architecture portfolio
rachel plessing
rachel plessing rplessing.wix.com/architecture rplessing@hotmail.com (402)-670-2242
education B.S. Design, University of Nebraska - Lincoln - May 2013 with Honors and Highest Distinction | GPA 3.9/4.0 B.S. Civil Engineering, University of Nebraska - Lincoln - May 2014 with Distinction | GPA 3.9/4.0 M. Arch, University of Nebraska - Lincoln - May 2015 experience Holland Basham Architects | intern architect (2014-2015) Leo A Daly | intern architect (2012-2014) University of Nebraska - Lincoln MayaCityBuilder Project | Research Assistant (2015-present) D-think & Professional Practice | Teaching Assistant (Fall 2013, Fall 2014) Nebraska Architectural Guidebook | | Research Assistant (2009-2012) involvement Healthcare Design 2014 AIA AAH Student Design Charrette (Fall 2014) UNL Healthcare Design Studio (Fall 2013, Fall 2014) UNL Architecture London Study Aboard Program (Spring 2014) UNL Cycling Team (2010-2015) Honors Program (2008-2013) American Institute of Architecture Students (2008-2009) computer skills Drafting & Modeling | SketchUp, Rhino, Grasshopper, Revit, CAD, CityEngine Graphics | Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Lightroom, Dreamweaver Other | Microsoft Office, MATLAB, HTML, VisualBasic
contents
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Gretna Healthcare Campus a masterplanned campus promoting a healthy environment for Nebraska’s fastestgrowing community
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UNL Student Health Center a new student health center that acts as a gateway onto campus as means of increasing awareness of the program
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London Cafe a cafe collaborating with an existing green space to help visualize the city’s change over time
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Des Moines Community Center a community center addressing neighborhood needs while accommodating program for the adjacent state fairgrounds
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Lincoln Urban Seed Bank an urban seed bank with a facade specially design to regulate sunlight and view of adjacent railyard
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Quarry Visitor Center a vistior center in an abandoned quarry designed to scale the cut side of the quarry to the lake below
Gretna Hospital & Healthcare Campus 2014, University of Nebraska, Healthcare Studio Gretna, Nebraska’s fastest growing community, is looking to provide healthy lifestyles for its future residents through the construction of a new hospital. However, because health does not occur strictly within the walls of a hospital, the scope of the project was expanded to include a masterplan for a wellness-oriented campus. The masterplan’s pedestrian-friendly environments and mixed-used zoning promotes walkability as a way to combat increasing rates in obesity and obesity-related diseases. Assisted and independent living centers in close proximity to the hospital and mixed-used development address Gretna’s lack of housing options for elderly demographics and allows residents the comfort of being near to their healthcare needs. Other amenities such as groceries, pharmacy, fitness center, and retail are all located within a comfortable walking distance. The hospital’s location along the south side of a public green space opposes the typology of alien healthcare building isolated on its own site, and adds familiarity to the healthcare facility. A combination of green roofs and playful forms mitigate the boundary between community realm and healthcare program.
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6 7
1 mixed-use
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2 community green space
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3 wellness center
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4 hospital 5 assisted & independent living
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6 townhouses 7 recreational area
+3 min
+6 min
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c ic clinic clin
U
lab ab
pre/post re/pos op oop. p.
level le ve 01 0 plan p 4 8
16 24’
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inpatient
inpatient public
radiology
surgery parking
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staff
inpatient pt
lab public
surgery receiving
administration
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UNL Health Center 2013, University of Nebraska, Healthcare Studio Continual campus growth has led to the demand for a new health center better suited to meet the health and wellness needs of the students. The existing health center lacks exposure to campus pedestrain traffic and gathering spaces, resulting in decreased program awareness and usage. The new site is adjacent to the Antelope Valley Trail, one of the city’s most highly used trail systems for both commuting and recreational purposes. By integrating the health center with a trail entrance onto campus, the health center can become a prominent campus gateway, optimizing program awareness and encouraging students and faculty to use the facility during their everyday activities, instead of limiting occupation of the site to occasions when they are sick or injured.
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0
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EXISTING PEDESTRIAN AXIS
PROPOSED CONNECTION
EXI STI NG
location on site over with potential campus trail entrance 10
allowing trail to cut through building and link into campus
CIT YT RA IL SYS TEM
creation of outdoor space for gathering & socializing
the use of separate materials to highlight the passage & entrances
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lobby / reception clinic speciality clinic radiology pharmacy physical therapy cafe education
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London Cafe 2014, University of Nebraska London Study Aboard Program The City of London’s numerous, small green spaces become havens for the City’s workers to escape bustle of the urban environment during their lunch hours. This project focused on implementing small cafe structures to collaborate with several existing green spaces, enhancing them as outdoor lunch spots. The project concept revolves around London’s layered and ever-changing form. The simple, yet flexible, form of the buildings allow them to adopt various programs over time, increasing the likelihood of the building’s continual use and permanence. The main structure remains constant throughout various uses, allowing its materiality to express the wear of time. Meanwhile temporary panels define spaces within the building and contrast with the older permanent structure. While the scale of the building’s change is measured in years, an accompanying plantable take-away lunch carton design allows users to personally interact with the space and to observe the changes in their environment at the smaller scale of weeks and seasons.
