MEKANIKA 2007 - 2020
ABEL MEKANIK ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER, JOB CAPTAIN M.ARCH
Tel: (503) 200 7715
This is a glance of my endeavor in the field that I love. Since 2007, architecture became part of my life and that changed my perception toward everything; space became alive, people turned to be the first priority, energy became crucial, and nature showed to be the best tutor. Ideas evolve under pressure of constraints until they dissolve in design.
NEW GARDINER MIDDLE SCHOOL OREGON CITY, OR BRIC ARCHITECTURE The school’s design responds to the full spectrum of emotions that students experience as they transition to middle school – from excitement to apprehension. Timber Hall – the school’s comprehensive cafeteria, performance space, student gathering area, and extended education space – will allow budding young adults to embrace a sense of agency as they navigate the diverse space and utilize the areas that suit their needs. In order to alleviate the stress students experience in response to aggressive passing periods and multiple locker combinations, the design team developed Learning Neighborhoods. The neighborhoods are grade-specific and feature core subject classrooms arranged around a collaborative common area. Each Learning Neighborhood will also include centralized storage solutions to replace traditional lockers. Along with mobile furniture solutions, the Learning Neighborhoods will promote community through proximity and transparency.
SEASIDE HEIGHTS SEASIDE, OR BRIC ARCHITECTURE 2018-2019 The intent of this project was to move all middle school and high school students out of tsunami zone at Seaside. Therefore, the existing elementary site has been chosen. I’ve worked on Middle School and High school at construction document phase and then I was part of the team that renovated the existing elementary school and designed the new pre-engineering building for the new gymnasium. My main focus on elementary school was how we could use the most real state out of existing school to gain maximum number of classrooms with decent amount of lighting and good circulation. The client budget was the main constraint. The gymnasium was our first task to be designed and coordinated with manufacturers, civil, and landscape consultants.
NEW FLEX SPACE AT THE EXISTING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
SHERWOOD HIGH SCHOOL SHERWOOD, OR BRIC ARCHITECTURE 2017-2018 Sherwood High School is located in Sherwood, Oregon and is a brand-new school with 2400 students. This school encompasses facilities that a 21st century school needs all in a 330K sq. ft building. I was part of the design team and my role began as an Intern architect and leaded me towards acting as a job captain to complete the documentation and coordination of this project with mechanical, structural, technology consultants and landscape architects. I always tried to consider quality of space, beauty, architectural ge stures, human comfort, and advanced technology in the ideas of developing this design along with other team members. This school has been influenced by those positive factors and as the budget of the project and desires of client allowed, we developed many of ideas to have healthier spaces for students to learn better and study in the advanced architectural designed spaces. This school has spaces such as a cascade point, multiple extended learning areas, great CTE spaces, media center, a huge common space extending about 12,000 sq. ft, a large gymnasium, and an amphitheater to meet all the needs of students.
DESIGN COM
MPETITIONS
WINTER STATIONS 2020 DESIGN COMPETITION, TORONTO, CANADA
SEEKER HEIGHTS HIGH SCHOOL WINNER OF THE UNI DESIGN COMPETITION AMONG 100 PARTICIPANTS ACROSS THE WORLD IN 2020 - SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS SECTION
ROLE: LEAD DESIGNER AND PROJECT MANAGER OF THE MEKANIKA.
UTER- OPIA
eVolo SKYSCRAPER DESIGN COMPETIRION 2018
Planet Earth, our home, is 4 billion years old and we as the most impactful Homo sapiens, only appeared around 2 hundred thousand years ago. Yet we have succeeded in disrupting the balance that is so essential to life. Mother Nature has evolved the earth, preparing it for human life. We as embryos, evolved in the womb of Earth and Mother Nature fed us with necessities to master the stages of human development, blossoming to our fullest degree. However, human activity and development caused a disruption in life’s balance. Each day, global temperatures increase, air pollution kills thousands of people, water scarcity forces displacement, new trends show unbalanced weather forecasts across the globe, and most importantly, chains of species are in danger. Yet humans pay less attention to Mother Nature. Linkages in the earth are organic and natural; thus, every change takes time and happens at a very precise, slow, and natural pattern. On the other hand, human pace of life is rapidly increasing, making it hard for the earth to keep up with the revitalization of itself. Therefore, disasters will occur dramatically and the earth will no longer have enough natural resources and capacity for humans and other live entities. Human activities and Mother Nature’s responses should have equal interaction. For this reason, we should control the access of resources to humans and also decrease their direct impact on the earth, to give Mother Nature enough time to revitalize and refresh its own entity. Skyscrapers are the architectural solution of solving this problem in the future.
