Colleen de Matta
ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO
TADIO’S WAIT: VESTIGE Metaphysical Archive Venice, Italy Substance Design Forum - First Place The H. Bussard Award - Second Place Maple Street Construct Exhibition - Pairings Design on Main - Weather Permitting CSI Competition - Finalist Fall 2018 Instructor: Peter P. Goche’ Partners: Christopher Perez and Zheng Yang
Atmospheric conditions are amongst the key causes of deterioration of Venice’s environment. Air, light, and water act as the primordial mediums through which atmosphere presents itself spatially, all contributing to the ongoing decay. The role of architecture therefore becomes a medium through which the ongoing performative nature of atmospheric deterioration presents itself materially. Atmosphere is the means whereby architecture can become a tool to procure and obscure what we see as commonplace within the built environment. At the same time, it provides a place within which one can meditate on weathering as a condition. While many obsess over the deterioration of Venice for its beauty, an architecture which presents a new perspective on decay as part of its life cycle becomes essential in a time that views the loss of Venice as imminent.
PROCESS: WAIT Through explorations on the notion that as the self develops, the body deteriorates, we began to question the possible mediums through which the self can exist pertaining to the metaphysical realm. Through our time in Venice we drew to the notion that “Entropy is intagible, but its effect is very real�. We attempted to portray the energies of decay through the interaction of plaster and water. These experiments were done through three different mediums and are represented in a physical form which penetrates these layers, causing deterioration to emenate from its touch.
To push our definition of drawing further and to explore it as a means of learning, we began material explorations which allowed us to further investigate the spatial and textural effects that entropy produces. Through the means of casting various objects and disrupting them in a chaotic manner, we were able to produce spatial atmospheres that aided us in a very material, architectonic understanding of what an entropic architecture could be.
These models were taken further through an exploration of their negatives, which was achieved through the posterizing of model image scans in order to read and interrogate them in a new way. Incorporating this new perception of the beauty in deterioration to the site causes the viewer to alter their perception by adding value to their surroundings.
PROPOSAL: VESTIGE Architecture is an armature for sheltered funtion: it is an intellectual framework through which spatial logics can be produced that allows one the ability to enter a metaphysical relationship between the material and immaterial. Vestige, then, posits architecture as an essentialized occasion, or waiting room, whereby the occupant, upon entry, percieves atmosphere differently, providing a series of spaces wherein one is able to experience the latent nature of light and air immersed in an auditory percussion of the Adriatic Sea colliding with its earthen floor.
Our consequent atmospheric archive and corresponding buoyant passage offers the occupant an occasion in which to attune oneself with that which is immaterial, the lunar tidal rhythm, through the material logics and spatial distribution of the architecture. In doing so, the spatial production implicates the body in an awareness of atmospheric drama. This phenomenological aspect of the architecture allows a lived experience to define the way that users are able to perceive the immateriality of air as their existential envelope. Acting as the new nautical gateway to the Venice Biennale and Arsenale, the architecture becomes that upon which one is able to question their being in relation to the material and immaterial. Vestige, therefore, is the physical manifestation of an intense, and ongoing, investigation aimed at understanding the role of deterioration in the built environment specific to the relationship between mind and matter.
“Each building has a history created by its own fiction and need to demonstrate its philosophy of existence. That fiction is part of the debris of history.� -Anselm Kiefer, Heaven and Earth (2005)
Photograph by Cameron Campbell
WOODEN PILE
DECKING STRINGER TRUSS FRAME CARRIAGE BOLT FLOATATION DRUM LAG STRIP
Drawing by Christopher Perez
PARAPET FLASHING METAL COLUMN STRUCTURE GABION WALL METAL COVER DRAINAGE
COLD JOINT
CONCRETE
CONCRETE FOOTING PROTECTIVE COVERING
METAL FOOTING EARTH
Drawing by Christopher Perez
S I L E N T VOID Iowa State Music Hall Addition Ames, Iowa DLR Group Prize Â- Finalist Fall 2017 Instructor: Mikesch Muecke Partner: Wentao Zhong
Music is not visible; yet we can perceive its presence and absence. It consists of sound, yet also contains silence. The rhythm in music cannot exist without breaks of sound, making silence a crucial element of music. Sound and silence are constantly in relation to each other, where they push and pull each other in parallel directions through time. These elements are also apparent in architecture, where space cannot be achieved until material is substracted. In architecture, sound becomes a solid and silence becomes space. When material and void react as a musical rhythm, they create a strong relationship, where their gestures impact each other directly.
