Pre Thesis Portfolio 2015

A. CRISTINA BAQUERIZO b. architecture ‘16

CONTENTS

01

Dotting the City

02

Mapping Boston

03

MIT Media Lab Facade

04

Sagam Hospital

05

Passive Ventilation for Low Income Housing

06

Furniture Collected Works

01 DOTTING THE CITY

A curated experience through the city of Athens, Greece.

Museums are usually constrained to a series of buildings, which usually tend to restrain the experience of the city or culture around them. Even though Athens is filled with historical value, most of the museums seem to just display the objects rather than telling the story. In addition, one can start to notice that museums are located in highly touristic areas; therefore attracts mostly visitors and avoids local.

This proposed museum attempts to give the tourist a more engaging experience of the city, while allowing locals to engage with the history of Athens. The “Dotting Museum� proposes a series of programs (Information Center, Coffee Shop and a Library) that combines the museum program to connect various historic sites of the city and bring locals and foreigners together.

“Dotting Museum” is a programmatic network developed around the historic sites of Athens, which will explore new means of display and interaction. The proposal’s objective is to transform the perception of the museum for locals and tourist. Therefore, the projected places will allow the museum to become a part of the local’s daily life, while the tourist can experience the culture and history of the city at the same time. In order to achieve this relationship, the three different programs will incorporate the display of Athenian’s culture in the format of museum display and that with the addition of literally information, it will then start to tell a story.

PROGRAMMING: Coffee Shop: 2,000 sf; Library:7,000 sf; Multipurpose rooms:400 sf; Cultural Information Centers:1,000 sf; Storage: 500 sf; Bathrooms:800 sf; Circulation:3,200 sf; Museum/ Gallery: 4,000 sf Total: 20,000 sf

b

a

a LIBRARY: 5,000 SF near the Filipapo Hill

Is the central spot for the past Greek City and the gathering space for the community.

It shows a great scenery of the city.

c

b INFORMATION CENTER: 800 SF near Monasteraki

Flea Market neighborhood in the old town of Athens.

Principal Shopping area in the city.

c COFFEE SHOP: 1,500 SF near Sytagma Square

It is the most important site of modern Athens from both historical and social point of view.

Is the epicenter of commercial activity and Greek politics.

CURRENT SCENARIO: Museums and other programs do not seem to interact. Each exist as entities of their own.

PROPOSAL URBAN SCALE Museums and other programs start to coexist in the same area.

Museum Display

PROPOSA BUILDING SCALE Gallery spaces start to infiltrate the every day Athenians.

Proposed Programs

PROPOSAL BUILDING SCALE Zoomed in detail. The past history will relate with current events.

Athens consists of 117 museums, which most of them exist on their own. The infrastructure serves as protecting field for the object rather than to create a home for the artifacts. As many have encountered, when visiting the city, tourist tend to visit museum and historic sites. These sites allow them to acknowledge the past of Greece, while leaving Greek’s immediate culture behind. Locals, on the other hand will tend to avoid these activities and enjoy the present Athens, while taking for granted their past. For a city, as rich in culture and history as Athens, one might seem surprised that the museums are not interacting with the city.

This design proposal suggests a distinct way of displaying Greek’s artifacts. The museum will exist within programs of frequent use; like a coffee shop. By placing museum programs in a coffee shop, the visitors will have the opportunity to interact with locals constantly. Similarly, by locating a coffee house near a historic site, locals will have the opportunity to engage constantly with wonders that Athens has to offer.

Library + Museum

Inforamtion Center + Museum

It needs to be stated, that the relationship between the museum and other programs, does not only need to exist at a building scale, but also in an urban scale.

