CHELSIA SOOKSENGDAO
PROJECTS
Thermal Baths + Speakeasy Esposizione del Palazzetto Mass Timber Design/Build
THERMAL BATHS + SPEAKEASY Brooklyn, New York Fall 2018
This project asked the studio to create an escape from the busy city life of New York with thermal baths and a hidden speakeasy. The unique program sits near the Brooklyn Bridge Park, inside the historical brick walls of the Max Family Garden and directly adjacent to St. Ann’s Warehouse. As an additional challenge, the studio called for three design principles: figure-figure, follow the light, and to make concrete float. These principles and intimate program led to an ambiguous form that does not reveal what happens on the interior. From the exterior, it appears as an object that has been fractured in to three pieces. The main fracture line creates the skylight that cuts through the building, indicates circulation, and creates both entrances to the building. The second fracture brings light to the cocktail lounge and large pool. It is at that point that the speakeasy and bath house reveal themselves to one another. Through the fracture, daylight enters the cocktail lounge through the outdoor pool, highlighting the bar with reflections of water and light. And from the bath house, glimpses of figures through the frosted glass can be seen having drinks and dancing.
NEW YORK CITY
MANHATTAN BRIDGE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
BROOKLYN
SITE PLAN
PROCESS DRAWINGS
PROCESS DRAWINGS
PROCESS MODELS
FRACTURES
SITE RELATIONSHIP
ENTRY ALIGNMENT
FORM
FORM
SITE ELEVATION
FRACTURES
FRACTURES
SITE RELATIONSHIP
SITE RELATIONSHIP
ENTRY
ENTRY ALIGNMENT
FORM
SITE SECTION
SCALE 1/32”=1’-0”
5
4
3 1
GROUND FLOOR 1. Reception
2
LEVEL TWO 2. Changing + Showers
LEVEL THREE 3. Caldarium 4. Cold Shower 5. Tepidarium
A
10 B
8
11 7
9
C
6
LEVEL FOUR 6. Sauna 7. Frigidarium 8. Sensory Pools
LEVEL FIVE 9. Rest + Tepidarium 10. Cocktail Lounge
ROOF LEVEL 11. Outdoor Pool + Terrace
SECTION A
SECTION A
SCALE 1/4”=1’-0”
SECTION B
SECTION B
SECTION C
SECTION C
SCALE 1/8”=1’-0”
SCALE 1/8”=1’-0”
WEST ELEVATION
NORTH ELEVATION
STAIRWELL STUDY MODEL
PERSPECTIVES
FINAL MODEL
APERTURE STUDY MODEL
1 2 3 4 5
A 6 8
7
B 9 10 C 11 12
13
D
ELEVATION AND PLAN FRAGMENT
WALL SECTION
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.
Paver Pedestal Gravel Ballast Pre-Cast Concrete 2” Pre-Cast Sandblasted Concrete Panel Steel Angle 3” Acrylic Rigid Insulation Finish Floor 6” x 6” Steel Tube 2” x 4” Steel Tube CRC Clips Dropped Concrete Ceiling Panel Corrugated Metal Decking
A
A
A
B
C
B
C
D
B
B
C
C
D
D
KEY DETAILS
KEY DETAILS
ESPOSIZIONE DEL PALAZZETTO Rome, Italy Fall 2019
The Flaminio district in Rome, Italy was once full of life and activity with the 1960 Olympics, but has since become a desolate residential district that is separated from the heart of Rome by the Aurelian Wall. The studio’s first phase of urban analysis found the district to have isolated hot spots of activity that exist in sites that foster social interaction, but with no connection or walkability in between. In the next phase, the studio merged into smaller groups that developed a master plan for Flaminio, addressing those issues. The district is full of modern architectural monuments from Zaha Hadid and Renzo Piano, as well as many historic monuments leftover from the Olympics, including the Palazzetto dello Sport. During the Olympics, the arena was used for basketball and smaller boxing matches, but now is left almost entirely abandoned and unkempt. Done in 1957, the Palazzetto is situated next to the groundbreaking engineering feat, the Corso di Francia overpass, and across from the Stadio Flaminio. All of which were done by Pier Luigi Nervi, and demonstrate his mastery of the new technology of reinforced concrete. In an attempt to revitalize this monument and the surrounding site as a part of the master plan, it is conceptualized as a structural exhibition of Pier Luigi Nervi’s genius in reinforced concrete.
