Selected Works 2013-2016

NICO RALLO

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SELECTED WORKS

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2013-2016

NICO RALLO 636.439.1736 nrallo11@ksu.edu 30 Pleasant Place Brooklyn, NY 11233

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OBJECTIVE

EDUCATION

I am seeking full time employment as a junior designer at an architectural design firm. I possess the essential proficiencies to being an ambitious candidate for a position. My value lies in my ability to modify conventionatl beliefs into modern, forward thinking solutions, my precision to detail, and sensibility to the human impact on design.

MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE

KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Manhattan, KS NAAB Accredited

August 2011 - May 2016

TECHNICAL CERTIFICATE

LEWIS & CLARK CAREER CENTER

St. Charles, MO

August 2009 - May 2011

Drafting and Design - Residential Architecture - Mechanical Drafting

EMPLOYMENT

ENNEAD ARCHITECTS

ARCHITECTURAL INTERN

New York, NY

January 2015 - August 2015

Responsibilities included 3D modeling, physical model making, facade and massing studies, presentation drawings, shop and construction documents, and diagramming.

HIBACHI HUT

BARTENDER

Manhattan, KS

January 2014 - December 2014

By far my favorite college job yet, bartending seems to be tailored to my personality. Consistency and multitasking became the most prominent skills to please all customers and to create well crafted cocktails.

APPLEBEE’S

SERVER

Manhattan, KS

May 2012 - December 2014

During my employment as a server my main tasks consisted of memorizing menu items, greeting customers, running food, and handling money. This job showed me what it is like to see my work reflect my pay each shift.

PROFICIENCY

DIGITAL Rhinoceros - Revit - AutoCAD - Photoshop - Illustrator - InDesign - Premiere Pro - 3DS Max - Vray - Maxwell Render - Google Earth Animation

MANUAL Laser Cutting - CNC Routing - Hand Drafting - Model Building - Photography - Plaster Molding - Wood Carving - Welding - Bronze Casting

HONORS

REFERENCES

Dean’s List (2011-2016) 2nd Year Guest Review Critic (2016) Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture Research Paper Publication (2015) Maritime Science Center Academic Recognition (2014) Sunset Funerary Chapel Competition Winner (2013) Stephen Bennett Memorial Essay Scholarship (2012) Available upon request 5

CONTENT The work presented in this portfolio represents both individual and collaborative efforts achieved during my pursuit of a Masters of Architecture at Kansas State University.

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1. COMPETITION

2. CHAPELE

3. CONCEPT

4. CATHARSIS

5. CRAFT

6. RESEARCH

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MARITIME SCIENCE CENTER COMPETITION

“I-MELLOM-ROM� BETWEEN LAND AND SEA The Norwegian municipality of Randaberg Kommune and Jaermuseet held a global competition for the design of a center devoted to the exhibition and education of maritime/navigation culture and the history of watercraft. The site for the competition is on a peninsula in Randaberg, Norway with extraordinary weather conditions that attract large groups to take part in the experience year round.

Surrounding the perimeter of the peninsula are large amounts of lichen. From the lichen is where the design concept of "Between Land and Sea" is drawn from. The lichen is a porous plant that produces its own food using energy from sunlight, air, and water from its environment. The lichen conceals itself between the land and sea on bare rocks, but is not a parasite to the land. The design relationship to the lichen resulted in multiple open floor plates, large roof apertures for sunlight, a gracious greenroof, a porous ground level for air circulation, a building form that conceals itself into the slope of the site, and the position of a large open event space between the building and harbor.

Another major design influence was the historical Tungenes Lighthouse that assists in configuring the built form with specific alignments to cultivate the essence of the landscape. The entry sequence, reconstructed sea wall, and interior/exterior views all follow axes to the lighthouse to maintain historic preservation of the landscape. Anchoring these alignments is the development of a communal gathering space that is protected by the harbor, sea wall, and science center.

The redesigned harbor provokes imagination. The place is a multitude of different intentions and phenomena imposed spatial topological expression in a porous medium in which light emphasizes drama, variety, rhythm, atmosphere and mood. Areas with the highest user frequency and outreach activities are particularly visible and easily accessible. The harbor will serve as a meeting place for conferences, cultural events and private functions. The physical surroundings expands thus synergies where communication and interaction between the building's different roles is an important element.

The center is primarily a museum where exhibition and communication premises constitute public activities are established at sea level. Exhibition spaces are protected from direct sunlight in order to provide good conditions for digital exhibition media. They allow a natural division between the meeting place and science activities, while it articulates a dramatic relationship with the oceans rising level. The environment thus becomes an active "measuring rod" for future climate changes and the challenges that it entails.

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TUNGENES HARBOR | RANDABERG, NORWAY

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1. EXISTING

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2.BUILDING CLUSTERS

3. SITE ACCESS

4. LIGHTHOUSE AXES

5. SUN PATH

6. PUBLIC REALM

7. WIND AND WAKE BARRIERS

8. SERVICE BAR

9. EXHIBITION LEVEL

10. HARBOR RECONSTRUCTION

11. STRUCTURE

12. EDUCATION LEVEL

13. ENCLOSURE

14. PROPOSED ACCESS

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Green Roof

Enclosure

Structure

Auditorium

Education

Restaurant Service Exhibition Aquarium Navigation

ASSEMBLY

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PROGRAM

SERVED/SERVANT/EDUCATE

CIRCULATION

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GROUND LEVEL

EXHIBITION LEVEL

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EDUCATION LEVEL

EXPLODED PLANS

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WEST

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WEST

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LOOKING NORTH

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VIEW FROM EXHIBITION

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VIEW FROM SEA WALL

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SUNSET FUNERARY CHAPEL Every life has reason to be celebrated, and the sense of place can enhance this celebration. Manhattan, KS is scattered with churches, but lacks a non religious gathering space to memorialize the passing of a soul. The chosen site is adjacent to the predominant cemetery of the city and is bounded by a series of roads and paths. A gradual slope is the natural topography of the landscape and has outward views towards small wooded areas. This location with the prescription of a central gathering space raises the opportunity to create a sense of place for the community to celebrate life together.

