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Architecture Portfolio Nic Hnastchenko Masters of Architecture Kansas State University
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03 ROWHOUSE Manhattan, KS
04 BREWERY Kansas City, MO
05 MAT HOUSING Los Angeles, CA
06 AMPHITHEATER Kansas City, MO
07 PAVILLION Chico, CA
08 TRAIN STACKS Chicago, IL
A three piece building projects from the hillside with a dynamic form that is remiscient of the rwoing motion.
The copper patina screen of the of this brewery contrasts the polished copper tanks to create a space that displays the brewing process for throughout the beer halls.
A mat-pattern typology sprawls throughout the site in Los Angeles to increase density in the city, and increase access to green space for residents.
An amphitheater located on a capped landfill formally draws from the dung beetle, while functioning similar to one.
A park is re-designed through analysis of city parks and carved to provide refuge from the digital world.
A riverside train display explores the history and impact of rail through relics of Chicago’s industrial past and present.
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Solo Works
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Figure 1 Rowers carry their shell below the building to Tuttle Creek Lake.
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Kansas State Rowhouse Manhattan, Kansas Revit | Photoshop 2013
Situated on a sloping site looking out onto Tuttle Creek, the Kansas State Rowhouse features a series of buildings that extend out toward the resevoir and meets the racers as they approach the finish line. Upon entry to the facility, a central corridor runs parallel to the shoreline and connects the three wings. This corridor gives visitors the option to watch the race from the green roof, or the stands on the water’s edge. Cantilevering out over the lake, the first wing features administrative offices, coach and trainer offices, and the team meeting room. The second wing features an indoor rowing tank that looks out onto the lake in the same axis as the races will be held. This connection gives the rowers the effect of being out on the lake while they train. The team locker rooms, excercise equipment, and trainer’s room are located on the lower level of this wing.
The third wing of the building creates a direct connection to the water as it steps down with a terraced viewing area where visitors can watch races. The maintenance and storage garage opens out at water level so that rowers can launch thir shells. The repetition and shifts in form are reminders of the rowing motion and create clerestory windows that project light down the corridors tho bring visitors and athletes towards the water.
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Figure 2 The team room offers a direct connection to the water as it cantilevers over the lake.
Figure 3 Rowers are met by the building at the water’s edge as they approach the finish line.
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Figure 4 Spectators can watch the entire length of the race from the green roof.
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Figure 5 Entry from the Riverside Market leads visitors directly to the skyline deck.
Figure 6 The sunken beer garden provides privacy from the nearby park.
Figure 7 All of the beer halls (garden included) offer views directly into the brewing area.
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Figure 8 A view from Main Street shows the brewery as it cantilevers over the parking area toward downtown Kansas City.
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Hop Box Brewery Kansas City, MO Revit | Photoshop 2013
The Hop Box Brewery in Kansas City, Missouri reflects back on the history of fermentaion tanks and mash tuns that were used in the brewing process. The perforated copper patina sunshading screen clads the building to protect from sun and weathering. Contrasting the mash tuns and fermentation tanks, the facade will patina as the building ages to reach a soft green. The glass encased brewing area shows off the polished copper that insulates the mash and wort throughout the brewing process. The central location within the brewery ensures that these tanks are a on display throughout the beer hall. Located side by side are the brew hall and beer garden that are linked upon opening the retractable wall. A secondary beer hall cantilevers off of the south side of the building
to provide a direct connection to the skyline of Kansas City. The openings in the copper screen frame these views of the skyline and the surrounding areas.
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Figure 9 The beer hall opens directly out into the beer garden.
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Figure 10 Visitors pass by the brewing area on entry.
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Figure 11 Centrally located brewing area is put on display throughout the building.
Figure 12 A cantilevered skyline deck provides views toward the Kansas City skyline.
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Figure 13 A pedestrian bridge connects the neighborhood to Frogtown, and the larger network of green spaces in Los Angeles
Figure 14 Green space.
Figure 15 Housing and vertical circulation (dark purple).
Figure 16 Composite mat diagram.
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Frogtown Mat
“Cities like Los Angeles have developed as vast, mat like fields, where scattered pockets of density are knit together by high speed, high-volume roadways. Their radical scale shifts and extreme social contrast undermine the ability of architecture to mediate these transitions.�
Los Angeles, CA
Using a mat grid, this site in Los Angeles breaks down a 102 acre site in Frogtown of Los Angeles. The mat grid seeks to address the shifts in scale found throughout the city. This is done through the creation of green spaces at scales ranging from the studio apartment to the that of the entire city.
