CONTENTS REDRAWING HOUSING ST 21 CENTURY PIAZZA ECOLOGICAL CENTER SELECTED FURNITURE WITH HILARY SAMPLE EXAMINING HOUSING POSSIBILITIES IN PINE BLUFF ARKANSAS
ADAPTING THE ROMAN FABRIC FOR THE 21ST CENTURY CITY
WITH TAHAR MESSADI ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSES THROUGH ARCHITECTURE
DESIGN EXPLORATIONS AT THE ERGONOMIC SCALE
REDRAWING HOUSING SPRING 2019 HOUSING PROJECT WITH HILARY SAMPLE PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS (collaborators dave sweere + anna morris)
We started our process by looking at common housing throughout the Mississippi River Delta region of Arkansas, which Pine Bluff is directly connected to. Through our investigation into the Arkansas vernacular particularly in the Delta, we found a consistent use of porch. Not only as an environmental response, but also as a significant social gathering space and community platform. After studying the Delta at a macro scale, we moved into analyzing the city of Pine Bluff. We found that Pine Bluff is a city with a rich history of African American entrepreneurship, capital, and artistic influence. Today though we find a shrinking city with a troubling crime rate, a sinking economy, and a need for revitalization. As a result, the density of the city has been reduced to around 4 houses per 90,000 sf block, while the use of porches as a social space has declined and they are heavily underutilized. Our project focuses on reinvigorating the city block, by increasing density while allowing families to still feel like they have their own home, and providing a sense of community through the use of visually connected porches to a community oriented pavilion and adaptable outdoor space. Attempting to exploit the use of porch to its greatest potential. Porch is employed in two ways, as a community umbrella, and as demarcation of the individual home. We designed a “Super-Porch� pavilion that houses community programs such as child care, restaurant, and green house under many disjointed but connected roofs. As for the individual houses, each house has its own porch area designed to allow residents to feel that they still have a sense of ownership and autonomy on a community block three to four times denser than the average Pine Bluff residential block. Each house is bordered by a row of Pampas grass to create a loose visual barrier between houses and the central community space. The porches and Pampas grass effectively give residents space to claim as their own, which is an important characteristic of Southern lifestyle. These two programs differ in the use of a column structure for the pavilion and wall structure for the houses, that are related through a consistent 15-foot grid
HISTORICAL IMAGES OF PLANTATION HOUSING THROUGHOUT THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA. THESE IMAGES ILLUSTRATE A TRULY REGIONAL AND ECONOMICAL RESPONSE TO PLACE AND TIME THROUGH THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT. THE NEXT SPREADS WILL EXAMINE CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES OF RESPONSE.
THORNHILL PLANTATION - GREENE COUNTY, ALABAMA
MARIA PLANTATION, ARKANSAS
HERMITAGE PLANTATION - CHATHAM COUNTY, GEORGIA
EVERGREEN PLANTATION - NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
1821 CEDAR HEIGHTS DR - JONESBORO, ARKANSAS
234-238 N 4TH STREET - HELENA, ARKANSAS
970 RICE STREET - FORREST CITY, ARKANSAS
920 WALKER ST - HELENA, ARKANSAS
PINE BLUFF
LITTLE ROCK
MEMPHIS
NEW YORK
STUDIO
340
475
460
500
1 BEDROOM
500
500
475
900
2 BEDROOMS
700
700
1000
950
3 BEDROOMS
900
970-1100
1100
1460
SQUARE FOOTAGE EQUITY COMPARISONS
INTEGRATED
ADD-ON
SUBTRACTIVE
TWO LEVELS
SIDE PORCH
CENTER PORCH
FULL FRONTAGE PORCH
WRAP-AROUND PORCH
ARKANSAS PORCH TYPES
65 5
PINE BLUFF HIGH SCHOOL
W 11TH AVE W 1TH AVE
FLOOD PLAIN
PINE BLUFF VICINITY MAP
PROJECT SITE
CANEY BAYOU
65 6 5
DOWNTOWN
SM
SUPER-PORCH COMPONENTS AND UNIT LAYOUTS
MARKET
RESTAURANT
GATHERING SPACE
WATER COLLECTION CISTERN
1 BEDROOM - 470 SF
2 BEDROOM - 470 SF (EACH)
2 BEDROOM - 832 SF
3 BEDROOM - 1,030 SF
2 FULL BAYS OF COMBINED SUPER-PORCH AND HOUSING UNITS
N
EAST - WEST SECTION LOOKING NORTH
NORTH-SOUTH SECTION LOOKING WEST
