2024 Metropolis Future100
Clayton Monarch
UNVEILING DICHOTOMY University of Pennsylvania: Weitzman School of Design
Master of Architecture Candidate1
BRIEF
Embracing Architectural Contradiction: UNVEILING DICHOTOMY
FORM AND NARRATIVE This portfolio embraces the interplay of architectural contradiction, form, and narrative, drawing insight from the works of Robert Venturi, Roland Barthes, and the teachings of Gottfried Semper. Through experimental approaches to form, materials, and building systems, it challenges conventional notions of architectural expression and invites viewers to undergo a transformative exploration. Inspired by Venturi’s “Complexity and Contradiction,” the showcased projects purposefully juxtapose architectural languages, stimulating pertinant dialogues around default conditions and their maluability. By embracing contradiction as a tool, the projects reveal layers of meaning and evoke investigation of context and its engagement with the present. Drawing from Barthes’ “Mythologies,” narrative elements are interwoven, blending historical context and contemporary stories. This narrative integration creates further tools for inviting viewers to engage with architecture’s symbolic and functional value.
ORGANIZATION AND ENCLOSURE The following works redefine spatial possibilities through pushing the bounds of architectural composition. Through several approaches to spatial organization and its systems of enclosure, they transcend traditional dichotomies and invite viewers to reconsider established spatial relationships. Building upon Semper’s insights into the transformative nature of spatial organization, the projects employ specific materials and building systems. By challenging the binary notions of natural versus synthetic and traditional versus contemporary, each creates spatial compositions that provoke investigative readings and redefine architectural boundaries. This exploration of spatial relationships questions conventional notions of enclosure and structure, encouraging viewers to engage with architecture from multiple perspectives. Through experimentation, narrative integration, and the redefinition of spatial elements, the following works provoke deep reading, challenge default conditions, and center the potential of reuse in architecture by prioritizing public engagement.
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CONTENTS
PROJECTS
CLEAR & FUZZY
ARCH 602 | FRAMES & GRAINS
Selected for Pressing Matters
FUSED REVIVAL ARCH 601 | SHIF TING HYBRIDS Selected for Pressing Matters
BINDING DIALECTS HOK FUTURES | DESIGN COMPETITION Awarded Second Prize
SPLIT RECLAMATION ARCH 502 | AUTOMATIC ASSEMBLIES Selected for Pressing Matters
DUALISTIC FUTURES ARCH 501 | PIPE DREAMS Selected for Pressing Matters
STUDIES SAN LUCA E MARTINA BAROQUE TOPOLOGIES | POINTWORK PAINTWORK
UNIT 266 VS I MOD. 02 | ORTHOGRAPHIC HOME-WORK
10TH AND BUTTONWOOD VS I MOD. 04 | MAPPING / PROJECTIONS
THE HERALD VS II MOD. 01 | DIFFICULT WHOLES
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ARCH 601 | SHIF TING HYBRIDS
CLEAR & FUZZY Lower East Side, New York City, NY Fish Market and Public Commons Public Commons / Market / Park / Air Rights
“Clear and Fuzzy” aims to challenge the relationship between the interior and exterior within traditional architecture has been established through the poche. The fuzzy posits an alternative scenario in which the poche begins to slip and escape from the interior to the facade. Here a boundary is addressed, in which the poche reveals the interiority through a clear massing slipping over its edges and allowing the envelope to react. Rather than punching the envelope to divide the interior from the exterior. The project employs techniques of tumbling the facade that allows for gaps and seams that create an interplay between objects. The multiple facade layering began to divide spaces and demonstrate intersections between previously separate volumes. This allows for flexibility of spaces as well as interconnection between the interior exterior The project as an urban fish farm works as a source of fresh fish for the neighboring communities, and through traditional processes of drying fish, can offer preserved fish for the food bank. This allowed for the tumbling objects to become processing spaces as well as community spaces. The project started to manipulate traditional building materials such as shingles, polycarbonate, and reeds and brought them to the urban context. We took the material qualities and started to distort them through scale, color, and layering. These elements, working to distort the original clarity of the volume, wrapping elements of the frame, questioning how structure can be used as a framework rather than a container, and manipulating surfaces based on their suggested physicality. Instructed by Nate Hume Collborative Project with Courtney Ward
Tumble
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Hug
Droop
Catch
FISH MARKET AND PUBLIC COMMONS
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ARCH 601 | SHIF TING HYBRIDS
Ground Floor Plan Slipping Envelopes, Tumbling Mass, Interstial Movement
