2005 - 2010 Jonathan Eric Tucker
Master of Architecture Candidate Graduate School of Architecture Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York Bachelor of Environmental Design College of Architecture and Planning University of Colorado at Boulder
2005 - 2010 Jonathan Eric Tucker 476 Clinton Ave, Apt. 6H Brooklyn, NY 11238 303.562.7402 jonathan.eric.tucker@gmail.com
2005 - 2010 Jonathan Eric Tucker
Master of Architecture Candidate Graduate School of Architecture Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York Bachelor of Environmental Design College of Architecture and Planning University of Colorado at Boulder
PROJECTS Undergraduate Work:
University of Colorado at Boulder
Environmental Fabrication - Fall 2007
Chaise Lounge.................................................................................................................................................................01
Studio I - Art & Architecture - Spring 2005
Art - Architecture Transformation..................................................................................................................................03 Artist’s Studio & Residence...........................................................................................................................................04 Boulder Creek Research Facility....................................................................................................................................05
Independent Study - Summer 2007
SoMo [Solar - Modular] Studio........................................................................................................................................07
Studio II - Urban Considerations - Spring 2006
LoDo Independent Film House........................................................................................................................................09
Dr. C. W. Bixler Memorial Proposal - Spring 2007
Interactive Benches........................................................................................................................................................11
Studio III - Formal Explorations Using Generative Systems - Fall 2006
Environmental Education & Research Facility..............................................................................................................13
Studio IV - EcoModern Residence - Spring 2007
755 Union Avenue...........................................................................................................................................................17
Graduate Work:
Pratt Institute
Procedural Morphology - Scripting and Form - Fall 2009
Scripted Form Generation Through Gravitational Attractors......................................................................Cover Pages
Multi-Media - Fall 2009
Process Geometry: Iterative Methodology....................................................................................................................25
M.Arch Studio I - Fundamentals - Fall 2009
NYC Privately-Owned Public Spaces: Site Research and Analysis.............................................................................29 NYC Privately-Owned Public Spaces: Site Intervention Scheme for 160 Water Street.............................................33 Street-Level Form Deployment: “Loop Folly” Scheme...................................................................................................34 Above-Street Form Deployment: “Sky Lounges” Scheme.............................................................................................35
Advanced Multi-Media - Spring 2010
Mechanized Furniture: Transformative Table...............................................................................................................37
M.Arch Studio II - Context - Spring 2010
Entrepreneurial Business Incubator: Bio-Medical Engineering Firms........................................................................39
Undergraduate Work:
University of Colorado at Boulder
Chaise Lounge ENVD 4365: Environmental Fabrication Ken Andrews, Instructor
Design iteration #1: Welded steel frame with exposed Gridcore ® seat.
Design iteration #2: Dakota Burl ® agricultural fiber board frame and X-shaped base with exposed Gridcore ® seat.
Design iteration #3: Dakota Burl ® agricultural fiber board frame and revised base, designed to be much more slender and light. Base modified to allow for a two-position, reversible seat.
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Designed with two positions: upright for reading and reclined for napping, which are adjusted by reversing the seat on its base. The design emphasizes low-embodied energy, long life-cycle, biodegradability, sustainable materials and minimal waste. The frame and base are made from Plyboo® bamboo plywood, a rapidly renewable plant source. The bamboo was cut by CNC router, utilizing digital fabrication technologies to precisely realize the design with minimal waste. No hardware is used; all joints are mortise-and-tenon, held with glue containing no VOCs. The bamboo is finished with a natural citrus paste wax. The upholstery is leather, wrapping an interior substrate made from Gridcore® - an engineered molded cellulose fiberboard made from post-consumer paper waste and agricultural waste, which is heatpressed using binders containing neither formaldehyde nor toxic resins.
Reclined
Upright
18”
68”
Final design iteration [Full-Scale Fabrication]: Plyboo ® bamboo frame and base. Gridcore ® seat substrate, wrapped in leather upholstery with leather headrest. Upright position shown in photo on opposite page. Reclined position shown in photo above.
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64”
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Art - Architecture Transformation
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ENVD 2110: Architecture Studio I Jo Vandenburg, Affiliate Instructor Frame #01 (upper-left) is an ink drawing of Carlo Carrà’s 1913 painting, “The Red Horseman”. Frame #08 (upper-right) is an aerial plan view of Le Corbusier’s 1931 proposal for “Palace of Soviets”, (unrealized). Both original works are shown below. The intermediate drawings depict the transformation of the former into the latter: metamorphosis. This introductory project for the first design studio requires more than hand drawing skills. It demands an analytical mind to dissect two completely different works, then reorganize the manner in which they have been represented, isolating certain elements and discarding others. One must understand their compositional similarities, and execute a strategy for integration. Ink drawings on vellum.