21 CENTURY PIAZZA ST
SPRING 2018 URBAN PLANNING PROJECT ROME, ITALY (project collaborator mitchell wilmarth)
In this project we were tasked with creating an urban intervention in the city of Rome. As a starting point, we chose a site, a place within the city that could use an intervention; for our group the site was Piazza Venezia. Piazza Venezia is situated at a major hinge point on the Via Papalis that connects major tourist attractions from San Pietro to the San Giovanni in Laterano. We decided that the traditional Piazza typology needed restructuring. Modern Rome has become a tourist city for the multi-month study abroad study to the one week culture tourist. The traditional Piazza typology does not support this social change from a city for life long residency to temporary getaway. They often lack: a place to sit, green or soft space, shade, respite, cooling, quiet space, or a public bathroom (almost impossible to find in the city). Our response was to create objects that fulfilled these new needs with non-traditional forms while embracing historically Roman materials and ideals. Through the use bronze, travertine, and water as materials with views, history, and nature as driving ideals. Most of the forms were derived from grasshopper through the process of “kit-bashing”. We also took proportions and ratios from a nearby influential building, the Palazzo Conservatori on the Campidoglio. Our response is intended to be able to fit into many different places, creating multiple modern piazzas throughout the city. Working with grasshopper and a building or monument of significance would allow for a quick way to interpolate from the forms generated on the Piazza Venezia site, with the Campidoglio to many other sites. For example Piazza del Popolo and its twin churches. Or Piazza de Spagna and the Spanish Steps. This typology is not only applicable to Rome, but many European cities that are growing on top of themselves, and well as some East Asian cities as well. It could even be an early intervention in cities like New York like we’ve seen with the high line. The opportunities with parametric software multiplied by sense of place and cultural significance can elevate projects of the sort to the next level.
PHOTO COLLAGE OF PIAZZA VENEZIA
THOUGH PIAZZA VENEZIA CAN BE CONSIDERED “GREEN SPACE”, IT DOES NOT OFFER ANY GOOD OPPORTUNITIES FOR SEATING, AND DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THE HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT CONTEXT SURROUNDING IT.
SELECTED RENOVATABLE SITES ALONG VIA DEL CORSO
BUILDING OF SIGNIFICANCE - PALAZZO CONSERVATORI
HISTORICAL DRAWING OF PALAZZO CONSERVATORI
PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS OF PALAZZO CONSERVATORI
GRASSHOPPER RE-CONSTRUCTION OF PALAZZO CONSERVATORI LOGGIA
GIANT ORDER + IONIC +MIRROR
BAY DEPTH + MIRROR BAY LENGTH
FULL BAY PROPORTION
ARRAY
CAMPIDOGLIO UNIT
NEW PATH FOR FACADE TO FOLLOW
CAMPIDOGLIO IN THE ROUND
CAMPIDOGLIO AS AMPHITHEATER
PARAMETRIC EXPLORATION WITH PALAZZO CONSERVATORI FACADE
FIT ORDER IN GEOMETRY
PORTICO COVER
ENTABLATURE
CAMPIDOGLIO FACADE
POLAR ARRAY
POLAR ARRAY TO CLOSURE
CAMPIDOGLIO AS DEATH STAR
CAMPIDOGLIO VESSEL
To achieve the kaleidoscopic experience of the fountain, the Campidoglio facade was arrayed around a circle then polar arrayed in 360 degrees. The fountain is conceived to be 3D printed with travertine dust created from the milling process of travertine slabs in quarries. The fountain sits inside of the Grotto as a center piece and a nod to Rome’s history with fountains and engineering genius to harness flowing water.
50’
THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON AN INTERVENTION AT THE SCALE OF URBAN FURNITURE. PLACING OBJECTS THROUGHOUT THE SITE SIMILAR TO THE MANY ROMAN RUINS FOUND THROUGHOUT THE CITY, WHILE CREATING FRAMED PATHWAYS THROUGH THE SITE, AND PLACES FOR RESPITE WHILE TREKKING THROUGH THE CITY. ALL IN TRADITIONAL ROMAN MATERIALS. IN ORDER TO MAKE MANEUVERING BETWEEN THE THREE NATIONAL MONUMENTS SOUTHEAST OF OUR SITE MORE SAFE, WE ABSORBED A STREET AND RE-ROUTED ALL TRAFFIC TO THE EAST, EXPANDING THE ROAD BY TWO LANES.
N
PIAZZA VENEZIA
1.
