Portfolio 2019-2020

DAV I D R A B K I N Design Portfolio

David Rabkin C O N TA C T I N F O Address: 148 Winifred Ave. Worcester, MA 01602 Email: davidrolandrabkin@gmail.com Phone: (508)340-1154

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S PART 01. 4 Spain | 10-Day Travel Studio PART 02. 16 East Boston | Master Plan PART 03. 26 BSA Space | Pavillion PART 04. 32 BSA Space | Lamp PART 05. 36 Boston | Housing Studio PART 06. 52 The Green Artery | Thesis Studio

PA R T 0 1 .

Spain | 10-Day Travel Studio September 2019 Studio 9 began with a 10-day trip to Spain lead

by Professor Manuel Delgado. On this trip we were encouraged to sketch as a method of site analysis and to better understand rhythms, patterns, and spaces as we visited different works of architecture as well as unique urban conditions.

This section contains my sketches throughout these travels.

We began our trip in Barcelona visiting many of Gaudi’s works as well as a variety of other famous churches and urban zones in the city and then we went out into the country to visit the town of Girona. With such a packed itinerary we were pressed for time when it came to sketching.

Typically, we had only 10 minutes to sketch on site until we had to move on which made it difficult to catalogue everything so we had to be focused and sure while sketching as we only had one shot.

Throughout our travel we were encouraged to study not just the architecture of Spain but the culture as well and how one effected the other. We noticed how gathering spaces, living conditions, and recreational zones were much different than in America and the liveliness of the architecture which embodied this distinction and embraced it as well as the climate rather than shutting it out which is typical in New England.

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PA R T 0 2 .

East Boston | Master Plan Sep-Nov 2019 After returning from our 10-day trip to Spain during Studio 9 we were task with the design of an Iberic Cultural Center along East Boston’s waterfront.

In Groups of 2 we again led by Professor Manuel Delgado in our design. I along with M’Arch student, Steve DeFuria worked together in our design for not just a cultural center but an entire master plan for the East Boston waterfront which embodied the ideas of Iberic culture.

Our East Boston Masterplan features an expansive and connective parkway which acts as a spine for our masterplan reimagining the sites circulation with a Rambla to engage the street front more effectively. With its free-flowing forms and paths the parkway’s plan is invocative of the brushstrokes and artistic style of Pablo Picasso, a famous Spanish Artist.

By using the existing abandoned piers at the waters edge as a foundation we designed a large soccer stadium to emulate a symbol of Iberic culture back to Downtown Boston. With a fluid and lively roof structure this stadium is a visual key to the East Boston skyline and is open to the climate as well as integrated into the parkway, so it becomes a public zone for the community to use.

Without displacing any homes, we filled in the gaps of the residential edge and followed the existing continuity with new housing that fit within the existing scale and proportion of the surrounding neighborhood as well as a new boat club.

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East Boston Master Plan Site Plan

East Boston Parkway Axons

Soccer Stadium Harbor Elevation

Soccer Stadium Axon

Boat House Rendered Elevation

Lighthouse Section

Boat House Section

Boat House Section

Boat Club Site Plan

Boat Pavilion Section

Row House Rendered Elevation

PA R T 0 3 .

BSA Space | Pavilion April 2019 I along with a group of other architecture students at the time spent some weeks in April of 2019 working on an installation for the BSA Space.

We were lead by professor Jared Ramsdell in a fabrication class called Multiply where we learned how to design and then fabricate spaces that people couple occupy.

The class was given 2 pallets of plywood totaling 140 sheets that we divided by group and then used to fabricate our pavilions with the use of Wentworth’s CNC router. As a group we had to design and then construct our pavilion for the BSA installation. We had to study and test various joinery techniques without wasting our supply of material. Due to the limited timeframe we could not construct our pavilion in studio rather the first time we constructed our pavilion in its entirety was when we had to install it in the BSA space.

The design of our pavilion was to make a cube comprised of vertically standing plywood sheets.

Meanwhile the interior would be carved out in a fluid form which opened to windows and had an interior seating area as well as a bar table.

