michal ojrzanowski portfolio summer 2016 Graduate University of Michigan Undergraduate University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Professional T+E+A+M STL Architects Studio Gang Architects HS99
300 N. Morris Dr. Palatine, IL
(847) 877 7795
mojrzanowski@gmail.com
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tortilla flats “ This is the story of Danny and of Danny's friends and of Danny's house. It is a story of how these three become one thing...when you speak of Danny's house you are to understand to mean a unit of which the parts are men, from which comes sweetness and joy, philanthropy and, in the end, a mystic sorrow.” John Steinbeck, Tortilla Flat, 1935 Tortilla Flats is situated in the hinterland between disciplines, beyond the frontier of good taste, in the sleepy village of Austin. The project proposes a space for living that schews the standards of market-driven residential development in two ways: through alternative apartment typologies and hybrid construction logic. The 145 living units provided on the site (96 1-BR, 23 2-BR, 26 4-BR) actually foster a greater density on the site as each type envisages an alternative for multi-generational living. The studio units anticipate entrepreneurial live/ work arrangements, while the larger units provide live-in space for caretakers of the elderly, or simply additional space to let for extra income.
University of Michigan Faculty Mick Kennedy With Andrew Mack Site Austin, Texas Program Multi-Generational Housing
Model 1/2” = 1’-0” >
S I TE P LA N The simple layout of buildings on the site belies a generosity of space. The wide courtyard creates a community space, while the narrow alley ensures a shaded passageway.
Zoning
Circulation
EAS T AU S T IN Breaking up the enormous block size325’ x 650’- a series of paths with multiple scales of privacy snake across the site from north to south. An informal economy is encouraged at the ground level, instigating a vibrant, heterogenous, urban character.
ALL EY
T ORTILL A F LATS
East Austin is in the throes of redevelopment, spurred along by the establishment of a light-rail train that connects some to, and displaces others from, the downtown.
FIRST FLOOR PLAN SECTION
60’ - 0”
46’ - 3” 41’ - 3”
30’ - 8”
20’ - 8”
10’ - 8”
0’ - 0”
60’ - 0”
The cross section reveals the differences in poche that the hybird structural logic provides- a difference directly reflected in the character of the spaces within.
V I G ENT T ES
S_UNIT An entrepreneurial couple uses the studio unit as an intimate live / work space. Their personal living area is contained in the bar of masonry construction, keeping the framed portion tidy for hosting lessons and workshops. The generous glazing brings in ample daylight, while the robust materiality of the brick cladding imbues the space with character.
C_U NIT
Z _ UNIT < The C-Unit makes the most of its limited size by providing 3 formal rooms, and a master suite in addition to shared living space. The space is able to flexibly transition with the needs of a non-traditional or multigenerational family. Rooms can be furnished into bedrooms or studies depending on current occupancy.
A micro live-in unit embedded within a larger apartment gives the personnel both immediacy as well as privacy needed for long term elderly care. The primary occupany and assistant share a common entrance, but can part ways if further assitance is not need. Similarly the unit can be rented to family, friends, or even out of town visitors in order to alleviate someone elseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial burden or generate additional income from rent.
S EC T IO N T H ROUG H M A S ON R Y C ORE
60’ - 0”
46’ - 3”
41’ - 3”
30’ - 8”
20’ - 8”
10’ - 8”
0’ - 0”
S C A LE S OF H A B I T A T ION
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fraternal twins Presented in the guise of a fictional competition, this two week project presents a top down vision for a community center in Highland Park.
University of Michigan
Two formally similar yet discrete forms host a library and workshop. These â&#x20AC;&#x153;fraternal twinsâ&#x20AC;? provide a venue for both intellectual as well as skills-based value creation. Functionally they can be operated independently or in unison.
Site Highland Park, Michigan
The Fraternal Twins are a catalytic component of a comprehensive master plan for the restructuring of an entire city block that aims to spur further rejuvenation through mixed-use zoning.
