Architecture Portfolio - Matt Hasek

Matt Hasek

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

Furniture Fabrication & Store

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Urban Renewal

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Route 66 Auto Museum Salem 2040 Master Plan Urban Fragmentation [Thesis]

STUDIO

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Furniture & Fabrication Store LOCATION: CROSS ROADS DISTRICT, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI ACADEMIC: 2ND YEAR, 2ND SEMESTER STUDIO YEAR: 2017 [ INDIVIDUAL PROJECT ]

The Crossroads District of Kansas City is a booming area where art culture thrives. Every year, an annual art walk takes place where thousands of pedestrians explore the various exhibits displayed in shops and on the streets.

This project was to host a furniture and fabrication store. A company would design the furniture, craft it, and then sell it in a showroom setting. It was highly encouraged that the building be interactive with the pedestrians, especially during the art walk. This meant that certain spaces had to be easily visible in order to be inviting to pedestrians, as well as to be effective for general business purposes. The site was located in a small parking lot adjacent to a men’s clothing store.

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SPATIAL ORGANIZATION The challenge was to design a building that fit all of the required programs. This was achieved by having some programs use shared space, making the overall building more efficient. Spaces were also organized based on privacy versus public. Spaces, such as the showroom and front desk needed to be public, however the fabrication shop was put on a lower level with a high degree of transparency from the street to show the process of constructing the furniture. Other spaces that did not need to have access to the public were tucked away in more opaque parts of the building.

SECOND FLOOR

FIRST FLOOR

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SPACES & TRANSPARENCY The section below shows the varying degrees of transparency throughout the building. The main showroom space has the most visibility from the exterior and even has the ability to fold part of its curtain wall back to create a higher flow of circulation and invite more pedestrians into the space. The fabrication shop and entry have a slightly lesser degree of transparency. The employee spaces, such as the open office on the balcony above the showroom and the materials library are more hidden as they allow employees privacy. The office upstairs also has the advantage of being able to look over the finished products below and see the clients interacting with them.

LONGITUDINAL SECTION

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Urban Renewal LOCATION: METAXOURGIO, ATHENS, GREECE ACADEMIC: 4TH YEAR, 1ST SEMESTER STUDIO [STUDY ABROAD] YEAR: 2018 [ INDIVIDUAL PROJECT ] DISPLAYED FOR DRURY HSA LIBRARIUM EXHIBITION

Metaxourgio is a lower class district in Athens, Greece. The site consisted of two urban blocks in poor condition. Both blocks had a composition of mixed use buildings with residential above and shops below, some of which were operational and others abandoned. One block was the site of an archaeological dig and the other was a combination of dilapidated buildings and open field.

The project consisted of creating a building with a program that benefited the community as well as restoring the areas that are not in use and finding a new program for them. It needed to take into consideration the context of the surrounding urban area as well, such as the pedestrian street on one side of the site, the businesses that were common in the district, and the types of residents living around it.

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Playground

SITE AXON

Eatery Archeology Site Public Seating Plaza New Library & Startup

SITE ORGANIZATION The site sought to connect all parts of it and make it easily accessible throughout. Two major axises were derived from the context, highlighted in red in the graphic above. The first (lower) was created from an open plot, which had the opportunity to become a linear park. The other (upper) was from a clear path toward the archaeological dig site, connecting that piece directly with the building, which was chosen to be in this location as it was well framed by surrounding buildings. Programs were then arranged along these axises.

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PROGRAMS & CHARACTERISTICS

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1 Playground for children in the surrounding residencies 2 Lighting to make the area safer to inhabit at night time 3 Numerous places for greenery to be placed and bring natural life into the dense urban area 4 Space for vehicles to pass along the pedestrian path, mainly for access to the stores along it

5 Space for people to sit and eat outdoors near existing restaurants 6 Overhang, primarily on the building, to seem more inviting 7 Seating for people to enjoy leisure time outdoors 8 Archaeological interaction so pedestrians could see the process of unearthing ancient history

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BUILDING FORM & SPACES The primary concept that drove the building design was feeling inviting to pedestrians. It is a public building and thus should feel as though it is owned by them. This was accomplished by bringing outdoor spaces inside through cutouts in the form and bringing indoor spaces out through the large overhang. The overhang reached out across one of the site’s axises and partially enveloped a line of trees to make the transition between outdoor and indoor more fluid.

