BIJAN THORNYCROFT
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MEMORIAL OF EMPATHY FALL 2014 Advisor: Zeuler Lima
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APEX FOR A NEW CITY
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MODULAR PLAY FIELD
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POTTING SHED
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DRAWING
SPRING 2014 Studio Professor: Zeuler Lima
FALL 2012 Studio Professor: Catty Dan Zhang
FALL 2011 Studio Professor: Charles Brown
FALL 2011 and SPRING 2012
SAND MORPHOLOGIST FALL 2013 Studio Professor: Jonathan Stitelman
URBAN GREENHOUSE SPRING 2013 Studio Professor: Elisa Kim
IMMERSION POOL SPRING 2012 Studio Professor: Jonathan Stitelman
GRAPHIC WORKS ONGOING For various clients, or personal
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MEMORIAL OF EMPATHY The West Eastern Divan Orchestra began more than 10 years ago, and from the beginning has consisted of musicians from various Middle Eastern backgrounds that are Muslim, Jewish, and Christian. These musicians play together to demonstrate human kind’s ability to understand one another’s perspectives, disagree with them, then continue to produce beautiful works. Their goal is not to create peace, but to combat the ignorance of misconceptions and prejudice. They cannot provide the solutions to the many conflicts enrapturing their homelands, but they may expose their futility in how unnecessary they are. The orchestra conveys all of this through the only means they have: their music performances.
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BEIT HANOUN, GAZA
SITE FOR INSTALLATION
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DESTROYED BUILDINGS DESTROYED LANDSCAPE
PALESTINIAN CAUSED DAMAGE ISRAELI CAUSED DAMAGE
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CONCERT HALL
Situated directly in between that Palestinian and Israeli conflict, the site of their most significant performance, the Memorial of Empathy seeks to manifest the Divan Orchestra’s mission through architecture. It does not serve as a prop to the orchestra that speaks through their performances, but instead creates a space within the demolished landscape that places all who enter it on an equal platform. It allows for open dialogue to take place between individuals who would not otherwise face each other, using the Divan Orchestra as an example. By distancing the audience from the ground-scape and the orchestra members, and isolating them within the surrounding of destruction, they have the opportunity to reflect upon their reality without the pressures of one’s identity.
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Constructed of a scaffolding system with glass paneling, the light framework sets the stage for the space as well as providing the structure for the concert hall. The Memorial of Empathy acts as a temporary installation within the site. It is designed to be quickly and easily erected, yet it introduces a strong presence in the midst of the conflict which will act as a destination for those near it and a symbol to those afar.
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SAND MORPHOLOGIST ANALYSIS Sand piles naturally fall into a stable form through a cellular automatic process, creating order out of disorder by no power other than their own. In order to determine how to manipulate this natural process, an open, configurable field was created to test what variables may affect the process by disrupting it with artificial intrusions.
SEPTEMBER
CONTEXT RY
FEBRUA
HEIGHT
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FLOOD
DISCHARGE
YEARLY HEIGHT PATTERNS
HIGH SPEED CURRENTS
DROUGHT
YEARLY DISCHARGE PATTERNS
JU NE
AUGUST
OCTOBER
OC
TO
AU
BE
R
GU
ST
Y
JA AU
G-
JAN-MAY
NE
-JU
APR
N
MA
AR
C-M
DE
FEB-MAR OCT-APR
OC
PR
T-A
T-M
AR
-JA PT SE
AU
GU
ST
EC
MAY SEPT-MAY SEPT
V-D
NO
N
OC
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CONCEPT
To allow for the study of sand morphology at the site of the Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River, a home and research lab is designed for a single scientist to reside and work there. The scientific methodology embodied by the facility is to measure the many variables present in the site that may be used to explain the morphology of the river bed, resulting from the changing accumulations of sediment under water. The variables and natural elements of the scientist’s studies are brought into the building’s atmosphere to create a space where the scientist may fully immerse himself in the focused study of the river.
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OBSERVATION TUNNEL
PROJECTION SURFACE
LIVING, STUDY, & CIRCULATION
SPACIAL PROJECTION WALLS
OPENINGS RESPONDING TO DAYLIGHT
WIND VENTILATION
PRECIPITATION DRAINAGE
THRESHOLD FROM BRIDGE
STRUCTURE TO BRIDGE
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JUNE FEBRUARY
SEPTEMBER
9AM10AM
FORMALIZATION
JUNE
FEBRUARY
SEPTEMBER
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12PM
M
JUNE FEBRUARY
SEPTEMBER
1PM4PM
CONTEXT
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PROCESS
Caustic reflections of the river’s flowing pattern are reflected by sunlight into the primary opening on the belly of the building. From those projections, variables such as the river’s velocity, height, and discharge rate may be measured at various times of day and during different seasons in order to plot the trends of those variables and correlate them to shifts in the river bed’s morphology. The particular positioning of surfaced cladding around the facility brings in elements of wind, precipitation, and sunlight for the scientist to associate other natural phenomena with his studies.
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APEX FOR A NEW CITY With the progress of Florence from the 1000’s until the nomination of Florence as the capital of Italy in the 19th century, its urban projects began to move closer to the center of the city with the purpose of appealing to tourists. Florence originated with a concentration of works for religious and communal purposes, but economic and political shifts of the following periods caused a move to development that served royal and wealthy families, government, and real estate.
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THE FIRST PEOPLE
MEDICI
13th-14th centuries
16th century
Period of economic prosperity and strength of guilds over nobles, associated with high productivity and selfsustainability.
With the Medici dynasty removed, Florence falls to Austria and Peter Leopold’s reorganization of the city.
PRE-ENLARGEMENT PLAN
PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND TOURISM
Much urban development in the service of the government and wealthy families solely.
