Portfolio by Jonathon Meier

JONATHON MEIER

Design Studio...................................... Architectural Travel.............................. Internship........................................... Photography/Hand Graphics...............

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JONATHON MEIER

The following selection of design studio projects are from years 2-4 of my undergraduate studies in architecture. The projects vary from short design excercises to developed competition entries.

Multi-Cultural Center Interstate Reststop Floating House Puppet Theater Municipal Courthouse

JONATHON MEIER

This 3rd-year project for Ball State University’s new Multicultural Center was completed in partnership with Jessie Rabideau. It was intended to make one rethink and discover the meaning of multiculturalism and what that could imply as a built form. (ARCH 302, Spring 2009; Instructor Ana DeBrea) honors: -Honorable Mention Prize, BSU Gresham Smith Competition

Multiculturalism promotes diversity and awareness within society, but it can lead to the categorization of individuals based on their perceived cultures. Such categorization is limiting, as people vary and change regardless of their defined cultures. As a disruption of preconception, this design for the new multicultural center explores what can be.

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Continuous surfaces change roles and create varying functions by folding, intersecting, and merging. The new Multicultural Center emerges and evolves in unpredictable and thought-provoking ways, challenging expectations and previous notions.

0’ 75’ 175’

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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

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entry and reception area resources library meeting spaces with moveable partitions theater cafe and kitchen mechanical general storage theater storage administration with sliding wall system lounge with flexible gallery space below ground exhibition space outdoor seating outdoor covered performance area ticket booth control room

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mezzanine level

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ground floor and below ground

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10’

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planar and formal development The design process began noncontextually by exploring how a single plane was capable of changing direction—how a single surface was capable of taking on multiple roles. The same thought process was applied to the site, where pieces of the ground began to rise up and intertwine with one another to form space. In the final diagram, one can see pathways and green space folding into walls, floors, ceilings, and walls again as the planes weave in and out of the ground and one another to create voids and define space.

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upper level

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10 4

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

section A-A 0’

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parapet concrete roofing tiles concrete over metal decking 4. hvac 5. steel structural system 6. 1/8â&#x20AC;? suspended hardi board panels 7. structural glass fins 8. glass window frame 9. living wall 10. green roof 11. soil over fiber mat and drainage layer 12. interior concrete bearing walls

5 fenestration The fenestration fits between the planes, but folds and angles within itself much like the concrete and grass planes. The angled glass is supported by vertical structural glass fins. As the angled glass planes meet, they bring together reflections from unexpected places. One might see oneself in a reflection next to a stranger from the other side of the building, or one might find the grass in a reflection directly adjacent to the sky.

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This 2nd-year project was a beginning level exercise in the architectural design studio. The simple program promoted formal discovery and the understanding of spatial organization at a small scale. (ARCH 202, Spring 2008; Instructor Jonathan Spodek)

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The purpose of the rest stop completely contrasts the assumption of a building serving as a destination. Rather than being conclusive, its intent is to provide a midpoint for oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s path to a farther destination. The conceptual ideas of the design stem from the notions of continuation, motion, and speed. The buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s form rises and falls in a linear path without a visual

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halt. The form gently appears as the mesh stretched between aluminum cladding evolves into a building. The exposed wood beneath the cladding creates a visual balance between the aluminum and the surrounding wooded landscape. Without a formal conclusion, the building fades out as it faded in--suggesting no beginning or end.

JONATHON MEIER

process and fenestration The series of images shows the development from the concept to the execution of the fenestration pattern. The fenestration connotes motion just as the world around an object in motion appears to blur. Each vertical aperture is split into three to create a sense of movement. As light

passes through the apertures, the same pattern is casted into the interior. The central aperture in each set of three expands and diminishes forming a visual Doppler effect as the building fades in and out of view.

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This 3rd-year project is a 600 sq. ft. private residence set on a flood plane. Addressing the 100-year flood level was obligatory. Preceding the project was a field trip to post-Katrina New Orleans where the studio section analyzed what remained of the 9th Ward, as well as the newest “Make it Right Foundation” homes. (ARCH 301, Fall 2008; Instructor Wil Marquez)

The design of the house seeks a visual and physical bridge between water and land. From the moment one steps foot on the path, there is an accellerated push all the way to the water. Long walnut slats extend from the start of the path, through the house, and stretch out into the water. The walnut slats are derived from

the water’s ripple effect. When these slats reflect into the water, the ripples appear to flow from the water onto the side of the house. The dark walnut columns are a function of the house’s floatation system. These vertical elements begin where the house meets the water and draw a line into the trees.

