Charles LaGreca
Front Cover: photo abstractions of
folded paper constructions
Page 1: contour self-portraits drawn
from blindly touching face
Page 2: blind contour self portraits
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Site Design / 3 Master Plan / 5 The Chess Garden / 7 Construction Details / 9 Light Fixture Design/ 11 Models / 13 Sketches / 15
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S-1
Hand-sketched and Photoshop section dumpster live oaks
ru drive-th
e fenc
covered seating
playground surfacing children’s play area bench/barrier
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groundcover
high ornamental grass
AutoCAD plan with hand-drawn rendering detail
private residence driveway
turf
bus stop
hedge fence
wall/blockade
15-20’ dia. trees
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shrubs
25-35’ dia. trees
existing car port
WW For this project, I was given a list of programs to design and locate on the site involving a 3000 sq. ft.coffee shop with a drive-thru, a half basketball court, a children’s play area, a parking lot with 24 spaces, and an area for the dumpster. With this information, I knew I wanted to separate my vehicular circulation from pedestrian circulation and keep all of the existing live oaks on the site. I also knew I wanted to join the coffee shop with the basketball court and children’s play area to create one small “pocket park.” Lastly, I decided on a curvilinear form for all of my elements to not only attract people from the street in with the interesting form, but also to give the site a sense of place. The Coffee Inc. Pocket Park would be a fantastic gathering space for the community, and it would attract many visitors seeking different attractions.
Photoshop perspective of coffee shop and children’s play area
site design: Coffee Inc. Pocket Park
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The Urban Creek Retirement Resort in Baton Rouge, Louisiana was inspired by the picturesque winding streets of New Orleans Square at the Disneyland Resort and Disney Springs’ Town Center in Walt Disney World, and it is designed with the desire to bring the themed resort experience to the everyday life of the aging population. Urban Creek is also a place for the public to enjoy themselves through shopping or dining centered around a lake, which will promote interaction between the residents of the community with the other citizens of Baton Rouge. The types of shopping offered at the resort will also be directed towards the residents’ enjoyment, such as an art shop, book store, salon, thrift shop, pet store, and a pharmacy. I am hoping the Urban Creek Retirement Resort will be a place that will promote social interaction, physical activity, and mental stability. I believe my design’s focus on the outdoor spaces and the architecture’s interaction with the exterior space will fulfill my desires for the residents of the site.
S-1
Section Elevation made in Photoshop
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Inspira
ti o
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Master Plan: Urban Creek Retirement Resort
1 story
S-1 2 story
3 story
1 story 2 story 3 story vehicular entry
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Photoshop Master Plan over base imagery
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Photographs of laser-cut model with digitally rendered vegetation
In this small scale project, I designed a townhouse garden for an fictional successful, young entrepreneuer who uses his courtyard in the city to host his chess club socials. I wanted to create a formal garden for the socialite, so I focused all of my forms on the idea of chess pieces fitting inside the squares on a chess board. Because of the site’s smaller scale, I decided to leave the circulation open throughout which would allow for a more versatile space that could transition from an intimate, private garden to a more social setting during the club’s meetings.
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View towards street gate
View towards house
The Chess Garden ce
He
’
25’
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ep
h ro
p o li s b i s e r r at
house entry
pi
uc
he
ra ‘ G reen
S
a
40’
street entry gate
r p a l m at u m
AutoCAD plan
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A ce
o
sta
‘G o
ld S
a ta nd
rd
Scale: 1” = 8’ 0”
’
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Construction Details
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Photoshop rendering of light fixture along a pathway
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Light Fixture Design
Walt Disney World is constructing its own version of Shanghai’s futuristic Tron attraction, which will create an aesthetic contrast to the area’s current retro style. I decided to address this by designing a light fixture that would incorporate the current metallic, geometric style of Tomorrowland with the organic yet modern form of the new Tron attraction. My final design is a walking path light fixture that will provide a transition and connection between the two distinct aesthetics. After many form studies and sketches, I began construction on the light fixture, which consisted of welding, manipulating sheet metal, and riveting the elements together.
Photographs of completed light fixture
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Landform Study
Top:
left half : hand-cut model right half: book model Bottom Right:
laser cut model made in Rhino from 3-D scan of clay model Middle Right:
left half: laser cut model right half: clay model
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Conceptual Campground
Top Left:
laser cut model of a communal area for a conceptual tent campground in Elmer’s Island, Louisiana Top Right:
laser cut model; conceptual tent campsites with communal area in center and surrounded by floating wetlands
Bottom: side view of 3 tier communal area with comfort stations on each side.
top level: viewing platform middle level: shaded seating area bottom level: kayak launch
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Watercolor Skecthes in Walt Disney World Left: Cozy Cone Motel in the Art of Animation Resort Right: architecture in the France pavilion in EPCOT
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Sketches
charcoal sketch of pine forest
ink and graphite sketch of live oak
watercolor and graphite sketch of dwarf palmetto
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