SCOPES +
TESSELLATIONS
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Twin House Celestial Temple Kaleidoscope Tower Vertical Construction CnC: I-V Terraced Housing Five Crescent
Scopes + Tesselations A collection of academic and internship works completed by Joseph Wassell.
Collaboratiions: Vertical Construction: Troels Frandsen Jorn Lambertson Andrew Perkins CnC: I-V: Rigidized Metals Five Crescent: CBO Glass Curtainwall Design Consulting The Facade Group Robert A.M. Stern Architects
Twin House A telescoping house for twins, sited in a river, acting as a dam. Inspired by Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), in which blood flows through one twin to the other, The house acts as a valve, opening and closing to control the flow of the river, thereby altering the program which occupies the small space. Program is built into the telescoping walls, so that by lifting or lowering each wall, both the activity of the house, and the water flowing through it changes. Fully opened, water flows freely through the space, bathing its inhabitants. Lowering the interior wall, will funnel the water through individual troughs, making for controlled running water for food preparation, cleaning objects and the like, while leaving the majority of space open and dry for daily activities. The final layer closes the roof, and lowers a pair of hammocks for the twins to sleep, thereby ending the cycle, to be re-opened and restarted at daybreak.
Celestial Temple Mankind is terrestrial; defined by the ground plane. The way in which we define reality is determined by our relationship to this datum. To deviate from that datum, somehow defies that reality. Some of the earliest methods to escape, relied on a translation from our overbearing flat geometry, to that of the sphere; from lifting into the air in balloons, our reaching the depths of the ocean in a bathysphere. The Celestial Temple harnesses some of these early efforts, using the sphere as a means of escape. Using circular scores in a triangular plane, the plane transforms into a spherical segment. This formal logic evolves into a simple and secluded space of contemplation. A giant lens, another early means of transgressing space, captures the night sky, and relays it to the interior walls. These walls bend away from the center, in effect placing the user outside of the celestial sphere altogether, to make a space of contemplation. A space of escape. An escape of space.
Kaleidoscope Tower The site given for this project was Fort Niagara, in upstate New York. Using a disposable camera as an apparatus for design, the ascension of a watch tower was documented through photography. The resulting photos were mapped in space to their respective frames, and this mapping was projected through the wall, so that the camera became a boring device, carving a physical trace of where it had operated. This carved out result was then reassembled beside the tower, inverting the direction which originally existed, in reference to the mirroring inherent to the camera.
Circulation
Gift Shop Display Area Observation Deck
Office Space + Storage Restrooms
Vertical Construction: Spinal Tower A full scale construction at Griffis Sculpture Park, in upstate New York, the Spinal Tower was a collaborative piece which explored the expressive potentials of the tectonic in a vertical construction. Particular attention was paid to the constructional form with regards to continuity and inflection. The literal execution of continuity on the southern corner establishes the necessary horizontal bracing to establish a rigid tube structure, and reduce the bearing load for the cantilevered segments. Each segment is defined by an inflection, effectively breaking the faรงade, granting access and establishing vertical circulation through the inhabitable structure. The resulting organic faรงade provides stark contrast to its static tectonic counterparts. The inorganic bears no symbolic content, and so through engendering the analogous relation between tectonic and organic forms, the structural form attains symbolic value appropriate to its site.
CnC: I-V This project was developed in collaboration with the University at Buffalo and Rigidized Metals, with the purpose of developing a cladding system using thin gauge steel. The project examines the use of CnC technology to create an architectural faรงade system that can be parametrically modeled for the purpose of mass customization. This particular system adapts a simple pattern, and reapplies it on multiple scales, to create subtle moments of variation that can be manipulated prior to fabrication and outputted to both the CnC punch and hydraulic press. The most basic unit is a trapezoid, which can be altered in height to control light penetration. These units are arranged in strips and interlocked vertically at control points, and horizontally at an unfolded double unit. This horizontal connection creates another series of lines which can be modified to the end-users desires. This is an ongoing project, which is being produced in both Corten and Stainless Steel.
Control Points
Terraced Housing Proposal for a mixed use, agricultural housing project on a corner in downtown Buffalo. Each housing unit is accompanied by a roof garden space, which makes up a third of the total square footage of that unit. In order to ensure adequate lighting, and give green space to each unit, each subsequent floor is stepped back. The building cavity that this creates is then opened up to provide a fixed location for the farmers market.
Unit Type A 1 Bedroom 460 sq.ft Unit Count: 1
U-turn possible Wheelchair path
Unit Type B 3 Bedroom 920 sq.ft Unit Count: 5 U-Turn Possible Wheelchair Path
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Growing Terrace -Site cast reinforced concrete slab -Concrete topping, slope to drain -Waterproof membrane -Root barrier -Drainage and water retention layer -Geotextile filter fabric -12” deep lightweight growing soil
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Glass balustrade -formed steel shoe, cast in place -polyethylene setting block -5/8” tempered glass -fill pocket with quick drying hydraulic cement -caulking at finish -gap silicone sealed to glass -square cedar balustrade cap
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Balcony -Precast concrete inverted channel, with embedded steel shoe for balustrade
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Interior Wall -Light gauge steel studs, 16” o.c. -½” gypsum board, both faces
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Exterior Wall 1 -Aluminum framed double glazing -operable vent at top
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Exterior Wall 2 -Site cast reinforced concrete wall, finish interior face -Water proof membrane, exterior face -Rigid insulation -Air space -Light gauge steel battens -Slatted wood rain screen cladding
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Suspended ceiling -Wire hangers -3 ½” channels, 48” o.c. -1 ½” channels, 16” o.c. -Slatted wood cladding
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Interior Floor -Site cast reinforced concrete slab -Concrete topping with radiant heat piping embedded -Fin tube unit at window wall
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Floor at ground level -Site cast reinforced concrete slab -Concrete topping, slope to drain -waterproof membrane -Concrete pavers on mortar bed Retaining Wall -Site cast reinforced concrete wall -Site cast reinforced concrete strip footing
1 Basement Slab -Compacted gravel -Sand -Waterproof membrane -Site cast reinforced concrete slab on grade
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Five Crescent Drive A new medical research building in the Philidelphia Navy Yard. CBO served as the glazing contractor, and was responsible for designing and detailing the unitized curtainwall system consisting of twelve unique corner conditions, and over 450 distinct trapezoidal units. Walls alternate between vertical, sloping, and an inverted slope, which create the diverse corner conditions which were resolved through a series of custom extrusions, each requiring their own die. Due to the complex geometries, nearly every piece of coping was unique to the frame it covered. The parabolic glass surfaces have half inch joints between each pane, making for a visually continuous surface, helping it to dissipate into its surrounding. Responsibilities on this project included but were not limited to coordinating with consultants, reviewing drawings for accuracy, designing building enclosure coping, creating construction documents for field fixes, and locating and sizing anchors for various conditions.