PAUL GERMAINE McCOY Selected Works
“Raised to challenge and expand my paradigm, I strive for improvement and excellence in all my endeavors. I am a visionary leader dedicated to the development of architecture as a profession and a discipline. Passionate about communicating through analog and digital media, I pursue a team oriented career committed to advancing architecture to its fullest potential. Above all, the creation and unfolding of ideas drives me in my journey to become an Architect.�
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An alog In dex
The Rac ho f sky Ho u s e b y Rich a rd M e ie r
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Digita l O bje ct O n t ology
The S hang hai D re s s b y V ivie n n e We s t w o o d
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Co ntex t u al Ju xt apos it ion
Fashi o n Pav i l i o n f o r V ivie n n e We s t w o o d
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Mobile Healt h
H eal t hc are f o r S o u t h Am e rica , Af rica , a n d E u ro p e
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Vert ical De n s it y
5 t h Av e nue Tow e r, M a n h att a n , Ne w Yo rk
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Lig h t Me diat ion Th e Act ive Sk in
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Mis ce llan e ou s P hot o g ra p h y + Art
Contents
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01 ANALOG INDEX THE RACHOFSKY HOUSE BY RICHARD MEIER Studio 3, Texas A&M University Critic: Gabriel Esquivel Fall 2015 The argument presented for the transformation of the Rachofsky House by Richard Meier is conveyed through an analog diagrammatic process that created an index for the original floor plan. This process led to the formulation of a personal sense of criticality in the orchestration of solids, voids and datums. After utilizing the index to comprehend the architectural elements present, a series of operations were performed. The transformations produced articulate a natural inclination to figural simplification through shifting and weakening. Further, the operations revealed the parts to whole relationships that exist in the plan leading to a new figural orchestration. The end result is an architectural transgression of a precedent that explores its indexical qualities while preserving the essence of the original plan.
01 Analog Index
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01 Simplify
02 Shift
A series of hand drafted lines outlining the primary void, solid, figural and datum elements in the original ground plan.
A 2 bar organization is found between the 3 left voids and one right void. The hard objects were shifted upon a vertical and horizontal axis, moving away or closer to the soft figure found in the bottom right.
03 Weaken
04 Figure
The objects in the floor plan were pivoted in reference to the figure and their distance from it. In the process, the objects were not to cross the datums that index the edge condition and proportions of the original floor plan.
The end result of the series of operations is the culmination of “what was” and “what is now”. By connecting the corner conditions found in each operation, new figures are found.
01 Analog Index
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01 Analog Index
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02 DIGITAL OBJECT ONTOLOGY THE SHANGHAI DRESS BY VIVIENNE WESTWOOD Studio 3, Texas A&M University Critic: Gabriel Esquivel Fall 2015 The argument presented for the Shanghai Dress by Vivienne Westwood is a juxtaposition of ambiguity and definition. Similar to the Rachofsky House diagrams, an analysis was conducted to create a personal criticality of the existing surface logic found in Westwood’s dress. By utilizing layered diagrams derived from the fashion piece, the new architectural object surfaced. Through the triangulation of surfaces on a digital medium, a new material logic was found. The new mass preserves the essence of Westwood’s work while transgressing it into an architectural exploration.
02 Digital Object Ontology
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Layers While the juxtaposition of two different surface qualities exist, the surface logic for the whole object originates in the back of the fashion piece. Furthermore, hard layers are indexed in the figure of the back side of the dress creating a defined surface condition. The layers were used to create a new three dimensional massing of the dress; translating it from a fashion piece into an architectural object.
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Point of Origin The clear surface logic in the back then creates an interstitial moment of tension with the soft motive found the front surfaces of the dress. The ambiguity of the frontal side of the new architectural object and the sharp back conform to each other to create one mass with two points of interest. The new object articulates surfaces in its own autonomy and argues the new volume that preserves the fashion piece’s essence and indexes a new mass.
02 Digital Object Ontology
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02 Digital Object Ontology
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03 CONTEXTUAL JUXTAPOSITION FASHION PAVILION FOR VIVIENNE WESTWOOD Studio 3, Texas A&M University Critic: Gabriel Esquivel Fall 2015 In the aged context of post-modernism, the Galleria Pavilion is the culmination of two contrasting buildings that reveal the constant tension and eventual resolution of buildings in dense urban environments. This architectural exploration speculates the relationship between 2 objects with opposite articulations of volume, surface logics and edge conditions. In search for the resolution of the existing tension between both objects, the pavilion created is not only a commentary regarding built projects in cities, but a new approach to exposing arguments addressing three and two dimensional spatial representation through coloration. Furthermore, the buildings produced have distinctive means of addressing the programmatic aspect of the consumer experience. While both buildings were designed outside-in, the spatial relationships created are aligned with each building’s corresponding surface aesthetic qualities. The consistency is design found across each building and the site as a whole comments on parts to whole relationships in architecture and bridge the desire for aesthetic and need for function.
