations.
found state
buffalo, new york / 2011 - 2012
dwelling on waste Cannibalizing the material and spatial remains of the post-industrial city creates a shifting domestic condition guided by necessity. This survivalist architecture must address utilities (water, heat), security, varying climatic conditions, food storage, and mental comfort, always adapting itself according to what it has on hand. This method of design and the restriction of material palette remove the superficial from the work. It addresses economy and sustainability through adaptive reuse of material and space. It confuses social order through a new mode of living, looking to squatting and alternative lifestyles as inspiration. It challenges political bodies by acting as a form of protest to the current housing policies: demolition as a remedy to urban decay. And it denies current architectural discourse, prioritizing civic mindedness above popularity. I quickly find that the materials I come upon aren’t just plentiful and diverse, but highly suggestive. It’s the waterlogged firewood that begs to be by our sides: warm and dry a safe distance from the stove…the rubber tires in their complete refusal to deteriorate which provide the most resilient foundation for the house to rest…the rotting floor joists and southern wall which volunteer themselves to be removed so that the house can bask in open space and natural light. It’s these compromised materials that actually create really exciting spaces in the house - their very deficiencies fostering creative solutions.
cutting + central hearth
buffalo, new york / 2011 - 2012
dwelling on waste Ultimately, the result of the project is a reconstituted house – not necessarily a final product to be put back on the market, but a prototype for a new type of adaptive reuse that catalogs a series of experimental interventions. Through these types of material reapplications we hope to not only achieve a space which can sustain us, but inspire a new trajectory for architecture, urbanity, and humanity: one which is highly accessible financially, surprisingly beautiful, and has a much healthier relationship with our natural environment. The home, here, is a mutable space – a constant recognition of wavering environmental, economic, and material contexts. Sourcing materials from the local waste stream not only allows flexibility of space, but bridges the gap between spaces and the people who inhabit them. It’s through this process – a process that hybridizes need, resourcefulness, empathy, adaptability, and the built environment – that alchemy can take effect. Freed from the grip of social and political machines, broken and tattered objects become spaces which are humble, conscientious, effective, nostalgic, and – despite their many imperfections – somehow charming. inflatable pool waterproof membrane
cedar shingles cedar shingles
existing structure existing structure
arch. model scrap 1-2” rigid insulation
construction plastic vapor barrier
transplanted insulation R-13 batt insulation
pallet joists wooden nailing plates
garbage bags vapor barrier
broken drywall 1/2” gypsum board
evolution
buffalo, new york / 2011 - 2012
dwelling on waste
inflatable pool waterproof membrane
cedar shingles cedar shingles
existing structure existing structure
arch. model scrap 1-2� rigid insulation
construction plastic vapor barrier
transplanted insulation R-13 batt insulation
pallet joists wooden nailing plates
garbage bags vapor barrier
broken drywall 1/2� gypsum board
buffalo, new york / 2011 - 2012
dwelling on waste
buffalo, new york / 2011 - 2012
Materials and other resources are formally and informally exchanged with neighbors, activist groups, transitioning businesses, vacant homes, and dump sites. The relationships that form through these exchanges of material, favors, knowledge, and labor start to suggest an alternative economy reminiscent more of barter or altruism. The exchange isn’t some arbitrary number on a tag, but a deeper connection and understanding of different cultures, subcultures, trades, urbanisms – even politics.
material sources
routine trash
supply company relocation
illegal dump sites
construction dumpsters
to-be demolished houses
dwelling on waste
buffalo, new york / 2011 - 2012
This work may be seen as a sort of exaggeration – a critique of consumerism and the indifference to waste which has become the norm, of the sterility and preciousness of high design. If the responsibility of the architect is to situate material among context, the challenge is not to achieve a trashless space, but more flexible aesthetic and functional criteria to embed it in. Waste isn’t something to be shunned, but an underutilized resource capable of far more than we generally like to admit – not only a driver of ecological systems and financial accessibility, but an instigator of new, more relevant, breeds of architecture.
