BENJAMIN BRAUN WATERS PORTFOLIO
MUSEUM OF THE UNEXPECTED
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TOWN GORGE
7
HOTEL + WINERY
11
SILICON ISLAND
17
MOSCHEA DI ROMA
23
BERLINER DREIER
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BERLINER PLATTENBAUTEN
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KOHCHI KITCHEN
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STRUCTURAL MODEL
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FREEHAND DRAWING
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MUSEUM OF THE UNEXPECTED Binghamton, New York Fall 2011 | Professor Maria Hurtado de Mendoza To design a museum in memoriam of Assignment Rod Serling, the writer and producer of the Twilight Zone, to be located in urban Binghamton, New York. A tripartite museum dedicated to the Solution voyeuristic qualities and medium of Serling’s work, television.
By focusing on one of the three hills Discussion that define the Tri-City Area around Binghamton, each spoke of this threespoke museum orients the user in the landscape by granting specific view of the urban context. Once a presentation begins, the glass at the end of the spoke turns opaque and the clip is presented directly onto the glass.
MUSEUM OF THE UNEXPECTED
ADMIN
WOMEN'S
MEN'S
LOBBY
ELEVATOR
WN
DO
STORAGE
CART
WORKSHOPS
PREP
PLAZA
BENJAMIN WATERS
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1364 ft 1478 ft
FORM FINDING ACCORDING TO VIEWS 800 ft ALEPH PRIVACY GRADIENT
1389 ft LENS EFFECT
MUSEUM OF THE UNEXPECTED
PRIVACY
TRI-CITY AREA VALLEYS DEFINE AXES
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TOWN GORGE
TOWN GORGE Owego, New York Spring 2012 | Professor Amber Bartosh | In collaboration with Elena Toumayan and Santi Slade Assignment To design a city hall for the city of Owego, New York, while occupying a doublewide row-house condition along the Susquehanna river Solution
A town hall the refers to the ancient landscape of Upstate New York, the gorge condition, making this experience an inhabitable space for the city to use 24 hours
Discussion
This project activates its unique site and context through an abstraction of the ancient, gorge-landscape of Upstate New York. By making this experience inhabitable, this town hall presents the idiosyncratic experience of life beside the gorge to the people of Owego. In the “belly of the beast� lies the assembly wall with seating for 50. At the same datum as the river, this space provides the sensation of sitting on the bank of the nearby river.
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-1
TOWN GORGE
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HOTEL + WINERY
HOTEL + WINERY Ithaca, New York Fall 2013 | Professor Dana Cupkova Assignment To design a hotel in the downtown, urbanized area of Ithaca, New York with a “plus program” while utilizing a parametric process. Solution
A hotel that utilizes a terracing figureeight plan in order to create two different “terroirs” for wine growth. The Voronoi exoskeleton allows for permeability of light and air, and also, the infrastructure for a wine-growth system.
Discussion
To support the local winery economy in the Finger Lake Region, this hotel serves as an urban hub of wine education and commerce. Two typologies of room allow for a visitor to engage in the wine experience directly or simply to stay the night in the Westside Area of Ithaca. The form of this hotel originated from a morphological study of a sea anemone, and in particular, a study of bottomdwelling sea anemones for their strategies to absorb light. As Ithaca receives marginal light in the winter months, bringing an optimal amount of light and air into the hotel is a primary consideration achieved by the unique exoskeleton and calculated terracing of the floor plates.
