POR O TFO O LIO
Taylor Smith — designer Seeking a creative position. p. 919.414.0516 e. wtsmith.mail@me.com Education University of North Carolina at Charlotte 2009 Bachelors of Arts in Architecture — cum laude 2012 Master of Architecture — cum laude 2012 Master of Urban Design — cum laude Work History 2009-present Shuffle Magazine — Graphic Designer Joining Shuffle’s collaborative design effort represents a pivotal point in my development as a designer, showcasing the power of presentation in bringing both written and graphic content to life. 2008-2009 UNCC School of Architecture — Teaching Assistant Multiple semesters as the teaching assistant for a materials and methods course increased my awareness of detail-oriented design while establishing a better understanding for both teaching and communication. References Greg Snyder — Professor/Thesis Director e. gsnyder@uncc.edu Kelly Carlson-Reddig — Professor/Employer e. kcarlson@uncc.edu David Thaddeus — Professor e. thaddeus@uncc.edu John Schacht — Professor/Coworker e. jschacht1@carolina.rr.com
On the Cover
Creative Skill-Set Drawing/Sketching in conversation Adobe Photoshop/Indesign/Illustrator Autodesk Autocad/Revit — 17-week course Google Sketchup Physical modeling Mapping/ArcGIS — 17-week course Graphics/Layout Personal Interests Locality The spirit of objects Antiques/Nice shoes Material culture Music/Dogs/Surfing Marketing Cities & Small-towns Shipyards/Sunglasses
Please turn over and view both front and back cover simultaneously.
[Re]Learning from Las Vegas
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nder the direction of Dr. José Luis Gámez, a summer course was established to revisit the ground-breaking work Learning from Las Vegas: the Forgotten Symbolism of Architectural Form, written by Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, and Steven Izenour (1972, 1977). Foundational to the course was the reexamination of the past perspectives put forth, appropriated and then mapped in the contemporary post-modern city. Beyond an interest in the course objectives, the work of Venturi and his collaborators has been critical in forming my own views towards design and contemporary culture. From the start, I saw a genuine significance in looking at things with a
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tolerant eye, dismissing the all-too-often designer-aboveall mentality, actually learning from what surrounds us more holistically. I constantly return to my now worn copy, which has served as a vital component of various research projects (p. 4), design studies of the urban environment (p. 22), as well as a foundational perspective for my own thesis research (p. 24). Noted as “The Architecture of Persuasion,” it is not only the communicative meanings attached to
the constructed environment, but the correlation of such with regard to how populations move through and experience space. Here lies the methodology of the course work — recreating Venturi et. al.’s graphic strategies, updating the criteria to the current Las Vegas landscape, then applying those components of cultural navigation to various contemporary cities. Dallas, Texas was the focus of my group’s final projection, a display of ceremony in the city (cover).
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Design Portfolio
All Images On This Page Shadowbox — Junk in the Trunk Joseph Cornell was captivated by the Dada and Surrealist conception of the “objet trouve,” or “found object.” His work spoke to the notion of finding as a creative act. The images on this page represent my first trial with such an exploratory methodology, the creation of a three-dimensional collection for display. Not only did the project point to the poetics embedded within the everyday, but also to the new relationships generated across a dialogue of seemingly distant parts. Showcasing this project at the opening of this document was carefully orchestrated — presenting myself as a designer working between the perfected lines of the digital realm (cover), and the powerful ambiguities particular to the handmade artifact.
04 Methodology 10 Featured Work
16 Graphic Experience
22 Highlights
D irection...
