Claudia Porras
SACD Advanced Design Sequence
CONTENTS
ADVANCED DESIGN STUDIO SEQUENCE A
07_Berlin Holzmarkt Promenade 15_Chicago Logan Center for the Arts Annex
B
31_Workshop Bartlett DPU summerLab 35_ London Depoliticizing Verticalities
C
55_San Francisco Urban Resiliency
D
85_Tampa Vertical Jaunt 97_Chicago Hybrid by the Water
ELECTIVE COURSES 131_Florida Landscape Seminar 141_Independent Study 151_Parametric Design
HOLTZMARKT | Berlin, Germany 52°30’41.99”N 13°25’33.88”E
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A
Holzmarkt Promenade
Wandering theater along the Spree Professor Stanley Russell | Spring 2015
The project began as a competition to design a performance specific theater with the ability to be moved to a different location without difficulty. The initial site Holzmarkt (wood market) houses a co-operative supporting a myriad of independent start ups and projects. The area was previously known as one stretch of the infamous “no man’s land” due to the fact that it happened to be located right at the border between East and West Berlin. This proposal houses an inmersive theatre performance, otherwise known as interactive theatre where the audience takes an active role on the show. The concept seeks to celebrate the change the area has gone through, from industrial region to desolate barrier to the hearth of a reunited community. It transforms the idea of watching a play from a seat and into a full blown exploration of the surroundings, allowing for a far deeper experience at the end of the night. The Holzmarkt is the center of the neighbourhood – physically and spiritually, the market, the creative village, the club and the restaurant invite, surprise, inspire and entertain. Artists, artisans, musicians and hedonists create with and for each other. -Holzmarkt Co-op
Preliminary sketches based on Reflections in the Water by Claude Debussy
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_ act 1 _ interlude _ act 2
The project is divided into three main components. Act 1 is the floating portion of the theater itself, where the experience begins. Act 2 is the furthest point, and where the show concludes. The interlude is an area of respite for anyone who may need it located between the two acts. The goal of the project is to make the spaces multifunctional and as adaptable as the idea of immersive theater is. While the whole compound is converted into the playground of performers and audience alike, in between shows the spaces become highly functional as offices and small a woodshop for the sets needed.
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circulation analysis
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sound diagram
wall section study
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6_theater production 7_theater 9_cafe 10_restrooms
02_level two
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5 4 3
3_theater lobby 4_conference room 5_office 6_theater production 7_theater 8_backstage
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01_ground
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1_backstage: women 2_backstage: men
00_below ground
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model photographs
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810 N FRANKLIN ST | Chicago, IL 41°53’48.44”N
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87°38’8.83”W
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Chicago: Logan Center for the Arts Extension
The didactic museum experience Professor Mark Weston | Spring 2015
The project began out of an idea to expose the user to other experiences besides the one for which they arrived at the site. The tower, located just on the outskirts of the Chicago Loop and right next to a stop for the Brown and Purple Metro lines, offers an ideal location for a cultural hub created from the presence of an extension of the University of Chicago’s art school and an adjoining museum. The building is divided into three nodes, the public bookstore on the ground level, the school component in the middle and the museum space on the upper third of the tower. The decision to place the more public museum space higher than the school area would make possible to create different approaches to the gallery spaces. A person could take the faster method and use the elevators to the museum or they could convert the trip to a museum into a didactic journey of the process of making art. By deciding not to take the elevator to the higher levels, a person would have the opportunity to catch glimpses of the studios with the students working on their projects as well as small galleries off of the main studio spaces. The process intends to inform the individual of the fun, messy and arduous process so once they reach the galleries, their original destination, they see the art pieces with a more encompassing view. The gallery spaces are also designed to house specific pieces in mind. The art to be displayed is meant to provoke the user’s senses and perception in a very physical way. Artists like Jaume Plensa and Jeppe Hein would have their pieces displayed. The form of the tower itself, two masses with a void running through the middle, is directly inspired by Richard Serra and his work with cor-ten steel.
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Jaume Plensa lou, olivia, duna, sanna II, laura III
Jeppe Hein Ordrupgaard
Richard Serra The Hedgehog and the Fox
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program diagram
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looking toward downtown
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masses with void
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the slit
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ground floor
level two
level three
typical floor [levels six-twelve]
level thirteen
typical floor [levels fourteen-fifteen]
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level four
level five
level sixteen
typical floor [levels seventeen-twenty]
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section through school studios
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section through theater, studios, and galleries
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W
London: Bartlett Development Planning Unit summerLab 2015
Localizing Legacies in collaboration with Alberto Duman and Giorgio Talocci
During a week long seminar, the DPU summerLab 2015 delved into the current events affecting the Royal Docks, an area east of central London. The district, known for being the largest enclosed docks in the world, shut down their industrial practices in the early 1980’s, after a slow decline in their usage starting in the 60s. Due to the lack of work and the poor transportation links to central London, the area went through a failed redevelopment stage, where the government tried to lure foreign investors with attractive deals. Now, 20 years later, the redevelopment has come back in full swing, with condominiums taking up every piece of available land. As a result, the community that has endured through the changes is slowly being driven away with investors buying their properties, sometimes even without the people’s knowledge. Furthermore, London as a whole is suffering one of the biggest housing shortages in the world, with real estate prices at an all time high. At the end of the week, we participated in a small charrette, in which we came up with projects that would address the issues we encountered throughout the week.
