P ORTFOL IO 201 3
Museum
2012
Coaling Towers
Research
Ongoing
Pavilion
2013
School
2011
Study
2010-2011
Théâtre Thiéré
Theater
2010
Metals
Jewelry
2009
Residency
2011
Concert Hall
2012
A New Friend for Yaroslavl APIF Travel Sketches
La Longère Walbrzych Cultural Center
CONTENTS
Monuseum
ACADE MIC 201 2
Monuseum A nyw h ere, Illi noi s This speculative proposal for a contemporary art museum explores the potential that the blurred lines between memory, nostalgia and sense of space produce. These explorations seek to draw attention to a historically disregarded landscape and in turn extract value from it. The humble grasslands (devoid of epic mountain ranges, cascading waterfalls, and rugged coastlines) have been overlooked as sublime spaces. This prejudice is deceived by the typology of National Parks. Of the 56 National Parks in the United States only 5 are located in the Midwest. None are dedicated to the grasslands.
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I NVE S T I G AT I N G T H E S U B LI M E
MIDWEST
NATIONAL PARKS BY TYPOLOGY * type
Grassland
description
amount
delicately shimmering plains of tall indian grass and diverse wildlife
0
a dark distant trickle of still water conceals unseen dangers and preserves the unspoiled charm of uncharted tributaries
1
everchanging sand formations which track the delicate passage of time
2
Cavernous
the ticking of a constant trickle echoes off spectacular crystaline calcium formations
3
Coastal
rugged, moss-covered coastlines that, in a misty fog, hold back the ocean’s infinite horizon
4
Volcanic
dark still water obsures unseen dangers and preserves the unspoiled charm of uncharted tributaries
4
towering icebergs and expansive ice-fields against a backdrop of glacier-crowned mountains
4
gorges with sharp, steep cliff faces worn away by a gentle, yet persistant, river current
6
lush, pristine canopies provide a home to nature’s beings
9
Swamp Dune
Arctic Canyonous Forested Desert Mountainous
an overpowering palette of deep ochre hues quiver in the low setting sun
10
an awe-inspiring landscape of majestic peaks, scenic valleys, and cascading waterfalls
13
* National Park Foundation, 2012
“You know the the round barns, right?” “Yeah, they’re a sort of symbol around these parts. Quite a bit of history to them.” “Right, well I want the round barns but modern. Circular like the barns but with a twist. Sleek and modern is what I wantbut homey too. I want to take advantage of the open space here and these pastoral views are to die for. Maybe some of that red and white color scheme they have going on here would be nice.” “Sure, that could look really nice. A simple wood cladding would tie the home in nicely to its....” “No, no, not necessarily wood. Something more sleek you know. I want it to be something new, something exciting. A candy red would look nice, to match my Corvette. Wood just wouldn’t do.”
WHAT LIES BENEATH
Tilled land and irrigation ditches are embedded into the
landscape. They are vast, repetitious landscapes that emerged from a strong understanding of utility. Survival drove these landforms into being and now Earl enjoys them as art. It takes effort for him to make his way over these mounds. He trips and stumbles a bit as he surveys the intricacies and details hidden between earthly ridges. The experience is decidedly not effortless, as the soil gives under the force of his foot steps. “Nothing in this world worth having comes easy,” he thought. In the recessions of these mounds are strata that reveal the story of how the fields were worked: a story quite foreign to him. Leaning over he picks out an earthworm from a clump of dark soil. The fine network of roots juts out and tickles his leg hairs. “What a colorful world lies under my feet.”
GRIDS BEYOND GRIDS
The zest of city life was irresistable. The lights, the people,
the laughter all neatly ordered within a grid. Homes, businesses, restaurants, cinemas, and corporations all mixed together, interacting and complementing one another. My day is orthogonally planned. Time passes in 30 minute increments, my every action carefully planned and parcelled. It’s good though. I am more efficient- productive. Ha! I’ve gotten so much done today: contributed to society and went to the gym. My home’s beautiful too. It’s in a renowned highrise by a famous European architect. It suits my lifestyle. It too is well organized, keeps my things in order. It has a little balcony looking out onto the city and beyond- that’s my favorite. I sit there and look out onto the grid I left behind. Longingly even. It’s open and free, undeveloped. Reminds me of my childhood- when I ran through rectilinear fields and meadows until the dinner bell rang.
