COEXISTENCE/ EVENTS ALEJANDRA ORELLANA
CONTENTS Menil Bookstore
4-7
HSPVA
8-11
Maracan達/Mangueira
12-17
Working Shop
18-21
Third Ward Archive Center
22-25
Alejandra Orellana 19223 Buckeye ridge way. Houston, TX 77084
Tel: 281.989.7537 Email: alejandr88@yahoo.com
COEXISTENCE To me coexistence is about the connection between architecture and its context as well as the relationship between architecture and nature. This is important because architecture has the possibility to impact the environment that allows each new project to exist. Therefore a project has to coexist in a relationship with its context. EVENTS This coexitence can be generated by providng events to architecture. By events I mean activites or public amenities that activate the site and bring in public life to the area. I strive to design architecture that is not just responsive to the site but that is also actively engaged in the community.
MENIL BOOKSTORE SITE: 1515 Sul Ross St. Houston, TX 77006 PROGRAM: Bookstore, coffee shop, sculpture garden and offices. PROFESSOR: Jason Logan STUDIO: IV Spring 2009 CONTEXT For the Menil bookstore it was necessary to understand its context. The surroundings are composed of the Menil Museum and the neighborhood houses are well known for maintaining a particular aesthetic. The design of the bookstore takes into account the neighborhood’s characteristics, such as color schemes and overhangs, in order to compliment it. It also aims to compliment the Museum, which is just across the street. CONCEPT The bookstore is composed of two volumes (the bookstore and the coffee shop) that are connected by a core element that contains restrooms, storage, mechanical rooms, fire stairs and elevators. The folded planes are transparent, which allows them to have views toward the museum in order to compliment it.
Concept Diagram
Circulation Diagram
6 2 1
4 5
Ground level
View from museum South Elevation
7
3
1.Coffee shop 2.Rest Rooms 3.Mechanical 4.Offices
6
5.Terrace 6.Stacks 7.Storage
Second level
Section perspective through stacks
HSPVA SITE: Richmond Ave. @ 527 Spur, Houston, TX 77006 PROGRAM: Classrooms, theater, black box, recital hall, commons, library, offices. PROFESSOR: Gary Machicek STUDIO: VI Spring 2010 CONTEXT The High School for Performing and Visual Arts required to expand its building to accommodate its growing student population. A new site was proposed. The site is located at the intersection of Richmond and 527 Spur. The High School’s site is found in a residential neighborhood so it had to address the houses. At the same time, it’s on Richmond streets which has several commercial buildings as well as moderately high traffic. A study of the neighborhood life was carried out. The project’sJack/Colquitt: design addresses the most prominent Responds to Residences Richmond/Spur: Responds to Visibility aspects of the site: Richmond, the Spur and the houses.
Respond to Richmond/Spur
Respond to Residences
Ground level
Second level
Third level
Fourth level
CONCEPT The high school allows the students to interact with the art classes throughout the day. Regular classes are place so that as students move from their regular classes they get to experience the arts classes. Since this is a school where performance and exhibitions are central to the education of the students it maintains proximity to Richmond and the Spur, this allows passer-bys to look into the building. The Richmond façade of the school has large operable windows that create a change in the façade according to the occupants’ needs. The school pulls back from the surrounding houses in order to provide for a park/sculpture garden area. This is done as a public gesture that, while creating density, it also provides an outside space for students to exhibit their works. The black box of the school, which faces this garden, opens up to convert into an outdoor theater. There is also outside sitting areas for the students to hang out.
Tree/Sculpture grid
Outdoor seating
Outdoor theater seating
Parking
Theater Art Music Dance
Sculpture garden diagram
Longitudinal Section
Program diagram
Classes
MARACANÃ/MANGUEIRA SITE: Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. PROGRAM: Housing and Public Amenities. PROFESSOR: Bill Truitt STUDIO: VII Fall 2010 CONTEXT The purpose of the project was to pick a site close to the Maracanã Stadium and develop housing units. Since each student had to pick a site I chose a location where the city, the favelas, the State University and public transportation met. I wanted the project to be able to connect all these different areas of the city and provide places where people could meet as well as activities that could vitalize the area. CONCEPT My approach was to intervene in these areas by creating two types of gardens. Type A gardens would be linear and function as a means of access to the different areas. Type B gardens would be courtyards and would serve as flexible spaces where people can come together. Both types have housing looking to the gardens; type A gardens have apartments whereas type B gardens have duplexes.
Favela
Favela
Favela
Favela
City
City University
University
Site conditions diagrams. The left one explains possible access points to the gardens and the right one shows the different access routs that people are likely to walk.
The diagram shown here shows where the types of garden go and the pedestrian circulation through the project. The master plan to the right demonstrates the scope of the project. It features the types of activities that have been programmed for the public. The section shows the topography of Mangueira and how the housing is placed in it. Another section shows in detail one of the activities, in this case a flower garden, which has been designed for the residents.