The open grass site lacked directionality and a focal point for gathering. This problem inspired a concept of four limestone walls reaching from the perimeter of the site converging together to create a focal gathering space. The four walls separate to create two chapels, outdoor space, and back of house needs. The chapels are then enclosed with glass for daylighting and views to the wooded surroundings. The directionality of the views and walls are strengthened by an exposed two-way timber structure system. Above the timber system is a single height wood roof acting as a datum to contain the spaces created by the four walls.

The result of the major design moves is a cohesive place that draws people in from the surrounding context through four elongated walls where a warm, intimate gathering space awaits each individual.

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SUNSET PARK | MANHATTAN, KS

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DIRECTIONALITY

CONVERGE

SEPARATE

ENCLOSURE

STRUCTURE

DATUM

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SITE

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LEVEL 01

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SOUTHWEST

SOUTHEAST

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NORTHEAST

NORTHWEST

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SOUTHWEST

SOUTHEAST

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ENTRY VIEW

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3 IDEAS FOR 5TH AVENUE THE APPLE URBAN EXPERIENCE

The 5th Avenue Apple store is the highest grossing store in the world attracting people from all around the world to see the iconic cube. This particular store stays open 24 hours a day and employs over 800 people. The plaza the cube sits upon is located adjacent to Central Park causing the plaza and spiral staircase entrance to be extemely conjested. The static design of the existing plaza does not provide any new urban experience and becomes a place to stand to see a cube that cannot be interacted with.

The goal of this exercise was to develop 3 ideas for the 5th Avenue Apple store. Ideas that tested the traditional plaza and shopping experience; as well as blur the lines between the two separate experiences. Although the three concept are complex spatial moves they can be easily explained with minimal diagrams, which is the second purpose of the exercise.

Large design decisions become simpler to understand and communicate when diagrams are concise in their goals, and are complemented with comprehensive verbs that anyone can relate to. Therefore the three ideas for 5th Ave are to Move the Cube, Multiply the Cube, and Melt the Cube Each concept provides the public with a new, enhanced urban experience and rethinks the Apple customer experience.

Through sectional drawings the relationship between plaza and store can be easily understood and the intention behind the relationship. Apple creates 'things' that connect people with one another, While architecture creates space that brings people together - it is time for the two to collaborate to redefine social urban experiences.

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5TH AVE | MANHATTAN, NY

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MOVE THE CUBE The first conceptual proposition for the infamous Apple cube is to move it to the north side of the plaza.

This design idea allows the plaza to peel upward creating a sloped surface for individuals to sit upon.

By enclosing the peeled up surface it generates a new entrance for the Apple Store, one that is not congested by a single spiral staircase. The moved cube can now be an icon that is given back to the city by removing the glass edge facing the new sloped seating. The cube can be used as an exhibition similar to the MoMa PS1, a display for new product roll-out and presentations, or a band shell for musical performances. The interior of the store is informed by the exterior slope creating a tiered space and a linear shopping process.

The space underneath the cube is now a social space for individuals to congregate, share music, apps, games, and converse over new products. The conceptual plan to move the cube will manifest an icon for new urban experiences.

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1. EXISTING

2. MOVE

3. PEEL

4. ENCLOSE

5. REMOVE

6. INHABIT

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VIEW FROM 5TH AVE

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VIEW FROM PLAZA

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MULTIPLY THE CUBE The second conceptual proposition for the infamous Apple cube is to multiply the cube. By shifting the entrance cube and adding two movable cubes with specified program the urban experience on the plaza can be enhanced .

One of the added cubes can house a social space for the public, while the second can be utilized to display product, art exhibitions, and performances. Each of the roofs will be vegetated , so that when the cubes descend the plaza maintains public green space. Also while lowered the space within can be used as defined gathering space for the store. When the cubes ascend they are giving new space for people to inhabit. By adding these cubes that can be elevated a contemporary shopping experience can be explored, where customers are greeted within a cube and a representative can begin to assist them instantaneously. Once the cube is moved down another representative can be waiting for a more efficient shopping experience.

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1. EXISTING

2. SHIFT

3. MULTIPLY

4. VEGETATE

5. DESCEND

6. ASCEND

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VIEW FROM 5TH AVE

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VIEW FROM PLAZA

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MELT THE CUBE The third conceptual proposition for the infamous Apple cube is to melt it. Melting the cube releases it from being an invasive object sitting upon the plaza and the walking surface can then be glazed, which can further Apple's exploration into glass tectonics. This design move also creates a visual connection between the store and the plaza. The next idea is to develop a welcoming street entrance for customers. This is done by designing a split level condition where the store now has a large public stair for the public to congregate . The plaza experience is then enhanced by vegetating a primary, intimate social space where the cube once was. Surrounding the cube will be benched seating under a canopy of trees for the public to inhabit. Within the store a social gathering space is implemented reciprocating the outdoor space above that will encourage interaction between customers and act as a release from the more chaotic shopping experience.

