alexandria's portfolio of work_96DPI

ALEXANDRIA MACKINNONGRADUATE ARCHITECT

MArch (prof) University of Cape Town

PORTFOLIO

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................................................6about me

CURRICULUM VITAE ..........................................................................................................................................................7contact details, education and experience

OUTSIDE IN, INSIDE OUT ..........................................................................................................................................................8Masters Dissertation 2015

THE WILLOWS PRIMARY SCHOOL ECD CENTRE ........................................................................................................................................................14Bachelor of Architectural Studies (Honours) 2014

FERCH SUMMER HOUSE EXTENSION AND SAUNA ........................................................................................................................................................22Internship abroad at Stecher Architekten 2013

INSTALLATION DESIGN ........................................................................................................................................................28Transmutation installation 2010 and the Technology of Building Systems 2011

PARTICIPATORY DESIGN ........................................................................................................................................................30Play Khayalitsha at Play the City 2014

MY PATTERN PASSION ........................................................................................................................................................34Iranarama fundraising and exhibition 2015

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My name is Alexandria Mackinnon. I am a recent architecture graduate from the University of Cape Town with an interest in playful public architecture, its materiality and colour and its influence in communities and cities. I am a MArch architectural candidate, a qualification equivalent to RIBA Part 2, experienced in a variety of occupations and equipped with a wide range of skills. My university career has rendered me the opportunity to answer, imagine and fabricate projects of diverse scales and objectives providing me with skills of both technical detailing and urban appropriation.

In 2013 I attained work as an intern at a small-scale practice in Berlin where I was involved in design, basic construction, site management and client communications for residential dwellings around Germany. After which I returned to South Africa to continue my degree in architecture and become a part-time member of Play the City, an international team of architects and designers, working in informal environments, achieving public architecture and new urban structures through communicative games and play. I have had the fortunate opportunity to travel visiting cities within Iran, Denmark and Turkey. Experiencing and understanding different cultures and building techniques through travel has reaffirmed my knowledge of the importance of site, community and heritage within the built environment.

I seek inspiration from a variety of fields, my curiosity and eagerness to learn has led me to a number of part-time occupations in areas of local entrepreneurship, textile and fabric design, fine foods and child-minding. Juggling this with studies has not only taught me skills of time management and organization but the rewards of passion-led perseverance, the power of social communications and networking and the often forgotten influences of play and imagination.

YOU CAN CALL ME ALEX

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+27 (0)84 735 4234

[email protected]

Skype: alexandria.mackinnon

alexandriapattern.tumblr.com

Date of birth: 16-10-1990

Languages: English + Afrikaans

Citizenships: South African + British

A creative, hard-working and passionate architect graduatePERSONAL DETAILS ABOUT ME

University of Cape Town2015

Masters in Architecture with distinction

2014 Honours in Architecture

2013Architectural internship in Berlin

2010-2012 Bachelors in Architectural Studies

EDUCATION

Tutor first year students in developing skills including critical reading and writing, research and verbal and visual presentation.

EXPERIENCE

AutoCAD highly competent Sketch Up highly competent Revit beginner Photoshop highly competent Illustrator competent InDesign competent Microsoft suite highly competent

COMPUTER SKILLS

Architectural detailing through the experimentation of materials

Co-design as a method of design

Art including textile and fabric design, free-hand illustrations and pottery

Exploring new built environments and cultures through travel

INTERESTS

History and Theory of Architecture TutorContact Sonja at +27 (0)76 584 9513

Tutor, University of Cape Town 2015

Drawings of construction and repair issued to a quantity surveyor

AMAC Construction SolutionsContact Adrian at +27 (0)83 572 3169

Freelance draftsperson, Cape Town November 2015

On site assistance, direct communication and correspondence with communities involved, writing assistance for report documentation and the updating of various media platforms.

Play the CityContact Ekim at [email protected]

Part-time assistant architect, Cape Town 2014

Design assistance, basic detailing and council submission drawings for a residential extension. Interior design assistance for a single residential dwelling. Basic drafting for a large commercial shopping center.

