RACHEL ELBON selected works
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Gastronomia: Sustainable Agriculture
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UVA Film Institute
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Infiltrating Territories
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The Chapel of the Resurrection
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Travel
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Rachel Elbon | rcelbon@comcast.net | 615.948.8525
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GASTRONOMIA: SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE fall 2016 | knoxville, tn fourth year collaboration with adam smith ACSA AIA cote top ten for students | winner 2017 AIA convention in orlando, florida | exhibited gold ORE undergraduate research excellence award | winner phi kappa phi undergraduate research award | winner brewer ingram fuller sustainable design award | first place AIA middle tennessee student design award | nominee
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Located between the University of Tennessee campus and downtown Knoxville, the
old Supreme Court site has been vacant since 2003. This vacancy creates an emptiness and stillness within the site, surrounded by the speed of the city of Knoxville. The design will take the vacant Supreme Court building and parking lot and set it into the momentum of the city, causing the site to constantly evolve as the people and social trends around the site change. The program is based on the premise that the design will continuously move over certain periods of time - morning to evening, month to month, annually, and over five year spans. As social and cultural trends in the world have changed over time, the need for food will remain a perpetual constant. Every resident of Knoxville - students, families, professors, and young professionals – shares the necessity for food. The design will address this need and will consist of four organisms dependent on each other to survive - a culinary research lab, experimental and farm-to-table restaurants, affordable housing, and an urban farm and future farming technologies. These four organisms will create a self-sustaining urban environment, or ecosystem, within a single block in Knoxville. This ecosystem will evolve with social and cultural trends from within the city to across the world, enabling the ecosystem to become a timeless addition to downtown Knoxville.
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residential
green wall culinary research + development labs hydroponics facilities
urban farm
below grade parking
By wrapping the building with a green wall, the design dampens noise pollution, purifies air, and provides solair, rain, and thermal protection. The waterproof living wall creates a rain-screen while also separating the building envelope and the building with a layer of air, allowing the building to breath. The green wall will also reflect, refract, and absorb acoustic energy from the city. This will rid the housing located in the tower of urban noise pollution and vibrations, providing residents with a quiet home. Plants absorb and clean pollutants from the air. The plants on the living wall [spider plants, ficus, and devils ivy] will clean the air inside of the tower by sequestering carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen into the air, improving the quality of life of the residents, employees, and visitors on the site.
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finish flooring [maple] 13mm plywood acoustical underlayment metal clips kawneer 1600 L-R thermal curtain wall system 3 layer CLT [4 1/2”] 5 layer CLT [7 1/2”] gypsum board rigid insulation 3 layer CLT [4 1/2”] 1 inch cedar slats electrical conduits hvac duct [6inx12in]
DETAIL 01 | clt wall to floor connection
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metal flashing counter flashing 1/4” air space
rigid insulation 3 layer CLT [4 1/2”] EPDM membrane gravel kawneer 1600 L-R thermal curtain wall system 5 layer CLT [7 1/2”] gypsum board
DETAIL 02 | parapet roof detail
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AGRICULTURAL PLAZA | beneath the tower Located beneath the tower holding hydroponics facilities, residential units, and culinary research labs, the plaza unites visitors while providing a space to eat, farm, and gather.
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affordable housing | modular construction this set of five apartments uses a modular construction method to create 500 sqf clt apartments for the community.
roof level | hot air expulsion the roof uses passive cooling to help naturally heat and cool the atrium space in the apartments. fans are place in the roof parapet for smoke ventilation.
culinary research lab | hydroponics the first 3 floors of the design consist of culinary research labs and hydroponic facilities.
double skin facade | floor to floor the windows have a double skin and are operable, allowing for cross ventilation through the building. the glass allows light to move through the apartment atrium, warming the building in the winter and cooling it in the summer.
restaurants | heavy timber five farm-to-table restaurants are located on the ground floor.
living wall | construction the living wall will hang off of the structure using steel construction.
clt inserts | community center
geothermal wells | supply + return
the abandoned supreme court building will be renovated and restored to hold a new community center on the site. six inserts made out of clt will permeate the perimeter of the structure - classrooms, offices, and bike facilities.