uestioning the next move is at the heart of confronting the finale of an extended academic stay. During a recent conversation, I caught myself saying, “I want to write a book and design skateboards.” Then a good laugh ensued. Design is not an education, skill-set, or profession. Simply, it’s a way of reacting to the world around you. The detours, or instances outside of the academic pursuit, shape the designer as much as the classroom. Creativity is the measure. This portfolio is much more than a repository for what I have been up to for the last seven years — it is in-and-of-itself my latest project, emblematic of who I’ve become and what I’m compassionate about. Statement above written June 2012
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Collect & Contribute I have always believed research and the written-word to be absolutes in the maturation of any endeavor. The analytical work I have conducted thus far says a great deal about myself as a creative thinker — primarily concerned with the spirit of place, the role played by the particulars, the manipulation of materiality, authenticity, and the need for “new” perspectives on living. Documenting one’s knowledge base is about contributing to the collective conversation of the field that he or she associates with. The power of precedent has long proven to be critical, especially with regard to design and design theory. With a passion for the profession, my take here is one aptly described as a necessity. I feel it is nothing short of a responsibility to offer my own well4 | taylor smith
informed two-cents — if nothing else, to track and reflect upon my own growth. A true designer holds the steadfast insight that learning takes place continuously. I once had a professor protest the need to, “keep our head’s up. Learn from that which surrounds you.” Her soapbox proclamation accurately describes my take on the profession. The ordinary and the everyday have as many invaluable lessons to offer as the master’s of high design. When asked who my favorite designers are, I have a tendency to reply, “I really enjoy beat up barns and places that people actually visit.”
Image Tile Above Assorted research documents (l) Regenerative Regionalism; The Critical Extension of Tradition Rooted in Place and Time (c) The Concrete Surface (r) William McDonough and The Greenbridge Development; Sustainable Design Philosophy and Leadership Image Top Thesis — competition brochure [Region]eration; Adapting a Collected Fabric for Place-Driven Redevelopment
ommunication is key in every healthy relationship — no arguments here. Drawing in conversation is an invaluable asset within the collaborative dynamics of transforming aspirations into realities. Beyond the clarity such an ability brings to the table when working with others, sketching is foundational to my own process. Each task is complimented with a pen and paper. Analogous to thinking out loud, the activity facilitates the development of each design, allowing the chance to both follow and reflect upon their progression. My hand arbitrates the negotiations between my mind and the recipient surface. Drawing in many conversations is with-out-adoubt fundamental.
All Images Thesis — Main sketches The sketches on this page derive from a design-based exploration of the research presented across my thesis. At this stage of the exercise, I was investigating the Main Street condition — the constants and variables of its make-up, its appropriation to modern day construction parameters, as well as the unique, place-driven opportunities that allow the built environment to speak to the site in question.
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Charting Copious Conditions C all it the product of a complimentary education, or simply consider an affinity toward maps in general — I have my own take on the issue, a bit different than most. Mapping is a method I frequently turn to, continually developing what the procedure means to me. A deeper interest in the matter came with the decision to pursue urban design alongside an extended architectural education. The more I explored plotting the array of elements I encountered, the more intrigued I became by the visual thickness portrayed. Maps 6 | taylor smith
permit a complexity of information that I have always been drawn to. Yet, the part-to-whole relationships established (how assorted conditions speak to the larger picture), continues to catch my attention the most. This exchange has become critical to my work, on top of the general positions I take on the profession. Recently, personal attempts to push the role of mapping have centered upon the diagram, showcasing data across various viewpoints — be it the selected-instances of a single subject, or an assortment of them examined in parallel.
Image Top Thesis — case-study Gando Primary School — Diébédo Francis Kéré “The regional ethic effects how we build.” Image Above Thesis — case-study The Greenbridge — William McDonough + Partners “The regional ethic effects how we build, and how we communicate with our surroundings.”
Image Right Thesis — town investigation “Initial Drivers� Following the initial research, I conducted my thesis as a series of scaled-experiments in an effort to establish a holistic understanding of practicing the guiding theory put forth. The map to the right showcases the driving forces collected during stage one of the this investigation. This exercise was meant to present the logic behind the selection of a particular site. The compilation was generated by identifying the locations of the unique dual Main Street conditions, representations of the intensity of their attraction, spheres-offocus based upon a five-minute walking distance and the opportunities presented within their overlap, public infrastructure, an adopted greenway plan, and a personal observation of industrial relics found within areas of primary interest (pointing to their adaptive potential). At this point of the design exercise, a host-site was selected and further cultivated for inspiration.
