GRADUATE DESIGN PORTFOLIO 2016 - 2018 SIMON D BESKITT
Beskitt, SimonD EDUCATION
issuu.com/sdbeskitt sbeskitt@gmail.com instagram:sbeskitt
Graduate: The Ohio State University - Knowlton School of Architecture Master of Architecture Undergraduate: The University of Akron - Williams Honors College B.S. in Civil Engineering, Co-op
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
Completed May 2019 3.97 / 4.00 Completed May 2016 Summa Cum Laude, 3.96 / 4.00
Graduate Teaching Associate, Knowlton School of Architecture, OSU Courses: Structures II, Structures I, Forms of Arch Theory
8/17 - Pres.
Instructor, M. Arch Visual Rep Workshop, Knowlton School of Architecture, OSU
8/17 & 8/18
Graduate Fellow, Knowlton School of Architecture, OSU Honors Undergraduate Research Project - An Exploration of Structural Timber Innovation
8/16 - 8/17 2016
NBBJ - Architect Intern Produced 3D models, renderings, physical models and material mockups for client presentations. Created BIM models, drawing sets and PUD visualizations throughout the SD phase of a mixed-use project. Explored building and campus massing studies for projects in the initial stages of design.
6/18 - 8/18
GPD Group - Structural Engineering Co-op / Engineer in Training Collaborated wth engineers and designers working in the teleceom industry for major cell carriers and tower owners. Worked with engineers in muptiple time zones to design structural modification for failing towers and buildings. Designed bolted and welded structural steel components for self-support, guyed, monopole and water towers. Performed foundation design work including reinforced concrete components, micropiles and rock anchors. Drafted construction drawings and site plans for a demanding industry with clients expecting quick turn-around times.
1/14 - 8/15
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
HONORS
AIA Henry Adams Medal - Top Graduating Student First Place Master Project - William Riat ‘73 Prize - Guest Critic Awarded First Place Master Project - Knowlton Faculty Awarded Contribution to Venice Architecture Biennale Knowlton School of Architecture Faculty Award and Architectural Theory Award Ohio State University Graduate Fellowship University of Akron College of Engineering Trajectory Award University Undergraduate President’s and Dean’s Lists
SOFTWARE SKILLS
Rhinoceros 3D, Revit, Sketchup, AutoCAD, Unity, Maya, Grasshopper, Enscape, V-Ray, Mental Ray, Adobe Suite, Microsoft Office
AFFILIATIONS
Engineer in Training - State of Ohio 2016, AIAS, ASCE
REFERENCES ON REQUEST.
2019 2019 2019 2018 2016 - 2017 2016 - 2017 2016 2011 - 2016
VIDEO GAMES FOR AVA SUPERSUPERFICIAL BUILDINGSWALL OF SOUND 52 PICK-UP STICKS VERTICAL REAL(I)TY HETEROTROPICA COLUM(N)BARIUM FSA&L (G)HOSTEL OBJECTS SOCLE AFFAIR BRUT:LONDON CHESS FOR TWO ER_GUITAR PAINTINGS
FOR AVA G3-001 Mk II TYPE: VIDEO GAME MNTR: CURTIS ROTH REF: AUTUMN 2018 BRIEF: This project is a video game based upon Walter Benjamin’s interpretation of Klee’s Angelus Novus and the infamous first-person-shooter franchise DOOM. Taking place in the storm in which the angel finds itself, the player is given an arsenal of weapons to construct a monument from the wreckage. Through the use of conventional firstperson-shooter gaming mechanics, the player is able to seek out canonical works of architecture, destroy them, collect their pieces, and build a new aggregate work from them. Upon completion of the game, the player’s construction is exported as a 3D model file and catalogued into an archive. It is up to the players to find the buildings available, destroy and collect what they will, and construct something pleasing to them with limited control. The game attempts to question the means by which the discipline is able to be critiqued and examine a number of aspects of both the critical discipline and profession, including networking, long-distance design collaboration, and historical reverence as well as contemporary trends such as kitbashing. By making myriad references to both architectural discourse and contemporary video game culture (from Le Corbusier, Koolhaas and Palladio to DOOM, Fortnite and Half Life), the game also explores the boundary between number of quotations and the meaning each retains. The archive of creations exposes both similarity and difference among designs made with limited components and control.