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SITE ANALYSIS
DOWNTOWN ITHACA BUS STOPS
HOTEL + WINERY
DOWNTOWN ITHACA PARKING
DOWNTOWN ITHACA POINTS OF ATTRACTION
TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN
20 ft
20 ft
22’6”
15’ 3”
5’ circulation 7’ circulation
126’ 5” circumference
197’ 11” circumference
278’ circumference
171’ circumference
PLANIMETRIC DEVELOPMENT, EXPLORING ACCESS TO LIGHT AND AIR
188’ 11” circumference
15’ terrac
188’ 11” circumference
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RESTAURANT
TASTING BA
ATRIUM
TAUGHANNOCK BLVD
HOTEL + WINERY
24 HR ACCESS TO WATERFRONT
AR
WEST INLET
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SILICON ISLAND
SILICON ISLAND Roosevelt Island, New York Spring 2013 | Professor John Zizzovici | Site analysis in collaboration with Jackie Haynes | Conceptual development in collaboration with Aaron Goldstein and Eda Yetim Assignment To re-design Cornell’s Tech Campus as proposed by SOM, reconsidering a 2-million square foot master plan on New York City’s Roosevelt Island with intermingling academic, corporate, and residential programs. Solution ‘Inverted-skyline” slabs on both the East and West faces, a reaction to the Manhattan and Queens skylines, house the primary programs: classrooms and labs, commercial office space, and housing. These two slabs are bifurcated diagonally by a “Broadway-like” condition that provides access to all programs and vertical circulation points at the level of the plate, and on the ground plane, provides arches akin to the Queensborough Bridge for retail and commercial functions on the ground plane. Discussion Idealized as a miniaturized Manhattan on Roosevelt Island, the slab formations are understood as city blocks while the Broadway-like condition acts as an avenue connecting the disparate programs at the level of an elevated platform, granting views to the surrounding city-scape. On the roof, a Highline-like park runs the length of the approximately 1500ft complex, providing space for recreation and reflection. On the ground plane, the Broadway is idealized as a aqueduct with arches, allowing for retail spaces to access the ground plane park.
FORM FINDING PROCESS WITH INSERTION OF SECONDARY PROGRAMS AND CIRCULATION SYSTEM PHASE THREE Housing
PHASE THREE Housing
HOUSING ADMIN LIBRARY
ACADEMIC PHASE ONE B-way Condition GYM AUDITORIUM
PHASE ONE Academic
PHASE TWO Corporate
PHASE ONE Academic
PHASE TWO Corporate CAFE
CORPORATE
PLANIMETRIC PHASING EXPLORATIONS, INSERTING SECONDARY PROGRAMS AT INTERSECTION OF VERTICAL CIRCULATION
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LIBRARY
QUEENS SIDE AUDITORIUM
HOUSING
H
VERT. CIRCULATION
VERT. CIRCULATION
LABORATORIES
C
LUNCH TRUCK CAFETERIA SILICON ISLAND
ADMIN
HOUSING
CORPORATE OFFICE
VERT. CIRCULATION ACADEMIC OFFICES
VERT. CIRCULATION
CORPORATE OFFICE
GYM
MANHATTAN SIDE BENJAMIN W WATERS
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ADDITIONAL PHASING
HIGHLINE CAFE BROADWAY
RESTAURANT
EAST RIVER
SILICON ISLAND
PARK
RETAIL
EMERGENCY CIRCULATION
ADDITIONAL PHASING
LIBRARY
VERTICAL CIRCULATION PARK
EAST CHANNEL
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PIAZZA DELLA MOSCHEA Rome, Italy Fall 2013 | Professor Caroline O’Donnell | Site analysis in collaboration with Thomas Tumelty From an analysis of Via Nomentana, one of Rome’s consular roads, form an urban intervention in which to root a specific complex of buildings A piazza for Rome’s quickly-growing Muslim population to host programs relating to Muslim life. At one end of the pizza stands the 4th century AD Sant’Agnese fuori le Mure church, and at the other, a new mosque complex. Aside from Via Nomentana’s idiosyncratic curves which serve to divide it up into discrete neighborhoods, Via Nomentana is also unique among the consular roads in that it is devoid of piazzi, with one exception. Referencing the twin-church typology prevalent across Italy, and noting the important and predominantly Middle Eastern diplomatic function of the area, a mosque became the clear choice for twinchurch to the Sant’Agnese church. After an analysis of canonical mosque program, it became clear that the extended mosque program could not just occupy one terminus of the proposed piazza, but instead, the entirety of the new urban space.