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As a hypothetical studio and residence for Vassily Kandinsky, the inspiration comes from his 1927 painting, “Hard and Soft”. The painting was analyzed to derive an abstract study model (shown lower-right). Careful attention was given to avoid simple extrusions in one direction. The final design evolved from this abstract model, focusing primarily on strong axes and fundamental geometric shapes. Varying levels of hierarchy were identified in the painting, and carry through architectural elements such as massing and fenestration.
Artist’s Studio & Residence ENVD 2110: Architecture Studio I Jo Vandenburg, Affiliate Instructor
North Elevation
Vassily Kandinsky. “Hard and Soft,” (1927).
Southeast Aerial Perspective
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Boulder Creek Research Facility ENVD 2110: Architecture Studio I Jo Vandenburg, Affiliate Instructor 1st Floor Interior Perspective - Public Gallery
Boulder Creek supports a diverse ecosystem with its genesis in the Rocky Mountains, rolling down the foothills through the City of Boulder, and feathering out into the eastern plains of Colorado. Additionally, inhabitants of the city, as well as local agricultural businesses down-stream depend on the creek for irrigation. Serving such an important role in nature and the community, it is vital that the quality and quantity of water in the Boulder Creek be closely monitored and protected; hence, the Boulder Creek Water Research Facility. The proposed building would provide research laboratories, administrative offices, private researcher offices, a conference room, classrooms and exhibition spaces. The facility aims to provide education to all grade levels, generating enthusiasm in young students. Educating young people on the importance of a healthy ecology will help to prevent contamination from pollution. The facility could also become a partner with the University of Colorado at Boulder to offer field study, on-site experimentation and research for higher education in water ecology.
2nd Floor - Multi-functional/ Adaptable Space
3rd Floor - Research Laboratories & Offices
Southwest Perspective
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Given such a program, the design mimics the movement of water through the creek, formally and spatially. Formally, the massing mimics river rocks tumbling down-stream, pushing over and past one another. The gentle curves of the multiple roofs suggest the motion of water spilling over rocks as it flows down the creek bed. Spatially, one enters from the highest level, beginning uphill. Here the visitor first encounters the public exhibition spaces. Moving down a curved stair, the next level below is a semi-public general purpose space that easily accepts a variety of functions, changing with the needs of the users. At this same level is a conference room also serving as the director’s office. Moving further down through the building closest to the creek itself, one reaches the research laboratories and offices. At each level, large openings through the floor offer a voyeur- like insight into the happenings taking place below and above. This allows a sensation of open spaces flowing in and through each other, especially vertically. At each level arises separate opportunities to go outside onto balconies, further emphasizing a sinuous, unimpeded flow of spaces, indoor and out. The connection to the natural environment is enhanced by these outdoor spaces, and also by the windows whose irregular shapes frame specific views. Material changes distinguish public and private use. Materiality was also carefully considered to respect the natural environment. Natural stone masonry and corrugated metal roofs with a natural patina offer a rustic aesthetic, which blends in with the beauty of the creek canyon. Southeast Perspective
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SoMo [Solar - Modular] Studio Independent Study Professor Julee Herdt - Faculty Advisor Kellen Schauermann - Student Collaborator Existing Site and Residence
SoMo Studio is an architectural prototype showcasing BioSIPs®, a newly-patented structural insulated panel system, invented by Professor Julee Herdt at the University of Colorado at Boulder. BioSIPs® consist of a molded corrugated core made from 100% waste-cellulose pulp-fiber, with soy-based foam insulation adhered within the corrugations, with embedded cam-lock connectors. The prototype SoMo Studio represents a new architectural typology developed by the design team. SoMo typology refers to solar powered, modular, petroleum-alternative architecture from a range of bio-based, agricultural waste, recycled content, newly invented, and reused building materials. Construction will be a two-phase process. The first phase will be constructed at the extreme northwest of the lot. This location will provide maximum passive and active solar collection, and is based on City of Boulder set-backs, height, and solar codes. Phase I SoMo Studio will serve as an energy and materials testing and monitoring facility for BioSIPs®, as well as a test vehicle for a small residence that is being planned for the same site. The SoMo Studio will be monitored real-time with computer links providing energy, thermal, humidity, and structural readouts. During construction of the adjacent residence, the solar-powered Phase I SoMo Studio will serve as design studio and yoga retreat for Herdt (owner/ client/ architect). The small footprint of the planned adjacent EcoModern Residence will allow room for the SoMo Studio to expand in Phase II within code-dictated setbacks in order to become a CU teaching, testing, and invention space. Phase I of the SoMo Studio will be designed for easy expansion of the building’s size. By reversing cam-locks, unbolting, and removing finish skins, the Phase II module will be easily added.