FREE DOWNLOAD https://walterbenjamin.itch.io/for-ava
PLAYER-CREATED MONUMENTS MODELS FROM ARCHIVE IMAGES BY AUTHOR
SUPERSUPERFICIAL G3-002 Mk II TYPE: VIDEO GAME CRTC: JEFF KIPNIS REF: AUTUMN 2018 BRIEF: Exploring the notion of the counterintuitive in the virtual space, this anti-game places the player in a simulation of Superstudio’s “Supersuperficie” (Supersurface) concept. The environment consists of only a gridded planar surface, and a generative algorithm extends the boundary of the surface infinitely. As the player walks (or chooses to drive) on a never-ending journey with no goal or destination, the Talking Heads’ existential anthem “Once in a Lifetime” plays on a continuous loop. With no way to exit the program, a hard shutdown is the only means of escape.
FREE DOWNLOAD https://walterbenjamin.itch.io/supersuperficial
WALL OF SOUND G2-002 Mk II
TYPE: CONCERT VENUE MNTR 1: LAURA BOUWMAN MNTR 2: BRIAN POLGAR REF: SPRING 2018 BRIEF: While concert halls are treated like instruments, designed for acoustic performance, this project extends the notion to the full program of the building. Drawing upon principles found in waveguide speakers, the three sound-producing venues – the symphony hall, the chamber hall, and the convention space – open up to the interior of the building. Each space contains one or more “sound ports” which carry the sound through the auxiliary spaces of the building and into the center atrium. The sound ports intertwine and conform to the exterior rectangular geometry, much like an octopus’ tentacles if placed in a jar, and the remainder of the space is given over to music education facilities. In addition, each venue ports sound to the outside of the building to engage the surrounding park space when desired. The symphony hall therefore facilitates an outdoor listening experience, utilizing an interior spatial geometry similar to a stereo system to deliver music to the hillside behind the building.
STUDY MODELS MIXED MEDIA
INVERSE MODEL FINAL DESIGN 1:500 SCALE PLASTIC METAL
SITE MODEL 1:500 SCALE WOOD MDF
001.
SOUND PRODUCTION
002. A
EXTERIOR SOUND PORTS
003.
SOUND PORTS TO ECHO CHAMBER
004. B
TRACKS FOR CIRCULATION
005.
A
OPEN TO BELOW
B
L6
SECONDARY PROGRAM SPACE
006. A OPEN TO BELOW
B
COMPLETE CONFIGURATION
L5
PARKING
PARKING
OPEN TO BELOW
OPEN TO BELOW
OPEN TO BELOW
OPEN TO BELOW
OPEN TO BELOW
OPEN TO BELOW
OPEN TO BELOW
OPEN TO BELOW
OPEN TO BELOW OPEN TO BELOW
OPEN TO BELOW
PRESENTATION MODEL, 1:200 SCALE CHIPBOARD, MAHOGANY, VINYL, ACRYLIC
HILLSIDE LISTENING EXPERIENCE GLASS RAINSCREEN FACADE W/ INTERIOR ILLUMINATION
650-SEAT SYMPHONY HALL PRISMATIC GLASS WALLS; ACOUSTIC SHUTTERS
ECHO CHAMBER ATRIUM VENUE SOUND TUNNELS; AMBIENT ESCALATOR CIRCUIT
52 PICK-UP STICKS G1-003 Mk I
TYPE: PAVILION MNTR: KEONI FLEMING REF: SUMMER 2018 BRIEF: A nature pavilion for a northeastern national park, this project explores the potential for wood’s expression in built form. Inspired by a solitary brush stroke, a tectonic screen of heavy timber shrouds a stereotomic CLT volume above a reflecting pool. A winding ramp leads the visitor between the screen and this space, culminating in a viewing platform above the treetops. The progression to the top of the pavilion mimics the experience of the adjacent hiking trail. The visitor is presented with an abstracted journey through the forest, into the chasms, and onto the overlook.
