PORTFOLIO
ADRIA MOYER
THESIS: BRADDOCK INNOVATION CENTER reviving the rust belt
Location: Braddock, PA Year: 2013 Program: Innovation Center and Community Center
The overall studio focused on Regenerative Design: Reviving cities, towns and neighborhoods struck by natural disaster and catastrophic human failure.
My individual project focused on the
problem of Post-Industrial Urban Decay, which is a human failure. It focused Braddock Pennsylvania, an old steel town 7 miles outside of downtown Pittsburgh. It is one of many similar towns suffering from this problem, and in many ways is the poster child of this issue. Tied in with urban decay, my project looked at the potential of Generation Y as a means to revive the town. Generation Y, also known
as the Millennias, were born from 1980 to 2000, and are currently between the ages of 13 and 33. They are the next big wave of home owners, and the way that this generation thinks about housing is drastically dierent than previous generations. At the same time, they are saddled with more debt than any previous generations; The average college graduate has $25,000 of debt, which has a huge impact on what they can aord, and what they see as necessary.
Pittsburgh was successful for developing industries because it is located at the intersection of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers which form the Ohio River. Steel mills lined the MonValley while company headquarters were located in the city center of Pittsburgh. Braddock was one of the steel towns located along the Monongahela River. As manufacturing decreased in Pittsburgh, other service sectors grew, and Pittsburgh shifted from steel production to the education and healthcare. The reason steel towns such as Braddock were hit so hard is because their local economy relied entirely on steel production As history has shown, in order for a city to be healthy, its economy must have variety rather than relying on a single industry. Braddock’s steel mill is still in production, and produces 28% of the US domestic steel. Although it did suffer a decline in production, it still employs about 900 people, most of who commute from the suburbs of Pittsburgh into Braddock. So, the steel industry is still present, there just aren’t any supporting businesses or residents. This project looked to solve two problems; how to establish residents who will stay and help the city to grow while establishing local businesses.
The building proposal
is a live/work innovation center. The innovation center will provide the shared resources necessary for an individual to establish a business. At the same time, it will serve as a center for collaboration for creative individuals.
The live/ work
component will provide incubator space for start up businesses and establish residents.
The main space within the innovation center is the workshop.
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This space is not only open to the residents, but to the larger community as well. While a Braddock resident might use it for a home improvement project, another individual might use to create the goods they sell. This openness works to encouraging interaction between all members of the community. Other shared amenities within the innovation center include a library, COMMUNITY
print room, conference room, classroom, and computer lab. The community portion of the program includes an auditorium and event venue. While the auditorium may occasionally offer lectures
as a movie theater for the residents of Braddock, providing a place for Braddock youth to gather.
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SP AC E
and classes to the greater Pittsburgh community, it will normally function
The live/work housing lines the northern portion of the site along Braddock Ave. With live/work housing, retail functions can activate the street, while residential or commercial functions can occur on the floors above. The units are flexible in that they can be used in a variety of different ways, and multiple units can be combined. The hope is that as businesses within the innovation center grow and are established, they can eventually relocate into other parts of Braddock. The final portion of the Program is the Braddock Farms. The Braddock Farms was existing on the site, so it was a goal of this project to incorporate space for them into the design of the building. New offices look out onto the farm, and large walkways give space for the farmers market to set up on the weekends. At the same time, the building opens up to the urban farm, allowing the community spaces to flow out to the exterior.
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT PRODUCT
Façade Design
The live work units are designed to
allow for flexibility of arrangements. Likewise, the façade system allows for panels to be arranged differently based on the tenant’s needs.
The façade pattern is based off the
pattern of brick buildings surround the site. LEATHER GOODS
WOOD FURNITURE
RESTAURANT
There are three different types of façade panels: terra-cotta, glass, and a metal screening panel with a pattern based of the molecular structure of steel. Through these three panel types, users can customize their unit’s façade to fit their
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT PRODUCT
needs. SIGNAGE
OLD TOWN PORTLAND
Location: Portland, OR Year: Fall 2012 Program: Mixed Use
The neighborhood of Old Town/ Chinatown in Portland has been a transient neighborhood for immigrant communities since the city began. Greek, Japanese, and Chinese families all took residence here. It now serves as the center of Portland’s social services, casting a negative stigma on the neighborhood. The area has been lacking development, an issue that isn’t easily solved. Each group has a different interest in the area. Preservationists want to uphold the historic integrity of the neighborhood, developers feel they can not build profitable buildings with the low FAR and height restrictions, and owner’s do not want to put money into an area where the homeless population is so high. This project was about demonstrating to each interest group that a new building in this neighborhood can not only be cost effective, but it can be beneficial to the entire community, and respect the area’s historic character.
