Corbin Keech
Master of Architecture | Postprofessional Degree Bachelor of Architecture | Kansas State University
Corbin Keech
Master of Architecture, Postprofessional Degree Bachelor of Architecture, Kansas State University
Kansas / Oregon
How can architecture capture the vocabulary of the landscape? Every time we build, there is potential to recreate the wonder and awe of the natural landscape. Characterized by their drama, vastness, and nuance, Kansas and Oregon - my home and source of inspiration for the past eight years - provide clues as to what architecture is capable of achieving. When rooted in these basic principles, architecture possesses tremendous potential to uplift, inspire, and humble. My work is rooted in a commitment towards the creation of meaningful spaces and objects that are imbued with these qualities. Each project represents a new speculation, a new horizon, and chance for discovery. This catalogue is my documentation of these searches.
Contents :
01 _ Courtyard Prototype 02 _ Hudson River House 03 _ Station Five 04 _ UO Athletic Medicine Center 05 _ HQP2 06 _ 14 Parcels 07 _ Project Chaboo 08 _ Extra-curricular
NARRATIVE
01
Courtyard Prototype
Considered one of the most complete arts, film encompasses image, sound, music, light, movement, space, drama, narrative and time. Because of its breadth, film serves as an effective means of pre-visualizing the world architecture creates. Through the language of film, coupled with computer-generated and graphic visualization, I was able to discover the elements that can potentially enhance the architectural experience. Inspired by Mies van der Rohe’s courtyard houses, our studio created a neighborhood of fourteen courtyard units. After drafting the physical parameters and limitations, each student was assigned a unit that housed their business and the building that contained it.
Academic 2006 Entry / Delivery Area
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FILM _ The objective was to create both a building and a script. Here, the story influenced the shape of the building, and the shape influenced the story. Several short films culminated with the production of three components; the design of the courtyard building, a short film that took place within the building, and a physical model of the building. The class built one largescale model, the framework that housed our individual models. ---
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Software used _ 3dStudio Adobe Premiere Pro Discreet Combustion
Portion of storyboard for film
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/ Academic / Courtyard Prototype
Screen-captures from film
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Programmatic diagram
My facility was a shop for a furniture designer and fabricator. The front half of the building is programmed for the delivery of raw materials, storage, production, and display of finished furniture. The rear space, containing living spaces and an exterior garden is separated from the production spaces by a 6’ thick wall of stacked slate.
Production spaces / Intensity Living spaces / Repose Conceptual model Boundary / Transition
Final physical model, rear courtyard
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/ Academic / Courtyard Prototype
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Plan and sections
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/ Academic / Courtyard Prototype
Final collective model
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PLACE
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Hudson River House
Different spatial conditions are both joined and divided by way of a bridge. The edge of each condition can be interpreted as the point where each space begins, not ends. Therefore, the experience of one space is a function of its location relative to the other, and this bridge is what dictates and controls the connection. This project is about exploring the interplay between the two existential extremes crucial to the unique aesthetic of the site; the earth and the sky.
Academic 2006
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Corbin Keech
Conceptual rendering
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An underlying design objective was to more clearly understand the notion of dwelling. In order to do so, careful study was placed on the quality of light within the house. The more private spaces have deliberately limited views and access to light. Such measures evoke a sense of submersion, creating an atmosphere ideal for privacy, intimacy and repose. Conversely, public areas were conceived as wholly transparent, separated from the landscape by a minimal threshold.
Light studies
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Daylight study
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/ Academic / Hudson River House
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Physical model, looking southwest
This project was a materialization of the diagram. The roof plane serves to moderate the condition of sky relative to earth and earth relative to sky. Furthermore, both the form and function of the building rhyme with the landscape. Essentially, the house maintains a necessary parallel relationship to the site’s gentle slope and extraordinary panorama.
