Tyler LaFontaine Virginia Tech College of Architecture + Design Portfolio of Selected Works
SELECTED UNDERGRADUATE WORKS IN ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN
MA “IN-BETWEEN” // THESIS: THE HIGH LINE CENTER FOR THE ARTS
FELT VERTEBRAE
STUDIO + RESIDENCE
BLOCK OUT
BRIDGEVIEW COMMUNITY CENTER
FRUIT STAND
URBAN LAB + OBSERVATORY
WATERSHED OBSERVATORY
PETROSINO PAVILION
LIGHT SCREEN
DESIGN EXPERIENCE
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THE HIGH LINE CENTER FOR THE ARTS Thesis Year New York, NY As it exists, the High Line snakes around the vast Hudson Yards leaving a massive void of urban growth. Simultaneously, the High Line begins to gradually descend to meet the street level of the city at West 34th Street. This High Line Center for the Arts will become the iconic gateway between the High Line and the city and mediate between the two radically different spatial conditions by occupying the void at Hudson Yards.
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The High Line Center for the Arts addresses the three dimensional void that exists at West Hudson Yards. The proposal studies how an urban park and community gathering space can exist between the High Line and the city, and allow the physical space to become seamless by addressing the Japanese spatial concept of Ma: the “in between space.� Ma exists at all scales and is the main element to connect people through the spaces created for the performing arts and the High Line.
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The Japanese spatial concept of Ma is based on two important variables: mass and void. Neither can exist without the other and they can only be understood through the juxtaposition of the two together. The first exercise to understand MA is explored through a series of rockite and plaster cubes. Each pair compares and contrasts mass and void, and reveals the complexity that truly exists between the two spatial entities. The second exercise applies the concept of MA to a rooftop composition. The two sections describe the blurry existence of MA, and the two models demonstrate how materiality begins to affect the boundary of mass and void and the potential the exists within the negative space.
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FELT VERTEBRAE Thesis Year Blacksburg, VA DMCO + PARABOX LABS The felt installation was digitally designed and fabricated by a collective group of architecture students and Zach Downey from Parabox Labs. In collocation we created an overhead plane that was divided into strips of felt with double catenary curves. The size and depth of the curves change throughout the installation creating movement and enclosed spatial conditions where needed.
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STUDIO + RESIDENCE Third Year Wilmington, NC The architecture is composed of a series of repeating units that are in the shape of a basic house. Interruptions in the form of voids are introduced to create courtyards that separate the programs and provide more natural light throughout the space.
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Typical wall sections within the building
3/4” = 1’
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BLOCK OUT Fourth Year Blacksburg, VA Competition Given only CMU blocks of varying sizes, the team created a series of arches. The arches allowed people to walk through the architecture and provoked more public interaction of the urban plaza.
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BRIDGEVIEW COMMUNITY CENTER Fourth Year Chicago, IL This building is composed of three components: the existing building, a volume wrapping around the neglected faces of the building, and a rotating, spiral core connecting everything together from the pedestrian promenade to the rooftop garden. The spiral is a large void creating visual connections between the multiple programs and allows light to penetrate into all parts of the building.
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PARASITE PARASITE
AN ORGANISM THAT LIVES IN OR ON AN FULLY INDEPENDENT ACTIVE ORGANISM HOST] AND FUNCTIONS DEPENDENCE AN ORGANISM THATBY LIVES IN OR ON FULLY PROTECTION INDEPENDENT ACTIVE THE HOSTS AND ORGAN ESSE HOST] AND FUNCTIONS BY DEPENDE COMMODITIES TO LIVE.
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Existing + Negative VoidERODED EXISTING ERODED EXISTING
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ERODED ADDITION New + Negative Void
ERODED ADDITION
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THE HOSTS PROTECTION COMMODITIES TO LIVE.
