Contents The Cellar - Beverly Hills, California Avery - Santa Monica, California Demitasse Signage, Hollywood, California Brewport - El Segundo, California Public School - Colorado & Texas Studio 10 Fitness Entrance - West Hollywood, California Fogo De Chao - Beverly Hills, California Thesis Design Project - An Exploration of Decision Making & Movement - Dublin Ireland Design Charette 1 - The Dissembler Design Charette 2 -Exploration of Movement Lindville Cookery School - Tipperary, Ireland Live Work Units - Kilkenny, Ireland Internship at Elite Architects L.T.D - Cork, Ireland Residence at Ballybunion - Kerry, Ireland - Revit Case Study Youghal Wakeboarding Centre - Cork, Ireland Travel & Photography
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The Cellar Beverly Hills - California The Cellar Beverly Hills was the first project I completed from conceptual design, through technical and detail design, interior design specification, construction and completion. Located centrally in Beverly Hills on Wilshire Boulevard, The Cellar is situated amongst some of the grandest hotels and restaurants in the greater Los Angeles area. The brief was to be able to store 70,000 bottles and provide a highly technical wine concierge service. Fitting the mass amount of wine in the relatively tight basement space was a challenge in itself, but in addition the space had to be technically upgraded to provide security (for highly priced bottles), earthquake protection and of course store each bottle at the optimum temperature and angle of storage. As a result, the project became highly specialized with each of the different wine lockers custom designed but also be interchangeable for client needs. The exclusive underground location features 24/7 security surveillance, advanced biometrics for access to the lockers as well as strict standards for cellar temperature, lighting and humidity. The culmination of all these elements ensured I got first hand experience across a broad scope of architectural services
Avery - Santa Monica, California Avery lounge and sports bar was one of the final renderings I completed during my time as rendering consulatant in Kelly Architects. I worked with the lead designer working from simple sketches and inspiration images to concieve the design. It became a test of sorts for my personal development of skills as I had minimal guidance from the designer, therefore provided me with an opportunity to work on my interior design skills regarding texture and lighting. The aim was to create a soft but very masculine aestethic with hints of Californian beach life, which came through primarily through artwork and decor.
Demitasse Signage - Hollywood, California Demitass Roastery & Kitchen located just off the Hollywood walk of fame in Los Angeles became my first mini project that I completed from design to completion. It was a mere store -front design with the primary element being the signage and awning but provided my with my first opportunity to work with the interior designer on the project to create the exterior aestethic. I liased with signage vendors, completed the construction drawings and specification and specified the lighting. Due to strict restrictions on signage in Hollywood the awning had to be quite small and understated with only one piece of signage so we opted to create a more lux effect by casting light through the underside of the awning which creates an appealing pattern on both the brick wall and sidewalk beneath.
Brewport Taphouse - El Segundo, California Brewport Taphouse, located in the small coastal town of El Segundo, California, is an aviation themed beer taphouse. With a very limited budget, the client wished to have a cafeteria style hall where groups of friends can comfortably comme and have a vast selection of beers, pour and serve themselves and provide fast casual food from their small kitchen. It became a challenging project from the start as while it was a space that screamed casual benches and communal seating, the client wanted high end products and finishes on a limited budget. The result being that the majority of furniture and finishes became custom desgned with cheap materials but detailed to give the illusion of high end design. Within the aviation themed desire of the client I became part of the design theme due to my experience with graphics and signage. Based on the lead interior designer’s concept of a modern take on 1950’s gas station/ transportation, I began to research both transportaion/aviation logos but also vintage brewing and soda companies to derive a logo and graphics package.
Residence at Ballybunion, Kerry, Ireland - Revit Case Study The residential project at Ballybunion, Kerry became an experiment of sorts for the Elite Architects office. The office had aspired to change over from AutoCAD and Skethup to use Revit alone for their work from planning to construction phases. As the office had a complete set of styles for drawing with the other software I worked directly with the director, Andrew Shorten to ensure that what was beeing stylized and worked up on Revit fitted in or improved on their style of drawing and rendering. As with many of the office’s projects, every module of the building was required to be drawn both in 2D an 3D to Passiv Haus standards. As I had just completed the Bachelor of Science programme the level of technical knowledge I had for this task was a weakness but provided an amazing learning experience to work up construction drawings in 2D and 3D and to have to learn through practice how the various elements fit together and function within the construction of the dwelling. The project itself was a large residential project perched on a hill of a small seaside town in Kerry. Strict planning regulations had a strong determining factor on the projects completion. In a very traditional town the initial proposal was rejected in favour of unsightly pitched roof apartment blocks. Due to the economy and planning issues the project did not advance past the planning stage while I was interning at the company The project however was extremely successful from an internship point of view but also in the changever to using soley a BIM programme alone. The development of this large scle residential property ensured a large catalogue of elements were developed to the direct specifications for the firm.
