Spring 2014 | Yesenia Vega | SACD Core Design Portfolio

SA + CD Yesenia Vega

Selected Work

“Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” This saying stays true since I began my first architecture course and up until now. Thank you to my best friend, Reyna, and my family, who have never left my side and support my dreams even though that means I am rarely around. I am eternally grateful for the professors I have met and who have shared their intellect with me. Also I am grateful for the family of studio mates I have acquired.

Con cariño para mis padres, Arturo y Rosa Vega

Table Of Contents 5

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Architecture

Savannah Museum | 7 Vietnam War Memorial | 15 Open Air Market | 31 Miami School of Dance | 35 Port of Tampa Library Addition | 45 A Library On The Higline | 53

Elective Studies

The Cantilever | 65 A Wireframe Rocker | 71 Housing Study | 75

Photography

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“Architecture must remain experimental and open to new ideas and aspirations.

In the face of the tremendous conservative forces that constantly push it towards the already proven, already built, and already thought, architecture must explore the not-yet felt. Only in an aspiring mode can the visions of our lives be concretized and the joy shared with future generations.�

-Steven Holl, Intertwining Archtiecture

Architecture

Savannah Museum Core Design I | Fall 2013 Professor Brandon Hicks

Space Into Place

When using the cities of Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina as precedent studies: the process work that came from it was a memory map of the trip and a memory model that arose from the memory drawing. Both are reminiscent of the grid reition of Savannah and the slight angle is like that of the slight grid shift in the Charleston grid. There are also sections, memory drawings of sections, and elevations of the cities.

The Museum of History The design of the overall Museum of History is to provide the flaneur, with an uninterrupted image of the view.

The spaces created are large enough for the flaneur to feel independent of his surroundings so he can contemplate the view the museum faces towards. The east mass is the library and it is a very orthagonal mass with an angular peeling skin. The west mass is more angularly carved with an orthagonal interweaving skin.

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The Pedestrian City

After using the precedent cities The Pedestrian City is a speculation of a community created for the needs of the pedestrian and the community streets emerge from the center of the city, being the museum, “the hearth of the community�. The museum provides a prominent stopping location for the flaneur. The museum is focused on the towns history.

One of the masses of the museum will house the exhibits and the other mass will house a small library of history. The city is located at a higher elevation, giving the museum an envied view.

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Vietnam War Memorial Core Design II | Spring 2014 Dr. Levent Kara

An Interconnectedness

The aftermath of a war is usually of grief and lack of acceptance. Also, a site that has been deteriorated due to bombings and explosions unpredicted by the country. Trenches are dug as the enemies draw lines and mounds are created after tragic massacres.

The idea behind this memorial is to use the affected site and create something beautiful to remember our loved ones who fought and gave their lives for their country in the war. The memorial will have a memorial wall, a pavilion, and an observance tower which connects the flaneur to the site.

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A Memorial For The Living The Vietnam War Memorial will serve as a way to cope with the passing of those soldiers whom served in the greusome war. Many survivors and families of those lost were heavily affected by the greusome acts that

occured on land that one side of the war gave their lives to defend. The memorial wall and the pavilion are located at different eye levels. The observation tower connects the other two monuments on the field. The memorial wall

has the names of those fallen, the pavilion is a resting place below the burial mound covered in stones in the same amount as those fallen.

There will be war tanks as relics of the war.

There will be two by the burial.

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The Wall

Design Theory teaches us that a wall can be more than a wall. It can become habitable, it can break its own rules and bend to become a seating area or a floor or the latter, a ceiling. The memorial wall for the Vietnam War Memorial will be broken up into four vertical slabs with apertures to allow restricted view points as well as for the ability to filter light. A floor plate runs between them so that when stairs are taken, one can be at the second level of the wall. apart from the visible exterior stairs the first wall has a stair carved within that leads out to two solitary viewing platforms.

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The Floor and Ceiling The pavilion creates a resting space using a floor and celing with very little vsible structure. In truth, it is very sturdy due to the one supporting wall that replicates the memorial wall. Apart from that, the ceiling is attached with beams to the built up earth. There are two access points. One of them being down the long procession trench that begins at the end of the memorial wall. The other acces point is the ramp that begins at the edge of the burial grounds. Once the pavilion is exited the observation tower becomes clear and a ramp off the pavilion leads towards the entrance of the tower.

