John Sampson 2016

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JOHN SAMPSON Architecture Portfolio

JOHN M SAMPSON M.ARCH Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning University of Michigan May, 2016 Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies College of Built Environments University of Washington June, 2012 sampsonj@umich.edu 509.551.6647

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CONCRETE POTENTIALS Redefining Traditional Waffle Slab Systems

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WOLVERINE PLACE Redefining Traditional Waffle Slab Systems

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SOCIAL.CIRCLES A Panoptic Living Environment

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WATERWORKS.DETROIT A ParaInfrastructure for the North End

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MUSEO DEL TEVERE Reuniting Rome with the Tiber

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LUNCHBEAT SEATTLE The Workday Dance Break

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CAPITOL CULINARY Merging Education and Nightlife

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FURNITURE STUDIO Creating Heirloom Furniture

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CONCRETE POTENTIALS Redefining Traditional Waffle Slab Systems

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CONCRETE POTENTIALS Redefining Traditional Waffle Slab Systems T A U B M A N C O L L E G E | Thesis 2016 L O C A T I O N | Packard Plant/Detroit P R O F E S S O R | Tsz Yan Ng + Wes McGee T E A M | Wren Kidder

Concrete waffle slab systems came of age during the 20th Century, when innovation was driven by the desire for industrialized eďŹƒciency and regularity. This new system outperformed older, comparable structures through its use of a network of orthogonal ribs, which eďŹƒciently rationalized the labor involved in casting, amount of material used, and overall performance of the slab. Though these advances are still used to this day, a reinterpretation of the latent spatial possibilities of the traditional system will allow for an exploration into new possibilities and iterations of the waffle slab. By pushing back on the normative logic and strict regularity of an orthogonal column grid, our project aims to develop a variegated waffle slab structural system with corresponding spatial effects.

Traditionally, waffle slabs are produced by setting identical void forms on an orthogonal grid, then casting the negative in concrete. This system relies on consistency and replication in order to ensure proper casting. However,

Top: Photos of the Packard Automotive Plant by Scott Hocking illlustrating the derelict state of the once innovative factory. Left: A 3D print of one proposed waffle slab system.

However, advancements in digital fabrication technology now allow for freedom from identical replication, which was not economically feasible due to labor costs. Robotic hot-wire cutting fabricates unique and varied void forms for casting rapidly and accurately, which enables a higher level of complexity and variability in the design of the finished built space. This technique offers the possibility of the formwork to have variable rib depth, thickness, and complex geometries.

The apex of industrial eďŹƒciency, the Packard Automotive Plant in Detroit, is the first reinforced concrete factory. Now derelict, its use

Now derelict, its use of twentieth-century concrete technology provides a clear juxtaposition to the proposed irregular waffle slabs. By inserting a unique waffle slab into the remnants of industrial order, we hope to illustrate the potentials in rethinking standardized systems; combining the logic and eďŹƒciency of mass production with the potential of mass customization and simultaneously, to offer unique designs for inhabitation.

Non Regular Column Alignment

Non Orthogonal Rib Array

Variable Depth

TRADITONAL WAFFLE SLAB

Traditional waffle slabs take advantage of regularity. Even the work by Nervi, which beigns to alter the rectilinearity of waffle slabs, contineues to keep the slab at a constant depth, limiting its structural efficiency.

Traditional waffle slab systems take advantage of the efficiency inherent in repetition. With a regular grid of identical void forms, both the production and installation of the formwork involved in the slab is made more streamlined and effiicient. The strucutrural efficiency is lacking, however. In our system we aim to modify three major characteristics of what makes a waffle slab. The first is the regular spacing of columns. By creating a system that does not depend on regularity in column spacing, new spatial possibilites are

RECONCEPTUALIZED WAFFLE SLAB

made feasible. The second characteristic we modify is the regularity in waffle size. In order to create more variation and structural efficiency, waffle sizes react to their proximity to and size of column.

Our third modification comes in the form of variable slab height.

By allowing slabs to span not only one floor but merge between two, spaces are allowed to open up and interact with their surroundings.

We are also able to achieve porosity in this situation with the added structural support of a curved slab.