FLAMINIO DISTRICT
VATICAN CITY HISTORIC HEART
SITE PLAN
LAYER 1
LAYER 2
LAYER 3
Public Cultural
Olympic Monuments
Residential and Commercial Blocks
The Flaminio District is home to many modern cultural buildings that foster the area’s sense of community and provide gathering spaces for residents. Sites like Renzo Piano’s Parco della Musica and Zaha Hadid’s MAXXI Museum are attractive to tourists but the
The next layer of Flaminio is made up of the Olympics infrastructure that came to the area in the 1960’s. Landmarks from this era include Stadio Flaminio, Corso di Francia, Palazzetto dello Sport, and the Olympic Village. Unfortunately, these historical monuments are largely uncared for and see almost no current use. Overgrowth, garbage, and poor approachability shroud the monuments.
Residential and commercial blocks make up most of the district. These blocks commonly have commercial ground floor levels with restaurants, tabaccherias, and retail shops, with apartments above. These blocks are typically 5-8 stories, and paired with the expansive
district’s poor walkability and unreliable public transportation make these isolated experiences difficult to reach.
streetscape and urban sprawl conditions, it creates an unsettling experience for pedestrians.
SPACES 10 People 50 People 100+ People SIDEWALKS Low Pedestrian Density Medium Pedestrian Density High Pedestrian Density
EXISTING SITE PHOTO COLLAGES
LOW LINE
PARK
MASTER PLAN PERSPECTIVES
After urban analysis found walkability and isolated moments of activity to be the Flaminio district’s most prevalent issues, the master plan phase sought to create a connection throughout the entire district that would foster social interactions, improved mobility, and as a result, boost the area’s economy. A team of four found that the Corso di Francia that runs through Flaminio to act as a dividing line between the east and west. The master plan proposed “The Low Line” to activate the space beneath the overpass with parks, recreational fields, restaurants, and gathering spaces. The project intended to bring visitors into the district, as well as provide for the current residents.
EXPERIENTIAL COLLAGE
FREE GROUND PLANE DIAGRAM
In the Olympic Village, there is an existing language of lifted architecture. The surrounding housing blocks are on pilotis, the Corso di Francia is raised above on large columns, and the Palazzetto dello Sport has the potential to continue this free ground plane. The dome is entirely supported by the radial Y columns, and the existing brick wall that encloses the arena is of no structural benefit. By subtracting the wall, it reveals its full structural capabilities to visitors, and frees the ground plane at all points on the site.
SUBTRACTION DIAGRAM
NEW INTERVENTIONS
The new interventions would use a ramp system to take visitors up and into the dome, bringing them in close view of the structure that was never possible before. The experience would walk one along the coffers, through a Y column to view the Stadio Flaminio, and up into the oculus that functions as a lighting mechanism at night.
COLOR STAIR VIGNETTE
OCULUS VIGNETTE
Y COLUMN VIGNETTE
VIGNETTE
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
4
2
1 3
5
6 LOWER FLOOR PLAN
1. Cafe Lounge 2. Bar 3. Information Desk 4. Permanent Nervi Gallery 5. Back of House 6. Restrooms
SECTION
MASS TIMBER DESIGN/BUILD Fayetteville, Arkansas Spring 2019
Mass Appeal Studio challenged students to design a versatile panel system of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), and to build a series of pavilions from that system in one semester. CLT panels measuring 7.5’ x 35’ x 2.5” and weighing approximately 1500 pounds each were left over from the construction of a new residence hall nearby and available for the design-build studio to use. Students were asked to challenge the preconception that CLT tends to produce rectilinear designs by developing a single panel shape that, when joined to itself in a variety of ways, is capable of generating a wide variety of configurations and formal outcomes. Through a combination of research and iterative design and construction, a thorough and sophisticated understanding of CLT was developed. The difficulty of working with CLT due to its sheer size and weight led to inventive construction techniques and the need to design the construction process itself. Located on the south lawn of the architecture school in the heart of the University of Arkansas campus, the arrangement of the pavilions provide a place for studying and relaxing throughout the day. Each pavilion will have another life as shelters along local trails while continuing to promote the sustainability and capability of mass timber.