ERODED EXISTING + A
ERODED EXISTING + ADDITIO
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RNISM THAT LIVES IN OR ON ANOTHER SNDEPENDENT ACTIVE ORGANISM [ITS NND FUNCTIONS BY DEPENDENCE UPON Parasite a mass: the positive void LSTS PROTECTION ANDasESSENTIAL TIES TO LIVE.
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PARASITE ERODED EXISTING + ADDITION Existing + New + Negative Void
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PARASITE ERODING EXISTING + ADDITION Existing + New + Positive Void
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PARASITE ERODING EXISTING + ADDITION
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Diagrammatic + Programmatic Section
RESIDENTIAL
DINING + RETAIL
EXTERIOR TERRACE
DAYCARE
CONFERENCE SPACE
RESIDENTIAL
BANQUET HALL
LOBBY
EXTERIOR COURTYARD
GALLERY
STUDIOS + OFFICES
DINING + RETAIL
Level 1 Restaurants PLAN: LEVEL 1
Level 2 Offices PLAN: LEVEL 2
RESIDENTIAL
Level 4 + 5 Banquet Hall
PLAN: LEVEL 3
RESIDENTIAL
EXTERIOR TERRACE
DAYCARE
Level 3 Day-Care
PLAN: LEVEL 4 + 5
RESIDENTIAL
EVENT SPACE
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RESIDENTIAL
DINING + RETAIL
EXTERIOR TERRACE
DAYCARE
CONFERENCE SPACE
RESIDENTIAL
BANQUET HALL
LOBBY
EXTERIOR COURTYARD
GALLERY
STUDIOS + OFFICES
DINING + RETAIL
PLAN: LEVEL 1
PLAN: LEVEL 2
RESIDENTIAL
RESIDENTIAL
PLAN: LEVEL 3
RESIDENTIAL
RESIDENTIAL
EXTERIOR TERRACE
DAYCARE
PLAN: LEVEL 4 + 5
RESIDENTIAL
RESIDENTIAL
EVENT SPACE
EVENT SPACE
OBSERVATORY
Level 6 + 7 Apartments PLAN: LEVEL 6 + 7 N
Level 8 Apartments PLAN: LEVEL 8
Level 9 + 10 Apartments PLAN: LEVEL 9 + 10
Level 11 - 13 Apartments PLAN: LEVEL 11 - 14
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FRUIT STAND Fourth Year Chicago, IL Competition The Good Food Project promotes healthy foods for elementary students and the community. The fruit stand is an occupiable facade for fruit that allows the user to fully engage and interact with the wall. The wall is composed of four sections, that fold together so that it can be transported easily around the city.
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Voids
Columns
Cores
Glazing
Floor Plates
Ribbed Facade
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URBAN LAB + OBSERVATORY Third Year Cincinnati, OH This Urban Lab Observatory is composed of a series of shifting planes creating a form that draws people into the building and the adjacent public space. The layered facade allows for programs to be more or less transparent and receive different filtrations of light. The exterior facade is also manipulated to become a public staircase for the city.
Diagram of horizontal rib system
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1. Vertical Mullions (within the steel coulumn) 2. Steel Column 3. Concrete Finish Floor 4. Concrete Topping 5. Metal Decking
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Interior
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6. Steel Rafters 7. Dropped Ceiling 8. Plaster Finish 9. Shear Angle Connection 10. Welded Moment Connection 11. Steel Plate
Exterior Canitelever 6 7
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12. Double Glazing 13. Hortizontal Mullions (within the concrete)
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14. Double Glazing Railing 15. Hollow Aluminum Studs 16. Base plate 17. Exterior gunite finish 18. Mesh (for the gunite)
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19. Pour Stop 20. Steel Beams 21. Rigid Insulation
Exterior Canitelever
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WATERSHED OBSERVATORY Third Year Radford, VA The Observatory is embedded in the side of a 35-foot hill next to the New River. Five interlocking volumes are unified by a distinct vertical void open to the sky creating complex interior spaces that allows the programs to interact with one another. Visitors approach the building by entering on the top level, and move down toward the river through a system of ramps connecting each volume to one another.
