Maria Ruxandra Stanciu
Portfolio 2010-2015 Cornell University Bachelor of Architecture 2015
Maria Ruxandra Stanciu Portfolio Cornell University Department of Architecture
Selected Works Design
8_Thesis 54_Chapel 64_Town Hall 72_Masterplan 78_Museum 82_Dwelling
Modeling
90_Parametric 94_Structural Model
Photography
98_Time Lapse
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A Drone Aviary Design Studio X - Spring 2015 Project Type: Individual Instructors: John Zissovici, Julian Palacio
Thesis The project aims to conceive a building from the top down, with the roof becoming a host of services and public activities. This process is facilitated by a proposed drone delivery system which accesses the roof, relieving the ground plane from vehicular congestion caused by existing delivery systems. The proposal consists of Amazon warehouse/drone delivery facility on a pier in Chelsea, as well as a “case study” residential tower injected with a new identity stemming from its roof. Research of the existing roofscape in New York led to an understanding of “anonymous” structures which inhabit it: water towers, HVAC units, exhaust pipes. Subsequently, “anomalous” situations arose, expressed in the building skin and its intentional concealement of the anonymous objects. This strategy will inform the generative process of a new roofscape.
(Left) Diagram of existing network of services on the streetscape. Below, proposed inversion of system through drone delivery on the roof.
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Research: Anonymous/ Anomalous Objects
John Hejduk’s work operates in “an uneasy terrain that restates the dilemma of unity (the contained unique) and multiplicity (the dispersed iteration of the seemingly banal).” At Lockhart, TX, Hejduk’s study described discrete elements found in the urban fabric – balconies, smoke stacks, water towers, exhaust ducts, satellite dishes – as a fragmented architectural unit that is anonymous, or “off-the-shelf”. These anonymous objects are observed in NYC as appendages to buildings, more fully manifested on the roofs than facades. The roof surface becomes an “anomalous” platform which adapts to meet these anonymous objects. One can imagine that drone delivery, if accomodated on the roof, will be another case of anonymous object/anomalous situation. The drone as a non-static anonymous object, will temporarily use roof surfaces as landing pads. The question is, how will the anomalous situation manifest itself in this case?
(Left) Images of Manhattan rooftops, showing HVAC units, water tanks, and other appendages.
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Rooftops in Chelsea, ignoring building mass.
Research
A Drone Aviary
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Map of Chelsea rooftops as displaced ground, elevated by vertical shafts.
Research
A Drone Aviary
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(Top) Traditional path of services in Manhattan - from the ground up. (Bottom) Potential path of services facilitated by drone delivery - from the roof down.
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Maria Ruxandra Stanciu
Research
A Drone Aviary
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(Left) Conceptual model of “service” section inside of a typical high rise apartment building; (Right) Conceptual model of this services “spine” embedded in the building mass, a bridge between ground and roof planes;
Research
A Drone Aviary
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(Left) Conceptual model of existing apartment building in Chelsea Houses complex; (Right) Conceptual model of existing apartment building in Chelsea Houses complex, with vertical shafts;
Research
A Drone Aviary
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(Left) Anonymous objects - water tanks, Brancusi sculpture, drone; (Above) Anomalous situations - understanding the importance of the pedestal from Brancusi’s sculptures;
Research
A Drone Aviary
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(Left) Drone anatomy;Drone “on-ground” and “in-air effects” suggest different flight behaviors in take-off/landing situations. (Right) Within 100’ from landing surface, the drone must adapt its tilt to account for different wind conditions. Four takeoff/ landing ranges result from this condition, all of which should be accomodated by the landing surface.
Research
A Drone Aviary
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Design: Warehouse for Drone Delivery
The storage warehouse will contain all of the packages to be delivered by the drones, and act as a public model of interaction between people and drones. The 8’ roof slab is an extension of the park, punctured by drone takeoff/launch shafts. These shafts are the structural supports of the building, creating four massive pillars which correspond to the four wind speed ranges determined in the research portion. Warehouse processes entail cargo delivery by ship, followed by storage in hanging units below roof slab. Once ready for delivery, the drones distribute packages out through takoff/launch shafts. People inhabit the top of the roof slab, but the four shafts puncture it in such a way that access is created to allow for observation of warehouse processes.
