SELECTED WORKS BESS LOVERN
SELECTED WORKS 01 02 03 04 05 06
monster unfindable architecture culinary institute marketscape stickworks independent explorations
RESUME
BESS@LOVERN.COM 917.846.5811
EDUCATION 2012-2014 University of Virginia - Pre-Professional BS of Architecture, Minor of Architectural History Studio GPA [3.74] 2011-2012 University of Colorado at Boulder - College of Architecture and Planning GPA [3.6]
EXPERIENCE 2015-Ongoing Teaching Experience - ARCH 1010 - Lessons of the Lawn - Peter Waldman Teaching Assistant: Led weekly discussion group, graded weekly essays and diagrams, held office hours, mentored first year architecture students. Winter 2015 BKSK Architects - New York, NY Extern: Assisted with research for the development of a New York City sustainable building database. Participated in site visits and sat in on project meetings with the real estate development and contractor teams. 2014-2015 Catalyst ii Publication [a comprehensive volume that examines one year of research and pedagogy at the UVa of Architecture, relative to the lineages and trajectories of alumni, faculty and students] Graphic Designer + Editor: Interviewed subjects about the education and practice of architecture. Compared faculty interviews with their current student’s work to make connections and draw conclusions about the accomplishments, intentions, and direction of the UVa School of Architecture. Summer 2014 Gustavson Dundes Architecture and Design LLP. - New York, NY Intern: Completed construction documents, electrical plans, and load letters. Produced floor plans, sections, and elevations of existing conditions and proposed alterations. Drafted and presented renovation proposals to perspective clients. Managed the firm’s social media presence. 2013-2014 University of Virginia Polo Magazine - Charlottesville, VA Graphic Designer + Editor: Designed the front cover, advertisements, and layout for the 60th and 61st annual men’s and women’s fundraising publication. Winter 2014 Laura Heim Architect - Queens, NY Extern: Finished Rhino iterations for a small bathroom renovation project. Completed material sample boards to be presented to clients. Summer 2013 American Galaxy - Ardmore, PA Graphic Designer: Designed and marketed iPhone cases. Managed the company’s website and internet presence.
HONORS 2012-2014 UVa: Studio work chosen for accreditation each semester 2012-2014 UVa: Studio work published each semester 2011-2014 CU + UVa: Deans List recognition
SKILLS Digital: AutoCad, Rhino + Grasshopper, Google SketchUp, Vray, Maxwell, Revit, Adobe Creative Suite Manual: Model Making, 3D Printing, Laser Cutting, CNC Routing
Born and raised in New York City, my perception of space has always been framed by the buildings that surrounded me. Obsessed with structure and verticality from a young age, I have learned that I interpret space as a constant interplay between structure and something else. Whether that is a void, green space, light, wind, et cetera, the space is defined by its surroundings and those surroundings inform your decisions about how you intend people to move through your constructed environment. I am fascinated with people and the way they move and interact with space, structure and each other. I will to use my skills to create beautiful, sustainable, and functional spaces that will redefine the way that people interact with the built environment. I am a passionate young architect and I will design incredible buildings.
01 MONSTER
Year 3: Spring 2014 Critics: Robin Dripps + Ghazal Abbasy-Asbagh Washington D.C. This monster takes the form of a theatrical urban landscape that combines residential apartments and performance spaces through a series of circulation paths, ramps, and a bridge. The site contains five performance spaces surrounded by apartment units. Each node is connected through an undulating landscape that leads pedestrian traffic from the street into the performance areas. The project focused on joining the residential and theatrical circulation seamlessly, and I did this by creating two different types of circulation pathways. In both cases, the private residential circulation ramps down to create a stadium seating condition for both intentional performance facing a stage and urban performance facing the street. Overall, our project combines high-density urban housing with the secondary program of performance space, creating an energetic and enticing monster.