03 Contextual Juxtaposition
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01 Simplicity: Rachofsky House Object Derived from the object produced in Analog Index, Object 1 follows the figure plan from Analog Index in order to create a figural threedimensional massing. The soft surfaces rise from the ground to create small masses that re-interpret each section of the Rachofsky house for the fashion pavilion. To further convey the simple surface logic ,a soft coloration is added through planar applications on 4 sides of the object. The produced coloration respects the surface logic of the Rachofsky House and establishes a legible identity for Object 1.
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02 Complexity: Shanghai Dress Object Derived from the object produced in Digital Object Ontology, Object 2 follows the diagrams from the dress analysis in order to create the three-dimensional iteration. The dynamic surface condition that explodes from one side of the dress is interpreted to convey a complex surface logic. To further communicate the complexity found in Object 2, a fragmented pattern is created from two color families that share a shade of blue to show their correspondence to the same object. The warm and cool color families respect the frontal and rear areas of the original dress while articulating the pattern on the surface as one. The coloration applied to the occlusion object respects the original surface logic and establishes a consistent identity for Object 2.
03 Contextual Juxtaposition
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Tension + Ground Fragmentation A fragmentation occurs when the objects come in contact with the ground. The volumes introduced to the site have polar identities and create a certain tectonic tension. Object 1 comes in perfect contact with the ground and defines its corner of the site. The resolved ground condition with Object 1 is then unsettled by Object 2’s relationship with the site. Object 2’s unresolved means of contact with the ground further evoke the tectonic tension between itself and Object 1.
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03 Contextual Juxtaposition
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03 Private Level three is the most private area of the shopping center. This section of the building contains the stands with live mannequins, dressing rooms and service desk.
02 Semi - Private Level two contains the semi-private fragrance department that transitions the atrium into the more private women’s area. This level also contains dressing rooms and live mannequin stands.
01 Atrium The atrium welcomes guests with an open coffee-bar and an area for select shoes and accessories and large storage spaces. The atrium also includes the grand staircase, escalator, and integrated fire stairs that circulate costumers and select individuals to the levels above and below.
LL Exclusive The lower level hosts special events and seasonal expositions. This exclusive area of the shopping center includes two gallery spaces, dressing rooms and additional storage.
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03 Media Gallery The media gallery is the destination of the tunnel escalator. Seasonal collections are displayed to provide a glimpse at the designer’s future works.
02 Auditorium The second level contains the presentation space. The integrated auditorium’s internal figure contains the tech booth and seating for 50+ individuals.
01 Lobby The sole purpose of the ground floor is an entrance to the estranged object. The first level includes the elevator, stairs and tunnel escalator that begins the customer’s journey through the gallery and presentation spaces.
03 Contextual Juxtaposition
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Circulation + Interstitial Space The program is resolved by creating internal figures within the skin that envelops each object. Object 1 (left) becomes the center of shopping and exclusive events. Object 2 (right) becomes a media gallery and presentation space. Unique articulations of interstitial spaces are found within each building orchestrate the program. The shopping center utilizes large open spaces with a subtle gradient of privacy to guide consumers through each department. The gallery utilizes a small passage - that runs diagonally across the building - to direct individuals through a choreographed journey that displays the designer’s work. In conclusion, both objects produce buildings that function through means that remain loyal to their precedents and communicate a consistent aesthetic and programmatic vision. 26
03 Contextual Juxtaposition
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03 Contextual Juxtaposition
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04 MOBILE HEALTH HEALTHCARE FOR SOUTH AMERICA, AFRICA & EUROPE BUILD, Texas A&M University Collaboration with Hillary Brown & Shellie Hudspeth Fall 2015 The premise of this project is to construct a habitable envelope within a conventional shipping container. The interior spaces address the diverse destinations of the clinics and each of their potential uses with a flexible program. By providing a flexible workspace, the mobile clinic adapts to its context immediately upon arrival. The internal void of the container is customizable to each location’s needs and allows the clinic to be utilized to its full potential. The Texas Aggie Medical Clinic (TAMC) was developed through an interdisciplinary process amongst students at Texas A&M University to honor the 12 fallen Aggies that passed away in the Bonfire accident of 1999. Currently in the second phase of the project, 8/12 clinics have been completed. . The secondary objective of the the medical clinics is to be completely student-built. By creating simplified diagrams that conveyed construction details, any student with or without construction experience was able to contribute to the “building” process of the mobile clinics under the leadership of experienced architecture, engineering and construction science majors. Upon completion, the clinics will travel to four different countries: Kenya, Haiti, Greece and Honduras. At each destination, groups of doctors, nurses, and/or volunteers will receive the clinics and operate them from day to day. Altogether, the clinics are projected to help over one hundred thousand people each year.