IMMERSION
Nothing’s happened there for weeks. Just the daily grind
again, and again, and again. He’s worked himself like a dog and time passed by indifferently. Out of touch with the world around him he gets into his dutiful pickup and drives for about an hour. The road, as always, is straight and narrow. He enjoys the drive though. It’s a peaceful time to clear his head and unwind. The destination is just as plain as the landscape around it yet it glows softly and indiscriminately. Its glow is rigidly constrained and tightly compacted walls litter the surface. He appreciates this intimacy. All at once concerns and issues much larger than his overwhelm him. Immoral scientific devleopments and cultural practices outrage him. Scenes of poverty and inequality pull at his heart strings. As politicians spew their rhetoric at him they are overshadowed by the dark inner workings of the economy. He feels guilty and scared- insignificant even.
STO RI E S F RO M T H E M I D WE S T
ROUND BARNS
N OS TALG I C E XT E RI O R
Nostalgia drives a yearning for regression. Reintroducing a pristine grasslands onto developed soil is a process no less natural than building a factory or shopping strip.
The Monuseum’s bipolar facades project two equally synthetic views of the prairie. On the one hand a simple wooden elevation relates to the surrounding architecture. On the other, the southern elevation puts the man-made prairie onto an untouchable pedestal.
N OS TALG I C E XT E RI O R
R E G I ON AL I N T E RI O R
The vast landscape of the Midwest is populated by a scattering of metropolitan nodes further diversifying the regional character.
SCATTERED METROPOLITAN NODES
ND MN WI
SD
MI
IA NE
IL KS
MO
IN
OH
The variety allows for moments of intense urban stimulation as well as examples of idylic small-town life. The culture-clash addresses the question of what it is to be Midwestern, and the identity of the region that is projected on to the world.
R E G I ON AL I N T E RI O R Gallery
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Fr e
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Fr e
Studio
Classroom
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Or
Library
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Dance
Gallery
Theater
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G a ll e
Stora g e
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Library
C
Stora g e
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A
Stora g e
Office
Break Room
Office
Conference Room
Stora g e
N
Plan 2 Scale: 1/16” = 1’-0”
[Insert Name Here]
Lobby Floor Plan
Gallery Plan
Flexibly planned exhibition spaces host large-scale work and become the museum’s gathering space. Larger than life motifs of flora and fauna pressed into the concrete showcase the inherent diversity waiting to be uncovered among the prairie’s tall grasses. Mounds pop up through the ground level towards oculi. The prairie teasingly reveals itself but can never be reachedforever remaining a memory.
Library
Café WELCOME
Galleries
COMPE TITION 201 3
Yaroslavl, Russia The identity of a society is created through innumerable factors stemming from history, geography, and a shared culture. Our pavilion in the Tchaikovsky Boulevard isolates a common trait between these varied factors and personifies it to make it more relatable to diverse publics. In order to make visitors aware of the geometry with which they are subconsciously surrounded, we created a character that imbues a friendly gathering place in the park that would remind civilians of these many similarities. Functionally, the “friend” traps heat through solar radiation in order to create a warm spot for the town’s people during their time in the park. In the summer, the trees shade the pavilion to prevent it from overheating. The semi-transparent polycarbonate acts as a blanket around the structure, promoting a safe and whimsical environment.
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S OCI E TAL U B I Q U I T Y Through our research into Yaroslavl’s sacred art and architecture, constructivism and vernacular craft, we were surprised to repeatedly encounter the motif of a circle, and more precisely, two vertically intersecting circles. The beauty of this shape lies in its ubiquity that allows many public groups to associate it with their own experiences, memories, and everyday lives. Thus, we have an icon that manages to convey the local spirit without being overtly thematic.
FORMIN G FR I E N D S H I PS Early in the summer, when the mornings were still brisk and the dew shimmered on the grass, I saw a construction crew hauling wooden timbers into the Tchaikovsky Boulevard. I stopped to look as they erected the pieces alongside the trees. To my surprise, the mysterious skeleton, slowly taking shape, reminded me of the wonderful buildings I imagine to exist only in fairy tales. The children on their way to school shouted that it looks like a giant Matryoshka doll and spread the word around town!
Throughout the summer, townspeople and visitors gathered in the park to enjoy the nature and to fulfill their curiosity of seeing Our Friend. The quasitraditional shape had become a symbol of Yaroslavl, yet it was still hidden between the trees as if it were shy. The massive and rigid shape magically glowed when the sun reached it and cast mystical diffusions onto the ground around us.
