Undergraduate & P r o f e s s i o n a l A
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P o r t f o l i o B r a n d o n B y r d 2 0 1 5
Shipping Container Dwelling F
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Highlands Museum T
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Hybrid Buildings T
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Additional Work F
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New School of Architecture F
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The New Avon Portal F
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Professional Work F
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About Me EARLY LIFE: I was born in Jacksonville, Fl and raised by my mom, dad, and sister. I did not grow up in the best of places, but it was one of the things that molded me into the person I am today. A significant influence was growing up in poverty and seeing a newly designed structure being built and finished. Those buildings always stood out because everything around them was either run down, neglected, or aged. When I was five, I was in the hospital and the addition I was in was all new. Later, I couldn’t help but notice it every time we drove by it and after that stay I decided to become an architect some day. In 2004, I decided on the colleges where I was going to apply. CU was not on that list until I was watching a CU Football game and a commercial of the university aired and I thought, why not CU? I eventually applied and was accepted for enrollment. That’s why I cherished the opportunity to attend the University of Colorado, Boulder. REFLECTION: Upon arriving at CU in 2005 I knew I wanted to graduate with an emphasis in Architecture; it was the learning of design that had the most influence on me. The greatest advantage is when you get to step into different design worlds and come out of it with a new overall perspective. Even though I was enjoying my time at CU, I was struggling as a person and a student. I got to a very low point and started doubting myself. But as time went on, I got to know individuals around the school who saw the best in me and helped me realize it. I eventually joined the Navy committing to myself to return and finish my degree. Graduating from CU has taught me how to design through process, not force. I know the tools I have mastered at CU will travel with me forever. FUTURE: The military gave me a different perspective on life and also architecture. After visiting countries around the world I got to experience design unlike most people; being able to see the environment of what other places had to offer. I plan to focus on hybrid buildings throughout my future career. I would also like to attend graduate school after getting some experience with a firm. During that time I hope to gain as much knowledge as possible. I plan to continue a career with the Navy as a reservist while pursuing a chance to own my own firm or become a principal within one. With my integrity, tenacity, and success, I hope to inspire underpriviledged and inner city youth to challenge themselves to get where they want to be.
01
Shipping Container Dwelling
During our first year as Environmental Design students, we were tasked with designing and constructing a dwelling out of a shipping container. The dwelling parameters were it had to be transportable, affordable and able to accommodate two occupants. We explored different environments, researched existing projects and created charrettes of a person we believed would occupy our space. After doing so, I was able to design spaces and create form that I believed the occupant would create themselves. I focused on driving the design with three partition walls that connected the spaces functionally and structurally. Each space had it’s own designated grade for more sense of separation and privacy. The main room, bedroom and kitchen were designed to be extended outward to create additional square footage and comfort while sitting, sleeping and cooking. Also I wanted a dwelling that could be embedded into whatever site the occupant chose. The project was hand drafted accompanied by a hand built model.
Floor Plans
Elevations
Southwest Exterior Render
02
Highlands Museum
Imagine a place where diversity strives as the foundation of a design that makes it possible to bridge the gap between the surrounding cultural and artistic differences. The Highlands Area is a very artistic and expressive area of North Denver. I wanted to incorporate the historic identity of the area while being artistically responsive. I created three masses in conjunction with one overall mass producing artistic boundaries that are meant to be broken. The three main volumes serve as the structure of circulation and connectivity to the surrounding spaces. The overall purpose of my design was to give the community a place to congregate and express themselves. My design was meant to be simple and blocky, resembling the brick style homes and small businesses lining the streets throughout the neighborhood. I also went with a Tadao Ando style concrete material design to fit with the new construction of the area. The project was hand drafted, then produced in Revit for digital effects.
