Design Portfolio Sloan Springer | M.Arch I | Fall 2009
Foreward Letter of Intent
As I begin writing this letter, I cannot help but ponder the many others of students just like me who aspire to attain their Master of Architecture from such a prestigious program as {SCHOOL NAME HERE}. But then I realize the fallacy of such a thought: other students are not just like me, by any means. Many other students, no doubt, are applying to this program based simply on prestige, or perhaps legacy, but my motivations are based on the reason for such prestige. During the fall of 2007 I spent four months studying in Barcelona, Spain, and it was there my eyes were opened to an entirely new world of design; concepts, ideas, thought processes and reasonings that, prior to, were completely unbeknownst to me. A world that transcends state lines and nationalities, where innovative design is the cornerstone of intellectual development and the line between design theory and actuality is continuously being blurred. In those four months, I learned more about both architecture and my inspirations as an future architect than I have in all my years of study elsewhere. Ever since, I have continuously grown and expanded my perceptions, but most importantly I have discovered just how much I have yet to learn and discover. A transformation has occurred in my mind that words cannot express, and all that I want is to continue maturing this very transformation.
It is these experiences that have led me to aspire to do my graduate work at {SCHOOL NAME HERE}, as I believe it is a program that not only values such ideals, but encourages them to their highest extent. During my undergraduate architecture study at Texas A&M, I have learned that much of the US architecture market places an emphasis on nearly everything but sensitive design, and creativity is almost becoming a rarity among the general make-up of designers. Our legacy on the built environment is becoming that of strip malls and developer housing neighborhoods, all of which are utterly devoid of any sensibility towards any of the growing issues of today. Design is replaced with duplicity, and innovation is conforming to autonomy. I believe that it is up to those who still design with an awareness and sensitivity to the future to bring new life to the built environment. It is my goal to be able to elevate and enhance the environments in which we all exist, and therefore directly influence lifestyles and experiences, and for me there is no better place to further develop these ideals than at {SCHOOL NAME HERE}. For this reason I believe that I am different from many of my peers. For many, this degree is just a stepping stone for licensing, a means to an end, but to me, it is the most critical point in my education; the point at which I define who I am as an architect, and augment my principles and foundation as a design professional.
The critical characteristic that defines me as both an architect and a person is, quite simply, passion. I have no doubt there are better designers, better modelers, better renderers, but few share the absolute passion and joy I have for design. For me, architecture far extends the profile of just a job, and well into the realm of lifestyle. Many of my peers begin their day with some form of disdain for what they spend their day doing, viewing it as a burden, simply something to make ends meet, but every day I wake up with a sense of excitement and vigor for what I do. To me, there is no better job than design, no greater way to spend brainpower. After all, it is architects who, quite literally, design the world we all live in. At the end of the day, who else can experience a space that was, just month prior, simply a fleeting image of the minds eye? Such passion is something that cannot be taught, but rather, something that is an intrinsic part of the mind and heart, and is something that, I believe, embodies the fundamental essence of design. I am equally as passionate about the profession of architecture and its direction, as well as its public and social perceptions. My passion and commitment to a better future, honed by graduate study at {SCHOOL NAME HERE}, will not only enable me to design with great awareness and perception, but also to become a proponent for the betterment of the profession of architecture.
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Fall 2007 10 weeks Juan C. Sanchez CARC 301
Ecopolis Europan Competition Barcelona Study Abroad
Spanning a 20 hectare port site in barcelona, spain, this ecological urban development is a tribute to its sites past as a quarry at the foot of montjuic, a significant landmark of catalunya. The design, formulated from the tectonics of glacial forms with a quarrylike linear directionality, aids to the eco-friendliness of such a massive project with its expansive green roofs and sustainable techniques and technologies. The program encompasses a wide range of uses, from 10,000 protected housing units to multiple business offices, all of which are carefully located to maximize their interaction and interoperability with the site as a whole.
With the site’s location at one of the two main entranceways into barcelona, it was essential for the project to be an iconic image and gateway for the city. The first step in achieving this was to create interaction with the site, allowing the highway to engage through the connection with montjuic. Due to such a massive and varied program, much of the design was focused on the “negative� space, creating significant interactive exterior green spaces, blurring the distinction between programmatic elements, as well as generating multiple areas for recreation.
The housing spaces were based on the historical eixiample blocks in barcelona, where each unit has views to both the outside areas and to the buildings private courtyard. This connection allows for further play between interior and exterior space, with each unit having at least one private green space permeating into the interior.