The program of the building consisted of two main pieces, library space for public study and a business start-up center to assist those wishing to either start a business or obtain a job. The lower floor was left more transparent as it is more public where the startup center is left more opaque through a method of screening so business assistants and Internet users could enjoy more privacy.

LONGITUDINAL SECTION

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SECOND FLOOR

FIRST FLOOR

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LIFE AT NIGHT Night life was taken into consideration in later design stages. It was important to make sure the space felt inhabitable at night time given the nature of the surrounding neighborhood. Since the character of the neighborhood could not be changed in a single project, this project sought to at least create a safe space for residents at night. The most important component of that is visibility. With plenty of open space around the site, lighting helps to create a clear line of vision at all times.

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The building especially accomplished this through its facade. With the general need for lighting, it was used as an opportunity to create a design along the face of the building. The upper floor is surrounded in perforated metal panels to provide light to the start-up center, however in parts of the building where there is no interior space, it lights up with back-lit LEDs. Gaps between the panels also act as channels for LEDs to light up, creating an interesting effect to the otherwise basic form.

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Route 66 Auto Museum LOCATION: SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI ACADEMIC: 4TH YEAR, 2ND SEMESTER STUDIO [COMPREHENSIVE] YEAR: 2019 [ INDIVIDUAL PROJECT ] DISPLAYED FOR DRURY HSA LIBRARIUM EXHIBITION LIBRARIUM AWARD FOR STRONGEST COMPREHENSIVE STUDIO

Springfield, Missouri is considered to be the birthplace of Route 66 and should celebrate that history of hosting America’s first major transportation artery. The project assigned was to create a museum that celebrated the history of Route 66, primarily focusing on old automobiles that once traveled along its vast expanse. In addition, it was also to be a hub for automobile fanatics and be a place for them to show off and auction their collections.

Since not only Springfield, but the surrounding region, lacks a museum and place to host car culture, this building needed to become a statement, clearly celebrating the history and the culture it hosted. The site given for the project was a large vacant lot located along a major highway, with an original piece of Route 66 running through the site.

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BUILDING FORM In order to become this statement of car culture and celebration, the museum needed to communicate this to people passing on the neighboring highway and streets. The form took on a vertical and linear structure where automobiles would be displayed and clearly viewed over a substantial distance. Minor adjustments to the form were made to appeal to both the neighboring street (Chestnut Expressway) and the highway (I-44). The form also communicated different programs that took place by distinguishing between the temporary display/auction room and the permanent exhibition.

LONGITUDINAL SECTION

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SECOND FLOOR

FIRST FLOOR

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TECTONIC COMPOSITION Rather than hiding the structure, the building exposes most of its structural steel members. HVAC systems were mostly hidden, especially in the atrium to preserve the clean museum space. A large glass facade along the south side of the building made it easy to view to the interior, showcasing the automobiles vertically displayed along the wall. The rest of the exterior was constructed from metal panels, an artificial material that was intensionally chosen to reinforce the purpose of the building.

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TOP PLATE CAVITY INSULATION SPANDREL GLASS CURTAIN WALL STRUCTURE TRIPLE PANE GLASS ATTACHED TO CURTAIN WALL SYSTEM COLUMN BEYOND PARAPIT CAP FLASHING ROOF MEMBRANE RIGID 3/4” ROOF INSULATION CONCRETE DECKING GIRDER BEYOND 4” CONCRETE SLAB CONCRETE SHEATHING BOARD 8” CONC. FOUNDATION WALL CONC. FOOTING 4” RIGID INSULATION GYPSUM BOARD SUSPENDED FROM ROOF STRUCTURE, DUCT COVER COLUMN BEYOND GYPSUM BOARD CAVITY INSULATION VAPOR BARRIER CONCRETE SHEATHING BOARD ALUMINUM PANEL

