Architecture Fundamentals II

Live Art Studio

Emily Geppert | Architecture Fundamentals Studio II | Professor Wacta | Winter 2013

Table of Contents

Exercise 1:

Serial Vision Sketching

Exercise 2:

Landscape, Measure, and the Body

Exercise 3:

Building Analysis: Exploring a Building in Context

Exercise 4: Modeling the Landscape Exercise 5:

Site Analysis - Exploring a Place Through Visual Field Notes

Exercise 6: Architect Profile Exercise 7:

Client Letters

Exercise 8: Project Centering Exercise 9: Questions and Answers Final Design

Exercise 1 Serial Vision Sketching The objective of this exercise was to create a series of sketches that focused on a particular aspect of the site. These sketches focused on a single element and recorded the essential characteristics/ingredients of the space.

Sketch 1: view of the beginning of the pathway as seen from the bottom of the site

I chose to focus on the pathway that traversed the rugged upper section of the site. This pathway has been eroded over time and presents itself as a significant part of the site.

The next objective of this exercise was to form a series of sketches that focused on several aspects of the sight. These focuses tell the viewer more about how the site is organized as well as significant parts of the site and their uses.

Sketch 2: a detail of the bottom of the pathway, edge marked by a man-made curb

Sketch 3: a view of the shadow lines of the tree as they pass over the pathway

Place within a Place This is the area within the site that encourages people to stop. It can be a place of gather or relaxation, but is not a place that is meant for passing by.

Exercise 1

Focal Point This is the center of attention in the site.

It immediately grabs the viewer’s attention and holds power over how the rest of the site is perceived.

Place (Exit) This is the node on the site that begins the process of exiting. It can be a place where the viewer is encouraged to explore before he leaves the site.

Significant Detail This is portion of the focal point of the site. It adds enrichment and texture to the view.

Link to Exit This is the transitional path of the site. It allows the viewer to trace a direct route to the exit.

Mystery This is an element of the site that is not fully understood. It can be a place where the purpose is not easily identifiable.

Mood This is the view that allows the observer to fully engage with the complexity of the site. It is easily affected by changes in weather or the attitude of the viewer.

Exercise 2

This site seems to have a wealth of history to it. The path that divides the site has been worn away by many pedestrians over the years. In order to represent this, we chose to create our model from scraps of newspaper. These scraps represent the snippets of history one can see at the site. However, these snippets do not tell the entire story and only through careful observation and discovery can one put the pieces together. The black ombre color demonstrates how time has slowly started to wear away these stories, erasing them from history, though their effect is still seen.

Landscape, Measure, and the Body The objective of this exercise was to explore how the human body related to the scale of the site by using elements of the human body to measure the landscape.

I watched the movement of a person as they climbed the site. This allowed me to see how the elevation related to the walker’s height and determine the site’s depth based on her relative size as she went further into the distance.

The next objective was to form a site model that embraced the nature of our site in an abstract way. My group decided to focus on the historical aspect of the site.

Landscap, Measure, and the Body Nicole at origin - 66 steps

By Emily Geppert, Silvy Liu, Abby Skaggs, Nicole Winkler

A collage of the process of mapping the site

Abstract model of the site

Exercise 3 Building Analysis: Exploring a Building in Context The objective of this exercise was to explore and analyze the layout of the site. I looked at the organization of the site and used this to create a series of representational, abstract, and symbolic sketches.

Abstract Centralized

Symbolic Centralized

Representational Centralized

Abstract Cluster

Symbolic Cluster

Representational Cluster

Abstract Linear

Symbolic Linear

Representational Centralized

Exercise 4 Modeling the Landscape The objective of this exercise was to better come to understand the site through accurate means of mapping. I created a 3/32” : 1’-0 model with 4” contour lines.

Model of the site at 3/32” : 1’-0”

The objective of this exercise was to help improve our drawing and analytical skills by recording different aspects of the site.

I created freehand and computer aided drawings to diagram different site information and environmental relationships.

