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Agnes Recato holds a BFA in Interior Design from The Sage Colleges in Albany, New York. As an interior design intern in 2013 for the school, she developed a design for a real-life adaptive re-use project for the campus which won an American Society of Interior Designers Student Design Award. Soon after graduating from The Sage Colleges, Agnes spent five and a half years as an architectural facade designer for an international façade company based out of Windsor, Connecticut. Here, she worked alongside world famous architectural firms to build some of the tallest exterior façades in New York City. These building projects include Central Park Tower, Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center, and 425 Park Avenue which are educational, mixed use, and commercial buildings that were awarded WELL and LEED Certification. She was interviewed in 2014 about her success in her career as an Architectural Façade Designer and featured in “Sage Crossroads” a magazine which is an alumni publication for graduates of Sage
College of Albany and Sage Graduate School. Agnes has recently obtained her MS in Biomimicry from Arizona State University. As a Living Future Accredited Professional, she is passionate about creating systematic change through community collaboration, built environments, integrated design, education and the practice of Biomimicry. Agnes hopes to inspire, motivate and bring a different paradigm to our current and future human design challenges in order to develop efficient and sustainable solutions in which all life benefits. She also believes that passion, inclusiveness, communication, thorough research and interdisciplinary collaboration, is key to creating a positive and resilient outcome. During her down time, she enjoys being in the saddle of a bicycle, sketching organisms in her sketchbook, and exploring a new trail on a hike.
Table of Contents The New Scotland Avenue Armory
Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center
Central Park Tower
425 Park Avenue
Biomimicry
The New Scotland Avenue Armory Built in 1914, in Albany, New York, this 68,000 square foot armory and three acre lot was used for storage of weapons and ammunition, as a training facility, and as a rifle range. The Sage Colleges saw an opportunity and the potential and opted on adaptive re-use, which is a process that adapts older buildings for new uses while retaining their historic features. College students are more stressed out than ever before and their emotional and physical health is declining. Stress alone can lead to a multitude of things such as depression, sleep, eating and anxiety disorders, substance abuse, impulsive behavior, dropping out of college and even suicide. According to the United States Census figures, roughly only fifty percent of American students who enter college do not end up graduating.
Bringing the Outdoors Indoors
Bookstore
Cafe
New Scotland Avenue
In order to resolve the stress in students, foliage was brought indoors for there are many physical and mental health or psychological benefits. It increases humidity, relieves sore throats and coughs up to thirty percent, lessens stress in the classroom and brings better attentiveness in students.
First Level
Site Plan
Tutoring & HEOP
The main entrance to the armory is located on the west side of the building facing the rest of the Sage College of Albany campus. Outdoor seating and a way-finding map are a great place for students and faculty to meet. Students can hang out here in between their classes. The Reception desk is a place where visitors will sign in. It holds a living wall and a flat screen television which will display important announcements. Bike racks are placed in the outdoor seating area for commuters who live off campus and make a short bike trip to school.
First Level
Reception Desk
Way-finding Map
Exterior Facade
Bookstore Facade
Art Gallery
Indoor Courtyard/Main Lobby
Marmoleum Tile
Manhattan Lounge Seating
Bamboo
Wooden Bench Seating
Burst Organic Glass
Stone Mosaic
Armstrong Carpet
Grass Cloth Wallcovering
Classroom
Carpet Selection
Node Chair by Steelcase
New Scotland Avenue
The second level is dedicated to the School of Management. There are several offices and classrooms. The classrooms hold an average of twenty five students. There are a couple of computer labs and individual and group study rooms for commuter students who are not able to study off campus. The glass roof in the atrium allows as much natural daylight into nearby classrooms and offices. A living wall is located on the second floor for visual interest and attraction.
Second Level
Classroom Perspective
Atrium Perspective
Atrium Section
Central Elevator & Staircase
Second Level Perspective
Chinese Evergreen
Spider Plant
Peace Lily
Design led by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, in collaboration with Gensler as executive architect, is a 14-story building overlooking the Hudson River and very close to the George Washington Bridge. As part of Columbia University, it houses P&S, Nursing, Dental Medicine, the Mailman School of Public Health, and the biomedical departments. Inside, the tower contains classrooms, spaces for collaboration, and a simulation center. It was a challenge to install large Curtain wall units in a very small footprint of 125’ x 100’. Unitized Curtain Wall Panels include Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete and Ceramic Frit Insulated Glazed Units as well as Double Height panels. The total building height is 220 feet. The Center was awarded LEED Gold for sustainable construction. Several awards earned include 2017 ENR New York Best Projects, Higher Education/Research Category, Award of Merit, 2017 Masterworks Award for Best New Building, 2017 American Concrete Institute Excellence in Concrete Construction Awards, Mid-Rise Buildings Category, 2nd Place among others.
Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center
East Elevation
Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete
East Elevation Glass
South Elevation
A Higher Education and Award Winning Facility
This new architectural landmark will rise 1,550 feet above New York City, establishing it as the tallest residential building in the world. Total Aluminum and Glass Curtain wall surface area with louvers and fins is 610,192 square feet. The building will include ultra-luxury condominium residences, dynamic amenity spaces, as well a Nordstrom flagship department store. The transparent and delicately designed base facade allows natural light to illuminate the department store interior. Above the base, the tower is wrapped in glass with stainless steel and zinc fins as it sets back from the street edge yielding unprecedented views of Central Park, and the city.
