UNDERGRADUATE P O R T F O L I O SYDNEY SASSER
Lynchburg Courtyard Intervention, 6-13 Pod2Go, 14-19 Preston Avenue Housing Complex, 20-29 Accessible Design at UVA Arts Grounds, 30-35 Environmental Atmospheres, 36-37 A New Public Space on Market Street, 38-49
PROFESSIONAL WORK Perkins Eastman DC, 52-55 Helbing, Lipp, Recny Architects, 56-57
ANALYSIS UVA Campbell Hall, 60-61 USAFA Cadet Chapel,SOM, 62-63
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
DESIGN
VISUAL ARTS Hand Sketches, High School Thesis Samples, Introduction to Drawing Samples, Photography & Digital Media Final, Individual field studies & photoshop overlay
66-67 68-69 70-71 72-73 3
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
DESIGN
5
LYNCHBURG COURTYARD INTERVENTION The project along the 9th Street corridor of Lynchburg, Virginia was conceived to address the issue of flooding as well as redeveloping some of the abundant unused gray space in the city. The key feature of the intervention is a water retention courtyard located at the center of the block that holds excess rainwater to help prevent flooding. I wanted the courtyard to become a public space between the surrounding buildings that would serve as a connecting threshold within the community. I also designed two new buildings for the site: a residential apartment complex in an unused parking lot and a multi-purpose cafe aquarium placed between two existing buildings. These new buildings were intended to finish framing the interior courtyard space while introducing new programs to a block dominated by office buildings.
INTERIOR OF MULTI-PURPOSE BUILDING'S FIRST FLOOR AQUARIUM
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu 7
WATER COURTYARD AT DIFFERENT RAIN LEVELS: HEAVIEST TO LIGHTEST FROM LEFT TO RIGHT
SITE MASSING MODEL IN LYNCHBURG CITYSCAPE
Heavy Rain
Heavy Rain/ Flooding
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
Light Rain
9
Scale: 1/8" = 1'
SITE CROSS SECTION
AQUA CAFE BUILDING PLANS
Fourth Floor
Jefferson Street
Commerce Street
Third Floor
Cross Section
Fourth Floor Cut
Second Floor Third Floor Cut N
10th Street
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
9th Street Axis
Second Floor Cut
First Floor Cut
First Floor
SITE PLAN
11
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu 13 COURTYARD FROM 9TH STREET ENTRANCE
POD2GO Team Project Members: Jeannie Kim, Sydney Sasser, Chandler Windom Pod2Go was designed as a temporary living space scaled to the human body that only utilized recycled and recyclable materials. As we considered how the human body occupies space as well as the concept of portability, the design was conceived around the idea of “structural unfolding” for quick set up and take down. Cardboard was chosen as the primary construction material due to it being thin enough to fold and manipulate while still rigid enough to hold an upright form. Due to the size requirements of the pod, the unfolded net had to be subdivided into its individual three repeating shapes and then attached together by threading string through holes drilled near the joining edges. The final pod was completed as a series of folded units each composed of six connected cardboard pieces. These were conceptualized to allow any number of units to be joined together as larger or smaller pods to accommodate any potential user’s needs.
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
POD IN SITE (FRONT)
15
DIAGRAMS
SIDE ELEVATION WITH HUMAN SCALE
SCALED MODEL OF EARLY ITERATION
REAR PERSPECTIVE OF POD IN SITE
EXPLODED SECTION DETAIL
BOTTOM SECTION DETAIL
UNFOLDED POD TEMPLATE
SIDE SECTION DETAIL
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
Sewing method for connecting individual cardboard pieces
FRONT SECTION DETAIL
17
POD IN SITE (PERSPECTIVE)
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu 19
PRESTON AVENUE HOUSING COMPLEX
In Charlottesville, Virginia, Preston Avenue is a road bisecting a historically divided area comprised of commercial buildings around the central corridor and highly segregated residences at the outer edges. This design of a residential housing insertion arose as a means of addressing these divisions arising from economic and social factors and large topographic changes. The existing single-family residences around the Preston corridor are scattered on underdeveloped lots that waste much of the viable land actually available. The new design proposal implements a type of housing that combines smaller units into a larger, unified mass to bring residents together and better instill a sense of community to the area.