Reflected Ceiling Plan

Waflle Slab Section

Reflected Ceiling Plan

Waflle Slab Section

nritory Center Boundary and 1) Territory Column Center Boundary and Column 2) Center Territory Radius Split Into2)Segments TerritoryInRadius Split2) Into Territory Segments Radius In Split Into Segments 3) Territory In Boundary Scaled3)toTerritory SegmentsBoundary Scaled 3) Territory to Segments Boundary Scaled to Segments 4) Rings Divid Max Size Proportion to Distance FromProportion Column to Distance From Proportion Column to Distance From Column

ngs m Size Divided Evenly 4)

By Rings Maximum Divided SizeEvenly By Maximum 5) Rings SizeDivided Into Void Territories 5) Rings Divided Into Void 5) Territories Rings Divided Into Void Territories 6) Void Forms Generated Within 6)Each Void Void Forms Generated6) Within Void Forms Each Void Generated Within Each Void ax Size Outer Ring: 5.5’ Max Size Outer Ring: 5.5’ Territory Territory Territory Center Ring: 4’ Inner Ring: 2.5’

Center Ring: 4’ Inner Ring: 2.5’

Each waffle slab is divided into territories defined by column placement. Depending on proximity to one another, each territory’s size is dependent on the load that each column will take. The territory size also dictates the size of colum. From here, each territory is divided into rings which become more spaced apart with greater distance from the column center. Within each ring, cells are determined by a maximum width, with each ring allowing the cells to be further and furhter spaced apart.

Once each cell is determined, a lofted void form is created including a tapered body to help with demolding and a cap that includees a rounded top. This cap can be altered to give a different appearance to the finished waffle slab or made taller to create a void within the territory. Each territory acts as an of umbrella, with no interaction of forces between territories. Each column takes the load of its territory with the edges having zero moment forces, allowing for the edges to be extremely thin.

Top: Process of territory division.

Right: Process of finding the appropriate depth of each territory.

Territory Rings

Depth Deflection

Surcafe Loft

Void Intersection

Resulting Wafflt

Slab Depth Process

1) Stock Cut

2) Profile Cut

3) Cap Cut

4) Membrane Angle Cut

Void Form Robotic Fabrication Process

Void Form Iterations

Traditional Void Placement

Reconceptualized Void Placement

VOID FORMS LAYOUT Void Form Layout

Foam Cap 1/2” Nut 1/2” Washer Foam Void Form Casting Membrane

1/2” Threaded Rod Foam Void Form Base

Casting Base

1/2” Washer 1/2” Nut

Left: The formwork process is shown with the completed formwork.

Right: An example of a single void form with the plastic casting membrane sandwiched between faom void pieces.

The production of the waffle slab involves placing the robotically cut void forms in their predetermined layout, guided by simple prints of the pattern. The formwork involves first placing the base of each void pieve, secured by a central rod. Next, the plastic membracen is placed over the base forms, creating the varible surface that the concrete will be poured onto. The tops of each void form are then placed, secured by a nut to hold each void form in place during the casting process. On top of this is the cap with

the its rounded top. The cap covers the nut in order to create a clean seam on the finished waffle and also allowing for a secure fit. Concrete is then poured over the formwork to create the finished waffle slab with an even surface on top and a variable surface on the bottom side. The elasticity of the plastic gives a rounded surface to the underside of the waffle, adding to the variable aeshtetic achieved by the system.

Left: The casting process from robotic hotwire cutting to finished waffle slab.

Right: An example of the finished waffle slab with variable depth and waffle shape.

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WOLVERINE PLACE A TOD for a growing Ann Arbor

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WOLVERINE PLACE A TOD for a growing Ann Arbor T A U B M A N C O L L E G E | Fall 2015 L O C A T I O N | Old Town/Ann Arbor P R O F E S S O R | Doug Kelbaugh P A R T N E R | Wesley Herr T E A M | Xiofei Lui, Guido Perla, JakeWright, Cody Newman

Ann Arbor is a bustiling college town and home to the University of Michigan Wolverines. Located just west of Detroit and just a few hours east of Chicago, Ann Arbor proves to be a hotpsot of train activity in the area, shuttling commuters between the two metro regions. As this train traďŹƒc picks up, which Amtrak is expecting, the Ann Arbor station will need to be updated and expanded. In addition to a new station, Amtrak is expecting to add three new tracks to its existing infrastructure of two tracks to expedite traďŹƒc, both

The west end of the development include two office buildings, two residential towers, a senior living center, and a community center and bike shop.

The new development takes over an unsued piece ofl land overlooking the Huron River and takes advantage of major transit networks already in place to form a community flanked by numerous transit options

commuter and passenger. Wolverine Place proposes that this new tran station be located exactly where the old one exists, along with a new Transit Orient Development taking advantage of the prime real estate that exists next to this scale of transit infrastructure. The site is split into three zones--a residential area close to the Huron River that includes some ground floor oďŹƒce and retail space, the expanded train station itself, including a luxury hotel and conference center, and an oďŹƒce zone wih residential buildings ending the axis. The

whole development sit on top of a three level podium which satisfies the parking requirement of 2,000 spaces that Amtrak has issued.