Imagine the year 4500. The earth will not be the same as today. It will be destructed and hazardous due to the misuse of humans. The time has come to gather in safe places and give Mother Nature time to rest and rejuvenate. Each sphere has the capacity of 500 thousand people and is fully livable. Residential complexes, parks, green areas, cinemas, malls, offices, mixed use areas, hospitals, and every other establishment are provided in these gigantic spherical skyscrapers that are hovered on the earth’s surface. The concept of the spherical skyscrapers being connected to the earth’s surface through a cord resembles that of a fetus being nourished by its mother through the umbilical cord. The spheres are provided with resources like water and air through the cord of each skyscraper in a restricted manner from beneath. All of the energy and electricity are made by gigantic wind turbines that rotate while purifying the air and delivering water. The plan is to live in these spheres for at least 500 years. During this time, humans are trained to take care of Mother Nature and pass this knowledge on to next generations, awaiting their return to Earth. Meanwhile, Mother Nature is resting and gaining power to recover. Scientists are working on Earth and they are the only parties that have direct access to it. The footprints of these skyscrapers are kept minimal to what is needed and they move in a specific pattern to keep the earth exposed to sun, water, rain, and life. People live and work in the polygon shaped units. They develop mentally and physically as a fetus and are “born” after 500 years. It will now be time for humans to return back to Earth. The earth has regained its strength and is ready to take care of its newborns. The cord of each sky scraper detaches, and the spheres open up, giving birth to humans and allowing them to reunite with Mother Earth.
PICKATHON TREELINE STAGE AIA HONER AWARD WINNER 2015 LOCATION: HAPPY VALLEY, PORTLAND, OR
The Treeline Stage, designed by Kendra Bostwick, Abolfazl Mekanik, Nic Pectol, Tim Ruppel, and Jenna Wasser, and faculty Clive Knights and Travis Bell and built by a team of students at Pickathon 2015, was honored with the Jury Award at the AIA Portland 2015 Architecture Awards.
M.ARCH THESIS POETICS OF DAILY LIVING FINAL MASTER THESIS, 2016
This thesis seeks to address the benefits of the everyday living spaces that most of the people in the world inhabit- the ubiquitous apartment building. It seeks to redesign these spaces in ways that bring a sense of the “poetic” into our everyday environments by harnessing and making evident in each space our connection as humans to the ever-changing dynamic forces of the cosmos. These forces are governed by universal laws of motion, vibration, and attraction and are understood through human perception/sensibility. The distractions of the modern world create a sense of fragmentation that separates humanity from a coherent relationship with the cosmos. By redesigning my own banal apartment, I hope to examine how a realignment of the human experience with the forces of nature can bring a sense of the poetic into everyday life.
BATHROOM Based on the activities that are performed in the bathroom, we see that most are related to water. In the other words, water is crucial in the bathrooms and water is one of the main elements in nature that gives life to the universe. Water exists in different forms such as ice, rivers, rain, and oceans. Due to the rainy styles of the showers and their feelings, this diagram shows how rain can literally be part of the design of the bathroom. The sound of the rain and water hitting the skylight has deep meanings and elevates the human senses into feeling the beauty of being present in nature. Wood is used in the design to induce feelings to the user, allowing them to think they are bathing or showing in the woods or jungles.
BEDROOM The bedroom is the space that humans lie down and rest for hours. Therefore, the body’s orientation is not vertical, as usually is during the day. While the body is resting on the bed, the eyes can solely see the ceiling of the building in ordinary architecture. The ceiling is one of the main architectural elements that plays an important role in making meaningful space. Based on the main activity in the bedroom, having skylights make users connected to the infinite source of light, motion, and beauty. This poetic aspect promotes the quality of the bedroom as the wood and concrete is used to neutralize the morning sun by the warm color wood texture and defuse the afternoon light by the rough coldish concrete surface. The skylight is designed to connect people to the sky in a way that users can see the sky but they can also hide from being exposed to it.
LIVING AREA In the living room, translucent panels on the exteriors walls behind the curtain walls help the users control the view and gives them the feeling of being outdoors. The view is essential for each apartment building. The users can control the view based on their mood, and create a specific view of the mountain or a flower in the courtyard. These are opportunities for the users to set their poetic environment using this new design. Viewing the sky is the secondary poetic aspect of the living room in which each user may have a view to the sky in the specific location of the living area.
KITCHEN In the kitchen, different activities such as cooking, washing, and preparing food take place. To carry out these activities, counter tops need to be placed in the kitchen. In this thesis, specific natural lighting for counter tops have been considered as the poetic aspect of the design. The other activity is cooking and working with the stove. The material used in the kitchen is concrete and wood. The concrete is on the back wall of the stove and brings the sense of traditional cooking to the users and reminds them of when people used to cook on fire near stones.
