Laura Boyle selected works
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built projects a cabin in the woods
4
a loft for a scientist
20
a pavilion in the jungle
36
a school for arts education
52
project brief: brief design/build program requirements: requirements renovate main room, new bathroom, sleeping porch and entry area: 400 sq ft area material: concrete pads, pine studs and sheathing, hemlock siding, alumninum alloy roof, reclaimed doors and windows, standard hardware material time: 6 months time role: designer/project manager role
a cabin in the woods Mountainy Pond Club Holden, Maine
pg 4
cabin
Mountainy Pond stretches 3 miles long by 3/4 miles wide in Dedham, Maine. A wealthy Philadelphia lawyer by the name of Don Hinkley started buying up property in this district beginning in 1909 with plans to develop it into a vacation destination complete with a full resort and water slide. The Great Depression hit and Hinkley had to liquidate most of his assets. Fourteen men invested in Hinkley land during those twenty years. The men decided to buy Hinkley out of his investment and took full ownership over the land surrounding Mountainy Pond putting it in a trust belonging to them and their families. Each family commissioned the construction of a timber-framed cabin which they would frequent every summer for several months. One of these men was Anderson Page. Page, also a lawyer from Philadelphia, was married with four children who liked to tinker with construction in his spare time. In the summer of 1947 he built a one-room cabin with a small bathroom back from the main house. He died shortly after and the cabin fell into disrepair. As the Page family grew larger and the need for more space was required, they approached me to take a look at the little cabin’s existing condition. Despite water damage over the bathroom due to a leaky water tank, the interior remained in good condition. The exposed pine studs had darkened beautifully. We decided to do a full renovation or the existing structure, rebuild the bathroom, and add on a sleeping porch. Because of its humble size, the building is used year round due to the installation of an Ashley stove in the main room. I met Anderson Page’s grandson, also named Anderson, in Boston while completing my undergraduate degree at Northeastern University. He had learned the traditional method of building through several construction projects while working for the grounds keeper which inspired him to uncover the potential of the little cabin his grandfather built. Anderson and I began construction in early June 2011.
pg 6
cabin
1955 - 2010
2011 - present
pg 8
cabin
structure: light : skin
The cabin’s original foundation consisted of four large rocks holding the entire structure off the ground. Several structural adjustments were needed to level the cabin and redistribute the loads evenly. We used a floor jack to relieve the walls of weight while we pulled in the leaning wall with a come-along, then installed one central collar and three scissor braces. This new roof bracing system added height to the space while allowing us to use the original pitch of the roof. We wanted to bring in as much light as possible to the interior which proved difficult due to its tree cover. We also removed all collar ties and replaced them with scissor braces to give more height to the main room. Most of the cabins on Mountainy Pond are clad in live edge siding cut from fallen trees. We used material from the trees removed during construction as well as other trees from the area to side both new and existing structures. We also installed a black metal roof over the existing asphalt shingle roof for increased low maintenance durability.
pg 10
cabin
pg 12
cabin
pg 14
cabin
pg 16
cabin
pg 18
cabin
project brief: brief full renovation program requirements: requirements new ďŹ nishes, oor, doors, complete reconstruction of stair area: 1210 sq ft area materials: hard maple, steel, stainless steel hardware materials time: 20 weeks time role: designer/shop assistant role
a loft for a scientist Artisan Builders LLC Charlestown, Massachusetts
pg 20
loft
context
The neighborhood: Charlestown Navy Yard
Parris Landing interior: designed by Phillipe Stark
pg 22
loft
exposure: light : transparency
The client’s desire to open up the space was welcomed by the design/construction team. The element with the most opportunity to do so was the stair, changing it from an enclosed room to an open-riser steel structure bring light from the sawtooth skylight down to the entry two levels below. The clean transparency achieved in the lobby was adapted to the loft’s interior with glass panels inset in the doors to reflect daylight as well as light from newly placed fixtures into the darker corners of the space. We also removed the dropped ceiling in the living room to expose the concrete structure lying beneath as well as laid a new bamboo floor throughout the loft.
