Process Book Emma Vormschlag
Class of 2025
Bachelor of Architecture Andrew Hart
Table of Contents... Codex ...3 Small Neighborhood ...5 Jenga ...7 Site Visit I ...9 Client Interviews ...11 Row Home ...13 Row House Manual ...15 Site Visit II ...17 Program Analysis ...19 Community Center ...21 Reflection ...23
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Codex Project... In this project an important work to society (through various mediums) was studied. This work was referred to a Codex, where background research was conducted to diliniate what the importance this text holds to society. Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Vargas uses the power of narrative to humanize conversations about immigrants. He uses his personal memoir to place himself in a vulnerable situation ultimitly seeking change. Jenga and cardboard were then used to create a tribute to him while also maintaining a space to read his work.
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Small Neighborhood... In this project, our ‘best’ Codex tribute model was then placed in a community with the entire class. Models were laid out amoungst those of similar scale, and context was then added to provide a sense of scale to each neighborhood of models within the community.
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Jenga... Jenga blocks were used to simulate the structure of a row home. We manipulated the traditonal form of a row home and challenged this design structure to ampifly lighting within the home and usable indoor/ outdoor space. This exercise pushed creativity and came to life when dramtic lighting was added to each iteration.
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Site Visit I... This site visit was to the Brewerytown and Sharswood neighborhoods of Northeast Philadelphia. Here students captured images of the different row homes of this area, focusing on elements that capture the feeling of the nighborhood. Photos of stoops, egress, craftsmanship and material choice were key elements to the neighborhood’s Genius loci.
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Client Interviews... For the next project we were asked to design for the needs and values of five clients. Ms. Alice, a block captain who plans on aging in place in her rowhome, Sierra, an entrepreneur who is building generational wealth, Sudha, a paradoxical urban gardener, and two multigenerational families. All five of the clients value the community’s tight-knit relationships, its parks and green space, and the details of the houses that show both uniqueness and togetherness. We prepaired a set of questions for each client to answer at their own disclosure.
Ms. Alice Sierra
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Sudha
Multigenerational Family
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Row Home... After studying our client we were challenged to focus on three spaces in a row home that hold much importance to our clients. Below shows an emphasis on entry, stair placement and natural light. Using found materials we collaged the feeling of each space in section. Lastly, We diagrammed how the site interacts with it’s community.
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Row House Manual... The class created a list of do’s and don’ts to follow when designing a row home. These rules were inspired from our site visits where we studied the fuctionality and purpose of many elements pertaining to the Philadelphia row home. For example, sketched below is non invasive alley ways, maintaining chracter, urban decay and unalignment of windows within a row.
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Site Visit II... The second site visit was again to the Brewerytown and Sharswood neighborhoods of Northeast Philadelphia. This time the class focused on the streets in close proximity to Athletic Recreation Park and the park itself. The main focus this visit was to note what was working best for this space and what could be altered to amplify the communitie’s interaction.
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Program Analysis... After the site visit we analyzed what the strengths and weaknesses of the community centers’ program. By looking at this project through the lense of a resident we were able to make educated guesses on what a gardener, a woman aging in place, an entrepenuer and a multigenerational family would seek from this space.
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Community Center... This project was focused around incorporating elements from the program analysis into an additonal building that community memebers can inhabit to alliviate their needs, and celebrate their own unique interests. This additon in particular to the existing recreation center is an outdoor space for our clients to multipurpose to their everyday needs.
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Reflection...
Design three was my first architecture class that was unconventional. This semester has taught me to focus less on what I believe my client wants and more so on; what from personally getting to know about them I can translate into their space to emphasize functionality. By redirecting my focus from structural and technical concepts onto the humane aspects of design it has been easier to focus on the program of a building. This all interconnects and ultimately has taught me to design for “sidewalk citizenship”. Through the exploration of different mediums such as collaging by analog and digitally, sketching and modeling with only found materials I have acquired new strengths. Looking forward I will take this adaptability into other projects. Realizing the appreciation for variety and creative ways to express space without literal images that my mentors seek, I see the value in analog craft. This semester has also taught me how to work amongst a team of people. Before I had only ever focused on a design concept that I had solely pioneered. Now, I have grasped the thought processes of multiple peers and have been able to use their different thinking styles to push my own work. By having a community of classmates who I could turn to I felt encouraged and empowered this semester. Overall, I feel I have learned an enormous amount about my design process and what methods suit me best.
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Emma Vormschlag
Fall 2021 24
