Preston Welker Form-Context-Material Works from 2011 - 2014
Contents - cv Preface Form Context Material Integration
Fundamental Excavation Transparency Garden Creteur *Competitions *Supplementary
Preston Welker t e
217. 454. 2507 prestonwelker@gmail.com
Education University of Illinois at Chicago August 2013 - present University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign August 2009 - May 2013 Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies Society for Business and Management in Architecture U.S. Green Building Council
Experience Graduate Assistantship - ATU Department of Disability and Human Development University of Illinois at Chicago Design and drafting home modiications ADM Design Services - Architectural Intern Decatur, IL Construction Documents, Schematic Design and Design Development Research ( LEED , Building Code , etc..), Site Analysis Relocation/Renovation Layout Design Accumulated 800+ IDP Training Hours
Accolades University of Illinois Architecture Earl Prize Nominee Fall 2011 Earl Prize Nominee Spring 2012 Earl Prize Nominee Fall 2012
Software AutoCAD Rhino Maxwell Adobe CS6 (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) Maya 3DS Max Microsoft Revit Bentley Microstation Google Sketchup Vectorworks Cinema 4D
Other interests Music production Sports Movies/Film
Preface
In 2009, after graduating Salutatorian from a small (farm) school in central Illinois, I made the move to Champaign to study Architecture at the University of Illinois. During my time at Illinois, I developed a deep passion for design that would continue to grow. Upon graduating, I made the decision to attend the University of Illinois at Chicago to pursue my Masters Degree in Architecture. Living in Chicago and studying architecture has been a life changing opportunity. I have had the chance to interact with students and professors who have ambitions that are as crazy as mine, and I look forward to the possibility of working with similar people in the future. My love for architecture, and design in general, is the driving force behind my motivation and determination to do great things. I have many goals and aspirations that I will continue to work hard towards achieving. This portfolio is a sample of my academic work from 2011 to 2014. I would like to give a special thanks to all of my professors and mentors who have helped me achieve my success. I would also like to mention my colleagues and collaborators: Kevin Grewe, Danny Travis and Alexander Culler.
-Preston
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Form
A good design does not make a conscience effort to be beautiful; but if the inished design is not beautiful, it is not successful. - Superunion Architects, Norway My explorations of architectural form have allowed me to understand a variety of design approaches. As a student, it is my goal to understand every approach, in order to advance my understanding of the built environment, and begin to develop my own theories through architecture and design. It is not my objective to criticize any strategy, but to learn from each, understanding that a successful form can be achieved through the implementation of these strategies as tools and precedents. As the face of architecture, form communicates the character and personality of a design. Form becomes a key recognizable feature of a building, emulating an aesthetic quality through its silhouette that is either signiicant or the inverse. It is my belief that architecture is art, but should not be created through the same process as a painting, etc. A good form is achieved through a clear understanding of space, program, interaction and material.
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Context
Context is the setting in which a building exists. Through context, a building can begin to situate itself within a narrative, taking cues from speciic site conditions such as climate, landscape, and soil type, as well as the cultural aspects of the area. It is important to study and understand the site and community of any given project. A good design will always embrace its surroundings, using every aspect of the landscape as an advantage, and every clue of the local culture as an underlying motive. Context is a constant. It gives architecture a place to exist and an opportunity to become living. While some programs more directly lend themselves to contextual inluence, any architecture formed through contextual consideration becomes a piece of that context. A symbiotic relationship between the building and the site, and the building and its inhabitants becomes reality. My understanding of this relationship has encouraged me to explore a type of sustainable design that sustains not only the site, but the people who interact with that site. When a building becomes one with its context, and is environmentally responsible, it can not be a burden.
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Material
Material is the medium through which design is actualized. There are many signiicant relationships developed through materiality. The conversation between materiality and form lends itself to the discovery of new combinations and possibilities. Today, material research is a focus in architecture and design. The use of sustainable materials is encouraged and expected, placing a lot of pressure on the architectural community to encourage a healthy planet. The majority of my material explorations have taken place at the scale of the object. Whether it be through concrete, wood, wax, fabric and upholstery, or any combination, new material possibilities can be explored. These explorations allow for new discoveries. Beauty if often realized in the non-machine approach to material exploration. Human error is celebrated when a mistake leads to a new discovery. The material becomes the skin and the tissue of a body of architecture. As new materials are developed, the possibilities in architecture multiply exponentially. Our buildings grow taller and more beautiful, as the restrictions and limitations start to disappear. We can believe that in time, anything will be possible.