Phase II [Northeast Perspective]
Architectural Education, Testing and Invention Laboratory
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Green Materials/ Systems
Exploded View [Southwest Axonometric] Showing Modular Components
1 BioSIPs are one of the many bio-based materials used in the SoMo Studio construction. BioSIPs differ from standard SIPs as they are designed with a corrugated core made from pressed waste paper & wood waste. The corrugations are filled with expanding soy resin foam insulation. Recycled metal siding and standing seam roofing clad the BioSIP exterior surfaces.
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Fly ash concrete slab on grade with shredded recycled bottle lid aggregate.
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Reused cedar slats with salvaged steel frame built in 4 foot modules for easy addition for Phase II.
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Photovoltaic system mounted on recycled steel frame to be expanded for Phase II addition. The solar modules will power the studio and act as a charging station for the client’s solar powered lawn mower and electric mini-car.
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Recycled aluminum square tube wall frame with low-e glass windows and track mounted salvaged glass sliding door. Wall is built as a single unit so that it can be moved from Phase I position to future Phase II position.
Phase II Addition
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Phase I
Phase I [Northeast Perspective] Design Studio and Yoga Retreat
Limiting set-back line for Phase I per City of Boulder building code (not applicable for Phase II after new EcoModern Residence is completed on same site).
LoDo Independent Film House ENVD 3210: Architecture Studio II Aidan Chopra, Affiliate Instructor Located on 14th Street between Stout and California Streets in Lower Downtown Denver, the LoDo Independent Film House is a forum for visual expression for rising artists. This young, vibrant, social district deserves architecture that contributes to the urban fabric by assuming an inclusive, open relationship with its community. The design achieves these goals by expanding the program beyond simple, windowless boxes for movie-watching. The program includes a cafe/ restaurant with an outdoor patio overlooking its own small plaza and the pedestrian street life. Also included is a gallery space for various rotating exhibits of work contributing to the independent film industry. This is an intermediate space behind a large glass curtain wall, which dissolves the separation of the building and its urban environment, allowing passersby to casually view the exhibits at any time of day or night. Late evening events are supplemented by a bar, further supporting the goal for a diverse variety of social spaces to foster gatherings for many types of people and organizations. There is a main auditorium theater with balcony seating, reached by a grand staircase. There is a smaller, lecture-size theater, and two private viewing rooms for small parties wishing to reserve private screenings.
Southeast Perspective
Exterior perspective from cafe patio looking toward gallery
The program also includes classroom and production labs, which support extracurricular, after-school film classes for underprivileged students. The intention is to offer a medium for creative expression using high-tech equipment, to which such students would otherwise have no exposure or access. Technical skills are also learned, giving these students the ability to possibly pursue careers in the film industry, invoking an enthusiasm for further education at the university level. Also included is an archive allowing the Film House to invite guestspeakers for film history and theory lectures, referencing a plethora of previous work.
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Interior perspective from lobby looking toward the grand staircase, gallery and restaurant/ cafe (from left to right, respectively)
Second Floor Plan
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RTD - Light Rail [D-Line]
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Main Entrance Tickets/ Reception Classroom Learning Studio/ Production Lab Lobby Concessions Kitchen
South Perspective
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Cafe/ Restaurant/ Bar Outdoor Patio Dining Plaza & Light Rail Stop Gallery/ Exhibition Space Main Auditorium Lecture Hall
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California St.