Faculty Steven Mankouche
Program Library Workshops Event Space Writing Center
F LOOR P LA N S
Section 3
Section 2
Section 1
Connection
Section 1
Below to Library
Below to Wood Shop Library Below to Lobby Below to Lobby
Section 2 View onto Plaza
Metals Shop
10’ - 0” FIRST STORY Section 3 View onto Plaza
Section 3
Garage Entrance
Section 2 View onto Woodward Ave.
Section 1
Section 1
Wood Shop
Lobby Library
Section 2
Cafe View onto Bus Stop Section 3 Off-Hours Entrance
0’ - 0” GROUND FLOOR
S EC T ION S
Event Space
Admin
Incubator
Writing Center
Craft
Metals Shop
Wood Shop
Lobby
Library
SECTION 1
The massing divides functions into two discrete volumes- a tall, sleek library, and a squat workshop / incubator.
F A C A DE LI VE S MA S T ER PLAN
Future Development Future Restoration
Workshops
Fire Department
Library
< The first step is creating a wide, pedestrian-only promenade linking Woodward Ave. and John R. St. cutting across the site. Plots for urban farming encourage residents to get dirty while a hilly play area next to them bring in children for sledding during the winter.
The interplay between the building massing assertively frames a plaza out front. The void between these two spaces implies the form of a typical gabled housea new home for community life.
IDENT IT Y
< Central to the project is the fostering of an attitude of ownership between Highland Parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s constituents and their building. The deep recesses on the sloped exterior surface create balconies that can be occupied and decorated.
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casting character Highland Park is a city within a city. During its peak, it was home to Ford Motor Company’s senior officials: ensuring a great school system, robust community amenities like parks and swimming pools, high real estate values, and most importantly civic autonomy. Landlocked by Detroit, the small town serves as a microcosm of Detroit’s own economic woes. Those who could leave left, and those that stayed behind look back on the city’s past glory. Casting Character use games as a tool to communicate with residents and uncover unexplored spatial logics. In an environment where budget is limited and phasing essential, the game become a tool for visualizing growth over time. The project considers how an identity is create by building upon pre-existing parts.
University of Michigan Faculty Steven Mankouche Game Collaboration Di Fan Esha Tipnis Site Highland Park, Michigan Program Community Rejuvenation
L ET â&#x20AC;&#x2122;S B U ILD A N EI GH B OR HO O D !
Each of the two players take turns placing one of their blocks (neutral or white) onto the grid in an attempt to create an urban figure. For example, a triangle atop a rectangle may be a strip mall and be worth two points. These figures correspond to typologies of a neighborhood and include things such as stores, homes, restaurants,
As the neighborhood grows vertically players can choose to play competitively by stacking evermore unstable shapes or by working together to make the tallest neighborhood possible. While playing the game with locals we would ask them how and where these typologies are needed in Highland Park.
The game ends if all blocks are used, the tower falls, or after 8 min.- whichever comes first. The person to tip over the neighborhood is the loser. Otherwise the player with the most points wins.
THE BUILD
PH AS ING SC E NA R IOS
T H E SH OP
The shopâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back in full swing ever since the walls have been tilted up. While most of the tools are still being used for renovation efforts some of the neighbors have begun to use it as a work space for personal projects. But the road to get here took some time...
To start our experiment, that is to fill the empty lots that have scattered our neighborhood and consequently our sense of community, we laid out a formwork into which we incrementally poured in concrete. The platforms became common gathering spaces that stitched our homes together.
TH E F I X
THE LIFT
The platforms also became the place where we stored shared tools that anyone in the neighborhood could use. We used them to maintain our own homes.
Once enough concrete is poured into the formwork, we hired a crane to hoist the walls up into place. It was quite a spectacle seeing everything going up like that.
Portions of walls that were too molded or rotten were carefully dismantled and placed into the concrete formwork for casting.
The impressions left behind on the ground became new lot lines now imbued with the sense of community. We still tend the gardens here together.
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two stone tables Two tables were designed and fabricated from a couple of slabs of slavaged granite. What was once a mantle, is now a side table. The humble nature of the material becomes a valor. One surface, originally finished for the mantle, is polished to a high sheen, while the backside is only lightly sanded. Left rough, it recalls its past life of being glued, concealed, to a sheet of dry wall. The edges are sanded by hand with a whetstone for a smooth, matte finish. These textures collage onto one other in a simple, puzzle like design.
