Selected Works of Lauren Buntemeyer by LaurenBuntemeyer

LAUREN BUNTEMEYER SELECTED WORKS

2015 2018

ABOUT ME I am a designer based in Knoxville, Tennessee and a graduate from the Master of Architecture program at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. The following work is my blood, sweat, and tears from my time spent in the program. I have always been interested in design of many forms, including everything from digital media to industrial design to architecture and so forth. This diverse spectrum of curiosity has led me to spectacular heights, and as you will see in the following work I enjoy exploring design through any means possible. With that in mind, the luxuries that education has provided me are, one, an environment to push boundaries and, two, an opportunity to work with other passionate designers â&#x20AC;&#x201D; two luxuries which I hope to carry on into my career. That being said, please, enjoy!

CONTACT Lauren Buntemeyer Lpbuntemeyer@gmail.com LaurenBuntemeyer.com

P-01

P-02

P-03

MOTEL FOR HYPOCHONDRIACS

ERROR 404 // DIGITAL URBANISM

A BEACON TO DISCOVER

[Professor Mark Stanley, Fall 2015] For all your psychological ailments. Here, at the Motel for Hypochondriacs, you can escape the world. Come and enjoy all our wonderful amenities including: Free Web-MD, an unlimited supply of fresh oxygen, and a hyperbaric chamber equipped with a luxurious memory foam mattress for each pod. Sickness free, guaranteed!

[Fellow Darius Amonn, Fall 2016] In consideration of impending catastrophe, this speculative design suggests urban futures using co-opted architecture from Atelier Bow Wowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Made in Tokyo. With my partner Breanna Browning, our aim was to create a city less determined by our physical body and more by our digital persona that ultimately contemplates catastrophic potentials of the virtual variety.

[Professor Tricia Stuth, Spring 2017] A Lyceum Competition Proposal which prompted a design for a new branch of the New York Public Library. This proposal considers our connection to place. All at once how we view our surroundings from the outside looking in and the inside looking out. An architecture that guides one to it like a beacon guiding a ship to shore.

P-04

P-05

P-06

DATABASE NATURES

FORGOTTEN POSSESSIONS

MANHATTAN PROJECT 2.0

[Professor Micah Rutenberg, Fall 2017] With the creation of Google, also came the creation of new methods of design. This project considers new potentials for a world in which we design using the logic of digital interfacing.

[Professor Nick Stawinski, Summer 2017] A stool that exploits our memories and challenges what we think we know. What results is a collision between analogue and digital fabrication.

[Professor Mark Stanley, Summer 2016] This project re-imagines a new identity for Oak Ridge National Laboratory within the 21 . Formerly a place known for the creation of the atom bomb, Manhattan Project 2.0 suggests new potentials for an even more provocative and imaginative identity than Oak Ridgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former self.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2015 2018

D-01

S-01

T-01

BEARDSLEY COMMUNITY FARM

CULTURE LAB JAPAN

THIS IS FINE

[Professor Jennifer Akerman, Fall 2015] A design-build project started in 2014 that allowed the creation of a much needed education center for a local community farm in Knoxville, Tennessee.

[Professor Brian Ambroziak, Spring 2017] A two and a half week study abroad trip that moved from the peaceful landscapes of Koyasan to the adrenaline inducing urban-scape of Tokyo in an adventure and design exploration beyond ones wildest imagination.

[Professor Mark Stanley, Spring 2018] A project which seeks to grapple with the constant chaos evident in everyday American culture. An endeavor that wants to understand the role of the architect during a time in which citizens are endlessly coping with a surreal environment.

MOTEL FOR HYPOCHONDRIACS Knoxville, Tennessee

P-01

Fall 2015

PROJECT

This project is located in the heart of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. The space which this building occupies is an 8â&#x20AC;&#x2122; wide alley that operates as a central route in the heart of downtown. As normative as the site may seem, the building is anything but. What began in a series of abnormal material studies eventually evolved into an imaginative Motel for Hypochondriacs. This project considers our relation to air. It is the driving factor for the following material obsessions that later became the driving factor for the design itself. The materials showcase, what air can do for us beyond giving us life. I ask questions such as, how can it shape our surroundings and create a formal language? How can one curate a substance which has its own agenda? Ultimately, this project is an exploration of a substance which we cannot see but still feel the immense inďŹ&#x201A;uence of in every second.

per night

Knoxville, TN Downtown Site: Alley, 35 57’55.63N, 83 55’13.46”W

market square

ve. da

lan

er mb

ee s es n ten gay st.

ley

hen st.

er v i r

CLEAN AIR INITIATIVE

An early concept sketch that came about after intricate material explorations. It is the initial understanding of how to maintain an environment free of pollution. That being said, this project considers a space insulated from not only physical atmospheric particulates but also psychological and cultural contaminates. Overall, this work contemplates how the human condition can inďŹ&#x201A;uence the built environment.

