ALEXA THORNTON Por tfolio
ALEXA THORNTON EDUCATION
Bachelor of Architecture Landscape Architecture Minor University of Oregon June 2019
CONTACT
Alexa.L.Thornton@gmail.com 503 - 913 - 7784 I believe in approaching design with compassion and wish to pursue a lifelong career in the humanization of the built environment and balancing that with natural systems. As climate change exacerbates the landscape of disparity, I believe it also offers opportunities to rethink norms in design. This portfolio shows my approach to different scenarios presented in studios. They often involve the strong presence of a public ground, emphasis on community, and designing with understanding and directly responding to context.
CONTENTS
Rockwood Sunrise Puerto Rico Planning Portland Crystal Cluster Dexter Boat House Millrace Reimagined
Fostering a variety of social connections
A center for celebration, shelter, and community
The heart of the building Revit, Photoshop
Sharing tools for personal discovery and development
ROCKWOOD SITE :
Rockwood, Gresham, Oregon TYPE :
Community center and library SCOPE :
80,000 sq. ft.
SUNRISE
The Sunrise embraces the Rockwood community through form, flows, and a strong sense of identity. It provides a much needed social, educational, and psychological resource to a neglected neighborhood. Public spaces are increasingly vital for communities’ prosperity, especially in the suburban Rockwood neighborhood where development is lacking and the built environment puts an already vulnerable population at a disadvantage. The Sunrise provides relief from the harsh landscape by responding to the context and drawing from a kit of parts to create a warm space and sense of community. The building uses curving forms to “capture” and “bounce” a user towards the heart of the building, encouraging exploration, playful interaction, and stimulating informal social connections. Establishing social infrastructure is essential for community support and self empowerment. This project began as a library but evolved through understanding how modern libraries are used and needed today. The ground floor is the most public and informal zone, with most of the area acting as an interior plaza for gathering, working, and socializing. Public services are lined along the south by Burnside for public accessibility and visibility. A kitchen and cafeteria along the SE wing provide food and job security and the children’s wing is directly across the green space and courtyard. Lofted above the ground floor are private meeting rooms, classrooms, and more open social spaces. The third floor contains books, computers, a maker-space and teen area. The floor plates open up in spots to allow visibility natural light to flow down.
WHO IS ROCKWOOD? Rockwood is Portland’s youngest and most diverse suburb. Many families are immigrants living in multigenerational households. Simply looking at the numbers and listening to the people gives a clear idea that Rockwood needs access to support and opportunities for empowerment. A democratic and empathetic space can change lives.
70
spoken languages at home
25 %
of families live in poverty
13 %
unemployment rate
50 %
of students do not graduate on time
90%
of children receive free/reduced lunch
Gen Z 25%
Millennial 31%
Gen X 26%
Boomer 18%
WHAT ARE THEY SAYING? “[Rockwood needs] a real civic space. A space for everyone, that belongs to everyone, and is reserved for no one.” Community feedback from Oct. 15th, 2016
“[...] a place is needed where people could meet with each other face to face.” Dina Dinucci, excerpt from Rockwood Stories
Gresham Site Highway 2 mile radius Major roads Park
1 mile radius MAX Station
School
Multifamily housing Commercial Portland
WHAT’S MISSING?
A place to gather
A place to explore
A place to connect
A place to grow
A place to belong
A place to relax
THE FORM A simple diagram of curves (4) started by observing the site in person and seeing how people moved, mainly by foot, and understanding what was missing from the community. The building form naturally progressed into a structure that uses curves as a means of guidance and embrace. Psychologically, curves activate the “comfort” part in the brain. Studies show curves make people feel safe, balanced, and peaceful. Curves limit corners, enhance sight lines, offer a hug, and stimulate movement.