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travel sketches Solutions lie in precedent. They arise when memories reemerge and inform current preoccupations. Sketches enforce both the vague impressions and studied analyses of architecture and environment. Through them the spectacular and ordinary work together to form a vision of the world which we inhabit.
I T A LY
S P A IN
F R A N CE
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Detroit Reassembly Plant The Detroit Reassembly Plant reimagines the vacant, iconic Packard Plant as a rich stockpile of concrete, brick, and other construction materials. The project transforms this resource into a new architectural material. We do this by selectively demolishing the debilitated portions of the plant, and combining the rubble with plastics and other post-consumer materials recovered from Detroit's waste streams. The resulting aggregate mixtures are cast in various forms across the vast site. The new plant includes zones for material sorting and processing, production areas for building construction, a research and development park dedicated to advanced building technologies, public demonstration areas, exhibition galleries, and public outdoor spaces.
T+E+A+M Site Packard Plant Detroit, Michigan Program Deroit Reassembly Plant Role Project Manager
MA T ERI A L S T UDI E S
The Packard Plant has always been a site of experimentation and innovation. The Detroit Reassembly Plant retains this spirit of innovation and change, approaching construction technology as experimental, prototypical, and extensible. It replaces the modernist paradigm of material economy and spatial efficiency with an approach to building that is materially rich and spatially varied. By remixing and reassembling Detroitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unwanted materials, architecture and its image become the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primary exports.
EL EP H AN T
W I R E FR A M E
The new building forms are constructed within, around, and on top of the Packard Plantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original columns and slabs. Four building types include mega-masonry mountains with hypostyle interiors, monolithic cast-in-place shells that drape over the existing columns and beams, room-sized cast-in-place blocks that sit within existing structural grids, and free-standing conical sheds.
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lycée francaise During my time at STL Architects, one of the main projects I worked on was the new home of the Lycée Francaise, a private french-language school in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood. I worked directly under the Project Manager in supervising construction and maintain building schedule. This entailed careful and timely review of submittals and RFIs, clear and concise communication with the contractor, consultants, and product reps, as well as weekly site visits for coordination and quality control. Of particular importance was that any changes or additions during construction maintained the original design intent. This required intimate knowledge of the building as a whole.
STL Architects Site Chicago, IL Program K-12 School Auditorium Soccer Field Role Designer Construction Administration
Details such as lighting, colors, and concrete control joints were worked out by me under the supervision of principals and project designers to ensure aesthetic cohesion throughout the school. Site visits sought to foresee any potential conflicts before they arose. Key areas such as slab / railing connections, concrete finishes, and facade mock-ups were carefully monitored for delivery according to spec.
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sga headquarters The main project I worked on as a summer intern at Studio Gang was the renovation and expansion of the firmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very own work space.
Studio Gang Architects
Because the client and architect were one, my responsibilities and tasks were fluid. Here the construction administration phase involved detailing, coorindation with contractors, and observation in addition to programming, FF&E selection, and design.
Program Office
Primary construction was carried out during the summer of 2015.
Site Chicago, IL
Role Construction Administration
F IR S T F LO OR
RO O F P LA N
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wałbrzych cultural center 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 on the competition-winning design included programming, 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.
HS99 Architects Site Wałbrzych, Poland Program Symphonic Concert Hall Chamber Hall Gallery and Cafe Rehearsal Space Visitor Apartments Preservation Role Intern Competition Design
F LOOR P LA N S
Each unit provides the luxury of redundant space. Through the clear divide between densely inhabited quarters and an open plan the ability to actively choose space is available providing a sense of specificity for daily activities.
< The cultural center stitches together the townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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.
S EC T IO N
L OB B Y
miscellanea
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MO S W ORK S H OP
HOUSING 2011
TH EA T E R
P AVILIO N
H OU S E
300 N. Morris Dr. Palatine, IL
(847) 877 7795
mojrzanowski@gmail.com