Coffee Shop + Museum

COFFEE SHOP + MUSEUM

Located at Sytagma Square

a Main Circulation

b Space Division

c Modified Circ.

d Open Space

a

b

0’

10.6’

21.3’

Scale: 3/64” = 1’0”

a

Longitudinal Section Scale: 3/64” = 1’0”

b

Cross Section

Scale: 3/64” = 1’0”

42.6’

INFORMATION CENTER+ MUSEUM

Located at Monasteraki

a Main Circulation

b Space Division

c Modified Circ.

d Open Space

b

a 0’

10.6’

21.3’

Scale: 3/64” = 1’0”

a

Longitudinal Section Scale: 3/64” = 1’0”

b

Cross Section

Scale: 3/64” = 1’0”

42.6’

LIBRARY + MUSEUM

Located at Filipapo Hill

a Main Circulation

b Space Division

c Modified Circ.

d Open Space

a

b

0’

10.6’

21.3’

Scale: 3/64” = 1’0”

42.6’

a

b

Cross Section

Scale: 3/64” = 1’0”

Longitudinal Section

Scale: 3/64” = 1’0”

02 MAPPING BOSTON

A mixture of architecture in Boston’s South End. Located in Boston’s South End, this project consists in the development of comercial and residential areas. By analyzing the location, land developments, land usage and habitants; once must accomodate a program that fits at least 200 apartments and an interactive space (a Gym).

TYPOLOGIES IN BOSTON:

ACCESS + MIXTURE:

The northen part of the South End consists of row houses while the southern part holds flat pancake buildings.

In the designated lot, the main access should serve as path for both typologies to mix and relate.

MAIN FACADE:

DESIGN PROPOSAL:

The site allows for all buildign to integrate. They look at each other and brings the users together.

The purple area represents the gym, the magenta represents the row houses, and the brown represents the high rise buildings.

MAPPING BOSTON:

Located at Boston’s South End, Washington Street plays an important role in this area. Leaving aside the fact that it existed in this location for over 200 years and has “survived” the various land transformations of Boston, this street divides the South End into two distinct programs: The Row Houses and The Commercial or Wider Buildings. Even thought they appear to follow distinctive rules, both programs serve as an envelope or as a protector for an open space.

Having this idea in mind, the proposal for the site is to develop a connection between the two segments by creating wrappers with openings that allow access from various points. The various programs used, the Row Houses, The Terrace buildings and Gym, permit a communication between the public and private spaces. All of the programs, are limited in the amount of hallways, in order to suggest a relationship between neighbors and guests. The various open spaces, either at ground level or up in the roof give connections for the residents or visitors.

Before deciding location of the buildings, the site was divided into 4 little lots, where water drives circulation.

The streets determine the main façade of the building. And, the various proposed programs determine the amount and location of open spaces.

THE ROW HOUSE

These units are designed around the concept of interaction. In order to achieve this, hallways were only used when they are truly needed. By creating only one access corridor, socialization become necessary. Each floor has a different plan view, where the second floor is the entryway to the 3 various apartment designs. This proposed building has one, two and three bedroom apartment, where each apartment consists of two stories.

2 Bedroom

1 Bedroom

Cross Section 3 Bedroom

Longitudinal Section

All units

First Floor Plan

Second` Floor Plan

Third Floor Plan

THE TERRACE BUILDING

These units suggest a bigger complex. In the main floor there is space of offices, meeting rooms and social areas. The remaining levels of the building are equal.

The complex has various access routes, where each has two elevators and two emergency staircases that serve as the entryway to 4 distinct apartment types and their balconies. Also, each two-elevator route gives access to the green spaces located at the top of the building. The building includes one, two, three and four bedroom apartment.

Row House Construction Model

Terrace Building Construction Model

Final Model

Final Model

03 MIT’S MEDIA LAB FACADE

A robotic printed three dimensional facade proposal for MIT’S Media Lab.

The MIT Media Lab was chosen as a case study and experiment for the 3D printed optimized facade due to its variability in programmatic elements within one elevation of the building. Because the facade was generated digitally, it can be further analyzed with DIVA for its affects on lighting, allowing for iterations of designs to optimize lighting conditions in the interior.

MIT Media Lab June 21, 9:00 am

MIT Media Lab with Facade

June 21, 9:00 am

MIT Media Lab

Dec 21, 9:00 am

MIT Media Lab with Facade

Dec 21, 9:00 am

Level 5

Level 4

Level 3

Level 2

Level 1

FALSE COLOR ANALYSIS MIT Media Lab June 21, 9:00 a.m.

