Matt Shara work sample
Matt Shara work sample
San Luis Obispo, CA 2018
_ intro
Hello, My name is Matt Shara and I want to be an
architect. Architecture has always filled me with a feeling of immense potential and I am looking
for a professional opportunity that will reflect and expand upon this potential as it relates to people and space within the built environment. Over the
last few years I have focused working on a small scale, applying the knowledge I’ve learned
in school to projects that I can physically and
financially manage on my own. My trajectory has been lateral at times, but my focus persistent.
During my fourth year of school I spent two
quarters in San Francisco working at David Baker
+ Partners and Interstice Architects. I learned a lot about myself and the professional practice during this time. Most significantly, I witnessed that the profession of architecture is far from solitary, contradictory to my studio experience
leading to this point. Working for these firms also
revealed a weakness in my ability to understand
fundamentals of the construction process. After San Francisco, I felt a deep inspiration to create
a design-build driven collaboration to further develop with these observations in mind. This
lead to my partnership with two of my peers, Kory Worl and Paul Schumacher, in the manifestation
of our final thesis. Many of the projects in this work sample were born from this collaboration.
The culmination of my schooling, working in
San Francisco, and my built projects influenced me to pursue a job in residential construction.
Putting hammer to nail for the past two years
has given me great insight into the process of building, adding sensual knowledge to my intellectual education. This new perspective has given me confidence and renewed inspiration to become an architect.
1 _
The Alissa Bell Press furniture for a print maker
Three stories above the sidewalks of North
Broadway, in the Lincoln Heights district of Los Angeles, is the new location of the Alissa Bell
Press. Alissa is a print maker who specializes in
custom designed paper goods. Using a Chandler
and Price letterpress, hand mixed inks, and decades old typeset kits, she makes beautiful invitations, business cards, and stationary for her clients. I was brought on, with my partner
Kory Worl, as a design-build consultant to create a functional space for Alissa.
Alissa’s new studio is her production room,
a space for her to create her work and house her vintage machines, and her office, a space to meet with clients and deal with the daily tasks of running a small business. Given the
sparse, 500 square foot volume, interrupted
by several structural retrofits, the lack of space presents obstacles to our client and her work process. This along with the personal nature of her work forced us to observe our client’s every need.
Site Overview
2701 North Broadway, Los Angeles
N Alissa’s Studio
When we visited Alissa and watched her work, every available surface was occupied. She has tools, papers, and paints, all of which she applies
differently depending on the task at hand. She
is also a business women who presents herself to her clients as a composed master of her
craft. This is the inevitable conflict in our client’s work and the space itself. Alissa’s motive in our
brief was to switch seamlessly between her different roles. This led us to see our work as
infrastructure rather than furniture. We sought to connect each piece throughout the studio
by developing a common parti which we could then modify depending on the situation or task at hand. This parti included a work surface or
counter, under counter cabinet, and overhead
wall shelf. Through the parti, storage and display are seen as synonymous acts allowing Alissa to
juggle the dualities intrinsic to her work. Shown in the following pages is one example of how
we applied these principles in the Northeast corner of the print shop. (Not shown are the
other interventions throughout the shop, which
we developed throughout our months working with Alissa.)
Existing Structure: Wood trusses add character and visual interest in the vertical dimension. Two skylights cast natural daylight down into the small space
Volumes and Partitions: A seismic retrofit interrupts the front room. An interesting spacial addition or organizational obstacle? A partition wall divides the space in two and creates attic storage
500sqft. Enclosure: The space is divided into two 12ft by 20ft rooms. Limited space presents obstacles for our client, her many machines and the physical aspects of her work.
NE Corner Closet paint and paper storage
In the Northeast corner of the studio a closet
alcove presents the largest opportunity for storage in the space. We have designed several
tight interlocking pieces for the storage of paper
and our client’s lesser used items. Large sheets of paper are a central component to Alissa’s work
and here the paper stack creates room for her to organize and access the many different sheets
she keeps on hand. Just outside the closet a paint mixing station flanks the letterpress and small wall shelves hold scrap paper adjacent to the typeset cabinet.
* existing typeset cabinet
Paper Stack
large format paper storage
1. 1/2” Birch Ply. Shelf 2. 3/4” Steel Strap 3. Walnut Cross Brace (1” x 1 1/2”) 4. Walnut Frame (1” x 2 1/2”) 5. 10 shelves with 3” clearance
* paper sheets (up to 40” x 26”)
1. 2.
3. 4.
5.
Mixing Station paint storage and prep
1. Paint Can Display 2. Mixing Surface 3. Redwood Counter 4. Plywood Drawer
1.
2.
3.
4.
Closet Cabinets utility storage
1. Redwood Counter 2. 4� Stand Off 3. Tile Top 4. Double hinge folding door 5. Four part sliding door
1.
3.
2. 3.
5. 4.
2 _
The Shop Cart
Designed and built for the Alissa Bell Press, the Shop Cart supports the many processes of this letter press studio. Conceived alongside several other pieces for the studio, the cart strives to serve a potentially disordered creative process while also inspiring connection to the unique and tactile work of the letterpress. Both form and material are derived from the client, site, and their combined idiosyncrasies. Alissa’s work typically follows a three step process. From storage, large sheets of paper stock are brought to the paper cutter where they are cut down to a desired project size. From the cutter to the press, stationary meets type and ink and the paper goods are created. Once an order is completed, it moves from the production room to be boxed and shipped to her client. Her space is limited however and presents potential constraints to this process and its specific parts. Here, the cart’s combined mobility and utility defy the limitations of the site to support the immediate needs of her dynamic work process.
