Portfolio by Alyssa Reynolds

ALYSSA REYNOLDS ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN PORTFOLIO

SKILLS Revit - Rhino - InDesign - Illustrator - Photoshop - VRay - Lightroom - 3ds Max Hand Drawing - Watercolor

AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS HIENTZELMAN OUTSTANDING FIFTH YEAR DESIGN NOMINEE 2018 BOWMAN DESIGN FORUM NOMINEE 2015 Competition H&L EXCELLENCE IN ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING AND DESIGN SCHOLARSHIP 2016 CATHERINE BELL & GEORGE POMEROY SCHOLARSHIP 2015

AR ALYSSA REYNOLDS alyssadanielle@ksu.edu 301.575.7190

EXPERIENCE LAWRENCE GROUP ARCHITECTS, NYC Internship January 2017 - August 2017 HASTINGS ENTERTIANMENT & BOOKSTORE Manager May 2016 - August 2016

EDUCATION KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING & DESIGN Graduating May 2018 TRUMAN HIGH SCHOOL Graduated May 2013

ASSOCIATIONS COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE PLANNING AND DESIGN AMBASSADOR NATIONAL SOCIETY OF COLLEGIATE SCHOLARS NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY 1

CENTER FOR SELF EXPLORATION A MODERN MYTHOLGICAL ARCHITECTURE

CONTENTS

SUNSET FUNERARY CHAPEL A MEDITATION IN THE WOODS THE FALLS BREWERY & PUB A METAMORPHOSIS WATERCOLORS A SKETCH AND RENDERING STUDY

THESIS CENTER FOR SELF EXPLORATION A MODERN MYTHOLOGICAL ARCHITECTURE - According to Finnish Architect Juhani Pallasmaa, architecture mediates the cosmic and human scale, and shapes the confrontation of self and the world. This project explores that conï¬&#x201A;ict through mythology, using the hero cycle as an architectural expression of existential dread and hope of resurection.

SITE ANALYSIS The site is situated between various artistic disciplines on campus; dance, theater, music, and the visual arts all represented in the surrounding buildings. In addition to the programmatic forces, the site is quiet and peaceful at all times of the day. Its close proximity to two intimate courtyards and a large green space encourage this tranquil atmosphere. Circulation through the site is minimal currently, with the primary paths leading up through unnatractive hardscapes. This proposal seeks to alter the primary circulation along a more aesthetically engaging path.

SITE VIGNETTES - RIGHT Re-imagining the circulation through campus. Engaing the green spaces and placing sculpture to be discovered along the way

CONTEXT AESTHETIC

CURRENT SITE CIRCULATION

PROPOSED MASTER PLAN

PROGRAM An analysis of the site determines the program must be both artistic and peaceful in nature. The calming presence of the site makes it ideal for counseling services, which is in need of a new space. The college counseling center requires more space, and a healing environment. Currently they are sharing space with the english department; with 4/5 college students suffering from some form of mental distress, and the leading cause of death on college campuses being suicide - the service needs its own space. The new center will incorporate art & movement therapy, traditional counseling offices, a recital hall which will serve both counseling services and the community, an art gallery, and a sculpture garden. 11

ART THERAPY - LEFT Vignette depicting an art therapy space: natural lighting, ability for privacy or interaction as desired. COUNSELING OFFICE - RIGHT Vignette depicting a counseling space. Natural light and views to natural elements. Double-skin facade creates a comforting envelope in the healing spaces; intimately sized without being compressive.

MYTHOLOGY

‘THE SHAPE OF TIME’ Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa describes architecture a constant mediator for the ‘confrontation of self and the world,’ what is the confrontation of self and th world and how can it be understood? The earliest analysis of the human condition lies in mythology, and the division of sacred and profane time, with ritual mediating the schism. Through centuries of philisophical discussion and scientiﬁc inquiry, we have come to understand the biological processes involved in perception of art and space. Embodied simulaiton theory in modern neuroscience is accepted as fact due to our unique place in linear time, and has become our modern mythology for the confrontation of self and the world.

SACRED, MYTHOLOGICAL TIME is cyclical through ritual.

PROFANE TIME is linear, and cannot be recreated

‘THE HERO’S JOURNEY’

FOURTH THRESHOLD ‘freedom to live’

THIRD THRESHOLD ‘resurection’

FIRST THRESHOLD ‘the descent’

SECOND THRESHOLD ‘supreme ordeal’

CONCEPT “I SENSE THRESHOLD, LIGHT TO SILENCE, SILENCE TO LIGHT, THE AMBIENCE, INSPIRATION, WHERIN THE DESIRE TO BE, TO EXPRESS, CROSSES WITH THE POSSIBLE” - LOUIS KAHN

ARCHITECTURE AS STORY The unifying thread between each analysis of the confrontation of self and the world is story. How can architecture embody a story, and what story does it want to tell? For this site and program, the jungian hero cycle archetype is appropriate. How can the architecture embue a sense of conﬁdence in someone who did not bring it to the site? How can architecture deal with existential dread and the hope of resurection? The answer lies in architectural exploration of archetypes and human emotion. This project creates a series of atmospheres that inﬂuence aesthetic experience througn consideration of circulation, threshold, and light.