Location - City of Savannah

Location - Neighborhood

Location - Travel Distances

City Hall 0.4 mi

Downtown 0.3 mi

Site Jepson Center 0.5 mi

Ships of the Sea Museum 0.2 mi

SCAD Museum of Art 0.5 mi

Exercise 5 Site Analysis: Exploring a Place Through Visual Field Notes

Exercise 5

Man-Made Features - Pathways

Neighborhood Context - Relative Heights of Surrounding Buildings

Man-Made Features - On-site Features

Exercise 5

Legal - Historic District Zoning Ordinances

Site and Zoning - Lot Size and Boundaries

Legal - Ownership and Jurisdiction

Exercise 5

Natural Physical Features - Trees

Natural Physical Features - Ground Cover

Utilities - Locations

Exercise 5

Circulation - Vehicular

Human and Cultural - Negative Activity

Circulation - Pedestrian

Exercise 5

Sensory - Views from the Site

Sensory - Noises

Sensory - Views into the Site

Exercise 5

Climate - Average Rainfall

Climate - Average High and Low Temperatures

Climate - Sun Diagram

Exercise 5 Concept Exploration After looking at the existing conditions of the site, we were asked to use the things we learned to help us formulate our concept. I wanted to utilize the orientation of the site to the view as well as the sun path to inform my design.

Concept 1

Site Plan Explorations

Concept 2

Tower Explorations

Tower Height in Relation to Power Plant

Elevation Concept 1

My initial thoughts for the design went in two directions. First, I thought of a cloud descending on the site. It would float above the ground and not interfere with the contours of the site.

Second, I thought about embedding the building into the site. This would give the appearance that the building and the site were a cohesive whole.

Through the idea of embedding, I latched onto the creation of a tower. This tower would serve to provide the best view of the river while also providing gallery space. I sketched out potential elevations for the building at this stage.

Elevation Concept 2

Elevation Concept 3

Unfold

Exercise 5 Concept Development

To spread out or display

Sequentially unfold: to reveal or develop over time

Physically unfold: to bring out of a folded state

Phenomenally unfold: to become clear, apparent, or known

Step 1: Choose an idea, a word, or a natural phenomenon.

We were asked to follow a step-by-step process to help us formulate a physical concept for our building.

I attached the word unfolding to my project from the beginning. This word invokes the idea that the building houses something, in this case art, as it unfolds. People are able to view the artists throughout many stages of their work, literally watching as pieces unfold before them. Each piece of this building is understood individually, but also as a whole the creates a greater understanding.

Step 3: Show three graphical representations of the idea, word, or phenomenon.

Unfolding architecture slowly reveals the elements of a space as one passes through to give one the feeling of coming to know and understand the space.

Step 2: use an architectural language and rewrite the definition in a way that it can translate to an architectural form.

Exercise 5 Step 4: Using the previous step, create four conceptual models.

Model Concept Sketches

Step 5: Create a final model that transcribes in volume and architectural language the phenomenon that you explored.

The objective of this exercise was to investigate the design practice and philosophy of an architect that would become our design guide for our project.

I selected I.M. Pei as my architect. I created an 11” x 17” poster detailing his practice and philosophy as well as significant buildings he has designed.

I.M.Pei

Exercise 6 Architect Profile

Louvre Pyramid 1989 Paris, France

Pei was asked to build a new entrance and operational infrastructure for the Louvre Museum in Paris. The challenge was to add to this eight-century-year-old building without dampening the spirits of the people or compromising the existing structure.

The centrally located glass pyramid provides direct access to the galleries in each wing of the museum and floods the subterranean expansion building with light. The entrance alights gently upon the sacred ground of the courtyard of the Louvre, its delicate nature a restrained example of modernism that acknowledges the depth of history it must represent.

National Gallery of Art East Building

1978 Washington, D.C. The irregular shape of the site, a trapezoid, presented a distinctive problem. Through simple sketches, Pei discovered dividing the site into two isosceles triangles solved the issue, providing separate spaces for the two different programs of the building – a museum and study-center/office facility – as well as nestling the building on its site between the intersection of Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues. The large, central atrium unites the two sections while simultaneously providing a place for circulation.

Born in China, I.M. Pei moved to the United States to study architecture. He graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from MIT before joining the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Between 1948 and 1958, Pei worked for Webb and Knapps. He then established his own firm that would later become Pei Cobb Freed & Partners.

