CONOR BROWN DESIGN PORTFOLIO
1 2 3 4 5 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Brow2771@gmail.com 920.621.7196
RESDESIGNING HISTORY MATERIALS & METHODS JUXTAPOSITION ARTS REMEDIATION THROUGH DESIGN PROFESSIONAL WORK
Redesigning History Plaza de la Soledad
oaxaca, mexico spring 2011 prof: Lance Lavine, Daniel Lopez, Renata Elizando Oaxaca City is one full of rich background and traditions. Settled by the Spanish in 1521 there is a strong presence of colonial architecture while incorporating Latin American culture. Plaza de la Soledad is the most important and most comlplex plaza in the city. The project was a eight week investigation into the challenges of redesigning a culturallly significant, yet ultimately defunct public space. The space is currently an incoherent conglameration of programs acting as appendages to their adjacent buildings. The baroque Basiclica de la Soledad, Oaxac’s City Hall, the ex-convent of San Jose, and Oaxaca’s School of Music and Art are all high profile buildings with no coherent rythem to their public realm. Further, the space is often taken over by a chaotic spread of ice cream vendors setting up with tarps and ropes,v robbing the plaza of any aethetic appeal. In this partner project we looked to reconcile the demands of each building’s program while creating a unified public space.
Site Plan
Librarian’s House Plan
Librarian’s House Renderings
Bathroom Diagram Opaque glass covered with thin layer of water for cooling
Open Design & gapped back ceiling for better ventilation and reducing of odor
Falling water on back wall to help with cooing and ventilation
Water cisterns to hold rain water for reuse
Bathroom Renderings
The design solution for this plaza was to give each structure that surrounds the site a presence, some larger than others. We created easier access throughout the site by providing a more cohesive network of stairs and site lines. The program of the library, offices, art gallery, and historian’s house was placed along the city’s entrance road Valencia to draw people into the site and to not disrupt the plaza spaces. The amplitheatre was created for the art school but also to resonate with the Soledad Church and mirror its interior. The trellis was used to mark the entrances and make a statement by uniting the site by stretching along the entire plaza and reaching out onto the sidewalk. With the use of new and exisiting trees the people will now be able to find relief from the sun in more abundance.
Site Section
All drawings were hand drafted with ink on mylar 24x36 sheets
Site Axon
MATERIALS & METHODS The Remainder House
bowen island, british columbia, canada fall 2010 prof: Jim Lutz In a construction methodology course we were asked to construct a model with a partner of an existing building to learn construction processes through emulation. Understanding through detail was the underlying lesson being taught. The building that we chose was a small home called The Remainder House, located on an heavily wooded island in Bristish Columbia. What interested me in this house was the use of reclaimed old growth timbers that were used for the entire structural system, and the conscienceness to not disrupt any trees while constructing this house. The entire structure of the model was formed and assembled in the same manner as the full-scale building. What I took away from this project was the knowledge and experience of how building systems work together to create a stablized and aesthetically pleasing structure.
Photos credited to Opensapce Architecture
JUXTAPOSITION ARTS
Glass and Steel
Performing Arts Center minneapolis, minnesota fall 2012 prof: Nina Ebbinghausen
In this individual project of the third studio at Minnesota we spent a semester localized in the North Loop Area of Minneapolis. The North Loop is located a few blocks from downtown and consist of new residential complexes and re-used warehouse buildings. The first steps were to learn about the site by experiencing it from a hands on analysis of how the site works with its surrounding context. The site was seeing a recent transition of materiality from the old buildings concrete and brick construction to modern glass and steel construction creating an interesting site landscape. The task was to design a performing arts center that had the ability to blend into this transitioning site while also creating an idenity for itself. There was also a challenge to create a permanent art installment that exists within the buildings design. The design was to be a small urban arts facility called Juxtaposition Arts, and its mission is to empower youth and community to use the arts to actualize their full potential. The facility was to be designed for high visibility and public accessibility, actively engaging its context, arts and performance, and the public realm.
