Ben Tamarkin Architecture Portfolio

Tamarkin

11 /21

Ben Tamarkin

5305 8th Ave N.E. Seattle, WA 98105 bentamarkin@gmail.com (216) 906 1845 IG: @ben_tmark Student, University of Cincinnati Intern, MJ SAGAN Architecture Intern, KANN Partners Design Intern, Tom Sewell

Designer, Coates Design Architects Volunteer, Habitat for Humanity Sales Associate, REI Seattle Muralist, The Karsti Apartments Proficient Programs: Fine Arts Skills: Construction Experience: Hobbies

School of Architecture Fall 2011 - Spring 2015 Deans List, BS in Architecture Princeton, NJ Spring Semester 2013 Baltimore, MD Winter Semester 2013 Maui, HI Summer Semester 2014 Seattle, WA Summer 2015 - Fall 2017 Seattle, WA 80+ Hours, Winter 2017 - Summer 2018 Seattle, WA Summer 2018 - Summer 2021 Seattle, WA Summer 2021 Revit, Rhino, Sketchup, Adobe Suite, V-Ray, AutoCAD sketching, model making, woodshop, prototyping wood framing, concrete formwork & pouring, window & door installation, flashing & siding Illustration, Photography, Backpacking Referencees upon request Thank you for your consideration

Contents Cincinnati Transportation Hub

04 - 05

Coates Design Oncology Center Addition

06 - 07

Global Schindler Competition

08 - 09

Co-op Education Facility Avondale Community Center

10 -11 12 - 15

Villa Savoye Study

16

Ludlow Public Library

17

MJ Sagan Construction Document

18

Coates Design Design Development Models

19

04

Cincinnati Transit Hub Cincinnati’s metro system was inundated and the need for a new metro transit hub became clear.

The transit center’s responsibility would be to connect local transit systems (local bus, streetcar, pedestrian) with intercity and interstate bus systems.

In this senior year studio the class was focused on using parametric site analysis. Beginning by collecting relevant site and city data and translating these directly to spatial diagrams using computer modelling software. I translated these diagrams as well as projected foot and motor tranit input directly into an occupiable space. The resulting form is a fluid response to these site conditions.

As a space of constant circulation; a space which exists to be passed through as a gate on a larger journey I made this circulation the focus of the program. By pushing closed programming to the exterior and shaping the open central plaza with large volumes of intersecting traffic in mind, incoming and outgoing passengers can easily transition to the next stage of their journey. If needed a large help kiosk is placed directly in the center of this plaza which can see every corner of the hub.

Medical Center Addition I prepared these renders for a fundraising gala and the unveiling of the addition’s design to the public. The render on the right highlights the facility’s main entry as well as its connection to the existing oncology center.

After the renders’ completion the Coates Design team moved on into the construction document project phase.

This project was an excellent experience in consultant and owner coordination and provided me with extensive experience working with the Department of Health. We spent lots of time meshing our design with the campus’s existing architectural language and scale. Coates Design also worked very hard to provide patient comfort and control as well as a healthy and pragmatic environment for staff.

06

Global Schindler Competition Shenzhen, China is suffering from an urban condition inhumane in density and scale. Due to its adjacency to Hong Kong and the Chinese industrial reformation the area was rapidly covered with warehouses, rail depots and super blocks of apartments for workers.

Our team proposed a planning regime that would transition the two main districts from a blighted industrial landscape into a healthy 21st century city.

Our team proposed pinpointed redevelopment backed by updated infrastructural systems to create areas of revitalization that would feed into the surrounding areas. We focused on converting the city’s pedestrian barriers into pedestrian orientated spaces. We provided the residences with transitoriented development to curb their automotive use while limiting demolition of potentially historic areas.

The visual on the right shows one of our major strategies, which involved sinking the highway that cut the city in half and replacing it with a bike path, light rail hub and pedestrian market on the ground level.

08

Co-op Education Facility The University of Cincinnati was looking to provide their international fellowship program with a dedicated residence and operations facility which would also provided additional student housing. The program included dorms, apartments, studios, galleries, a cafe, and an auditorium.

