ALEXANDER J HOKKANEN DESIGN PORTFOLIO 2012-2016
DETROIT GRAND MOSQUE AND MEDINA
A BEAUTIFUL HOME COMPETITION ENTRY
A PRESIDENTIAL PR P RES ESID S DEN E TIAL LLIBRARY IBRARY IB RA ARY
A PRESIDENTIAL P ESID PR I ENTI N ALL E ELEVATOR LEVA LE V TOR O
HEATH CERAMICS SHOWROOM & FACTORY
Sustainability canʼt be some sort of a moral sacrifice or political dilemma or a philanthropical cause. It has to be a design challenge. -Bjarke Ingels
UNIVERSITY DISTRICT ARTS CENTER
ARCHITECTURAL REPRESENTATION
BRIDGET RILEY CENTER FOR THE ARTS
FAIRVIEW STATION APARTMENTS
CULINARY ARTS INCUBATOR
HEATH CERAMICS SHOWROOM & FACTORY program studio northeast minneapolis fall 2013 professor dan clark and martha mcquade The Heath Ceramics Showroom and Factory are the result of weeks of material exploration and experimentation beginning with wood boxes and concluding with cast concrete forms and truss systems. The formal parti consists of interlocking rings of programmed circulation. The outer ring runs the entire perimeter and serves as a gallery for local artists. The interior void that the gallery encloses is the main showroom floor where the salable product is displayed and marketed. Upon entering, the client is confronted with a choice: left or right. Choosing the left path will immerse the visitor in the gallery program first, forgoing the showroom floor for an artistic experience on the periphery. If, however, this visitor needs to make his or her purchases first, the right path is more desirable as it almost immediately brings them to the showroom floor. The Factory building was conceived of in response to the showroom. Utilizing the Vierendeel Truss, I designed my response to the factory program to have two levels. On grade with the existing showroom, I divided the space into thirds to mirror the pottery production process of preparation, firing, and finishing. The factory mirrors the showroom in its circulation and program parti. The “walls� of the factory floor are programmed with storage and mechanical spaces, which are deep enough to support a second floor within the web of the truss system. The truss system allowed for large floor to ceiling insulated glazing that lights the factory floor during the work day minimizing power consumption. The second floor consists of two cubes of fritted glass for administration and employee support programs. Tectonic drawing depicting how the showroom space is created by concrete clad in a light wrapper of glazing
Material study drawings looking at how the Vierendeel Truss meets the ceiling and interacts with the channel glass
Interior view into the ceramics firing facility from the showroom that emphasizes daylighting
Street view of the both the factory and the showroom on the far corner. The extensive use of concrete ties both buildings together as related
A PRESIDENTIAL ELEVATOR: PART ONE institutions studio lake michigan fall 2015 professor steven mankouche The year is 2095 and the project began by President Clinton 71 years ago is nearing completion In her last year in office Clinton issued an executive Order prohibiting the construction of future Presidential Libraries as monuments to individual egos. Instead with the $500,000,000 she raised for her library she funded the research and design to build a new monuments not to herself but to every generation that followed. A monument to confront issues of Climate Change, Natural Resource Depletion, Poverty, and Social Justice. Pushing boundaries and breaking ceilings were hallmarks of her administration, the Millennium Gate project was no exception. The Millennium Gate is to become a multidisciplinary research center where archival and production of knowledge coexist seamlessly, a museum to display and maintain the artifacts from every following President and lastly an international astronautical port. With these programs all future presidents will be investing in a more just and sustainable world. This project was a part of the exploratory design phase, the next spreads detail the design for a ground-based Obama Presidential Library.
Concourse & Flight Deck
Tower Reception Level
CONCOURSE PLAN 1/64” = 1’-0”
RECEPTION PLAN 1/64” = 1’-0”
Interactive Gallery
Research Modules
Passenger Elevators (Reception to Concourse)
Cargo Elevator
Library Computer Access and Retrieval System(LCARS)
Restaurant Cafe
Administration
Research Modules
Interactive Gallery Passenger Elevators (Reception to Concourse)
Cargo Elevator Auditorium
Artifact Gallery
Air Lock
Exit Gallery / Shop DOCK PLAN 1/64” = 1’-0” East Dock
Cargo Warehouse
Loading/Payload Prep
West Dock South Dock
Top Left: 9 miles above the surface of Lake Michigan the main library and event spaces circle the port cargo elevator. Top Right: Well into the upper atmosphere the spaceport functions as a jumping off point between the Earthʼs surface and the rest of the solar system Right: Water level dock plan. Ships dock here to bring cargo and supplies to the flight deck Opposite: The elevator stretches upward behind the Chicago Skyline.
A PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY: PART TWO institutions studio chicago, il fall 2015 professor steven mankouche The second project in my first graduate studio was to design a presidential library. The site, now on dry land, occupies the former campus of Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, IL. This site, empty for several years, was considered for the Olympic Village when Chicago made a bid in 2014 and was overlooked again in 2015 as a potential site for the Obama Library. The hospital grounds were contaminated by both lead and mercury over its lifetime and thus became difficult to develop. I proposed a 5 year plan to reclaim the site while experimenting with bioremediation and renewable energy production on a building scale. The site features urban agriculture fed by a tilapia pond. The building itself will not be complete until year four and even after construction it will continue a legacy of regeneration and reinvestment.
YEAR 0
YEAR 1 BIOREMEDIATION BEGINS
YEAR 3 FOUNDATIONS EXCAVATED AND AQUAPONICS IS INTRODUCED TO THE SITE
YEAR 4 PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY IS CONSTRUCTED INTERIOR FOOD AND ENERGY PRODUCTION
YEAR 5+ THE BUILDING WILL CONTINUE TO REMEDIATE THE SITE
Lower level event space. The Cherry Tree and fountains are fed by the exterior pond
Grow Beds Patio Butterfly Garden
Classroom
ROOF PLAN
Administrative Suite
Entry Hall
ENTRY LEVEL
Pantry Kitchens Aquaponics Fountain
Tilapia Gallery
Dining & Auditorium
Tilapia Pond
LOWER LEVEL
Main Event Space & Gallery
The section cuts through the grow beds that produce food for the restaurant within. The Tilapia pond acts as a solar heat collector and stabilizes the internal temperature year round. All the plants grown on site are fertilized by the water pumped throughout the building and grounds.
A BEAUTIFUL HOME competition entry london, england fall 2015 collaborated with: jason cluth This competition was done by remote, my collaborator worked from Minneapolis while I worked from Ann Arbor Michigan. The program called for a “Beautiful House and was open to architects and artists. The site is an abandoned golf course outside of London, England. We began with formal diagrams divided the “working” programs from the “living” spaces. This building serves as a full time residence for a five person family including one wheelchair bound child. The smaller East Wing provides the parents with a conference room, a library and two private offices. Unlike many home offices the client wanted spaces to meet with clients on site. The building is canted to increase the southern exposure in the first and second floor living areas. The space between the two masses became a formal garden-patio that winds itself down to the boardwalk at the waters edge.
N
Formal Evolution Diagrams
Childrenʼs Playroom
Bed Master Suite
Open to Below
Mezzanine Childrenʼs Rooms Office
SECOND LEVEL
Patio & Garden
Office Library
Pool Kitchen
Sitting Room Dining Pantry
Theater
Business Entry & Conference Room
ENTRY LEVEL
Apartment
Garage Bed
The program called for a large area to be dedicated to a home office suite highlighted in blue
LOWER LEVEL
SOUTH ELEVATION
NORTH ELEVATION
DETROIT GRAND MOSQUE AND MEDINA propositions studio detroit, michigan winter 2016 collaborated with: jamilla afandi, shawn lettow, nick warnet, andrew stewart, and wesley wu professor doug kelbaugh Metro Detroit is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the Unites States. In an effort to bring Muslims back to the city the mayor of Detroit, leaders of an Islamic congregation, and several developers were interested in exploring the possibility of building a new center for Islamic life for the region within the city boundaries. This project is not to be a walled enclave, quite the opposite in fact. To the north end of our 30 acre site we have designed a new type of shopping experience based on the middle eastern “Souk,” perhaps the only one in the western world. The middle portion of the site contains the Mosque complex which includes the prayer hall capable of serving over 2000 people, an Islamic seminary, the Imamʼs residence and a banquet hall. The most southern end of the site holds the recreation facilities and a public park.