The Music Hall expansion utilizes the regulations of rhythm, where the following of sound to silence becomes material following void. Through the rhythm analysis of two different musical pieces of the Iowa State ensembles, jazz and classical, silence is configured into a three-dimensional form. This new space sets the basis for the organization of materials. Because silence directly impacts sound, the material is oriented parallel to the void. In the specific case of the music pieces, the voids are created with a series of angular planes.
Drawing by Wentao Zhong
PUBLIC PROGRAM
STUDENT/FACULTY PROGRAM
The central location of the void in the architecture creates a force to its surrounding spaces, where adjacent walls are pushed and pulled according to their proximity to each side of the void. The angled orientation of the surrounded spaces coincides with the program of the building, where acoustics are enhanced through unparalled surfaces. Therefore, the proximity of the different spaces to the void is determined by their need for dampened or live acoustics. Key spaces impacted by the void include the rehearsal and practice spaces, and concert hall. The rehearsal spaces require dampened, dry sound qualities in order to acquire unity as an ensemble. By locating them adjacent to the void, they are able to utilize the angled surface to create an irregular side of the space. This reasoning is also apparent for the practice spaces, where they encircle the void in order to obtain dampened sound qualities. Dissimilar to the rehearsal and practice spaces, the concert hall requires very live acoustics. The relationship between the concert hall and the void create a convex wall behind the auditorium’s seating. This outwardly curved form is ideal for producing the resonant sound qualities needed for the space. CONCERT HALL - LIVE ACOUSTICS
PRACTICE ROOM DRY ACOUSTICS REHEARSAL ROOM - DRY ACOUSTICS
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EXISTING ADDTION
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LEVEL 1 1. Concert Hall 2. Stage 3. Backstage 4. Piano Storage 5. Dressing Rooms 6. Hall Vestibule 7. Lobby 8. Bathrooms 9. Percussion Suite 10. Band Rehearsal 11. Orchestra Rehearsal 12. Practice Rooms 13. Marching Band Storage 14. Recital Hall Foundations 15. Loading Dock
Piano Storage
Backstage
Library
Concert Hall
Kitchenette
Cafe
Recording Studio
Practice Room
Technology Classroom
Small Ensemble Rehearsal
Large Ensemble Rehearsal
Black Box Theater
Music Education Classroom
Faculty Office
Graduate Office
Louver
Rigid Insulation Mullion Wooden Floor Finish Aluminum Stool
Sealant
Wood Nailer Horizontal Mullion Fire-Rated Sealant
Channel Glass
Concrete Cover Mineral Wool Firestop
Vinyl Insert
Hollow Core Concrete Slab
Channel Glass Frame
Steel Beam Insulating Glass Unit Vertical Mullion Anchor Batt Insulation Metal Backpan Continuous Formed Metal Membrane Rigid Insulation Termination Panel
Steel Plate
Not only does the void impact acoustics, it encourages the movement through space through its irregularity. In order to enhance this feature, the void is programmed as vertical circulation. Upward passages become intriguing as one enters a foreign space. This urge for movement is another significant element of music when music is felt through time, meaning one cannot predetermine its direction. Architecture has the potential to reflect the spontaneous passage of a musical piece through its circulation. Links between spaces are typically predetermined and stagnant. However, a building has the ability to provoke people to learn through movement by creating mobility in people in the same sense they experience music.
