_Portfolio 11’ Alexander F. Dolan
Alexander F. Dolan Bachelor of Architecture 12’ Philadelphia University
3402 Sandpiper way Allenwood NJ, 08720 USA P.O. Box 221 (732) 299.1514 xander1027@gmail.com
_Content/ Watch Me Watch You
MSSD School
HFHP ReStore
SCREEN
PenCloud
Fashion Facade
REC Center
Urban Farm and Fish
_Watch Me Watch You/ Program_[Psychology Facility]
Site_[Philadelphia/ 816 East Passyunk Ave]
This project explores the study of voyeurism within an urban context. In cities, the proximity between people is very close. This creates opportunities for people to look into each others’ living spaces and thus each others’ lives. Architecture is the stage for this phenomenon. The program contains public space, a psychological research center and housing for the psychologist. Conducting a series of studies exploring the abilities of corrugated cardboard, different viewing apertures was achieved. By layering cardboard with varying thicknesses, a wall could be turned into a screen of anonymity. These cardboard walls could also be affected by light and shadow allowing people to gaze out from a dark room but not permit people to look in. This attribute allowed the public to interact with the architecture without the knowledge that they were being watched. The space becomes a place for play and enticement for the visual senses. This behavior was then studied by the inhabitants of the building without the knowledge of the public.
Class_[Design V]
_MSSD School/ Program_[School of Sustainablity]
Site_[Philadelphia/ 4038 Henry Ave]
This proposal for Philadelphia University’s Master of Science of Sustainable Design program explores sustainability strategies along with investigating new design methodologies. Artifacts were collected from the site and used to construct a measuring device that could be utilized in the design process. The device was manipulated by two strings. Each string operated two separate pieces affecting the light cast on the hanging glass bottle. Further studies in collage, generated spaces that were deined based on solar orientation and activity periods. The structure became an ordering device, as well as a way to control light. The project was divided by the structure, which created decompression spaces for the auditorium to be more versatile.The building was situated on the site to beneit from the microclimates and natural ventilation. The existing tree growth was employed to help shade the building during the summer months. The topography created cool spots, in the building, which made use of the natural ventilation.
Class_[Design 5]
_HFHP ReStore/ Program_[Habitat for Humanity Ofice]
Site_[Philadelphia/ Broad and Brown St.] Class_[Design IV]
Habitat for Humanity of Philadelphia’s headquarters is currently situated in a building that does not have any room for further growth. The organization asked Philadelphia University’s architecture program to provide them with proposals for a new site on North Broad St. The program consists of three components; ReStore, which is a store that sells used goods and building supplies that are donated, administration ofices, and warehouse space. What allowed for all of these program pieces to function was the community’s support. This became the locking mechanism for the project. Wood joints were studied to help generate spatial relationships between the program elements. A public corridor snaked its way through each program element allowing the community to be brought into the interworking’s of the organization. This in turn, locks the three distinct program pieces together. The inger joint with key was used to also create a presentation board. The joint acted the same way that the project worked with the community, locking the programs together.
_SCREEN/ Program_[Outdoor theater space]
Site_[Locust and S 25th on the Schuykill]
Philadelphia’s Schuylkill Banks Association hosts river front events, including festivals, movie screenings, and lea markets. This project addressed several issues at the lower end of the Schuylkill trail; including an abrupt ending, a lack of any relationship to the rest of the city and the site’s looding issues. The project successfully accomplishes a division between two open air structures. The northern half houses the administration ofice for the Schuylkill Banks and the theater space. And the southern structure accommodates the bike rentals, as well as docks for small boats. The form of these two structures resolves a noise concern emanating from the nearby heavily used bridge and railroad tracks, thus creating a triumphant buffering effect. An elevated path addresses the lood plain challenge, as well as incorporating the vicinity with the city. It begins just north of the Walnut St. Bridge linking the two structures together. The open space between the two structures serves as open park area, as well as additional gathering space for events in the theater.
