A R C H I T E C T U R E
PORTFOLIO D E A N N A
V A L C O U R
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EVANS H YALE UNIVERSITY
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MASKING SKINS: UNDERWATER RESEARCH OUTPOST Concept Design: Fall 2013 This project is a conceptual proposal for an underwater research facility. This facility was designed to be a research outpost for data collection about deep sea creatures. The pattern on the envelope of the outpost was developed specifically to attract the cachalot whale, a whale species which hunts for giant squid. This pattern was designed to imitate the characteristic giant eye of the squid in order to attract the whale, but also has diagonal black lines to break up the envelope to make it distinct from an actual squid upon closer investigation. This proposal was developed from a grid which had a series of transformations applied to it. This grid was translated into three dimensions; studies were done on this form to convey different concepts related to water such as buoyancy, fluidity, and sinking. These studies translated to the final form of the outpost. 1
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Concept Model 1 Side Elevation Scale 6”=1’-0
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4 3/4" Concept Model 1 Side Elevation Scale 6”=1’-0
Concept Model 1 Front Elevation Scale 6”=1’-0
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Concept Model 1 Plan Scale 6”=1’-0
Concept Model 1 Isometric Drawing
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Concept Model 1 Front Elevation Scale 6”=1’-0
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Concept Model 1 Plan Scale 6”=1’-0
Concept Model 2 Side Elevation Scale 6”=1’-0
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Concept Model 2 Isometric Drawing
Concept Model 2 Plan Scale 6”=1’-0
Concept Model 2 Front Elevation Scale 6”=1’-0
4 1/2" 3 1/4"
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Concept Model 1 Isometric Drawing
Concept Model 3 Side Elevation Scale 6”=1’-0
Concept Model 3 Front Elevation Scale 6”=1’-0
Concept Model 3 Isometric Drawing Concept Model 3 Plan Scale 6”=1’-0
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opposite: this page: a. exterior render b. transformed grid c. study models 2
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b Exploded Axonometric
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Site Model Side Section
Site Model Front Section Scale 1/2”=1’-0”
opposite: a. material elements exploded axon b. skin design c. interior renders
this page: d. longitudinal section e. transverse section
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THE SINGULARITY IS NEAR[ING]: PAVILION Concept Design: Spring 2014 This project is a proposal for a pavilion in Troy, NY that is set in the future described by futurist Ray Kurzweil. In the future Kurzweil describes in his book “The Singularity is Near,” the world is described as a place where everyone has the ability to morph their surroundings to their liking. This pavilion is set in a time between modern times and this future era; technology has not quite reached the point described in Kurzweil’s future, but our ability to create artificial reality has developed enough where extremely realistic environments and experiences can be reproduced on command. This technology, like many new technological advancements, has quickly been given a monetary value and is sold as a commodity for people to enjoy. This pavilion is a place where this new technology can be enjoyed for the general public. This technology has the potential to become extremely 5
popular because it takes the idea of “escaping reality” to a completely new experiential level. This increased popularity in this type of technology would later contribute to its universal use in Kurzweil’s future.
this page: a. boolean system: form development opposite: b. exterior render c. grid transformations a
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d opposite: a. pavilion section b. pavilion plan this page: c. exploded axon: showing skin and material elements d. generative model e. detail model
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TESSELLATED LANDSCAPES: ARTIST RESIDENCY Concept Design: Fall 2014 In artist residencies housed in public locations, there is always a carefully crafted relationship between the artist and the public. In this proposal for an artist’s residency at the OMI sculpture park in Ghent, NY, an emphasis was placed on the direct interaction between residents and the public The public “zone” of the park visitors and the “private” zones of the residents are overlapped; the residential area for the artists is linked to their studios via a gallery for showcasing work to the public. An entrance for the public also leads to a hall which allows for the public to catch glimpses of the studios adjoining the hall. This residency was derived from a tessellation of the surrounding landscape. Focal points were created from the extreme high and low altitudes of the immediate landscape; from here lines emanating from these points formed the lines of the tessellation. 9
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opposite: a. landscape tessellation b. tessellation model c. skylight logic d. study models
this page: e. site plan
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1: Studios 2: Public Restroom 3: Cafe/Dining Commons 4: Gallery
1: Resident Bedrooms 2: Resident Commons 3: Loft
Scale: 1/16”=1’-0
Scale: 1/16”=1’-0
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opposite: a. plan: level 1 b. plan: level 2 c. section
this page: d. residency model
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EN[LIGHT]ENMENT: STUDENT HOUSING Building Design: Spring 2015 collaborative design with Allison Turner This is a proposal for student housing on the RPI campus in Troy, NY. In observing the site, which was located on a slope overlooking the city of Troy, it was observed that it is currently a place many students go to enjoy the view. During research it was found that when given a specific avenue for the purpose of enjoying a view, it becomes an intentional, shared activity. With this knowledge we wanted to create a similar experience of using this view to bring people together in this design. Furthermore, this intention could be extended to the people of Troy to bring together the residents of Troy to the Rensselaer campus as well. The view is a means to bring people together but in order to really foster interaction and bridge the social gap between Troy and RPI, there is a need to give back to the community. RPI’s motto asks, “why not change the world?” In order 13
to change the world contributions must be made at the local scale as well by sharing the school’s knowledge and education with the community of Troy.
