Undergraduate Academic Portfolio // Brian Joseph Kato by Brian Kato

Undergraduate Academic Portfolio // Brian Joseph Kato

Bachelor of Architecture Virginia Tech // Fall 2010 - Spring 2015

018-025

Concrete Rainscreen Wall Spring 2015 // Professor Nathan King

026-029

Felt Installation

Fall 2014 // Digital Mentorship Collaborative 030-041

Monoprinting

Fall 2014 // Professor Rengin Holt 042-047

Screenprinting

Fall 2014 // Professor Chris Pritchett 048-055

Transformable Spatial Exploration

Spring 2014 // Professors Chip Clark and Negar Kalantar 056-059

A Robotic Exploration

Spring 2014 // Professors Chip Clark and Negar Kalantar 060-067

An Architectural Mediator

Spring 2014 // Professors Chip Clark and Negar Kalantar

096-105

Selected Watercolors

Spring 2013 // Professor Mario Cortes

116-121

Light Screen

Spring 2012 // Professor Aki Ishida

132-135

Beautiful Curve

Fall 2010 // Professor Dave Dugas

002-017

Thesis: A Study of System

Fall 2014 and Spring 2015 // Professor Paola Zellner

068-073

Shadows Within the Darkness Fall 2013 // Professor Stephen Tierney

074-081

Suburban Plaza

Fall 2013 // Professors Mary Laheen and Stephen Tierney 082-091

Urban Lab and Observatory Spring 2013 // Professor Jim Bassett

092-095

Underground Threshold

Spring 2013 // Third Year Competition

106-115

Watershed Observatory Fall 2012 // Professor Jim Bassett

122-127

Petrosino Pavilion

Spring 2012 // Professor Aki Ishida 128-131

Single Family Residence

Fall 2011 // Professor Markus Breitschmid

Thesis: A Study of System

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Thesis: A Study of System Professor Paola Zellner

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At the initial outset of the thesis, a system of analysis was used to investigate the word ‘system’. The inner ring is a list of words used in the Merriam-Webster definition of the word ‘system’. The outer ring is a list of words used in the definitions of the inner ring of words. Within the first diagram, connections are created between a word and the words that define it. In the second diagram, the same words are analyzed using a thesaurus to understand the relationships occurring within each ring of words instead of between each ring of words.

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Vertical Relationships

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Several key words came to the forefront of this analysis because they were used in multiple definitions. For example: act, arrange, characteristics, connected, group, order, and type.

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Horizontal Relationships

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The initial thesis investigation explores system as an interaction between conceptual frameworks. The role of media in the thesis is as a generator of spatial conditions which occur within the interaction of two materials (concrete and metal). Through the making of molds and castings with these two materials, fundamental architectural questions are raised such as mass and void, perception and orientation, figure and ground, and line and plane.

Analysis of Process

Process plays an important role in the making of the objects and has a direct relationship with their formal outcome. Processes of making the mold developed from a simple extrusion of a shape into more sculptural, three-dimensional outcomes. As this process developed, different materials had to be used in order to achieve varying outcomes. Drawing played an important role in the process after the object had been created as a means of understanding what had been made rather than its traditional role as a generative design tool.

Object 06

Object 07

Object 09

Object 13

Object 14

Object 15

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Throughout the exploration of system, there is a heightened relationship between the subjective and the objective. Initially, the creation of the system is a very subjective task, however, once the system is established it becomes a very objective process to operate within the system and create the design of the object (the mold). The viewing of the completed object once again returns to the subjective and the role of the camera lens becomes an important part of the representation. The images of the completed objects seek to only show the individual spatial interactions created by the system, rather than the object as a whole.

Object 07

Object 10

Object 15

Object 13

Object 14

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(Left) Contextual sketch exploring the drainage path of the site as well as the relationship of the water room to the horizon room and sky room.

The architectural project is a measuring system of the desert. The site is in southwest Arizona, thirty minutes east of Yuma. The site occurs along a subtle ridge line that runs from the southeast to the northwest. Contextual qualities such as the sky, the horizon, and water (or lack of water) are engaged through the architectural space to create a heightened experience of the context. The specificity of the system is important to create a clear and profound relationship between the occupant and the context. Through system, the relationship between subject and object is explored. As the designer, I subjectively employ or choose a system to engage a particular context. However, when operating or making choices within the system, design decisions become very objective and operate within the constraints of both the system and the site. The occupation of the space then returns to the subjective and is shown through the photographs and collages of the built models. Through the study of system, several questions have been uncovered. How does context allow for variation within a system? When does a person enter a system? Can a system be poetic? Do systems allow for growth and decay within the context? What is the relationship between subject and object within a system?

