AJ ARTEMEL
ajpartemel@gmail.com (571) 201-2959
Athens, Greece City For 50,000 People 46
Reykjavík, Iceland 06 Opna Center 34 Mímir's Well
New Haven, CT Building Project 110 Compression Test 124
New York, NY 70 CASIS Headquarters 78 Coney 2080 96 Dance Studio
Seyðisfjörður
Reykjavík
Landeyjasandur
REYKJAVÍK OPNA Center for Internet Transparency Mímir’s Well/Cable Bunker
OPNA Center for Internet Transparency Spring 2014: Deborah Berke, Studio Instructor Noah Biklen, Asst. Instructor Inspired by the recent spotlight placed on issues of internet security, privacy, and transparency, this project was an attempt to create a headquarters for Opna, an institute devoted to advocacy around internet issues. Situated in the heart of Reykjavik on its industrial waterfront, the building had to accommodate offices, lecture halls, meeting rooms, fabrication labs, and apartments for asylum seekers. But a larger question than securing the program was how to create an architecture of transparency. Creating a glass building seemed out of the question due to its use on the NSA headquarters, large financial institutions, and other opaque institutions; rather, it seemed that transparency was best achieved by making the building as physically present as possible in the city. Thus, the program takes the form of a 'U' bounded by a thick volcanic stone wall facing the city, and a screen made of copper telecommunications cables facing the harbor. Water is brought into the center of the resulting courtyard, allowing for a path between the cable screen and the weather barrier. The program is arranged to challenge the hierarchy of spaces; a 10 meter by 10 meter structural grid creates cells around the courtyard accommodating the various room types, each accessible from the exterior.
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Site Plan
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Living Room
Server Room
Loading
Storage
Lecture Hall
Ground Floor Plan
Library
Fabrication Lab
Computer Lab
Fabrication Lab Lounge
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Bedroom
Garden
Storage
Meeting Room
Computer Lab
Library
Second Floor Plan
Bedroom
Media Studio
Meeting Room
Meeting Room
Library
Offices
Third Floor Plan
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The Institute as approached along the waterfront
An exterior walkway leads the public between two facades allowing them access
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A heavy stone wall faces the city
The walkway leads between the public program and the harbor
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Elevation studies: From the water (top), From the city (right), and woven copper cable screen with dif
fferent degrees of patination
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The exterior stone wall assumes a glitchy bas relief
Study for the woven cable screen showing glitch pattern
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Lab spaces train the public in computer literacy
An apartment for an internet asylum seeker
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A view near the main entrance and the lounge
A meeting room accessed from an upper-level exterior walkway
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Cross sections (top) and a section through the major public programs (bottom)
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The library pushes the exterior wall outward, providing the only glimpse beyond it
The library includes an atrium filled with shelves (for books)
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A gap between program and wall brings light down to a moss garden by the lounge
This light well provides day light to both sides of the office space
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MÍmir's Well/Cable Bunker Spring 2014: Deborah Berke, Studio Instructor Noah Biklen, Asst. Instructor This project served as a vehicle for intering the realm of internetrelated questions posed by the Opna Institute. The task was to create an internet-related architectural installation in Iceland, which would serve to educate the public about the urgency of achieving transparency around digital communications. One of the primary misconceptions about the internet is that it is virtual; to correct this, two installations were designed to convey the physicality of the internet and its infrastructure in the form of suboceanic cables, points of presence, routers, and ISPs. The installations were sited where two internet cables come ashore in Iceland―the first, at Landeyasandur, exposed the DANICE cable, showing its vulnerability and daring visitors to cut it. The second installation was located at Seyðisfjörður, where the FARICE cable lands, and took the form of a bunker which broadcast how much data was passing through the cable at any given moment. It also showed the absurtity of hyper-security―there's no point in creating a bunker for a cable which passes beyond it.
Model of general site plan for Hellenikon
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Sections through the DANICE cable landing at Landeyjasandur
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Plan of DANICE cable landing
Model showing exposed DANICE cable
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A bunker in SeyÐisfjÖrÐur encases FARICE and shows data movement
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Model of FARICE cable bunker in SeyÐisfjÖrÐur
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Athens
Hellinikon
ATHENS City for 50,000 people
City for 50,000 People — Hellinikon, Greece Fall 2013: Elia Zenghelis, Studio Instructor With Mansi Maheshwari Hellinikon Airport, which served Athens, Greece, since the 1930s, was decommissioned in 2004 to make way for facilities for the Olympic Games, the same event that many blame for Greece’s subsequent financial and social woes. Like most other publiclyowned sites, the former airport fell into disrepair, its Eero Saarinendesigned terminal emptied and disused. The Greek government decided to redevelop the site by selling parcels to private developers. This studio contests the privatization of a great public resource, proposing instead housing for 50,000 people and a large public park to accommodate the growth of the Athens metropolitan area. Our strategy defines the area of the park—more than twice the size of Monaco—with a series of residential and office towers. The rest of the housing is accommodated in two types of building: a continuation of the existing city grid surrounded by mid-rise apartment terraces, and a 1.5 mile-long slab structure. This slab building defines a central axis perpendicular to the former runway, filled with civic and commercial buildings. It also creates a wall that aims to demarcate an urban boundary to stop suburban sprawl on the Eastern fringes of Athens.