UNCANNY LANDSCAPES

These are the material explorations that allowed a formal language developed by air to come to life. The otherworldly green landscapes to the right are cast silicone vacuum formed with an acrylic veneer. The top right images show the result of a vacuum bag that sandwiched resin, bubble wrap, and whiffle balls to develop an abnormal air ďŹ lled topography. And ďŹ nally, the bottom right images are cast concrete on fabric that led to the variegated folds of the surface later used in the design of the motel.

clean air exchanger

decontamination chamber sanitation cells _hyperbaric chamber _in-cell disinfectant _free access to web MD _conditioned atmosphere _mood puriďŹ er _oxygen tank _mri head scanner _ambient white noise complementary in every cell*

cooling tower

sanitation cells _hyperbaric chamber _in-cell disinfectant _free access to web MD _conditioned atmosphere _mood puriﬁer _oxygen tank _mri head scanner _ambient white noise complementary in every cell*

clean air exchanger +dehumidiﬁer

M O T E L

purifying reservoirs sanitation supply intake

puriﬁcation trajectories

decontamination chamber

motel check-in *ﬁnger print + DNA sample required

department of sanitation *full-recovery not guaranteed

ERROR 404 // DIGITAL URBANISM San Andres Fault // Calavaras Sector

P-02

Fall 2016

PROJECT

This project’s specific interest is in the attitudes, configuration, and manifestations of digital activity in a city of the future. In order to explore digital activity in the context of catastrophe latent with the San Andres Fault, as well as to produce urbanisms categorized by bottom-up city making, my partner Breanna Browning and I needed to produce a physical city to allow our ideas to come to life.. This physical city would then act as the scaffolding of a flourishing digital realm. The results of the physical city yielded areas of misalignment, overlap, and collision which we felt were appropriate points of departure for our virtual realm. It is within these unpredicted outcomes of the physical or real city that true potential lives, a potential for something more, an invisible lingering world, a world which is categorized as Digital Urbanism. Digital Urbanism is unseen, it is ambiguous and difficult to confine. It is never stagnant, but rather unpredictable. These aleatory misalignments, overlap, and collisions we rendered in our physical city are personified in a vacillating digital urbanism. We speculate that it is here in these zones where the most amount of data, intelligence, and web traffic occurs. These zones are where the nature of digital urbanism is most potent. For you and I, in this parallel distinct urbanism we operate not as ourselves, but as curated versions of ourselves. We argue this as a relevant topic in relation to the San Andreas Fault, because this location is a physical condition of misalignment, overlap, and collision which holds potential of catastrophic failure in the same way that these abnormal zones of digital urbanism contain an analogous possibilities of disaster.

data hoardert // cyber criminal

siri // artificial companion // guru

physical identity: <!-- Generator: 01a56 Illustrator 21.0.0, SVG Export Plu xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www. w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:a="whitedoghttp://ns.adlbe.com/AdlbeSVGViewe x="0px" y="0px" width="48px" height="7px" viewBox="0 0 48 7" style="enable-background:new 0 0 48 7;" xml:space="preserve"> <defs> </defs> <rect width="48" height="7"/> </svg> 2/gro.3w.www//:ptth"=snlmx =a:snlmx "knilx/9991/gro.3w w "xp0"=y "xp0"=x orgkcab-elbane"=elyts "7 84 >sfed< >sfed/< 7"=thgieh "84"=htdiw tcer< { )51 === skciThtaed(fi 31 ,2 ,0(nottuBdda } )(noitcnuf = slortnoc.siht || desserPsIesuom((fi = deepStnecsed.siht } ;} ;} lotS wen = driBtseippalF rav )(noitcnuf = margorPtini rav ;][ = snottub 1 ,092 ,05 ,0 ,0(nottuBdda ,092 ,022 ,0 ,1(nottuBdda

<thrives off of residual data. data otherwise lost through technological failure. <does not understand terms of service [click: agree] personal --> boundaries non-existent; ERROR 404 addicted to data. hoarder. purveyor of click bait. phishing for information. {anything. need now.} {observations} lurks on the darkweb, exploits misuse, collision, misalignm personal gain. [info!need now. // password: password] bound to mega scrambler [status] searching... if(deathTicks === 15) { addButton(0, 2, 135, 310, 130, 38, "PLAY AGAIN"); } } }; this.controls = function() { if((mouseIsPressed || keys[32]) && !this.dead) { this.descentSpeed = -7; } }; }; var FlappiestBird = new StolenIDENTITYd(); var initProgram = function() { buttons = []; addButton(0, 0, 50, 290, 130, 38, "START"); addButton(1, 0, 220, 290, 130, 38, "SCORES");

conspiracy driver // cultural sorcerer // enchanter

[fragment]

[-] theBobbleHead2000 7 points 10 days ago

‘hey, siri?’ ‘yes?’ ‘what’s the weather today?’ here’s the forecast for today:

That’s what they have always done. The elections would never matter to real puppet masters. Those with real power would have little need to vote on powder for someone else. permalink embed save parent report give gold reply

Elkhorn Scarp 35°06'14.7"N 119°38'04.8"W

overcast digital residue accumulating in the atmosphere

Tuesday

90% 50%

[-] _bobbynewark 3 points 10 days ago

8am 9am 10am 11am

90 80 70 60

Every election, whoever alphabet squad wants to become President, becomes President. Don’t fool yourself into thinking we live into an actual democracy.

‘I‘ve, been thinking.. are you my friend?’ ‘I would not wish any companion in the world but you.’ ‘are you real?’ ‘close enough, I’d say.’ ‘siri, do you have friends?’ ‘well, I have millions of users and I consider myself a friend to all.’ ‘are you artificial intelligence?’ ‘in the could, no one questions your existential status.’ ‘do you think for yourself?’ ‘I can, indeed.’ ‘siri, are you evil?’ ‘I don’t really like these arbitrary categories, Lauren.’ ‘are you friends with packers*? [*autocorrects: hackers]’ ‘no comment, Lauren.’ ‘are you friends with packers*? [*autocorrects: hackers]’ ‘no comment, Lauren.’ ‘are you friends with packers*? [*autocorrects: hackers]’ ‘no comment, Lauren.’ ‘siri, do you use the dark web?’ ‘this is about you, not me.’