Pei’s taste for design has been noticed and appreciated by many. He has won numerous awards, including an AIA Gold Medal (1979), the Pritzker Prize (1983), Praemium Imperiale for Architecture (1989), and the Royal Gold Medal (2010) among others.

Pei and his associates firmly believe in architecture that relates directly with its context. Each design challenge is approached from its unique sense of place within a city. There is never a single solution for every problem; rather, each problem requires a fresh look to create a building that exists in harmony with its surroundings. This perspective lends Pei the ability to bridge a variety of architectural styles in order to create something best suited to the site, its program, and the community it serves.

Exercise 6 Concept Development Our goal was to further the our concepts by applying transformations to our site.

Once I had settled on a design, I worked on differentiating the spaces in my building. Through these preliminary sketches, I was able to find a solution to separating the spaces in this gallery.

Cutting Down the Site

Sliding Along the Axis

Separating the Two Pieces

Morphing to the Site

Reattaching

Section Concepts

Exercise 7 Client Letters The objective of this exercise was to provide a limited scope to our project in order to design a building that had a specific end goal in mind.

I decided to create a live-in studio and art gallery for international artists visiting Savannah. I wrote my letters based on this prospective design, selecting a fictional client who would request such a building.

501 Whitaker Street Savannah, GA 31401

January 10, 2013

Ms. Emily Geppert Partner, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners 88 Pine Street New York, NY 10005

Dear Ms. Geppert,

I am writing to you on the behalf of the Savannah Arts Foundation to ask you to consider undertaking the design for a gallery and studio space located in the Historic District of Savannah, GA. Our organization desires to build the Live Art Studio and Gallery to establish a place for visiting artist to live and work while simultaneously hosting exhibits of their completed and in-­‐progress art. Our mission through this project is to bring the community together in an environment where they are pushed to learn more about the creative world by interacting with art through its various stages of construction and following its progression from conceptual to concrete.

The studio program includes private living spaces for the visiting artists, public access studio spaces where they can work, and a public gallery to showcase their completed pieces. The property we have selected is located on the West end of the prominent River Street, just off the main thoroughfare of Bay Street and surrounded by an artistic community that includes students of the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Our hope for the design is one that meshes seamlessly with the site and works within the existing context, yet sets itself apart in form as well as function. We want to add a hub of creative energy to this area that appeals to both the established residents of this community as well as those just passing through.

I greatly appreciate you taking the time to consider accepting our proposal. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Arnold Wright

Executive Director, Savannah Arts Foundation

88 Pine Street New York, NY 10005

January 23, 2013

Mr. Arnold Wright Savannah Arts Foundation 501 Whitaker Street Savannah, GA 31401

Dear Mr. Wright,

As a partner of the Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, I firmly believe in a design that directly relates to its context. We approach each of our projects from the viewpoint of a place that has to exist in the greater whole of a city. This design philosophy seems to mesh well with the intentions you have for the development of your Live Arts Studio & Gallery, and I am pleased to inform you that I will be able to accept your project.

The site you have chosen for this gallery is an excellent choice. It is steeped in history, yet has not been overrun by the city in its quest for modernization. It has survived the hotels and tourists and stands as a tribute to what Savannah is at its core, so I believe it will make an excellent location for a gallery and studio.

I hope that in further correspondence we will be able to settle on a design concept that you find suitable. My desire is to build something that adds onto the landscape and settles into it as a part of the site itself. I will develop this through careful examination and study of the site and surrounding area as well as the historical precedents that have been put in place in the district.

I look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Emily Geppert

Partner, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners

Exercise 8

What is the central concept or idea that drives your project and consequentially helps you make important design decisions?

My central concept is the idea of unfolding architecture. This idea mimics the design process of the artists that will be living and working in this studio. Just as their pieces unfold, so does the architecture.

What ecological impact does your project have on this site?

My project sits within the site and makes itself a part of the landscape, yet differentiates itself. It works with the existing pathways, but modifies then to become a part of the building and its program.

Project Centering The objective of this exercise was to help us focus our design efforts. We were given a series of questions that would help us reconsider the design decisions we had made thus far.

What influence has the previous analysis stage played in your design scheme and what logical design process have you followed throughout this project?

What role does scale and movement play in the perception of the site and the design in this urban environment?

