Raymond Bourraine Undergraduate Architectural Portfolio
Contents
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Introduction *Architecture
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SOA Extension
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2G Competition: Venice Lagoon
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Virginia Key Beach Competition: Eco-echo
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Evolo Skyscraper Competition: Naghol towers
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Asplund Library Competition: “The Space Between”
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Miami Beach: Artist Housing Project
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Coral Gables Cinematheque *Installations
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Pixel Chairs
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Women’s Plaza
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Hyper Connector
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Threshold: Body in Motion *Miscellaneous Studies
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Form, Space, and Structure
Introduction Entering Florida International University in 2003 with a background in drafting, I had no idea of the artistic depth in architecture; and little did I know how demanding of a field it was. I have met the challenges presented to me and have become a better artist. This portfolio is a selection of studio assignments and personal projects. These projects are a few of the many I have completed in my undergraduate studies. Most of them completed between Fall of 2003 and Spring 2008. With the first projects being the most recent, there is an evident and drastic change in design strategy within the past year. I went from a more traditional way of understanding space to a more dynamic idea of what space can be when manipulating materials. I now see a greater importance in the process of creation than settling with four walls. With much trial and error, there is a change in direction and motive in my work. With my most significant pieces of work being the most recent, this portfolio is a time line of change from the most naive to a more mature state. There is always room for improvement but the adventure lies in the road it takes to get there.
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AR CHI TEC TURE
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Collaborators: Jimmy Sinis Professor: Eric Goldemberg
SOA Extension Florida International University Design 8, Spring 2007 *BEA Student Gallery Pick* The design process was derived from the natural flow and mobility of water, the motion of liquid and how it deflects around its surrounding environment. We as designers, manipulated and evolved the components of the liquid form, and further developed our project to create an extension for the Florida International University Paul C. Cejas School of Architecture. After site and circulation studies, along with software manipulations, we were able to design an extension that not only accommodates the required program, but also invokes an environment that will benefit the student and faculty experience throughout the school year.
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Collaborators:
Olivier Montfort Mauricio Gonzalez Jimmy Sinis NC-Office
2G Competition: Venice Lagoon Marsh Recreation: Urban Extension and Lagoon Restoration Murano, Italy Fall 2007 The primary focus of the proposal is an urban park for the city of Murano - the concept considers a way of regenerating the ailing waters of the polluted lagoon. Over the years, the fragile nature of the lagoon has been at high risk. The marsh landscape’s natural ability to filter and recycle effectively has been limited by man-made interventions and pollution. As a result the lagoon and its inhabitants are facing deprived water conditions, causing not only health risks but also severely affecting the lagoon’s ecology. This proposal suggests interventions which attempt to purify the lagoon using the shifting tides while simultaneously allowing for public interaction within a previously unoccupied waste zone.
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Murano Urban Park The proposal extends the Fondamenta San Lorenzo canal establishing an internal circulation route to the park from the urban core of Murano. This creates a prominent urban axis point to the park while providing a secondary route for visitors to the islands of Murano entering the city by means of the park’s boat/rental port. The extension of the canal also organizes the park into three distinct edges. The south edge of the canal extension adjusts the existing terraferma along the Sacca San Mattia and a forest landscape is introduced. To the north of the extended canal new land masses are organized along existing axial circulation routes of Murano. These new land masses become sports recreation areas in the park, generating a civic extension of the urban context of Murano. The sports zones of the park provide a new typology of public recreation space. Further north, the new marsh edge includes proposed impressions with the intent of restoring the murky waters of the lagoon and Murano; a strategy whose greatest impact will be at the scale of the lagoon’s master plan.
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Marsh Restoration: Master plan A series of embedded impressions within the lagoon will sequentially begin to serve as algae and mineral collectors, flourishing and upgrading the ecosystem of the lagoon. These new aquatic vegetation sectors will provide natural nutrients and oxygen to the existing water. The impressions are strategically placed in areas of the lagoon surrounding terraferma land masses, existing marshes, axial nautical lines (canals) and the external perimeter edge of the proposed Murano urban park. This strategy of marsh restoration stems from an understanding of the current barren nature of the aquatic vegetation of the lagoon and its uninhabitable water.