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1. EXISTING

2. MELT

3. GLAZE

4. ENTER

5. VEGETATE

6. INHABIT

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VIEW FROM 5TH AVE

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VIEW FROM PLAZA

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CATHARTIC CENTER FOR CREATIVE ARTS A R E M E D I TAT I O N FO R G OWA N U S

The Gowanus Canal was once a thriving transportation route for manufacturing industries, but as the economy changes so does urban infrastructure; now many of these industries do not have a need for the canal. The lack of need for an industrial corridor has resulted in a neglected and deteriorated neighborhood and waterfront. The canal was declared a super-fund site by the government in 2010 to assist in restoring the hidden landmark. The Gowanus neighborhood has since been rezoned, allowing for the construction of mixeduse residential buildings, which will result in increased property value anticipating the clean-up of the canal. Currently, the canal sits within many abandoned manufacturing sites, which fragments the neighborhood surrounding the water and disconnects the Gowanus from the rest of Brooklyn.

Due to the lack of development and scarcity of waterfront accessibility the canal is a calming release from the bustling adjacent neighborhoods. One can imagine with the proposed rezoning, this calming experience will be diluted by numerous developments assimilating the chaotic environments that currently exist throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan.

When thinking of Gowanus as a release from the chaotic urban environment a correlation can be drawn with the theory of catharsis the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from strong or repressed emotions. A release from the city is indicative of an inner emotional release allowing one to have a calming or serene experience. The etymology of catharsis is associated with words such as purify, cleanse, and free . These ideals directly apply to the canal and potential solutions to the current issues of contamination and disconnection.

The Cathartic Center for Creative Arts is a node along the neighborhood ribbon that is integrated into the wetland park.

At this location water, built form, and pedestrian pathways culminate into one for individuals to have a personal release of emotions through the creative arts, i.e. cathartic experience. A cathartic experience relies on the concept of a person's ego strengths. In a clinical setting ego strength is defined as a person's capacity to maintain his or her own identity despite psychological pain , distress, turmoil, and conflict between internal forces, as well as the demands of reality and society. Ego strengths help one maintain emotional stability and shapes personality, self-image, and selfesteem. These self-identifiers become too rigid and rough from stress, work, urban life, societal pressures, and lack of free expression, therefore we miss out on the fluidity of our own behaviors and expressions.

Fluidity is the driving idea for the program of the Cathartic Center, similar to the process of erosion; where water washes over rough, rigid rocks for a long, repetitive period of time and eventually the rocks are sculpted into smooth, soft, elegant stones . Using this metaphor the built program acts as a filter for individuals to pass through, where a person affords self-expression to the creative arts, resulting in one's own edges (ego strength) to be smoothed and softened allowing a subconscious release of emotions .

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GOWANUS CANAL | BROOKLYN, NY

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NEIGHBORHOOD LOOP The two major subway terminals near the Gowanus Canal are Atlantic and Jay Street MetroTech. The two densest streets that begin to reveal the culture of the surrounding neighborhoods are Smith Street and 4th Avenue. These areas are populated by mixed used building with restaurants, bars, maker studios, barber shops, laundromats, banks, groceries, and boutiques on the ground level, while residential is located on ascending floors.

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NEIGHBORHOOD RIBBON The result of a neighborhood loop that connects the primary nodes and paths is a neighborhood ribbon that mimics the canal’s form. By shifting the ribbon between either side of the canal an increase in connectivity happens which will increase social interaction. The opportunities associated with a neighborhood loop is an ambiguous program, new transportation routes, the potential to connect to new urban developments, and the ability to phase a canal clean up initiative.

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1. EXISTING The existing canal is surrounded by abandoned and minimally used manufacturing buildings, which prevents pedestrians from accessing the water’s edge. The canal divides Gowanus and only connects through with vehicular bridges.

Some of the major issues with the water is contamination, non-exisitent ecosystem, and lack of accessibility.

2. DISSOLVE The rigidity of the existing waterfront parallels the urban grid preventing new urban experiences to take place. Expanding the canal into a more organic flow of water is reminiscent of the original marshland Gowanus once was. This enables for new space to be formed to enhance the human experience.

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3. WETLAND STRIPS Implementing wetland strips where the canal expands is to help prevent flooding and create a landscape that didn’t exist before. The wetland strips furthers the idea of returning Gowanus to the estuary it once was. With careful study, the right plants grown on the strips will assist in cleansing the water.

4. CONNECT A surface ribbon is designed to intertwine and connect the two sides of the neighborhood.

It is an adaptable design that allows space to contract and expand as necessary. The linear surface bridges the canal between the new urban fabric and wetland system. The ribbon will increase social interaction, create a new waterfront experience, and associate the Gowanus neighborhood to the rest of Brooklyn.

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5. GREENSCAPES Space along the neighborhood ribbon is informed by a series of greenscapes. The greenscapes are are submerged below the walking path to allow water from the canal to over flow into a bio-swale system. This system will create an ecosystem filled with new plant and wildlife.

Greenscpaes on the boarder of the ribbon will consist of taller plant life to create a partition between the city and the intimate spaces created along the canal.

5. SITE LOCATION The uniqueness of this location for a Cathartic Center is the shape of the site and accessibility to water. The wedge-shaped peninsula allows for waterfront experience along three sides of the site. The building footprint positions itself at a focal point on the wedge to allow for waterfront experience on the north and south ends of the building. Water will provide a sense of calmness and clarity to individuals to further help one have a cathartic experience. Selecting the old salt lot is ideal in order for the building to connect itself to the wetland ribbon park.

