Portfolio 9x7

ryan lawber architectural designer

illinois institute of technology master of architecture southern illinois university bachelor or science of architectural srudies

contents one two three four five six

recreation complex graduate studio, IIT, 2007 alaska house studio, SIUC, 2004 theremin dance theatre studio, SIUC, 2006 self-generating system landscape architecture course, IIT, 2008 digital modeling freelance work, 2010 cta/metra connection concourse graduate thesis studio, IIT, 2008

one

recreation complex This graduate project was centered around a campus development to increase the capacity of the current IIT recreation center. The solution was to utilize the existing center for varsity team practices while creating a new center for use by the everyday IIT student. The complex is composed of three interlocking concrete arcades made habitable by an insulative tensile membrane.

Professor: Dirk Denison

two

alaska house The motions of the conductor’s baton are mimicked in the form of an Alaskan retreat for the conductor of a major city symphony. The baton motions in common time on each beat and the intermediate movements create the forms. Site was of concern in this second year undergraduate project: the extreme cold conditions were remedied by utilizing thermal gain from the large southern exposure and heat trapped in a trombe wall/floor. Use of structural insulated panels was included to maintain a low energy home.

Instructor: Carol Medvick

three

theremin dance theatre This undergraduate project developed an instrument, the theremin, into an interactive structural form and dance style.

The theremin is an instrument that creates sounds based on the proximity to the instrument. For example, the closer you are to the instrument, a higher pitch or softer tone is created by moving your arms around the created electromagnetic field.

In this proposal, multiple theremins are embedded into the entrance promenade, allowing theater patrons to create forms of the upcoming dance performance, and to recreate the show after the finale.

Professor: Craig Anz

four

self-generating system Examining the abstract growth of Slime Mold (Physarum polycephalum) to create a self-organizing model from a set of patterns mimicking the growth of the natural system. A set of 300 units were assembled through a systemic process to create the form, allowing the design to create itself.

Model generation: 1. Attach components by aligning faces of the same orientation to each other.

2. Repeat step 1 ten times, then go to step 3.

3. Set the attached group aside and start from step 1 again. Do this until there are no more components.

4. Attach the component groups together in alternating directions (concave attaches to convex, convex to concave).

5. Stop.

This project was featured in the lobby of the McCormick-Tribune Campus Center at IIT.

Professor: Eric Ellingsen

five

digital modeling While an undergrad at SIUC, I co-created and was vice president of the Digital Modeling and Rendering Group, a club created to help members learn computer modeling and rendering and give/receive valuable information within the group. The images on this page are a few current samples of my work with 3ds Max and other modeling programs.

six

cta/metra connection concourse This thesis at IIT project explores the possibilities of the integration of a transit oriented development into the typical Chicago street grid. The proposal includes the creation of very dense districts surrounding a newly created CTA urban rail station and a redeveloped Metra suburban rail station. The development adapts to the elevated rail to incorporate a raised pedestrian connection between the two stations, establishing a second level pedestrian oriented community while maintaining the motorized thoroughfare below.

At a larger scale, the project lays out a proposal for a 50 year plan of the transit systems in Chicago, evolving the city’s current radial system into a networked connection to allow access between any two locations in the city with no more than a one mile walk.

The entire thesis can be found online at: http://www.ryanlawber.com/documents

Adviser: George Schipporeit

ryan lawber architectural designer 312.806.7926 ryanlawber@gmail.com www.ryanlawber.com

Š 2010 Ryan Lawber