RACHEL NICOLE LEFEVRE PORTFOLIO
RACHEL LEFEVRE 2565 norwood rd. bloomfield hills, mi 48302 1.248.872.4319 rachel.n.lefevre@wustl.edu rachel-lefevre.squarespace.com EDUCATION: Andover High School | Bloomfield Hills, Mi | Graduated in 2013 | gpa: 3.97
Washington University in St. Louis | BS in Architecture candidate | gpa: 3.86
PROFICIENCY: Computer modeling: rhinoceros 3d, grasshopper, t-splines Adobe: in-design, illustrator, photoshop, bridge Rendering: maxwell Environmental analysis: DIVA, Autodesk Flow and CFD.
SKILLS: Leadership: former managing editor of andover shield newspaper: delegator and enforcer of deadlines. Model building: quick and efficient in producing quality and well crafted models by hand and in the computer. Experience creating models using laser cutters and 3D printers. Experience using most tools in the woodshop: saws, mills, routers, drill presses, belt sanders, planers etc.
WORK EXPERIENCE: Teaching Assistant at Washington University in St. Louis - 2015 - Present TA for Arch 112: required studio for second semester Freshmen Worked teaching Rhino, computer drawing, model building skills
ACHIEVEMENTS: Deans list: 2013-2015 (5 semesters/5 semesters) Published in “Approach� Fall 2014 and Fall 2015 - school publication for best work in each core designstudio Parametric model work exhibited in graduate exhibition of computer design
ORGANIZATIONS: Alpha Rho Chi | professional fraternity for architecture and the allied arts | brother and Fundraising Commitee Head | 2015-2016 Alpha Phi Omega national service fraternity | engaged in service, brotherhood, and leadership activities | 2013-2014 City Faces | helped design community garden at Clinton Peabody public housing
Elisa Kim Professor elisakim@wustl.
Jaymon Diaz Professor 1.314.935.3642
REFERENCES:
ABOUT RACHEL LEFEVRE was born in Bloomfield Hills, MI and is a 3rd year Junior level student at Washington University in St. Louis pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Architecture. During her time as an undergraduate, Rachel has had projects featured in exhibitions and publications. Her other interests include philosophy and the intersection between philosophical inquiry and design. Of particular interest is the question of how design can influence human decision making and support sustainable behaviors both on the macro and the micro scale. In addition to academics, Rachel has been involved in City Faces--an organization which works with the children of Clinton Peabody Public Housing-- as a member of the community garden and Alpha Rho Chi--a professional fraternity for architecture and the allied arts--serving as the head of the fundraising committee. In her free time, Rachel can be found in search of the best coffee around, perusing book stores, and reading existential literature.
SELECTED WORK
1| static turbulence
2| gray area
3| prairie paradigm shift
4| refract
5| compress
STATIC TURBULENCE CHAIN ROCKS BRIDGE, GRANITE CITY, IL INSTRUCTOR: ANNA IVES
CONCEPT: TURBULENCE EXPLORING HOW OBSTACLES AFFECT KINETIC ENERGY Turbulence is the chaotic movement of a fluid after it encounters an obstacle. Within nature, this results in rapids, eddys and vortexes. In fluid streams, obstacles can be introduced into the system as sources of entropy. This material study focused on intervening in a stream of water in order to induce this entropy and study how this intervention could be applied outside of a stream of water, seeking to understand the results in terms of time and discrete movements which can be extended to other architectural and social conditions.
