selected academic work Carleton University 2005 - 2011
przemyslaw myszkowski
40 years later arctic pre-fab bench bookstore column conference centre congress centre culinary school dinner is served material investigation pavilion for the wind pavilion study lake pavilion pedestrian bridge pool research studio spray booth theatre wall house
przemyslaw myszkowski p_myszkowski@live.com
Portfolio 2012
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Š 2012
menu 40 years later arctic pre-fab bench bookstore column conference centre congress centre culinary school dinner is served material investigation pavilion for the wind pavilion study lake pavilion pedestrian bridge pool research studio spray booth theatre wall house
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material investigation
The studio was structured around the
methodical nature of process. Each student was assigned an artist whose work was to be used as a catalyst that would foster further creative development. Eduardo Chillida’s work with the ‘solid/void’ relationships and his piece titled the ‘Wind Combs’ were an actuator that lead to an investigation of a material process, the casting of several thin shelled pieces from plaster. Each piece is governed by the inflatable form work and the pressure inside. The technical process that evolved from the investigation yielded varying plaster casts with their own unique properties that could eventually be reproduced at a human scale for the purpose of a pavilion.
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pavilion for the wind
Similar to a conch that echo’s the ocean’s
tide, the pavilion would echo the wind. The ‘wind orchestra’ would be a series of varying pieces made of lightweight concrete that have been poured into an inflatable form work. The installation would be deployed on the shore as the prevailing winds would pass through. The installation would perform very much like the brasswinds or woodwinds of an orchestra. Similar to the keys of a trumpet, or the fingers along the neck of a guitar the human presence ’plays’ with the instrument. Being large enough to be inhabited by people, the presence of an occupant would alter the turbulence or dampen the sound, thereby influencing the sound produced by the pavilion.
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lake pavilion
The Dows Lake Pavilion site is a parkland
for birdwatchers, joggers, and cyclists in the summer and skiers during the winter months. It is surrounded by a trail winding between mature trees along the perimeter. There are two paths when approaching the site, from the north west and the other (perpendicular) south west. Coincidentally each path is in line with the predominant winds for the winter and summer months. This pavilion was to be a temporary installation that would provide a place for solitude and emphasizing the naturally occurring winds while maintaining the existing site conditions such as the foliage, circulation and views out to Dows Lake.
exploded view of connection node
site model
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wall house
The studio exercise was based on John
Hejduk’s wall house. The hypothetical site on the water’s edge that was given to us was a narrow plot with a slight slope from front to back. We had to design a single family house using only sectional drawings.
I imagined the house as a series of tent
like sails anchored by a prominent elevated mass that would house the services and everyday life (kitchen, living, dining and parking). While the sleeping areas were at grade, each opened up on to the east side for maximum sun exposure during the morning.
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bookstore
The program required a mediation of
contrasting spaces to be implemented in a narrow lot on a busy street corner. The program consisted of a residence, retail and an assembly space as the dominant spaces. The concept of the book store was inspired by the arrangement of a bookshelf. By leaving an empty space to signify the entrance to the residence along the side, the faรงade screen was titled to show the missing adjacent occupancy that is found on the third floor. The first two floors are accessible from the street. The faรงade itself acts as a sun screen that is also a constantly winding bookshelf along the perimeter delineating the circulation until it reaches the centre of the building where it dissolves into the assembly space. A liturgical labyrinth is thereby created that acts as a narrative through the spaces.
permutations of form due to programmatic relationships
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conceptual axonometric study of materiality & programmatic relationship
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culinary school
China town is a diverse cultural centre
in Ottawa, the architectural identity is also slowly transforming. The site for the culinary school was
contextua study
in the heart of Ottawa’s China Town, on a corner lot that was previously a restaurant and residence. Unfortunately it was consumed by fire two years earlier, thus leaving a gap in the context. The culinary school has a demanding program that consisted of a restaurant, culinary teaching facilities, residences and administration. Due to the small site, there would need to be an overlap in sharing of facilities between the school and restaurant, thus forcing an efficient but versatile layout. The previous fire that
conceptual interior
destroyed the early twentieth century building had left char markings on the neightbouring building, essentially a palimpsest. Therefore it became an inspiration for the new culinary school by using the existing context as a generator for the new form. The form became a narrative of the existing context that would be preserved by the archetype of the
column detail
school. The material palette became an important aspect of the design. The use of exposed concrete, steel and heavy timber, gave the building a raw, unfinished feel that is surrounded by panels of alternating clear and frosted glass. The curtain wall’s glimpses of the interior would invite pedestrians to visually sample the schools activities. massing study
interior perspective showing various assemblies
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basement level
ground level
second floor
second floor
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conceptual section
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conceptual section
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conference centre
The
proposed
conference
centre
is
located on the existing art deco Bank of Montreal site at Sparks and O’Connor. Sparks Street is a dedicated pedestrian plaza while Wellington Street in mostly used by motorists, thus introducing two extremely opposite conditions that the building needed to respond to. Although O’Connor Street is the mediator between the two conditions, it is a un-welcoming passage for pedestrians.
