Ellerbe Application
Fiona Wholey | 2015
Thomas F. Ellerbe
Written Application Statement
February 15, 2015
Architecture might not be able to change the fundamental human condition; it might not be able to solve everything however its role is to inspire us and speak to us of life and beauty. The difference between a building and architecture is that architecture can communicate these ideas – it can communicate values and beliefs whereas a building just meets our basic needs. Architecture can and should be read like a book even though for each person, it speaks a different truth. The role of architecture, for me, is about discovery and to create a beautiful experience that responds to the scale of an individual. An architecture that is tactile, that allows people to interact with it. Incorporating the warmth of daylight, the feel of the air with operable windows or the blurring of boundaries and a diversity of sensory experiences. Through that to create memories particularly as memory is so intimately connected with the physicality of space and the tactility of experience. That invites people to discover and it creates the space to envision other ways of being. Or simply, just to be a source of comfort when a beautiful space is most needed. To design spaces which provide a sense of permanence yet also the opportunity for people to write their own stories through them. As with most things, it is this simplicity that is the most complex to design for. Within this framework of architecture, I am interested in using design to create a vision of possibilities and discovering new approaches to some of the challenges that we are facing from an aging population to a changing climate. Using architecture to re-think and expand to a systems view that examines the broader impact of the building on the surrounding environment and the way people live. Challenging assumptions on what a building could be and what we are expecting a building to do for us. While I do not yet know the scale, the type, or even the style of architecture that I would like to design, I view architecture as a profession of continuing development and discovery. I would like to develop a deeper understanding of what it means to design a home, or a hospital, or an office and what those types of spaces mean. Ultimately, my career goal is a process of continual discovery through design.
01 H 02 M 03 R 04 T 05 R
eavy Air Tianjin, China
| Day Center + Day Care
aggie’s Center Minneapolis, MN iparian Wetland Minneapolis, MN he Minnesota Minnesota
Research + Learning Center
Atlas | Minerals
Contents
esume
Contact whol0001@umn.edu
| 612.226.2303 linkedin.com/in/fionawholey | issue.com/fwholey University of Minnesota | M.Arch GD III
01
Heavy Air | Day Center + Day Care Tianjin, China Professor: Blaine Brownell
M.Arch Fall 2014
Located in Tianjin, China this project is about directly addressing existing air pollution and actively seeking to re-mediate the air. It is re-creating the experience to be outside and breath fresh air. The building creates a protected unconditioned area acting as the streets and community spaces. With trees and grass throughout this space, it is creating a protected area to experience being outdoors while unexposed to the site’s poor air quality. The air is filtered by a carbon eating mesh of Titanium Dioxide Pigment and further refined passively with the incorporation of trees throughout the ‘streets’.
The programs, a day center for the elderly and day care, are housed within individual volumes that open out onto the interior streets. Two levels allow for an interplay between the programs and fluidity of interaction while each program still contains a center and is oriented around their own courtyard. These program spaces are further conditioned with radiant heating systems and the further one goes into the building, the more protected they are from the external site conditions while always having views to reconnect to the site.
Site Plan
South East Elevation
DOWN toground
UP to 3.9M
UP to 6M DOWN to 3.9 m
DOWN to 3.9M UP to 4.8 m
DOWN to 3.9 m
DOWN to ground
UP to 4.8 m UP to 3.9M 1
DOWN to 3.9M
Meeting Room Staff Lounge Meeting Room Sleep Area
Offices Crafts + Art | Day Centre
Lounge Activity Center | Tables Play Area
Games + Play
Cafe + Tables
Second Floor
E
D
Mechancial
Storage Storage Reception Media Day Care | .6 - 1yrs
Admin Offices Office
Model Unit 1 Bedroom Day Center Courtyard Lounge Activity Center | Tables
Meeting Rooms Day Care | 1-2yrs C Day Care Courtyard Exhibition
VIP Areas Day Care | 3-4 yrs
Kitchen Kitchen + Pantry
Play Equipment
Exercise Equipment
Ground Floor
Day Care Section
Day Center Section
02
Maggie’s Center
Minneapolis, MN Professor: Mary Guzowski
M.Arch Spring 2014
A Maggie’s Center is a place that provides for the non-medical needs of those with cancer offering practical, emotional and social support. This Maggie’s Center is located near to the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota. The building is about providing a variety of spaces that can respond to an individual’s changing needs as they go through the long-term process of treatment. It provides areas for community support - a kitchen and hearth which are central and highly visible while at the same time, creating
spaces for contemplation and solitude when needed - all while in a busy urban environment. Layers of enclosure, primarily using landscape, ensure that a level of privacy and quiet is available while creating an interaction between the street and the building. The building utilizes daylight with views of smaller gardens to connect with the landscape and create a building that changes as the seasons change especially to utilize the high latitude of Minnesota and potential for dramatically different experiences in each season.