N: PARTICIPATORY
VITY
E UP
WER
AKFAST
RNING TESTING
ERWORK
CH
EARCH
TINGS
ERNOON TESTING
A ANALYSIS winter summer
NER
URE TIME
OLL
HT TESTING
A RECORDING
spring and fall
PEDESTRIAN: exposed BUNKERED VERSUS EXPOSED CONDITION
PROGRAM AND CONTEXT: SCIENTIST’S DWELLING bunkered
EXPLORING THE POETICS OF RESTING AMIDST CHAOS WIND:
LAMINAR VERSUS TURBULENT FLOW
december march june
The dwelling’s program is for a scientist observing a natural phenomenon, here the flow of pollution in and out of St. Louis RENDERED AXONOMETRIC proper via thermal currents and wind. The building 1/8“ = 1’ - 0” poetically situates itself on the center of the bridge and acts as an obstacle in the normal flow of pedestrians, the air itself, and the scientist -- forcing each party to react to the building and its program in a ‘turbulent’ manner. The scientist observes wind both scientifically and experientially, the interior programing containing many obstacles, the most significant being the large air vents used to capture air samples and bring them into the building. Pedestrians experience and observe air flow through participating in programmatic diversion and also having the opportunity to feel wind on the exposed side of the building and be shielded from the wind on the bunkered side. On each side, tall prairie grass enhances the experience, registering the speed, direction, and sound of the wind. september
PROGRAM AND CONCEPT: TYPOLOGIES INTRODUCING TYPE TO ENHANCE OBSERVATION Pedestrians are diverted off the bridge into two different typological experiences: bunkered and exposed. Both typologies change the pedestrian’s registration of wind on the site, denying and allowing the experience. On each side, tall prairie grass enhances the experience, registering the speed, direction, and sound of the wind.
SECTION
BRIDGE LEVEL PEDESTRIAN LEVEL
CIRCULATION LEVEL NODE LEVEL
RECORD WATER LEVEL
UNROLLED SECTION BATHROOM
BEDROOM
LIVING ROOM
KITCHEN
BRIDGE LEVEL ELEV: + 120’
PEDESTRIAN LEVEL ELEV: + 118’
PRESSURIZATION
CIRCULATION LEVEL ELEV: + 100’
NODE LEVEL ELEV: + 97’
NODE LEVEL ELEV: + 97.5
RECORD WATER LEVEL
TYPOLOGY DRAWINGS | EXPOSED | BUNKERED
TYPOLOGY DRAWINGS
CONCRETE SLAB PEDESTRIAN PATH
SHORT PRAIRIE GRASS TO REGISTER WIND
STEEL BOX BEAMS RUNNING THROUGH BRIDGE
SKYLIGHT
CORE TEN LINED PLANTER BOX
CONCRETE SLAB
BRIDGE LEVEL
CORE TEN SPANDREL PRAIRIE GRASS PLANTER
SOIL
CONCRETE SLAB
PROGRAM AND CONCEPT: DIVERSION UTILIZING INCONVENIENCE TO FOCUS EXPERIENCE Within the plan the pylon of the bridge acts as a main obstacle disturbing circulation for the Scientist. Depressing each of the spaces within the building also creates obstructions to a dweller’s path within the space while simultaneously creating a division between indoor and outdoor spaces. Outdoor porches between each space allow for air intake into the system for sampling as well as for seasonal variation in circulation depending on the desire for outdoor exposure.
RENDERED ROOF PLAN
FIRST FLOOR
FOYER
ELEV: 100’ - 0”
DECEMBER
KITCHEN
ELEV: 97‘ - 0”
LIVING ROOM ELEV: 97‘ - 0”
BEDROOM ELEV: 97‘ - 0”
DECEMBER
MARCH
SEPTEMBER
JUNE
FLOOR PLAN 1/4” = 1’ - 0” ELEV: 100’ - 0” AND 97’ - 0”
SECOND FLOOR LAB SPACE ELEV: 95‘ - 0”
MARCH
FLOOR PLAN 1/8” = 1’ - 0” ELEV: 95’ - 0”
BUNKERED PEDESTRIAN ZONE AND PRIVATE ENTRANCE
EMBEDDED STRUCTURE
EXPOSED PEDESTRIAN ZONE ROOF PLAN 1/4” = 1’ - 0”
SEPTEMBER
JUNE
PHOTOGRAPHS
RENDERING
GRAY AREA URBAN CHAPEL DEMUN, MO INSTRUCTOR: CHARLES BROWN
CONCEPT: SHADOW GRADIENTS
UNDERSTANDING HOW LAYERING AFFECTS EXPERIENCE Using modules which notch into each other, a systematic field of gradients was created. As styrene modules aggregated, different variations of shading were produced, drastically affecting the experience of the ‘space’ within. While in plan and elevation the aggregation seems chaotic, in section the form takes on an extremely regular character--showing exactly how layering of the modules allows for the entrance of light.
