Design Works Kerry DeWan
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Selected Works
Blacksburg Public Library 4-9 Room in Garden 8-17 Concrete Study 18-19 Watercolor 20-21 Ten x Ten x Ten 22-25 Material Study 26-29 Wall of Books 30-33
Blacksburg Public Library Third year, Patrick Doan
Located in the heart of the small college town of Blacksburg, Virginia, this library acts as a point of connection with local residents and university students. The site’s location is adjacent to the original ’Sixteen Squares’ of downtown Blacksburg, an historic feature that the town prides itself on.The idea of connection was explored and interpreted through the use of materials in the building. A light, steelframed exterior is read from the street view of the building, giving the area an airy and spacious feel to welcome patrons. Once inside, the massing shifts to wrap around the back as heavy concrete wall, indicating an important element in the space - housing for the books of the library. The separation of the connective building is an important embodiment of the duality of the types of patrons, while also providing a clearly communal space as well as a strictly studious space.
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This detail explores the meeting of the steel structure and curtain wall windows on the first floor. The structure can be seen from both the exterior and interior, but is placed inside to avoid a thermal break in the wall. A C-channel added to the exterior provides an opportunity to conceal insulation and express structure. Extending the glass into the column provides the illusion of continuous glass.
Room in Garden
Third year, Patrick Doan Where the natural and man-made world meet there is a unique opportunity to manipulate the landscape as a transitional area into a space for reflection. Adding architecture to a natural environment is something to be carefully considered. In this project, the built structure blurs the lines of interior and exterior. Following a walled path, the occupant’s views are directed out towards the natural forest. At the end of the path, a reflecting pool separates natural path from the landscape. Here, human intervention is seem in the wooden path that continues to the steps and up to the room. The room is an extension of the path, not an independent space but not a simply transitional space. Here, there is a choice to continue through on path, or an opportunity to step off into the room and reflect.
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Located in a wooded area, the room acts as a seperation space between the natural forest and controlled garden. Controlling the heights and direction of the formwork of the concrete walls, frame the reflection space and directs the eye towards the formal stepping of the designed garden.
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Window Joint
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Joint explosion
Window Detail
Door Detail
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Joint Detail
Door Swing
Concrete Study
Second year, Aki Ishida Partners: Daniel Zendejas, Min Do, and Jake Tessier The versatility of concrete is enhanced by the formwork that contains it. Concrete becomes the embodiment of the formwork designed. In a group of four, we created a permeable concrete wall using the same shape iterated sixteen times. I fabricated the six reusable formworks. I also managed the proportion of aggregate and water when mixing the concrete. The proportion was crucial keep a cohesive color and material composition throughout each iteration.
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Watercolor
Third Year, Mario Cortes Architecture can be expressed through many means of media. Learning water color allowed me to grasp a deeper understanding of capturing tones by only using black. As I progressed in class, we were introduced to using complimentary colors to create different levels of tones. By taking this water color class, I was able to form a new way of observation that strengthens my perspective of architecture by simplifying the physical structure through tones.
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Ten x Ten x Ten
Fourth Year, Paul Emmons and Jodi La Coe Situated in Old Town Alexandria, this project integrates a conserversial film of its time with the changing views of today’s society. Charles and Ray Eames’ innovative viewpoint in their film Power of Ten inspired me to apply the mathematical system of expontents to the different scales of grids used in my project. Layering these scales to design a cohesive space, I was able to design a theatre about the jouney through a building more than the literal idea of jumping scales. This project was a fusion between the reference of Power of Ten and the integration of code and zoning requirements of the town of Alexandria.
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10’
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South Elevation
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Material Study
Second Year, Hilary Bryon This study explores a common material, brick, and investigates how to use it in a way that the whole creates more than could be possible with a single unit. The study extorts the modularity of a brick and forms it into a wall. The voids and protrusions formed by rotating the orientation of the module create a structure that turns a stream of light into a jagged shadow that weaves across the wall.
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Wall of Books
Second year, Hilary Bryon These buildings are defined by the wall of books spanning between them. The prominent wall on each building is a connection across the narrow alleyway that physically separates them. The two walls of books run from floor to ceiling, visually eliminating the void. In the volumes the books act as the focal point of the room. While visually massive and intimidating when together, a person may take a single book from the wall. A single book is obtainable and fits comfortably in a human hand, an vastly different experience than what a person is first faced with when entering the larger-scale space.
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