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POROUS SKYLIGHT

ATRIUM ROOF

CURTAIN WALLS

LEVEL 2 ROOF

TRANSLUSCENT ENCLOSURE

LEVEL 2 COLUMNS

CIRCULATION

LEVEL 2

GLASS ENCLOSURE

LEVEL 1 COLUMNS

LEVEL 1

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ROOF + PARAPET

STEEL DECKING + CONCRETE

LEVEL 2 STEEL MOMENT FRAME

POLYCARBONATE ENCLOSURE

STEEL HUNG FRAME

LEVEL 2 GLASS ENCLOSURE

STEEL COLUMNS + MOMENT RESISTING STEEL PLATE EXHIBITION WOOD FLOOR STEEL DECKING + CONCRETE

LEVEL 1 STEEL MOMENT FRAME

LEVEL 1 GLASS ENCLOSURE

STEEL COLUMNS + MOMENT RESISTING STEEL PLATE DANCE STUDIO WOOD FLOOR

CONCRETE SLAB ON CRADE 63

B

A

A

B

LEVEL 01

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B

A

A

B

LEVEL 02

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MOVEMENT WALL

Partition walls designed to react to movement and follows individuals throughout the exhibit.

This encourages participants to create impulse movements to understand the bodily reaction.

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LIGHT WALL

A two sided perforated wall is designed to house light cylnders that can be pushed and pulled by indidviduals. This allows participants to create diferent configurations, while interacting with someone on the other side of the wall.

ADDITIVE + REDUCTIVE SCULPTURE

A large mound of clay is placed in the center of the exhibit, while smaller empty pedestals welcome individuals to create their own sculptures. The large mound can be sculpted as well. Once you leave the pedestal, other participants can add and reduce to your sculpture.

SOUND TABLE

LIGHT/SOUND DISC

LIGHT STRING EXHIBIT

A table filled with different sized and shaped sliders invite particpants to move them in different directions to create exciting melodies. At the same time the sliders alter a shades of light.

Disc placed on the floor are developed to react to footsteps and each one emits a different tone and color. This encourages participants to move freely throughout the exhibit creating sound together as a whole.

Light strands are hung from the ceiling vertically with a hook on the end. Individuals can place the hooks on different surfaces throughout the exhibit, which genereates different spatial layouts for participants to experience.

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ART STUDIO

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SCULPT EXHIBITION

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STUDIO/EXHIBITION WALL SECTION The faรงade system implemented for the tectonics of each pebble-like mass is a cavity wall encased by glass on the interior and translucent polycarbonate on the exterior. The space in the cavity allows for someone to enter it for construction, cleaning, and maintenance.

The cavity between each surface is structurally held together by a 3" steel tube cage system. The steel cage is attached to the primary structure system at the edge of each floor plate and to the mullion system of the glass wall interior. By attaching the steel cage to the primary structure, it allows the polycarbonate exterior to act as a skirt overhanging the glass wall encasing the studios. The skirt is now flexible to change heights and reveal the activity happening in each of the studios and hiding program that doesn't need exposure to daylight. By implementing the cavity wall system continuous light can be projected between the surfaces allowing for each mass to illuminate at night and during the day the exhibition spaces will have continuous daylight. For two of the exhibitions black out shades are designed to allow the space to be transformed into a black box condition for lighting effects.

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CURTAIN WALL SECTION The second section of the building detailed is a curtain wall condition. The curtain wall happens in between each pebble-like mass and is intended to be welcoming for individuals to enter through. This condition happens at every entry between the masses and spans the entire vertical distance of the building.

As the curtain wall ascends it lies in front of the roof parapet to express continuity of the material, and then terminates into the steel parapet cap. At each condition the second floor is pulled back from the edge of the glass creating a two-story volume when entering the building. The second floors separated from the curtain wall are social spaces for congregating outside of the interactive exhibitions.

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AUDITORIUM WALL SECTION The third wall section is cut through the auditorium/theater and the terrace above. The space of the theater is a transformable multi-purpose space where it can act as a open meeting room, recreation hall, theater, and auditorium.

The wall section is similar to the tectonics of the exhibition and studio spaces, it has an exterior surface of polycarbonate and glazed interior. The hung steel structural system begins to reveal the activity by following the slope of the seating when it is set up for a performance. When a performance is happening black out shades will be implemented to block daylight. When the seating is folded up and the space is used as a recreation hall it will have exposure to daylight and a view towards the adjacent canal. With this tectonic system light is able to be projected in the cavity space and now all six masses becoming glowing beacons of refugee along the Gowanus Canal. The roof structure for the multi-purpose space is an extra 18 inches thicker to add layers of drainage, waterproof membrane, aeration, filter fabric, root barrier, and engineered soil. These layers allow for parts of the terrace to become green roof creating a vibrant sculpture garden for individuals to experience alongside the interactive exhibits.

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NORTH VIEW

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WEST VIEW

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NORTH

A full drawn elevation shows the entry points between each pebble-like mass. It also articulates how the polycarbonate skirt swoops from ground to the second floor revealing different program spaces.The joints of the polycarbonate sheets shift in scale to excenuate the curves of each mass, making them appear to be more rounded in particular areas of the facade.