pg 24
loft
bedroom entry hall: before and after
bedroom closet: before and after
pg 26
loft
pg 28
loft
2 1/4” X 1 1/4” STEEL ANGLE
2” X 1/4” FLAT STEEL BAR
EXISITING LANDING
2” X 2” STEEL SQUARE TUBE
EXISITING LANDING
pg 30
loft
EXISTING SHEETROCK EXISTING STEEL STUD BEYOND
2X8 STUD FOR BLOCKING
MAPLE TREAD
3/8” STAINLESS STEEL ELEVATOR BOLT NEOPRENE WASHER
2 X 2 HOT ROLLED STEEL 1/4” WALL SQUARE TUBE
7/16” HOLE
2 X 3 X 1/4” HOT ROLLED STEEL ANGLE
2X3X1/4” STEEL ANGLE 3/8” LAG BOLT 7/16” HOLE
WELD
pg 32
loft
pg 34
loft
project brief: brief design/build program requirements: requirements design a pavillion to house traditional artifacts, construct one bay area: 1200 sq ft area materials: bamboo, local hardwood (chaunta and mahogany), rope, commericial hardware materials time: 6 weeks time
a pavilion in the jungle Selva Viva, Puerto Napo, Ecuador
pg 36
pavillion
This project was rooted in culture. Twelve RISD architecture students traveled to Quito to meet twelve UTE (Universidad Tecnica de Ecuador) architecture students to design and build a pavilion for a Quechua tribe that had founded a bioreserve called Selva Viva, funded by tourism. They invited us to design a pavilion which could house native artisan objects such as clothing, jewelry, and ceramics. The building would have a rotating collection to display these objects to foreign tourists as well as the local youth who was quickly abandoning the traditional lifestyle. After a one week research period at the UTE campus followed by a four day charette period on site, we began preparing the site. Over the next four weeks, we worked to build one bay of the proposal. The project was to be ďŹ nished by tribe members who worked alongside us, showing us traditional building techniques.
pg 38
pavillion
pg 40
pavillion
pride : resource : structure
The Quechuans suffered from societal modernization. The draw of contemporary living threatened the principles of traditional living. Many youths ran away from home to pursue a “regular life”, but had problems adjusting their new surroundings. Many girls fell into prostitution while the boys went into narcotics. Native people use native materials. This leads to a delightfully diverse use of the one thing to do many things. The one thing was bamboo. Quechuans used it for building structures, doors, boats, fishing, even filtering water. We learned the native methods of preparing bamboo using only a machete and a bow saw. We approached the project sensitively, yet with a thirst to build something innovative. Through several models and mock-ups, we developed a interesting structural details that exploited bamboo’s tensile and compressive qualities.
pg 42
pavillion
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pg 44
pavillion
individually hand-woven roof sheathing
structural detail
pg 46
pavillion
hanging display wall
pg 48
pavillion
pg 50
pavillion
addition: classrooms and instrument storage
founder’s house
project brief: brief volunteer construction program requirements: requirements classrooms and storage area: 1000 sq ft area material: brick, concrete, plaster, wood, corrugated metal material time: 20 weeks time
an school for arts education Grupo Cultural Arte Consciente Salvador, Brazil
pg 52
school
context Brazilian public schools do not include arts education or group sports in the curriculum due to lack of funding thus leaving students to invest their creative interests elsewhere. In poorer favelas, where students barely ďŹ nish secondary school, there is a severe lack of these programs. Four life-long friends who grew up together in the favela Saramandaia, Salvador-da-Bahia, Brazil, joined forces to construct an after school arts education center to teach their respective professional creative pursuits: percussion, boxing, circus arts, and illustration.
pg 54
school
space and program
The addition was designed by the founding members to satisfy the instruction of each art in a truly multipurpose space. Instruction, practice, and performance occurs in the same space with students often taking more than one class. A oneand-a-half height main room was achieved using a rudimentary concrete mixture to pour columns and beams strong enough to hang a trapeze from.
pg 56
school
pg 58
school
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