Architectural Design by Melanie Jacqueline Viger

MELANIE JACQUELINE VIGER

About

Melanie Jacqueline Viger 1701-55 Charles Street West Toronto, Ontario M5S 2W9 (647) 528 - 8436 melanie.viger@mail.utoronto.ca melanieviger.portfoliobox.io

Education

2012-2016

Creative Endeavors My specific areas of interest within architecture are informed by a variety of fields, from soil ecology to post modern art. As I pursue a M. Arch, I aim to incorporate essential elements of climate science, ecology and urbanism in order to respond proactively to the multitude of environmental crises facing us today.

University of Toronto Hon. BA in Architectural Studies Design & Environmental Studies

Relevant courses: Architectural design studios I, II & III; Architectural representation I & II; How to design almost nothing; Environmental design; Design and cultural transformation; Urban design history and theory

2008-2012

Floyd B. Buchanan Secondary Clovis, California

California Federation of Scholars College Board AP Scholar

Work

2013-2016

Skills

University of Toronto Fundraising Alumni Outreach representative Clothing designer and drafter, animal caretaker, quartet violinist Model making: plaster, concrete, wood, 3D Illustration, hand drawing, layout Teaching, group management, facilitation research and analysis

Photography

I aim to capture the robust and astounding beauty of the natural landscape and have had the opportunity to photograph California, Iceland, Italy and Viet Nam. My photographs intend to convey the cinematic drama of the land while exploring the connotations imbued within place, and sense of place. Clothing Design

Over ten years I have designed several garments that require the ability to hand-knit complex lace and cable patterns in addition to knowledge of garment construction, tailoring, fit and drape.

Interests

North American wilderness, astronomy, physics, complex systems theory, psychology, landscape architecture, climate systems, ecology, semiotics

Languages Native: English

Working Knowledge: French Korean

Application Software Adobe InDesign Illustrator

Photoshop Rhino

Google SketchUp AutoCAD

CONTENTS

YOSEMITE HOUSE

Wave PAVILION

TRINITY BELLWOODS

RIVER CITY

PHOTOGRAPHY

Yosemite house

Yosemite National Park, California

Yosemite Valley is famous for the tremendous canyon

carved millennia ago by the ebb and flow of ancient glaciers. Yo-

semite House is situated in Cook’s Meadow near the base of El

Capitan, the granite monolith extending 1,000 meters above the

1520m 1620m

E l Cap i tan

2220m

1420m

valley floor. Four iterations of the house, one for each season, con-

sider and respond to the changing landscape as Yosemite Valley morphs from a lush carpet of wildflowers into the solemn silence

1320m

of winter, broken by the echoes of trees, crushed from the weight

of heavy snow or cracked by frozen sap, falling to the earth. The reverberations can be heard throughout the vast canyon.

1220m

In the spring the melting snow pack trickles into a wa-

terfall that runs along the Nose of El Capitan. In this iteration, Yosemite House is oriented such that the views open up towards

the face of El Capitan and the meadow that pools at its base.

The copse of trees along the east and south sides of the house afford privacy, shade and shelter while allowing for glimpses of

the Valley’s southern walls, which are home to Cathedral Rock.

Summer is abundant with wild mustard and languid af-

ternoons; the terrace and poolside deck of this iteration engage the buzzing outdoors. In fall, the house is aptly focused on the changing vegetation and the decreasing sunlight, as it reaches toward the tree line for shelter as well as the view. In win-

ter, the house is more tightly pulled into itself yet still opens up to the snow-covered peaks of the surrounding canyon.

This project brief called for the use of a classic architec-

tural form: the “L.” Yosemite House is a study of variations on a theme.

Sid rth

riv e D

iv Merced R Sou

th S ide

Dri

1220m

1320m

Cath ed ral Ro ck

1: 20, 000 250 m e te r s

1620m

North Side Dr

El C a p it a n

C a t he d r a l R o c k

250 meters

Sou

ide th S

1: 5, 000 5 0 m e te r s

Yo s e m i te Va l l e y s e c t i o n A - AA AA 1:20,000

SPRING

SUMMER

FALL

WINTER

S P R I N G

S U M M E R

F A L L

W I N T E R

wave Pavilion

Wave Pavilion, when placed in a city centre or town square,

behaves as a sieve: still a series of thoroughfares, funnelling the

movement of people through undulating columns, but slowing their movement and catching passers-by in pockets of outdoor â&#x20AC;&#x153;rooms.â&#x20AC;? While providing a moment of leisure or repose, pedestrians can glimpse through the columns a bustling city around them.

The pavilion challenges the traditional hypostyle hall

and its corresponding ambulatory directions. While remaining a space of movement and an opportunity for meditation,

Pavilion engages the outside world with its permeable, undu-

lating perimeter and transparent character. From within, one is removed from the frenetic nature of a dense urban corner through layers of columns which cast corresponding shadows

and deepen the perception of being in a new, separate space.

This project brief neither required nor suggested a site;

Wave Pavilion is adaptable to common social situations found in

urban contexts, such as entertainment or industrial districts where office, retail and residential programming is integrated and plentiful.

A B

Hypotheitcal site situation, in which the pavilion is placed within a greater green space in the city.

slowest

Elavation side A

Elavation side B

fastest

Movement map illustrates the nature of pedestrain circulation within the pavilion, with the slowest, or least, movement representing moments of rest, while the faster movement represents more directed and purposeful transit.

Aerial diagram describes the slant and lean of the columns.