MOSCHEA DI ROMA
Assignment
Solution
Discussion
ARCHETYPAL MOSQUE FORM
MOSQUE MINARET
ARCHETYPAL MOSQUE PROGRAM
MAUSOLEUM
ORPHANAGE AND WOMEN’S SHELTER
ENTRY MARKET MEDICAL RESEARCH LIBRARY
HOTEL
MARKET
MINARET
ISLAMIC SCHOOL MEDICAL LIBRARY MONUMENTALIZED ENTRY
HOUSING HOTEL
MOSQUE
EXISTING ISLAMIC SCHOOL MAUSOLEUM
MODERNIZED MOSQUE PROGRAM
BENJAMIN WATERS
CREDIT: METHOD DESIGN
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MAUSOLEUM
MARKET
MOSQUE
MOSCHEA DI ROMA
SANT’AGNESE
MARKET
SITE ANALYSIS: OBJECT-FIELD VS. COURTYARD
VILLA TYPOLOGY
INSULA TYPOLOGY
VILLA WALL
INSULA GATE
VILLA PUBLIC
INSULA PUBLIC
HYPOSTYLE W/DOME
CENTRALIZED DOME
HYPOSTYLE W/DAWD
PAVILION IN DAWD
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DJENNE TYPOLOGY ONE: CENTRAL MUSALLA
DAMASCUS TYPOLOGY TWO: SIDE MUSALLA
ISTANBUL
MALACCA
FEZ
CAIRO
XIAN
OLD DEHLI
TUNIS
DAWD WUDU’ MUSALLA MIHRAB
SANAA TYPOLOGY THREE: CENTRAL DAWD
MOSCHEA DI ROMA
ISFAHAN
BUKHARA
MECCA
INSIDE OF GRAN MOSCHEA
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BERLINER DREIER Berlin, Germany Spring 2014 | Professors Tim Heide and Verena von Beckerath | Master plan in collaboration with Emmanuel Ramirez and Peter Williamson Create an urban master plan for the Dragonerareal site in Berlin, sensitive to the historical context, reactive to typological precedents, and considerate of existing infrastructures.
Assignment
A quadripartite urban scheme divide among three building typologies and a new public green space. The typologies include courtyard, slab, and tower buildings.
Solution
Utilizing four distinct architectural devices, the slab , the tower, the courtyard, and the park, this redvelopment of the Dragonerareal creates unique and connective conditions within the Kreuzberg block. Understanding the stables as a connective tissue, adjacent buildings and programs work with the stables to provide a programmatic flow from one of the development to another.
Discussion
BERLINER DREIER
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BERLINER DREIER
SLAB
SLAB
VEHICULAR ACCESS
VEHICULAR ACCESS
COURTYARD
COURTYARD
PEDESTRIAN WALKWAYS
PEDESTRIAN WALKWAYS
TOWER
TOWER
MAIN PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION
MAIN PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION
PARK
PARK
PARKING ACCESS
PARKING ACCESS
ARCHITECTURAL architectural typologies
s it e a cACCESS c e ss SITE
TYPOLOGIES
LPG BIOMARKET
LPG BIOMARKET COMMUNITY PARK
COMMUNITY PARK
COMMUNITY PARK
COMMUNITY PARK
DEVELOPMENT GREEN SPACE
COMMUNITY GREENHOUSE
DEVELOPMENT GREEN SPACE
COMMUNITY GREENHOUSE
AGRICULTURAL LAND
AGRICULTURAL LAND
AGRICULTURAL LAND
AGRICULTURAL LAND INTERIOR PARK
INTERIOR PARK COMMUNITY ATHLETIC FACILITY
COMMUNITY ATHLETIC FACILITY
GREEN green spaceSPACE
GREEN PUBLIC g r e e n p u b li c p r o g r a m m i n PROGRAMMING
g
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BERLINER PLATTENBAUTEN Berlin, Germany Spring 2014 | Professors Tim Heide and Verena von Beckerath | Master plan in collaboration with Emmanuel Ramirez and Peter Williamson Utilizing the slab building typology (plattenbau), organize the southeastern quadrant of the site while using the existing stable context and while researching new means of apartment block circulation. A tripartite slab complex, two of which are non-standard widths of 17m and 9.5m, and one of which is a standard 12m width. Designing the two non-standard widths (equating to two standard with slabs), cross circulation that allowed for privacy, air, and light is the motivating factor.
