Environmental
Adaptation
Christopher Edmonston
city. The core of the four buildings are parking garages topped by gardens that gradually increase in elevation to provide the neighborhood with the view of garden instead of the highway. An addition of a new transit center constructed beneath in interchange will transform a once unused and avoided links in the city into a destination of its with an observation tower that stretches up through the overpass marking the heart of the city. At the center of the intersection of Interstate 4 and 408 is the most underutilized link in the city. A site that has the ability to transverse the massive interchange and bring a much needed catalyst to a blighted community. Acting as an attractor the architecture will provide the space to create a new shopping destination near downtown with a mix of unique stores that will draw in a diverse population of the city. The use of cantilevered floors provides a micro-climate between the structures greatly increasing the comfort level in Florida’s hot and humid climate The addition of mix market and affordable housing will improve the conditions of the neighborhood and link the project to the low scale residential edge of the
Buffering the Edge
The low scale of the neighborhood creates a hard edge against the highway which creates division from the rest of the city. By building up near the highway and gradually scaling down to the level of the neighborhood will buffer the edge and make a destination out of the joint and rooftop gardens over the parking garages gives a soft foreground to the city skyline.
Site
Location
Current Conditions
Future of Interstate 4
Creating the Destination
By marking the heart of the city and creating a place of destination resources and people will be drawn into the blighted and divided neighborhood. The cantilevered faces of the primary structures and trees will provide shade in the outdoor areas creating a micro-climate that is preferable to walk in. The most extreme portion of the city, the highway system will be met with an extreme pedestrian solution of an observation tower that pierces though the opening in the overpasses and marks a gate to the city and will draw people from surround areas to experience and promote the neighborhood.
The site chosen is currently a poorly cared for public housing development. Located right in the intersection of the two major highways that run through the city it is one worst areas for housing to be placed. This is also the location where the low urban scale of the residential neighborhood is met by the extreme scale of the highway and the towering scale of the downtown district. The proximity to the Linking Orlando pedestrian causeway and the highways make for a ideal location for a multimodal transportation hub making a place for people to transition from the personal vehicles to the pedestrian transportation options.
Through converting the underside of the overpasses ( generally seen as an avoided place) to a transportation hub that has the space for retail and general services will create an environment that draws people to and though the site.
Raising the pedestrian level from the road creates a stronger barrier of protection
Program Parking Educational Retail / office Garden
Outside of serves as a transitional point for traffic into the city the site can act as a catalyst for the local community through creating jobs in a modern day outdoor mall and office complex. However the most prominent factor hurting the community is the education level therefore the upper levels of the Link should be devoted to a new education center serving both the youth and adults of the community.
New Housing
Relocating the existing housing and adding more units but still keeping the residents in their current neighborhood
Attractors
Architectural attractors are place through out the site as way-finders aiding the pedestrian and vehicular traffic though.
Vehicular traffic Pedestrian traffic Bicycle traffic
Catalyst “The Catalyst” is project derived from a direct need of the Paramore District and the City of Orlando, FL. The location is at the heart of a push to expand the downtown area and the push back of the black community to remain in its historic roots. Added to these factors, an expanding homeless population provides the need for a place that has the ability to serve the needs of the rapidly changing community . This is where “The Catalyst” would come into play, creating a central location that provides a place for community services such as education, daycare and healthcare. It will serve the growing
city through retail space at street level with dorms for the Orlando City Soccer Developmental teams above, overlooking the new soccer stadium across the street. Finally it will serve the homeless population of the city by providing shelter that is dignified and encourages the residence to push forward to improve their life and the life of their family.
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
RE-DIRECTION AND CONNECTION
RESULTING FORM The social, political and econimic forces acting on the site are in constant struggle to maintain and grow. This is where the catalyst comes in as a focused location where the forces collied resutling in a positive effect on the community and those within it.
The first three floors of the five story building. The ground floor containing all the public functions creates place where the public and semi-public realms begin to meld. The next two floors show how the building function becomes increasingly focused on the temporary residents and their individual needs.
