PennDesign Graduate Portfolio 03.2012

graduate PORTFOLIO: Architecture + Lanscape + Ecology

WESS DIPTEE

wess diptee education

wessarc@gmail.com Phone: 786.853.1776 Address: 4301 Spruce St, Apt A-408, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

Email:

2010-2014: University of Pennsylvania

- Dual Masters in Architecture + Landscape Architecture Candidate - Certificate in Ecological Architecture - Dean’s Diversity Scholarship (Full Merit) Recipient

2011: Paris American Academy - PennDesign Study Abroad Program

2006-2010: Florida International University

- Bachelors in Science of Arts in Architecture - Worthy Architect (president) of Alpha Rho Chi (Professional architecture fraternity) - A.I.A (American Institute of Architects) member

experience

Summer 2011: PEG-ola + University of Pennsylvania

- Design Assistant for Geo-cell installation + Fabrication - Project awarded the 2011 Boston Society of Architects Research Grant - Project awarded a University Research Foundation (URF) grant.

Spring 2010: FIU School Of Architecture - Digital Fabrications T.A.

2010: Monad Architects

- Assistant Designer for publication: “Pulsation in Architecture”

2009: Urban All Development Group + Chamacol + FIU’s APX

- Little Havana Façade Revitalization Project - Student-planned designs to restore, repaint, improve and upgrade business facades along the 12th avenue of Little Havana, Miami.

Spring 2009: ‘Design in Teheran’ Competition hosted by United Colors of Benetton - Assisted by Francisco J. Paredes of Fullerton Diaz Architects.

Summer 2009: AES Plans & Permits - Construction Documents Drafter

Summer 2008: Nelson Fine Gardens - Landscape Design Assistant

exhibition

PennDesign’s Yearly WORK 2010-2011 edition: - Design Studio 501: “Parametric Paper Plates” - Visual Studies 1: “Spiral Theme”

The Philadelphia Design Building Exhibition 2011-2012: - “Spiral Theme”

AIA Miami Sand Blast Competition 2009: - Team Leader for FIU’s APX Chapter - http://www.aiamiami.com/miami/gallery.php

skills

Rhinoseros 3D: Grasshopper, Paneling Tools, TSplines, Bongo, EZ cam.

Autodesk:

AutoCAD, Revit, Maya

Adobe:

Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, After Effects

Other:

references

Sketch Up, Pepakura, Vray, Maxwell

Available Upon Request

graduate PORTFOLIO:

WESS DIPTEE Table Of Contents:

EDAPHIC EFFECTS PROJECT LOCATION: Kensington, Philadelphia

URBAN VILLAGE PROJECT LOCATION: Brooklyn, New York

SCHUYLKILL SALT SPA PROJECT LOCATION: Schuylkill River, Philadelphia

PARAMETRIC PAPER PLATES PROJECT LOCATION: Temporary Installation at PennDesign

UNFOLDING MARKETS PROJECT LOCATION: McGraw Hill Plaza, New York

PG 1-2 SUMMER 2011

PG 3-8 SUMMER 2011

PG 9-14 SUMMER 2011

PG 15-16 SUMMER 2011

PG 17-22 SUMMER 2011

1. project DESCRIPTION:

Together with a small group of students and PEG-ola, I assisted in the design, fabrication and installation of this geo cell aggregation to reduce storm water run-off.

EDAPHIC EFFECTS

PEGola + PennDesign

RESEARCH BASIS: PEG office of landscape + architecture (Karen M’Closkey + Keith VanDerSys): This project explores the efficacy of customized substrates to develop alternatives to conventional on-site storm water collection. Utilizing digital modeling and computer-controlled fabrication, we were testing whether or not manipulating geo-cells can produce innovative infiltration features that combine their functional requirements with a visibly expressive surface that can add color, pattern and texture to vacant sites.

The customized geo-cell configuration was developed using parametric software to visualize existing and redirected water flow patterns. These patterns helped determine the geo-cell size and distribution of material mixtures between planting and gravel.

This research received a 2011 Boston Society of Architects Research Grant and a University Research Foundation (URF) grant.

FABRICATION ASSEMBLY:

2.

DIGITAL AGGREGATION:

ON-SITE INSTALLATION:

3. project DESCRIPTION:

Urban housing community dwelling that addresses Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center and responds to the resulting gentrification in the currently under utilized neighborhood.

URBAN VILLAGE

Professor: Joe MacDonald

The Urban Village is a social community woven into Brooklyn’s dense urban fabric. It creates a semi semipermeable urban island, juxtaposed by the mega megablocks of commercial malls adjacent to it.

It allows this retrofitted suburban neighborhood typology to rise above its industrial urban context without completly isolating itself, avoiding the critisims of gated communities. The Urban Village is the result of a critical analysis of the evolution of city dwelling, a re-emphasis on “neighborhood”, and a expression of social ecology.

4.

MASSING EVOLUTION:

5.

PLANS 1ST + 2ND LEVEL PLAN

3RD LEVEL PLAN

11.

4TH LEVEL PLAN 17.

13.

12.

21.

20.

16.

10.

9.

15.

19.

1.

5.

6.

4.

2.

8.

7.

3.

FRONT ELEVATION

14.

18.

6.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Each housing block, 1 unit thick, optimizes the cross-flow of natural ventilation and natural light entering into each living space as well as each parking deck.

Staggered terracing of each duplex housing block allows the roof gardens and green communal spaces to visually cascade down into the main public greenspace which connects the village to its urban context. superA pre-school, library, super market and retail stores on the 1st and 2nd floor perimeter help to sustain the needs of the residents housed above it.

