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Education is a progression, one which is ever moving and growing. What starts as practices in craft and composition quickly takes on a world of new meaning and you begin to understand the bigger idea which bend and shape the built environment. This progression is only natural.
Architecture presents an infinite landscape for learning. I am intoxicated with the OPPORTUNITY that lays bare before me.
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ROW HOUSE beaverton, oregon
Studio III :: Professor Kudrna
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The row house for Beaverton, Oregon was an exercise in programing on a confined site. The program included two independent roommates sharing a common area. My design solution included a usable roof terrace, private bed and bathrooms on the second floor, and mechanical louver system used to mask undesirable view and control day lighting.
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Preliminary structural thumbnail model Second Floor Plan
Environmental orientation study model
First Floor Plan
Thumbnail model
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Section Looking N.E.
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ANIMATE ANALYSIS la sagrada familia, barcelona
Studio IV :: Instructor Adam Lanman
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Reverse engineering of the Sagrada Familia began with intuitive structural analysis and a graphical investigation into the building’s hypothetical animate potential.
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The next step in the structural investigation involved the creation of a machine portrayed through stop-motion animation. A load (8 oz. water) was translated through all three axes over a series of four transfers. A series of 20 keyframes cut from the video and analyzed for spacial dynamics. Finally, these frames were collaged back onto the site of the Sagrada Familia to create an active water landscape. The final products of this process-driven semester were presented publicly as an exhibition on Campus Corner.
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ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH CENTER oklahoma city, oklahoma
Oklahoma City University design competition Studio V :: Professors Callahan and Boeck
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Members of the OCU Petree College of Arts and Sciences faculty contacted our studio with a need for a building to house environmentally oriented classes and labs on a piece of untouched land along a creek in Oklahoma City. Strong emphasis was placed on sustainable design and multi-functional programming as well as a unique aesthetic that would act as a symbol for the University.
My design solution is inspired by the unfolding process of a germinating seed. Rammed earth bearing walls hold up the arched rooftops which are oriented for natural light through the clerestory windows. The 6365 square foot building can house two classes consecutively and provide storage for the equipment necessary to keep up the property.
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Interior Perspective
Floor Plan
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Entry / Display
625 sqft
Lab Classroom
2210 sqft
Lecture Classroom
1235 sqft
Office / Prep
490 sqft
Restrooms
510 sqft
Mechanical
210 sqft
Storage / Utility
1085 sqft
Total
6365 sqft
Site Plan
North Perspective
South Perspective
Section Looking North I was awarded $150 and the category, “We Would Build It If We Had the Money.” The client noted the “fascinating incorporation of organic forms...and the excellent sustainable features proposed” but unfortunately, the project fell way beyond what they could secure funding to produce. With more collaboration with the client and investigation of the roof system, the project may have been able to move further.
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STEEL AUTO SHOP los angeles, california
Studio VI :: Professors Callahan and Boeck
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The assignment was to use metal building systems and a predetermined footprint to create a facility for the use of a celebrity. I chose to design an educational building for Jay Leno’s automotive restoration school. This project was particularly rewarding because I was able to fully understand how it would be built. Material, product, and code research were incorporated and both physical and digital models were constructed to test the design.
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MARITIME MUSEUM northerly island, chicago
MCA Student Design Competition Studio VII :: Professor Anthony Cricchio
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A semester-long project was divide into 5 phases: 1 :: conceptual digital modeling of three objects 2 :: re-engineering conceptual analysis into exhibits for maritime artifacts 3 :: site collages of history, precedent, data 4 :: maritime museum programming and competition entry 5 :: building system synthesis
The concept for a museum on Chicago’s Northerly Island began with an investigation of the properties of coral, a marine artifact. Research into the organism’s biological and functional properties inspired design choices and technical innovation. Coral is one of nature’s greatest archivists of marine data. The yearly growth rates, growth patterns, and entrapped particles in ancient reefs inform researchers of changing oceanic conditions with astounding accuracy. As a historical preservation and research center for Lake Michigan, the proposed facility will achieve a similar function. In developing a skin system following these principles, recycled oil pipeline was used for structural support. The metal pipe is dead to its original purpose and serves as the skeleton for a new structural system.
The large vessel gallery, a multi-story light filled space, allows visitors to access and enter vessels on display. Broad views of the Chicago skyline to the north and west incorporate the city into the exhibit space. Offices, library, and research center are set apart, but easily accessible to visitors and staff. This structure houses the auditorium and classrooms, lit by a sky lighting system above. The dock fantasizes the perils of sea travel by creating areas for playing, siting, gathering, and viewing within a context of a shipwreck.
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Development of site through digital collage of precedent and site history. The initial figure ground and study model portray possible future development on Northerly Island.