Roof Level
Level 5
Level 4
Elevator
Level 3
Level 2
Level 1
Ground Level/ Main Entrance
AMPHI-BLOCK NCMA Unit Design Competition - First Place Masonry Institute of Iowa CMU Competition - First Place
Spring 2017 Instructor: Bosuk Hur Partners: Ayla Hendrickson, Nathan Joneses and Ayla Hendrickson
For too long, spaces of high sound quality, such as musical practice rooms and theaters, relied on expensive materials and complicated spatial arrangements. Amphi-Block, therefore, provides an accessible solution. This four-piece block mold is versatile, applicable for acoustic enhancement by allowing for flat, angled surfaces. In turn, sound absorption is also facilitated with hollow spaces that can fit sound absorbing foam, as well as lighting.
REDIRECTING AND AMPLIFYING Block typologies are used to direct and amplify sound. The trapezoidal shaped blocks have the same angled edge, but are different lengths, allowing for site specific alignments.
VOID FOR ELECTRICAL WIRING
An entire theater can be built with this block mold, as the blocks can also be arranged to create seating, a stage, and stairs. Different alignments can also eliminate distracting echoes as well as strategically project and amplify sound from the stage. Amphi Block can also create dynamic textures in a variety of applications, such as green walls, in both conditioned and unconditioned spaces. With Amphi-Block, high quality sound can be easily promoted with basic concrete, making the practice and experience of live music easily attainable.
ABSORBING AND SCATTERING Block typologies facilitate more quiet spaces by allowing for sound absorption and scattering. Sound absorption is achieved with open space in the block’s surface, which can also accomodate acoustic foam and lighting. In addition, sound is scattered by angled planes. In total, these blocks have an increased sound absorption by 63.8%.
AN ENTIRE MUSIC VENUE FROM A SINGLE MOLD Stepped walls arranged in a reverse fan shape allow for lateral sound movement, creating a higher definition of sound in an outdoor environment. The Absorbing and Scattering blocks form seating as well as reduce echoes.
rip - rap Goche’ Inclusions LLC Winter 2018 - Present Supervisor: Peter P. Goche’ Partners: Chistopher Perez, Zheng Yang
As the first architecture to touch a confidential area of Des Moines, Rip-Rap utilizes the open site in order to highlight its natural surroundings and create direct views towards the city skyline. The need to make a strong presence on the forgotten area creates a necessity for provocative atmospheric conditions driven by both light and movement. Therefore, the program and form of the architecture are derived from the achievement of atmospheric spaces.
In order to attain such conditions, the project utilizes similar mechanisms to the historic corn crib Perforated Horizon near Napier, Iowa. The repetitively punctured skin of the structure creates a light phenomenon which heightens the interior experience, while creating a blurring boundary between itself and the Iowan landscape. Rip-Rap reflects the corn crib by allowing itself to exist as a series of thin skins encapsulating a conditioned interior. The typologies of skin engage the architecture with the site in ways that redirect views and shield from southern light, while utilizing the light to allow for rich atmospheric conditions.
Perforated Horizon Near Napier, Iowa
Black Contemporary: Skin Narratives Black’s Heritage Farm Ames, Iowa Spring 2019 Instructor: Peter P. Goche’ Partners: Tomi Laja, Megan Zeien
“Cloth is the constant tactile companion to our body, is the hand that is always touching. Cloth covers nakedness—makes us social. Its surround is an early architecture and its origins are animal” — Ann Hamilton, The Common Sense Founded in 1936, Black’s Heritage farm encompasses five generations of history. Based upon explorations of the complex, Skin Narratives serves as an expression of the historic agricultural labor. The installation, located in the one of the farm’s many abandoned corn bins, utilizes cloth as a medium to display a collection of imprints from both human and machinery laborers to portray the ghosts of its past. Skin Narratives distorts the ephemeral properties of cloth by allowing it to maintain static conditions. It challenges the definition of gravity by allowing the cloth to preserve distortion without the force of external volumes. This is achieved through a thin application of plaster on canvas sheets which allows the cloth to retain independent form. With this technique, the canvas ominously displays full scale bodies of the human and machine which once occupied the space.
Thank you Colleen de Matta cdematta@iastate.edu