Graduate Architecture Portfolio by Laura Helminski

Laura Helminski Graduate Architecture Portfolio 2014

Education

MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE, 2014 University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning Cincinnati, Ohio

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ARCHITECTURE, 2011 University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning Cincinnati, Ohio

Contact

lhelminski@me.com

1 419 704 5599

Contents HOSPITAL[ITY]

Master of Architecture Thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2014

PEDIATRIC WELLNESS CENTER University of Cincinnati, 2013 SHOOTERS OF MAUMEE: INDOOR SHOOTING RANGE Helm & Associates, Inc., 2012 DIGITAL FABRICATION University of Cincinnati, 2011

YOUNGSTOWN BUSINESS INCUBATOR University of Cincinnati, 2011

HOSPITAL[ITY] MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE THESIS, 2014 In all of its complexity, hospital architecture is merely a shell constructed around the scientific knowledge of human bodies and the technological instruments required to care for them. The traditional approach to hospital design has become so utilitarian that it has resulted in a loss of intimacy between humans and their environment and community, evoking moods of inhospitable estrangement and isolation. Governed by global economics and modern technology, the current mega-hospital model neglects the invisible foundation of human relationships and intuitive background experiences within the everyday lived world, explained by Heidegger as “the loss of nearness.” This thesis offers a more poetic language of hospital architecture, in order to turn our attention away from the utility of medical equipment and instead foreground the lived world around us with sensual experiences and sharpened understanding of the spiritual intimacy and layers of meaning inherent in life and death. The design of a small suburban hospital for seniors in Sylvania, Ohio will mediate between the objective world that science measures and the inexhaustible lived world of experience and traditions. This project explores the positive effects that comforting, intimate, and sensually engaging environments can have on the healing process of patients, seeking a welcome and embrace for the human spirit. The syncretic design deploys allegorical tectonics, poetic materiality, meditative lighting, invigorating landscapes, and intuitive way-finding, creating meaningful environments that will restore the human need for placefulness, sensuality, and intimacy. A truly healthful and hospitable hospital must embed the factual objectivity of medical science within the patients’ and visitors’ truthful and subjective experiences of being.

“Fluidity in architecture is not new to this region. In historical Islamic architecture, rows, grids, or sequences of columns flow to infinity like trees in a forest, establishing non-hierarchical space ... establishing seamless relationships and blurring distinctions between architectural elements and the ground they inhabit.” - Zaha Hadid Architects, ZHA Heyder Aliyev Center Design

SYLVAN FOREST ARBORETUM One of the key strategies in designing a senior care hospitable hospital is to establish a strong sense of place. It is of utmost importance that the site and building design allow the users to feel at home and remain rooted in their community. In the spirit of Sylvania, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;forest land,â&#x20AC;? the design begins with an arboretum that will not only encompass the building site, but will extend far beyond property boundaries. Marching southeast from the site along Monroe Street, the arboretum extends through the elementary school property and onto the library and city hall sites. Although the host of the hospital, the Sylvan Forest Arboretum will be fully accessible to the entire community as an educational and recreational park that is fully integrated into the existing park system.

HOSPITAL

NATURE PAVILION

The hospitalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sylvan Forest will be supported by a community Nature Pavilion at the southeast corner of the site, programmed as a park information center and outdoor classroom. The 600 square foot building was incorporated into the site design as a means to establish the design principles for the hospital architecture with the sylvan grid as the driving force behind the massing and organization of the architecture. The intimate scale of the pavilion allowed me to mock-up the material and tectonic palette for the hospital; fossilized stone panels are used as the flooring material and at the base of the structure in order to anchor the building to the earth; the columnar spatiality seamlessly transitions from tree trunk to building structure; the lightweight roof structure speaks to the tree canopy and sky above. The combination of points, planes, and masses define circulation patterns and distinguish public and private spaces. exterior rendering (below) Outdoor classroom (right)

PEDIATRIC WELLNESS WEST THESIS CASE STUDY, SPRING 2013 The Pediatric Wellness Center was designed during thesis research in attempt to better understand the effects of building environments on the therapy and healing processes of patients. Working to enhance the health care services available on the West side of Cincinnati, this state-of-the-art pediatric wellness center will provide occupational therapy to elementary children alongside a public community inclusion program. Upon assessing the needs of the client and the surrounding neighborhood, Pediatric Wellness West will provide the community with public play grounds, facilitate both private therapy sessions and public children activities, and offer neighborhood access to the childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s library and adult literature on developmental disabilities.