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Systems integration was approached as a series of details and section models which demonstrate allowable room for structural, mechanical, and electrical necessities. Structural details were explored to illustrate possible configurations for load propagation.
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BLANK BUILDING as an URBAN INCUBATOR norman, oklahoma
Guest Instructor :: Sebastian Schmaling Bruce Goff Distinguished Student Workshop Completed in Collaboration With Eric Schmid
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During a three day design charette directed by Sebastian Schmaling of Johnson-Schmaling, we were asked to question the common practices of manipulating ordinances and master plans to give life to a city. Instead, he proposed that we “investigate urbanistic opportunities embedded in the vertical surface� of a single facade in downtown Norman. The site on the corner of Crawford and Main was selected due to the void it presented at pedestrian level. Our primary concerns in our solution are to create a street level presence to fill out this void and to develop a dynamic system which can respond to a variety of possible programmatic uses within the newly enclosed space
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Two design concepts were explored: First we designed a modular, electronically controlled panel system which can respond to client needs to both enclose and enhance the street level void. We created a series of narratives to illustrate how the system could be implemented to meet a specific design need. Secondly, we chose to exploit the different views afforded to pedestrian versus vehicular traffic. The angled orientation of semi-transparent glass fins acts as a screen against one-way main street traffic. Using a series of differing fins we created an implied surface which allows the pedestrian the greatest visual impact at eye level.
Nightclub or live music venue open to street
Panel System Variations
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subURBAN CANYONS nichols hills, oklahoma
Senior Capstone :: Part 1 Studio IX :: Assistant Professor Jay Yowell
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The City of Nichols Hills sees itself as a sanctuary for an exclusive community of upper middle class and high class citizens. Consisting of mostly of residential, only a small portion on the south east corner and a sliver on the east side are devoted to commercial use. Nichols Hills Plaza on the south east corner of the city is an aging shopping center which fails to perform as a modern sustainable community center should. A new town hall is currently being designed to replace the church on Sherwood and Grand, and a new vision for Nichols Hills Plaza is currently in the works. The city has rezoning Cumberland Drive to be a Planned Use Development. Using successful town center and urban village developments as examples, I want to bring all these functions together into a cohesive whole that optimizes the scarce land resources. My vision for this site consists of a multi-use town center including multistory residential over retail and a redesigned town hall as a focal point for the community. I want to maximize the potential of the Plaza as a gateway into this community. The strong interest in sustainability calls for a more pedestrian and denser urban development that consists of outdoor rooms for community interaction. Manhattan
Florence
Paris
Nichols Hills
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Study of Nichols Hills Plaza showed room for much improvement. Although the complex houses high-end shops and restaurants, it very low density and showing its age. The apartments on the southwest are in disrepair. N
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The development is dominated by pavement and split through the center by a road making it unfriendly for pedestrian traffic. Green space is in ample supply in the Grand Blvd Greenway to the northwest.
I completed a collage of the site utilizing pieces of the precedent cities in scale over a network of major roadways which I believe will be most beneficial for clearing up the current congestion at the corner of 63rd and Western. The resulting figure-ground is evidence of much higher density. The central pedestrian plaza is essential to the European model of urbanism.
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Urban Canyon typologies Canyons explored as positive form
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The concept of the Urban Canyon as a provocative urban element first arose while living and studying in Florence during my fourth year. There, the feeling of spacial compression is hugely evident. The dynamic interplay between street enclosure and open plaza direct pedestrians to key meeting points. Also, one cannot fully comprehend his neighborhood from one vantage point at street level; each turn presents a new view and the mind must assemble the information into a comprehensive whole. To explore these ideas in Nichols Hills, I chose to add a second layer on top of the figure ground. A formal flow is created which helps organize building functions vertically and circulation along the street.
Block selected for further development
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Left: Massing model of planned development with proposed focus block darkened.
Above: Floor plans in progress showing vehicular circulation, structural grid, and preliminary programming.
Below: Concept sketch for possible facade treatment.
Right: Sketches depicting tiered massing.
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This project is only at the halfway point. I will continue in my final studio where this left off. Based on feedback from the reviewing jury at the end of the semester and personal discoveries, this project will undergo a number of modifications. First, it needs to be able to translate out of academia, meaning, I need to educate myself on urban design approaches that will integrate with the surrounding community. Urban edge conditions, which I was ignoring with my proposal, should be well thought out. Secondly, the streetscape and urban environment need to be designed before moving into building facades and programming. One critic said I need to explore the connections between inside and outside in great detail. Finally, it was stated that if I impose a foreign design scheme then I must have a clear idea of what I am trying to achieve. With serious reading, thought, and dedication, I will mold this project into one with true meaning which I can be proud of.
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Thank you.
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