Favela
Gardens
A
Paths
Courtyard/Flexible Linear/Programmed
Favela
Favela City
Paths
Programmed
Plants
Residential
Flexible space
Commercial/Residential
University
Garden Types
Favela
Courtyard Garden+Flexible Space
Residences
Plaza/Courtyard
Linear Gardens + Programs:
Flower Patch
City Longitudinal Section close up on flower garden
Playground
Outdoor Sitting Area
University
A
Longitudinal Section
Fishing Stand
A-A Section
TYPE A GARDENS These are courtyard gardens. The diagram shows how the courtyards, which serve as flexible space for the public, are lined with duplex buildings with a first floor dedicated to commercial activities. The floor plans show a first level of the duplex apartments. The perspective shows the favelas to the left and the Maracana in the background. TYPE B GARDENS The linear gardens serve as pathways. They contain programmed activities, such as playgrounds or ponds. These activities bring life into the area and are open to the public. There are apartments along these gardens with commercial space on the first floor. The apartments have openings that have balconies and some terraces that overlook the gardens that way it connects them to the outside (shown on the close up section below.) The perspective displays how some apartments relate to the favelas to their left.
Apartments
Duplex Apartments Commercial
Commercial Vegetation Type A gardens
Flexible space
Vegetation Programmed Activitty
Type B gardens
Courtyard Plan Example
Section close up on linear garden
Linear garden perspective
Courtyard garden perspective
WORKING SHOP SITE: Ryan Middle School 2610 Elgin St. Houston, TX 77004 TEAM: Bin Fu, Moe Moe Khang, Alejandra Orellana and Stephanie Wang PROFESSOR: Patrick Peters STUDIO: VIII Spring 2011 WEBSITE: http://rmsworkingshop.com/ The WorkingShop Exhibition is a collaborative project between University of Houston fourth year undergraduate architecture students and graduate students from the Graphic Communications Program. Together, under the guidance of Prof. Patrick Peters and Prof. Cheryl Beckett, we designed, fabricated and installed the exhibition. The exhibition honors the history of Third Ward by focusing on the community history and the Ryan Middle School history. For this purpose the studios were divided into four teams, each of which would concentrate on a topic. I was part of Team 3 and our topic was Ryan Middle School’s building history. The exhibition is currently open and can be visited during school hours.
Our team decided that we wanted to show the physical changes that occurred in the school and how they tied back to the evolving needs of the Third Ward community. We also wanted to feature the people who were involved in the original design and construction of the school and the historic context in which the school was created. Given that the exhibition is held in the former woodshop inside the school we also decided that it would be a good idea to incorporate the machines that were there. The machines were important because they were part of the Vocational Training Program, which used to prepare students with skills that would help them move onto jobs and business ownership. These machines were no longer in use and we were able to design graphics on how they worked and show information about the school.
THIRD WARD ARCHIVE CENTER SITE: Tuam St @ Dowling St, Houston, TX, 77004. PROGRAM: Gallery, media room, archive rooms, processing rooms and offices. PROFESSOR: Patrick Peters STUDIO: VIII Spring 2011 CONTEXT The project is located across Emancipation Park in Third Ward. The park offers an important opportunity in the design of the project. Third Ward is currently being gentrified. There are many new developments taking place in the area. As part of the community, the building should respond to its neighborhood. It should keep in mind the scale and history of the community. It should engage its surroundings and the people of the area so that the place feels inviting. It should also set an example about the progress in the community. Sustainable practices are an example of how this could be achieved. CONCEPT The Third Ward Archive Center houses the history of Third Ward. In this design proposal the center becomes a place of reflection. The garden in the courtyard serves this purpose. The garden also connects the building to Emancipation Park by being a miniature green space that is housed within the archives. The opening in the building allows natural light to enter the building. It also helps with natural ventilation especially when a window wall that overlooks the parking lot is opened.
Emancipation Park
The building is organized in terms of public and private spaces. The third level houses the offices and archive rooms. The lower levels are more public therefore the gallery space and the media room are located there. The ground floor has window walls that can open up to let natural ventilation cool the building. The parking lot can function as an outdoor public space, which is why instead of designing it with concrete I designed it as pervious surface. The surface makes it more inviting and it also helps with rainwater retention. One of the window walls opens up to the parking lot, which lets the outdoor space and indoor space come together. The skin of the building is made of wood, a material that is easily recyclable. They modulate light depending on what is happening in the interior.
1
2 4
1 Roof Membrane
3
2 Roof Insulation
3 Concrete topping 4 Corrugated steel deck
5 Ground Floor
Ground Floor
Ground Floor
First Level
First Level
First Level
Second Level
Second Level
Second Level
6 7
5 Wood skin/shading system 6 I-beam bracing 7 Metal plate 8 Double glazed aluminum and
glass curtain wall
8
6
10
5
9 Concrete topping
12
10 Corrugated steel deck 11 6 in. wide structural I-beams
13 Insulation 14 Synthetic gypsum suspended ceiling
3
2
1
15
1 Skin 2 Skin Frame 3 Glazing
4 Structure 5 Core Structure 6 Roof
11
13
14
12 Gypsum boards
4
9
15 Concrete Foundation 16 Concrete Piers
16