DREW SUSZKO PORTFOLIO
SUMMER 2011
DREW SUSZKO UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI | DAAP Master’s Candidate | 2014 andrew.suszko@gmail.com 612.516.0083
STUDIOS
DIGITAL DESIGN STUDIES 4-15 16-23
ARTWORK 24-27
28-31
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING CENTER Site: Urban Intersection Program: K-4 School with Administration, Education, and Support Scale: 60,000 sf Model Scale: 1 inch / 8 feet Materials: Basswood, Chipboard, Paper, and Foam Resources: Adobe Illustrator, Revit Architecture
First Floor
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A. Classroom B. Auditorium / Gathering C. Media D. Parent Drop-Off E. Extended Learning Area
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1 inch = 16 feet
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GROUND FLOOR PLAN
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Ground Floor 1 inch = 16 feet
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
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A. Classroom E. Extended Learning Area F. Arts and Sciences G. Administration H. Cafeteria I. Gym J. Bus Drop-Off
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Outdoor Learning Civic Space Outdoor Below
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4 STUDIOS
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Embracing the dynamic zone in which it sits, the environmental learning center balances program with external forces. The school’s philosophy and curriculum stress external learning opportunities. But, the space available for open play is relatively limited. Bounded to the north by a heavily-trafficked commercial street and to the south
by a residential zone, the building responds in plan. As the school is central to civic institutions a large, public plaza is given back to the community and becomes an integral organizing element. Classrooms are situated in two bars framing a private, internal courtyard. Immediate access to the courtyard is gained off of
extended learning areas on the ground floor. On the first floor, external relief is provided in the form of roof-top gardens. An additional green roof is situated on the rooftops of the first floor. As such, the building invites the environment in and allows it to blossom on all available horizontal surfaces.
Green roof
SURFACE
SURFACE
SHELTERED INTIMATE VIEW TRAFFIC PARKING
SHELTERED INTIMATE VIEW TRAFFIC PARKING
RESIDENTIAL SOUTHERN LIGHT HISTORIC
WIND SOURCE MODERN BLOCK
EXPOSED
COMMERCE WIND EXIT
CHURCH
TRAFFIC INSTITUTION
NORTHERN LIGHT
NOISY PUBLIC
LOW ELEVATION BROAD VIEW INSTITUTION
support spaces staff spaces
COMMERCE WIND EXIT
CHURCH
buses
SURFACE PARKING
ALLEYS
HIGH ELEVATION
special education
admin
SHELTERED
outdoor space
buses buses
AFTERNOON LIGHT
lunch gym
SUMMER SHADE MORNING LIGHT
RESIDENTIAL SOUTHERN LIGHT HISTORIC waste WIND SOURCE drop off drop off play play play SUMMER SHADE AFTERNOON LIGHT MORNING LIGHT kindergarten 1st MODERN BLOCK SHELTERED media ALLEYS SURFACE outdoor HIGH ELEVATION joint learning PARKING EXPOSED 2nd public LOW ELEVATION 3rd 4th space BROAD VIEW
TRAFFIC INSTITUTION
NORTHERN LIGHT
NOISY PUBLIC
INSTITUTION
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING CENTER
6 STUDIOS
The interplay between external face and internal instruction is dramatized by a pair of tiered gathering spaces. Inside, the auditorium consists of a series of gradual elevation changes that serve as both seating platforms and a stair that addresses an elevation change on the site. Upon entering on the
first floor, students spill down the levels to the ground floor below. Beyond, the civic courtyard is a checker-boarded pocket park that provides a dedicated space for the community. Here, too, elevation change is addressed, but in a more playful manner, with platforms at irregular heights. This dynamism provides for a variety of spatial
and interpersonal interactions. Between the two, an undulating glass curtain wall allows northern light deep into the auditorium. This thin boundary allows the civic space to serve as a backdrop for student gatherings and vice versa.
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING CENTER
8 STUDIOS
The tectonic bay model explores the manner in which structural elements interact with more massive components across a section of the building proposal. Excavations into the thickened base address an elevation change over the course of the site. The auditorium is embedded into the earth, allowing access from the
everyday entrance on the first floor and providing a surface for lecture, individuaized instruction, or some other gathering. Structural supports stamp a rhythm along the extents of this zone and create an avenue for circulation through the building that splinters from this central node. This regular structure,
arrayed on two distinct grids, is the primary generator of form. In significant locales - such as in the administration office and on the public facade of the stairwell framing the plaza - the structure amasses to create organic surfaces that genuflect from one grid to another.
