lucca townsend
1. Imaginary Landscapes in the Sky: Aerial sculptures that transform public space
2. The Modern Brothel
A response to the Boston Seaport redevelopment with clients chosen from Craiglist personal ads
3. Granary in Barragan-Land
A cathedral to grain on the site of Luis Barragan’s youth
4. Highway Fitness
A fitness center on the “banks” of I-90
5. Architectural
Work for several Architecture firms
1. imaginary landscapes in the sky Hovering over the Boston Greenway in airspace previously occupied by the elevated highway, this sculpture spans 600 feet suspended from buildings. It’s form, changing with wind and light, recalls the layered past of the site and its city. Delicate yet monumental, it interrupts the hustle and bustle of downtown with a sense of calm contemplation and intangible transience. Designing, manufacturing, and installing this monumental form was a collaborative feat. My role was in aesthetic design, modeling it in our custom 3d software, conceptual development, and designing for fabrication. Our team of five designers was aided by ARUP engineering and lighting, the Greenway Conservancy, Shamut, and many others. The sculpture’s soft motion of woven fiber netting recalls the ocean that once extended to the site. Three holes reference the voids of Boston’s “trimountain” used to fill in land for the growing industrial city. Colored patterning is a reminder of the lanes of traffic that severed a city from its waterfront to accommodate the automobile. The sculpture weaves into buildings, physically reconnecting the city, utilizing the latent lateral capacity of skyscrapers. Mirroring the intent of the Greenway below, it contrasts the hard urban edges and reclaims airspace for the public. It is simultaneously a commentary on the history of cities and a celebration of current transformation.
attachment to building
netting
branch connection
4-way node
sculpture net attachment to structural ropes
One of multiple sculptures I have worked on at Studio Echelman, we create each piece in a new way. In honing this craft, I have learned to manipulate these catenary curves by altering the size and number of diamonds as well as how they are put together.
2. the modern brothel
A response to the needs of Boston’s Seaport District, as determined by Craigslist Personal Ads. The building is shaped by a public exterior stairway. The stairway connects nodes at which passerbys can peek into the building or out at the city. Inside, floors are designed based on each client, chosen from Craigslist. The skin hints at fishnet stockings, and dyed concrete floors play on the colors of sexuality.
9 GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHT
Roof top accessible by sidewalk stair or interior elevator
8 ENVY
“Bi or curious ladies we are a stable couple looking for a cute sexy bi or curious girl today, if you are looking for a great time nsa with a couple please come by.”
7 PRIDE
“W4Pats fan: I am a mature sexy MILF who would love to strip and pleasure patriot fans. I have a group of bruins fan who like to meet before the games.”
6 SLOTH
“It’s a glorious sunny Wednesday. Let’s have fun. I’ll be around all day laying in the sun.”
5 VANITY
“Sitting here naked waiting for friends to come have some fun. Come strip, join in, watch from afar.”