Max out block square footage
Creation of alley for housing entry
Development of courtyard
Within this area, there has been a growing number of students, an no response to meet these changing needs. This building proposal is a mixed use structure with ground floor retail and five floors of housing above. It works with the existing structure on the corner of 4th and Davis, and incorporates an addition on Davis and 5th. The building creates a courtyard in the center of the block, allowing the retail spaces and existing buildings on the block to open up and spill
Fourth-Sixth Floor Plan
out into the space. While the street front is more solid, the courtyard side of the building opens up to allow for light and views.
Third Floor Plan
Second Floor Plan
Commons Area
Unit Perspective
FLANDERS ST. FESTIVAL STREETS BECOME MORE PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED
EDUCATION DISTRICT SITE
DAVIS ST. CONTINUATION OF FESTIVAL STREETS TO CONNECT WATERFRONT PARK TO THE PARK BLOCKS
COUCH ST.
pdx mediatheque
Periodicals/ Reading room
Location: Ankeny and 1st Avenue, SW Portland Year: Fall 2011 Program: Mediatheque
In order for the library to become the center of the community, I expanded on the program to make the building a live, learn, play model. The library becomes the flexible glue that secures the housing to the retail. Just as the library form itself is flexible; the spaces within the library are designed to allow for change. This was accomplished by minimizing walls within the library spaces. Instead spaces are defined by the location of columns and the difference in levels. Program within the library is organized by the dependency on natural light. The main floor of the library has the maximum amount of light and is similar to the living room of a house. It contains periodicals, the children’s library, and reading spaces. This floor is a more very informal space where people can meet up and noise level isn’t a concern. The second floor of the library requires less natural light, and subsequently the facade increase in opacity. This floor contains the book stacks, classrooms, and small group areas. The third floor is the media floor, containing all the functions that rely on minimal light. There are small rooms for media listening and viewing, along with the media studio, and open media storage. Computers are scattered throughout the library rather than being assigned to a single location. This is because people have the tendency to move back and forth between computers and other media such as books and periodicals, rather than being confined to a single location.
Courtyard
The first floor of the building is the retail floor.
It contains many of the
community spaces such as the child care, cafe, shop, and public gathering.
It was
also expanded to include a bike commuter center, a restaurant, and a bar. It is from this floor that all functions within the building are accessible, although there is a secondary entrance on Burnside to the main floor of the library. Many of the retail functions open up into a small courtyard in the center of the site. This space is accessible both from Burnside and Ankeny. In having a mix of day and night time functions open up into the courtyard, the space will become active at all hours of the day. The facade of the building reveals the function within. The housing and retail are the two more solid masses connected to the library form, which torques to display its flexibility in function. Each floor of the library decreases in transparency as the spaces within rely less on natural light. This is done by increasing the frequency of solid panels. The structure of the building is also influenced by the torque. As the floor plates pivot, the columns slant with the movement.
idc project
Location: Washington DC, The Yards Year: Spring 2011 Program: Mixed-Use
The final project of my undergraduate career was an Integrated Design Competition.
It was a semester long, partner project that
integrated material from technology based architecture courses into the design studio project. Along with my partner, we designed a building that was not only aesthetically and conceptually thought out, but also calculated its structural members, sustainable techniques, and mechanical systems into the design process. It was a challenge learning how all the components worked together and influenced one another, and how the systems influenced the design of the building. It was also a valuable lesson in teamwork. The site for the project was located along the waterfront in Washington DC. Originally a navy ship yard, ‘The Yards’ is now an up and coming district where existing industrial buildings are being renovated into restaurants and retail shops. Also, being located along the Anacostia, a tributary which empties into the Chesapeake Bay, stainability is a main concern for this area. The program for the vacant site was mixed use, with retail spaces on the first floor, and offices above. The first floor of our building was devoted to retail, the second and third floors were prime office, and spec offices were the fourth through seventh floors. Although all the floors were thoroughly laid out, only one of the prime offices had to be completely developed.
