CORY MEYER
design portfolio | 2009-2014
+ front cover: field sketch; colosseo, roma, italy
+ castiglion fiorentino, italy
+ mobile office, independence, missouri
01
+ urban community space; omaha, nebraska
02
03
+ museum; manhattan, new york
04
+ gallery; stavanger, norway
+ delineation
05
+ object design
06
itinerant fixtures: finding agency in permanence | design+make studio | independence, missouri
01
+ in progress, construction set to be complete may 2014 + winning proposal; co-team leader; keeper of design intent & shop manager through construction + professor: david dowell, el dorado inc. Hardesty Renaissance, in conjunction with Asian Americans for Equality (non-profit from NYC) purchased a 6 building 18-acre site along the northeast corridor in Kansas City on Independence Avenue. With hopes of spear heading a massive revitalization effort along the northeast corridor, their initial and primary need is a leasing office, to be sited in a 3,000 square foot field in the northeast corner of building 11. In addition to effectively marketing this once brown field site to future developers, the design must accommodate a highly flexible and mobile program. Fundamental programmatic elements include a work station (desks), conference area, and exhibition space. Mobility became an imperative constraint; while building 11 offers a unique opportunity, it may not be the permanent home.
To accommodate the desired flexibility, the space needed to maintain a clean and efficient design, with clarity of its essentials. Aside from the typical office situation, the space should expect to entertain large gatherings and presentations, art gallery events, and small informal mixers. To welcome this variation, the design integrated a clear and simple language that was carried throughout the inception of piece. Steel frames assume the foundation for an affordable and ameliorated material, the pallet. Through explorations on the site, we discovered a surplus of this industrial and modular material and elected to study its relevance for an office solution.
It is unfair to any project to assume that it can be uplifted and find a new home as equally meaningful as the last. Interventions are required to make the mobile office mesh with its surroundings in Building 11. These moments (catalysts) spark activity in the space and provide functions outside the empirical programmatic needs. Building 11 engages ‘the portal’ and ‘the cloud’.
design brief [mobile] office branding/identity office gallery/exhibition space
catalysts degree of mobility strict budget*
solution simple, efficient, and highly flexible economical; time appropriation and affordability cognizance and reverence to existing site *elected materiality; affordable with innate modularity
+ aafe (non profit from NYC) buys land in kc
+ new site along independence ave, 18-acres
+ hardesty renaissance starts remediation process
+ project site, northeast corner of building 11
+ existing conditions
+ building 11 as exists before remediation, sea of columns on 19’x19’ grid
+ admittance of 3,000 square foot shell, as instituted by el dorado inc (project architects) + inclusion of shell lighting and hvac system
m
credenza media center
conference desk cloud to parking to raw space
storage wall gallery wall
portal
kitchen area
+ mobile office plan, typical work situation
+ inclusion of furniture and space defining elements
+ inclusion of catalysts (portal and cloud) as well as accent paint burts and gallery wall
+ interior elevation south, showing gallery wall and kitchen beyond
+ interior elevation north, existing wall of windows beyond
+ interior elevation east, entry beyond
+ interior elevation west, raw space entrance beyond
+ office environment
+ mixer event
+ robert irwin inspiration
the portal One of the project catalysts, the portal, was designed to create a “moment� upon entering the space. The portal was devised to allow visitors and possible lessees a viewing opportunity of the raw space beyond the office limits; their potential new home.
+ above (clockwise): tabletop mockup out of reclaimed red oak pallets; screen wall connection detail; full scale screen wall prototype
in-progress development Slated to be fully completed by graduation in May of 2014, the advancement of the furniture construction in the shop has been encouraging. Two major groups have been established in the shop, a steel team and a pallet remediation team. Both are progressing with promising results locked in for the intended completion date.
+ above (clockwise from top left): corner detail on credenza cage; desk and table pieces disassembled; desk frame mock-up; conference table corner detail; credenza cage and table-top connection details
green in the city design competition | el dorado inc. | omaha, nebraska
02
+ “roof ground water� winning proposal for a national design competition, an innovative urban community space + team: el dorado inc, urban rain design, selected k-state students ROOF Our proposal begins with the visually arresting roof of the Bluebarn Theater. The artificial grass and folded, pitched planes suggest a fantastical lawn worthy of lounging upon. Sloping surfaces direct rainwater towards the edge of the roof, routing the precious resource somewhere lush, desirable and unseen. Combining a rich architectural material palette of exposed concrete, corten steel, steel re-bar and a saturated, pure blue, the theater presents both elegant forms and curious juxtapositions. We appreciate the freedom and boldness offered by our partner in occupying this soon-to-be-transformed block in Omaha, Nebraska.