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2 controlling solar gain On varying sides of the house, the slats either increase or decrease in density as they go up the walls. On the back porch, they become more dense to provide a shaded microclimate in the afternoon for the user of the bench. They also become more dense on the south-facing wall of the living room, allowing solar radiation to enter in the morning, while blocking it in the afternoon. On the northfacing wall they decrease in density to allow indirect daylight at all times of the day.

addressing the floods

The house is floating atop a series of pontoons, and it is kept stationary by a system of dark walnut columns. The columns work as rails and guide the house vertically as it rises and falls with the fluctuating water level. The height of the columns is based on the 100-year flood level.

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light box study circular apertures and their effect The columns are each surrounded by a cylinder of glass. These form exterior spaces of water within the interior spaces of the house. Small circles of water are formed throughout the house, which directly connect the water with the living spaces. Due to the nature of a cylinder, the circular

opening in the ceiling plane would cast a ring of light onto the floor. These rings would be constantly moving throughout the day, much like ripples, and would be clashing with the ripple shadows from the slats.

The images above are the result of a light-box study. The photos were taken as a light simulated the progression of the sun throughout a day. The series shows the movement of light on the floor as the sun moves across the sky. The same concept is shown in the adjacent rendering.

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This 3rd-year project was designed and realized as a group as part of an Advanced Digital Fabrication Seminar. The objective was to design and build a puppet theater for a local community center in Muncie, IN. My personal efforts included working in a design/ feedback loop with the client, digital and parametric designing, and digital fabrication (including creating and cutting the pieces with a CNC mill). (ARCH 498, Spring 2009; Instructor Michael Gibson)

Our client made it known initially that they wanted an environmentallyfriendly product. We chose High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) as a reusable, durable, and weatherproof material. In the initial design stages, we focused on the need for a playful, exciting, and versatile product. Because the unit would be traveling and would have a changing landscape, we decided that the form would be an

object rather than subject to a particular landscape. As we developed each iteration, we constantly considered acoustics (in this case the ability to project voices to the audience), lighting, and user-versatility as integral components to the design. The end result included two exits for the puppeteer, a large â&#x20AC;&#x153;stageâ&#x20AC;?, and a number of secondary holes to use with the puppets.

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project realization It was necessary to think of the theater in terms of parts assembling as a whole. In order to make our form constructible it had to be broken down into parts. We used Grasshopper to parametrically triangulate and deconstruct our 3-dimensional form, which allowed us to easily make changes to the pieces. Our client was concerned with the weight of each piece, so we were able to adjust both the number and sizes of the pieces, and add larger apertures

to reduce material weight. Each piece was to include a frame (for structure) and a skin (created by both cuts and perforations). Holes were designed for hardware to assemble the skin to the frame, and the frame to the other pieces. The image on the right shows the puppet theater’s debut at the Muncie “Living Lightly Fair”, as the theater is used for a show about reducing consumption.

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This 4th-year project for a new municipal courthouse was designed and completed in partnership with Jessie Rabideau after a site visit in Washington, D.C. (ARCH 401, Fall 2009; Instructor Andrea Swartz) honors: -honorable mention prize, AIAS/ Kawneer competition -published in the spring 2010 issue of AIAS CRIT magazine -honorable mention prize, BSU Cripe

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A municipal courthouse is a revered symbol of authority, stability, and integrity, as well as an embodiment of its community’s history and culture. While these qualities are imperative to evoke an essential respect for governmental and social stability, they are stagnant and disregard the courthouse as a place of transformation. Transformation is inherent in the courthouse’s function because the futures of individuals and communities are determined within.

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The courthouse’s function is to determine if and how an individual’s life will be altered. An ensuing transformation occurs within the community as its criminal activity either increases or abates. The new Washington, D.C. Municipal Courthouse maintains the respected civic ideals of authority, stability, and integrity, while exemplifying transformation in form, skin, security, and experience.

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the formal process The formal process began by exploring how “transformation” could materialize. After a series of sketches, the idea of a twisting object developed as a visualization of transformation. The object, initially itself, twists and becomes something different on the other side. The twist remaining in the center of the object is left as the “moment” of transformation. The idea was pushed further into model form as the program entered the equation.

The form culminated with the idea that a single object, wrapped in one skin, would twist upon itself to become something different on the other side. The user would experience this moment of transformation as he or she walks between the two parts of the building. The skin would swoop over, down, and around just before it sweeps upward from the opposite side.