Mapping of the current tourist routes in Florence and the public buildings that serve touristic purposes
1855
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CASCINE PARK Collaborated design and graphics with Taylor Halamka Giuseppe Poggi’s original plan for the Parco Della Cascine in Firenze was a monumental roundabout entrance to the park serving as a connection to the city. Consisting of a large circular access leading smoothly into the green-space, Cascine has since become divided from the city by vehicular infrastructure and lack of meaningful connection. Our revitalization of Cascine focuses on the opportunity available in the east edge of the park to unite the disparate parts of the city that existed as the park grew and that appeared after. Beginning at the scale of the city, the reimagined park reaches out from its edges into the adjacent neighborhoods to create a clear indication of the park from afar. Two central axes, one from north to south and the other east to west, intersect at the convergence of the three city zones. Looking back to Poggi’s original plan, we appropriated the monumental statue as the center of a circular piazza space, creating a clear destination for pedestrians approaching the park from all parts of the city. The monumental center flows into the green park space while the axes disperse into alternate paths and destinations for jogging, walking, and biking.
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OLTRARN ISOLOTT
NO TO
NOVOLI
HISTORIC CENTER
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A
B
100m
100m
C
50m
A
B
C
D 100m
D 100m
D D
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Major axes of connection Minor axes of connection
Architecture on site
Passive zones
Architecture on site
Active zones
Unprogrammed space
Connecting zones
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URBAN GREENHOUSE TERRARIUM CASE STUDY
As a study of how built enclosures could affect the growth of plant life, a terrarium was constructed to house the umbrella palm plant and the fairy moss azolla. The container uses its form to allow light to access the water-surface moss while creating space for the umbrella plant to grow directly above, thereby resolving the conflicting needs of two different plants through the design of its housing.
-system for hashed lines -make sure lines print out properly -each drawing on 11x17, foam core -consistency in representation of dirt -scale darkness
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Umbrella Palm Dwarf
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Fairy Moss Azolla 12
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0�
Container from Plan
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Elevation of container
Sun from 90 and 45 degrees
Elevation of container
Container from Plan
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CONTEXT
ATHLETIC CENTER
FAMILY NEIGHBORHOO
SOUP KITCHEN
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OD
CONCEPT
The site at Soulard is lined by a red brick wall which was built with the Interstate 55, the highway responsible for Soulard’s becoming neglected since the interstate’s conception. By introducing a greenhouse into this urban context, its purpose became to re-purpose this wall which creates such a destructive divide. The hope is not to rectify the problem of the highway, but to bring some of its benefit to the people of Soulard. In response to the two demographics surrounding the site, families with children and a homeless soup kitchen, the building focuses on growing of vegetables to simultaneously feed the homeless and to teach the children about nutritional eating and cooking.
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PROGRAM
CHILDREN’S GAME ROOM LOUNGE KITCHEN AND DINNING
NUTRITION CLASSROOM PUBLIC LOBBY
The façade of the building is solid and largely vertical, but designed to be porous to allow visitors to experience the thickness of the sites’ new ‘wall’. Circulation in the building leads separately to public (learning) and private (shelter) programs while still allowing for people to fluidly move through the length of the building. The two demographics are also united through the open circulation surrounded by potting beds at the center of the building, as well as by the sweeping window panes which bring sunlight to both at once.
STRATEGY
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FLOOR 2
Game Room + 23’2”
Resting Space + 18’11”
FLOOR 1
Public Kitchen + 13’1”
Classroom + 10’3”
GROUND FLOOR
Lobby and Open Space
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Window strips allow light from different seasons of the year into different rooms depending on when their programs are used. The homeless require more shelter in the winter, while children would frequent the greenhouse in the summer for classes after school and to relax. This distinguishes the two programs from the exterior, but also accommodates them from the interior. The single strips of window panes are composed of both winter programmed spaces and summer programmed ones, thus connecting them even as they are separated.
WINTER AZIMUTH The programming for homeless shelter becomes most used in times of harsh outdoor conditions.
SUMMER AZIMUTH The programming for teaching children is more important in the summer, when they are on break from school.
GAME ROOM +23’2” PUBLIC KITCHEN +13’2”
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FORMALIZATION
RESTING SPACE +18’11” CLASSROOM +10’3”
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MODULAR PLAY FIELD
MODULE STUDY
FIELD STUDY
In order to conceive a single module which could manipulate light and shadows from the exterior of its space to its interior, triangular surfaces were folded inward and outward to create an aperture that narrows to one end. This module was then structured with cross beams and aggregated to create a space with the atmosphere of a deep cavern.
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MODULE APPLIED TO SITE
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Tasked with redesigning a children’s park in De Mun, St. Louis, the new park realizes its function and form through the strategy of the aggregated modules’ configuration. The modules themselves dictate the experience of each space, allowing children to climb into them, light to filter through them, and creating a variety of open and closed spaces. Programs range from office buildings to bathrooms and play structures.
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Situated in a residential suburb, nearby an elementary school, the park is at an ideal site for bringing children and family together. The spacial forms introduced in this new park encourage this fact by allowing for easy passage through the field, and by creating engaging forms for both children and adults to make use of.
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Occupiable Modules
Circulatory and Spatial Tectonics
Topographic Undulations
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IMMERSION POOL In order to place a designed immersion pool in the site of a suburban park, the topography of the sloped landscape was first manipulated according to a natural artifact found on the site. The immersion pool was then placed within this context, taking inspiration for its form from the biased topography and its programming.
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ON-SITE ARTIFACT
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B
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POTTING SHED
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The potting shed is designed around the concept of embedding layers of undulating triangles to form a sheltered space. The solid surfaces of the inner layer break into a skeleton of the form, which allows people to experience the surrounding exterior while remaining sheltered.
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GRAPHIC WORKS
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DRAWING
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