Initially concieved as a radio station with a music venue in a small rural artistic community, this project grew in function so the community could gain economic benefit. The radio waves become the community’s voice reaching out to the surrounding urban areas and gather people in a single place for cultural enjoyment. The facility has been arranged to host various cultural functions from a large concert to small gallery showings. Civic meetings, local arts and craft fairs, and religous sercvices could all be held here. This becomes an icon for music and culture, while giving the locals something in which they can take pride.
top left: Gathering happens in the rear of the festival grounds around a large brick firepit. top right: The base of the radio tower provides the optimal view for a sound technician. bottom: The flexible interior is shown as an acoustic performance and a community art gallery. opposite: Sectional view shows the stacked radio station booth above the main festival stage. The window of the radio booth has been designed to allow an ergonomic view of the crowd.
Located near the Auburn University campus, this project was focused on structural systems that heightened sensory awareness. The concept was to cradle the existing vegetation and use the building as a buffer between the troubles of everyday life and the tranquility sought after via meditation. Repetative structural components, varying elevations, and a system of fabric and wood screens all work together to mentally elevate the body to a different plane of awareness. Light becomes a construction material as the spaces change depending on the amount and permited quality of o light per rmited into the space. The unique surfaces also allow allo ow for the perception of the building from the exterior to change with the activities being held inside.
top: Entry plan; aquatic wing is up, meditation wing is to the right. bottom: Exterior wall of pool room at night. opposite top: Section showing assembly meditation space above the meditation wing. opposite bottom: Details of translucent fabric wall used on the meditation spaces.
Following completion of the Big Dig project, this project was a step towards urban renewal along the scar of old I-93 through the West End in Boston. The site was given an uninterupted view forward overlooking a new public park to be built over the highway tunnel. Two single loaded corridors are spread over five floors in a skip-stop arrangement; vertical circulation within each apartment gains access to floors without corridor access. The concentration of apartment entries is meant to be a catalyst for weaving the lives of the residents. Large communal spaces , or public dens, have been located in the corridors opposite the entries. Modularity of the units has been designed so each unit is built offsite then set into a site built framework. Speeding up construction time, this also allows for the facade to reveal each unit as a puzzle piece to the overall compostion.
this page: Sketchbook pages from abroad studio that visited Mexico City and Ft. Worth, Texas. opposite page top: From class sketchbook for industrial design seminar. opposite page bottom: From a personal travel sketchbook.