2010 STUDIO PROJECTS | COMPREHENSIVE STUDIO | INTERNSHIP WORKS | ART
Masters of Architecture | Cornell University | to graduate December 2011
HITCHCOCK ARCHIVE & THE PRECARIOUS CLIFF | STUDIO 2 NYC HIGH BRIDGE ART CENTER | with ANGELA ALFANI | STUDIO 3 BOAT HOUSE & NIGHT ROOMS | STUDIO 1 DINNER PARTY UNDONE | STUDIO 1
| , | 09 2 First there was the site. The landscape model developed from both my real and suspected interpretations of the site on the steep clis of San Francisco. I was intrigued by the patchwork of materials, an aggregation of rigid, fragmented rock pieces and pockets of giant trees. I built my landscape piece by piece, following the rule set I created. The block sizes corresponded to the stability of rock and length depended on the vegetation. The model reects the fractured land and its instability. The model soon grew to resemble San Francisco itself. The program is an archive and the accompanying facilities for the Alfred Hitchcock Foundation. The landscape model prescribed a speciďŹ c type of building. I used a system of walls to extend the programs o the cli edge as if they grew from the land. Each program became a unit in itself, a distinctive space, with a unique column structure and facade. The wall system is a collaboration of column panels, opaque and transparent surfaces. Column densities vary depending on viewing and lighting requirements. The height of the units correspond to the privacy needs.
model & landscape
close up of landscape
There are two main circulation routes, each designed for its user group. I separated the guests and the visitors so that as they walk through the labyrinth of the building they never meet, until the climax of the building at the external cinema. I created a system of stairs and ramps that mediate the speed of the journey. There are various strategic places along their path where they can view the other group.
birds’ eye view of hand crafted landscape model, block size determine by site’s surface stabilities
San Francisco
close up of landscape model
close up of model
model & landscape
pencil & photoshop: section interpretation
pencil: sketch perspective
pencil: sketch perspective
spacial qualities lighting height > ceiling apertures >views natural combination artificial
low
mid
high
transparency > surface filters
exposure > column spacing
open
wide
semiperm. closed
medium
small
program conditions staff & student: archive
seminar rm
staff bathrm
mechanical
parlor
offices
visitors: entrance building model & landscape with program diagram overlay
reception & cafe
int. screening rm
ext. screening rm
visitors’ bathrm
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| , | 09 3 | We explored how single bubbles accumulate to become foam, a complex clustered aggregation. The plan shows clusters of space which form a central gallery, and then disperse and reconnect to form an educational annex. The spaces were designed to influence people’s movements, clustering together or dispersing apart. We mimicked how bubbles join and merge to create our own spaces. Spheres were connected according to the Delauney theorem and partitioned via the Voronoi mechanism of dividing space. A 2D plan prototype was developed and inserted into the landscape. The plan was mapped onto the physical 3D grid of the site so that the clusters become part of the land and grow organically down the slope. Many physical qualities of foam influenced our design, namely varying levels of transparency, temporality, flexibility and changing form. The exterior skin of the spaces are combination of techniques which create changing level of illumination. *team project: I focused on concept, design development and 3D modelling. All renderings are by my very talented partner, Angela Alandi. We both worked on research, drawings and diagrams.
rendering: interior of reading room & cafe extension
nature: bubbles emerge to form shared interior walls and new complex spaces
system a: sphere formations are repeated according to a two part logic system on various grid layouts
system b: spheres accumulate and then are divided, to create intimate and unusual spaces
architecture: prototypical plan is partitioned by voronoi logic into interior space
plan & interior spaces development
interior: voronoi floor plate topography
grade view of tower & museum on slope
pathway between museum & extension
plan
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08
The last project of first year was a lake side site. I investigated the movements of the water through a system of diagrams, I developed a tripart system of repetitive lapping, diagonal movements and absent spaces. These were reinterpreted into the design, via the wall system, pathways and the opening.
pencil: perspective sketch
paper concept model: wave repetition & pier absences
pencil: concept sketch to show dynamism of the layered walls
chip board mock up: sketch model
final model
dynamic model: elevated, movable floor plates & hinged walls to redefine spaces & an infinite combinations
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re-interpreted event: freehand pencil drawing represents adaptable time lines, situations and spaces.
A dinner party was held. I recorded and then re-ordered the break down of traditional social sequences. Through drawing, the views of the social collective and collapsed dinning sequences were merged to form new spaces. The model unfolds these hinged spaces. Viewers interact with it to create infinite complex and dynamic spaces.