BUILDING Perceptions
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esign requires constructions of what could-be , perceptions portrayed by its creator(s) for the client. Based upon the stage of the effort, whether modeling is a working method or the final rendering of a particular vision, varying palettes prove most useful and speak the loudest to their audience. A designer swift in their abilities cannot only identify the most suitable environment to effectively communicate his or her ideas (most often beginning with the 8 | taylor smith
question of digital versus analogue), but also successfully execute the specified task. Routinely, a variety of techniques must be utilized across a single exercise. Not only is craft and precision of great importance, the ability to familiarize oneself with various means of production is an invaluable resource to offer. Within the bounds of the contemporary technological push, the ability to learn is a large part of what we do, absentees merely fall behind.
Image Tile (left to right) Rural Studio Inspired Dog House — Autodesk Maya A House for Hawaii — Autodesk Revit
Model Right Prefabricated Living The photograph to the right presents the final working model constructed for a prefabricated and affordable housing studio at the university. Here, modeling was utilized to better understand the construction process, uncover strategies for more costeffective design, and to generate proper detailing for the structure’s cladding material. Model Sequence Left Booneville Vineyards The sequence of photographs to the left showcases a wall section model built to represent a single bay located at the perimeter of the winery’s main space, the fermentation tank room. Construction of the model was carefully considered in order to accurately display how the panels were fabricated and to demonstrate the complimentary nature of a proposed palette of cast-in-place concrete, painted steel, wood, and glass. This model was the product of a fully-developed cross-section and a series of sketch models exploring and choreographing inherent-relationships of color, tectonic, grain, scale, and transparency.
Mississippi’s Elevated Plane — Google Sketchup Booneville Vineyards — Google Sketchup Prefabricated Living — Google Sketchup
Drafting Adaptations for Assembly Harvesting a ritual throughout labor & leisure — instructions included
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rappling with the notion of Furnishing the Dream House (the course segment and the title of this particular exercise), I quickly came to understand that home was an ever-shifting scenario — that a ceremony may provide greater consistency and comfort. The preparation and consumption of coffee has provided countless beginnings, moments of pause, and perseverance during even the most difficult tasks. However, it was critical for the conception of such a container to not only facilitate the ritual, but showcase the toolset as a collection of beautiful artifacts. The bones of this hybrid body are striking pieces in-and-of themselves — together, a construct that harnesses the spirit within each part, and amplifies their presence across a greater conversation with the whole. The antique beverage crate was chosen for adaptation because of its potential to be both courier and cabinet, a tip-of-the-hat to tradition entrusted with a new responsibility.
All Images The collection of images found on these two pages represent the variety of steps taken to complete the adapted prototype. As an exploratory exercise, a clear hierarchy did not exist within the steps taken toward completion. A reactive back-and-forth of sketching, digital modeling, and full-scale experimentation produced what is seen here.
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Ground Level Plan 01 Entrance Foyer 02 Interior Sculpture Garden 03 Store 04 North Water Catchment 05 Crushing Pad 06 Restroom 07 Restroom 08 Storage Closet 09 South Water Catchment 10 Tank Room 11 Barrel Room 12 Production Tasting 13 Laboratory 14 Mechanical Room 15 Bottling Room 16 Workshop 17 Bottle Supply + Storage 18 Cased Goods Storage 19 Loading Docks 20 Tasting Room 21 Restroom 22 Tasting Patio 23 Tasting Sculpture Garden Extension 24 Exterior Sculpture Garden
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
Aging Elegantly in Carolina Wine Country
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PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
oing to the vineyard provided the greatest inspiration for designing Booneville Vineyards. Perhaps it was the vast perception of space measured within a keen eye for design that exists simultaneously across a variety of scales — looking back to the English picturesque garden, the choreographed experience of visiting the winery is central to the business plan, and thus central to the proposal. The dance begins upon turning into the site, coordinates long views from the car, carries visitors across the structure, out into the vineyard, and back into the building — each scene carefully considered and skillfully arranged.
