SE LE O FR S GE II PA ME ED LU C T VO M
j ea nie vo lume
fa n ii
po r t fo l io 2010
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nectorium | Nectarium
Design Proposal Story Boards
Nectorium | nectarium
Graduate Adv. Studio Fall 2011 Technological and scientific advancements in the post War World II society and globalization have led to a dominant contemporary attitude that everything is attainable, everything has to be instantaneous, and everything can be acquired. We are brought up to believe that our needs and demands can be infinite, and we have rights not only to acquire our every whim, but also demand it in a snap of fingers. To ask us to wait, or to consume only for necessity, is almost unthinkable. Under this premise, I propose a spiritual space for the 21st century to revolve around the idea of The Forbidden, articulated and experienced in the form of a conservatory with a botanical garden. The idea that something at the heart of the project needs to be sought and cannot be acquired will augment the visitors’ desire and awareness. The experience will inspire and awaken them to speculate on their lives of abundant desires and conquests, and reflect
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on their daily transgressions. The project consists of a Nectorium and a Nectarium, hypothetically located on the southeast coast of the Greek island Thassos, across from an ancient white marble quarry. The Nectorium is a conservatory, a temple for safe-keeping The Forbidden, which is a collection of nectar 3
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from native flowering plants curated in the botanical garden, the Nectarium. Nectar is a sweet liquid secreted by flowering plants to attract pollinators. Humans consume a derivative of nectar processed by bees – honey. Nectar, the desired drink of the Olympian Gods, is forbidden to humans. Completely exploiting the nature of human curiosity and mythological fantasies, the temple and garden invite
1/ Design Proposal Story Boards, originally presented in a PowerPoint slide show. 2/ Looking up from aroma chamber in the Nectorium.
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3/ Location maps and landscape plans. Drawing credit: Dimitra Theochari.
19 Thassos Island in Greece
nectorium | Nectarium
Aliki Peninsula on Thassos Island
4, 5/ Site diagrams. 6/ Nectorium Site Plan. 7/ Nectorium Floor Plans and circulation diagram.
visitors to desire The Forbidden, to seek it, and to enjoy its aroma, but prohibit visitors from obtaining it. The white-marble Nectorium sits on the brow of a cleared white-marble hilltop in a walled compound, adjacent to the productive land of the Nectarium, terraced and cultivated with the precision and decisiveness exercised when mining a quarry. The temple takes the abstracted form of ancient Roman amphorae. Each chimneylike ‘cell’ in the structure creates a stack effect that draws aromas up from the nectar stored in the sunken nectar-well. In the nectarwells, visitors can sit and enjoy the aromas. Next to the temple is a polished, articulated marble mount in place of the existing pinnacle, reemphasizing the dipole relationship of garden and temple, nature and man-made object, landscape and architecture, and the growing ambiguity of the two.
Project site plan, planting pattern for spring and summer shown in green.
Project site plan, planting pattern for fall and winter shown in green.
Circulation 1
Entry from Nectarium
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Visitor Center & Offices
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Entry Path
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Marble Mount
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Temple Podium Level
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Reflecting Pool
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Nectar Chamber Level
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Grand Stairs and Path to ocean
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below
10 Ramp to Observatory
Project Landscape Design: Dimitra Theochari.
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Initial Site Analysis
Triangulated relationship among 1. Garden, 2. Conservatory, and 3. Ancient Quarry.
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11 Observatory 12 Suspended Metal Exit Path
Nectorium Site Plan and Floor Plans with circulation disgram.
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8/ Nectorium and reflection pool on a mid spring morning. 9/ Form study research and models, page 22-23 bottom. 10/ Nectorium aerial view at sunrise.
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nectorium | Nectarium
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nectorium | Nectarium
11/ Nectorium interior view and experience; visitors walking by nectarwell.
Page 26-27 13/ View along conservatory entry path, looking south-west.
12/ Nectorium interior view and experience; visitors enjoying the fragrance of nectar in aroma chamber.
14/ Nectorium East-West Section. 15/ Nectorium at dusk. 16/ Nectorium West Elevation.
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nectorium | Nectarium
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17/ Ceremonial procession back to Nectorium after nectar gathering at sunrise. Ceremony occurs at change of seasons. 18-20/ Design model; card boards and museum board, 3D-printed Nectorium building mass.
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nectorium | Nectarium
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analytical studies
21/ Experience and atmosphere in Nectarium--the botanical garden. Drawing Contribution: Dimitra Theochari. 22/ Nectarium terraces and Nectorium beyond. Drawing Contribution: Dimitra Theochari. 23/ Design Sketch. Drawing credit: Dimitra Theochari.
