MARIA C. KENNEDY M.Arch Option II University of Oregon 2013 B.S. in Architecture University of Minnesota Twin Cities
CONTACT INFO: Maria Kennedy 114 Winn Terrace Beaver Dam, WI 53916 kennedy2@uoregon.edu 920-344-6485
CONTENTS DISCOVERING PLACE
1
DRAWING CONCLUSIONS
2
EXPLORING MATERIAL
3
TRACING TYPOLOGY
4
DIVERSIFYING DENSITY
5
SHARING IDENTITY
6
DESIGNING URBAN PLACES
7
TREETOP TOWER
8
GRADUATE MEDIA
9
1
DISCOVERING PLACE This design evolved using a playful method of modeling with a “kit of parts� to create a place for three programmatic elements: a bed, solitary chair, and table with three chairs. As an explorative design study, this project required careful thought about what makes a formal space into a meaningful, memorable place. Using the simple spatial elements floor, wall, and roof, the site was reconfigured through numerous iterations. Implied boundaries, differentiation of spaces using the floor plane, and views toward a central space were used to organize the program and create meaningful places. This project required consideration of what elements are essential in articulating spaces and how these relate to the scale of the human body. The design explores how traditionally formal elements gain meaning and define the human experience and other phenomenal qualities.
floor + wall + roof materials: chipboard, balsa wood, cardboard, modeling clay, plexiglass studio II: spring 2010 Prof. Lance Lavine
2 DRAWING CONCLUSIONS This set of drawings is the result of an in-depth study and analysis of the central staircase in Rapson Hall, the architecture building on the University of Minnesota campus. Through numerous study sketches, I became interested in how the staircase acts as an anchor for the central circulation space in which it is located. It is a meeting place for movement, light, and volume in both the horizontal and vertical directions. Subtle design decisions like the careful placement of windows and lighting, and the juxtaposition of voids and massing emphasize its importance as a central pivot point within Rapson Hall.
building analysis materials: pencil on bristol, white pencil on black architectural drawing: fall 2008 Prof. Andrzej Piotrowski
3 EXPLORING MATERIAL This project involved an iterative process of refining diagrammatic concepts and design ideas using different mediums. Focus was placed on exploration of how material choice affects the method of making, the character of spaces, and the relation to the human scale. The challenge was in maintaining overarching design concepts while translating these ideas to different materials and methods of construction. Determining the appropriate method of making based on the inherent properties of each material challenged the design concept and allowed ideas to become clearly refined and developed throughout the semester. This study explores how variations in the ground and ceiling planes create a sense of compression and release, resulting in the feeling of both physical and phenomenal heaviness and lightness at different points along the path. Section diagrams were used as early spatial experiments, which were refined based on information about the program and site.
materials and space materials: mdf, foam molds, plaster, bristol paper studio I: fall 2009 Prof. Dan Clark, Martha McQuade + Andrew Dull
Several iterations of digital photographs were represented spatially in the form of MDF wood blocks. These blocks were then arranged into a spatial path, forming the basis for the first iteration of the plaster model. Numerous refinements in plaster resulted from the gradual introduction of information about the site and program, which included a community room, bathrooms, and a bus stop. Shifting the material from heavy plaster to lightweight paper, introduced unique structural properties and distinct ways of thinking about the relationship between void and space.
site
The program involves creating a connecting pathway through a city block in a multicultural neighborhood just west of the Minneapolis campus. This pathway uses the location and heaviness of the overhead planes and changes in the height or material of the ground to define spaces for waiting, sitting, walking, and gathering. The final paper model adopted a system of scoring and folding, so that all non-structural walls and ceilings are part of one ribbon-like piece of paper.
final model
path in plaster
final model path
4 TRACING TYPOLOGY This measured documentation of the courtyard in the Benito Juarez Law School in Oaxaca, Mexico was a learning experience in the process of analyzing typology. By drawing and experiencing the spaces and comparing our knowledge of this courtyard with others studied in studio class, we determined the essential elements of the courtyard type and gained a deeper understanding of the role of typology in architecture. This study also led to an awareness of the importance of people in determining the character of an architectural space. This courtyard has a very dwarfing scale and formal feel when it is not populated by the crowds of students who use it daily. They enliven this social gathering space, and it becomes a much more habitable and comfortable place when filled with people. This unexpected character and function, determined by the people, contribute to the rich collective memory of the building, and demonstrate the central role of the user in how architecture is experienced and interpreted.
