Lauren Walker
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Architecture in Istanbul Turkey - May 2010
Exploring Zumthor
Models and Representations
Purposeful Play Explorations in Card Cantilevers
The Architecture of Dr. Seuss A Workshop on Illustration
(K)not Architecture Exploration of the Perfection Loop
Fundamentally Sustained
Precedent and INtervention Study
Architecture in Istanbul
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Turkey - May 2010
I participated in a study abroad program that focused on the architecture of Istanbul, Turkey. I spent three weeks immersed in the culture of the former capital of the world, sketching and photographing the city for the upper level drawing class that made up the program. I toured the city, learning about the buildings, major architects and history about the city. The intentions of this drawing class were open-ended and allowed for a great deal of discovery, experimentation and development of personal interests. I was encouraged to explore different media and drawing conventions as well as photograph and collage in sketchbooks that I was required to keep on a daily basis. Paired in a team, I studied a specific stretch of road that runs the entire length of Istanbul, through the heart of the city, as the subject for the final drawing project. In-depth documentation was a large portion of the project and it allowed me to study the structure of the buildings, observe the atmosphere of the shops and attempt to capture the essence of the street. The goal was to describe the life and movement through drawings and other conventions. At the end of the three weeks, our section of drawings was assembled with the drawings of the other teams, essentially creating a road map of the city; an elaborate plan highlighting the culture and diversity of a major thoroughfare through Istanbul.
Massing study of the thermal baths
Exploring Zumthor
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Models and Representations
This seven week workshop was a chance to become familiar with works of contemporary architecture and to analyze their systems of form, space and order. This investigation into the conceptual notions of specific works of architecture was accomplished through physical modeling. Along with two team members, I began by researching and collecting information on the subject of my interest: the celebrated Thermal Baths in Vals, Switzerland designed by Peter Zumthor. After gaining an understanding of its concept and origins, we constructed a replica model to better portray its true functionality and the role of space and form in its design. We then shifted our focus to highlighting more specific aspects of its design: space and form as well as circulation. We designed and constructed several conceptual models around these ideas, giving visual representation to some ideas that generally go unnoticed. Our choices of material and construction method played a large role in our presentation of the design and its concepts. Through each of these explorations, our goal was to uncover the major organizational and conceptual aspects of the design that made it truly unique.
Conceptual model representing spaces and paths
Conceptual model representing spaces and pools
Conceptual model representing the building as a whole
The intent of the Card Cantilever project was to challenge our understanding of structure and to encourage the use of a material that was not intended for such a project. With a partner, I was asked to develop both a stapled and non-stapled version of a cantilever, using a standard deck of playing cards. It was required that the final cantilevers be able to support a tennis ball while pinned at one end to the wall.
The process for this project was mainly trial and error. We were compelled to visualize a familiar structure in an unfamiliar way by adapting a material that is not typically regarded for its structural integrity. With a maximum of 52 playing cards, we sought to optimize the potential of each card, eliminating redudancies and constructing an effective and overall elegant design.
As I played with and manipulated the playing cards, I began to realize how I could take advantage of the shape, stiffness and flexibility of the cards to form components of a greater structure. Individually, the cards are no more than flat planes; but when the boundaries of those planes intersect and the shapes are made into forms, a new set of possibilities arises - including the possibility of a structurally sound cantilever made from a deck of cards.
Purposeful Play
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Explorations in Card Cantilevers
This seven week workshop was an exploration of the work of Dr. Seuss, among many other talented illustrators. The presumption of conducting such an exploration being that the way we perceived stories and engaged with illustrations as children is not unlike how we would do so as adults. The children’s book illustrations that we studied were used as a mode by which to critically view architecture. To define the direction that my explorations would be taking, I chose from a number of form types and spatial types so I could begin to focus on more specific illustrations that related to these types. I chose the form type “Landscape” and the spatial type “To be below the ground” and began to define my own ideas about their respective characteristics within children’s book illustrations. I drew much of my inspiration from the brilliant watercolor paintings of the author/illustrator Blair Lent. Each of his illustrations is a different exploration in the capabilities of children’s books to challenge the definitions of space and landscape as well as my perception of such ideas. From his precedents, I developed my own illustration; trying to define “Landscape” and the feeling “To be below the ground” in a unique and effective way. This final illustration was included in a children’s book that was written and illustrated entirely by the workshop class.
“Unfortunately, the path led to a giant cave underground.�
The Architecture of Dr. Seuss
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A Workshop on Illustration
Knot Architecture was a multi-faceted design project that focused upon the analysis, abstraction, construction and reinterpretation of knots as a means to understanding the relationships between space and form. This project provided a challenge to each of my skill sets by requiring a well-developed process, well planned designs, precision of craft and clarity of interpretation. Studying the “perfection loopâ€? knot, I explored its characteristics in stages by documenting its construction and final form. The design process began with a three-dimensional wire interpretation of this knot, highlighting the specific way in which the rope intertwined to create the loop. I sketched each individual motion of the rope to understand its movement, taking twodimensional designs and translating them into a three-dimensional model. The next step was an analysis of the wire interpretation and the spaces and voids I identified amongst the angles created by the motions of the knot. This analysis gave way to a solid interpretation of the knot, taking a series of sketched design ideas and turning them into a built object. Based entirely upon the voids created in the wire model, I produced solids in their place to give a general shape to my built model, which was designed to be folded and created from one solid piece of chipboard. The intricate egg crate model was an extension of the folded model, broken down into a ½ inch grid. It was an exercise in craft, planning and attention to detail.
(K)not Architecture
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Exploration of the Perfection Loop
Egg crate model (right) and details (above).
The Fundamentally Sustained workshop involved an overview of the many different climate zones within the US as well as passive design solutions responding to each of the different climates. The first project involved a precedent study of a structure within the designated Hot/ Wet climate zone. My group and I conducted our research on the Zachary House designed by Stephen Atkinson, located in Zachary, Louisiana. We explored the various characteristics of the climate as well as the specific design elements that responded to that climate. From our research we created a scale model, to better understand the structure and its successes in sustainability and functionality. I then conducted an intervention and designed a pavilion structure that could exist along with the present structure, the Zachary House, as well as be functional in the climate zone. My pavilion design takes advantage of the prevailing winds on the site to encourage passive cooling as well as the effects of shading that I had previously explored. Through this workshop, I was able to gain a better understanding of a climate zone different from my own and explore design conventions that I may not have otherwise become familiar with. Shading study of the Zachary House and surrounding site
Fundamentally Sustained
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Precedent and Intervention Study
Pavilion designed in response to the Zachary House site