Design Portfolio by Benjamin Kweller

    

       

        







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



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   

  

Location: 

Commercial renders are required for the client to see the potential of a property that is currently under developed. The goal is for the investor to see the potential of a site before any work is actually done. This saves both the client and the architect time and money. Commercially these sites are chosen for their location and potential. The intent with this project in particular was the create an upscale restaurant environment in an area of the city that is currently underutilized and underdeveloped. The hope was that this type of project could be used as a catalyst to spur future development. The requirements for this project were to create an environment in which the potential restaurant could have retractable window system that would provide the opportunity for al fresco dining while maintaining the original building shell. Additionally requirements were to make the rendering active and engaging.

Location:  Intent.’                                                                   

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 



   The majority of the original Columbus Museum of Art was decided upon being maintained, It is then however, juxtaposed by a unique form that cuts through the entirety of the building adding modernity as well as commodity in the form of a new atrium space, and a new large sculpture and installation gallery. While allowing light in through raised slits in the roof. The site is located in between several fairly standard commercial buildings. It was necessary to make the museum stand out from the rest of the buildings on the street not just blend in with everything else. This was done by creating a piece of a snake like form that jutted out from the original museum building and further drew attention to the museum as a physical piece of art, and not just something that held art. The form of the building is unique in that because its shape is breaking away from the traditional and classic look of the museum before the addition. While much of the museums collection is classic art, with the addition the museum was looking for spaces in which more modern art could be displayed. It seemed �itting for a piece of architecture that it going to be holding modern works to look like it is supposed to be ful�illing its objective and in doing so depart from the existing classicism.

 

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

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                                  

                    ’                                                                                                

     

 

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

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

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 

 

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   

   The city of Miami Beach, Florida is bombarded with housing and commerce structures. This project serves to bring a new housing typology to the city of Miami Beach, one chosen to compliment of the dense urban fabric of the area. This mixed use typology creates the opportunity for multiple stages of development for around the clock activity in a part of the city that would greatly bene�it by having that type of engagement. The design began by identifying a series of narrow empty lots where the building would locate itself. Since most of the urban scale in Miami Beach does not surpass three levels, the design takes presence so that the pedestrian will be able to identify the typology immediately when walking the streets. Using the narrow lot for its ability to grow upwards, the structure integrates a program open to the public to allow them to take a break and continue walking. The challenge was to create an urban building type for the contemporary Tropical city of Miami Beach, Florida.

Miami, FL

narrow lot initial rectangular lot consisting of 35’x70’

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divide space by use allocate space for commercial build-out on first floor

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private outdoor space arrange program to allow for outdoor courtyard space for private use

cross breezes create opportunities through the arrangement of program to allow airflow to pass through entire floor plate

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 

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



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   

   This is a moment of great excitement and energy in Nigeria. A planned capital like Canberra and Brasilia, Abuja lies at the hilly crossroads between the heavily Christian south, with its tropical climate, and the savannah of the Muslim north. Combining the topography of both, it symbolically knits Nigeria’s sometimes fractious population together. The design problem presented here challenges one to dig deeper for a solution that is simultaneously local and global. Nigerians refer to their homeland, the most populous on the continent with 140 million residents, as “ the giant of Africa.” Abuja is the country's jewel, the repository of Nigeria's dreams for a better future. contemporary and mindful of the past. It asks what is culturally and socially appropriate, so that the building will resonate with meaning for the people who will use it.. In order for the community center to intertwine within the urban fabric of Abuja, there needs to be a strong connection to the surrounding programmatic elements. This is why there are openings both oriented towards the Mosque as well as the marketplace.

  “”        

    





    

    

Nigeria

In order for the community center to intertwine within the urban fabric of Abuja, there needs to be a strong connection to the surrounding programmatic elements. This is why there are openings both oriented towards the Mosque as well as the marketplace. Accessibility to the site is of great importance and therefore every effort was taking to make sure that people are able to enter at spots where there is currently activity around the site.



 

 

 































 

  

 







 

 

 



                               







                                 

                        

                              

     



   



                                                                                                                









     





   



                                                                                                             “”

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 

   Traveling throughout Scandinavia and Russia, provided a unique backdrop for a study abroad drawing class. The majority of the course focused around sketching. Sketching details, perspectives, elevations or sections were all highlighted and encouraged throughout this course. As a result I was able to get a much better sense of proportion as well as improve my spatial perceptions through working with pencil and paper.

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   

   The former industrial waterfront areas of many cities now exist as underutilized parcels, seperated from the physical, socal, and economic activity of the rest of the city. As cities shift from industrial to service economies, a major aspect of their sucess will be in the quality of their urban environments. It is here the waterfront plays a critical role. The image of a city can be remade here and Buffalo is a city that isin desperate need of a new image. It is essential to think about revitalization at the appropriate scale. The most important thing is proposing a waterfront revitalizaion vision that is practical and can be broken down in to several phases. Ideally the goal of this project is to create a masterplan that attempts to remedaite post industrial wasteland, speaking in terms of the toxicity of the soil. Once this land is remediated the goal is then to expand upon the exisiting wildlife refuge park and create new industry

 





 

 



  

                          “”    ’                       



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 

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        ’                 ’                     ’  



 

           

 

                                                             

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                                             

 “ ”                 

     

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   

   

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  