Brian Ray Barber | Architecture Portfolio 2015 5
Delirious Detroit: reimaging the history of the motor city.
Experimental Martian Settlement: using Hollywood as a place to practice the real thing.
Micro Housing Detroit: re-populating a sparsely developed neighborhood.
Global Water Crisis: Sri Lanka: addressing challenges faced by rice farmers in the mountains of Sri Lanka.
Summers at MPdL Studio Ann Arbor: this is how I spent my last two summers.
Noun Things: thesis project.
Artwork: a look at how I got started.
Brian Barber 1261 Bending Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48103 barberb@umich.edu
Delirious Detroit
photo: nytimes
Arch 552 Studio|Fall 2013
Delirious Detroit In the fall of 2013 our studio focused on Detroit as the subject of a semester-long project. We were given the opportunity to research a given part of the city and then choose a specific site within that area. I chose the former site of the Michigan State Fair along Eight Mile Road as the setting to design a social condenser. We were also given a text as a point of departure, mine being Rem Koolhaas’ “Delirious New York”. This example led me to a project that is a reimagination of the history of Detroit. Taking into account political, economic, and social factors around the turn of the Twentieth century, my project examines a critical point in the history of the city where the future could have turned out differently.
Delirious Detroit In 1904 Detroit was a bustling city with the hopes and promises of a new century. Technology was making life easier. In four years time, henry ford would make the newly invented automobile affordable for almost anyone. Detroit was set to become the economic center of the United States. Emma Whitney was a young woman that dreamt of becoming an architect. Her father had moved them to Detroit from Western New York after the death of her mother. While emma’s father, David, Had dreams of turning the city into the next New York, emma had dreams of turning it into the next Paris..........
the Whitney building (Dad’s “Home”)
the whitney house (Emma’s Hideout)
Sell it!!!!! I’ll build another skyscraper!!!!!!
the woodward plan
emma’s plan included an underground tower made entirely of glass. she had seen images of one in a newspaper during one of her many visits to berlin. if she mounted lights on the mine walls she could control the intensity and duration of the light. for emma, daylight was too harsh and night time was too dark. she could finally find a happy medium and effect the mood with colored glass on the facade of the building.......it would be brilliant.
The woodward plan had so obviously been modeled after the parks of europe, like the gardens of versailles. Her Grandmother had left emma a plot of land that her father wanted to sell so the state could use it for the fairgrounds. Emma had plans to turn it into an urban garden, full of flowers and vegetables for the people who lived in the city. Her plan was perfect.. She had drawn it out, how could her father argue?
detroit 1904
garden plan
glass: meant to control the visual atmosphere of each floor of the underground tower. lights: powerful new lighting used in baseball parks for night games. steel frame: the frame is also new technology. used in the mine to protect against any mine collapse. the vast salt mines could also be used for other activities, like golf, tennis, and swimming in the underground lakes.
above ground the gardens could serve the community. she could raise flowers and vegetables. Perhaps she could even rent out plots to folks who need a garden. The amphitheatre could hold concerts and other community events. maybe she would even open up the underground club to the public. afterall, one of the things that bothered her about her father was his eliteism.
monument to modernism
amphitheatre/elevator
axon Garden plots amphitheatre
monument
elevator
Area of Surface Program: 135 Acres Area of Underground Program: > 1500 acres
section
1200’
4.62 mi site
saltmine
1200’ saltmine the site of the gardens sits on top of vast salt mines....... the perfect place for her secret society. emma dreamt of building glass skyscrapers underground, a concept her father could never understand. 4.62 mi
detroit was such a beautiful city, with a promising future.......
emma dreamt of planning out the rest of the city. She thought that one day detroit really could be another Paris....of the midwest!
place de la concorde
perhaps........
Brian Barber
Experimental Martian Settlement Hollywood, CA Building Enclosure Systems|Winter 2014
photo:NASA
Experimental Martian Settlement, Hollywood, CA
The proposed facility in the Hollywood Hills above Los Angeles is meant to closely mimick the first structure to be built by humans on the surface of Mars. Its purpose would be to extract water from the surface soil which is then used to grow food and plants for the inhabitants of the outpost. Utilizing the high winds often found on Mars, the facility’s initial power source is a large wind turbine on the top floor. Because of the nature of the project, it must be completely self-sustaining, employing additional methods of generating power once the system is up and running such as solar power, and biomass production.The structure is built into a mountainside in an effort to mediate the harsh temperature differences found during a typical Martian day. The facade also faces south in an effort to optimize and control the amount of direct sunlight in an effort to mimick the amount of sunlight found on the surface of the red planet.
