Graduate Portfolio_Archer

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budarcher selected works: graduate program, utk 2012 - 2016



selected works m.arch portfolio; university of tennessee 2012-2016 This monograph represents the collection of work created during my time in the graduate program at UTK’s College of Architecture and Design.


01 02 03 04 05

reconnecting the urban web

beardsley community farm

18th street art center

ut botanical gardens

capitol view


urban field

analog fabrication

digital fabrication

photography

06 07 08 09


01 Location Chicago, IL Date Sp. 2015 Advisors Tricia Stuth James Rose Valerie Friedmann

reconnecting the urban web Thesis on Infrastructural Integration Originally attempting to devise urban planning techniques for Olympic games and utilizing similar mega-events as urban catalysts for cultural, social, and infrastructural change, this Masters Thesis evolved beyond its original scope after research and investigation into the planning and legacy of such mega-events. Chicago’s south side, a proposed site for the 2016 Olympics, has many disastrous lingering effects from modernist urban ideas. This project began by looking at the scale of the city and its relationship to the specific neighborhood that was being proposed as an Olympic Village. The resulting research led to a realization that the entire neighborhood was isolated - physically, socially, economically, and culturally, among many other factors. The disparity in necessities and amenities available to the community needed to change.


01 02

the urban imaginary - hand drawn cityscape


N

POPULATION: 13,775 COMM MMUTER TRAIN STOPS: S 5

AREA: 1.511 SQ MI 967 ACRES

LAKEFRONT: 4000 LINEAR FT

LIBRARIES: 8

AVG DIST: 0.27 MI

BUS STOPS: 116

GREENSPACE: 367 ACRES

MARKETS, GROCERY STORES, ETC: 15+

THEATERS: 12 ART GALLERIES: 17

CAFES, DIN INERS, RESTAURAN NTS: 900+

SUBWAY STOPS: 17

MUSEUMS: 7

100% 00% 0

SCHOOLS: 4

9 % 95% 89% 9

100% 00% 0 89% 9

88% 8 83% 3 73 73% 3 3% 64% 4

57% 7 48% 39% 9 25% 5

the loop

W

7.5 Miles

m2

E

5% 11% 1

12% 2 17% 7

0% %

0% % 11% 1

27% 7 MUSEUMS: 0

36% 6 43% 3 52% 2

ART GALLERIES: 2

CAFES, DINERS, RESTAURANTS: 50+

61% 1

AREA: 1.65 SQ MI 1056 ACRES

BUS STOPS: 86 POPULATION: 22,000

75% 5

SUBWAY STOPS: 2

MARKETS, GROCER RY STORES, ETC: 2+ COMMUTER TRAIN STOPS: 1 AVG DIST: 1.6 MI

GREENSPACE: 208 ACRES L LIBRARIES: 3

LAKEFRONT: 9000 LINEAR FT SCHOOLS: 12

S

chicago: urban disparity

THEATERS: 0

douglas


03 04

various transportation and architectural barriers surrounding the site on three sides

elevated multi-lane highway I-55 stevenson expressway

115 acre convention center mccormick place

sunken multi-lane highway I-90 dan ryan expressway

multi-use railroad tracks metra commuter train

superblock housing complexes dearborn homes

0

400 400

isolated neighborhood physically, urbanistically, economically, transportationally, racially, and more

douglas: barriers + isolation

800

1,600

2,400

Feet 3,200

sunken multi-lane roadway lake shore drive


existing conditions

proposed conditions

transportation ecology public space disconnected grid

reconnected grid

P

last train stop

continuous transit

?

prairie shores - existing urban condition - building; transportation; greenspace

park in series

park in network

S

2 MILE

S

2 MILE

P

prairie shores - proposed infrastructure wall

perforated wall

urban condition - building/transportation/ greenspace


05 06

urban morphologies

Due to the investigation in the lack of an effective transportation infrastructure and the wasted potential of public green space, the project became about an urbanism and architecture of transportation, ecology, and public space integration. Modernist principles promoted disparate urban and architectural program, which led to uninhabitable public green space. Prejudiced city planning led to division within the neighborhood and lack of public transit access. The first step was to re-urbanize this neighborhood with its surroundings based on urban morphology examples. prairie shores: masterplan