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Integration Form + Context + Material
Integration is the ultimate goal for a successful architecture. An integrated design will result in a creative approach that responds to its context, while addressing material and form to create a beautiful, sustainable product. More than ever with the increase of environmental awareness, sustainability has become the driving force behind architectural design. While programs like LEED and ASHRAE aim at encouraging the pursuit of a “green architecture,� it is the architects responsibility to make it a reality. As students, it is important that we begin our exploration of integrated design, using form and material strategically as an advantage. To do this, we must understand the qualities present in each of these deinitions. Within form, we must understand the desired relationship between the required program and its organization. Context also shapes the form through the climate conditions, sun patterns and landscape. The context and resulting form can be further activated through the appropriate application of material. When done correctly, the design concentration will not need to focus on the idea of sustainability. In the same way a building becomes beautiful, an integrated design that addresses form, context, and material correctly will inevitably become sustainable.
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Fundamentals Chicago Fall 2013
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The Fundamentals of Architecture
The focus of this studio, and the study of the “Fundamentals of Architecture” originated from the supposition that all architecture can be reduced to a inite catalog of primitive elements. These elements, in their simplest states, can be described as planes, corners and opening. There are five fundamental plane types: parallel, half slope, full slope, pitch/inverted-pitch, and offset. There are four fundamental corner types: corners formed by a single line, an ininite amount of lines, an implied corner and a corner resulting in a surface. There are four fundamental openings: opening intersecting a single edge, no edges, multiple edges and a perforated surface. Furthermore, these elements can be fundamentally “modiied” to create stylistic variations. Possible modifications include orientation, mass, modularity, scale and twist. As a reduced understanding of architecture, this fundamental exploration is intended to prompt a new understanding of architecture in its simplest form, allowing us to see the beauty in every plane, corner and opening. In keeping with this exploration, it can be believed that every building can be fundamentally reduced to a combination of these elements. Through combining and modifying, over 8,000 fundamental combinations (architectures) are possible.
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Planes
Corners
SINGLE EDGE
NO EDGE
MULTIPLE EDGE
PERFORATION
Openings
ModiямБers
(M)ODULE
(P)ROPORTION
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A Fundamental House
A Fundamental House is a project that focuses on the application of the fundamental elements to create a fundamentally irreducible and “ideal� house. Through a very straight-forward approach to shape and form, each program of the house is associated with a particular sectional quality. Using the catalogue of fundamental elements and combinations, each space or pair of spaces is assigned a form. These forms and combinations were then assembled in order to create the ideal house. As a result of the direct application and intersection of the chosen forms, new relationships begin to emerge. The resulting sectional qualities of the combinations create unexpected opportunities. The simplicity of each individual shape allows for a beautiful complexity to result form their merger. The goal was not to develop a fully reined, fully resolved house, but to create a house that is fundamentally ideal, formally simplistic, and spatially interesting. This exercise led to an important discovery in my academic career. I gained a new understanding for architectural composition, realizing that a building does not have to be complex to be beautiful.
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First Floor Plan
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Second Floor Plan
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Excavation Champaign-Urbana Fall 2012
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Museum of Ancient Life
The goal of this project was to bring the idea of archeological excavation to the site. The building would become a contextual element in itself. As a Museum of Ancient Life, this building would house many relics and artifacts dating back to prehistoric times. It was my goal to create an atmosphere that would allow visitors to take part in the discovery of these artifacts and relics. The overall form of the building becomes an extraction of earth to reveal its layers. Each layer of rock has its own distinct footprint, creating an overlap that allows light to bleed out of the building at night and into the building during the day. Folding panels are also employed in particular areas to allow for greater light penetration. Visitors enter through a semi-conditioned space intended to create a micro-urbanism within the site, allowing access to the gift shop, cafe, and the museum. Procession becomes very important within the museum, creating an in-depth narrative of prehistoric life. Visitors take part in the discovery of artifacts in the lower level or “Area of Excavation� that is carved out of stone to reveal, what appears to be, an active archeological dig.
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Lower Level Plan
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First Floor Plan
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Second Floor Plan
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EXTENSIVE GREEN ROOF ASSEMBLY: PLANTS/SOIL RESERVOIR LAYER MOISTURE RETENTION AERATION THERMAL INSULATION DRAINAGE ROOT BARRIER MEMBRANE ROOF DECKING
WALL ASSEMBLY: GFRC PANELS 2” AIR SPACE 2” CONT. RIGID INSULATION VAPOR BARRIER EXT. GRADE GYPSUM 6” STEEL STUD WALL W/ BATT. 5/8” GYPSUM FINISH
GFRC PREFABRICATED PANELS
METAL DECKING (CONCRETE FLOOR ASSEMBLY)
ALUMINUM FRAME WINDOW UNIT
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Transparency Champaign-Urbana Spring 2012
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Multi-use Mid-rise
The form of this mid-rise is made up of three distinct levels of information: the context/ site, the enveloped programs, and the varying levels of privacy. The importance of the site and location at the corner of Lasalle St. and Chicago Ave. in Chicago, Illinois, brings signiicance to the overall shape of the building. While remaining rectilinear was important in order to fully embrace the square site, it was also important to emphasize the street corner. To do this, the building tapers slightly toward the top and leans toward the street corner. This building is designed to include commercial space at the ground loor and residential space throughout the rest of the building. In contrast with the traditional Mies style grid mullion system, I began to drag speciic mullions to create larger or smaller windows depending on the enveloped program. The inal layer is produced through a kinetic system of lowing folds that allow the building envelope to extend past the structural grid in some areas, and exterior balconies to occur in others. The rear of the building uses a large cut-out to distance itself neighboring buildings and allow for light penetration.