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MODEL CRAFT The two models shown were crafted while interning at Ennead Architects. The first model shown was created by digitially generating each building of the block system, then using RhinoCAM Files to begin the CNC routing process. The material used to CNC cut was a high density foam. High density foam allows for clean cuts, strength to survive travel, glues quick and easy, and can be painted with no issues. This particular model is painted a light gray, with the development being the same color gray. The purpose of this was to blend the development into the rest of the cityscape, rather than it standing out because of how much taller it is than its surrounding context. This model was taken to city planning to help convince them to allow a FAR 14 development instead of a FAR 12.

The second model shown is of a university common space.

The purpose of the model was to test different massing and facade designs during the schematic phase of the project.

This model was created from stacked chip board that was spray painted white, laser cut plexi and matte board for the building, and 3d printed context buildings. Different massing and facade models were plugged into the base to show the client different possibilities that were spoke about in previous skype meetings.

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THE THINGS AFTER THE PHYSICS JOSH BROADWAY NICO RALLO

Abstract Atmosphere is a harmonious event between two realms, which we engage with our senses, aware of time, spatial position and understanding of self. The magic and profoundness of atmosphere is in its capacity to suspend the observer within two realms simultaneously. Conjuring recorded image, memory situates the participant between the mental space of ‘then’ and the physical space of ‘now’. As an event it stimulates the philosophical notion of a beyond. It is however made manifest through the laws of physics and biology. Our investigation is a constant navigation between philosophical and scientific property, working in cohesion instead of opposition; each reconciling the other. It requires the comprehension of multiple scales simultaneously; the scale of the human body, architectural body, and body of existence. The cooperation of vision, touch, projection, embodiment, perception, time, space and existence are among the multiple realms of thought constituting the wholeness of atmosphere. Our contention is that Atmosphere is a harmonic episode between self and world, staged through the agency of sense, marking time, place, position, and comprehension of Being.

Introduction If you asked someone to define atmosphere, specifically the atmosphere of architecture, they might characterize it as a feeling. In varying degree all humans are aware of the ‘feeling’ of atmosphere.

Even if someone can’t recall a specific occurrence, they are aware of its mystery, and immediately know it when they ‘feel’ it. Language is often insufficient in the task of describing feeling and sensation, and especially atmosphere. The static-ness of words fall short in provoking the wholeness and seduction of the experience. Here are a few that seem to be within reason: evocative; potent; intimate; honest; comforting; unpretentious; authentic; imaginative. In a lot of ways atmosphere is like home cooking. If you were privileged to be raised around your grandmother, perhaps you know precisely the sensation I am talking about. The sound of the crackle and pop of things cooking on the stove. Watching the precision of each cut through raw vegetable, as blade and hand are of one coordinated appendage. The feeling of heat—a warning—when you venture too close to the oven. Aroma floods the nostrils, building anticipation for the delight you are about to experience. And then of course, taste.

The familiar flavors as the result of expertise, experience, craft, and care. Home cooking is an intimate, unique, familiar, gift from maker to beholder. The act of its creation—and consumption—embeds its image and sensual memory. Memories not easily forgotten, suspending you through time and space to the genesis of what it was that makes those sensations familiar. Perhaps your mind began to recall images of specific events as you read this. Images vague, yet curiously specific. Just as ‘good’ food possesses this mysterious 94

power to arouse the wholeness of senses and mark time and place for the recipient, ‘good’ architecture imprints itself. Its raptness vibrates through our bodies, and weaves itself to our internal fabric.

Swiss architect Peter Zumthor explains atmosphere as perception channeled through emotional sensibility, mobilized through bodily sensation.1 It is a first impression, immediate and unencumbered by the baggage of conscious judgment. ‘Good’ architecture seems to communicate, as though to whisper something about the operations of our Being and the construct of our world. Architects of Gothic churches were aware of this sublime quality. The endeavor of structural rationalism, to attenuate and slender its members, denied the building of its earthly weightiness; as though fingers stretching toward the heavens. Just as the building opposes its earthliness through the concert of proportion, scale, motion, and light from above, the human spirit does the same; departing from the crudeness of the world in ascent to divinity. It isn’t by chance that all significant religious structures of antiquity (seem to) provoke a profoundness and sense of comprehension, of self and something grander.

Atmosphere is a wholly engaged event. Bodily sensations activate in synchronicity, tuning to their context. The material architectural body imprints itself within the material human body, and the act is reciprocated. We attempt to call out the disparity between the realms of ‘how’ and ‘why’. The ‘how’ of science is preoccupied with craft and technology. The ‘why’ of philosophy investigates motive. Modern science is praised for rigor and innovation.

It however breeds a skeptical and mechanistic attitude of the world, and its inhabitants as biological computers ripe for dissection. Philosophy helps us sort out and comprehend existence and intention, seeking the understanding of harmony and relationship. Philosophy is often disregarded, treated as superfluous mental activity without productive or tangible outcome.

Philosopher Merleau-Ponty and neuroscientist Vittorio Gallese are situated within the rift of these thought structures. Their work seeks to dissolve the boundary between “why” and “how,” insisting that they are of the same objective. Merleau-Ponty condemned the intentions of modern science. Calling for a return to the traditions of classical inquiry. “But classical science clung to a feeling for the opaqueness of the world, and it expected through its constructions to get back into the world.” 2 Good architecture is nestled within the exchange of invention and insight. Part-ness and wholeness. It is in this spirit that the authors find dissatisfaction in the current prevailing notion of atmosphere, which implies a one-directional transaction between person and environment. Humans don’t simply furnish the world; we are one with it. “Constructed of the same flesh.” 3 Evolution has ensured the development of human biology and psyche to cooperate and exchange with our environs and its inhabitants. The presence of mirror mechanisms provides evidence that we are wired to involuntarily cooperate and embody. Atmosphere is constructed in the space between ‘why’ and ‘how’. We contend that Atmosphere is a harmonic episode between self and world, staged through the agency of sense, marking time, place, position, and comprehension of Being.