The site takes over a location in the city often overlooked and unused and proposes a dense development to make best use of a beautiful site overlooking the Huron River. Flanked by Kerrytown to the South and the Medical Campus to its east, the development acts as a transition between the residential scale and monumental scale of the hospital.

Typical Senior Living Unit

Typical Skup Stop Unit

Typical residential units. The residential towers are organized as skip stop units, each unit consisiing of two stories. This gives each unit a view of teh river and of the interior street of the development. This also gives each unit both north and south light.

Community Center Ground Floor

THe axis is anchored by a central building that acts as a community center, bike shop, and office space. It also gives space for a public plaza and elevated park. The daycare located in the rear of the structure allows those working in the development to be near to their children

Residential Street Elevations

Elevation from park, including the Green Wall unifying the two residential towers facing the river

Each building facade is treated in similar materials to maintain consistency througout the development, however, each building is made uniue through its morphology. The residential tower to the right is a series of stacked and rotated boxes, the central residential building is developed through a series of facets, and the senior living center at the end of the podium is a made from numerous pushes and pulls.

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SOCIAL.CIRCLES A Panoptic Living Environment

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SOCIAL.CIRLCES A Panoptic Living Environment T A U B M A N C O L L E G E | Winter 2015 L O C A T I O N | North End/Detroit P R O F E S S O R | Joel Schmidt + Liz Skrisson T E A M | Beth Carliner + Ryan Mason

Detroit was a once great city now crumbling as it struggles to keep up with modern times. The city has witnessed a mass exodus of its population, dwindling down to around 600,000 from a peak of more than 2 million. Filled with vacant land and crumbling infrastructure, the neighborhoods of Detroit acta as a new frontier--one in which residents must fight their way through desolation and into a modern economic model. Social.Circles takes on this new frontier, creating a residential enclave with immediate density focused around the computerized world. With the internet acting as our new social platforms, our lives are constantly on display. These residential units are formed into a circle, creating constant views of neighbors who may only know each other through the digital world in which they live.

Left: Units are arranged in a circle, exposing the lives of neighbors to wandering eyes, much like the internete allows us all to do everyday.

Right: Images of the Panopticon are contrasted with images of emerging technology that allow others to monitor our every move. We may be living in a panoptic world without realizing.

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Social.Circles aims to bring immediate density to areas full of vacant land. As the city rebuilds itself and attracts more residents, the circles spread and interact with the new urban fabric they helf to create.

One Bedroom One Bedroom 1/4” = 1’ 0”

Studio 1/4” = 1’ 0”

droom

Two Be

One Bedroom 1/4” = 1’ 0”

Studio 1/4” = 1’ 0”

Three Bedroom Studio 1/4” = 1’ 0”

One Bedroom Loft

droom

Two Be

Two Bedroom

One Bedroom 1/4” = 1’ 0” droom

Two Be

Each unit gives views to the central courtyard and into the units of the nieghbors who may or may not be watching them as well.

Social. Circles aims to provide housing for those in the digital world, working as computer scientists or in digital business. Unit types include three bedroom apartments for young families moving to Detroit to take advantage of its burgeoning digital scene or for young professionals living together as roommates. Also included are two bedroom units, one bedroom lofts and studio/one bedrooms units. Many of these units are meant as temporary housing for students taking part in the coding academy located in the comercial space on the ground floor.

Unit Section 1/4” = 1’ 0”

Withot a dense urban fabric, Social.Circles provides immediate density as all views face an interior courtyard. A central mound puts those on the ground in the spotlight and exposed to the residents above.

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WATERWORKS.DETROIT A ParaInfrastructure for the North End

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WATERWORKS.DETROIT A ParaInfrastructure for the North End

T A U B M A N C O L L E G E | Fall 2014 L O C A T I O N | North End/Detroit P R O F E S S O R | V. Mitch McEwen

WATERWORKS.DETROIT is a project intended to address two pressing, and seemingly contradictory, concerns in the city of Detroit—the unprecedented water shut-offs occuring in tandem with massive flooding throughout the metropolitan region. Located in the North End, a neighborhood just above of the thriving Midtown yet struggling like much of the city to maintain residents, the project uses the persistent flooding to its advantage by creating a secondary water supply system for the neighborhood. By reappropriating

WATERWORKS.DETROIT Central Hub combines a public restaurant with an information center and food distribution center

Left: Frequent flooding occurs throughout Detroit due to outdated sewer systems and a lack of infrastrucual updates Right: As Detroit residents are challenged by persistent flooding, they must also deal with unprecedented water shutos

the vacant lots that populate the area into water collection and filtration zones surrounded by productive farmland, the areas that were once seen as blight are transformed into neighborhood assets.

