David Bulzan Portfolio
Contents 1. Acknowledgments____________________ 1-2 2. The Chapel at Wake Forest____________3-4 3. A House for a Car Collector __________ 5-20 4. Solar Stop _______________________21-22 5. Scales of Engagement______________ 23-26 6. VSAIA Competition 2010 ___________ 27-28 7. Observatory _____________________ 29-30 8. The Primitive Hut __________________ 31-32 9. Blacksburg Gallery ________________ 33-34 10. Campbell School of Law ___________ 35-36 11. Yellowstone Academy ____________ 37-40 12. Selected Drawings ________________ 41-44
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A Brief Summary of my Academic and Professional Work
The following pages are a reflection of the work that I have carried out throughout my years at Virginia Tech; academic projects, regional competitions and professional work in association with Gensler, Bailey Heck Architects and Small Kane Webster Conley. I want to thank my professors, my colleagues, my professional mentors and my parents for their immeasurable contribution in my life. Above all, I thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving me both the desire and the ability to pursue questions in architecture.
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The Chapel at Wake Forest The proposed design for the Chapel represents a spatial model of heirarchical ascension from the darkness to the light. The procession down the nave suggests that redemptive moment in history where fallen man was given the chance to be redeemed by his Creator. 3
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A House for a Car Collector
I have devoted my thesis year to investigating the way in which the classical principles of order, agreement, eurhythmy, symmetry, propriety and economy can be used toward the making of a contemporary work of architecture. The House for a Car Collector was generated with the help of geometry, considerations for site, use and beauty. “There is nothing to which an architect should devote more thought than to the exact proportions of his building with reference to a certain part selected as the standard. After the standard of symmetry has been determined and the proportionate dimensions adjusted by calculations, it is next the part of wisdom to consider the nature of the site or questions of use or beauty, and modify the plan by diminutions and additions in such a manner that these diminutions or additions in the symmetrical relations may be seen to be made on correct principles, and without detracting at all from the effect. (p.14)
Hence, the first thing to settle is the standard of symmetry, from which we need not hesitate to vary.
Then, lay out the ground lines of the length and breadth of the work proposed, and when once we have determined its size, let the construction follow this with due regard to beauty of proportion, so that the beholder may feel no doubt of the eurythmy of its effect.� (p.175) - Vitruvius (Book I,VI)
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Integrating Spaces Left: The house is comprised of a series of terraces that descend down the very dynamic site and separate the house into two primary spaces- the living space and car space. Right: The drawing to the right reflects the arrangement in plan and elevation. The five cast-in-place concrete plates support a plan that is arranged from the most public to the most private spaces. 7
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Car Space, Living Space and Site The house was designed to accommodate a collector and fifteen to twenty of his most precious cars. Initial intentions for the garage sought to present the cars toward the plaza as though they were in a storefront.
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Solar Stop With the generous help of the architects and engineers of Perkins Eastman NY, a small group of Virginia Tech students were selected to produce preliminary design ideas for a bus stop which uses structural glass and photovoltaic technology to power an electric scooter docking station.
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Scales of Engagement Influenced by the work of Gunnar Asplund and Richard Meier, the design of the Montgomery Regional Library was thought of as a small city within four walls where the cylindrical stack room anchors the entire building to its site. The intention behind this decision was to set the book in a place of dignity where one can truly appreciate the weight of knowledge that a library holds. In an age of Google, Wikipedia and other digital search engines, it is next to impossible to appreciate the vast amounts of knowledge available to you behind a keyboard. 23
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Virginia Society AIA Competition 2010 The VSAIA competition called for a new Amtrak train station in Clifton Forge, Virginia. The proposed design was conceived as an interlude between moments of visual overload where the train holds a meaningful place. 27
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Jefferson National Forest Observatory Set on a hill in the idyllic national forest, the observatory extends as a platform into the landscape over a reflecting pool inspired by the work of Louis Barragan.
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The Primitive Hut
The primitive hut of today is the primitive hut of yesterday, but the architect is a better craftsman who has refined the object of his profession, having developed technical abilities and aesthetic sensibilities.
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Blacksburg Gallery
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Campbell University School of Law The Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, a project of Smallkane Architects in Raleigh, NC opened its doors in 2011 after a complete 50,000 s.f. conversion of a building in the heart of downtown Raleigh. The ceiling of the grand entrance foyer was designed to accommodate the octagonal floor plan of the space. 32 configurations were proposed, all making use of a modular 2’x4’ translucent panel. The recessed panels produce a soft, diffused light turning the ceiling into a feature both inside the space and at street level.
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Yellowstone Academy Master Plan and Child Development Center Through the efforts of the architects at Gensler in Houston, TX, our team was charged with producing a master plan for Yellowstone Academy, a Houston based non-profit school dedicated to helping its impoverished community.
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Selected Drawings
St. Jerome, Portrait (2007), Chalk Pastels 18�x24� 41
The following drawings have been accumulated over the years through European travels, case studies, fine art courses and drawings done simply for the sake of drawing.
Still Life (2005), Pencil 18”x24”
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Venice (2011), Pencil 6”x11” 43
Bechtler Museum Reception (2010), Ballpoint/Watercolor 11”x14” 44
Thank you for taking the time to look at my work!