Portfolio
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Research and Academic Work
Marcy L. Monroe
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Title
Urban Swim: Re-Captivating the Public Realm
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Historical Authenticity: A Modern Urban Plan in Xi’an China
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Saunders King Courts: Affordable Housing in West Oakland
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The Nairobi Studio: Slum Upgrading Infrastructure Project
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Towards an Empirical Architecture: Joint M.Arch/M.CP
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Luminance: Spiritual Retreat BSAI: Bay Street Art Institute
in the Mathare Valley, Kenya Masters Thesis
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Existing barrier
Urban Swim l
Re-Captivating the Public Realm
Critic Course Semester Project Type
Roddy Creedon Arch201 Comprehensive Studio Fall 2010 Community/Public Space
Location
the Mission Pool, San Francisco Linda and 19th Street
Connection to the Mission
Process Sketch
On the intersection of Linda and 19th street exists one of the last remaining public pools in San Francisco. The pool currently blocks off local Mission residents with an uninviting barrier wall and vacant unprogrammed park space. The primary goal of this project was to re-captivate the public realm towards the engagement of public space while emphasizing the act of swimming. The organizational diagram I am using to support this goal is a series of undulating ground surfaces that reach from 19th street to the existing public recreational facilities on site. The ground appears to lift from the ground and becomes a constructed surface to allow for views of all common areas while providing program access and an additional public roof park for all visitors. Views of the pool are now possible from multiple places throughout the site as the new roof park provides program for views back to downtown San Francisco, the lap and children’s pools, and on-site recreational facilities. left: detail of peeling ground and constructed roof park 3/4”=1’
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Design Process: From barricade to public linkage
Original Program
Barrier Breakdown
Ground Insertion
Added Public Park
Park Extension
Re-Shuffle Program
Interior Access
Exterior Access
Cross Sections 1/32” = 1’
North Entrance
Plans 1/32”=1’ Ground Floor
1. Entrance 2. Lobby 3. Staff Office 4. Storage 5. Men’s Locker Rm 6. Women’s Locker Rm 7. Lockers 8. Shower 9. Toilets 10. Lap Pool 11. Children’s Pool 12. Childcare 13. Multi-Purpose 14. Public Restroom 15. Public Park
Roof Park
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Glass Enclosure and Railing Systems
Undulating Ground Surfaces
Existing Ground + Structural Concrete Walls
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1. Sacred Center 2. Pre-Function 3. Spiritual Zones 4. Dining Hall 5. Housing Units 6. Reception 7. Bridge to retreat
Perspective within the main center and wind channel
Boundary
Reflection
Luminance l Critic Course Semester Project Type Location
Spiritual Retreat Rocke Hill Design Five, Year Three Undergrad Fall 2009 Community Project Lake Walburg in Gainesville, FL
Interaction
Spirituality is relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; not tangible or material. Through the heightening of the senses, there exists a composition of sequential events that enhance the essence of the divine. The intent of the project thus was to lead the occupant through a polarization of adjacent forms leading to a main spiritual center. Programmatic elements emerge from the landscape, defining boundaries that sculpt the occupant’s itinerary. One is led through a series of moments that are charged by the manipulation of water. The climax of the series ends at the main spiritual wind chamber programmed for the collaboration of sound and instrument. Moments previously experienced are recognized as only a foretoken of the spiritual center. During a summer’s eve, light reflects off of the lake and into the building’s exterior light wells. These wells project a variety of warm and cool colors and envelop the internal space.
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The northwestern side of the main center affected by the reflected mid afternoon and evening sun.
