RAWAN ALSAFFAR A Collection of Works Master of Design Landscape Urbanism 2017 Master of Landscape Architecture 2016 Bachelor of Architecture 2013
CONTENTS Root Suburbanism A Public Intervention
The Desert City in Dialogue
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One Lab
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Elmwood Garden
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Weaving PilĂŠ
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Pad 10
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Sculpture Works
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A thesis on regional architecture Envisioning future cities
An exploration of tectonics in action A demonstration of the power of vernacular A reinvention of the courtyard typology Several works dealing with memory and seasonality
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ROOT SUBURBANISM Fall 2014 | Cape Cod, MA | Critic: Pierre Belanger | Team: Yong Uk & S.Solano
In this studio we explored the construction of “infrastructural ecologies” as living systems that operate as urban infrastructures. This is a response and a preparation for large scale changes that we are seeing today - shifting climates, resource economies, and population movements. In Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 100% of the drinking water comes from the aquifer and at the same time, 85% of Cape Cod’s residents operate their own septic systems. which they drink from. The relationships of consumption, settlement, and excretion are explored as cultural identity. Questions are raised: How do we live responsibly on groundwater water and how can the landscape become a system that supports both consumption and excretion?
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Root Suburbanism
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Management Techniques 6
View from above and below Root Suburbanism
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Master plan
We proposed the establishment of a dense layer of roots as an intervention and intermediary between the water table and the ground we live on. It would act as a interventions that contribute to a porous ground surface would allow this to happen. junctions. The frequency of management creates and maintains a thick, highly functional root mat. From the act of individual homeowners maintaining their lawns, to large scale burning and disking of wetland grasses. Thus, the root mat is our living material, and it manifests itself in a multitude of forms and scales. We see groundwater as an “urbanizer,� and waste as a driver of program. Seasonal program 8
Root Suburbanism
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THE DESERT CITY IN DIALOGUE
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Spring 2013 | Kuwait City, Kuwait & Providence, RI | Critic: Hansy Better
Kuwait is a very extreme example of the loss of diversity in planning in the face of modernism. With the sudden wealth of oil, the country quickly established a modern Kuwait sees a loss of public participation and a homogenization of local culture. Kuwaiti people are not involved in the decision making process of their country. Successful urbanism depends on multiple voices and an active social exchange. The way we plan the city and its projects should help build and empower our society. I am interested in urban diversity and constructing cities that are dynamic and diologic, In my investigation of Kuwait I wanted to look at history to gain insight into how the city functioned. What I found was that the old city had many structures and systems created out of necessity during hard times. I wanted to know if there was a way to reconcile this in contemporary Kuwait.
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My proposal is the beginning of what I hope to be life a long exploration of design that is nuanced in it’s understanding of environmental and cultural context. The project addresses three scales of the city; The neighborhood, block and the building. I used my understanding of historic systems to begin to address the problems Kuwait faces today such as climate acclimation and lack of youth participation. My proposal spaces that allow young artist, designers and makers to create within their own neighborhood.
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The Desert City In Dialogue
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THE OLD CITY
AL HOOSH The interior courtyard of each home is a small shared space for bathing cooking and the gathering of the family. AL SIKA Between houses there are small shaded streets that are made for pedestrians. They are cool even in the summer months. AL BARAHA Spaces for congregation, prayer, bartering or to sit and play games on the cool summer nights.
Al FIREEJ Each neighborhood has it’s own character because of family trades or ethnicities. This allowed them to
BEACH STRUCTURES Along the coast there were adobe structures built into the sand. Their program depended on the occupants. Their thick walls and indirect access to sunlight made them cool structures. The water allowed for colder sand and constant breeze. The adobe used in Kuwait was hand formed for a long time. The bricks were made out of local mud. Palm thatch was embedded within layers as a fabric reinforcement
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A
A B
THE TRADITIONAL COURTYARD
A
Within each house there are multiple courtyards. The main courtyard (B) of the house is private, dedicated to bedrooms and smaller living areas. This space has a Well that took fresh water directly from below the building through a series of passages, which also acted as a passive cooling system for each home. The smaller courtyard (A) was created as a more public men’s quarter. This space had a separate entrance and enjoyed the luxury of the Badgeer in each room, a wind tunnel that moves hot air out of the buildings through process.
B
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The Desert City In Dialogue
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THE MODULES
A B
A. INDIVIDUAL MODULE
B. SMALL SHARED MODULE
C. PUBLIC MODULE
These buildings have a small exhibition space, a private workspace, and a roof garden. The owner of each building has the ability to optimize each space by changing their, “Front yard�,and by shifting the operable walls within each unit, allowing for the furniture and walls to collapse.
These buildings have facilities for surrounding individual modules, including conference rooms, workshops and a large exhibition space that has operable walls, blurring the boundaries between the exterior pathways and internal
This is an open module that allows people to use the spaces spontaneously for exhibitions,open air markets or temporary stores. They can be used individually or for larger public events. Within each module there are highly operable walls that can be extended outwards to divided the space and create seats and tables.
SITE SECTION A
connected to surrounding individual modules.
C
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BUILDING SECTION VENTILATION SCREENS
REMEDIATION GARDENS
VENTILATION TOWER
SHADING PANELS
ROOF COOLING
PASSIVE COOLING
The walls of the structure have curved screens, allowing for passive ventilation while also preventing dust from entering the interior spaces. These screens also create a porosity of views that allow visitors and workers to catch glimpses of each other.