Stecher ArchitektenContact Jan at [email protected]

Architectural Intern, Berlin 2013

Sales and product delivery assistant

Skinny LaMinxContact Heather at [email protected]

Part-time retail assistant, Cape Town 2012-2014

Child-minder responsibilities

Au-pairContact Sophie at 0049 (0)160381090

Care for Leo Altrock child of Sophie + Martin Altrock, Berlin 2013

Jewellery salesperson at a local designer market

Steffany Roup JewelleryContact Steffany at +27 (0)72 427 9081

Sales assistant, Cape Town 2014-present

CURRICULUM VITAE

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OUTSIDE IN INSIDE OUT

Parliament is an institution of public representation. In principle, parliament supports and encourages public participation within the institution. In practice, however, parliament fails to achieve this participation. The lack of public engagement is due to the perceived representation of parliament as an institution and as an architectural monument. As an institution of public representation, there is a disjuncture between what is secret, private, ‘apparently public’ and public within parliament. As an architectural facade of monumentality, parliament represents characteristics of dominance and power, traits associated with the neoclassical style. Through the understanding of the architectural facade as a surface of perception but foremost an interface of two opposing entities – the outside and the inside, the public and the private - puts in question the representative nature of the facade of parliament.

An intervention is proposed, in the form of a public passageway that breaks the physical threshold of the parliament precinct and challenges the current disjuncture between private and public. Through a series of ramps, it provides public access into ‘apparently public’ functions, transforming spaces of assumed privacy into spaces explicitly public. Strategically interwoven between two buildings, the passage extends beyond the existing threshold of parliament into the Company’s Garden and precinct connecting parts of the city obstructed by the privatization of the parliament precinct. Architectural surfaces of varying transparencies that line the passageway are designed to transform inside and outside perceptions and experiences of the intervention as well as the existing buildings of parliament. Through the art of construction, the layers of glass reveal and exhibit parliamentary practices and the beauties of the Company’s Garden, shadow and mask private and mundane activities and subtly evoke interpretation and meaning of parliamentary artefacts and architecture on display. The created experience will educate and inspire an appreciation for South African history, culture and governance.

I Masters Dissertation 2015

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Process images, collages and made artefacts exploring the meaning of the facade as a two dimensional surface and as a three dimensional interface - the architecture of Cape Town Parliament chosen as the site of investigation.


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d The designed public passage challenges the existing boundaries of the private and the public. The public ‘pink’ enters and takes ownership of spaces within parliament that are rightfully public.

e From left to right: the existing link between two buildings of parliament. The passage of ramps providing access into parliament. The transparent interface.

a Cape Town Parliament is located in the public Company’s Garden which is situated in Cape Town’s Central Business District known as the CBD.

b The proposed urban scheme connects parts of the city that are currently obstructed by the privatization of the parliament precinct. The connection renders an opportunity for urban upgrade along


0 100 200m a

b

c

d

e

the front of the National Library, situated within the gardens, and along Lelie street. Space for the future expansion of parliament has been provided and is located at the end of Lelie street.

c Current levels of privacy Public‘Apparently’ publicPrivateSecret

9 I Masters Dissertation 2015 Nolli Plans

Circulation Axonometric

0 1 +1 mezzanine

2 +2 mezzanine 3

10 I Masters Dissertation 2015

a b

c d e

A A

Ground floor plan

Section AA

0 2 5 10m

0 2 5 10m

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e A 1:100 model of the passage way and adjacent parliamentary buildings of which the elevation facing the Company’s Garden is captured here.

f Cutaway axonometric showing the main structural system, the design of the ramps and landings, entry into the parliamentary buildings and the layering of the lining surface.

c Technical detail of the roof structure, shading device and the transparent ceiling and ceiling light diffusers - providing subtle interior natural lighting.

d A layer of interpretation amongst the various layers of transparency. The layer provides meaning to the existing architectural embellishments on display.

a Technical detail of the layered glass surface that lines the passage way and the adjacent parliamentary buildings.

b The transition space between the passage way and adjacent parliamentary buildings, a space in which the user can experience the various layering of the lining surface.


f

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THE WILLOW'S PRIMARY SCHOOL ECD CENTRE

The Willow’s Primary School Early Childhood Development Centre (ECD) was conceptualized through the assigned brief: Room for Imagination. The brief invites the creation of interiority and institutional image-ability through the understanding of the sociology of space and form. An interiority, where play, recreation and education provide relief, resource, refuge and delight in a tough neighbourhood and an external image-ability, where social institutions are given a recognisable and memorable presence within the urban fabric – satisfying both human scale, security and durability within poverty-stricken environments.