Site Model 1/16”
1. Sacred Center a. seating b. stage c. sculpture 2. Pre-Function a. women’s restroom b. men’s restroom c. foyer d. sitting area e. shower/clensing room 3. Spiritual Zones a. bath 1 b. bath 2 c. bath 3 d. bath 4 e. bath 5
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Urban Carpet Perspective
Site View
BSAI l Critics Course Semester Project Type Location
Bay Street Art Institute Martin Gundersen + Bradley Walters Design Six, Year Three Undergrad Spring 2009 Civic Project Charleston, SC
Charleston, South Carolina is a city rich in history and culture. Within the immediate context of the site, street vendors and artists enrich the cultural essence of their surroundings. For this reason, the program was selected as an Institute for Artists. The intent was to design a program where locals and students could buy, sell, and create works of art. The culmination of composition, construction, and heirarchical systems within painting techniques were used as an architectural transitioning tool for the overall design of the Art Institute. Through the analysis of existing programs in surrounding sites, internal functions were developed throughout the project. Of the emerging programs, the urban carpet became a dominant idea. The purpose of the carpet is to create alternate ways of entering and experiencing a spatial itinerary in order to draw the public from the ground level onto the second floor into the glass sculpture and main gallery spaces.
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Plans (below): 1a. Main Gallery 1b. Student Gallery 1c. Library 2a. Art Store 2b. Upper Studios 3a. Circulation Well 3b. Cafe 3c. Lower Studios 3d. Reception
Urban Carpet Sketch
1/16� Model
Main Glass Sculpture + Circulation Well
Ground Floor
Second Floor
Third Floor
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Historical Authenticity l Critics Course Semester Project Type Location Team Members
A Modern Urban Plan in Xi’an China Nancy Sanders + Robert Macleod Design Seven, Year Four Undergrad Summer 2009 Urban Design Xi’an China Alana Taylor Jessica Kuo Juan Yactayo Phat Tran
Xi’an, once the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, was one of the four great ancient capitals of China. The modern city spreads out from the wall bound ancient capital. The current wall was constructed in 1370 during the Ming Dynasty. It is on the Inner edge of this monument that the urban plan sits. Authenticity within a historical setting sets the guidelines for this design project. An emphasis on modern interpretation of traditional architecture rejects imitation, while translating several pieces of ancient Chinese architecture into new architecture.
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The Chinese roof is read as a singular gesture rather than individual pieces. From the wall overlooking the site, the singular peaks become a fluid roof-scape and transitions into the unifying element of the new design. The constant overlapping over time of residential structures, found near the site, is built anew as modules of housing layer upon each other and situate above the existing commercial businesses. The measured housing unit sets a consistent tempo throughout the new fabric as it reinforces pre-existing urban scnearios.
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A top the permeable ground
Underground Museum
Elevated Pagoda Path
Floating Bar-History Museum
The history museum occupies a two level bar held over a sunken public plaza. It is supported by structural posts that reflect back to the conceptual tablet walls situated by the historic Xi’an wall. This space, dedicated to relaying the history of Xi’an, acts as a starting point for the path of knowledge and holds the new gate into the urban fabric.
Elevated Pagoda-Underground Museum & Tiered Knowledge Walls
The pagoda marks the center of the urban site, sitting halfway between its original footprint and the Confucius Temple. The southern side of the pagoda is excavated to allow visitors to exerience the artifact from below. The pagoda as monument marks the culmination of the path of knowledge and the location of the school.
Permeable Ground-Art Museum
The Art Museum has two levels of art display. Skylights filter natural light into the underground display areas. Above ground, the museum appears to float, and its glass exterior visually scopes the experience of other components within the site. The space is dedicated to exploring the ancient tradition of Chinese art.
Floating Bar-History Museum
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Shifting Landscape Procession to Art Museum
Revisiting the Gate: Reflection of History
Interplay of roofscape and modules
Roof form folds down into procession of tablets along the citty wall
The power of monument: The elevated pagoda holding the axis of the new urban form.
Monumentconstructing space: The procession to the pagoda.
