Zachary Vacovsky Design Portfolio

Zachary Vacovsky Design Portfolio

(443) 677-1193

zvacovs4@uoregon.edu 441 E. 17th ave. Eugene, OR 97401

table of contents

Skinner’s Boulevard New Medford Fire Station Westcott House Design 4 Disaster Sunshade Talawanda Shelter NY Hotel + Sky Garden Thermal Analysis

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08

Skinner’s Boulevard a street-centric, live/work community Eugene, OR Fall 2013 Academic Project was archived at UO Department of Architecture

01

activate the street!

Due to the site’s urban context, how the scheme interacts with the street is vital to how people will use the space.

Instead of meeting the street edge, my live/work proposal creates an avenue down the center of the development. This main axis of activity allows the live and work aspects of the community to be centralized and engage its surroundings. The street becomes the focal point within the community and serves as both public and semi-private functions depending on the time of day. During the day, the avenue will be open for patrons and tenants alike. After normal business hours, the avenue then transforms into space designated for the residents. The centralized public square also features space used for various displays of community including art displays, outdoor concerts, etc.

Parti Sketch

Exterior Perspective showing street activity

Process Model

Process Model

Final Site Massing

Site Plan

N

Bar Scheme Massing

Shifted to expose views

View of stairwell with view out to butte

Property Line

View of double-height living space

Skinner’s Butte

Private Formal Gardens

Centralized Avenue Transverse Site Section

Development in Section

Property Line

Using the building’s sectional qualities to create spatial interest allows for more dynamic spaces in a residential application. The double height volume of the living room provides a focal point of the building in section. The double height volume also allows light to penetrate deep into the space, creating enjoyable interior environments for the tenants of the development. The site section also allows for the live and work functions of the development to stem from the main axis. Featuring living spaces above each work space offers street level retail and office space in a vibrant urban setting

Shelton Mcmurphey Blvd.

New Medford Fire Station civic identity meets environmental stewardship Medford, OR Winter 2014 Academic Project involved through the Sustainable Cities Initiative

02

designing for the occupant Over the duration of the Winter 2014 term, the studio visited Medford several times to gain valuable feedback on how the space would be used by its eventual occupant. Speaking with firefighters allowed myself to comprehend their unique needs. The fire station serves not only as a beacon of civic identity but it also needs to function properly. Time matters to firefighters when they are responding to an emergency. My scheme features major spaces all connected to a circulation core that leads directly into the apparatus bay. The core of major spaces also has a direct connection to the implied exterior courtyard. This project was also in partnership with the Sustainable Cities Initiative. We were encouraged to pursue, in detail, green design technologies to improved fire station building performance.

Functional Poche

Regulating Lines

Spatial Grain

Day Room Marker Rendering

Drawing Legend 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6:

7: 8: 9: 10: 11:

Apparatus Bay Emergency Support Lobby Classroom Shared Office Cooling Tower

Day Room Kitchen/Dining Physical Training Courtyard Dorm Wing Process Sketches

3 4 2

1

5

6 7

8

9 10

11

Floor Plan

N

Site Plan

Exterior Courtyard Marker Rendering

environmental diagrams

Cooling Tower

PV Solar Hot Water Collection

Rammed Earth Walls

Louvers Shade Primary Spaces

Interior Lobby Marker Rendering

North Elevation Showing Apparatus Bay

Westcott House master planning and integrated architecture Springfield, OH Fall 2011 Academic Collaborative Group Master Planning

Individual Contributions

-Building of Froebel Box

-Exploring Spatial Organization via Block Constructions and Weaves

-All architectural solutions are individual work

03

Froebel Block Constructions This project was based in principles of design discovered by Frank Lloyd Wright. Following these principles allowed the design to ultimately remain site specific and connected to the surrounding environment. In groups, we collaborated to explore these ideas and to help develop a cohesive master plan proposal.

Principles include:

- Froebel exercises to develop spatial organization

- Using weave as a metaphor for part-whole relationships

- Moments in nature as precedent

Box Construction

Froebel Box

Tension

Rupture

Decay

Tension Axon

Aggression Axson

Weaving Exercises

Centralized

Tension

Visitor’s Center Ground Plan Scale:

1/8” = 1’

Visitor’s Center

N

22

11

33 33

44

55

My design for the Visitor’s Center incorporated axial relationships developed through our group’s master plan. All of my individual architectual solutions implemented on site utilize the concept of a sloped roof towards the Westcott House on top of the hill. The sloped roofs exhibit a salute to the House’s presence on site while dealing with environmental issues such as heat gain and rain water runoff.