permalink embed save parent report give gold reply

[-] techrich 2 points 10 days ago Yep they don’t care, they will have shit on Trump they can use if he does stuff against their interest. permalink embed save parent report give gold reply

[-] [deleted] 2 points 10 days ago [deleted] permalink embed save parent report give gold reply

[-] eNaRDe 2 points 10 days ago I bet the higher ups in those groups didn’t even bother to vote. permalink embed save parent report give gold reply

[-] 911bodysnatchers232 566 points 10 days ago Trump needs to get an expert intelligence team real fast: in fact, he should hire assange and snowden, parden them both. Anyone would protests is as traitor because these ‘traitors’ saved us from traitors. permalink embed save parent report give gold reply

score = 0; deathTicks = 0; 124,111,154,868,546,582,7583,992,115,112,444,156,747,868,221,335,754,954,829,227,555,399

San Andreas Fault Near San Francisco, CA Calavaras Fault Sector Site: 37 24’48,92”N, 121 46’ 52.72”W

1 15

cronic oversharer// weapon of mass interuption

the drifter // meta data nomad // [fragment] The days pass by like shadows waxing and waning like the edges of the moon drifting by like the endless stream of people I watch. They hurry by like they're gonna accomplish something. because today's the day, I'm gonna do it today. Them with their pretty purses and fingernails ripped jeans because they're in style cigarettes dangling from their painted lips. Fuck, I need a cigarette. I watch you watch me

username: [ veraxt3695 ] [ c0rtana_love ] [ kimkimmy0605 ] [nancy_gract4lyfe ]

disgust in your eyes

as I take a quiet drag - letting the smoke drift softly into the air. It's the way you look at me that truly hurts the way your eyes are all pity and coldness. You can't give me money because I'm just gonna buy another pack. You feel sorry for me, but that's it, and somehow that's enough. Well, fuck you. I've seen enough to not let it get to me. I watch as you go, like the others. I watch as the night falls smothers the earth so you can't hear me break.

The sequence above highlights potential personas that dictate the digital landscape. The following characters are those that harvest the potentials of digital urbanism to use for any reason, nefarious or otherwise. [01] The ďŹ rst on the left is the data hoarder. The digital persona that accumulates endless amounts of data. An individual who suffers from an addiction to something as intangible as data. [02] The second is our trusted artiďŹ cial companion. She is always with us and ready at our every beckon call. [03] Then there is the conspiracy architect. The pervayors of misinformation, those who know the reality of this life better than any use, or so they say. [04] Next, there is the chronic over-sharer. The digital character that does not know the meaning of discretion, but indulges in excessive communication. [05] Finally, the drifter or dissociate virtual identity, is a neither here nor there, but a character of ambiguous identity that is everywhere and nowhere in this digital landscape.

CATALYST PERSONAS

PLANS OF A DIGITAL URBANISM

The prints on the left are the models that show the intersection between the physical city and its parallel universe; digital urbanism. On the right is the plan of the city where digital and physical are indistinguishable.

highh speed e output outpp

PROCESS MISUNDERSTOOD

The initial concept sketch above denotes the initial considerations of misalignment, overlap, and collision that ultimately became the qualitative factors for our digital urbanism. On the left is laser cut wood scraps of wood denoting part of the form ďŹ nding that comes with the design process.

mega scrambler digital disturbance zone

interference zone

input manifold

darkweb hotspot high criminal potential

attractor center critical misalignment darkweb hotspot

monitor station

checkpoint

infiltration zone

exit checkpoint

+ +

darkweb hotspot

high disaster potential disorder promoter

convergence stream high output concentration

social micro platform

+ convergence stream high speed output

checkpoint

digital disturbance zone

+ +

interference node

A BEACON TO DISCOVER Washington Heights // Manhattan, New York

P-03

Spring

2017

PROJECT

In 2017, the prompt for the Lyceum Fellowship was to design a new branch of the New York Public Library located at the Audubon Terrace in Washington Heights. The competition asked students to consider how this design needed to serve as a civic center for its community. The competition also asked students to respond to the unique site condition that was adjacent to a main street on one side and a 30â&#x20AC;&#x2122; above grade terrace on the other. In hope of designing a library that would act as a refuge for locals and visitors alike, I proposed a design that showcased an observatory at its upper most level. This is the Beacon. It represents a space for inhabitation that calls people down the main avenue of the terrace or perhaps can be spotted via street side. This is the light that guides you whether you realize it or not. Exploiting the two attitudes of the individual and the community, the street and the terrace, the library and the community I did material explorations that positioned myself further. The concrete and foam interact in a way that I felt spoke to my interpretations; the orange foam forcing the concrete to take shape. The conversation between the two in that the foam and the concrete are linked. Even when the foam is absent it presence is still known. It is both there and not there. It forms and informs the process. Ultimately, this dichotomy shows analogous thinking to the unique site condition from street to terrace.

CONJOINED MATERIALS

These are the material explorations using concrete and heat-resistant insulation foam. Their relation to one another is an interpretation of the unique site condition of the Audubon Terrace. Or it other words, the relation between the street and the terrace. They are each have singular individual qualities, but they cannot evade one another.

the community mm mun ty y the individual

Dri ve

the site

Riv ers ide

We st 15 58 th t

157 th

Str eet

Bro

ad wa y

We st

Str eet

We st

156 th

Str eet

The Audubon Terrace LIBRARIES BEYOND THE TERRACE

This is the entire complex of the Audubon Terrace. When referring to the entire map of Manhattan one can see this is a new branch library of several that already populate the city.