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First Floor Plan
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Projection Rooms Private Screening Rooms Restrooms Mechanical Room Grand Staircase Balcony Lounge
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Balcony Seating Employee Lounge Director’s Office Administrative Office Archives Denotes first floor spaces seen through on second floor plan
Dr. C. W. Bixler Memorial Proposal Independent Study Peter Schneider, Professor and Associate Dean - Faculty Advisor Amanda Whiting and Bridget Rice - Student Collaborators
“Dr. C. W. Bixler was a prominent Erie, CO doctor in the first half of the 20th century, who tended to farmers and miners throughout the Boulder valley, and who first brought penicillin and insulin to the Boulder area. His family wishes to honor his legacy by encouraging further contributions back to the community, in particular, through innovations in the arts.� Given this client’s charge, specifically aimed toward enhancing the Boulder campus with a small architectural installation, the design team and I decided to generate a series of three types of interactive bench variations that would be spread across the campus. The benches would follow the main bike path route at the perimeter of campus alongside one of the main roads through Boulder, thus becoming visible to pedestrians, bicycles and vehicles. Its design strives to be used at the pedestrian scale, but simultaneously address vehicles using signage/ typography visible at higher speeds. At the pace of the pedestrian, text and images provide historical information about the university and Boulder. Each school or college within the university would have information displayed about their history, mission and achievements. These graphic designs would be etched into clear acrylic panels, illuminated at night, providing a dynamic display of changing color to enhance the graphic design. Although the benches would honor the established architectural language of the university using concrete and sandstone, common to all campus buildings, the acrylic panels would allow the design to transcend tradition in an innovative and educational manner. The three differing schemes create a series that, in sequence, appears to break apart: (connected; partially separated; and completely separated). This varying composition creates a plethora of seating positions. A person may remain solitary, sit beside a companion(s), or sit facing a companion(s). This allows multiple personality types to occupy the same bench. Both are possible: personal reflection or communicative interaction between several persons.
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Environmental Education & Research Facility
Abstract form derived from 3D DOL system (shown as colorcoded skeletal frame overlay). Original 2D DOL system shown as “Synthesis� below.
ENVD 4310: Architecture Studio III Shane Rymer, Senior Instructor The first investigation of this studio was to explore ranges of pattern produced by different rule-based, autonomous, selfgenerating systems called Deterministic Context- Free Lindenmayer (DOL) Systems. I wrote six rule sets, and carried them out to eight or ten iterations, then evaluated each one on a scale from repetitious to chaotic. From this evaluation of extremes, one particular system was chosen as the most intriguing pattern: synthesis. The rules thus far were written to generate two-dimensional branching patterns, but the next experiment was to write a new set of rules that would transform the chosen two-dimensional system into three dimensions. The same care was taken to ensure a synthesis between repetition and chaos. I then interpreted this three-dimensional skeletal frame into a solid abstract form (seen right). Two- Dimensional DOL Systems
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Given a site against the open space at the edge of the Boulder community, the relationship its residents hold with outdoor recreation and environmental consciousness is strong. Such enthusiasm for environmentalism will create a vibrant patronage for the Environmental Education and Research Facility. All of this considered, I feel it is more appropriate for the building’s form to reflect the fluidity found in the rolling North Boulder foothill terrain. The abstract form previously developed from the three-dimensional DOL system seems too rigid and orthogonal for such a site and program. As a result, I reflected on how to transform the skeletal frame of the three-dimensional DOL system into a smooth, fluid form, and yet maintain the rule-based automation explored thus far. The solution I employed was a software-controlled mesh function called NURBS, which calculated a flowing figure over the designated points of the three-dimensional DOL system. At this stage of the process, we were given the objective of integrating the form with its site. I rotated the entire form by about forty-five degrees to obtain a more acute angle out of the topography. I also manipulated specific points of the mesh to better reflect the landform, and appear as if it were growing up out of the terrain. At this point, form development has extended beyond purely rulebased systems, and is now being affected by human intuition and subjective aesthetic decisions.
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As a final step, other architectural elements such as structure, materiality and fenestration were integrated. Overall, the major objective of this project was to explore automated systems as form generators, and function may seem neglected throughout the process. However, to understand the potential of designing with autonomous systems offers an alternative to subjective conceptual design processes, which can often be trite. Were this project further developed, the same automated techniques could be applied to generate the design of spaces and circulation.
755 Union Avenue ENVD 4410: Architecture Studio IV Julee Herdt, Professor
Southwest Perspective
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Designed in collaboration with the client/owner/architect, the parti of this project was conceived as two parts: an open, pavilion-like shelter at ground level for contemplation, and an earth-engaging garden level for living. This EcoModern Residence occupies a small site, which opens to a quiet community in beautiful north Boulder, Colorado at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. One approaches the residence along an avenue lined with an eclectic gathering of homes built by young, progressive families with modern sensibilities. As such, this very non-traditional home pushes architectural boundaries while maintaining the support of the community. Upon reaching the property, one is greeted by a xeriscaped yard. At ground level, the occupiable space is merely 8’ x 30’ flanked on either side by large sun patios and prairie grass green roofs. This Pavilion Space is enclosed entirely by glass and polycarbonate of varying levels of opacity, allowing the space to dissolve into nature.
