VICTOR ADJEI vaa8811@gmail.com
HOWARD UNIVERSITY Bachelor of Architecture 2006-2011
D.C.enter ICONIC GUIDNACE EXPRESS POSSIBILITIES I.DESIGN city center
world trade center/skyscraper
music hall 21/consort hall
thesis
contents
superhero headquarters
other designs I partake in like industrial designs
D.C.enter
City Center, DC Where: Washington, DC/Location: Old Washington Convention Center Type: Mixed Use Urban Planning & Design Objective: To create an urban design for a mixed use project
This project located at the old DC Convention Center, called for an urban plan that would transform the now parking lot site back into a thriving place, where people will be able to work, live and play throughout the majority of the day.The program consisted of a civic center, library, hotel, office building, and apartment/condo residences.
MY APPROACH: To have the surroundings dictate the shape and organization of the site. This site will thrive from the population of the area in addition to it’s own so the characteristics of the area should be implementeed into the site. Angles of boundaries, roadways, and other adjacent factors will create shapes, and lanes of the site.
2. Minor roads that transport circulation
These roads are main access ways into the site at a lesser concentration than the major streets that affect the shape and access into the buildings that will
3. Other hotels that are around the site which showcases competition, and insists that the hotel on site stand out in it’s appearance, size or configuration.
ANALYSIS
SITE
1. Hot spots (attractions) around the site (darker green) that influence the activity that will occur on site in terms of the amounts of people that will use the site due to proximity of their location during the day.
4. Metro access around the site
These are major access points that affect the population towards site without physically affecting the site as roads do. This will influence where the site will need openings or pedestrian lanes
5. Main roads and circulation that take people to and from the site
These roads are the main access ways into the site in terms of amount of people/vehicles that use these streets. They will dictate where to have buffers, angles, etc.
6. Axis points of angles that influenced the designs of the buildings Angles run along all grid points of Washington, DC but rarely in the form of buildings, so to bring the angles into built form would translate the urban plan to the architecture
D.C.enter
n. ew
11 th. Street
n
c.
a k r yo
a.
d.
h street
b.
e.
9 th. Street
. e v
The streets that normally end at the site, or that do not go through the site now are extened throughout for pedestrians and vehicles. This also devides the site into spaces to organize buildings on and create open/green spaces The buildings all share angles consistent with the site boundaries directly or inversely, or with the angles towards the direction of places that affected the site
a.hotel b.office/retail c.cultural center d.library e.apartments 378x771x706x827
ICONIC GUIDANCE WORLD TRADE CENTER Where: Batimore, MD/Location: Inner Harbor Type: Skyscraper
Objective: To design a new world trade center in the same location as the existing one on the Baltimore Harbor
CONCEPT:
bringing nations/parts together in form
The BALTIMORE HARBOR once served as a gateway for trades of different cities, and countries into Maryland. Nations were brought together by the LIGHTHOUSE, the 1st indication of reaching Baltimore by sea. Sitting right infront of the old docks, this skyscraper uses the lighthouse as a theme to once again serve as something to bring nations together (workers of the world trade and tourists) at the Harbour. While presenting itself as an ICONIC GUIDE for all those coming into Baltimore City, the building towers high above the city,becoming an iconic World Trade Center while providing places to work and play.
what exactly is a world trade center...what does it represent?
.
...THE PROCESS
world//trade//center
spatial breakdown
CIVIC
.
47th floor
40th floor
33rd floor
21st floor
7th floor
gground round floor
ICONIC GUIDANCE
MUSIC HALL 21 Where: Washington, DC/Location: Kalorama Park Type: Concert Hall (Theater)
Objective: To create a place for the 21st Consort to practice and perform
The task of the project was to create a place that would serve as both a designated practice and performance venue for the musicians, which would eliminate the need to have to find other locations to display their work. The venue is to provide the essentials for the group to operate while provide an intimate and relatively affordable space.
CONCEPT: The concept form is comprised of two parts: an exterior: the way that others perceive
or assume the music that the Consort might play and an interior: entering the world of the Consort, and experiencing what they play and who they are (an unexpected surprise from what someone “knows” on the interior. The exterior is a traditional form to represent classical pieces but placed in a wooded/natural area so that it stands out, but remains “safe” and “known”. The interior begins with a narrow entrance that then opens up (as will the audience/visitors experience) to the artistic creativity of the Consort that interprets classical pieces in a contemporary manner.
a
a basic shape of geometry, placed in a natural setting where things are organized into rules but also occur freely. When under the surface, begins to take on a new form and interpretation.
b
the triangular form designated into various sections 1. Green: the form exposed 2. Purple: the entrance into the form 3. Red: the form as a new place, submerged into the
c
the exterior separated to provide an open realm of the design where people can be inside the design while still outside. The now separated forms still align and create an imaginary container which provides the designed open space.
d
the two exterior forms providing the boundaries of the built form create different ways of experiencing the building, either by looking into the Green volume where performances take place in the submerged portion or by entering the Purple form, where people can actually be a part of the building’s interior where the auditorium, service, and reception spaces are located. Yellow volume is recessed to lead into the entrance.