Finally, similar to the urban morphologies, a taxonomy of architectural morphologies was created as a framework of rapid architectural potentials based on specific contextual drivers within the site. These morphologies were based on a variety of needs and uses that alone were not unparalleled. However, a hybridization of these forms created a more rich variety that serviced multiple needs simultaneously. These hybrids were created based on the specific needs of each location within the neighborhood where they could most effectively support the idea of infrastructural integration of the three areas of focus: transportation variety, ecological responsibility, and capacious public space in order to create a sustainable, active, and diverse neighborhood. This project used a combination of digital painting and illustration, hand rendering, and GIS information systems for final graphical output.

public space + transportation | variety of program and movement


07 08

architectural morphologies


public space + ecology | rainwater control to lake michigan; urban lake and botanic gardens

public space + transportation + ecology | civic building and greenspace with a variety of non-conflicting means and methods for travel


09 10

public space + transportation + ecology | rainwater runoff-constructed wetland park located under interstate


02 Location Knoxville, TN Date Fa. 2014 - Sp. 2016 Professors Jennifer Akerman Bob French Collaborators Bailey Green + 45 students

beardsley community farm Design/Build/Evaluate: Urban farm in a City park This project is understood to be more than a service building — it is expressly designed to create a real community place and to help Beardsley more effectively engage the residents of this neighborhood. Built as a teaching tool, the shelter will educate farm visitors and volunteers about sustainable living/farming/design principles. In support of this, the design heightens sustainable strategies such that they become elegant and essential features of the place. The overall strategy of the design was using contemporary methods and technology within a classic framework of construction. Due to the nature of design/build projects, much of the design was considerate of student constructability and fabrication. In addition, budget was a major factor due to Beardsley being a non-profit sponsored by the local government. This led to many partnerships with local trades, manufacturers, and distributors who were able to donate their time, products, or materials in support of student learning. *see chapter 07 for fabrications related to this project


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fen ce a

nd

rai n

scr een

roo f

str u

ctu

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ram

fur

nit

ure

ing

/ca

sew ork

str uc fen tural est ma rat s ion onry +

Rock + Tree


13 14

The design approach to the “Rock and Tree� is characterized by a series of overlays and contrasts, just as Beardsley Farm itself is a contrasting entity—a farm within the urban fabric. The rock represents a durable heart embedded in the earth, while in the foreground the tree shrouds the rock with dappled light. As a group we agreed that the simple palette of rock and tree emphasizes an agrarian aesthetic and the economy of means inherent in a vernacular ethic. Additionally, the new building integrates compact functional program, allowing it to become a service and teaching tool for Beardsley Farm and the greater community. The idea of this contemporary vernacular type situates itself on all scales of the project: in site, in plan, and in detail.


summer

fall/spring

winter


15 16

SITE

A bamboo shoot fence, sourced for free from Knoxville city property, wraps the primary edge of the demonstration garden and locks into the existing chain link fence providing cost efficient definition, security, and rural elegance. Openings are selectively cut throughout the bamboo fence, providing a sense of porosity and clarified circulation while the

arrangement and spacing of the shoots facilitate a blurred visual transparency into the garden. Additionally, an accessible ramp and amphitheater oriented toward the residential community are programmed into the edge of the site, supporting the farm’s standing openness while turning the once disparate field into a singular, accessible campus.


The heart of the building houses office spaces, a multi-purpose classroom, and restrooms, while the main circulation zone is strategically programmed with storage space and seating. At critical points throughout the building, the brick is opened with windows and clerestory for optimal viewing of the garden, increased daylighting, and cross ventilation. The exterior classroom, storage zone, and courtyards are defined as the bamboo fence reaches around the brick structure. Overall, the program was designed simply and efficiently for constructability, economy, and efficiency.


PLAN

17 18


As the details were being considered, we decided to take a lowtech approach to achieve maximum functional and educational value with the lowest cost. A double-wythe structural masonry wall construction was chosen for simplicity of material language and traditional building methods. Contemporary technology was infused with this traditional method by way of a brick veneer and air cavity, but the veneer was used atypically on the interior of the building for a variety of reasons. The rest of the structure was traditional wood framing with offthe-shelf locally available lumber materials. The project was carried through design development drawings in one semester with construction documents occuring the following spring and construction in the summer. A Rhinoceros model containing every single brick, all framing members, and builtins - helped during fabrication/ construction phase.