Three spatial conditions
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/ Academic / Hudson River House
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Site plan
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/ Academic / Hudson River House
Plan
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East elevation
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/ Academic / Hudson River House
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East / West section
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/ Academic / Hudson River House
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RHYTHM Concurrent with the Third Street Development Plan, the City of Manhattan, Kansas planned to build a downtown fire station. In an effort to more clearly understand the role of the architect in a conventional design process, the project was separated into the three phases typically encountered in the realization of an actual building; schematic design, design development and construction documentation.
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We were exposed to the constraints of building code, egress, and the design and layout of mechanical systems. This process required the production of an initial set of design drawings and concept models, as well as a final set of construction documents and presentation model.
Station Five Academic 2004
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Corbin Keech
Final physical model, hose drying tower and cistern
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Rendering looking west up Fort Riley Boulevard, the entrance in the foreground. Here, fire trucks pass beneath the building into the apparatus room beyond. The building is stretched along the east/west axis for maximum daylight exposure, and the hose-drying tower is split in two halves, the east end utilized for the collection and storage of rainwater water for the facility.
South elevation
First floor plan
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/ Academic / Station Five
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IDENTITY Occupying 15,000 square feet within the University of Oregon’s Casanova Center, the Athletic Medicine Center is a state-of-the-art sports therapy and training facility for more than 400 student-athletes. The facility is composed of two primary spaces; a natatorium and taping/therapy room. Adjacent to these primary spaces are offices, an X-ray room, and offices equipped for dentistry, ophthalmology and pharmacological examinations. Programmatically simple yet spatially complex, the facility was designed to heal the athletes both physically and emotionally.
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Beginning at the schematic level I helped in 3d modeling, drafting, design of furniture, material surfaces and graphics. I also oversaw the completion of the project, assisting in the coordination of contractors, subcontractors, and the creation, design and writing of marketing materials.
UO Athletic Medicine Center ZGF Architects 2007 Thousands of anodized aluminum rods were screwed into pre-drilled acrylic panels, a composition forming the Oregon “O.” Photo by Basil Childers 25
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The ceiling was made of MDF panels, CNC-routed with thousands of holes, forming the statue-of-liberty and hook-andladder plays.
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Supergraphics of athletes adorn offices walls and coaches’ locker room.
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Taping and therapy tables, with built-in mechanized equipment, adjusts to accommodate varying heights, weights and sizes of athletes.
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The white corian bench weaves through the lounge area, bridging the main circulation spine and the taping/therapy room
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Stainless steel door pull, in the shape of the Oregon “O,” with customized supergraphics at the entry for way-finding and facility identity.
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Names of significant Oregon coaches were branded into the conference room wall with a cattle prod.
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Signatures of current Oregon coaches were collected and laseretched onto a sheet of stainless steel, greeting the visitors as they enter the facility.
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Customized fluorescent sign in pharmaceutical office.
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APPLICATION OF OREGON IDENTITY _ Athletic records are fused into the fabric of customized benches. Glass screens help delineate different spaces within the facility. A wall composed of various widths of white oak echoes the movement of the bench, symbolizing one large sinuous muscle. Conceived as an unraveling roll of tape, an internally-lit, white corian bench weaves through the space and serves as the binding element between adjacent areas. Thousands of significant Oregon athletes and coaches’ names are sandblasted into the glass, reinforcing the notion of timelessness and permanence not just within Oregon’s athletic program, but in all of sport. In essence, the architecture and materials were infused with a story to relay and extend the legacy of Oregon athletics.
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Each column was given a leather shroud, sewn together in the same style as a football
/ ZGF Architects / University of Oregon Athletic Medicine Center
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The Oregon “O” appears on the bottom of the hot and cold plunge pools, a composition of yellow tile against black.
