RESEARCH // DESIGN
I grew up in Huntington Beach, California - a depraved city overrun with asphalt, cinder blocks, and strip malls. During this time I was principally fascinated with life, as it was the thing most lacking in that environment. This brought me to study biology at the University of California Berkeley. Immersion in this drastically different culture aroused a fundamental shift in my perspective; fostering new interests and questions. My eventual decision to pursue architecture was the result of understanding its capacity as a medium to synthesize the analytical side of science, with the romantic narratives of art. I see a moral obligation to dedicate my time towards bettering our environment and I believe this can be accomplished through architectural practices. This involves integrating continually advancing strategies to create healthier, more energy efficient, and beautiful places. I am currently a second year Master’s of Architecture student at the University of Oregon. My time here is divided into research and design. I am especially fortunate to have been awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship at both the Biology and the Built Environment Center (BioBE) and the Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory (ESBL). This has afforded me the opportunity to investigate the interaction between architecture and biology, as well as learn and develop sustainable building strategies. The following projects have been selected to represent the range of my interests and explorations. Thank you for taking the time to review my work. Max Moriyama University of Oregon Masters of Architecture 2013
Introduction
Slow Drip In-progress An exploration of the erosive potential of water. Routes for further investigation include: time-lapsed footage, ceramic casting, and introduction of a digital component such as a 3D erosive printer.
CONTENTS:
1.
RESEARCH
2.
// DESIGN
9
.
Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory
13
.
Biology and the Built Environment
19
.
Independent Research
1
.
Slow Drip // in-progress
25
.
Constructive Interference
33
.
Flood
37
.
Social Wall
41
.
Hand Drawings
47
.
Taproot Project
53
.
Plastic Quarry
63
.
The Mirror + The Cave
73
.
The Curtain
1
RESEARCH . // DESIGN
ESBL UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory
The Pickle Box, Climate Chamber
The wall covered with over 30 years of reports
Director G.Z. Brown demonstrating heliodon.
Daylighting model of Eclectic Cat Building with Artificial Sky
The Energy Studies in Building Laboratory A branch of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts at the University of Oregon, ESBL conducts research projects focused on understanding how buildings and related transportation determine energy and resource use. The lab’s goals are to develop strategies for maximum energy efficiency in new materials, components, assemblies, and whole buildings. In the past thirty years, ESBL has completed over $18 million of research. Architects, designers, builders, developers, and governmental agencies use ESBL to improve buildings and communities. ESBL conducts a design assistance program for architects, has published several textbooks, and offers workshops and seminars for engineers, architects, and citizens on how to design energy-efficient buildings and communities.
Background Graduate Research Fellow. March 2011 - Present Eclectic Cat Building Oregon Institute of Marine Biology Mt. Angel Abbey Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance Thin Film Heat Exchanger Advanced Research Methods The Pickle Box, Climate Chamber
Projects
Design assistance consisting of recommendations on daylighting and ventilation. Analysis of building envelope with infrared camera; Make recommendations to increase energy efficiency. Diagnose infiltration issues through blower-door testing; Make recommendations on louver repair. Research existing techniques for performing deep energy retrofits in occupied commercial buildings. Write grant to U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E). Assist Professor G.Z. Brown in preparing a lecture for Ph.D. of Architecture students. Assisted in construction.
Biology and the Built Environment Center
Director Jessica Green. “Are We Filtering the Wrong Microbes?”
Biology and the Built Environment Center The vision of the BioBE Center of the University of Oregon is to develop hypothesis-driven, evidence-based approaches to understanding the “built environment microbiome� in order to optimize the design and operation of buildings for human health and sustainability. The center is comprised of experts in microbiology, ecology, and architecture/building sciences. Biological data obtained by DNA sequencing of samples from building surfaces, air, and mechanical filters is combined with environmental data such as temperature, relative humidity, and airflow with architectural data. We have come to understand that buildings are complex ecosystems that house trillions of diverse microorganisms interacting with each other, with humans, and with the environment. The two main sources of microbes are the outdoor air brought in via ventilation, and the humans who occupy the spaces. Once microbes enter a built environment they can be filtered by building materials and environmental conditions.
Background Graduate Research Fellow. March 2011 - Present Lillis Hall Experiment Oregon BEST Fest Sloan Foundation Conference
Projects
In- progress; Participated in preliminary experiment design, preparation, and microbial sampling; Assisting in analysis of data. Prepare information about the center to present at the conference. In-progress; Prepare information about the center to present at the conference.
Infrared Image of Lills Hall
LILLIS HALL
University of Oregon Summer 2011- present In-progress
The BioBE Center is currently using University of Oregon's Lillis Hall as a model to explore several interrelated aspects of the built environment microbiome. Lillis was chosen because it was designed with both window and mechanically supplied ventilation air. We are currently processing the collected data.