At the rear of this space is a ladder leading to a more secluded lofted retreat space where one may experience their surroundings at an elevated perch while reading, napping or reflecting. The living spaces of the home are at garden level, mostly below grade. Yet these spaces are abundant with light shining through clerestory-like windows wrapping the south end, a large bedroom window, as well as through the translucent Pavilion space above, which has a translucent glass floor. None of the walls are full height; drywall finishes terminate just below 7’-0” with translucent 30” glass partitions sitting atop. Ceiling height is 10’-0”. The main interior wall of the bedroom is steel stud framing clad in frosted glass, casting a constant glow as light diffuses through. The floor plan is open and adaptable. The spaces are intimate, and efficiently functional. The hub of the home is the TechPOD where all mechanical systems are housed, exhibiting the active sustainable technologies integrated into the design. The home generates its own electricity through a photovoltaic array that also acts as an awning. Any excess electricity is stored in batteries for use during overcast weather. The small home has radiant floor heating, which is supplied by a hot water tank powered by the PV cells. The water is pre-heated by evacuated tube solar thermal collectors. All other hot water needs (sinks, shower, laundry) are supplied by two tankless hot water heaters incorporated into the solar thermal system, mitigating the amount of electricity used, thus reducing the associated carbon dioxide emissions. A gray water system is incorporated, which, in addition to xeriscaping, eliminates the need for city-supplied water for the yard. No forced-air system or air conditioning is required. All ventilation is completely natural using pneumatic, sensor-controlled awning windows placed low and high in walls to create a controlled current as cool air enters low, and then warms, rises and exits high. Energy usage for lighting is minimal due to appropriate natural daylighting features. The foundation walls are insulated concrete with high-content fly-ash and shredded recycled plastic bottle aggregate. The concrete walls and floor act as solar mass for passive heating. The structure is high-content recycled steel. All glazing is triple-glazed low-e insulated glass of varying opacity. The subterranean design allows the home to maintain a more consistent/ stable temperature. Prairie grass green roofs mitigate storm water runoff while providing some insulation. The sun patios are made from sustainably-harvested Ipé decking, which is incredibly durable for long life-cycle, as are all the materials used. All finishes and paints are non-toxic and contain no VOC’s, improving indoor air quality. Soft surfaces such as carpeting are not included, which also improves air quality by reducing impregnated odors. All appliances have high energy efficiency ratings.
North Section
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Interior Perspective [Ground Level; Loft Above]
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Loft [Accessed by Ladder] Entry/ Pavilion Space Palletized Prairie Grass Green Roofs IpĂŠ Brazilian Hardwood Sun Patios Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal Collectors Photovoltaic Array Emergency Egress Well & Herb Garden Bedroom Home Office Bathroom Laundry, Mechanical & Storage Kitchen Desk Dining Living
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Denotes Entry/ Pavilion Space at ground level, seen through from Loft above.
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Northeast Perspective
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Graduate Work:
Pratt Institute
Process Geometry: Iterative Methodology ARCH 640: Multi-Media Jason Vigneri-Beane, Adjunct Assistant Professor
Sections & Trajectory
Schematic Form (Facetted & Smooth)
Topological Development
During this three-week design charette, the objective was to develop design skills by utilizing simple modeling processes within digital modeling software. The general design exploration was to propose an abstract hybrid system for circulation through a narrow, semi-enclosed, porous, bridge-like structure that also facilitates unspecified programmatic space. The design process started with linework: a series of different two-dimensional sections dispersed at even increments along a trajectory. The trajectory is derived from a simple 120-foot long line. It translates in the Z-axis at its center as a shallow bridge-like arc, lifting up and then returning to its original elevation at its end. The trajectory also shifts along the negative X-axis as a sort of cantilever, then returning to its original Xcoordinate. By means of lofting, the two-dimensional sections were extruded along the trajectory for even percentages of length, creating a gradual transformation and metamorphosis. This first abstract form is rigid and solid, seen at far left. Next, this schematic form is transformed from a facetted system of polygons into a smooth mesh system. The software allows the view of the form to be temporarily toggled back-and-forth to a facetted system in order to make more precise modifications before permanently converting to a smooth mesh. I was able to identify areas of opportunity for openings and porosity, and using this toggle back-and-forth, identified specific facetted polygons to delete, extrude, subdivide or otherwise modify. Eventually, a rather sophisticated process of topological development produced an intriguing balance of opacity. The next step was to articulate surface conditions by creasing edges and faces at specific moments of directional shift. This creasing method also articulates bilateral symmetry. The surface was further articulated by generating ‘soft panels’ to interrupt the monotony of the solid faces. As a final step, the materiality of the form is developed in an abstract, diagrammatic manner. The interior surfaces are made distinct from the exterior surfaces (excepting the ‘soft panels’) by using contrasting colors. Simple daylighting is used to enhance the visual understanding of three-dimensional depth and space. The strength of the entire system is the way in which ground/ floor plane transitions smoothly and sinuously into wall surface and railing systems, then transitioning into overhead surfaces, then wrapping back along the opposite side to form an envelope in a continuous method.