2.
4.
5.
SELECTED RENOVATABLE SITES ALONG VIA DEL CORSO
3.
6.
5.
6.
4.
1.
3.
2. 1. FOUNTAIN 2. BUS STOP 3. RESTROOM 4. GROTTO 5. COLUMNS 6. BENCHES
N
The bus station object was created using the grasshopper commands rotate, mirror, mirror, array along a curve, polar array, then split. This form came from a simple 45 degree plane. The finishing treatments are a bronze exterior reminiscent of ancient roman sculpture, and travertine interior because of the stones connection to the genus loci of Rome.
10.5’
8’
9.75’
The Roman civilization was the first to have any sort of public bath, thousands of years later it is almost impossible to find a truly public restroom. The modern piazza must offer this amenity. The form for the bathroom was created by taking a vaulted section of the campidoglio loggia and forming a column capital from the module like the many capital ruins strewn throughout the city. The form also has an opening in the roof in reference to the cosmological reference in many roman buildings with oculi.
4’
18’
A place of calm, quiet, worship and reflection, the grotto was a sacred space to the Romans. a place to relax and unwind. In the busy and congested city center of Rome, it is necessary to have a public place that is meant for peace and quiet. The grotto is sunken into the ground and has a large pool of water to provide acoustic breaks from the busy city streets surrounding, as well as a passive cooling technique.
Columns were the driving force of classical architecture, and they seem to dominate every open space throughout Rome’s ruins. In keeping with the cities rich classical tradition we kept the column proportions of Michaelangelo’s Campidoglio facades, but imposed greenery onto them. Creating a vertical datum to cast shade on sunny Roman days, and some air filtration in a city with air pollution concerns. The columns also frame views through the site and create an architectural promenade from North to South focusing on the Campidoglio, and East to West framing Trajan’s column
The park bench was created by taking the profile of a set of stairs (the usual piazza seating space) and extruding it to make a frame, which supports a travertine bench seat and back rest, for a place to sit while trekking through the city of Rome.
WEST ELEVATION
EAST-WEST SECTION LOOKING SOUTH
ECOLOGICAL CENTER FALL 2017 STUDIO WITH DR. TAHAR MESSADI AUSTIN, TEXAS
Since this project’s program is based on environmental aspects, I figured that the building should embrace the most prominent natural feature on the site, the creek. Which connects to the Colorado river just across the street from our site. In order to do this I focused on utilizing the spaces of my building and the unbuildable area as opportunities to inform the Austin community about water, the water cycle, water conservation, as well as water treatment and reclamation. To teach about water treatment and reclamation, there is a water treatment area on the unbuildable part of the site, which contains a constructed wetlands, an aerated lagoon and finally a recirculating sand filter to release the water back into the ground and the Edwards aquifer beneath Austin. The water put through this system will be the water collected from rainfall throughout the year as well as the grey water used on a daily basis. This will be immediately flanked by an outdoor classroom and gathering space where students can come to learn about the water treatment process in a well shaded area. In between the two program masses is a circulation space for both people and the water captured from the rooftops. This space is a dialogue between the flow of water and the flow of people through the building. The circulation space also carries visitors to the learning center through a journey of the water cycle, starting at the top level exhibition space about water in our atmosphere, moving down a level to learn about rain and finally moving down to the creek level platform to learn about water and the organisms it hosts and the ways it transports natural resources from place to place. While having a direct interaction with the creek bed. Finally, the fins on the outside are to create a texture in opposition to the smoothness of the glazing on the interior. And the use of white limestone is to help reduce heat gain throughout the year, while connecting a to a local Austin material.
THE SITE FOR THIS PROJECT WAS DIRECTLY ADJACENT TO A STREAM THAT FED INTO THE COLORADO RIVER
THESE DIAGRAMS REPRESENT EARLY IDEAS IN RESPONSE TO THE SITE. LIKE: RHYTHM, MOVEMENT OF WATER, SITE RESPONSE, AND FORMAL CHARACTERISTICS
REFLECT SITE
RESEARCH LECTURE EXPERIENCE
STACK GESTALT
BEFORE THE SITE FOR THIS PROJECT WAS GIVEN THE STUDIO WAS INSTRUCTED TO MAKE CLIMATIC FORMAL STUDIES, BASED ON WIND , WATER, AND SOLAR FACTORS. (LEFT) AFTER THE SITE WAS GIVEN, I TOOK THE CLIMATIC FORMAL IDEAS AND COMBINED THEM WITH MY INTUITIVE SITE REACTIONS. THIS RESULTED IN A SECOND FORMAL STUDY THAT LED TO THE FINAL FORM OF MY PROJECT. (RIGHT) THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF MY FORMAL STUDIES WAS WATER COLLECTION AND SELF- SHADING IN AUSTIN’S HOT-HUMID CLIMATE
RIGHT: FORMAL STUDIES BASED ON SITE & OVERALL SCHEME
FORMAL STUDIES PRE-SITE REVEAL
THE PROJECT IS PLACED IN A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP TO THE CREEK, PERPENDICULAR TO THE HILL ON THE SITE. THIS CREEK FEEDS DIRECTLY INTO AUSTIN’S LARGEST STREAM, THE COLORADO RIVER.