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
COLLISION OF FORCES
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
The primary interaction between the public, residents and educators takes place in the main hall where local residents have access to OCS classes, a library and a community room that will host a variety of events. Continuing through the hall a security desk checks in residents and guest before they proceed into a common community space where they can socialize in the entertainment rooms for adults and children or take use the services of the mail room, health clinic, computer
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
room, meal room and counseling. This is where both the community and residents can come to improve their lives. Once exiting into the primary courtyard, residents can enjoy the outdoors in the sun or shade which is overlooked by the above roof top court yards, exclusive to the resident populations the wings serve.
Examining the needs of the shelter showed that outside of a welcoming environment the building itself would have to be constructed in a way that reduced the time of construction. Using this analysis I went with a semi-modular form of construction that would make use of prefabricated interior walls inserted in to a 23x30 grid. By reducing the
construction time it would minimize the time the coalition would have to operate under diminished resources and reduce construction cost. The only custom construction system used is the sun shade system which acts as a Bries sole that gives the building a beautiful facade that can the publics view on homelessness .
The skin is formed of a system of aluminium fins that act as a brise-soleil deflecting direct sunlight and reflecting indirect light into the building. By adjusting depth of the fins gives the opportunity for
the building to reflect the personal change of those within through a visual change as one passes by the exterior of the building.
PRODUCED BY AN AUTOD
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1. Parapet Wall Metal Stud Plywood Metal Fascia 2 . Roof System Bituminous Membrane Rigid Insulation 2’� CIP Slab
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4. Hollow Core Plank 5. W Beam 6. Tube Column
8. Curtain Wall 9. Metal Sun Shade System 10. Canopy Steel Tube Column with Built in Gutter Sheet Metal Skin Bituminous Membrane
Material Narrative
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
7. CIP Concrete Cap
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11. Thickened Concrete Slab
The use of W-Beams and steel columns Tectonic Assemblies form the frame with hollow core plank Structural Assemblies/Components Primary forming the floor plates. The roof system is a standard parapet system with a metal Roof facade. A standard curtain wall system is Floor used for the envelope with a aluminum sunshade system clipped to the front. The Wall/Envelope sunshade systems controls heat gain and interior lighting conditions. It also has the added benefit of transforming the facade as Foundation one passes by the building . Stereotomic Frames
W Beams
Tube Column
Footings and Thickened Slab
TST
Secondary Planes
Joints
Hollow Core Expansion Plank
Hollow Core Expansion Plank
Stereotomic Frames
Metal Stud
Tertiary Planes
Joints
Rigid Insulation
Angles Welded to Preset Anchors
CIP Concrete Slab
CIP Concrete Cap
Curtain Wall
Welded Steel angles
Stereotomic Frames
Planes
Joints
Metal Siding Over Clamps Plywood
Alum Sunshade System
Ventus
This is a project that began with climate in mind. A goal to create a design that would be both energy efficient and make a comfortable outdoor environment in Florida’s hot and humid climate. This resulted in a scheme that breaks from the current trend of replacing unusable courtyard space, due to the humid environment, with parking garages. It instead splits open the enclosed courtyard into a space that gathers and allows the regions low velocity breezes to freely flow through the structure creating a comfortable microclimate. Combined with a skin based on the recent development in Building-Integrated Desiccant Materials (BIDS) removes moisture from the air as it passes through, giving it the ability to relieve a portion of the load on the HVAC system and create an increase in the comfort of the surrounding environment.
The program for this design focuses on light manufacturing used by many of the emerging technology companies along with a retail element but, with a height of 100ft and approximately 160,000 sq-ft. it can be adapted to serve a number of building types ( IE. office, medical and mixed use). The consideration of these variable gives way to a building form that has the potential to develop a dialog between how buildings are currently made, working against the wind, and instead using it to its advantage to create a comfortable outdoor climate and increase the energy efficiency.
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