(Left) Rendering of warehouse pier on W 23rd St
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(Left) Wind diagram of drone takeoff/ launch shafts, one per wind speed range; (Right) Physical model of shafts, detailing the structural integrity of the shafts as columns;
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Design: Warehouse
A Drone Aviary
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(Left) Plan diagram of warehouse processes below roof slab; (Right) Typical drone flight through corresponding wind speed shaft; Once the drone has been sheltered from outside currents, it can fly more freely in the space beetween shafts;
Design: Warehouse
A Drone Aviary
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(Right) Degrees of modification of roof slab to accommodate engagement between drones and people;
Design: Warehouse
A Drone Aviary
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Wind diagram through building section at Range 1 shaft, showing the funneling of wind and subsequently, drones, into the warehouse;
Design: Warehouse
A Drone Aviary
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Model of warehouse, deconstructed: Takeoff/landing shafts + roof slab;
Design: Warehouse
A Drone Aviary
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View toward East, looking straight through shafts to understand the vertical continuity;
Design: Warehouse
A Drone Aviary
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Design: Case Study
The proposal acknowledges the urban implications of a drone delivery system by creating landing pads on existing roofs. These landing pads are articulated similarly to the warehouse shafts, a folded surface at an angle which corresponds to the four wind speed ranges. The folded surface adapts to the existing building’s structural frame, and is punctured by existing anonymous structures (HVAC units, water tanks, etc). One can imagine that what happens on top of the folded surface (drone landing) can be a vastly different experience from the space between surface and roof. Anomalous situations are created with the insertion of the landing pad delivery system.
(Left) Map of Chelsea populated with potential roof appendages;
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(Above) Diagram showing programmatic implications of landing angles. (Left) Column grid with units on roof produces anomalous moments in the folding of the surface. The white triangles are the landing pads, and the connective tissue between them are both structure and package chutes.
Design: Case Study
A Drone Aviary
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(Left) Sketches of potential configurations of landing surface; (Right) Case Study - Existing structure of Chelsea Houses apartment building and landing pad addition;
Design: Case Study
A Drone Aviary
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Conceptual models of surface configurations on Chelsea Houses apartment building;
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Design: Case Study
A Drone Aviary
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Section through the top three stories of 22-story Chelsea Houses. The folded surface is a platform of interaction with existing roof conditions.
Design: Case Study
A Drone Aviary
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Model showing the folded surface delivery system at an urban scale. These surfaces have the potential of becoming a new type of icon in the city.
Design: Case Study
A Drone Aviary
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Delivery originates from warehouse shafts and culminates on rooftops of existing buildings. The proposal creates the framework for regulating drone flight patterns in NYC.
Design: Case Study
A Drone Aviary
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Sun Dial: New York Design Studio IX - Fall 2014 Project Type: Individual Instructors: Thomas Phifer, Gabriel Smith
A Village Chapel I was concerned with the intangible, ephemeral conditions that mark Washington and Charles St. The passage of light through the brick-lined streets formed a distinct shadow which gradually transformed as it traversed the built environment. Through the surface and room studies, I sought to manipulate a material (wax) that can carry light and become molded by it. The chapel retains the lightcarrying properties of the wax, yet rests lightly on the ground to create a sun-dial. It is a marker of the ever-changing seam between light and shadow on the three existing surfaces of the site: pavement, brick wall, and concrete wall.
(Left) Photograph of existing site and the passage of light through the space dividing it into four quadrants.
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(Left) The superimposition of light/shadow analysis on site creates a gradient. (Above) The analysis began with a diagram of the clear seam between light and shadow on the surrounding site. In essence, these diagrams distill a moment solely through the marking of light.
Design
Sun Dial : A Village Chapel
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South Facade
March 20th, 2014
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January 20th, 2015
February 12, 2015
Maria Ruxandra Stanciu
Chapel Site
(Top Left) Projection of sampled shadows on an imagined facade - this projection becomes the actual facade of the building. (Middle Left) A series of sun path studies on the site become the generative tool to form the facade of the chapel. (Bottom Left) Isometric drawing exposing the shell of the building: its two facades and the roof. The structure is made of fabric and suspended by cables attached to the adjacent buildings. The cables follow the lines of the shadows. (Above) Time lapse of model showing
Design
Sun Dial : A Village Chapel
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Material Study: Surface - Wax
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Material Study: Room - Wax
Material Study: Room - Wax
Maria Ruxandra Stanciu
Plan 1’ - 1/8� An observer enters the chapel to the space of reflection, a white reflective concrete slab cutting into the ground.