BASSWOOD MAHOGANY ACRYLIC 1/8” SCALE PRESENTATION MODEL
ELEVATED GALLERY GLAZED ENCLOSURE WITH TIMBER SCREEN
EXTERIOR RAMP FULL DENSITY OF TIMBER SCREEN
A B F
C
E
D
A
D
B
E
C
F
VERTICAL REAL(I)TY G2-001 Mk II
TYPE: RESORT PRTNR 1: JOHN FLEMING PRTNR 2: JAKE PFAHL MNTR 1: ANDREW CRUSE MNTR 2: BART OVERLY REF: AUTUMN 2017 BRIEF: “IN A DENSE CITY, ONE MUST GO UP TO GET AWAY” A traditional resort provides an instance of civilization in an exotic location, of built form in the wild. A resort in a megacity is the opposite. It is an instance of the exotic within civilization, of the wild within built form. Vertical Real(i)ty is a resort which provides the city with the only amenity not already found there – an alternative to itself. It offers a new model of collective urban lifestyle, questioning ideas of shelter, ownership, and the urban condition. The tower, spiraling 2,000 feet skyward, transitions from urban living to wilderness camping. A typical pencil tower layout is slowly dissolved through the introduction of large-scale indoor landscapes as the tower rises. Detached glass elevators deposit inhabitants directly into a new world with a unique climate, vegetation, and use. High-rise apartments with interior corridor access become ‘free-standing’ condominiums with access through the environments. The subversion of the tower culminates in vertical campgrounds surrounding a core of climatethemed transient units, where guests may stay in tents, igloos, or hammocks without concern for local weather. A continuous double-skin façade separates the tower’s interior from the city. During the day, the tower appears as a single, reflective object with subtle variation of frit density hinting at the duality of the interior. At night, the interlocked urban and wilderness conditions are revealed as interior lighting illuminates differences in scale, color, and materiality. It is a tower in the city and a city in a tower. It is a resort in the concrete jungle as well as a resort in the rainforest, the tundra, the forest, the desert, and the beach. It is a resort for the megacity through an inversion of the urban condition.
RAINFOREST DESERT CAMP BEACH CAMP
FOREST CAMP
POOLS CLIMBING WALL BEACH BAR CRYOTHERAPY
TEPIDARIUM CALDARIUM
ARCTIC FITNESS / SPA RAINFOREST DESERT BAR WATERFALL
CREEK
POOLS FOREST TANNING
ICE RINK PARK FITNESS / SPA
PARK
PARK POOLS
FITNESS / SPA GARDENS GARDENS
AQUARIUM
CRYO-TUBES
UPPER LEVEL HEAT CYCLE
SKATING RINKS
MIDDLE LEVEL HEAT CYCLE
BUILDING ICE PRODUCTION
LOWER LEVEL HEAT CYCLE
HEAT CYCLES
CONDOS & RESORT UNITS FACADE VENTILATION
LIFTS & MECHANICAL CERAMIC FRIT
MASSING SEPARATION
GRADIENT SPIRAL
ICE / MECH
RIVER HEAT SINK / SOURCE
LOWER LEVEL PLAN
FOREST CAMPING UNIT
UPPER LEVEL PLAN
BEACH CAMPING UNIT
ACRYLIC ALUMINUM 1/64” SCALE PRESENTATION MODEL
7 1
2 LEVEL 13 750' - 0"
LEVEL 20 1170' - 0"
LEVEL 27 1590' - 0"
4 4 5 5 LEVEL 12 690' - 0"
3
LEVEL 11.3 675' - 0"
6
LEVEL 24 1410' - 0"
LEVEL 18 1050' - 0"
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
AEROGEL INSULATION REFRIGERATED SLAB USER-OPERATED WINDOWS CEILING HELIOSTATS AUTOMATED HELIOSTATS SHADING LOUVERS AUTOMATED VENTILATION
HETEROTROPICA G3-000 Mk III
TYPE: WELLNESS COMPLEX TEAM: KSA MALAYSIA TEAM MNTR 1: JACOB BOSWELL MNTR 2: ANDREW CRUSE MNTR 3: JUSTIN DILES REF: SUMMER 2017-2018 VENUE: 2018 VENICE BIENNALE BRIEF: Heterotropica is a speculation on the capacity of architecture, technology and landscape to harness tropical climate in ways that produce new architectural and urban forms. It encourages a range of experiences that tie buildings, landscapes and cities to bodies and their comforts. Heterotropica resists a clear classification of building or park, but instead looks to a forgotten goal of architectural modernism: to connect interior and exterior experiences without distinguishing between corporeal health and sensuous pleasure. Studies of the megadiverse Malaysian biome and folded, origami-like design language coalesce to present miniatures of a Mountain and a Cloud Forest. The Mountain recreates three natural Malaysian hot springs into a hybrid balneotherapeutic experience. The Cloud Forest fosters a wide spectrum of experiences under its iconic roof based on differences in temperature, humidity and enclosure. Between the facts and uncertainties that characterize the complex web of environmental relationships, these microcosms bring abstract scales, uncertain futures and intangible scientific concepts to the personal realm of experience.