Horizon Room

Sky Room

Water Room

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The horizon room is a sequence of spaces which occur at the lowest point along the ridge line. The structure provides a datum through which the flatness of the desert may be observed. The structure creates a dialog with the horizon by providing moments where the horizon is revealed within narrow vertical strips, but then also fully engaged within a frame above and below the horizon.

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The sky room occurs on a flat plateau and is sunken into the earth eight feet in order to deny any view of the immediate horizon. Different spaces are attached in a radial pattern around the sky room to provide conditions which amplify an individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience of the sky. The spaces also provide a way to triangulate oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s position in the landscape and thus create a sense of place.

Sky Room Site Sketch and Plan

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The water room is a sequence of spaces which reveal the drainage pattern of water when it rains in the desert. As the spaces continue further down the drainage path, their capacity to contain water grows. Once water reaches a certain level in each space, it will flow through a drain and into the next one. When it rains a significant amount, the water in each of the rooms will flow between them creating a continuous understanding of the water room.

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Concrete Rainscreen Wall Professor Nathan King

The project engages the collection of water through robotic fabrication of concrete formwork. The design seeks to find ways to control water and study how it interacts and flows through and along different types of surfaces. The voids for the wall are rotating ellipse pieces that are assembled in different combinations in order to shed water, contain water, and allow for maximum sight through the wall.

Digital design was implemented into the process by using a robot with a hot wire cutter to precisely cut foam into different variations of a rotated ellipse. The formwork for the wall was assembled with threaded rods anchoring each elliptical void into place. In addition, rebar was added around the perimeter of the formwork and diagonally between the voids. Anchor bolts were inserted at the top of the formwork to provide a hook to allow for transportation of the wall after the concrete had been poured.

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Water was successfully diverted, stored, and repelled within various voids in the wall. The eventual weathering of the wall has the potential to determine the true success of the design and show the movement of water across the surface of the wall. The next step in the development of the project would be to introduce voids that began to intersect each other which would create the potential of the wall being able to even further control the movement of water as well as reducing the amount of material within the form.

Felt Installation f.14

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Felt Installation

Digital Mentorship Collaborative The design, fabrication, and assembly of the installation was a collaboration between students of various years and was completed over the course of one week. Zach Downey, the founder of Parabox Labs, led an initial two-day workshop for the installation helping with the design and providing the knowledge to develop a process of fabrication and assembly. The design is based on a cable tension structural system from which felt strips are suspended to create two catenary curves which shift and move through the space. The installation creates a secondary, more intimate space within Burchard Hall and provides a visual boundary between studios.

(images by others)

Monoprinting

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Primary Colors

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Movement

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Minimalism

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Letter ‘K’

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Four Gardens

Screenprinting

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Woodcut

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Blacksburg Maps

Transformable Spatial Investigation

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Transformable Spatial Exploration Professors Chip Clark and Negar Kalantar

The transformable shelter is suspended between four columns and can be pulled down from above to enclose the person occupying the space. The structure is made by connecting a horizontal series of concentric scissor joints with a vertical series of linear scissor joints. The two images to the right show the context and scale of the shelter during the day as well as during the night.

During the assembly process, each scissor was offset to a particular side of the joint in order to account for the material thickness. The offset creates an imperfect geometric system which is resolved within the materiality and the unfolding of the enclosure system.

Day Context

Assembly Process

Night Context

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Movement

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Detail Model

A detail model at half scale is constructed with 3-D printed joints. The fins of the joint are offset to create a pinwheel pattern eliminating the need for washers and minimizing the number of fastener pieces needed throughout the assembly. Also, a tension spring is attached between the opposing joints to hold the shelter in an open position.

Joint Detail

Robotic Exploration

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Robotic Exploration

Professors Chip Clark and Negar Kalantar The project is constructed by using a robotic arm with a hot wire cutter attachment to cut a rectangular piece of foam. The cutting curve was generated by adding a sine curve with a wavelength of five to a sine curve with a wavelength of three. The robotic arm cuts the curve on one side of the foam block which is then rotated ninety degrees and the same curve is cut again creating four different pieces. These pieces are reassembled creating a column which has a constant section in the vertical direction.

An Architectural Mediator

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An Architectural Mediator

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Professors Chip Clark and Negar Kalantar The transformable facade system mediates both light and view. Initial analysis conducted through renderings was used to understand how the system filters light and view from the outside. The further technical analysis was done showing the amount of illuminance (in lux) found in a 25’x25’x11’ room at noon on December 21st. The facade system is able to consistently create an illuminance of 1000 lux, which is the required amount within a studio space.

20d

40d

60d

Mediating Light and View

The final prototype has a system of panels which are clamped into a frame with fasteners every four inches. The back frame would be attached directly onto the window mullions while the front frame would be free to be manipulated into a variety of positions.

Axonometric Assembly

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Vellum Study Model

Study models were made at half-scale using different materials and colors. The images above are of a vellum study model which used the translucency of the material to create a layering effect. A yellow study model and a blue study model were made from bristol to explore the quality of colored light reflected within the screen.

