Marisa Lappin Portfolio
Projects Dual Survival
pg 4
13 Bones
pg 16
Tucker House
pg 24
Organism
pg 32
Algorithms
pg 36
Apertura
pg 40
Craft
1
Projects
Dual Survival Live/Work Housing in Asheville, North Carolina
This six-week project explored mixeduse housing in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. The downtown area has been fast growing and in order to help keep smaller business owners close to the heart of the city, my partner and I created a live/work complex A live/work environment not only benefits those who participate but the entire city as well by recycling it back into the local economy. By suggesting a live/work situation, many of the costs that might usually keep a small business owner from central parts of the downtown area are now reduced.
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Traditional Expenses Living
Work
Commute
Monthly Expense
Writer/Author 2 br. apartment
2
$725/489ft
2.1 miles gas $3.59/gallon
$1,772.08
Tax preparer 3br. house
$375/204ft2
5.7 miles gas $3.59/gallon
$1336.40
1br. condominium $425/182ft2 $1,122.53/mo.
.4 miles gas $3.59/gallon
$1550.40
$1,032/mo.
$920.47/mo.
Painter
Live/Work Expenses Living + Work Writer/Author 1 br. apartment
$700
Tax preparer 1br. apartment
$900
$700/mo. 645 sq. ft.
Choosing three occupations that would benefit from a live/ work experience, my partner, Seth, and I calculated the expenses for the “traditional� (owning a home, driving to work, renting office space) and the live/work, as well as going through their daily work routine.
Monthly Expense
$900/mo. 825 sq. ft.
Painter
1br. apartment $1000/mo. 900 sq. ft.
$1000
A Day in the Life of... 7 pm 7 am Work
Home
Traditional Routes
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4
Writer/Author Tax preparer Painter
Miscellanious
Commuting 1
The cost of having both a home and office are now reduced to one, and commuting to work is no longer a hassle. The average cost of a home in Asheville is around $419,022 and rent for a single person apartment is around $802 per month. The cost of renting a small office is between $300- $400. Within a 4 mile radius of the city center commuting time could be around 20 minutes, with gas costing $3.39-$3.49 per gallon.
Traditional work
Live/work
Author
Author
Tax Preparer
Tax Preparer
Painter
Painter
Small Lots
Land Value
$0
$799,999
Choosing Sites st. nne N.A
Patt on
on int ex S. L
Ave .
e. Av
Bi ltm
or eA ve .
Ast on St.
Patto n Av e.
Amenities Preferred sites ve. dA lan
e Ash
Living and working in the same space can save both time and money. With this money, the small business owner is more able to live in the downtown area. Having central a location in the city is a great way for smaller businesses to attract customers and keep people aware of these smaller businesses
When choosing a site for our project, my partner and I located all small vacant lots within the downtown area, and noted their land value. To keep costs down, we narrowed our site choices to three that were reasonably priced while still being close to amenities and the center of the city
Concept Diagrams Writer Tax Painter Stratification
Needed Access to Street
Common Areas
Light
Massing Studies Site 1
32 N. Anne St. on int ex S. L
e. Av
Bi ltm
or eA ve .
Asto nS t.
Base Model
Site 2
Move in for zoning
Common area centralized
Areas designated for units
Connect the levels
Move in for zoning
Common area centralized
Areas designated for units
Connect the levels
Move in for zoning
Common area centralized
Areas designated for units
Connect the levels
46 S. Lexington
nne N.A
st.
Patt on A ve.
Base Model
Site 3
30 Asheland Ave.
Patto n Ave .
d lan
e Ash
. Ave
Base Model
Site 3 Once potential sites were narrowed down to three possibilities, a few main concepts were established for the final design. After exploring massing possibilities for each site and applying the main concepts to all, Site 3 was chosen. Taking zoning restrictions into consideration, Site 3 provided the largest possible build out while still adhering to our site stipulations.
Base Model
Painter Floor Plan First Floor
Stratification
Mezzanine Floor
Split allows light and air circulation
Tax Preparer Floor Plan
Size for unit lengths
Writer Floor Plan
Openings for common space and air flow
Large Office Floor Plan
Connections
Small Office Floor Plan
1st Floor
2nd Floor
Longitudinal Section
3rd Floor
4th - 8th Floor
9th- 13th Floor
Concrete Slabs
Cross Section
Concrete Slabs and Columns
Column Grid
The building would be minimally finished allowing for each individual tenet to complete his or her unit as he or she wished. If the tenet preferred wood floors to the concrete floors, the tenet could make that change. This lets the tenet invest as much or as little money into the unit, and be able to customise it to his or her taste.
13 Bones “Ten students, two instructors, one footbridge, in ten weeks.�
Over the course of ten weeks, ten students, including myself, were challenged with the task of designing and building a pedestrian bridge to be located in the River Arts District of Asheville, North Carolina. The bridge would cross a stream, connecting the Wilma dykes park to a field on the other side. This is also the location for the future Greenway -a river pathway for pedestrians and cyclists.
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The site proved to have many challenges. Directly above is a busy overpass. Next to the site is a frequently used road, and next to that are regularly used train tracks; all of which provide a fair amount of noise. Despite the noise, people still come to use the park as well as the boat ramp by the river.