Music Hall 21 is a performance and practice facility for the 21st Century Consort: an ensemble for contemporary music that has performed at many acclaimed venues and for many acclaimed organizations in the Washington, DC area.
...THE PROCESS
right
left
back front
theater floor
site plan
ground floor
interior
exterior
Location: 1580 E.Grand Blvd. - The Packard Plant (designed by Albert Kahn..."the architect of Detroit")
Site constraints Major traffic Minimal Vehicular Circulation Occupied Site Near Site Vacant Sites Entrances to the Site
concept approach:
Where: Detroit, MI,USA Type: Laboratory/Training Facility Task: A training facility for people w/”super-human” abilities where their movements influence the architecture they inhabit
. "Everything exists and can happen". By exploring the what if's, and what could be's...there is an ample amount of things to question in comparison to people and their actions in the actual physical world.
Enabling the “POSSIBILITIES” then meets the practicality of the practice of architecture. How can these questions really exist or be solved through designing? For example: the superhero. What if superheroes were real? The ability to fly, to exert super strength, etc. are products of our imaginations and
superhero headquarters
desires, products of possibilities, these possibilities which stem from what humans can do on a tame level. In this case, possibilities become actualities because there are people that have these uncanny abilities of superheroes...people that move and experience places differently, people that look like you and me.
DESIGN: The actuality of the possibilities of superhero characteristics found in "real life" are characteristics that all humans could have, and are characteristics that many have. It is either through training, or discrepancies in the anatomy structure which allows these uncanny traits to occur. Within the Packard Plant, there is the astounding structure of the facility which now will undergo some discrepancies/alterations to create a space/shape/form/place for people with special abilities ("superhero powers") to train and hone their skills. A place that in design will embody the characteristics of highlighting the structure of a "thing" to display an extent of its capabilities...as a whole unit and as individual spaces, while providing an example of thinking out of the box...anything is possible. To present the existing structure in a new uncanny use on the exterior. This shows the possibilities of the being (the building), in a manner past what it was expected to do.
The idea is to ask what is possible from the impossible, to bring out the "superhero-ness in the common". This creates interesting, dynamic, and challenging approaches to design spaces for people to interact with
or or
or
To walk and move like Spider-Man/Daredevil, how much room is needed?: This affects the size and height of space to design and build. To move by sound not by sight, what has to be in a room proportionately, and functionally?
What does a person need to swim like Aquaman? : The directions and the areas to swim in.
The questions lead to evaluations of the ways people can move in various settings, then attempts to fuse as many like settings into spaces where a person can test their abilities in all the ways a person can move.
MAIN SPACES
THE ACT OF FLIGHT: in attempts to "fly", it would only be appropriate for the space to embody the task at hand. For a space to float above and move through air would not only give the space the appropriate personification watching the activity above and at other angles not common to witnessing flight. The very act of watching flight take place and being in flight is about looking up or being up, which limits the way you could watch flying.
THE ACT OF HEARING: hearing is a capability often underestimated in terms of training yourself to hear better. When other senses are taken away like sight, a person is able to heighten the ability of hearing due to necessity. To take this process to testing people, a space in the facility must be able to serve as an architectural design and test for the ability to hear. The space should have different materials and obstacles for a person to bounce sound waves off of in attempts of navigating through a space based on sound only.
THE ACT OF SWIMMING: People are known to swim but some posses the ability to swim longer, deeper or further than others. In attempts to testing the extents a person can swim, the space has to be able to provide a deep enough venue to swim, but with places to exit in case of emergencies, while providing a place long enough to swim for a distance. The space must also be strong enough to hold the weight of water as it is in the building...this also will test the abilities of structure.
