Selected Works
2012-2013 4) SYSTEMS STUDIO
pressed with the design of a final resting place for a family, i used system generated design to explore the processional spaces surrounding death.
12) PRESERVATION STUDIO conservation and documentation studio was a new direction for my studies and a class that i became very involved with. after taking the class and desiging the final historic structure report, i went on to act as a teaching assistant and present our work at the state level.
18) PERSPECTIVE DRAWING
skills i gained as a student and as a teaching assistant have proved useful beyond drawing and visual understanding of form. it is a subject that continues to influence my artistic work and that i continue to explore.
Address 110 KILBUCK DR. MONROEVILLE PA 15146
BENJAMIN KLAMMER E-mail BKLAMMER@ME.COM Phone 412.417.6572
TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS
Curriculum vitae EDUCATION University of Pittsburgh Architectural Studies: Design Concentration & Studio Arts Minor expected graduation date: December 2013 GPA cumulative 3.431 major: 3.500
RELATED COURSE WORK Design Studio 2 Intro to BIM / Revit Design Studio 1 Documentation & Conservation Studio Architecture Studies Design Seminar Architecture & Computer Applications History of Architecture Texts &Theory special topics: Architecture & Conflict special topics -modern: Bauhaus Frank Lloyd Wright Approaches to the Built Environment Modern Architecture Introduction to Western Architecture
COMPUTER SKILLS Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Adobe InDesign Auto-CAD Revit Google Sketch-up Microsoft Office and i Work
PERSPECTIVE DRAWING fall 11-12 Provided technical assistance to students during lecture drawings. Held regular office hours. Presented a lecture/drawing for students to follow in class. APPROACHES TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT spring 11-12 Guided students through collaborative projects/discussions and held office hours when necessary outside of class. Presented a lecture on Mellon Hall. DOCUMENTATION/CONSERVATION STUDIO fall 12-13 Assisted students as they compiled a historic structure report for Mies van der Rohe’s Mellon Hall and met by appointment for help with research and assignments. Led discussions on selected readings and introduced assignments. Critiqued students during the design of a theoretical addition to the building.
EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITY HAAARCH!!! spring 10-11 Project from Special Topics: Bauhaus chosen for exhibition in the History of Art and Architecture undergraduate showcase. STATEWIDE CONFERENCE ON HERITAGE july 2013 “Byways to the Past XIV / Heritage Partnership Conference XXXV” Presented work from the 2011 and 2012 Documentation and Conservation Studios during the Student Sessions in collaboration with two of my classmates. MELLON HALL HSR GRAPHIC DESIGN/FINAL EDITS summer 2012 Designed and assembled historic structure report in collaboration with photo and text editors. Approximately a month of voluntary work (intermittently) in addition to the semester’s class time to finalize and print.
WORK EXPERIENCE GREAT OAK ENERGY 2006-Present SEASONAL ROUSTABOUT LABOR Plumbing well head equipment. Paint well equipment. Maintain erosion and sedimentation controls. 1
THE LAST REPOSE systems studio a project for a family resting place
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system two: ABSORB
system one: CONSUME
System
DEVELOPMENT System development began with a set of elements; lines, planes, and volumes. Components were created using the elements, and rules were established to dictate how a component is assembled. When combining components into a potentially infinite system, the rules dictated how components could interact with one another. Ultimately the system was to represent a particular word as a sculptural form with no correct orientation. The original components were then transformed into more complex versions and used to create a second system meant to represent another word.
CONSUME system one Consumption implies an exhaustion of a fuel source and conversion into another state. I was fascinated by the fingers of scorched earth left behind by forest fires and decided to explore this effect in three dimensions.
ABSORB system two Consumption has an inherent violence to its action, Absorption can be seen as a more passive version of consumption. Instead of taking something in and changing its state, absorption implies that the substance taken in remains and is only contained by a material.
System
IMPLEMENTATION The Last Repose is an exploration of the architectural procession surrounding death. Many western rituals surrounding death take place in a number of key spaces. The processions for death often feature rhetoric referring to the journey of the deceased. The Last Repose aims to focus on the grieving acquaintances of the deceased by immersing them in the ritual spaces of death, removing the religious views associated with the spaces, using them purely as spaces with different levels of immersion. Three types of spaces become crucial because of their temporal and physical proximity to death. Spiritual space, becomes a symbol of one’s philosophy, be it religious or otherwise. Philosophical notions of death are the furthest from confronting death. One does not know when death will rear its head, and ideas are not tactile. Crypt space represents the median. One can see where the deceased lie, but they are separate and grief has been eased by time. The most direct space of confrontation is the viewing area, where there is intimacy and immediate relevance.
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These three spaces are used as stages of increasing immersion. This deep engagement is meant to give the grieving party the focus they need to acknowledge the loss of a loved one in an unadulterated manner.