VIDEO STILLS AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES & LANDSCAPE VISTA
VIDEO STILL CLOUD FOREST EXERCISE ROOM
VIDEO STILLS MOUNTAIN SPA WITH KINETIC FACADE
STACK EFFECT COOLING
PASSIVE RADIANT HEATING IN YOGA ROOM
VIDEO STILLS THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF CLOUD FOREST FACILITY
ENHANCED STACK EFFECT COOLING WITH GARAGE WELL
ACTIVE RADIANT COOLING AND CONDENSATION PRODUCTION
COLUM(N)BARIUM G1-001 Mk III
TYPE: URBAN CEMETERY MNTR: BEN WILKE REF: AUTUMN 2016 BRIEF: With urban populations growing and open land becoming increasingly scarce, the burying of the dead becomes complicated in the long-term sense. This project proposes a design for an above-ground cemetery on the complex of Bologna’s Cimitero Monumentale della Certosa. The aggregate geometric system is mined for new capabilities in formal expression, attempting to create a new monument that integrates into the historical surroundings to hold the cremated remains of the future population. The result is a massive structure that is novel yet familiar, open yet private.
GLAZING & OCULI
ROOF STRUCTURE
PIERS W/ STORAGE
PAVEMENT TRAILS
EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC
FACES SWEATY, ARMS & LEGS G1-002 Mk III TYPE: RESIDENTIAL MNTR: CURTIS ROTH REF: SPRING 2016 BRIEF: This multi-family building serves a unique set of occupants: an extroverted family of four at 1:1 scale, a residence and office of a lawyer existing at a 1:2 scale, and an apartment complex for an introverted population existing at the 1:4 scale. Playing off of the scalar differences of the occupants, the design of the building uses the motif of the staircase, an architectural feature that easily lends scalar legibility to a project, to subvert expectations. The 1:1 family residence, located on the first three floors, uses miniscule stairs as an architectural detail to frame apertures and influence poche. The lawyer’s spaces, located above the family residence, use the stair at the scale of the occupant to create volumes and circulation. The apartment units are housed in a grossly oversized stair atop the structure, and the recognizable yet very large elements of the stair – the newel post, the balusters, the carpet, the molding, etc. – begin to function as architectural elements such as exhaust stacks, antennae, curtain walls, and downspouts.
PLASTIC ACRYLIC CHIPBOARD CARDSTOCK 1/8” SCALE PRESENTATION MODEL
APARTMENTS FOR 1:4 SCALE HUMANS
TOWNHOUSE FOR 1:1 SCALE HUMANS
HOME OFFICE FOR 1:2 SCALE HUMAN
(G)HOSTEL G1-001 Mk II TYPE: YOUTH HOSTEL MNTR: BEN WILKE REF: AUTUMN 2016 BRIEF: A simple project brief called for a small youth hostel in a fairly busy suburban area, with one design stipulation: the new building must incorporate an existing structure on the site corner. The small, unassuming building turns out to be the former home of a funeral complex in which the deceased arrived for preparation. Echoing the ghostly memory, the new hostel design assumes a translucent quality with the form of floating cubes frozen in time. The roof unites the pavilionized programmatic elements while taking the existing building under its wing.
