ABIGAIL ALLEN [
UNDERGRADUATE SELECTED WORKS
]
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A VISITOR’S CENTER
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PERCEPTION OF GRAVITY
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PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
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CHINATOWN TRANSIT HUB
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URBAN LABORATORY
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WATERSHED CONSERVATORY
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C E N T E R V I S I T O R ’ S A
0 1 [
A VISITOR’S CENTER
5TH YEAR SEMESTER 02
]
The experience focuses on an individual’s interaction with the surroundings, intensified by a person’s sensory perception of weight, both their own body weight and that of architectural elements. The heightened physical tactile sense allows for a focused spiritual experience with nature.
Dublin, on the New River, Virginia, USA
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C E N T E R
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V I S I T O R ’ S
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Site Plan: Spanning the river and connecting shorelines
MOVEMENT The center provides a guided / designed experience with nature. The project primarily consists of a bridge crossing the New River that connects to a tower, or lookout point. There is a great contrast of a long horizontal movement across the river to a sharp vertical movement in the tower.
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Bridge Section: Relationship of body to architecture to surroundings
C E N T E R V I S I T O R ’ S A
Stair Elevation: Delicacy within a massiveness
Plan drawing: Symmetrical Tower : Center
A slender tower rises out of the landscape, a clearly defined destination. Round concrete pillars rise upwards, similar to a bundle column. One rises to a lookout point through a spiral staircase composed of thin delicate steps, or through an instant immersion to the top through the elevator.
PERCEPTION OF GRAVITY
0 2 [
PERCEPTION OF GRAVITY
5TH YEAR SEMESTER 01
]
The thesis studies our perception of weight, and how architecture addresses gravity. Architecture is sandwiched between the force of gravity and the frictional force of the ground. This short project utilizes variations of the ground and overhead plane to draw our attention to weight as we move through a campus of spaces. Throughout the campus, a constant spatial condition is broken in places, to create stopping moments for perceiving weight.
PERCEPTION OF GRAVITY Site Section: The change of overhead and ground conditions
TRANSITION A solid fixed mass hovers over a variation of shifting grounds. The mass is removed in some places to reveal the structure. The whole unit is replaced in others by a light tower. These variations to the system delineate space and raise awareness of weight.
A cantilevered mass is present throughout this study. By simply repositioning a volume to a new place, in respect to the support, there is an implied feeling of movement, though the architecture remains static.
PERCEPTION OF GRAVITY
Diagram: Three separate systems
Diagram: The campus consists of three merging networks
Rendering: Light and material conditions of heavy space
PE R F O R M I N G ARTS C E NTE R
0 3 [
P E R F O R M I N G
4TH YEAR SEMESTER 02
AR T S
C E N T E R
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The performing arts center stretches our into Lake Lugano. The program of the project straddles a linear path, leading into water. Moving between spaces provides a feeling of compression and expansion. Material, volume, light influence whether a space is interpreted as compressed or expanding. The change between spaces allows for a varied experience as you move down the line of the project. Lakeshore, Riva San Vitale, Ticino, Switzerland
PE R F O R M I N G ARTS C E NTE R
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PROCESSION The sequence of sections demonstrate the experience of moving through the project. The project grows out of the natural coastline, extending to an ultimate release point hovering above the water. As one moves down the line, he moves back and forth between spaces of compression and spaces of release.
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Site Plan: Project extends from the ground into water
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FOUR
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PE R F O R M I N G ARTS C E NTE R
Model Photograph: Compression and Expansion across the path
PROGRESSION In some places the path is defined by walls, and others by the distance between rooms. The performance and rehearsal spaces sit across from each other along the path.
PE R F O R M I N G ARTS C E NTE R
REHEARSAL The rehearsal spaces are tall brightly lit rooms, made mostly of glass, creating a feeling of expansion. The walls reflect the surrounding mountains. The experience is designed for a single individual.
PERFORMANCE
Rendering: Expansive Rehearsal Space
The dark concrete performance space has a very low ceiling, creating a feeling of compression. A thick roof spans across the horizontal space, channeling the audience’s focus on the performance.