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Expansion Plan Salem Community College Campus Art Park Downtown Revitalization New Recreation Center Street & Entry Sequence Improvements Housing Developments Nature Trails

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Salem 2040 Master Plan LOCATION: SALEM, MISSOURI ACADEMIC: 3RD YEAR, 2ND SEMESTER STUDIO [COMMUNITY] YEAR: 2018 [ GROUP PROJECT ]

Salem, Missouri is a small town (pop. 4,916) located in central southern Missouri. As part of a community studio, we were tasked with developing a master plan for the city of Salem that addressed issues that would affect the long term resilience of the town.

Issues that were addressed in town meetings included youth retention, attracting new community members, business opportunities, etc. From these town meetings, our team created a comprehensive plan to address these needs through various methods. Common themes between the solutions were connectivity of community, first impressions for newcomers, and affordable housing for the youth.

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RESEARCH We created a master planning book that was presented to the city as a series of strategies for them to use as they continue to develop the city. Each individual contributed numerous spreads that they volunteered for. One such example, shown above, shows one of my examples from the research portion of the master planning. Here, I explored the possibility of greenway trails for the community and listed three examples of greenway trails implemented across the United States and their effects on the community.

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RECOMMENDATIONS My specific contribution concerned the main points and roads of entry into Salem. Most roads in the town were treated as utilitarian means of facilitating traffic. Our team considered these to be opportunities to beautify the community and give the community a sense of pride in their entry corridors. The spreads shown on these pages display my contribution and ideas, including increased greenery, eliminating the middle turn lane, and the addition of a roundabout intersection.

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Urban Fusion LOCATION: HONG KONG ACADEMIC: 5TH YEAR, THESIS PROJECT YEAR: 2019 / 2020 [ ONGOING ]

Hong Kong is a city known for its extreme wealth.

It is considered a major economic hub of East Asia due to its geographical location and businessfriendly economic policies. However, these policies that make Hong Kong such a successful trading hub is also what is, in part, causing an extreme geographic divide between different socioeconomic classes.

To make up for lost revenue due to low corporate taxes, the government over-inflates the land values. This burden is then passed from landlords to tenants, which disproportionately affects low class individuals who now see upwards of 90% of their income go to housing costs. As the economic gap between the rich and poor continues to widen, so does the physical divide between them as well.

As the poor are segregated into impoverished districts, they enjoy less benefits than the upper class districts do, such as infrastructure, education, and business opportunities.

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CLASS DIVIDE Represented in the graphic above, the social classes are divided geographically through the city of Hong Kong. The most wealthy individuals live on Hong Kong Island, physically detached from the rest of the city. Meanwhile, the lower class tend to occupy the northern east and west of Kowloon. Analyzing the two poverty clusters, one seems to present an interesting opportunity.

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COMMERCIAL GENTRIFICATION This poverty cluster in western Kowloon is currently experiencing a process of gentrification.

As part of an initiative by both developers and the government to redevelop poor areas of Hong Kong, businesses are being introduced, creating a commercial hub that is slowly making its way north toward Sham Shui Po, the poorest and still most undeveloped district of Hong Kong. Seen in the graphic above, the aerial view communicates

where the gentrification has already taken place through the heights and types of buildings.

Furthermore, as gentrification starts to continue into Sham Shui Po, its street market culture could experience dramatic changes with the introduction of commercial development. Since the street markets are an important part of the identity of the district, it is important that this potential threat be addressed.

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INTERVENTION DESIGN The site was chosen for both its position along a major artery connecting the gentrified district and Sham Shui Po, as well as its locality to street markets. The site will some day likely experience the same gentrification taking place farther south, and thus must cope with this inevitable change. The program of the building seeks to combine both the informal street market culture with the new commercial development in a way that encourages inter-class interaction and dependence. This will be achieved by combining like markets and businesses, specifically fabric/ fashion studios, produce/restaurants, and electronic parts/high-end electronics.