Public School - Denver, Colorado & Dallas, Texas Public School Gastro Pub was a concept created by Jen Smith - lead designer in Kelly Architects as part of an architectural competition held by restaurateurs - Grill Concepts. It was held to begin a new chain of high quality restaurants initially around Los Angeles. It has since expanded to 9 different locations around the US including PS303 in Denver Colorado and PS972 in Addison just outside of Dallas, Texas. The public school concept had been around for a couple of years when I became part of the Kelly architects team for PS303 in Denver. Dealing with strict landlord requirements , highly detailed renders were required and so I not only had the task of these renders but also following on from a previous model in R hino I was required to teach myself the software in the process.
Following my success as part of the Public School 303 project in Denver - and my in depth knowledge that I had required in order to complete the detailed renderings, I began to assist the interior designer with decor and graphics for the Dallas location. My main role was to assist the designer with the feasibility of her ideas and carrying them from a sketch to my detailed drawaings and onwards to dealing with vendors and contractors onsite in assembling custom lighting, artwork, graphics and installations. I also completed comprehensive signage packages for Denver, Dallas and Atlanta locations.
Thesis Design Project - An Exploration into Decision Making & Movement The primary objective for this design thesis was to explore how architecture can encourage movement without restricting a person’s free passage and decision-making within the built environment. It became a very much experimental and model based research project with a heavy lean towards landscape design. This was unintentional but provided a unique stage in which to develop my skills outside the comfort zone of simply architecture. The site for the thesis project was the historic Iveagh Garden’s in Dublin, Ireland. The site although provided great scope to design for freedom of movement, given its scale and picturesque landscape, it subjected the project to more restrictions given the steep history and existing fabric of the site and its surrounding structures. Following a large model based study whereby many models were completed focusing on the movement of the site, the primary design and brief development of a singular structure became secondary to the project. It was only in the closing stages of the project that a brief developed to become a series of nodal point pavilions and one larger multi-functional structure which had an abundance of choice and freedom at the heart of the concept.
Studio 10 - West Hollywood, California Studio 10 in West Hollywood is phase 1 of a landlord upgrade to an existing bank. I was involved in masterplanning the building into different options with schematic designs including; cafe, fast casual retaurant, coffee bean, gym, office space and storage facility. For each of these schematic designs I produced renderings which were then marketed in property management companies to gauge interest for which type of space would be most suitable in the area. Stage 1 resulted in an entrance modification to change an existing office to a gym space and provide an accessable entrance to the rear of the building as currently the entire building had no ADA accesbility. I completed this entrance modification from design, to detailed specification, landscaping and through construction admin. Stage 2 is currently underway to upgrade the bank for food service purposes.
Fogo De Chao - Beverly Hills, California Fogo de ChĂŁo is a fine dining, full-service Brazilian steakhouse or churrascaria. It currently operates 29 locations in the United States of America and nine locations in Brazil. The Beverly Hills location is situated on the famed Restaurants Row on La Ciennega, Beverly Hills. While the restaurant is very successful,, particularly popular amongst celebrities, the building did not quite match the quality of the food and service within. I became involved with the project as while the management and locals recognized a need for a face-lift, the traditional executives were concerned that the traditional “gauchoâ€? style of the space would be lost. As such I prepared a series of interior and exterior renderings and worked alongside the lead interior designer to show renderings with a modern touch while maintaining sensitivity to the original style of the restaurant. Below is an exapmple of the before and after of the bar (which is currently under construction) The color pallette and back-bar surface remained but we intervened with new custom lighting, custom stone table and bar surface and added a leather bar face to pay homage to the leather straps of the brazillian gaucho cowboys.
Design Charette 1 - The Dissembler The aim of this design charette was to capture the essance of a character from the Greek writing’s of Theophrastus in the form of an 11” x 11” space. My submission was chosen to be displayed in an exhibition within the Waterford Granary Museum, Ireland. [Dissembling, to define it in outline, would seem to be a pretence for the worse in action and speech.] In capturing the essence of the dissembler I endeavored to create a space which potrayed the two sides to the the dissembler: the one which he potrayed to the people he encountered (straight, liniar, structured) and the one which showed his true motives for action and speech. (complex and unstructured) The aim was that upon first appearance the character appears straight, structured and a true reflection of his speech and actions. However, upon closer examination the character’s actions are decieving. The true nature of his thoughts and motives are conveyed through diagonal and random projections within the cube.
