SELECTED WORKS Adaptive Porosity 01 location: la carpio, mexico typology: water treatment plant square footage: 46,500 sf KIPP Discovery 09 houston, texas k-12 KIPP campus 150,000 sf school designer k-12 design competition Emergent Surfaces 15 chicago, illinois aquatic center 185,000 sf acsa/aisc student design competition Safe Weave 19 rockport, texas archery pavilion 175 sf G_Mod 25 varies sitting area varies Recursive Topography 29 varies urban pavilion varies
ADAPTIVE POROSITY The project was driven by a thorough analysis of the social needs of the La Carpio community in Mexico. The demographics of this need-based project suggests that the community and its site were ideal for a water treatment plant. The social and economic impact of such a grandiose project was also strategic as it was intended to aid in the economic growth of the community at large, as well as, the very health of its inhabitants. The building itself was envisioned to function on multiple social levels which would help revive the poverty stricken community through the act of purifying water. It futher challenged the idea of building enclosure by exploring new techniques in building skin as a performative ventilation and daylighting system for a water treatment plant, which is normally exposed directly to air. The aperture driven facades allow the facility to maintain its porosity according to program and function. The changing facades of the plant directly relate to the functions of each tank in plan and section. Furthermore, it demonstrates sustainable ideas such as solar energy, water collection, and planting beds in order to educate the community on local sustainable ideas and in turn, create a more stable economy for the La Carpio community.
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1. Intake Facility 2. Pump Station 3. Filtration Bed 4. Collection Tank 5. Intake Screens 6. Rapid Mix 7. Flocculation Tanks 8. Sedimentation Basin 9. Underground Clearwell Storage Tank 10. Disposal Tank
9 9 The topography of the site was extreme in elevation change. The project took advantage of these natural conditions and incorporated it into the process of filtration for the water treatment facility. Only one pump is used to draw water from the local water supply to the facility which carries thousands of gallons per day. Gravity is what facilitates the processes in each tank as it is the driving force behind pushing water from one treatment tank to the other. A series of program variations were generated to study the flow and process of each tank and its relationship to the overall process. A linear scheme was devised as it was the most appropriate due to shift in terrain and organization of program.
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The variations in facade schemes are in direct relation to plan. The apertures allow air and natural light in according to environmental conditions, time of day, and process of filtration being performed. The worker is not only in control of the management of water filtration but also in the direct relationship of user to facade and its affects on interior program. The aperture of a camera lens was initially studied to understand the shutter mechanism behind how a camera zooms in and out. The component expands (opens and closes) like a camera lens with a circular motion. Each cluster of apertures has been group and is controlled by a wheel. aperture radii
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Interior rendering of the water treatment plant showing the relationship of roof to program and exterior skin to facade. The contrast of material effects are great on the interior as one helps to ventilate the interior and the other diffuses light.
The performance of this facade with its interactive characteristics is essential to bringing awareness to the La Carpio community on sustainable design. From these small examples of component driven natural daylighting and ventilation systems to the idea of building skin becoming structure and helping in the management of water, all demonstrate acts of sustainability that can be applied to the daily lives of the La Carpio community. It was intended that the building be accessible by the community in order for them to understand how sustainablity, and the management of water can positively affect their lives.
Section 1 is a horizontal disection of the plan. It is intended to show the direct relationship of plan to facade. The aperture driven facades create various conditions of porosity which change according to process and time of day. Both facades --East and West facing are dictated by a series of manual wheels which allow the worker to adjust the daylighting and ventiliation of the water treatment plant as needed.
aperture
steel tubing
agricultural fabric
internal skin
With one component, the variation in aperture radii is vast. Each of the two facades acts independently of the other which continuously accomodates changes to its surrounding environmental conditions. The interactive facade allows for this flexibility of worker and also user as it was intended to also cater to the community as a facility which aids the growth of the economy.
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Wall Section
solar panels open air ventilation planter water collection Section 2 shows a lateral vertical cut through plan. The structural skin of the building envelope, although Also component driven, the roof of the facility is composed of a series of structural cones which alternate in diameter and support the program on top. The be adjusted according to the conditions of the water treatment plant.
The roof of the water treatment plant has been designed to interchangeable elements. Each of the four zones shown in plan view are essential to sustainable ideas on rain water collection, natural ventilation. energy plant air water
KIPP DISCOVERY KIPP--�knowledge is power program�--is a foundation which caters to the needs of underprivileged children ages k-12. The campus was conceptualized as a collaborative learning and exploration center. From curriculum to classroom layout to performance of the building itself, all unite under one fundamental concept of learning by doing. The openness of plan with emphasis on classroom as an indoor and/or outdoor space wwwconnected the campus as a discovery center, and gave opportunites for the community to use the campus as an urban park after hours. The curriculum of the campus aimed towards the idea of sustainable sciences in which the building and its classrooms would serve to be grounds for experimentation and discovery. The design of building skin, as a highly developed sustainable feature, was incorporated to enhance the performative curriculum of the education center.
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The circulation of the project has been integrated horizontally as well as vertically. The project is composed of two major ramps that allow for students to easily transition from indoor to outdoor space. Classroom space has not been limited to the building itself, but rather the campus has been designed with an open plan --in order to encourage the outdoor environment. The interchangeable space allows for the modication of program with regards to different classroom layouts and also accomodations the community by creating a park-like environment.
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Schematic models of the site and possible building parti.
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a. parking b. performance space c. high school classrooms/lab d. cafeteria e. elementary f. middle school g. theater h. pick up area i. drop off area
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a. office/counseling center b. classroom/lab c. cafeteria d. playground e. ramp f. middle school
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a. classroom/lab b. roofscape c. public library d. landscape e. retention pond a
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section 1
Sections 1 and 2 are verticle cross sections through the building. The structure of the education center was designed to be lightweight and to span long distances. Hollow extruded cones which vary in height and depth were used to achieve this. Through this dissection of space, one can see the overlap of program and the permeability of space.