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Site Aerial
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Upper Level Plan 01 Conference Room 02 Private Balcony 03 Office Space 04 Restroom 05 Restroom 06 Storage Closet 07 Tank Room Viewing Platform
Building Entry
All Images (clockwise from bottom-left) Site plan, Ground-level plan, Site aerial-axonometric, Main-entry vignette, Main-entry section
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box seam metail roof gypsum composite wood finish layer support air space
The winery remains long and low, nearly 400-feet in length, establishing the perfect cross-grain to the newly planted vineyards directly North. The building is experienced in this motion, as the structure is arranged under the same order as the rows of vines themselves, extending their influence deep into the interior. Drawing on a local vernacular of agricultural shed structures, a palette of simple building components were chosen and arranged as to reinterpret the barn. Honest, authentic, and nothing hidden from view — the result is one to be proud of. Booneville Vineyards represents a business that is aging elegantly, maintaining the warm and humble experience of the first visit to a local gem.
waterproof membrane rigid insulation board interior sheathing customized steel low slope membrane fastener wood batten
gutter divisions with clip connections steel gutter drain
Drawing Across Spread The section drawing spanning across this spread represents the level of detail pursued throughout the course of this exercise. Cross-referencing this drawing with the model sequence on pages 8 and 9, it's easy to see that the concept of grain and the continual play of horizontal and vertical lines was central in every move. The real success of Booneville Vineyards exists in its driving forces — from the choreography of the site plan, down to the construction of a single handrail.
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rounded wooden handrail wood steel concrete walkway concrete slab rigid insulation board drainage board gravel growing material and grass
South Elevation 1”= 8’ 0”
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
steel cable bottom chord steel plate component steel turnbuckle steel cable steel plate component glulam top chord
steel flitch plate column/beam connection
fabricated steel tube column top
fabricated steel plate curtain wall connection wood interior finish noninsuluated light guage framing exterior sheathing vapor barrier painted rigid insulation battens + airspace wood rain screen
steel tube lateral bracing
steel tube primary structure
square section steel tube
cast-in-place concrete foundation
All Images (clockwise from top-left) Tasting pavilion patio, North elevation, South elevation
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PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
On-the-Clock
Shuffle magazine is not responsible for your music tastes, just our own.
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All magazine layouts designed in collaboration with Patrick Willett
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huffle began as a supplement to my education, a chance to stretch my creative interest within a deep and personal affinity for local music. Beyond the invaluable experience of working alongside both editorial and advertising staff, the collaboration represents a key transition in the development of my own skill-set, working methods, and designvalue system. My eyes were opened to the power of presentation — how packaging affects the recipient, an understanding that stories are composed across the development of their display. This very document is a product of time encountered on the Shuffle clock. It's no surprise that a working knowledge of any process-torealization greatly impacts the success of the endeavor. My design portfolio owes a great deal to the lessons provided by such an opportunity. These are a few of my favorites, emblematic of personal and collective growth during the pursuit of providing a message we actually believe in. 18 | taylor smith
To read full versions of each issue online, please visit www.shufflemag.com/issues/
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To read full versions of each issue online, please visit www.shufflemag.com/issues/
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Surveying the Social Aspects of Layered Space on Mississippi’s Elevated Plane
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t the crossroads of rebuilding postKatrina — Pass Christian, Mississippi saw a considerable opportunity in capturing a regional retail draw. Locating a seemingly-perfect host site — FEMA regulations and the town's newly adopted smart-code required such retail to be lifted fifteen-feet throughout the development. Understanding that retail must be both visually and physically available to the passerby, mitigating the destination-oriented aspects of this elevated plane became critical. The New York High Line design competition, Learning from Las Vegas, and William Whyte's film The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces were all targets of the research constructed for such an undertaking. A series of transitions were investigated, two of which are pictured here. Thoroughly examined, the design displays a model for prosperous retail and community engagement originally plagued by a severe, costly separation.
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Prefabricated Procedures
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refabricated and mass-produced — meet sitespecific adaptation. When carefully investigated, the precision of the manufactured environment constitutes an invaluable adaptability to the inherent particularities of the consumer. Here a systematic approach of determining constraints based upon the prefabricated process, shipping efficiencies, environmental response, and cost-effective construction navigated the exercise. A threelevel scheme was explored, "stacking trailers." Such a concept allowed for a far smaller foundation, a plan that easily adapts to varying orientations, maximum daylight with less apertures, cross ventilation, a small and simple roof system, basic four-wall structure, clear public/private organization, and modules that are brought closer to completion in the factory setting. The notion of housing prototypes prefabricated region-to-region, is a novel one — transforming a seemingly stigmatized practice into a key strategy for the living landscape.