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Collaborators: Jamie Maloney Anthony Rojas
Virginia Key Beach Competition: ECO-echo Innovative Beach Pavilion: Inspired by and responding to its South Florida environment Spring 2007 *Second Place Winner* The environment we live in is constantly changing, yet the buildings we usually inhabit are static objects used to escape the changes of weather and climate. This LEED certified beach pavilion was designed to broaden ecological education by emphasizing the natural changes around us. The pavilion incorporates multiple systems that both sustain it and respond to different variations in our environment. The history of Virginia Key encourages the idea of change and improvement. A series of events are narrated throughout the boardwalk in order to educate visitors about the significance of the site and its African American Culture.
Tidal changes along the beach influenced the section of the pavilion’s boardwalk. When high tide water rises around rocks, new spaces are created for sea life to inhabit. The outdoor classroom of the pavilion, which is dropped to ground-level, acts in a similar manner as a tidal pool. Groups of people fill and then leave the space at specific times.
The sun and rain are two extreme conditions that affect both the outdoor and indoor spaces we occupy. The beach pavilion adapts to these changes with adjustable systems. Louvers are incorporated into the skin of the building to minimize direct sunlight into the space, while operable overhead panels are used throughout the boardwalk to both protect pedestrians from the harsh sunlight and rainy conditions, and to absorb the light through its solar panels. A mix of both indoor and outdoor spaces are available to accommodate for either weather situation.
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Changes in temperature from summer to winter can affect the way the pavilion is inhabited comfortably. Elevated roofs and operable windows allow for natural ventilation to cool the spaces in the summer, while large glass panels absorb and heat the spaces throughout the winter.
EAST
Because the sun rises southeast, the east facade is made up of louvers which run vertically to minimize sunlight in the morning.
SOUTH Louvers and panels on the south facade are orientated horizontally to act as awnings. Particularly in the winter when the sun travels lower on its axis, maximum shade is achieved by arranging more slats towards the top.
WEST
Similar to the east, vertical louvers are designed for the west facade in order to minimize direct sunlight in the evening when the sun sets west-southwest. More louvers were also incorporated into the west design rather than the east due to favorable time of occupancy.
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NORTH
Sunlight from the north is favorable, yet indirect, so large openings with very few louvers were used on the north facade in order to allow for the maximum amount of light to enter the space.
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Professor:
Dr. Alfredo Andia
eVolo Skyscraper Competition The Naghol Towers Design 7, Fall 2006 *BEA Student Gallery Pick* *Published in eVolo Book of top 60 projects of 06,07,08* The Ritual Towers are multipurpose structures challenging wood architecture in an iconic and green approach. Designed to aid small towns in poverty, the towers are located in the Pentecost Islands. The design generates power and pumps fresh usable water, and at the same time it can be used for the Naghol tower leaping rituals. The iconic shape comes from the idea of energy in the form of a flame. The Ritual Tower is made of two towers. The first tower is the wind tower, with turbines that generate energy. The second tower is the water tower and reservoir, which is powered by the wind tower. To better understand the living conditions, the island is pure unindustrialized land. Therefore, placing a self powered water tower is fit for their natural habitat. The tower is completely composed of wood and is tied together with steel connections, rope, and vine for structural support. With the beauty vernacular architecture, the skin is made of twisted vine found on the island; which is the same vine used to dive off of the tower. The vine skin will also eventually grow foliage climbing the entire tower. At the end, it creates a lush tower for the land diving ritual.
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Collaborators: Olivier Montfort Lee Graf NC-Office
Asplund Library Competition “The Space Between” Fall 2006 The main strategy for the project implements the rhythm of the existing annexes as voids within a new solid that remains urbanistically respectful of the surrounding context. These voids become the most public areas of the new library, communicating with Asplund’s building, both in section and elevation. On either side of these voids, and in between the additional program, skylights are inserted to bring in filtered light. The project connects to Asplund’s library through an elevated plinth while maintaining the current plaza condition. Programmatically, this connection houses all of the 24-hour activities, hence activating the space. The intervention manipulates Asplund’s library slightly as to evoke the original design for the stair and to allow glimpses of the main space. The project extends the proposed underground retail mall through the neighboring building and transitions into the lobby of the new library. Urbanistically, the proposed addition establishes a presence on the street by maintaining a similar height to the neighboring buildings while ensuring that Asplund’s library would remain visually objectified. The massing of the building also responds to the scale of Observatory Hill by introducing an oversized window, whose horizontality compliments Asplund’s platonic cylinder.