The new proposed building provides a
seamless transition from the formal Wellington Street to the casual Sparks Street shopping district while still establishing a prominent identity. It houses a sculpture gallery, a hall, restaurant, catering facilities, offices, conference rooms and underground
parking.
The
Sculptural
gallery
and restaurant connect to human scale through juxtaposition and direct circulation, while the hall, being a formal entity looks out to Parliament. The conference rooms are the mediators that have views of both Wellington Street and Sparks Street emphasized by the semi-detached volume.
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reception hall
gallery
street level
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spray booth
The underutilized garden at the Architecture
Building at Carleton was to be re-purposed to accommodate a spray booth. The spray booth would need to be adaptable to various types of paints and project needs. Adjustable shelving, proper storage and accessibility were provided to meet those needs.
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research studio
As part of the research into deployable
structures
and
structural
membranes
these
renderings for a tent show a conceptual relation between the tent, audience, and stage. This potentially would become an entire temporary structure that could be used as a travelling show. The model was produced using parametric software in order to speed to model/simulate the millions of iterations of the same module.
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congress centre
The Ottawa Congress Centre Renewal
Project was the recipient of the Cyril Leeder Prize for Urban Planning. We had proposed a condominium tower that would encourage the development of the centre and surrounding area. As part of the strategy, the Congress Centre and Rideau Mall would receive new space for tenants and expanded their facilities to accommodate Ottawa’s growth.
Team Members Janak Alford Foti Boulougaris Przemyslaw Myszkowski
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pedestrian bridge
The single panel was a submission for a
pedestrian bridge competition. The competition site was in the heart of Amsterdam and required that apart from the bridge, a small restaurant, bike repair shop and public washrooms be included. Technical issues such as draft height for passing boats and wheelchair accessibility are addressed.
The arching form of the bridge allows
for a gradual incline that accommodates both accessibility and draft clearances. A central mast cradles the walkway within a series of suspension cables along the perimeter. Small turbines are fixed to the mast as a means of energy production for the restaurant. The central volume that consolidates the restaurant, bike repair and washrooms acts as a counter weight and an apex for visitors travelling across the bridge.
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dinner is served The project called for a temporary pavilion that could host a dinner consisting of the students and their guests. Choosing the appropriate context was crucial in order to establish a dialogue between the ritual of dining, the pavilion and most importantly the food. The site that we had chosen was underneath the OC Transpo commuter train railroad bridge that spans the Rideau River. We chosen this site due to the frequent interruptions of the train, its’ uneasy atmosphere and amplifying/diminishing sound qualities (as a result of the echoes produced by the water below and over passing train and views along the river). The qualitative character of the bridge’s massive concrete pier with its’ graffiti tags, enormous wood and steel tracks held by the early 20th century industrial steel structure and piping would provide a scarce palette of materials that would inspire an unconventional juxtaposition of materiality and architectural folly. We acknowledged that the main conflict between the user and site was the very prompt and punctual commuter train overhead that rattled and interrupted any conversation on site. Instead of imposing any sort of struggle against the noise we chose a dish that could be prepared and consumed in 15 minute increments complimenting the overhead train schedule. The dish we had chosen was shish-ka-bobs. The guests could skewer any of the diverse toppings from pineapple, baby tomatoes, red onion, sirloin, shrimp and ricotta cheese to name a few, in a series to create their own sequenced flavour, complimented by select sauces with a bed of steamed rice on sautéed sesame seed dusted asparagus rafts all cooked in a linear fashion over a hot coal fire. We used the same principle of skewering to develop a system of details for an enclosure of the pavilion made of common ABS piping and recycled conventional lumber. The sequential arrangement of rail cars was the inspiration for the sliding wood dinner plates (that revealed the sauces when slightly shifted in one direction) and the seating placements on structural steel rails imbedded in the table. Both table and seating spanned from the pavilion wall, to the concrete pier 3.5m away that complimented the existing rail bridge foundations. The table was divided with a hot coal bar-b-que grill along its’ entire length at the centre, while toppings on either side where arranged in three linear furrows to compliment the grill. The night of ‘Dinner is Served’ was a complete sensory experience filled with food and architecture, while the guests, Dr. Marco Frascari and Dr. Greg Andonian provided us with great dinner conversation.