NEW INTERIOR COMMUNITY SPACE
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu 21
EXISTING OVERALL SITE PLAN
Pr
es
to
n
Av
DIAGRAMS
en
ue
Hexagonal base vs. sq
Commercial buildings/businesses highlighted in purple and single-family housing highlighted in green
Undulating strips fit with
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
quare base creates more integrated, less rigid geometry
h sloping topography
23
Single
Strip 3
The asymmetrical units draw inspiration from the form of ha-has utilized in landscape design where topographic shifts and cuts create different defined spaces while preserving site views. From this idea developed a method of “carving� the topography into a series of undulating edges that aggregate into long strips of built forms. These forms result in unconventional housing units offering unique spatial and living conditions. Within the context of the site, these strips of residences are inserted along the edges of a block and arranged in tiers to leave designated communal space in the center for residents to interact with one another.
Single
Strip 2
Single
Strip 1
HA-HA PRINCIPLE
AGGREGATED SEC
Family
Single
Double
Family
Double
Family
Single
Double
Family
Double
Family
Single
Double
Family
CTIONS OF UNIT STRIPS CARVING PRINCIPLE FOR DESIGNING UNIT SHAPES
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
Double
25
New Commercial Buildings New Housing Insertion One of the first problems I noticed in the area was disconnection between Preston’s commercial core and residential edges due to drastic differences in the scale and massing of their structures. The small, scattered residences are dwarfed in comparison to the sheer bulk of the businesses connected into single buildings lining the sides of the central axis. This blockade of centralized massing cuts off the local residents from interacting with each other. As my project works to unite the smaller housing units into a communal mass, I was also interested in the idea of breaking up the sprawl of the commercial buildings. By separating the large massings by the footprint of each business, the smaller buildings can be spread more evenly around the blocks. Doing so frees up public space along the interior corridor and permits greater connection between the two sides Preston Avenue.
EXPLODED AXON OF SINGLE UNIT, DOUBLE UNIT, AND FAMILY UNIT
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
PRIMARY FOCUS AREA, SITE HIGHLIGHTED IN BLUE
EXTERIOR AXON OF SINGLE UNIT, DOUBLE UNIT, AND FAMILY UNIT
27
PROPOSED FUTURE HOUSING INSERTIONS
FOCUS AREA WITH NEW HOUSING INSERTION
AGGREGATED PLANS OF UNIT STRIPS
Single
Single
Double
Double
Family
Family
Family
Single
Single
Single
Double
Double
Double
Family
Family
Family
SITE CROSS SECTION
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
Single
Double
29
ACCESSIBLE DESIGN AT UVA ARTS GROUNDS Addressing inaccessibility at the University of Virginia is a difficult feat given the hilly topography and historical significance of the campus. Particularly segregated is the Art and Architecture Grounds around Campbell Hall, the Fine Arts Library, and the Fralin Museum which encounters abrupt elevation changes along the Rugby Road corridor. The Fralin’s tiered front entrance traverses a 10-foot topographic shift while the distance from the sidewalk along Rugby to the highest point of the site between Campbell Hall and the museum’s rear is more than double that at 25 feet. As a result, stairs dominate the circulation systems in the site, proving difficult to impossible for those with physical disabilities to have equal access to them. This universal design project to revitalize the Arts Grounds threshold has two main goals. First, it looks to solve the issue of inaccessibility. Second, it also aims to address the isolation of Arts Grounds from the greater university due to its lack of a well-defined public entry threshold along the busy corridor of Rugby Road.
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu 31
FRONT CROSS SECTION
LONGITUDINAL SITE SECTION
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
REAR CROSS SECTION
Front Section Cut
Rear Section Cut Longitudinal Section Cut
33
The project consists of a new complex ramping infrastructure at a 1:20 grade that provides equal access to the site while also defining a new axis perpendicular to Rugby Road. This system extends from the Arts Common at one end of Campbell Hall across the street to the side of Mad Bowl, linking Arts Grounds to the greater university public. Additional programming and gathering spaces integrated throughout the structure further encourage interaction between members of the community.