Elavation side C

D ST FOR W A CR

trinity bellwoods

bath house and recreation centre toronto, ontario

DAS

DUN

ST. W BASEBALL DIAMOND

This project brief called for the design of a new bath house

and community centre in Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods park. While an

ICE RINK

existing bath house is located in another corner of the park, this new design would be placed along the riverbed of what was once Garri-

son Creek, now colloquially known as the Dog Pit. The bath house

emerges from the hillside of the old ravine as a series of stepped

WADING POOL

STRACHAN HOUSE

terraces, concealing the baths, gymnasium and pool that lie underneath. The terraces, sidled against a grove of trees to the south

and over looking the Dog Pit and the space beyond, open the bath

NEW SITE AREA

BASEBALL DIAMOND

house to the surrounding park and connect the path that originally

be unobtrusive, and is focused on engaging the existing topography

S AV

570.0

part of the existing landscape; in essence, the bath house aims to

OOD

levels allow visitors to walk across the terraces as if the building is

ran through the site’s north-south axis. Access points on all three

and circulation of Trinity Bellwoods rather than causing disruption.

PLAYGROUND

The nature of the site also allows for adequate privacy as the baths

WADING POOL

are dropped into the earth, engulfed and protected by the hillside

PLAYGROUND

and shielded from unwelcome display.

VOLLEYBALL COURT

The precedent study for this project was Frank Lloyd

Wright’s Falling Water.

Base site plan (this page): Anna Ulak, ARC313 Architectural Design

BASEBALL DIAMOND

TENNIS COURTS

TRINITY RECREATION CENTRE

CURRENT CRC LOCATION

Summer 2015

T. W

EN S

QUE

HOCKEY RINK

VE LE A E VA GOR

DUNDAS ST WEST

40 m

Volumetirc iterations. QUEEN ST WEST

10 meters

Public pool Hot bath

Weight room

Gymnasium

Mechanical space, storage

Cold plunge bath

Sauna

Warm transition room

Male/female change rooms and lockers Mechanical space, storage

Restrooms, showers

Terrace Bar Cafe

Male/female restrooms

Reception Entry Gallery

East

West

BB A 0m

AA -9 m

North

South

DON VAL

SUMACH ST

BRIG

IV R R ER ST

ST LA

WR EN

T Y S

IV N R

TER

VE N A

DIV

ERS

ION

Designed as a cluster of buildings redolent of the town

EAS

RICHM OND ST EA ST

squares commonly found in older cities, River City attempts to

ADEL

bring the recent crop of high-rise condos down to earth.

A re-assertion of the Neighbourhood centre Adapted for a reviatlized urban intersection toronto, ontario

HT S T

LEY

River city

KIN

The neighbourhood as it exists now consists largely of

V N A

AIDE S T E AST

new residential developments and plots of land under construction

bland and unidentifiable neighbourhood, a series of low-rise buildings, placed at vital intersection between residential developments and the recently restored Corktown Common to the south, are designed with a flexible program as buildings hosting retail space

one year may morph into a restaurant the next. River City is run through with passageways, intimate pockets of patios and steps

upon which to rest, culminating in a neighbourhood centre that provides a repreive and simultaneous cultural and social hub.

Rive eet r Str

i ew yv Ba

en Av

Corktown c

B AY

VIE

ban commercialized space. In order to combat the creation of a

om m

and seems to be insidiously growing into a monoculture of sub-ur-

LEAST

SITE PLAN 1:2000

TINY CAFE RETAIL + YOGA STUDIO WINE BAR/BISTRO RESTAURANT

DEFINITIVE PROGRAMMING MOST

GALLERY + STUDIO SPACE A gallery displays the work of artists working in the studios above.

CENTRE GREEN A stepped depression into the site delineates circulatory space from leisure: a stream runs along the perimeter and surrounds a sculpture garden, a canopy of trees and pockets of seating.

MARKET PLACE + PAVILION The market place is the primary social condesner that fulfills a common need. The pavilion, rising as a veritable “forest” of lily pad columns, is an expansive gathering space.

PAVILION BOOKSTORE

CAFE

GROCERY

LCBO

BAKERY FRUIT MARKET

DELI

MARKET HALL North - South Sections 1:500

South Elevation Site Section MARKET HALL 1:500

SOUTH SIDE ELEVATION 1:500 SITE SECTION

SITE PLAN SECTION PLANS 1:2500 1:315

A1 B1

PLANS 1:315

ROOFTOP PATIO BAR TERRACE

LEVEL ONE DINING ROOM KITCHEN BAR PATIO

BASEMENT

WASHROOMS STORAGE REFRIGERATION

SECTION 1:250 A1

SITE PLAN 1:2000

PLANS 1:315

ELEVATIONS 1:500 LEVEL ONE

OPEN RETAIL SPACE

EAST

LEVEL TWO

NORTH

YOGA STUDIO/RETAIL OPEN SCREEN BALCONY

SITE PLAN SECTION 1:2000 PLANS 1:500

A2 A1

LEVEL THREE

STUDIO SPACE

LEVEL TWO

STUDIO SPACE

LEVEL ONE

GALLERY EVENT SPACE

Photogrpahy I aim to capture the robust and astounding beauty of the natural landscape, and convey the cinematic drama of the land while exploring the connotations imbued within place, and sense of place.

32 34 36 38 40 42

Montaña de Oro, California Montaña de Oro, California Ólafsvík, Snæfellsjökull peninsula, Iceland Rif, Snæfellsjökull peninsula, Iceland Highway F570, base of Snæfellsjökull glacier, Iceland Budir, Snæfellsjökull peninsula, Iceland

Front cover: Three Rivers, California Back cover (sketch): Jaguar 03, 2013

Melanie Jaqueline Viger melanie.viger@mail.utoronto.ca melanieviger.portfoliobox.io