GROUND Our goal is to create a roof corollary on the ground - a flexible and accessible place. The faceted ground planes west of the theater create a landscaped foreground for the blue outdoor theater volume. At the same time they offer a seasonally adjusting backdrop for the formal interior theater space. Corten steel edging holds the lawn along Pacific, scaling to architectural dimensions when needed. A comfortable lawn of Buffalo grass and Brome absorbs water and heat. It requires little maintenance. A small wedge of taller native grasses and wildflowers quietly suggests an inside and an outside to the greenspace. Rills collect overflow rainwater at the intersections of folding planes, directing it towards fragrant rain gardens. A select few Swamp White Oaks and Bloodgood London Plane Trees dot the western edge of the greenspace, providing shade, texture, interior volume and a ceiling-like surface to illuminate at night.
WATER We are interested in establishing this project as a showcase in the holistic management of stormwater on a development site. We would also like to discuss how private development interfaces with the public realm, both experientially and as cooperative infrastructure. Throughout our proposal we demonstrate how water flows from initial rainfall contact from the rooftop throughout the site, how it is slowed, captured and released through a series of overt and subtle stormwater facilities. As a practical matter we’re managing stormwater at both a macro and micro scale. On a poetic level, through the rigorous choreography of water flow from high to low we are making gravity visible, acoustical and felt.
+ site conditions
+ grounding the roof
+ playing with planes
+ inside >> out
+ outside >> in
+ infrastructure = friend
+ neutral ground
+ stormwater collection/water flow
+ defining edges with light
+ section north
+ view from greenspace towards stage
+ neutral ground
+ process
anish kapoor museum | manhattan, new york
03
Located in the SoHo district of New York, this project is specifically designed to showcase the large sculptural work of artist and sculptor, Anish Kapoor. Known for creating elegant sculptures that combine simple materials, geometric shape, and organic form, this museum’s components provide an environment uniquely tailored for Kapoor’s work. Responding to the elected art medium of sculptures (some highly reflective) and not requiring a controlled lighting agenda, this design capitalized on both natural daylight and a volumetric sequencing of space. Sectionally focused, each floor plate is unique, allowing views to other floors as well as washing light several stories. The gallery levels are raised off the street a story to initiate an extension of the public realm, encouraging social interaction for passersby.
+ top: site panoramic; above: site map, soho district, intersection of crosby st. and broome st. right: included art media in gallery
4 3 2
6
5
6
1
+ street level 1 2 3 4 5 6
outdoor public court bookshop/library food vendor/cafe freight elevator drop-off lobby/reception gallery
+ below: (clockwise) aerial perspective; street view; sectional perspective; approach from street; main entry stair; sectional study
6
+ second level
+ fourth level
top: crosby st. elevation; above: section through vertical atrium top right: wall section; above right: facade development
gallery klakk | stavanger, norway
04
A family passionate about collecting art recently bought a villa along the Hafrsfjord shoreline in Stavanger, Norway and desired a space to not only showcase their collection, but to also create a cultural destination along the publicly traveled shoreline path. In addition to an exhibit area, a small studio apartment/workspace for visiting artists was desired. The program encouraged the exploration in the meeting of land, sea and sky as related to tectonic and architectural issues. The gallery takes full advantage of its prominent location on the shoreline and establishes a clear, permeable connection between land and sea. Land is unimpeded as the gallery appears floating above the water, anchored to a concrete core housing the studio. Transparency and restraint become paramount to allow the public unobstructed views to the art and fjord beyond.
+ gallery volume
+ display surfaces
+ studio/living core + boat access
+ site plan, with views toward fjord allocated
+ section southeast
+ site images
+ approach from water
+ section southwest
+ contextual studies
delineation | pen+charcoal+watercolor+photography
05
As designers, being able to express our ideas through visual representation is imperative in solving any design problem. I believe sketching is the Architect’s response to reasoning, their testimony of thought throughout the process of design. For me, sketching also represents my observations and perceptions of the space(s) around me. While studying abroad in Italy during the spring of 2013, I became fascinated with the different cultures and architectural history of Europe. Sketching became a tool for recording my perception of the environment surrounding me, something tangible that invoked an experience built on intentional exploration.
+ graphite rendering
+ field sketch; venezia, italia
+ field sketch & watercolor; venezia, italia
object design
06
Through scholastic endeavors, studies abroad and personal exploration, I’ve discovered an earnest passion for making things. This passion has instilled in me an understanding of the influence that well-crafted, meaningful objects can have on the functionality and interaction of a space. I’ve become enamored with the details in good design; the different parts that come together to create beautiful, timeless objects.
trace space 1.0 Marrying wood and steel, trace space 1.0 is a study in providing the Architect a functional organization of their essentials. materials: reversed grain matched red cedar, friction fit and joined 1/16” mild steel plate 18”x6”x3.5”
book space 1.0 Designed as a complimentary pair with trace space 1.0, book space 1.0 retains a refined, versatile minimalism. Built without fasteners, this piece can tailor to any book collection, no matter the size or shape. materials: book matched red cedar 1/8” mild steel plate 18”x6.5”x8”