RESIDEN R NTIAL N TIA RESIDENTIAL S DENTIA AL
LIGHT LIGH LIG GHT INDUST NDUSTRIAL N NDUSTRIA DU DUSTR USTRIAL SST TR RIAL RIA AL INDUSTRIAL
RURA R UR RAL AL RURAL RESIDEN R NTIAL N TIA S DENTIA AL RESIDENTIAL
HEAV HEAVY H EAV AVY AVY VY INDUST NDUSTRIAL N NDUSTRIA DU DUSTR USTRIAL SST TR RIAL RIA AL INDUSTRIAL
LO OW DENSITY OW NS Y LOW RESIDEN R NTIAL N TIA S DENTIA AL RESIDENTIAL
PORT/AVIATION PO ORT/AVIATION T ON / ATION IND NDUSTRIAL N NDUSTRIA DUSTRIA S AL DUSTR AL INDUSTRIAL
MEDIUM ED DIUM UM DENSITY D DEN EN NSS TY TY MEDIUM RESIDEN R DENTIA NTIAL N TIA S DEN AL RESIDENTIAL
MIX MIXED M IXED XED USE XED X U USSE
HIGH GH DENSITY D DEN EN NSS TY TY HIGH RESIDEN R DENTIA NTIAL N TIA S DEN AL RESIDENTIAL
MILITA MILITARY M ILITA LITA TA TARY ARY RY RY
CO CO OMM M MM MMERCIA M ER RC AL CIAL COMMERCIAL
INST NSTITUTIONAL NS N NSTITUTION NSTITUTIONA STITUTIONA ST STITUTIONAL TTU UTIO UT T ON NAL AL INSTITUTIONAL
NEIGHBORHOO N EG EIG GHBORHO O OOD OO HBORHO OD NEIGHBORHOOD CO COM CO OM MMERCIA M MERCIAL COMMERCIAL
AGRICULT AGRICULTUR AG AGRICULTU A GR RIC RICULTURE LTTU CULTURE TURE AGRICULTURE
CO COM CO OM MMUNITY M MUN MUNITY COMMUNITY CO COM CO OM MMERCIA M MERCIAL COMMERCIAL
PARKS, PA KS,, OPEN SPACE SPAC SPA E AN AN ND D GREENWAYS AND
REGIO R EGIO GO ONAL NA REGIONAL CO COM CO OM MMERCIA M MERCIAL COMMERCIAL
PA PA ARKS R KSS AND AND PARKS RKS R CREATIO REC CR ON RECREATION CREATIO
INDUST NDUSTRIAL N NDUSTRIA DU DUSTR USSTRIAL RIAL RIA INDUSTRIAL STTR AL
RESSO OURCE RC SOURCE RESOURCE CONSERV CO ONSERVATION ONSERVATION NSSERVA N RV R VA VAT AT ON A ATION CONSERVATION
Due to the nature of the site, this studio focused heavily on urban planning and design. Costs to develop the site in itʼs entirety would be too great for the client. We have proposed three phases of development that then could be broken down further as needed: the Souk, the commercial heart of the project, the Mosque Complex, the spiritual center, and lastly the Recreation Center, which will serve as a regional destination for outdoor soccer. Early design concept site axonometric and clay mosque rendering
SITE PLAN ITERATION 1: Housing and a daily prayer mosque were proposed to the south. The Grand Mosque is at 47° toward Mecca.
SITE PLAN ITERATION 2: Housing was eliminated indoor stadium was requested. Surface parking became a client priority.
SITE PLAN ITERATION 3: The park returns as indoor stadium is not feasible. Parking centralized in a Souk area structure.
CULINARY ARTS INCUBATOR program studio northeast minneapolis spring 2014 professor matt byers Locally Grown, Locally Organized and Internationally Inspired, the Culinary Arts Incubator project brings the community of northeast Minneapolis together with local culinary talent to participate in the art that is food education, preparation and consumption. The form was originally much like that of an Italian palazzo which then evolved into a villa in itĘźs relationship to the site, agricultural capability and emphasis on progression through the landscape and the building. This project includes several food production zones; in the winter, the Seasonal Courtyard is sealed and becomes a green house, doubling as an indoor respite from the chilling winters. The subterranean Living Pantry is equipped with a living wall from which to harvest root vegetables in all seasons. The Architectural Promenade runs in parallel with the food production process, which I posit is used to learn, experiment, and consume. The entry spaces are a combined mercantile and a reconfigurable lobby space. Visitors are then forced below grade to learn in a traditional library filled with reference material as well as the Living Pantry. From here the visitor ascends into the commercial grade kitchen or continues to the Great Hall. While the Great Hall provides a grand gathering space to enjoy a meal or attend an event guests are urged forward, this time up into a cantilevered Lounge offering a place to relax and enjoy stunning views of downtown Minneapolis and community members tending to their garden plots. Culinary Arts Seasonal Courtyard becomes a greenhouse in the winter months
Observation Lounge overlooks the community park and gardens
Kitchens serve the great hall and community events, the intensive green roof produces food throughout the summer growing season
After the Mercantile visitors are directed underground to the Library and Living Pantry
SOUTH ELEVATION
THE HUB: FAIRVIEW STATION APARTMENTS housing studio midway st. paul spring 2015 professor cynthia jara
The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul have recently been connected by a new light rail line. The new transit has already begun to bring people and development into areas long neglected by either city. Ideas about food scarcity, pedestrian accessibility, and a diverse community were central throughout my design process. The goals of this studio were to provide a new “hub� around which living, working, and playing could take place at a midway point on the line.