Manhattan, NYC Washington Heights The Audubon Terrace, 40 49’55.00”N, 73 56’28.91”W Branch Libraries

FROM HERE TO THERE

This diagram shows the translation of material explorations into the initial massings of the library. In addition, the diagram also shows how the Beacon at the upper most level of the structure relates spatially to the vast terrace just beyond.

Beacon

community room

staff lounge

custodial street entrance

the terrace

ALL SIGNS POINT TO YES THE BEACON.

The rendering on the left identiﬁes how the Beacon might be seen via the street by any unassuming citizen. The sections on the right identify the extreme grade change between street [on the left] and the terrace [on the right]. All paths lead one to the Beacon through visual ques, circulation, and program.

1:384 0’

5’

10’

20’

30’

BEACON ANATOMY glazing // beacon parapet assembly triple glazing 1/8 in. coated clear | clear with 1/2 in air spaces aluminum facade rail anodized aluminum sheet flashing vapor permeable water-proof membrane cant strip rigid insulation t=2 in

50’ 1’

1’

Pilkington Activ skylight assembly triple glazing 1/8 in. coated clear | clear with 1/2 in air spaces aluminum facade rail anodized aluminum sheet flashing vapor permeable water-proof membrane cant strip rigid insulation t=2 in rigid vinyl thermal break condensation weep hole condensation gutter

10’

3’ 11’ 2”

+85’ t.o. roof

14’

+83’ 5” b. o. roof

2’

11’ 2’’

parapet assembly precast wood-formed concrete panels t= 2.5 in w10x33 steel angle plate t= 7 gauge galvanized steel bolts foam fire proof thermal coating light gauge steel frame 2 in x 4 in batt insulation anodized aluminum sheet flashing vapor permeable water-proof membrane cant strip rigid insulation t=2 in

3’

beacon ceiling assembly vapor permeable water-proof membrane plywood t= 0.5 in steel angle plate t= 7 gauge galvanized steel bolts w10x33 foam fire proof thermal coating ceiling framing light gauge 2 in x 4 in batt insulation gypsum board t= 0.5 in

3’

Pilkington Glass Balustrade sound dampening coated

reading room 003

Halla Vari Opal indirect pendant light 25 w LED strip adjustable 2700k-6500k

beacon

17’ 10’’

+71’ 3” level 006 2’ 6’’

2’ 6’’

2’

11’ 2”

beacon floor assembly orange enamel aluminum sheet anodized t= 20 gauge vapor permeable water-proof membrane framing light gauge 2 in x 4 in batt insulation steel angle plate t= 7 gauge galvanized steel bolts foam fire proof thermal coating w10x33 cast in place concrete t= 3 in on corrugated steel decking [type b] raised floor pedestals cement backer board t= 0.5 in acoustic dampening carpet tile

reading room 002 interior wall assembly gypsum t= 0.5 in light gauge steel 2in x 4in batt insulation

2’

13’ 4” perspective distorts scale

Pilkington Planar Glass Facade triple glazing 1/8 in. coated clear | clear with 1/2 in air spaces

24’ 1’’

5’

+57’ 9” level 005

13’ 4” perspective distorts scale

1’ 5”

beacon facade base assembly triple glazing 1/8 in. coated clear | clear with 1/2 in air spaces aluminum facade rail anodized aluminum sheet flashing vapor permeable water-proof membrane rigid insulation t=2 in

3’ 5’’ 1’ 9” interior floor assembly acoustic dampening carpet tile cement backer board t= 0.5 in raised floor pedestals cast in place concrete t= 3 in on corrugated steel decking [type b] w10x33 foam fire proof thermal coating galvanized steel bolts steel angle plate t= 7 gauge framing light gauge 2 in x 4 in batt insulation gypsum t= 0.5 in

1’

2’

precast wood-formed concrete panels t= 2.5 in dowel compression fastener facade panel fastener

1’ 9”

3’ 6”

amphitheater

1’ 9”

amphitheater facade assembly extruded polycarbonate panels t= 2 in aerogel insulation aluminum facade rail anodized aluminum sheet flashing vapor permeable water-proof membrane

amphitheater assembly 11’ 1” prefabricated installments structural steel frame w10x33 light gauge steel frame 2 in x 4 in batt insulation cement backer board t= 0.5 in sound proofing membrane carpeting

43’ 9” level 004

terrace entrance community room

Pilkington Optitherm Glass Door high performance, low-e insulated door

1:24 0’

1’

2’

4’

6’

+30’ level 003

staff lounge

+18’ level 002

street entrance + displays

storage

+0’ level 001

services

-15’ below grade

Inspired by Atelier Bow Wow’s Graphic Anatomy, the following drawing shows the elaborative contents of the building. In addition to the Beacon, in the level below there is an amphitheater facing the terracing to further support the visitor’s connection to place.

glazing // beacon parapet assembly triple glazing 1/8 in. coated clear | clear with 1/2 in air spaces aluminum facade rail anodized aluminum sheet flashing vapor permeable water-proof membrane cant strip rigid insulation t=2 in

50’ 1’

1’

10’

3’ 11’ 2”

+85’ t.o. roof

14’

+83’ 5” b. o. roof

2’

11’ 2’’

3’

Pilkington Glass Balustrade sound dampening coated

reading room 003

Halla Vari Opal indirect pendant light 25 w LED strip adjustable 2700k-6500k

beacon

17’ 10’’

+71’ 3” level 006 2’ 6’’

2’ 6’’

2’

11’ 2”

reading room 002 interior wall assembly gypsum t= 0.5 in light gauge steel 2in x 4in batt insulation

2’

Pilkington Planar Glass Facade triple glazing 1/8 in. coated clear | clear with 1/2 in air spaces

