Molly k. McNamara
CONTENTS ARCHITECTURE 01 Pearl Street Co-op 02 East Asian Academic Building 03 Mt. Bonnell Observation Tower 04 Maritime Museum + Archaeological Museum 05 Center for Collaborative Research 06 Berkeley Art Museum 07 Mt. Rokko Chapel Addition 08 CA High Speed Rail
drawings 09 Charcoal Tree 10 International House
“EVERY FIRE STAIR IS AN OPPORTUNITY.” -KEITH PLYMALE, BERKELEY PROFESSOR Photo: Molly McNamara; New Museum, SANAA
11 Doe Library 12 Constructed Pedal
CONCEPT Since the 1970s, the University of Texas at Austin has offered cooperative student housing as an affordable alternative to dormitories and indepedent living. Our program required doubling the living space for an existing 120 person student co-op. My design uses a cross-laminated timber panel structural system to create twelve smaller living units in the new addition. A mixture of double and single bedrooms within stand-alone co-ops allows for flexibility and minimizes the stress of decision-making amongst a large group. The existing co-op is dark, with low ceilings and a double-loaded corridor. In the re-design, my addition places circulation around the courtyard to maximize interaction among the units, and to minimize noise in the bedrooms, which are pushed to the exterior.
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Pearl Street Co-op, 2000 Pearl Street, Austin, Texas
NEW MEETS OLD
Pearl Street Co-op, 2000 Pearl Street, Austin, Texas
Floor 4 | Not to scale
Floor 3 02
Pearl Street Co-op, 2000 Pearl Street, Austin, Texas
UNIT PLAN FLOOR 3
UNIT PLAN FLOOR 4
Flex unit organization (above). Section perspective, co-op unit interior (left).
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Final 1/16� model (right); Section perspective through existing courtyard and addition.
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CONCEPT Dwinelle Hall is a typical, confused campus building. It incorporates offices and classrooms into a consistent blend of double-loaded corridor chaos, misleading freshmen, graduate students, and faculty alike. A campus building should be enjoyable to occupy, and should provide a level of clarity in the way it is organized and integrated with the rest of the campus. My project offers clear directionality. Five Vierendeel trusses organize program, structure, and provide separation for the combined Institute of East Asian Studies and the East Asian Studies Department at UC Berkeley. Natural light is captured by reflective light wells and whitewashed walls. High ceilings and unique structural elements result in celebrated transparency.
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East Asian Academic Building, University of California, Berkeley
ON SITE | IN SECTION
East Asian Academic Building, University of California, Berkeley
Generative sections and diagrams (top right); Sketch model (above); serial sections (left),
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Final model [site context was a section collaboration].
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East Asian Academic Building, University of California, Berkeley
EAAB approach (right) Floor plans 1–6 + tower (below)
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CONCEPT In studying Japanese wood construction, I was inspired by the chidori wood joint, which does not require any metal fasteners. The base of the tower would be cast on concrete piers, aging over time atop the highest point in Austin. Each platform is oriented to a particular view of an Austin landmark or time of day. Due to varying the density of members, shading on the east and west sides is ideal for the hot summer months, and unique shadows are visible throughout the day. Views are still afforded from all sides, with the most open platform at the top. Sou Fujimoto’s Serpentine Pavilion offers a seemingly disordered matrix creating a new interpretation of the landscape. My observation tower, using a more rigid matrix and verticality, also suggest a reimagination of the surrounding context.
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Mount Bonnell Observation Tower, Austin, Texas
ON SITE | IN SECTION
Mount Bonnell Observation Tower, Austin, Texas
CHIDORI WOOD JOINT : JAPANESE TRADITION 10
4’-0” A B DIAGRAM PLAN GROUND PLATFORM 2 NOT TO SCALE
C PLATFORM 3
PLATFORM 4
PLATFORM 5 D E F
N
G Views of trail; connection to the ground
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First elevated platform; views of downtown
Views of downtown and Mt. Bonnell context
Lookout to site surroundings and Lake Austin
FLOOR PLAN : TOP PLATFORM 6 NTS
N
ROOF PLAN
0
2
4
8’
4’-0” A B C D E F G
n
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FLOOR PLAN : TOP PLATFORM 6 NTS
N
ROOF PLAN
0
2
4
8’
CONCEPT Inspired by an analysis of the archaelogical ruins within the dunes near Guardamar del Segura, Spain, I diagrammed natural and manmade forces in mixed media collage and physical form. The resulting building is an abstract translation of site analysis and a proposal for drawing visitors to an otherwise hidden location. I took advantage of the year-round desert climate; roofless galleries and unconditioned spaces complement an exploratory park-like environment. Below ground, my project also emphasizes harnassing wind for natural ventilation and light ‘tubes’, made possible by the forgiving climate and proximity to the Mediterranean Sea.
Preliminary site analysis and abstraction. Mixed media on mylar: prismacolor, film lead, acetone transfer, graphite (top left); Site investigation in sketches, models, and spatial context.
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Maritime Museum + Archaeological Museum Extension, Guardamar del Segura, Spain
NATURAL ABSTRACTION
Maritime Museum + Archaeological Museum Extension, Guardamar del Segura, Spain
Site plan (left); Mylar details (right); Layered mapping diagram on mylar, city grid below dunes and sea (right).