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS CAMPUS
SITE PLAN
TEAM STUDY MODELS
Design began individually, and the studio gradually shifted into small groups to focus on various panel systems. The teams created a normative system, medium complexity system, and high complexity system using a single panel type.
PENTAGONAL STUDY MODELS
Eventually, the studio became one group of 16 to design and construct the CLT pavilions. The studio worked towards a single panel system as the basis for an actual construction project: an asymmetrical pentagonal panel.
PAVILION DEVELOPMENT
PAVILION AS BUILT
SITE SECTION
An extensive series of iterations for formal outcomes and panel connections for the five-sided panel were generated and tested through drawings, models, and full-scale mock ups. The panel configurations were constantly tested for structural integrity and spatial effect. The pavilions were designed for the south lawn of the architecture school in the center of campus.
4.5” Steel Threaded Construction Screw 4’ X 6” X 1/4” Steel Connection Plate 5/16” X 3” Zinc Plated Hex Bolt 2” X 6” Treated Lumber Interior Bracing
A
A
4.5” Steel Threaded Construction Screw B
3” CLT Panel B
3” CLT Foundation Blocking 2’ X 2.5’ X 3” CLT Foundation Block 1/2” X 2’ Steel Rebar Ground Stakes
C SECTION
C
ENLARGED DETAILS
2’ 2 1/8”
2 1/8”
3’
FOOTING DETAILS
10 9/16”
10 9/16”
10 9/16”
4 1/4”
1’ - 3 7/16”
Working with a structural engineer, the team developed unique joints and connections. Screw connections were used to join two panels together to create one side. Custom steel brackets were welded by the team to join the four sides of the pavilions together. The footings were designed to receive each side and uses steel rebar as an impermanent foundation.
RENDERING
FINAL CONSTRUCTION
RENDERING
FINAL CONSTRUCTION
Without large scale milling or lifting equipment available, the panels had to be manually cut, moved, and hoisted, demanding a carefully designed fabrication and construction process and exceptional teamwork. In order to hand cut 40 panels, two templates were made, and the team was able to be as efficient as possible to complete the build in one semester. ORIGIN OF SHAPE
7.5’
PANEL LAYOUT ON CLT SHEET
35’
SCAFFOLDING SECTION
ASSEMBLY DIAGRAM
An elaborate set of removable scaffolding and integral hoist allowed each pavilion to be erected in series, taking only four hours for each to assemble. The hoist consisted of a hand winch, and required a welded steel top to support the weight of raising over 750 pounds.
CROSS-BRACING
The void at the center of the cross-bracing is an homage to Fay Jones’ Thorncrown Chapel, located nearby. The custom steel brackets that join the panels at the corners and in the center of the cross bracings were all welded by the studio. The offcuts were used to create a custom furniture series and a small set of steps to the upper terrace. Since the pavilions are temporary, no permanent foundations could be installed. Instead, wooden ‘feet’ were also fashioned from surplus CLT, anchored in place with rebar stakes.
FURNITURE SERIES
STUDENT UNION
MULLINS LIBRARY
FAY JONES ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL
OLD MAIN
SITE PLAN
The site is directly outside the studio, allowing an incredibly direct relationship between the design process and construction. The five pavilions transformed a normally unoccupied lawn into a vibrant social space in the heart of campus. Aligned with the entrance to the Chemistry building, the pavilions are clustered to frame a small plaza.
SOOKSENGDAO
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