Jeffrey Adam Ury Growing up in a construction family, I have been building since I was a child. I’ve been on job sites for as long as I can remember and it became clear to me that designing rather than building was my dream. The first step towards reaching my dream was graduating with my Bachelors of Science in Architecture from Kent State University. I learned to love not only architecture but design in all forms. Since graduating, I’ve started to design and build my own furniture that I display throughout my house. Now, as I begin my internships, I look forward to learning and contributing in an office setting. As I continue my education on both the academic and professional planes, I move further towards my dream of becoming an architect.
projects year year year year year
4.2 4.1 4.1 3.2 3.1
01 02 03 04 05 06
IDC Competition Habitat for Humanity Photography House Gastronomy Center Youth Hostel Photography/Sketches
IDC CompeƟƟon
01
Instructor: Joe Ferut Partner: Alex Smith Site: Cleveland, Ohio
Kent State’s annual design competition between senior studios is the culmination of four years of education. The 2013 project was a mixed use headquarters for an international corporation. The project was a 225,000 square foot mid-rise building. The corporation chosen; a crowd-funding business incubator. The building houses corporate offices, rentable space, residences and labs for entrepreneurs and a retail and lobby space on the main floor. Stringent methods were used to ensure that designs are as “green” as possible.
The project houses not only a corporation but fits into a master plan created to develop the currently under utilized Cleveland lake shore. While specific client needs and goals were laid out, keeping in mind that the site was to become a very public area is very important. A connection to the building and its surroundings became a major design element.
The building was skinned with a flush glazing curtain wall system. 40% glazing over the entire facade was used as the optimal solid to glazing ratio. The solid panels are Owens Corning vacuum sealed panels at R30 per inch. On Southeast and Southwest facing facades, a bimetal screen covers the surface on a wire grid. These “butterflies� close as the sun hits them to shade the interior from harsh lighting.
program volumes are laid over the site
a 120’ width is maintains optimal daylight
the structure bends and shifts conforming to the site
a connection to the adjacent green site is created.
An intriguing challenge that presented itself was maintaining a connection to the public while assuring the security of our prime users. A space frame structure creates the ceiling of the ground floor. As it bends and fluctuates, it emphasizes important areas of the ground floor. Furthermore, it reaches beyond our site and into a nearby park to allow the public to bridge onto the elevated patio space on the second floor. The entrepreneurs have the option of using the roof space and adjacent park to not only showcase to the public but to test their inventions. The structure is both walkable and the incline creates a natural hillside to sit on during presentations. On the interior, the space frame fractures and rises to reveal views into the labs from the lobby. Even inside the building, the user to public connection is not broken.
Habitat for Humanity
02
Instructor: Jack Hawk Partner: Alex Smith Site: Salem, Ohio
Kent State partnered with the Salem branch of Habitat for Humanity for new ideas in their housing line. The classic layouts previously used were creating cookie cutter homes. A variety of real sites and conditions were provided. My team was designated a three bedroom, two story home on a pie shaped site. The footprint allowed was 400 square feet. After creating a single floor plan, two iterations of the house were to be designed; a vernacular version that can blend with the current neighborhoods, and a contemporary version which pushes the boundaries of Habitat homes into current architectural trends.
Using HEED, several different construction methods were examined. Habitat for Humanity has its own design guidelines regrading energy rating which are more stringent than ASHRAE has set up in California. The designed wall system utilizing 2x6 insulation and a combination of batt and rigid foam insulations resulted in an approximate R value of 40. Day lighting and grey water reuse also assist in energy efficiency. By testing multiple wall systems and construction styles, the design was able to significantly beat both ASHRAE and Habitat guidelines.
The three bedroom design leaves one bedroom on the ground floor, knowing that many habitat families have special needs members. The top floor has a lofted living space and the two remaining bedrooms. The two story space keeps a visual connection between family members in the house The envelope is what distinguishes the designs. A pitched roof with long eves, shakes and siding, the addition of a front porch and different window trim creates the arts and crafts vernacular. In the contemporary, steel wraps the harsh east and west sides and a warm wood panel system emphasizes the north and south which are much more open.