SITE PLAN
DENSITY MEASUREMENT SYSTEM
PROGRAM AND CONTEXT: URBAN CHAPEL
EXPLORING SHADOW GRADIENTS IN AN ON-SITE CONTEXT The site, a pre-existing park in Clayton, MO, creates its own gradation of shadows by virtue of the middle-aged trees present. Each tree contributes some degree of shading which becomes compounded when the trees clump and aggregate themselves. Through mapping these shaded conditions, a path through the site was developed to lead those on their way to the urban chapel through their own symbolic pilgrimage, through the darkness into the light.
PLAN AND SECTIONS
PHOTOGRAPHS
PROGRAM AND CONCEPT: LIGHT
SYSTEMATIC LAYERING, GRADIENTS, AND EXPERIENCE The chapel itself is comprised of six modules from the initial spatial study. In the chapel the modules develop a thickness and situate themselves in the land so as to bring organic elements into the building: the vertical elements become layered glass acting as light channels and the horizontal components allow for indoor growth of grass and organic material. This speaks to the idea that the chapel is a continuation of the pilgrimage like experience through the site itself. Once inside the chapel, dwellers travel from the entrance--designed only to be accessed one person at a time-- to the main chapel space allowing for both individual and collective reflection.
PRAIRIE PARADIGM SHIFT VERTICAL GREENHOUSE SOULARD, MO INSTRUCTOR: JAYMON DIAZ
elevation 3:4
12 months
4 months
GROWTH: deflection: lid creates partial shade for optimal growth
fresnel lens smoke
DROUGHT: attraction: lid brings in sunlight to dry plant out
BURNING: focus: lid focuses light rays through fresnel lens to create controlled burn
lat: 38.62 lon: -90.19 date: 1/2/1 time: 12:0 azim.: 159.01 elev.: 31.66-
8 months
al
foc
.5
h:1
gt
len
in
30 degrees
27 99 15 00 1 --
spike rush | eleocharis acicularis rachel lefevre | arch 212 sp 2015
plan 3:4
seed closed and opened
epidermal cells parenchymous tissue [aerenchyma] seed
lacunae for flotation
blade [leaf ] cross section
blade exterior
layers of vernation
stem [vernation]
horizontal cross section
rhizome:subterrainean root that allows plant to spread
3 cm
fibrous roots: secondary roots nativity missouri counties
elevation 3:4
MATERIAL STUDY: ELIOCHARIS ACICULARIS
ECOLOGICAL PLANT ANALYSIS AND TERRARIUM DESIGN
convex lens
focal point: rays con verge and create heat
principal rays
focal length
Terrarium | Plans, Elevations, Diagrams
The material study began with researching a specific plant native to South East Missouri: Spike Rush or Eliocharis Acicularis. This research centered around spike rush’s relation to other native prairie grasses, all of which require cyclical burning. Thus, the terrarium construction centered around the idea of cyclical burning and a dynamic platform was developed with removable lids to simulate the growing, drying, and burning cycle. This concept was carried through to the actual greenhouse design.
PROGRAM AND CONTEXT: SOULARD
URBAN TENSIONS AND ACCESS TO GREENSPACE
The site for the vertical green house is Soulard, Missouri--a community characterized by a sharp racial and economic divide caused largely by the construction of Highway 55 through the neighborhood. While the highway systematically deprives the North part of the neighborhood of prosperity, it also provides a unique opportunity for the introduction of equal access green-space. Thus, the greenhouse design focuses on a way to re-appropriate all of the banks along the highway to make them ecologically and socially functional: planting prairie grass.
Site Plan | 1/ 128� = 1’
Promenade EntrancePromen
nade Entrance
N
Prairie Planter
Outdoor Walkway
Office
Plan | First Floor 1/4” = 1’.
Indoor space with operable glass enclosure
Restroom
PROGRAM AND CONCEPT: EXTENT
INVERTING HORIZONTAL EXTENSIVENESS The use of prairie grass is central to the overall program of the building, which serves as a community education center for native prairies. Since prairie grass has such deep root systems, usually 14 feet, its extensiveness is both horizontal and vertical. This verticality is accentuated as the prairie grass runs all along the sides of the building, following the circulation every step of the way.
