STEFAN M. KAISER B.Arch. Syracuse University SOA Portfolio of Selected Work
STEFAN M. KAISER email: smkaiser@syr.edu
tel: (775) 343-8180
01
Reconstructing Diplomacy
02
Project H.O.M.E.
03 O.L.E.R.C
04
Haus K in O
05 Baufeld 77
06
Palazzo imagetm
07
Sketches, Drawings
Perspective Collage I - Place de la Concorde and Consular Services
THESIS: RECONSTRUCTING DIPLOMACY Program: Advisors: Location: Awards:
American Embassy Martin Haettasch Ryan Ludwig Paris, France Ralph T. Walker Prize Citation for Excellence
In Paris, a robust security zone buffers the embassy, intruding into the surrounding urban fabric and alienating the public. While the embassy might be a forum for official diplomatic discourse, it inconveniences and aggravates the public. As I see it, the American diplomatic mission begins at the furthest extent of the security perimeter. The interstitial space between the Parisian city streets and the highly secure diplomatic offices can be used to draw the public into the diplomatic discourse. I want to make the embassy more accessable to the citizens who, in the age of Internet, globalization and instantaneous worldwide communication, participate in international affairs in a way that was impossible 100 years ago. My project embodies transformation and integration of the embassy and the host city, acknowledging the inherent tension between the sovereign territories and mediating security concerns. The site exemplifies a problem with American embassies all over the world: a disjunction between the embassy and the host city that creates friction, misunderstanding, and even violence. I contend that the interstitial space between the embassy building and the host city, can be redesigned to foster public engagement without sacrificing security. By extension, the embassy will then transition from its current status as aloof, obtrusive American political sanctum to become a facilitator of international cooperation and understanding on the ground.
1875
1850
1825
Diplomatic Relations with France
1800
1775
First US Diplomatic Mission, Tangier
American Foreign Relations with Europe
Benjamin Franklin
French Revolution
WW1
WW2
2000
1975
London Design Competition
2025
Standard Embassy Design Implemented
Saarinen, London Breuer, The Hague
1950
1925
1900
W2
First US Embassy Constructed Paris
American Foreign Relations with the Middle East
Beirut Lebanon
Nairobi Kenya
Dar es Salaam Tanzania
Benghazi Libya
Additionally, Paris is a city of facades. The vertical plane of the built environment does not often communicate the function of the program behind. Courtyards and hidden open spaces are found only once you slip behind the facade.
PROGRAM: EXISTING EMBASSY The American Embassy contains program that varies from location to location. In large part the embassy is an office building with supporting functions like consular services, meeting rooms, a press room, library, cafeteria, work out facilities, and a general store. My project proposes additional program as well as a repositioning of some of the existing services. A culture center, touris information services and business offices will be added. Also, the library and consular services will be placed in locations accesible by the public in order to facilitate exchange of knowledge.
Berlin, Germany . Venturi & SB . 1994
The city of Paris has a complex relationship with interventions similar to what I am proposing. Haussmann’s boulevards were constructed to allow light and air into the city core and yet they also cleared the path for artillery fire and marching soldiers to suppress insurrection in the midieval city scape.
London, England . Saarinen . 1956
Paris is the location of the first embassy built by the United States. The project was constructed in 1931 and is prominently located on the corner of the Place de la Concorde, just off the Champs Elysees. The location of the embassy is similar to other embassies in urban centers like Berlin and London.
Paris, France . Delano & Aldrich . 1931
SITE: PARIS, FRANCE
Existing Perimeter Site Plan Collage
right] across]
Perimeter Park Collage Perimeter Facade Collage Perimeter Alley Collage Analagous Berlin Collage
top] right] across top] across bottom]
Existing Plan - Grayscale hatch denotes security level
A -7 -8
-9
-10
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-12
-13
-9
-8
-7
-6
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
-12
7
6
5
4
B
3
-11
2
1
0
-10
-1
-2
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-5
-4
6
-3
5
-2
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3 -1
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1
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Reconstructed Plan - Red denotes intervention
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b
Security Layers
a]
Security Zones
b]
User Access
c]
Unrolled Perimeter Push/Pull
across]
c
Section I - North/South cutting through monolith, consular services and diplomatic island
Section II - West/East cutting through park, culture center and tourist services
Perspective II - Landscape Culture Center
Perspective III - Rue Boissy d’Anglais and the public library
1/16 Scale Final Model - Constructed using angle iron, MDF, acrylic, wooden dowels, museum board
1/128 Final Site Model - Constructed using MDF, foam insulation, wooden dowels, gesso
Intervention A - Early facade intervention proposal
Preliminary iterative models
1/16 Scale Final Model - Unrolled Perimeter constructed with pine, laser cut museum board, card stock and acetate
Study models for unrolled perimeter
The Soup Kitchen at Night
PROJECT H.O.M.E.