SITE PLAN
SECTION
LEVEL 2
LEVEL 1
SOCLE AFFAIR P1-003 Mk II TYPE: SCULPTURE REF: ONGOING BRIEF: This ongoing sculptural project is an experiment in false materiality. The subject is the sculptural plinth, rendered in what appears to be a typical catalogue of architectural study model materials and techniques. An act of deception is in play, as the apparent materiality belies the true makeup of each sculpture. While each plinth seems to be made in a quick and ad hoc manner, a neurotic amount of effort and attention to detail is required to render one material’s visual properties in another. The choice of material appearances and the shoddy aesthetic contribute to a viewer’s disinterest with the objects, with the intended goal being that an observer will pass over the sculptures without registering them as such. The facade is to become the substance. The project attempts to explore the function of material imitation and the notion of truth as well as to question the relationship between labor and final product.
CARDBOARD SOCLE PLASTIC PAPER PAINT
STYROFOAM SOCLE PLASTIC PAINT
BLUE FOAM SOCLE MDF PAINT
BRUT:LONDON P1-004 Mk I TYPE: BOOK REF: SPRING 2018 BRIEF: This book is an up-close photo compendium produced in 2018, documenting twenty major Brutalist works in the London area including Robin Hood Gardens mid-demolition. The photographs and hand-written text pieces are formatted for both digital viewing and 6�x9� print.
INTRODUCTION & LOCATION MAP 198 PAGES BLACK & WHITE
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SAMPLE SPREADS
CHESS FOR TWO G1-001 Mk I
TYPE: CHESS GAME SET MNTR: BEN WILKE REF: AUTUMN 2016 BRIEF: The creation of the chess set involved a study of the features associated with traditional chess pieces and the formal relationships they contain both within a piece itself and in relation to the set as a whole. Building upon a simple symmetric module, the pieces were constructed in an additive process in which each successive module was slightly manipulated to define the characteristics of a pieceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s features. The construction process, based upon proportionality and symmetry, establishes hierarchy and identity. Ultimately resulting in a family of six, the pieces fit within a cohesive set yet remain individual and recognizable as the game players they represent. The pieces have a bi-directional nature and offer a strong play of light and shadow against the protruding and receding faces. The set was produced through 3D printing, with the board being laser-etched leather.
ER-GUITAR P1-001 Mk I
TYPE: ELECTRIC GUITAR REF: DATA LOG NOT FOUND BRIEF: This guitar was designed to alleviate stresses in the player’s body, specifically those in the fretting hand, wrist and forearm. This concern was addressed in two major aspects of the instrument’s design. The first is multi-scale construction, meaning that the length of the strings increases linearly from highest string to lowest. This causes the frets to be skewed rather than parallel, complementing the natural “windshield-wiper” motion of the player’s hand as it translates along the length of the neck. The setup aids the player in maintaining a neutral and relaxed wrist position for the fretting hand. The second design feature involves the cross-section of the neck. Whereas most guitar necks have a completely rounded profile, this guitar was made with a flattened shape to provide a larger bearing surface for the thumb. This ergonomic adjustment theoretically provides more stability and should lead to less hand and forearm fatigue. The guitar was constructed by hand with locallysourced, sustainable timbers including black walnut, northern ash, and hard maple. A custom bridge was needed to anchor the strings to the body. The chosen multi-scale setup requires the strings to be anchored at an angle, and a bearing plate was designed to function with aftermarket string saddles. A string retainer fitting into the backside of the body was also designed, allowing all of the strings to be electrically grounded to a single point. These parts were milled from aluminum via CNC machines.
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PAINTINGS P2-001 Mk I
TYPE: ENAMEL ON BOARD REF: ONGOING BRIEF: DATA LOG NOT FOUND
ALL IMAGES, TEXTS AND CONCEPTS CONTAINED IN THIS PUBLICATION ARE PROPERTY OF THE AUTHOR EXCEPT WHERE ADDITIONAL COLLABORATORS ARE CREDITED. MATERIAL SHALL NOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT CREDIT OF THE AUTHOR.