SECTION - NORTH FACING

‘ENTER’ VIGNETTE - LEFT Perspective sketch depicting entrance into the new construction side of project. Begins the archetypal experience for both the gallery and recital hall spaces.

“DECEND” VIGNETTE - RIGHT First threshold of the archetypal hero cycle. Decent into sacred, underworld is emphasised atmospherically through reduction of light and compression of space.

GROUND FLOOR

RECITAL HALL LEVEL (SUB HALF)

RECITAL HALL

‘TRAVERSE’ VIGNETTE - LEFT Perspective sketch demonstrating the compressive nature of the approach to the recital hall.

‘RECITAL HALL’ - RIGHT Traditional greek style ampitheater, responds to the axis mundi of the occulus, responding in a ripple affect to the ancient modern dialectic. The traditional nature of the theater design sets a ritual for the space, allowing it to jump from profane to sacred time.

GALLERY LEVEL (SUB GRADE)

RESURECT

GALLERY LEVEL - BELOW The gallery space is all sub-grade. This allows for diﬁnitive moments of light from above, to denote sacred space and create a sacred, uplifting and hopeful atmosphere. The occulus serves as a spatial organizer for the parti - and is the diﬁnitive moment of ancient modern dialectic within the scheme. ‘RESURECT’ - RIGHT Sketch rendering imagining what the occulus space should feel like. Uplifting, with a focus on the sky. Historically, light from above has been used to mark sacred places, and mankind has alwats looked ot the sk yin a religious manner. Mircea Eliade’s ‘The Sacred & The Profane’ Discusses axis mundi as paramount in marking sacred, ritualistic space - the occulus is axis mundi to the Center for Self Exploration

THOMPSON HALL RENNOVATION

RENNOVATION TO RUIN Thompson Hall will be gutted, and a new installation placed within its walls. This move is to reveal Thompson as a ruin, and juxtapose the idea of death and decay with new life growing within. This new construction will house the counseling rooms, both traditional and art and movement therapy centered. The new construction is pulled away from the old walls of Thompson, to emphasise it as a ruin, while providing a double layer around counseling services.

CONCLUSION “ARCHITECTURE ARTICULATES PRIMARY HUMAN EXPERIENCES OF BEING IN THE WORLD... THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL ENCOUNTER MEDIATED BY ARCHITECTURE IS THE CONFRONTATION OF SELF AND THE WORLD. ALL OTHER FORMS OF ART ACTIVATE MOMENTARILY THESE FUNDAMENTAL EXISTENTIAL DIALECTS, BUT ARCHITECTURE STRUCTURES THEM AS OUR PERMANENT CONDITION OF LIFE.” - JUHANI PALLASMAA

ARCHITECTURE AS STORY The program determined by forces present on the site requires a sensitive understanding of perception in architecture. Looking back to mythology as a guide for understanding the human condition in the world and its architectural expression, this design follows the archtypal hero cycle to create an atmosphere that is intensely engaging and intimate to ones state of being in the world. This ancient-modern dialectic is achieved through analysis of archetypes and human emotion on a biological level. Careful consideration of light, circulation, and systems to manipulate aesthetic experience following these rules creates an architecture in tune with the existential human condition.

TWO SUNSET FUNERARY CHAPEL A MEDITATION IN THE WOODS - This project is an analysis of linear procession, both physically and metaphorically. The parti is arranged to follow the sun and track it as a daily expression of the passage of time. Physically the building is constructed in a way that encourages silence, and internal contemplation, achieved through deliberate breaks in circulation and light.

SITE ANALYSIS The site is situated on a large green expanse with a steep slope to a grove of trees. This project engages the slope by stretching out into the trees as the earth drops away. Approach to the building is detailed around the idea of ritual and procession, down to how one drives onto the site, parks their car and follows the long path into the building and the trees.

SITE CIRCULATION

PARTI The form of the building responds to the site both in terms of views and the sun. The main chapel, gathering space looks out over a reďŹ&#x201A;ecting pool and to a grove of trees, with long planar walls extending far past the inhabitable parts of the building as a means of drawing the eye and the mind out into nature. The small chapel for private meditation sites apart, and adjacent to the best view of the woods. The break in the long path to the small chapel indicates its ritualistic signiďŹ cance as this is the only time the body turns halfway in the entire plan.

