ALEXANDER T SULEK SELECTED WORK
B.S. ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES | BUSINESS MINOR UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA - CHAMPAIGN ASULEK2@ILLINOIS.EDU | 224-766-1116
C O N T E N T S 01 _ ORDERLY CHAOS ARCH 475_ARCH DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT_FALL 2018 INSTRUCTOR: PROF. BENJAMIN A. BROSS, Ph.D CONTACT: BBROSS@ILLINOIS.EDU
02 _ iNTERSECTED iNTERFACE*
ARCH 374_ARCH DESIGN IN THE CITY_SPRING 2018 INSTRUCTOR: PROF. T.F. TIERNEY, Ph.D CONTACT: TIERNEY@ILLINOIS.EDU
03 _ AQUA MIRAGE ARCH 373_ARCH DESIGN IN THE LANDSCAPE_FALL 2017 INSTRUCTOR: PROF. ERIK HEMINGWAY CONTACT: EHEM@ILLINOIS.EDU
04 _ SHIFTED SUPENSION ARCH 374_ARCH DESIGN IN THE CITY_SPRING 2018 INSTRUCTOR: PROF. T.F. TIERNEY, Ph.D CONTACT: TIERNEY@ILLINOIS.EDU
05 _ LIGHT CLOCK
ARCH 272_STRATEGIES OF ARCH DESIGN_SPRING 2017 INSTRUCTOR: PROF. DAVID EMMONS CONTACT: DJEMMONS@ILLINOIS.EDU
* Edward J Earl Prize - 3rd Place
01 _ ORDERLY CHAOS Instructor: Benjamin A. Bross, Ph.D Course: ARCH 475 _ Arch Design and Development _ Fall 2018 Date: 08-27-18 -- 12-12-18 Type: Individual Academic Work Location: Champaign, Illinois ‘Orderly Chaos’ is a Boutique Hotel located in Downtown Champaign. This seven-story structure challenges the traditional hotel by exploring the guest experience. When one stays at a chain-hotel, each room is standardized and generic to the hotel brand and budget. This results in every guest having the same, dull experience. ‘Orderly Chaos’ explores the idea of adventure and unique experiences to customize the stay for each guest that walks through the hotel’s doors. Each room is oriented towards a unique solar angle and/or view. The hallways follow the rigid geometry of the modular rooms. This creates unique exposures and discoveries while circulating the hotel. The atrium sparks different levels of activity for each guest. The expansion of each upper floor creates sectional overlap that connects and engages the guest who occupies the interior. All of these architectural considerations allows for an experience that is memberable and unique to every individual who stays at this Boutique Hotel.
The Structural Grid Set to Site Parameters
Traditional Hotel Layout Utilized to Maximize Cost
Shift For Unique Experiences and Sense of Adventure
Outset Upper Level to Create Expansive Form
Occupy Overlapping Slabs with Balcony Space
1 - Sticky Rice, 2- Farren’s Pub, 3The Art Theater, 4 - Destihl, 5- Big Grove Tavern, 6 - Hyatt Place, 7 - Guido’s Bar and Grill 8 - Walnut Street These are successful places in Downtown Champaign. Each location offers either food, retail, and/or outdoor seating. These features were important to consider when connecting ‘Orderly Chaos’ to the sociological factors of Champaign. As a result of this research, the first floor is programmed to bring activity to the northern part of downtown.
Conc. Piles, Caps and Containing Wall
Conc. Core W/ HVAC Chase
20’x20’ W8x76 Structural Grid
8” Poured-On-Site Concrete Slabs
Pre-Fab Enclosure Wall System
Window Installation + Pres. Building
Wood Paneling Installation
Interior Buildout + Hotel Signage
ELEVATION (WEST)
The interior of ‘Orderly Chaos’ follows an orthogonal core that houses the amenities for the boutique hotel. The amenity spaces start off highly active at the bottom with a bar, game room, and cafe. However, as the user ascends the structure, the public space becomes more passive, creating a more harmonious guest experience. Surrounding the amenity core are the guest rooms. Each room is standardized to the traditional hotel room layout. However, as the user proceeds up the hotel, the rooms expand outward allowing the atrium to open up. Additionally, the rooms angular shifts become more drastic. This allows for the circulation of the building to become more exploratory and unique as the user ascends the structure. Additionally, this allows for the exterior to provide solar shading as well as connectivity to the City of Champaign.
