Rachel Peterson Academic Portfolio of Work 2008-2013
Rachel Peterson University of Oregon Master of Architecture Candidate University of Minnesota Bachelor of Science in Architecture 515 NW 17th Avenue Apt. 2 Portland, OR 97209 rpeterso@uoregon.edu 920.471.5415
ACADEMIC DESIGN WORK La Plaza de Soledad Adaptive Reuse Urban Pathway Mixed-Use Terraces Slabtown Plaza Hand-Drawing Explorations Social Urban Networks
LA PLAZA DE SOLEDAD REDESIGNING A PUBLIC PLAZA Spring 2011 | Oaxaca, Mexico | Prof. Lance LaVine
For a period of 8 weeks, Justin Petersen and I iteratively created program-driven holistic redesigns for an existing public square in the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. This was done through large scale physical modelling and ink on mylar hand drawing. In the investigation of redesigning the Plaza of Soledad, the idea of giving all users a genuine human experience was a critical consideration in our design. We sought to respect the tradition and culture of Oaxaca while also seeking to provide easier access through the site (especially in terms of disability accessibility), offer more shade for protection from the hot Mexican sun, and collect rainwater in large underground basins for present and future use. Top: Performance space slopes into the topography Center: Stairway with light wells for spaces below Bottom: View of two plaza spaces on the site
Images of Oaxaca, Mexico (Rachel Peterson, 2011)
INK HAND-DRAWING OF PROPOSAL
Top: Photographic view of the series of three plaza spaces Bottom: House of the librarian, with outer walls removed
Exhibition Hall
Urban Room (gathering, performance, socializing)
Ramp entry into site wraps around Urban Room
URBAN ROOM For the people of Oaxaca, a significant public space is one with sufficient area for parades, festivals, and celebrations for large groups. Therefore, it was necessary to open up the new design to include easy access to the large gathering areas (with more stairways and ramps) and provide shade for coolness and comfort during the many celebrations throughout the year. One way we accomplished this was by creating an ‘urban room’ with a pergola of engineered wood that ‘grew’ into a tree-like structure covered in a common and beautiful local vegetation: the bugambila vine.
Above: Process Models as the Urban Room evolved Below: Site Section showing Soledad as a focal point on the site, both visually and culturally
Avenida Morelos City Hall The Church of Soledad
Avenida Independencia
Urban Room
Water basin below Plaza de las Danzas
Exhibition Hall (below) Garden (above) Water basin below Plaza de la Iglesia
WHS ADAPTIVE RE-USE SUSTAINABLE DESIGN FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION Winter 2013 | Portland, OR | Prof. Amy Miller-Dowell
The concept of this project is to reuse a historic 1924 Portland high school as a mixed-use building - with apartment housing set in the old classroom spaces, and an entertainment “core” in the existing auditorium at the center of the “donut-shaped” structure. With the insertion of a large brewpub/restaurant, the architecture of the core reflects this more extreme programmatic change as floors are replaced and/or removed, and seismic upgrades are applied. In contrast to the interior changes, the exterior of WHS would have a light touch, especially on the west (main) facade. Removable features, such as a wooden boardwalk and overhangs supported by columns, would be applied to the live/work units. Existing window openings would be used to create new doorways and signage would delicately attach to the existing brick facade.
NORTH BUCKMAN NEIGHBORHOOD
Washington High School, located in southeast Portland, is significant for its historical association to the changing views of education present as Portland was growing in the early 20th century. It is currently designated as a local historic landmark, and could potentially be named to the National Register of Historic Places.