Detail section
Ground Floor View
Semi Conditioned Spaces, Commerce, Production, Public Commons
A Precarious Atrium
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FISH MARKET AND PUBLIC COMMONS
CLT Beams, Sheathing, and Seal
WVB, Tilted Beams, Light Fixture
Glu-Lam to Concrete Transition
Detail Section: Close Ups Seals, Slipping Barriers, Operable Panels, Thatching , Hydro Tanks, Foundation
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ARCH 601 | SHIF TING HYBRIDS
Upper Level Floor Plan Dining Hall, Market Space, Fish Curing Lab, Interstital Pathways
Upper Level View A view from the pond
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Physical Model Photo Decontextualised Cropped View
FISH MARKET AND PUBLIC COMMONS
Upper Level Floor Plan: Close Up Bundled Columns, Communal Dinning Tables, Gathering Pond, Slipping Envelopes
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ARCH 601 | SHIF TING HYBRIDS
Full Section Tumbling Masses, Heavy Foundations, Hatt Truss, Air Rights
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FISH MARKET AND PUBLIC COMMONS
Full Section: Close Up Fish Curing , Outdoor Space, Overlapped Levels, Water Purification, Dining
Detail Render
Full Section: Close Up
Fluttering Shingles, Thatch, Hydro Tanks, Frosted Glass
Fish Curing , Outdoor Space, Water Purification
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HOK FUTURES DESIGN COMPETITION
BINDING DIALECTS Old City, Philadelphia, PA Integrative Housing, Community Garden, and Kitchen Immigration Center / Garden / Amphitheater / Kitchen / Housing
The Residential Building and Refugee Center project is a unique approach to provide a supportive living environment for refugees through architecture. The design of the building prioritizes the concept of dissolving borders and promoting unity and integration, which will be achieved through the use of natural and locally sourced materials, surrounding context, and community-focused features. The three gardens, community kitchen, and transportation services play an important role in the project, providing opportunities for residents to engage with nature, build relationships, and access essential resources and services. The building’s design is a true example of how architecture can be used as a tool for positive social change. The use of materials and context will create a warm and welcoming environment, while the gardens and community kitchen will provide opportunities for residents to come together and build relationships. The transportation services will ensure residents have access to the resources and services they need to thrive. The project represents a commitment to breaking down barriers and promoting unity, making it a unique and innovative approach to support and services for refugees. HOK Futures Design Competition Awarded Second Prize One Week Collborative Project with Jorge Couso
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INTEGRATIVE HOUSING, COMMUNITY GARDEN, AND KITCHEN
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HOK FUTURES DESIGN COMPETITION
Street View Lanterns, Facade System, Peeling Curtains
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INTEGRATIVE HOUSING, COMMUNITY GARDEN, AND KITCHEN
Front Elevation
Garden View
Peeling Curtains, Articulated Frames, Embedded Artifacts
Cloister Garden, Amphitheater
Ride Share Drop
Gym
Gallery
Kitchen
Residential Unit
Cloister Garden
Amphitheater
Full Section Central Kitchen, Botanical Atrium, Relieved Ground, Residential Units, Gardens
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HOK FUTURES DESIGN COMPETITION
Street Elevation Disguised Part to Whole Unit Logic, Peeling Curtain System
Typical Residential Plan Single, Multi, and Shared Units, Communal Birdgeways, Botanical Atrium
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Detail Sliver Embedded Artifacts, Facade System, Double Height Ground Level
I NTEGRATIVE HOUSING, COMMUNITY GARDEN, AND KITCHEN
Ground Floor Plan Reception, Gallery, Kitchen, Immigration Service,. Cafe, Cloister Garden, Amphitheater
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BAROQUE TOPOLOGIES | ELECTIVE SEMINAR WITH ANDREW SAUNDERS
SAN LUCA E MARTINA Pointwork Paintwork Series Baroque Topolgies | Elective Seminar with Andrew Saunders Pietro Da Cortona
San Luca e Martina exemplifies the distinct painterly qualities of Pietro da Cortona’s baroque church. The three-plane boundary within the church presents a visually dynamic and undulating movement, showcasing the energetic nature of Baroque design. The interior of the church is brought to life through the deliberate placement of bundled columns and interrupted walls, actively intruding upon the space. These elements create a sense of depth and complexity, accentuated by the varying striated walls positioned on offset virtual planes. This arrangement adds visual interest and reinforces the captivating nature of the Baroque aesthetic. The orientation of San Luca e Martina follows a Greek cross, with a slight emphasis on the long axis between the crossing arches and the terminating door, which features a balcony.