Noise RIVE
RSID E
RSID E
Vegetation
E
E
E
FREN CH B ROA D RIVE R
DRIV
FREN CH B ROA D RIVE R
DRIV
DRIV
RSID E
HAYWOOD BRIDGE
BRO AD
Circulation RIVE
RIVE
R
CH B ROA D
RIVE
FREN
HAYWOOD BRIDGE
Not waste any time, we set out to work immediately brainstorming and holding design charrettes. After narrowing down our ideas to two designs, we hosted an event for the public to come view our progress and provide feedback. As we refined our designs, we did our best to incorporate as many of the suggestions as we could to improve the final design of the bridge. Throughout the design process, we continued seeking feedback from the public because, after all, the bridge would be for them. Local artist, engineers, architects, and the curious passerby volunteered their time to help us construct our bridge. We discovered the community was excited about the project, and desired to be involved.
Every week, two people from the group served as foremen. They would delegate jobs to the rest of the team and keep track of everything that had been accomplished that week. We rotated jobs, each participating in the myriad of tasks to be accomplished such as permit drawings, media and communications, and building models. Working with the city to approve permits proved to be the most difficult of all the jobs. It is an experience not many students are able to get in school, and it was certainly enlightening to the process of permitting projects.
Tucker House Achieving the “Difficult Whole”
frontal elevation
second ßoor plan
third foor plan 1
bedroom bath
5
20Õ
10
living
balcony kitchen entry
first floor plan
second floor plan
third floor plan
24
The Tucker House was a case study project with the ultimate goal of creating a scale model of the home... with a twist. Each team of two chose from a list of small houses to research , analyze, and model. The models were to be the table centerpieces for the Homeless Coalition fundraiser dinner in Greenville, SC. The project twist was to construct these models in such a way that the roof could be opened, allowing donations to be placed inside.
roof framing drywall wall frame (2x4 studs, 16 on center cedar shingle skin window and door frames
section implies a gable roof section
concentric squares concentric squaresininplan plan
reality: pyramid pyramid
repetitivetotounique unique elements elements repetitive
section geometry geometry mirrors planplans section mirrors
section reected in ďŹ replace section reflected in fireplace geometry geometry
overarching geometry of facade overarching geometry of facade
In 1975, Robert Venturi designed the Tucker House. Like many of his designs, the Tucker House also incorporates Venturi’s idea of the “difficult whole,” which he discusses in his book Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture. Venturi states the objective of the “difficult whole” is to achieve “the difficult unity through inclusion rather than the easy unity of exclusion”. At first glance, the Tucker house looks simple enough. However upon further analysis, it proves to be more complex. The house blends symmetries and non-symmetries, allowing for interesting contradictions and rhythms to coexist within this small house.
When designing a system to open and close the roof, we created one that seemed to match with the motif of the house. The system seemed simple enough, but turned out to be a little more complex than at first thought. Using springs, metal clips, and fishing line, we devised a noose-type system. To open the roof, you simply lift the plug to loosen the fishing line. To close the roof, you pull the line and replace the plug.
1
closed model
2
pull plug to release line, causing the triangles that make up the pyramid to spring open
3
roof pieces stop once line is wedged back into plug. interior balcony level is revealed for envelope placement
29
Craft
Organism Layers of Information
For this project, we were to create a vessel in which to keep our portfolio. For inspiration, I looked to biology. The body, as well as many other organisms, is made of up layers of structure and information: bone, muscles, blood vessels, and skin. I wanted my portfolio vessel to act much like an organism with its layers of information.
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The idea was to create a simple box with trays to hold each successive years work, showing the accumulation of knowledge and information. Perforating the vessel allows the viewer a glimpse of all the layers. “Dissecting� the vessel reveals the information nestled in the layers.
Algorithms Points, Lines, and Planes
This project was a simple design exercise in which we were to invent an algorithm, create a series of designs based on that algorithm, and construct a model based from one of the designs we came up with. The algorithm had to consist of at least one point, one line, and one plane confined to a 3” by 3” square. The combination of the elements was dictated by the individual’s algorithm
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After creating the series, one design from the series was chosen to inform the physical model. Taking the 2-D design to 3-D allowed for a different way in which the point, line, and plane elements could interact. The tilting roof of the main structure invites the viewer into the space. The curves in the model reflect each other, leading the eye around to the different aspects of the model.
Apertura The Heart, the Mind, and the Creation
Inspired by Apertura by Gustavo Santaolalla, I used this song to create a model containing three moments: threshold, pause, and release. Noticing that the drumbeat mimicked my own heartbeat, I connected the song to how the human body reacts to generating an idea.
40
The song begins soft and sparse with the main rhythm introduced here, the heart of the idea. It’s just a few stringed instruments at first, and then it begins to build a little. This is the beginning stage of an idea. It’s just a simple thought in the back of the brain, but maybe there could be more to it.
The electric guitar comes in bringing the drums that sync with the rhythm of the heart, and it is now a full-fledged ensemble. The possibilities are endless with this idea! The heart begins to beat faster with excitement, breathing increases, and the blood is flowing!
The song quiets for a moment, perhaps the doubt that this idea could fail. But excitement prevails, and ,finally, the climax is reached where all the possibilities and directions to go with this idea can exist.
Thank you