Scale 2 cd/m 475 425 375 325 275 225 175 125 75 25

0 MIT Media Lab with Clay Facade

DIVA SIMULATIONSJune 21, 9:00 a.m.

MIT Media Lab December 21, 9:00 a.m.

1250

MIT Media Lab with Clay Facade December 21, 9:00 a.m.

The Grasshopper and DIVA plug-in for Rhinoceros work concurrently to generate and assess fabrication models in terms of daylight. A preliminary floor by floor lighting analysis was done on DIVA of the southeast facade of the MIT Media Lab in order to design and target spaces with undesired direct natural light and glare. Site studies were done to evaluate the frequency and usage of the interior manual blinds throughout the day due to the excessive natural light. Through the process of additive manufacturing, the lighting conditions of an interior space can be adjusted and optimized by a customized and distinct facade system.

The necessity in lighting conditions is determined by the program and function of the space, such as a double height gallery space as opposed to a office space. The proposed facade will act as a light filtration system, ultimately affecting the interior lighting conditions. The resulting before and after heat maps were used to compare and assess the performance of the facade. Before and after HDR images of distinct interior spaces, defined by program, were taken and rendered into false color to aid in providing an accurate understanding of the facade’s effect.

2500

Entrance Gallery June 21, 9:00 am

Office Space

June 21, 9:00 am

Double Height Office Space June 21, 9:00 am

June 21, 3:00 pm

Dec 21, 9:00 am

Dec 21, 3:00 pm

June 21, 3:00 pm

Dec 21, 9:00 am

Dec 21, 3:00 pm

June 21, 3:00 pm

Dec 21, 9:00 am

Dec 21, 3:00 pm

Gallery

Office

Studio Lab

GRASSHOPPER

The technology of additive manufacturing, alongside with digital computation programs such as Grasshopper for Rhinoceros has allowed for vast opportunities within the design realm. This project presents an integrated computational and digital fabrication work processes for a custom high performance ceramic facade system, in terms of daylight and usage

The MIT Media Lab was chosen as a case study and experiment for the 3D printed optimized facade due to its variability in programmatic elements within one elevation of the building. The digital input in Grasshoper is in the gradient, where 100% black indicates the widest aperture and 100% white indicates the smallest aperture. This information is then translated into the physical realm as illustrated on the bottom image. The gradient is determined by the necessity of light in the space, where all the floor plates are defined to be the smallest aperture since it requires no light. All gradients are a combination of a vertical and horizontal gradient. The vertical gradient controls the aperture based on an average persons height as well as the division of the floor plates. The horizontal gradients indicate the shift in programmatic elements in the buidling. Responding to the interior characteristics of the building, including walls and columns. This is an inside-out approachto designing the building facade,where the facade now becomes a reflector or indicator of the interior spaces, embracing the unique elevation of the MIT Media Lab.

Gradient for Grasshoper Input

Grasshoper Output

CLAY EXPLORATIONS

Clay was chosen because of its fluidity and consistency, the ability to be extruded from a canister as well as hold its own structure The experimentation in materials was done in parallel with the development of extruders to test the right amount of pressure with its most suitable consistency of clay.

The Air-dry Clay is an oil-based clay which does not require firing. Produced in grey, the clay dries a dark brown to almost black color. Given the air-dry hardening process of the clay, time can be saved in the production process, however the layers of extrusions does not bond to one another and it becomes extremely brittle when dried. The consistency of the clay cannot be changed by adding water and it does not dry consistently.

The Porcelain Clay is an extremely fine-grain clay that requires the traditional firing process. The clay dries a light beige and fires to a clean white color. The final ceramic piece has a clean finished look and becomes extremely durable post-firing.The layers of extrusion bind together throughout the drying and firing process.

