Jonathon Swanson University of Central Florida Undergraduate Architecture Portfolio 2011-2014 1
About Me
I am attending the University of Central Florida for my Bachelor’s in Design in Architecture. I originally went to college to become a Civil Engineer, but I took an internship in the field and found out it was not what I needed to do to achieve my goals. Therefore, I changed my major to Architecture to be more involved with design.
My objective is to gain experience in the field of Architecture in preparation for a future career.
Education
University of Central Florida Bachelors of Design in Architecture Minor in Business Major GPA 3.86 Expected Graduation: May 2015
Relevant Coursework: Architectural Design 1 -7, Materials and Methods of Construction 1, Structures, Advanced Digital Architecture, Environmental Technology 1 & 2. Work Experience MDC Architects: Intern, August 2014 - Present MDC Architects, Maitland, FL • Working in Revit to produce Construction Documents for small to large projects. Assigned to multiple projects at once, communicating with clients, general contractors, and doing site visits to either survey or have meetings. Do everything from Schematic Design to Construction Documents. Publix Facilities Design Intern: Architectural Team, May 2014-August 2014 New Publix Corporate, Lakeland, FL • Worked in Revit to design a unique prototype. Worked closely with licensed Architects to make revisions and changes. Produced a set of Architectural Construction Documents for the Prototype. Visited sites under construction and finished buildings and learned about the construction process. Civil Engineering Internship, May 2011- July 2011 ConTech Construction, Winter Garden, FL • Worked on site at Stanton Energy Plant for OUC to install Solar Panels. Poured concrete, finished concrete, directed trucks, operated construction vehicles, tied steel, surveyed, put structural steel into concrete, and worked with teams in an efficient and timely manner to meet deadlines. Relevant Skills
Microsoft Office, AutoCAD, Revit, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, SketchUp, 3DsMax, and Microstation.
Memberships UCF Club Wrestling Team, 2009-2011 Technology Student Association Alumni Member Awards Dean’s List- Fall 2009-2013, Spring 2010-2014 2010 NCWA Team Champions 2010 NCWA Individual Qualifier 2011 NCWA Third Place Team 2
Table of Contents Restructured Density 4-7
Dynamic Verticals 8-15
Conflict & Harmony
16-21
Bridging the Gap : Path
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Restructured Density Based in Sanford, Fl, this Design 5 project was an addition to an existing history museum. With analyzing the city of Sanford, I developed a concept based on this idea that there is a certain density to this city that was never developed through its architecture. Deep in its history, through its agricultural export, there is a strong pride that can be found, but never truly voiced. I grabbed onto the idea of bringing the ground condition to become one with the building to show this connection between the history of the place with this current and new architecture. The drawing is my city analysis of Sanford. To the right are conceptual models that I generated in order to figure out how I was going to manipulate the ground plane, with the bottom being the final product. 4
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Final Product Through the given program, I separated it into two separate buildings and manipulated the ground to create the roof conditions for both of the buildings as well as inhabitable green spaces. To encase this idea of density, a lattice structure was placed over the whole intervention to allow the vegetation from the area to grow along it and overflow creating an abstract hanging garden. In essence, a dense park space was created that is inhabitable on the roofs of the buildings. The top right are section cuts through my intervention, beginning to tell the story of my ideas. Underneath are the floor plans as well as the site plan to display the idea of density I kept throughout. On the next page, some perspectives to give a feel for the place, as well as an exploded axo explaining the layers to the final product. 6
Level 1
Level 2
Site Plan
Ground level, between the two buildings.
Outer transition between buildings, second level.
Second level, outer transition.