Model of Slab Building composed of repeatable segments
Model of general site plan for Hellenikon
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The axis perpendicular to the runway links Mount Hymettus with the sea
Midterm Proposal for an Athens archipelago of centers of urban intensity
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Harbor
Detail strips of overall site plan Urban Center
Approach
Urban Context
The slab building is composed of six unit types: office, community facilities, meeting rooms, studio
apartments, one-bedroom units, and two-bedroom units
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The central axis frames a variety of civic programs including schools and markets
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The central axis is situated below the level of the park and runs from the sea to Mount Hymettus, wit
h the Saarinen Terminal at the head of the axis
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The central axis is a place for gathering
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The housing grid forms a series of courtyards which frame various internal program types
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NEW YORK CASIS Headquarters Coney 2080 Dance Studio
C.A.S.I.S. Headquarters — Manhattan, New York Fall 2012: Peter de Bretteville, Studio Instructor This project attempts to show the present condition of the International Space Station as run by CASIS―that formerly public ventures, such as the space program, are slowly being auctioned off to the highest bidder, in this case a private organization founded solely for this purpose. This diminishing of the public realm is revealed by the physical separation of public museum space from the private offices and labs of CASIS. These private areas are placed in a large box lifted off the site on two large cores. While the perceived weight of the box oppresses the site, the free ground plane creates new opportunities for enlarging public space. A diagonal cut across the site orchestrates a ramp entry into subterranean exhibition spaces, which separate occupants from reading connections to context, simulating the infinity of space. This underground circuit ends as visitors are lifted back up to a public plaza that occupies the zone between the CASIS box and new towers next door. This plaza steps down toward the East River, giving expansive views out toward Long Island City.
Section showing exhibition spaces, auditorium, and offices
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Fabrication/Storage
Offices
Conference Facilities
Auditorium
Section showing descent into exhibition spaces beneath elevated offices
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Ground Floor
Exhibition
Descent underground provides a sense of spatial dislocation reminscent to outer space
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Final views of interior and exterior showing formal interplay of program types
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Coney 2080 — Brooklyn, New York Spring 2013: Peggy Deamer, Studio Instructor with Chessin Gertler One of the most likely scenarios for the future of Coney Island, is that not only will it be subsumed by rising flood waters and hit with stronger and more frequent storm surges, but that the cumulative action of these events will cause the island to move. Instead of resisting this inevitable dynamic, we proposed to lift the infrastructure and inhabitation of the island above the rising waters, actually allowing the island to move. We developed a new zoning code to determine the basic infrastructure of the new Coney and to determine the means of its growth. We concentrate on the western end of the island, building raised armatures over the existing street grid. Once the waters rise, the area in between will be filled in with floating inhabitable spaces. These will be programmed according to the extralegal possibilities of working over water. Gambling uses, such as casinos or hedge funds, will fill these new zones, while highspeed ferries will connect Coney directly to lower Manhattan. The central area of Coney Island will be preserved with a sea wall to provide entertainment for Wall Streeters. Traditional subway links back to Brooklyn will be preserved while new ones will be developed out to JFK Airport.
Final model showing interplay between anchored infrastructure and floating city blocks
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Precedent images showing the impact of hurricane storm surges on barrier islands Top: Dauphin Island, NC (Google Earth). Bottom: Seaside Heights, NJ (Mario Tama/Getty)
The Sandmotor in the Netherlands works with barrier island movement to protect the coast Images by De Zandmotor
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Diagram Series illustrating a proposal to build up Coney Island by depositing dredged sediments offshore and allowing tidal currents to wash them into place
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New York is dependent on a vast electrical and water network extending far upstate, placing Coney Island in a precarious position in the event of disaster
We proposed to concentrate Coney Island’s density in three points, each of which connects to a different regional network: Ferries, Subways, and Airports
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A new development code (excerpted here) guided the formal outcomes of the project
Section II: Coney West §II-01.00
The community of Seagate will be subsumed by rising sea levels and moving sands.
§II-01.01
Coney West will rise in its place.
§II-01.02
New development will be built in anticipation of this flooding.
§II-02.00
New construction will be mainly of two typologies: an armature on piers, and floating inhabited zones.
§II-02.01
The armature will house utilities, transit, and travel.
§II-02.02
The floating blocks will house business and commercial uses, focusing on occupancies that take advantage of water-based legal indeterminacies.
§II-02.03
These floating blocks will be punctured with apertures to ensure proper daylighting and ventilation.
§II-03.00
The armature components will be built over the existing street grid of Seagate and western Coney Island.
§II-03.01
The floating blocks will be built in place as water levels rise and existing construction on Coney Island ceases to be viable.