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Site Location
Courtyard Access for Housing Residents
Bart tracks on 7th St. and site on left. Neighborhood and Surrounding Uses
Saunders King Courts l Tutors Course Semester Project Type Location Partner
Development Proposal for Affordable Housing in West Oakland Michael Smith-Heimer and Karen Smith CP238 Development Design Studio Fall 2013 Group Project Affordable Housing and Development 7th and Campbell Streets, West Oakland East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation
Site as viewed from Campbell and 7th Sts.
Existing building on site
The proposed Saunders King Courts development is a 46 unit family housing project located on 7th and Center Streets in West Oakland, California, in a once thriving African American music and commercial district that has seen large-scale disinvestment and is now experiencing housing price pressure from gentrification. This site, previously owned by a bankrupted affordable housing developer, is now owned by the City of Oakland, and has been largely vacant for many years. Saunders King Courts would offer much-needed affordable family housing and transform a blighted lot into an attractive mixed-use building that can improve the neighborhood for all residents. Saunders King Courts will provide ground floor commercial space along with a mix of 1, 2, and 3-bedroom apartments for families with incomes at 30, 40, 50, and 60 percent of area median income. Townhouses incorporated into the design provide family friendly units while also allowing the development to blend into the surrounding residential neighborhood. The site is located at a 10-minute walk from the West Oakland BART station, providing excellent access to transit. Yet this proximity to BART also poses a key challenge, as the train travels down the center of 7th St., creating a significant noise problem. To address this issue, unit designs incorporate solariums, glassed in patios that reduce noise while providing private open space for residents.
Applicable Zoning Requirements
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Neighborhood Demographics
2nd Floor (Ground Floor includes Retail and Parking)
Additional Challenges_ Mixed Zoning Types on site BART noise for residents Design Response_
Overall, my role in participating in this project was in creating design solutions that addressed both the limitations and opprtunities collectively.
Zoning: Created Opportunity for Neighborhood Friendly Townhouses Noise: Added private open space for residents through the creation of Solariums
Solarium
Unit Designs
Solarium
3rd Floor
Solarium
4th Floor
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The Nairobi Studio l Tutor Course Semester Project Type Partners
Slum Upgrading Infrastructure Project Jason Corburn, PhD CYP115 Spring-Fall 2011 Group Project Architecture, City Planning, Public Health Muungano Support Trust The University of Nairobi City and Regional Planning Dept Pamoja Trust
Over 2.2 million people live in urban slums today throughout Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi. [1] The Mathare Valley is home to over 500,000 slum residents crammed into a mere half a square mile of land adjacent to Nairobi’s main city center and elite resorts. It is referred to as the forgotten slum, cancered by violence, lack of infrastructure, and high death rates. In response to the post-election violence that occurred in 2007, a group of residents and Nairobi locals, known as Muungano Support Trust, have made the bold move to organize the Valley and demand their basic rights to adequate shelter and proper infrastructure. [2] With partnerships from the University of Nairobi and UCBerkeley, as well as support from UN-Habitat and the World Bank Kenya, the community was able to provide sanitation, electricity, and clean water to the Kosovo village in 2009 immediately following the first Spring studio. This studio focused on a valley-wide approach to basic services while aiding to the mobilization, or encouragement and support, to the community on the ground. As the architect of the group, my assignment was to assist with and provide multiple infrastructure proposals using ArcMAP GIS and Adobe Illustrator. Examples were used as a communicative tool for a community meeting held in June 2011 and was later presented to the Nairobi Water Company in attempt to impliment and make visible the need for services. Although the project was not yet at the housing phase, my skills in drafting, visual communications, and ability to find clarification in extremely complex scenarios proved useful in the planning process. [1] The Unseen Majority Amnesty International Report [2] 2009 UCBerkeley Studio Publication
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Relational model for participatory slum upgrading
Capacity Building
Private/Public Partnerships
Participatory Planning
Community Meeting Held in the Mathare Valley in June 2011
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Towards An Empirical Synergetic Aid Architecture Committee
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Fusing Community, Agency, and Professional Joint M.Arch/M.CP Thesis Research Technologies into Disaster Response Mary Comerio Renee Chow Ananya Roy Nezar Alsayyad (Chair)
Project Type
Joint M.Arch + M.CP Thesis Research Architecture, City Planning, Public Health
Location
Dadaab Refugee Camp, Dadaab, Kenya
Today, over 45.2 million people around the globe are forcibly displaced by human conflict and war in which 35.8 million people of concern reside in makeshift temporary settlements under international protection laws, United Nations Relief operations, and related global mandates. This thesis addresses existing gaps between global policies and on the ground relief operations within Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp in Kenya, by focusing on the process of sheltering as a means to directly tackle issues of human health and well being. The project seeks to demonstrate how architects can reframe their services to parallel with other research-based professions, such as those in environmental health, in order to use their skills to first identify and later confront the assemblages concerning the policies and economics in disaster response that ultimately generate platforms for future catastrophe.