JONATHON MEIER

louver differences north

south

360 variance

*58 variance

1.5’

3’

concrete structural grid kawneer 1600 ss and sloped glazing curtain wall system skin shading/privacy control device the transformative skin The skin wraps around the building as a controlled system of fabric membrane louvers. Each horizontal piece of fabric membrane is independently hinged at its ends, allowing it to twist at any given point across the piece. The louvers’ twist is a direct reference to the building’s form. It transforms spaces by adjusting daylight, visual exposure, and solar gain as the twist moves or is eliminated altogether.

The skin was developed parametrically using Grasshopper, which allowed the individual units to function as a comprehensive system. By using Grasshopper, new iterations were rapidly produced in order to visualize the skin’s transience. The degrees for the parameters on the south facades were derived from the solar altitude angle at 12pm on June 21st.*

operation The skin’s frame holds a series of solar sensors which inform the louvers to immediately become more vertical in overcast conditions (allowing daylight) and more horizontal in sunny conditions (blocking solar radiation).

4 The passersby can see the kinetic skin transforming in real time as the clouds pass over and the skin adjusts to the needs of the building and its users. With the ability to close entirely, images can be projected onto the south facade.

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fourth floor

third floor

solar sensor

B second floor

first floor

fiberglass membrane kawneer glazing

security mezzanine ground floor

section A-A

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3 private parking

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meeting hall outdoor deck retention pond lobby bicycle parking

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suspended ramp aluminum armature structural steel member

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retention wall pond

organization The building is separated into two programmatic areas: public and private. The public area of the building is the western half and lays horizontally at ground level. At the moment of transformation, the horizontal public

form twists upon itself to become the vertical private form elevated in the sky. The courtrooms are the most private at the highest point of the building.

JONATHON MEIER

experiencing the transformation At the center of the security transformation is the security mezzanine. Those entering the administrative and judicial vertical mass must ramp upward to the mezzanine where a clear security transformation occurs mid-way between the ground and first floors. The series of images show the experiential progression from the entrance of the building, through the main corridor, through the point of transformation (as the skin wraps around the building on the left and projects upward on the right), up the security mezzanine, to the culmination of the experience in the courtroom.

JONATHON MEIER

This section includes the sketches, diagrams, and photographs indicative of the knowledge I attained while on World Tour 4--a 97-day and 25-country field study for architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning.

The trip involved courses in studio, analytical sketching, history and theory, sustainable applications, and globalization.

Locations: Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, U.A.E., Singapore, Cambodia, Hong Kong, China, Russia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Ireland

JONATHON MEIER

site planning, narrative, and proportions from ancient sites Visiting sites such as Ephesus (Turkey), Delphi and the Athenian Acropolis (Greece), and the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (Luxor, Egypt) provided the opportunity to witness and analyze the impact of site planning. At Angkor Wat (Cambodia), I was able to experience how the Ramayana could influence the coalescence of site planning,

architecture, and narrative. The Colosseum and Pantheon (Rome) enabled me to see how attention to proportion directly influences spatial ambiance. The sites are prime examples of design fundamentals--from effective hierarchy and proportions, to organizational and visual balance.

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public space and scale Traveling to such a wide array of cities and towns allowed me to see how the scale of public space can vary based on necessity, population, frequency of use, and its surroundings. In Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Square (Shanghai, China), the huge public space addresses both the scale of the surrounding built

environment and the need to provide for a large population. The space along the canal in Vienna, Austria is scaled to the individual, and Town Hall Square in Vilnius, Lithuania is appropriately scaled to Vilniusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population and architecture.

JONATHON MEIER

floor-to-ceiling operable doors

suspended ceiling steel frame wrapped in glass

stone facade pattern

concrete panel cladding “box within a box” suspended choir with organ space for walking between steel frame/ glazing and the wood slats

glazing angled wood slats; the congregation sees the warm glow of the wood and the speaker sees white light from the transluscent glass on the outer layer

tectonics, details, and building technology Throughout the field study I had the opportunity to thoroughly study building technology. I was able to analyze how tectonics and architectural details can inform and impact space, and how they can address environmental control and issues of scale.

daylight

From left to right, the images include the following: Herz Jesu kirche (Munich, Germany), 27 Rue Franklin (Paris, France), La Gare TGV (Avignon, France), Modern Art Museum (Helsinki, Finland), and the Arab Institute (Paris, France).

