CONTENTS OFF THE GRID
1
SPA AT MT. RAINIER CAMP MUIR, ASHFORD, WA FA2010
FAB-CRAFT
2
LA CUNA URBANA
3
SKETCHES
4
WRITER’S RETREAT
5
POCKET NEIGHBORHOOD
6
FAB-CRAFT EXHIBITION sUgAR GALLERY, BENTONVILLE, AR FA2010
RETHINKING PUBLIC OPPORTUNITIES TACUBAYA, MEXICO CITY SU2011
TRAVEL SKETCHES IN MEXICO SU2011
WRITER’S RETREAT LITTLE ROCK, AR SP2012
HOUSING CASE STUDY FOR PETTAWAY REVITALIZATION LITTLE ROCK, AR SP2012
WORKS
AKIHIRO MORIYA
SITE
OFF THE GRID
1
SPA AT MT. RAINIER CAMP MUIR, ASHFORD, WA ACADEMIC FA2010
CAMP MUIR
SKIN
CLIMBING ROUTE
PARTITION
STRUCTURE
MT. RAINIER CONTEXT
FOUNDATION
The project was to design a spa lodge in the middle of the climbing route of Mt. Rainier. Extreme conditions of the project provided an opportunity to reconsider the issues which are taken for granted in the daily practice of architecture. Located at Camp Muir - 3,000 meters above sea level on Mt. Rainier, WA - the site was a challenge to negotiate with its extreme topography and climate, and the scheme had to be strategic about the logistics and sustainability due to its inaccessibility to the basic infrastructural networks.
SCENOGRAPHY The climbers are fully exposed to the vast view of Mt. Rainier during the long hike to Camp Muir. Following the logic of the structure, the openings are designed to edit the view by framing it in multiple ways to provide a variety of different sensations to visitors. In other words, this building is a device to transform the scenery into dramatized moments - or simply, a theater. The large openings on both ends of the building frame the views like pictures, the repetitive narrow glass stripes re-frame the wide panorama into a series of fragments that provoke the visitor to re-configure the original view in their mind, and the small windows in each suite filter the expansive scale of the view of the mountain into a more human scale.
STILLNESS vs. CADENCE The design of this spa began with the metaphor of Earth, Water and Tent - an experience of water existing in between a heaviness and lightness, set against the overwhelmingly massive landscape of Mt. Rainier. Due to the climatic condition at the site, however, literal translation of this metaphor was deemed inappropriate. Instead, this metaphor was re-interpreted as the dialogue between stillness and cadence. The scheme was conceived as the choreography of the successive frames erected along the topographic line and the monolithic walls that intervene in the middle of the volume defined by those frames. Each curved spatial edge has an unique radius, and the relationship between those elements provides the singular continuous space with a gradually transforming volumetric condition.
0
30 feet
The morphology of the skin and the opening strategy respond to the grain of the structure, creating a mass/void dialogue on the facade. The unit of repetition is the unit of the construction, which allows the majority of the building components to be prefabricated.
1
Zinc Rain Screen 12” Rigid Insulation 6” Concrete Slab With Corrugated Metal Deck
5” Batt Insulation
2
Steel Beam W24X117 Dropped Ceiling, 1/2” Painted Gypsum Board
Zinc Standing Seam 2” Rigid Insulation Waterproof Membrane 12” Batt Insulation 3/4” Plywood Interior Finish
Wood Deck Floor Finish
Steel Beam W12X65
6” Rigid Insulation 2” Floor Finish With Underfloor Heating
3
FAB-CRAFT
2
FAB-CRAFT EXHIBITION sUgAR GALLERY, BENTONVILLE, AR ACADEMIC FA2010
JOINT INTELLIGENCE This project is an exploration of a stick-and-node frame system that can be calibrated in response to the morphology of any free form surface within the technological limitations. The available CAM technologies were a 3-axis CNC router and laser cutter, both of which are machines that can cut any kind of profile out of flat sheet of material. The challenge was to develop an intelligent joint that adjusts itself to the gradual shift of angles present in the network in three dimensions out of flat stocks. This prototype is composed of two elements: a diamond shaped “node”, the shape of which responds to pattern changes on the surface in U-V direction, and a linear “stick” with angled notches that responds to the geometry of the surface.
Above: Assembly Process Left: Geometry Definition Right: Joint Detail
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT The masonite prototype revealed two major problems to solve: 1) the joint was not strong enough against the force applied perpendicular to the frame because of the disjunction of vertical members at the joint; and 2) the system developed had very poor workability since the system relied only on the tight fits between the masonite members for its rigidity, which resulted in extremely tight notches, and more than the power of one person was required to put members together in place. In other words, both the stiffness of the joint and the tolerance had to be improved. With the acquisition of the CNC plasma-cutter, the system was conceived as the hybrid of wood framing and steel joints. The stiffness required was addressed by layering the two “diamonds” with a gap in-between that is bridged by the middle portion of the steel “wings” between the two notches. The “diamonds” and the “wings” are welded together, and in this way the joint component becomes a small truss. The joints between steel joint components and wood frame members were simplified into bolt connections, which improved workability in the field significantly.