Design Charette 2 Exploration of Movement Following from Design Charette 1 this model was an exploration of my thesis investigation into decision making and movement in space.As movement has largely complex factors within space, the focus of this model was an examination of a questioning or decision-making space. The concept was derived from the exploration of labyrinths and mazes, but also Le Corbusier’s “savoir habiter” aspect of the architectural promenade. In order to portray a decision making space the final model of this exploration followed a three dimensional maze structure, where decisions are required to be made not only on the horizontal axis, but also within the vertical realm. Following Le Corbusier’s model of a decision making space there are glimpses of light, cast through the voids in the model. Rhythm, light and the scale of each block played a part in the design of this three-dimensional maze. In order to access the material quality and portrayal of light within the model, grey/black polystyrene was used as a stark contrast to the light being cast within the space.
Project 4 Design Charette 2
Lindville Cookery School - Tipperary, Ireland View walk-through of design at https://vimeo.com/141751778 The Lindville Cookery school was part of the Rural Complexities design module where every student’s design was in a rural part of Ireland. In the vicinity of the site which was chosen for this cookery school are a combination of large industrial sites and grand 500 year old domain houses with large expanses of land. This particular site had an interesting history whereby a large dwelling has been documented on the site but the only evidence present for this existance were the historical maps of the site and the basement of the construction which had since been covered over for farming use. Evidence suggested that it as a large red-brick building with additional maid quarters, a private Victorian walled garden and cascading terraces to the adjacent river. At the rivers edge are two existing boat houses which suggest that the cascading gardens would have been flanked by ramps at either side. This history of the site and the industry of the area led to an my concept of playing on the old pitched form of the domain house combined with an industrial modern steel structure which would emanate the industry.
Live-Work Units - Kilkenny, Ireland This Live-Work conceptual design was complleted as part of the B.Arch Urban Design Module. The aim was to design 16 units which would provide both a living space but also an adaptable work space which could be used as a workshop or craft store in which the woker could make a living from their home. The site was a taxing one a very thin piece of land in a busy urban center. As a result a stacked town house concept arose from the site conditions. The borough of Kilkenny does not allow for high rise structures and the neccesity to work and create almost a street feel to the ground floor of the residences would also be hindered by height. Each individual unit extrudes out to the street to provide a canopy of sorts but also to provide privacy to garden balconies on the second and third floors of the properties.
Internship at Elite Architects L.T.D, - Cork, Ireland Elite Architects was founded at the beginning of 2008 by its current Managing Director, Andrew Shorten. Since its inception Elite Architects has gone from strength to strength, working on a wide range of projects, from luxury sea front residences to basement projects under Central London houses. During my experience with Elite Architects LTD. I was fortunate to work on several projects with my primary focus being on 3D modeling and rendering. As Revit was at the beginning of its use within the office, I undertook the role of working the first project from planning to technical drawings using Revit alone. Coinciding with this work it was necessary to build a large catalogue of 3d items (which had to be drawn to Passiv Haus standards) which could be used with parameters to be adjusted as the other members of the office required. As the other architects of the office had been predominantly using Autocad for 2D drawing and Sketchup Pro for the 3D work it was also necessary for me to carry out tutorials with the senior staff to assist them in the use of Revit. The experience albeit unpaid, proved to be very rewarding in terms of the learning experience. While I became a teacher of sorts for Revit, I certainly became student once more when it came to residential and urban design. I was fortunate to work on all aspects of the design process from small design assignments to planning applications, large scale client presentations to full tender packages. It became a unique experience also with the firms working knowledge of Passiv Haus construction. Every drawing, model, and construction drawing became a learning tool towards my knowledge with affordable energy efficient construction.
3D Modeling Works
Production/Construction Drawing
Section Detail 4 Scale 1:5
Section Through Domestic Dwelling Scale 1:50
The following drawings are part of a Passiv Haus tender package I completed during my internship. It was a standard residential home in Ireland designed to ensure the highest levels of air-tightness, energy efficiency and comfort in the dwelling. As with many Irish homes it is a concrete block construction with aditional thermal blocks at junctions where air-tightness may be compromised.
Section Through Domestic Dwelling Scale 1:50
Youghal Wake-boarding Centre, Cork - Ireland Walk-through animation available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjzSfBfzOqM. The Youghal Wake-boarding Centre was my final design project of the Bachelor of Science in Architecture. Situated at a disused dock-land area in a fishing town in Cork, Ireland, the site and scale of the recreational project became quite a challenge. I approached the project with a monumental intention whereby the scale of the structure would facilitate the sport but also act as a landmark in the docklands of Youghal. It was my first attempt at an exploration of parametric modeling with Revit Architecture. The project became a learning experience for the programme as it forced more comprehensive modeling skills and thus the design itself became impacted by my personal limitation with the software.
The project brief comprised of a coastline recreational facility for indoor wakeboarding training; a community cafe/restaurant; jump training facillities; changing & shower areas; a public viewing area; equipment hire/storage and indoor wake - pools with straight run and ramped areas. The project was the first multi-purpose and recreational project undertaken so it became most challenging to deal with the complexity and size of the brief in relation to its location in a sleepy coastal town.
Travel & Photography