H-LOC METAL ROOF PANELS, @ 16” O.C. ALIGNED WITH COLUMN GRID

PRE-ENGINEERED 2x4 TRUSSES

19 20

SOLID-CORE BRICK SILL 5” BOX GUTTER TO DRY-WELLS

DOUBLE 2x6 TOP PLATE

3x3x3/16” STEEL ANGLE BRICK SHELF @ CLERESTORY; 3x3x3/8” STEEL ANGLE BRICK SHELF @ WINDOWS + JAMBS

16MM POLYCARBONATE CLERESTORY PANELS 2x6 STRUCTURAL CLERESTORY FRAMING RECYCLED BAMBOO RAINSCREEN CHAIN-LINK FENCE STRUCTURE

DOUBLE-WYTHE EXTERIOR STRUCTURAL BRICK WALL

MASONRY TIES @ 8’-3” + TOP OF WALL OPEN-CELL SPRAY FOAM INSULATION BRICK VENEER AS AN INTERIOR FINISH DOUBLE-WYTHE BRICK WINGWALLS FLASHING

DRAINAGE MAT + WATER BARRIER #3 REBAR DOWEL @ 48” O.C.

CONCRETE DRAINAGE DAM CMU FOUNDATION 4” CONCRETE SLAB

FOUNDATION WATERPROOFING 4” GRAVEL

DETAIL

FRENCH DRAIN

2” RIGID SLAB INSULATION CONTINUOUS CONCRETE FOOTING



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03 Location Santa Monica, CA Date Sp. 2014 Professors Lawrence Scarpa of Brooks + Scarpa Brandon Pace of Sanders Pace Collaborator Ryan Stechmann

18th street arts center Public Arts Complex Conceived of as a continuous series of connected public spaces, this project - located on valuable land near a new Los Angeles to Santa Monica Light Rail system - weaves a journey throughout the complex allowing the viewer to see art pieces and art-making in process. The entry plaza links the various activity spaces together. It extends downward into the main gallery space one level below grade, creates a new entry for the existing Highways performance theater, and travels upward through a series of live/work studios and a rooftop performance space. At the culmination of the journey is a multi-functional theater and garden that takes advantage of expansive views of the San Gabriel Mountains to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, and downtown Los Angeles to the east. Along the path to the roof space is a series of live/work studios that open up to the visitor, providing a more intimate opportunity for experiencing active gallery spaces. The entire site becomes one large public space full of different galleries and event locations, providing the most exposure of art to the visiting public.


25 26


public space + circulation

DIAGRAM [PUBLIC SPACE]

The two structures display material dichotomy - the gallery exists as an exposed concrete form emerging from and as a part of the landscape while the live/work building towers over it as a wood-clad structure, impossibly separated from the ground. The materials speak to different program

- one completely public and the other as a public/private hybird. The wooden skin over the concrete skeleton provides a dappled-light ‘canopy’ and privacy for living units. The two materials weave together on the site, promoting transparency of public spaces throughout.


27 28


Dramatic cantilevers define the new buildings on the site. The main gallery is a continuation of the entry plaza, extending underground below the office administration spaces where controlled light is critical. In the opposite direction from the entry plaza, an oversized ramp connects the ground-level plaza with the

second-level of the live/work studios. This begins the journey through the exhibitionist studio galleries, allowing the public to see art-making in process. This public ramp and subsequent stairways leads to the rooftop garden and theater, which will host public film screenings.


29 30 open galleries RO O

FG

AR

DE

N+

TH

EAT

unit connections PU LIV

BLIC

EU

WO R

KU

NIT

S

NIT

S

PAT H

ER


physical model


31 32

iterative sketches


PART A

04

Location Knoxville, TN Date Sp. 2013 Professor James Rose

ut botanical gardens Visitors Center As an entry point for the University of Tennessee Botanical Gardens, this visitor’s center is meant to be more of a space-definer and circulation-director than a building. Housing office staff, classrooms and an indoor conservatory for seed and plant propagation, the indoor spaces were pulled in a linear manner towards the back of the site to better communicate with the existing educational buildings and divert public traffic towards the gardens to the south. The large outdoor gateway creates a grand entry as well as provides protected outdoor space for the seasonal weekly farmers market, as well as other large-scale events.


33 34


Using the design as a pre-emptive destination for a not-yet-existing quad, the sculptural ampitheater building doubles as an underground lecture-hall, creating a focal point to the oversized and undefined greenspace that does not yet exist. The butterfly roof of the main building collects water while also framing an expanding view to the garden, and the northern circulation hallway allows every indoor space to have that same view south. The building acts as a sculptural axial terminus as well as a low-profile service shed, helping to create a new identity to an often-forgotten area of campus.


