T o Tony n Nguyen y Design Portfolio
N g u y e n Design Portfolio 2010
Connection to Nature Design Studio II-Fall 2008
Le Corbusian Inspired Design Representation-Fall 2007
Soaring Connection Design Studio IV-Fall 2009
Art in Structure Design Studio III-Spring 2009
Archetypes
Design Studio I-Spring 2008
The Ring
Design Studio III-Spring 2009
Selected Artwork
Connection to Nature S t u d e n t U n i o n design for C r a n b r o o k
For Design Studio II, the site of the design was located on the Cranbrook Academy of Art. The Academy is well known for its beautiful landscape mixed with the art sculptures, and elegant atchitecture that surrounds it. The design is to be a student union that the campus currently does not have. The student union is an area where the population of Cranbrook can gather. The parti of the design is having a place where people can gather but even though they are inside the building they will still be able to feel connected to nature. The student union contains many outdoor terraces on each floor as well as an inground courtyard on the lower level. There are many glass walls where the terraces are to attract people to use the terraces and enjoy the beautiful landscape that Cranbrook has to offer. The walls of the student union are lined parallel to the strong axis that Eliel Saarinen created when he designed Cranbrook.
Design Studio II-Fall 2008
Site Plan
To p V i e w
Axis
Circulation
To p o g r a p h y
Courtyards
Inground Courtyard Terrace Space Section Cut
Le Corbusian Inspired M i x i n g Art with Architecture
+ Still Life by Le Corbusier
The painting seen above was created by a famous artist and architect, Le Corbusier, called Still Life. This painting was to be used in a design in which the many curved objects were to be mixed into a systematic grid of our choosing. The design was to mix the organic lines of the objects from the painting with the orthagonal lines of the grid that is created. The combination of the two entities creates a unique juxtapostion in which the organic aspects of the art painting contrasts with the grid. The mixing of the two objects would then create a new piece of art work. All the drawings and models done in this project were hand drafted and crafted. The design starts off with the objects from the painting sitting within a systematic grid. When the Le Corbusier objects intersected the grid the part of the grid would cut away to adjust for the pieces. The art pieces and grid would then be separated with the grid pieces being white and the objects from Le Corbusier being black. Then the two entities would interlock by extruding with all objects at various heights to create a stronger juxtaposition.
Design Representation-Fall 2007
Axonometric Drawing
Hand Crafted Model
Abstract Axonometric
Soaring Connection U r b a n D e s i g n f o r t h e c i t y o f To l e d o
Urban Design was focused on Dorr Street in Toledo, Ohio. This street is a very congested, vehicular dominated street that is not pedestrian friendly. The University of Toledo runs along the north side of the street. There are very few ways to cross this street safely because of the lack of crosswalks. The objective of this project was to propose a design along Dorr Street that would benefit the community and all people traveling along Dorr Street. The design concluded to being an elevated pathway to cross and connect both sides of the street that is intended to build community by providing a common ground where University and area residents can gather. The design process started with looking at the grid that the structures and buildings are aligned with. There was a shift in the grid influenced from an abandoned railroad track. This track acted like a separator for the community, splitting it up into four quadrants. The design was to transform this track into a pathway to cross and connect the community and the university. The elevated pathway also connects to abandoned industrial buildings that will be retrofitted into places the community can use. Green spaces will be added in to counterbalance for the lack of usable green spaces. Design Studio IV-Fall 2009
Figure Ground
Grid
Datum
Direction of Flow
Linking Existing
New Green Spaces
Master Plan
Art in Structure
A r t S t u d i o d e s i g n f o r d o w n t o w n Pe r r y s b u r g
The site of this project for Design Studio III was located on the street of Louisiana Avenue in the downtown area of Perrysburg, Ohio. The design was to be a building that would replace an empty lot that was currently being used as a second entrance to a back parking lot. The design is intended to be an art studio in which the artist has space to live, create artwork, and conduct business. The structure would then become the missing piece that would fill the void space making the street complete. The inspiration for the art studio was to look into the form of art called Cubism. The Cubism style was created by Pablo Picaso and Georges Braque. The walls and facade of the building are set similar to how the lines are connected to each other in Cubism. The floor plans are to resemble a cubist art style used by Cubism artists. Orientation of the floors were kept similar to the surrounding areas in which the first level was just for business and the top level was to be used for living. In this case the second level of the building would be intended for the art studio where the creative mind of the artist can bring their magnificent artwork into existence. Design Studio III-Spring 2009
Street Facade