Campbell Hall
Fralin Museum
Pavilion
Side Ramping
SITE PLAN New ramping infrastructure in light gray, existing buildings in medium gray, roads and parking lots in dark gray
FRALIN SIDE RAMPING PERSPECTIVE
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
Rugby Road
PAVILION PERSPECTIVE
35
ENVIRONMENTAL ATMOSPHERES
Unple Distr
Q
Unlea Glo
Q
Exercis desig response
QII
asant/ oomy
QIII
Pleasant/ Exciting QI
Pleasant/ Tranquil QIV
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
easant/ ressing
se models of scale environments gned to elicit specific emotional es according to different quadrants of emotional range.
37
A NEW PUBLIC SPACE ON MARKET STREET In my redesign of Emancipation Park, I wanted to create a true public space that would be an area of community gathering and engagement. Given the site’s troubled past, I developed a design that would acknowledge past injustice and become a space of equity rather than disregarding and downplaying these experiences of different people. To accomplish this, I used the edges of existing site paths as an ordering system to create the forms of the new park. The new park is created through carving out the existing topography to open up the site and direct views down and through it in support of spatial equity. In order to create a truly “public” park, I programmed the site to be extremely open to all members of the community. In order to maximize the type of people and events that can be held, I developed a series of informal cuts into the earth to open up space that can be used by anyone in a number of ways. The main entry forum provides a large area to hold any and all public gatherings and events. Leading from the triangle-shaped forum, is an open square that can accommodate a range of activities from theater performances to public speakers. This area is surrounded by informal seating tiers and bounded by a rear wall that can be utilized as a projection screen for art displays, exhibitions, or community movie screenings.
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu 39
EXISTING PARK
NEW PARK
22’
14’
TOPOGRAPHY + VIEWS Increasing sloped topography with Lee Statue at crest directs gaze upward, blocking views through site and implying inferiority/reverence of the figure
CARVE topography
Remove earth so views directed to broaden scope and make int approachable, and straight throu promote equality of access and
DIAGRAM OF DESIGN PRINCIPLE
THROUGH
d downward terior more ugh to experience
RECLAIM footprint
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
DOWN
Creating forms of new park utilizing geometry of existing footprint as a spatial guide Emphasizing redevelopment into a new public community space that promotes equity without whitewashing past injustices
41
Conversation/Contemplation spaces; more private and quiet area of the park
CO CO N NV E Shapes formed in the spaces between existing paths that include trees for providing shade
Rounded curvilinear forms to promote equal views and personal introspection
CONTEMPLATION/CONVERSATION
PU
BL
IC
Public Gathering/ Event Space
TH
ER
IN
Event Storage Benches
PUBLIC GATHERING
PROGRAM DIAGRAM
GA
G
“The Garage” existing live music venue
MEETING/RELAXATION/PERFORMANCE
Projection Wall Small Theater Seating
NT
SO UN D
Public Seating Tiers
Rampscape establishing context and entry into a more formal/significant space
So Me und eti M ng ixi Ro ng/ om Sta f
Plinth Walkway; split form representing plinth of Lee Statue suspended above narrow walkway, emphasizing the shadow past injustices have cast
f/
Ex hib iti Wa on ll
Re
co rd
ing
Ro
om
s
ME
ET
IN
G/ PE REL RF AX OR AT MA ION NC / E
Public Square
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
Seating tiers for watching live music performances or relaxing in the space
EM ER PL SA ATI TIO ON N /
Listening Pods
SOUND Sound Wall
43
1st Street N
2nd Street NE
E Jefferson Street
E Market Street
SITE PLAN
INTERIOR PERSPECTIVE
BUILDING PLAN
EXTERIOR PERSPECTIVE
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
In my project, I wanted to portray how architecture can support the creation of a community narrative. My inclusion of programmed sound areas in the park are devoted to the recording, collecting, and mixing of stories from the members of the community. Sound provides a path through the park, leading through my underground building holding recording, mixing, and meeting functions in addition to exhibition space. The last area of my project lies in the upper corner of the park along a typically less-used thoroughfare. I designated this area to hold sunken conversation pits to provide more quiet spaces for people to come together and talk and reflect about the narratives.
