Bellstedt - Architecture Portfolio 2020 by Albert Michael Bellstedt

Michael Bellstedt Architecture Portfolio ambellstedt@gmail.com (780) 340 - 3334

Composition vii

Contents: 4 - 13 ................................ Masters Design Thesis: New Desert Shores 14 - 19 .............................. A Desire Institute 20 - 23 ............................. Timber Archipelago 24 - 25 ............................. Site/Wood/Building 26 - 27 ............................. Dwelling 28 - 29 ............................. Section/Room

Assembly of the Desert Infrastructure - Midterm Thesis Review Pin-up - February 14, 2020

Masters Design Thesis New Desert Shores: Composing Neo-Settlement for the Post-Flood World September 2019 - May 2020 Thesis Advisor: Eduard Epp

Cities exist as traces of prevailing societal cultures and human desire, negotiating untold multitudes of factors which shape their being. Wolfgang Braunfel notes that cities are not designed, rather they “designed themselves as reflections of forms of government and ideals of order.”1 The architect currently has a finite role to play in the city’s self-regulating machine: architectural suggestions are proposed to the city, but are inevitably claimed and altered by versions of the culture that birthed them. This design thesis argues that the role of the architect must expand into seeking radically alternative urban conditions in the form of large scale infrastructural interventions to prepare humanity for unprecedented future scenarios regarding rising urban populations, temperatures, and sea levels on Earth. To what extent can the role of the architect shift toward becoming an agent of change for the accountability of cities to planetary systems and ecology? The Coachella and Imperial Valleys in Southern California exemplify naturally radical locations because of their extreme temperature, earthquake risk, fire risk, and future flood risk from the rising Pacific Ocean.2 They are also socially radical, as they host heterotopian settlement which is unique to the desert and its proximity to the Salton Sea. With numerous variables in these areas being noticeably affected by human induced climate change, these sites exist as hinges of extremity between humanity’s current and future living conditions. A simulation is proposed in which the site will change based on projected climate metrics. An anticipated flood resulting from the collapse of one of the world’s three major ice sheets (East Antarctic, West Antarctic, or Greenland) will impose a radically changed site - the Salton Sea will swell to six times its current size.3 The dynamism of this site will test how architecture can be a crucial component in responding to future consequences of climate change. In particular, the town of Desert Shores CA is seen as an ideal testing ground for architectures which are resilient to the proposed site conditions due to its proximity to the Sea and the southern tip of the Santa Rosa Mountain Range. New Desert Shores is a speculative settlement project located on the shores of the Salton Sea which aims to challenge the infrastructural and morphological status quo of the modern western city. The city composition is considered in three zones: Mountainous Desert, Flat Desert, and Sea. Each zone is intended to host distinct districts of substantial architectural and systemic variety which support each other to form a resilient, self-regulating network of settlement. For example, in order to withstand flooding on the flat desertscape, it is proposed that massive land form constructions - known as terramorphic profiles - are designed to act as a primary infrastructure on which to construct parasitic architecture. These land form structures are architectural themselves, and are designed using a combination of contemporary, and ancient building techniques/technologies. The architectural forms and spaces themselves, while constructible, perhaps seem unattainable. Yet, embedded within the drawings is a projection of a society in which such construction would be possible. Similar to how current cities exist as traces of political and cultural trends, New Desert Shores in its construction hints at both subtle and radical changes in societal makeup.

1- Spiro Kostof, The City Shaped: Urban Patterns and Meanings Through History. London:Thames and Hudson, 1991. 15. 2- Chris Clarke, “Global Warming, Storm Surges & the Mother Of All Desert Floods,” Socal Focus, September 14, 2011. https://www.kcet.org/socal-focus/global-warming-storm-surges-the-motherof-all-desert-floods. 3- Ibid.

Iterations of a Neo-Settlement are based on an introductory set of rules:

3 - Power sources are to be renewable. As this is the desert, they will be predominantly solar.

1 - The Jeffersonian Grid will not be referenced.

4 - The city should be self-sufficient for its food, water, waste, and power needs.

2 - Car-based transport will not be considered. Regional transport will be track-based. The city should be walkable.

5 - There are to be more than two city grades.

6 - The Skyline is to be publicly accessible. 7 - The city must ecologically rehabilitate and maintain the Salton Sea and the surrounding desert biome.

District Terrace-Forma

District Terrace-Forma is proposed as an agrarian community which shows reverence for water as the lifeblood of the desert. Spanning between mountain ridges, the center of the district is a dense assortment of terrace construction facing outward toward the Salton Sea. The surfaces of these terraces are public plazas, gardens, and walkable streets, and beneath them are dwellings, mercantile spaces and, where no access to daylight is available, storage areas for city goods. Extending from the center and across the ridges are agriculture terraces carved from the mountainside. These may be crops, orchards, vineyards or pastures for livestock.