Surface & Material Articulation
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Aerial Plan View
Elevation
This design charette intends to demonstrate one of the most beneficial aspects of using digital software to aid in the design process, which is the ability to quickly make a series of many small, incremental changes, and to record each minor step through each phase of the overall process. Sequential iterations allow one to arrive at the most exciting and appropriate proposal by constantly and persistently critiquing each decision. Through a diligent and organized approach, one may slowly and thoughtfully build a level of complexity and yet still maintain great intelligibility. This clarity may be further enhanced by suggesting materiality, which also can be quickly and easily modified and manipulated to generate the most appropriate rendered visualization of the intended design proposal.
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Plan
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These are concepts that could potentially be replicated using traditional analog rendering and physical modeling techniques, but would be much more inefficient to produce, and the evidence of each decision toward the end result might be lost. Elevations, sections, plans, details and exploded construction assemblies are easily generated, allowing for immediate critique and improvement, especially for interior spaces. Perhaps the most convincing application of digital media is the ability to produce many successive physical iterations using rapid prototyping machines like 3D printers, CNC routers/ milling machines and laser cutters. Where digital renderings fall short to adequately convey or visualize ideas, CNC- fabricated physical studies can help to inform the end result.
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New York City Privately-Owned Public Spaces: Site Research and Analysis Index of P.O.P.S. Created by Volumetric Exchange
ARCH 620: M.Arch Studio I - Fundamentals Chris Perry, Adjunct Assistant Professor
Core
Chamfer creates non-directional, open space, clearly separated from the public sidewalk.
Partial Corner
Seating features introduced at corner further separate space from sidewalk, but simultaneously introduce a new corner-cutting circulatory path.
Fixed seating, water features and planters.
59 Maiden Lane
Core creates exclusively directional, closed and contained space, clearly deterministic of circulation only. No sense of placemaking due to lack of seating or any design features or program.
100 William Street
Chamfer
A Brief History of Privately-Owned Public Spaces Inspired by the success of Mies van der Rohe’s design for the plaza at the Seagram Building as a popular gathering area, New York City enacted a zoning ordinance revision to encourage developers to emulate this model of urban design.
Full Corner
Outdoor cafe seating
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Private Program Circulation Public Program
Outdoor cafe seating confiscates a portion of the public space, creating a clear delineation between programmatic and circulatory uses.
Circulation Only: Under-utilized, poorly-designed space of marginal quality and utility.
Privately-Owned Public Spaces were first implemented under the 1961 Zoning Resolution which inaugurated the incentive zoning program in New York City. The program encouraged private developers to provide spaces for the public within or outside their buildings in exchange for allowing them greater density in certain high-density districts. Since its inception, the program has produced more than 3.5 million square feet of public space in exchange for additional building area or other considerations such as relief from certain height and setback restrictions. At first, the program was limited to a few types of spaces like plazas and arcades, but over the years many other types with differing standards were added. Experience with the early spaces shaped standards for the later spaces, which were more precisely defined and subject to greater public scrutiny than the first-generation spaces. 503 spaces were surveyed in the year 2000 by the NYC Department of City Planning, the results of which are published in the book, Privately Owned Public Space: The New York City Experience, by Jerold S. Kayden. The results of the program have been mixed. An impressive amount of public space has been created in parts of the city with little access to public parks, but much of these public spaces are not of high quality. Some spaces have proved to be valuable public resources, but others are inaccessible or devoid of the kinds of amenities that attract public use. Approximately 16 percent of the spaces are actively used as regional destinations or neighborhood gathering spaces, 21 percent are usable as brief resting places, 18 percent are circulation-related only, 4 percent are being renovated or constructed, and 41 percent are poor spaces of marginal utility.
