GRADUATE_
PORTFOLIO (ARCH)
benjamin brannan
taubman_college_of_architecture_and_urban_planning
CONTENTS
98.3%
RESUME_
1
THESIS_PREP
3
EXPONENTIAL_GRADIENTS_(THESIS)
15
RETRIBUTION_(THESIS)
17
ECSTASY_(THESIS)
29
EXHILARATION_(THESIS)
41
LIVING_WALL
59
HOTEL_13
91
MISC_REP
109
RESUME
email: bbrannan@umich.edu
*references may be provided upon request.
phone: 330.415.1796 address: 828 thorndale dr. akron, oh 44320
benjamin brannan
EDUCATION
PROFESSIONAL WORK
TAUBMAN COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE + URBAN PLANNING UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN graduated:
april, 2019
gpa:
3.94
M.ARCH
COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE + ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN KENT STATE UNIVERSITY graduated:
may, 2017
cumulative gpa:
3.59
major gpa:
3.71
BS.ARCH
JONES GROUP INTERIORS SUMMERS OF 2014-2015 Primarily functioned as a CAD operator working on several drawings, and utilized Photoshop, Rhino, and Vray for rendering purposes. Assisted and personally headed client meetings. Had on-site experience with both assembly and administration.
VOLUNTEER WORK STUDENT SUCCESS LEADER FALL SEMESTERS OF 2014-2016 Facilitated a class of newly admitted freshman into the College of Architecture and Environmental Design teaching practical skills and familiarizing them with Kent State University. Acted as a mentor to underclassmen, being a continual resource outside of the classroom.
MANN PARSONS GRAY ARCHITECTS SUMMER OF 2016 Primarily worked on construction documents, but also worked on various other tasks. I heavily utilized Revit and AutoCAD as a means of production, being drawings and renderings.
EXTRACURRICULAR ALPA RHO CHI PROFESSIONAL FRATERNITY SPRING SEMESTER OF 2014-PRESENT
ALAN BURGE ARCHITECTURE
position held:
recruitment committee chair
SUMMERS OF 2017-2018 Being a firm with only a few employees, my responsibilities were incredibly varied. This gave me the opportunity to experience many facets of the professional realm that include and go beyond what has been previously mentioned.
1
Functioned as the event organizer for all Alpha Rho Chi recruitment events, and organized preparations leading to Initiation.
EMUSER ACTIVITIES + AWARDS
PROFICIENT SOFTWARE INDEX
2018
suckerPUNCH Publication, “Of Medium Intensity Workshop"
RHINOCEROS 6
AUTODESK REVIT
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP
2017
Integrated Design Studio Competition, Second Place
VRAY FOR RHINO
MAXWELL FOR REVIT
ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR
2016
“The Most Inspiring Student Project Competition" Award Winner
GRASSHOPPPER
AUTODESK AUTOCAD
ADOBE INDESIGN
2016
Achieved President’s List (4.0 GPA for 18 course credits).
KARAMBA
AUTODESK NETFABB
MICROSOFT OFFICE SUITE
2016
Studied Abroad in Florence, Italy.
SKETCHUP
ZBRUSH
SUBSTANCE PAINTER
2014
Hillel Organization “Sukkah Design Competition".
VRAY FOR SKETCHUP
KEYSHOT
SUBSTANCE DESIGNER
...always a work in progress
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ATOMIC ORANGE
THE THESIS PREP
DINING TABLE a series of found objects construct the kit-bashed composition that is the dining table. this exercise preceded any thesis conceptualization in order to position thinking within an intensely compounded abstract realm.
5.3%
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ATOMIC ORANGE
THESIS PREP
PROTO_ SPECIATION
01 This image of the salt stalactite-like structures of mono lake serves a site in which scripting methods alone were used to construct a narrative landscape.
11.9%
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the composition depicts an unknown and sentient civilization in the process of constructing additional salt stalactites, as if they are some sort of synthetic object. one might recognize 'workers,’ 'construction material,’ 'scaffolding,’ and 'structure’ as analogical references to what is known and recognizable.
6
ATOMIC ORANGE
THESIS PREP
PROTO_ SPECIATION
02 16.5%
this composition is the second installment in which an image is used as the site. here, an autocratic ai seeks to restore logic and order through an attempt of decomposing all forms of abstraction (hans hoffman, elysium, 1960). it works with an iterative methodology, deploying several breaching tactics. testing their effectiveness, it probes, subtracts, desaturates, pixelates, and cuts. consistently looking for an exploitable weakness until it has exhausted all measures, except for one.
the diptych lies its own sort of unique chronology, a pre-deployment and postdeployment representational effect split only by mere seconds. what has happened before? what happens after? who prevails? these are questions left to the individual. the extrapolation of the narrative is an interactive experience, a sort of cliffhanger.
the established diptych relationship represents a singular moment from a larger chronology. however, even within
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B
BASE
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TOOL
RESULT
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ATOMIC ORANGE
(THESIS PREP)
PROTO_ SPECIATION
03 the third and final installment to the image as a site collection leverages a photograph from azuma makoto’s exobiotanica collection. this arrangement of flowers serves as a communal hub for spore-like organisms to convene, resupply, and redeploy. what happens inside, where do they come from, and where do they go? this is the story for the viewer to complete.