Photography House
03
Instructor: Jack Hawk Site: Sedona, AZ
For an intense look at designing for climate, the site chosen was in an extreme climate. The desert around Sedona, where the 1000 square foot live/work home would exist experienced a wide range of temperatures and environmental hurdles. The client was an artist with a specific trade. This design is for a photographer. The structure was broken into three main components; a public top floor, a living area with a spare bedroom, and a stand alone master suite. While photography is meant to be framed within the household, the house itself creates framed views of the beautiful scenery around it. These images created by the house change with every passing season. Support was created with stone slabs rising from the mountain. The sites climate and location dominated much of the design components. Thermal mass walls and ceilings were required for maintaining comfortable temperature. Due to its remote location, water must be collected through slanted roofs. Its position on the side of the mountain, allowed the use of stone to support the structure. It also lent itself to embedding the home and HVAC into the ground providing further steady temperatures.
For a photographer, everything is visual. The approach allows some mystery as the drive curves around Schnebly Hill. Visitors enter immediately into the first floor gallery which also houses a dark room, studio setup, and office. Personal friends and family continue down one level into the main living area, and below that is a master suite. The roof of the living and owners suites create outdoor spaces for the first and second floors.
Gastronomy Center
04
Instructor: Paola Giaconia Site: Florence, Italy
Florence, Italy is a Renaissance city with deep cultural roots. Art and architecture are not its only cultural exports, however. Italian food is popular the world over. The project selected for the study abroad semester in Florence was a Gastronomy Center. Focused on teaching students as well as visitors the history, style, and preparation of Italian food, the Center will transform a barren, sun beaten piazza into a mainstay for visitors to the city. The site neighbors an open air market, architecture school and various restaurants and shops. Using the building to separate the area into smaller, multiple use piazzas allows the site to cater to a wide variety of users.
Lines pulled from surrounding buildings
Footprint and piazzas created
building form connecting to neighboring school
access through and around the site
As the site sits, it acts as a broad passage for walking commuters and the occasional moped. The form of the building breaks the site into three smaller piazzas. One piazza for the Dada corporation to the back of the site, a public piazza at the front for visitors from the open air market and a green piazza cradled by the architecture school’s courtyard. The second and third floors of the building house the educational portions of the program and connects to the existing architecture school. This allows the commuter passage to continue from the back to the front of the site. Like much of the city, the area around the site is a mix of residential and commercial use. The perimeter of the piazza is restaurants and the school. As a gastronomy center, the site also benefits from an adjacent fresh air market. Spillover from the market shoppers lends ideal users to the center.
Catholic churches during the renaissance separated common visitors and the elite with rood screens. With much of the site in sunlight through out the day, the interior needs shaded. To showcase a modern cultural movement in Europe, the facade on the ground floor will be temporary screen printings of European street art. This modern take on rood screens will block light coming into the building while allowing views out. At night, the interior lights will fade the screens and allow visitors to see the public activities inside. The screens can be rotated to keep up with art movements. Upper floors will use sliding screens to shade as necessary.
Cleveland Hostel
05
Instructor: Diane Davis-Sikora Site: Ohio City, Cleveland, OH
As Ohio City is the home of the West Side Market, its has always been a major center of food culture. With the addition of micro breweries, galleries and shops, it has grown into a hub for great food, beer, art, music, and film. This Cleveland borough is also home to a 6 acre urban farm. With such a massive cultural draw, a youth hostel was proposed on a triangular site just south of the West Side Market. The hostel consists of 20 rooms of varying sizes, a shared kitchen, lounge spaces, and a cafe. To tie the hostel into the neighborhood, it will act as a community garden allowing residents and visitors to learn about the fresh ingredients that make Ohio City’s restaurants special.
Form fitting site constraints
Angle carrying across site
The site’s orientation does not provide much respite from the sun. The hostel’s longest sides will face east and west. A facade of rotating panels allows the building to close itself off, partially or entirely from the harsh sun or during heavily trafficked hours. This ensures visitors privacy and comfort. The hostel’s lowest floor will act as leisure space for the visitors. Large skylights keep the space daylit. The ground floor consists of offices, a cafe and gardening resources. The rest of the hostel is the two story living space. The roof is stepped to create rooftop gardens. These can be rented by the locals for fresh ingredients. The hostel will maintain its own large plot for visitors.
Creating walkable roof surface
Cutting into form to create entrance
Stepping rooftop and adding facade
photography/sketches
The Arno, Florence, Italy
MAXXI Museum, Rome, Italy
Convention Center, Milan, IT
Downtown from the Hancock Chicago, Illinois
The Devil’s Icebox Nelsons Ledges, Nelson, OH
Mahoning River Trip Newton Falls, OH
Piazza Pitti Florence, Italy
Santa Croce Florence, Italy
San Marco Florence, Italy
Santissima Annunziata Florence, Italy