Each of the two slabs addresses each of the student, family, atelier, and town home typologies differently, allowing for the greatest amount of variation in living experiences possible on the site. Adjacent to each slab is an agricultural area. These areas draw from Prinzessinnengarten, utilizing crates to create a “mobile agricultural,� allowing the farming ateliers in the stables and the ground floors of each slab to process the food and products they are fabricating directly in the ateliers themselves (as opposed to the fields).
BERLINER PLATTENBAUTEN
Assignment
Solution
Discussion
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SITE CONDITIONS
SITE ACCESS SLAB ACCESS
DRAGONERAREAL PARK MILK-CRATE AGRICULTRE
PROGRAM PROCESS
MARKET RESIDENT AMENITY
BERLINER PLATTENBAUTEN
ACTIVE PROGRAM RESIDENT AMENITY AGRICULTURAL ATELIERS
THIN SLAB TYPOLOGIES
FAMILY
STUDIO
STUDENT
AGRO-RESIDENCY
THICK SLAB TYPOLOGIES
STUDENT
BERLINER PLATTENBAUTEN
ATELIER
TOWNHOUSE
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KOCHI KITCHEN Kochi, India Fall 2014 | Professors Inaqui Carnicero and Anupama Kundoo Design a women’s shelter in India’s south-western state of Kerala, providing educational, medical, and technological programs.
Assignment
A reinterpreted women’s shelter, occupying a central site on Kochi’s port island, Wellington Island. Utilizing the existing ferry infrastructure, and appropriating the “dabbawala” infrastructure from Mumbai, Kochi Kitchen gives women a recognizable job and income, while placing this operation in an otherwise male-dominated space of the port.
Solution
Appropriating the architecture of the port, Kochi Kitchen uses two scales of cranes as a key part of its structural system. Large gantry cranes, formerly used to move shipping containers, are now used to hold the elevated plane above the treeline and port infrastructures, granting unique views of the cityscape. Small vessel cranes are used below this elevated plane, which accomodates the agricultural program on the plate, and below, to create adaptable spaces for the secondary programs.
Discussion
Aspen wood base, 3/32in brass I-section beams soldered into truss form using a laser-cut jig, manually-cut basswood, and welded steel members.
KOCHI KITCHEN
Physical Model
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KOCHI KITCHEN
BENJAMIN WATERS N 0
50
100
200
500
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H C
KOCHI KITCHEN
PHYSICAL MODEL
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STRUCTURE
KOCHI KITCHEN
VERTICAL CIRCULATION
AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM
ADAPTABLE PLATES
SHADOW MITIGATION
CIRCULATION AND PROGRAM
BENJAMIN WATERS
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LONDON AQUATIC CENTER London, United Kingdom Spring 2013 | Professor Mark Cruvellier | In collaboration with Alvaro Alvarez | Special thanks to Stephen Arrow of Arrow Detailing Model the structural system of a building of our choosing, showing connections, site context, and construction methods
Assignment
1:200 model of Zaha Hadid Architects’ London Aquatic Center, comprised of 12 custom-fabricated, 3/32 brass I-section beams, soldered into formation using laser-cut jigs. Cross members were soldered using a CNC-milled jig to hold the 12 trusses in place. The pylons and custom-metal feet were made from silicon molds formed from 3D printed copies. Finally, the aspen wood base was also CNC-milled.
Solution
LONDON AQUATIC CENTER
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LONDON AQUATIC CENTER
Top view
Pylon and metal alloy foot detail
Front elevation
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FREEHAND SKETCHES Summer 2011 to Present | Professors Stan Taft and Caroline O’Donnell | Pen and Pencil | Sketched from life while travelling in Italy
FREEHAND SKETCHES
CASA DEL FASCIO | COMO
SAN LORENZO | PALERMO
CHIESA DEL GESU | GENOVA
MYCEAN TOMBS | GENOVA
GALLARATESE | MILAN
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BENJAMIN BRAUN WATERS | BBW42@CORNELL.EDU | (212) 335-0108