Science (Body + World View) There is an intentional heaviness to our position on atmosphere. It is an event of profound reflection and awareness of surroundings and self, conjuring image, stimulating memory and forming new mental markers. Its feeling, ephemeral and ethereal. The surroundings are however very tangible. Light, material, smell, sound, taste; each physical property has a sensual corollary. Atmosphere as an event stimulates the philosophical notion of a beyond. It is however manifested through the laws of physics and biology. Our investigation relies upon philosophical and scientific property, working in cohesion instead of opposition, each reconciling the other. It requires the understanding of multiple scales of comprehension simultaneously; the scale of the human body, architectural body, and body of existence.

Here, ‘body’ is analogous with ‘instrument’ or ‘apparatus’; tools through which we measure. Humans engage with things, evaluating and appraising them, based on their relationship to our physiological composition. The understanding of scale, distance, danger, pleasure (etc.) are assessed through the instrument of the human body.

It has another analog, too; a vessel. Vessels possess a multiplicity of incarnations, but for our purposes we will advocate two. First as an object which collects, protects, and molds things in its likeness. For example, a vase or bowl filled with water. The liquid is shaped by its container, re-purposed for consumption, nourishment for plants, display, etc. Human physiology behaves not dissimilarly. It accepts stimuli, shaping it, embedding it within the container of the body’s internal likeness. The second manifestation of vessel we will rely upon is that of a craft facilitating transport. The material body mobilizes the immaterial mind through its environs. If we were to collect these analogs we conceive of the human body as a mobilizing container through which we measure and appraise the world through our internal likeness. Any reference to the body from here on carries the weight of this analogy.

Vision The process of vision is multimodal. A layered system of optic nerves relaying impulse to the visual cortex of the brain, located in the occipital lobe located in the cerebral cortex. The visual cortex is a complex of six distinct areas coded V1 through V6. The understanding of a layered, cooperative, visual brain was pioneered by Swedish neurologist Salomon Henschen. His account of vision was a partnership between passive and active processes. The region V1, also known as the ‘cortical retina’, is positioned in the rear of the brain, possessing a dense bundle of fibers bridging the retina and cerebral cortex. The site actively records what is ‘seen’, and if severely damaged results in complete blindness. The processing of seeing and comprehension are actually disparate processes. Though V1 is active in its capacity to ‘see’ an object or scene, it is passive in the acquisition of information, and does little in its recognition.6 The responsibility of comprehension and interpretation are relegated to the adjacent ‘association’ cortex. Here the object or scene receives appraisal and category. The wholeness of vision is a cooperation between the passive V1 and the active association cortex.4

This relationship is still widely accepted; however, the advent of increasingly sophisticated tools suggests this may not be the case.

British neurobiologist Semir Zeki, recognized as the father of neuroaesthetics, views the duty of vision as an active mission to acquire information from the world; accepting the valuable, and discarding the nonessential. Zeki describes the mechanics of the eye as highly selective, relying upon the brain’s stores of images. New stimuli are appraised through the criterion of each person’s unique patterned visual history. The objective, Zeki posits, is the seeking of constancy. Visual stimuli are dismantled, stripped of anything extraneous, until nothing is left except essence. Constancy gauges the relationship of things situational—a scene resembling other similarly observed scenes in the past, and implicit—an incomplete image where the mind completes the composition. This argument is most likely grounded in human evolution and adaptation. In order to ensure the safety from predators and the continuity of species, the visual brain most likely sought to recognize and mitigate risk and danger through pattern.5 Millions of years in human evolution has tuned our visual mechanisms to ensure survival. Years of scanning our environs to recognize predators have produced a nimble visual complex, with selective cells coordinated and biased enough to recognize singular properties. One cell might be responsible for the exclusive processing of horizontal lines, neglecting directionality or color. An adjacent cell might instead exclusively process directionality. I imagine a jaded department store employee witnessing a coworker who needs help, then exclaiming, “that is not my job”. Selective cells are the jaded department store employees of the visual brain, pre-occupied with a single task, disinterested in doing more than necessary. However, in this instance, the segregation of specific tasks is more productive and precise than a single cell burdened with processing all visual stimuli.

The fastidiousness of selective cells most likely allowed for a quicker and clearer visual comprehension of our surroundings to assist in our survival.6

Vision, Embodiment + (Mirror Neurons) Vision is separated between two visual streams; central and peripheral. The activity of both constitute human awareness, both in spatial positioning and recognition. Central vision occupies the ventral stream, possessing a visual range of roughly 10 degrees. Its assignment is the comprehension and meaning of objects. Peripheral vision, seated in the dorsal stream, possesses an approximate 90-degree angle of eccentricity and processes the extents of space. In concert, the two constitute the ‘what’ and ‘where’ within our environment.

