All images on and within this portfolio were taken and produced by Joseph M. Westcott. Group Projects are included in this with mentioning to contributors.
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Table of Contents Confluence of Experience
1
Broken Grounds
5
Submergence Within Framework
9
Monument Among Fabric
15
Lower Level Design
21
Sketching
23
Conuence of Experience This project is set to explore the Florida landscape. Jay Blanchard Park in East Orlando sits between Dean Road and Rouse Road. It houses a YMCA along with soccer ďŹ elds. Surrounding the site is wildlife and vegetation and cutting through the site is a narrow river made useful by nearby dam. The dam is used also made to work as a path for hikers and bikers who use Jay Blanchard daily.
The program proposed for Jay Blanchard park is made up of three parts. An Educational Research center which houses classrooms to inform and entertain the public while providing workspaces for research on the ecology in and around the river is mapped in the southwest of the site. A canoe launch center that duals as a home and workspace to a canoe-maker is located in the northwest. A facility where canoes traveling downstream can be collected is located in the east near the dam.
Through research, diagramming, and modeling, a unique project based on the circulation of occupants throughout the ecology and wildlife without causing harm was created. This project is meant to better the environment with little to no footprint upon the site it is located in.
Jay Blanchard Park, Orlando Fl. Site Model at 1:16
1
Jay Blanchard Park, Orlando Fl. Site Map
The proposed idea of the three programs was simpliďŹ ed into one, the Educational Research Center. A model of the project was formed by taking one large rectangular form, breaking it into two pieces with a divide in the middle, and shifting them side by side. This structure, located along the rivers edge, is elevated to allow water and life to pass below, creating little opportunity for the structure to inhibit the ecology.
The project is split into two separate parts, laboratories and classrooms. By bringing the ecology within the project, researches and students alike can study the ecology passing through, up close and personal.
Educational Research Center
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Collection
Diagramming the site was done after physically exploring the marshlands along the riverbanks. Three separate diagrams were created, and combined to create a summarized compilation of information. Collection (above) is shown by the way that particles are removed from the river's banks due to the current and are found more centralized in the immediate area after the dam, where the water becomes still and bacteria grows upon the surface of the water. Filtration (center) is displayed by highlighting and diagramming areas where the marsh is overgrown . This is described as filtration due to the positive effects that the marsh has upon the river-scape. Circulation (right) displays the routes that occupants take to travel throughout the site and how the vegetation is centralized in specific areas less traveled. The proposed site plan (below) was created using the diagrams to find a route suited to allow occupants to experience the marshland while not damaging the surrounding ecology.
3
Filtration
Circulation
Due to the amount of rainfall, roofs were manipulated to include a degree of tilt. This ties back into the aspect of collection, bringing it within the project's boundary. The sister buildings are shown below using natural materials such as wood to make up most of the composition. Screens of louvers are placed speciďŹ cally on parts of the building that are exposed to extreme amounts of sunlight in the early of the morning and the late of the day. The screens are set away from the building to allow occupants to still make use of the landscape immediately below the building. Being elevated, marsh and water may grow and pass below the structure, creating little to no footprint upon the surrounding ecology. The section cut allows clear visibility of the space within the research center, as well as the joinery and structure create to support the sister buildings, and the reactions between them.
4
Broken Grounds The city of Seattle houses the site of the urban infill. On the proposed site is an existing building, partly destroyed and demolished due to a fire. It is located on a major intersection with no notable landmarks nearby.
The program proposed for Seattle Urban Infill is a coffee shop and roastery with a work / live space for the staff. The lower levels of the project make up the public space and the upper levels make up the private space. The project takes up nearly 90% of the site with the remaining percentage being used as park space.
This project is meant to value the experience and create a process in which a project can be developed and proposed whilst keeping the overall concept solidified and visible in every aspect of the project. By exploring the site, the city, and the surrounding culture, this project was developed into a urban infill project that is unable to be rebuilt or re purposed for any other site within or outside of the city of Seattle.
5
By constructing bubble diagrams (right), floor plans were created that could fill the available amount of space with an estimate square footage. By placing program and circulation within the diagrams, a final floor plan was able to be created, along with a basic structure for a possible shape of the building.
The concept of the project was based off the coffee producing country of Kenya. Through research, it was understood that Kenya is made up of many tribes, some that have joined with others and some that remain separate. The tribes have regions or boundaries that they have created which they wish to keep outsiders removed from. These native Kenyans are ďŹ ghting to keep outside cultures out to keep their traditions sacred, while outside cultures are trying to only help better the native lives. This produced the concept of breaking into boundaries, intruding on what is already present, relating to the brick wall surrounding the site, and the need to intrude on it and make it better.
