AZUSA KAKUDA selected works 2009-2014
1-2
CONTENTS 1 BARBOURS CUT
3 - 14
2 CURTAIN PAVILION
15 - 18
3 IMPENDING LIBRARY
19 - 22
4 PLANE WALL
23 - 26
5 WOOD DESIGN
27- 28
Azusa S. Kakuda M.Arch I azusa.kakuda@gmail.com 646–247–3264
1 BARBOURS CUT designed with Katherine Guenthner The boundary between Morgan’s Point Cemetery and the Port of Houston Barbours Cut Terminal constitutes the project site. The cemetery has been in continuous use for nearly 200 years and originally encompassed a much larger area. It has been encroached upon by the growing container terminal and is now entirely surrounded. For both the cemetery and the port, ground surface is a coveted commodity. The port uses the layer of space above ground for staging containers while the cemetery demands the layer of space below. The project program consists of administrative facilities for the Port of Houston and a non–denominational chapel serving Morgan’s Point Cemetery. While the chapel and cemetery are open to the public, the administrative port building and terminal are restricted to port personnel. The design thesis for the project negotiates the boundary between the two programs in an attempt to restore equilibrium between the port and cemetery user groups. The site strategy harnesses the entry sequence 3-4
as a design opportunity in order to emphasize the psychological transition that takes place upon entering a cemetery. The manipulation of time is a critical in reinstating a sense of ritual absent in the existing approach which is abrupt and without consideration. The existing fence separating the two programs is replaced by the building itself. Unoccupiable voids punctuate the building, demarkating boundary while permitting visual and aural porosity. Formally, building components related to the chapel/cemetery wrap around and are supported by the port administration facility. The program of the cemetery is further developed through the introduction of a new burial strategy. Serving the entire Morgan’s Point community, the cemetery’s current burial system is not sustainable and will inevitably be unable to accommodate future internment. The project proposes the addition of a vertical burial system above ground. The system is a stand of soaring deep pile foundations in which remains will be stored vertically.
1.1 rendering view out from chapel
1.2
a
models (a) sketch model: port facilities supporting chapel program (b) sketch model site 1:100: converging grid (c) model 1/32”= 1’: chapel and path as building wrapper (d) model 1/16” = 1’
b
c
d
1.2
1.3
a
exploded port administration building/ chapel diagram (a) ramp (b) chapel (c) open air waiting room for chapel/ cemetery (d) building wrapper (e) primary structure: load bearing CMU and cast in place walls (f) port administration building massing: includes offices, reception, conference room, and control room
b
c
d
1.4 site model diagram (a) Port of Houston Authority’s Barbours Cut Container Terminal (b) Morgan’s Point Cemetery (c) residential neighborhood
e
f
5-6
a b
c
Barbours Cut Channel (Houston-Gulf of Mexico): 1.3 nautical miles x 300’ width x 40’ depth
B
A
A
5
A
6.00'
B
5
5
C
6.00'
C
C
6.00'
1 CHAPEL
CHAPE DN
2 3
1
1
15.00'
4
15.00'
5 6
ROL ROOM
CONTROL ROOM
7
FU_TOTAL
8
IN. RY
FU_TOTAL
FU_COLD FU_WASTE FIXT_CODE FU_TOTAL FU_HOT
FU_COLD FU_WASTE FIXT_CODE FU_TOTAL FU_HOT
PORT ADMIN. MAIN ENTRY
9
PORT ADMIN.
