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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute School of Architecture
Close up of Physical Model
Perforated Skin Diagram
Left Section Physical Model
Facade Section
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Team Member: Liz Saunier
MUSEUM OF IMAGE AND SOUND
The development of this project is appropriated and elaborated from its original schematic phase as designed by Diller, Scofidio + Renfro. The intent is to capture the energy and motion of Rio de Janeiro while bringing all social classes together in an exhibition of culture. Therefore, our personal design focus is the series of ramps and stairs that extend the Copacabana promenade and filter pedestrians into the building. By incorporating a parametrically modeled, perforated metal skin, the building serves as an observation tool of not only its interior exhibitions, but the city landscape and its people as well.
Casa en Tunquen Basswood Model
Residential Block Diagram - Visual Continuity and Discontinuity
GENERATIVE ANALYSIS: FOUR HOUSE COMPLEX This design developed four conceptually related residential units, based of a conceptual platform drawn from a case study analysis of Rodrigo Aguilar’s Casa en Tunquen. Aguilar’s design organizes the residential volume into private and public spaces through a folding pleat, and allows visual continuity with the surrounding landscape. Translating these concepts into a four-house complex, the folding aesthetic was maintained. The behavior of the pleats of each house is reciprocally defined with the folds of its adjacent houses, conserving visual continuity between the public areas, while having the private spaces closed off.
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WRISTBAND DAILY ACTIVITY LOG ORIGINAL PRODUCT:
PEDOMETER
DISPLAYING INFORMATION
- Displays data such as steps, distance, calories burned and heart rate
Reset Button LCD Screen
- Color spectrum diagrams the user’s activity through a condensing time scale
Microchip Battery Hairspring
- Customizable color scheme
Lever Arm Back Casing/Clip
- Customizable spectrum patterns
PROBLEM DEFINITION PRIORITIZED FUNCTIONS Motivation Tool Activity Log
DESIGN SPECS Wearable Accurate Customizable Durable
TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC
KEY COMPONENTS ACCELOROMETER
- Precise motion sensor - Efficient size - Withstands shock of 50,000 g
TOUCHSCREEN
- Sleek and intuitive - Eliminates need for buttons
Team Member: Kristofer Holmquist
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SOCIAL CONTEXT Modern busy lifestyle Focus on fitness Value of convenience
PRODUCT DESIGN - PROJECT I
For this reverse-engineering task, I collaboratively studied and redesigned the concept of the pedometer. While its core function is to enable the tracking of the user’s activity, my group extrapolated from its basic functions. We targeted a specific demographic and social context to naturally derive more definitive, measurable design specs. In the development of the product, our iterative design process inquired different ways the product could be worn by the user, as well as different ways of displaying the information about the activity recorded.
AEGIS R E D U C I NG R I S K O F C O NC U S S I O NS
Inner Bonnet
Ou ter S he l l Inner Bonnet
Shock Absorber
Chincup Straps Attach to the inner bonnet
Ra i l P i n st ops at c og d ue to for c es exer t ed on o u te r sh ell
Fac em a s k Gel
Force Applied Gel takes impact
Facemask
PRODUCT DESIGN - PROJECT II
Team Members: Jeric Bautista, James Cazzoli, Spencer Parker, Rebecca Radparvar, Brooke Ruggiero
This project targeted the risk of concussions in Football, regarding it a troubling part of the evolution of the sport’s protective equipment. The team considered woodpecker biomimicry and studied closely the current football helmet technology available. Our design process was also directed by analysis of the nature of a concussion injury, which encompasses accelaration and shearing forces that inflict a shift in momentum to the struck player’s head. We developed iterations for individual helmet features, and upon producing system prototypes, we conducted rudimentary tests to analyze our design’s performance.
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North facing voids allow indirect, diffused sunlight in the interior
Diagram - South facing vertical elements block off direct sun Northwest aerial view
Diffused Light
Cool Air
Site Plan
Hot Air
Cordoba, Argentina
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CORDOBA TRAIN STATION
This design developed through the exploration of pleating surfaces that derive from passive cooling strategies. Since summer conditions are less bearable than winters in Cordoba, there is a focus on producing a good comfort zone during the summer. Thus, passive cooling strategies involving orientation and distribution of openings are introduced. These strategies direct the behavior of the pleating roof, which creates a dynamic form, and the pulsating spaces that result help to enhance the relationship between the users and the structure.
Piece in Mold
Single unit section
Void
PULSATING MODULAR WALL
Variations of porosity and line of sight
Back- Foreground ground
Team Members: Cat Callaghan, Sheldon Pei
Pockets of Opacity
Pockets of Density
This wall unit design is composed of a rotational symmetry that formulates a square boundary condition, and allows the longitudinal cross-section to vary. While the boundary of each unit remains consistent in all the variations of the module, the core remains unrestricted, apt for fluctuation in volume and amount of materiality. Hence, a relationship of opposing apertures is established. From complete closure to the widest opening structurally possible, five variations of porosity evolved. The pulsating core at unit level is simulated in the formation of a pulsating field as the units are arrayed.
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Interior Lighting
Monumental and Residential Axes
Exterior Roof Space Render
Exterior Roof Surface
Team Members: Cat Callaghan, Alyssa Johnson
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Brasilia, Brazil
RODOVIARIA: TRANSPORTATION HUB
This project is preceded by the clay wall design, deriving the concept of a field of varying tubes that allows for a wide range of programmatic possibilities. The design process navigated the juxtaposition of the monumental and the personal occupiable space. As the redesign of the Rodoviaria in Brasilia, the project occupies a crucial position as the exact center point of the city. The original station is a low profile structure that houses a busy cramped space. This redesign seeks to function in a more cohesive manner. Vehicular circulation is funneled along the bottom of the structure, while pedestrian flow is elevated above it.
Longitudinal Section
First Floor Plan
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