rendering from inside the theater
site plan
section perspective
render of glass bridge facing south west
render of stadium seating condition facing north east
02 UNFINDABLE ARCHITECTURE Year 4: Fall 2014 Critic: Seth McDowell Basic City, Virginia
This studio, set in Basic City, one of the lost cities of Virginia, was an exploration of ways that current architecture can be influenced by the futuristic and ideas of Pataphsyics (the study of the absurd) and science fiction. I began by examining the general concept of Pataphysics and concluded that a Pataphysical structure assumes its form when the main functioning member of the structure is replaced with its opposite of itself. To demonstrate my findings, I created a series of purely decorative trusses in which the structural members were removed from the inside joints, where the structural integrity comes from and instead placed on the outside creating a truss inspired sculptural installation where the support systems came not from the truss itself but the connections with other sculptural truss members. I continued with an in depth analysis of the concept of syzygy, which is process of creating the form that is produced when two opposite things or substances react with each other. Much experimentation concluded in the chemical reaction of insulating foam with acetone, which produced a form that stripped both materials of their original functionality and created an entirely new and exciting anomaly.
study in pataphysics
study in syzygy
Informed by my previous research, my final project was a science fiction study of the interaction between water and metal to create rain water collection and distribution structures in a dystopic futuristic drought condition. The process and result was realized through a graphic novel that told the story of how Basic City, Virginia froze completely due to chemical complications in the steel making process. The narrative continues in the dystopic future when scientists revisit the abandoned city to search for a solution for the impending global drought. They find a solution by using the contaminated metals that caused the widespread freezing to convert the ice in the ground back into usable water while also designing rain collecting and harvesting structures that create a successful water distribution system. Although this was far from the average studio experience, it allowed me to hone my technical modeling and drawing skills while also permitting the exploration of architecture in a way that reached far beyond that of just a building. This studio trained me to think differently about architecture as a conceptual tool with the power to help people, and reaffirmed my love for the field.
COLLECTOR 1_construction
15’
Observations: The design of the pointed spouts are successful in collecting the water and freezing it in icicle form off the edges of the structure for thawing and collection. However, the spouts for collector 1 do not compensate for overflow on days with heavy rain, in that much rain was not collected and went to waste.
plan
point of failure
30’ 28’
Analysis: The next iteration (collector 2) must include an overflow guard to compensate for heavier rain. Collector 2 will maintain the ratios of tetrafluoride placement and the overall shape and structural components.
elevation
03 CULINARY INSTITUTE Year 4: Spring 2015 (Current Project) Critic: Peter Waldman New York, NY
As a fourth year final research studio, this project aims to challenge our analytical skills to select our own site in the city of our choosing through intensive diagramming and modeling of the current city conditions. My research combines technical computer processes with sketching and modeling to create a collaborative culinary institute that interacts with New York City by connecting the existing grid to the water’s edge. My project emphasizes the significance of the Highline and Chelsea Market as two important activity hubs and intends to use the energy from those spaces to guide visitors into the site and through it to the feasting halls on the water’s edge. Although it is still in the process stages, it is an important exploration for me as I attempt to transition my work and focus back to New York City after graduating.
site connections
process reflected section and plan
process modeling studies
04 MARKETSCAPE Year 3: Fall 2013 Critic: Karolin Moellman Hansaviertel, Berlin, Germany
Marketscape is a hybrid residential market hall in Berlin, Germany that blurs the lines between the commercial aspects of a busy outdoor market place with the private functions of a private residential building resulting in a social, relaxing atmosphere. Historically the market hall has beenan imperative part of Berlin’s commercial culture since the 19th century. Berlin’s destructive history had caused a unique condition in which as market halls have been destroyed, they have been rethought and reconstructed differently over the years.The goal of this project was to push the evolution of the market hall into a completely hybrid state.
section cut facing east
render facing north west
05 STICKWORKS
Year 3: Fall 2013 Professor: Patrick Dougherty Charlottesville, Virginia For this project, I worked with visiting artist Patrick Dougherty to create a stick sculpture entitled “On th Fly”. The sculpture stands just over one story high and it contains a series of cylindrical rooms which open to the sky and cascade down the hill in a semicircle opening to the east. The sculpture twist and turns with the landscape and was designed in such a way that it seems to naturally blend in with the landscape’s existing features.
06 INDEPENDENT EXPLORATIONS
3d modeled weather patterns by season through color heightfield analysis