Floor Plans Ground
Second
13 4
2 1
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Program Spaces
1. Office 2. Film/Story 3. Coffee Seating 4. Coffee Shop 5. Outside Patio 6. Community Room 7. Archive Spaces
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Sections
West
8. Permanent Art 9. Temporary Art 10. Reading Rooms 11. Balcony 12. Trash Room 13. Mechanical 14. Bathrooms
South
South Exterior Render
Site Study
A site study was conducted to see how a structure would fit within the site given parameters. The program included a small space, a large space, and a protected outside area. There were to be two entries at the west and east end of the structure. The structure would be exposed to the south due to the sites connection to an alley to the east side and a brick masonry wall to the north. A shadow study showed how the site would be impacted by the sun and what areas I could take advantage of design wise. Configuration of connecting the small space and large space by creating a hierarchy through the change in space from one to the other. I opened up the entry to the spaces to one another with a continuous view all the way through the structure.
Technically the programs function allowed a 90-degree angle for the speaker or lecturer to intertwine with the congregation. The small space is perfect for small group meetings and great as an interview space. Each ground (3) floor volume was a square with a 10 feet void for open circulation to the second level. The second floor volume is a rectangle bridging the three below volumes into one cohesive structure. The second floor balcony provides outside views to the area and Denver skyline while also shading the middle volume from direct sun exposure. With an 8’ grade change from west to east, a retaining wall supports the new filled soil so that the structure is at the same grade allowing easy function and circulation through each space.
Elevations
South
East
North
West
Southwest Exterior Render
03
Hybrid Buildings: Incorporating Density
For Praxis, we were placed in groups and tasked with developing an adjacent area of land north of the University of Colorado to support future growth of student, faculty and staff population. Each student focused on an area within the site and chose a design strategy to research and implement into the project. For my area of interest, I chose to develop the soccer stadium, student housing and convention center. This lead me to research hybrid buildings and approach my design with mixed use buildings. My strategy was to conserve land, limit building footprints and create a new focal point of campus while bridging the community with the area. I wanted to introduce a conservative way to design a solution for a campus with limited expansion area. My research allowed me to understand the site and what was needed to develop a mindful design. The project was drafted in Rhino and rendered with V-ray and finalized through Photoshop and Illustrator.
Area of Interest
1795688 Sq ft
Convention
Grad Dorm
Soccer
Living
Stadium
350000 Sq ft
Site Area
Two thousand seat stadium with eight commercial spaces.
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Student living w/ shared community spaces and commercial on grade.
Arapahoe St.
Convention center and hotel for campus functions and economic driving tool.
Folsom St.
With my area of interest I created a new major connection to campus with a large plaza to support major pedestrian traffic and a passageway splitting the convention center. A minor connection between the soccer stadium and student housing provided easy access to and from the opposite mixed-use spaces, grocery store, and food spaces. Folsom street serves as a vehicular arterial passage to main campus and the underground parking structures strategically placed under the student housing and convention/hotel structures. The parking serves campus employees, mixed-use space occupants, and students during the work week and game-day parking during weekends/some weeknights. Mixed-use spaces line the exterior edges of the of each structure. Each space is the exact size of an apple store, but meant to function horizontally so that each spaces entry was uniform and circulation was not hindered. The soccer stadium was designed to maximize views of the front range and act as a form of mitigation for flooding that occurs from the creek by dropping the field five feet below grade. The adjacent field can be used for practices and intramural sports. The student housing functions as an above ground retreat to escape the continuous activities of campus and spaces on the ground level. Above the mixed use spaces, the entire second floor is dedicated to amenities common to student housing and an outside deck for lounging. Each room faces outward for maximum light exposure. The convention center spaces function with large conference halls placed on the ground level of the south structure with smaller rooms in the adjacent structure. Medium sized spaces would occupy the second level of the south structure with the hotel occupying the second and third level of the north structure. Each structure is provided landscape to create a threshold between the interior and exterior.
Stadium
Faculty Housing
Recreation
Stadium Seating
Parking
Student Housing
Kiosk/Lobby
Commercial
Amenities
Convention/Hotel
Living
Hotel
Convention Center
Uses Dedicated Soccer Field w/ adjacent Rec Field
Arapahoe St.
Planned open space
East connection Pedestrian Street/ Access to Parking
Folsom St.