22.4%
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EXPONENTIAL GRADIENTS THESIS_STUDIO CRITIC_
perry kulper
exponential gradients tests and explores alternative methods of spatial emotional expression and reciprocity that traditional methods of architectural manifestation are unable to achieve. the thesis leverages the use of story line narratives and movie productionesque logics and processes to depict a dynamic living world. the world itself is understood through a hollywood-like set, with the built environment as the main character. the author of this production, the seeing eye, is known as the observer. this is an artificially intellectual being with the objective of discovering and creating the perfect narrative. it analyzes every piece of media content and source material available. movies, art, user reviews, articles, and so on, aid in its attempt to understand the relationship between representation and viewer reception. this sort of engagement causes it to understand place as something that
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is in a constant state of transience. it blends fictional and nonfictional locales, situating the set within, what might be recognized as, the in-between space of transitioning movie frames. it integrates the affects of, seemingly, non-coinciding narratives, juxtaposing a multiplicity of sourced content. however, the complex nuances of human feeling and expression are a difficult problem for the observer to solve. inconsistent data sets and non-correlating psychological studies generate an internal conflict, which results in misplaced information, glitches, and processing errors. it displays imagery in a collection of disjointed-matrix-like representations that resemble the multi-faceted aspects of northern and italian renaissance paintings.
in this observer’s first rendition of narrative exploration, it leverages the use of the cliche within the digital paintings as prototypical testing grounds.
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the first, retribution, depicts a quaint sunny morning that quickly turns to one of the most dreadful and traumatizing experiences for those around. a certain individual seeks vengeance for the way he was mistreated. his victim, a previous employer, meets his immediate and public fate at the end of a gun barrel.
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the second, ecstasy, depicts the dreary life of a prolific drug user. this individual is on the brink of suicide, but uses the mental and emotional escape of drugs to keep moving forward each day. the scene is set within the user’s apartment, a representation of chaotic order that soon turns to relentless bliss.
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the third and final, exhilaration, sets the stage within the monaco grand prix. shoreline architecture, crystal blue water, and expensive water crafts stand idle as the blindingly fast race cars dart around the city streets.
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ATOMIC ORANGE
EXPONENTIAL GRADIENTS
(THESIS STUDIO)
44.6%
17
RETRIBUTION
01
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22
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25
26
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ATOMIC ORANGE
EXPONENTIAL GRADIENTS
(THESIS STUDIO)
63.8%
29
ECSTASY
02
30
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33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
ATOMIC ORANGE
EXPONENTIAL GRADIENTS
(THESIS STUDIO)
89.0%
41
EXHILARATION
03
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BIOPTIC VIEW_ the bioptic views allow certain narrative elements to be closely examined by the viewer. while arbitrary in nature, they allow the viewer to position themselves relative to the intentions of the observer.
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(retribution)
(ecstasy)
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(exhilaration)
LIVING WALL in colaboration with michael paul
SYSTEMS_STUDIO CRITIC_
daniel jacobs
the garden, the street, the wall, the city of detroit is ripe with potential for urban growth and development, both in relation to steady population growth and current stores of public land. as a proposition for a new means of engagement with large tracts of economically divested, city-owned land, this project seeks to formally establish itself as a means to break open the current urban condition of the jefferson corridor, while responding to the unique and morally problematic challenges associated with the privatization of publicly owned land. this super scale replicable housing proposition seeks to address the issues of developer driven privatization of the super block typology, by condensing a high density of residential dwelling units within a long narrow slab building, capitalizing on a variety of housing solutions for a diverse community, all the while giving back valuable community space and public amenity. while formally engaging the entirety of the largely open gold coast site. , we afford the opportunity to developed this housing proposition to consider the formal relationships between the housing slab, the pedestrian, and the garden.
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the 'garden’, as a pause in the continuation of urban sprawl, acts as a community amenity providing opportunity for rest, relaxation and play within the bustle of the city. as a stoppage in the continuation of the urban edge the garden seeks out the opportunity to express a welcoming openness and community connection to the riverfront. the 'street’, teaming with life, engages the threshold of the public land and private housing slab in the form of a pedestrian thoroughfare, connecting the jefferson corridor and surrounding neighborhoods to the desirable riverfront parkway. it is a space for local communities to come together and share in the commonwealth of the park, spaces of civic engagement, and commercial amenity the building has to offer. the wall, metaphorically a living breathing wall, captures in its entirety the edge condition of the pedestrian thoroughfare, collectively displaying its exterior homogeneous form and collective presence, while within a diverse array of opportunities exist to live, work and thrive.