Rendering: Compressed Performance Space
PE R F O R M I N G ARTS C E NTE R
Detail: Glass and column connection to foundation wall
Detail: Glass and HVAC detail in overhead plane - question of installing process
STUDY THE CHINATOWN
0 4 [
T H E
C H I NAT O W N
4TH YEAR SEMESTER 01
S T U DY
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This was a group project, as part of the Chicago Studio Program. We studied the nature of Chinatown and possible design solutions to the neighborhood’s isolation and lack of identity. The proposal is a transit hub that connects Chinatown to its surroundings, while also activity and identity to the neighborhood. This would provide a new transfer between trains of different scales and speeds. Chinatown Neighborhood, Chicago, Illinois, USA
STUDY THE CHINATOWN Photograph: Detailed Physical Model depicting night condition
BOUNDARIES The Chinatown neighborhood has been isolated for many years. It is surrounded by major interstates, the Chicago River, and remnants of Industrial yards.
Diagram: The constricting nature of Chinatown’s boundaries
VIEW ESS ACC UIT CIRC
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THE CHINATOWN
STUDY
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CIRCUIT Photograph: Form study model exercise ELEVATED “TRANSFER ROOM”
CIRCUIT CIRCUIT The new transit hub needs to avoid exaggerating current boundaries, and instead provide access from all sides, encouraging people to cross the boundary. This led to the form of the circuit.
ELEVATED “TRANSFER ROOM” CLOSED LOOP
VIEW Site Plan: Understanding the connection of transit hub to neighborhood
EXTENDED OVERHEAD PLANE
VIEW
VIEW This particular site in Chinatown offers views of the downtown skyline to the North, Lake Michigan to the East, and for several miles to the South and West. The proposal takes advantage of this unique opportunity.
EXTENDED OVERHEAD PLANE
PANORAMIC VIEW EMPHASIZED
THE CHINATOWN
STUDY
STUDY THE CHINATOWN
Rendering: Arriving by train to the transit hub
PLANNING PROGRAM Part of the study was determining which programs would appropriately activate this new part of Chinatown. A hotel and train station occupy the center of the site. A circulation circuit and office space hovers above, while the entire complex sits atop a base of retail space.
U R BAN LAB O B S E R VAT O R Y
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U R BAN
LAB
3RD YEAR SEMESTER 02
O B S E R VAT O RY
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The Urban Lab Observatory is a place for people to both observe and participate in the urban context. The building suspends over the streets and cantilevers toward the surroundings. How does a person in a building feel connected to the texture of a city? Additionally, this semester studies the potential of structural elements as inhabitable places. Downtown, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
U R BAN LAB O B S E R VAT O R Y Site Elevation: Bars of structure pulled out of the solid and across the site
STRETCHED The project sits where downtown Cincinnati begins to pitter out into the surrounding area. Through the form of the building, activity and texture of the city is pulled past the original boundary. This building houses both apartments and gallery spaces.
U R BAN LAB O B S E R VAT O R Y
Rendering: Both participating in and observing urban context
Section: Apartment hung from and organized around a truss
INHABITING STRUCTURE The project developed into a doubling of structural units as dwellings. The apartments branch off of the trusses. How does this relationship change the way we live and perceive weight?
U R BAN LAB O B S E R VAT O R Y
DOWNTOWN ACTIVITY
PROCESS Through numerous studies of the site plan, the project formed into a series of alcoves that step out into the surrounding context, and stretch across the site.
WAT E R S H E D O B S E R VAT O R Y
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WAT E R S H E D
3RD YEAR SEMESTER 01
O B S E R VAT O RY
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The watershed observatory is a place where people gather around water. Here, they can monitor changes in the nature of water and participate in a community. From the idea of gathering, the form developed into stacked volumes split by a courtyard. The courtyard is activated by pulling the circulation and structure of the building into the courtyard. Riverview Park, Radford, Virginia, USA
WAT E R S H E D O B S E R VAT O R Y
Photograph: Model depicting the approach into the courtyard
APPROACH The entrance to the building is off axis from the central courtyard. From the exterior of the building, it appears as a solid mass with large punctured openings. From the interior, the building appears as a collection of parts and structural elements.
Section: Cuts through central courtyard showing circulation and structure
WAT E R S H E D O B S E R VAT O R Y
CIRCULATION The circulation of the building between galleries, apartments, and the rain rooms travel back and forth across the courtyard. The steps and platforms navigate around the structural elements.
[ CONTACT INFO ] abbey10@vt.edu 406 750 7399