ABOLFAZL MEKANIK M.ARCH PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
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. Moon has a complicated motion in each month. Sometimes Moon rises in the middle of the day and sometimes depending on the Moon cycle it rises at the midnight. Moon light has a really great feeling at the night and people have different stories about it. Portland has lost of cloudy days and celebrating moon when it appears in the sky can attract people from across the world to this beautiful city. To locate this museum in the city different aspects of the Port-
land’s geographical context have been considered. One attempt was to find out what locations on the horizon are most of the time Moon starts rising. Basically there are two directions that Moon raises in Portland area. One is on the North East and the other one is South East. Therefore this museum has faced to 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 has been done. The best location has been chosen by also mapping the darkest location in Portland.
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This museum follows the concept of the moon. It means that it has specific openings to show the most significant moments such as moon rising to the visitors. Visitors enter the museum and they follow the path and they go down as moon set and on their way towards the up they raise
while the moonlight is penetrating towards the down on the moon paintings on the concrete wall. Visitors exit the museum on the same spot they entered exactly like the circulation of the Moon around the Earth.
The cracks on the roof bring down the Moon light to the ground surface and make patterns of natural lights which guide 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 the Portland. This trend is happening across the world and it is hard to find a natural beauty landscape close to the cities. Hence, the design intention of this hotel is to marry the beautiful natural context of the Portland with the busy urban fabric sense of it. For this reason two concepts join together on the 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 in somehow the gate of the city. The site of the project has really interesting characteristics.
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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 they have access to the inner natural environment core (nature) with waterfalls and green and at the other end at the south side there is another core (urban) hovered on the freeway which is restaurant and bar for the outside users and hotel inhabitants. The nature core is so calm, relaxing and peaceful and the urban aspect is so busy and crowded. The nature core also helps the natural ventilation of the building and improves the air quality of the rooms.
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NATURE CORE|HOTEL ROOMS
GIRL SCOUT WASHINGTON STATE
FOREST EDUCATION CENTER
THE MAIN LODGE
BUILDING PROGRAM ANALYSIS There are two main programs in this building. One is about researching on the forest by researchers and organizations and the other one is education section for the Girl Scout. The crucial thing is how to connect these two sections to each other or how to make spaces that girls can interact with the researchers and learn from them. The research center needs research tools and laboratory and connection to the forest conceptually in order to manifest a serious research and study which is executed by the researchers. The Girl Scout has to connect to the more dynamic spaces and the nature of the space should be totally different from the research center. A new space or threshold should be at the middle of these two programs that connect the research center to the Girl Scout education center. Accordingly, the courtyard is the best place for outdoor activity and as a connection for these two components. Furthermore, exhibition and open classrooms seem to be a good connecting point for this purpose.
FOREST EDUCATION BUILDING
INTERIOR SPACE
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COURTYARD
EXHIBITION|RESEARCH CENTER
MULTI FAMILY HOUSING LOCATION: HAMEDAN|IRAN
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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
GREEN FIREPLACE
BACK YARD
GATHERIN AREA
HAMEDAN INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION LOCATION: HAMEDAN|IRAN 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 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 beneath the glass rooms underground provide a refreshing environment at the exhibition and also this passive system is used in the night time based on the fluctuating temperatures in Hamedan city. In the winter when the weather is extremely cold in Hamedan, glass rooms provide a reliable warm air that can be used around noon time.
CARPET MUSUEM LOCATION: HAMEDAN|IRAN
MAIN LOBBY
Carpet has many spectacular designs. There are various magnificent motifs in every carpet design making each carpet a unique marvel. Each line and motif inside the carpet design has reached the climax of perfection. Therefore, carpets are referred to as sight of the 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 that everything else is happening 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 carpet. Warp and weft is the basic framework of carpets. In addition nodes are used for weaving a carpet. Warps and wefts are a number of perpendicular strings which all the nodes are located on them. In this design the features of warp and weft are used to demonstrate some patterns similar to a real carpet.
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 Hamedan city. 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 bazaar. Bazaar has different shapes and patterns regarding the plan view. In this design the straight pattern is used which satisfy the airport functionality and programs. The concept of the evolved dome is also used in order to make modules for the structure pattern.
HAMEDAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LOCATION: HAMEDAN|IRAN
MODULE PROCESS
RESIDENTIAL TRANSIT WEST WING
BAGGAGE CLAIM ARRAIVAL TERMINAL
WEST WING GATES
EAST WING
WEST WING LOBBY
MAIN TERMINAL
RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX LOCATION: HAMEDAN|IRAN
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 unites are not ordinary behind each other. In contrary to the normal apartment buildings, units are assembled in a way that each unit has 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, memory boxes for adults happens. These activities and events increase the sense of attachment to this residential complex.
The tube has a wooden structure with laminated wood finishes which makes a suitable place for children to play and having happy hours with their parents and friends.
UNIT ORGANIZATION
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NORTH ELEVATION
ARCHITECTURE HOUSE| REVITALIZATION OF IRANIAN ARCHITECTURE LOCATION: HAMEDAN|IRAN
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Iranian architecture historically has always been one of the best architectures in the Middle East with its outstanding characteristics. Iran as a source of art and architecture has always contributed to the eastern architecture and it is origin of Islamic architecture. But after historical events that happened in Iran, Iranian architecture is diluted with modernization and fast development of Iran and without doubts it is going to be vanished in the next decades. This thesis came up with the specific design consideration of the traditional architecture in Iran and also it has 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 the 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 their 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
COURTYARD
ENTRANCE TO THE GARDEN
OTHER DESIGNS
INFINITY HOUSE LOCATION: SEVEN SISTER| BRIGHTON, UNITED KINGDOM
The intention of this design is to make a building that gives the feeling of the flying and being in the sky.The structure of the building is attached to the cliff in 30 meters height. Having a great view to the sea in this building delivers a sense of infinity suspended in the sky while the view is panorama due to the glass curtain walls. Each level of the building has different program and narrow staircase provide a vertical connection between the floors without taking much of the inner floor spaces. This building does not block any natural view of the cliff due to the fact that it is attached to the side of the cliff. The structure of the building is tied back to the cliff.
BUILDING RESTORATION LOCATION: BAZAAR|HAMEDAN,IRAN
Yaghobyari caravanserai is one of the old caravanserais in the old bazaar of Hamedan city. This bazaar has changed dramatically during the past century. The elements of bazaar such as “Rasteh” ,“Caravanserai” and “Hashti” are
markedly iconic in Hamedan’s bazaar. Unfortunately these elements have been neglected in the history. Yaghobyari has had less maintenance during the years and it is in a bad condition.
The structure system still is in a good condition and ornaments require precise renovation. The new roof system in this building will help the building to be more secure regarding the bad weather condition. Also this new roof enhances the air circulation
and air natural ventilation. New programs help this caravanserai to be more useful. Hence, usage of more people of this building makes it important to keep it in a good condition while people are using it.
COURT YARD ROOF SYSTEM
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HAND DRAWING
PICKATHON TREELINE STAGE
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