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New York City Privately-Owned Public Spaces: Site Research and Analysis (Continued) ARCH 620: M.Arch Studio I - Fundamentals Chris Perry, Adjunct Assistant Professor
Partial corner method of space creation keeps the public space contained within the building’s volume, which maintains a sense of private program, and any public user is discouraged from engaging the space.
160 Water Street
140 Broadway
One Chase Manhattan Plaza
The building maintains a barricaded feeling due to completely curtain-covered windows at ground level. The P.O.P. space is a large void with minimal seating or design features, except for a large sculpture. The space is used primarily for circulation, but many tourists occupy the space as they wander around the large sculpture. This is a large open plaza with a large sunken garden water feature, counterbalanced by a canopy-like sculpture. These elements, combined with seating and planters, anchor the space and draw people to linger within a central area. Circulation corridors also transect through this programmatic space, creating an ambiguous relationship.
The sculpture draws attention primarily from the street, but because the building is so closedoff in appearance, no one approaches beyond the sculpture. The building repels the public user toward the perimeter of the P.O.P. space. A few benches to one side soften this repulsion slightly.
Overview of 5 Specific Sites Under Analysis in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan Unused
100 William Street 59 Maiden Lane
Part of this space is fenced-off and used for parking tenants’ cars. Neither of the two corner spaces is used by the public for program or circulation; the space is simply by-passed and ignored.
160 Water Street 140 Broadway One Chase Manhattan Plaza
The circulation mixes with stationary elements such as the benches and sculpture, with no clearly-defined separation, so this relationship becomes ambiguous.
Of the 5 spaces analyzed during this research, this is the most successful one. The dual anchors have a relationship that catalyzes gathering in the space between them.
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New York City Privately-Owned Public Spaces: Site Intervention Scheme for 160 Water Street
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ARCH 620: M.Arch Studio I - Fundamentals Chris Perry, Adjunct Assistant Professor
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125 MAIDEN LANE
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160 AND 180 WATER STREET
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FITNESS CLUB & OFFICES.
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SEMI-PUBLIC.
The original site under review is located at 160 Water Street. This diagram shows the locations of its existing privately-owned public spaces. These existing spaces are inset into the semi-public building, and are consequently not understood to be for public use because the building management uses the spaces for tenant parking and shipping/ receiving, and are thus under-utilized.
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Improve the quality and effectiveness of an existing PrivatelyOwned Public Space to foster a lively urban scene, while simultaneously establishing a greater sense of community across two buildings of differing user groups located in the typically introverted Financial District of Lower Manhattan, and to activate the interstitial space between these buildings by introducing a web of open-air sky lounges suspended above the street, and then, to further catalyze spontaneous social interactions at street level to create a popular pedestrian thoroughfare.
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Intent:
The design intervention proposal redirects these under-utilized spaces to an active pedestrian route between 160 Water Street and 125 Maiden Lane. This scheme catalyzes social interaction between occupants of both buildings as well as the pedestrians traversing through the site.
Street-Level Form Deployment: “Loop Folly” Scheme
125 MAIDEN LANE
ARCH 620: M.Arch Studio I - Fundamentals Chris Perry, Adjunct Assistant Professor
Inspired by the architectural folly concept devised by Bernard Tschumi for his design of Parc de la Villette in Paris, this form promotes movement of people as a theatrical spectacle. It serves to activate space - not by enclosure of volume, but by concentrating vectors of pedestrian behavior. A person who engages the form is carried up from street level to suspended platforms where small groups may gather. A person may cross over-and-under to the opposite side and back down to street level or may continue upwards to the central platform. This pinnacle is the convergence of two mirrored circulatory paths. The pinnacle platform is not really programmatic space, but does offer the pedestrian a 3rd-story vantage point over this pedestrian thoroughfare. From the pinnacle, the pedestrian is guided back down to street level in reverse. The overall trajectory of the user is up-over-and-back; hence the “Loop” concept. Also integrated are four of the “Sky Lounges,” accessed from within the two adjacent buildings. These static gathering spaces balance the circulatory nature of the “Loop Folly,” and catalyze spontaneous interaction between businessmen of 160 Water Street and residents of 125 Maiden Lane, as well as between pedestrian passersby. The pinnacle of the circulatory loop occurs just below the “Sky Lounges,” but is not accessible from one to the other. The whole system seeks indeterminacy of use and programmatic ambiguity in order to generate authentically spontaneous and improvised events as a means to cultivate cohesiveness among inhabitants of an urban environment.