Near North Neighborhoods
SITE
Road Access and Pedestiran Traffic
ue
Corner Site
et
h
hS tre
Av en
4t
5t
Concrete and Brick
NE Neighborhoods
University of Minnesota
Downtown
FLOOR 4 Classrooms
Black Box Theatre
FLOOR 3
Catwalk
Office Space
Mechanical/Backstage
Bar Lounge FLOOR 1 FLOOR 2
Lobby
The approach to this design was to look at the relationship between public and private space, wanting neither to disrupt the flow of the other. The facility includes an art gallery, cafe, education, work spaces, black box theatre, and social spaces. The spacious layout includes a lobby that allows visitors to see the different oppertunities and attractions provided in the building. The permanent art installation that was designed was a series of narrow openings in the buildings facade. The reuslt of these openings was a change in perception with the varying speeds people are passing by the center. The faster one moves, example cars on the highway, the more permeable one can see the interior from the openings blending together as one. The slower one moves, example a pedestrian walker, the more disrupted of a view they receive. Being able to also utilize these narrow windows to light of the dark streets at night and create a beacon for this neighborhood.
REMEDIATION THROUGH DESIGN Bundled Developments valparaiso, chile spring 2012 prof: Dan Clark Teaming up with a studio in Santiago we worked to study the city of Valparsio. This city is one who has recently gone through major revitaltion to try and save itself from economic depression. A once vibrant port city that has since been neglected because of the creation of the Panama Canal. The city was forced into economic hardship and resulted in the creation of many slum living situations. After weeks of research our team of three was asked to find problems that we found most interesting to further investigate. First creating an urban plan then moving forward with a section of the urban plan to further develop into a more detailed built environment. The two problems that we found most interesting is the abundance of precarious housing throughout the city and lack of student housing in the city. Along with these main problems they both shared collatoral issues consisting of mobility and accessibility to resources. The result is what we called bundled developments, which are sites throughout the city that incorporate a mix of upgraded residential housing, student housing, and a piece of carefully selected program to tie the two housing projects together. By carefully dispersing these bundled sites throughout the city, connected to eachother and the city center by metro cable, Valparaiso can achieve a more unified and healthier lifestyle.
TRAVEL OF STUDENTS TO UNIVERSITY OF SANTA MARIA CON CON DISTANCE: 12.25 miles TIME: 50 min
“Due to the fact the land with better access and centrality continues to have a sustaining rise in value, it is predicted that residential areas around campus are going to be more expensive each year, so the students’ residential location in that area will gradually disappear, pushing the students to farther distances and longer travel time.”
VILLA ALEMANA DISTANCE: 15 miles TIME: 110 min QUILPUE DISTANCE: 12 miles TIME: 90 min VINA DEL MAR DISTANCE: 4 miles TIME: 20 min Universities 20 - 174 students 7 - 19 students 3 - 6 students 0 - 2 students
1200000
1000000
800000
600000
400000
200000
0
2006
Of the 11,494 students at the University of Santa Maria, 7,816 of them commute from outside of the city. That’s 68.1% of the student population.
2007 2008
COLLATERAL ISSUES HOUSING - DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC SERVICES - MOBILITY - CONNECTION TO THE CITY
2009 2010 NEW HOUSING NEEDED
REPAIR NEEDED
60,000 students attend the four major universities in Valparaiso.
STUDENT HOUSING -ACCESS TO EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES - MOBILITY - CONNECTION TO THE CITY
INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS
HILLS
INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS
HILLS
INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS
HILLS
INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS
CURRENT SITUATION Informal Settlements CITY CENTER
SEPARATE COMMUNITIES
INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS
HILLS
INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS
HILLS
INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS
HILLS
INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS
Existing Roads
CITY CENTER
Existing Services and Amenities
CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT BUNDLED WITH PROGRAM
CLUSTER DEVELOPMENTS
HILLS
CLUSTER DEVELOPMENTS
HILLS
CLUSTER DEVELOPMENTS
HILLS
CLUSTER DEVELOPMENTS
CITY CENTER
PRECARIOUS HOUSING With poor conditions and extreme topography, these precarious housing settlements prove hazardous for living. Because of low income levels, the building materials that are used are often of poor quality, lacking proper support and structure. Their haphazard organization creates difficult navigation and prohibits access to implementation of services.