The buildings have low maintenance roof gardens that create public spaces that each building can access and use during the winter. The roof garden also acts as a natural water remediation system taking Grey water used throughout
This circulation core also acts as a
Above all the pathways of the site there are operable shading panels, that adjust themselves according to the angle of the sun. This allows for passive ventilation and moderate amounts of sunlight while also preventing dust from entering the interior spaces.
When the buildings heat up the evaporation of water from the roof garden serves to lower the temperature. Also during the winter the garden acts a membrane that reduces heat loss from the building.
Recycled water actively circulates throughout the site to irrigate plants in public spaces and to absorb heat from the surrounding buildings.
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height of the tower allows for hot air to rise and escape the buildings while also creating a view-port for workers to look out on the rest of the site.
The Desert City In Dialogue
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GRAHAM HILL
SKYLAR TIBBITS
ONE LAB Summer 2012 | Brooklyn, New York City | Future cities, Interdisciplinary | Critic: Mitchell Jaochim Project in collaboration with 30 participants of program
WALTER MEYER
VITO ACCONCI
In this Collaborative studio we explored the idea of future cities using Red Hook, Brooklyn as our site. The area has depleted in population and economic status due to its physical disconnect from the rest of New York city through the BQE highway. Its history as a port made us ask the question of what it meant for it to re-connect as a major contributor to a local and global economy. The idea was to project how a future city would function, but to break away from traditional forms from the past. We explored topics such as population increase, climate change, and depleting resources. Our vision had to be multi-functional, allowing the city to have multiple uses over time. There was an active discussion about how architecture can have a dialogue with urban and landscape design to imagine more resilient cities. AWARDS AND HONORS TED: City 2.0 Lecture Series | Berlin Smart City World Conference | Barcelona AIA Urban Design Award (Terreform), [collective recipient] London International Design Exhibition | London Permanent Exhibition, - Upon request of Mayor |Governors Island City Hall, Manhattan
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KAJA KUEL
BROOKLYN AQUAPONICS
One Lab
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One Lab
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GOVERNORS ISLAND MONUMENT
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CHANNEL + SEDIMENT CATCHMENT
BROOKLYN BATTERY TUNNEL ENTRANCE + BQE
PARTY TOWER
ATLANTIC STADIUM
CORAL COAST SOFT INFRASTRUCTURE AND GREENBELT FINGERS
One Lab
TRANSPORTATION HUB BUILDING
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ELMWOOD GARDEN Spring 2009 | Providence, Rhode Island | Architectural Design | Critic: Olga Messa Project in collaboration with ten students
Community gardens have been an integral part of the revitalization of urban neighborhoods in the United States. They serve as a place for people to gather, spend were commissioned by the Elwood neighborhood to construct a community garden and our challenge was to create a design using the most basic materials and to create something that was dynamic but also accessible to people of all ages and capabilities. Our design uses a weaving tectonic to create a system that allows for a combination and pockets of light throughout the site. As a team we had to come up with several whole neighborhood.
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Elmwood Garden
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SITE SECTIONS
LIGHT DIAGRAMS
JUNE 21, 9AM
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JUNE 21, 3PM
SEPTEMBER 21, 9AM
SEPTEMBER 21, 3PM
Elmwood Garden
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Elmwood Garden
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Elmwood Garden
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WEAVING PILÉ Winter 2012 | Manabe, Ecuador | Advanced studio | Critic: Olga Mesa Project in collaboration with students of Rhode Island School of design and UTE
The process of making a single panama hat can take as long as four months. The Pile community is the real home of the authentic Panama hat yet the history of this famous hat is misguide. Today the art of the hat is dying due to its commercialization in other neighborhoods. There are few master hat makers in the town, that are passing down their knowledge and wisdom of this art to the next generation. We wanted to uncover the truth behind the hat and reveal the process and craft that this community dedicates to creating this work of art. Our exhibition space sets itself at a crossroad into the community where visitors passing by can learn more about the art of the hat and enjoy a community gathering space. We studied bamboo and it’s processes thoroughly as a foray into vernacular material that was both equitable and beautiful. We learned to manipulate it into many forms using it as surface, structure, We envisioned this space not only as demonstration of sustainable materiality for the Pile community but also as a way to commemorate the hat and cherish it’s process. The design plays on this idea of weaving through the opposing panels of the wall allowing for space to display work while also revealing and framing views of the town. I am happy to say that our vision for the hat and our demonstration of materiality has inspired the community to build more space within the town to honor the hat and continue it’s legacy.
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Weaving Pilé
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Weaving PilĂŠ
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Weaving PilĂŠ
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Program layers
PAD10 Summer 2013 | Kuwait City, Kuwait | Principal :Naji Moujaes Team: Kholoud Salman, Ray Yadao, Hassan Zaman.
During my internship at PAD10 I worked on the renovation of a building courtyard. Previously, the area was had over time been taken over with mechanical clutter. To revive the garden idea, we decided to internalize the commercial perimeter of the building. We also redirecting the circulation into the central space. A sense of community prevails as cafes, restaurants, and other programs are added to the mix. The main planting space re-uses the old swimming pool as a deep planting bed to around the edges for seating. Facade planting scheme 40
Pad 10
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SCULPTURE WORKS 2010-2012 | Providence, RI | Critics: Chris Sancomb, Crystal Walsh
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Sculpture Works
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