Backyard
urban climbing center Objectives: Apartment building + public program of choice Given the small site, verticality becomes a preset. Reflecting on this and how to engage architecture with the city in an unprecedented way, the public component of the building becomes an urban climbing center: a climbable building. The triangulated climbing wall is reflected on the street facade as a flattened system of wooden louvres. Visually, these planks are an extension of the boardformed concrete, implying a re-use of formwork. Alternating double-height living spaces and climbing shafts create private triple-height climbing surfaces within each apartment. Additionally, the double-height spaces extend light penetration for greater passive heating and lighting.
buffalo, new york / 2009
urban climbing center A
B
C
buffalo, new york / 2009
D
Typical Residential Plan Private triple-high climbing spaces in each unit
A
B
C
D
vagrancy + architecture Independent study This being my first true experience abroad, the opportunity to travel could not be overlooked. Coupled with the cycling culture so prevalent in Denmark, the idea for a portable towable shelter emerges. These investigations into modern nomadic living are then put to the test through a 10-day, 700km trek through Denmark and Norway via bicycle. A welded steel frame is used to structure the trailer, made as minimally as possible within a minimal time and economy. Half-millimeter sheet aluminium is used in lieu of fabric for security purposes. Size is a forefront issue and is very important in managing weight. The trailer has to be capable of housing a 185 cm human reasonably comfortably, while being small enough to be both maneuverable and lightweight. The main compartment is therefore 1.2 meters long, while the door which folds down to complete the sleeping bay is 0.8 meters to create a sleeping chamber of two meters.
aarhus, denmark / 2010
18th street park: totems A concrete fence of 88 totems divides 18th Street Park and the Urban Roots Garden Center in downtown Buffalo. A separation of 5” between totems creates a visually permeable division between the two areas for a mutually benefecial relationship: the fence will draw in visitors to the garden center, while colunteers of the center will act as caretakers for the park.
buffalo, new york / ‘small built works’ class / 2008 - 2009
*In conjunction with 20 other UB architecture students, each responsible for the design of 1-4 totems and the steel fabrication for these designs. Concrete pouring, site work, and overall park design is collaborative.
A 3/8” thick 1’x4’ plate of steel may be used in each design. A variation of height, width, profile, and technique creates a strong sense of diversity in the design of each totem. Conceptually and aesthetically, each is capable of standing on its own. But with the collission of these dispositions, new circumstances of geometry, proportion, and material manipulation arise.
Rendering by Richard Stora
acoustic (im)permeability
The public experiment establishes itself in public circulation, where the inhabitants essentially become the audience and the performers, observing each other’s vibrations. A theatre houses a larger audience in a more controlled setting, while extending its performers’ audibility to the surrounding city. On a smaller scale, anechoic chambers and sound labs exist within the laboratory sector, as well as areas for testing animals and plants. One-way anechoic walls filter and permit or reject sound, creating a series of acoustically ambiguous spaces. The back wall of the theatre projects its sounds into the urban landscape, while the concave side of the wall absorbs incoming sound waves.
Private Laboratory
Public Museum
Transitory Public Experiment
Sound reflector
Sound absorber
washington
washington
st
Mission Statement: The laboratory’s focus is to discover the particularities of sound and music that alter behavior, eventually engineering the physical and compositional structures of these elements to achieve desired responses. Exploring geometry, scale, and material as a means of manipulating existing sound, the public structure becomes a tool through which various soundscapes are produced. These spaces can be considered as a series of morphed anechoic chambers - the acoustic equivalent to an infinite void and the ideal acoustic scenario.
st
buffalo, new york / 2009
vertical constructions Phase III (of III) - Design and build a 20’ tower to be installed at Griffis Sculpture Park, merging concepts from previous phases. As a realized construction, material efficiency quickly becomes a priority. Each layer is made of a single 8’ 2x4. Aside from the width of the saw blade, there is no waste. In addition, the tower is its own scaffolding. The pipes that tie the layers together are installed in 5’ segments and secured with interior couplings and pins. The same system allows for variability within a highly standardized material and system - the final form being dynamic with a number of dramatic shifts. The entire stack is post-tensioned with springs to account for shrinkage in the wood.