Shape

Top View

Extrusion

Max. Tilt

The CV90 clay is a mixture of Porcelain and coarse sand. Similar to the Porcelain clay, CV90 similarly dries a light beige and fires to a clean white; it is extremely durable and provides a clean finished look. Given its granier consistency, CV90 has a smaller allowable work time but it weighs much lighter once fired b cause the moisture evaporates. The layers of extrusion bind together throughout the drying and firing process.

EXTRUDER DEVELOPMENTS

In conjunction to the experimentation of clay types, several iterations of extruders were developed.

EXTRUDERS || CIRCUIT EXPLORATION

Air Pressure Extrusion The air pressure extruder was built with an air pressure valve connected to one end of the pvc pipe and a nozzle attached to the other end. The pressure exerted can only extrude slip, a clay mixture with a high ratio of water.

RYOBI 2.0 In Ryobi 2.0, the 18V DC Motor, gearbox and plunger system was taken from the original Ryobi caulking gun. The motor was rewired to an external control box consisting of an Arduino, a potentiometer to control speed and a 3-way 6-pin toggle switch to reverse the plunger by reversing the current. A new casing was made to house the motor, and a larger clay canister was made using a 3 in. diameter plexi tube with a customized 3D printed nozzle in order to hold more clay per extrusion.

Ryobi 3.0 Extruder | Final Version Extruder | Ryobi Electric Ryobi 1.0Caulk Gun

+

18 V

M

5V Pot Pin

D

In4003

motor pin white

G S

black

7A fuse

Circuit Diagrams 1 Circuit| Test | 1st

Version Extruder | Acrylic RyobiPipe 2.0

18 V 5V

M

(white) to analog 0

D

IRL3103

(yellow) G to dig 3

S

10

U

RYOBI 1.0 The first motorized extruder was the Ryobi P310 18 Volt caulking gun. A canister was built with PVC pipes and a metal nozzle. This extruder functions exactly as the caulKing gun would. The canister of clay is loaded into the metal brace. The motor pushes the plunger down, extruding the clay from the nozzle. The size of the bead extruded is determined by the speed of the plunger and the height between the nozzle and the printed surface.

To unload the canister,however, the plunger needs to be manually pulled out.

ExtruderAir | AirPreassure Preassure

black

Circuit Circuit Diagrams || Final Version Final Version

Ryobi Extruder | 3D Printed2.0 Nozzle

RYOBI 3.0 In Ryobi 2.1, the original PVC pipe canister and metal brace was due to the complications with the larger canister. The speed of the potentiometer can be monitored when the arduino is hooked onto a computer through the arduino program. By quantifying the speed of the motor, accuracy in controlling the bead size was achieved. Although the canisters are easier to remove by reversing the plunger, the build up of clay behind the plunger is often a problem and the capacity of the canister is not maximized. Anyhow, this was still the best option for the project.

CASE STUDY: MIT MEDIA LAB

The MIT Media Lab has a unique elevation primarily because it is rich in programmatic diversity in its southeast facade. There is a variety in office spaces, studio labs, and gallery spaces at various heights and floor levels. The existing facade occurs at the office spaces and gallery spaces, however it does not serve to facilitate light distribution or shading from glare. Therefore, manual blinds are installed in the interior of the building and used quite frequently due to the strong glare. This was an opportunity to design a facade that could possibly eliminate the need of a manual blind system inside the building.

The facade would accommodate the lighting needs through the variation in its apertures. With the gradient system developed in Grasshopper, each facade panel has a custom design that is never arbitrary or generic. Additive manufacturing has made such highly customized production possible despite each piece of the facade being unique and distinct in its tilt, height, and opening. The next step in exploration perhaps lies in the complete integration of the support structure and facade piece, where all elements of a facade system can be constructed and produced through additive manufacturing.

FINAL PROTOTYPE

The prototype indicates demonstrates the greatest possible aperture with the lowest height, to the smallest aperture and the tallest height of the cone. 72 pieces were printed and mounted on a 2’ x 4’ laser cut steel frame, fastened with wire that punctured through premade holes both in the individual cones and the laser cut frame.

SAGAM HOSPITAL

AFRICAN HEALTH INNOVATION TRANSFORMATIO

ON

04 SAGAM HOSPITAL

A design proposal for Sagam’s Hospital third floor.