35 36



37 38


PART B

04

Location Knoxville, TN Date Sp. 2013 Professor James Rose Collaborators Jack Wimsatt

high ground UT Gardens Teaching Pavilion This project was intended to be a design/build opportunity investigating the incorporation of a new teaching pavilion with the existing context of the UT Gardens. The geology of East Tennessee initiated the idea of upward movement of the earth to provide a space for people to occupy and to learn about the gardens. We called this terrain integration, which utilizes a visual and conceptual connection between the architecture and the landscape. The teaching pavilion uses the field of the terrain to create the form of the building. The visual connection between the pavilion and the ground plane through the form of the roof mimics the beauty of the area’s foothills. The concept of the hill allows us to use the building to divert and control the site’s existing water problems, using that water to help sustain the surrounding plant life. High Ground is the integration of building with landscape, poetics with pragmatics, and plant life with human occupancy.


39 40


The majority of the structure consists of site-cut LVL beams resting on an outdoor kitchen unit completely enclosed with exterior-grade wood composite panels that backs up to the retained hillside. Due to its goal of being a student-built project, final deliverables included structural loading calculations, cost analysis, and detailed construction drawings in order to calculate feasability for further design development.


18” x 18” Green Roof Trays with Buffalo Grass Roofing Membrane and Flashing Steel Angle 1 1/2” Tongue and Groove Wood Decking 14” Curved LVL Microlam Beam Bridging

Hollow Steel Section 12x6x3/8” Steel Moment Brackets 6” Steel Column

Baseplate 4” min Reinforced Conc Slab 4” min Gravel Fill Reinforced Poured Conc Footing

41 42


05 Location Nashville, TN Date Fa. 2013 Professor T.K. Davis Collaborators Ryan Stechmann Jack Wimsatt

capitol view North Gulch Urban Plan, Nashville TN In partnership with the Nashville Civic Design Center, a new transit-oriented development was planned in downtown Nashville on the site of former industrial and un-used land. This project profited on the proximity and visibility of the state capitol building, as well as the ability to connect downtown with many adjacent neighborhoods. With the growth and improvement of many nearby areas, this site was ideal for mixed-use development - embracing the population growth to achieve better downtown density, creating a focal point and destination for travelers, and creating space for the growing and evolving business sector. There was a focus given to walkability and public space. To help combat traffic into and out-of downtown, this project is centered around a lightrail transit hub. Despite being a destination for neighborhing areas, all of the streets in the core of the development are pedestrian only. All traffic and parking structures are located at the periphery, encouraging people to travel by rail or foot.


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SCALE: 1”=300’

EXISTING FIGURE GROUND

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NASHVILLE ELECTRIC SERVICE

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THE TENNESSEAN

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UNION STA

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Residential

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Religious

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THE HERM

TSU

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MARATHON MOTOR WORKS

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landmarks

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Axis Mundi Focal Object

Parking Traffic Path

Directional Focus

vehicle loop

axis mundi

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‘11th north arcade’ - the pedestrian cross axis

CHARLOTTE

JO JOHNSTON

12TH AVE LOOP

11TH AVE

10TH AVE ROWHOUSES

STATION LOOP

MAJOR STREET MINOR STREET

STREET KEY

TRAFFIC LOOP

10 TH AV E

F

ONE-WAY C

ONE-WAY D

ONE-WAY E

E

ONE-WAY F

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D

CH

AV E

TH 11 E AV .

street layout diagramming

STREET LAYOUTS

existing site photos

‘capitol view’ - the central public space

AR

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C B A

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STO HN JO

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ONE-WAY A & B

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06 Location Knoxville, TN Date Fa. 2012 Professor Matt Hall

urban field Mixed Use Live/Work Situated on a corner gateway lot to a historic urban area thriving with nightlife, this project celebrates public space in an area where none currently exists. Instead of following standard protocol of aligning with the street edge, these mixed-use live/work buildings were pulled away from the street, creating a forecourt plaza programmed intentionally for public gatherings to support the cultural anchor: a community theater. In lieu of using the buildings to define ‘standard’ urban edges, landscaping created a soft threshold to define an outdoor room in both the front public and back private spaces. This project was part of a study of the ‘urban field’ condition - as opposed to the ‘urban pocket’ or ‘urban infill’ condition - and relationship between the building, site, and surrounding context. Supporting multiple parts of life [live/work/play] was critical for this project, as it was a gateway into this part of the city, as well as a connector to the rest of downtown.


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49 50


As the units combined retail/workshop spaces with their residential counterparts above, there was a need for balancing public and private spaces; making the site vibrant and complex while allowing private moments for the entrepeneurs who resided there permanently. The placement of the buildings themselves create a shared private garden behind them while defining a shared public plaza in front. The materiality also supports this complex public/private dialog. Wood slats not only formally define the private areas above, but they also provide visual distortion for privacy, shading, and noise protection from the neighboring highway, just as the landscaping does.