Floor Plans Circulation Space Office Space Art Studio Living Space Open to Below
First Floor
Second Floor
Third Floor
Section
Model with Context
Archetypes
Exploring architecture through schemes
During the first Design Studio, when it was still just hand drafting, our professor had us designing residential buildings. These deigns consisted of two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and all other living necessities. Each of the designs consisted of a scheme, there were six types of schemes that were concentrated on. The six were: Linear, L-Scheme, Courtyard, Cross, Piloti, and Tower. Every other week a new scheme would be chosen and the floor plans of the building were to demonstrate how each scheme was executed in design. Floor plans, sections, and models were all made in order to fully demonstrate how each scheme was different, and how each were used sucessfully. For the last design, each were given a scheme and a client to design a residential building for. My design that was given was a tower scheme designed for a geologist. Geology is the study of the composition of the Earth. The Parti of the design highly concentrated around the idea that the tectonic plates of the Earth shift over time and not always in the same direction. So each level of the tower gets shifted to represent the tectonic plates, and each level shifts in a different direction then the previous. The design of the house is meant to be very solid, like rock. Also, what better site to set this tower in, then on the side of a steep hill so the shifting plates look as if it is protruding from out the hill. Design Studio I-Spring 2008
Sections
Floor 1
Linear Scheme
L-Scheme
Piloti Scheme
Courtyard Scheme
Courtyard Model
Piloti Model
Floor 2
Floor Plans
Tower Model
To w e r S c h e m e
Sections
To w e r D e s i g n f o r a G e o l o g i s t
Plans
Section
Front
Back
Section
Right
Left
Elevations
Exploded Axonometric
The Ring Center for Museology Studies
Santiago Calatrava designed the City of Arts and Science in Valencia, Spain completed in 2004. This is the site for the project that was done during spring of 2009 for Design Studio III. The design of the structure was to be a museology center, which is the study of organizing and managing museum artifacts. The City of Arts and Science itself seems almost as if it was a city within a city, so the design of this project was to sit in a landscaped open area between the city of Valencia and the City of Arts and Science. Before starting anything, I researched the culture, the people, and the area to look for any design inspirations. I found the famous Bullring to be an interesting part of the city and the people. I broke down the idea behind the bullring into two aspects, spectators and spectacle. I believed that Valencia and Calatrava’s City of Arts and Science were too separated. The form behind the design of my building is intended to pull people from the city of Valencia and the City of Arts and Science to arrive to the center of the structure I designed. In the center everyone will be able to experience a three story open gallery space where sculptures and artifacts will be displayed and hung in the area. The center has many openings landings where people can look down from a higher area to get a different perspective of the artifacts and sculptures in different views. On the exterior many terrace spaces were created to let people be outside and enjoy the view of Calatrava’a City of Arts and Science. Design Studio III-Spring 2009
City of Arts and Science
Floor Plans Circulation Space Office Space & Classrooms Enclosed Courtyard/Open Gallery Living Space Kitchen & Dining Space Terrace Space
First Floor Development of Form Spectators Spectacle
Pulling in Valencia
Second Floor
Pulling in the City of Arts & Science
Reconnection
Third Floor
Section Vertical Circulation Enclosed Courtyard/Open Gallery
Site Elevation
Selected Artwork Po i n t , L i n e , P l a n e This sculpture piece is consisted of numerous points and lines that are specifically placed together to create an abstract cube through the positive and negative space. The points and lines only extended out to a certain distance from the center of the sculpture, thus creating planes in which form the abstract cube.
I n s p i ra t i o n f r o m Architectual Objects These sculpture pieces were inspired from objects that were seen from architecture. The first sculpture was inspired from stairs. The second sculpture above was inspired from ventilation openings of a building. The third piece here on the left was inspired from tall vertical windows that pulled in the eyes of the viewer.
Pa p e r F o l d i n g This art piece represents symmetry. Even though this piece is very symmetrical there are many little assymmetrical aspects in this sculpture that makes the viewer look more thoroughly at the little differences within the two sides.
Glass Blowing & Sculpting The two pieces on the left are two vessels, and one is very normal and the other is very abstract, showing how two different object can be used for a similar purpose. The piece on the right is the combination of simple geometry such as cubes, cones, and cylinders showing art through basic shapes. The piece at the bottom is a sculpture piece representing the human body in a state of motion during a flipping motion, the piece is able to spin all the way around and is free to flow in both directions. Glass is typically fragile and motionless and this piece takes a whole new perspective in setting it in motion.
Glass in a state of motion