LANCE SMITH ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO
environmental outlook dwelling analysis door design project art gallery intervention anton corbijn studio paper studio + factory primal meat house fire house 18 library console table urban dialysis
ENVIRONMENTAL OUTLOOK SPRING 2009 | ARCH 211 | PROF. GUNDULA PROKSCH | FINAL PROJECT The premise for this project was to create an observation tower that responded to the site conditions; both visually and environmentally. Inspired by the adjacent Richard Serra sculptures and the working waterfront of Seattle, the tower also augments the salmon habitat below the surface of the water by creating a shelter from predators. The structure acts as a dynamic sculpture that responds to the passage of time; the result of an interaction with the salt water and an oxidation process, which alters the metallic exterior skin. Vertical circulation through the tower is defined by a sequence of reward and denial nodes, culminating with a 360 degree view of Puget Sound.
olympic sculpture park seattle, wa four weeks hand + digital
PERSPECTIVE conditions above + below the water surface
DIAGRAMS circulation + materiality + habitat
DWELLING ANALYSIS WINTER 2010 | ARCH 301 | PROF. KEN OSHIMA + WYN BIELASKA
SECTIONS + AXONOMETRIC qualities of light after (top) + before (bottom)
This was an introductory charrette in the beginning week of 301 studio where we measured the “as-built” conditions of our housing and then performed an architectural intervention. My project was an investigation into the properties of light and how it can possibly define and project a perception of space to an outside observer. The intervention was informed by an attempt to reconcile the notions of how to architecturally admit light and emit light.
my apartment seattle, wa one week digital
CUT AWAY + ELEVATION insertions of light (top) + existing (bottom)
DOOR DESIGN PROJECT
WINTER 2010 | ARCH 301 | PROF. KEN OSHIMA + WYN BIELASKA gould hall seattle, wa one week hand + digital
AXONOMETRIC exploded kit of parts of the hand operated door
Speculative replacement doors for the Gould Hall coffee shop are realized through inspiration from the process of grinding coffee and the idea of human powered apparatuses. A feasible design for a working door plus a mechanical kit of parts was developed and produced on a one to two scale drawing.
GALLERY INTERVENTION WINTER 2010 | ARCH 301 | PROF. KEN OSHIMA + WYN BIELASKA
As the studio sequence continued, the scale and scope of our interventions grew larger. This intervention of an art gallery was a continuation of my experiments with light, and inspired by the adjacent James Turrell Sky Space. The speculative intervention passively admits natural day light down below into the gallery circulation spaces by day and becomes an abstract sculpture of light by night. The implication of this study is that a design can have different modes of perception that are dependent on varying conditions, including time of day and atmospheric variables.
henry art gallery seattle, wa one week hand + digital
ANTON CORBIJN STUDIO WINTER 2010 | ARCH 301 | PROF. KEN OSHIMA + WYN BIELASKA | FINAL PROJECT Anton Corbijn is a well known photographer and director, primarily known for his work with musicians, including Joy Division, U2, Depeche Mode, R.E.M., and Nirvana. The program required galleries, studio spaces, and a living area for the photographer. An empty urban lot was developed in conjunction with three other group members with an intent for our different ideas to inform one another. My project was assigned a vertical constraint and a small foot print, which challenged the traditional notions of designing in plan and forced me to look to the section as the primary mode of design inquiry. The problem then became a question of connecting all the program elements in a vertical manner. A solution was found with an idea for modular galleries that are inserted, along with the studio spaces, into a structural core that is topped off with the living space that provides a dramatic and focused view towards downtown Seattle.
wallingford seattle, wa five weeks digital + hand
ELEVATION + STUDY MODELS
PERSPECTIVE exterior circulation connects galleries to studios
DIAGRAM + SECTION PERSPECTIVE relationship of galleries + structure + circulation + studios
STUDIES
PERSPECTIVE studio interior connection to galleries
SECTION
PAPER STUDIO + FACTORY SPRING 2010 | ARCH 302 | JEN DEE + CHARLIE ANDERSON | FINAL PROJECT Hand made paper is a process that cannot be modeled through a linear algorithm and repeated infinitely. It is a deliberate act of creation and re-creation. This is a binary that is inherent to the hand made paper factory; the relationship to the act of creation and the artist’s mind to this re-creation of the mind, manifested into a physical form on the factory floor through the craft of the maker. This becomes a question of how to present this abstract into architectural form. What properties are to be assigned to the various tools in the architect’s kit of parts? The mind is not a physical object, and is abstract in nature; thoughts exist subjectively at this level. Light and air become the architectural medium through which the act of creation will travel, moderating itself through qualities that are without imposing presence, as they are shaped amorphously in the mind. The making of paper is a physical process, grounded in tradition and the act of doing and making. A solid quality becomes appropriate; heavy and carved by the will of creation. The concept then becomes a question of how to mediate these two forces through interlocking and weaving.