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proximity to mortality
spiritual space
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viewing area
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Convention x Immersion The traditional procession of spaces begins with an extended viewing, followed by a religious ceremony and finally burial. Upon burying the deceased, one often sees other relatives that are buried in the same place.
to prepare themselves for the coming procession. Then passing through the crypt/burial space they are reminded of death, but it is in a space of wonder and reflection. The experience culminates with the viewing of the deceased, which is Following the formula of increasing meant to be relatively brief. The procession immersion, the procession begins with concludes with a release into a meditative the spiritual or ritual space allowing one space.
The meditative space is meant for reflection and solitude. By placing it above the crypt, one is near to the rest of the family’s deceased, and amongst their escaping spirits, souls, and memory.
The rear and center of the lot are quite secluded for being off of the main street on top of Mount Washington, serving as an ideal place for the crypts, viewing areas and meditation garden. The spiritual space is on the cusp of secluded and main street space, acting as a bridge between internal and external reflection. the administration and multipurpose areas are against Bertha street to add privacy and create the square in the center of the lot.
adm mul wor cryp view refle med vert circu
administration multipurpose spiritual crypt viewing area reflection overlook meditation garden circulation
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MELLON HALL OF SCIENCE CONSERVATION AND DOCUMENTATION Studio I studied Mellon Hall as a junior and as a senior i was a teaching assistant revisiting the project. working closely with the building and volunteering as layout designer for the 2012 Historic structure report taught me more about real world architecture than any other class.
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METHODOLOGY
Historic Preservation: Documentation and Conservation Studio is a hands-on, site-specific, fieldwork course for Architectural Studies majors and others interested in recording, analyzing and preserving historic buildings. The course consisted of various types of assignments that built upon each other to form the historic structure report. Actual compilation of the final historic structure report came about over a series of group and individual efforts building upon past assignments. Groups made initial drafts of chapters, individuals became experts on one or more character defining features. Small groups and individuals then worked in communication as editors, photographers and graphic designers to compile the printed report which reached more than 200 pages.
MAJOR FINDINGS
• Duquesne University has been a good steward of Mellon Hall. The building is in good condition and largely reflects the original design intentions of master architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. • Mellon Hall played a critical role in the University’s development and by allowing all science programs to be housed in one collaborative space, helped put Duquesne’s science curriculum on the map. • Mellon Hall was part of Pittsburgh’s Renaissance I transformation, which turned to Modern architecture for solutions to planning needs. • The building reflects the innovative skyscraper designs of Mies van der Rohe, but is unique in its steel-plate curtain wall panels designed to accommodate laboratory equipment on the outside walls of labs. • Almost a dozen character-defining features (such as glass, steel and flowing interior spaces) have been identified that convey the significance of the building and which should continue to be well-maintained.
PERSONAL ENVOLVEMENT
In 2013, I was granted the opportunity to revisit the work my classmates and I began in 2012 as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant. I enjoyed helping students through their designs of a sensitive addition to Mellon Hall. A number of students had little or no experience with architecture outside of historical context, so I became a useful asset as they deciphered original construction drawings and created their own drawings for the presentation of their designs. In addition to acting as a resource for research and technical issues, I led occasional discussions and introduced assignments. The experience addressing a sizable group of people was useful as preparation for what later became a presentation at a state conference. In July of 2013, two colleagues and myself presented at the Statewide Conference on Heritage during the student sessions. At the end of each year, the class would present to the university. In 2012 the presentation was held on Duquesne’s campus and in 2013 on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus. Presenting at a statewide level was rewarding because a surprisingly low number of people are aware that there is a Mies building in town. As something we have become passionate about, we were excited to share our research with a broader audience.
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The following pages contain an example of writing and layout design that I completed for the 2012 Mellon Hall HSR.
Figure 85. Seagram Building, showing curtain wall on upper stories. Mies van der Rohe Society website, http://miessociety.org/ legacy/projects/.