Indoor Shopping Street
Transit Oriented Development, defined as a mixed-use residential and commercial building designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporated features to encourage transit ridership, was the model in which the architecture was framed. The Indoor Street provides ample space to wait for the bus or train and affords access to a variety of shopping opportunities for residents and transit riders alike. Rentable office space occupies the second and third story on the south side of the building. A variety of units was key to attracting a diverse community. Townhouses on the ground floor, studios make up most of the southern bar, and one to two bedroom units fill the northern tower. Ground Floor Plan
TWO BEDROOMS
Early massing study, view taken from plaza
ONE BEDROOM
STUDIO
LOFTED TOWNHOUSES
BRIDGET RILEY CENTER FOR THE ARTS Sculpture Courtyard
summer studio ann arbor summer 2015 professor joel schmidt This museum and art center is dedicated to the work of British Op Artist Bridget Riley. The museum is nestled into a dense urban site in Downtown Ann Arbor with an alley and theater on the north side and a clothing retailer to the south. It has significant exposure as it has frontage on the T-intersection of South State Street and East Liberty Street. Throughout the design process my priorities were maximizing daylighting, especially from the north for studio spaces and reducing glare, equity of experience, and a freedom to choose ones own path through the galleries. The first floor is host to a small cafe, ticketing, restrooms and the largest interior gallery. In order to maximize daylight penetration in the building a small courtyard is nestled along the north site boundary. A green trellis encloses this space that serves the museum as a fairweather sculpture garden. The second floor patio looks back on the vibrant street life below and stretching west down Liberty Street. It is also home to the curatorĘźs office and an artist-in-residence studio as well as the remaining two gallery spaces.
Gallery 2
Cafe
Gallery 1
LEVEL 1
Covered Patio
Artist in Residence & Curatorial Office
Event Space
Gallery 4
Gallery 3
LEVEL 2
SECIFFO ROTARUC
ECARRET POTFOOR
YRELLAG ECNEDISER NI TSITRA OIDUTS
STEKCIT/POHS YBBOL EFAC
SECTION
YRELLAG
YRELLAG
West facade and lobby entry. A store front look was adopted from the adjacent structures and the circular motif was used heavily in RileyĘźs work
ARCHITECTURAL REPRESENTATION design methods ann arbor winter 2016 professor perry kulper The goal of Architectural Representation is to discover new ways of working and developing digital skills to explore formal possibilities. Design exercises tend to start with precedent studies but in the first project our precedents became our design. Selective appropriation as a way of working was used regularly throughout the semester to consider new relationships between plan fragments drawn by authors separated in space and time. Continuing working with appropriation as a technique in the final project while integrating layering narrative themes within the drawing. The work is situated within a site which became the image of an antarctic glacier. The artifact is a lost image from one of the early aerial expeditions conducted over the seventh continent. Richard E. Byrd was flying over an isolated glacier and took a picture of the unexpected scene below. He found what appeared to be a building long abandoned but still maintained by machines. In the upper left corner is an ice core sample which is sitting on top of the photograph, hence the melting, contains evidence of an advanced civilization. When the team returned no trace of the building remained. Promiscuous Diptych Plans- Temple of Amun-Ra, Saynatsalo Town Hall, Kyoto Home, and the Barcelona Pavilion
A lost photograph rediscovered recently contains evidence of an antarctic civilization originally discovered by explorers in 1928
UNIVERSITY DISTRICT ARTS CENTER site studio university of minnesota tc campus fall 2014 professor mary guzowski Intrigued by the potential of an underutilized urban green space and a twenty foot elevation change along the northern edge of my site I began designing with human connection and ecological practices in mind. As a community centered building I felt it should have, at its core, a space where people can gather, events can be held or impromptu workshops can be taught. The intertwining histories of Minneapolis, the University of Minnesota and industry are imprinted on the site. To make this invisible site force visible I included a grand stair programmed as a museum, informing visitors of what has come before.
Aerial view of the west aspect at 1/16” scale
The original site was a poorly kept patch of turf grass crisscrossed with student-made paths. In my site plan I suggest replacing the turf grass with native grasses and formalizing the existing paths with reclaimed lumber, the goal being to augment the existing, albeit sparse, ecological capital present in the siteʼs largely urban context. The site does not end at the buildingʼs footprint. Rather, the core design intention was to directly inhabit the site by lifting the surface and programming the interstitial space thereby preserving the siteʼs ecological continuity. The roof doubles as an amenity space for visitors and an extension of the greenway. Ashlar sandstone makes up much of the Greenway facade
Lower level interior view from courtyard
Highlights reclaimed brick and daylighting conditions
Conceptual diagrams illustrating my approach to the site. With the project abutting a greenway I felt it was important to maintain a level of ecological continuity even after the building was constructed.
SECTION A
Ceramics Studio
Administration
Multipurpose Courtyard
Backstage Storage
SECTION B
Open to Below
Mechanical
Black Box Theater
GREENWAY LEVEL
Studio Space
Cafe
Gallery 1
Patio
Classroom Dance Studio
UNIVERSITY LEVEL
Student Gallery
Information