Roof Upper 12’ Roof Upper 10’
Woodland
Prairie Dropseed | Short Grass
Native Grasses + Wildflowers
Site Plan Exquisite Room Model Photos Morning 9am
December 21st
March|September 21st
June 21st
Noon
Afternoon 3pm
Summer Perspective
Summer Section B | Landscape + Shading
Winter Section B| Hearth + Center
Winter Perspective
03
Riparian Wetland Research + Learning Center
Minneapolis, MN Professor: Jeffrey Mandyck
M.Arch Fall 2013
The area around Lowry Bridge is a space of division. Highway 94 severs people from the river allowing only limited access to this resource. The industrial uses and their forms contribute to this division through restricted access and limited connections separating residential areas west of Hwy 94 and east of the Mississippi. The Riparian Wetland Research and Learning Center is about addressing these divisions between flows and program. It seeks to be an element that connects people with the river and also one that connects Minneapolis with the RiverFirst Wetlands. The building form and program seek to include traces of this idea of division while it’s overarching vision is to bring disparate elements and flows together. This is reflected in the separation
East Elevation
of the program into two distinct experiences, each with their own structural system that responds to the scale of space that those programs require.
Delivery
Parking
One is about research. Responding to the need for longer spans and larger loads, a steel frame is used that provides flexibility and strength necessary for the laboratory spaces. The placement of the windows present a visual connection to the interior activities while ensuring restricted access with only one primary point of entrance. The other is about community outreach. This program is about relationships and creating more intimate and varied spaces. A concrete pan and joist system is used reflecting the smaller spaces required.
Mechanical
Classroom
Classroom
Seminar
Seminar
Auditorium
Outdoor Classroom
Wet Classroom
Lower Level
B
B
Elevation
Section
Workroom
A
Meeting Room
Computer Room Green Roof Office
Maintanence Storage
Maintanence
Office
Office
Storage
Teaching Lab
Open Offices Classroom
Research Lab
Open Offices
Storage Archive Collections A
Storage
Board Room
Storage
Storage
Research Lab
Teaching Lab Maintanence
Lobby
Outdoor Exhibition + Green Roof
Exhibition Space
B
Multimedia
Pre-Event
Auditorium
Elevation A
Elevation
Section
C
A
B
Ground Floor
C
Second Floor
816
Site Plan
Material Axon
04
The Minnesota Atlas | Minerals Minnesota Team Members: Anton + Turgeon-Schramm
Catalyst 2012
The Minnesota Atlas explored the natural resources of the state and, through mapping seemingly unrelated data, sought to discover new opportunities and processes. This part of the project examined the minerals in the state. Peat and iron ore became the focus as they exist in opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of raw production and distance the materials travel. These minerals were mapped in relation to their production, abundance, and transportation traveled to market. Through this it was possible to see that
iron ore is Minnesota’s largest mineral export however also travels a great distance and is declining in terms of it’s quality and amount. However, while peat is the second least exported mineral, it is abundant in the north of Minnesota, requires less processing, and has a far shorter travel to market. Through examining these minerals with a new lens, alternative networks and forms of production began to suggest themselves.