first floor, second floor, and roof plans (top) building section (bottom) interior rendering (right)

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Resource Center and Gym Observation

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outdoor play area

spacial swing

ball pit

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fine motor

ramp and stair

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assessment

climbing wall

assessment

speech and sound

Office

Conference

Office

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feeding and swallowing

open office

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archives

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DIGITAL FABRICATION EXPLORATORY STUDY, SPRING 2011 Patterns in phenomena, as a means of understanding underlying structures and systems that emerge from nature, has been investigated in mathematics, science, and architecture for centuries. 2-Dimensional patterns and 3-Dimensional fields were resultant of a simple geometry that was rearranged according to aspecified order of operations.

3-Dimensional resultant of 2-D pattern (above) 2-Dimensional pattern invesitgations (right page)

BUSINESS INCUBATOR YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, SPRING 2011 Having lost its steel industry, Youngstown, Ohio has walked away from the idea that a city needs to grow. This modern shrinking city is home to the Youngstown Business Incubator where young geniuses have the opportunity to collaborate as they foster their new business. The incubator is in desperate need of a new architecture that provides spaces for work, innovation, and short-term housing.

interior rendering, building entrance (top) interior Rendering, view from second level looking into court below (middle) interior rendering, private residence (bottom)

site plan (opposite page) exterior rendeirng, view from street (top) exterior rendering, birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye view (bottom, left) massing and site model (bottom, right)

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INDOOR SHOOTING RANGE

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 TOLEDO, OHIO, AUTUMN 2010   I worked closely with my family as they took on a new  business adventure - a public indoor shooting range. I  had the unique opportunity to follow the project from the  ealiest stages of conception through the grand opening.  After conducting a feasibility study, I developed basis 

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Construction completed and Grand Opening August 2012.

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of design drawings for the renovation of an existing factory and worked closely wtih an architect to develop the construction documents used for the city permitting process. I spent many months at the construction site working hands-on alongside the small construction crew and collaborated on the business model and branding.

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   

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  

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     

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TERS

 OF MAUMEE 

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existing site plan, proposed tenant renovation (left) shootersofmaumee.com 

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Shooters of Maumee is a ballistic level 8 indoor shooting range that has the ability to withstand a velocity of up to 3,600 feet per second from handguns, rifles, and shotguns. Throughout the entire design process it was crucial to the success of the business to address the ballistic level, air filtration, and acoustic control and comfort. 75 yard shooting lanes (right) shootersofmaumee.com

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  

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 

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 

 

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 

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    

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 

 

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

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 

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25 yard shooting lanes (top) lobby and classroom (left) showroom (right)

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shootersofmaumee.com

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    

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 

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floor plan (bottom) building section, hvac system (top)

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shootersofmaumee.com

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  

 

 

 

Professional Experience NATIONAL COUNCIL OF ARCHITECTURAL REGISTRATION BOARDS Individual Development Plan (IDP) 3,800 of 5,600 hours completed

MATRIX TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Maumee, Ohio Intern Architect December 2013

WILLIAM MCDONOUGH + PARTNERS, Charlottesville, Virginia Intern Architect Summer 2013

SSOE GROUP, Toledo, Ohio Intern Architect Summer and Fall 2012, Summer and Fall 2011, Spring and Fall 2009

HELM & ASSOCIATES, INC., Maumee, Ohio Project Management Intern Fall 2010, Summer 2008, Spring and Summer 2007

BUEHRER GROUP ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING, INC., Maumee, Ohio Intern Architect Spring 2010

Academic Experience

TEACHING ASSISTANT ARCH 4071/7071: Structures 1 with G. Thomas Bible Spring 2014

GRADUATE ASSISTANT SAID 1021: History/Theory/Criticism: Modern Architecture with Gerald Larson Academic Year 2012-2013

GRADUATE ASSISTANT, University Graduate Scholarship School of Education with Mary B. Boat, PhD Academic Year 2011-2012