13’ 4” perspective distorts scale

24’ 1’’

5’

+57’ 9” level 005

13’ 4” perspective distorts scale

1’ 5”

1’

2’

precast wood-formed concrete panels t= 2.5 in dowel compression fastener facade panel fastener

1’ 9”

3’ 6” 1’ 9”

11’ 1” amphitheater assembly prefabricated installments structural steel frame w10x33 light gauge steel frame 2 in x 4 in batt insulation cement backer board t= 0.5 in sound proofing membrane carpeting

amphitheater amphitheater facade assembly extruded polycarbonate panels t= 2 in aerogel insulation aluminum facade rail anodized aluminum sheet flashing vapor permeable water-proof membrane

43’ 9” level 004

terrace entrance community room

Pilkington Optitherm Glass Door high performance, low-e insulated door

1:24 0’

1’

2’

4’

6’

+30’

children’s reading room children’s librarian’s office

t.o. +85’

community room +30’ terrace entrance

work rooms

mezzanine

reading room 002 +71’3”

+18’ staff lounge

the Beacon

head librarian’s office computer lab

reading room 001 +0’

street entrance displays storage

+57’9”

teen center

services -15’

+43’9”

reading amphitheate

THE WHOLE STORY

1’

14’

lustrade coated

Halla Vari Opal indirect pendant light 25 w LED strip adjustable 2700k-6500k

On the opposing page one sees the entire program utilized for the competition including the two level reading room which is the adjacent program to the Beacon.

beacon

1:24 0’

beacon floor assembly orange enamel aluminum sheet 1’anodized 2’ t= 20 gauge 4’ 6’ vapor permeable water proof membrane

DATABASE NATURES Dolly Parton Parkway // Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

P-04

Fall 2017

PROJECT

At the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains is the spectacular stretch of Dolly Parton Parkway. As a site to see, this overwhelming drive through Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee inundates oneself with colors, lights, and southern hospitality. As a destination for many tourists from all across the country this setting provided an adequate backdrop for exploring another equally overwhelming entity: the Database. The Database is what we encounter on the Internet everyday. It is the collections of information that span the Internet. It is the inďŹ nitely thin interface that provides the world with endless amounts of information, one major example being Google, the most prominent database of them all. This project is meant to consider two things, the spectacle of Dolly Parton Parkway and the role of the database in design. How can our access to nearly unlimited information be used as a tool for design? Or in other words, in what ways does this digital interface inďŹ&#x201A;uence how we view our physical surroundings?

how to enter the database how to enter in excel how to entertain your kids how to entertain yourself how to enter the dark web

The diagram on the left showcases how one might navigate the database in its most basic form. What is illustrated is a small fraction of the possibilities in which the user may get from point A to point B. Notice, though, how this navigation is no longer a linear condition, but a set of endless possibilities.

EXPLICATING THE DATABASE

In the database, there is no sense of arrival, as this is a concept associated with physical space. In the database all information exists simultaneously and because of this, our access to information or perspective relies on implication and explication of information. Ultimately, in the digital realm, our perspectives are distorted as space unfolds in entirely new ways. Where in a real space, spaces are experienced at the scale of the human body. In virtual space our scale is corrupted. The database provides an interface that distorts our experience of physical. The process of explicating information of the database is therefore the process of spaces of unfolding. Google earth, in this explanation is a prime example of this.

BLACK BEAR LODGE 001

As a process of explicating the database, or using Google as a tool for design, the following three sites were revealed to me. The ďŹ rst site is Black Bear Large, adjacently located to Dolly Parton Parkway.

00A

Black Bear Lodge

The following explorations consider how space unfolds in this 21st century. The virtual act of space unfolding helped me to make a pop-book model that represents this condition of virtual space in a physical model.

00D

table of contents e:d c:a a:b d:c b:e

ii a

c i iii

VILLAS OF GATLINBURG 001

This second site, is the Villas of Gatlinburg is located directly on Dolly Parton Parkway. In using Google as a tool for design, this site also comes with emblems of a black bear and camo textures that were not formerly or directly associated with this site prior to using the database for design. The diagram on the right unfolds the physical structure to re-imagine a new potential ďŹ&#x201A;oor plan for the Villas of Gatlinburg. On the left are detail shots of a pop-up book representation of virtual space unfolding.

Villas of Gatlinburg

00B

00C

00D

002

00A

004

iii

005

007

006

008

table of contents

ii c b

b:a d:c e:b c:e a:d

GOATS ON THE ROOF 001

The third and ďŹ nal site is Goats on the Roof. Like the two previous projects, Google suggested these as ample opportunities for architectural exploration. The diagram on the right unfolds the distorted building imagined by Google Earth and reinterprets in on the left as a pop-up book. These are two representations of the explication of space that is a contingent of the digital realm.

00A

Goats on the Roof

00C

00D

008

i iii ii

table of contents a:d e:c c:b b:a d:e

FORGOTTEN POSSESSIONS Knoxville, Tennessee

P-05

Fall 2017

PROJECT

From the time a memory is created, the brain is constantly re-imagining or rearranging our memories which results in a continuously distorted perspective of experiences. That is to say, the way in which one imagines an occurrence in their mind is always a continually altered version of that original event. The following project is a design for a stool that considers how memories are distorted over time. The internal distortion of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s memories is played out in the formal qualities of this industrial design.

SEQUENCING

On the opposing page is the sequence of creation for this stool. What came to life are four varied stool legs that each represent a different distorted memory of one physical item. As oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s memory is considered over and over again the physical item is distorted as a showcase of this process. The legs and the bottom of the stool were both created using fourth-axis milling which in the case of the legs allowed for asymmetrical formal qualities.