Deposits Iron Ore Peat Processing Iron Ore Peat Transportation Barge Freight Truck Port Land Use Developed
Minnesota raw mineral production Clays, Sand, Lime, Gravel
1830000
Stone: Dimension Stone: Crushed Sand, Gravel, Construction
16700 110000 188000
Gemstones Peat
7 2850
Iron Ore
2015860 USGS Mineral Commodity Survey 2009 (In thousand dollars)
Port Cargo Volume of Iron Ore (In Tonnes)
Duluth/Superior Harbors Taconite Harbor
Thunder Bay
Marquette Escanaba
40,000,000 20,000,000 10,000,000 5,000,000 2,500,000
Lorain
Chicago Indiana Harbor Gary Burns Harbor
Cleveland
Ashtabula Conneaut
Detroit Toledo
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Fiona Wholey
Whol0001@umn.edu | 612.226.2303 5 Augusta Lane, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55110 Linkedin.com/in/fionawholey | Issue.com/fwholey
Professional Experience 10/2014 - current Minneapolis, MN
Perkins + Will, UMN Research Consortium
12/2011 - 05/2014 Minneapolis, MN
School of Public Health, University of Minnesota: Web Editor
09/2011 - 12/2011 Minneapolis, MN
Habitat for Humanity: House Month Volunteer
04/2009 - 05/2010 London, UK
Urban Design London: Project Officer
08/2009 - 01/2010 London, UK 10/2008 - 02/2009 London, UK
Additional Experience 09/2010 - 02/2011 London, UK 05/2007- 07/2007 Xela, Guatemala
Skill Set
MSRP Research | Building Resilience: A Framework to Assess + Communicate Resilience Development and maintenance of wordpress sites.
Working on a LEED certified house including framing, insulation, porch, and interior finishing
Facilitated urban design training courses and events including visits to the Olympic Park 2012. Developed training material for a green space urban design program and on-line education courses.
SOAS, University of London: Graphic Designer Designed monthly magazine for th
Space Syntax Ltd: Intern
Analysis and mapping of existing and proposed movement routes using GIS and SSx software. Projects: Gummersbach: Urban Baseline, I-VALUL: Mapping the social and economic costs of spatial layouts and SEDUC: Exploring crime and spatial layout
Cobalt Development Services Website (http://www.cobalt-ltd.com/) Always on a Sunday Book cover Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group: Research Volunteer
08/2004 - 09/2004 Kerala, India
Indie-Gries + Water Basins: Construction Volunteer
08/2003 - 09/2003 Cairns, Australia
Conservation Volunteers Australia: Volunteer
Drafting Rhino ••• AutoCad ••• Sketchup ••• Revit ••
Software Photoshop •••• Illustrator •••• Indesign ••••
Other Office •••• WordPress ••• GIS •
Languages English (native) Spanish ••
Education
09/2012 - current Minneapolis, MN
M.Arch, GDIII
06/2011 - 08/2011 Berkeley, CA
[IN]Architecture Summer Program
2007 - 2008 London, UK
MSc Urban Planning, specialism Urban Design
2006 - 2006 Boston, MA
Professional Certificate in Photography
2002 - 2005 York, UK
Fellowships
College of Design, University of Minnesota College of Environmental Design: University of California Berkeley The Bartlett, University College London Dissertation: Perceptions of safety and the More London Development Boston University and the Center for Digital Imaging Arts
References Jeffrey Mandyck jmandyck@cuningham.com Adjunct Professor University of Minnesota GD2 Studio Professor
Nat Madson
mads0132@umn.edu BA Sociology Adjunct Professor University of York University of Minnesota GD1 Studio Professor Dissertation: Western conceptions of the city and how the transition from modern to post-modern society influenced them Mark Engebretson enge@umn.edu AIA Minneapolis Fellowship Communications Manager KKE - Ron Krank Vision Award University of Minnesota Sandy Ritter Fellowship School of Public Health Bruce Abrahamson Graduate Fellowship Manager 12/11 - 09/12