David Edwards
Design Portfolio
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Table of Contents 02-About Me Undergraduate Work 05/06-Sacred Space 07/08-Elemetary School 09/10-Mixed Use Residential 11/12-Chittagong Master Plan 13/14-Metro Teen Aids 15/16-McMillan Reservoir 17/18-DDOT Information Hub Graduate Work 21/22-Dwight HSR 23/24-Wolf Point Advertising Agency 25-28-Englewood Montessori School
About Me Name: David Edwards Date of Birth: 04/15/1988 Place of Birth: Bethesda, MD Hometown: St. Joseph, MI Current Residence: 1350 N. Wells St. Chicago, IL Phone: 269.930.9949 E-mail: Deadwards47@gmail.com Degrees: B.S. Arch The Catholic University of America 2010 M. Arch (pending) Illinois Institute of Technology 2012
The first day of my undergraduate studies one of my professors said that: “Architects design the stage that people live their lives out on.� This, while a bit dramatic in nature, is something that has stuck with me throughout my architectural career. It made me realize that the core of what we do as architects (current and aspiring) and that is design space. It has become an interesting trend for the way that we design to change periodically over time, as a student in this increasingly digital age I have become interested in the transition from the digital to the physical world. As a result I have been studying and researching this transition through the use of digital fabrication and integrated project delivery. I hope to be able to pursue these interest further in the professional world and I look forward to being part of the architectural community.
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Undergrad
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duate Work. The Catholic University of America Washington, DC 2006-2010 B.S. Arch
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Sacred Space Fall 2007
Arch 201
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This project was an exploration of experiential space through the use of natural resources as spiritual centers. The site that I chose for this project was in Great Falls, VA, a popular site for hiking, biking, and rock climbing. The site allowed me to explore the use of blending the built environment with its natural surroundings. The thing that I was trying to do with this structure is to allow for the user to gain a sense of isolation through the use of a pier like structure that would bring the user to a previously inaccessible place within the site. The steps surrounding the rock at the end of the “pier� would allow for the user to experience the ever changing water levels of the basin by having areas of the structure only be accessible at certain times of year.
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Elementary School Spring 2008
Arch 202
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This school project was designed in my second semester of my sophomore year. It was an exploration of the way that children perceive space, and an interesting look at how to turn a space that is generally disliked by the user into something that can be playful and fun. My project focused on the use of the large grade change that was present on the site and the combination of rigid and fluid forms. This project also allowed me to begin my ever present exploration of the relationship between interior and exterior space along with the similar relationship of public and private space.
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Mixed Use Residential Fall 2008
Arch 301
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My mixed use residential project was a project full of firsts for me. I had previously been designing with the material intent being primarily concrete, this project was the first where I made an effort to go with a steel structure. It is also apparent that I did not have a complete grasp on this idea at the time. This site was also my first to be in a dense urban environment. This greatly affected my design and helped to shape its form and design intent. The design intent of this project was that of the voyeur and how public residential spaces could be. Therefore I focused on creating a primarily transparent building with the opacity of the individual units left to the owners to control. The public spaces did not offer this type of option and allowed for many views to and from street level.
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Chittagong Master Plan Spring 2009
Arch 302
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This was my first urban design studio and apparently my group and I had a knack for it. Our site was set in an abandoned soccer complex within the city of Chittagong in Bangladesh, a region of the world none of us were familiar with. We researched the cultural as well as social expectants of a successful master plan for this field and looked at the relationships between solid and void space within master planning. This was a strange process for us because we were not accustomed to the idea of placing buildings on a site that were not set in stone as far as use was concerned. We placed first in our studio for this design and were promised a trip to visit the site and propose our plan to the city of Chittagong...Unfortunately this did not end up happening.
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Metro Teen Aids Spring 2009
Arch 544
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This project was interesting to me in the fact that it was a renovation of an existing space. Metro Teen AIDS is an organization in the DC area that specializes in testing and counseling for youths in the greater DC area who are at risk for contracting AIDS. There “freestyle� space was in desperate need of a face lift. CUADC decided to step up to the plate and help out with design and construction of their new space. I was involved from the beginning of preliminary design all the way through to the installation of casework which was custom manufactured at our shop in the basement of our architecture building.