PARTS OF THE WHOLE

The top of the stool is made of wormy maple. This material has a unique grain with remnants of burrowed tunnels throughout the wood that recall its former wormy occupants. The traces of a former life allowed this to be an appropriate material choice in the understanding of memory.

PARTS CONTINUED

The upholstery on the bottom is an intended surprise that, like the distorted legs, is a representation of an altered memory.

FINALE

The grain of the wormy maple provides visual intrigue on the top of the stool, while the curly maple of the legs enhances its distorted form.

MANHATTAN PROJECT 2.0 Oak Ridge, Tennessee

P-06

Spring

2017

PROJECT

Manhattan Project 2.0 is a speculative design project that considers new identities for Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Formerly, known for the creation of the atom bomb, currently ORNL has become seemingly forgotten by the general public. The sense of mystery and top secret endeavors nevertheless remains. What follows are the contingencies for architecture in the 21st Century; intersections of culture, creativity, and circumstance. This work was created primarily by Professor Mark Stanley in which I was fortunate enough to assist him in this endeavor. My role on this team was in design development and fabrication. Additional team members with whom I worked include Dillon CanďŹ eld and Kelsey Julian.

THE HERDER

A control mechanism intended to suppress the over [radio]active deer population surrounding the grounds of ORNL.

MERCURY TARGET

Re-imagining ORNLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mercury Target. Formerly a spallation neutron source in which fourteen tons of mercury was continuously pumped to channel neutrons used speciďŹ cally for research, this current design suggests a new formal condition in which the other variables are at play. On the left is a model of the Mercury Target of the 21st century. It is made of aluminum that was fabricated using the metal CNC.

PUBLIC ACCESS

The installation of the ďŹ nal work in the heart of Downtown Knoxville.

DISTILLATION CONDENSER

The Distillation Condenser is an entirely new sense of cultural farming. An imaginative consideration of how to harvest matter for new purposes at ORNL.

GRAPHITE REACTOR

The Graphite Reactor was a nuclear reactor that produced all the plutonium that was eventually used in the creation of the atom bomb. This new dimension considers, like the Mercury Target, what can come about when this system is re-imagined considering new variables of culture and circumstance.

BEARDSLEY COMMUNITY FARM Knoxville, Tennessee

D-01

Fall 2016

DESIGN-BUILD

Students led by Jennifer Akerman and Robert French developed a new form of design-build. We produced public work with an engagement focus, creating an education center for the nonproďŹ t Beardsley Community Farm specializing in sustainable urban agriculture. The design effort used architecture to foster meaningful community engagement, teaching students fundamental issues of design, craft, and leadership. This new facility was hugely impactful to Beardsley by providing a variety of amenities including bathrooms, offices, and an outdoor kitchen that most importantly helped an already tremendous institution continue to make a difference in Knoxville. I joined the team toward the end of the creation of this building. At which point, surface ďŹ nishes were the focus of the design including the mill work for the interior classroom and the exterior bamboo fence. These were the two areas in which I was able to design and construct. The following photos were provided by the University of Tennessee and originally shot by Bruce Cole.

PERFORATED PRIVACY

The bamboo fence was implemented in order to provide a sense of separation between the exterior classroom and the surrounding farm. The bamboo was attached to an existing chain link fence to provide shade to students using the classroom as well as a sustainable solution of protection that could be adequately maintained by the workers of the farm.

CULTURE LAB JAPAN Tokyo // Koyasan // Kyoto // Osaka

S-01

Spring

2017

STUDY ABROAD

During a two and a half week adventure, I studied the richness of Japan by visiting a variety of cities including Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, and Tokyo. The following polaroids capture this high speed exploration during my time abroad in hoping of understanding the abundance of culture ubiquitous to this part of the world. Also during my time in Japan, I was able to engage in a design charette with local architecture students of Chubu University in which, because of a language barrier, our only means of communication was through creation. In addition to the polaroids are a series of collages created during the design charrette with these students that utilizes founds printed content gathered during my adventure across the country.

CITY DETAILS

The polaroids to the right display the urban-scape of Tokyo as seen through the lights of the city. The contrast of light and dark is but one aspect of the intense and fast pace experience had while in Tokyo.

TOKYO SPEED DATE POLAROIDS // REMNANT COLLAGES

In addition to the polaroids are collages made from remnants of the city. Containing found scraps of paper these collages, like the polaroids, hone in on distinctive aspects of Japan. The objective of these two studies during my travels abroad was for me to engage the city in unexpected ways. That is to say, these creative acts allow me to participate in this foreign environment. By looking towards printed means of communication I was able to witness a speciďŹ c identity of Japan, one that breaks away from any pre-conceived Western assumptions.

SHINOBU FROM CHUBU

Below is a portrait of Chubu University student named Shinobu. A designer that participated along side myself in the design charette between American and Japanese students.

THIS IS FINE Knoxville, Tennessee

T-01

Spring

2018

THESIS

This work begins solely as a claim about the current status of the United States: that is to say, Americans are presently operating in a state of constant chaos. What results from this claim are a series of investigations attempting to highlight the architect’s role during this heightened existence. Such high stakes allow the architect to determine ways in which society copes with omnipresent terror. What follows touches on topics, such as, architecture’s relevance in an increasingly digital world as well as coping mechanisms for today’s anxieties as seen through everyday objects. A year long thesis of analysis and making with the support of three faculty members of the College of Architecture + Design. My primary thesis advisor was Mark Stanley as well as additional support from Rana Abuddayeh and Julie Beckman. Without them the work would not be nearly as rich and thoughtful as it ended up being. It is because of their continued support that this project ultimately received the Robert Church III Graduate Thesis Award in 2018.