Color Study Models

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Prototype Movement

Shadows Within the Darkness

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Shadows Within the Darkness Professor Stephen Tierney

The project is an exploration into the representation of darkness in interior spaces. The investigation is carried out through model-making and photography of the built models. One of the initial influences of the project was a book on aesthetics entitled, In Praise of Shadows, written by the Japanese author Junichiro Tanizaki.

And so it has come to be that the beauty of a Japanese room depends on a variation of shadows, heavy shadows against light shadowsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;it has nothing else. We will immerse ourselves in the darkness and there discover its own particular beauty. But the progressive Westerner is determined always to better his lot. From candle to oil lamp, oil lamp to gaslight, gaslight to electric lightâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;his quest for a brighter light never ceases, he spares no pains to eradicate even the minutest shadow. -Junichiro Tanizaki

Architects have the tendency to avoid representing space in darkness, especially interior space. The experimentation in this project will hopefully push the thinking forward as to how darkness can be represented within interior space. People are much more willing to physically touch the architecture in darkened environments than well-lit spaces. Representation of the sense of touch could deepen the exploration of the experience of darkness in interior spaces.

The project seeks to reclaim shadows within interior spaces through developing a method of representation. Darkness has nuance and depth and both the conception of a dark space as well as the experience of darkness need to be represented.

Suburban Plaza

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Suburban Plaza

25m

Professors Mary Laheen and Stephen Tierney The project is looking at a methodology for creating public space in the suburbs. The site is located in Ballymun, Ireland, a suburb in the north part of Dublin. Public space in suburbia has the need for a variety of spaces in order to allow for a variety of events. The suburban plaza creates smaller sub-spaces contained within larger spaces in order to create nodes of exchange at many different scales. This methodology creates specific spaces for specific situations.

North Crosswalk (4) Shangan Neighborhood (5, 3, 6) Axis Center (1,8) South Crosswalk (7) Bus Stop (2)

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Pathways Through Plaza

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Three material studies were made of the terrace retaining walls. The three studies were focused on the level of fineness or coarseness in the materiality of the terraces. The third material investigation achieved a high level of coarseness by allowing material to seep through the formwork, resulting in a griminess and textural feel to the terrace retaining walls that would complement the organic forms of the terraces.

Fine

Medium

Coarse

The terrace retaining walls provide the plaza with two key functions. The first is that they act as a natural bench on which people can stop and sit anywhere they would like. The second is that in certain places they are used as planters in which flowers and various types of plants may grow and provide color to the plaza.

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View Through Pavilion Towards Amphitheater

The project provides Ballymun with a sense of place in the center of town. The pathways through the plaza function as a river delta by creating static areas in the negative spaces. The negative spaces can then respond to the site conditions by creating terraces which are raised up to create an audio and visual block to the road. Other terraces are sunken into the earth to create an even greater sense of enclosure.

The pavilion accentuates the path from the Axis Center to the outdoor amphitheater. In addition, the pavilion allows the Axis Center to have a much more public interaction with the people of Ballymun. The perforated sliding screens of the pavilion are based on a leaf pattern in order to create an organic quality of light inside the pavilion.

1.000 M

Perforation System

Section From South Crosswalk to Axis Center

Urban Lab and Observatory

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You drive through a deep, dense forest until it ends and you find yourself at a wide river. Across the river is a city where every day thousands of people come, but by the time the darkness arrives in the evening, everyone has left. This is the city of Cincinnati, where there is no pleasure, but only business and formalities. In the past, the city thrived on the industry of the river, but the future is bright for this city. Soon, an object, a building will be placed in the heart of the city. Out of this building will come art, technology, historical records, genetic research, and a sense of place. This Urban Lab and Observatory will be a gathering place of both knowledge and people; for both are dependent on each other. The structure will quickly become both the focal point and the spark of the city.

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Urban Lab and Observatory

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Professor Jim Bassett

The Urban Lab and Observatory is a place where artists, designers, scientists, and sociologists can reside for multiple years and conduct research and exhibit their work to the city of Cincinnati. Within the Urban Lab and Observatory, the relationship between the nature of space and the experience of space is questioned. The nature of the space is defined by a clear set of constraints while the experience of the space remains unconstrained and indefinite. The indefinite experience of the space relies on the clarity of the nature of the space and constructs a new context in the city promoting sociological, intellectual, and constructed growth.

Site Plan and Section

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Within the Urban Lab and Observatory, the material informs the program. All of the residences are finished with wood while all of the archive spaces are finished with copper. The galleries and studio spaces are polished concrete and all of the open horizontal and vertical circulation spaces are rough concrete.