Mapping Graduate Studio Fall 2010 This composition is mapping the experience of my first site visit at the LBJ Wildflower Center. It was a preparation to one of our studio projects. The Wildflower Center was manicured; almost any direction one turns on the trail is a perfectly framed view. It was not “wild” as its name implied; it was rather picturesque. Under the broad Texas sky with spotty clouds, it reminded me of Monet’s “Field of Poppies” paintings. Part of our visit was a guided tour with one of the senior researcher at the Center, thus the visit was also extremely informative. The Wildflower Center is manicured with Control-Burn; it keeps the plant growths cycles in check and prevents wild fires in the Texas climate. The Wildflower Center is also an outdoor laboratory for the various ecological studies. Phytoremediation was one of the top studies on the researchers’ agendas.
SE LE O FR S GE I PA ME ED LU C T VO M
j e a n i e fa n p o rt f o l i o vo lu m e i 1 9 9 9 - 2 0 1 0
HUDSON
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PA N O S
SITE DIAGRAM
H OU S E
Location: Healdsburg, California
The Hudson-Panos House was designed as a vacation home
country rolling hills. To take advantage of the characteristics
Design/Completion: Dec. 2006 to Oct. 2008
for a young family, who lives in San Francisco. This was
of the site, the house is mostly ‘opaque’ to the south, and
also one of my first major projects with Swatt Architects;
‘transparent’ to the north. The plan consists of 2 parallel
Type: New single family vacation home
I worked closely with the principal Robert Swatt through
wings that are slightly offset to create a linear courtyard, and
Lot Area: 9.6 acres
all phases, and managed every aspect of the project, from
are connected by a solid service-core. A large two-story vol-
Building Area: 2900 sq ft livable area with 680 sq ft carport
developing drawings to facilitating communications. Prior to
ume with clerestory glazing over the public spaces creates an
the Hudson-Panos House, I had participated in numerous
vertical counterpoint the the mostly horizontal design, and
Budget: 1.6 million
projects in the office, and had earned the principals’ trust
bathes the interior with natural light. The detached carport
Awards: 2008 Western Red Cedar Awards, Citation Award
with my diligence and meticulousness.
anchors the east side of the house, and a 50 feet long swim-
Notable Points: This house is entirely off the main electricity grid. Electricity is provided by a 3.4 KW photovoltaic array. located on the upper roof, and a 5 KW battery back-up system.
The Hudson-Panos House is set on a long, slender knoll on
BUILDING DIAGRAM II
BUILDING DIAGRAMS I
ming pool terminates the linear composition to the west.
a 9 acres hillside property. The knoll, running east-west, is
Besides getting a thorough education on the construction
bordered by a forest of trees on the east, south, and west
process of a house, most importantly, this project taught me
side, to the north is an unobstructed view of the wine
the spatial qualities of light.
Project Role: Project Architect • assisted principal architect through all design phases: made model, researched codes, developed drawings, assembled Design Review packages
MASSING
• produced and managed Construction Documents: produced 80% of document set, while assisted by a teammate for the remaining 20%, coordinated with consultants, managed data flow • assisted principal architect through Construction Administration: coordinated meetings, managed paper work flow, developed supplemental sketches, solved on site problems. • managed all clients and architect communications: assisted clients through all stages of decision making, from selecting interior finishes to plumbing fixtures, to selecting furniture and arranging furniture at the very end.
SECTION ANALYSIS
south
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STUDY MODEL
north
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Page 4 Lower Left: East elevation and entry courtyard. Courtyard is covered in granite gravel, and post stones mark the rhythm of one’s progression through the space. Landscape design by Lya Gomez.
Right: Construction photographs
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Lower Right: Living room with entry beyond, and upper level landing above. Entry canopy from the exterior is extended into the house, creating a sense of compression before one enters the double height space at the living and dining room. D
Page 5 Left: Design diagrams done by me, to illustrate my understanding of the project, and how I perceived the principal architect’s design.
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Right: West elevation at dusk.
Top Left: Upper level and lower level floor plans. Top Right: Design sketches, studying the exposed glue-lam beams. A fireplace was originally planned for the house between the living and dining room, but was deleted during construction. The clients loved the spaces even more without it. Right: East wing and entry courtyard. 16
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Right: Design Development sketches. As the Project Architect, I took the lead on interior designs. To the right are some of the design sketches developed and used during the Design Development phase. These sketches, though not entirely accurate, were most helpful to the clients, since most of the time they did not understand our 2 dimensional drawings. To the far right are the key materials and fixtures used in the project. I also helped propose and select materials and fixtures for the house, and held the clients’ hands through every step and decision.