Desalination Device And Center for Water Appreciation The Desalination Device is a large-scale architectural expression of a passive water desalination process. Large panes of South-facing glass allow direct sunlight to heat the inner chamber, drawing evaporating water from the reservoir of untreated water into its form. Condensation will build on these panes and flow into a collection leader. Solar power collected and stored during the day will be used to power an active desalination process at night. This involves pumping the water at high pressure through seven layers of filtration membranes.

District Terramorph

Construction: Terramorphic Profiles are intended to be long-lasting infrastructure which will allow the city to interact with floodwaters in varying ways over time. Each Terramorphic Profile is composed of bookending corten steel sheet piles driven deep into the desert soil. Steel tie rods are attached to each side, spanning their interior space. This interior space is filled with a pozzolan mixture created from extracted mountain aggregate from the process of creating agricultural terraces and subterranean water reservoirs in District Terrace-Forma. Once cured, platform-supporting truss structures may be anchored into this pozzolan interior. Finally, areas which are not in direct or future contact with water may have some sheet piling removed, exposing the pozzolan interior. This pozzolan may be carved and sculpted to adapt to city needs, or express artistic desire.

Wetland Platforms: Potable water flows down through aqueduct channels from District Terrace-Forma and weaves into each Terramorphic Nabe. When possible, gravity is used to transport the water to its desired location. Greywater flows into wetland platforms which blend with the constructed landforms. Water will sit here for some time, being treated by biotic matter until it is released back to the sea. This process will work over time to lower the salinity of the Salton Sea and make it more habitable to local birds and marine life.

The Towers (Far Right): Conceived as hybrid public/private structures, towers are composed of basic infrastructure and systems which may be plugged into by groups of individuals seeking to build and co-live. Thus, the towers are constantly under construction, and reconstruction. This condition is intended to be an alternative to private land ownership, and to the restricted skyline of modern cities. Single Family Dwellings (Right): Dwellings are embedded in the upper slopes of the constructed landforms. Their orientations vary across each Nabe, however all South-facing dwellings are equipped with solar panels. Excess solar power collected will be sent to a substation located within a profile penetration. Dwelling sizes may be expanded, or reduced. Between these dwellings are varying arrays of gardens, balconies, and wading pools of fresh water. Solar Fins attached to towers and platforms move with the position of the sun while wind turbines harness the Santa Ana winds blowing from East to West. Semi-permanent cranes perched atop the Terramorphic Profiles lift construction materials into place.

Section through a Terramorphic Nabe: 1 -- Central Market 2 -- Residential Tower Infrastructure 3 -- Cascading Single Family Dwellings 4 -- Single Person Dwelling Capsules 5 -- Center for the Arts 6 -- Tracknet Transit Hub

Above: Central Market @ Primary Transverse Grade Above ii: Single Person Dwelling Capsule

District Gerridae A malleable floating meshwork hosts a diverse array of sea-specific program. K03

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This floating architecture is intended to be light, skeletal, and open to its surroundings. Roof lines are angled toward the sun and finished with solar panels. A cantilevered viewing platform extends over the water, again emphasizing the importance of views in the city. Gently sloping ramps between each Gerridae section are able to accommodate cyclists and people walking between the various nodes of the district.

Fish Market and Aquaculture Hub: Built upon an â&#x20AC;&#x153;xâ&#x20AC;? segment of the floating Gerridae infrastructure is a place where both recreational and professional fisherman may mingle. Different species of fish, and aquatic plant life will inhabit aquaculture rings, and wild fish may be caught here as well. The area is full of enthusiasts of the fishing hobby, day boaters, and those looking for a fresh caught meal. Chance encounters between city dwellers may also occur while walking on the public docks between destinations.

Floating Greenhouses: Layered, gridded planters allow for dense growth of fresh fruits and vegetables for the city. Each floating greenhouse is encased in glass and may desalinate water directly from the sea to water its plants. Caretakers tend to the growth, harvesting, and eventual sale of the produce.

A Desire Institute

September 2018 - April 2019 Instructors: Prof. Lisa Landrum and Ted Landrum Published in Warehouse Journal Vol. 28 This multi-functional cultural arts centre is sited at Provencher blvd. & Archibald St. in Winnipeg, the former site of the Central Grain industrial complex. Inspired by the mechanicalerotic operations of Duchamp’s Large Glass or The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even, and the surreal prairie-industrial landscape, it rises as a collage of salvaged grain elevators and railway infrastructure. An “architecture of desire” blurs the lines between dream and reality. This vision of urbanity deploys biomorphic mechanisms, forming an immersive neoreality to provoke questions of society’s mundane routines, while empowering artists and visitors to experience shared desires. Maker-spaces are intertwined with galleries and Preliminary Concept Plan exterior neighborhood pocket parks. As the Desire Institute grows, new realities and surreal architectures form, and the mundane is transformed to the wondrous.