As the seasons changed and the leaves fell, Our Friend stayed to keep us company. Bare branches allowed it to fully reveal its shape, with a new confidence only gained through interaction with the public. In the cold of winter it absorbed the sun’s heat, becoming a warm refuge and companion during our afternoon strolls. The odd but friendly shape had become engrained in our daily lives. Even the kids affectionately began making “friendly” snowmen, replicating the city’s newly loved icon.
2.6 m 1m
PLAN
1m
2.5 m
SE CTION
1m
8.2 m
ELEVAT IO N
7m 1m
ACADE MIC 2011
Air Frame and Power Plant Instructional Facility Willard Airport, Savoy, Illinois As of Fall 2011 the University of Illinois’ aviation department has been shut down. In this scenario the department is being taken in as part of Parkland Community College’s curriculum. The design of a new educational facility for aspiring aircraft mechanics and technicians responds to this delicate situation by creating a stable and embracing environment. As a homage to the first laboratories of flight, the facility itself takes on the form of a cliff. This fractured stone mass shades and hosts a dialogue between its occupants, the program, and the sky.
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Flight isn’t about the aircraft but rather the fight with uncertainty,a humanist sense of accomplishment, and the broadening of our reality.
PRO G R AM AN D AT M OS PH E R E
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The additional hangar door allows planes to come from the runway to be showcased in the open, shaded courtyardeffectively becoming the new facility’s identity. The expansive glazing that evenly illuminates the offices is completely shaded by the overhang in the summer yet lets sunlight deep into the building’s core during the winter.
ELEVAT IONS
SU M M E RT I M E R AI N G AR D E N
R AI N G AR D E N The engineered rain garden forms a “working” landscape that not only helps to drain and filter precipitation but also visually separates APIF from its parking lot.
MAIN OFFIC E
The generous area occupied by indigenous vegetation is made possible by compacting the building’s program as to reduce the footprint.
S TAI RCAS E AS H U B CONCEP T
Surrounded by an airport terminal, hangars, runways, and open fields, APIF is the only institutional building in the area. The socially isolated site needs to establish a sense of place in order to allow students to not only hone their craft, but also connect with others looking to broaden their knowledge of aviation.
PLAN S
2”Limestone Facade Heated Gutter w. Overflow Gutter 2.5” Air Cavity 4” Rigid Insulation 5” Concrete on 4.5” Steel Decking 6’ Steel Truss
FOUNDATION ASSEMBLY 6” Acid Etched Concrete w. Clear Chemical Resistant Urethane Coating 1.5” Rigid Insulation Moisture Barrier 2” Sand 4” Gravel
D E TA I L S
ROOF ASSEMBLY
2009-2010
Travel Europe Solutions lie in precedent. They arise when memories reemerge and inform current preoccupations. Sketches enforce both the vague impressions and studied analyses of architetcure and environment. Through them the spectacular and ordinary work together to form a vision of the world which we inhabit.
S PAI N
I TALY
SPAIN
FR AN CE
ACADE MIC 2010
Théâter Thiéré Paris, France A walk through this neighborhood involves drastic spatial changes from expansive to constrained, dramatic differences in light and shadow, and a strongly perceived sense of depth. Our response to this architecturally heterogeneous site was to analyze this lively neighborhood in terms of its urban morphology. The idea was to study how the irregular, narrow streets, in unison with the buildings, create framed views of the streetscape. Materiality was chosen based on classic Parisian building standards, but appropriated in a new way. The large volume is clad with slate while the floors are polished limestone and the cafe’s volume is wrapped in dark, thin wooden slats. The frosted glass used throughout complements the solemn and often overcast Parisian sky.
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U R B AN FR AM I N G AN ALYS I S URBAN T I SSUE GLOB AL LY
2 Bastill
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We began by studying how the physical evolution of a site can lend to greater gestures of space. This site in particular presents structures of irregular forms with similar heights situated along streets of varying direction. This creates a unique visual framing of ground-level perspectives, as seen in the panoramas.
The urban tissue of the Bastille is neither highly legible, yet predictable, nor does its density hide the organization of urban form. It is inbetween. The resulting formal clarity coupled with variety of promenade is celebrated as the foresight of pathways ahead is blurred or partially hidden. Reproduced at a smaller scale, these effects suit a building of theatrical production.