Class_[Design VIII]
_PenCloud/ Program_[Prison]
Site_[Philadelphia/Walnut and S 30th St.]
Philadelphia suffers from a high recidivism rate within its prison system. One of the leading causes of this is the inmate’s isolation from the general public. This project attempted to create a relationship between inmates and the general public with a common interest in urban farming. The 500 personal cells are pulled up away from the street level with the rehabilitation core being the only connection to the ground. The neighboring urban farm is then injected into the void space creating hanging gardens that inmates cultivate and sell to the public. The cells are broken down into small communal living units. This allows for self-regulation and stronger social bonding. Two units are then joined together in a diamond shape that is formed by the morning sun angles in winter and summer. The units are stepped down from the north to south, allowing light to adequately iniltrate the cells. All of the components sit within a Vierendeel truss system that is supported on four legs.
Class_[Design VIII]
_Fashion Facade/ Program_[Fashion Studio Inill]
Site_[Copenhagen/ Østerbrogade 57]
The neighborhood of Østerbro has recently become a hotspot for the fashion industry. This project took an existing kiosk and turned it into a multistory fashion studio. The program houses four fashion designers, store front space, fabric storage and a fashion runway. This building allowed promising new fashion designers to work on their fashion line, as well as showcase their clothing during events. The site had very tight zoning restrictions for the foot print of the building causing each loor to become similar to one another. The front and back façades became the main area of focus for this project. The street facing façade is West oriented with a huge solar gain. To address this, a metal expanding mesh is applied to a sliding track system. This system is controlled by the designers, allowing each one to adjust the light to their liking. This adjusted the opacity, allowing people on the street to look into the building.
Class_[DIS/ Architecture Studio]
_REC Center/ Program_[Recreation Center]
Site_[Copenhagen/ Langelands Pl.]
Situated on Langelands Plads this recreation center preserved the existing park by placing the program spaces underground. The program consists of: athletic courts, cafĂŠ, and lex space for special events. The parti diagram of the project starts with pulling up each corner of the site while taking into account maximum sun exposure on the green space. The site is cut and pulled up creating an axis, as well as showcasing the lex space. This lex space is then pushed over the secondary path that cuts through the site. This creates two paths that cross each other underneath the elevated lex space. The primary paths cut through the building allowing people to observe the badminton games below. People can pass through the building on their commute, encouraging them to stop in to participate in the games. During the summer months people can lay on the lawn and picnic or sunbath while watching table tennis tournaments in the lex space.
Class_[DIS/ Architecture Studio]
_Urban Farm and Fish/ Program_[Urban Farm]
Team_[Ryan Gledhill, Nicholas Germani]
The Urban Vertical Farm and Market is designed for the corner of Race Street and 2nd Street to serve the city of Philadelphia, by connecting the city to the Delaware River waterfront. The form of the project was generated through a series of hand sketches and wire frame models that explored the linear motion of the site. Its dynamic linear form moves along the East-West axis of Race Street and extends from the Race Street Pier all the way to Franklin Square. The ground level consists of market space, cafĂŠs, and restaurants, which all feed into a central public space. While the rest of the project above served as grow space for agriculture. The double skinned growing area uses a ramping loor system that allows workers to migrate down as they harvest vegetables. The large space created different growing zones based on solar exposure and temperature. It also provided the public with elevated footpaths and open gathering spaces to attract people to this developing area.
Site_[Philadelphia/2nd and Race St.]
Class_[Design IX]
FULL
Lettuce Beans
Squash
Sweet Corn
S U N
Tomatoes Cucumbers 2
3
4
Asparagus Beets Broccoli
Onions Cabbage
Caulilower
Passive Cooling
Active HVAC Unit
NONE
Wine Grapes Eggplant Brussel Sprouts Peppers
Pumpkins
Carrots
5
6
7
Potatoes Garlic Celery
8
9
10 TEMP ZONE
Bent Ridged with Fish Tank
Level 1
Continuous Grow Surface
Algae Tube System
Franklin Square to Race St. Pier