WELCOME CENTER Site: Rural Field Station Program: Administration, hospitality and education Scale: 11,000 sf Model Scale: 1 inch / 16 feet Materials: Basswood, Chipboard, Paper, and Foam Resources: Adobe Illustrator
10 STUDIOS
Filling the void between two existing structures - the farmhouse and a machine shed - new elements of program establish a more immediate connection amongst the units on the farmstead. Passageways direct movement away from the neighboring road and sever the connection to the outside
world. Instead, the new structure celebrates the isolation that the field station may afford. This is not a lonely place, though. Added to the complex are places for gathering: classrooms, an auditorium, a cafeteria, and a courtyard. All are composed around a centralized core, which both provides service and
dampens potential interruptions. Internal and external views continue to connect the spaces, with overlooks in multiple places, and internal windows allowing for continued interaction amongst the parts.
WELCOME CENTER
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A. Classroom B. Overlook C. Gallery D. Administration E. Restroom
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First Floor F
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E. Restroom F. Utility Shed G. Courtyard H. Auditorium I. Breakout Space J. Cafeteria K. Kitchen L. Welcome
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Existing Structures
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12 STUDIOS
The form of the American farm is the result of addition. The original farmhouse is extended, amended, and appended in response to the successive needs of each generation. Channeling this spirit, the administration and education arm of the UC Field Station expands from the existing farmhouse - a relic of earlier
occupation on the site. The newest iteration maintains the formal front of the old farm house, allowing the old exterior envelope to turn inward to pierce the interior. A centrally placed service core on two levels encourages circulation between the original farmhouse and the addition. The older portion contains welcome
spaces, administration offices and a gallery. The newer - an auditorium, two classrooms, a dining area, and a breakout space beneath the auditorium seats where the old exterior is presented as the new interior. On the exterior, a pocket space is the result of the new addition greeting an extent utility shed.
SCHOLAR’S RESIDENCE Site: UC Field Station Program: Small house for steward of field station Scale: 500 sf Model Scale: 1 inch / 8 feet Materials: Basswood and Chipboard
14 STUDIOS
Balancing stewardship and privacy, the scholar’s residence sits at the elbow between the welcome center and the research facility. This position allows the structure to serve as a hinge between the two zones of the greater complex. The residence hunkers against a large wall that runs north-south adjacent
to a major movement corridor on the site. To the south, the formal front entrance sits tucked behind this wall, in a comfortable nook that continues into the heart of the building. The northern and western portions embrace the woods beyond, and a complimentary courtyard is embedded behind the wall of this
private compound. Integrated into an interior bookshelf, a small staircase ascends from the lounge on the first floor to a sleeping and dressing area on the second. The residence is a quiet place for repose that is not too far removed from the other functions of the greater complex.
Southwest Corner
Southeast Corner
Northwest Corner
Northeast Corner
SHADE SCULPTURE ITERATION 1 TESSELATE POLY COUNT 200 CHAMFER FACE 0.295 CHAMFER FACE 0.357 POKE FACE TRANS X 0.13 POKE FACE TRANS Y -0.08 POKE FACE 0.0
Site: Urban Park Program: Shaded space for relaxation Scale: Variable Model Scale: 24 in x 24 in Materials: Bristol Paper and Chipboard Resources: Rhino, Maya, and Rapid Prototyping Laser
ITERATION 2 TESSELATE POLY COUNT 100 POKE FACE EXTRUDE FACE OFFSET 0.013 EXTRUDE FACE OFFSET 0.0
ITERATION 3 TESSELATE POLY COUNT 200 RANDOM SELECT RATIO 0.4 EXTRUDE FACE OFFSET 0.04 RANDOM SELECT RATIO 0.4 EXTRUDE FACE OFFSET 0.4 RANDOM SELECT RATIO 0.15 EXTRUDE FACE OFFSET 0.193
ITERATION 4 TESSELATE POLY COUNT 300 CUT FACE TOOL 16 EXTRUDE FACE OFFSET 0.03
16 DIGITAL DESIGN
This architecural sculpture is intended for use in an urban park, as a playful break from the conformity of the cityscape. The scultpure provides shelter without exclusion. Using Rhino and Maya, our team created a skin that juxtaposes elements of both order and disorder against the regularity of
the waffle structure below. Some faces are randomly cut, while others are regularly tesselated. The resultant is emblamatic of the fabric of the city. Overlaying it and the regular structure yields an expression of the urban condition, where life plays out, often unbounded, in opposition to the decree of regular form.
We created the model using a Beam Dynamics Laser. The base was generated in Rhino and is made from laser-cut chip board, canted off the true vertical axis to generate additional interest. The skin was created in Maya and is composed of laser-cut bristol paper.