1 Rue de la Roquette & Rue du Saint-Antoine
2 Rue de la Roquette & Passage Thiéré
3
SITE
Site at Passage Thiéré
4 Passage Thiéré & Rue de Charonne
Albaicin, Granada
High Density Vague
Bastille, Paris
Downtown, Chicago
Low Density Consice
E N T RY PLANS
Ba ck s
te r
Changing Rooms
Th ea
ta ge
r Ba
Reception WC Cafe
Cloakroom
Lobby Level -3.0m
Ground Level +0.0m
LO B BY gh t
yli Administration
Sk
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Ga lle ry
le r
or
Ga l
td o
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Ou
In do
Gallery Level +3.4m
Office Level +6.5m
ACADE MIC 2009
Metals Explorations of Object-ness The ring and brooch depicted are an exercise in executing a singular idea- in this case one of material manipulation. Unexpected couplings of textures, shape, and materiality result as possibilities arise from the freedom of such concentration. An unpremeditated, but formal, aesthetic is created. They are two selections from a larger collection that also includes a brass and nickel pendant and a smaller silver ring.
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B i l l i e- J ean T h ei d e
This ring is an attempt to create a planar object without planes. Silver wire of a circular cross section was worked until it became rectilinear, then soldered to form a series of implied forms hovering above the wearer’s finger.
S I LVE R RI N G
This nickel brooch explores texture. Each plate’s characteristics completely change through simple techniques such as sanding, etching, hammering, and patinating. The piece is entirely held together by brass rivets. It is afixed to the garment by a handmade pin.
NICKE L B ROOCH
2011 ACA DE MIC
La Longère Parc Balbi, Versailles, France As if originating from a shared dinner table, the artists’ housing for the Centre de Musique Baroque extends towards the two parks between which it is nestled. The longère, a traditional French farm house typology known for its flexibility of programmatic elements, was chosen for its familiarity as well as its ability to transition between the 17th C. Peice d’Eau and the 18th C. Parc Balbi.
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CON T E XT
Peic e d’E au d es S u
Parc
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Peice d’Eau des Suisses 17th C. formal French “Bosquet”
Parc Balbi
PRO CESS
Parc Balbi 18th C. English style enlightenment garden
1
2
FULL GABLE contains living program
FULL GABLE arranged diagonally to maximize perspective onto views
HALF GABLE contains performance program
HALF GABLE creates privacy between public park and the site
VI E W F RO M PAR K B ALB I 3
4
5
FULL GABLE + HALF GABLE form “broken” to separate spaces within open floor plan
SITE gently sunken courtyard provides a communal outdoor space
CONNECTION passage unifies the complex and reveals stoic face onto Piece d’Eau
PLAN S
Porch
A
A
Suite
B t Recep Chamber Hall
SE CTION C-C
B
ea ion Ar
D
Patio
Dini ng
Kitc hen
Living
C C
Reception Area
SEC T ION D -D
D
SE CT I ON A - A
WALL ASSEMBLY concealed aluminum gutter ash siding stained black 20mm battens vapor retarder rigid insulation 150mm cross-laminated timber 150mm gypsum board 15 mm
SE CT I ON B - B FOUNDATION ASSEMBLY ash flooring 15mm polyurethane finish plywood underlayment 12mm moisture barrier rigid insulation 450mm concrete slab 200mm rigid insulation 500mm gravel
SU ITE
LI V IN G S PACE
PROF ESSIONAL 201 2
Walbrzych Cultural Center Walbrzych, Poland Once a haven for royalty in the 1200s, the city’s contemporary history has been bleak. Since the privatization and subsequent fall of coal mining in the early 1990s, the city has fallen victim to structural unemployment. The cultural center is one of the first major revitalization efforts concentrated near the historic city center and also includes an adaptive reuse of Kino Capitol, a landmarked, modernist theater by architect Ludwig Moshamer. My specific responsibilities included the programming and reorganization of Kino Capitol, creating the site plan, research into the city’s history and urban context, modeling of urban context, and compiling and preparing CAD files of site restrictions and local planning regulations.
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AE R I AL SI T E PLA N
The cultural center stitches together the town’s peripheral road, on which Kino Capital is located, with the urban tissue of the old-town 18m (60ft) above. As a result two public junctures are createda concealed courtyard and an expansive rooftop terrace.
MAIN HAL L
LOBBY
SE LECT ED PL AN S S E CT I ON
A 500 seat symphony concert hall and its auxillary functions comprise the bulk of the cultural center. Other notable features of the buildings’ program include a 200 seat chamber hall, rehearsal spaces, an art gallery and cafe, as well as the headquarters for organizations celebrating the city’s heritage.
300 N. Morris Dr. Palatine, IL
(847) 877 7795
mojrzanowski@gmail.com