Wind Turbine Cahuenga Peak
Biomass production Solar Power
Winds from the ocean
Biomass-producing glazing solar panels
wind turbine Food growth/experiment/research Inhabitant residence
Cahuenga Peak, Hollywood, CA 34.1370째 N, 118.3258째 W
The project is strategically placed to take full advantage of sun and wind exposure.
wind patterns
Daylight Study
January
April
October
July
July
April/October
January
wind turbines
Energy-producing solar panel glass
Biomass panels
158 meters
wind turbine
Food growth/ experiment/ research Inhabitant residence
: g in s u o H o r ic M
it o r t e D , k r a Brush P
photo:NYTIMES
2014 r e t n i W | Studio 2 6 5 h c Ar
Micro Unit Housing Brush Park, Detroit
Brush Park is a neighborhood in Detroit that is situated between a highway corridor and a developing area of Midtown. After years of urban decay, Brush Park is set to make a comeback with plans to build a new hockey stadium just outside the neighborhood boundaries. Detroit being a city with a large land area and limited resources, urban density is an issue to be addressed.
Single Unit
Double Unit
frame
floor plates
circulation
structure
study models
north west view
south west view
plan view
Arch 672 studio: Wicked Problem | Fall 2014
GLOBAL WATER CRISIS|SRI LANKA Addressing a wicked problem was the premise of the studio in the fall of 2014. We were tasked with finding a problem that effects a large population and propose a solution to an element of the problem. I chose to address the water shortage problems in the mountainous regions of eastern Sri Lanka. Despite being effected by a monsoon season three months out of the year, the other nine months are effectively spent in a drought. The water supplies dry up after a few months and water then has to be piped in from the wet zone. This creates a list of problems that are compounded by the fact that the lines drawn during the recent civil war almost exactly follow the boundaries of the two zones. Given that 98% of the rice grown in Sri Lanka is consumed domestically, the rice farmers in the dry zone are the group affected most immediately. In my research I looked at water catchment systems as well as irrigation solutions. In addition, we had to propose a nonprofit organization that could address the problem and design a marketing campaign.
AVERAGE RAINFALL PER YEAR: 190 - 120 cm PROBLEM: MOST OF THE RAIN IN THE DRY ZONE FALLS DURING THE MAHA MONSOON SEASON FROM OCTOBER TO JANUARY. THE GOVERNMENT PIPES IN WATER DURING THE DRY MONTHS, BUT MANY COMPLAIN THAT IT IS NOT ENOUGH.
AVERAGE RAINFALL PER YEAR: 250 cm PROBLEM: A UNIQUE CLIMATE THAT PROVIDES TWO MONSOON SEASONS A YEAR MAKES FLOODING A PROMINENT PROBLEM.
Water Catchment Tower This water catchment system is designed to help alleviate water shortage issues for rice farmers in the northern mountains of Sri Lanka. The nylon netting has the potential to capture up to twenty five gallons of water a night, given the right conditions. Working in congruence with a system of cisterns using the Alternate Wetting and Drying Method, this system could reduce the farmer’s reliance on government supplied water from the south.
structure: formed by ribs similar to tent poles, easily assembled but lightweight and strong. 14.5’
nylon netting: loose weave to collect water and allow it to run down into a basin without being absorbed by the material.
form: the doubled over surface area of the catchment tower increases the nightly collection potential. rammed earth or brick: with a focus on local materials the surrounding area can provide what is needed to build the huts that house the water basinsand act as a base the catchment towers.
16’
10’
Shelter Design
rammed earth process
catchment assembly
Irrigation System bamboo pipes
bamboo is plentiful in Sri Lanka, in fact it’s a growing industry. it works well for drainage systems that use natural materials, and can be grown to lengths of more than 12’ with a consistent diameter.
locations of the water catchment towers
Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) 2” continuous flooding
2”
8”
alternate wetting and drying
16” field water 8 in. above
water tube: allows the farmers to measure the level in the field. Once the water level drops to below the surface, the field is flooded to 2 in. the surface.
drainage trench: moves collected water from rice fields into the irrigation system.
Drip system of irrigation keeps the soil damp without overwatering.
Drainage system allows for the field to flood. The water then is drained into a catch basin, and pumped back onto the crop when it is needed.
MPdL Studio|Summers 2013-14
MPdL Studio During the past two summers I have worked at MPdL Studio in Ann arbor. The first year I worked on a project for an exhibition at the Cranbrook Museum of Art titled Michigan Modern. For that project we built a Rhino model of St. Francis de Sales in Muskegon. The digital model was then used to 3d print a large scale physical model of the church for the exhibition. Over the second summer, I worked as a research assistant at the firm helping the principal design an educational greenhouse for a local school.
