Alex Collins Portfolio by AlexCollins2

Portfolio

Alex Collins

Selected Works

Taliesin West Valley Campus

Renewing the Identity of The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture

rofessor Michal Ojrzanowski

Fall 2023 | Scottsdale, AZ

South Asian Exchange Center

A New Cultural Center for Chicago’s South Asian Community

Professor Jennifer Park

Fall 2024 | Chicago, IL

The Greenway

Mixed-use Development for Baltimore’s Disenfranchised

Professor Ryan Roark

Fall 2024 | Baltimore, MD

A Climbing Gym and Fieldhouse for Bronzeville Residents

Professor Trent Fredrickson

Fall 2022 | Chicago, IL

Exploration of Wood Joinery

Professor Camille Yu

Spring 2023 | Yusuhara, Japan

01 Taliesin West - The Valley

Fall 2023

Software

Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator, Hand Drawn Techniques

Fourth Year Instructor Partners - Ethan Phillips, Omar Mansur Professor Michal Ojrzanowski

A proposal for a new campus for the redevelopment of the Taliesin School of Architecture in the Sonoran Preserve, our foremost goal was to limit the footprint of our campus to leave wildlife undisturbed. Furthermore, we aimed to use natural means to cool the campus, creating a hospitable environment in which the preserve can be appreciated from afar without its disruption. The use of excavation was essential to containing campus life, while the gradual lowering into immersive walls naturally cools the campus.

Conceptually, the procession of the campus represents the culmination of the architectural journey. There are four main plazas, with buildings related to conceptual work at the beginning such as the library, the studios for progression of work, the shops in the developmental areas, finally culminating to the gallery in which the work is displayed. Simultaneously, the walls begin at a similar grade to the surrounding mountain, but as one progresses through the campus the mountain slopes at a higher pace than the user, engulfing them into the valley.

• NextGEN Tekton

Featured Work in Exhibition

• Dwight T. Black Scholarship Finalist

Axonometric Overall View of Valley

of Subtraction Plaster Conceptual Models

Initial Studies 1/4’ = 1’ - 0”

Language

Sand Casting Construction Process Diagram

Site Plan and Section 1:200

and Library Plan

Studio - Exterior and Interior

Visualization

Sectional Model 1/4” = 1’ - 0”

02 South Asian Exchange Center

The South Asian Community has historically had a broader cultural identity while simultaneously having distinct regional identity. Recent history however has demonstrated a concerning trend towards a secular society, with increasing tensions between countries, religions, and cultures. The increasing tensions result in avoidance, a lack of understanding of other people and their values.

The South Asian Exchange Center recognizes the social aspects of the diverse culture such as food, films, and festivals within Southern Asia. Rather than seeking a unity through political means, it instead aims to humanize cultures through social interaction in an integrated set of programs, and universal design language.

Initial

Studies Sketches

Fifth Year Instructor Individual Professor Jennifer Park

Fall 2024 Software

Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator, Lumion

Exploded Axonometric Overview

Universal Geometry

Fractals are a common pattern in both Indian and Pakistani cultures. These geometric self repeating patterns are commonly used in the temple structures and layouts in both cultures. The application of them to the column structure demonstrates the social unity under one roof.

Gallery Organization Diagram

Floor Plans 1/64” = 1’ - 0”

Elevation and Section Perspective 1/32” = 1’ - 0”

Cultural Center - Interior and Exterior

Visualization

Detail Shot

Visualization

03 NOMA 2024 - The Greenway

Fall 2023

Software

Rhino, Photoshop, Illustrator

Instructor Competition Ryan Roark

Lead

Supporting Leads

Renders

Linework Drawings

Diagrams

Video

8 Person Group

Jlees Ahmed Abbey Heichel, Alex Collins

Moises Enciso, Alex C, Alex Sanchez

Jlees, Harini Ogoti, Alex S, Abbey Alex C, Rushali Joshi

Caleb Kwok, Alex S, Abbey, Harini

West Baltimore’s US 40, locally known as the “Highway to Nowhere,” split a predominately black neighborhood during the US’s Highway development, a common pattern across the country. In response to recent proposal’s for public transit such as the red line bus station, we were assigned an urban planning proposal to utilize the proposed bus station, an existing Ice Factory, and include new amenities such as housing, a community hall, landscaping, and public services.

2 | Created Greenway

3 | Carved Out Blocks and Courtyards

Sketches

Typical Housing Block Plan and Diagram

Superblock

Referencing the ‘Superblocks’ of Barcelona’s city grid, we created zones in which the pedestrian experience was prioritized. Unifying each block was the promenade which angles to each node on the site, providing clear paths between each significant service and landmark. These generous boulevards also allowed for extensive landscaping and secondary connections, such as walkways to create nature trails reminiscent of a hiking trail and raised catwalks connecting residential blocks on all levels.

Typical Path Diagrams

Junction Diagrams

Exhibit Platform Diagrams Gathering Diagrams

Phytoremediation Diagrams and Research

Landscaping in Phases

The Ice Factory in the north block is a brown field, meaning it is unsuitable for human habitation. Unlike the highways, our solution aims to be community driven based on their needs. The proposed approach utilizes modules and procession over time to extract contaminates. The modules use several social programs and ratios of natural to man made to create a continuous path throughout the entire site. The proposed vegetation is local and able to absorb the contaminants in the first phase. The slightly elevated walkways allow for safe viewing while the area is transformed into a park. Once this area is decontaminated, it can be re purposed or remain the same based on community needs.

Site Plan and Section 1:100

N. PAYSON ST.

W. MULBERRY ST.

W. FRANKLIN ST.

Exterior Walkway Transit Hub Plaza

Housing Block

Museum of Infrastructural Racism Ice Factory Catwalks Between Buildings Housing

04 Veiled Climbing Gym

Exploring the nature of the void to hollow out occupiable space, this exploration through models examines the spatial qualities that can be created through observing space through what is taken out rather than what is built. The form resolved to be a veiled diagrid structure that covers the core within that becomes the climbing gym, both inside and out. The roped climbing occupies the external space and walls of the core, while the inner portions of the core introduce climbing as a means of circulating and progressing through the stages of the gym.