The site is adjacent to UC’s campus in a low-rise mixed use district.

The design is focused around a central public path travelling diagonally across the site from campus to a nearby grocery store and bus station. The public programming is centered on this pathway, providing exposure between the facilities users and the public. Similarly, semi-private gathering spaces act as divisions between the fellow’s and student housing facilities; these spaces maximize use of the site’s views of downtown Cincinnati and the Ohio River.

A series of light wells cut the large facility into locally scaled volumes and provide light while maintaining privacy for it’s residents.

10

Ground Floor

Second Floor

Third Floor

Avondale Community Center During this studio our team of four worked directly with the Cincinnati Zoo to discuss the potential of a recently obtained parcel of land located adjacent to existing zoo property. The 17 acre lot protruded into a low density residential area of the predominantly low income Avondale community. The zoo was looking to construct its second Living Building Challenge development but wanted the project to be focused on providing the Avondale community with access to critical infrastructure missing in many impoverished areas of the city.

Our team reviewed many similar existing case studies and identified several elements we deemed critical to the program. The overarching theme of these programs is access, providing the surrounding community with a safe environment to learn, play, work and find support. Our proposed design involves a community center, a market/ food bank, a daycare, athletic fields and the repurposing of existing homes into flexible spaces for community based small businesses.

12

14

“Well-designed social infrastructure has the potential to not only bring important services and opportunities to deprived areas, but also act as a powerful catalyst for future urban development.”

- Urban Think Tank Our research taught us that social resources are useless if a population cannot access them and that this access is the key divider of wealthy and impoverished peoples. I was personally inspired by Medellin’s Metro Cable which creatively connected the city’s slum residents directly with the city’s CBD. Its topicality was revelatory to me in many ways.

We used the large site to create a web of programs which would overlap to support the users and to support each other. The daycare would provide a secure environment for children and would create new opportunities for parents. The community center would give ample space for organization, education, and social engagement. The market/ food bank would create an oasis in the food desert in which Avondale currently suffers.

The center of the site is dominated by a multitude of exterior activity spaces including and amphitheater, soccer field, urban garden lots, a lake reservoir and an observatory tower. The idea behind this programming was to provide an exciting extension to the zoo property which would provide an environment for diverse engagement; allowing many separate communities to interact and play together. Our team stressed the importance of infrastructure that would not just provide agency to a community but to create a space that would allow them to develop it themselves.

Villa Savoye Study Learning Le Corbusier’s Five Points of Architecture Our summer studio studied multiple important modern houses in architectural history.

We were to create many diagram sketches & models to analyze the architect’s choices as a means of introducing us to critically thinking about architectural form and space.

I was drawn to Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye originally because of its alienation from my notions of what a house should be. This project opened my eyes to the flexibility of form & function towards a defined program; and the radical role that technological development plays in architecture.

16

Ludlow Public Library This school project introduced site analysis at multiple scales as well as revising a classic program to fit a contemporary demand. I created a library which was also to serve as a multifaceted community asset.

I created a large light well at the center of the building and placed the entrance there, adjacent to a pathway that connects the parallel streets on either side of the site; This allows entry from the parking lot on one side and from the main street opposite. The light well also provides lots of natural light at the heart of the library.

By placing the more active social programming on the ground floor I was able to lift the quieter elements up away from the street.

The upper level expands towards Burnet Park woods in one direction, and the beautiful historic Methodist Church in the other. Lifting these elements up off the street provided unobstructed views of the serene elements across either street, and brought lots of northern light into the main reading room.

18

This house sits on a bluff overlooking lake washington. The design focuses its glazing towards views of the water to the Southwest and towards its entry courtyard to the Northeast. The windows along the house’s sides are raised and kept minimal due to the large houses on both adjacent sites.

The clients for the home below have a large extended family that would be visiting often. They wanted many extra bedrooms to accomodate this flux in guests. We designed a wing of the house with seperate insulative systems so that it would not increase energy demands when not in use. The form of the house itself terraces to match the slope of the property.

Thank you for your consideration.

Ben Tamarkin 5305 8th Ave NE Seattle, WA 98105 bentamarkin@gmail.com (216) 906 1845