observe
teresa mcwalters Selected Work page 1
“learn how to see and realize that everything connects to everything else.�
- Leondardo da Vinci
Passage, by hand. Slums of Mumbai page 4
page 5
Cover and previous page: graduate thesis
table of contents
1
falling into landscape
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pg
8
2
overlapping boundaries
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pg
16
3
terraced nesting
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pg
22
4
accretion
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pg
28
5
horizontal stacking
6
erosion
7
machine for learning
8
curriculum vitae
professional
academic
research
academic
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pg
38
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38
pg
48
pg
66
fabrication seminar
fabrication seminar
graduate thesis
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page 7
1
falling into landscape
single family home allied works architecture
single family home allied works architecture A 3,000 square-foot single-family home in Bridgehampton, Long Island. The concept was inspired by the picturesque landscape of the property and the “connected farm� vernacular of historic New England estates. An open-loop system of four intersecting rectangles meanders across the transverse axes of the site, and rotates to accommodate circulation between programmed volumes. The form was conceived through an iterative investigation of roof, wall, and floor systems that maintained an intimate nesting within the surrounding trees and gently sloping topography. A light frame construction with large window walls and expressed rafters following the circulation path, emphasize the relationship between structure and form. The project team was composed of three architectural professionals. 2 1
1 4
3
2
3
4
5
system diagram
conceptual model page 10
5
ground level
east section
north section
page 11
from kitchen
page 12
from hall
from entry
toward family room
page 13
2 overlapping boundaries
social housing ETH
social housing eth, zurich Critic: Professor Luis Mateo
This project deals with the importance of housing as a haven of community and safety. Set at the base of the Var Valley on the outskirts of Nice, France, the site is rich with ecology and fresh water runoff from the Southern tip of the Alps, but it is wrought with discontinuity and division of use, flanked on either side by a highway and large commercial development. This proposal responds to these issues by defining a contrast between a harsh, defensive exterior facing the surrounding environment, and a soft, open atmosphere that seeks to break down social divisions and party lines through a geometric fragmentation of housing units and public and private space.
page 16
page 17
STREET elevation
3
terraced netsting
a distributed energy network I | K Studio
a distributed energy network
I | K Studio
An academy outside of Port-au-Prince that is a model of offset power production independent from a central utility. The vision of the complex is to generate self-sufficiency in production of power through harvesting, and in training so that the model may be transplanted. The site was a 47 Hectares with an elevation change of roughly 80m. My role on the project of five was to resolve this topographic disparity with the needs of the program and circulation in a series of iterations that sub-divided the campus into ascending plateaus for academics, farms, low-cost student and faculty housing, and public markets and clinics.
context and terrace strategies
page 22
site plan
page 23
program configurations
page 24
housing block
page 25
4
accretion
a proposal for incremental urban renewal Harvard GSD
incremental urban renewal harvard gsd Awarded recognition at the Real Estate Academic Initiative International Conference, Harvard University Founded on the belief that mega-city problems of inadequate infrastructure and unacceptable living conditions for the poor cannot be left to market forces, government regulations, or social policy for resolution but must be addressed through small-scale and incremental change, this project seeks to challenge current practices in large-scale urban development. Derived from an analysis of the socio-spatial conditions of different dwelling environments in Mumbai, this project recognizes the unique coexistence of industry, community, spirituality, and family, that are particular to low-rise high density living conglomerates. The structure is a high-line for both human passage and infrastructural growth - providing docking stations for basic sanitary functions, water transportation, filtration, and storage, in addition to defined spaces for commerce, community activities, and light frame construction.
phase 1: temp re-housing and clearing
page 28
phase 2: sanitation and water supply
phase 3: commerce infrastructure
phase 4: infrastrucural armature
phase 5: new construction, rehousing
page 29
page 30
page 31
5
horizontal stacking
design-build research seminar, eth
truss tunnel
gramazio and kohler seminar, eth
The premise of the research seminar was to develop structurally resolved systems using logic-based processes. The script utilizes the basic integrity of the truss as its origin and through the control of three parameters (shift, rotation, and length) of the individual slates, the inherent structure of the truss is manipulated to accommodate light, ventilation, and experience. Project was a collaboration with one other student and digitally produced using Python Scripting. The findings in this study were later developed in a fabrication workshop that dealt specifically with the physical constraints, environmental conditions, and fabrication methods of constructing a 1:1 scale pavilion based on the principles of structural continuity.
page 34
page 35
6
page 36
erosion
design-build research seminar, harvard, gsd
page 37
mortar connection
digital fabrication seminar, harvard, gsd
What would a brick structure look like if you take away the bricks and leave only the mortar? This was the question that inspired my teammates and I to embark on a collaboration to undo the solid and leave a void. Instead of gravity loaded systems evolved from brick layering practice this project is a self-supporting structure based on a diagrid of light moment connections. The erosion of the primitive triangle units from their corners allows each unit to maintain a coplanar connection with the next. The armature, closely approximating the structure of bubbles, connecting the centroids of each triangle lines the tangents to each side allowing for the manipulation of the form while ensuring that every connection is coplanar. Eroded modules were CNC fabricated and assembled with a simple tooth joinery. Because of the puzzle-like nature of the system, assembly of one corner was completed in a matter of hours.
erosion sequence page 38
concept
digital On the Bri(n)ck
Ilya Chistiakov, Hiroshi Jacobs, Benjamin Lehrer, Teresa McWalters, Jonathan Scelsa, Vera Shur, Julian Wu
protoype page 39
7
machine for learning
thesis
Harvard GSD
machine for learning harvard gsd, graduate thesis Program: Elementary School Advisor: Ingeborg Rocker
“We must always design in such a way that both components and totality are always open to be appropriated and so incite activity. And if that holds true anywhere, it is in schools. If architecture holds serious significance anywhere by providing the conditions that invite a richer world experience, it is here where the riches of the learning environment are so dependent on the space they occupy.” - Herman Hertzberger
Answering an urgent call for the reevaluation of educational spaces in the US, this research incorporates theories of gestalt, neuropsychology, and early cognitive development to challenge institutionalized patterns of behavior that are symptomatic of an ocularcentric paradigm of the 20th century. With contemporary school design resembling a plan hierarchy of prisons or workhouses, and student evaluations based on test scores more than psychological health and well-being there is a pressing need for a dedicated and methodical overhaul of what seem like structures of sensory destitution. Inspired by the Open School Movement, Montessori, and the light and space artists, this project seeks to create a physical experience that activates all the senses as a basis for heightened perceptual engagement of the students and teachers. The form and configuration of the building are closely linked to an age-based curriculum, with specific components designed to showcase phenomenological events that occur in the everyday - drawing connections between the sun’s path and programs throughout the day, for example. Located at the southeast corner of Golden Gate Park, in San Francisco, an integral part of establishing these connections is the buildings’ reciprocity with the immediate urban fabric and blurred public/private thresholds.
page 42
3D print, z-corp
page 43
Auditorium
Public Mezzanine
Classrooms
Public Amphitheater
section perspectives
page 44
Roof Playground
Learning Pad
Learning Pad
Reading
Classrooms
Studios
Studios
Performance
Wood/Ceramic
Administration
Open Corner
Faculty
Reading
Group Work
d
Library
Media
Roof Farm
Reading
Classrooms
Learning Pad
Reading
Reading
Studios
Group Work
Common Reading Area
Drawing
Auditorium
Classrooms Studios
Bathrooms
Group Work
Computer
Public Amphitheater
page 45
center atrium
page 46
page 47
thanks
page 50
teresamcwalters@gmail.com | 415 225 7223