this page: a. site plan
opposite: b. exterior render: living units c. interior render d. unit development e. observation deck render 1 f. observation deck render 2
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opposite: a. double floored living unit b. single floor living unit c. unit aggregate d
this page: d. aerial view of site e. site section
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STASIS: PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Building Design: Fall 2015 The theater often dominates the space of the building it is housed in and becomes a separate object from the building itself. This logic can be taken and applied to other programmatic spaces as well; the theater still has a dominating presence in the building, but is balanced by the presence of other “objects”. In this project, a performing arts center in Madison, WI, these other “objects” that were taken into consideration were other major venues; the gallery, the black box theater, and the back of house. The back of house was included in this definition because it stands in opposition to the theater, creating balance; the theater, a space completely dedicated to the experience of the patron, is opposed by a volume of equal scale and importance that is dedicated completely to the experience of someone dedicated to the operation of the 17
performance. These “objects” are wrapped in other spaces which contain other, smaller scale program. In these spaces private and public program intermingle, whereas in the larger object-spaces the relationship of public vs. private is largely an interrupted one. The central volume which houses the back of house in particular exemplifies this relationship. It contains no public programming, and by placing it in the middle of the building it creates two zones of public space on either side of it.
b 75’ 65’ 50’ 40’ 25’ 15’ 0’ -10’ -20’
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e summer solar path
winter solar path
Summer wind
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opposite: a. form concept b. aerial view of site c. section
this page: d. site plan e. Madison, WI zoning f. climate analysis of site
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this page: opposite: a. floorplan: ground level c. model: night view b. public vs. private program diagram d. floorplan: 4th level
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PASSIVE SOLAR BUILDING: RPI VISITOR’S CENTER Case Study: Fall 2015
collaborative project with Sarah Bertis, Sarah Farnham, Zachary Pearson and Cody Seipp The Visitor’s Center was conceived as a demonstration of passive solar design in a commercial building. Currently, it has been converted into the RPI campus’s Public Safety building and has since not been performing to meet the current user’s needs. The mission of this semesterlong research project was to identify how the building was not performing by collecting data using instruments and through observation and to design solutions for raising the building’s performance.
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this page: a. temperature fluctuation graph b. heat gradient diagram c. sunspace photo d. thermal photography
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PUBLICATION: EVAN’S HALL, YALE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
Case Study: Fall 2015
collaborative project with Sarah Bertis, Allison Thayer, and Wentai Chen
YALE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT: FOSTER + PARTNERS
“We want a classic Norman Foster Building” -Rick Levin ‘74 Ph.D
The School of Management took the opportunity of relocating to have their new building reflect the philosophy of the growing school.
goal into the MBA curriculum. In the design of the building the Yale administration wanted to achieve the right environment
Norman Foster’s first approach to the design was a building that fit in with the traditional style seen in the academic buildings that were part of Yale’s old campus. However when former Yale President Rick
for students to become strong leaders and to build strong global organizations.16 One of
Levin heard of this, he immediately halted Lord Foster in his tracks and said, “We want a classic Norman Foster building.” Levin felt that the high-tech architecture Foster is
is the idea that interactions between students and faculty that occur outside of the formal classroom setting are just as important as classroom based
known for befitted his vision of the school’s future. According to Levin,
learning. For this reason, the glazed façade around the courtyard follows the undulating profile of the oval classroom drums to define bays where students can gather together. Lord Norman Foster said about
the guiding principles behind the design of the new building for the Yale School of management
“Professional management students want to learn in an environment similar to the one they’re going to be working in.” He wanted the school’s new building to have a more
FOSTER + PARTNERS YALE UNIVERSITY, NEW HAVEN, CT 2014
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corporate feel and reflect the type of environment that would be found in a world-class corporation.15
the project, “Learning is not only about the classroom – it is about the social spaces, grounds, cafes and the relationships that are formed.”17
The focus of the School of Management is towards learning about and establishing worldwide connections and integrating this
SARAH BERTIS, WENTAI CHEN, ALLISON THAYER, DEANNA VALCOUR
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In the School of Management, this philosophy about social
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This publication is the product of a semester-long case study of Evans Hall, the School of Management building at Yale University, which was designed by Foster + Partners. The case study included a thorough investigation of the construction systems within the building, interviewing both those involved in the building design and those who use the building, and the creation of further documentation demonstrating our findings. This documentation was compiled into a final book, where our group designed a cover,layout, and diagrams to represent our findings. this page: a. book cover b. chapter heading spread c. program diagram spread
Figure 7: Program diagram 26
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Other Work
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this page: a. portrait, mixed media b. still life, pencil c. dot value, felt tip pen d. batik e. building drawing, colored pencil
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Deanna Valcour Rensselaer Poly technic Institute Bachelor of Architecture, May 2018 deanna.valcour@gmail.com 508.244.8037