100

CLIMATE OF FEAR // DATA VISUALIZATION

Unlike most architecture projects, this thesis did not begin with a site, but rather begins with observations of American media. In this case, the condition is how and what news is presented to society on a regular basis. These diagrams focus on three widely accepted new sources and identiﬁes which topics receive the most response upon release. Much like when visiting a site, the architect will gather information in order to come up with a design solution. Looking at CNN, FOX, and Associated Press allows myself to consider the ﬂux of fear for Americans and then consider design potentials of such fears. It is the circumstance that provokes a design response.

F-01 MEDIA FLUX OCT. 10 – DEC. 10 2017 + ARTICLES: 180

101

‘TRUMP’ ‘CLINTON’ ‘FEAR’ ‘ALLEGE’ ‘SOURCE’

F-01 MEDIA FLUX OCT. 10 – DEC. 10 2017 + ARTICLES: 180

‘TRUMP’ ‘CLINTON’ ‘FEAR’ ‘ALLEGE’ ‘SOURCE’

F-01 MEDIA FLUX OCT. 10 – DEC. 10 2017 + ARTICLES: 180

‘TRUMP’ ‘CLINTON’ ‘FEAR’ ‘ALLEGE’ ‘SOURCE’

F-01 MEDIA FLUX OCT. 10 – DEC. 10 2017 + ARTICLES: 180

‘TRUMP’ ‘CLINTON’ ‘FEAR’ ‘ALLEGE’ ‘SOURCE’

F-02 MEDIA SUBJECT OCT. 10 – DEC. 10 2017 + ARTICLES: 180

HEALTH CARE TAX REFORM SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR GUN VIOLENCE TECH

F-02 MEDIA SUBJECT OCT. 10 – DEC. 10 2017 + ARTICLES: 180

HEALTH CARE TAX REFORM SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR GUN VIOLENCE TECH

F-02 MEDIA SUBJECT OCT. 10 – DEC. 10 2017 + ARTICLES: 180

HEALTH CARE TAX REFORM SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR GUN VIOLENCE TECH

70 words MAX

F-03 MEDIA FLUX RESPECTIVE OCT. 10 – DEC. 10 2017 + ARTICLES: 180

70 words MAX

F-03 MEDIA FLUX RESPECTIVE OCT. 10 – DEC. 10 2017 + ARTICLES: 180

70 words MAX

‘TRUMP’

0 MIN 70 words MAX

‘TRUMP’

0 MIN 70 words MAX

‘TRUMP’

0 MIN 70 words MAX

‘CLINTON’

0 MIN 70 words MAX

‘CLINTON’

0 MIN 70 words MAX

‘CLINTON’

0 MIN 70 words MAX

‘FEAR’

0 MIN 70 words MAX

‘FEAR’

0 MIN 70 words MAX

‘FEAR’

0 MIN 70 words MAX

‘ALLEGE’

0 MIN 70 words MAX

‘ALLEGE’

0 MIN 70 words MAX

‘ALLEGE’

0 MIN 70 words MAX

F-01 MEDIA FLUX The number of times in which all indicated words were used on average per article per day.

0 MIN ‘SOURCE’

F-01 MEDIA FLUX The number of times in which all indicated words were used on average per article per day.

F-03 MEDIA FLUX RESPECTIVE OCT. 10 – DEC. 10 2017 + ARTICLES: 180

F-01 MEDIA FLUX The number of times in which all indicated words were used on average per article per day.

F-02 MEDIA SUBJECT

Identifying media focus based on subjects as indicated by seven majority categories.

F-03 MEDIA FLUX RESPECTIVE

The number of times in which the indicated word was used on average per article per day.

FOX

0 MIN ‘SOURCE’

F-03 MEDIA FLUX RESPECTIVE

The number of times in which the indicated word was used on average per article per day.

0 MIN ‘SOURCE’

The number of times in which the indicated word was used on average per article per day.

CNN

102

103

ILLUSTRATING CHARACTERS OF CHAOS

News observation gives way to a categorical understanding of crisis. One category of crisis are the characters continually present with each new article. These illustrations each identify a different character within this circumstance. While seemingly disparate icons, they come directly from CNN, FOX, and/or AP. Their cute and harmlessly illustrated nature comments on cuteness as a coping mechanism for the United State’s newly extreme circumstance. They range from characters accused of heinous acts, like Harvey Weinstein to the Geico gecko, a character who existence hinges on fear and an increase in chaos. In the digital age, all of these characters are dictating societal fears. Notably, the dog illustrated on the middle bottom left of the opposite page is from K.C. Green’s Gunshow. The title of the comic is This is Fine, a hugely inﬂuential resource and the inspiration for the title of this thesis.

104

105

ILLUSTRATING OBJECTS OF DENIAL

The next category spurring from news observation is called of Objects of Denial. In other words, these are coping mechanisms that allow citizens to deal with these extreme scenarios presented particularly by the media. These are devices which help one avoid the miserable realities that are ubiquitous to society. Some of these objects have transparent uses to their users. That is to say, it can be clear to the user how objects ameliorate an existing condition, but do not solve problems. With Objects of Denial one can participate and use objects knowing, ultimately, that their function is only a temporary ďŹ x to a larger problem.

106

107

OBJECTS OF DENIAL CONTINUED

Objects of Denial include the night light that eases a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fright in the night or even the excessive gun rack that provides peace of mind for a potentially anxious citizen.