Program: Advisor: Location:
Transitional Housing in Rittenhouse Square Scott Erdy and Dave McHenry Philadelphia, PA
This project places transitional housing and services in the Rittenhouse Square area of downtown Philadelphia. The client for this project is a non-profit agency named Project H.O.M.E. (Housing, Opportunities for Employment, Medicare, Education). This organization seeks to end homelessness through compassion and care and already operates another facility called Kate’s Place. This proposal would significantly expand Project H.O.M.E.s resources. The formal design strategy follows the narrative of the clients mission: solving homelessness by getting people on the path to self improvement. The soup kitchen marks the end of the daily journey that meanders through the residential tower and the large public spaces like legal services, career assistance facilities and the health center. There is also additional space for a thrift store and grocery store at the street level. The soup kitchen also serves as a beacon that can be seen from across the city.
SITE: RITTENHOUSE SQUARE Rittenhouse Square is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn. The park is surrounded by high rise residences, luxury apartments, and hotels. One of the significant challenges to the site is integrating transitional housing into this high-rent district of the city.
Diagram A Steel Columns and Trusses
Diagram B Public Amenities embedded (Red)
Diagram C Green rooftop terraces
Entry Perspective
SRO’s and Efficiency Plan Transverse Section Front Elevation
above] across left] across right]
Roof Height_367.4
Floor_23 Height_328.5
Floor_22 Height_317.5
Floor_21 Height_306.5
Floor_20 Height_295.5
Floor_19 Height_277
Floor_18 Height_266
Floor_17 Height_255
Floor_16 Height_244
Floor_15 Height_233
Floor_14 Height_222
Floor_13 Height_189.5
Floor_12 Height_178.5
Floor_11 Height_167.5
Floor_10 Height_156.5
Floor_9 Height_145.5
Floor_8 Height_134.5
Floor_7 Height_123.5
Floor_6 Height_103
Floor_5 Height_92
Floor_4 Height_81
Floor_3 Height_70
Floor_2 Height_59
Floor_1 Height_33
Floor_0 Height_0
Floor_-1 Height_-14
Procession to the top sketch Perspective from the park
above] right]
Detail SRO Section and Ground-level plan
Public Amenity Section and Contextual Rendering
View of the tower in context
Screened Interior/Exterior
O.L.E.R.C
Program: Advisor: Location:
Education and Research Center Professor Clare Olsen Syracuse, NY
The project seeks to blur the boundary between interior and exterior spaces, artifice and garden. The formal design began with two intersecting bars oriented for sun exposure and site demands. The heart of the project becomes a transitional space between the different areas of the building. Each wing is programmatically independent of the others. Sectionally, the first floor is dedicated to education and community outreach while the second floor is set aside for laboratory and research facilities. The mission of the research is to find ways to clean up Onondaga Lake, and the visitor center attempts to create public awareness about the life-cycle of water and ways they can conserve and help the environment.
SITE: ONONDAGA LAKE During the late 19th century many resorts were built along Onondaga Lake’s shoreline. However, the waste from the Industrial Revolution led to the severe degradation of the lake water quality. Unsafe levels of pollution led to the banning of ice harvesting in 1901. In 1940 swimming was banned and in 1970 fishing was banned due to mercury contamination. Mercury pollution is still an existing problem for the lake today. Despite the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1973 and the closing of the major industrial polluter in 1986, Onondaga Lake is still one of the most polluted lakes in the United States. Several initiatives, including a 15-year multi-stage program currently under way, have been recently undertaken to clean up the lake.
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The O.L.E.R.C is part of the effort to develop strategies for cleaning the lake and also educate the public on maintaining a healthy environment.