Group Members: Courtney Cook Arianna Delgado Claudia Porras Larry Raposo
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After many conversations with leaders of the community and developers alike, we concluded that most of the problems could be summed up in a word: disconnection. The people in the area are completely disjointed from one another. Factors include generational differences, socio-economical standing and transportation difficulties. Job opportunities are hard to find nearby and the commute to the more centralized area is about an hour long. We decided to address these issues by creating a central communal node where different opportunities could arise from. The project is divided into three stages, with the goal to utilize the water as a medium to unify the community. The first stage would re imagine the edge of water, creating a small “beach�. The shore would be reconstructed to allow for a safe environment for people to swim in, since the space was not originally intended for recreational purposes. The second phase would install a park and covered hardscape condition that would allow small markets to take place which offers financial growth and opportunity for the surroundings. The third and final phase would add a pedestrian bridge connecting the beach and market with the opposite side of the existing convention center, therefore more efficiently connecting the current public places with the new ones.
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5 CHARLES ST | London, UK 51° 30’ 11. 76”N 0°2’ 12.42”E
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B
Depoliticizing Verticality
Investigating housing alternatives in the Royal Docks Community Professor Josue Robles Caraballo | Fall 2015
Through the attendance of the seminar on the Royal Dock issues and community, enough information was gathered to create a comprehensive housing complex that could address the given site. The challenge: designing a series of spaces that cater to various socio-economical groups and avoid the idea of the “poor door� in which tenants access their buildings through different entrances in direct relationship to the amount of money they have spent on their unit. The initial idea plays with the notion of interstitial spaces that could bring strangers together through the act of imagination and surprise. A construct was made to explore the concept through the interwoven pieces that meet at the location of three main nodes weaving around a core, which would evolve into the public spaces where the interactions would occur. The given site posed many challenges as well. The square footage to be worked with was a little over half a million square feet, making the landscape condition quite expansive. The London City Airport is adjacent to the site, therefore nullifying the possibility of a vertical project, due to height restrictions and safety precautions. Therefore a series of mid rise structures that encompass the landscape arises to accommodate for the necessity of a high volume of housing that fits into the context and meets with the safety of the nearby airport. The water from the docks is drawn into the site to facilitate its usage to the residents through leisure boating. Two bridges connect the different spaces that make the experience of exploring the landscape fun and unexpected at the finding of the follies carefully placed on the land.
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speculative sections
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generative interactions, a playful encounter
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study of interactions through play and speculation
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The follies are the generator of the interactions in the landscape of the project. They are the refuge from reality and expectations.
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Royal Docks Housing Complex Ground
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Royal Docks Housing Complex Typical Apartment Layout
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rainy day
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2020 MARKET ST | San Francisco, CA 37°46’7.33”N
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122°25’41.08”W
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Urban Resiliency
Rethinking housing and sustainability in the urban setting Professor Kristien Ring | Spring 2016
San Francisco is considered to be the most expensive city to live in right now, even more than New York city. The desire to flee the suburbs and experience the urban grittiness of the city is also coming back in full force, making housing situations in areas such as the city by the Bay challenging. The purpose of the project is to design innovative solutions to the rising problem of affordable housing in a centric environment. San Francisco is known for being an active city, a place in which its residents are aware and actively pursuing more sustainable methods to use in their every day life. The purpose of the design for the site given is to create a self sustaining community, whose main target population are small business owners and the emerging professional. Through the use of aquaponics, a symbiotic relationship between plants and fish, the community could grow its own food and sell the excess for revenue in a market managed by them. The housing model varies from micro units, units of an average area of 500 square feet, to live-work models, where the spaces would range from public (business/ studio/ shop) to private (living quarters of residents)
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recreational program [public use] stormwater management [private use] urban farming/garden [private + public use] green space in San Francisco
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Maximum heights of 40’ and 85’ given by the city to respect the height of the area [Mostly residential, victorian style houses with commercial/retail on the ground floor] City requires 75 % transparency facade on ground floor Gross square footage [including setbacks] : 189,103 square feet FAR maximum : 3.6 Square footage for maximum density : 680, 771 square feet
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site photographs
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site analysis diagram
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The project seeks to have a clearly defined street edge along Market and Church Streets. The buildings are broken down to speak to the scale of the blocks on the surrounding context and the angles that shape the project are derived from a combination of visual corridors and sun light exposure. The U shape typology allows for the residential area to be on the edges while the connecting corridor can serve as a third space that mediates the two ends as well as the area where the concept of the aquaponics that drives my project can occur. The inner courtyard that the buildings form is an extension of the living alley condition projected to happen on Webster Street (street next to the Mint) with the idea that businesses can spill out from the interior of the building to take full advantage of the beautiful weather San Francisco is known for. The project starts to increase in height on the northeast area (across from the Mint) since the surrounding buildings are higher and more commercial while the heights start to decrease along Church street to maintain a better dialogue with the residential Victorian style structures.