Curtain Wall Hanging from the structure above like a curtain, “a curtain wall is an exterior wall that is supported wholly by the structural frame of a building and carrying no loads other than its own weight and wind loads.”1 Early curtain walls were typically steel frameworks of small panes of glass, like that of the 1925 Bauhaus Building in Dessau, Germany, while other variants hung masonry from the structural frame. In 1951, Mies van der Rohe’s signature steel and glass curtain wall was built at 860-880 Lake Shore Drive. Mellon Hall’s curtain wall is unusual for its use of steel at a time when aluminum was the dominant curtain wall material, and its solid appearance created from panels of steel. After World War II, aluminum and glass became the most common materials used in curtain wall construction. The innovative use of aluminum was fostered in Pittsburgh. By 1968 this use of aluminum had become standard, yet Mies chose to use steel and glass throughout his curtain wall designs. Mies’ designs also typically have facades made of floor to ceiling windows of some variant. However, only the central bays on the east and west ends of Mellon Hall use the floor to ceiling glass more akin to Mies’ skyscrapers. Mellon Hall predominately has steel panels covering the majority of each window bay, making the facade appear significantly more solid in comparison to other Miesian curtain walls. Steel and glass are typically industrial materials; for this reason, Modernist architects employed them as a way of praising the efficiency of new technology. Mellon Hall was completed at the end of Mies’ career, by which time he had become synonymous with glass and steel curtain walls. This was largely due to his more widely known buildings such as the Seagram Building and 860-880 Lake Shore Drive. The Seagram building and the two towers at Lake Shore Drive employ curtain walls with the same iconic I-beam mullions, and at a glance are nearly identical, aside from their proportions and scale (Figure 85). Curtain Walls in Mellon Hall The upper floors of Mellon Hall are clad on all four sides by steel and glass curtain walls, significantly defining the building as a Mies van der Rohe design. The combination of the windows on the upper floors and the applied I-beams needed to hold the windows in place creates the iconic Miesian curtain wall façade. The north and south sides of 1 Francis D. K. Ching, Building Construction Illustrated, 4th Edition (Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons, 2008) 7.24.
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Figure 86. Note the two types of window unit making up the curtain wall. Archival Photo circa 1968. Duquesne Facilities archives.
the building’s curtain wall are mostly steel. Each bay has four window and panel units composed of a three-foot, three-inch tall bronze tinted window above a seven-foot steel panel (see previous sections “Glass” and “Steel” for window, panel, and mullion descriptions). This corresponds to the lab equipment against the walls on the interior. On the shorter east and west sides of the building, the window and panel system continues one full bay in on either end, while the remaining three bays in the center of these sides have floor-to-ceiling windows, corresponding to the interior hallways that occupy the ends of each floor (Figure 86). On Mellon Hall, steel I-beam mullions, column covers, floor and roof fascia plates, glazing frames, and under window panels are welded together to form the frame that holds the glass (Figure 87). This framework is attached to the structure by steel clips bolted to the vertical columns (Figure 88). The frame is made up of standardized, mass production parts, a typical feature of curtain wall construction. Instead of being applied as sections composed of several pre-assembled window units at once, Mellon Hall’s curtain wall was stick built, meaning that the window and window/panel units came together as their individual elements were attached to the structure of the building (Figure 89). Many of the steel beams, bars, plates, and angles used to make up the curtain walls were of standard and available sizes, an efficiency of material characteristic of Mies. Condition Mellon Hall’s curtain wall itself is unaltered and retains the original integrity of the design that Mies specified. It essentially appears as it did when it was constructed (Figure 90). The curtain wall also seems to be in good structural and functional condition, with no obvious leaks or corrosion. It is in need of repainting due to being faded and chipped in some areas. This topic is covered more thoroughly in the “Paint and Finishes” segment, later in this section. Although in apparently good condition, the curtain wall may benefit from inspection for damage to welds and failing seals. If repair or replacement is necessary, this should be done with care to blend in with the overall original appearance. Its good condition can be attributed to the craftsmanship of its construction and attention to maintenance. It is recommended that the curtain wall remain historically accurate in its construction and appearance.
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-This section written by Ben Klammer-
Figure 87. Frame and panel construction made of standardized steel parts. Sheet A15, Original construction drawings 1965, Duquesne archives.
Figure 88. Cross section showing clips used to attach faรงade to vertical columns.
Figure 89. Stick built construction at Colonnade Apartments. Horizontal pannels are attached between the vertical I beams in a process similar to that used at Mellon Hall. Carter, Peter. Mies van der Rohe at Work (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1974) pp. 49
Figure 90. Mellon Hall East Faรงade. Note unchanged appearance relative to Figure 6. HAA 1921, 2012.
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PERSPECTIVE DRAWING
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Above Form study Right top inspired by Marcel Breuer’s designs of suburban homes RIGHT Bottom inspired by actual homes FOLLOWING PAGES perspective manipulation photographs
CONTINUING EXPLORATION
(select works on following pages)
On a trip to New York City, I noticed that overcast light from thick cloud cover was an opportunity to take photographs of buildings against a virtually blank background. By rotating an image taken in these conditions, the building morphs into a new visual experience, as if the viewing point were high across the street or floating in the middle of the avenue. Modern buildings tend to work best. The clean geometric lines fit equally well in any geographic location. By manipulating the orientation of the image, the buildings exist in a new context, further exploring how well a building fits different situations. Further exploration of this project is currently in progress. Using traditional perspective drawing techniques as well as digital tools, I am attempting to create an environment around the morphed buildings as if they were truly flipped or moved.
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benjamin klammer
PORTFOLIO 2013