160 WATER STREET
Above-Street Form Deployment: “Sky Lounges” Scheme ARCH 620: M.Arch Studio I - Fundamentals Chris Perry, Adjunct Assistant Professor
Ground-level perspective, looking up the facade of 160 Water Street
Perspective looking across to 160 Water Street from 125 Maiden Lane
The design proposal establishes a greater sense of community across two buildings of differing user groups located in the typically introverted Financial District of Lower Manhattan, and activates the interstitial space between these buildings by introducing a web of open-air “sky lounges” suspended above the street. There are three formal variations of the “sky lounge.” Each of these three types are dispersed at multiple locations climbing up the southern facade of 160 Water Street, and mirrored on the northern facade of 125 Maiden Lane. They create a composition of pattern, form, color and light to disrupt the monotony of the curtain wall system at 160 Water Street and the monotony of the window-punctured brick envelope at 125 Maiden Lane. The narrow canyonlike space between these two buildings facilitates strong dialogue between the series of exterior spaces cantilevered towards each other off each of the two facades. Programmatic specificity is intentionally ambiguous in order to encourage users to adapt the spaces to their specific needs, but in any case, the principle function is to encourage human interaction among inhabitants of the two buildings. Like the fire escapes that are so prevalent in New York City which people adapt and convert into floating garden spaces or balcony spaces for seating, these lounges too are intended to be modified and personalized by the occupants.
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Mechanized Furniture: Transformative Table
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FULLY EXPANDED MODE: Dining table height @ 30”
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PIVOT MODE: Table leafs begin to rotate down
ARCH 642: M.Arch Advanced Multi-Media Chris Kroner, Visiting Assistant Professor
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SQUAT MODE: Coffee table height @ 18”
Bifolding Glass Tabletop [with Hinging Corners for Collapsed Mode]
Stainless Steel Hinges
Bifolding Steel Channel Frames [with Armature Brackets]
Articulating Steel Armature Assemblies Tapered Roller Bearing Hub Assemblies
Telescopic Steel Beam [Hollow Structural Section]
Hollow Structural Section Steel Axles [with Armature Brackets] Steel Casters Flanged Track Wheels Modified Track Rails
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COLLAPSED MODE: Table leafs rest in vertical orientation
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COMPRESSED MODE: Flanged wheels roll on tracks & Telescopic beam nests into itself
Entrepreneurial Business Incubator: Bio-Medical Engineering Firms ARCH 621: M.Arch Studio II - Context Jason Vigneri-Beane, Adjunct Assistant Professor
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Brooklyn Bridge Park DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY “Architecture is changing in response to environmental demands and the development of new high-performance and bio-responsive materials. Le Corbusier described architecture as the “masterly correct and magnificent play of masses brought together in light”. In the future, however, buildings will tend to dematerialize. It will be an age not of mass but of transparency and veils: of indeterminate, adaptable and floating structures that respond to daily changes in the environment and patterns of use...This new architecture will change the character of the public domain. As structures become lighter, buildings will become more permeable and pedestrians will move through them rather than around them. The street and the park may be part of the building, or the building might hover above them. The architect Cedric Price once said that the main problem with cities is that the buildings get in the way. In the future, this will be less inevitable.” Richard Rogers (Cities for a Small Planet, 1997)
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Vicinity Map
Roof Plan
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The Entrepreneurial Business Incubator is an institution that awards business development fellowships to young bio-medical engineering firms. Fellows are matched with a mentor to guide their business strategy. Fellows are given laboratory space for their teams, as well as access to the institution’s various resources and technology. Funds are dispersed for research and development, marketing, and advertising. The program includes a lecture hall to present ideas and research to potential investors. A gallery is available to display new products. The primary design strategy is to allow the architecture to catalyze social interactions among fellows, investors, and the community by expressing openness, and by dissolving boundaries. The spaces are designed to encourage collaboration and sharing of ideas. This proposal seeks to earn local notoriety by building a strong rapport with the DUMBO neighborhood. This is accomplished by offering a communityaccessible xeriscape roof & waterfront park along the East River, integrating itself as a continuation of the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Additionally, the design offers a community-accessible amphitheater, lecture hall, and gallery space for performances, film screenings or exhibitions.
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