04 Mobile Health
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01 Greece
02 Beaudachita, Haiti
RECIPIENT My Little Patient POPULOUS 300,000+
RECIPIENT John Wesley United Methodist Church POPULOUS 50,000+
As a response to the influx of refugees and immigrants from the Middle East, the TAMC would provide an alternative source of healthcare to the underprivileged and undocumented population that the Greek government struggles to support..
The TAMC extends medical care from a local hospital to a rural community which cannot easily access the main source due to geographical and climate conditions.
03 Dolores, Honduras
04 Near Maua, Kenya
RECIPIENT Heaven’s Reach Ministries POPULOUS 3,700+
RECIPIENT Christ United Methodist Church POPULOUS 100,000+
As a response to the underdevelopment of healthcare facilities in the area, the TAMC will be an alternative source of healthcare to the existing facilities, providing the population within and around Dolores with essential care and treatment.
In order to help a village located 200 miles north of Nairobi and 50 miles east on Mount Kenya, the TAMC bridges a geographical barrier 30 miles from Maua and provides a new source of healthcare.
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Undefined Spaces A persistent problem in the program of the TAMC is creating a flexible yet defined separation of spaces. A certain dichotomy exists in the process of defining spaces and allowing them to change as need be. A curtain system was designed in order to allow the already constrained spaces to expand or contract to provide a diverse and tangible work environment for a wide range of users, procedures, and situations.
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Examination
Treatment
Laboratory 2’ - 6”
7’- 2”
Triage
Hallway
11’
6’- 4 1/2”
or Wall
2”x4” Framing 11” O.C. with 1/2” GYP on interior side
2”x2” Pocket Door with 1/2” GYP on left
2’
Base Cabinet Sink
Exam Table
Top Shelf with Metal Brackets
Examination
Triage
Base Cabinet Sink
Exam Table
Treatment
Laboratory
2’- 6”
7’- 2”
12’- 7 1/2”
9’
2’ - 6”
1’
Hallway
MOST PRIVATE
1’- 6”
MOST PUBLIC
1’
11’
6’- 4 1/2”
2’- 9”
Wall
2”x4” Framing 11” O.C. with 1/2” GYP on interior side
4 1/2”
12’- 7 1/2”
9’
2”x2” Pocket Door with 1/2” GYP on left
Back Wall
2’- 6”
2’
01
MOST PRIVATE
T
7’- 2”
6’ - 3 1/2”
4 1/2”
2’- 9”
7’- 2”
1’- 6”
MOST PUBLIC
1’
ck Wall Triage
WALL DETAIL
Examination
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02 Entry Door Wall Treatment
01 Pocket Door Wall Laboratory
Top Shelf with Metal Brackets
Top Shelf with Metal Brackets
Exam Table
Exam Table
Base Cabinet Sink
Base Cab
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2’- 6”
6’ - 3 1/2”
2’
01
Examination Examination
1’
02 Entry Door02 Wall Entry Door Wall
6’1’ 4 1/2”
11’
6’- 4 1/2”
Hallway
11’
03 Cabinet Back Wall
2”x4” Framing 11” O.C. with 1/2” GYP on interior side
2”x4” Framing 11” O.C. with 1/2” GYP on interior side
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04 Mobile Health
2’
01 Wall Pocket Door Wall 01 Pocket Door
4 1/2”
Treatment
Laboratory
2’
ALL DETAIL
Examination
2’- 9”
Hallway Triage
MOST PUBLIC
1’- 6”
Triage
7’- 2”
7’- 2”
7’- 2”
7’- 2”
Triage
L
Interior Skin
Frame Structure
Metal Envelope
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04 Mobile Health
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Tolerance The project depends on fundraising and donations by nature. The finished product is the culmination of numerous discussions, controlled modifications and bold decisions. Throughout the construction process, a tolerance was developed to between pre-fabricated and on-site fabricated components. This meticulous management allowed for a quality product.