east otto, new york / 2011
chengdu biennale Exhibition theme: “Garden City� In the density within the Sansheng district in Chengdu typical for most large cities in China - it is primarily in the streets that space still belongs to the public. Although the dimension of one street is limited, its network is essentially endless. A multi-layered, raised streetscape provides space and infrastructure for comprehensive public programming outside the dangerous and dense transit space. The top layer is a farm which by nature can continue to grow in accordance with the city.
chengdu, china / 2011
spencer’s art house At a problematic intersection in the city’s oldest neighborhood sits a derelict funeral home: Spencer’s Mortuary. By harvesting the abundant and now unclaimed material and territory across the city, the mortuary is being reinvented as Spencer’s Art House -- a cooperative artist and community space. Shortterm living quarters will house artists, urbanists, and creative thinkers on the upper floor, while the publicly accessible space below will be used to host workshops, teach classes, curate exhibitions, hold performances, and otherwise activate the community. The mortuary itself is an exhibition on continual display. Artists, architects, and builders will be brought to the mortuary in intervals to take part in its transformation and engage in creative space-making. Focusing on the transformative capabilities of waste materials, greater notions of value will be called into question. The entirety of the building is a hybrid architectural-domestic laboratory, where materials engage activity and activity engages the material. The result is a house in constant motion.
flint, michigan / 2012 - current
spencer’s art house
flint, michigan / 2012 - current
landscaping The existing broken asphalt parking lot is removed to make way for a series of public engagement experiments: a food park, open-air amphitheater and projection screen, a pizza oven, and recreational space
paint concept To achieve a scheme which both stands out and conforms to traditional standards of neighboring historic homes, the middle third is left blank, to be interpreted as a canvas for a chosen group of artists. The more standardized top and bottom ground the scheme to more conservative tastes
spencer’s art house
flint, michigan / 2012 - current
Boarded windows, a collapsed floor, and leaking roof; the building is the embodiment of urban blight, and financially infeasible to reconstruct by conventional means. Instead, waste objects from to-be demolition sites, construction dumpsters, and road-side rubbish piles are dismantled and recombined into new spatial forms, material assemblies, and social organizations. Within, compromised spaces lend themselves to reinterpretation, where their very deficiencies foster creative solutions. The collapsing floor is removed to accept a bright, double-height space, where decommissioned electrical cables and ceramic insulators detail the railing of the overlooking balcony. Above, small scraps of 2x4 reorganize themselves as webs of the super-strength trusses which reinforce the roof. A hatch leads to the flat roof -- an anomaly among local residences, now embraced as a private outdoor space. The building, itself the canvas, will continue to transform. Artist residencies within will enable the building and its contents to be of perpetual change. By blending Flint’s most inventive artists with the region’s leading adaptivereuse architects, the spaces within will continue to evolve according to an ever-changing context of materials and events. With this, we broadcast a model for recovering abandoned structures which is physically, financially, and socially accessible.
wood pallets
roof deck
scrap lumber
roof truss
ceramic insulators
railing detail
wood doors
finish floor
fallen tree
substructure
material sources
bowling alley
to-be demolised houses
arson sites
illegal dumping
craigslist
reapprop
spencer’s art house
flint, michigan / 2012 - current
spencer’s art house
flint, michigan / 2012 - current
collaborations The work is the product of hands of many. Not only does this distribute ownership of the property to give it social resilience, but it makes for a diverse series of interventions and inhabitations which further catalyze both inventiveness and cooperation.
andrew perkins + university of michigan design seminar cut / lighting installation
As a multitude of people cross paths, the project becomes as much about the process as the final product. A playful cut in the wall, an unlikely performance venue; These interventions breath life back into a place that until recently was deemed unsaveable. Over the months, we’ve held community workshops, art exhibitions, performances, installations, film screenings, and other events to begin changing perceptions of the space - all contributing to a still-growing momentum for the project.