IMPROVED HOUSING By replacing the dilapidated homes with higher quality housing with safer materials in an organized fashion, living conditions improve, while also allowing future implementation of additional program.
Project Sites
STUDENT HOUSING With space provided by the restructuring of the ravine, student housing is easily added to the area. Through strategic placement, student housing is brought back into the city to cut down on commute time and congestion in the city.
BUNDLED PROGRAM To address the lack of access to services for the students and the residents of Valparaiso, program that is nonexistent in that area is implemented within the ravine. Space between both the residential and student housing provides a common access for public interaction, recreation, and access to public transit.
Cluster A
Cluster H
Student Housing
Student Housing Housing Public Space
Student Housing Market Residential Housing Health Clinic/Gymnasium Residential Housing Student Housing Library/Education Center
Sports Complex
3a 3a 5a 5a 2b 2b
3b 3b
3h 3h
1b 1b
4d 4d 3c 3c
5h5h
4c 4c
Residential Housing
5c 5c
1e 1e
Residential Housing Gymnasium Sports Field Library/Education Center Emergency Servics Market
1g1g
3e 3e 3g3g
1d 1d
Residential Housing
Residential Housing Health Clinic
Residential Housing Emergency Services
Cluster D
2g2g
33
2e 2e
22
4c 4c
Cluster G
1h 1h 2e 2e
Student Housing Library/Education Center
Events Center/Parking
2h 2h 2c 2c
Cluster C
Residential Housing
Residential Housing
4a 4a
1c 1c
Student Housing Library/Education Center Residential Housing Emergency Services Student Housing Sports Field Residential Housing Market
Residential Housing Market
Gymnasiums Sport Fields Markets Libraries Police Stations Hospitals/Clinics Fire Stations
1a 1a
Cluster B Residential Housing Sports Field Student Housing Gymnasium
Residential Housing Library/Education Center
Library/Education Center
2a 2a
City Market
ResidentialHousing Emergency Services
Cluster E
Student Housing
The site chosen to further development with a built environment is one close to the coast. This allowed us to incorporate many of the items that we are proposing from the urban plan. We felt that the most interesting relationship in our design is how dense student housing, dense residential housing, program, and metro cable station could exist so closely together. Because of the lack of precedents with this situation we wanted design with all these parameters to understand how they will work together. If the design was successful we would be able to use this development as a model precedent for the entire urban plan. This site includes student housing, with the entire first floor consisting of restaurants and stores available for the students and families use. In the back of the site, the residential housing is layered along a hillside for added privacy. The rest of the site is blended together with a promenade along a river followed by a large plaza that includes the metrocable station.
Student Housing Plan
Courtyard Spaces Created in Residential Terraces
Student Housing We wanted the design for the student housing complex to be very open but also dense. The apartments are designed for two students and come furnished. The hallways to each apartment are open to the outside and are variously shielded with long running boards which emulate a similar design of the nearby Santa Maria University. The exterior of the apartments include a series of louvers along the windows and also the porch door. This type of design will allow the facade of the buildings to become alive when different apartments keep the porch door open or closed, leaving each day to have a different assortment of the louver dominated facade. The three buildings are connected by a large catwalk that acts as a bridge but also an inhabitable gathering space.
Residential Housing The residential housing area was designed to also be dense while allowing for each family to customize to their liking. There are three units in each building that families can live in. From personal experience and our research, we found that Latin American families like to expand and customize their spaces when they seem fit. The design is called Particapatory Design, which was coined by the design group Elemntal. The units allocate space for families to expand their homes and allow them to complete the house at their own speed and need. The homes are situated in a way that creates a variety of public gathering spaces throughout the terraces. It creates different types of courtyards which are very prevelant throughout the city.
PROFESSIONAL WORK The Kohler Company kohler, wisconsin summer 2012 The Kohler Company is one of the nation’s leaders in Kitchen and Bath products. To create showrooms the designer had to pay very close attention to every detail. The combination of product selection, placement, type of finishes, and building materials were all equally important to creating a successful showroom. Renderings are a product of a team of 2 to design, create construction drawings, and renderings of a Kohler sample showroom for a presentation to a potential new account in California.