This allowed for people to be able to experience the pavilion as an object with its transparency changing as people circle it as well as an occupiable and usable space within.

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Pavilion Photo

Pavilion Axon

Pavilion Photo

Pavilion Photo

PA R T 0 4 .

BSA Space | Lamp February 2019 Another installation for the BSA Space was my design of a lamp for the Multiply elective lead by Professor Jared Ramsdell. Similarly, to the pavilion we were tasked with the design as well as the construction of our lamp to be displayed in the windows of the BSA Space.

The design of my lamp was such that the strength of the light would be more or less intense depending on the angle of which the user views it. My lamp was designed to be able to rest on a flat surface as well as to be hung. This versatility allows the user to dictate the intensity of the lamp based on its height or orientation.

The final lamp that was displayed in the BSA Space was made of many thin disks of butter board that were laser cut and held together horizontally by 4 basswood spines that were held at each end by a basswood ring. I then slid each piece into place from the middle out. The result of the material thickness as well as the space between each disk allowed for the entire lamp to glow even when the light was not directly visible.

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Lamp Photo

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Lamp Perspective

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PA R T 0 5 .

Boston | Housing Studio Jan-March 2019 Studio 8, led by Professor Margarita Iglesias, was done in three phases. The first phase was residential housing the second was urban housing and the third was a comparative analysis. Due to the limited time allocated for design work each phase was done in 3 weeks. I received an award for design excellence for this project.

In Phase 1 I approached the design by allowing for the residence and the houses to take the shape of the slope directly on site. By gently sloping with the landscape the progression of the homes were able to cascade until finally arriving in the living area which gives the residence a beautiful view of the surrounding neighborhood.

In Phase 2 I studied continuity Back Bay and the approach to the site on the highway which runs towards and then underneath the site. The apartments allowed residents to enter their apartment on the second floor and be stunned by a view of the city once passing the entrance.

By using a deep balcony that projected into the building the living areas although featuring large glass windows were protected from direct sunlight.

In Phase 3 I said I found the scalar shift somewhat daunting at first. However, I soon found that living dimensions remained the same in each scale. The human scale needed to be organized differently in an urban environment versus a suburban environment due to the high density of living.

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Residential Housing Section + Plan Sketch

Residential Housing Site Section

Residential Housing Section + Plan

Residential Housing Rendering

Residential Housing Model

Site Context Sketches

Proposed Continuity Sketch

Back Bay Apartment & Student Housing Site Plan

Apartment Level 2-16

Apartment Ground Level

Apartment Section

Student Housing Level 2-4

Student Housing Ground Level

Student Housing Section

Apartment Level 2 Plan

Apartment Section

Apartment Level 1 Plan

Apartment Section

Student Housing Plan

Student Housing Section

PA R T 0 6 .

The Green Arery | Thesis Studio Sept 2019 - March 2020 The American Highway Network spans over 47,000 miles through the country and connects the population in ways never imagined before.

Since its conception it has drastically reshaped the American landscape and with it, the way Americans live.

The result of this network has been a catalyst to many issues such as segregation of existing communities, a steady increase in pollution, and an increase in heat island effect. With heavy demand for circulation came severe congestion especially around urban zones. This congestion meant an increase in carbon expulsion from the high density of vehicles.

Asthma rates as well as other diseases rose in these communities and continues to be a problem today. The highway drastically increases the temperature in these areas as well, completely altering microclimates and adding to heat island effect. Typically, the effected demographic have lower incomes and are segregated from the larger urban fabric, making it difficult to live with such tremendous adversities.

By implementing a piece of landscape infrastructure that reduces traffic and takes over this network, vegetation can begin to eliminate toxins from these environments and decrease temperature while adding public gathering spaces and giving segregated communities much needed programs and connection.

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Industrial Lung Section Perspective

Residential Lawn Section Perspective

Riverside Market Section Perspective

Industrial Lung Section Perspective

Residential Lawn Section Perspective

Riverside Market Section Perspective

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