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Annex 1: Reading Room 42
Annex 2: Main Lobby 43
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Professor:
Elizabeth Cardona
Miami Beach: Artist Housing Project Design 6, Spring 2006 *BEA Student Gallery Pick* Located in Miami Beach Florida, this housing project is designed for invited artists while working on workshops, projects, and lecture series. The floor plans were designed in a way to promote collaboration, and interaction between artists through shared public spaces. The structure was also taken into consideration when implementing natural lighting. There is a play on direct lighting and indirect lighting through facade treatments and light tunnels. The transparency of the ground floor plays a part in the overall feel of lightness and elegance as creative influences for the visiting artists.
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Studies of: Form Structure Interior Lighting
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Professor:
Rafael Sixto
Coral Gables Cinematheque 2500 & 2504 Ponce de Leon, Miami FL, 33134 Design 5, Fall 2005 The concept of the theatre was to create the transition between single frames to motion within the architecture of the building. When analyzing motion pictures, they are created by a series of still frames moving at 24 frames per second. The frames look similar but with slight changes in them to create motion. Each floor is treated as a frame by having slight changes in the plan layout to create a clip. The sublevel is treated as the production crew by placing the staff offices and exhibition space on the same level to make the building work as a film. When ascending through the levels, the theatres increase in size. When taking a step outside the frames, there is room for a live performance just outside of the cinematheque.
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Studies of: Volume Form Facade
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IN STAL LA TIONS
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SOA Spring 07 Charette Temporary Roof Top Installation Design 8, Spring 2007 This installation was to be created for the vacant roof terrace of the school of architecture. The installation was to be temporary and based around an event created. This event was to happen three times a semester (first week, midterm, finals). Through this event, students share their work, photos, and other multimedia through the installation of the Pixel Chair. Each Pixel Chair communicates to each other by sharing information through USB plugged devices. During the sharing process, each chair lights up, creating a cascade of light running through each chair, thus transferring digital information through the patterns of flashing lights.
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Collaborators: Anthony Rojas Antonio Perez
FIU Women’s Plaza Florida International University Dedication to Women Design 7, Fall 2006 The FIU Women’s Mosaic was designed as a memorial to women. The idea of the space is to remember important women throughout history as well as the important women in our lives. Their will be two mosaic walls. The first wall will be designed with small pictures of important women in history, which in turn create the face of that particular woman. The other wall will not be created initially. This is the part of the project which the women’s department will sell. Small tiles will be sold to whomever would like to purchase a “piece” of the wall. The individual will bring in a picture of a woman who has made an impact in their lives, and it will get mounted on a tile. Then they will decide where they want to contribute their picture to. They can choose from a variety of options which include anywhere from sports to politics. Then their picture will help create a larger picture of an important woman in the field they chose. Little by little this will create FIU Women’s Mosaic.
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Collaborators: Annelise Kouns
SOA Hyper Connector SOA Organic Gallery Design 8, Spring 2007 This installation is more of a green and natural show piece connecting the parking lot to the Paul C. Cejas School of Architecture. Every semester there are invited guests that present lectures and have promotional galleries. For this installation, we wanted to link the two spaces using seasonal trees that flower different colors throughout the year. This way, for each invited guest speaker during the year, the walkway blooms in a different color. The walkway would not only consist of trees but also of cases displaying student work.
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Threshold: Body in Motion The Study of Movement Design 2, Spring 2004 Studying three separate motions; diagrams of pivots, tension, and compression were developed. Finding common motions in all three actions, the movements were overlaid on each other in a common frame. The end result is a 5’x9’ threshold sized; still frame of a common motion, that can conclude its self in three different actions.
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MISC.
STUDIES
Form, Space, and Structure Mesh Study Design 1, Fall 2003 *BEA Student Gallery Pick* *Second place award in Miami Design District Gallery*
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Form, Space, and Structure Wolfsonian Extention Study Design 3, Fall 2004 *BEA Student Gallery Pick* *Presented to the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami Beach*
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