Extrude the site

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By combining these programs, they not only are able to sell directly to consumers but also establish a relationship between the lower and middle to upper class individuals. Market vendors would act as distributors to the established businesses that occupy the floor above them.

In order to establish this as a central hub in the area, additional programs have been incorporated into the design, such as a recreational level and residential component to provide housing for workers, populate the space at all hours of the day, and fulfill a high demand for housing.

Green space for urban density relief

Establish linear axis to existing street with markets

Circulation is located around the outer edge of the building and is designed to make each floor a different experience from the last.

The next layer inward is where the markets and businesses are located.

Core of the building facilitates travel to specific parts of the building.

Reduce unnecessary space

Connect the two volumes

Open up lower floors to create a sense of invitation and urban relief.

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A VISUAL EXPERIENCE Since the building is designed for a public program, it needs to appeal to them visually. It is also seen as something that is to be discovered by pedestrians rather than a landmark destination. This is accomplished by making the exterior transparent, allowing pedestrians to see the activity taking place along the circulation paths on the interior as they pass by. Opening the lower floor invites people to enter the building and gives a sense of relief from the dense urban fabric.

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Internship Abroad

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Hammon’s School of Architecture Master Plan

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EXTRA CIRRICULAR

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Internship Abroad LOCATION: HANGZHOU, CHINA ACADEMIC: 4TH YEAR YEAR: 2018 QINGZHOU AUDITORIUM & OFFICE BUILDING (left) The clients had a piece of land that had been excavated out of the side of a mountain where they wanted to put a building that would serve as an auditorium for a small campus and an office administration building. We designed the building to resemble the shape of the mountain as a way to ‘restore the natural land to its original state.’

Created a sloped building that mimicked the slope of the mountain it inhabited.

Opened a courtyard in the center and then mirrored part of the center piece to distinguish between auditorium and market. Office spaces are lifted to open up the courtyard to the exterior.

Created extra space for backstage areas and other programs requested by the client.

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SANMEN URBAN DEVELOPMENT (upper right) The local government of San Men was repurposing many of its older industrial buildings in hopes that it would create a new commercial part of town. We were tasked with designing a face for the older buildings. By using nature as an inspiration for the design, we created a tree-like system of geometries that would act as sunshading devices as well as places for natural intervention.

HANGZHOU RESEARCH & LABS (lower right) The program of this complex was a combination of research labs, offices, and residencies.

The client specifically asked for simple forms that were cheap to construct. I had developed a scheme where each program was represented with a building and each were connected to one another. Where the connections occurred, there would be free space to allow them to break and read as individual forms rather than two oversized box masses.

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HSA Building Master Plan LOCATION: HAMMON’S SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE,

SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI ACADEMIC: 5TH YEAR YEAR: 2020 [ ONGOING ]

I was asked by the dean of the Hammon’s School of Architecture at Drury if I would like to help develop a master plan for the building as it seeks to improve its spaces in the future. The graphics produced for this are created for donors who would see value in these changes.

The diagrams on the left show the nine major areas of focus. Each of these address issues that currently exist in the building or general improvements that could be made to overall enhance the space for the students.

Examples of each callout are given on the next page with inspirational images describing our ideas for each location.

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Item 1: Atrium & 5th Year Studio The front office for the architecture building (1) is one of the pieces that is addressed, suggesting that it could be more open to the students. Also, the 5th year studio is located on the second floor, isolated from the rest of the studios on the second floor. A solid wall (2) with a key scanned door separates them from the atrium. Addressing the wall between it and the atrium and giving it transparency would improve the relationship between lower years and 5th years.

Item 5: Student Lounge As it currently stands, the student lounge does not offer a whole lot for students other than an unnecessary amount of seating and a small table for students to work on. The proposal here suggests that the unused classroom (1) be used as a stepped seating area. The rest of the space (2 & 3) should be rethought as to how to organize it better.

Item 6: Backyard Addition Currently, there is a concrete wall that runs along the outer curve of the back patio. It is also not easily accessed and students almost never use the space. We suggested that the wall be removed and create steps down to the lawn (3) and have a series of interactive additions (2) for students.

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