: * | , | 10 5: For a semester our class was immersed into New York City where we were to design a new building for Cornell’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP) adjacent to the High Line of New York. I wanted to capture the rhythms of the site, a slow, peaceful pace and that of the city, a fast and accelerated speed, and combine them with the natural energy and creativity of Cornell AAP. The pace of the High Line calms the hyperactivity of the creative studios while the vibrant core injects energy into the High Line. This both a physical and visual exchange between the two. The design creates a reciprocity of motion and energy: the monumental “block� of the institution is eroded away by the flowing High Line, exposing an inner core of activity and excitement. This creates two towers, one for living (dorms) and one for working (studios, labs and class rooms). The two wall systems of screen stoic and folding glass emphasize this idea. The are exhibit boxes nestled in the glass wall, to exhibit student work and reinforce the creativity and talent of the school, and additional to pull attention away from studios if they are empty (or dirty). *individual project selected for next step of comprehensive design, after which Pak Kiu Wong, Paul Schelechow and myself worked together on architectural drawings
concept rendering
early concept model
Student Walk Way
Dorms
Retail
Lounges &Kitchens
Cafe
program
rendering: walk through view
Lobby Plaza
Urban Studies Lab Planning Auditorium M Arch Studios Model Shop B Arch & Art Studios Gallery
multiple sketch models
south facing
north facing
design steps
rendering: galleries boxes; connection of glass cores
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GENSLER SAN FRANCISCO | SUMMER 2010 MAKEKA DESIGN LAB | SUMMER 2009
| , | 09 Bank of America asked our team, including Tom Owen and Je Henry, to redevelop their standard plans, including their interior design and furniture selection. The new design works to ďŹ t with their new marketing direction and strategy.
pencil: perspective sketch
material board
rendering: central host station
materials
rendering: interior of Calling Cube
| , | 09 Bank of America, together with Gensler, were developing new Speciality Stores to tap into a new market, the Mass Elite. I worked with an architect, designer, project manager, graphic designer and Principle Architect as a team to develop a new agship store in Beverly Hills.
rendering: looking into the bank, visually meeting with the host station
material palette
rendering: glass core of intimate oďŹƒce spaces
plan
Google Sketchup model: cut way to cental meeting area
roof plan
second floor
ground floor
| , | 09 The 2 prototypical designs expand the function of the new rapid transport bus stop into an adaptor, plugging in program to compliment the context. Plug ‘n Play. A robust concrete module functions as an eďŹƒcient bus station, into which one can “plug inâ€? any possible programmatic element, in phasing. Various plug-in conďŹ gurations are accommodated, making dierent ďŹ nancial models possible - a station that pays for itself. An image of longevity and robustness, eschews the perception of “temporarinessâ€?. Green roofs provide favorable insulation, also functioning as a public garden to sustain permaculture. Built-in benches and baggage shelves humanize the space and improves the various notions of “waitingâ€?.
rendering of Bus rapid Transport station in Pretoria
plug n play concept diagram
plan
phase 1
phase 2
phase 3
expansion plan
material options: steel & lights
model
material options: grass roof
“WHATS BUBBLING.COM” FURNITURE COMPETITION: “REDEFINING DINING” | INDEPENDENT STUDY STRUCTURAL MODEL OF “THE NATURAL ELLIPSE HOUSE” | STRUCTURES ELECTIVE 2009 GLASS BOX | MATERIAL STUDIES ELECTIVE 2009 ART COURSE NYC WITH DOUGLAS ROSS | “I” & “ME II” , INK AND PAPER MY OWN PAINTINGS & DRAWINGS, ART WORK FROM LORENZO MEDICI ART INSTITUTE & FRANK JOUBERT EVENING CLASSES
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| | 09 This table allows for two modes of eating as found in our young professionals target market, one a solitary, causal experience and the other as an intimate experience for two people. In the ďŹ rst, the daily habit of impromptu, informal dinning on the couch while multi-tasking with various digital media is elevated to a distinguished aair, with a hand crafted “lap tableâ€? which turns one’s meal into the event it should be. The table also provides a secure resting place for a laptop, so that one can balance a digital interaction with a meal. This accommodates the new trend of “skype datingâ€? with distant loved ones. When the opportunity for real interaction arises, the two tray tables can be ďŹ xed together with a collapsible frame to create a cosy tablescape. The two tables connect where the laptops were, so human company replaces the digital.
casual on-the-couch dinning for informal individual dining
laptrays connected to create a table-for-2 for intimate dinning
: | | 2009 Structural model of “The Natural Ellipse House� by Endoh Design House & MIAS, Tokyo, Japan. We laser cut the steel framework and welded it together.
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| | 2009 After the frustration of trying to drink wine at an outdoor picnic on sloped hill, I found the subject of my material investigation. A rubber mold was made from a 3D printed prototype. This was secured by Rockite and wooden frame, the mold was filled with liquid plastic and coloring. Once dry I added metal feet which can pierce the ground and stabilize the beverage. The void can be filed with ice to keep the liquid cold.
charcoal
chalk drawing oil painting
pencil
pencil
oil
oil