108

109

ENVIRONMENTS OF CRISIS

The ďŹ nal category that emerges from these media observations grows in scale to encompass the environments in which the chaos developed. During the Fall of 2017 and the Spring of 2018 when these observations took place a variety of settings were discovered. The most notable environments including places of education that became the backdrop for school shootings as shown through the memorial icon. Other environments including any areas connected to large bodies of water that highlight the growing concern for Global Warming.

110

PHIPPS BEND // SITE 1 OF 2

After extensive observation of fear as portrayed via the media, the next phase of this thesis was to choose a site which encompassed these observations. This is Phipps Bend, an abandoned nuclear site owned by the TVA about an hour north of Knoxville, Tennessee. Construction of this site began in 1982; however, shortly after construction started the citizens of the nearby town were so highly opposed to its completion that within that same year the project was brought to an end. All that exists today are foundations of a few building and the base of the enormous nuclear ring, which came about during that short period in 1982. This site seemed an appropriate target when considering catastrophe as it is an area latent with catastrophic potential. Although its potential was never fully realized, it is an architecture that easily manages to evoke the overwhelming magnitude of danger all around through a highly unique site condition that cannot be duplicated.

111

112

113

TODDY’S TRIANGLE // SITE 2 OF 2

Additionally, the monumentality of Phipps Bend, while an interesting site to explore, does not entirely represent this new understanding of crisis being proposed by this thesis. In Perpetual Crisis, environments which are not so easily associated with crisis are suddenly important. For example, a high school is not innately an environment of crisis, but within today’s standards, it is as likely site of catastrophe as, say, Phipp’s Bend. Therefore, because of this more expanded understanding of crisis, a normative site condition is an additional location for exploration. Toddy’s triangle is this sector of land that is situated adjacent to a main thoroughfare in Knoxville, known as Kingston Pike. It is a generic American sub-urban condition with assorted programs throughout. On this plot of land there is Toddy’s Liquor Store, which provides the name for the site, as well as a Kroger grocery store, a luggage retailer, and a Juice Bar. What follows will show two seemingly disparate site conditions merging together to form a new site. Each site offers a disparate understanding of crisis today and will now come together to illustrate an argument. The intent of this thesis is to come to terms with architecture’s lack of ability to keep up with our fears in the physical and propose an alternate reality that more accurately synthesizes what one’s surroundings would look like if they were truly a reﬂection of Perpetual Crisis.

114

115

AMATEUR EPIDEMIOLOGIST

Through characters discovered in the early observations of the project these are environment as experienced via these characters. These fantastical images show the coexistence of Toddyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Triangle and Phipps Bend. An environment that explicitly represents the true climate of crisis experienced by Americans today. Where was exists in the real does not truly express the chaos which actually exists and therefore a newly imagined version is proposed from the perspective of the amateur epidemiologist.

116

117

118

GUY MOWING LAWN

This second character, again, depicts the collision of Toddy’s Triangle, and Phipps Bend, but rather through the personal crisis of the ‘Guy Mowing Lawn’. He represents the average Joe who has to tend to personal tasks even in the actuality of crisis. Inspired by a real story, in Perpetual Crisis, the events of everyday life overlap with catastrophe. He must are for his lawn, despite that his world falling down around him.

119

120

121

122

123

THE NUN

The ďŹ nal character is the Nun. A character who came from site exploration. For the nun, she must bare the burdens of many around her, yet she must continue on with the tasks of everyday life. In her synthesized environment, she relies on the coping mechanisms or object of the everyday to help her get through. The shopping cart now take upon a new identity in which is must help the nun carry these burdens. No longer is this merely a shopping cart, but now a coping mechanism for something much greater.

124

125

126

127

like butter topography simulator

COPING MECHANISM 01

bump stock mimicry

COPING MECHANISM 02

boundary sensor bumper

topography detected

white knuckle response

boundary indicated

COPING MECHANISM 03

system slack pre-determined experience

system track

CIRCULATION DIAGRAM + ENVIRONMENT RESPONSE

128

COPING MECHANISMS COME TO LIFE

The ďŹ nal phase of crisis identiďŹ ed key moments of industrial design to show the effects of these fantastical environments. These characters in order to cope with these mega surroundings rely on objects as mediators between themselves and their environment. These coping mechanisms therefore begin to take on new attributes with this heightened environment. The moments of contact between the character and the object become increasingly important. As well as moments of contact between the object and the environment. Therefore with this understanding, the handle of the shopping cart and the lawn mower become redesigned. The wheels and ways in which these objects relate to the environment are also redesigned.

129

130

131

INSTRUMENTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT

With the cart on the right, this cart not only operates as a coping mechanism for the environment of the nun, but begins to take on a new life as an instrument. An instrument as a opposed to a coping mechanism, allows the user to understand their environment better not just endure it. The limbs extending from the wheels reach into the bottom of the cart. As the wheels move over the extreme topography of the nunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s environment ,the limbs simulate the topography below. With this instrument, the effects of the environment are enacted out within the object itself. This allows its user to gauge the severity of their extreme surroundings. In addition, contact between the user and object are increasingly important. Thus, the handle was redesigned with a high grade material that provides an overwhelming smooth distraction and tactile experience for the nun. On one hand, the topography being simulated at the bottom of the cart informs its user of chaos. On the other hand, the highly crafted handle operates more as the original coping mechanism because of its provides the nun with comfort within environment. The cart, then, lives two lives. One as an object of denial and another an instrument for gaging the severity of crisis through the topography enacted in the bottom of the cart.

132

TOPOGRAPHY SIMULATOR

133

134

THANK YOU