Central Park Tower
Louvers
Zinc Fins
01 The tower facade is a structurally glazed aluminum curtain wall system, with either a stainless steel clad recess at the spandrel or a stainless steel clad vertical fin between panels.
02 The glass is specially treated to articulate a powerful expression of the sky framed by the towers of 57th Street. The passerby experiences the façade’s mutable presence as they approach from a distance – unfolding layered views of the sky, the store’s displays and activity, visually inviting them to envisage the store as a simultaneously accessible and urbane public space
Offering world-class sustainable office accommodation, this new building designed by Foster and Partners anticipates changing needs in the workplace with large, open spaces that encompass flexible use. Each of the three tiers, low, medium and high-rise, is defined by a landscaped terrace that provides an excellent amenity for tenants and offers panoramic views across Manhattan and Central Park. The 44 floor building tops of at a height of 860 feet with two floors underground. The previous building core is reused and reinforced and shall aim to be awarded LEED Gold BD +C. The building envelope is aimed to become WELL Certified. Two amenity floors on the 7th and 20th floor hold a sloped wall with diagrid steel and glass as well as the outdoor terraces. The amenity floors span two levels and contain trees, workspaces, and lounging areas.
425 Park Avenue
Lifting of Aluminum Frame
Glazing Unit attached to Steel Framing & S/S Cladding Unit
Stainless Steel Cladding at Oversized V Unit
Stainless Steel Cladding Joints
The practice of Biomimicry refers to the emulation of nature with an ethical intention to protect biological organisms, processes and systems while also encouraging our reconnection to the biological world from which we come from. Biomimicry interacts with Life’s Principles, patterns, strategies and nature-based engineering with 3.8 billion years of research and design to leverage from.
How does nature store many items in compact spaces?
How does nature enhance visibility in low light conditions?
Food for Hibernation - Some animals have a limited amount of space to store their food source for a lengthy period of time. Here, a squirrel is gathering nuts and seeds for his hibernation that awaits him.
Coyote and owls are nocturnal, being they are active at night. Their ability to find food in this environment is key to their survival.
FUNCTIONAL LENS
Biomimicry
Insect Larvae- any kind of offspring/eggs are deposited and stored in secret and in an organized fashion in order to survive it’s dangerous environment.
OPERATING CONDITION LENS
Whales and Giant Squid are able to dive down to some of the deepest parts of the sea where sunlight is scarce. Here, they need to navigate their surroundings by their eyesight and other senses on their bodies.
How does nature maintain energy over long periods of time?
How does nature regulate thermal air fluctuations in Verhoyansk, Siberia?
The Redwood Trees are amongst the oldest trees in the world. With this, I thought about all that they have endured to obtain this label. I thought about how every organism gives off energy. In order to brainstorm how nature maintains energy over long periods of time, I asked myself, how is energy recirculated? How does water develop? How does a cloud carry so much water over long distances?
Russia is the largest continent on planet Earth. It consists of vast lands with a variety of climates. In these lands and surrounding waters live countless animals and organisms. In order to understand how these animals in this particular part of Russia have survived in an environment that has the largest range of extreme heat and extreme cold temperatures, I brainstormed species that have existed the longest such as the Horseshoe crab which have existed 445 million years ago. I then proceeded to think about animals that do not contain organs or a great deal of liquids in them, invertebrae. I also thought about jellyfish and how its hard to determine how old they really are. They seem to be everlasting!
ECOLOGICAL LENS
LOCAL LENS
Birds of Paradise Abstraction The Biology Strategy A high level description of how the natural model is achieving the desired function/effect. Generally follows the formula: (Natural model name) uses (structure) in order to (behavior) resulting in (function). It is critical that the it follows the logic of structure leading to behaviour which leads to function. Strelitzia reginae stamen uses 2 long narrow petals which include lower, middle, upper ribs, wings, flanges, Laminae, Anthers, Styles, vascular bundles, and parenchymatous tissue in order to manage kinetic elastic energy resulting in simultaneous vertical and lateral deformation motion.
Mechanism A detailed description of how the natural model is achieving the desired function/effect. Follows same general formula as above, but also includes critical descriptors, such as scale and time. As such, may include two or more sentences in order to generate a cohesive description. The Strelitzia reginae has a unique kinetic system for pollination. It uses a bird’s weight while perching on the stamen causing the long, narrow fused petals to split open in a sideways roll while also bending downwards. This exposes the previously enclosed anthers and style which then causes pollen to attach to the bird’s legs and feet. The pollen is then able to be transferred to other Birds of Paradise flowers. The elastic motion of opening and closing is repeatable and reversible without compromising the structural integrity of the flower.
Abstracted Design Principle
Without Applied Force
Derived from Strelitzia reginae
Mimics the mechanism in formula, but using analogous terminology to biology-specific terms, such as “cell.” The analogous terminology should be domain-independent for this exercise, however could be domain-specific in practice if the desired application is known.
Flexible Material
90 ˚ Range of Reversible Motion
90 ˚ Range of Reversible Motion
Pivot Axis Pivot Point
Applied Force Pivot Point
Vertical Flapping Deformation Motion
Pivot Point
Lateral Flapping Deformation Motion
Conjoined assembly of structures move vertically and laterally simultaneously with application of external force to create reversible flapping motion.
Zig-Zag interlocking pattern along Pivot Axis
Isometric View of Flapping Motion
Proof of Concept Prototyping With a design in mind, the purpose is to distill a design challenge, understand user needs, build a bridge between biology and design, use a methodology for discovering models from nature, abstract design principles from bio-inspired strategies, and translate those principles into sustainable innovations.