Collaged process sketches
Gresham: mapping nodes and movement
1
Rockwood: mapping nodes and movement
2
Neighborhood: movement around site
3
Site: response to contextual forces, push and pull to create a hub
4
Massing and major moves to create interior and exterior flows
5
Aligning to a structural grid, inspiring movement and embrace
6
Identifying public and private zones
7
Pieces placed for an exploratory experience
8
Providing a dynamic space with a variety of openness
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
2 5 3
4 6
7 8 9
11
12
Context Massing Rhino, Illustrator
10
“FROM A PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE, THIS PROJECT CAPTURES WHAT ROCKWOOD NEEDS, A NURTURING ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL.” Josh Fuhrer, Executive Director of the Gresham Redevelopment Commission
Pedestrian view of green space Revit, Photoshop
1
Detached single family housing
2
Apartment complex
3
Vehicle and pedestrian book drop and deliveries
4
Skylights for natural daylighting and ventilation
5
Community green space, building opened up for Mt. Hood views
6
Service zone
7
Public services tucked in and green strip providing refuge from the street
8
Main entrance, responding from point of heaviest traffic
9
MAX stop, heavily used
10 Burnside Street 11
Rockwood Rising, contains market, small businesses, and apartments
12 Commercial buildings
Pedestrian view along Burnside Revit, Photoshop
EVERYONE IS A PART OF THE WHOLE The success of community oriented buildings depends not only on the design, but on the care and relationship the users have with it. The Rockwood Sunrise not only celebrates the communities love of color, but also celebrates everyone’s lives, thoughts, and creations. The concept of curves is furthered through the modular furniture pieces. Seating, shelving, and half walls are broken down into three shapes that fit together in countless combination to create a multitude of spaces. These pieces are decorated with ceramic tiles that have been painted by memebers of the Rockwood community. They are cheap, easily to create, replace, and give a sense of ownership and unique identity to the Sunrise.
2.5’
5’
10’
A RESOURCE, A CENTER, A REFUGE, A COMFORT, A COMMUNITY.
Second floor
Revit, Photoshop, Illustrator
First floor
Revit, Photoshop, Illustrator
Entry view of front desk Revit, Photoshop
Flooded bock interior view Rhino, Photoshop
PUERTO RICO PLANNING SITE :
San Juan, Puerto Rico TYPE :
Master planning SCOPE :
37 acres
Block concept section Hand sketch
Embracing inevitable natural forces exacerbated by climate change is key to resilient design. To design a flexible and adaptable neighborhood in Puerto Rico, the built environment must engage the natural environment with a “soft edge”. In the city of San Juan, an informal settlement grew along a mangrove marsh by the Martin Peña Channel. The channel connects two lagoons that empty into the surrounding coral reefs. As the settlement grew into a neighborhood, the channel shrunk in size as people built homes and debris slowly filled the waterway. Mangroves started to disappear and the area soon became a health hazard as it would flood 2’ - 3’ seasonally and water stagnated. In the next 100 years the site will be under 6’ of water. Addressing these concerns, I propose a modular system of units stacked on a block around a courtyard that becomes increasingly porous towards the channel. The ground floor is open aired with spaces for temporary shops and businesses when not flooded. Above, housing units are stacked with front porches facing the interior courtyard. Public life is lifted off the street by providing platforms, squares, and stairs that accommodate different flooding conditions. A series of walls and half walls are incorporated in the ground plane to encourage and protect mangrove regrowth. The Martin Peña Channel is widened and given a buffer of mangroves to protect the urban fabric from storm surges and erosion. Creating a interweaving gradient of systems allows for a rich community and experience that is unique to the site.
Site
Site
Site
San Juan
Flood zone
Zones
Estuary system water movement
Water current (varies)
Water intake
The site sits on the edge of the Martin PeĂąa Channel, a critical part of the greater San Juan Estuary System.
Originally a mangrove marsh, the site oods often, eroding the land due to the loss of vegetation for human inhabitation.
The design process starts with dividing the landscape into zones between the urban fabric and natural system.
Site flooding Martin Peña Channel Street / canal Mangrove buffer 3’ flood extent
Site gradient Absorptive edge Stage 3 block dissolve Stage 2 block dissolve Stage 1 block , urban edge
Unit modules 1 - 4 bedroom Party walls
Block sequences
Block sequence section
Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator
Site flooding diagrams
Stage 3 block
Rhino, Photoshop
12’ Category 5 storm surge 6’ 100 Year sea level rise 3’ Annual flooding
Rethink housing... rethink program... create vertical neighborhoods provide green space accessible healthcare nearby employment enourage commerce reinforce education support food security
Preliminary concept diagram Illustrator
PORTLAND CRYSTAL CLUSTER SITE :
Portland Southwest Waterfront, Oregon PARTNER :
Scarlet Weaver TYPE :
Mixed use, high rise
Predicting the future is impossible. The world is in the process of great change environmentally, socially, and politically. It is not the job of a designer to predict the future - it is the responsibility of a designer to dream it. In this dream, the design of a building complex empowers the users. People are regularly disempowered by our built environment. Quality of life depends on access to opportunities, and those opportunities are made possible through architecture. The design of this conceptual complex achieves attainable equality through a community and social interaction focus, green spaces for reconnection with nature, and the use of color for the reconnection of self expression and equality for all colors. The goal of this project was to create a colorful place where people are happy and healthy in it, with easy access to services that fulďŹ ll their biological and social needs. This project was born from a place of frustration, and in two studio peers having the same idealistic goals. Scarlet and I joined forces in the middle of the term and combined our ideas for a bold, nature based, micro-community design. In our early morning charrettes, we discovered the awesome power of working with a like-minded, passionate team.