Design
Sun Dial : A Village Chapel
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Maria Ruxandra Stanciu
The renderings expose expose the functionality of the chapel as a sun dial. At various times during the day, the shadows traveling across the site will align with the mapped shadows on the fabric facade. The Aha! moment is fleeting, but the chapel exposes the cacophony which occurs when multiple random moments are layered into one.
Design
Sun Dial : A Village Chapel
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Vertical Street: Owego
Town Hall
Design Studio IV - Spring 2012 Project Type: Group: Justin Wadge, Nick Darreau Instructors: Dana Cupkova
The project defines the relationship between the river and the street by abstracting the site into formal architectural styles in order to address the evolving relationship between them. The face confronting the street sees a very participatory environment with a focus on efficiency and functionality resulting in a pristine volume described with a modernist language. The river facade takes queues from the context by extending out into the landscape and prioritizing observation. The introduction of a crevice condition serves as a more direct connection between the street and water. The symbolic nature of a town hall is addressed with the grand public terrace on the south facade. The fold and resulting rupture creates a direct connection between the exterior public spaces and the meeting hall.
(Left) View of the walk to the river through the gap created by the steel mesh.
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North Facade
Longitudinal Section 65
Maria Ruxandra Stanciu
South Facade
(Left, Right) Sections through the town hall, showing circulation systems. (Above) Rendering of North and South facades, showing the different typologies expressed on either side.
Cross Section Design
Vertical Street: Owego
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(Left) Wall detail sections along facade conditions; (Above) Axonometric of structural and spatial conditions - passive heating and cooling systems, rainwater reusal system;
Design
Vertical Street: Owego
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(Above) Redering of town hall meeting room; (Below) Structural axonometric detailing steel frame and facade strategy; (Right) Model photographs;
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Design
Vertical Street: Owego
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Roosevelt Island Tech Campus: New York
Masterplan
Design Studio VI - Spring 2013 Project Type: Individual Instructors: Arthur Ovaska
The proposal for a Cornell Tech Campus on New York’s Roosevelt Island is intended to act as a alternate solution to the SOM proposal, accomodating the same square footage parameters and programmatic requirements. The major cornern of the project is to create ease of access through means of public transportation, considering the island’s reduced vehicular use. A connection between the E and F subway lines is proposed through means of an elevated shuttle train that connects the major sectors of the site: Corporate Co-location, Academic Center, Residential Island, and Recreation Center. These areas have been subject to landscape interventions in order to prescribe a unique typology to each, to be taken into account by the different architects designing each building. The masterplan is a collage of several different projects by Ungers and Olmstead, placing at odds the rational and the picturesque. (Left) Model photograph of scheme South of the Roosevelt Island Bridge, not including the Louis Kahn Memorial;
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Academic Center
Recreation / Future E Train Station
Corporate Co-Location
Residential Island Design
Masterplan: Roosevelt Island Tech Campus
Programmatic axonometric of island showing tram connection from existing F station to the potential E station. This overground connection showcases the campus and bridges two otherwise disparate zones of the island.
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Infrastructure
Built Form
Nolli
(Left) Model photographs show the island’s relationship to the larger context. (Above) Series of plan analyses exposing site connectivity fostered by the masterplan.
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Maria Ruxandra Stanciu
Design
Masterplan: Roosevelt Island Tech Campus
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Museum of the Unexpected: Binghamton
Museum
Design Studio III - Fall 2011 Project Type: Individual Instructors: Vincent Mulcahy
This Museum on the water’s edge in Binghamton was inspired by Serling’s the twilight zone and notions of disorientation, liminality, and bridging states. a choreographed wander on hanging walkways hovering above a reflecting pool. The reflection is not only performative, but occurs in section and at all stages of design. The museum becomes a “game of twos,” in which all elements have a counterpart.