HOUSING
single family student elderly
extended stay short-term
HOTEL
GREEN SPACE
market
rooftop park
shops
ground park
RETAIL
open space
cruise metro clinic police roads parking
CULTURAL aquarium
museum theatre
COMMERCIAL
SERVICES restaurants
shipping
ofďŹ ces
Program
cultural
hotel
housing
office
el
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Site Analysis
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estadio olympico
a gud del par
placa catalunya
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ram bla s
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montjuic
la ronda litoral placa del mar el mol
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pedestrian
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recreation
retail
vehicular
barceloneta
Site Plan
Site Section
Spring 2008 6 weeks Carlos Reimers
Urban Housing AISC Living Steel Competition
ARCH 305
The initial concept of this mixed-use project, located in downton Montreal, was to accentuate the merger of Avenue du President Kennedy with Boulevard de Maisonneuve, the two streets that form the long facades of the site. This directionality provided a strong footing to work in the context of the site, while also informing the development of the building. To achieve this, the directionalities of the roads acted as the primary axes of the building, alluding to the intersection at the northeastern end of the site. The second conceptual formulation, which was particularly for deriving the massing, came as a solution to the height of the building, generated by the large program and small site. By “pulling� the building apart at its intersection, a sense of permeability is created, and therefore breaking up the mass. In doing so, it was further possible to generate a vertical link to the metro station connection below the site.
In order to provide more space for living and to provide views, the design for the housing units is multi-leveled with the lowest floor acting as either work space (for the live-work units), solely living space, or a mixture of living and sleeping. The intermediary floor, halfway between each main level, is the entry area, where the use is varied. Finally, the top-most floor is primarily for sleeping, whith some units containing living space as well. This stacking of spaces generates both a dynamic circulation inside a unit as well as an entire hallway level for mechanical equipment and service, located every other floor in between unit entry floors. Each unit is focused around a central core, where the kitchens and bathrooms are located, providing an easy vertical mechanical chute.
Due to the location of the metro station below the site, a significant portion of the structure of the building had to be restricted to the northwest length of the site. In response to the two distinct directions of the building, the form was allowed to cantilever out over the land above the metro, and the remaining grounded structure ties in below to the metro. The exterior trussing allows for a column-less interior with beams at every node, and transfers the load from the cantilever down to the structure of the metro station.
Process
accentuate street merger
assimilate surrounding heights
generate permeability
connection to metro station
Housing Units
live-work
1 bedroom (split level)
2 bedroom
3 bedroom
Program
structure
metro
large retail
small retail
restaurant
office space
recreation
housing
Ground Floor
Spring 2008 2 weeks Carlos Reimers ARCH 305
Las Colinas Hotel Design Development Humphreys & Partners
Located in a suburb of Dallas, this 5-star hotel emulates the metropolitan skyline, acting as an urban focal point in a pre-designed suburban mixed-use development. The public portion of the program, totaling nearly as much as the hotel portion, is used to generate a connection between towers, as well as to the connecting site. The boardwalk of the adjacent lake permeates into the site in the form of a skyway, with an enclosed level for shops and a open upper level for pedestrian use. The skyway serves as the main interconnection between all programatic elements, from the hotel to the water-side restaurants and shopping.
Generated at the epicenter of the buildings is a green plaza for public and/or hotel recreational events. The goal of the entire project was to create a interconnected multi-use series of buildings and spaces for use by both the adjacent developments as well as hotel guests, solely relying on pedestrian traffic and therefore eliminating any vehicular need.
The use of green spaces is continued up through the hotel towers, providing a more private experience for hotel guests. A critical notion of the design is to carefully integrate green and urban elements together, generating the positive essences of both urban and suburban environments.
Process
extend boardwalk through site
elevate boardwalk for concentric views
extrude buildings and boardwalk
Program
retail
parking
hotel
boardwalk
Fall 2008 4 weeks Marcel Erminy
Sports Arena HKS Studio
ARCH 405
Envisioned as more than just an arena, this mixedsports venue doubles as a city park with its grassy expanses and rooftop sports fields. The main concepts of the project included creating a way to host both amateur and professional sports at the same time, by having all the exterior space devoted to the park and allowing them to permeate the arena, which dually supports the concept of preserving the existing field and site features by spiraling them up to the roof. In doing so, the form of the building is generated from the vertical spiraling movement of the main ramps, which draw their form in part from studies on ball trajectories and spinning motions.