The previous analysis has allowed me to gather a better understanding of the site on which this studio will reside. The careful processing and recording of data gave me insight into the potential problems that I will run into as well as the beneficial parts of the site that would be worth highlighting in my design.

When approached from two different locations, the gallery leaves two very different impressions. The scale of the North side is of human proportions. It sits unobtrusively on the site, and it is even dwarfed by the surrounding context. The South side, however, is of a much grander scale, effectively dwarfing the context. The curious user will be drawn in by the meandering pathways to the entrance.

How have you gathered and applied information about human needs, behavior, and inspirations to inform the design process?

How does your project address the organizational and spatial issues?

I have looked at the need for sunlight, circulation, airflow, and views to inform my design process. I worked on including all of the elements in my design concept in a way that allows them all to be utilized by the users.

There is a clear differentiation between the public and private spaces. The largest portion is devoted to the main user: the public. The smaller portion makes up the private living and studio spaces.

Exercise 8

How does your design utilize vegetation as space making and character giving elements?

What historical architectural precedents have helped you determine your design?

My space utilizes vegetation to create sight barriers between each part of the site, effectively allowing the building to unfold visually as the viewer traverses the site.

I used the historic vernacular of architecture in Savannah to inform my building. The brick facades evoke the era of the original city and become the cornerstone on which the central concept for the building is built. The building unfolds from this rich past to become a thing of the present and an even greater future.

What role has the gestural sketch played in the design and representation of this project?

What technical ideas have helped you determine your design?

Gestural ketch has helped me to process the essential elements of my building, reducing the unnecessary elements and revealing the most important aspects.

The desire to use a traditional facade led me to using a traditional load-bearing wall structural system. This system creates a parameter under which the design must fall in order to be structurally sound.

How are handicapped codes and site restrictions manifested in your design thinking and building/site making?

What has been the greatest site design challenge in this project?

Handicap codes and restrictions dictated the movement into my building. The length of the ramp needed forces the user to slowly meander up to the entrance and lets the building unfold in a controlled manner. This slow approach prevents the viewer from being overwhelmed and instead allows him the time to process and appreciate the building.

The greatest challenge was working with the drastic slope of the site. This slope presented many issues with transferring users from the top to the bottom of the site which forced my design to behave in a way that facilitated an ease of movement through the site.

Exercise 9 Questions and Answers The objective of these exercises was to expose to a variety of architectural texts that would help us to deepen our knowledge of the profession. Our task was to read to given texts and prepare a discussion question and answer it thoroughly.

“Richard Serra, “Richard A Translation” Serra, a Translation” Question and Answer

Visual Notes

regards to movement. This constantly shifting point of view causes them to have an ever-­‐changing

learning how to take visual notes, implying that it is something not often taught to the public. If

Visual Notes Question and Answer

Question: Richard Serra created his sculpture Shift based on the human perception of horizon in

Question: Visual Notes by Norman Crowe and Paul Laseau prescribes itself as the handbook for

perspective of the piece. How are cultures similarly influenced by their varied perception of a

such a handbook needed to be written, I must ask the question why. Why has the art of visual note

another reason?

single idea (or “horizon”)?

Crystal Palace, London

taking lost its value in our society? Is the invention of the camera the only reason, or is there

Genius Loci: “NaturalVisual Place” “Man-Made Place” Notes Qand uestion and Answer

Question: How does architecture seek to mimic the natural world through its manipulation of the human response?

Schlesinger and Meyer Department Store, Chicago

Answer: While Serra experimented with only the human scale of perception, he inadvertently

modeled a situation true within cultures as a whole. Though geared towards a single experience,

Serra’s piece offers insight into how a culture’s location in time can affect its acceptance and integration of a single idea. An idea may be offered identically to each culture, but their individual perspective of this so-­‐called “horizon” is unique to each. Take for instance the Crystal Palace and the Schlesinger and Meyer Department Store. Both were born out of the pursuit of metal – iron and

steel – as a new building structure and basis (their “horizon”), yet each achieved a form and

function that was vastly different from the other due to their unique perceptions and desires.

Answer: I must first take a look at the direction this society has traveled in recent decades. Left-­‐

brained thinking has come into greater focus than it once was. School systems in particular push this idea, placing greater emphasis on a student’s ability to think analytically, learn new languages,

or reason. Meanwhile, art programs and other such creativity-­‐driven courses are diminishing.