SECTION (EAST - WEST)
STANDARD HOTEL ROOM
EXPANSIVE ATRIUM
2”x6” Roofing Mullion
Hotel Sign on Wooden Louvers 2’-10” Gypsum Drop Ceiling Fan Coil Unit Supply/Return 2”x6” Metal Window Frame 3” Return Plenum Bathroom Exhaust PVC Oak Hardwood Flooring
4” Botton Track (Channel)
6” Cedar Enclosure 1/4” Air/Vapor Barrier
HSS 4x4x1/2 @ 7’-4” O.C. 5/8” Plywood Backing Central Air Supply Duct Double Pane Glass Batt Insulation In Channel 42” Railing W/ Glass Guardrail 1/2” Poured Concrete Finish Floor W6x25 W/ 1/2” Dia. Bolting Welded 1‘-0” Gypsum Drop Ceiling W8x76 W/ 7/8” Stiffening Plates 1’-0” Foundation Wall Alligned 2”x6” Bottom Mullion Track
HSS 9x9x5/8 W/ F.P. Paint
1’-1” x 1’-1” Bolting Plate (Welded) 3’-0” x 3’-0” Concrete Pile Cap Soil As Conditioned On Site
DETAILED WALL SECTION
HVAC DIAGRAM
Breaks the Grid
Passive Public Spaces
L7
Downtown Urbana Market Place Mall Farming Fields Cesar Pelli Solar Birthday Spalding Park Treescape N. Prospect St. Champaign Central High School Interstate 74 Stratton Elementary School Suburban Mansions Summer Solstice Sunset Suburban Champaign Winter Solstice Sunset
Little Dipper Constellation Gregory School July 9th (My Birthday) Sunset Summer Solstice Sunset Fall Equinox Sunset Max Abramovitz Solar Birthday Flight Path 2 Big Dipper Constellation North Neil St. UIUC Basketball Tip- Off Solar Location Randolph St. Class Instruction Ends Solar Location The Lodge on Hill
North Star
Follows the Grid
Active Public Spaces
Historic Cast-Iron Building State of Illinois Founding Sunset Nathan Ricker Solar Birthday Spring Equinox Sunset UIUC Founding Day Sunset Street Traffic
L1
Carle Foundation Hospital UIUC Founding Day Sunrise Memorial Stadium Foellinger Auditorium State Farm Center Central Illinois Trains North Suburban Champaign Campustown Jeanne Gang Solar Birthday Fighting Illini Kick-Off Solar Location South Neil St. Westside Park ISoA Founding Day Sunrise Historic Trainyards Winter Solstice Sunrise Carol Ross Barney Solar Birthday Hyatt Hotel Guidos Bar
Walnut St. Fall Equinox Sunrise Train Station ISoA Founding Day Sunset New Years Day Noon Completion of Illini Union Solar Location M2 Development Spring Equinox Sunrise Class Instruction Begins Solar Location Orphium Theater Flight Path 1 Henry Bacon Solar Birthday Champaign Plaza Views
KEY Solar Significant Room Orientation View Significant Room Orientation
VIEWS DIAGRAM
02 _ iNTERSECTED iNTERFACE Instructor: T.F. Tierney, Ph.D Course: ARCH 374 _ Arch Design and the City _ Spring 2018 Edward J. Earl Prize - 3rd Place
Date: 02-16-18 -- 05-04-18 Type: Individual Academic Work Location: Chicago, Illinois [West Loop]
The role of a library, which in the past emphasized knowledge as materiality, has been transformed through the auspices of the Internet. Today, the notion of a library is rapidly expanding into a digital media and tools space. ‘Intersected Interfaces’ is designed for the growing technology of the 21st century. In the West Loop, young millennials are moving in to live closer to their jobs that consist of mainly technological functions. This Mediatheque understands the technological ambitions of Chicago’s top 25 tech companies and creates a resources center for individuals to learn and grow into leadership positions in the technological industry. With creative intersections of pathways, overlapping/underlapping atrium space, open floor plans, and flexible room layouts, it is hopeful that people will meet each other and create conversation that spark innovative ideas that will become important to our society. MOTOROLA COMPANY GROUPON MORNINGSTAR ECHO GLOBAL LOGISTICS
AD TECH
GUARANTEED RATE
BIG DATA
CAREERBUILDER GOOGLE
COMMUNICATION
ENOVA