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PART A

07 Date Fa. 2013 Professor Matt Culver

analog fabrications TV Stand Small-scale design creates a dialog between concept and detail. The overall thematic design direction informs every decision throughout the process, even to the smallest detail. These projects exemplify this process, while highlighting various methods of production and fabrication. This piece of furniture is an analog fabrication using woodworking and metalworking tools. Inspired by mid-century designers, this TV stand celebrates minimalism, clarity of materials, and formal expression. Made from boards of hickory using manual lamination techniques, the main body of the piece consists of a single loop of wood. The support structure is made from a continuous loop of round-stock steel that is embedded under the wood. This furniture project helped me value the ability of using materials in unique ways, as well as the attention to detail required for such a functional and tactile object.


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PART B

07 Date Fa. 2015/Sp. 2016 Colleagues Jennifer Akerman Bailey Green

analog fabrications Doors, Casework, Furnishings @ Beardsley Farm During the construction phase of Beardsley Community Farm, there were many parts that the team at UT were responsible for, ranging from pre-cast concrete formwork to interior built-in furniture. This series of constructions show a variety of materials and methods in concrete, steel, and wood fabrication. In order to save construction costs, we fabricated all of the concrete formwork for sills and lintels with advice and material provided by local artisans. We also constructed the structural steel column bases using the college’s digital fabrication equipment and finished them in-house. The majority of the fabrication we were responsible for included custom exterior door panels, interior work surfaces, and all interior casework. Based off of student ideas, we turned designs into reality.


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pre-cast window sills + lintels


59 60

structural column bases

custom signage


exterior doors

door hardware


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interior casework

desks + worktops


08 Date Fa. 2014 Professor Keith Kaseman Collaborators Ryan Stechmann Jessica Porter

digital fabrications Analog/Digital Trans-Maneuvers This project concerns itself with the design process transitioning back and forth from digital and analog resources. Starting with a small pre-selected object [analog], the intention was to transcribe the form and manipulate it [digitally], then create a model [analog] and manipulate it, rebuilt it [digitally] and make more modifications, and then finally fabricate a final object [analog] using digital fabrication resources such as a water-jet cutter and CNC mill. This design celebrates material dialog, light, chroma, and contrasting forms. The process began with each person selecting a non-contextual plastic model piece and re-creating its geometry in digital format. In the second step, the teams were to experiment with manipulating the forms and creating one cohesive composition. Due to the conflicting nature of our pieces - one was a monumental angular piece of armor from a Mobile Suit Gundam model, while the other was a very uniform curve from a Batmobile model - this contradistinction became the theme of the project.


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abrasive water-jet threader die cnc mill

16 gauge steel sheet

3/8� cold-rolled steel

3/4� birch plywood


The concept of contradistinction drove every decision. Both models were kept discreet while attempting to interact. This meant that the formal language of the two must be completely different. The carapace was sharp and angular with monumental formal moves. The viscera was smooth and curved with no hard angles at all. We chose two contrasting materials - steel and plywood - that are both non-natural “natural� materials. The steel creates a hard shell promoting the angular and structural nature of the form, while the plywood creates a soft and loose interplay of non-interacting organic forms. Disputing this perception of the strength and structure of the steel is a series of steel rods that actually create rigidity in the wood and allows the steel to float above the ground. Contrasting the natural textures and patterns of the materials, we painted all of the interior cuts of the plywood with a fluorescent blue paint and illuminated the model with a fluorescent bulb. All of these decisions led to a construct that continuously battled between two different realities of perception.

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09 Location Oxford, England Detroit, MI Chicago, IL Los Angeles, CA etc. Date Sp. 2007 Su. 2012 Fa. 2012 Sp. 2014 etc.

photography During various travels throughout my undergraduate and graduate programs, I experienced and studied many architectural, landscape, and artistic locations or events. The following are a few highlights of those travels. The majority of these photographs focus on three elements: composition, form, and color. They do not try and capture the feeling of being at these locations, but rather capture a fractured view that blends light and color, form and space, layering and depth. They capture the abstract with a foundation in reality.


67 68 Chicago, IL [2012]


Salzburg, Austria [2007]

Chicago, IL [2012]


Detroit, MI [2012]

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Los Angeles, CA [2014]


Oxford, England [2007]


Cincinnati, OH [2012]

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