Washington High School Block
RAMP LIVE/WORK UNITS
RESIDENT MAILROOM/ LOUNGE BREWERY
KITCHEN
PUBLIC PLAZA BREWPUB
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FARMER’S MARKET SPACE
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MECHANICAL
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RESIDENT COMPACT CAR PARKING
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3
RESIDENT BIKE PARKING
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OUTDOOR PATIO
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GROUND FLOOR + SITE
SUSTAINABLE PRESERVATION: PRIVATE ROOFTOP TERRACES
SLOPED TO CENTER (RAINWATER COLLECTION)
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2 ADDITIONAL SKYLIGHT OPENING 5
SITE:
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ADDITIONAL ROOF STRUCTURE
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Covered bike parking Permeable paving on public plaza space Stormwater management: bioswales + pond Shared community garden
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BUILDING:
Additional daylighting provided via central light-filled atrium Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting and Underground Cistern Eco-Roof with solar arrray (photovoltaics) Re-use existing built-in cabinetry + some classroom walls Compact car indoor parking Electric vehicle charging stations Energy retrofits: plumbing fixtures, insulation, window repair
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EXISTING SKYLIGHT STRUCTURE
ECOROOF + 15 SOLAR ARRAY 14
OWNED LOFT UNITS
SHARED RESIDENT ROOFTOP TERRACE
ROOF PLAN
SOUTH ELEVATION: Brew Pub Entrance
NORTH ELEVATION: Live/Work Units
“EXPLODED” MODEL
ECOROOF + ACCESSIBLE ROOF TERRACE
OPERABLE WINDOWS SOLAR ARRAY
LOFT APARTMENT APARTMENT
APARTMENT
MAIN WEST ENTRY
BALCONY SEATING
APARTMENT
CORRIDORS OPEN TO ATRIUM
BALLROOM
BREWPUB
14th Ave LIVE/WORK
WEST-EAST SECTION (LOOKING NORTH)
URBAN PATHWAY MASS AND VOID SHAPE A SITE Fall 2010 | Minneapolis, MN | Profs. Dan Clark, Martha McQuade + Craig Roberts Through a process of material-changing iterations, I created a design for a bus shelter and community gathering-space on a currently empty lot in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, MN. Using a variety of materials (which included MDF, plaster, and paper) to explore ideas, I discovered a newfound respect and admiration for the beauty of heavy mass in architecture. With punches of light to accentuate and contrast its heaviness, material such as concrete creates spaces that feel not only protected, but also compelling for users.
Diagram of movement and pauses forming among the masses and vegetation
Paper process models begin shaping the gathering spaces within the site
MDF study models explore voids that are created in the empty space between masses
Above: The bus shelter and restrooms anchor the site on the end facing Cedar Avenue with a protective knee wall and roof covering (it contains only a punch opening for light) Below: This glass-encased gathering space reaches out into the community with its structural beams extending into a pergola
Process site model demonstrates a heaviness that may become too overbearing
Transformation into a less massive form with basic structural elements
MIXED-USE TERRACES DESIGN FOR DAYTON’S BLUFF COMMUNITY Fall 2011 | St. Paul, MN | Prof. Julia Robinson, PhD
For this project, my group (which included Holly Engle, Sarah Noska, and Nic Holzhauer) was asked to come up with proposals for a dense, mixed-use housing complex for a site in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood. After considering site research, discussions with the neighbors, and typological studies, we began individually designing units and buildings, and collaborating with the team on the site as a whole. After many iterations, the Dutch idea of a woonerf (‘living street’) became the driving force of our scheme, along with the low terraces that create boundaries and layers of public and private space on the site. This territorial gradient includes many elements, such as balconies/porches, steps, walkways between terraces, and vegetation buffers.
Final Site Massing Model
View from 7th and Maple St.
Community Center
Stepped-Block View from Maple Street Apartments
Senior Housing Indoor Courtyard (Apartment Atrium)
Co-Housing Childcare Center Rowhouses
University of Minnesota Architecture B.S. Studio 3
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Topography N
unique. In a fairly short distance, the elevation drops from 900ft above sea level on the edge of the Swede Hollow Ravine to only 688ft on the Mississippi River. The more level and small businesses. The areas with a steeper grade are used for industry that runs parallel to the river, such as the freeway and rail lines.
In the context of the neighborhood, the site the is located near a variety of historic residential buildings, Metro State University, and the bluffs of St. Paul. 900’ Hospital Linen 860’-884’
Mississippi
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Freeway, Rail, + Open Space
Residential + Small Businesses
Mississippi River 688’
Vertical Exaggeration : 4x
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Natural Forces and Sustainability
Physical Systems
STEPPED-BLOCK APARTMENTS (Gateway to Dayton’s Bluff Neighborhood) This building has a facade on 7th Street that is more traditional, historic, and not overwhelming to conservative neighbors. There is also a ‘tower’ at the corner, with its roof drawing influence from Swede Hollow Cafe across the street, and also nearby Metro State University. Contained within the first floor is a restaurant/pub and deli, meant to draw people from all over the neighborhood. As the apartment units step down into the woonerf, the style is more eclectic, playful, and light. It is meant to open the door to new design ideas in the neighborhood. It also incorporates sustainable ideas, such as an intensive green roof, which can be used as shared space for apartment residents.