Planter
Interio
or Space
N
Plan | Second Floor
Elevator
Office
Elevator Service Room
N
Plan | Basement Floor
PHOTOGRAPHS
REFRACT KITE PROJECT ART HILL, ST. LOUIS, MO INSTRUCTOR: ELISA KIM
[ final model with mylar and material study ]
[ final model acrylic pieces]
[ rachel lefevre ]
[ rachel lefevre ]
[ folded mylar plan and perspective ]
[A]
[ exploded rod ]
[B]
[ light diffraction study ]
[ light source ]
[ lig ht
[ exploded joint ]
]
[ lig ht
]
[ diffraction grating sheet ]
[ figure 1.1 ]
[ figure 1.2 ]
[ figure 1.3 ]
[ ground ]
[ figure 1.1 ]
[ turtle study ]
[ low pressure ]
[ rachel lefevre ]
[ habitation map]
[ diagramed water flow ]
[ high pressure ]
[ weight ] [ force diagram ]
[ drag ]
[ thrust ]
[ figure 1.2 ] [ buoyant force ]
[ turtle flipper study with diagramed water flow ]
[ plans, sections, perspective views ]
buoy·an·cy / ˈboi-ənsē,ˈbooyənsē / noun: the ability or tendency to float in water or air or some other fluid.
CONCEPT/PRECEDENT: TURTLE EXPLORING BUOYANCY AND HYDRODYNAMICS
[ figure 1.3 ]
The aim of this project was to create a flying machine based on a series of precedents, one natural and one mechanical. A turtle was selected for the natural precedent because of its genetic characteristics which allow it to float and glide through water, similar to how a flying disc operates in the air. A simple joint was selected as the mechanical precedent. The geometric qualities of the turtle’s shell were married to the naturally rigid yet free moving qualities of the joint, ultimately creating a flying machine which moves dynamically through the air and explores the poetics of how systems constrain free motion.
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[ mid-flight plan views ] [c] [a] [c]
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[ mid-flight elevation views ]
EXPERIENCE: FLIGHT PATH COMPRESSION, EXPANSION, AND ROTATION
The flight path of the machine is a product the compression and expansion the machine does in addition to the rotation created by throwing the flying machine.
[b] [b]
[b] [c]
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[ flight path drawing ] [ rachel lefevre ]
COMPRESS PARAMETRIC DESIGN INSTRUCTOR: LAVENDER TESSMER
overlayed precedent images creatiing volume
cancellous bone: utilizing sectional views to model three dimensional volumes
abstracted and overlayed planes from the image with line tracing
lines can be transferred and points can be selected for bridging between planes
CONCEPT: COMPRESSION AND EXPANSION COMPRESSING 2D LAYERS TO CREATE 3D SPACE The process of creating a three dimensional model began by abstracting a 2D X-Ray of cancellous bone into three dimensional space by layering. Then, a model was constructed using t-splines and was subsequently 3D printed. The same construction techniques, mainly bridging between planes of space, was then applied to the parametric design strategy.
a: a single line divid into five points
b: points on the line moved serially
c: line of points get and moved serially
a
d: lines of the same drawn vertically fro
b
e: lines get subdivid ly and voronoi com creates linework fro ized points
e
f: voronoi compone to every layer of line
g: verticies of prece start points. compo vertice on next plan draws bridging line
c f
g
d
APPROACH: GRASSHOPPER
ORGANIZING SPATIAL GEOMETRY
The parametric model is based off of a simple grid arrayed diagonally through space to replicate a slice of cancellous bone. Subsequently, voronoi was used to create planes which were then systematically bridged using a weave.
VAR. 2 VAR. 1
VAR. 3
VAR. 4
VAR. 5
VAR. 6
TECHNICAL DRAWING HAND DRAFTED WALL SECTION
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY / MAPPING PUBLIC LAB RIVER RAT PACK COLLABORATIVE BALLOON IMAGING INSTRUCTOR: DEREK HOEFERLIN