Model Photographs The making of architecture was at the heart of this exercise. Large-scale physical modeling was utilized as a system of checks-and-balances throughout the overall process. The realities of the investigation were of upmost importance, rendering a proposal construction-conscious and fully-understood.
Uncovering Region — Cultivating Aspects of An-Other’s Cultural Sphere
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small overlap created by the collection of seemingly distant subject matters
nalyzing, extracting, and evolving place remains at the heart of my ongoing research. [Region]eration, the title of my dissertation, reflects an excavation of place, exploring “finding as a creative act,” and providing “fresh purpose” to the collected conditions of context, all of which are cultivated from a local inheritance. The architectural profession is constantly confronted with the struggle between the global and local implications of design. Modernization has brought about greater worldwide connectedness than many could have ever imagined, and in many cases, has left behind a landscape of unfortunate banality and uniformity, ignoring the richness of diversity. Kenneth Frampton presented Critical Regionalism as an approach to reground architecture in time and place, a critique of both historic fetishism and homogenizing modernity. Regionalism, while often misunderstood, is a vessel for achieving architecture that celebrates the individuality and identity within each design 24 | taylor smith
venture, simultaneously harnessing both the local and global conditions of our time. The regional practitioner leads under a submissive hat, producing designs that match his or her own talents and views with regard to “an-other” body of particularized parameters. The imagination and ambitions of a cultural sphere are its greatest assets. Regional architecture is a compassion for critically approaching the design process — scaleless, typologically limitless, and fully transferable. It would be a great mistake to define regionalism merely as a design strategy. It’s a mind-set, a measure for responding to the complexities of the design process. Ethics and value systems develop over time, require trial and error, successful outcomes and discouraging results. Regionalism is listening to the landscapes we inherit holistically, reciprocating the grand opportunity to shape “an-other’s” everyday environment, the[Region]eration physical forms that contribute to their position within the contemporarydefine global condition. practice showcase
All Images (top to bottom) Research compilation collage, Initial relationship studies, Site scales mapping
by the idea o
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Regional Architecture (is)... • approached with the delicacy of the Village Architect • observes the region as an interconnected system of ecology, technology, and culture. • aware of itself as a contributing piece to the entire local life. • takes root in order to ceaselessly invent. • values proper fundamentals over high-tech fixes. • pays deliberate attention to building tectonic as an expressive design attribute. • critical of both the local and global condition. • critically navigates the fashionable whims of consumer-driven society. • maintains a qualitative view of success over a quantitative one. • a compassion for critically approaching the design process: scaleless, typologically limitless, and fully-transferable. • • • • • • • • • narrowing of focus under the larger blanket subject of regional design
• • • Region material selection, appropriate technologies, construction techniques, etc. Locale site selection, ecology, habitation patterns, social relationships, program generation, etc. Site ecological relationships, building siting, cultural connections, etc.
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Building adaptation strategies, scale relationships, interaction possibilities, etc.
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Sewing the Separation Across Asheville’s Eagle Market
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he Eagle Market District is a unique area with the potential to be a great asset to the city of Asheville. With its proximity to the city’s formal core and the future performance arts center set to be developed on-site, a number of great design opportunities have risen to the surface. Although, it is of upmost importance to understand that this place has a true identity, some of which has been lost, but one that should be both rehabilitated and protected with a great deal 26 | taylor smith
of pride and conscious effort. While a number of possibilities exist when examining what lies between the boundaries of this place, I believe there are some social issues at play that deserve top priority. I propose a shift of the site-focus and an extension of its boundaries to include the East End neighborhood. East End has fallen victim to the needs of an auto-dependent society and the evolution of the high-speed thoroughfare, Charlotte Street. Charlotte Street is in no way pedestrian-friendly, the scar that separates East End from the Eagle Market District. Charlotte Street is a unique design obstacle that must be overcome — not an edge where design ceases to exist.
Have I mentioned my obsession with Reid Mile's Blue Note album covers?
Here we have Rigby and Charlie.
And I counted down the days to the release of this record.