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Overlapping Spaces
a]
Interior & Courtyards
b]
Screened Surfaces
c]
Site Plan and Panorama
across]
c
Transverse Sections
Ground Level Plan
left top] Study Model left bottom]
Final Model
across] Site Model
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b
Program Diagram 1st Level
a]
Program Diagram 2nd Level
b]
Vertical Circulation and Structure
c]
c
HAUS K in O
Program: Advisor: Location: Collaborator:
Music Education School for Blind Children Professor Jurgen Johner Hamburg, Germany Max Marin
The Ottmarschen district of Hamburg, Germany is an historic neighborhood with many significant homes. This project is part of a renovation to an existing palatial house to incorporate a music school for the visually impaired. The focus to design for senses other than sight was particularly compelling. Tactile handrails and floor tiles delineate different kinds of thresholds and materials in different rooms are chosen for their acoustic qualities. The program consists mostly of practice rooms and small group classrooms. There are also offices and two large auditoria, a health center and cafeteria. This new structure is located adjacent to the existing house and operates as a separate entity.
SENSORY DESIGN
Interior Material Index
Designing a school for the visually impaired challenges the architect to work in materials and space that expand on Ledoux’s Architecture Parlante. Materials are chosen for their acoustic and tactile qualities to delineate specific spatial situations throughout the building. For instance, the floor surfaces in the hallway change where doorways are to indicate a threshold. Similarly, outside materials are chosen to help direct students walking the grounds of the school. Most of the public spaces are left with unfinished concrete floors. These are louder spaces such as the cafeteria and stand in contrast to the wood paneled, carpeted practice rooms.
Exterior Material Index
D
20.00
F
E
20.00
20.00
H
G
20.00
40.00
I
20.00
J
20.00
L
K
80.00
22.00
A
B
20.00
D
C
20.00
20.00
70.00
E
G
F
18.00
20.00
H
30.00
32.00
Facade Details
BAUFELD 77
Program: Employer: Location: Collaborators:
Multi - Residential JJ Architekten Hamburg, Germany Muneerah Alrabe, Grant Foster, Mike Ma
This competition specified the use of brick in the facade as one of several zoning and code requirements. We took that and made the brick into an undulating surface texture, waving back and forth. Also, we incorporated a ‘nook’ where residents could read. The building is an ‘L’ shape that completes a housing block. The exterior is red brick and the interior courtyard is painted white brick. The colors contrast with the city park but fit into the neighborhood aesthetic.
SITE: HAFEN CITY HafenCity Hamburg is a project of city-planning where the old port warehouses of Hamburg are being replaced with offices, hotels, shops, official buildings, and residential areas. The project is the largest rebuilding project in Europe in scope of landmass (approximately 2,2 km²). The area of the HafenCity used to be part of the free port, but with the decreased economic importance of free ports in an era of European Union free trade, large container ships and increased border security, the Hamburg free port was reduced in size, removing the current HafenCity area from its restrictions. When completely developed, it will be home to about 12,000 people and the workplace of 40,000 people mostly in office complexes. This area of the city has strict code requirements stipulating the project fits into the existing housing block and maintains the typology of the courtyard.
Residential Block A and B Floor plans
right] across]
floor 5
14
21.5
25
22
23.5
floor 6
Unit Sectional Perspective
Module
Wohnung
Wohnung
Typ 1 Hoher Wohnraum
Housing unit diagrams
Typ 2 Eingeschossig
Typ 3 Eingeschossig
Park View
Courtyard Perspective
Perspectives : Public Spaces Interior & Exterior
PALAZZO image
Program: Advisor: Location: Collaborators:
TM
Film Archive and Exhibition Center Professor Daniel de Riva Florence, Italy Shaun Selberg
The building is intended to house the ever-increasing collection of architectural films of Marco Brizzi and Paola Giaconia. Known as the ‘image’ archive, Marco and Paola have developed one of the most extensive collections of architectural films from the past and present including works such as Metropolis and Super Studios psychedelic films from the 1970’s. The design contends with a diversity of users from visiting tourists, local Florentines and film enthusiasts. The project is rooted in the history of Florence by referencing - formally, programmatically and symbolically - the palazzos of the Renaissance. Formally the building is divided into levels with arrange program to mirror the historical references - public on the ground floor, meeting room on the first floor, and private space on the second floor. The modernization of the palazzo is leveraged by shifting floorplates to create exterior terraces and a shifting atrium core. The facade of the building also mimics the rustication of the Renaissance biuldings.