UNIT PLANS: Stepping back apartments to allow for natural daylight
Ground Floor
SITE ELEVATION
Second Floor
Third Floor
Fourth Floor
Fifth Floor
SLABTOWN PLAZA COMMUNITY CENTER WITHIN A PLAZA PROPOSAL Fall 2012 | Portland, OR | Profs. Don Genasci + Sean Cho
Slabtown is currently an under-used industrial district in Northwest Portland that is in the process of becoming a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood supporting housing (both rented and owned), employment, public space, and community resources. According to the Conway Master Plan, an urban plaza and its encompassing mixed-use buildings are to be developed at the intersection of 21st Avenue and Pettygrove Street. A multi-purpose community center is proposed to be made available to the neighborhood, since that amenity is presently lacking in this area of the city. The design of the square’s iconic civic building utilizes its unique location between the plaza and park with the use intersecting grids, based off of the street grid and the line of the nearby Williamette River. The converging forms of the building interrupts the proposed pedestrian walkway to create a visual connection to the neighborhood, yet allow for easy access through the block. This project will serve as a design stimulus for future neighborhood development to aid in a new image of Slabtown as an appealing place to live and work in Portland.
Early Plaza Concept Sketches
Plaza Design (Above) Conway Master Plan (Outlined Below)
DUAL-GRID SYSTEM
21st Avenue
Quimby Street
Pettygrove Street
SITE SECTION (CUT FACING NORTH)
21ST AVE
MIXED USE BUILDINGS
PLAZA
GRAND STAIR
COMMUNITY CENTER
PARK + PLAY FIELD
ICONIC BUILDING ON THE PLAZA: Addressing both plaza and park
Women’s Locker Room
Reception Reception Women’s Women’s Women’s Locker Room Locker Locker Room Room
Reception Reception
Second Floor (Main)
Third Floor
Fourth Floor (+ Roof Terrace)
Administration Administration Administration Administration Childcare Area Childcare Childcare Area Area
Childcare Area Men’s Locker Room
Men’s Locker Room
Cafe
Men’sMen’s Locker Room Locker Room
Cafe
Cafe Cafe
Reservable Reservable Reservable Reservable Meeting Room Meeting Room Meeting Meeting Room Room
Rooftop Terrace/ Rooftop Terrace/Rooftop Rooftop Terrace/ Terrace/ Community Garden Community Garden Community Garden Community Garden
Administration Administration Administration Administration Aerobics Studio Aerobics Studio Aerobics Aerobics Studio Studio Lap Pool
Bleacher Seating
Bleacher Seating
Lap Pool
Lap Pool Lap Pool
Multi-Purpose Room Multi-Purpose Room Multi-Purpose Room Multi-Purpose Room
Fitness/Weight Fitness/Weight Fitness/Weight Fitness/Weight Room Room Room Room
Community SpaceExhibition Community Exhibition Space Exhibition Community Exhibition Space Community Space Small Theatre Small Theatre SmallSmall Theatre Theatre (Performance/Meeting Space) (Performance/Meeting Space) (Performance/Meeting Space) (Performance/Meeting Space)
Bleacher Bleacher Seating Seating
(OPEN TO BELOW)(OPEN TO BELOW) (OPEN TO BELOW) (OPEN TO BELOW)
Administration Administration Administration Administration Whirlpool
Whirlpool
Whirlpool Whirlpool
First Floor (Ground)
NORTH ELEVATION
PARK ELEVATION
SOUTH ELEVATION
HAND-DRAWING EXPLORATIONS VALUE DRAWING: LIGHT AND SHADOW Fall 2009 | Prof. Matt Finn The sketches exhibited here are a comparison of Christian Kerez’s Forsterstrasse Apartments in Zurich, Switzerland with Herzog & de Meuron’s expansion of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN. Using the technique of value- drawing, I realized the immense complexities light has on a variety of materials and places. The focus of these drawings is the way that light illuminates a single door on the wall. The Christian Kerez design is lit from below and from the visible horizontal windows, while the Herzog & de Meuron space has light coming from a window in front of the opening.