The water collection zones reduce the widespread flooding that occurs throughout the city due to its outdated sewer system while simultaneously providing a new point of access for clean water. The new water infrastructure is held together by a central hub that acts as a public restaurant, information center, and food distribution center.

The water infrastructure proposed for the neighborhood engages all scales, from the neighborhood to individual users. In addition to the neighborhood filtration zones, individual buildings collect water from their roofs and individual residents are given a portable water filtration device designed in the form of water bottle in order to allow Detroit residents to find and filter their own water anywhere in the city.

Paravascular System

Paravascular System

Paravascular System

Paravascular System

Paravascular System

Vascular System

Brain Matter

Inspired by the Paravascular system in the brain, a little understood system used to flush toxins out of the cerebrospinal fluid, a network of urban farms and water collection points are created as a parainfrastructure in the North End neighborhood of Detroit. This para-infrastructure works parallel and in addition to existing municipal infrastructure systems in order to reduce the large scale and common flooding of streets while at the same time increasing access to nutritions food.

Left: The vascular and paravascular system. Top: The paravascular system act in parallel to the vascular system, building o of its infrastructure.

Right: Discovery process for filtration zones.

Far Right: WATERWORKS.DETROIT network

Natural Puddling Zones

Possible Intervention Zones

WATERWORKS.DETROIT Network

1) Before Intervention - Water fills street

2) Earth is carved out to creat retention zones

3) Retention Zones collect water and release pressure on streets

1) Pooling Zone 2) Retention/Preliminary Filtration 3) Recharge Zone 4) Silver Nano-Particle Filtration Point 5) Clean Water Collection

Urban Farming

Boardwalk Retention/Filtration

Left: Filtration and Retention Right: Reimagining decay as productive water filtration and farmland

The North End is similar to the rest of Detroit in its struggle to maintain residential population and keep up with the demands of its infrastructure. With so much decay and vacancy, the neighborhood is a breeding ground for crime and disorder. By taking over these vacant lots and reimagining them as retention zones, the neighborhood is able to turn its blighted land into its biggest asset.

By creating a network of water filtration and retention zones, the water that normally overwhelms Detroit’s sewerage system is able

to be used at the neighborhood level. This supports urban farming initiatives as well as providing the residents of the North End a water supply unaďŹƒliated with the beaurocracy of the city. This network is held together by a central hub providing a community meeting point that displays the efforts of the collective to improve food and clean water access to the area residents. With an adjoining urban farm, the space is a showcase of the potential for neglected lots throughout the city of Detroit.

WATERWORKS.DETROIT is headquartered with a central building that acts as a community center, and gathering point for the residents of the neighborhood as well as the community at large

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MUSEO DEL TEVERE Reuniting Rome with the Tiber

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MUSEO DEL TEVERE Reuniting Rome with the Tiber UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON L O C A T I O N | Porta Portese/Rome P R O F E S S O R | Ann Huppert, Thaisa Way, Rob Corser

The Museo del Tevere, or Museum of the Tiber, is a testament to the importance the river has demonstrated to the Everlasting City. Built on the site of an ancient port and the original location of the Papal Armory, the museum sits just outside of the ancient city limits delineated by the Aurelian Wall. Over the course of centuries, the river has been walled in by enbankments on both sides and effectively cut off from the city it helped create. The museum breaks down the modern barriers set between the city and the river that runs through its core and through the terracing of the landscape, a direct relationship is once again established between the Tiber and the inhabitants of Rome. The museum incorporates two existing buildings on the site—the Arsenale which now serves as an art museum showcasing the river and all it inspires, as well as a repurposed building which now acts as museum oďŹƒce. The musuem also incorporates a Library of the Tiber which houses all records pertaining to the river and other literature with references to the Tiber and Rome itself.

Literature

Interaction with Tiber

Arts

Top: Giovanni Battista Piranesi, View of the Porto di Ripetta (Veduta del Porto di Ripetta), ca. 1753 Bottom: Ponte di Ripetta and the construction of the Tiber embankments, 1887, photograph, via Archivio fotografico Ceccarius

AURELIAN WA W LL Top: The Library of the Tiber provides a central location for historical information about the river that gave life to Rome Right: Library plans

The former Papal Armory is transfromed into a museum showcasing art that is isnspired and facilitated by the Tiber

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LUNCHBEAT SEATTLE The Workday Dance Break

Dance

Bus Bus Routes Routes

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LUNCHBEAT SEATTLE The Workday Dance Break UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON L O C A T I O N | Downtown/Seatle P R O F E S S O R | Nicole Huber