queen anne seattle, wa five weeks digital + hand
PERSPECTIVE exterior entrance into the factory
PERSPECTIVE the space between studios + factory production areas
SITE + ROOF PLAN aerial view of configuration
PERSPECTIVE + DIAGRAM interior studio spaces + exploded view of structure + cladding + floor plates
CONCEPT + SECTION interactions between architectural elements
TECTONIC MODEL studio spaces + factory production spaces
TECTONIC MODEL highlights transverse section + resolution of concept
PRIMAL MEAT HOUSE FALL 2010 | ARCH 400 | JUDITH SWAIN | FINAL PROJECT The design of this project is derived from the existing site conditions: a former military housing development. The housing has been removed, but the foundation slabs remain as monumental relics of the historic past of a decommissioned military base; a scratch in the layer of history. The existing landscape itself is deceptive: the seemingly natural terraces are actually a man made construction. Knowing this, an opportunity for the manipulation and terra-forming of the site arises and a concept of slicing the ground open and lifting it is generated. This abstract ground then hovers over the site and program elements can be inserted in between. As a restaurant specializing in naturally raised and organic meats, the knife edge of the buildings becomes evocative, not only of the initial slicing open of the ground, but of the butcher’s cleaver. The smoke from the hearth hangs delicately in the air, serving as a reminder of where our food comes from and establishing a relationship between consumer and producer, reinforced through the spatial arrangement of the program.
discovery park seattle, wa six weeks digital + hand
SITE DIAGRAM the ground plane is sliced + lifted with program inserted
live
offices
auditorium
bath
gardens
hearth
dinning
greenhouse
greenhouse
meditate
hearth
pasture
banquet
ORGANIZATIONAL STUDIES
SITE PLAN organization of program elements including buildings + gardens
PERSPECTIVE the concept physically manifests itself through the building
PROCESS STUDIES
PERSPECTIVE the dining area as a glass element versus the concrete hearth
PERSPECTIVE banquet hall with a processional entry path
SECTION PERSPECTIVE juxtaposition of smoke house + meditation areas
TECTONIC MODEL strips of c-flute give impression of textures
FIRE HOUSE 18 LIBRARY WINTER 2011 | ARCH 401 | PROF. KATHRYN MERLINO | TERM PROJECT
ELEVATION + PLAN existing building conditions
DIAGRAM load tracing + structural composition
magnuson park seattle, wa eight weeks digital + hand
PERSPECTIVE the brick shell architecturally demonstrates the passage of time
As an adaptive re-use of a decommissioned firehouse, a series of analytical investigations into the existing conditions of the site and building had to be performed, which could then in turn inform design decisions later in the project. I became interested in the architectural manifestation of the passage of time, responding to the weathered condition of the firehouse, which had fallen into disrepair. The “ruin� became the conceptual methodology for the architectural intervention into the firehouse, highlighting the relationship between old and new, and opening a dialogue of generation versus decay. The new program--a museum and library--along with new structural elements are carefully integrated into the existing building including seismic upgrades and a natural daylighting system. The existing brick shell is allowed to fall to into ruin, locked in a continual process of revealing the inserted steel box, and simultaneously acting as a canvas for local artists, in the spirit of Gordon Matta-Clark.
PERSPECTIVE entry view into the building
SECTION PERSPECTIVE arrangement of library program + central light core
PROCESS STUDIES
PERSPECTIVE the central light core provides daylight
stacks
museum
conference
computers
stacks
ruins
men
cafe
museum
circulation
reading
offices
women
TECTONIC MODEL museum portion of the program
PLANS levels one + two
DIAGRAM structural integration
TECTONIC MODEL south entry into the museum + ruin
CONSOLE TABLE SPRING 2011 | ARCH 402 | PENNY MAULDEN + LAURA YEATS + STEVE WITHYCOMBE | TERM PROJECT
gould hall shop seattle, wa eight weeks hand
OVERVIEW western maple slab + drawer with hot rolled angle iron frame
The design intent for this console table was a resolution to reduce and distill the structural requirements to only what is absolutely necessary in an attempt to obtain a sense of formal elegance, with a deep respect for the nature of materials and fabrication techniques. The angle iron frame is TIG welded to create moment joints that form a continuous loop, combining requirements of lateral stability and the transfer of gravity forces into a singular element. A minimal connection between the removable drawer and frame is achieved through a routed channel that accepts the polished ends of a plate steel mounting. The sides of the drawer wrap around mitered joints, secured with wengae splines. As a commitment to ecological concerns, the wood for this project was procured from salvaged materials. Influenced by the work of George Nakashima, a sensual live edge western maple slab hovers above the steel frame, providing a juxtaposition of texture and material.
DETAIL detachable drawer with wengae mitered splines
URBAN DIALYSIS SUMMER 2011 | COMPETITION | FINAL ENTRY [PLACED TOP 20] with Sara Duffy, Min Park, Sally Tsang Ka Yan, and Prof. Gundula Proksch
responsible for final renderings equal design + research roles brooklyn navy yard new york city, ny six weeks digital
PERSPECTIVE the constructed landscape provides fresh water for the aeroponics...
The Center for Urban Dialysis re-imagines an empty parking lot as a hub that massproduces biofuel, crops, and clean water for the surrounding neighborhood, and ultimately, the city. Bioreactors harvest and convert algae into nutrients that are utilized, along with reclaimed waste water from the constructed wetlands, in an aeroponic greenhouse scheme. Greenhouses are retrofitted to neighboring buildings, setting up a networked infrastructure of crop production mechanisms, supplied from the center. A twenty four hour algae and aeroponic growth cycle is promoted by capturing and storing the sun’s energy with the use of parabolic solar collectors; visible light is routed to the algae growing system and infrared radiation is stored in a photo voltaic battery system. The waste water is collected from the greenhouses and sent back through the system to be recycled. The crops produced from the greenhouses are transported across the city, fueled by biofuel engineered on site, creating a network of production and consumption. (System diagram credit: Min Park)
...the visible infrastructure circulates and distributes water, nutrients, and fuel
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