CHASE ASHLEY DESIGN PORTFOLIO
USC WRIGLEY CENTER
SURFACE BEND
PUSH + REVEAL
TWIST
SPLIT
EXTEND + SHEAR
SURFACE & MASS The new center advanced environmental study for positions its self to REVEAL new possibilities for all of its users. It aims at providing a provocative icon for new and continuing users coming to the Wrigley Institute to learn about their studies and how to adapt a truly sustainable lifestyle while on the island and back home. Located on the top of an existing water access road the project bases its program functions on access, whether is be immediate access to water for the labs or walking access to the lecture hall for groups visiting the site. These access points extend pass the physical boundaries of the building to integrate itself into the site
The building takes its form as an extension of the rolling hills on the island in the fashion of peeled ribbons of surface rolling over existing objects or massive elements to create a juxtaposition of light surface and heavy mass. From a distance the two families of elements can read be read as the same. It is only when one gets closer (to a more tangible distance) when the difference begins to reveal itself. With small moments through out the project one begins to see that the surfaces are a more topical phenomena that are literally being help up by massive elements made of white vertical board formed concrete.
1.5 1
2
3
4
5
6
A
A
LAB
LAB OFFICE
OFFICE
LAB COMMON ROOM
LECTURE HALL
B
B
LAB TEMPORARY EXHIBIT/ BREAKOUT SPACE C
SECOND FLOOR
E/W SECTION
C
1.5
2
3
4
6
5
LECTURE STAGE A
INTERPRETATIVE CENTER
B
MACHINE ROOM INTERPRETATIVE CENTER MEETING ROOM
STORAGE / UTILITY
C
GROUND FLOOR
N/S SECTION
The interior opens up to the campus and reads as a continuation of the flowing surfaces that shape the building, resting on large masses. The labs are located on the upper floors to separate uses and allow visitors to easily access the interpretative center and lecture hall.
PROGRAM
LABS PUBLIC / MULTI-USE OFFICE UTILITY
= ADA ENTRY / EXIT
The west elevation acts as the face of the campus when seen from the water while giving unobstructed views to the users and providing shaded rest space. An eye level concrete wall extends past the limits of the building down into the water to act as a supply and return of fresh sea water for the wet labs. This also lines the path down to the water as to reinforce the sea water’s importance to the building and campus as a whole.
PASSIVE VENTILATION BRISE SOLEIL
BRISE SOLEIL EXTENT OF GRADING
STRUCTURE
PROVOCATIVE ICON The form is meant to be a spectacle for the campus and raise the status of the research happening within. As the new face of the campus it will invite new users to learn about the studies and reflective on the importance of sustainability and marine science.
CREATE HOUSING FOR GENERATIONS Multi family housing project aimed to create dwellings for the modern generation, while remembering the past communities that were slowly displaced from their homes through out the last four decades. Three large community spaces break the continuous fabric that lines the facade to represent the now displaced condition that exists.
The largest of the three community spaces provides dwellers with a shared work place. This space would be partially rented by the tenant for them to start their career and or provide them with a collaborative environment for their projects to come to life. The upper level serves as a larger meeting space for clients and larger parties to gather and create.
LIVE & WORK
On the north side of the build is a multi leveled garage style work space for dwellers. This space is intended for small to medium projects and fixing/ working on everyday items. A craftsman could make furniture, and the commuter could fix his or her bike. This provides tenants with the tools they need giving them more reasons to continue living in the city.
LIVE & CREATE
Connection & Void
At its core the building can be conceptualized as two blocks of housing stitched together by community spaces. These spaces reach past their walls and provide connections points and circulation. They bring dwellers together and engage them into the existing fabric. These extrusions provide dwellers with amenities they want and need to thrive in their community and (CREATE) a new life.
Girona, Spain: Connecting the City
Girona, Spain. A truly Catalonian culture is separated by the Onyar river. The river that once enclosed the city now acts as a separation line between the medieval city and the new modern portion of Girona. While Girona flourishes with unique public spaces, access to the Onyar river is extremely limited. This project provides access down to the waterfront as well as a new place for citizens and tourists to connect with the city through multiple faucets. This figurative bridge makes a bold statement, while letting the historic surroundings maintain the focal point of its immediate context.
The project is broken into three main programmatic elements. The water front access which flows out of the building into the river’s edge. The tourist information office / local event space, and the “Shaping Girona� history exhibit which is located on the tops levels. This program is formed in a response to act as a threshold and connecting point between the dynamic city. The relationship between the sides of the city can be seen all through out the project and drives many of the moves from overall building shape, down to material details.