Detail Building Section

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The building is organized by profession. The top floors are dedicated for artists, and beneath are floors dedicated for designers, scientists, and sociologists on the lower floors. Each profession has their own space for archive, living, research, and exhibition. Each program is indicated by a specific material resulting in an indefinite experience of space.

Model Building Sequence

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There is a semi-transparent glass core which runs up through the center of the building. In addition to letting natural daylight into the central parts of the building, the glass core also acts as an indicator of path. All of the formal circulation spirals up through the building around the translucent glass core.

Section Model

Promenade

Vertical Circulation

Studio Space

Formal Entrance

Underground Threshold s.13

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Underground Threshold

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Third Year Competition

The visitor center is an underground gateway to the nature conservancy, serving as the threshold to the rest of the landscape while being sheltered from the extreme environment on top of the mountain. The corridor serves as the reception, retail, and display for the visitors and is always open for access to the restrooms. Each programmatic element has a roof which slants upward to break the ground plane and allow natural light into the space.

Watercolors s.13

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Black and White Composition

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Color Tesselation

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Sagrada Familia Analytique

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Collaborative Sevilla Tiling (Column 4, Row 2)

Watershed Observatory f.12

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Watershed Observatory

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Professor Jim Bassett

The Watershed Observatory expands into the landscape and serves as a place where scientists and artists reside for an extended period of time to conduct research as well as display their work. Within the observatory, there are three residences, studio space, gallery space, a map room, a library of water, and a rain room. The rain room is the focal point of the observatory.

Unfolded Section

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The idea for the Watershed Observatory came from a series of charcoal drawings culminating in the one top right. The ideas of expansion and unraveling from a central point resulted in the study model shown to the left. The primary relationship between the drawings and the model was the process of starting from a central point and expanding outwards to integrate with the surroundings.

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The Observatory

All of the programmatic elements are interconnected both vertically and horizontally. There is a horizontal connection between the map room, library of water, gallery, and studio spaces. There is a vertical connection between the library of water and the rain room as well as between the studio and residence spaces.

Section A

6 2

First Floor Plan

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Second Floor Plan

Third Floor Plan

1. Library of Water 2. Rain Room 3. Map Room 4. Gallery/Exhibition 5. Studio/Lab 6. Residences

Site Model

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Section B

Gallery Interior

Diffused Light

Night Condition

The map room serves as the entrance to the observatory, and through the map room, visitors can access the library of water, rain room, and gallery. The gallery also serves as the primary circulation throughout the observatory in addition to functioning as an exhibition space.

Light Screen s.12

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Light Screen

Professor Aki Ishida The light screen filters light through three systems which build off of each other in successive steps. The systems are constructed from the grid by choosing a point within each square and then creating an abstracted grid using those arbitrary points. Each system builds on the previous one by adding another set of points as a variable to each system.

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Because each light filtering system builds upon the one before it, the different types of shadows interact with each other resulting in a shared language between each system. The resulting language is extremely dynamic because the objectivity of chance is brought into the rigorous constraints of the system.

Petrosino Pavilion s.12

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Petrosino Pavilion

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Professor Aki Ishida

Petrosino Park is located in New York City on a thin, triangular site. The project was to renovate a park and design a temporary pavilion. The design incorporated the ideas from the previous project of the light screen.

Superimposed Systems

Pavilion System

Seating System

Pathways System

The three systems of the overhead pavilion structure, the park seating, and the pathways through the park are superimposed on top of each other to create a dynamic system which creates tension where the three systems begin to meet.

Superimposed Systems

South Elevation

West Elevation

North Elevation

East Elevation

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These model images show the atmospheric conditions inside the park and the lighting conditions created by the pavilion structures. The structures on the south side have more perforations to let through more light and to cast shadows on the ground plane of the park. The result is that there is a lot of tension created through the dynamic interactions between the patterns of the pavilions, benches, and pathways.

Single Family Residence f.11

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Single Family Residence

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Professor Markus Breitschmid

This single family residence explores the ideas of verticality and horizontality through volume, opening, and material. Through these, spaces and rooms within the house are created to be either vertical or horizontal. These spaces intersect with each other resulting in a sculptural building containing a diversity of spaces within it.

1. Entry 2. Living Room 3. Dining Room 4. Bathroom 5. Kitchen 6. Library 7. Bedroom 8. Garage 9. Storage

Ground Floor Plan

Basement Floor Plan

Southeast Elevation

Southwest Elevation

The orientation of material and openings were used to stress the verticality or horizontality of the space inside. For example, spaces used for vertical circulation stress the verticality of the space with narrow windows and material running vertically.

Beautiful Curve f.10

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Beautiful Curve Professor Dave Dugas

This project started with the prompt to create a beautiful curve which was then followed with another prompt to make the two-dimensional curve volumetric. This was achieved by giving the curve thickness and then twisting it around its central axis. This resulted in an organic volume which was constructed by using a repetition of linear planes.

Section Line Drawing