Revit | Rhino | Photoshop 2015
With access to green space and density being a problem within the planning of Los Angeles, this development will provide a density of housing that is close to triple that of the neighborhood across the river, Frogtown. By infilling the connection between two parks with dense housing, a large number
of residents are given access to walkable park space. At the residential scale. every apartment has access to a courtyard and programmed green spaces through a network of walking and biking paths. These tap into the larger network of Los Angeles parks and trails. In exploration of the possible densities on the site, there were unique situations where the removal of a cluster of housing created a larger courtyard piece that allowed for additional program such as swimming pools, larger grilling areas, or lawns for recreation. A similar strategy is used along the river’s edge in the creation of public spaces that double as a flood plain. The pedestrian bridge responds to the mat grid by using the trellis organization of the grid to function as the structural support and beacon of the river gateway.
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Figure 17 Programmed spaces on the river create a buffer to protect the houses from flooding (at +0’, +10’, +25’).
Figure 18 Context within LA.
Figure 19 Site plan.
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Figure 20 Looking through the courtyards.
Figure 21 Pair with open space.
Figure 22 Stack for density.
Figure 23 Rotate for privacy.
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Figure 24 Looking towards the train station from the pedestrian bridge. Views to the green space are framed through an extrusion of the grid.
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Figure 25 Landfill cap traps methane gas.
Figure 26 Methane is used as a fuel source.
Figure 27 Recycled glass agregate pavers.
Figure 28 TiO2 aggregates filter pollutants.
Figure 29 Flexible seating on hydraulics.
Figure 32 Acoustic enclosure.
Figure 30 Terraced seating.
Figure 33 Drop down band shell.
Figure 31 Hydraulic stage for an orchestra.
Figure 34 Drop down acoustic enclosure.
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Figure 35 A sun dial on site guides visitors to the stage.
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Shell Amphitheater Chico, CA Rhino | Illustrator 2014
This amphitheater rethinks the design process through the study of an exoskeleton that is used as a formal basis of the design proposal. An intrigue with Egyptan mythology led to the study of the dung beetle. The dung beetle has credited its survival to recycling. Taking waste and use it as a fuel and central part of life to contribute to the closed loop system that occurs naturally in nature. The Shell Amphitheater is located near Kansas City, on Deffenbaugh Landfill. A site that was unique in its location on the river, and already in the process of being capped and remediated. A sun dial sculpture located on the entry plaza gives visitors a sense of time and subconsciously guides them toward the amphitheater. Below grade pipes tap into the decomposing site and draw methane gas to be converted into
usable energy on site. The amphitheater features adaptable seating, concession stands, a box office, and a learning lab that exhibits the sustaible practices used on site.
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Figure 36 The acoustic enclosure is supported by a steel frame and clad in concrete panels.
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Figure 37 Acoustic panels adapt to each performance.
Figure 38 A sun dial sculpture guides visitors to the amphitheater.
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Figure 39 Using the profi les identified on page 28 and 29, spaces are carved out to create different levels of refuge within the park.
Figure 40 Programmatic elements create space.
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Figure 41 Visitors to the park are visible to the drivers of Street View cars; however, they are not visible to the cameras.
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Carving Chico, CA Rhino 2014
The need to seek refuge is a survival instinct that offers a layer of security. In the current day and age the digital world has invaded our everyday lives through things like Google Street View and Google Earth. Not only is this information available to Google, but they are making this information available to any person who has access to a computer through programs like Google Earth, Google Street View, and Google Maps. This site is a reaction to the overbearing eye of Google. Using Google Street View to look at permeability and refuge within these parks, I found this park in Chico to offer no refuge from the street and city that it is situated in. Responding to this, I sought to rethink this park in a way that provided refuge from the eyes of Google and the entire world.
This is a park that is designed to provide refuge from the digital world. This park was formed through the process of carving. Various programmed spaces are carved with different profiles to create a sequence of overlapping spaces that combine to create hybrid spaces. This project was the culmination of a semester long investigation into city parks and the design principles that made them sucessful. Carving was the operative strategy that was used to create a framework that could then be applied to any of the sites of my investigation.
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Figure 44 Programmatic elements are identified.
Figure 43 Programmatic elements are rearranged and added.
Figure 42 Programmatic elements are grouped.
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Figure 45 Trees around the corners of the park block views into the park.
Figure 46 The center of the park features a large open space for a felxible program (ie. concerts, farmers markets, art fairs and hang-outs).
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Figure 47 Th is profi le carves the circulation spaces and is proportioned to create a hallway based on human scale.
Figure 48 Fountains provides a place for the water to pool, a place for seating, and an opening to the sky.