A studio sponsored by Mass General Hospital in partnership with DESINElab. MGH’s Center fro Global Health aims to improve health conditions among communities. The goal was to redesign the hospital third floor and turn into a community base floor of interaction, where varios doctors or soon to be, can learn new healthcare techniques. It most be a mixture of public and private space.

“Sagam Community Hospital is in a phase of growth and trasition as it responds to the evolving overall vision, availabe resources, and needs of the community. Our proposal facilitates flexibility of use and smooth transitions between the various programmatic zones. In addition, it will also allow designate provate versus collaborative spaces for staff and visitors.

THIRD STORY FLOOR PLAN PROPOSAL

This floor plan and design provides a space that evolves to suit the changing needs of users and the dynamic overall goal of research and innovation�

Hospital

Offices Kitchen

Library

Bathrooms

Resting

Research

Storage

Terrace

Training

Classroom

b

a

c

Floor Plan

Scale: 1cm/300 cm

a Cross Section

Scale: 1cm/300 cm

b Cross Section

Scale: 1cm/300 cm

c Cross Section of Hospital Scale: 1cm/300 cm

PROGRAM USES + AXON Public Semi-Private Private

WALL SECTIONS + MATERIALS

Exterior Concrete

Interior 2” EPS

1” Air Bufer

Lime/Clay Plaster

Reinforced Bar

Reinforced Bar

Concrete

Reinforced Bar

Reinforced Bar Lime/Clay Plaster

Lattice Frame

Lattice Panels

Corrugated Sheets

Trusses Steel

Concrete Walls

Masera Tiles

Clay Plaster

Bamboo Doors

Bamboo Shutters

Wood BambooFurniture

PROPOSED LOCALLY BUILD FURNITURE

The proposed furniture consist of 18� x 18� frames and metal threads. Each frame is wraped with African pattern fabrics, which can be build by groups of women. The main characteristic of the furniture is that it can be arraged in various forms in order to provide distincts functions.

A range of possible furniture design, where the sky-blue circles indicate the presure points in each one of them

Detail of the furniture joinery proposal.

Sagam Hospital Is a place of interaction, where community, doctors and teacher can come together. The porche or balcony will serve as a view to the town of Sagam.

These panels can be become windows in order to have a clearer view.

05 PASSIVE VENTILATION FOR LOW INCOME HOUSING

A low income housing proposal for the rural areas in Quito, Ecuador.

Because of the levels of respiratory infections, this project proposes a low income housing fewer than 2,000 dollars for the city of Quito, Ecuador. This housing proposal will serve as a prototype for future community complexes. Locals can easily build this prototype, which brings community together.

National Scale

Province Scale

County Scale

Neighborhood Scale

CASE STUDY: QUITO

Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is one the highest cities in the world. Because of its location and weather, the air is hugely polluted; and therefore increasing the number of acute respiratory infections detected each year. Even thought it has increased rapidly, it mostly affects people with low income. The main problem remains in the poor housing areas of the cities. The residents of such areas are constantly exposed to indoor pollutants. The over crowding and lack of ventilation has brought this issue to a bigger scale. The proposal is to develop a low-income house typology that can reduce the levels of pollutants inside the house. This can be achieved by having passive ventilation systems; keeping in mind that it has to affordable.

In order to design the house, one most understands the levels of pollution brought by various elements such as: electro-domestics, cars, altitudes and so on. In addition to start to design the house typologies, one must study wind patterns in the area, Calderon, Quito. By taking previously build homes, and looking at their floor plans, and understanding the needs of low-income communities the new design comes to live.