§II-03.02
The floating components will be manufactured in a factory attached to the armatures.
§II-03.03
The components will be moved to their site via rails and cranes on top of the armatures.
§II-04.00
Coney West will be oriented toward Manhattan, connected by direct ferry lines to Battery Park City, Pier 11, and the Midtown Ferry Terminal.
§II-04.01
This orientation suits its future program as office space for Wall Streetbased companies, as well as casino and hotel types.
§II-04.02
These programs are allowed due to Coney West’s position hovering over the water; this unique situation gives Coney West some aspects of an extraterritoriality, such as looser regulation on finance and gambling.
§II-04.02a
These programs will be accompanied by a small high-end residential development connected by rail to Zone 2.
§II-04.02b
This residential area will be built according to plans by any given developer.
§II-05.00
Transit will link West Coney to Coney Island Central.
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Proposed project phasing works with current models of sea level rise, and uses the current street grid right-of-way as a formal starting point
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The infrastuctural grid fulfills the same functions as the street grid it replaces—carrying traffic and utilities—while floating ‘blocks’ carry large-scale casino/finance programs
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Final model
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Final model
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Dance Studio — Manhattan, New York Fall 2011: Joyce Hsiang, Studio Instructor This dance studio takes shape under the Queensboro Bridge, beneath Guastavino vaults. The intention with this project was to disturb a reading of inside versus outside with new structural lattices moving from beneath the bridge to the site beside it according to the existing grid of the Guastavino columns. Within these lattices, dance floors hover between walls, sometimes under sky and others under tile. A theater moves below grade, with service spaces beneath the dance floors adjacent to it. The occupation of the existing bridge also allows for a double facade and double reading. Entry from the south is informal, meant for dancers and the general public. Entry from the north brings visitors to a bar and to the performance space, with a grand gallery and processional sequence.
Sections through lobby and auditorium (top) and practice spaces (bottom)
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Iterative models inserting program boxes into existing bridge structure
Site plan showing existing structures in white and proposed intervention in dark grey
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Plans—offices and auditorium
View of exterior plaza
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Plans—plaza and exhibition
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Final model contrasting new spaces with the vaults of the existing bridge structure
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Views showing practice spaces (left) and the main performance space (right)
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NEW HAVEN Vlock Building Project 2014 Compression Test
Building Project — New Haven, Connecticut Spring 2012: Alan Organschi Adam Hopfner Jennifer Leung Peter de Bretteville This proposal for the 2012 Building Project house was determined by making the footprint of the house as efficient as possible. The owner and tenant units wrap around each other orchestrating key views out beyond the site. These views then determine the placement of large windows, each with a bit of bonus space in near vicinity. The owner's stair is punctuated by these moments for repose before culminating in the attic space, which contains a bedroom and large bonus space for recreation. Formally, the house is a cube, broken only by the projecting view carbuncles. The roof spine is thrown off axis to mark the two entrances with gables. It also moves down back toward the back yard creating a slanted roof for the double-height living room. On the ground floor, a front porch creates a social center for Newhallville while another entry for the tenant off of Starr Street gives another opportunity for a porch. The owner unit has all views of the back yard while the tenant unit mostly faces outward into the neighborhood. This creates a buffer for the owner's privacy.
BP Team E:
AJ Artemel Violette de la Selle Russell LeStourgeon Aisha Pasha Ian Svilokos Alice Tai Mark Tumiski
The house occupies a corner lot in the residential Newhallville neighborhood
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The sequence of movement through the two units was orchestrated to provide a series of changing views out to the neighborhood beyond
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The two housing units spiral around each other, each having at least one window on each facade of the house, while also preventing the occupants from seeing into each other’s homes
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Sectionally, the team tried to use the stairwells to connect living spaces, offering nooks at each landing. These nooks act as internal porches for gathering and relaxation.
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The homeowner’s unit features a double-height living/dining room with views out to the garden. The stairway culminates in an extra room in the attic, which can serve as a study or playroom.
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While Team E’s scheme was not built, all of the class of 2014 participated in the construction of the winning proposal.
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The owners received their keys to the house in October of 2012.
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Compression Test — New Haven, Connecticut Spring 2012: Joeb Moore, Studio Instructor This project includes two studio exercises: the first to design two ultra-small live/work units on an abstract 256 ft2 site, and the second, to adapt the design for a site in downtown New Haven. The central strategy for both was to wrap independent circulation systems for different units around a central space, creating a grand stair in the form of a double helix. The central difference between the two is that on the abstract site, the circulation wraps around living and working spaces, while on the New Haven site, the stair wraps around a grand atrium, serving programs located to either side.
The atrium is designed to allow a large variety of views on an extremely constrained site
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Wood slats move through the building, increasing ventilation and providing structure
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A central storage structure houses kitchen and bath facilities
Aggregation study (top) and component systems (bottom)
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An intricate lattice spills out of the top of the live work unit, unfurling to form a roof
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