PORTFOLIO Carson Thompson
PERSONAL STATEMENT I’ve always enjoyed putting together a LEGO set or creating my own from a pile of bricks. Every time I picked up LEGOs I saw a challenge to make something better than last time. I like solving problems with constraints. I like the challenge to make something beyond solving a problem within the constraints. . Architecture is solving problems within different constraints but the real change is not just solving the problem. It is solving the problem in the most beautiful way possible. When designing a building, it’s more than another problem to solve. That building has a lasting impact on the people that use it and the community surrounding it. A building should be more than just four walls and a roof. It should change with people’s needs and it should change the way people look at buildings. After graduation I hope to design architecture that changes with the needs of its tenants.
CONTENTS CONCEPTUAL HARDIN HALL...................................................3-4 RULED SURFACES.............................................5-6 GRAPHITE TO GRAPHIC.................................7-8
APPLIED WOODEN BOX...............................................9-12 MOSQUITO BEACH......................................13-14 ALTERNATIVE LIVING COMMUNITY........15-20 RESIDENTIAL.................................................21-30
PHOTOGRAPHY.......................................31-32
HARDIN HALL Fall 2016 Clemson, SC
CONCEPTUAL
Proportions are a fundamental part of design. Analyzing Hardin Hall allowed me to understand proportions and how designers use them to design. Through a series of drawings I began to find the proportions and the patterns on the building facade. I constructed models help myself see the patterns and proportions in 3D space.
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RULED SURFACES Fall 2017 Clemson, SC
CONCEPTUAL
Setting rules and learning to design within them. I set rules for myself to design with for this project. I only used ellipses and the blend tool in Adobe Illustrator. By manipulating how many ellipses and where they were on the page I could create many different out comes. A slight shift of the ellipse changes the design. I learned that designing within rules and adjusting them created infinite possibilities
Final Iteration
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First Iteration
Third Iteration
Second Iteration
Fourth Iteration
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GRAPHITE TO GRAPHIC Fall 2019 Canton, GA
CONCEPTUAL
Learning how to draw In high school I had the opportunity to take a drafting class. This drafting class was my first introduction to drawing and architecture. The first semester was focused on hand drawing and learning how to hold the pencil and if you rotate the pencil while drawing the tip stays sharper longer. The first images are hand drawings using a textbook that had dimensions for each shape. The second semester was taking what we had learned about hand drawing and using that knowledge to creat the drawings digitally. AutoCAD was the drafting software used for the digital drawings. Once I had mastered hand drawing and computer drafting I learned symbols used when making floor plans.
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WOODEN BOX Spring 2019 Charleston, SC
APPLIED
The design process from idea to fabrication. I had the opportunity to design a wooden box and build it. During the design process I learned that wood swells and contracts and how to allow for tolerance. I wrote step-by-step instructions for myself to limit mistakes during the build process.
Sapele (lighter) and Walnut wood Silver Hinges Toung Oil
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The two right pieces show how many tries it took to find the right width so the top and bottom pieces would fit snug.
Checking next steps in my notes.
I used a paper template to draw the curves onto the wood so that all the curves would be the same.
Once I had all four sides ready for assembly, I place small wood strips between the pieces so the wood would dry flat.
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Assembling the box without glue to make sure all the Cutting the side curve. pieces fit correctly.
The niches for the hinges were hand chiseled.
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Cutting the top off.
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MOSQUITO BEACH Spring 2019 Charleston, SC
APPLIED
Designers: Nick Hannah & Carson Thompson Design for now and the future. The biggest challenge was learning how to design in phases. The first phase was to design a space that could be built now and bring in revenue for the area. Phase two was expanding what was done in the first phase and improving the environment around the buildings so that people can enjoy being near the water. Mosquito Beach is a historic African-American Beach in the 60’s. It was one of the few beaches where African-Americans could express themselves. The owners want to revitalize the area in phases. Phase One focuses on the middle property where a favorite restaurant is. Phase One has a mural telling the history of Mosquito Beach and preserving the hotel where visitors used to stay. The Hotel has been converted to hold offices to help Mosquito Beach run smoothly. Phase Two is a bigger expansion that moves the restaurant to have views out to the water and space for local artists to set up shops.