Building massing concept
Site section
Rhino, Illustrator
The Crystal Cluster focuses on effective public spaces tucked within a predominately residential tower. The vertical neighborhoods have their own green spaces and shared public oors connecting the alternating green atrium. The base of the tower contains commercial units in order to keep necessities accessible. Color and form is used as means of way-ďŹ nding and inspiring playfulness. Site plan
Atrium gardens
Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator
Concrete core for shear bracing
CLT floor plate for support and sustainability
Steel columns support
Double skin to allow for natural ventilation
Section perspective
Section model, Photoshop
DEXTER BOATHOUSE SITE :
Lowell State Park, Oregon TYPE :
Recreational facility
Dexter lake is well known for the beautiful surrounding landscape and nearby forests. A new community center and boathouse celebrates the local beauty by keeping a simple form, using local materials, and giving expansive views to every user. The facility is simple in design, with a level open to the community and a level underneath exclusively for the teams and storage. Openings in the main public oor allows people to view the elegant form of the shells. Additionally, glazed walls and a large deck allow visitors to view the lake and frequent races. The building is situated into the sloping landscape and elongated east-west to take advantage of daylighting. The placement of the facility not only offers views of the entire lake, but also replaces existing derelict structures without intruding into a nearby meadow and woods.
Design principles
Recreational Parking Forested
The building rests between zones.
Pedestrian traffic Car traffic
The facility absorbs users, acting as the heart of the site.
Views out Views in
The main floor offers a full view of the lake and landscape.
N
Summer sun Winter sun
The placement and elongation of the building takes advantage of daylighting.
North elevation
Autocad, Photoshop
Site topography
The building sits into the land, taking advantage of the slope by reinforcing and stepping down with it.
Existing site Existing structures
The new facility replaces preexisting run-down structures as a means of site repair.
706’
B
B 704’
A
A
702’
700’ 3
698’
+/- 695’ - 696’ APPROXIMATE LAKE LEVEL B
B
A
A
Lower floor: storage, locker rooms
Main floor: community room, classrooms, gym
Autocad, Photoshop
Autocad, Photoshop
1 LOBBY 2 OPEN TO SHELL STORAGE 3 CLUB ROOM 4 VIEWING DECK 5 PUBLIC BATHROOMS 6 KITCHEN 7 MEETING ROOM 8 ACCESS TO SHELL STORAGE 9 TEAM OFFICES 10 ERG AND EXERCISE ROOM 11 CLASSROOM
West elevation
Autocad, Photoshop
2
Site study | Concept art
Hand painting, India ink on vellum
MILLRACE REIMAGINED SITE :
Riverfront Research Park, Oregon TYPE :
Landscape, master planning SCOPE :
44 acres
In the process of reimagining a part of the University of Oregon campus and waterfront park, special attention was paid to how water moves throughout the site. It started with creating a visual vocabulary and translating that to what exists and what could exist. The waterway that runs through the site, the Millrace, is currently in unpleasant conditions and receives little to no interaction with the public despite its rich history. This concept proposes a variety of native landscaping, human movement, and water management to activate and restore the land. The Millrace is kept natural in places were healthy habitat is found and aided where it is not. Planting native plants helps manage water health as well as reintroducing wetland and marsh. The new Millrace’s aim is to return clean, ďŹ ltered water back into the Willamette River. The waterway is celebrated nearby the University campus, with viewing decks, steps into the water, and boardwalks. Creating and interweaving public places with rainwater management strategies serves both the human and natural world. Every space on site serves a purpose.
Site vocabulary
Hand sketches
Churning
Channeling
Running
Ebbing
Trickling
Rippling
Swelling
Moments at millrace
Native oak savanna and path
Seasonal wetland
Steps to millrace
Millrace walking path
Bike parking
Filtering
Sitting
Flowing
Dripping
Meandering
Draining
Seeping
Stirring
Streaming
Willamette River section perspective Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator
Water movement
Millrace section perspective Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator
Water movement