Team Members: Kristen Tuttle Dave Reeves Przemyslaw Myszkowski Brynn Macek Mina Hanna Adi Gerrits
Published in Perspectives - Journal of the Ontario Association of Architects Vol. 16, No. 3.
Farida Abu-Bakare
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40 years later
The room was transformed into a vessel that exhibited Carleton’s 40 years
of student work. It was programmed to be a narrative throughout a student’s career. Each corner of the pavilion dedicated to certain idioms that a student would learn. The first was the sense of instability and illusion. A gravity defining, massive concrete column that a first sees uneasy is homage to the act of representation. Things are not what they appear and should not be limited by convention. The column has the unexpected ability to rotate while it is still bearing the load of a beam overhead. The next corner is meant to show that materialess world of a naïve student. It is defined by stacked panes of light, suggesting to the act of seeing and abstracting without consideration for material. Lines without thickness and weight are the first methods of quantifying space. The act of building, detailing and materiality is the represented by the third corner. The next step that a student takes is to gain the intuition and the respect for material properties. The joining of inert matter to become a heterogeneous mixture that eventually becomes space and architecture. As a student progresses throughout their education, a great deal of emphasis is placed on the act of building, but also in understanding of theories and principles. The last corner is composed of a column of books, ranging on various disciplines and topics in architecture, from technology to philosophy. It is the accumulation of ideas and knowledge. The ability of projection and foresight is crucial for an architect as well as the precedence set before. This final trait is presented as an apparatus that allows the user to project past student work as a means of animating and altering the space with the room.
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Team Members Andres Bautista Foti Boulougaris Brynn Macek David Reeves Ryiad Jouka Przemyslaw Myszkowski
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theatre
This submission resulted in being short
listed for the City of Ottawa Public Art competition. The installation was to be fixed permanently in the lobby of a proposed theatre.
Regardless of where we are, whether at
home, a library or a courthouse, the ‘place’ we are in commands a certain behavior, a code of conduct, a performance. Although we may not realize it, the effect of ‘place’ changes us. We are actors every day, influenced by the architecture, space, and backdrops we occupy. We are constantly entangled in theatre.
In order for theatre to occur, the essential
relationship between audience and actor are fused together by the stage.
No elaborate
backdrop is needed, just the devoted attention of the audience. The most modest of stages can host the most elaborate theatre, but it is essential nevertheless and regardless of its simplicity or complexity it plays an important role.
Finalists in Public Art Competition Team Members Randy Kerr Przemyslaw Myszkowski
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R
O
Each of the three panels will be made of seven laminated panels of torrefied white ash wood and finished to compliment the nature of the material. The total weight of the three panels will be approximately 1800 lbs. The torrefication of lumber is a recent process that uses low oxygen/high temperature to remove any organic matter that may contribute to the decay of the material. The material will further be protected with a clear coat finish to allow for easy cleaning. Each panel will be made of 100mm sections with a 1mm gap to allow for seasonal expansion and contraction during the year. This detail will extend the life of the artwork as well. The wooden panels will be assembled using standard mill work/woodworking practises of ripping the boards along their length into approximately 2’’x 4’’x 90’’ strips, then be jointed and planed square. The fully machined lumber will then be laminated together to form the larger panels. To laminate the panels we will use West System Epoxy as it provides an extremely durable and versatile method of laminating lumber prior to machining. Each of the large panels will then be resurfaced in preparation for the final machining process. The remachining will be carried out on a CNC gantry via a complete surface remachining referred to as horizontal roughing then followed by two complete remachining passes called parallel finishing. Each of the three latter processes will employ solid carbide router bits and take about 36 hours to fully cut the previously scanned and computer rendered imagery. A computer model will be prepared using various software packages and a laser scanner in order to achieve exceptional quality. This will allow for greater flexibility in design before proceeding with the final model. A computer numerically controlled machine (CNC gantry router), will be used to precisely cut out the realistic relief thereby maintain the same quality throughout the project. Some hand finishing will be required to ensure proper craftsmanship. Each of the three panels will be approximately 2.5m wide x 100mm deep x 2.1m tall and anchored to the concrete wall behind with an aluminum support channel to provide proper bearing on the floor and to facilitate cleaning around and under the panels.