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McMillan Reservoir Fall 2009
Arch 401
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This project was designed at the same time as the previous project and was part of a studio wide competition that I placed third in. The site for this project was an abandoned sand filtration field that was used to filter DC’s drinking water before the introduction of the chemical alternative. The site was essentially a series of subterranean vaults. I thought that the site could be used as a sort of park and shopping center for the area of NE DC. I used the available grade change to shelter the park space from the bust streets of the city and also used it to change the feelings of the spaces contained within the separate levels. The upper levels were more retail based due to their exposure to traffic and views inward, while the lower spaces were more private spaces such as bars and restaurants. I was also charged to design one of these where I reused the current vault systems.
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DDOT Information Hub Spring 2010
Arch 402
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This project was designed for our comprehensive building design studio or CBDS. We were broken up into groups of five students and were charged with the task of first coming up with a firm name and logo (this is on the last page). We were then given a real project in the city to complete, obvious ley this required a full set of CD’s for the builder and everything that it takes to get the client to be happy with them. We had multiple meetings with consultants throughout the semester and were constantly corresponding with the community and the cities representatives. Since our project was in an area with high foot traffic we focused our design on the creation and direction of paths through the site. We manipulated a series of strips pulled off the main site datum to accomplish this and to bring order to our landscaping. We placed second overall in the studio and almost had the project built . The extensive landscaping was our downfall in the end.
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Graduat
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te Work. Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL 2010-2012
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Dwight HSR Fall 2010
Arch 543
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This was my first studio project in my new graduate school and therefore I was hoping for an amazing site within a dense city where I could do something incredible... This was not the case. We were charged with the task of designing a high speed rail station in our choice of semi to fully rural areas. I thought that it would be a good exercise to go completely away from what I had been trained in and pick one of the most rural sites available. Dwight , IL is an interesting place that is a void on the rout between Chicago and St. Louis. This village is almost completely without usable context, at least in the way I was used to seeing it. My project ended up clinging to two historical references; the original route 66 and the rail line that ultimately led to its demise. The building focuses its moves based on the movement of rout 66 and its historical importance to this regional transportation hub.
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Wolf Point Advertising Agency Spring 2011
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This project was set on one of Chicago’s most prominant and sought after sites in the city, Wolf Point. This sight juts into the river and allows for expansive views of the surrounding area. The program of the project was pretty vast in the sense that it included not only an advertising agency but also a museaum. The moves made in the forms of the buildings were primarily influenced by the views from the agencey and the museaum. I also took into account the surrounding buildings and their views making sure not to take away what was once one of their most prized assets. The facade of the building posed an interesting problem as I am generally opposed to arbitrary patterns and needed to find a reasoning for something that would work with my forms. I looked back to one of my earlier ideas of bringing a music venue onto the riverside site and applied it to the facade. The result was a higly irregular looking but strictly ordered light controlling affect.
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Englewood Montessori
Fall 2011
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ROOF
SUN / VIEW SCREEN
WRAPPED GLAZING
THIRD GROUP CLASSROOMS
READING / COMPUTER ROOM
FIRE STAIRS AND ELEVATORS MAIN STAIRS
SECOND GROUP CLASSROOMS
SCHOOL ADMIN COMMUNITY CENTER ADMIN FIRST GROUP CLASSROOMS
SLAB AT GRADE
CAFETERIA / MULTIPURPOSE (BELOW GRADE SLIGHTLY)
VIEWING AND TRANSITION PLAY
This project was set in one of Chicago’s worst neighborhoods, Englewood. The Montessori method of learning is an alternative style of learning that promotes self exploration and peer based learning. The project began with an exploration into our driving word catalyst. This exploration led to “Reflection as a Catalysts” and was the driving factor of my design. Reflection is defined by an act of bouncing, folding, or the way that I approached it with interaction between two objects where their interaction instills and encourages change in both objects. My approach was based on attempting to amplify this interaction within the students and the surrounding community. I approached this amplification of interaction by folding the building to enlarge these interaction spaces
S. WOOD ST
S. HONORE ST
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W. 71 ST
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Bouncing
Folding
Interaction
East Elevation
South Elevation
West Elevation