Responding to Natural Forces
Footprint Response
UNRESPONSIVE FOOTPRINT
OLD CITY FORCES
NEW CITY FORCES
TRAFFIC FORCES
Ground Floor
Scale Shift
Large & Small Interactions A constant dance with scale was used all through the project to ensure the project responded to it’s complex context. Starting with a rigorous study to understand how the tight quarters of the medieval city fabric relates to the newer city fabric, it became clear that Girona, like most cities has a series of spaces that pulls people from on another. These “chords” largely converge at the location of the site which resulted in the need for a multi purposed program to appeal to locals as well as tourists.
Materiality was very important as Girona has a limited palette of materials but shows rich examples of how raw materials are expressed. While imposing a new architecture on a previously medieval site I aimed to express this relationship with a relatively newer architectural use of a material. Precast concrete panels were designed using the same jogging pattern found through out the city to speak to the tight quarters within the city, that make up Girona’s winding landscape. This was also used in effort to bring this material down to the human scale and become a tangible entity.
Public interactions Largely a public space the building & river access needed to accommodate pedestrian traffic of all types. This resulted in a series of terraces that bring people close to the river but hovers over the water at most times. The river with a constant range of levels has the ability to flood over these terraces at high water levels. The building will be the first of its age to appear along the Onyar river and first to break the medieval
design that lines the river. This called for a close attention to its surrounding buildings and typologies. While a completely new set of materials were used in relation to the medieval city they were used in response to the proportions of the windows and balconies that break the vertical plane along the streets. This creates a conversation between the existing architecture and the newly added structure.
Private interactions The interior spaces respond to the variety of spaces through out the city. The tourist office for example remains largely enclosed with minimal openings to represent the massive construction of the medieval city. The ceiling is punctured with openings that correspond to the above partitions in the “Shaping Girona� exhibit these openings bring light into the space that speaks to the small shards of light you experience while walking through the old streets of Girona. The circulation that connects these spaces forces views towards both ends of the city bringing you out of the building then back in. All throughout the project scale shifts were used to grasp details and overall concepts of the project.
Casa Latina: Community Center
The New Casa Latina will be a place for Latin American students to connect with their culture and have a home away from home on campus. The building consists of large horizontal planes where breaks occur to symbolize the upward movement in society as an individual and as a minority group of people in their environment. These breaks are found in the horizontal openings, mullions, window slats, concrete slabs, interior
book shelves, door mullions, and interior lights. The project takes precedents from Latin American modernism to make reference to the users original culture while keeping the project in response to its local context. The project uses large stone and concrete as its main tectonic expression mixed with steel and glazing to the bring these traditional materials into to a more modern time.
Setting up Space
Creating a proper threshold and resting place from the outside world into a second home environment required a lot of iterations and studying into what makes a comfortable gathering space. This called for multiple levels so users can naturally separate themselves
while conducting different activities. This allows people to be alone while studying, and be together while resting. The multi height spaces create a natural hierarchy which was derived from the large vertical forms which outline each space.
Located on the second level next to the lounge, the study space acts as a place where students can study in groups as well as in private. The project is set at an edge of an urban park, and responds to many forces surrounding the site. Extending out into the park a large wall exists as a physical threshold with seating as well as a backdrop for projections for large outdoor events. On the roof, the large
structural walls extended above the roof to create a gathering place for students to relax, read a book, gather with friends and study while experiencing the soothing environment surrounding them. This project called for many diverse types of space and forced me as a designer to juggle multiple use spaces while keeping the culture for which I was designing for in mind all through out the project.
Design For Culture
Designing for a completely different culture was a challenge as I needed to create an architecture that responded meaningfully to their traditions and ways without being disrespectful and making assumptions. This required rigorous study on precedents and Latin American culture itself. This created a meaningful space allows the building to be more than just a campus building. It allows the students to have a space away from home where they can re touch on their culture which is largely under represented on campus. Ultimately this project forced me to think outside my usual box to create unique spaces that could serve the Latin American students at PSU.
Learning from History In summer 2014 I had the chance to study architecture abroad. 15 other students and I traveled to Barcelona and Girona Spain. There we wandered the city studying the historic buildings and spaces. We recorded everything we deemed important in an attempt to gain as much knowledge from the different types of architecture all through out
the cities. Often times we were moving as we were sketching so we were forced to be selective in what we recording bringing out only the important information. This trip was extremely insightful as I was able to experience first hand great works of architecture, as well as see how to properly mix new architecture with old historic buildings.