STUCCO P-GRAVEL
PAINT
ALUM. WINDOW EXTERIOR
METAL CLAD WOOD WINDOWS
CEDAR SIDING
DOUG FIR WINDOW INTERIOR
MAPLE CABINETS
Right: Custom interior details. One of the main features of this house is its exposed structure. And to make the exposed glue-laminated beams look nice and be consistent with our design intents, a series of custom interior details were developed. These were critical details that could have either make or break the design. We insisted on making the face of the glue-lam flush with the finished sheet rock, thus the contractors had to make careful calculations for their framings. One of the most unusual detail is how we set the tracks for track lighting to lit the spaces. Instead of hanging the tracks from the bottom of the beams, which is the most common way to solve the problem, our tracks are set above the beams, in between the ceiling boards. Although it caused a lot of complains from the contractors, the result was beautiful.
CESAR STONE COUNTERTOP BELMONT STONE FLOOR TILE
BATH TILE 1
EXTERIOR LIGHTS
BATH TILE II, III, & IV
BOCCI DINING ROOM LIGHT FIXTURE
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Right: View of interior from living room. The house is entirely open to its environment, blurring the boundary between inside and outside. Dining room is open to patios on both north and south side. The west end wall of the house on the lower level is a series of bi-fold doors. When these doors are open, the kitchen opens up to the pool, and becomes an “outdoor” kitchen.
Top Left: View of living room from dining room. Top Right: Kitchen. Exposed structure makes running ducts and flues difficult. A flowing sheetrock soffit, detailed as an extension from the wall, hides the flue of the cook top vent hood.
Left: North elevation photo montage. Due to the steep slope to the north of the house, it is almost impossible to photograph this north façade. This montage shows the linearity of the house.
Bottom Left: Master bedroom looking west. Master bedroom has its own private terrace that over looks the view to the north. Bottom Right: Dining room at night. Fire pit at north dining patio completes the outdoor country living.
Professional photography by Russell Abraham 20
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T E A
HOU S E S
Location: Silicon Valley, California
The Tea Houses started years ago when I was still an intern
in the construction of the ‘box.’ Swatt agreed, expressing the
Design/Completion: Fall 2002 to Summer 2009
at the office. The client first come to my boss for an exten-
profile of the I-beam tells one how tea houses were made.
sive remodeling of his 6000 square feet house, then during
My careful construction of the glazing on the model with
Type: Pavilion
the remodel, he told my boss his desire for a pavilion on his
plexiglass became the minimalist frameless look that the ac-
Lot Area: 2 acres
2-acre property, a place where he could retreat into nature,
tual construction was striving for. This model was one of the
Building Area: 1134 total sq ft; ‘meditation’ tea house: 270 sq ft; ‘sleeping’ tea house: 372 sq ft; ‘visioning’ tea house: 492 sq ft
away from the main house. The vision was realized as three
reasons that got me my first job right after graduation.
Awards: 2009 AIACC Design Awards, Merit Award
intern from my school’s internship program. At the time, the
Project Role: Design Assistant
and small scale design models had been made, the direction
• assisted principal architect through design phase: made model, drafted building, designed graphics and montage
for the design was clear, but not everything was worked out.
• how I made the model had many influence on how the project as detailed and constructed in reality
tern, there was little expectation for me to deliver any actual
Top: The three tea houses each has its own unique purpose. In the top photo is the east elevation of the ‘sleeping’ tea houses, a place for overnight stays. Bathing in the morning sunshine, the tea house almost disappears into the landscape. Bottom: .Connected to the ‘sleeping’ tea house by a service bridge is the ‘visioning’ tea house, seen in bottom photo. The ‘visioning’ tea house is for intimate gatherings and creative thinking.
tea houses. In the spring of 2003, I was sent to Swatt Architects as an tea houses were still in their infant stage; various sketches
One of my assignments was to build a 1/4” scale model of the three tea houses from a set of schematic plans. As an inwork that could be used for the job. However, my diligence, my craftsmanship, and my meticulousness surprised my boss and won his attention. Although I didn’t participate in the later phases of the project, how I made the model had many influences on how the project was detailed and constructed in reality. I studied the office’s previous work, and felt that I had an instinctive understanding of Robert Swatt’s work. So when he told me that the tea houses would be lifted off from the ground by concrete towers, I added a small detail to my model: scoring evenly spaced horizontal lines on the gray museum board to represent board-form concrete. He agreed, the tower should be board-formed. When he told me the tea house ‘boxes’ would be steel framed, I took the liberty and decided that these would be I-beams, and expressed them 30
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Right: Construction details and model photo. These were the details that made the construction possible, and they made the finished building look almost just like the model. The simplicity was deceiving. The model photo gives a better view and understanding of the placement of the tea houses. In the foreground is the ‘meditation’ tea house. Behind are the ‘sleeping’ tea house and the master bath corridor that connects to the ‘visioning’ tea house.