45
EAST SECTION
WEST SECTION
SOUTH SECTION EAST SECTION WEST SECTION
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu SOUTH SECTION
47
FIRST ITERATION OF “CARVED” SITE TOPOGRAPHY PRINCIPLE
CLOSER VIEW OF ENT
MODEL OF PROPOSED INITIAL SITE DESIGN
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
TRYWAY INTO BUILDING AREA
FINAL MODEL OF SITE DESIGN
49
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
PROFESSIONAL WORK
51
INTERIOR
HOTEL MAIN ENTRANCE
While externing at Perkins Eastman I helped complete drawings on this project for an upcoming client meeting. My responsibility was photoshopping the black-and-white drawings and sketches to give them more life and visual appeal.
PERKINS EASTMAN DC | 900 F ST NW WASHINGTON DC | JANUARY 2018
AXON OF NEW ROOFTOP ADDIT
53 RESTAURANT ENTRANCE TION
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
OF NEW RESTAURANT IN THE ADDITION
For the Early Childhood Center at the John Adams School, I was tasked with creating potential entrway studies for the new development. I aimed to design a combined entrance for the two institutions that was not only bright, youthful, and cost-efficient but also portrayed the distinct identities of the school and childhood center.
EXTERIOR PERSPECTIVE OF NEW ENTRANCE
PERKINS EASTMAN DC | JOHN ADAMS SCHOOL EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER | JANUARY 2018
INTERIOR VIEW TOWARD THE EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
INTERIOR VIEW OF NEW ENTRANCE
55
HELBING LIPP RECNY ARCHITECTS | SUMMER 2017 IMMANUEL ANGLICAN CHURCH EAST ELEVATION 1/8” = 1’
SOUTH ELEVATIONEAST ELEVATION 1/8” = 1’1/8” = 1’
EAST ELEVATION
SOUTH ELEVATION
SOUTH ELEVATION 1/8” = 1’
Worked on line drawings in AutoCad and Photoshopped elevations to add material realism
NORTH ELEVATION
WEST ELEVATION
RIVENDELL SCHOOL
EXISTING GROUND FLOOR PLAN Responsible for redrawing floor plans in AutoCad from physical construction drawings
WEST ELEVATION
Utilized Adobe Photoshop to enhance existing black and white line drawings
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
CHURCH OF PENTECOST
NORTH ELEVATION
57
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
ANALYSIS
59
CAMPBELL HALL LANDSCAPE ADDITION | NELSON BYRD WOLTZ LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS
Soldered wire m
Third Floor Terrace Detail Hybrid
Designed landscape additio is comprised o southern side notes sev
by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, the on of Campbell Hall at the University of Virginia of a series of outdoor terraces connected to the e of the building. The site analysis I conducted veral of the different systems including materials, circulation, and water that define the design.
Material Hybrid Axon
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
model of circulation paths
Unfolded Line Hybrid with building views
61
UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY CADET CHAPEL | SKIDMORE, OWINGS, & MERRILL
Front Facade Perspective
Interior Chapel Perspective
Designed by SOM, this analysis of the United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel was devoted to practicing 3D modeling and V-Ray Rendering skills. Careful attention was paid to the geometries of the building as well as how to best represent its built form through my renders.
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
Angled Front Perspective
63
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
VISUAL ARTS
65
HAND SKETCHES, FALL 2017
FLATIRON BUILDING
CAMPBELL HALL, FOURTH FLOOR TERRACE
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
ALBERMARLE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY FACADE
67
SAMPLES FROM HIGH SCHOOL STUDIO ART THESIS PORFOLIO, FALL 2013-SPRING 20
“TREE PEOPLE”
colored pencil on black paper
014
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
newspaper, acrylic paint, & charcoal on canvas “VEINS”
69
SAMPLE WORK FROM INTRODUCTION TO DRAWING (ARTS 2610), SUMMER 2016
STILL LIFE NO. 3
charcoal
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu
micron pen STILL LIFE NO. 5
71
SAMPLES FROM FINAL PROJECT FOR PHOTOGRAPHY & DIGITAL MEDIA (ARCH 2240), SUMME
“LIGHT PORTRAITS”
ER 2016
Sydney Sasser | University of Virginia | sms9ty@virginia.edu 73
Thank You
SYDNEY M SASSER Student at the University of Virginia B.S. Architecture sms9ty@virginia.edu 703-786-0798