Dance

Theater

Theater

Art

Cultural Centers

music

Art

Music

Taking its cue from the Lunchbeat movement started in Europe where lunchtime dance parties are held for the public, Lunchbeat Seattle is an inclusive arts venue located in the downtown core of Seattle. With a ground floor stage for public events, showcases, and dance parties, the space gives both professionals working downtown and the tourists visiting Seattle a place to relax and enjoy the art of the community. Each floor is connected by a series of ramps winding around the perimeter of the

Cultural Cultural Centers Centers

The central location of LUNCHBEAT proves to be a hotspot in Seattle. It is the center of public transportation, cultural centers, and the arts community

The sinuios facade of the building echoes the movement of the dancers for which the space is conceived

building, giving a sense of continuity between floors and allowing the party to continue throughout the building. The upper floors, comprised of varying spaces for art, sculpture, dance, photography, graphics, and oďŹƒces as well as an event space on the top floor, are arranged around a central atrium which allows for a constant view of the dance party happening on the ground floor and letting light in through the large skylight. Located in the heard of downtown, the venue is

situated to allow residents from across the city to join in on the fun. Well served by public transit, including the monorail, LUNCHBEAT Seattle gives the people of Seattle a safe sapce to express themselves in any manner they choose--including taking a well deserved dance break during lunch!

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Floor 1

Floor 2

Floor 3

Floor 4

The interior is broken insto spaces dedicated to various artforms including dance, sculpture, pottery, photography, and digital media all of which have clear views of the dance floor on the ground floor. The major circulation route occurs around the edge of the building in the form of large continuous ramps.

The art spaces are organized around a large atrium allowing th party to continue throughout the building at all times

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CAPITOL CULINARY Merging Education and Nightlife

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CAPITOL CULINARY Merging Education and Nightlife UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON L O C A T I O N | Capitol Hill/Seattle P R O F E S S O R | Brian McLaren + Brad Khouri

Capitol Hill is one of the livliest neighborhoods in Seattle, bringing a large range of people together to enjoy its shops, restaurants, bars, parks, and schools. Already a very progressive city, Capitol Hill is the city’s most liberal and accepting neighborhood and one of the most desirable. Aside from the nightlife and ammenities that abound in the neighborhood, Capitol Hill is full of residential units ranging from small studios to beautiful, historic victorian homes. The neighborhood is a true melting pot, bringing together people of all ages, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Between its vibrant

Capitol Culinary opens up to the Pike/Pine Corridor, the main nightlife area in the city, bringing together the educational tradition of the neighborhood with its fun atmosphere

E n t e r t a i n m e n t

nightlife, thriving culinary scene, and mix of residents, Capitol Hill is a prime location to situate Capitol Culinary, a culinary school for aspiring professionals as well as those just looking to improve their cooking skills. Located between the city’s prime nightlife spot of the Pike/Pine corridor and Madison St and two universities, Capitol Culinary aims to blend nightlife with education. The culinary school contains teaching kitchens and auditoriums, classroosms, offices, and collaborative spaces as well as a cafe and wine bar. The school can also be opened up to allow for public events to take place, both inside

E d u c a t i o n

CC

and in the school’s patio and courtyard. These outdoor spaces become the venue for a local farmer’s market in the summer, satisfying a need in the community that currently holds the farmer’s market on city sidewalks on a busy street, forcing parts of the street to be shut down. Capitol Culinary joins in the educational tradition started by neighbors Seattle University and Seattle Central Community College and blends it with the nightlife that makes the area so popular.

The school is split into educational zones and public zones.

All are welcome to use the school’s public plaza and courtyard and to learn more about the culinary world inside of the classrooms.

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Floor 0

Floor 2

Floor 1

Floor 3

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FURNITURE STUDIO Creating Heirloom Furniture

16”

18” 36”

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FURNITURE STUDIO Creating Heirloom Furniture

As the final architecture studio of my undergraduate education, I was given

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON L O C A T I O N | Seattle P R O F E S S O R | Penny Maulden + Steve Withycombe

design skills I had acquired over the course of my education while focusing

the opportunity to design and build an heirloom quality piece of furniture. By designing a console table/liquor cabinet, I was able to apply the on the details that are often overlooked when designing on a larger scale.

With this cabinet, each element, down to the adjustable feet of the base, had to be resolved in order to create a successful piece. Over the course of 10 weeks, I was able to bring this table from the sketchbook into reality.

The console table is made from a blackened steel frame and cabinet nestled within made from Khaya wood. The cabinet doors slide to expose two side compartments or one central compartment with a metal shelf.