Right: Context Analysis Next Page: Proposed Design Bottom: Study Models
THEME: LA CUNA URBANA This project is an attempt to examine the city through the phenomena of the “urban lacuna” -those small, often accidentally created public spaces in the city. In Spanish, “la cuna” is a cradle; therefore, “la cuna urbana” suggests that these incidental gaps in the urban fabric are where the act of civilization is often born and nurtured- where a vendor may someday decide it is a good place to set up his cart, where a small religious shrine has been erected in the nighttime shadows, or where the children can play for a few moments while their parents enjoy a chance encounter with neighbors. Through a small but thoughtful interventions intended to foster these moments of civitas, this project aims to trigger the transformation of the quality of urban life at the scale of one of the largest cities in the world.
LA CUNA URBANA
3
RETHINKING PUBLIC OPPORTUNITIES TACUBAYA, MEXICO CITY ACADEMIC SU2011
SKETCHES
4
TRAVEL SKETCHES IN MEXICO ACADEMIC SU2011
Prevailing Development Pattern
Define Spatial Edge
WRITER’S RETREAT
5
WRITER’S RETREAT SOUTH MAIN DISTRICT, LITTLE ROCK, AR ACADEMIC SP2012
Raise The Volume
0
500 feet
Activate The Space
1
2 3 4
URBAN MICROCOSM The project proposes writer’s retreat in urban setting. Putting a program typically situated in countryside away from “noise of daily life”, the scheme fosters social activities associated with writing as well as writing itself as a social activity. The cell was designed only to satisfy the minimum needs of the writer’s private life, sleeping and writing. Through the language of wrapping surface, the cell is spatially furnished within the compact construction unit.
virrendeel truss
prefabricated unit
Structural Concept
6 1
7 2
Fontenay Cistercian Monastery
La Tourette
Saynatsalo
1. Library 2. Lecture Hall 3. Private Cell 4. Community Space 5. Terrace 6. Walled Garden 7. Machine Room 8. Parking 0
75 feet
3
5 6 5
4 8
6
Five Downtown Neighborhoods Within Little Rock
0
2500 feet
POCKET NEIGHBORHOOD
6
HOUSING CASE STUDY FOR PETTAWAY REVITALIZATION LITTLE ROCK, AR ACADEMIC/PROFESSIONAL SP2012
STREET
COMMON
PORCH
HOUSE
utility easement Occupied Lot Unoccupied Lot
Pocket Neighborhood Development Within Pettaway Conventional Block Development
playground utility easement bus route 6
Pocket Neighborhood Development
LITTLE ROCK CONTEXT Little Rock, once a vibrant 20th century streetcar downtown neighborhood, was diminished by building clearance and the intervention of suburban and automobile-oriented development. As people rediscover the unique benefits of downtown living, however, Little Rock’s five downtown neighborhoods are once again preferred areas attracting new development and public investment. Pettaway, one of the five downtown neighborhoods, currently suffers from a high level of absentee property ownership, which significantly reduces the area’s walkability and the benefits of urban life. As a part of the Pettaway revitalization effort, the Pocket Neighborhood is an affordable housing project which serves as a catalyst for the future developments in this district.
Three Courts
1
4
Green Common & Parking Grove
2
Ying-Yang Courts
5
Lawn and Shared Parking Court playground plaza
3
Cluster Close
6
Court Cluster
community garden
t
ee
7
Porchscape
PLANNING STRATEGY Pocket neighborhood employs a pattern of development that promotes active urban lifestyle. It is an identifiable cluster of 4-16 houses around shared commons and infrastructure. Pocket neighborhood is twice as dense development as a conventional block development with the smaller footprints and private territories of its houses, while each house enjoys superior outdoor amenities at an affordable cost by pooling resources that otherwise would have been isolated on individual lots. This project was a collaboration between UACDC staff and students. Several planning schemes were initially produced by students including me, and UACDC staff developed the plan further based on the selected scheme.
ck
ro
str
8
Shared Street
9
Interlocking Commons
Two-Faced Type at Rock Street
Two-Faced Type at Autocourt
Side Yard Type
Tower Type at Rock Street
Tower Type at Middrive
Tower Type at Drive Terminus
HOUSING TYPES An index of three varying house prototypes provide open floor plans, cathedral ceiling volumes, and spacious frontage systems within affordable price ranges. Affordability is achieved through SIPS construction and standardization of dimensions and fenestration. After the overall plan was developed, housing types were developed by students. Each student was responsible for one house type out of six types. Since the relationship between houses was a key to this project and the formal language was to be shared, there was a close communication between students during the design process.
TOWER TYPE
1000-1250 square feet 0
20 feet
BIOGRAPHY BORN IN SENDAI, JAPAN UTSUNOMIYA HIGH SCHOOL UNIV. OF ARKANSAS FAY JONES SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE (B.ARCH) UNIV. OF ARKANSAS COMMUNITY DESIGN CENTER (UACDC)
1988 2007 2012 2012
AWARDS HNEDAK BOBO GROUP INTERNATIONAL 2011 DESIGN AWARD PELLA 5TH YEAR AWARD 2012 NATIONAL AIA HENRY ADAMS AWARD REIDENTIAL ARCHITECT DESIGN AWARD AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE AWARD
INTERNSHIP/WORK EXPERIENCE SANAA 2010 TOYO ITO AND ASSOCIATES 2011 UNIV. OF ARKANSAS COMMUNITY DESIGN 2012 CENTER (UACDC)
WORKS
AKIHIRO MORIYA
Drawing For The Creative Corridor Project At UACDC