Street Trees 30’ on center
04
The New Avon Portal
Christie Lodge participated with our studio for designs and ideas for their redevelopment into a boutique lodge with rental accommodations. My partner and I came up with a design that resembled a figure eight, which was integrated into the sprawling mountains and the floors mimic the flow of mountains to their peak. Our functional design concept was to create a new heart, a new portal into town meant to drive occupancy and use of the surrounding amenities. The building is elevated to connect and stretch across two sites divided by a main vehicular passageway. Our site was adjacent to a main Highway; we mitigated the sound, sight and weather conditions with a bamboo stick facade wrapping the entire structure. I went for a layout that was traditional to the eye, but felt more modern with straight edge materials and emphasized views of the environment. The function was meant to focus as a family oriented condo with simplified room separation and most rooms doubling as rental spaces. Produced using Rhino, Adobe Suite, and rendered in Keyshot.
Analysis
Type: STUDENT GROUP PROJECT Client: CHRISTIE LODGE Size: 131150 SQ FT Location: AVON, COLORADO Elevation: 7430 FT (2265 M) Population: 6800 Status: PRE-DEVELOPMENT
LOCATION
NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT
SENSORY
AVON “GATEWAY”
MAIN ST. CONTINUATION
NATURAL FEATURES
CIRCULATION (PED)
TYPOGRAPHY
“ALTERNATE 3”
PHASING PLAN
CIRCULATION (VEH)
CLIMATE
PROPOSED RESIDENTIAL
PROPOSED COMMERCIAL
Project leader: MARCUS FARR (INSTRUCTOR) Team: BRANDON BYRD, SHANE POWERS A resort town, nestled in the valley of the Rocky Mountains, is home to some of the grandest views, landscapes, summers and winters. The area is vibrant of seasonal activities that are boundlessly known. The opportunity for Christie Lodge to become a liveliness of Avon is empirical.
Site
Ultra Deluxe Room Render
Section Diagramming Facade
Public/Private
Rain
Sound
Sun
Wind
Structural Analysis
The semi figure eight design was to allow the users and all the spaces views to the Rocky Mountains and the inner edge of the figure serving as the circulation. Structural columns extruding from the ground at different angles and directions along with a foundation platform elevated the structure. It also allowed more access to the land to place amenities and supporting elements such as a fast track train stop, a possible lift to the ski runs, and an embedded ski run into the open side of the site. Each floors retraction made it possible to expand spaces to the roves with each roof top either hosting a pool, bar, view deck, outside seating areas and a restaurant. Being that the structure is elevated, the owners could add commercial spaces as needed. Room Plans Rental
Standard
Deluxe
Ultra Deluxe
Left clockwise from top: A massing model view to show how the structure interacts with the landscape; A massing model view to show circulation throughout the mass; A massing model view of how the structure is embedded into the site to show the mass emerging from the landscape. Right: Left and Right image; a section model view to show materiality, structure, and interaction of space with silhouettes. The floors are waffle slab with wooden columns and walls progressing through the mass for structural support, and tinted glass to limit over exposure and radiation from the sun.
05
New School of Architecture
Design, creative-specific cognitive activities that architects apply during their work processes. This is indeed the approach we must start making towards design for the future and collaboration amongst each other. Technology is a multiplier of information that is rapidly out pacing the growth and knowledge of our current and past generations. This is what drove my design for the New School of Architecture. I wanted a school that stood out from the traditional sandstone, so I went with a laminated glass facade colored to resemble the stone. Each floor with a studio was an open floor plan to promote collaboration and progression throughout levels. The main level housed the lobby and fabrication lab visible to all walking by. Materials were meant to be exposed to complement learning and be a visual understanding of physical designed construction. On the outside, the New School of Architecture is not just a tool for students, but an expression of innovation and creative ideas that the University of Colorado embodies. I wanted to show tradition could be altered, but still expressed without losing its integrity. The project was produced in Rhino, Adobe Suite, and rendered in Keyshot.