6
The project was creating using natural materials among the Seattle region. While taking in account the great Seattle Fire, concrete is used on the exterior symbolizing the great intrusion, being a heavy mass and making the brick seem light. This gives off the feeling of overpowering and monumenting structure.ď€
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The interior of the project uses a mixture between concrete and wood with black steel being used as structural elements. Entering from the street edge, the occupants have immediate view of the back of house areas of the coffee roastery through the use of glass. This helps to place the occupant within the program, giving a feel of intimacy within the project. Continuing down the entry corridor provides of view of the entire first floor, as well as the exterior park space which provides natural light to the public space. There is no space underneath the construct due to the pre-existing Seattle underground. Moving up through the structure, conference rooms and more privatized areas for meetings and gatherings are present. Moving further up is a restricted residential area, away from the publics point of view. This creates a divide between the public and the private, allowing it to also be a work / live space to the employees of the coffee roastery.
Submergence Within Framework Group Project with Peyton Hess Through time spent learning with the University of Florida, studying abroad in Italy, a tower project in Barcelona, Spain was proposed. The project was created to combat the rising need for living space and tourism, created a mixed - use hotel / residential space.
The original pre - existing tower on the site was approximately 400 feet, but was replaced by a tower stretching nearly to 500 feet. The idea behind this project was based upon the city block of Barcelona. The city blocks are similar in shape, creating a grid, typically with a section removed from within it. These removed spaces are used to create life within the buildings, breaking the hard-scape for life to grow within.
This was brought into the tower project by asking the question, how can we bring people within our project, with the culture and vibe or Barcelona? By studying AirBnB's this was done by creating a "world" within it and bringing in aspects such as gyms, restaurants, cultural centers, and even opening up parts of the buildings to public access.
Existing
Proposed
9
The tower is located off the coast with access to the water, marina, beach, and other amenities surrounding. This was taken into account when placing the tower within the landscape, as well the direction of which it faced. By rotating the building to a certain degree, the project was able to gain nearly seventy-ďŹ ve percent of its views towards the water. This was in turn creating a large amount of sun light hitting the building and was again responded to by creating shading devices throughout, giving a system of layering to the facade.
The lower levels of the construct are programmed to be shopping areas on the west wing and conďŹ dence areas on the east wing. The centralized area between the two wings of the project is purposed with the actual hotel, providing circulation for occupants to move up through the tower.
10
The interiors of the project are designed using a mixture between wood and concrete with exposed ceiling. The large curtain walls provide natural lighting throughout the project interiors. The mezzanines above provide spaces for private gatherings and conferences, while the space below is open to the public. A bubble diagram (bottom right) was created to place program throughout the tower. The bubble diagram also gives a sense of scale to the project through both actual sizing as well as importance of the project, with residential spaces being of the most importance. The plan of the tower (below) shows the main routes of access to the tower, responding the surrounding language of the tower. Though the tower is surrounded by a plaza, a native aspect of many areas in Barcelona, the direct routes are made for more high traffic movement.
Interior Render of Lobby Space
Plan of Lower Level
The Section Perspective (left) displays the overall floors, as well as the space created in between the two towers. These two towers are connected by a bridge that passes between. The larger boxes found within the towers contain programs such as gyms, and restaurants, where occupants can go to experience more of the culture of Barcelona.
The shape of the construct was created by manipulating two rectangular shapes. By experimenting through inserting them within each other, overlapping them, and creating spaces between them, the overall shape of the project of the project was created in both plan and section.
Parti Diagrams
Facade of structural and decorative elements
13
Structure
Shell
Facade
The facade of the tower is created through a mixture of vertical and horizontal structural elements. “X” Shaped crossbeams also add to the strength of both structure and facade. Glass windows, mullions, handrails, and pylons create multiple layers that give the facade a depth visible to those outside the tower.
Diagram of Layers, Barcelona Spain
The Barcelona Tower is a monument that only adds to the growing Barcelona Skyline. By placing occupants within the culture it inhabits, it helps to both bring tourism to the city while housing and entertaining them. The growing problem which seems to be welcome is the tourism and crowdedness of Barcelona. The only way to fight it is to accept it and shape it into a positive element. By building the tower, it opens more opportunities to tourism while also helping to contain it. 14
Monument Among Fabric Group Project with Peyton Hess
Creating a city block was the program for the site in Rome. The current site consisted of an empty lot that faces the Tiber river. Set on a slope, the site was originally elevated due to the need to prevent flooding from the river but overtime has become more and more flattened. Population studies were done to begin the project, research the square footage required needed, and the amount of occupants that would fulfill the square footage. Based off of this information, as well as information on the surrounding area, a specific program was decided upon, an Theater with a Performing Arts School and Student Housing.