N

NNW

NNE NE

NW WNW

ENE

W

E

WSW

NNW NNW N N NW NW NNW

N

NE NE

NNE

SWWNW WNW NW

NE

WNWSSW W W

SSE

S

W WSW WSW predominant Yearly WSW

SW SW SSW SW SSW

WIND DIVERSION

SSW

S S

ESE

NNE NNE

wind’s

SE ENE ENE ENE E

E

E ESE ESE direction

ESE SE SE SSE S SSE SE SSE

Current Situation

Suggested Situation

Best Proposed Situation

Grid

2D Grid

Extruded Grid

Room Unit

Room Agregation

UNDERSTANDING THE GRID SYSTEM

There are two house sizes 16 feet by 16 feet and 16 feet by 24 feet. The smaller house is divided in 4 areas, and the bigger one in 6. Each area is divided in to a grid of 32 inches wide and 30 inches wide.

These grids will give access to the windows and doors. The openings can be divided into two typologies: wind and light. The wind typologies are created for ventilation and not allowed to be moved from its original location. They are operated by manual louvers. The other types of openings, light openings, are created to maximize the amount of light that comes into the house. These openings can be located anywhere in the house, according to the needs.

House Type 1

House type 2

House type 3

House type 4

Wind Opening

Light Opening

Entrance/Door

Wall

HOUSE TYPOLOGY

The proposal is to develop a low-income house typology that can reduce the levels of pollutants inside the house. This can be achieved by having passive ventilation systems. It is important to keep in mind that the house has to be accessible, less than 2,000 U.S. dollars. The house should provide with 3 basic rooms: a common space, a kitchen and a room.

a

b a

TYPOLOGY 1

1 Bedroom + Kitchen+ Living room + Porche

Longitudinal Section

b

Cross section 0” 32” 64”

128”

a

b TYPOLOGY 3

3 Bedroom + Kitchen+ Living room + Porche

a

Longitudinal Section

b

Cross section 0” 32” 64”

128”

a

b a

TYPOLOGY 2

Longitudinal Section

b

2 Bedroom + Kitchen+ Living room

Cross section 0” 32” 64”

128”

a

b TYPOLOGY 4

4 Bedroom + Kitchen+ Living room

a

Longitudinal Section

b

Cross section 0” 32” 64”

128”

1

EXPLODED AXON + CONSTRUCTION Roof: 1

LOPE

2

2”x 4” Wooden Frame

3

Zinc Panels

2

3

Walls: 4

Gypsum Boards

5

2” Styrofoam

3 6

2” x 4” Wooden Frame

7

Wood Sheating

8

LOPE

3 9

Open Panels/ Windows

4 3 6

3 9

8

7

5

10

Floor: 10

Wooden Floor

11

11 2” x4” Wooden Frame 12

4” x4” Wooden Support

12

13 8” x8” Wooden Pillars 14

Brick Reinforcement

13 14

Front Facade

Right Facade

Rear Facade

1

PROPER LOCATION OF THE HOUSE 1 Determine wind’s direction

NNW

N

NNE NE

NW

Identify wind’s direction onWNWthe requested site.

ENE

1

E

W

ESE

WSW SE

SW NNW

NSSW

SSE

NNE S NE

NW

ENE

WNW

E

W

ESE

WSW SE

SW SSW

S

SSE

2 Locate front facade against wind’s direction 2

Once the facade is located in the proper location, the other facades will fall accordingly.

Example: If the wind is going from North to South, the front facade will face North.

Front Facade

3

Left Facade

3 Determine direction of the sun 3

The sun paths will allow the residents to determine if there is the need fro more light openings or if there is the desire for less light openings. Also, this openings can be shaped to the user’s request as long as they do not affect the designed passive ventilation.

May- Oct

Nov-April

4 Verify Revise if the house is located in the right location. Is important to keep in mind that all houses should have around them green spaces. This will allow to bring the community together.

Terraces + Stairs

Housing

Main Access + Secondary

Green Spaces

a Cross Section No. 1

b

Cross Section No. 2

c Longitudinal Section

c

b

a

06 FURNITURE COLLECTED WORKS

A collection of various furniture from 2012-2015

Through the years in school, I have developed various furniture projects whcih achieve distints functions and styles. They can be either from scrath or repurposing materials.

A. CRISTINA BAQUERIZO 100 Dorrance St. Apt 207, Providence, RI,02903 +1 (401) 743.3555 abaqueri@risd.edu