STRENGTH: the most effective way to display strength is to display strength. The acts of someone lifting, pushing, or pulling are acts of astonishment when observed by others that cannot do the same. Within this facility, the strength must merge with the architecture, with the slabs, the joints, windows, solids, voids, etc. Participants will train by being able to interact with the architecture by pushing, pulling, and moving parts of the building like the facade, the floor, the ceiling, the walls, etc. while exercising their strength.
ground level
lobby level
main building office level
hearing level
real time crime center level
strength level
interior building max
drawings
238’ 11 7/8”
THESIS
exterior building height max 101’ 8 5/8”
ground level
swimming structure diagram
bracing
floor slab container bracing container structure swimming container
hearing structure diagram the hearing area must create different environments for the occupants to be tested in, in order to prevent recognition. To do so, the floor spacing must be wide enough to have a hydraulic system that can move a material sensitive floor surface/finish which will alter the positioning of the hearing posts. Also, the spacing must be large enough for the posts to be able to move up, down, and side to side under control of an electronic system to also change the controlled test environment.
various material posts
floor finish floor slabs
spacing for equipment (hydaulic system, post pockets)
strength structure diagram
floor slabs
rope
movable walls
movable walls middle anchor
the weight and size of the swimming container will cause for custom made parts, in order to have support for the massive container and water that will fill the container. The container will have to be supported at all floor levels and will have to be braced onto the floor itself which has its own support system, thus providing a secondary support system for the swimming area.
middle anchor
in order for the strength room to work, the walls that are weighted must be able to be moved back and forth (a way to always interact person and architecture) on rollers that are apart of the floor. Also to provide resistance to keep the walls in place, a rope system that all movable walls are attached to will be controlled at the middle of the room, which will serve as the equipment to use to pull and then push from.
thesis
renderings
thesis
renderings
IDIOM VOLUME 1
A collection of essays on various topics centered on the architecture of Italy (primarily the churches) written by myself and other classmates after travelling to Firenze, Rome, Milan, Pisa, Venezia, Napoli, and Siena
“Understanding the ARTchitecture of the Santa Trinita� My essay used the Santa Trinita of Firenze, Italia as an example of the understanding cultures had towards the combination of art and architecture in the past and using it to compare to the usage of art in/as/with architecture in the present.
“ Art and architecture have an intimate relationship, where art enhances the total experience of interacting with architecture. It is the ability to comprehend and implement artistic gestures in relation to the construct of architecure that affects the people that inhabit the spaces. An understanding of a relationship between art and architecture does not simply call for merely placing art in or part of a work of architecture, but rather demands for the integration of art into the architecture itself to create a single cohesive unit.� -excerpt from my contribution to the book -photo taken of the Firenze Santa Maria Novella (Stazione) taken by myself for the book
more photos I took while in Italy
Design samples for a clothing line idea I began developing in 2012 which initially will predominately offer t-shirts and sweaters for both genders; often in a unisex format.
In addition to providing the apparel, packaging ideas must also be explored to follow the same identity that the clothing line articulates.
..trizz
clothing ...triz
z
What: a collection of industrial design ideas that extend my interests in designing
Collection: 1. Sketches-Drawings of ideas of shoes 2. The Cave-The beginnings of a bookshelf which contains a space for reading and/or storage 3. Idiom: Vol.1- Input on the final cover design of a book in which I was a contributing author of the section “Understanding the ARTchitecture of the Santa Trinita�
Furniture Design My interest in designing for what people use (architecture, clothing, footwear), led to my intrigue with the industrial designing of furniture...(architecture for the interior)
a bookshelf that also offers a space for children to be inside of while reading...reminiscent of a cave, it is a place for young readers to escape anywhere
THE BRANCH the branch continues the furniture theme of “the cave� bookshelf by combining natural and artificial together this time to create a LAMP. the lamp takes on the same forms as the cave does, but mimics a tree and its components. it is a free standing tree like lamp that has appears to have a branch which houses the bulb; while the lamp also opens up to present another branch to provide a surface for note taking and placing smaller objects like cups on.
process
INTERIORS a
b
d
OPTIONS
c
interior design options for a salon located in washington, dc where the client wishes to explore options of realignment, and aesthetics
these design develop development ideas give various options in materials, colors, and lighting that could be used in order to make the space seem larger and brighter without having a hefty budget in order to do so.
...trizz ...trizz
comp ADVERTISING
comp comp comp comp comp DIGITAL
EVENT
SOCIAL
CREATIVE
PRODUCTION
Heartfelt Catering
Heartfelt Catering
Heartfelt
Catering
BE SURE TO TAG ALL INSTAGRAM PICS WITH: #TIFF’S 25TH
BE SURE TO TAG ALL INSTAGRAM PICS WITH: #TIFF’S 25TH
WELCOME TO
TIFFANY’S 25TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
BE SURE TO TAG ALL INSTAGRAM PICS WITH #TIFF’S 25TH
WELCOME TO
TIFFANY’S TH
BIRTHDAY
CELEBRATION