(Left) Model photograph showing the interior conditions of the museum;
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(Top) Sketch of proposed design of suspended cube with hanging walkways; (Middle) Model collage onto existing site adjacent to the water’s edge in Binghamton. (Bottom) The section exposes the “doubling” which occurs not only in the materiality of the cube, but through the underground exhibition space below the reflecting pool.
Design
Museum of the Unexpected
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Dwelling
The exploration begins with an analysis of a tool, in this case a pair of tongs. Its processes are unraveled, among them its symmetry in both composition and movement. The axis of symmetry occurs at the hinge. Taken to the building level, the hinge becomes a window, the only aperture in a dwelling suspended a few feet above the ground. The dwelling is siteless, contained within a fabric-veiled scaffolding. The man who lives in the dwelling can walk up the scaffolding to see beyond.
(Left) Model view;
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Analysis of tongs, showing rotational movement around the hinge.
Design
Dwelling
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Cylindrical dwelling with N-S aperture.
The dwelling is suspended by cables hung from the scaffolding above.
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Maria Ruxandra Stanciu
The window is the hinge, at the center of the entire mechanism of the dwelling for one man.
Design
Dwelling
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(Left) Bird’s eye view of dwelling; (Above) Dwelling at sunset, with the fabric structure lighting up the interior of the volume.
Design
Dwelling
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Reconstruction / Regeneration of ECM
Parametric
Building Technology - Fall 2012 Project Type: Group - Sean Kim, Ryan Petersen Instructors: Jenny Sabin
How does one model entropy? The aim of the study is to investigate the process of deterioration in the structure of diseased cells, in order to find potential for reconstruction. The study is based on Kaori Ihida-Stansbury’s research on the properties of the Extra Cellular Matrix. Process: 1)Analyze the structural properties and logic of the bundles composing the matrix; 2) Extrapolate structural differences between the healthy and the diseased matrices; 3)Adapting the behaviour of the normal ECM to a physical exploration of tensile properties; 4) Projected output - ability to reverse the deterioration process of the ECM by controlling the environment which it inhabits;
(Left) Models exploring tensile properties as observed in the ECM modeling.
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(Above) Normal ECM bundle (Right) Simulation of the formation of the ECM bundle in Grasshopper - exploration of various centers of rotation;
(Above) Diseased ECM bundle (Right) Simulation of the formation of diseased ECM bundle in Grasshopper - Attempt to create randomization in bundle hierarchy and
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(Left) Plan diagram of the rotation of threads to form bundles; (Above) Physical simulation of normal ECM formation and structure (bundles within bundles)
Modeling
Reconstruction / Regeneration of ECM
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Structural Model: Arena Stage
Modeling
Structural Systems - Spring 2013 Project Type: Group - Elena Toumayan Instructors: Mark Cruvellier
The Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is a revival of a cultural institution overlooking the Potomac waterfront, with the design intent of encasing,preserving, and showcasing the historically significant existing theaters. The model aims to recreate the structural systems of a built project that has a certain unique feature. The canopied truss is supported solely by the columns of the undulating facade and the concrete Cradle Theatre and its wing.
(Left) Photograph of model including the cantilever made possible by the truss;
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The Theater
The Truss
The Facade
Casting Process
Soldering Method
Woodwork and Pin Connection Assembly
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Maria Ruxandra Stanciu
Planimetric view of assembled model showing the existing theaters (wooden pieces) and overhanging truss supported by new theater (concrete);
Modeling
Structural Model: Arena Stage
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Time Lapse: High Line Playground
Photography
DBOX - Fall 2014 Project Type: Individual Instructors: Matthew Bannister, Leah White, Christa Hamilton
The project seeks to isolate an opportunity for a strong one-point perspective shot that can expose the beauty of light and range of activity in New York City. I chose a newly opened children’s park made of beams and greenery on the High Line. The park looks onto the Hudson River and is immediately adjacent to the Hudson Yards. The images are taken at one minute intervals over the range of two hours, and compiled into a time lapse. The photographs are then altered to accommodate a person in the frame at a previous time, then ultimately adjusted in Photoshop to project a future intervention on the site.
(Left) Photograph at dusk;
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(Right) Series of thumbnails showing the range of the time lapse; (Above) The sequence of transformations of the original image, including the time lapse, original image, and intervention;
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Maria Ruxandra Stanciu
Photography
Time Lapse
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Maria Ruxandra Stanciu