PORTLAND FOREST HOUSE SUMMER 2020
ROLE: DESIGNER CONCEPTUAL UNBUILT BUIDLING
PORTLAND HILL HOUSE AUTUMN 2020
ROLE: DESIGNER CONCEPTUAL UNBUILT BUIDLING
MUSEUM OF THE MOON Museum of the Moon was designed for the M.Arch program at Portland State University. The intention of this design is to make a building that is a showcase for the nocturne paintings of the famous artists across the world about the Moon. The Moon has a complicated motion in each month. It sometimes rises midday, and sometimes depending on the Moon cycle it rises at midnight. Moonlight has a really great feeling at night and people have different stories about it. Portland has lots of cloudy days and celebrating the Moon when it appears in the sky can attract people from across the world to this beautiful city. To choose a location for this museum in the city, different aspects of Portland’s geo-
graphical context have been considered. One attempt was to find out what locations on the horizon are where the Moon starts rising most often. There are basically two directions that the Moon raises in the Portland area. One is on the North East and the other one is South East. Therefore this museum has faced these two distinctive directions. Next, in order to eliminate the buildings and natural environments such as hills to prevent obscuring the moon and its magnificent light, some shadow studies have been done. The best location has been chosen by also mapping the darkest location in Portland.
ENTRANCE
MO
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STUD
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S PO
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SECTION
This museum follows the concept of the Moon. It means that it has specific openings to show the most significant moments, such as the Moon rising, to the visitors. Visitors enter the museum and follow the path going down and then raising up, following the rise and setting pattern of
the Moon. Moonlight penetrates downwards towards the moon paintings on the concrete wall. Visitors exit the museum in the same spot they entered; exactly like the circulation of the Moon around the Earth.
The cracks on the roof bring down moonlight to the ground surface and make patterns of natural light which guides the visitors to the main gallery and staircases.
MAIN GALLERY
HOTEL- URBAN vs. NATURE Portland is a great city with beautiful natural environment. However, this natural context is getting impacted by the growth of Portland. This trend is happening across the world and it is hard to find natural beauty landscape close to the cities. Hence, the design intention of this hotel is to marry the beautiful natural context of Portland with the busy urban fabric sense of it. For this reason two concepts join together in one of the busiest freeways on the North East of Portland. Freeway number 30 is the main freeway which connects the PDX Airport to the city center and it is somehow the gate of the city. The site of the project has really interesting characteristics.
DESIGN PROCESS
SECTION
URBA vs. URBAN CORE|RESTAURANT AND BAR
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INNER CORES In this design, the intention was to use these interesting features as potentials for the final design. The rooms are on the North side of the site and have access to the inner natural environment core (nature) with waterfalls and green views, while at the other end, the south side has another core (urban) hovered on the freeway which consists of the restaurant and bar for the outside users and hotel inhabitants. The nature core is very calm, relaxing and peaceful and the urban aspect is very busy and crowded. The nature core also helps with the natural ventilation of the building and improves the air quality of the rooms.
UTA
NATURE CORE|HOTEL ROOMS
GIRL SCOUT
WASHINGTON STATE
FOREST EDUCATION CENTER
THE MAIN LODGE
SECTION
INTERIOR SPACE
MULTI FAMILY HOUSING
LOCATION: HAMEDAN|IRAN, 2010
ENTRANCE
Historically, Iranian families and their sub-branches tended to live together in a big nice family house. Today, Iranians are still family oriented and at the same time have become modernized and expect more privacy. Multifamily house is designed for such reason in modern days.
WATER CONTROL SYSTEM
BACK YARD
BACK YARD
WEST ELEVATION
GROUND FLOOR
SOUTH ELEVATION
FEELING THE FRESH AIR
HAMEDAN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION LOCATION: HAMEDAN|IRAN, 2010 The notion of this design came from the approach that buildings can effectively change the atmosphere of the cities and especially their district. Hamedan International exhibition is designed to make a difference in the lives of the people of the suburb it is located in. The site is in a crowded part of the city with low income residents, located across the main road connecting Hamedan to the capital, Tehran. Ample numbers of factories surround the region making the air polluted. Building the exhibition in such environment helps to improve the cultural and economical aspects of the suburb.
The passive system of this building enhances the quality of air for visitors. The trees in the underground glass rooms provide a refreshing environment at the exhibition. This passive system is also used at night time based on the fluctuating temperatures in Hamedan city. In the winter when the weather is extremely cold in Hamedan, these glass rooms provide reliable warm air that can be used around noon time.