DIGITAL MEDIA
GOGO HERE TECHNOLOGIES
eCOMMERCE
COYOTE LOGISTICS
ENTERPRISE WEB
SALESFORCE SAP
FINTECH
GRUBHUB
HEALTHTECH
PEAPOD EPSILON
MARKETING TECH
CARS.COM
REAL ESTATE
TRUNK CLUB CCC
SOFTWARE
UPTAKE
TRANSPORTATION
YELP RELATIVITY
TRAVEL
BSWIFT CONVERSANT UBER CHICAGO
IN
INTERACTION
OFFICE
INTERACT
COMMON SPACE
READING ERACTION
ON
TECH INTERFACE INTER CTION TECH TECH COMMONTECH SPACE EXPLORATI ON ZONE EXHIBITON INTERCTIO
RT
DIGITAL S TATION COMM ON S PACE INFORMATION
SMA
MECHANICS
DATA STORAGE
INFORMATION
SPACE
CHECK OU T - RE T URN
LOG-IN -- ENTRANCE
STACKS
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ANALYTICS AUGMENTED REALITY AUTOMATION DIGITAL MEDIUMS FABRICATION HUMAN INTERACTION INTERFACE MEDICINE NANO-FACTORY ROBOTICS TRANSPORTATION
Proposed Interface
Sectional Void Exploration
3D Void Sequences With Overlapping Slabs
MODEL INTERIOR
Expand Voids Throughout Building
THE PHYSICAL VOID
Each program within this seven-story structure is a technological idea of the future. These programs are vertically connected through a series of complex atrium spaces that create an overlap and underlap of floor space. To stay economic with the square footage, all books and materials are stored in a deep basement that has an automatic book system deliver the material with drones. Having the large atrium space allows the drones to deliver the material to the requested user as needed. Additionally, information can be stored offsite to maximize the value of the property. Beyond the floor slabs and unique program of the structure, this Mediatheque is designed to promote engagement between users. The largest flaw of our technological society is the fact that people rather engage with their social media platform than engage with each other. Designing a library that is highly technological can easily amplify this problem. However, with creative intersections of pathways, open floor plans, and flexible furniture and room layouts, it is hopeful that people will meet and engage with each other to spark innovative ideas.
SECTION (EAST - WEST)
ELEVATION (SOUTH)
SECTION (SOUTH - NORTH)
28 - Office Space 29 - Private Research Space 30 - Classroom 31 - Classroom 32 - Greenscape 33 - Roof Deck
13 - Computational Development 14 - Artificial Intelligence 15 - Workspace 16 - Robotics Room 17 - Augmented Reality Studio 18 - AR Lab 19 - The Digital Experience 20 - Cinema Studio 21 - Featured Tech Space 22 - Storage 23 - New Fabrication Equipment 24 - Robotic Art + CNC Machine 25 - Fab Lab 26 - Featured Work Gallery 27 - Independent Research
1 - Mechanical Room 2 - Data Room 3 - Stacks 4 - Smart Space 5 - Drone Shoot 6 - Information Desk 7 - Interface Lounge 8 - Cafe 9 - Study Pod 10 - Tech Incubator 11 - Lecture Hall 12 - Networking Space
Drone Circulation Human Circulation
CIRCULATION DIAGRAM
02 _ P2 _ THE INTERFACE Instructor: T.F. Tierney, Ph.D Course: ARCH 374 _ Arch Design and the City _ Spring 2018 The noted Harvard theorist, Michael Hays, argues that the most important issue in contemporary architecture is the production of effects. ‘The Interface’ is a facade exploration that is reflective of my technological concept. The acrylic web design is an abstract representation of the internet and the connectivity amongst all sources within the world wide web. The vacuum formed underlay is a solidified bubble form. These bubbles reflect how the internet is always changing and adapting to the conditions of a particular moment in time (like bubbles in any medium they are formed in). These convex and concave “bubbles” process light in a unique matter. When this aesthetic is applied to the Mediatheque, it satisfies a unique effect and user experience.