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Maritime Museum + Archaeological Museum Extension, Guardamar del Segura, Spain
Orthographic drawings; thumbnail renderings: bird’s eye and view from conditioned tube (below).
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CONCEPT As a continuation of the tectonic analysis of Shigeru Ban’s “Naked House”, I designed a campus building on the site of the existing Berkeley Art Museum. The program integrates large lab spaces, conference rooms, public areas, a café, a roof garden, and other private program requirements to accommodate a new type of facility reminiscent of the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge. Part of the intention with the walls is to allow the public to view the labs without interrupting the people working. Windows and limited opacity provide adequate daylight and a unique skin condition. The circulation and building utilities are housed in the central wall corridor that reads as a thick wall, but is penetrated where stairs, elevators, storage and pipes are brought in. Multiple entrances allow for fluidity and differing levels of privacy for unique user groups.
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1
1
2 5
4
NAKED HOUSE
INTERIM PROJECT
CCR
1
3
5
1
3 2
3
4
2 6 5 3 7 3 6
Transformation diagram (above); Plan organization (at right).
BASEMENT PLAN 1 2 3 4 5 6
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Café Kitchen Shop Offices Storage Truck Delivery
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Entrance+Gallery Reading Room Atrium Conference Room Restroom Studio Flexible Space
TOP FLOOR PLAN
1 2 3
Studio Roof Garden Open to below
Center for Collaborative Research, Bancroft Way, Berkeley, Ca.
PRECEDENT | TRANSFORM
A B C
Center for Collaborative Research, Bancroft Way, Berkeley, Ca.
SECTION A-A’ Not to Scale
A’ B’ C’
SECTION C-C’
SECTION B-B’
SECTION E-E’
SECTION F-F’
D E F
F’ D’ E’
SECTION D-D’ Sections (right); Construction system model + rendered section (above). 17
Center for Collaborative Research [PRECEDENT], Bancroft Way, Berkeley, Ca.
Naked House, Shigeru Ban, Saitama, Japan Case Study : Group model, 1/4” = 1’0” Contribution: Roof, base+patio casting, wall construction, portable bedrooms, walking figure, CAD Plan Naked House Plan NTS (below), Interim project model (above), group Naked House model (at left).
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CONCEPT Using the existing UC Printing Press building, we were told to design an art museum for the UC Berkeley collection. My project is structured around the central “B gallery� which facilitates circulation and organizes the other galleries. The form of the building stems from a nine-foot diagrid and a reinterpretation of the traditional sawtooth from the original design. The outdoor sculpture garden and upper galleries are accessible from the parking garage and the central gallery which acts as an elevated sanctuary within the Berkeley grid.
Berkeley Art Museum, Oxford & Center, Berkeley, Ca.
folding sawtooth
B Gallery A+C Galleries Exterior
Study Models (above); diagrid sketches (right); diagrams (far right). 19
circulation
existing elements
Berkeley Art Museum, Oxford & Center, Berkeley, Ca.
FIRST FLOOR
A
1. Lobby 2. B Gallery 3. A Gallery [1] 4. Retail 5. Bam Space
A’
Floor plans (right); front entrance (top left); Study section (above).
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SECOND FLOOR 6. C Gallery 7. Education Space 8. Bathroom 9. Storage
1. A Gallery 2. Outdoor Courtyard 3. Sculpture Garden 4. Café 5. Admin. Building
CONCEPT This was a drafting exercise and an early design project within the curriculum. Our initial challenge was to insert a 20x20x20’ cube on the site of an existing project. Later, the cube became a carefully programmed addition to the original building. My goal with the reading room was not to impose on the procession of the chapel, but instead to offer a secondary path for clergy or patrons of the church.
Drawings not to scale, graphite on vellum
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Chapel Mt. Rokko, Tadao Ando, Reading Room Addition, Mt. Rokko, Japan
forming | alteration
tasks Physical models are critical for schematic design on an urban scale. After several iterations of study models, I built the existing conditions of downtown Gilroy, California and the proposed Modified AtGrade station design. I modeled three options for the Bakersfield station area, and assisted with compiling and editing the Gilroy Station Area Planning Study. More recently, since the acquisition of VBN Architects by STV Incorporated, I have been alternating between drafting in AutoCAD and Revit, and building a 3’x4’ model of the LA Union Station Area in an effort to resolve site constraints. As my role has developed, I have been given more responsibility in building Revit models for community college projects and working with the principal, Eli Naor, in devising options for High Speed Rail.
Bakersfield Hybrid option (top); (from left) Gilroy High Speed Rail Station Area, Bakersfield North option, Bakersfield South. existing LA Union Station (right).
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California High Speed Rail Station Models, made for VBN Architects, Oakland, Ca., 2011-2013
intern | designer
Charcoal Drawings
Above: International House, tone in charcoal, 18x24”. Left: Charcoal Tree 3’X6’, charcoal on kraft paper.
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Graphite Drawings
Above: Doe Library, free-hand graphite on bristol, no rulers allowed. Right: Constructed bike pedal.
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