Figure 49 Parking spaces are shaped to allow for circulation on the street side of the park.
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Figure 50 Th is profi le reflects the shape of the trees on site, and allows for the trees to grow vertically.
Figure 51 Roof top refuge creates an edge condition similar to a railing, as well as a place for seating.
Figure 52 Th is profi le carves spaces of refuge with bench seating, and is elevated from the ground to separate it from street level.
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Figure 53 Overlaps in program create curious and unexpected views into other spaces.
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Figure 54 An axon of the labRift shows how the layers can guide you to the center.
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Figure 55 The silhouette carved through the layers of the labRift provides a diret route to the central oasis. Lost, part 1.
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labRift
Chico, CA Rhino | Oculus Rift 2015
Equipped with a pair of Oculus Rift goggles, I sought to create a maze that would use the operative strategy of carving, and also guide the user to a place of refuge in the park. With the capabilities of the Rift goggles, I was able to take the project that I was designing and virtually place myself within that world. Throughout the process of designing this labyrinth, this ability proved to be a fun way to put my labyrinth to the test and gauge the difficulty of the maze. Beginning with a slightly smaller extrusion of the site compared to the Carving project, I first entered the labRift when it was a colorless world of confusion. In testing the difficulty of this maze with the rift goggles, I found the maze extremely difficult to the point where I spent 30 minutes navigating a loop in the corner of the site.
With a decidedly difficult labRift I became frustrated and thought I would add some color to act as a guide through the maze. These colors are randomized similar to a gobstobber, so as to provide an added layer of confusion. With the proven difficulty (and success!) in navigating the labRift, a sculptural piece was placed as a wayfinding device to guide you through the labRift (and fire escape route). While walking through the labRift, you will find small areas of refuge along your path to the oasis. Along this path you will be reminded of the straight shot to the oasis in the center of the labRift. Will you take the easy route to the oasis? Or will you wander into something unexpected off the beaten path?
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Figure 56 Upon entry you are reminded of the sequence of colors leading to the refuge at the center of the labRift.
Figure 57 Lost, part 3.
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Figure 58 Lost, part 2.
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Figure 59 Programmed spaces (train stacks, farmers market, residential), infrastructure (train stacks, draw bridges, relics of industry), combined.
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Figure 60 Visitors to the park are reminded of the evolution of industry as they walk past historic trains from the city of Chicago.
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Industrial Archeology Chicago, IL Rhino 2016
Discover relics of Chicago’s industrial past and present in this riverside promenade that explores the history and impact of rail. As a city that was built on the innovation of rail, Chicago established itself as the central hub of trains in the early 1900’s which allowed the city to grow alongside rail. However, as industry has changed, the buildings that once housed this industry have been left behind as abandoned ruins. The park at the Train Stacks allows visitors to go back through history as they move along the river. Intermittent ruins and structures allow visitors to discover and interact with remnants of past industry. The Train Stacks open up the riverside for activity through the vertical consolidation of train storage lines. Hydraulic lifts raise and lower trains to be sent off or put in storage.
The brick arches that enclose the train stacks draw back to the language of Chicago’s Grand Central Station, which was located across the river until it was demolished in 1969. The stacking of trains within the brick arcades creates a public display of Metra, CTA, and privately owned trains that are stored and repaired in the facility. As a destination along the park of industrial archeology, the Train Stacks feature a structure that will become an industrial ruin at the end of its life cycle to serve as a monument to the industry that once built Chicago.
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Figure 61 During off times for the market, the space becomes a community plaza.
Figure 62 A suspended brick canopy creates cover for the farmers market.
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Figure 63 Farmers market + park, columns + suspension cables, brick canopy.
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Figure 64 Consolidate train storage.
Figure 65 Open up riverside green space.
Figure 66 Vertical stacking of the trains creates a new building typology for storing trains.
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Figure 67 Brick arches, stacks, trains.
Figure 68 Trails direct pedestrians through the Train Stacks towards the river
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Figure 69 An out-of-service draw bridge offers visitors a view of the skyline.
Figure 70 Riverside green spaces.
Figure 71 Relics of current industry juxtapose ruins of past industry.
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Figure 72 Train Stacks feature an adaptable open space for events.
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Figure 73 Night.
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Resume
Master of Architecture + Minor in Leadership Kansas State University (2015) Perkins + Will Arch II Chicago, IL (2015-Present) ACE Mentor Team Leader Chicago, IL (2015-Present) Helix Architecture + Design Architecture Intern Kansas City, MO (2013) design-LLC Architecture Intern Minneapolis, MN (2013)