15
The concept of the project was originally based upon the seven hills of Rome. When Rome was originally inhabited, the hills were built upon with military structures for protection and dominance over the landscape. Due to this, the valleys in between the hills were filled with locals and public space. This brought upon the idea of having seven objects, or structures, and placing them in a specific way that would create a public space in between them.
Researching the Tiber River, it was understood that most of Rome was accessed by River, whether for transportation, trade, or exploration. This brought on the Idea of having direct access to the river, and even having the construct open towards the river. By doing so, a circulation from the river to the street edge was created, as well as the set fields of view for the occupants visiting the site.
Plan Diagram
16
Rome has been known as traditional and has seen to shun many attempts at modern architecture among its city. Even structures by the famed Richard Meier are sometimes frowned upon and are even at risk of being torn down. In an attempt to stay true to the surrounding architectural feel of materials, only materials such as brick, wood, glass, and concrete were chosen to make up the palette of the project, making use of darker metals in speciďŹ c areas facade and structure.
Through studying some of the diagramming techniques of OMA and Rem Koolhaus, the process of section diagramming was done. This helped to discover possible programs that could be ďŹ t within the school and theater that may appease the public and surrounding community. By doing so, the project was able to sustain a program that could be accessed and used by all ages at all times, rather then having a theater open only at night, or a cafe open only during the hours of the morning. The school as well as the rest of facility creates a much larger impact on the surrounding Community.
Material Palette
Section Diagram
17
18
The plan of the theater (left) displays the outer lying circulation moving along the exterior on the side of the river. This is to allow natural lighting to enter the facility while still protecting the theater from just that. The single theater includes a back of house area, as well as conference halls in the upper oors. A large atrium is featured at the entrance through the lobby that provides view to all above levels as well as a mezzanine.
The section cut (below) through the site makes the slight slope through the landscape visible. It also shows the upper levels of the theater featuring the previously mentioned conference halls. In the center of the view, an exterior elevation of the educational aspect of the program is visible. On either side of the construct, a twenty foot road is creating a boundary between the program and the surrounding buildings.
Plan of Theater
Section Cut through Site
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20
Abstract Lower Level Design Studying the ideas of space and the creation of it through tectonic and stereotomic constructs, basic forms of design and construction were created. This way of learning the ideas of space were also helpful in forming a process to creating a concept. Through the study of sound, light, movement, and the senses, abstract forms of construction and architecture were created.
Design I Final, Exodus
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Design I Midterm, T vs. S
Villa Savoye, Le Corbusier, Drawn on Watercolor with Pencil
Studying the projects of the Douglas House by Richard Meier, as well as Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier, ideas of circulation were built upon and made concrete. By creating these large scale drawings ranging from three to six feet, craftsmanship, as well as understanding of the materials and tools were solidiďŹ ed. The ďŹ ve points of architecture were also studied while working on these projects and were then built upon and incorporated into future projects throughout the lower and upper division courses taken afterwards. Douglas House, Richard Meier, Drawn on Mylar with Rapidiograph
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Sketching
The Kolumba, done by Peter Zumthor was another construct that in some aspect encompasses refurbishment. It was built upon a former Gothic church. The idea of the construct is to house the ruins, and bring occupants closer to them while protecting them from damage. A elevated path passes throughout the construct, allowing occupants to view the preserved elements. Along the exterior of the building, parts of the old church are exposed, giving a glimpse to viewers what lies within.
The first Sketching study was done on the Tate Modern which is located in London, England. The Tate Modern was once an electrical plant that was put out of use. Over the course of the last two decades, it has been re purposed and structure to house art galleries. It has also become a space for public gatherings. It consists of the boiler tower, the large central atrium, and the newly added Switch House. Its exterior is composed of mostly brick with the innards lined with concrete and steel.
The Royal Ontario Museum is another form of a Modern Intrusion into a historic structure. The obvious abstract insertion was originally created to be a new entrance but has developed and nearly takes over the museum in which once hosted it. The insertions of the abstract form can be seen through axonometric study, perspective study, as well as section elevation studies.
Shoreham Street by Project Orange is another form of Insertion of a modern Element into a historic structure. Through sketching, the idea was to clearly compare and contrast the new with the existing by showing axonometric sketches, as well as transparent line-work. The project also made use of integrating new structure and old structure through joinery.
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