Service The four clinics ship from Galveston thanks to our strong partnerships in Houston. The finished clinics will serve their destinations as a clean refuge for healthcare. People from underdeveloped areas around the globe will be able to receive the most basic levels of healthcare.
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04 Mobile Health
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05 VERTICAL DENSITY 5TH AVENUE TOWER, MANHATTAN, NEW YORK Studio 2, Texas A&M University Critic: Alireza Borhani Summer 2015 In the urban jungle of Manhattan, New York, an exploration began to create a new kind of tower at the intersection of analog and digital media. With the aid of computers and meticulous fabrication, a new structure joins the New York Skyline. The 5th Avenue Tower challenges the normative rectangle that erects from the ground. In search for a unique structure, angular design and its relationship to the sky and physics were explored. Urging skyscraper design forward, the 5th Avenue Tower proposes more green terraces, an appreciation for minimalist geometry, and an efficient construction process. Altogether, these elements evoke a new affect in the future urban landscape.
05 Vertical Density
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01 Join
02 Pour
03 Cure
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Physics + Fabrication
Rotational Modularity
By utilizing concrete as a medium of fabrication, a rigid yet heavy structure was created. This material allowed for a simple exploration of how gravity would act upon the tower. Using a 1/8� acrylic sheet for the form-work and securing the joined pieces with adhesive, individual units were created allowing for a repeated fabrication process. Once cured, the units were connected by urging metal pins that drilled into matching corners that allow the tower to be erected from the ground, one unit at a time.
In oder to obtain green terraces, certain overhangs were designed to continue elevating each module and clear strategic spaces below. In order to hypothetically build the tower, the idea that perhaps rotating each module 90 degrees and matching it with the next corresponding corner was used. This method allowed the creation of a neutral axis of forces through the center of the tower.
Dynamic Perception The tower stands in the urban jungle as one that preserves the idea of the rectangle upon the skyline, while mocking the commonality in certain angles, causing certain breaks in the facade through the overhangs and angular surfaces. The new tower is one of the many examples of the shapes that the skyscrapers of the future will take.
05 Vertical Density
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06 LIGHT MEDIATION THE ACTIVE SKIN Studio 1, Texas A&M University Critic: Negar Kalantar Summer 2015 This fabrication was an experiment by which screens were placed on south facing windows that served as translators of the unseen into the visible. The design provides an enhanced level of control over light and site. As mediators between the outside and the inside, the permeable screens allow people to perceive the outside world as revealed through gentle changes in the light quality of the external environment. In this sense, the design acts as representative and not a barrier between exterior and interior spaces. Wood was used as a medium of fabrication. In order to explore the potentials of the facade, the material was cut into modular units that worked together, though a fixed shape, to redefine the affect exterior conditions provide for the interior environment.
06 Light Mediation
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01 Module A proportional and flexible system was designed with identical modules that allowed repetition to occur over a large surface. Each module is composed of three units that become joined at the corners. The units are cut in proportion to the module and the wood frame given. The proportions, strategic connection points and repetition of the small components prepare the modules for effortless assemblage.
02 Crease + Mold In order to activate the surface with an enhanced notion of light, creases were made in each unit. However, a persisting problem was the natural tendency of wood to crack under compression. A method derived from concrete pouring made way for a controlled flex joint. By cutting a shallow X across the surface that connects the circular perforations, the surface was able to transform without compromising the units’ materiality and durability. Moreover, the module was submerged in water for seven hours and then steamed into four molds that would manipulate the wood into its new form after drying for twelve hours.
03 New Form After the units dry into their new form, the module can be created and repeated to ensemble the system.
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06 Light Mediation
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07 MISCELLANEOUS PHOTOGRAPHY + ART A select collection of artwork conjoined to previous studio projects and photography from recent travels around the continent. “Madera” - Zacatecas, Mexico “Churrigueresco” - Zacatecas, Mexico “Sky + Figure” - New York, USA “Shades” - Vertical Density “Hot + Cold” - Light Mediation
07 Miscellaneous
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07 Miscellaneous
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07 Miscellaneous
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PAUL GERMAINE McCOY paulmccoy.net paul.germaine@tamu.edu 956 588 7146