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MASTER PLAN
Historic Hotel
PHASE ONE 14
ALTERNATIVE LIVING COMMUNITY Fall 2019 Clemson, SC
APPLIED
Designers: Ethan Curtis, Justin Hoppe, Seth Lauderdale & Carson Thompson Design on a large scale and a small scale. Imposing building projects on campus and downtown such as Douthit Hills, Earle, and U Centre and many others have begun to decimate the natural atmosphere that has made Clemson what it is. By bulldozing acres of forests these projects are causing the remnants of its Land-Grant roots to slowly fade away. In order to combat the ever-urbanizing and suburbanizing of the town, we have determined to maintain the last remains of vulnerable wilderness left on campus and utilize a portion of land available at the Seneca River Bottoms as a sustainable focused living-learning community. The community will strive for advanced research in sustainable agriculture, energy and construction, while providing examples of these technologies in it’s design and practices. Smaller-scale agrarian architecture combined with further development of the already existing agricultural facilities that reside there currently will promote these goals. Students of varying majors could take advantage of this community and work closely together in the accompanying facilities and amenities to further their education and research.
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Students in the Alternative Living Community will be a mix of undergraduate and graduate students learning how to work together to grow food and raise livestock. Student may apply to live in the community with priority given to Agricultural and Animal and Veterinary Sciences. The community aims to encourage students to take knowledge from the classroom and implement it into everyday life and provide hands-on learning.
HOMESTEAD STATION
PERIMETER RIDGE
RUTLEDGE RANCH
HUNNICUTT LANDING
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PROGRAM
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Farm
Community Space
Housing
Livestock
Homestead Station is the gateway to the community. This is where students will cook big group meals with fresh produce they grow in the gardens steps from the building. The building houses a full commercial kitchen for students to cook meals, and an outdoor dinning area with a grand fireplace for those chilly South Carolina nights. The building also has a community help desk and mailboxes for residents. Students are encouraged to ride bikes around the community and Homestead has plenty of pop-up bike racks to accommodate everyone.
Garden spaces
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PERIMETER RIDGE
Located on a hillside, students at Perimeter Ridge will be responsible for the collection of water runoff that will be used for irrigation for the community gardens.
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HOMESTEAD STATION
The threshold between campus and an alternative lifestyle. A place where students gather for community meals.
HUNNICUTT LANDING
Students residing at Hunnicutt Landing work as gardeners, harvesting fresh vegetables grown in the community gardens next to Homestead Station.
RUTLEDGE RANCH
The group of students at Rutledge Ranch will work closely with livestock including chickens, goats, sheep, and cattle, reaping the benefits of the animal byproducts
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RESIDENTIAL 2013-2016 Canton, GA
APPLIED
Reving it up In high school I had the opportunity to learn Revit and use it everyday for three years. One of the projects I loved the most was our housing project. The project was simple: build your dream home. We did more than put up four walls and a roof. I learned what a schedule was, how to annotate floor plans, the difference between a floor plan and a furniture plan and what a roof plan was. I greatly enjoyed using Revit. I learned how to make my drawing readable and what different symbols mean so I could better communicate my ideas graphically.
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SITE PLAN
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GROUND FLOOR
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FIRST FLOOR
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FRONT ELEVATION
REAR ELEVATION
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RIGHT ELEVATION
LEFT ELEVATION
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FURNITURE PLAN
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ROOF PLAN
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POOL
LIBRARY
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FRONT ENTRY
FORMAL LIVING ROOM
LONGITUDINAL SECTION
TRANSVERSE SECTION
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PHOTOGRAPHY
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ARCHITECTURE IS LIKE WRITING, YOU HAVE TO EDIT IT OVER AND OVER SO IT LOOKS EFFORTLESS. ZAHA HADID