4 DECEPTION
“3 sexy and sensuous drag queen/TV/CD party girls. Ever fantasied about not one... not two... but THREE sexy trannies? Come through all sexy, hard-bodied men! t4m tt4m tt4mm”
3 SECRECY
"VERY discrete, versatile but not into kissing. All are welcome, married, single, men, women, etc. Special guests may receive a dinner in the nude”
2 GLUTTONY
restaurant and bar at level of summer street
1 UNCLEANLINESS
baths at level of Boston wharf rd
R1 IN CEILING W1
W1
W1 P1
W1 W1
W1
W1
W1
W1 W1
W1
W1
W1 W1
W1
W1
W1
W1
W1
W1
W1
W1
W1
W1
W1
W1 SPACED 8’ O.C. L1
L1
L1
UPLIT FRITTED GLASS EXTERIOR SKIN FACADE
L2
L2
Lighting study of the bathing room
L2
L2 IN WALL OF STAIR ABOVE
building usage over a day
SLABS
SKIN
CIRCULATION
PAVER DRAINAGE/VENT
BATT AIRSPACE 3" XPS INSULATION GLASS RAIN SCREEN METAL CONNECTORS
INSULATION DRANAGE SLOPED CONCRETE TOP CONCRETE STRUCTURAL DECK
SPRAY FOAM STEEL STUD 5/8" GYP STEAL BEAM
DETAIL AT ROOF SCALE: 1 1/2" = 1'-0"
DETAIL AT SKYLIGHT SCALE: 1 1/2" = 1'-0"
DETAIL AT WINDOW SCALE: 1 1/2" = 1'-0"
DETAIL AT WINDOW SCALE: 1 1/2" = 1'-0"
DETAIL AT WINDOW SCALE: NTS
DETAIL AT WINDOW SCALE: NTS
3. granary in barragan-land A sculptural granary on the land of Mexican Architect Luis Barragan’s youth. Inspired by the Barragan’s works, his contemporaries (Muralist Jose Orozco and Sculpture Mathias Goeritz), and the Mexican Revolution. The granary marks this land as a self-sustaining hacienda. It is a cathedral to grain, the crop that gives life to the rest of the program.
edg
of
water
end
e
alls
ck w
ro less
in dr y se aso
n
e
d
ge
guest houses with stone wall views
of water in rain
y se
aso
n
road to owner’s house with original gate
cheese, near road, upwind
N
retention pond anaerobic digester uses waste for energy, upwind
A
A-
SECTION B-B
N
IO
CT
SE
worker’s housing at top of hill (ownership over the land)
Section of tapered box beam, tower built in vertical sections
a to nd up n a s. in or e ra s c sid s g ide ive rrie div ect ca h sp or hic re ey w eir nv tor, th co u to A trib t in s di hea w
Granaries need to satisfy three problems: how to get the grain in, how to get the grain out, and how to keep it cool. The grain enters uphill, is scooped up by a conveyor, released into storage area, sliding down the smooth interior wall. The grain can then be gathered through the door, framed by a driveway cut into the land. The grain is kept cool by being submerged in the earth. Heat is suctioned up to the top of the structure, painted black to heat up and draw hot air, and vented.
i ei s co nf ns tr m o st es rced ucted er of h up conc te is to pa on w rete. hich bl inte ac do n like k an
d ce or d f in an re y, rs gh e o a i c w o h pla or n d 2’ in- do de in o ed ed e ur r th wo ur po d fo ick is po h e th se s t te or ir is u an’ cre f rk ta rag on r C wo s m rete g Ba oss. r Fo nc kin cr co imic the . m e of nts us gme se
l al w r y r e l a ran plac stee a The g n i i a Pl d poure ld up lied. wh o h m p s p fro clip , r is a plaste fresco o c z Oro
view from road
from beneath at door
view from inside
top of stair
plaster model
3d printed model
4. Highway Fitness Given a tight, triangular site next to I-90 in Boston’s Back Bay, I proposed a fitness center that caress the highway as a natural feature. The site was originally marsh, like most of the area. Train tracks were the first major alteration to this landscape, then the highway. The highway interacts with the site as would a river. The building consists of two masses. One moves parallel to the highway consisting all high-energy activity. The other smaller mass is perpendicular to the highway, facing it head on. This mass contains lower energy activities. Both masses hug a public plaza, that bring pedestrians to the edge of the “river�.
section perspective through cafe and plaza
CL.
YOGA
SECOND LEVEL
The basketball court cantelevers out over the highway, held up by columns from the pool and a large truss.
SPIN RUNNING MACHINES
FIRST LEVEL
TAI CHI
WEIGHTS
Treadmills, gym equipment, squash and racquet courts occupy the main volume. Tai Chi and cycling occupy the small volume, with views of the highway.
CL.