Interior circulation continues the notions from the exterior with the seating levels spiraling up from the court level. This allows for a seemingly continuous loop throughout the levels, as well as allowing for the concessions and restrooms to be placed under the seating level above, preserving an unobstructed view of the arena from anywhere in the concourse levels. From this, fans are able to visit the concession stands without missing any of the game. In order to further simplify the concourse spaces for spectators, all supporting spaces are sunk to court level below the first concourse seating, further allowing for a more uncluttered and unobstructed experience for all fans.
The longspan structure is comprised of four 5m x 5m space column and truss configurations, allowing for full support of the green roof while still retaining full circulation through the columns. A structural skin of 1/2m diameter cross bracing emphasizes the spinning motion of the curculation and exterior ramps, which are supported by tree columns on a 15m radial grid. In order to further preserve the field and minimize any non-greenspace surfaces, the 2000 space parking lot is sunk below to court level, with light wells and glass shaft elevators.
Concept
integration of green space with program
integration of all levels of sports
Arena Level Plans
first level
Section
second level
third/box level
Site Plan
rooftop park
skin
strucure
box level
second level
first level
parking
court level
Circulation
Photography ENDS 311 & Barcelona Study Abroad
Other Works Bachelor of Environmental Design
State of Architecture Essay
As we progress into this new century, and as I progress deeper into the world of an architecture student, it seems that the everyday voice speaking on architecture and design is quite rarely one of a qualified nature. We now live in a world where the common man, who most certainly deems himself a capable authority on "good" design, speaks of "good" design as if he were, indeed, a designer, praising such practitioners as homebuilders and contractors as the true "geniuses" and "creative minds" of our time. While both such professions are far from unqualified for what they do, they are both a far cry from having the innate sense of design both as the means and the end. It is a shame on those who have spend countless hours studying the intricacies of design and years of grueling investigation into the art known as architecture. To compare the homebuilder to the architect in terms of design is to compare the school nurse to the diagnostician, the on-line stock trader to the Wall Street executive, the burger-flipper to the five-star chef. But what of those who attempt such a comparison? Where do their qualifications lie? While the homebuilder and engineer are most certainly qualified to build and construct, how does such a common man or housewife gain such experience as to accurately judge true design? Does the person fond of fast food and TV dinners have the palate to appreciate the cuisine of a five-star chef? Does he who has never taken a math or science class have the capacity to discuss the laws of quantum physics? Rare is the occasion that such people exist, and I dare say it to be impossible that such an event happen to a multitude in a single century.
I find it rather interesting to see such behavior limited to places in the world where the availability of resources are quite limited... and then the US. Meanwhile, other parts of the world celebrate the architect as the sole authority on the built environment. In such places, it is unheard of to think a layman the creative equivalent to an artist. Why not here? It should be duly noted that, in our present society, a large portion see the architect as simply a tool, one that is required for some lines on paper and a final stamp. That is quite disheartening, and even more so when the average reply to the question of our chosen profession is, "Oh, so you draw house plans for builders?". Upon hearing such a reply, there is little that can be done other than bite the tongue to prevent some form of profanity. Part of such ignorance must be a product of the negligence towards architects today. In most other places, upon the completion of a project, no matter how big or small, the architect is the focus of much praise and recognition, regardless of their stature. Here, the average person knows not a single practicing architects name (save, perhaps, a local office). When a project is finished, the only places giving any recognition whatsoever to the achievements of the architect is the very publications run by their colleagues. As far as major news publications are concerned, the architect deserves little more than the occasional side-page write-up. To ever hear much of an architect in a major headline of his project is simply unprecedented.
Where along the way did this loss of culture occur? Abroad, while they may not know much of design, the public respects it and those capable of creating it. Much as they do with food and art, they take the time to ponder it, study it, ask about it. Much as one expands their palate for finer cuisine, they expand their horizons to, even moderately, graze the vast concepts composed in the world of design. Such people are qualifying themselves to discuss architecture and design. And while this does indeed occur here, it is on such a lesser scale as to be nearly intangible in many reaches of life. This undoubtedly raises the question as to how to raise the level of culture and "design awareness" here, amongst such a public who is quite unwilling to open their minds to a broader universe? Because if such a miracle could be performed, it is awe inspiring to ponder the level beauty that could be achieved in so many different ways. Such a responsibility rests on the shoulders of architects and designers, as it is us and only us who can mend the social, political, and ultimately, architectural rifts between design professions and the very public to whom we design for.
s l o a n
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