white painted wood cladding

platform ramp

walk 4” board-formed concrete painted white--the shadow effects create a beautiful texture; using small boards scales the space down to the human

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structural ingenuity I was able to see innumerable examples of how structural ingenuity can translate into formal ingenuity. The structural concepts of Fred and Ginger (Prague, Czech Republic), the Birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nest (Beijing, China), and the Olympic Aquatic Center (Munich, Germany), all inform their respective buildingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; skin and form.

addressing waterfronts The World Tour was an opportunity to see how waterfront treatments can vary across cities and landscapes. In Budapest, Hungary, the pedestrian walkways are pulled back from the riverfront. In Monte Carlo, Monaco, the buildings meet the sea with the cliffs. In London, England, lively pedestrian walkways are directly adjacent to the river.

JONATHON MEIER

This section is dedicated to work completed during a 2.5 month internship with Australian-based architecture firm Terroir in their Sydney office. My work in the firm involved graphic design, model building, architectural drawing, and exhibition organizing. After expressing

my interest in terroirâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s philosophy and general architectural practice, I was accepted into a position as a student intern. While in the office, I was exposed to foreign aproaches to architectural thought, design, and practice.

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sydney laneways competition

honors: project was shortlisted and presented to the City of Sydney Council

The Sydney Laneways competition sought innovative ideas to spark interest and draw attention to Sydney’s unused laneways. I worked with the director of terroir Gerard Reinmuth and photographer Brett Boardman to create a visual package for terroir’s project entry.

After being explained terroir’s programmatic ideas for each laneway, I designed an image to graphically communicate each idea, and then combined the images into a comprehensive visual package.

JONATHON MEIER

maitland city bowls project The Maitland City Bowls Club is in a small town north of Sydney, and is a five-stage project for terroir. The second stage (photographed by Chris Rogers) involved designing a new entry way for the outdated club, and a sleek new roof to unify the previously disjointed building. As the approach to the building is from atop a hill, the roof design was to be very exposed. To help the firm and the clients visualize the designâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s complex geometries, I made a detachable, nearly 4 ft long model (as seen with the scale figure) by hand. After being used in the office, the model was placed on display at the club.

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This section includes photography samples from both home and abroad, as well as samples of hand graphic skills from my undergraduate studies in architecture.

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morning in milan

eleanor’s first autumn

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the great wall

the real stonehenge

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shy local in egyptian village

year of the tiger

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This self-portrait was rendered with colored pencils as a first-year exercise in Design Communications Media 1.

This black ink stippled portrait was a first-year tonal and gradient exercise for Design Communications Media 1.

agosta house The following three images were part of a second-year media exploration for Design Communications Media 2. All three images are of Patkau Architectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Agosta House, and include colored pencil, graphite, and ink drawings.

JONATHON MEIER

education Ball State University

honors Graduation Date: May 2010

College of Architecture and Planning

Degree: Bachelor of Arts Major: Architecture Minor: French GPA: 3.718/4.000 background Teaching Assistant Program in France (French government program) teaching assistant

Teaching English as a second language in a French middle school and high school in Montpellier, France

October 2010 - May 2011

World Tour 4 / Polyark 18 field study partcipant

Studying architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning in 25 countries and 56 cities

January 2010 - April 2010

TERROIR student intern

Interning for the Sydney, Australia based architecture firm

Institute for Digital Fabrication (IDF) student fellow

AIAS “CRIT” Magazine

Project published

Spring 2010

AIAS / Kawneer National Competition

Honorable Mention Award

December 2009

Cripe Competition (BSU)

Honorable Mention Award

December 2009

Gresham Smith Competition (BSU)

Honorable Mention Award

April 2009

College of Architecture and Planning

Dean’s List

Fall 2006 - Spring 2010

Ball State University

Presidential Scholarship

Fall 2006 - Spring 2010

skills Adobe Creative Suite 4

Photoshop, Illustrator, In-Design, Dreamweaver

June 2009 - August 2009

3D, Parametric, Rendering , and Vector Software

Rhino 3D, Grasshopper, V-Ray, SketchUp, 3D Max, AutoCAD

Assisting with IDF projects; Supervising the lab and assisting with digital fabrication equipment

November 2008 - May 2010

Hand Drawing and Model Building

“glue!” Student Architecture Journal staff member

Interviewing guest lecturers; Designing page layouts; Organizing content and events for annual publication

August 2008 - May 2010

International Student Exchange Program program participant

Taking French courses Chambery, France

May 2008 - July 2008

abroad