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first floor plan | 1� = 20’-0� 01 restaurants 02 plaza + eating area 03 lobby for apartments + culinary research 04 experimental testing restaurant 05 bike facilities 06 urban living room 07 lecture hall 08 classrooms 09 offices 10 urban farm
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approach | view 01 plaza | view 02
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THE APPROACH | entrance to the plaza The approach from locust street allows visitors, residents, and employees to gather before entering into the site. 16
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UVA FILM INSTITUTE spring 2015 | university of virginia second year
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As leaves change their color from green to dark orange, a new school year begins
on the UVA campus, and students slowly develop a rhythm moving in between their every class. Autumn slowly reveals itself on the campus, and with it comes the annual film festival used to educate people on film, as well as introduce new and old films to the public for their enjoyment. Located between Lambeth field and Culbreth road, the film institute consists of three large theatres capable of seating three hundred visitors, classrooms, offices, and private viewing rooms. After the annual film festival, the film institute is used a classroom space, introducing a School of Film onto the campus. This design initially began as a study into the human spine and subway systems, as well as an attempt to connect one side of the preexisting tracks to the other, and to frame views in the Institute. As life underground moves at a fast, chaotic pace, with every passenger running from each stop to the next to get to their destination as quickly as possible, the train tracks remain still and unmoving. The subway moves at a constant, arriving at its next stop on time and at a regular interval. The subway acts as a spine, holding the whole system together as life moves rapidly around it.
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VISITORS EXPERIENCE | 4 hour span Visitors enter the film institute from the west, moving into an outdoor lobby space with theatres and classrooms towering above them, vertically framing a view of the train tracks. Visitors can move into the indoor lobby to buy tickets and refreshments before entering into the theatres.
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DIRECTORS EXPERIENCE | 4 year span Directors who have gone to the film institute in the past make a return every year for the annual film festival. their perspective of the building, however, changes from the perspective of the student to the perspective of the visitor. As they graduate, the time spent in the building in class and in various films becomes a part of their memories. 23
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INFILTRATING TERRITORIES spring 2016 | knoxville, tn third year
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This design uses an underpass in Knoxville as an armature to create a series of pro-
grammatic spaces that are juxtaposed on top of each other. These moments result in an infiltration of territories by both parties, leading them to utilize spaces that are atypical to the norm, problematizing preconceived notions of who can use a space. A series of scenarios were created to investigate programmatic spaces, and to prove that program does not matter. Each scenario includes two types of programs that create tension between the users. This attempts to prove that multiple types of programs can create the same experiences.
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XX-11.01
GO KART RAMPS + HIGH PROFILE BUSINESS? THIS SCENARIO INVESTIGATES USING CURVES AS AN ARMATURE TO CREATE A GO KART PARK THROUGH THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE ABOVE THE INTERSTATE. A HIGH PROFILE BUSINESS WILL INTERSTATE. THE CURVES ARE PUT IN PLACE + USED TO CREATE THESE RAMPS BY SNAPPING RAMPS ARE CREATED, THE CURVES ARE DELETED, LEAVING ONLY THE GO KART TRACK, RAMPS,
XX-11.02 GO KARTS + HIGH PROFILE BUSINESS GO KART RAMPS ARE CREATED BY SNAPPING TO POINTS IN THE ARMATURE MOVING THROUGH THE STRUCTURE ABOVE THE INTERSTATE. THE ARMATURE IS THEN REMOVED, WHILE THE RAMPS REMAIN.
XX-11.03 SLICE THROUGH GO KART RAMPS + TRACK SLICE THROUGH THE TWO TERRITORIES, HIGHLIGHTING THE RAMPS MOVING THROUGH THE STRUCTURE.
WITH RAMPS BE LOCATED TO POINTS. + BUSINESS
THAT MOVE BELOW THE AFTER THE IN PLACE.