ABS 3d prints
Greenhouse Gable N
N
10
10 8
8
6
6
12pm
12pm
winter
spring
N
N
10
10
wind solar path
8
8
6
6
12pm
12pm
fall
summer
-The traditional form of a greenhouse. Ventilation is a challenge in the gable. Usually exhaust fans and ventilation windows are used. Photosynthetically Active Radiation is optimized with the 6/12 roof pitch.
Site
890
880
880
Massing massing model model iterations iterations 2
1
3
5
4
6
7
How it works: ventilation
Spacial analysis
14’
size of room: 280 ft^2 space taken by tables: 50 ft^2 (estimated) net floor area: 230 ft^2
20’
Plan Exhaust fans
Air vents
occupant load: 12 people
average class size: 1:10 ratio; preschool, 1:12 ratio kindergarden - 6th grade
Elevation
zcorp 3d prints
Thesis Project: Noun Things Noun Things establishes a new notion of the interior through deviations and distortions of typical architectural elements. The project mobilizes a set of nouns commonly used to describe interiors, such as “oor,” “wall,” and “cushion,” by transforming them into verb actions which disrupt the standard conguration and spatial capacities of familiar objects. Columns are oored, tables are walled, oors are cushioned and so forth—producing new forms of inhabitation and spatial character. Forty-five degree parallel projection is used both as a space-making and representational strategy. For example, tilted columns destabilize the typical orientation of a space along x-y-z axes and column bases shaped by the projection of a circle produce elongated ovals perfect for sitting and lounging. This use of multiple projection angles allows new elements to take on various proles within themselves and new orientations in space. The use of forty-ve degree isometric drawings further emphasizes the strange nature of this new interior while maintaining the measured control of standard architectural drawings.
study models
Cushion Seat To Floor To Doodle Floor Book Case
To Doodle To Cushion To Red
To Floor To Nook To Doodle To Scoop
Cushion To Floor To Table To Doodle
Column To Floor To Tread
To Floor | Ceiling
To Shelf
To Shelf the bed wall is shelfed creating floors of space and rooms, together these shelves act as steps
To Peg the bed wall is pegged similar to the leg
1’8
13'1"
1'8"
"
6'8
" "
7'10"
6’5
6'4
"
1'4"
To Wall the bed frame is walled enclosing the lower bed as a room and making a room above
16
'3"
To Floor "
6’8
To Peg
the head board is floored, embedding itself into the floor
the legs are pegged, lifting and supporting the bed
bed interior axon
1'1
0"
1'1
11
0"
'3"
0"
1'1
5'1
0"
11
'1" 1'1
0"
1'1
10"
0"
1'1
1"
1'2"
To Cushion
1'2"
1'2"
the base of the columns are cushioned, creating a ledge for sitting laying, reading etc.
1'2"
7'5"
To Doodle
1'2"
1'2"
the cushion is doodled here in a curvilinear manner, creating a loose identity of the cushion
1'2"
To Floor
12 0
o
the bookcase is slid down into the floor, creating a storage space for the books to walk on
11" 11" 11" 11" 11" 11" 11"
To Red
4"
11'
To Circle the frame of the case is circled, estranging the form of what expected as a bookcase
color is projected defining space as a projected “to circle” shape
bookcase interior axon
Artwork
Helen conte crayon on paper, 2007
Congo Boy conte crayon on paper, 2008
When Stars Came to Earth blown glass, 2010
A Story of Faith: Loupe River sandcast glass, 2010
Goblets blown glass, 2010 - present
Pollen blown glass, 2010
Brian Barber T:206.372.6658 E: barberb@umich.edu
Experience
Taubman College FabLab
Ann Arbor, MI August 2012 - Present 3D Print Lab Coordinator
Responsible for processing 3d modeling files, maintaining printing machines, running prints on Zcorp and ABS machines.
MPdL Studio
Ann Arbor, MI June 2013 - August 2014 Research Assistant
Developed schematic designs of educational greenhouse for local school. Prepared 3d prints for an exhibition at Cranbrook Academy and other firm projects. Prepared Rhino files for print from massing models to meshes.
Glassybaby, LLC,
Seattle, WA July 2009 - August 2010 Gaffer/ Glassblower
Led glassblowing team, coordinated production tasks, and ensured quality control.
Manifesto Corporation/Resolute Lighting
Seattle, WA September 2001 - July 2009 Glass Studio Manager
Supervised and led hotshop team, organized work and production schedule, responsible for quality control, and consulted with designers on new products.
1261 Bending Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Education M.Arch
June 2012 - May 2015
Taubman College of Architecture, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 2015 Thesis Honors Award
MFA / Glass
September 2010 - June 2012
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio President, Glass Club Treasurer, Graduate Student Art Club Member Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society
Core Student Program
February 2000 - January 2001
Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina
BFA / Glass
December 1999
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Skills Photoshop Illustrator InDesign Rhino Revit Autocad 3d printing
basic
intermediate
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advanced