44 77 66

Greenmount Ave.

Plan Legend: 1

Museum Store With Coffee Service

3

Restrooms

5

Staff Break Out Room

2

Museum Storage

4

Staff Offices

6

Education Space

1: 2: 3: 4:

Merchandise Store Merchandise Storage Restroom Office

N

7

Mechanical Space

5: Staff Breakout 6: Education Space 7: Mechanical

Process Work

Interior Perspective

West Elevation

Visitor’s Center West Elevation Scale:

1/4” = 1’

Final Model

Exterior Perspective

Longitudinal Section

Design 4 Disaster small scale disaster relief structure utilizing passive solar strategies Colorado Springs, CO Fall 2012 Academic

04

Disaster Relief

disaster details:

An architectural solution for a disaster relief setting poses interesting questions. How will this unit be transported to the site? How long will the structure be in place? The main issue I considered for my disaster relief shelter was maintaining a sense of identity. When a family loses everything in a natural disaster they must turn to each other for strength and comfort. My particular design expresses ideas in building performance as well as constructability and form.

The structure helps the family maintain a sense of identity with an entire wall dedicated to the storage and display of items that were salvaged from their home during the disaster.

Waldo Canyon Region; Colorado Springs, CO June 23, 2012 - July 10, 2012 32,000 Residents Evacuated 346 Homes Destroyed 18,482 Acres Destroyed Most Destructive Wildfire in Colorado State History

concept: Family dissplaced by disaster embodies the spirit and energy of a Phoenix rising from the ashes Disaster Site Disaster Site

Unit can be deployed on the site of home to help maintain a sense of community and self.

Drawing Legend 1: 2: 3: 4:

5: 6: 7: 8:

Parent Sleeping Quarters Children Sleeping Quarters “Identity� Wall Dining Area

Glazing Wall Food Prep Area Solar Hot Water Tank Bathroom

2

1

Process Model

7

3 4 6

Thermal massing wall Glazing wall; optimizing heat gain during winter months Process Sketch

5

8

Passive Solar I intended on using passive solar strategies through solar heat gain and solar hot water collection. The overhang on the south facing wall blocks steep summer sun angles to help maintain a comfortable interior temperature. Thermal massing was also explored throughout the majority of the building enclosure. The wall system was composed of a Thermasteel panel along with additional rigid insulation for an increased R-Value. Thermasteel panels are SIPs panels with light weight galvanized steel structural members instead of wood framed. This creates an energy efficient solution that is easily assembled in the event of a natural disaster.

Roof form mimics Phoenix wing

Photovoltaic panels for solar hot water collection

Process Sketch

Summer Interior finish Winter

Expanded polystyrene molded to steel frame Steel frame Extruded polystyrene Furring strips for drainage Cut-out for electrical wiring Exterior sheathing Wood siding

Wall System R-Value: 49 (Calculated through Passive House Planning Package)

Designation of Program

N

Sleeping Quarters

Dining/Food Prep

Bathroom

Interior Perspective

Exterior Perspective

Sunshade design/build collaboration with an emphasis on quality interior environments Oxford, OH Fall 2012 Academic Collaborative Group Design/Construction

Individual Contributions

-Initial Design Charette participant

-Researched upcycling techniques and connections

-Aided in constructing model to show design intent to University faculty

-Participated in all phases of installation

-All Documentation/Sketches presented in portfolio are individually created

05

Upcycling The first-year architecture studio at Miami University has a large, south-facing window which tends to create glare for students working below. Working in a studio consisting of 15 students and a professor, we quickly came up with design solutions for providing shade for the interior space. After narrowing our designs in teams, we collaborated, with our final design focusing on upcycling. We explored the idea of re-using old banners typically used to display various graphics on light poles or at sporting venues. Cutting them into strips and weaving them into a designed system increased the banners’ value by providing a much needed function.

Section Diagrams

The Problem: Glare becomes such an issue that students resort to using umbrellas at their desks and often wear sunglasses to class.

Process Sketch

Recycled banners

Cut to specified lengths

Assembled on wooden frame

Model built to illustrate design intent to University faculty

Woven through net

Interior view of Sunshade during construction

Assembly The finalized design consisted of a system of curved forms. We calculated how far the curves must hang in order to block lower winter sun angles. The design was an iterative process. Once a segment was woven on a temporary wooden frame, we hoisted the net up and attached it to the steel I-beam.