Bridgeport, New Jersey Completed
PAC Supply Rendering
Statesville, North Carolina Completed
Statesville, North Carolina Floor Plan
PAC Supply Rendering
Hartford, Conneticut Completed
PROFESSIONAL WORK Interior Systems Inc.
gardena, california October 2012-June 2013 As one of 3 designers at the Los Angeles office my job responsibilies included the design and production of constructions documents for the interiors of McDonald’s located throughout the United States. At the end of my time at Interior Systems I had a total of 30 McDonald’s Rockford, Illinois Completed that were either currently installed, in production, or finishing up construction documents.
San Antonio, Texas Completed
Morganton, North Carolina Completed Manitowoc, Wisconsin Completed
Autodesk Revit was the primary tool used to design and create construction documents for the installation of the projects at Interior Systems. The projects started with a building footprint from the McDonald’s Architect and from there Revit was used to design the interior of the McDonald’s. Clients had the choice to request additional renderings of their soon to be restuarant where I utilized Revit’s rendering cabapilities to fullfil these requests.
Charlotte, North Carolina Rendering
Lawrence, New York Rendering
Charlotte, North Carolina Floor Plan
Lawrence, New York Rendering
PROFESSIONAL WORK Buchmann Design
2'-6"
12 9
FC
TC
PC
TC
FL roperty ine
FL
Proposed Front Elevation
Master Bedroom Rendering
roperty ine
25.15' Max Building Height
8'-0" (E) Plate Height 8'-0" (E) Plate Height
8'-10" Plate Height
6'-2" Plate Height
7'-9" (E) Plate Height
24.77' Proposed Building Height EG
EG
FFE
TC
7'-10" Âą Garage Plate Height 7'-0" Âą Garage Door
EG
EG
EG
EG
EG
TC
Dining + Bar + Kitchen + Great Room Rendering
FFE
FFE
PC
*Design credited to Buchmann Design
8'-4"
EG
Full remodel of home located in Manhattan Beach, CA. Job responsibilites for project included helping Architect to redesign the first floor, central staircase, and Master Bedroom. Drawing of construction documents in AutoCAD and creating renderings for clients using SketchUp and Vray for SketchUp.
12 5
5'-0"
redondo beach, california May 2013-Present
10'-5"
Proposed Floor Plan
21'-10" 3'-7" 5'-3"
2'-5" 3'-10"
42'-0" 39'-5" 3'-9" high 6'-8" Header
7'-0" Header
+7'-9"
6'-8" Header
3'-6" +7'-10"
7" riser
6'-8" Header
6'-6" Header
7" step
6'-8" Header
+7'-5"
6'-6" Header
9'-7"
2'-2"
4'-11" 11" 2'-0"
5'-11"
14'-2" Skylight
6'-8"
9'-3" 3'-3"
2'-0" 8" 27'-0" 33'-6"
1'-6"
6'-0" 3'-10" 4'-0"
Skylight
24'-7"
14'-1" 4'-5" high 6'-8" Header
UP 6x8 beam
UP 8" step
5" step
2'-6" high 6'-8" Header
10" 6'-1" 5" off ground with 2' opening
3'-3" high 6'-8" Header
2'-10" high 6'-10" Header
+8'-0"
Skylight
3'-10" high 7'-0" Header
12'-1" bottom of beam 12" Beam
4'-6" high 6'-10" Header
+9'-1" at bottom of T&G
60'-6"
11'-8" 27'-5" 2'-5" 2'-0"
3'-5" 4'-8" 8'-10" 5'-5"
5'-512" 4'-912"
16'-9" 10'-3" 5'-0" 15'-5" 13'-1"
39'-1" 4'-5" 9'-10" 5'-8"
Existing Floor Plan
4x8 laid flat +8'-3" at bottom of exposed beam
D W
glass block
Central Stair Case + Upper Hall Rendering Central Stair Case + Bar Rendering Great Room Rendering
60'-6"