PO
2
0.00'
2 12.00'
10
-3.00'
0.00'
-3.00'
11 12
13 14 15
ORT OFFICES
E
B
0.00'
PORT OFFICES
16
0.00'
PORT OFFICES
PO
17 18 3
3
19 20 21 22 23
4
24 A
4 A
RAMP UP
RAMP UP
3.00'
5.00'
F
D
1.5
LEVEL 1 PLAN
7-8
E
A
5.00'
F
RAMP UP
3.00'
5.00'
D
1.6
E
F
LEVEL 2 PLAN
D
27’ - 9”
T.O. ROOF
1.7 BUILDING SECTION 1 27’ - 9”
T.O. ROOF
1.8 BUILDING SECTION 2
27’ - 9”
T.O. ROOF
14’ - 9”
F.F. LEVEL 2
1.9 BUILDING SECTION 3
27’ - 9”
T.O. ROOF
14’ - 1”
T.O. STAIR
1.10 BUILDING SECTION 4
27’ - 9”
T.O. ROOF
15’ - 0”
T.O. RAMP
4’ - 0”
CEMETERY
0’ - 0”
1.11
SOUTH ELEVATION
PORT
BARBOURS CUT
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11
12
13
1.12 EAST ELEVATION
24
27’ - 9”
T.O. ROOF
14’ - 1”
F.F. LEVEL 2
1.13 BUILDING SECTION
1.14 WEST ELEVATION
9 - 10
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11 10
14
15
9
16
17
18
8
19
7
20
21
22
6
5
23
4
3
24
2
1
27’ - 9”
T.O. ROOF
25’ - 6”
T.O. CHAPEL CEILING
15’ - 2”
CHAPEL ENTRY LEVEL
5’ - 0”
0’ - 0”
F.F. CONTROL ROOM
CHAPEL GROUND LEVEL
1.15 NORTH ELEVATION
BARBOURS CUT
1
ELEVATION 1.16 WEST WALL SECTION AND DETAILS
1
2
ELEVATION 1.17 EAST WALL SECTION AND DETAILS
1
ELEVATION 1.18 NORTH WALL SECTION AND DETAILS 2
11 - 12
1.16.1 1
1
PAINTED STEEL BAR STOCK RAILING
2
2-1/2 INCH CONCRETE TOPPING SLAB
3
WATERPROOF MEMBRANE
4
4 -1/2 INCH CONCRETE FLOOR SLAB
5
STEEL PLATE
6 8 INCH CMU WALL / CORE FILL 2
3
4
7 CEMENT STUCCO EXTERIOR
5 6 7
1.17.1 8
SINGLE-PLY ROOF MEMBRANE
9
5 INCH R-25 RIGID FOAM INSULATION
12 13 8 9 10 11
10 SLOPED CONCRETE ROOF SLAB 11 2-1/2 INCH METAL CHANNEL 12 STAINLESS STEEL ROOF EDGE
14
13 STAINLESS STEEL GUTTER 14 CEMENT STUCCO
15
16
17
1.17.2
18 19
15 T&G JAPANESE CEDAR FLOOR 16 3/4 INCH PLYWOOD SUBFLOOR 17 1X3 TREATED WOOD SLEEPER
20
18 4-1/2 INCH REINFORCED CONCRETE FLOOR SLAB 21 22
19 3 INCH R-25 RIGID FOAM INSULATION 20 12 INCH CAST IN PLACE CONCRETE WALL 21 STEEL PANEL ANCHOR 22 PRECAST CONCRETE PANEL
34
1.18.1 23 STAINLESS STEEL GRAVEL STOP
35
36
23 24 25
24 1/2 INCH PLYWOOD SHEATHING 25 L 8X8X0.5 STEEL ANGLE 26 2-1/2 INCH METAL STUD FRAMING 27 STEEL STUD WALL
26 27
29
28
30
28 1.4 INCH METAL PLATE
31 32
29 HSS 12X8X0.5 STEEL TUBE BEAM 30 L 2X1.5 STEEL ANGLE
33
31 HSS 8X2X0.5 STEEL TUBE 32 INSULATED TEMPERED GLASS 33 3/4 INCH HARDWOOD LATTICE CEILING 34 WATERPROOF MEMBRANE
1.18.2
35 SLOPED RIDID FOAM INSULATION 36 1-1/2 INCH STEEL DECK
39
40
41
43
43
37 GRAVEL 38 STEEL PLATE 39 3/4 INCH LIMESTONE FLOOR
37 38
40 3/4 INCH T&G JAPANESE CEDAR FLOOR 41 6 INCH REINFORCED CONCRETE SLAB 42 2 INCH RIGID FOAM INSULATION 43 4 INCH GRAVEL
BARBOURS CUT
1.19 site section (a) access road to Barbours Cut (b) Barbours Cut building (c) Morgan’s Point Cemetery w/pile forest addition (d) container yard (e) Barbours terminal channel: 38’ depth, 300’ width
a
b
13 - 14
c
d
e
2 CURTAIN PAVILION Ordering systems and the language of construction inform the design for the pavilion. The project culminated in the construction of a detailed physical model at a scale of 3/8” = 1’ of a large, open, public pavilion suitable for various events. The project is sited along Austin’s Shoal Creek in the Texas Highway Department “park.” The structural components are comprised entirely of readily available dimensional lumber and engineered
15 - 16
wood. The majority of heavy structure is concentrated towards the top and supports a ‘curtain’ of anodized aluminum strips. The 9’ void created between the lowest edge of the 36’3 cube and the ground plane becomes the entrance. This threshold negotiating the bottom of the curtain and the ground plane re–examines the notion of the square as an inherently static form. The striation of the curtain cladding filters punctuated daylighting for a dynamic interior condition.