“To the eye accustomed to the Renaissance building - this three-plane boundary may appear violently agitated and indiscriminately broken up, but it represents in reality a regular rhythm of undulating movement.” - Rudolf Wittkower
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SAN LUCA E MARTINA
Main Alter Deformation Pulled Toward Alter
Combined Transepts View from the Outside of the Inside
Pegassus, Cherubs, Apse Deformation Around Three Plane Boundaries
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ARCH 601 | SHIF TING HYBRIDS
FUSED REVIVAL Financial District, New York City, NY Adaptive Reuse of the Corbin Building Housing / Exhibition Space / Park / Historic Reuse
The Corbin Building has an abundance of treasured brick and terracotta detailing that’s regulated by a rhythmic bay organization. This proposal coexists with these building aspects and the existing structural grid through the technique of fusing. Meaning, the addition and existing become internally and externally aligned, subdivided, and wrapped, until the rhythms and detailing are linked together while remaining discrete for their material and spatial contrast. The open ground level, and double height windows on the 5th floor engage the public, both serving as borders between the complete dissolution of the new from the old and providing subway, housing, and park access points. The intervention provides 60 housing units broken into three types: 30 - 500sqf studios, 15 - 800sqf one-bedrooms, and 15 1200sf two-bedroom units. Studio apartments interlock their living space causing a one-bedroom unit to extend into them. Simultaneously, a one-bedroom unit’s balcony expands to allow another units living space to increase. These interrelationships create mutable spatial assets - like extended balconies, bedrooms, and living space - for each unit configuration. Using Washington Square Park as a case study, the project hosts a “park” rotunda on the roof of the Fulton building. Through adding improved routes of access and a direct link to the gallery spaces within the Corbin, a network of porous spaces afford mass gathering and a spectrum of activity. The gallery space offers open exhibition space for rotating events, artwork, and gathering. By collocating open exhibition and leisure space with the Fulton Center’s subway systems, the project achieves fluid public engagement as witnessed in Instructed by Hina Jamelle 2 Week Collaborative Research Component with Grace Infante Nominated for Pressing Matters
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ADAPTIVE REUSE OF THE CORBIN BUILDING
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ARCH 601 | SHIF TING HYBRIDS
FORM
BEHAVIOR
a.Texture-Lapping
e. Mulitiplicity
b.Interlocking
f. Spawning
c. Convolution
g. Swelling
d. Wrapping
h. Parasitic
The Part: Lichen Research Diagrams Form and Behavior Derivatives
The Whole: Combined Diagram Embedded Artifacts, Facade System, Double Height Ground Level completed with Grace Infante
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Poche and Boundary Study Cross Section, Swollen Boundary, Shrivled Boundary
ADAPTIVE REUSE OF THE CORBIN BUILDING
Cropped Street Perspective Terracotta Detailing , Gallery Balcony, Residential Units
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ARCH 601 | SHIF TING HYBRIDS
Section Chunk Park Rotunda, Ground Level Circulation, Gallery, Residential Units
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ADAPTIVE REUSE OF THE CORBIN BUILDING
Full Section Fulton Center, Subways, Residential Units, Public Commons Space Circulation, Gallery
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ARCH 601 | SHIF TING HYBRIDS
The Whole: 8th Floor Residential Plan Single and Double Bedroom Units, Private and Communal Balconies, Circulation to Public Commons Space
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ADAPTIVE REUSE OF THE CORBIN BUILDING
The Part: Intersection of 6 Units Balconies, Recessed and Cantilevered Openings, Etching , Lichen Growth
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ARCH 601 | SHIF TING HYBRIDS
Elevation Sliver Gallery Level Exterior View, Balcony, Bay Rhythm
The Whole Closeup: 8th Floor Residential Plan Single and Double Bedroom Units, Circulation to Public Commons Space
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ADAPTIVE REUSE OF THE CORBIN BUILDING
The Interstice Open Air Ground Level, Procession to Public Commons Space, Subway Access, Fulton Center, Corbin Building
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UNIT 266 | VS I MOD. 02 | ORTHOGRAPHIC HOME-WORK
UNIT 266 Orthographic Home-Work Visual Studies I | Module 02 with Miroslava Brooks Unfolding Elevation and Plan Analysis (with an Addition)
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10TH AND BUTTONWOOD | VS II MOD. 01 | MAPPING / PROJECTIONS
10th AND BUTTONWOOD Mapping and Projections Visual Studies I | Module 04 with Brian Deluna Figure Ground Study
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ARCH 502 | AUTOMATIC ASSEMBLIES
SPLIT RECLAMATION Callowhill, Philadelphia, PA A Market for Callow Hill Market / Park / Vertical Farming / Historic Reuse