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Oregon team colors and regional materials are omnipresent. Sheets of acrylic hang from the ceiling, glowing with digitally screen-printed green and yellow paint. Glass block windows behind wood slats allow warm western light to illuminate the space. A waterfall divides the hot and cold pools in the foreground from the therapy pools beyond. Televisions are recessed into the walls, allowing athletes to watch their movement on the underwater treadmills. *
West elevation, inside natatorium
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/ ZGF Architects / University of Oregon Athletic Medicine Center / *Photo by Basil Childers
A recessed mirror opposite the juice bar reflects the Oregon “O� and is framed by hidden storage above and below. White oak planks were left untreated and arranged in a pattern along the main hallway that resembled the striations of a muscle. *
South elevation, hallway
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Central spine, with north entrance beyond. Internally-lit corian bench, laser-etched glass screen, leather-covered columns, furniture with Oregon logo and colors. *
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/ ZGF Architects / University of Oregon Athletic Medicine Center / *Photo by Basil Childers
Nutrition bar with swiveling stainless steel stools. Notable athletic records are laser-etched into the leather seat covers. Quotes taken from athletes and Oregon staff were collected and etched into the leather that adorns the bar’s foot-kick. * 32
The natatorium, with hot and cold plunge pools in the foreground. The submersible treadmills are beyond, on the opposite side of the waterfall.
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Corbin Keech
/ ZGF Architects / University of Oregon Athletic Medicine Center / *Photo by Basil Childers
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Oregon!
Diagram depicting the systematic transformation of Oregonian context into a conceptual design for the ground floor receptionist desk
HARMONY The new Port of Portland Headquarters is a physical representation of the Port’s growing role in worldwide trade and travel. By integrating generous amounts of natural light, maximizing exterior views, capturing abundant rainwater, and utilizing local, native and non-virgin materials, users are surrounded by natural connectors, thus resulting in a harmonious relationship with surrounding landscape.
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I assisted in the development of several graphic and architectural elements of the project, including the first floor lobby, the primary interior lobby, and commission room. These areas involved exterior and interior detailing, the design of interior graphics, branding exercises, as well designing the “living machine” a device in the ground floor lobby designed to passively create and store energy for the complex.
HQP2 Port of Portland Headquarters ZGF Architects 2008
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INTEGRATION OF CONTEXTUAL REFERENCES IN LOBBY _ The Oregon landscape and Port mission influenced graphics, material selection and spatial qualities, and the objective was to artfully blend these native elements into the architecture itself. Within the ground floor lobby, I developed the configuration of the receptionist desk and curved wall, both to be constructed of salvaged planks of Oregon Douglas Fir. --Sketch of ground floor lobby with living machine, conceptual receptionist desk and fin wall of recycled douglas fir beyond. Diagram of the fir wall is on the following page. Varying planks of salvaged Oregon Douglas Fir to be reused in ground floor lobby.
Potential composition of salvaged Douglas Fir planks.
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/ ZGF Architects / HQP2 Port of Portland Headquarters
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[3]
INTEGRATION OF CONTEXTUAL REFERENCES IN CENTRAL ATRIUM _ The central atrium serves as a means of connection and circulation for the facility, and becomes the symbolic heart of the building. Glassy fins sheathe the structure above and are intermittently spaced between skylights. Conference rooms dangle from above, recalling the sporadic formation of clouds. In doing so, all users have maximum access to light and activity, resulting in a lively work atmosphere.
Section of central atrium
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The hanging conference rooms and employee coffee/tea stations are sheathed in a white reflective metal panel and punctured with frameless glass openings, allowing occupants to easily view the atrium below.
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Casual lounge is atop certain hanging conference rooms.
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The skylights draw light from above, while glass fins and baffles help direct and soften it.
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Primary coffee/kitchen areas reside on the east and west sides of the atrium.
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Conference room.
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[1] West coffee station
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Corbin Keech
/ ZGF Architects / HQP2 Port of Portland Headquarters
Central atrium, under construction. The primary hanging conference room is in the center of the image.
Primary hanging conference room
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LIGHT
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14 Parcels Architecture W 2009
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Corbin Keech
Featuring a cadre of established international designers from Central America, Scandinavia, Brazil, Austria, China and six recent Harvard Design School graduates, this is a modestly-sized experiment in high density urban design. Tightly situated between 1st avenue and the western base of the Ross Island Bridge, the site is awkwardly sloped, somewhat isolated, and unquestionably challenging. The site was divided into 14 parcels, each to be developed into 14 separate housing units. Architecture W was assigned the 13th parcel. I helped design the house, and in the process constructed several digital and physical models. I also created a digital film that accompanied and supplemented the design.