block typology analysis
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The concept of terraces that facilitate views at all times, maximum sun exposure and elevated courtyards drives the shape of the buildings. Along Market Street, the terraces allow the street room become more pedestrian friendly with a ratio of street width : building height more appropriate to the height of a person. In turn, the terrace ratio opens the possibility for the buildings to become taller and thus gain density vertically in order to open up public space on the ground plane.
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aquaponic system study
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program diagram
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view from aquaponic terrace
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entrance to inner courtyard from Market Street Duboce Street bike promenade [opposite]
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199 ASHLEY DR | Tampa, FL
27° 56’ 38.83”N 82°27’ 29.69”W
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D
Vertical Jaunt
Extending the public promenade in the Z plane Professors Mark Weston + Levent Kara, PhD | Summer 2016 Through the collaging of sectional drawings from architectural projects of our choosing, new sectional spaces were construed to generate a completely digital model of a tower condition to be placed in a location of our choosing in downtown Tampa. The concept of the tower seeks to house a school of the arts and housing component with an urban core that runs the whole height of the project. Public nodes are present as the elevation rises, bringing together not only the two programs but the urban life as the passerby explores the spatial interactions with the school and residential spaces alike.
Group Members: Nathan Mickelson Chase Meyers Claudia Porras
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hybrid sections
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transparency conditions
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program diagram
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circulation diagram
structure diagram
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enter the void
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435 E ILLINOIS ST | Chicago, IL
41° 53’ 27. 06”N 87°36’ 59.84”W
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Chicago: Hybrid by the Water
Exploring the urban experience Professors Mark Weston + Levent Kara, PhD | Summer 2016
Right at the heart of downtown, the project sits facing a small inlet from Lake Michigan on one side and E Illinois St on the other. The complex is a hybrid system of urban life: offices, residences and a school with a connecting bridge acting like a public belt around the site. The public spaces filters though the buildings with the bottom area closest to the street and water levels being completely public. The public areas progressively give precedence over to the semi private office spaces ans the residential tower with prime views to the water and the city expanding before it. Right around the middle of the tallest structure, public space comes to the forefront again to house a restaurant that signals the transition into the private space of residences above. The school, which receives the city with a generous cantilevered structure allowing access to the waterfront terracing, houses a wide array of vocational skills, from metal working to programming. Therefore, it becomes not just a school but a hub for both analog and digital systems and the opportunity for generations to connect over their interests and passions.
Group Members: Nathan Mickelson Chase Meyers Claudia Porras
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urban nodes: vertical vs horizontal public spaces
structure diagram
layering of ground information elevation change: waterfront terraces
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skin system: horizontal louver condition
transparency vs opacity layers of light infiltration
program diagram public / commercial residential office school
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facade protrusions primary space truss connection space truss webs louvers
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north elevation
south elevation
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west elevation
east elevation
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00_parking -35’
00_ground +23’
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00_ground +23’ 1: 1/64”
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00_ground +23’ 1: 1/64”
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02_ level 2 +42’
03_level 3 +60’
04_level 6 +113’
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04_level 6 +113’
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04_level 6 +113’
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05_level 15 +227’
06_level 25 +560’
07_level 38 +665’
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cross section looking west cutting through school
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cross section looking west cutting through offices + residences + observatory
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day after the snow storm
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HWY FL 60 | Mulberry, FL
27° 53’ 53.09”N 81°54’ 2.66”W
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E
Phosphate Mining
Metamorphosis of the landscape Professor Nancy Sanders | Summer 2015
Phosphate mining is an average occurrence in Florida, especially the central area. Many landscapes that people enjoy are the byproducts of such practices. The landscapes can range in use and aesthetic, they can be natural habitats for animals and plants, or golf courses and mountain bike trails. It is the change of this landscape condition, seemingly so ephemeral and interchangeable that the following sections intend to study. The sections follow a timeline typical of the mining process by which the company seeking permits has to promise some future use of the land, a law in place to avoid a plethora of inhabitable, desolate landscapes scattered throughout. The first section focuses on the mining process itself and the layering condition that makes up the topography of an active phosphate mining site. The second section deals with the serious consequences of mining in Florida, including the occurrence of sinkholes that in turn, contaminate the ever fragile Florida aquifer. The last section portrays the possible uses of the land after the mining has terminated, the so called “reclamation process�. The section seeks to demonstrate the change in the landscape, which went from being a mostly flat uniform surface to a slightly hilly topographical condition.