As a defining relic from Callowhill’s industrial past, the Viaduct railroad has left permanent impressions on the neighborhood and its inhabitants. It, and the Callowhill expressway were highly contested and now form physical barriers that fracture pedestrian traffic and redevelopment efforts. Split Reclamations is an effort to orient essential community functions and gathering space north of the expressway and directly on the railroad which initially fractured it. The Viaduct becomes the main arterial to the market and shared spaces, bringing in foot traffic from within and outside of Callowhill. Within the primary structure, a vertical farm supplements the public market’s produce supply, which interfaces with cooperative working and educational spaces. These programmatic adjacencies further position the project as a place of civic exchange. After years of abandonment the Viaduct has become a stage for diverse ecology of plant and animal life. This has begun the conversation over its reuse and eventual life as Northern Philadelphia is redeveloped. Split Reclamation attempts to harmonize itself with that ecological reclamation and discrete industrial relics through embedding and melding itself with them. Advocating for the fair exchange of cultural and economoic value between developer and user within Callowhill. Instructed by Kevin Cannon Nominated for Pressing Matters
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A MAKET FOR CALLOWHILL
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ARCH 502 | AUTOMATIC ASSEMBLIES
The Split Viaduct Pathway Intersecting with Enclosure
The Market Reservoir, Market Space, View Towards Vertical Farm
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A MAKET FOR CALLOWHILL
Physical Model in Site Section Pullout, Callowhill, Viaduct Pathway, Proposal Overview
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ARCH 502 | AUTOMATIC ASSEMBLIES
a. Vertical Farm b. Seed Lab c. Market d. Reservoir e. Co-Op Space f. Viaduct Pathway
Cutaway Axon Vertical Farm, Seed Lab, Market, Reservoir, Co-Op Space, Viaduct Pathway
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A MAKET FOR CALLOWHILL
The Viaduct Plan Viaduct Pathway, Street Side Park, Co-Op Space, Dining , Market Entrances
Ground Floor Plan Reception, Elevators to Market, BOH Storage
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THE HERALD
THE HERALD Difficult Wholes Visual Studies II | Module 01 with Nate Hume Assemblage of Extracted Figures from Piranesi’s Campo Marzio
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VS II MOD. 01 | DIFFICULT WHOLES
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ARCH 501 | PIPE DREAMS
DUALISTIC FUTURES Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia Museum of Art Satellite Extension Art and History Museum / Amphitheatre / Historic Reuse
Given the environmental and infrastructural threats imposed by erratic water levels along the Schuylkill and Delaware River, the riverbank site is frequently vulnerable to damaging conditions. In response, the extension’s raised foundations suspend the project above the ground of the historic Fairmount Waterworks and seal its existing configuration at water level - welding yet separating itself from it. Furthermore, reflecting pools, streams, and gutter spouts orchestrate the movement of water when levels are low, recalling the previously functional forebay that siphoned water into a series of hydroelectric turbines. As a contemporary to the neoclassic language of the waterworks and the PMA, the project features a domed amphitheater and three cloister gardens. Two of the gardens are surrounded by museum space with unobstructed access at ground level, and the other is suspended and fully contained between the amphitheater and educational space. Yet, their geometries become unrecognizable as they subject themselves to a referential grid - defamiliarizing yet harmonizing its language with its hosts. Its micro perforated shell is finished through an accelerated oxidation process, confusing its solidity and age. This further positions the project as a relic in a dual state of resistance and yielding; promoting an era of cautionary building practice in response to decades of failing infrastructural development during the 19th and 20th centuries. Instructed by Daniel Markiewicz Nominated for Pressing Matters
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PMA SATELLITE EXTENSION
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ARCH 501 | PIPE DREAMS
Physical Study Model Pipes, Voids, and Joints
Diagram Series Pointcloud Analysis, Contour, Material Renders
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PMA SATELLITE EXTENSION
Plan & Elevation Study Unfolding the Profiles for Further Use
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ARCH 501 | PIPE DREAMS
Physical Model Photography Voids, Seams, Gutters
Choisy Axonometric Combined Plan, Section, and Context Study
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PMA SATELLITE EXTENSION
The Stage Occupying the Void, Amphitheater, Waterworks
Looking Over the Reflecting Pools Seams, Reflection, Integratted Lighting
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ARCH 501 | PIPE DREAMS
Lobby
Full Section Waterworks, Cloister Gardens, Art and History Galleries
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Galleries
Waterworks
Cloister A.
PMA SATELLITE EXTENSION
Cloister B.
Reflecting Pool
Amphitheater Entrance
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ARCH 501 | PIPE DREAMS
Looking Across the Schuylkill Vista Opening , Amphitheater, Waterworks, Cloister Garden Entrances
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PMA SATELLITE EXTENSION
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Thank You.
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