XX-11.04 SLICE THROUGH ARMATURE SLICE THROUGH THE TWO TERRITORIES, HIGHLIGHTING RAMPS + CURVES. THE CURVES ARE USED AS AN ARMATURE 04 TO CREATE THE GO KART RAMPS, THEN REMOVED.
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FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION + SKATE PARK? THIS SCENARIO INVESTIGATES USING PIPES AS AN ARMATURE TO CREATE A SKATE PARK BENEATH THE INTERSTATE + A BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION ABOVE THE INTERSTATE. THE PIPES BEANEATH THE INTERSTATE WOULD ACT AS A THRESHOLD INTO THIS TERRITORY + SCAFFOLDING SURROUNDING THE BUREAU, WHILE THE PIPES MOVING THROUGH THE BUREAU WOULD ACT AS AN ARMATURE FOR VARIOUS ROOMS + RAMPS THAT LEAD FBI MEMBERS + SKATERS THROUGH THE SPACE. MEMBERS OF THE FBI MUST WALK THROUGH THE SKATER’S TERRITORY TO REACH THEIR BUREAU, WHILE SKATERS AND DRIVERS ON THE INTERSTATE CAN MOVE THROUGH THE BUREAU BY MEANS OF RAMPS, ROADS, + SCAFFOLDING, LEADING THEM TO SEE DIRECTLY INTO THE BUREAU... THESE MOMENTS RESULT IN AN INFILTRATION OF TERRITORIES BY BOTH PARTIES, LEADING THEM TO UTILIZE SPACES THAT ARE ATYPICAL TO THE NORM, PROBLEMATIZING PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS OF WHO CAN USE A SPACE.
AIRPLANE HANGER + MAZE?
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EMPTY CONTAINER + CONGREGATIONAL SPACE?
PROJECTION CENTER + FIRE DEPARTMENT?
XX-08.01
FOREIGN EMBASSY + NUCLEAR POWER PLANT?
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ZERO GRAVITY RESEARCH
AVIARY + CEMETERY?
+ TRAIN STATION?
XX-04.01
VEHICLE CHARGING STATION + SEMI PIT STOP?
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XX-09.01
HYDROPONICS LAB + FEDERAL AGENCY?
XX-10.01
XX-14.01
TRAMPOLINE HOUSE + COURTYARD?
XX-15.01
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PAVILION XI spring 2015 | university of virginia second year
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Students circulate through and around the lawn, their speeds and directions chang-
ing intermittently. Located on the corner of the lawn adjacent to pavilion ix, pavilion xi stands as a timepiece, regularly changing positions at three distinct points during the day. The pavilion sits on the edge of the lawn, similar to the other ten pavilions, and stretches halfway across the preexisting rooftop of the computer annex connected to Garret Hall. Students and visitors enter the pavilion by climbing the stairs to the roof and crossing a threshold covered in Helenium flowers, comparing the entrance to the timepiece to the entrance of a new school year. Visitors then move into a gathering space through a hall of shadows, entering into the belly of a machine. Rows of bookshelves frame three doors that open and close at three different points during the day as the reading room moves along the northeast side of the building. Around nine in the morning, as sunlight begins to stream through the glass window running alongside the lawn and casts shadows into the reading room, the timepiece rests at the east most side of the building. Around noon, the door leading into the reading room shuts and locks, awaiting the change in position about to occur in the timepiece. From inside of the reading room, visitors can hear the gears to the machine wind and shift into place as it begins to move. The piece then slowly moves along the wall, stopping at a central point and it’s 12 o’clock position. At five pm the piece makes one final change in position for the day, moving to the west most side of the wall. As night falls and the campus sleeps, the machine rewinds and sets itself back into it’s nine o’clock position, resetting itself for a new day.
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SUMMER | 9am Cherry blossoms line the garden rooftop and direct visitors’ line of sight to the courtyard below and the lawn ahead. The timepiece has moved during the night and now rests above the left side of the courtyard, awaiting visitors and students. The summer air brings life to the campus, and students begin to move at a faster pace. the timepiece remains a constant.