C
E
S
S
Centrepointe Theatre Public Expansion Art Competition C
O
N
C
E
P
T
Regardless of where we are, whether at home, a library or a courthouse, the ‘place’ we are in commands a certain behavior, a code of conduct, a performance. Although we may not realize it, the effect of ‘place’ changes us. We are actors everyday, influenced by the architecture, space, and backdrops we occupy. We are constantly entangled in theatre. In order for theatre to occur, the essential relationship between audience and actor are fused together by the stage. No elaborate backdrop is needed, just the devoted attention of the audience. The most modest of stages can host the most elaborate theatre, but it is essential nevertheless and regardless of its simplicity or complexity it plays an important role. We propose projecting the architecture of the stage on to the long wall in the upper lobby by (re)framing the three post modernist style openings. Each opening will contain a highly detailed relief of the narrative of theatre. The importance of the audience, performer and stage will be explored. This will connect, contextually the audience to the stage. Thus the role reversal occurs! The audience is engaged in an improvisation theatre, viewed from the street as a group of actors in the lobby. The proposed stage architecture by Barry Hobin frames that moment. We would like to complete that experience by providing a background for the audience to engage with. An improvisation by the audience will help engage them in the understanding of the process of creating theatre by evoking a stage for them to participate in. Having the art work at ground level will encourage interaction with all that attend the theatre. We would like to create a hepatic experience with the art and the performance, allowing for a memorable moment that is often not encouraged. Thus to understand the craft of theatre, you must partake in the creation of it. Imagine a group of performers interacting behind a curtain, the wind suddenly blows the curtain up against and between their bodies, blurring and abstracting their physical details, but still allowing us to see and surmise their presence. That moment becomes the inspiration for a dramatization of a stage right entrance but the opening in the curtain cannot be found. The actors move across the stage feeling their way, grappling with the curtain and their emotions exhibiting humour and anxiety through their hand and facial gestures At that moment a three dimensional metaphor of movement and emotion is captured in time. This captured moment will be repeated creating a narrative as they move across the stage until they find the far edge of the curtain and pull it back to everyone’s relief. This narrative will be created at full scale using photography, 3D laser scanning and digital simulations with the images further interpreted, via 3D digital modeling software.
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pool
This submission resulted in being short
listed for the City of Ottawa Public Art competition. The installation was to be fixed permanently in the lobby of a community pool.
A one to three scale model was cut from
acrylic sheets which resulted in a three foot long mock up in order to precisely understand the form. Similar digital fabrication was to be utilized to precisely cut each layer from high quality Cornel plate glass for the final installation.
The movement of the sun throughout
the day will accentuate different aspects of the still life. Having the art work at an approachable level will encourage interaction with all that would attend the Pool. A hepatic experience with the piece would create a memorable moment that is often not encouraged with art. The stacked glass panels will allow you to align yourself with the sculptures’ curves to provide you with a moment to contemplate the view, the pool or to imagine that you are part of the dialog with the sculptures intent.
Finalists in Public Art Competition Team Members Randy Kerr Przemyslaw Myszkowski
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pavilion study
The model is a study of Robert le Ricolais
Aplex Pavilion. It is a modular system compromising of solid wood posts held together by friction. It employees a simple threaded U-bolt and plate that are bolted together thereby compressing the two wood members together.
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Team Members Andre Bautista Foti Boulougaris Przemyslaw Myszkowski
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column
Based on the lectures presented in class,
we had to reinterpret the column. The theme was the human body. The mechanics and anatomy of the human hand were used as a method to develop the column and its connections.
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bench
Based
on
the
archaic
construction
methods that we were presented in class, we had to develop a piece of architecture or furniture that would use the principles of leverage, cantilever, compression and tension.
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arctic pre-fab
This
project
was
an
exploration
in
pre-fabricated homes in the context of the socioeconomic development in Canada’s north. The intent was to produce a design that its components could be fragmented and produced in various communities in the north. The parts could then be assembled as need to provide housing to the citizens of those communities. Each component must be small enough to be installed without heavy machinery. Also this would allow for more compact and efficient shipping.
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40 years later arctic pre-fab bench bookstore column conference centre congress centre culinary school dinner is served material investigation pavilion for the wind pavilion study lake pavilion pedestrian bridge pool research studio spray booth theatre wall house