W 2ND ST
4
WEST AVE
N
2
T NUECES S
SHOAL CREEK
LAKE FLATO LIBRARY
1
W CESAR CHAVEZ ST.
3
DN DN
1. RAIN COLLECTION REFLECTING POOL 2. CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS 3. AERATED LAGOONS 4. RECIRCULATING SAND FILTER
UP
UP
UP DN
SECTION THROUGH “WATERFALL”LOOKING NORTH
NORTH ELEVATION
N-S SECTION LOOKING EAST
EAST ELEVATION
HYBRID DRAWING
SELECTED FURNITURE
“MARTINI” LOUNGE CHAIR
This chair’s seat was created using bent plywood lamination. The chair is completed by making a three part base of Baltic birch plywood, then sliding the seat onto the base through the use of Dado joints.
1.5 INCH THICK BENT PLYWOOD SEAT
SEAT BASE
5 7
1
8
2 6
3
4
1. 18 INCH X 48 INCH PLANE 2. 18 INCH X 48 INCH PLANE 3. 18 INCH X 48 INCH PLANE 4. 18 INCH X 48 INCH PLANE 5. 3/4 INCH BIRCH - 18 X 16 INCHES 6. 3/4 INCH BIRCH - 18 X 32 INCHES 7. 3/4 INCH BIRCH - 9 X 20 INCHES 8. 3/4 INCH BIRCH - 9 X 20 INCHES
1.5 INCH THICK BENT PLYWOOD SEAT
3/4 INCH BIRCH - 18 X 32 INCHES
1.5 INCH BIRCH - 9 X 20 INCHES
3/4 INCH BIRCH - 18 X 16 INCHES
FALL 2018 RESIN FURNITURE CLASS - FIBERGLASS LOUNGE In the Fall of 2018 I attempted to build a chair using resin casting techniques. I envisioned creating a clear chaise lounge with a unique form, including a child version that could also be used as an ottoman or coffee table. Sadly, creating a solid resin cast at such a large scale was well beyond my price range, so I used this as an opportunity to flex my problem solving skills. Instead of creating a solid resin cast, i implemented the “surfboard� method; the final chair is constructed of CNC cut foam peaces wrapped in resin hardened fiberglass. This project also required a jig to be built, which was used to test the angles and dimensions of the fiberglass chair before production. I used a CNC router to cut each of the pieces. The chair was assembled in a matter of 20 minutes including glue-up, because of the use of a modified dovetail joint where the cross members meet the chairs profiles. The positive of building a sturdy prototype (in the case out of plywood) is a fully functional chair to go along with the finished product!
CUT OUT PIECES
GLUE PIECES TOGETHER
WRAP IN FIBERGLASS
7 8
1. 4’ X 8’ POLYSTYRENE SHEET 2. 4’ X 8’ POLYSTYRENE SHEET 3. 4’ X 8’ POLYSTYRENE SHEET 4. LOUNGE PIECE 5. LOUNGE PIECE 6. OTTOMAN PIECE 7. LOUNGE PIECE 8. LOUNGE PIECE 9. LOUNGE PIECE 10. LOUNGE PIECEE 11. OTTOMAN PIECE 12. OTTOMAN PIECE 13. OTTOMAN PIECE 14. LOUNGE PIECE 15. LOUNGE PIECE 16. OTTOMAN PIECE 17. OTTOMAN PIECE
11
4
5
14
10
16
12 9
15
13 6 1
17 2
3
CHAISE LOUNGE
OTTOMAN: SLIDES IN AND OUT OF LARGER CHAIR
FALL 2018 FURNITURE STUDIO - “THE SUPPLEMENTARY CHAIR”
This chair was also created using bent plywood lamination. Each layer of the seat and legs was formed around a mold and glued into the final shape. The only connection between the seat and the legs are 4 lap joints with embedded dowels for added strength. The form for this chair is simple and is based on supplementary angles. The seat and front leg are both based on a 115° angle, which creates an dynamic loop between seat and arm rest similar to parallel lines with a transversal. Thus the back angle is 65°, the resulting supplementary angles of the transversal diagram.