Top Left: ‘Visioning’ tea house with its patio doors open, facing view to the south. Bottom Left: Model photo, south elevation. The Tea Houses model became the most traveled model in the office, it has been displayed in book signings, various meetings and professional functions.
details by project team
Far Right Top and Bottom: These are some of the earlier graphics and montage I did for the office. The elevation and plan composition was used in the firm’s first monograph and subsequent publications. The montage was a graphic technique that had never been tried in the history of the office: I created a 3D view from a photograph of the model. While most other offices were going heavily on 3D computer rendering, my office valued a lot on handcrafted design models. This simple technique allowed me to kill two birds with one stone.
Professional photography by Timothy Griffith 32
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H O US E S
Location: Sunol, California
The Fischer-Rice House is currently under construction; it is
Green Home, but we took the matters into our own hands,
Design/Completion: May. 2008, projected to be completed by May. 2010
about 50% complete. Changes are happening everyday on
and make intelligent decisions on what is applicable and
the job site, the following construction photographs will be-
practical for our project.
Type: New single family home
come obsolete almost as soon as I complete this portfolio.
Lot Area: 5.33 acres Building Area: 4072 sq ft building area with 2-car detached carport Budget: 1.67 million Project Role: Project Architect • assisted principal architect through all design phases: made model, researched codes, developed drawings, assembled Design Review packages and attended DR meetings • produced and managed Construction Documents: produced 100% of the document set, coordinated with consultants and their drawings • assisted principal architect through Construction Administration, sometimes performed site visits on my own: coordinated meetings, managed paper work flow, developed supplemental sketches, solved on site problems.
When this project is finished, the clients will not have plaque
The clients for this new home are a retired couple, who are
or certificate on their wall, but they will have a beautiful,
building their dream home with their hard earn savings. The
comfortable home, with many of the features that
clients first came to us seeking to build a LEED or Green-
are inherent in any Swatt houses but listed on
Point Rated certified house. With a background in bio-tech-
the Green checklists as Green building criteria.
nology and being extremely environmentally conscious Bay
What I realized is, in order to make a signifi-
Area residents, our clients had high goals, they were aiming
cant step forward on sustainable design and
to achieve at least LEED Gold certification or 250 points on
construction, we the architects must take
GreenPoint Rated checklist. However, as the project contin-
the biggest responsibility at making a
ued, while the planning and design of house sailed smoothly,
difference, it should not be left
the projected fees and material costs to obtain any of the
for a third party to ‘qualify’
Green certifications became overwhelming. With an abso-
our work
drawing by Robert Swatt
FISCHER- H O U S E
WEST ELEVATION RENDERING
lutely fixed budget--whatever the clients have in their savings and retirement fund, and they do not wish to work again, every penny has to be spent wisely. This was an eye-opening
WEST FAÇADE
experience for everyone on the team! And it was a reality check on the practicality of these green building checklists. We all care about the planet, we didn’t give up on building a
• managed all clients and architect communications: assisted clients through all stages of decision making, from selecting interior finishes to plumbing fixtures
EAST FAÇADE
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Top: Simplified lower level floor plan from construction document.
Top: Simplified upper level floor plan from construction document.
Bottom: Building analysis diagrams done by me base on my understanding of the project. One of the most dynamic features of this house is the interlocking of its various spaces, both laterally and vertically.
Bottom Left: Site photo and model montage, showing the one possible view of the finish house from the main street. A series of similar site photo montage were prepared for the Design Review, they helped us win our case.
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Bottom Right: Selected perspective sketches from Design Development design boards, along with clippings from magazines and catalogs, showing our design intends and suggesting fixtures selections. As the Project Architect, I took the lead on interior designs. This was a similar exercise I did for the Hudson-Panos House, but this time I have improved my sketches greatly. In addition, I’ve put these sketches and images onto 18x24 card stocks, so the clients can take them home and travel with them as they go shopping. Although some of the designs have changed over time, these sketches proved to be very helpful.
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Bottom: Model photos and detail keys.
Left and Top Right: Interior details. Left top and bottom are plan and section of fireplace. Far right is a section of the most complicated wall in the entire house--the media room wall. Interior detailing has become very natural to me after years of training. Shown on the right are details of the two most complex element in the Fischer-Rice House.
Right: Roof edge and exterior detail. The most important design element of this project happens along the roof edges. Shown on the right are 4 typical details, some of them have slight variations. Unlike our previous projects, this house has many flush conditions at roof and wall connections. Besides waterproofing, all exterior material have different thickness at various condition, a lot of careful planning is required to achieve the look we are after. Furthermore, when changing the material from stucco to wood, the most important detail is to seal or use a reveal molding to separate the 2 materials, otherwise, the stucco will tint the wood along the edges. Detail 5 is a typical detail for such transition.
Bottom: Interior photograph. View of house from stair tower, looking toward Living Room. Media/Family Room to the left, 2-story Dining Room to the right, and, with Living Room beyond and Upper Level brdge above in foreground.
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