Site Plan

Plan and section drawings of the museum institution are generated from the 3D model in Maya. Information was then layered by hand to create detailed documents. Among the spaces explored are: different sculpture galleries, workshops, staff areas, a theater, entry space/reception, and a building material recycling/sorting facility. 16

Scale Model built at 1:200

Left: The Meta Society: An Emerging Artist Community Right: Outdoor Circulation frames Views of the Structure and Towers

Timber Archipelago 2016 Timber in the City Competition Entry: Lower East Side Manhattan January - April 2016 Project Partner: Danton Derksen Instructor: Prof. Ed Epp

The corner of Essex and Delancey in Lower-East Side Manhattan is the provided site for the 2016 ACSA Timber in the City competition. The competition brief stipulates mixed use programming including a relocated Essex Street Market (30000 sq. ft.), Andy Warhol Museum (50000 sq. ft.), and a combination of micro, 1, 2, and 3 bedroom residential units totaling 200000 sq. ft. In addition, the structure of the building is required to be less than 80’ tall, and primarily comprised of timber.

The market and museum programs are located on the ground plane, and split up into diagonal forms by desire lines extending from adjacent building edges. This method of organization extends to the residential blocks above, showcasing the structural capabilities of timber construction by spanning over public spaces using massive parallel chord trusses. 20

Each of the seven separate lower buildings are defined by their own structural grid of heavy timber/glu lam beams, and cross laminated timber (CLT) slabs. CLT stair/elevator cores act as “pins” on either end of each residence block to provide structural support, stability, and egress.

1:400 Site Model (Full Studio Group Project, 1 week) & Massing Model in context

With the ground plane privileging the public realm, rooftop communal spaces for residentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; leisure are seen as more valuable than balconies for individual residences. By bridging residences above the public realm, semiprivate communal areas for the residents are created. 21

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Between the four museum blocks is the passive courtyard wherein Andy Warhol’s color pallette is reflected on the building facades as dyed wood cladding. Building positioning is also such that this exterior space is mostly closed off from the busy street areas.

Glazed facades at grade level can be slid open during the daylight in summer months to completely open the market’s ground floor to the air and street life. The “active” courtyard is located between market blocks and allow for market integration and easy pedestrian access by providing plenty of open space.

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Scale Model at 1:200 (Laser cut plywood, acrylic, basswood, watercolor)

Site/Wood/Building: Victoria Beach MB September - December 2015 Instructor: Prof. Ed Epp

Located on the Southern tip of Lake Winnipeg, Victoria Beachâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pier Point is the chosen site for a small scale wood construction project. The intervention is concieved as a thin, long architectural gesture cutting through the existing landscape and extending out into the water. This extension creates a groyne for beach preservation. Within this form, an ecotourist resort of modest capacity is proposed.

N Reciprocal wood frames are placed along the footprint in plan. The four supporting reciprocal members are pinned at their bases with steel connections into concrete. Wood Joinery connnections are used to complete the reciprocal structure above. This structure would be responsible for supporting a wood canopy, and program on the second level. 24

On the groyne extension into the water, occupants would be able to open up individual, breathable microstructures in the summer. These same self contained units would then be moved onto the frozen lake and serve as ice fishing shacks in the winter. On land, to complement the microunits on the groyne, seasonal public washroom facilities and a small cafe are proposed.

Dwelling

January - April 2015 Instructor: Liane Veness Students were asked to investigate a site in Winnipeg and analyze its unseen elements. A site-specific intervention catered to the size of a single person or family was then proposed. In this case, for analysis, a house was chosen on Sherbrook Street in the West Broadway district of Winnipeg.

Site Plan

Hand drawn section and plan drawings depict the used and unused spaces within the confines of the original house.

Site Model

The intervention is explored in a hybrid of model and drawing with detailed interior elevations and plans foraging a narrative centered around surveillance. Exterior site conditions are used as evidence to influence the imagined interior floor heights and room positions/ functions. Scrap wood scaffolding is applied where necessary to support the imagined upper-interior and its more traditional wood framing. 27

Section - Room

September - December 2014 Instructor: Liane Veness A highly detailed section drawing is completed to interpret a vacuumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s textural and functional qualities. This drawing depicts the vacuum in a position of use: angled with its specific assembly replicating its found, functioning form.

The vaccuum drawing is cut into pieces and dissociated from its everyday context in model form. The motor explodes -- taking inspiration from the process of explosive decompression. (A vacuum within a vacuum)

Trajectory lines generated from the modelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s explosion form different viewpoints. From these viewpoints, perspectives of a small living room are drawn. They are then superimposed on each other and connected by more trajectory lines.

A series of perspectives are drawn in pairs. One view is from the piece of flying shrapnelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s point of view, looking at the finite point of its deflection. The other is a reverse perspective looking in the other direction back at both its point of origin, and at the unaltered room. Perspective lines are carefully aligned with the trajectory of one particular metal piece in 3D space.