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7%
go outside during their lunch break
23,940
342,000
workers in the City of London
150 City of London green spaces
160
people per City green space 15
Storage
Storage
Kitchen
Kitchen Order
ZĞĐĞƉƟŽŶ
Gallery
Dining
KĸĐĞ
^ĞĂƟŶŐ
eat-in cafe
take-away
office
gallery
potential future programs
wall plan
elevation 1 16
KĸĐĞ
ŽŶĨĞƌĞŶĐĞ ^ƚĂī ZĞĐĞƉƟŽŶ
2
3
4
5
worn stair thread
1 Wood cladding on structure is permanent, fading and discoloring with age
worn threshold
2 Metal texture of thresholds wear smooth over time, exposing previous locations of entries.
wall discoloration
3 Temporary glazing panel.
plant growth
4 Temporary wood panels show contrast between the new panels and old structure
5 Green walls grow throughout the warmer months and show change at a smaller time scale
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a Newg DĂũŽ
ƌ WĞĚ
te Str
eet
ĂŶ ĞƐƚƌŝ
ŝƌĐƵůĂ
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seating area
seating area
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seating area
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Branding for the chain of “green space cafes� includes packaging for take-away lunches. The box packaging is composed of plantable paper, allowing site users to plant their environment and observe its change over the course of multiple lunch visits. This creates a personal connection to the site and encourages repeated use of the green spaces.
1 | boxed take-away meal purchased to eat in adjacent green space
2 | users tear off box tabs and inserts in planters or green walls
3| users return to site for later meals
4| users observe progress of their plants
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Des Moines Community Center 2012, University of Nebraska, Urbanism Studio Each year the Iowa State Fair attracts 90,000+ people daily to its fairgrounds. Currently, the west edge of the grounds is vacant and unprogrammed. This project investigates uses for this land to enrich the adjacent neighborhood throughout the year, while still accommodating the large crowds during the fair. The program includes community assembly spaces, a daycare, and community garden to address the needs of the neighborhood. The inclusion of botanical gardens and large exterior assembly zones allow fair-goers to interact with the site as well.
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site
street front
main and educational sites
position along major street
pedestrian circulation form shaped by routes across site
+mixed-used + +trail system + Entrance
Iowa State Fairgrounds
Mixed- Used Development
+fairgrounds + fairgroun
Site Site
Willard Elementary School 22
+school +scho +trail +trai system
neighborhood circulation open path through building to planting area
pedestrian bridge
recreational trail over busy street
planting
community, educational, and biotanical areas
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Assembly Interior Planting Office Education BikeTrail Circulation Support
Level 01 24
Level 02
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Haymarket Seed Bank 2011, University of Nebraska, Site Studio The Haymarket Seed Bank is a place for researchers and visitors to study, collect, and grow various seeds. The site is secluded from main axes of traffic, so the design’s form strives to increase visibility of the building to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic to bring awareness to the program. A major projection extends towards O Street and engages the traffic entering Lincoln, while a secondary projection increases visibility from 8th Street and allows morning light into the main circulation space. The perforated facade addresses the need to regulate daylighting and glare from the large western exposure, while limiting views of the nearby railyard. The interior program’s need for daylighting determines the aperture sizes within the facade, while the location of the openings are positioned to reduce glare.
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8th S t
O
Initial building form
Visibility from 8th St
Visibility from O St
Access to Green Roof
St
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LABORATORY B R TTEMPORARY EXHIBITION
FAIR TRADE STORE MECHANICAL
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LABORATORY
SEED VAULT
Afternoon Af te
rn
oo
n
Evenin g
Laboratory Growing Area
Af te
rn
oo
n
Evenin g
Classroom
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Quarry Visitor Center 2011, University of Nebraska, Lyceum Competition The Lyceum Competition included designing a visitor center / artist retreat within an abandoned granite quarry. This project explores the numerous dramatic experiences of this site, from the vertigo of peering down a cliff face, to the humbling feeling of standing far below the quarry rim along the water’s edge. However, the quarry’s terrain currently makes it impossible to reach the many levels of the site; therefore, the design employs a ramping method to provide a way for all ages and abilities to explore the site on its multiple levels. As the ramp works its way downward, it becomes oriented at different angles to provide users with various focused views of the quarry’s key features.
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Granite Panels
Poured Concrete
Metal Decking
Steel Structure
Batt Insulation
Gypsum Board
Granite Panel Batt Insulation Plywood Sheathing Aluminum Curtain Wall
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Granite Panels
gallery
viewing
book store / cafe
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2 3
4
5
1 | gallery 2 | artist studio 3 | viewing area 4 | auditorium 5 | meeting room 35