Progression of building’s form
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Construction of study model
DESIGN PROCESS _ Difficult site conditions and insufficient views provided for a process that focused on the house as an object. Essentially, the building became a sculpture with a singular expression, enlivened by the light from above. --To the right is a diagram of the transformation of simple 24’ x 36’ x 40’ cube into the final sculpted object
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Corbin Keech
/ Architecture W / 14 Parcels
BOX
SLICE!
PUSH!
INSERT!
OPEN!
OPEN MORE!
ENTRY!
SCULPT!
Physical model of primary beam
Entry of light at ground floor entrance
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CONSTRUCTION _ Restricted views created an opportunity to capture light from above. The dwelling is sheathed in a luminescent polycarbonate skin, reinforcing the intent to create a simple expressive object. The south wall is torqued inwards, creating a sliver of open space is for a bamboo garden. Further, a singular triangular opening is a subtle invitation to explore within. The dwelling is programmatically simple; the ground floor contains a kitchen, dining area and storage. The first level holds a workspace and gallery, and the second level contains the bedroom and shower.
Physical model, with south wall ghosted to show the interior space and structure.
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Corbin Keech
/ Architecture W / 14 Parcels
Ground floor entry, with stairs to second floor
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Entry sequence from digital film
Closing sequence from digital film
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FILM _ In an effort to fully convey the identity of Parcel 13 as an introverted repository for containment and reflection, a digital film was created. The idea was to reveal the spatial complexity and multiple layers that unfold once inside. Further, this created a clearer understanding of both the physical composition of the house and the relationship between Parcel 13 and the surrounding development. --Software used _ Sketchup 3dStudio Adobe Premiere Pro Adobe After Effects
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/ Architecture W / 14 Parcels
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Deconstruction and reassembly of Chaboo
COMPOSITION
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Project Chaboo
Project Chaboo was a collaborative design exhibition that endeavored to create an network that would nourish personal expression and community-based collaboration. Different artists, graphic designers, architects and craftsmen were invited by Ken Tomita of Tomita Designs to customize a chaboo - a multi-use table/bench made of bamboo-ply - with their signature style. I was invited to create a piece, and also helped organize the exhibition. This included coordinating contracts, gathering permits, creating and distributing promotional material, and assembling the exhibition itself.
Assembly
Independent 2009
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DESIGN PROCESS _ As I vacillated between sketches and 3d studies, I simply decided to disassemble and reconfigure the original design. Two foreign elements - one that echoes the original form and another that is divorced from the original - work to create a distinct but recognizable expression. Above all, the additions are intended to work in concert with the Chaboo and to supplement its proportion and materiality.
Watercolor study
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/ Independent / Project Chaboo
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Final exhibition, March 3, 2009 Photograph by Harold Wood
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/ Independent / Project Chaboo
Final Chaboo Photograph by Anna Campbell
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Bologna
Rotterdam
Paris
EXPRESSION
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Extra-curricular Independent
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Corbin Keech
Watercolor, mixed-media, sculpture and graphite serve as alternative means of creation beyond architecture, and signify different stages of my artistic development. Between documentation of travels, the reproduction of dynamic historical spaces, and simple compositional attempts, I have embraced different methods of studying the world to which I have been exposed.
Heidelberg
Berlin
MEMORY _ In an effort to document and memorize my seven months of travel in Western Europe during 2005, I utilized watercolors, graphite and mixedmedia techniques as I travelled.
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Santa Maria della Piere, Arezzo, Italy _ April 19, 2005 Graphite on paper
Plaster Study _ 2009 Plaster was poured into pieces of panty hose and then assembled in a box, creating different interlocking forms.
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Corbin Keech
/ Independent / Watercolor / Graphite / Mixed-Media
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Corbin Keech
Master of Architecture, Postprofessional Degree Bachelor of Architecture, Kansas State University