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Garden Champaign-Urbana Fall 2013
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Columbarium and Funeral Chapel
The design of this funeral chapel was based on the study of phenomenology, focusing on the human response to death, and the potential of architecture to encourage and/or create consolation. Placed in the middle of an existing cemetery, the funeral chapel becomes a continuation of the cemetery, and more importantly, a continuation of the cemetery as a garden. The procession of events after ones death becomes the emphasis of this design. The ground level serves primarily as the columbarium; an intimate, sheltered space where families can visit their deceased loved ones whose urns are housed in its walls. The ground level also serves as the entrance for the hearse and family of the deceased during a funeral procession. As friends and family gather around, the casket is placed on a circular platform on the ground below a large opening in the loor above. Light penetrates the opening creating a transcendent atmosphere. Family and friends watch as the loor place lifts into place and the light disappears. They can then proceed through the building toward the chapel space where the casket awaits. This experience is as important for the family as it is for the deceased, providing consolation and relief.
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Creteur Chicago Fall 2013
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Fabric Formed Concrete
Creteur is the animation of static form through the manipulation of fabric-form casted concrete. Each Creteur is designed independently to portray a desired personality through its animal-like posture and through the use of particular fabrics to achieve a certain texture. The material contrast and fabric-textured concrete create a unique juxtaposition between implied and literal softness. Creteur is beautiful and grotesque, animate while static, projecting character throughout its environment. This prototypical study envisions these Creteur’s as furniture/ functional art, but the concept encompasses many more possibilities. The combination of grotesque and cute are prevalent in this exploration. The animallike forms paired with the soft tumors are both inviting and suspicious. The resulting “creteur’s” are a new species that allow us to imagine a world in which they might exist. While this project was imagined as part of a class project, it is our intention to continue exploring the possibilities of fabric formed concrete as it relates to industrial design, as well as its architectural signiicance.
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Competitions Chicago Spring 2014
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120 Hours 2013:
Swing Theory
The population of Norway has the second highest electrical usage per capita in the world. We propose an alternative method for the production of energy which is both leisurely and easy to participate in. We advocate a new form of sustainability which values having fun and relecting upon a simpler time in life that is not clouded by responsibility. These values take form in the shape of the swing. For a music festival, a pavilion in which is dedicated to swinging acts as an icon for meeting, as well as a destination for winding down from the busy concert scene. The swings are a way to relax, but also serve as a living diagram to demonstrate sustainable impact for the event space, Norway, and the world at large. Swingers participate in a network which power various lighting features locally, producing a dynamic and otherworldly atmosphere for visitors to witness. The pavilion is a stage comprised of two parts: the farm and the city. At the farm level, the network of swings produce energy which lights the upper level; the city. This effect produces a united network of energy production which literally powers the city above it. At its heart, Swing Theory is an awareness campaign to show that every individual, by doing their small part, can make a grand impact on the world.
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1 person swinging for 15 minutes a day
can produce
394.20
60 98
light bulbs (CFL)
can produce
394.20 which will save
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kroner in energy costs annually
and account for
2% of the total home energy use
which is enough energy to power
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televisions
washing machines
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dishwashers 99
can produce
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47,304 kilowatt hours per year
people swinging for 15 minutes a day
can produce
1,978,489,800 kilowatt hours per year The population of Norway,
5,000,000 people swinging for 15 minutes a day
swing power could account for 13% of the total world energy production. 13%
The entire world, swinging together for 15 minutes a day can produce
2,759,400,000,000 KWh 100
wood solar
3%
geothermal wind power
this is greater than wood, solar, geothermal, and wind power combined
7,277 light bulbs (CFL)
224
which will save
12,299
d
kroner in energy costs annually
and can power
2
houses
which is enough energy to power
electric ovens
175 refrigerators
which will save
304,383,046
514,407,348
light bulbs (CFL)
kroner in energy costs annually
25,476,304
and can power and account for
1.5% of Norway’s total energy use
11,459 houses annually, enough to service the town of Ski
televisions
which is enough energy to power
21,219,324 washing machines
16,809,598 dishwashers
9,387,851 electric ovens
which can power
7,327,740 refrigerators
5,347,269 dryers
135,264,705 homes & save
717,444,000,000 NOK 118,896,254,568 USD per year.
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Supplementary 2011 - present
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Central Open
Edge Open
Roof Access
Boat Mode
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