UNHCR Operation Policy
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Lagh Dera River
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Family Unit
UNESCO Satellite Image 2007
Lagh Dera River
Downward Elevation Shift
02 l Community_16 Units
03 l Camp Block_16 Communities
04 l Sector_4 Blocks
05 l Open Space
06 l Search for Water
Environmental Costs l Desertification Over Time There is a direct correlation between space, place, and health. There is a parametric relationship between policy and economics, or the space that drives the physical creation of place, their relation to creating particular environments, and ultimately how such controls impact people. This project investigates the human and environmental impacts associated with sustained emergency relief operations in the Dadaab refugee camp over the past 23-years as guided by the existing United Nations High Comissioner for Refugees Handbook for Emergencies and short-term relief funding contracts. In 2011, Dadaab hosted over 500,000 refugees fleeing from war and famine in Somalia. Because of the restrictions placed on the camps by the 2006 Kenyan Refugee Act and operation policies associated with the UNHCR Handbook, all material items, agencies, and services are continuously deployed into the camps in suspended emergency. Based on the aggregation of the individual family unit, the handbook scripts a particular urban pattern from afar and does not call for environmentally sustainable practices on site. The costs of this are tremendous, as over time the environmental footprint of Dadaab has transitioned from marshland to harsh desert, and consequently continues to result in on site flooding during rainy seasons that has led to large increased risks in health and safety often producing additional deaths.
Human Costs l Safety and Health Risks
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Diagram of multi-sectoral operation system:
YEAR 2024
YEAR 2016 YEAR 2016
CholeraRate Rate 45%45% Cholera Malnourished 45%45% Malnourished 70% Reported Violence 70% Reported Violence
YEAR 2019 YEAR 2019
30% Cholera Cholera Rate 30% Rate 35% Malnourished 35% Malnourished 45% Reported Violence 45% Reported Violence
To address these issues, a proposed strategy is to engage the Lagh Dera river and existing water sources on site in order to undergo a process for sheltering and guide a community-driven infrastructure network in aim to lessen environmental health risks over time. In order for this process to take place, my joint thesis proposition also entails a complementary Handbook to the existing UNHCR Handbook, which focuses on the added deployment of community-based architects and other health-related professionals whom will work alongside existing relief agencies in a multi-sectoral and multi-scalar approach towards improving community health conditions. Deployed architects would service in collaboration with affected agencies, environmental health professionals, and people on the ground in order to first diagnose limitations in the existing operation system that directly take part in producing added health and safety risks. While engaging with the community, an architect would map and make visible both the opportunities (existing community groups, programs, etc.) and risks (safety issues, water-born disease, malnutrition risks, etc.) on a variety of scales at any given time. The combination of these two factors would prompt programs for additional spatial catalysts (soccer fields, health clinics, etc.) in attempt to empower the community and set the stage for the process of sheltering and infrastructure network to endure as a longer term (not permanent) alternative. In this, the value of the architect’s services are defined by ethics and their ability to lessen health risks over time.
YEAR 2024 10% Cholera Rate 20% Malnourished 30% Reported Violence