2.1 rendering south–west exterior view
2.2 site plan showing location between Shoal Creek and urban neighborhood
2.3 axonometric drawing/structural diagram (a) 52 Purlins, 2 x 6 lumber (b) 12 Joists, 2 x 1 1/2’ glulam (c) 8 Beams, 6 x 2 1/4’ glulam (d) 16 Columns, 2 x 8 lvl 4 each
2.4 (p.17) model oculus view
2.5 (p.18) model exterior view
2.2
a b c d
2.3
2.4
17 - 18
2.5
3 IMPENDING LIBRARY Systematic geometries can give shape and meaning to the institutional space, specifically, the University Library. The rise of digital technologies and the resultant accessibility of information has rendered the program of a traditional library anachronistic. The design thesis for the project aims to instill a sense of profound discovery and infinite possibility through creating a sanctuary for scholarship. The allure of
19 - 20
the physical is emphasized as a contrasting backdrop to the imminent domination of immaterial information systems. The main feature of the library is a vast sunken reading room beneath an enlarged version of an existing turtle pond. The reading room is informally organized by a forest of columns supporting a glass ceiling. Mimicing patterns of organization ocurring in nature, the extents of the room aim to disappear altogether.
3.1 rendering reading room
3.2 diagram (a) mirror (b) turtle pond (c) grand stair (d) column forest (e) model
a
b
c
d
e
3.2
3.3 a – d 21 - 22
3.3 plans (a) mezzanine level (b) ground level (c) lower level (d) east–west section
3.4 model reading room
3.4
4 PLANE WALL The suspended hydrocal ‘brick’ installation is a spatial layering exercise. The interior, exterior, and the space in between are folded and compressed into a single representational plane. Building and material memory are investigated through choice of materials, form, and surface application. The bricks are cast in formwork lined with reclaimed exterior and interior building materials. The materials leave impressions, assigning identities to the different faces of each unit. Casting against a material leaves a negative imprint and is not intended as a replica, 23 - 24
but as a representation of the space bound by the given building material. A void inside each unit allows for each brick to possess its own interior. In the assembly of the installation, the cast units were compiled to form a suspended whole with air acting as ‘mortar.’ The resultant transparency and weightlessness undermines the load–bearing solidity of a wall. One edge of the wall retains the soft residue of felt referencing the sentient human body while the other edge is cast smooth to indicate an indeterminate outer reach.
4.1 collage窶電rawing plan and elevations
4.2
e
formwork diagram (a) reclaimed wood (b) reclaimed wood (c) lace curtain (d) felt (e) interior wallpaper (f) cast unit
4.3 photograph (a) wood impression (b) wood impression (c) lace impression (d) felt impression
d
4.4 (p. 25-26) installation view a f
c
4.2
b
a
b
c
d
4.3
25 - 26
5 WOOD DESIGN An investigation into elemental geometries and economy of space determined the form for this interactive furniture set. The design originates from a circle within a square. The solid poplar table and solid felt stool were formed based on practical dimensions for use while striving for the appropriate ratio between table, stool, and void. Digital fabrication was not utilized at any stage of production.
5.1 stack laminated furniture (a) solid felt stool (b) solid poplar table
5.2 fabrication diagram (a) [laminated 4x12 sections] x5 (b) [section w routed void] x5; insertion of 64 wood dowels (c) 5 laminated sections = whole (d) stool inside table; stool & table
5.3 end grain pattern photographs (a) top (b) bottom
5.1a & b
27 - 28
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
5.2; 5.3a & b
Azusa S. Kakuda M.Arch I azusa.kakuda@gmail.com 646–247–3264