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Dynamic Verticals Design 7 Connex Box Project Location : Citylab, Orlando, FL
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Concept Based on the movie The Life of Pi, this group project was for a space that could be dynamic, and be used with storage crates that would leave something behind once the use was complete. Taking that idea, we came up with the idea of creating a shell that would wrap around the crates that would house the storage crates temporarily, and once the crates were removed a pavilion would be left behind. The drawing to the right is an analysis of the movie the Life of Pi, and creating this concept of vertical elements representing moments along someone’s journey, and having a divide during that journey that shows how things have changed past that point. The other drawings are sketches that helped generate ideas for the project, for a water collecting feature, and a diagram drawing of how the folding shell idea works. 10
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Technical Ideas Through the idea of keeping this project dynamic, we had to think of how to design for when the storage crates were to be removed. We produced an idea to have the side panel for the shell to be removable so that the storage crates could be broken up programmatically and removed depending on the need. The idea for the water collection system was designed with vertical elements that would collect water from the roof of the shell down into a collecting and redistribution system to have the pavilion create a green space around it. The top is a sketch for the water collecting system, with the technical drawings below. Below that is a section. The next page has an exploded axo showing the layers, perspectives to show the assembly, and a plan showing the panels and crates being removed. 12
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With Connex Box Without Connex Box
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Conflict & Harmony Theory II Park Intervention Location : Dartmouth Park, Orlando, FL
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Concept Dartmouth Park located in Orlando, FL, is a mundane park. With only having one major road, the rest of the park is surrounded by residential housing; it creates this implied idea that this park is the front yard to those homes. Starting to design to improve this park, I began with manipulating the ground plane and creating level changes that would create segments to this park. These segments were created through this idea of public space being more towards the major road, and the private space being more inward. Through this, I created an intermediate space between the two sides. The next step was to design a ruin into the park, so that over time something would happen, in this case, reveal. A wall was placed on both sides of the intermediate space, with a stair buried beneath the earth that would be revealed as the earth moved over time. 18
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Intervention With this idea of designing a ruin, I decided to keep out of the intermediate space between the public and private sides, and insert the intervention along the wall with the stair buried under the earth. This intervention has a kitchen under it with restrooms on the public side. On the private side, just open space that can be used by the local residence. On the sides of the structure that are facing the road is where food trucks can drive up to and create a space that people can collect for food truck events. And by latching onto these corners, I created a plateau for the stairs, once they are revealed, for people to walk along and inhabit, as well as experience the park from a different vantage point. With the idea of the stairs being revealed over time, this park would become a large gathering space that could hold many different types of events. 20
West Elevation, Food Truck Access
North Elevation, Kitchen Access
Overall Elevation
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Bridging the Gap : Path Design 7 Tower Project/Medical Facility Location : Millennium Park, Chicago, IL
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Concept Located in Millennium Park, in Chicago, IL, this medical facility came about from my experience there in the city. Grabbing onto this idea of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), I found my holding from seeing all the homeless people in Chicago exhibiting strange behavior that made me think about the large percentage of homeless persons affected by ASD that cannot find help. Through that idea, path became a large part of my concept to help bring people affected by ASD, whether homeless or not, to my site. Through the idea of their being great divides throughout the city, I generated this idea of bridging the gap between people affected by ASD and people that are not to help people affected by ASD to acclimate to society, as well as help society to understand ASD.
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Shape and Form
Paths and Plazas
Landscape
Path Analysis Drawing
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Technical Ideas Creating this radial order generated from path analysis of the city, I decided to manipulate the ground plane with it. Focusing on creating plazas between the buildings, the lowest plaza and building are below grade, the next on grade, the next above that, and the next above that. The idea was to create this stepping idea that would symbolize the steps that someone would take during their time at this facility to transition themselves to be self functioning, or to improve themselves. Each building follows the height change from each level to follow that stepping idea. After that, I generated this folding gesture from the main point of entry to the site, where this gesture folds over the buildings to represent this idea of the path you are taking, with its ups and downs, while the building is a moment along that path. 26
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Final Ideas With manipulating each ground plane to be at a different level, the final idea generated during this project was to make that last step to be going out back into the city. With that idea, I made the tallest tower shorter than the existing context to keep that stepping idea prominent and show that the last step to this stair gesture was going outside of the site. Focusing on the plazas, each one was idealized to have a sort of way finding marker to give the occupant a sense of where they were. Through these renders I thought of them as something organic and that can change instead of being something permanent. Also, by creating this organic moment between the buildings in these plazas, it gives an occupant a moment of rest if they are travelling between the buildings, or just another moment of calm away from the busy existing park. 28
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