Pre-Design:
wtdoss@gmail.com 203 W. Virginia Ave Ruston, LA 71270 318.224.3489
The Wunderkammer
Meant to literally encapsulate my written manifesto, my Wunderkammer hints at it’s mandatory, rectangular constraints to give it stature and presence; it then erodes away at the corners and base, creating an almost hollow and very light interior. Unique plays of shadows happens wherever light falls on the box. The box, a combination of multiple 3D prints and acrylic, was created using a combination of Rhino and Grasshopper. The main object went through multiple iterations, the form changed upon strength and number of inner members, leg placement, and aesthetic. The only “program� for the box was the manifesto. Instead of etching it across the top, I translated it into binary code (which deals with two mutually exclusive operations, like a Boolean command). After I got the translation, it went into Grasshopper where multiple Booleans (True/False) commands were strung together to create a pattern of holes/no holes.
Iterations
01010111 01110010 01110101 00100000 01100010 01101100 00100000 01100001 01101001 01110100 01101110 01100101 01101110 00100000 01110100 01100010 01101000
Manifesto
01100101 01100101 01100011 01110100 01100101 01101001 01100001 01110010 01110100 01110011 01100100 01110011 01100101 01100001 01101000 01101001 00100000
00100000 00100000 01101011 01101111 00100000 01110110 01110011 01100011 01100101 00100000 00100000 01101001 01110010 01110100 01100101 01110010 01101111
01100001 01101100 01111001 00100000 01100001 01100101 00100000 01101000 01100011 01100001 01100100 01100111 01110011 00100000 00100000 01110100 ................
Binary
Grasshopper
Finished Pattern
Building: Seed Library
Lecture Auditorium
Seed Vault Plant & Seed Laboratories
Program
Circulation
The building and it's program are a balance between artistic visions of Romantic and Organic Architecture, technology, pragmatic concerns, and economy. The main building's experiential quality and form is ambiguous as it ascends out over the site and highway. Conversely, the laboratories are secured underground and go almost unnoticed to the publics eye; the use of clerestories and auditorium placement hint to their existence. The combined structures form a functional cohesive whole stretched into the site.
The Monsanto Seed Collective (Seed Vault and Library) is intended to engage both sides of the present dichotomous dialogue of the public (local) Monsanto Campus and privately owned (global) sectors of the agricultural field. Underground, the collective is a secured laboratory which incubates and Visitor Parking reproduces both Monsanto's brands of genetically modified seeds and bio-diverse species from around the world. Above ground, the building serves as a seed library where the public can procure and exchange seeds. Both programmatic elements anchor around the focal point, the seed vault, which emerges from the underground labs and penetrates into the library above.
ADA Egress
48� LVL Rib main structure
Structure Diagram Steel and concrete frame and bearing wall substructure Steel truss to compression ring
Monsanto Seed Collective Seed Library And vault
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Monsanto Corporate Campus
Site Context
EXTERIOR COPPER PANEL STEEL TUBE FRAME WITH RIGID INSULATION INSET INTO MODULAR TUBE STEEL PORTAL WITH INTEGRATED WINDOW FRAMING STEEL ANGLE INTERIOR COPPER FINISH
48" LVL (LAMINATED VENEER LUMBER) RIB. PRIMARY STRUCTURE
INTEGRATED COPPER GUTTER (VERTICAL @ EACH STRUCTURAL RIB)
LAMINATED GLASS GUARD RAIL
SEED LIBRARY
THIRD FLOOR 35'
MODULAR TUBE STEEL PORTAL WITH COPPER CLADDING
INTEGRATED COPPER GUTTER (VERTICAL @ EACH STRUCTURAL RIB) SECOND FLOOR 15' COPPER FLASHING RIGID INSULATION INSET INTO STEEL TUBE FRAME SEED VAULT
BACK STAIR
INTERIOR COPPER FINISH PANEL GUNITE POOL SHELL FIRST FLOOR 0'
MECHANICAL
METAL MESH CEILING IVORY POLISHED PLASTER. INSULATION LAYER LIGHTING TRENCH FINISHED CONCRETE
UNDERGROUND -15'
0
1
2
4
10
48” LVL (LAMINATED VENEER LUMBER) PRIMARY STRUCTURAL MEMBER
Structure
The primary vertical and horizontal ribs, the facade pattern, and the structure all were created in and controlled through the use of Grasshopper. This method allowed me to assign a number to every individual part and group them together; this information would be used to locate and assemble each different-yet-similar piece during manufacturing and construction.
site sections Seed Library
The interior of the library is a reverent space where local urban farmers gather to exchange their seeds and knowledge. The focal point is the ivory plaster clad Seed Vault in the center which would host a constant play of changing light as time passed. The vault is for Monsanto to store their diverse collection of seeds, and is only accessible underground, through the labs.
Underground Floor Plan
Reflected Ceiling Plan 1
Reflected Ceiling Plan 2
Floor Plan Key:
1 Entry 2 Seed Vault 3 Seed Labs 4 Grow Rooms 5 Office 6 Classroom 8 Seed Library Lobby 9 Auditorium Lobby 10 Auditorium 11 Seed Drop-off
First Floor Plan
Second Floor Plan
7 Conference 12 Seed Shelves
13 Rare Seed Collection
Third Floor Plan
South Elevation