at-risk-youth build program railing repair, misc
der vorfuhreffekt theatre performance
ryan gregory projection screen / canopy
justin ryan polisky mural: reflection & progression
spencer’s art house
flint, michigan / 2012 - current Strip footing
Scrap trusses
Foundation wall
Wood floor siding
Exposed brick foundation
Windows
2200 gallon rainwater collection system
Outdoor brick pizza oven
Purpose: support new foundation wall Materials: - 1.4 yards concrete (excess from a nearby commercial job) - scrap OSB formwork - #5 rebar
Purpose: support new exterior wall Materials: - (200) 8x8x16 concrete blocks purchased secondhand from an abandoned bowling alley deconstruction - mortar - #5 rebar
Purpose: weatherproof, aesthetic appeal Materials: - existing brick - mortar
Purpose: reduce water consumption Materials: - (8) 275 gal intermediate bulk containers purchased secondhand from a cereal manufacturer - CPVC pipe + fittings - reclaimed corrugated plastic
Purpose: restructuring the rotted flat roof / roof deck Materials: - scrap 2x4’s - scrap 3/4” plywood - 10d nails
Purpose: waterproof exposed area, aesthetic appeal Materials: - reclaimed redwood tongue-and-groove flooring, offset to create natural drip edges - tung oil
Purpose: light, ventilation, aesthetic appeal Materials: - existing wood sashes - reclaimed glass - glazing compound - paint
Purpose: delicious Materials: - reclaimed block, brick, marble - scrap OSB formwork - reclaimed clay flue - empty beer bottles - cat litter (bentonite clay) - mortar - stucco
spencer’s art house
flint, michigan / 2012 - current
spencer’s art house The neighboring house, like many beyond it, sits vacant. As we begin developing the space around and between the houses, this, too, is claimed as opportunity. Working with local found-object artist Ryan Gregory, the idea for an outdoor amphitheater begins to materialize. Steel pipe, scavenged decades ago from the failed General Motors plant frames the screen. A series of bicycle wheels retrofit as pulleys churn, and two large wings swing in; the projection screen becomes a canopy for a stageset. Because the neighboring building still remains an eyesore, Justin Ryan Polisky - a multi-medium artist - is asked to address the exterior of the house. “We are pioneers too!” “Anchored in the past and alert to the future!” Flint advertisement slogans from the 1950’s are stenciled in within a solemn but optimistic modern context.
flint, michigan / 2012 - current
spencer’s art house
flint, michigan / 2012 - current
case study - croffead house
buffalo, new york / 2009
7 Specifications 1. Foundation 36" wide, 12" deep continuous strip footing with 3 #5 horizontal reinforcement bars 2. Wall at Ground Level 8" x 16" x 12" CMU inner wythe with #5 vertical reinforcement bars at corners damproofing thru-wall flashing at base of cavity with weep holes 32" o.c. 2" rigid insulation 2" air space 8" x 8" x 4" CMU outer wythe
6 8
16 7
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9
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Specifications Wall at Upper Level 1. 8" x 16" x 8" CMU inner wythe with #5 vertical reinforcement bars at corners (1b) 2. damproofing 3. thru-wall flashing at base of cavity with weep holes 32" o.c. 4. 2" rigid insulation 5. 2" air space 6. 8" x 8" x 4" CMU outer wythe
3. Wall at Upper Level 8" x 16" x 8" CMU inner wythe with #5 vertical reinforcement bars at corners damproofing thru-wall flashing at base of cavity with weep holes 32" o.c. 2" rigid insulation 2" air space 8" x 8" x 4" CMU outer wythe
10
Ceiling 7. built up roof 8. roof membrane 9. 5/8” x 4‘ x 8’ plywood deck 10. 2” x 8“ rafters spaced 16” o.c. 11. 5“ continuous batt insulation 12. 2” x 4” rafters spaced 16“ o.c. 13. 3/4“ x 4‘ x 8’ gypsum board ceiling
4. Ground Floor 4" compacted sand fill vapor barrier 4" thick site-cast concrete slab with mesh reinforcement
10 6 13
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4
Roof 14. 12” lintel/8“ lintel with 2 #5 reinforcement in grout solid extended 8” each on each side of masonry opening typical 15. grout all cells in parapet solice at hook reinforce 16. parapet cap with metal snap-on coping, blind-joints/preformed corner, secure to both masonry walls
2
11
1
12
3
9
14
Bay Window Head 17. metal roof flat seam fold edges over cap 18. metal flashing extended into head and jamb masonry joints 3” and seal 19. 8” x 16” x 8” CMU inner wythe with reinforcing at vertical and horizontal joints 20. 8” 2-course high lintel with #5 reinforcing from bond beam passing through