The Early Childhood Development Centre serves both the child and his/her family. Spatial analysis of a child’s needs throughout different development stages is required as well as the analysis and research of family support resources and programmes. The site is located in Heideveld, a ‘township’ developed consequent of the Apartheid regime, South East of Cape Town’s Central Business District (CBD). Willow’s Primary school is situated within the dense, small-scale suburbia of Heideveld. The ECD Centre is an extension to the already existing Primary School. The location evidently raising questions of design durability and affordability.

The development of the project is twofold. Part one involves individual design investigation - engaging brief and site through a collective mapping and an individual conceptualization of a sketch design. Part two involves group collaboration, a 3 member simulated office, in the development of the chosen sketch design. Typical procedures of practice are used as a office structure for the fast paced work which proceeds from appraisal and definition phase through to technical documentation and approval phase. Students within the simulated office are encouraged to liaise with other university faculties and professional practices to answer questions of value, management and costing with regards to design and tectonic achieving a balance between economy of use and design expression. Myself, Laura Graham and Max Melvill are the founding members of Play Architects. As an office we designed and developed the Willow’s Primary School ECD Centre.

I Bachelor of Architectural Studies (Honours) 2014

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THE PLAYGROUNDS AND THE CITY

ALDO VAN EYCK

Site images of surrounding context and of learning and play environments within Willow’s Primary School.

Initial ink drawings of childhood memories.

The designs and writings of Aldo Van Eyck as influential precedent for the designing of play spaces and equipment.


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and hall is designed to serve both the ECD and Primary School. The development of the ECD centre and the redevelopment of the Primary School will be realized separately in two construction phases. The site allocated to the ECD centre is enlarged to connect with the adjacent public park, providing ownership and maintenance to the once underutilised park.

With the design of the ECD a proposal was made for the redesign of the connected Primary School. The design of the ECD, and the proposed Primary School, are designed under the concept of age/development clusters where play and learning spaces of a specific age are grouped and designed specifically for the age and development of the child. Along with the redevelopment of the Primary School, a shared library


Proposed streetPark/recreationServitude for ECDShared hall and libraryExisting streetSchool siteProvided ECD siteEnlarged ECD site

Willow’s Primary School, Heideveld, urban proposal

15 I Bachelor of Architectural Studies (Honours) 2014

Sketch of ECD centre illustrating form and urban presence

Form development from a-c

a b c

1:50 sectional model


Classroom construction and materiality

Classroom interiority exploration sketches

Interiority render


Exploded construction isometric of a classroom section


Construction plan


Entrance render

All construction drawings, council submission drawings and renders were produced using Revit - a programme we as a team found very efficient when it came to shared files and drawings.

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FERCH SUMMER HOUSE EXTENSION AND SAUNA

Stecher Architekten, is a small practice proficient in a variety of design briefs ranging in different scales and programmes. As an architectural intern, and one out of the 4 office members, I was immersed in projects all at different stages of development and all requiring different applied skills and thought. One project in particular was an extension and addition to a holiday home in Brandenburg, Germany.

A quaint holiday home in Ferch, Brandenburg, required a new kitchen, summer room and sauna. I was involved in the initial groundwork for design which entailed the measuring of the existing home to produce base drawings. I attended design sessions and client discussions after which I produced three dimensional visualizations either as physical models or as computer renders. Once the design was finalized I produced all council drawings for the submission to local authorities.

As an architectural intern I was able to learn and understand office structure, architect-to-client communication and relations, multi-disciplinary collaboration and team work with other professionals and the importance of record collection and documentation.

I Internship abroad at Stecher Architekten 2013

21 I Internship abroad at Stecher Architekten 2013

The existing holiday home before the required extensions and additions.