WC
FITNESS EQUIPTMENT
I-90
VE SS A MA
PUBLIC PLAZA
OUTDOOR GYM
CAFE
STREET LEVEL
ENTRY
The building hugs a public plaza that gives people a riverbank-like experience of the highway. A glass curtain wall allows pedestrians to see into the pool below. The cafe opens up onto the public plaza in nice weather.
WC
BICYCLE STORAGE
L BO Y
NS
STO
E TRE
T
A
D
C
B
LOWER LEVEL
LOADING DOCK
Pool is oriented with the highway so swimmers feel as though they are in highway lanes.
D
C MECH.
B
A
section perspective through pool and basketball court
The fitness center has a copper facade facing the highway, and a brick facade on the street side. Linear windows are reminiscent of highway traffic at night.
5. architectural work After receiving a degree in psychology, I was hired at an Architecture firm in New York City. Here I realized my love for the practice. Following are renderings, models, and sketches I worked on for three different firms.
At Cicognani Kalla Architects, I worked on upscale residential projects. From modelmaking, to sitting in on meetings, creating drawing sets, I was welcomed into the world of design.
Manhattan Skyline View Roof Deck
Convenience Stair / Elev. Vestibule Game / Craft Room (ping pong etc...) Common Terrace Solarium / Tea Porch
Harbor View
Adult Lounge Future Green Roof
e
8th
nu Ave
Unit Porches
Solar Hot Water Panels
19th
Stre
et
Prospect Park (8 min. walk)
Common Terrace Children’s Room Multipurpose Great Room CafÊ / Community Kitchen
Green-Wood Park Cemetery View
Future Vegetable Garden
Exterior stairs (connecting 4 levels of outdoor common space)
Total Indoor Common Space: 5,000 S.F. Detached Cellar: Bike Storage, Workshop, Music Room
Levenson McDavid Architects P.C.
BROOKLYN COHOUSING 1901 8th Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11215
Total Outdoor Common Space: 6,000 S.F.
SOUTH
This June Levenson McDavid 21, 2009 design for a cohousing community in Brooklyn introduced me to passive house and socially sustainable design.
A townhouse renovation in New York City. The long, thin proportions of this building gave the design character. The rooftop garden was able to feed a family of four all summer.
OCCUPATIONAL EXPERIENCE November 2013 - Current Studio Echelman Brookline, Massachusetts Designing Public Spaces, Massive Aerial Installations, 3d Modeling soft bodied forms under tension and compression, Creating Presentations, Discussing Ideas January 2014 - Current Boston Architectural College Teaching Assistant Contemporary Architecture and Sustainable Material Assemblies June - August 2014 G.H. Bruce Tensile Architecture Tucson, Arizona Designed and Built Tensile Shade Structures, Website and Book Design September 2011 - March 2012 Cicognani Kalla Architects New York, New York Drafting CD sets, details, Model Making, 3D Rendering June - September 2012 Fail Better Farms Etna, Maine Planted and Harvested Organic Vegetables, Built Hoop House 2008-2009 May- August Levenson McDavid Architects Brooklyn, New York Drafting CD sets, Material Sampling, Passive House Research, 3D Rendering 2007 - 2011 Organic Campus Montreal, Quebec President, Organized Farmers Market and CSA
Lucca Townsend 430 Mcgrath Hwy #2 Somerville, MA 02109 Lucca.Townsend@the-bac.edu 646.438.3271
EDUCATION Current Boston Architectural College Candidate for Masters of Architecture Boston, Massachusetts 2007 - 2011 McGill University Faculty of Science: Psychology, Art History Montreal, Quebec 2010 Fontainebleau School of Fine Arts Architecture Fontainebleau, France SKILLS AND INTERESTS Adobe, AutoCAD, Sketchup Advanced in Rhino, Maya, Animating and 3d Modeling Sketching, Watercolor, Film Photography Learning new software, Web Design Model Making, Hand Modeling, CNC, 3D Printing, Laser Travel AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS Steffian Bradley Portfolio Award Adeline Graves Fournier Sketchbook Prize