SHADE SCULPTURE Painted Steel
Frosted Glass
Cor-Ten
Cor-Ten Panels
Brushed Metal
Concrete
18 DIGITAL DESIGN
We used Maya to rapidly explore the material possibilities for our sculpture. The final structure is composed of three primary elements: a massive base that forms the connection to the ground, a thin layer of glazing, and a more skeletal framework
that operates as shading. After experimenting with a variety of materials, our team decided on the combination of concrete and steel - highly processed materials that at once contrast and complement the urban context of the site. The sculpture is both massive
and delicate, enveloping and open. As such, the sculpture serves as a singular expression and still invites individual exploration, capturing the playful freedom afforded by open parkspace.
TRAFFIC ISLAND SCULPTURE Site: Suburban Business District Program: Scultpure to delineate movement Scale: 50 ft x 30 ft x 15 ft Materials: Digital Resources: Rhino, Maya, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop
20 DIGITAL DESIGN
An aerial view of Mount Lookout Square illustrates that the space is largely awash in pavement, with little linking the businesses that wring the square. In order to punctuate the bracketed northern end, our team proposes the insertion of a green shade sculpture. The sculpture creates a visual boundary at
the terminus of the square, accentuates the complexity of the vehicular system, provides a passageway for pedestrian traffic, and adds a much-needed element of vegetation to the current urban streetscape. For our design, we took the footprint of the triangular island at the north-eastern end of the square. Then, we extruded it
upward, to a height just below the traffic lights. Finally, we carved into the resultant triangular block using a module created by the crosswalk that sits just adjacent. Trimming the block using this module acknowledges the citizens of Mount Lookout as they pass through and shape the Square.
Shade Analysis
Solar Analysis
West Elevation
South Elevation
East Elevation
North Elevation
Top View
TRAFFIC ISLAND SCULPTURE
22 DIGITAL DESIGN
The dynamism of the site is captured in scultpural form. From the south, the end nearest the Square, the planes of grasscovered concrete occlude one’s view of the north, serving as a backdrop to the going’s-on of the Square. But, side elevations reveal that the sculpture is largely transparent, allowing for a visual
linkage across the median. The northern tail directs vehicuar traffic around the sculpture and into the center of the Square. Pedestrian traffic will be afforded partial enclosure with a brief period of remove from their surroundings. This brief sensory lapse allows for a contemplative space in an otherwise busy
district. Enclosing many, but not all of the form’s fragmented faces, the cast iron skin system interacts with the grassy planes beyond. The complexity of this design promotes closer exploration and will attract visitors to the business district and serve as a beneficial addition to Mount Lookout Square.
Grass
Tempered Glass
Concrete
Cast Iron
UC FIELD STATION LANDSCAPE INTERVENTION Model Scale: 15 in x 30 in x 3 in Materials: Paper and Basswood
24 STUDIES
Cutting, Folding, and Excavating a drawing of the existing force-lines on the site encouraged a multi-valent approach to laying out proposals for the property. The resulting design relic is bound by a series of joining methods that extrapolate the extant site conditions. Some of these joints articulate current
conditions, while others are completely invented. Close analysis allows for a better understanding of the elaborations at play. The arrangement strives for continuity amongst a variety of executions. This methodology would later inform not only the organization of the site, but also the tectonic forms of the
new buildings. The two are intertwined, much like the model, with building and landscape engaging in a holistic dialogue.
VOLUMETRIC COMPOSITIONS Model Scale: 8cm x 8cm x 8cm Materials: Plaster Resources: Google Sketchup
26 STUDIES
These three works play with the concept of mass, space, and volume. All three have the same exterior dimensions (8 cm x 8 cm x 8 cm), and all three are built on a cubic module measuring 1.6 cm a side. Using Google SketchUp, I designed the models that follow. From there, using Exacto blades, I carved each sculpture, removing
an identical mass of plaster. What remains are three variations on a common theme. Each of the cubes shares an identical amount of positive and negative space, though all three exhibit distinct, structural variations, an effect that is compounded by the variety of viewing angles afforded by such cubic masses. From Cube #1 to
Cube #3, the sculptures become progressively more complex in their arrangements. The brutality of the plaster compliments the cold geometry of the figures. That character is softened by the remnants of the carving process, which show as scoring and striations on the surfaces.
ASSORTED ARTWORK Loring Alley, Watercolor Weisman Study, Pencil Weisman in Winter, Watercolor
28 ARTWORK
ASSORTED ARTWORK Wells-Fargo Alight, Colored Pencil The Guthrie and The Mills, Pencil
30 ARTWORK
DREW SUSZKO PORTFOLIO
SUMMER 2011