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Level 6 Gallery
Level 5 Map Room
Level 4 Studio
Level 3 Residence
Level 2 Exterior Gallery
Perspectives of the observatory being flooded during different seasons of weather
Level 1 Library of Water
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PETROSINO PAVILION Second Year New York, NY This pavilion’s design is based on a modular system of overlapping wood members. The pattern of overlapping joints allows the linear parts to construct a curvilinear whole. Movement and form are derived from the surrounding context and the proposed programs.
Elevation 1/8” = 1’
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LIGHT SCREEN Second Year Blacksburg, VA The light screen is composed of interlocking three inch bristol squares. The joints increase in strength as the screen takes on a dynamic, curvilinear form. The screen begins to filter light and can be used vertically or horizontally to create spatial enclosures.
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OBJECTIVE
EDUCATION
Seeking a position as a Junior Designer where I can contribute my creativity and knowledge of architecture with a team of professional designers and mentors.
Virginia Tech | Blacksburg, Virginia | Aug. 2010 - May 2015 Bachelor of Architecture, Magna Cum Laude
SKILLS
HONORS
(PC + Mac) Revit, Rhinoceros, AutoCAD, V-Ray, Adobe Creative Suite, 3D Studio MAX, Sketch-Up, Microsoft Office, sketching, hand drafting, screen printing, water colors, and physical modeling.
University Honors | Spring 2011 - Spring 2015 Honors Residential College Mentor and Colloquium Magnum Leader | Fall 2011 - Spring 2012
CHICAGO STUDIO | Chicago, Illinois | Fall 2013 GREC Architects Office Residency + Professional Internship
Dean’s List 3.7 GPA | Fall 2010 - Spring 2015 Harry B. Gilbert Merit Scholarship | Spring 2014
WORK + EXPERIENCE MG2 | McLean, VA | Sep. 2015 - Mar. 2016 Associate: Design Development and Construction Documentation Made design packages proposing a single concept through plans, elevations, details, diagrams, and renders. Set up and made construction sets for new buildings and remodels, lead communication with our consultants, and conducted site visits. Architecture in the Schools | McLean, VA | Sep. - Dec. 2015 Lead weekly architecture lessons and projects with third graders at Chesterbrook Elementary. Kohn Pederson Fox (KPF) | New York, NY | Jun. - Aug. 2014 Architecture Intern: Construction Administration Made AutoCAD and Revit drawings, Revit modeling, created weekly presentations, and assembled the permit set for the building. Columbia University, Summer High School Program Internship in Building Community | New York, NY | Summer 2012 + Summer 2013 Senior Program Assistant + Residential Advisor + Teaching Assistant Mentored and trained a group of residential advisors, lead the media team to create websites, yearbooks, movies, advertisements, and documentation for the program, and served as a liaison for other interns and students. Burchard Felt Installation | Virginia Tech, VA | Nov. 2014 Project Leader: Organization and Management Organized and conducted workshops, lead charettes, and constructed the installation. GREC Architects | Chicago, IL | Oct. - Nov. 2013 Architecture Intern: Schematic Design Made AutoCAD drawings, made study models, and created a feasibility study within the city of Chicago. Digital Mentorship Collaborative Team | Virginia Tech Co-Leader | Fall 2013 - Spring 2015 Responsibilities include designing and implementing a program to encourage and provide incentive for peer to peer learning in areas of digital design and computer programming, and organizing and teaching digital design workshops.
PUBLICATIONS STUDIO COLLECTIVE | Fall 2014 Virginia Tech School of Architecture + Design Publication Documentation of the collaborative workshop with Parabox Labs to digitally fabricate a felt installation in Burchard Hall at Virginia Tech.
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Tyler LaFontaine 757.582.2798 tyler10@vt.edu 1838 N. Edgemont St. Apt. 2 Los Angeles, CA 90027