[10] [09]
[11]
[03] SPRING
[08]
NOMENCLATURE [01] HELENIUMS [02] ICELAND POPPIES [03] CHERRY BLOSSOMS [04] ASTERS
[02] WINTER
[05] ENTRANCE AND OVERHANG
[04] SUMMER [12]
[06] HALL OF SHADOWS [07] TEA AND COFFEE STATION [08] COURTYARD AND AMPITHEATRE
[06]
[09] TIMEPIECE AT 9AM [10] TIMEPIECE AT 12PM
[05]
[11] TIMEPIECE AT 5PM [07]
[12] READING ROOM AND TIMEPIECE
[01] FALL
1/32”=1’
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INSIDE THE MACHINE | 12pm Inside the gathering space, doors are set between bookshelves and open and close throughout the day. At twelve o’clock the door on the eastern side of the building closes, preventing visitors from entering as it moves. As gears begin to wind and the machine begins to move, visitors await its new position at the center of the wall. 37
WINTER | 5pm As darkness falls over the campus and the moon and stars come alive, the interior of the pavilion begins to glow in the black and shine light on winter’s white snow. The timepiece has reached its final resting place for the night, hanging over the right corner of the courtyard, preparing to rewind and move back to its initial position to start a new day. 38
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THE CHAPEL OF THE RESURRECTION summer 2016 | helsinki, finland fourth year model on permanent display in the finnish museum of architecture
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BELL RINGER | sound as procession As the bell ringer in the chapel of the resurrection completes his daily tasks, he provides a means of moving through the chapel space during the funeral services. From the tower, he can watch as mourners enter the chapel on the west, pause inside of the chapel, and exit through the south side, bringing the coffin from the sacred space of the chapel into the natural environment to be buried. The bell tolls act as a means of moving through the chapel space. The bell ringer, while not included in the procession in a physical sense, still plays a large role in the movement through the chapel. The bell ringer watches as seasons change and the surrounding forest changes, but the bells act as a constant.
MOURNER | sound as transition Mourners approach the chapel of the resurrection, unable at first to see the entire chapel because of its dense natural surroundings. Trees line the paths leading to the chapel, and begin to blur the line between the natural and the built environment. As the ceremony ends, bells toll in the distance, leading mourners and the coffin from the interior of the space out into the forest for the burial. The bells accompany the mourners, acting as a transition between the interior of the chapel and the outside world. 42
VISITOR | weaving environments Visitors enter the interior of the chapel, and their eyes are immediately brought towards the cross hanging in the back wall directly across from them. Walking past the vestibule and into the chapel space, the walls reach far above them, skewing their ideas of proportion. as visitors walk deeper into the sanctuary, A garden and forest accompany them on their right side, creating a sense that the exterior is melting into the inside of the chapel. Bells begin to ring in the trees, but visitors are unsure of their meaning. 43
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MODEL | 1:50 scale For the first six weeks in Helsinki, our studio spent our days measuring and documenting the chapel of the resurrection. this process included hand drafting sets of plans, elevations, and sections, which were then scanned and digitally rendered by each student. After the drawings were complete, we began to work on two physical models, one at 1:200 scale and one at 1:50 scale.
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MODEL | 1:50 scale In the 1:50 model, my tasks included collaborating with students to determine how to create this model by hand, constructing the walls, creating the windows and mullions, and creating and painting the roof of the chapel. The entire model was cut and sanded by hand [no fabrication tools were used such as a CNC or laser cutter], emphasizing the importance of craft and patience while model making.
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TRAVEL vantaa, finland | avanto architects helsinki, finland | alvar aalto poissy, france | le corbusier paris, france | frank gehry
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ST LAWRENCE CHAPEL | vantaa, finland
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ALVAR AALTO STUDIO | helsinki, finland
ALVAR AALTO HOME | helsinki, finland
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VILLA SAVOYE | poissy, france
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LOUIS VUITTON FOUNDATION | paris, france
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