1.5 INCH THICK BENT PLYWOOD SEAT
2x - 1”X3”X18” STRETCHERS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
2x - 3 INCH X 1.5 INCH BENT LEG
8
9
10
1. 18 INCH X 48 INCH PLANE 2. 18 INCH X 48 INCH PLANE 3. 18 INCH X 48 INCH PLANE 4. 18 INCH X 48 INCH PLANE 5. 3/4 INCH DOWEL 6. 1/2 INCH DOWEL 7. 2X4 SOUTHERN YELLOW PINE 8. 6 INCH X 88 INCH PLANE 9. 6 INCH X 88 INCH PLANE 10. 6 INCH X 88 INCH PLANE 11. 6 INCH X 88 INCH PLANE
4x - 3/4 INCH DIAMETER DOWEL - 3 INCH LENGTH 4x - 1/2 INCH DIAMETER DOWEL - 3 INCH LENGTH
11
1.5 INCH THICK BENT PLYWOOD SEAT
3/4 INCH DIAMETER DOWEL - 3 INCH LENGTH 1/2 INCH DIAMETER DOWEL - 3 INCH LENGTH
1”X3”X18” STRETCHER
3 INCH X 1.5 INCH BENT LEG
3 INCH X 1.5 INCH BENT LEG
“Every truly original idea – every innovation in design, every new application of materials, every technical invention for furniture - seems to find its most important expression in a chair.” -GEORGE NELSON
SELWYN Q BACHUS II 1032 W CLEVELAND ST FAYETTEVILLE, AR 72701 SQBACHUS@UARK.EDU | 402 871 5192 EDUCATION: Fay Jones School of Architecture (University of Arkansas)- Fayetteville, Arkansas Bachelor Of Architecture May 2019 ACADEMIC HONORS AND RECOGNITION: Mort Karp Award Graduation award for the 5th year architecture student with the greatest concern for social justice and equity in design. Dean’s Circle Scholarship Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2017, Spring 2018 WORK EXPERIENCE: University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture Teaching Assistant (Architectural Theory) (January 2019- Present) Provoke theoretical discussions focused on the development of architectural design, Manage attendance and schedules, Lead classes in the absence of the Professor DLR Group Chicago, IL/ Omaha, NE Summer Intern (May 2018- August 2018) (June 2016- August 2016) (May 2017-August 2017) Assisted in composing master plans, Assisted in estimating master planning costs, Assisted in code analysis, Created site and context computer models and diagrams, Assessed and documented building conditions for maintenance and repair, Worked on professional drawings and documents, Arranged presentations for Nebraska AIA awards University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture Design Lab Shop Technician (September 2017- Present) Assist in design and construction of school-wide fabrication projects, Monitor use of laser cutters, CNC machine, and various other equipment, Load/unload raw materials, primarily steel and wood Housing Department, University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas (September 2015 - May 2017) Serve as a resource for 100+ students on my floor, and over 1,000 throughout the residence hall, Handle incidents with residents and report as necessary to University Staff to ensure safety and health of all, Engage students with on campus opportunities, resources, and events; by informing them of resources, leading programs, and encouraging on campus involvements New Student and Family Programming Office, University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas Parent Ambassador (January 2015- May 2017) Give parents and students a positive first impression to the university at Orientation, Engage parents during Family Weekend and Spring Family Reunion through helping at events, Give tours of University of Arkansas campus to new students and parents, Write blog posts to keep parents updated/informed about the University and what is happening through the New Student and Family Programming Office LEADERSHIP: Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc Outstanding Undergraduate Award (2018- 2019), Middle Western Region Undergraduate President (April 2018- April 2019), Chapter President (Fall 2016-Spring 2017), Chapter Vice President (Fall 2018- Present) American Institute of Architecture Students, University of Arkansas chapter: National Organization of Minority Architecture Students, Univ. of Arkansas chapter Charter Member of University of Arkansas Chapter, Board Member, Treasurer Fay Jones School of Architecture Student Ambassador
Dear Reader, Thank you greatly for taking the time to examine the work displayed in this portfolio. I hope this portfolio sparks questions for conversation, and I look forward to engaging in design discourse with you. Sincerely, SELWYN Q. BACHUS II