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Perspective 1 shows the entrance to the education center. The landscape was designed to feed into the building and blurr the distinction between indoor and outdoor space. This was necessary as the facility is also used as a community center after hours.
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prefabricated steel frame
agricultural fabric planting bed
structural skin component: aluminum steel structural cones prefab frame agricultural fabric
insulation layer
Perspective 2 is intended to show the circulation of the site, scale of the project and relationship to surrounding program--middle school and elementary school.
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Emergent Surfaces The aquatic center, located in an urban context, was envisioned to become an environment which catered to existing public areas and for visitors of the aquatic center. The idea in which adaptability is a prime factor to its coexistence with the aquatic center, the landscape was designed in order to enhace the affectiveness of the building itself by designing the building inside an urban park. The approach was to create a site, not just an aquatic center, which was more of an outdoor community center versus one which was strictly indoors. Importance was given to the overall design of the aquatic center, as well as the site itself. A constant dialogue was to be met between indoor and outdoor space by the use of contours that merge and submerge through the effect of layering. The distinction between building and landscape has been blurred to be inclusive of the other.
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The site plan of the aquatic center depicts the various components of program which relate to both interior and exterior. The site has been incorporated to include the specific programmatic elements required for the aquatic center (lap pool, diving pool, locker room, etc) with the expansion of program due to landscape and outdoor activies. The building and site has been designed so that it can function on multiple levels all year round. Exterior renderings showing urban context
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West Elevation
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ARCHERY PAVILION Camp Aranzazu is a non-profit facility that provides camp-like experience for children with disabilities. In conjunction with e-fab studio 5500, the aim of this archery pavilion was to create an environment where the user was independent in getting in and around the site for shooting arrows. The project called for extensive field research on how an individual who is physically impaired can play and be safe. Our team of four, designed with particular attention to texture and touch as it was the one sense that all who were impaired had in common. Each part of the program has been fabricated with the intention of easy assembly and adaptability to site and number of users. My personal contribution to the pavilion was the “protective wall� which was designed to shield
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Just as the components were designed to be assembled and disassembled with ease, each station was also visualized to stand indepently and be reconstructed on any site. Texture types of hard and soft scapes were also used to create the site in order to set navigation paths for those children who are physically impaired.
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1. Structure Frame and Seating The frame and seating of the pavilion were designed for easy assemblage. The frame in particular was designed to be fabricated with only three parts and to be fit into one another. The seating required one component which was multipled to accomodate more or less seating in the pavilion.
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2. Partition For this project, the partition was visualized as a surface with a program, rather than creating separate components for each requirement. The partition is composed of a series of frames that accomodate different functions of the program: quiver, bow stand, physical partition, and movement impediment.
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The fabrication process involved investigations with folded plates and bending wood. The folded plate investigations were done with cork, as it was very pliable. The cork was then coated wth polyurethane. The bent, laminated plywood was molded with the aid of molds made specifically for this project. Ultimately, the material investigations led to heat formed acrylic, as its impermeability and durability were deemed as most appropriate for the component.
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3. Protective Screen Spectator seating was a restriction due to site. I decided to place the observer seating along the length of the archery pavilion. This posed a series of problems, the most important, being the protection of its observers. I designed a wall which was composed of a series of structural cells which would form a protective barrier between shooter and spectator without distracting view.
courtesy of biothing
courtesy of biothing
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PHYSIO-LOGICAL DESIGN WORKSHOP architectural association summer dlab 2009 toni kotnik & lorenz laucheur final group presentation Digital design doesn’t mean working in virtual space but rather informing the physical reality of buildings and materials, production process, and assembly logic. That is why the workshop on physico-logical design was engaged with the question of permeability of the threshold between the physical and the digital realm. Such permeability is procreated by an exchange of data which itself is dependent on the formalization of inherent geometric relationships between different elements of the design. In the workshop the process of abstraction of physical phenomena was exemplified by an investigation into patterns of movement of bodies in space and the architectural utilization of these patterns by means of parametric and geometric variation. Explorations into patterns of birds wing movements and flight were of particular interest to us. We artifically recreated an instrument which mimicked the stages of movement during flight, carefully mapping how each joint would respond to the other. We discovered that each joint not only moved two-dimensionally but three dimensionally as well. With this investigation, we decided to carry on with the notion of mapping movement by focusing on the human as a specimen. We furthermore analyzed sitting postures of an average human-being, parametrically modelled in Grasshopper, and created two programmed surfaces which emerged as one sitting surface. 26
Adjusting curves to postures
Controlling curvature for overall structure
surface of ribs
surface of foam
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RECURSIVE TOPOGRAPHY Studio focused on environmental fabrication through the use of wasted material. Rubber was ultilized as it was found to be a biproduct of producing gaskets. The material gave great flexibility in program and ideas on the adaptability of space. A weaving technique using wire was imployed as a constraint and also a construction technique to allow the structure to be self sustainable. The original intention of the program was to design a mechanically driven screening system which would provide shading, daylighting, and cooling. As more investigations continued, the variation in patterning and form gave insight into larger program or urban space. The investigations into component driven systems drove the essence of this project. The adaptibility of program defined by user was key to the concept of this project. It was designed so the movement of space would be dictated by the people who used the facility --completely mobile and adaptive to its surroundings and climate this urban space would morph like an organism according to spatial need defined by user and community.
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schematic surface studies
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of urban space. the component driven project can expand in both the x and y direction catering
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Husna Ahmed mobile: 832.549.9864 email address: hsahmed08@gmail.com mailing address: 3010 Grand Elm Circle Houston, Texas 77068