My partner and I shared the measuring and documentation work equally. I personally completed the wall section and elevation drawings.
courtyard documentation partner: Miranda LaBerge materials: ink on mylar studio II: spring 2010 Prof. Lance Lavine
typical wall section
section A-A
A
A
5 DIVERSIFYING DENSITY This mixed-use dense housing complex is located on a vacant site in a St. Paul historic district with views of the downtown skyline. The site slopes to the west, and is bordered by East 7th Street, a major thoroughfare on its north side. A rain garden is located in the lowest corner and green roofs cover all of the buildings. The site is organized into three distinct public courtyard spaces whose characters are determined by the types of housing that surround them. The family garden courtyard at the eastern end of the site acts as a communal garden space for the surrounding family-style apartments. The central open area is a park and plaza, with a bus stop, planterbenches, and a statue commissioned by a local artist. The urban professionals courtyard has an open paved area for markets and events with gently terraced steps that emphasize the natural topography of the site. The low basin can be flooded in winter to create an ice-skating rink. Facades on the exterior are more respectful of the historic context, while those facing the courtyards are more modern in their massing and materials. My partners and I worked equally on the design and group drawings. I worked on the specific building plans, sections, and elevation individually.
dense housing proposal partners: Louis Martin + Briana TurgeonSchramm materials: mdf, autocad and adobe suite studio III: fall 2010 Prof. Julia Robinson
East 7th Street
urban context
existing site conditions
proposed development
longitudinal section
individual building design A
A
urban professional courtyard
first floor
second floor
public park + plaza
section A-A
third floor
family garden courtyard
street elevation
courtyard elevation
6 SHARING IDENTITY I chose to study the faces of individuals from various cultures to see how their faces are both unique and similar. I am interested in how we often perceive others as very different from ourselves, but yet we all share the same features and understand the same expressions and emotions. I wanted to portray the unique cultural identity and emotion of each person while using composition and medium to emphasize the commonality and beauty of our shared human traits.
final project materials: charcoal on dry medium introductory drawing: spring 2008 Teaching Assisstant Toby Sisson
7 DESIGNING URBAN PLACE This project involved the redesign of a public plaza located in Oaxaca, Mexico, a historic World Heritage Site city with a vibrant arts culture and very public community. Maintaining the use of the existing buildings, which include the basilica of the patron saint of Oaxaca, Soledad, the city hall, a music school, a smaller church, and a popular marketplace specializing in traditional ice cream, was essential. The site acts as a path between the two major thoroughfare streets that border it, meaning it must be a place that offers the opportunity to pass through easily and to socialize and spend time. New program required the addition of a library, exhibition space, and a private home for the city historian. The challenge of adding more program into an already complex space and finding a way to create a private realm in the center of such a public space were instrumental in our design solution.
public plaza redesign partners: Miranda LaBerge, Sam Shafer materials: chipboard, balsa wood, butterboard, ink on mylar studio II: spring 2010 Prof. Lance Lavine
redesign site model
exhibition + library section
existing site photos
longitudinal site section
This design creates large public spaces directly at the level of the street that create a physical and visual connection to the city, removing the barriers that currently exist in the plaza. These spaces are inspired by successful public places in Oaxaca, and provide many opportunities for various programs and interactions to take place. The extension of the street level into the site causes the elevation change to be condensed in the middle of the site, where the additional programmatic elements are efficiently arranged onto the central platform. This area also serves as a connection to all existing buildings. The stairs punch through the platform spaces and run parallel to the platforms, encouraging users to walk through the site and interact with the many activities that bring Oaxacan public spaces to life.