Following this pattern throughout the construction process allowed the sunshade to be built in a timely fashion I-beam connection

Installation Process

Installation Process

First segment of project installed

Final product viewed from sun deck

Talawanda Shelter a bioclimatic approach to outdoor classroom design Oxford, OH Spring 2012 Academic

06

Climate Responsive An outdoor classroom provides a unique opportunity to exhibit an expressive form as well as an educational moment. My outdoor classroom provides area for seating as well as cover from the rain. In addition, The roof system filters rain water through a gutter which then runs the rain down the face of a masonry bearing wall and disributes it into a rain garden. Teachers could use the performance of the structure in terms of water collection as an educational device in Biology or Agriculture classes.

Process Perspective

Process Work

Rain Garden

Final Model

Final Model

Building Section

Rain garden detail

Exterior Perspective

ny hotel & sky garden Large scale solution fostering urban revitalization New York, NY Fall 2012 Academic Competition Entry

07

Urban Vibrancy Located in the neighborhood of Manhattanville in New York City, this particular site offers a unique opportunity for blending socio-economic classes as well as provide the area with an enriching place with a variety of different functions. Expressing unique energy levels that come with an urban context, I wanted to express New York’s vibrancy via vertical fluctuations.

The design draws from the verticality at a large scale with its impact on the skyline as well as street level perspectives. Through rigorous site analysis of the urban environment, I was able to pinpoint various factors that come into play when designing for this specific neighborhood of New York. The project was an entry in the 2012 International Superskyscraper Competition

Process Form Studies

Site Analysis

Plan Legend Hotel Office Residential Commercial/Retail

Diagrammatic Site Plan

Manhattan Public Transit

B B

B B

B

B

B

B B

B B

B B

B

M B

Regular Property Lines

Irregular Building Footprints

B

Circulation

M B

B

Important Adjacent Areas

Site Movement

Solar Chimney

Process Sectional Study Vertical Gardens

Exterior Perspective

Street level perspective viewing site activity

Structure

Hotel

Office

Residential Massing Rendering

Thermal Analysis an introduction to thermal bridging and high performance detailing Isle of Gozo, Malta Summer 2011 Academic

08

Thermal Performance During a summer abroad experience I began an exploration in thermal bridging began at the International Passive House in Innsbruck, Austria and ended in the country of Malta. We ran thermal models of simple Maltese details composed of basic limestone construction, a traditional Maltese building material. After locating thermal bridging we designed details to enhance the thermal value of various wall systems. As a supplementary experience in Malta, I enrolled in a sustainable design class the fall after my study abroad, which focused on Passive House. A final exercise in the class was the construction of a full scale detail that adhered to Passive House standards.

Traditional fishing village of Marsaxlokk in southeast Malta

Excerpts from Conference Sketchbook

Temperature Change (T)

Locating Heat Transfer (Q)

Floor to wall connection (T)

Floor to wall connection (Q)

Door jamb connection in plan (T)

Door jamb connection in plan (Q)

Scale:

T

Q

Thermal Bridging

Door sill connection (T)

Door sill connection (Q)

It is important to be able to locate thermal bridging.

Once a thermal bridge is located you can start to understand the thermal properties of a particular detail. In Malta, I ran thermal analysis through the software program, Heat 2. I analyzed simple Maltese details and located thermal bridging.

Observing details and their thermal performance has sparked an increasing interest in building performance.

Super Insulated Ridge Working in a group during a sustainable design class, we explored solutions and applied them to a ridge detail. We constructed a full scale ridge detail and calculated r-value as well as determined the location of the vapor barrier. Working in full scale allowed me to grasp connections and the intricate roles each material plays. We hoped to achieve a ridge detail that adhered to Passive House standards. Filling the ridge cavity with mineral wool instead of blown in cellulose or batt insulation increased thermal performance. We also heavily insulated the exterior of the cavity to completely eliminate thermal bridging.

detail construction process

Initial Ridge Detail

Super Insulated Ridge Detail

Model Legend 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: 8: 9: 10: 11:

Ridge vent Asphalt siding Exterior sheathing Furring strip for drainage Tyvek vapor barrier 4� Extruded polystyrene 2x10 Ridge beam Ridge cavity filled with mineral wool Gypsum board Plywood sheathing 2� Extruded polystyrene

1 2

5

3

6

4

Final roof R-Value: 84 Calculated through Passive House Planning Package

7 8 11 10 9