HYBRID-DRAWING OF RAPSON HALL STAIRWAY Spring 2010 | Prof. Benjamin Ibarra With Sarah Noska, I created a drawing using a variety of analytical techniques to uncover relationships in a stairway in Rapson Hall of the University of Minnesota. Within the space of the East Stairs, there is a fascinating air of geometric shapes becoming something new as the light changes from morning to night on Steven Holl’s carefully chosen set of materials. The interconnetedness of the various drawings represents how the space uses tree-like branches of light, material, and geometry to create a whole: one untraditional, but captivating space.
SOCIAL URBAN NETWORKS PEDESTRIAN CIRCUITS WITH PROGRAMMED SPACES Spring 2012 | Valparaiso, Chile | Prof. Dan Clark
This project, in collaboration with Brianna Bruening, has a site located in the port city of Valparaiso, Chile. Throughout the course of both an intensive site analysis and the design process, the city’s unique topography played a direct influence. Valparaiso’s flat plain area contains clearly programmed and large public spaces such as cleared civic squares, tree-covered social plazas, extensions of religious space, and meetings at street intersections. In the hills, there is an overall lack of space. Streets, alleyways, and lookouts serve as public spaces in the hills. The heaviest tourist traffic in Valparaiso is concentrated in the historic district near the port. Popular sites include museums, art galleries, and significant historic buildings. Very few tourists venture up into Valparaiso’s hills. The experience that tourists have in Valparaiso results in a limited view of the city in which their time and money is spent in a concentrated area. It was this problem that we sought to address with our proposal. A network of tourist and residential paths with small program insertions was designed as an urban-scale strategy. These thoroughfares reach from the currently limited tourist realm up into the hills by utilizing a bright color palette reflecting the city’s vibrant local street art. The color also acts as a visual beacon with the aid of small programmatic elements such as bathrooms, tourist kiosks, pocket parks, benches, and street vendor stands. Additionally, larger programmed space, such as a soccer field, are created to be a specific interactive destination for both tourists and Valparaiso’s residents.
Street Concept Strategy: Combining wedge form and overhead plane
TOPOGRAPHICAL LIMITATIONS IN VALPARAISO
STREET NETWORK IN THE CITY
EXPANDING THE TOURISTIC REALM: FOCUS AREA
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WEALTH DISPARITY & POPULATION DENSITY 6
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EXISTING TOURIST CIRCUITS & PROGRAM NEW TOURIST CIRCUITS & PROGRAM (1.26 MILES) RESIDENT CIRCUITS & PROGRAM (1.19 MILES)
INSUFFICIENT CONNECTIVITY & DILAPIDATION GREATEST AMOUNT OF INCOME LEAST AMOUNT OF INCOME
THE HIGHEST POPULATION DENSITY LIVES IN THE POOREST AREAS OF THE HILLS
SHAPING A DEFINED STREETSCAPE: SYSTEM STRATEGY
COLOR, MATERIALITY, & TEXTURE Street Brick pavers that extend from building facade to building facade will contrast with the existing asphalt streets of the city.
Organizing vegetative elements within the street context
Vegetation Trees, small plants, and flowers will be organized in planters to provide shade and reflect the existing growth of vegetation within the streets.
Filling voids between buildings as an extension of the street Structural Elements Colored ceramic panels will side new structures to compliment the city’s existing color and street art. Corrugated metal roofs will also reflect materiality found within the city. Overhead lights will call out small program integrated into the streetscape.
INSPIRATION: EXISTING PASEOS + STREET ART
STRENGTHENING EXISTING SITE CONDITIONS + EXTENDING THE STREET NETWORK
Existing, empty sites were selected for the larger programs of the marketplace and the soccer field. Since Valparaiso’s topography acts as a natural amphitheater, both sites are clearly visible from the streets below. The structural form that composes the space for each program works with the topography to reshape existing site conditions. Each structure opens up views of the surrounding landscape and creates a strong presence in the topography.
Expanding the wedge concept to shape the form of larger programmatic elements
MARKETPLACE
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SOCCER FIELD
REVITALIZED SOCCER FIELD: DESIGN COMPONENTS The revitalized soccer field provides residents with an improved environment for soccer games while it also invites tourists to travel up further into the hills. The design of the stadium opens up views of the port and creates public space.
OVERHEAD COLORED LIGHTS
LIGHT STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
TERRACED GROUND PLANES
PLATFORMS ABOVE THE SOCCER FIELD OPEN UP VIEWS OF THE CITY
A NEW ASCENSOR (FUNICULAR) IS PLACED AT THE FAR END OF THE DESIGN FOR EASY ACCESS TO HILLS’ RESIDENTS