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b A physical model was built during the process of design development for form exploration and for clear client communication.

Pages 23-25

A selection of council submission drawings

a A 3D render of the existing home with the extended kitchen and summer room to the south and the proposed sauna to the south west. The extension and sauna are of a mainly steel and glass construction with brick infill where necessary. The form, construction and materiality is simple and subtle to compliment the characterful nature of the existing home.

I Internship abroad at Stecher Architekten 2013

a

b

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INSTALLATION DESIGN

a Transmutation Installation

The brief Transmutation Installation requires the conceptualization and 1:1 building of a temporary installation for public participation and use. The installation is to transform a chosen site without the physical damaging of property, within a limited budget and through the interactive participation of the public. The installation designed was realized in collaboration with Alexander Coetzee, Lawden Holmes and Lazar Tsankov. We as a group sought help and guidance from a local kinetic artist, Justin Fiske. The installation was built within a courtyard amongst the buildings of the Cape Town University art campus. The rarely used courtyard contains a steel staircase leading to an adjacent classroom and an outdoor water tap. The courtyard is shaded due to the high surrounding buildings and is damp due to the lack of sunshine and dripping tap. The concept of the installation was drawn from the existing sensations, was constructed using the height and boundaries of the surrounding buildings and was operated by the visiting public. The installation consists of a timber lattice, made from recycled packaging palettes, and attached latex ‘water droplets’ made from freely available condoms. A designed and constructed pulley system enables the lattice and attached droplets to gracefully move, dip and sway. The courtyard was transformed into a space of interaction and enchantment.

b Technology of Building Systems

A temporary outdoor pavilion designed for exhibitions and performances explored the use of a folded plate structural system. The pavilion was realized through the process of model making and paper folding experimentation. The final design is represented as a complete 1:50 model and a 1:1 component model. The chosen structural system of the pavilion, represented as a 1:50 model, is required to span 20m and withstand the applied weight of one clay brick. The 1:1 component model investigates the joinery specific to the chosen structural system and the materiality-to-construction relationship.

I Transmutation installation 2010 and the Technology of Building Systems 2011

27 I Transmutation installation 2010 and the Technology of Building Systems 2011

a

b

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PARTICIPATORY DESIGN

Play the City designs physical games as a method for collaborative decision making and conflict resolution in solving complex urban challenges. The games are tailored according to the questions of the clients. The questions relate to large urban projects, refugee camps, violence prevention and other challenges societies face. Gaming is used as a problem-solving method that brings top down decision makers together with bottom up stakeholders. In the playful environment of games discussions are freed from professional jargon and pretentious pressure. The game works as follows:

Stakes + Stakeholders Research is conducted to help sharpen the boundaries of the presented challenge. The research is done in the form of field surveys and personal interviews. From this research key stakeholders are identified. A ‘game concept’ is developed and presented to the client for further input.

Game With the input from the client the interactive game board is designed and produced. The game board enables all stakeholders to visualize ideas where various interests can be tested against one another. The game is designed to seek consensus amongst conflicting interests, to test alternative scenarios and implement decisions during the game to prepare for reality.

Action Plan All gaming sessions are recorded and carefully analysed after the play. Insights and opportunities revealed by players during the game are translated into innovative strategies and action plans for real life interventions.

Play Khayelitsha is a ‘negotiation game’ designed to help transform the centre of South Africa’s second-largest township, a neighbourhood in need of development.Khayelitsha, translated as ‘our new home’, is South Africa’s second largest township. It has a population of more than half a million, 75% of which are under 29. Despite its young population and their will to build a better living environment, the community in Khayelitsha’s Central Business District (KCBD) struggles. Large plots of land remain vacant and limited infrastructure and a lack of investment is hindering the process for future development.

I Play Khayaletisha at Play the City 2014

29 I Play Khayaletisha at Play the City 2014

Play Khayelitsha November 2014 game board, game pieces, stakeholders and residents involved in the game.

As a team member I was involved with on site research and assistance, direct communication with communities involved in game play, writing assistance for report documentation and the updating of various media platforms.