Kansas State University professor, Kevin Rooney contends that the dual streams share a more significant role. Central and peripheral vision coordinate with mirror mechanisms (which we will discuss shortly), establishing emotional bond and non-linguistic communication. They act as conduits through which we embody our surroundings and neighbors. Rooney dubs these phenomena extended and projected embodiment. He illustrates the event of projected embodiment with the example of flying a kite. Through the activity of central vision, an observer involuntarily participates in a similar feeling of uplift and freedom, producing internal impulses as if it were them soaring through the sky. The event of parking a car demonstrates the phenomenon of extended projection. Mental extension in to the physical presence of the automobile, aware of its mass, helps to more precisely situate within the parking space. Rooney appropriately refers to the extended object as a prosthetic.7 These links are pre-conscious and involuntary relying on both vision and motor reflex. A shared awareness and partnership between psychological physiological has gained traction in neuroscience, referencing it as embodied cognition.

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simulation, initiated by the activation of mirror neurons. This produces the internal sensation of, “as if I did it”. Gallese posits that this condition is critical for the understanding of social awareness, “As we look, the eye touches, and before we see an object, we have and the bonds we forge with the environment. Tactile sensation already touched it and judged its weight, temperature and surface texture. The eye and the hand constantly collaborate; the eye carriesthe is the first to develop in our collection of senses, and is the most hand to great distances, and the hand informs the eye at the intimate critical mechanism for our early comprehension of the animate and inanimate realms, and the connections with which we create. The act scale.” 8 -Juhani Pallasmaa of touch is critical in social interaction by communicating nonverbal intention and effect. For instance, when someone else initiates an The human sense of touch, manifest through the hands, has two action- perhaps grasping a coffee mug- internal mirror mechanisms 13 primary functions; sensory interpretation and motor activity (Gallese). excite and similar to as though we were grasping the coffee mug. In The two services are mutually inclusive. Motor activation mobilizes this phenomenon the participant is visually aware of the intention to the hand; perhaps grasping a cup of coffee; sculpting a mound of clay; grasp through the mapping of the other person’s bodily experience, caressing a loved one. It enables movement and action, resulting in initiating the internal representation of the act while also possessing the collision of hand and object. Sensation enters. Contact possesses the haptic understanding of the mug as a tactile object. This condition sensual consequence, where properties such as rough and smooth, is critical in understanding the internal and social domains. hard and soft, coarse or fine, produce distinct impression. The event of sensation is a correspondence between individual and external Philosophy/Science (Self/World) nature.9 Tactile impression communicates through somatosensory receptors directed through the central nervous system and third Merleau-Ponty and Perception cranial nerve, destined for the neocortex. Similar to the visual cortex, the neocortex is a segregated complex of regions with discretely “A human body is present when, between the see-er and the visible, appointed processing duties for somatosensory stimuli, including between touching and touched, between one eye and the other, between touch and proprioception (perception manifest as an understanding hand and hand a kind of crossover occurs, when the spark of the of bodily position in relation to stimuli).10 The seemingly self evident sensing/sensible is lit, when the fire starts to burn that will not cease understanding that the brain possesses a dedicated ‘pain center’ is until some accident would have sufficed to do...” 14 false. Pain sensations are - Maurice Merleau-Ponty distributed through disparate networks towards processing regions associated with Merleau-Ponty’s theory of perception relies on the Gestalt attention and emotion.11 understanding that isomorphism-the mapping of preserved sets and Pain seems to intensify when relations among elements-ties consciousness to specific neurological under emotional burden, and events. There are three operating dialectical orders that reveal inversely feels less so when themselves in the psychological realm: perceptual, phenomenal, attention is elsewhere. and cultural. This perceptual order refers to the dialectic of the physical world that our intentions provide the world with vitality.

Evidence of the multiplicity The phenomenal body is ordered gestures and attitudes imbued of our sensory and motor with meaning. The cultural- human- order is the creation of new systems illustrates the complexity and multimodality of our milieus through the creation of literature, music, architecture, and engagement with the world. Motor and sensory activity can be re- language. Merleau-Ponty refers to the body as the fabric into which all branded as perception and action and begin to provide a narrative objects are woven, and the instrument of comprehension. 15 Consciousness to the sequence of the body through space, directing our subjective exists outside of the body and through the senses. composition of the world.

Touch + (Mirror Mechanisms)

Within the past two and a half decades, the notion of Robert Vischer’s Einfuhlung (German for empathy, more precisely: ‘feeling into’), has experienced a renaissance in the realm of scientific inquiry.12 Its rebirth was sponsored by the work of Italian Neuroscientist Vittorio Gallese. Gallese dwells on the understanding of the body being wholly and intimately linked to cognition through physical sensation and concerted efforts of visual stimulation. His findings demonstrate the cooperation of vision, touch and action to the construction of perception. The multimodality of this condition activates internal motor and somatosensory mechanisms.

Tactile stimulation is understood as mechanical events occurring at the periphery of the body, where neurons communicate sensation to potential action. These impulses reach the neocortex which is segregated physically and functionally. These discrete processing areas are known as SI and SII and are uni-modal functionally; performing discrete processing tasks including the translation of tactile, proprioception, pain and temperature stimuli. This suggests that the brain’s motor circuits influence the interaction of the body and the external world, forming our conception of the world.

Our own motor knowledge, formed through bodily experience, is employed to interpret action through the phenomena of embodied 96

Peter Zumthor’s Atmosphere

“We perceive atmosphere through our emotional sensibilities—a form of perception that works incredibly quickly, and which humans evidently need to help us survive.” 16 - Peter Zumthor

Until now we’ve operated with an assumption of atmosphere from the lens of a beholder. The account is still valid and honest, however, lacks the understanding of tectonic assembly and craft. Peter Zumthor is regarded as the authority on atmosphere; his architecture more tectonic poem than building. In his book—unpretentiously titled, ‘Atmospheres’— Zumthor describes the ingredients present in the perception of the phenomenon.