Studio Render
Elevations
East
North
West
Section Perspective ARCHON space
library
atrium heat/ light gain
studios
staff offices laminated glass panels
South
entry to basement
view into fab lab
200 seat auditorium
pin-up/gallery
fabrication labs
Sections
main lobby
East Longitudinal
terrace seating
Section Diagramming Light
Structure
Facade
Heat/Cool
Public/Pri. South Transverse
Southwest Exterior Render
Floor Plans
Basement
2nd Floor
Ground Floor
3rd Floor
4th Floor
Site Analysis
The JILA addition is a new building on campus and is opposite of the site to the east. It has accomplished LEED Gold 25% energy efficient and 30% water efficient than comparable buildings. It is 56065 sf and cost 32.7 million. Also vibration resistant. Material is of the traditional Colorado sandstone and concrete.
The buildings on campus are usually placed in monastic-like clusters. Colorado sandstone is the native material used along with concrete. The site must meet flood zone requirements.
ENVD
Guidelines
There are 17 LEED buildings on campus, 5 Platinum, 11 Gold & 1 Silver. The 2 most notable are the Center for Community & the Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotech buildings. The commonality is the efficiency of water & energy use & disposal of construction waste.
JILA/ Physics
The entrance of the site is due west but not overly exposed to direct sun light. The area is very hot and dry during the summer and cold with heavy snowfall during winter seasons and a mix of both during spring. Rainfall is 20.51 avg on year, snow 87.6.
Performance
18th street is a transportation hub for RTD, the Buff Bus and facilities workers. Majority is rapid transit. Along the south side of the site is one of the highest volume of pedestrian traffic. Also there are 2 major parking lots to the southwest. Peaks are at midday.
Climate
Sensory
Circulation
There is a plaza across from the site that has a large amount of pedestrian traffic. Two bus stops that are right in front of the building. Also a huge vertical wall that acts as a barrier for the OIT building. The JILA building to the east has a small plaza with potential.
The site is located within a very busy area of campus, but the noise is fairly subtle. You get noise from passing commercial vehicles along with passing pedestrians. The power plant to the north is only an issue when there is construction involving it. The only pollutants would be from heavy vehicular traffic.
The darkest red is the existing building area, with the first lightest shade representing the new area plan. The lightest shade is the area of the site including the landscape. The city has a 55’ height limit, but CU’s governing party is not afraid to exceed that.
Man Made
Natural/ Physical The site is mainly flat with a slight decline heading north from south and a few trees lining the edge. There are no major obstructions or topographic features. The existing building is 1 story below grade, so there is opportunity to manipulate the topography.
Zoning
Context
Location The site is currently boxed in on 3 and a half sides but opens up to a nice front range view on the southwest. All of the buildings have a exterior finish of Colorado sandstone and a mix of exposed concrete. The lighting is abundant and pedestrian traffic is heavy.
My site is located very close to the center of campus and is withing 5 minutes proximity to the most common buildings, landmarks and resting places. Also the site is adjacent to the Visual Arts Complex. The length of the site runs parallel to 18th street, a campus road.
The current ENVD building has a gross square footage of 60412 with 43062 assigned. It was built in 1948. It has 3 floors along with a basement. There are 3 means of egress, 1 south, 1 north and 1 central. The school has a separate site due to growth/ advancement.
Site Plan
Interior Lobby Render
Left: An exterior perspective to show materiality, streetscape, and landscape. I wanted to show as much detail within the model as possible while working at a 1/16” scale. I also saw the cantilever as a focal point of detail. Top: A facade study model to show an in depth detail of materiality and structure with the silhouettes and trees helping visualize the scale. The monochromatic orange mixed with white acylic represented laminated sentry glass.
06
Undulating Efficiency
For this Digital Fabrication course, we learned how to create complex geometries through Rhino and generative algorithms with a common plug-in Grasshopper 3D. Our assignment was to create a ceiling screen for a coffee shop drawn up by the instructor. We explored three types of design through extrusion, contouring, and sweeping commands. I chose to create a screen with rebuilding the surface, extruding a geometry, then contouring the extrusion, and finishing with extruding contours. Creating a ceiling screen that embodies and acknowledges creating art with limited resources and building with efficiency was the primary driving force to reach such goals. As the process continued, an undulating form became my final iteration. Discovered additional benefits such as effective use of materials, connectivity, waste management and conservation of energy. The undulating form is the bridge between the store counter and the walkway and adjacent sitting area located in side the coffee shop with multiple panels placed parallel to the main entrance.