Site Plan
Office Plan
DESIGN OF THE 4K SPACE For this project I developed the 4 k prime office. I started with the prime floor and determined how to best maximize access to natural light without making the lease span too short to function well. This created the elongated form. Because of the form, the spaces is almost divided in half with the southern half containing the administrative program (president’s office, vp office, and secretary) and the northern half containing the main office spaces (the associate office, work stations, copy room and kitchenette. Dividing the north and south zones is the circulation, and in the center of the office is an informal area for group collaborate. Walls were kept to a minimum in the space and primarily used to divide administrative offices from the main work area. Programs such as the conference room and kitchenette, which need little natural light, were placed along the interior wall of the 4k office. Throughout the main office area, the ceiling plane and columns area used to visually divide spaces. This not only makes the space flexible for alterations, but also easier for light to penetrate all areas of the office. Access to natural light was a main goal in the design.
Water Source Heat Pump Zones
Mechanical Plan
Detailed Office Section
Air Floor Diagram
STDY ABROAD EPERIENCE
Pisa, Italy
Location: Florence, Italy Year: Spring 2010
Studying abroad in Florence, Italy gave me the opportunity to learn from European cities while experiencing life as a Florentine. I was able to visit a variety of different Italian cities on class trips, and location outside the country on my own. It was an eye opening experience which allowed me to further develop as a designer and a person.
My Italian
professors brought a new perspective to architecture and urban design. The city of Florence taught me how buildings that are hundreds of years old can be adapted to meet the needs of each new generation, yet preserved to maintain their historic character.
Barcelona, Spain
KING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Proposal
Location: Akron, Ohio Year: Fall 2010 Program: Elementary School
This proposal was for an elementary school located outside of Akron, Ohio. The existing building was built in 1923 and had the beauty and detail of a building from that era. While the building was becoming too crowded for the growing student body, renovation was not an option for the city of Akron. They felt the most cost effective and efficient approach would be to demolish the existing structure and start fresh. There was a lot of debate between the community, who saw it as an icon for their neighborhood, and the city who was trying to perform their duty in providing a safe location for education. The goal of my design was to preserve the character of King Elementary by keeping pieces of the existing facade, while expanding the building to create a school that meets the needs of the new generation of students.
Detailing on existing facade
Classroom Layout
Extended learning spaces allow for a less structured environment. These spaces can be formed by teachers to suit the academic needs of the students, whether it is for collaborative work, individual reading, or story time, they are open for creative use.
EXTENDED LEARNING SPACE
COMPUTER SPACE
The core of the classroom is a flexible, teacher determined space. It can be arranged to best fit the needs of the students and adapted to welcome new technology.
CLASSROOM
SHARED STORAGE
Large storage rooms are shared between adjacent classrooms to give teachers some much needed space
philadelphia roď ˇhouse Location: Philadelphia Year: Fall 2010 Program: Renovation of a row house to meet Philadelphia’s historical requirements
The design focused on bringing natural light into the space, and allowing spaces to be defined by floor plates.
It
began with organizing the circulation along the southern wall to create the most usable space. Secondary circulation was then placed next to the primary circulation, allowing the remaining northern half of the building for living space.
In order for the building to
pass local historical requirements, no additions could be seen from the street. To utilize the roof space, a railing would have to be set back six feet from the front of the building. The use of terracing became the solution to this problem. Terracing was then brought into the rest of the structure as a means to define space without having harsh vertical barriers. It allowed for the narrow house to feel open and spacious.
Existing Rowhouse
Transformation into loft Alignment of circulation along southern wall
3rd Floor Determining setback for addition to be out of view. Use of lightwell to bring natural light into the space.
2nd Floor
Terracing of roof to allow for the maximum amout of usable roof space.
Use of terracing within the light well. Extension of light well.
1st Floor Use of terracing on first floor to define spaces.
Alignment of vertical circulation. Terracing in basement. Push 2nd and 3rd floor back wall out.