Experiment
Spatial variation within a room. Surfaces were swabbed to sample the metacommunity spatial variation within a room.
Temporal variation within rooms. Air samplers were used in classrooms to sample the variation of the metacommunity over time, allowing us to measure the eect of ventilation types and occupancy.
Spatial variation across the building. Vacuuming dust throughout the building was used to study the history of the microbiome at the scale of the building.
Independent Research
How Alternative and Low-Energy Building Techniques Affect Indoor Microorganism Communities ABSTRACT: While humans spend 90% of their lives inside buildings, researchers at the interface of architecture and biology are just beginning to discover how and why indoor bacterial and fungal communities are affected by building design. In parallel, alternative and low-energy building techniques such as rammed-earth and straw-bale, are becoming more popular as designers become cognizant of the energy and resource use required for conventional buildings. These two threads of thought converge in our preliminary study investigating the different microbial communities associated with conventional versus alternative building materials. Given the large differences between the microbial communities of soil and those of conventional buildings, as well as the potential health effects of the different community types, we propose a comparative microbiological evaluation of alternative built environments. Presented at A&AA Student Research Symposium 2011 & UO Graduate Research Forum 2011 Co-Researcher: Gwynn Mhuireach Download Poster Here: http://issuu.com/moriyama/docs/alternative_and_low-energy_building_techniques
Independent Research
2
RESEARCH . // DESIGN
Constructive Interference
Constructive Interference "Apparently because our age is so manifestly unconcerned for the life of the spirit, many people conclude that it places an undue value on material things. But that cannot be so, for people who valued material things would take care of them and would care for the sources of them." - Wendell Berry. "Preserving Wildness" from Home Economics. A modular storage system which promotes materialism by venerating the contents. This is accomplished through the kinetic mechanism that partially obstructs the observer's view of within. Though not shown, the installation of a record player and speakers could create a dialogue between the hand-powered kinetic action and the electrical power source. The waves of the right and left units collide in the center [constructive interference] before crashing down in a wild commotion. Spring 2011 Furniture Design Studio Instructor Sara Huston
Flood
Top Diffuser
Wall Bracket
Fastining Pin
Flood Celilo Falls was a tribal fishing area on the Columbia River on what today is the border between Oregon and Washington. The site was home to native settlements and trading villages for over 5,000 years and was the oldest continuously inhabited community on the North American continent. In 1957, they were submerged by the construction of the Dalles Dam.
1/0 Switch
13W CFL (7)
Fastining Plate
The Flood luminaire seeks to call attention to this significant historical event. By providing soft ambient light and visual interest, the luminaire directs the viewer’s curiosity towards the story. Spines
The topography is reconstructed from maps of the Dalles Reservoir Site taken by the U.S. Army Corps of engineers in 1945. The natural gradients of the layers of rising canyon act to effectively diffuse and redirect the light. Vertical layers terminate at points where settlements and cave paintings were lost, and the red layer indicates the water level after the flood. Spring 2011 Luminaire Design Competition 1st Place Gallery’s Choice Award Displayed May 2011 Modern Gallery
Topography Fastening Tabs
Social Wall
Social Wall The idea for the social wall began as an exploration into the idea of creating a collaborative interaction that breaks the boundaries of physical space. Based on the interest in having two human inputs to initiate the responsive output in the surface, the project required at least two individuals to trigger the surface interaction. Depending on where the two people are in physical space determines the location where the wall reacts. The wall illuminates on the opposite side of the user, allowing the second user to see their collaborate reaction and vice versa. In eect, the wall allows visual contact with another individual without physically seeing the person. Using the digital model and a scale module of the wall, the behavior of the installation was simulated as the installation would react within the lobby of the A&AA Building. Light sensors detect the proximity of the users. When the people move closer to each other and ultimately reach a point where they would be face-to-face in the physical world, the wall illuminates to full brightness, where the wall communicates the union of their interaction. Summer 2011 Grasshopper + Firefly Workshop Instructors Andy Payne and Jason Kelly Johnson
Hand Drawings
Graphite on Bristol 18 x 24 in. Previous: Coat, Desk, Chair Left: International House, UC Berkeley Tree Middle: Vermeer Copy Dave Van Ronk 1 Dave Van Ronk 2 Right: Mississippi John Hurt Panurge
Graphite on Bristol 18 x 24 in. Ancestral Realm: US Army Manzanar Fisherman
Taproot Project
Taproot Project Using pre-existing trees to create underground natural reserves. The Taproot Project splices foreign DNA into a tree’s genome, effectively reprogramming the tree’s root system to expand downward to create an underground habitat. The result is a structural luminescent skin, which fosters the growth of a closed loop ecosystem to be enjoyed by those who desire an escape from urban overcrowding. Genetic Modifications: 1. Luminescent Skin 2. Structural Root Mesh 3. Accelerated Growth 4. Water Network 5. Ecosystem Primer Fall 2011 Addressing a Crisis Pre-Studio Project Professor Erin Moore
6. Trunk Entrance 7. Vertical Circulation 8. Passive Ventilation 9. Diurnal Cycles 10. Seasonal Cycles
Plastic Quarry
Plastic Quarry A facility that demonstrates environmentally beneficial quarrying techniques. Instead of extracting materials from the earth, this quarry mines from waste plastic to aid in its decomposition as well as generate new raw material. As an intermediary step in this process, the refined plastic is slowly injected from a structural network forming a dynamic building envelope that meets the thermal demands of the changing seasons. The Plastic Quarry is located in Barre, Vermont. “Some types of change are only noticed over a generous amount of time; one day you look up and realize the progress of slow and steady movement.� -Zen Master Tetsuo Fall 2011 Architecture Studio Lyceum Competition Professor Erin Moore
Plastic Quarry
Oil
Plastic
Landfill
B1
Train Conveyor Import Conveyor Export Walking Path A. B. C. D.