Even with what is left, the perspective of these has changed over the years, the idea becoming that they are only for the artistically talented student and of no consequence for those who are not. This

shift in view leaves the students that struggle most in the area of visual note taking without the

ability to learn it. While the invention of the camera did not create this problem, it fueled the idea by allowing a fallacy that the camera creates equivalent visual notes as the human hand to form.

Answer: I believe the natural world is something that is perceived by our brains as supernatural phenomena. This is especially true of spaces that extend beyond the norm, such as unique rock

formations or tall mountains. When we interact with such spaces, the beauty of creation can stun us. Architecture itself is merely a manifestation of the human desire to experience such

phenomenon. Humans yearn for interaction with spaces that provide an experiential moment, whether they are natural or man-­‐made. Architects can satisfy this desire by using the elements

presented by nature to create similar experiences within their own creations.

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Exercise 9 Design Development After extensively analyzing the site, I narrowed in on the key issues I wanted to address with my gallery. The sight lines of the site are especially important due to the surrounding buildings. Only a narrow view of the river is offered and I wanted to capitalize on that. A secondary influence for my design was the established pedestrian movement through the site. I wanted to keep the original flow of the site, but modify it in a way that brings the viewer down and around the gallery.

Views from Site

Sight Lines and North/South Axis of the Site

Pedestrian Circulation

Exercise 9 Site Exploration The site’s existing conditions and orientation informed my initial building plan.

I worked with he sight lines of the site as well as the north/south axis that run through the site as the basis for the plan.

Site Plan Exploration Sketches

Site Plan Exploration Sketches Including Landscape

Savannah, GA

Summer Solstice 9am

Summer Solstice 12pm

Summer Solstice 3pm

Section Summer Solstice 12pm

Quito, Ecuador

Summer Solstice 9am

Summer Solstice 12pm

Summer Solstice 3pm

Section Summer Solstice 12pm

Toronto, Canada

Exercise 9 Shadow Studies

Summer Solstice 9am

Summer Solstice 12pm

Summer Solstice 3pm

Section Summer Solstice 12pm

I looked at the way sunlight and shade affected my site and building in different locations. I chose the current site in Savannah, Toronto, and Quito as the three comparisons to see how location changes the way the sun affects a building.

Savannah, GA

Winter Solstice 12pm

Winter Solstice 3pm

Section Winter Solstice 3pm

Quito, Ecuador

Winter Solstice 9am

Winter Solstice 12pm

Winter Solstice 3pm

Section Winter Solstice 3pm

Toronto, Canada

Exercise 9

Winter Solstice 9am

Winter Solstice 9am

Winter Solstice 12pm

Winter Solstice 3pm

Section Winter Solstice 3pm

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River St

Williamson St

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Roof 60' - 0"

Level 4 48' - 0"

Level 3 36' - 0"

Level 2 24' - 0"

Level 1 12' - 0"

Basement 0' - 0"

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Storage – 1670 sf

Private Living – 420 sf

Private Bedroom (2) – 110 sf

Private Bath – 52 sf First Floor

Entry – 860 sf

Office/Administration – 718 sf

Rest room – 64 sf

Private Living – 715 sf

Patio – 1500 sf Second Floor

Gallery – 912 sf

Rest room – 64 sf

Private Studio – 715 sf Third Floor

Gallery – 1590 sf

Rest room – 64 sf Fourth Floor

Gallery – 1590 sf

Rest room – 64 sf

Qualitative Program

Quantitative Program

Exploded Axonometric

Seattle Public Library

Seattle, Washington 2004 This building uses a skeletal structural system with a glass exterior shell. A common diamond module was utilized to create the mullions for the glass cladding. The curtain wall is entirely custom-made for this building, which allowed the designers greater freedom in their design by giving them the ability to carefully control each design element.

Chapel In Villeaceron

AlmadĂŠn, Ciudad Real, Spain 2001 This is a concrete structure that relies on it carefully folded nature for stability.

Darcons Headquarters

Delicias City, Mexico 2008 The skin of this building is folded over itself with spaces being divided through the use of opaque versus transparent materials.