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6. Ceiling built up roof roof membrane 5/8” x 4‘ x 8’ plywood deck 4“ x 4” wood continuous nail to deck at 12“ o.c. 2” x 8“ rafters spaced 16” o.c. with 5“ continuous batt insulation 2” x 2“ continuous block 3/4” bolts at 16“ o.c. through ledger 3” x 8“ ledger 2” x 4” rafters spaced 16“ o.c. 2” x 6” ledger 3/4“ x 4‘ x 8’ gypsum board ceiling
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1b
5. First Floor 3/4” bolt at 14“ o.c. into grouted cell 4” x 6“ ledger 3/4” x 4’ x 8’ gypsum board ceiling 2“ x 10” ledger 2“ x 4” non-continuous block 2" x 10" joists spaced 16" o.c. with 1” x 2” bridging at center 4“ x 4” wood count nail to deck at 12“ o.c. 3/4" x 4' x 8' plywood sheathing run perpendicular to joists tongue and groove finish wood strip flooring run parallel to joists
5
5 18
7. Roof 12” lintel/8“ lintel with 2 #5 reinforcement in grout solid extended 8” each on each side of masonry opening typical grout all cells in parapet solice at hook reinforce parapet cap with metal snap-on coping, blind-joints/preformed corner, secure to both masonry walls 8 2
8. Window at Ground Floor 12” cast concrete sill, finish flush with finish on interior face of masonry steel sash windows with insulated glass, secured to masonry with sealed joints 9. Window at First Floor 3” x 5” steel channel close ends (at jamb) wind brace by manufacturer 10. Bay Window at First Floor 2’8“ cast concrete sill, finished jamb beyond
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Reinforced Concrete
1
11. Bay Window Head metal roof flat seam fold edges over cap metal flashing extended into head and jamb masonry joints 3” and seal 8” x 16” x 8” CMU inner wythe with reinforcing at vertical and horizontal joints 8” 2-course high lintel with #5 reinforcing from bond beam passing through
flint public art project Flint Public Art Project is a non-profit organization that produces artistic events, programs, and projects that use culture as a tool of urban transformation and citymaking. Based in Flint, Michigan, we seek to improve the quality of life and promote the adaptive reuse of urban areas by facilitating the rapid production of contemporary art, performance, design, architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning around the world. We work with artists, collectives, community groups, and professional associations from traditionally underserved groups and undercapitalized areas to think through their conceptual process, employ the best practices for realizing their goals, connect them to the global art and design field, and find the widest possible market for their work. To date these productions have taken the form of everything from pop-up film festivals and high-profile architectural competitions to potlucks and art parades in the city’s most malnourished neighborhoods. In May 2013, FPAP hosted Free City - a three-day international public art festival held on an abandoned, former Chevrolet manufacturing site. Over 80 artists, musicians, dancers, designers, ecologists, actors, and film-makers participated in breathing life into the symbolic space - drawing thousands to a site normally seen as a scar on the landscape.
flint, michigan / 2013
earthship biotecture
taos, new mexico / 2013
the living wall - teaching assistant: first year studio
buffalo, new york / 2011
Responsibilities: Guide two (out of twelve) teams of six students each in conceptualization, design development, drawing production, prototyping, and construction of a mediated 8’x’8’x8’ cube which sleeps six people.
Vexed
Brendan Dillon, Andrew Durkee, Matt Fugelsang, Denis Gao, Helene Lee, Mike Rockwell PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
SECTION D
SECTION A
SECTION B
SECTION C
SECTION A
SECTION B
Hinged
Chris Bressler, Kaidong Pei, Jelani Rowe, Dylan Stefanko, Pheobe Sumulong, Luchang Wang SECTION C
SECTION D
CONSTRUCTION
earthworks - teaching assistant: first year studio
buffalo, new york / 2010
Responsibilities: Guide twelve students in drawing conventions, modeling techniques, concept development, and spatial relations, culminating in a manipulation of terrain which engages a notion of the body and movement.
Massing model, Section - Anthony Labas
Section overlay, circulation diagram - Will Dorgan
Geometry analysis, surveying tool, circulation diagram, site model - Micaela Barker