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The Tower

The observation tower is the most sacred monument on the site. It permits the visitor to overlook the burial grounds and contemplate on the loss of their loved ones and the remorse of the war. There are cultures that believe that when building for those who have gone to an afterlife, the closer to the skies, the easier for their loved ones to communicate with those who are possibly in heaven. This observation tower is designed with multiple views and six levels, all of them with the same purpose, to provide the visitor with mental silence.

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The Procession

The journey is often times of more importance than the destination. The memorial wall provides a connection to the pavilion and the observation tower. The paths used to circulate throughout the site were once created by soldiers as trenches and hidden pathways with the hopes to live another day. The saying “walking a day in anothers shoes�, can almost be felt by walking in the footsteps of our fallen loved ones.

Open Air Market Core Design II | Spring 2014 Dr. Levent Kara

Constraint As An Opportunity In almost every case, the designer is presented with a predetermined site often times with less site than the program asks for. In many cities, the answer to this problem is to build up.

The site presented for the open air market is only 15’ wide and 60’ deep with two existing buildings on each side.

Spatial Study

By using the existing buildings as support the site is given facades on each end giving the public a restricted but promising view of what the building holds. The ground floor is open to allow circultaion through the site for acces to the other block.

Each floor plate will allow space for vendors and shoppers. Through the wireframe structure the spaces can become defined according to change in program, a space for fruit vendors, a space for juice vendors, and many different spaces for specified goods.

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Miami School Of Dance Core Design II | Spring 2014 Dr. Levent Kara

School of Dance

Miami Beach is famous for its beaches, night life, and its art district. The given site is an alley connecting Collins Ave. and Beach Dr., two of Miami Beach’s most popular strips. To the East,

the site also leads to Miami Beach.

There are many night clubs, but almost nowhere for younger, or more calmer crowds to go and dance, or watch. The proposed design is of a school of

dance with a performance platform at the ground level. The ground level is mostly uninterrupted by the structure for the purpose of allowing clear access to the beach.

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The Ribbon

The concept that brought the design to become is that of a ribbon. In some rhythmic gymnastics the dancers use a baton with a long ribbon protruding from the end as a prop in their dance.The structure attempts to replicate the fluidity of the prop and the fluidity of a dancers piece. The ribbon moves in many different ways as the dance piece progresses. Often times the dancer will envelop his character using the ribbon. The structure is designed to appear to be held up by wind the way a ribbon would and envelop the dweller.

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Within The Structure The structure is seperated into two seperate wings. Upon entering the building one would first encounter the receptionist and the city dewller would have access to the North and South wing.

The South Wing houses a small performance auditorium as well as a preparation studio. On the journey to the North Wing is a balcony overlooking Collins Ave and the entrance to the school. The north wing contains public and private studios for all genres of dance to practice and perform.

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Tampa Public Library Extension Core Design III | Fall 2014 Professor Michael Halflants

Preserving History

The Port of Tampa Library is a historic buiding that has stood since 1926, when it was originally built as a bank. It is made of marble imported from Italy. It is a hard feat to understand how to create a modern addition to such a classical historic artifact.

The entrance of the addition is imbedded in the original entrance by tearing away the original facade and adding transparent glass to open up the first floor and making it more welcoming.

There is also another entrance into a courtyard space.

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New Meets Old The first floor of the existing building is very open except for one study room and a special collections room. The second floor of the existing contains offices and a large reading naval. The ceiling opens up using a clerestory window.

The addition is broken up into two parts. The front wing is for the childrens reading and stacks. The back addition contain activities for the older crowd. There are large reding areas, computer labs, labs for education, stacks, and an open air auditorium that is visible from the street and accessible at all times for private reading for when lectures are not going on.

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A Library on the Highline Core Design III | Fall 2014 Professor Michael Halflants Best Of Show Fall 2014

Site Analysis

In the intial process the site was studied at the larger scale of the city and analyzed where all the entrances to the highline were in association with the site. The closest entrances are on 26th street and 23rd street.

From the site there are restricted but very welcome views. At the right height, the design can give the user views towards the water towards the West, downtown towards the South, and North and South also provides clear views of the highline park.

The Mass

At a 1:30 scale the massing model created shows the clear visibility in the center of the design highlighting the public areas. The wooden solids highlight the more private mass of the design.

Promenade

Upon entering the highline through phase I of the highline at the South end the existing path will become a ramp and lead the city dewller up to the library entrance and an open terrace on the highline. The entrance of the library provides a covered exterior porch for resting and public interraction

Reading Room

The childrens lecture hall is on the third floor and it is highly visible through an aperture in the mass.

The reading room will be used to read to children in groups or for the youth to go in there and sit in a more quiet setting. The sun would be bright enough as well at this end to provide natural lighting.