SECTION PERSPECTIVE

PROGRAM

1. storage room 2. convenience store 3. pre-school 4. lobby 5. reading room 6. library 7. study room 8. guest parking entrance 9. public park 10. guest parking 11. residential parking entrance 12. residential parking 13. retail 14. guest parking 15. lower level of duplex units 16. lower level of duplex units 17. residential parking 18. residential parking 19. upper level of duplex units 20. upper level of duplex units 21. residential parking 22. roof garden/ terrace

ROOF PLAN 22.

22.

22.

22.

22.

7.

RENDERINGS:

8.

9. project DESCRIPTION: To create a new social experience by designing a communal bath-house that engages and utilizes the cycles of the Schyukill River’s varying salt concentrations for salt baths.

SCHUYLKILL SALT SPA Professor: Keith VanDerSys

Fluid interconnected loops of salt storm water run-off and fresh river water infiltrate, bifurcate and circulate around closely related programatic conditions, thereby setting up a systematic leaching of users through a physical and metaphorical salination and desalination process that occurs within the building. These loops not only determine programmatic composition and circulation, but they create separate pools for collection of fresh Schyukill water and salt water from the storm water run-off in winter months when salt is excessively used on the streets and pavements.

Salinity will be the purifying and bonding mineral element that fortifies the social interactions that occur within semi-public, semi-private gathering places, as well as the element that causes programmatic shifts in buoyancy and circulation.

10.

FORCES OF CIRCULATION FORMING SITE BOUNDARIES

forces of activity acting on the site

FORCES OF CIRCULATION CREATING NODES OF TURBULANCE

forces of activity acting on the site forces from rail activity forces from buildings activity

SITE STRATEGY

forces from street and bike path activity

elevated water-shedding zones

resulting flooding of the site

neutral entrance zone/ landscaping site inundation excavated water collection zones

11.

EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC roof structural skin

inner roof membrane semi-sheltered fresh water pool clean water storage marsh/ flood zone tidal fresh water collection Schulykill River

indoor salt water pool semi-sheltered salt pool overhead bridge/ storm-water source salt water collection salt marsh /flood zone

SALT STILLS WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM salt water intake from storm-water run-off fresh water intake from Schulykill tidal changes natural and mechanical evaporation from heated interior environment clean water condenses into the inner-membrane and collects in storage tank

SECTIONS

12.

14.

1ST FLOOR PLAN

22.

18.

3.

17.

6.

2.

15.

24.

16.

5.

20.

1.

23.

19.

4.

8.

7.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

21.

14.

1. grass terrace entry way 2. main entrance lobby 3. separate library entrance 4. separate gym entrance 5. office/ front desk 6. gallery 7. gym room 1 8. gym office 9. salt pool 10. sauna 11. salt therapy room

12. salt pool 13. storm water collection pool 14. salt marsh/ flood zone 15. steam room 16. treatment room 17. fresh water pool 18. river water collection 19. water treatment/ storage room 20. mechanical room/ storage 21. outdoor green perimeter walkway 22. outdoor green perimeter walkway

24. kayak dock 25. men’s locker room 25. women’s locker room 27. library 28. cafe/ bar 29. cafe/ bar seating 30. salt therapy room 31. meeting room 32. meeting room 33. yoga/ meditation/ disco

2ND FLOOR PLAN

25.

29.

27.

28.

26.

30.

31.

32.

33.

13.

INTERIOR RENDERINGS:

14.

EXTERIOR RENDERINGS:

15. project DESCRIPTION: To manually understand the process of aggregation and modulation through means of using a single component (paper plates) and a single means of joint, point and linkage connections (bulldog paperclips).

PARAMETRIC PAPER PLATES

Professor: Julie Beckman

PHYSICAL MODEL:

PERFORMANCE:

FOLDING PROCESS:

16.

MODULAR CONFIGURATIONS:

MODULAR AGGREGATION:

Modular configurations for food displays are in response to the different geometric properties of the ingredients being displayed.

As such the undulations and curvature created is driven by the food placement since the ingredient displayed determines the degree of concavity as well as convexity which the rest of the structure must respond to in order to hold ingredients in place.

Ingredients occur in proportion to the quantity of each required for the recipe.

While the top surface displays a smooth topology with connections only appearing at the ingredients, the underbelly illustrates a complex labyrinth of geometric controls and structural connections.

17. project DESCRIPTION:

To design a custom prefab light-weight deployable structure which can be configured to create different modules to serve different programmatic and functional purposes.

UNFOLDING MARKETS Professor: Julie Beckman

The Epiphytic Rice Market creates an interconnected network of relationships between itself as an agricultural public market space growing off an unused urban restaurant court yard and the restaurants in the immediate vicinity that it grows and supplies rice to.

The modular panels used allow multiple interchangeable configurations which respond to the diverse and seasonally alternating needs of the public users.

18.

CONFIGURATIONS: COMPONENT MODULE

SERVING/ STORAGE

DISPLAY/ MULTIPLE SEATING

STAGE/ PODIUM

SHELTER/ SHELL

- steel sheets frames

- serving table

- screen displays

- speakers

- storage pockets

- hinged perforated flaps

- wine wall

- fold down seating

- lifted stage/ podium

- hinge-hook attachments

19.

CROSS SECTION: building masses and vertical circulation

CIRCULATION: McGRAW HILL - SUNKEN PLAZA - STREET

rice panels and catwalks

plaza

LONGITUDINAL SECTION:

CIRCULATION: RAISED PLAZA - SUNKEN PLAZA - RAISED PLAZA

20.

PROGRAMATIC LAYOUT:

rice cream station

stage pavilion

rice storage + processing tower

rice restaurant

sushi + saki bar

21.

RENDERINGS:

22.