PLAN

SECTION - NORTH FACING

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;TIMEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Building oriented to follow the natural course of the setting sun, both for architectural understanding of passage of time as shadows pass through the hall, and to best capture the evening light in the small chapel

SECTION - WEST FACING

MEDITATION “ARCHITECTURE HAS ITS OWN REALM. IT HAS A SPECIAL PHYSICAL RELATIONSHIP WITH LIFE. I DO NOT THINK OF IT PRIMARILY AS EITHER A MESSAGE OR A SYMBOL, BUT AS AN ENVELOPE AND BACKGROUND FOR LIFE WHICH GOES ON IN AND AROUND IT, A SENSITIVE CONTAINER FOR THE RHYTHM OF FOOTSTEPS ON THE FLOOR, FOR THE CONCENTRATION OF WORK, FOR THE SILENCE OF SLEEP.” - PETER ZUMTHOR

MINDFULNESS IN ARCHITECTURE A place for mourning does not need to be solemn and dark, nor should it be too lively and stimulating. This scheme quiets the mind through an enhanced connection to the world. Simple materials with rich tactile quality, and the motion of natural light throughout the day, and a push-pull relationship with the landscape where one feels as part of the woods and the building simulataneously work to create powerful aesthetic quality. The echo of footfalls on hard stone, the wind in the trees and the soft sounds of water all ask a quiet reverence of the participant.

MAIN CHAPEL- IMMEDIATE RIGHT Vignette studying what the main chapel for group gatherings should feel like.

MAIN CHAPEL

JOURNEY

‘JOURNEY’ Perspective watercolor depicting the path down to the small chapel for solitary meditation ‘MEDIATATION’ - RIGHT Rendering showing photo real quality of the small chapel for private meditation. Opaque and translucent panels in the glass provide a dappled shadow effect as if standing under a tree.

‘MEDITATION’

“EVERY BUILDING MUST HAVE... ITS OWN SOUL.” - LOUIS KAHN

CONCLUSION “EVERY BUILDING MUST HAVE... ITS OWN SOUL.” - LOUIS KAHN

MINDFULNESS IN ARCHITECTURE Mindfullness in architecture occurs when a person is brought to focus on things outside themselves; the movement of natural light across a stone wall, the sound of water and trees. This scheme focues on extension of the soul into nature through the uniﬁcation of architecture and landscape. Quiet, simple moves with a sensitivity to the troubled mind are all that is required to set up procesion and atmosphere.

THREE THE FALLS BREWERY & PUB A METAMORPHOSIS - This proposal formed from a synthesis of public and private house sequences. The metamorphosis of the brewing process interacts with the public house through the ďŹ nished product, this synthesis is celebrated through interplay of light and volume through the sequence of public spatial experience.

SITE ANALYSIS Cottonwood Falls is a small town in central Kansas, located south of the Tallgrass Prairie Reserve. The town sees several art festivals, and various community events throughout the year. The design of the Falls Brewery should designate an icon for the town - while celebrating local brew.

SITE ANALYSIS Site ideally placed for iconic building to bring identity to the night skyline of the town.

WEST ELEVATION

METAMORPHOSIS “BUILDING ART IS A SYNTHESIS OF LIFE IN MATERIALISED FORM. WE SHOULD TRY TO BRING IN UNDER THE SAME HAT NOT A SPLINTERED WAY OF THINKING, BUT ALL IN HARMONY TOGETHER.” - ALVAR AALTO

A FORMAL ANALYSIS The structure forms itself around the intersection of the brewing process and the commercial transaction of the consumption spaces. The gravity fed brewing process requires a strong vertical element and the dining and bar want to be apart. Each programmatic element gets its own space, and the moments of intersection of processes are celebrated with light.

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

ENTRANCE

BAR LEVEL (SUB GRADE)

BAR

SECOND LEVEL

DINING

CONCLUSION “YOU CAN’T REALLY SAY WHAT IS BEAUTIFUL ABOUT A PLACE, BUT THE IMAGE OF THE PLACE WILL REMAIN VIVIDLY WITH YOU” - TADAO ANDO

METAMORPHOSIS This proposal formed from a synthesis of systemns. The metamorphosis of the brewing process, and the metamorphosis of the commercial interaction with the product, and a celebration of the intersecting processes. The celebration occurs where light illuminates both the brewing process down to the bar, and the glowing beacon of the dining area. The light box serves as an icon for both the brew and the street.

ART WATERCOLORS A HOBBY - Began watercolor painting in October of 2017 as a way to render atmosphere into drawings - it has since developed into a passion outside of the realm of architectural presentation.

‘GRANDMA - A MEMORY’ 54

‘WISDOM’ 55

‘DIESEL’

‘SPIRIT OF THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST: CHIEF’

‘SPIRIT OF THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST: WARRIOR’ 56

‘PHILLY SKYLINE’ 57

‘LA REINE’

‘STALKING TIGER’ 58

AR THANK YOU ALYSSA REYNOLDS alyssadanielle@ksu.edu 918 Osage St, Manhattan KS 816.820.2930

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