Julia Webster Virginia Tech Portfolio 2019 - 2022
Designing Agriculture:
Impacts of Appalachian Vernacular 5th Year Thesis 2021 - 2022 Work in Progress
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This thesis argues for a return to the specicifty of vernacular architecture. Vernacular architecture teaches the importance of buildings that are designed for its place, time, and purpose. I am exploring these ideas through the program of an university agricultureal dairy research facility. This project will include both the barns that the animals inhabit and the research buildings for the scientists who work there.
Design for a calf barn with an office, made by combining forms from studies on historic barns in Appalachia
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Aerial view of the site, Kentland Farms. Hatches and lines depict the texture of the landscape.
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The dairy parlor I’ve designed is informed by my studies on early american barns but the form is derived from 1920’s organic functionalism modernist ideals. This barn forms a “bean shape” in plan. This “Bean Barn” is specifically shaped for the needs of this herd. It is not a linear system like the universal prefabricated steel barns of today but a way to group and milk 300 cows. Feeding occurs on the inside cuve, milking robots allow for heifers to be milked in the center, and resting pens occupy the outer curve. This design follows the flow of the landscape.
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Montissori Classroom 3rd Yr Fall 2019
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South Elevation with clearstory
North Elevation with shading device and large tilted windows
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Steel Village Winery and Research Center at Virginia Tech 4th Yr Fall 2020
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Site Map showing orientation of vineyards and orchards and their relationship to major highway 460, the Inn at Virginia Tech, and the campus duck pond.
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The Research Winery at Virginia Tech combines wine production with presentition. In the research and production building wide spaning steel trusses allow for open interaction between offices and labratories. An underground cellar houses fermentation tanks, oak barrels, and a staircase leading to the bottle silo.
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1. Graduate and Faculty Offices 2. Labratorys 3. Bottle Storage Silo 4. Tasting Room 5. Lecture Hall 6. Classrooms 7. Exhibition Hall
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Lecture Hall
Exhibition Hall
Tasting Room 10’
25’
50’
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The Board Game Cafe 4th Yr Spring 2021
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Masterplan showing approximatly 300 dwelling units on 40 acres
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The goal of this assignment was to design a mixed use building in order to understand how dense and walkable communities are one solution to suburban sprawl. I explored this typology through the program of a board game cafe on the ground level with residential apartments on upper floors.
Elevations show materiality and relationship to the street
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25’ 10’
50’
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Sections show interaction of the mezzanine level to the ground level Board Game Cafe
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10’ 5’
25’
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Julia Webster julia118@vt.edu
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