* Parts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5. 6.
8.
7.
9.
1. Redwood Work Surface 2. Aluminum Extension and Cap
6. Walnut Legs
3. Steel Trough
7. Plywood Shelf
4. Walnut Cross Beam
8. 3� Caster Wheel
5. Steel Strap Legs
9. Refurbished Machine Pump Wheel
The cart is a composition of redwood, plywood, walnut, aluminum, steel and found industrial components. Its eclectic material composition served as an experimental palette for the remaining pieces in the print shop.
3 _
Structural Skeleton: steel stud assembly
Side Panels: modular metal shelves Inner Walls: plastered OSB boards
The Room of Welcome
The Room of Welcome is a threshold that celebrates the movement of the human body in transition from one space to the next. The intention of the project was to detail an experience that often goes unnoticed in architecture. The resulting form is a “room� that connects two gallery spaces and serves as a deliberate reminder of passage. It is a three part construction: an exterior shell composed of industrial shelving components, an internal steel stud structure which holds the composition in form, and an interior skin composed of two textured OSB boards.
* Parts
* 3/16� steel flange connects boards to studs
Industrial Shelving Components cut, folded, painted
the Room of Welcome Paul moves through
4 _
Illume
Illume is a series of mobile light structures that investigate space, perception, and movement through geometry and light. These lights are different manifestations of LED shapes and configurations. They can be assembled to delineate the planes of a spatial volume, or they can be used individually to amplify the perception of objects, moments, details, and perspectives. They are designed for ease of movement and use. When moved, the lights create a democratic discourse on importance and objectivity; the lights both intensify the world around them through form, and exist as autonomous objects through light.
*
Frame Parts
6.
7.
1.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1. Power Box (see next page) 2. Steel Legs: 1� pipe
5. Steel Corner Support
3. Translucent PC Cover (polycarbonate)
6. Steel Flange: waterjet cut
4. Aluminum Extrusion
7. Maple Handle
*
Power Box Parts
9. 8.
5.
1.
4. 2.
6.
3.
1. Dimmer Knob: Maple 2. Front Plate: Aluminum
6. Back Plate: 3-piece Oak Shell
3. Power In
7. Leather Skin
4. Inverter
8. Power Out: to LED’s
5. Dimmer Switch
9. Leather Handle
7.
*
Pivot Lamp
*
Flat bolt connection
through extrusion
1.
2. 140 °
3. 4.
1. LED composition (see frame in previous) 2. Dimmer Knob
5.
3. Cover Plate: folded 3/16� steel 4. Pivot Hinge 5. Inverter/Switch box 6. Bottom Plate
6.
Kor y & the Frame
the Power Box
the Frame & Stakes
*
Channel, LED tape,
2.
Diffuser cover 1.
*
Battery to Light Tape Connection
3. 1. Aluminum Channel 2. Aluminum Connector Plate 3. Battery Pack 4. Steel Stake 5. LED Light Tape 6. Translucent Cover
4. 5.
6.
* the Stake Parts
the Desert Dunes Panamint Spirngs, CA
Fire in the Sky Montano de Oro, CA
the Stakes In Situ Montano de Oro, CA
5 _
The Room of Insanity The Room of Insanity is a receptacle
for the manic mind, for those impulsive, yet
overwhelming
disillusionment,
states
and
total
of
creativity,
uncertainty.
Rather than failing to acknowledge that these emotions exist, the Room of Insanity
confronts this reality with optimism. This
shelter is scaled to the size of an individual; in use one can find confidence in solitude.
The room rests on a timber base five and
a half feet from the ground. It requires commitment to enter; one must ascend the room’s fifteen foot ladder in order to enter the
interior volume. Once inside, there is space to ventilate, to express, and articulate the
absurdity that often overwhelms in creative states. These actions are catalogued in the
walls of the room, and slowly, over time the room’s walls will thicken.
*
the Roof Parts
1. Pivot Hook
5. Corrugated Steel (3 sheets)
2. 1/8” Steel Tension Cable
6. 3/4” Steel Roof Rod
3. (galvanized) Turnbuckle
7. Mounting Bracket
4. (doug. fir) Joist
8. Roof Rod release pin
1.
3.
2.
5.
6.
7.
8.
6.
4.
a view within the room
*
the Body Parts
1.
2. 4.
3.
5.
6.
1. Masonite Panels 2. 1/2” Plywood Diaphragm Panel 3. Composite Stud: 2”x 4” and 3/4” Ply
4. 15’ Steel Ladder 5. Connection Flange (3/16” Steel) 6. Exterior Stucco (over 1/2” Ply)
the room of insanity body build out
*
the Base Parts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
1. 16” Portal Subtraction 2. Cypress Deck (1” x 6” boards) 3. Redwood Joist (1.5” x 6”) 4. Redwood Beam (3” x 8”)
5. 1/2” Steel Bolt 6. Composite Leg: cypress flange, redwood core
a timber base stands tall
thank you!
Matt Shara (805) 452-1715 mattshara@gmail.com