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Communism + Architecture
in search of a new identity Professor Levent Kara, PhD | Summer 2015
The idea for this independent study came as a way to delve into a topic I plan to pursue during thesis: the future of Cuba’s architecture and infrastructure in the absence of a communist government. Through research, Berlin and Moscow were selected to be the focus point of the study since they were both in the Eastern European area that had once been under the Soviet Union sphere of influence. Architecture is shaped by the society and the government in place at the time, and the two cities in question were no different. The graphic across the page explores the infrastructure of the Berlin S-bahn transit system (rapid transit system in the city). It studies the dramatic change of the system over a period of 9 years (1980-1989) in the usage of the stations for East and West Berliners. The areas highlighted in red were the areas in the different routes where ghost stations would be present. The areas and ghost stations represent the areas prohibited to East Berliners. These stations were closed and closely monitored by soldiers to make sure no citizen successfully attempted desertion. There,the trains from West Berlin would never stop. The mapping shows how from 1980 to 1989 the area where trains from West Berlin could stop (highlighted blue) got progressively smaller due to tighter security measures.
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EAST BERLIN, 1989
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[FORMER] EAST BERLIN, 2015
Berlin: Public vs. Private The mappings shown here are a study of the city of Berlin in regards to the public vs private spaces throughout. In this mappings the area chosen to study is mostly what was known as East Berlin during the Soviet period. The first iteration studies the city before the fall of the wall. The public areas (dark brown) encompass public buildings where government agencies and services were located as well as the parks and green areas. The lighter color highlights the private areas, embodied by housing units. The second iteration analyzes current Berlin. Today, most of that section of the city is comprised of historic buildings and cultural attractions. Most of the government offices moved southwest of the area and housing units can be found once again towards the outskirts of the city center. However, in that specific area some private areas (purple) such as hotels can be found among the public (blue) areas. The last iteration overlaps the two previous mappings to study the change in the ratio of public vs private from 1989 until now. It is clear that the ratio of public spaces- especially government agencies- has decreased from Soviet times to now while private spaces -mainly residential- is still towards the outside of the city center.
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MOSCOW, 1987
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MOSCOW, 2015
Moscow: Public vs. Private This series of mappings study the relationship of the public spaces vs. private spaces in the city of Moscow during its time as a place dictated by Soviet ideals and a city post-USSR. The first iteration studies the city as it existed in 1987, while the Soviet Union remained in power. The dark brown areas represent the public areas in Moscow, taking into consideration public buildings such as government structures, cultural centers and green areas. The lighter areas represent the private sector which deal with apartment buildings for the community as well as hotels. The second iteration looks at the city as it appears today, in the post-Soviet period. Both public (blue) and private (purple) areas seem to be closer to one another while in the previous mapping public areas are more prevalent. The last iteration combines the two mappings to study the juxtaposition of the different time periods. In both it is clear that the public areas are still in the center of the city, with the Kremlin as the center point. The private spaces are predominantly towards the outskirts creating a composition that becomes increasingly residential as one gets further away from the center where governmental entities and commerce are more frequently found.
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BERLIN TIMELINE 1920-PRESENT
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E
Parametric Design
Digital Playground Professor Christopher Galbraith | Summer 2015
Parametric design is an innovating and extremely fun class that allows the student to explore the world of computational design. The knowledge of the Grasshopper plug-in for Rhinoceros software allows the student to investigate different envelope methods for building construction, test the structural integrity of a design by applying the forces of physics to it or simply learning how to efficiently and effectively transform a complex modeled surface into ready cut files to bring it into the real world. The class consisted of exercises and two projects. Once project starts to explore the notion of a skin system condition by applying a responsive system along a surface. The second project, more comprehensive in nature, called for the transfer of the knowledge acquired to put in practice by creating a skin condition for a previous project or a responsive pavilion system that fit in with the context of your choosing.
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For the first project, the curving surface had a triangulated system applied that bent and turned seamlessly with it. The triangles each opened and closed in response to a curve drawn in Rhino and settings were adjusted so that the openings became bigger the closest the curve was to the surface of the skin.
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The pavilion design consist of a maze of mirrored, semi transparent panels of glass. The concept was inspired by the work of the artist Jeppe Hein and fun houses at carnivals. The path of the maze can be changed according to the script settings, therefore out of one surface, a infinitesimally amount of possibilities can be speculated.
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pavilion: exploded
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lost in the labyrinth
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