Section Cut Industrial Residence Educational Pavilion Artist Studios
A
B2 C1
D
C2
Industrial core continuously excretes refined plastic through a structural network.
Summer
Fall
The plastic skin adapts to the thermal conditions of the seasons. In the spring it is harvested as raw material and exported.
Winter
Spring
The Mirror + The Cave
The Mirror + The Cave Addition to the Henry Mercer Museum In 1916 the historian and archaeologist Henry C. Mercer designed and built a museum to preserve handmade objects being discarded in favor of the new machine-goods of the Industrial Revolution. The museum is a 6-story poured-inplace “concrete castle” located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. An expanding program and desire to involve “visitors in a meaningful explorations of the past, present, and future through active engagement with its dramatic buildings and historical collections,” created the need to expand the museum. The principle aim of the new addition is to respect Mercer’s original intentions and to preserve the formal and historic purity of the exterior. Above ground, the new addition reflects the castle through a shallow pool the mirror. A fracture develops in the mirror, projecting an image underground. The expression of the new museum becomes distorted with the cave imagery revered by the old archeologist. Winter 2011 Architecture Studio Professor James Givens
Casting a model of the concrete walls The intention of these walls is to communicate the feeling of being underground by expressing the massive force required to contain the earth. The resulting form allows light from above to seemingly trickle down the wall.
The Curtain
The Curtain Portland Film Center The Curtain is a symbol for denied access. The unveiling of the screen before the beginning of a film is an important tradition. Anticipation mounts and children become impatient, their desires actively suppressed by the curtain until finally their wants penetrate the barricade. Exclusivity (without social or hierarchical implications) is intentionally used to illicit intrigue and wonder, while building an ever deepening desire through the delayed promise of access to the unattainable. The result is an architecturally cinematic progression of space. The Portland Film Center is located in Portland, Oregon. Spring 2012 Architecture Studio Professor James Givens
The Portland Film Center is a 60,000 ft2 building which includes film theatres, film editing suites, administration, and a restaurant.
The spaces are initially arranged according to patterns of use, grouping spaces with similar
thermal requirements
together. This distinction of form creates a separation between the public theatre realm, and the private editing and administrative suites.
Natural ventilation is
achieved by enclosing the separated space between the independent volumes to create a stack eect.
A connection is made from the film editing suites with the theatres by a series of bridges. In some instances, these bridges connect directly to a theatre and become the projection room, allowing film makers to instantly play their films on the big screen.
Due to the solar obstruction nb by y the southern apartment complex, and the greater need for natural light for the oďŹƒces, access to the sun is increased by lowering the height of the theatres and raising part of the oďŹƒce block.
Unification is established by draping a curtain over the independent forms. This becomes the infrastructure for a
dynamic sun shading system
that protects the space from high solar gains in the summer. In the winter, the shades can be fully drawn to increase insulation, helping to retain heat.
A large screen is inserted into the building, utilizing the roof as an outdoor theatre similar to the community movie nights in a park or a drive-in movie theatre. The projected film on the semi-transparent screen can also be viewed from the streets of Portland.
East-West Section
North-South Section
RESEARCH // DESIGN
The projects featured in this document are a selection of work completed or in-progress during the first two years of my Master’s of Architecture degree at the University of Oregon. Once again, I thank you for taking an interest in my work. I welcome any feedback or questions. Max Moriyama e: maxmoriyama@gmail.com tel: +1 714 932 7556 1075 Lawrence St. Eugene, OR
Contact