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SITE
8430 e. jefferson
ADJUSTED SITE AREA
275,000 sf
PROPOSED BUILDING
1,080,000 gsf
FAR
4.0
UNIT COUNT
560
TYPICAL FLOOR AREA
60,000 sf
NET TO GROSS
60%
HEIGHT
220’
LENGTH
1,150’
WIDTH
52’
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66
ROOF PLAN 67
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ROOF PLAN 69
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TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN 71
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TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN 73
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TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN 75
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UNITS_ 01
small studio
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large studio
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single bedroom
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double bedroom
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live + work (main level)
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live + work (upper level)
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02 77
03 Studio Units Studio Units
One Bedroom One Unit Bedroom Unit
04 TwoUnit Bedroom Unit Two Bedroom TwoUnit Bedroom
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06 Live + -Work Live + WorkLive Unit + Work - Main Unit Level MainUnit Level- Main Level
78 Live + -Work Unit - Upper Leve Live + WorkLive Unit + Work - Upper Unit Level Upper Level
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rigid insulation over weather barrier w/ lt. wt. concrete topping
galvanized steel guardrail
galvanized steel grating on steel angle supports tapered rigid insulation with weather barrier with gravel topping 5” concrete slab on lw. metal decking roof drain and overflow
metal rain screen cladding on 2” continuous rigid insulation on weather barrier over (2) layers exterior grade gypsum board on metal studs
wide flange steel beam with spray applied fireproofing, typ.
suspended metal rain screen cladding on suspended metal studs 5” concrete slab on lw. metal decking with 2” concrete finish topping flush to edge of storefront system
galvanized steel strut channel for suspension of sliding panels galvanized tubular steel frame for operable screen wall support
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suspended metal rain screen cladding on suspended metal studs 5� concrete slab on lw. metal decking with 2� concrete finish topping flush to edge of storefront system
galvanized steel strut channel for suspension of sliding panels galvanized tubular steel frame for operable screen wall support
galvanized steel guardrail
corrugated aluminum rain screen with staggered-circle perforation
galvanized steel angle with welded guides for sliding panels, expansion bolted to concrete slab edge
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suspended gypsum board ceiling on resilient channel with sound attenuating batten insulation clear anodized aluminum storefront system with operable insert and 1� insulated glazing
galvanized steel flashing
concrete structure, reinforced 2-way waffle slab concrete structure, column beyond
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STREET
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PLAYGROUND
CORRIDOR
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UNIT
HOTEL_13 SO_SCOPIC CRITIC_
91
jeff halstead
the process of seeing is a highly nuanced and subconscious act. our vision is guided by interest and passion. the mind is unable to exactly perceive every detail of reality and the rest is subject to approximation and analogical reference. this notion correlates to the representation of fact and fiction. with fact being what is known and real, fiction is a premised abstraction of the factual. the role of fiction in film is nothing outside of common knowledge, in fact, the mere representation of some reality through an image is an inherent abstraction. however, film also allows itself to compound the notions of seeing and fact and fiction. first, the truman show represents truman’s blindness to the actuality of the real world. he gradually realizes its choreographed exhibition until the final moment in which he sees what is true. second, the bookshelf scene in interstellar realizes the notion of hindsight, in which cooper is able to see every past moment that has occurred within his daughter’s room. the bookshelf is a clarifying medium that inhabits a suspended fourth dimension and even allows a minute semblance of communication through the past. the third, is the cleaning scene from requiem for a dream. this scene dissolves the boundary between set and viewer, or fact and fiction, in order to represent a rapid succession of time. however, the cinematic
experience is not diminished by this act, rather, it is exemplified. this project seeks to explore the ideas of how visual perception and cognition can affect the architectural experience. by obscuring the portrayal of multiple scales of resolution the modes in which individuals see become readily apparent. the architectural object itself is a geometrically dense and complex manifestation that has been inspired by the mechanical aesthetic of the movie brazil. exposed ventilation systems, winding pipes, and automated amenities, constitute this fictional and abstract futuristic universe. the architecture utilizes this as a means to express derived elements from the creative process. furthermore, the artworks of sarah oppenheimer provide inspiration on how to express sectional translation through the subtraction of geometry. oppenheimer utilizes the simplicity of void and reflection to portray an opening as something that is perceptually uncanny.
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PLANS
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PLANS
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DETAIL OBJECT_ the detail object exhibits a certain degree of material expression and displays the oppenheimer inspired sectional translatory elements.
85.6%
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REP
MISC_ REPRESENTATION CRITIC(S)_
ana morcillo pallares daniel jacobs
the following works are from a series of three week workshops that explore differing methods of graphic and architectural representation.
jeff halstead
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1_
ana morcillo pallares’ module investigated the use of filmic color pallets applied to the color study methodology of josef albers and illustrations of 20th century eclectic skyscrapers as an exercise in exploring the role filmic inspiration in architecture.
2_
daniel jacob’s module, hyper real ultra fake, leveraged alternate uses of rendering and composition techniques with an intense focus on nuance and material to produce an image that, perhaps, found its way into the uncanny valley.
3_
jeff halstead’s module employed a series of processional methods involving modeling, rendering, and patterning techniques to produce a series of images with diptychal scalar perceptions.
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_pallares
_jacobs
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HYPER_REAL
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_jacobs
ULTRA_FAKE
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_halstead
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_halstead
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_halstead
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_halstead
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THE END
(for now)