I was an equal contributor in the design scheme and model building. I collaborated with other team members on completeing the drawings, but worked primarily on the site section, diagrams, and building setion drawings. middle plaza toward Soledad church
view through outdoor exhibition space
redesign axonometric
lower plaza toward ampitheater
8 TREETOP TOWER This cabin is located in northern Minnesota on the shores of Lake Vermillion. Each student worked with a potential client, interviewed them to understand their needs and desires for a vacation retreat. After a weekend site visit, two different sketch model ideas were presented to the clients, Mike and Judy Theron, a middle-aged couple living in an adaptive reuse condo in the warehouse district of Minneapolis. The verticality of trees on the site inspired form of the cabin, as well as the desire to minimize the footprint in order to preserve as many existing trees as possible on the wooded site. The Therons were inspired by the idea of inhabiting the treetops, so the master bedroom suite is located on the fourth floor with views to the south. The main living space occupies a double volume space on the third and fourth floors, while a more intimate gathering space connects the first and second floors.The Therons wanted space for their children and grandchildren to visit, which is located on the two lower levels. The stairs encircle the “trunk� and hang from the larger fourth floor plate, emphasizing the drama of the climb to the treetops. cabin for Mike + Judy Theron materials: chipboard, balsa wood, mdf, plexiglass, autocad, prismacolor pencils studio IV: spring 2011 Prof. Dale Mulfinger
context photos
site context
site plan
parti
north-south section
view toward cabin location
first floor
west elevation
site perspective looking south
second floor
south elevation
third floor
east elevation
fourth floor
north elevation
9 GRADUATE MEDIA
PROJECT 2 DRAWING 5 WINDOW HEAD AT BRICK WALL TO TOP OF PARAPET SCALE: 1-1/2” = 1’ 0” Maria Kennedy Section 1800h, GTF: Eric C.
A sample of various media from my graduate work thus far at the University of Oregon is included here. Technical detail drawings from Building Enclosures demonstrate detail drawings for a panelized brick facade and parapet wall connection to the roof and for a heavy timber frame roof edge detail.
ROOF MEMBRANE (EPDM) 3” FOIL FACE POLYISOCYANURATE RIGID BOARD
VEGETATION TREATED PLYWOOD GROWING MEDIUM
2” FREE AIR SPACE
CAP FLASHING COURSE ROCK AGGREGATE BASE FLASHING INCA MODULAR MISSION BRICKS
BALLAST CANT STRIP
BLUESKIN
Also included are schematic design work for my current studio project, Eugene City Hall. The plans are from the midterm review, and the perspective sketches were also completed at a similar time in the design process. Although the design has evolved since then, the perspectives served as a useful design development tool.
TAPERED RIGID BOARD INSULATION
COMPOSITE FLOOR DECK
SOLDIER COURSE
TWO-PIECE FLASHING
CROSS BEAM
STEEL ANGLE AT HORIZONTAL PANEL JOINT METAL FLASHING
W18 CASTELLATED STEEL BEAM
COLT SOLARFIN FIXED SHADE
roof edge detail
6” STEEL BACKUP STUD, 20 GAUGE
BRICK TIE STEEL ANGLE COLT SOLARFIN FIXED SHADE SHADE SUPPORT TIED INTO STUD ALUMINUM WINDOW MULLION
INTERIOR GYPSUM BOARD 5/8” STEEL CHANNEL
PPG SOLARBAN GLASS 60
brick parapet wall to roof detail
various media projects materials: pen, pencil, marker, autocad studio 584, building enclosures + design process media class Prof. Don Corner + Prof. Jim Givens
eugene city hall first floor plan
second floor plan
second story foyer
surrounding arcade in front of ground floor commercial
plaza view
entrance arcade