The goal is to allow the screen to operate as a solid structure (given the panels are placed 5” apart on center) without exploiting the voids. The materials are meant to create a light-weight structure that could be easily handled by coffee shop operators. Rigid foam insulation board for the panels with veneer dowels for the edge support. Standard clamps and chains are used to hang the screen from the ceiling. The rigid foam is coated white to bounce light and not obstruct users. The structure as a whole can be manufactured with two 16” dowels or flag poles and twenty 4’x4’ rigid foam board. Connectivity is as simple as placing a bolt between the mid sections of the panels. This allows the structure to easily be disassembled for either for cleaning or maintenance.
07
Revit Room Layout
For a Revit course, we learned an introduction to the program and its functions. We started with the user interface, common commands and supporting assignments to get us more affiliated with producing projects to close as we can get to a professional layout. I learned how efficient Revit could be to a designer producing images and layouts for presentation and expression of detail. I learned to create new geometries that were project specific and geometries not yet modeled for the program. I also learned to express my ideas through rendered images. Shown here is a room layout assignment where we had to design a room and our own pieces to fit with pre-modeled geometries. I experimented with lighting, orientation, and function of window and wall placements. The end product allowed me to learn how to present graphically and help clients visually understand my ideas.
08
Rhino Room Layout
During the Rhino course; the course work was similar to Revit. We learned how to navigate the user interface, common commands, and its abilities opposed to other programs. I also learned how Rhino could be combined with other programs, as they all have their specialties. For this project, we were tasked with building a replica of a room where we resided. I chose my living room, because it offered the best challenge to get me acquainted with the program. I started by measuring the room for reference to make sure I was as accurate as possible when laying out the floor and supporting walls. In the next step, I added the window and door followed by the air vent and light switches. After adding material to those components, I finished by adding furniture and electronics that resembled my existing furniture. Once the layout was finished, I rendered the room through V-ray manually adding materials and restraints to get the best image for presentation.
09
Post Acute Rehab
After being hired by OZ Architecture, I was placed with the Senior Living practice area team. At that time, the team was only five members. Now it is at twelve within 2 years. We had plenty of projects that came through the office, but my first project, with a Spring 2018 opening was my first look at the profession and all it entails. Our client presented us with a program for a 70 unit post acute facility for rehabilitation of injuries occurred by our older aged population. They wanted a one story building with private rooms and close proximity to a hospital. After settling on the program, we then moved to the exterior design. We tried to maximize natural light with large windows at the units and went with hardie panel siding and a stone veneer wainscot. This project taught me a lot, because design for the aging population comes with code requirements that must be met. That being elimination of dead end corridors, short length paths of egress, and minimal corridor widths. Majority of the building had to be ADA accessible. I was tasked with team coordination along with production of design and architectural details.
10
MC/AL Mid - Rise
The last project I worked on in the Senior Living practice area before moving to the Hospitality practice area was a six story memory care and assisted living building. Our client’s program consisted of 130 units, memory care and assisted living, on-site parking, amenities on the top floor, and maximization of the site with the building footprint. The garage was determined to be our podium being only exposed on one end of the site. The other end was the entry by set backing the main level and creating a porte cochere with a structural cantilever of the 2nd level and above. On the main level, we programmed for the staff offices and memory care. Given the typical diagnosis for those placed in memory care, the main level was the safest and gave those patients easier access to the outside, patient care, and egress. We were able to fit the amenities on the 6th level with high ceilings and exposure to the views Colorado has to offer. The floors between were designated for assisted living. These patients have the ability to move about on their own. I was tasked with team coordination along with production of design and architectural details.
There was a lot of consultant coordination. My task was researching materials. We wanted materials to dictate the building transition as well as push and pull. A combination of FRX treated wood, break metal panels and stucco created breaks throughout the facade.