30 I Play Khayaletisha at Play the City 2014

Game steps

Khayelitsha Central Business District (KCBD)

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De-constructedShopping Mall 2Shacks Above

De-constructedShopping Mall 1Shacks Above

De-constructedShopping Mall 3Housing Above

Housing Enclave& Urban Farming

Intensi�cationof Land Use on Ntlazane Road

Mixed UseLeisure, Retail & Crafts

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It was a success, and the results included a trader’s co-op for securing land, a de-constructed shopping mall, a rent policy for regularised trade, a trader’s partnership with local land investors and re-zoning for increased tourism. The results are still being processed and will be implemented in the future.

which great feedback was received for the finalizing of the game.

In November 2014, Play the City reached out to over 80 local stakeholders, with the help of the City of Cape Town, VPUU and in/formal south. A game session was set up with local stakeholders who were able to strategize their urban visions.

In February 2014, Play the City was briefed by the planning office of the City of Cape Town on Khayelitsha’s urban challenge. A game prototype was designed to be tested during a design event in July 2014. Around 60 players, including the Cape Town municipality, VPUU (Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading organization) and Khayelitsha businesses and residents joined the game, from

I Play Khayaletisha at Play the City 2014

Play Khayelitsha November 2014 game output

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MY PATTERN PASSION

The University of Cape Town’s architecture masters class organizes an annual research trip to interesting and inspiring locations. Each trip answers a research question that is discussed and set beforehand. The trip is self organized and funded by the students themselves, fundraising events and the sourcing of sponsors is encouraged! The class of 2015 had the opportunity to travel to Iran.

The Iranian city reflects the rich and lengthy history of the nation: from the seat of the Persian Empire, through traditional Islamic culture and city-making, to large-scale modernization in the twentieth century, and more recently a return to Islamist governance. As a result, these environments reflect a tension between tradition and modernity; local culture and globalization; Islam and Western capitalism. The result is a juxtaposition of traditional and vernacular architecture, produced by cultural and environmentally appropriate principles, with rapidly imposed Western modernism, arguably producing “a monotonous urban landscape, debilitating poverty, social isolation, and an increasing risk of climate-related disasters.” (Aminian, Behnam Kia, 2012: 17) The intention is to investigate this tension between the traditional and the modern and explore to what extent one has influenced the other.

We explored this issue across three themes namely; city/urban, housing and climate. The investigation combines preliminary research prior to the expedition with first-hand observation of the cities and buildings in question. Engagement with local citizens, students and academics complements this with invaluable local insights, with emphasis on our own experiences as recorded in sketches, measured drawings, photographs, writing, conversation and reflection. The work recorded formed the basis of a published document produced by the class of 2015.

I Iranarama fundraising and exhibition 2015

33 I Iranarama fundraising and exhibition 2015

As a fundraising strategy myself and a well connected manufacturer collaborated to produce fun and trendy tote bags to be sold at all fundraising functions and events. I put into practice my passion for doodling and pattern making to produce unique patterns inspired by Iranian tessellations and tile-work common to many mosques in Iran.

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galleries open their doors till late.All work is sold on silent auction on the night of the exhibition. All donations are acceptable for work of any size, medium and subject matter.

The event was a great success, raising a substantial amount of money!

As a fundraising event a series of works measuring 20x20cm are produced by the architecture master students and exhibited along with work by other students, practicing architects and artists. The exhibition was particularly a vibrant and successful evening due to it being scheduled as an official First Thursday’s event; a monthly occasion in which many of Cape Town’s inner city art


Cape Town Parliament, National Council of Provinces

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My artworks are inspired by this interest in the architectural façade and my passion for pattern making. My 20x20 artworks represent façades of well known public buildings that face onto Cape Town’s Company Gardens. The façades have been simplified and abstracted to represent a composition of shapes. The shapes have then been used in the designing of a pattern.

My masters dissertation focused on the interested in the architectural façade as an interface between the inside and the outside of public, representational buildings. I chose to explore this idea through the re-imagining of Cape Town Parliament as the pre-eminent public building in South African’s democracy and city.


The Great Synagogue

THANKYOU

[email protected] +27 (0)84 735 4234

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