03 _ AQUA MIRAGE Instructor: Erik Hemingway Course: ARCH 373 _ Arch Design and the Landscape _ Fall 2017
Date: 10-20-17 -- 12-05-17 Type: Individual Academic Work Location: Urbana, Illinois
‘Aqua Mirage’ is an interpretive center located within the Arboretum of the University of Illinois. This project explores the idea of transitional spaces in architecture. The interior program is a flexible public space that can function as an indoor art gallery or lecture room. This same space can quickly transition into an open, outdoor pavilion that can be used to explore and engage with the natural environment. On top of the programmatic consideration, ‘Aqua Mirage’ also utilizes curves and glass to seamlessly connect the built and unbuilt environments. The curves follow the contours of the site to maintain natural connectivity and transition. Additionally, the contours were carefully followed to leave little interruption to the existing site conditions (ex: Birch trees, waterline). With these design considerations, ‘Aqua Mirage’ create a transitional experience for any program that this interpretive center host.
INTERIOR GALLERY
TRANSITIONAL PAVILION
SECTION (EAST - WEST)
1 8 2 7
6 3
5
4
1. Men’s Restroom 2. Women’s Restroom 3. Staff Office 4. Multipurpose Gallery 5. Gallery Storage 6. General Facility Storage 7. Mechanical Room 8. Custodian Closet
ELEVATION (SOUTH)
EXTERIOR - WINTER CONDITION
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
GREEN ROOF – Creates a low environmental impact for the structure and the nearby pond WOOD PLANK ROOFING – Allows the structure to visually connect with the environment by creating a seamless transition of indoor/outdoor space MECHANICAL WINDOWS – The operable windows allows the structure to physically connect with the natural environment THE CENTRAL TREE – The building is constructed around an aged birch tree that acts as the center of axis for the entire structure PROJECTING VIEWS – The outward projecting views greatly change based on the sector the structure the user inhabits DECK SPACE – Portions of the exterior walls were strategically offset inward to create outdoor space within a controlled environment THE RAILING – Designed to become unnoticed amongst the structure. This allows the transition between environments to become unnoticed
04 _ SHIFTED SUSPENSION Instructor: T.F. Tierney Course: ARCH 374 _ Arch Design and the City _ Spring 2018
Date: 01-19-18 -- 02-07-18 Type: Individual Academic Work Location: Champaign, Illinois
‘Shifted Suspension’ is a novelty bookstore that is designed to contradict the growing use of media in the 21st Century. This structure understands the timeless characteristics books possess and aims to acknowledge their natural importance and beauty. This is done by suspending all the books on a diagonal, 5-story stack that appears artful, similar to Gordon Bunshaft’s ‘Beinecke Rare Book Library’. Having this suspension system allows the first floor to be inviting, dramatic and free of program. The formality of the building was derived from analyzing the figure ground of Downtown Champaign. The site is located at one of the cities most significant features, the shifted grid. This shift extends over the sidewalk to allow the program to read on the outside and interest pedestrians.
VACANT RESIDENTIAL INSTITUTIONAL COMMERCIAL
RETAIL FOOD/DRINK PROPOSED SITE
Vacant Residential Institutional Commercial
Retail Food/Drink Proposed Site
The figure ground shows that the site is located at one of Downtown Champaign’s most significant features: the shifting grid
Book Stacks Collab Space Magazine Display Flex Space Cafe Promotion Space Purchase Counter
SECTION (SOUTH - NORTH)
SECTION (EAST - WEST)
SECTION (WEST - EAST)
05 _ LIGHT CLOCK Instructor: David Emmons (TA: Vince Lee) Course: ARCH 272 _ Strategies of Architectural Design _ Spring 2017
Date: 02-15-17 -- 03-07-17 Type: Individual Academic Work Location: Champaign, Illinois
Light Clock expresses time through architecture with the use of daylighting, spatial definition, and historic resemblance. This structure is designed to have the sun enter through specific areas relative to the time of day. This lighting is directed with wedge-like panels oriented in a circular pattern throughout the structure. These wedges are carefully designed to illuminate specific spaces based on the time of day and function of the space. For example, the dining area is light in the morning hours and evening hours, the time this space would be utilized most. The lower layer of wedges directs morning light while the upper layer is utilized during the afternoon and evening. This allows the interior space to be functional for multiple hours throughout the day.
Concept model that studies the relationship between architecture and heavy vs. light formwork
SECTION (SOUTH - NORTH)
THRU MY LENS
ON MY TRAVELS
ASULEK2@ILLINOIS.EDU | 224-766-1116