Seating

Various built-in seating is provided within the mass walls of the structure. The mass walls also provide the structure for the entire building. The seating will create private reading nooks throughout the public spaces of the library for readers who are looking for an open space to read in private.

Cafe Terrace

The rooftop garden of the Cafe will be visible from the highline. The top floor of the Library will be used for the Cafe. The terrace will have built in seating and tables for the visitors to eat outdoors. In a city where there is a need for clean air, having vegetation on the rooftop of the library gives back to the city.

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North Facade The North facade is looked at when walking back from the third design phase of the highline. When approaching along the highline the book vault is visible through a viewing window carved out of the mass. The 27th street entrance is also located along the North facade. The terrace highline extension is viewable through the existing highline viewing platfrms but only accesible through the South entrance.

South Facade

The South facade is the most viewed extension of the library. Most visitors of the highline will enter in Phase I of the highline and the library will be in the next phase, from there the exterior terrace of the cafe will be visible. This will be the main form of entrance path because there will be a ramp that leads up to the library and onto the exterior portico. A manicured lawn in front of the library will also be accesible through stairs from the ramp.

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“I do not believe architecture has to speak too much. It should remain silent and let nature in the guise of sunlight and wind.�

-Tadao Ando

Elective Studies

The Cantilever

Materials & Method | Spring 2014 Carlos Molnar Team: Claudia Porras Bryan Sportman Yesenia Vega Third Place Overall Winner

The Zen Garden

The art of the bonsai tree is an ancient tradition that has been around since the 7th century in the Chinese culture. The bonsai gave the concept because it is one of natures natural cantilevers. To give back to nature, the cantilever will serve as a structure that can give life to the bonsai that inspired the design.

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The Earth

At the begining of the structure, a concrete form is located that holds a concrete cube that resembles the “seed of life�. being placed in the large concrete form that is mother earth. Located here is also the water reservoir that feeds the bonsai. Concrete is the heaviest construction material and counterbalances the weight of the cantilevered mass.

The Bonsai

The bonsai is fed by the trail of water thus completing the cycle of mother earth giving life and feeding the tree which is a resemblance of life.

The bonsai becomes the final destination and the symbol of life.

Water

Throughout the center of the structure extends a thin void that once a day is used to pour water into and then the water embarks on a journey to reach the bonsai. The water will be recycled using a pump so that the zen garden remains ecofriendly.

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The Wireframe Rocker Furniture Making | Summer 2014 Michael Lemieux

The Wireframe Chair Wood Steel Textile 36hrs of Labor

$25 $15 $15 $100 Total $155

The Wireframe Chair attempts to keep a light look. The materials used are hand bent wire steel reinforced using double framing. The cushions are hand sewn and backed with maple wood. The angle of the back provides supreme comfort.

The Wireframe Rocker Wood Steel Textile 38hrs of Labor

$55 $15 $15 $120 Total $205

The Wireframe Rocker is taller than the average rocker. The bottoms of the feet of the sitter hang above the ground two inches giving the legs a sense of relaxation. The hand designed rockers are easily rocked.

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Thinking & Making

Thinking & Making | Summer 2014 Dr. Levent Kara Team: Maria Lakkios Matthew Levitan Yesenia Vega Christopher Weaver

The Geography

North of Springhill, FL the geography of the site is very unique. The ocean is visible on the horizon about two miles away. There is a stream that connects the site and the Gulf of Mexico for residents to take out private fishing boats. The land is divided into four lots.

Three of them will be housing specific families. The fourth lot will serve as a community boathouse and a small event center. The unique quality of the site is that it resembles a barren desert most of the day with tall sea grass and some damaged palms left from Hurricane Katrina. At 11am and 3pm the tide rises up to the residential properties and floods the site with about one foot deep of water.

The Community

The three families that reside on the property are very eco-friendly and their families see the community boathouse as the common place meeting environment. The houses are connected to each other and the community boathouse through private and public paths. Through this graphic the spirit of the communities is captured using the green hue and all of the nature. The graphic also includes remnants of the families personalities or distinct character traits: a botanist and bird watchers and hydroponic farmers and poets and chefs.

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The housing proposal for the site is a prefab construction of a shell with floating pods within. the cars will be on a small raised platform and the whole house will be floating above ten feet incase of a flood and to solve the daily tidal rise. Each house can be adjusted to meet the needs of the individual family.

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“For me the subject of the picture is always more important than the picture.�

-Diane Arbus

Photography

Contact:

Yesenia1@mail.usf.edu (407) 545-1915