ENTRANCE
PERSIAN RUG MUSUEM LOCATION: HAMEDAN|IRAN, 2011
MAIN LOBBY
SITE PLAN
DESIGN IDEA Persian rugs have many spectacular designs. There are various magnificent motifs in every rug design making each rug a unique marvel. Each line and motif inside the rug design has reached the climax of perfection. Therefore, rugs are referred to as the sight of paradise. In traditional architecture in Iran, the beauties and conditions of Iranian gardens were always considered symbols of paradise. Buildings in Persian gardens are the focal point of the whole garden in which everything else is happens around and inside it. Furthermore, water is the other element that is significantly important in Persian gardens. Water crosses the building in the gardens and passes through it beautifully underneath the building. In this regard, this design is attempting to merge Iranian garden with Persian rug. Warp and weft is the basic framework of a rug. In addition, nodes are used for weaving a rug. Warps and wefts are a number of perpendicular strings in which all the nodes are located on. In this design the features of warp and weft are used to demonstrate some patterns similar to a real rug.
ENTRANCE
MAIN GALLERY
ENTRANCE
HAMEDAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LOCATION: HAMEDAN|IRAN, 2011
Hamedan is one of the cities in Iran which experiences the four seasons. It is crucial to consider the weather in all architectural designs. The main concept of this design is inspired form the historical parts of the city of Hamedan. The bazaar is one of the main elements in the old cities in Iran which has many benefits regarding the environmental conditions and also the structural specifications. Due to the economical aspects, most of the cities in Iran are traditionally developed around the bazaar. The bazaar has different topographies and patterns. In this design, the straight pattern is used which satisfies the airport functionality and programs. The concept of the evolved dome is also used in order to make modules for the structure pattern.
MODULE PROCESS
MAIN TERMINAL
DEPARTURE AND ARRAIVAL MOUDLE
BOARDING TERMINAL
SITE PLAN
RESIDENTIAL TRANSIT
WEST WING
BAGGAGE CLAIM ARRAIVAL TERMINAL
WEST WING GATES
EAST WING
WEST WING LOBBY
MAIN TERMINAL
RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX LOCATION: HAMEDAN|IRAN, 2012
Multifamily housing: In this design a residential complex is designed based on the module of the boxes. Each unit is designed depending on the connectivity of cubic spaces that can satisfy human needs in a residential complex. One of the aspects of this design is to avoid making space simple and ordinary. For this reason, units are not ordinarily set behind each other. In contrary to the normal apartment buildings, units are assembled in a way that each unit has a different plan layout. Walking paths are designed around the site to allow people to have access to the event nodes where different activities such as playing tennis, ground play for children, and memory boxes for adults take place. These activities and events increase the sense of attachment to this residential complex.
BACK YARD
The tube has a wooden structure with laminated wood finishes which makes a suitable place for children to play and spend joyful hours with their parents and friends.
SOCIAL COUR
SITE PLAN
EXTENTION
UNIT ORGANIZATION
UNIT ONE
SECTION
UNIT TWO
UNIT THREE
UNIT FOUR
NORTH ELEVATION
ARCHITECTURE HOUSE| REVITALIZATION OF IRANIAN ARCHITECTURE LOCATION: HAMEDAN|IRAN, 2012
ENTRANCE
DESIGN CONCEPT
SOUTH ELEVATION
EAST ELEVATION
DESIGN DESCRIPTION Iranian architecture has historically been one of the best architectures in the Middle East with its outstanding characteristics. Iran as a source of art and architecture, has always impacted the eastern architecture and it is origin of Islamic architecture. However, after historical events that happened in Iran, Iranian architecture became diluted with modernization and fast development of Iran and without a doubt it is going to be vanished in the next decades. This thesis initiated with the specific design consideration of the traditional architecture in Iran and also its responses to the modern lifestyle of the modern era. In other words, this thesis has proposed to use traditional Iranian architecture as the grammar of the design process and modernized aspects of today’s lifestyle as the alphabet of this design. The sense of space in this design is derived from the Iranian traditional architecture and the form comes from the mixture of Iranian and modern architecture. The main concept of this design is based on the garden in Iran and the inner sense of space and privacy. The inner privacy was a regulation for building houses and gardens in historical Iran due to the state of society and public demand that came from Iranian culture and environmental conditions.
GARDEN
WEST ELEVATION
NORTH ELEVATION
COURTYARD
ENTRANCE TO THE GARDEN
HAND DRAWING
BABATAHER TOMB LOCATION: HAMEDAN, IRAN
EMAIL: ABOLFAZLM87@GMAIL.COM