To summarize his process: Atmosphere is movement or suspension of spirit between the earthly and ethereal, metered through the participant’s emotional sensibility.

Emotional response is gauged immediately, spontaneously, while everything unnecessary is discarded. The idea that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ adopts a deeper and more profound understanding of the participation between person to thing/environment. Beauty is gauged through all senses; therefore the conjuring of atmosphere

is completely within the participant. The body of architecture is a one-to-one analog of the human body. Not the notion of the body— but the body itself. Material compatibility is the relationship and reaction of material composition; combinations are infinite, and their employment, precise and intentional. The sound of space is the revelation of space as an instrument. Shape, surface, material, all behave to produce a unique aural quality, not unlike the combinations of keys, holes, and materials of a musical instrument. Temperature of space is resultant of material property, and the degree to which its enclosure behaves with its surroundings and human occupation.

Its effects are both physiological and perhaps psychological.17

Philosophy (Self View) Time Time is a human construct. It functions to describe change and motion relative to things that have happened or not yet happened.

It operates independent of the body. Though void of material and earthly boundary, time feels variable, speeding or retarding without our permission. In more immediate terms, perhaps working toward a deadline that seems to rapidly approach, or in the long term, watching your niece or nephew grow bigger seemingly too fast.

Inversely, if you have had the misfortune of experiencing a car crash, you may recall a certain slowing down or lengthening in anticipation of collision.

Time is perception. The quickening or slowing down we experience is proportional to the response to change, movement and temporal relations to things. Aristotle attributed time to change and movement.

“Every alteration and all that changes is in time”. Without movement or fluctuation, there is no time, and the inverse is also true. The modern conception of time is linear. Properties of modern physics define time as a duration between two points, x and y. Our perception of an impressed image in point x directly influences our perception of point y.18 The religious construct of time by the ancient Greeks, Incans, Mayans Buddhists (etc.) rely upon a cyclical— ‘wheel’—of time, organized based on season and ritual. Time rotated about itself in cycles corresponding with the solstices to organize harvest. The JudeoChristian organization is linear with an alpha and omega; beginning and end. The beginning was God’s act of creation. It anticipates an end, with the second coming of Christ for final judgment of the living and dead.19

Space

“The process by which a spatial image can be transposed into the

emotional sphere is expressed by the spatial concept. It yields information on the relation between man and his environment. It is the spiritual expression of the reality that confronts him. The world that lies before is changed it. It forces him to project graphically his own position if he wants to come to terms with it.” 20 – Sigfried Giedion

The idea of space is a construct or code, through which we navigate and skillfully negotiate. It is both parameter and infinite potentiality.

The routine understanding of a three-dimensional boundary through which we inhabit, is thin and insufficient. It is sterile and void of the weight of presence, embodiment, memory, and image. Space exists within the exterior realm, as well as the interior domains of abstraction and cognition. Norwegian architect and theorist,

Norberg-Schulz, typifies five primary incarnations of space: The pragmatic space of man’s involvement with his natural context; the perceptual space inherent in identity; the introspective realm of cognitive space, allowing man to reflect on its existence; abstract space, which affords the mental equipment to reason all things; and the cultural and social wholeness of existential space.21 Inherent in any conception of space is the activity of motion, the conjuring of image, and the relationship of the human body’s interior to the body of the exterior environment. Humans participate in a woven, holistic, embodied contract with our surroundings through the projection of our unique internal composition on to our immediate context.

Existence The understanding of existence is the most difficult to pinpoint. It is simultaneously everything and nothing, for it has no physical property or parameter by which to study its workings, like the function of time or the habitable and engaged space. It is yet preoccupied with the wholeness of being. Existence is a causal occurrence, in that it is present only in the presence of other things. It is reliant on the presence of space and time. Humans exist within space, active through the construct of time. Existence is, then, a referential composition, contingent on the continuity of material and animate beings.

Conclusion The magic and profoundness of atmosphere is in its capacity to suspend the observer within two realms simultaneously. It is a harmonious event between two realms, which we engage with our senses, aware of time, spatial position and an understanding of self.

Conjuring recorded image, memory situates the participant between the mental space of ‘then’ and the physical space of ‘now’. The divinely scaled space of gothic churches suspends the presence of its observer between earth and heaven, denying our earthly matter.

Our finely developed biology, tuned through thousands of years of evolution to participate with our environment, receives information of our context through bodily sensation. Composition of light, subtly moving through space as the sun tracts through the sky provides clues to the passage of time. Our eye’s peripheral range of view, agented through the dorsal stream, allows us to place and position ourselves within space. The wholeness of sense, vision, and memory, surpass their scientific essence and explanation. Self enters.

Science’s objective explanation of things is ill-equipped to describe our sense of Being.

Surely we exist beyond the animate material vessel of the body.

Surely there is a beyond which is indescribable; un-dissectible. A beyond where boundary does not exist and everything is connected; harmonious. Philosophy’s objective is the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct.22 Through the equipment of philosophy, we are able to comprehend our situation between the material Earth—from its engagement we understand ‘how’ we exist—and the heavens, for which we seek ‘why’ we exist. The event of atmosphere is situated between these realms. Tangible through its physical properties and meaningful because of its ephemeral quality.

It is possible atmosphere is more sophisticated than this, and it exists in a realm we aren’t meant to comprehend. One thing we are certain; it exists within the things after the physics.

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NICO RALLO 636.439.1736 nrallo11 @ ksu.edu