HISTORICAL ITALIAN CONTEXT
PALAZZO STROZZI STUDIES
CONCEPT: MODERN PALAZZO Modernizing the Palazzo offers several interesting opportunities: the expansion of public space on the ground floor, easier access to the Arno riverfront, exterior terrace space that reconnect the building to the city. Raise the building one level in order to offer public space on the waterfront which will be mostly utilized mostly by tourists. The levels are extended for views to Piazza Michelangelo, Ponte Vecchio and the Palazzo Vecchio on higher floors. These spaces will be utilized mostly by local citizens of Florence and ardent architectural film enthusiasts. Steel columns and poured concrete floors are attached to the curtain wall facade. The windows/facade elements are sized to mimic the rustication of the historical buildings.
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b
Diagram: Lift
a]
Diagram: Extend
b]
Diagram: Structure
c]
Site Plan
across]
c
0
2
1
3
right]
Floor Plans
across top]
East/West Section
across bottom]
Arno Facade Context
1/16 Scale Final Model : Constructed using chip board, cardboard, wire mesh, gray textile and wooden dowels
top]
Riverfront View
left]
Atrium Shift
Casa del Fascio and Duomo . Como, IT
SKETCHES, DRAWINGS & MODELS
Media: Locations:
Graphite sketches, ink on mylar, study and final models Florence, Venice, Como, Rome
The subject of these sketches are projects visited during my travels in Italy. My interests were mainly in breaking down unseen relationships like the sectional comparison between the Casa del Fascio and the Cathedral or the urban armatures surrounding the famous bridges in Florence and Venice. The drawing series is part of an investigation of Alfred Hitchcock’c Rear Window. The drawings analyze the perspectives of the character in the film and also the space of his apartment. Conceptual models and images were initial investigations into the virtual spaces of the movie.
Urban Armatures Mashup - Ponte Rialto in Venice and Ponte Vecchio in Florence
Baroque Church Comparison - Sant’Andrea al Quirinale and San Carlo allo Quattro Fontane . Rome, IT
Conceptual Single Perspective Analysis
Conceptual Single Perspective Drawing and Models
Rear Window Intervention Drawing A - ink on mylar with acetone transfer
Rear Window Investigation Drawing B - ink on mylar with acetone transfer
Overlapping Triangles - Ink on vellum
RESUME Education 2013 2011
Syracuse University School of Architecture . Syracuse, NY Bachelor of Architecture, Minor in Business Management GPA: 3.2, Deans List, SU Chancellor’s Scholarship, Ralph T. Walker Travel Grant Recipient Study Abroad in Florence, Italy
Experience 2012 2011 2008 2007 Skills Employment 2010 2009 Committees 2010-2012 2010 2010-2012 2009-2011 Affiliations 2009-2012 2010 2009-2012 2006-2008
Pb Elemental Design . Intern . Seattle, WA AutoCAD, 3D SketchUp, Photoshop Rendering, Construction Documentation, Design Review Sets Jurgen Johner Architekten . Intern . Think Tank Hamburg 2011 . Hamburg, Germany 3D Rhino, Photoshop Editing, AutoCAD, Photography, Competition Proposals Dave Eckes Architects . Intern . Reno, NV AutoCAD Drawings, Model Building, Site Visits, Client Meetings Eagle Scout Project . Bartley Ranch Regional Park . Reno, NV Led team of 15 volunteers, designed and built a stone retaining wall, planted native trees & bushes Digital Revit, AutoCAD 2013, Rhinoceros 5, SketchUp, V-Ray, Podium, Adobe Programs Laser Cutting, Vacuum Forming, CNC Milling Manual Graphite and Ink Line Drawings, Sketches Models : Rockite, Wire Mesh, Basswood, Strathmore, Acrylic U.S. Forest Service . Wilderness Ranger . Bridgeport, CA Coordinated trail crews in constructing and maintaining trails in the backcountry Lowe’s Home Improvement . Customer Service, Cashier . Reno, NV Exhibition Committee Assistant . Syracuse Architecture Built walls for exhibition installation, mounted prints and vinyl Exhibition Coordinator . Infraredeleven . Syracuse Architecture Designed layout of mounted paintings, models, and prints with faculty-led student team of 5 Retention, Promotion, and Tenure Committee . Syracuse Architecture Student representative to faculty promotion committee Student Liaison Team Member and Peer Advisor . Syracuse Architecture Mentored freshman architecture students American Institute of Architecture Students Freedom by Design . Collaborated to design ADA ramp Architecture Students Organization Volunteer Work for Committee to Aid Abused Women . Reno, NV
STEFAN M. KAISER email: smkaiser@syr.edu
tel: (775) 343-8180