Ali Karlen DESIGN PORTFOLIO 2013

// STUDIO: Gathering at the Edge

// STUDIO: Imagining the Urban Future of Titanyen

// STUDIO: The Taft Home

// STUDIO: The Movie House

// INTERNSHIP: Kounkuey Design Initiative

// site sectionHand drafted, graphite, Photoshop

The opportunity arises at a wedding, birthday, reunion or other significant event, to recognize our vast web of human connection. This meaningful revelation was the design goal of my Celebration Hall, a flexible space for hosting celebratory events. It became an indoor-outdoor facility nestled on the side of Mt Tabor, in an idyllic clearing among pine forest, accessed by a network of wilderness trails. This site was chosen for its secluded, screened-in qualities, influencing the participants focus upon one another rather than the world beyond. As the paths come into the architecture, their tangents form walls and the journey of the celebrants intertwine to form a space through their collection. The Hall means to reinforces relationships which may have been stretched by time or distance, and thus caters to the experience and underlying social importance of gathering.

// Gathering at the Edgearch 380 : fall 2011 : Clive Knights : Portland State University

// interior space renderingGraphite, Photoshop

// moments on the experiential pathPhotoshop collage

420’

410’

400’

380’

SE Tabor Drive

390’

10’

N

1

8

9

9

9

6

2

4

35

7

7

1 // Main Interior Space2 // Main Exterior Space 3 // Storage, Food prep 4 // Dressing Room 5 // Secondary Exterior Space6 // Main Entry Landing7 // ADA Bathroom8 // Fountain9 // Entrance

// Mt tabor park

Flashing

Roof insulation

2x4 Roof decking

Beam

Beam hanger

Clerestory window

Embedded connector plate

Angle bracket

Water proof sealant

Window

Support Column

Louver screen system

Embedded knife plate

Interior finish

Footing

Slab

Insulation

Moisture barrier

Drainage gravel

Walkway decking

Drainage gravel

I-beam walkway support

Walkway footing

Glulam beams

Flashing

Embeddedconnector plate

Waterproof sealant

Gutter

1 foot

// detailed section drawingARCH 461

right // model in context

below // techtonic model

highway 1

20’

main community center

above // exterior space renderingIllustrator, autoCAD

above right // exsiting conditionsIllustrator, autoCAD

As a class, this studio developed an urban design project for the future of Titanyen, a Haitian village experiencing exponential growth as people escape the crumbled cities left by the 2010 earthquake. We examined the needs of the developing world and synergies that exist within those needs. I specifically worked with a fellow student to address the development south of Highway One. This area was previously not part of the settlement, but since the earthquake it has become a new, informal neighborhood of tarp and plywood shelters and no access to services.

Our design goal was to bring basic necessities to theneighborhood that would make it self-sustaining and ultimately help them prosper in their growth. Education as empowerment became the design’s driving force. The neighborhood was thus designed on an easily phased structure to support the educational benefits of a garden-school synergy. Revolved around an agriculturally minded school, the neighborhood would be permeated by the knowledge, encouraging a higher quality of living.

// Imagining the Urban Future of Titanyenarch 480 : fall 2012 : sergio palleroni : Portland State University

SCHOOL

EDUCATIONFOR KIDS

RESOURCE FORKIDS LEARNING

ADULTSLEARNING

LOCATION FORADULT LEARNING

(AFTER SCHOOL HOURS)COMMUNITY KITCHEN

URBAN GARDEN

RESTROOMS

CHICKEN COOPLIBRARY

productionbenefits

expanded scopeof learning

materialexchange

food forcommunity

materialexchange

food forcommunity

LAUNDRY STATION

TEXTILE COOP

PUBLIC OPEN SPACE

assemblyplay

school uniform production and repairtextile-related skill building classes

communal gathering and interaction for meals and festivals

safe quiet study space after school hours

literacy and education resourcesavailable to community

outdoor learning space

education opportunity

skill building opportunity

production and maintenanceof school uniforms

education opportunityskill building opportunity

offset management responsiblities

phosphate-richgrey water runoff

waste compost

offset management responsiblities

produce food for school meals

Food Production and Agriculture Education/Skill Building Resource Management Community Engagement Sanitation

// mapping synergies

highway 1

// section perspective through classroom and plazaRhino, Photoshop

N

20 ‘

SITE PLAN

highway 1

community hub

VEGETABLE/FRUIT GARDEN

PERMANENT DWELLING

COMMERCIAL ZONE BUFFER

WATER ACCESS POINT

BIOSWALE/DRAINAGE GARDEN

// Neighborhood plan

The most basic of facilities were added as community hubs within the neighborhood. These services are of a local category, and we used that to encourage small-scale community spaces serving a local radius of blocks. As the neighborhood densifies, these can help to delineate development of expanded services, significant community spaces and even commercial zones.

PU

BL

IC S

PA

CE

centralpublicspace

localizedpublicplazas

semi-private

gardens

RO

AD

S

primary secondary tertiary

DRAINaGE PIPE/CANALFROM GARDEN

BIOSWALEDRAINAGE

ROCK

RETAININGWALL

OVERFLOWOUTLET

BIOSWALE

Titanyen has been subjected to massive erosion problems due to extensive foresting, and so a vital step for this neighborhood was to establish a system of water management where the dramatic flows of rainwater during the wet season could be controlled, and even used to their benefit.

Using the natural grade of the landscape, the pathway infrastructure of South Titanyen is designed to double as a rainwater management system. A drainage network eases the strain of runoff, encouraging absorption and making use of the flow through gravity-fed irrigation canals. What is not absorbed by the neighborhood continues into the agricultural zone just south of the community.

Left // Detail path sectionPen, Photoshop, Illustrator

below // neighborhood sectionPen, Photoshop, Illustrator

drain pipe channels excesswater down hill via the

secondary paths

drainage canals alongsecondary paths

to guide flowfurther downhill

bioswale drainage path runsalong primary roads

drain pipe siphons water fromthe system to irrigate gardens

within the blocks

larger bioswales placedstrategically to slow the

flow of water and allow itto percolate into the

ground, while providing greenery and shade

overflow from garden is fedback into the system by exiting canals

additional water is siphoned fromthe system tobe fed intothe gardens

additional overflow continues down hill

Runoff is gatheredin the system of

bioswales anddirected downhill in

a controlled manner

SOCIAL CONTEXT: In 2010, Port-au-Prince, Haiti was the epicenter of a major earthquake which destroyed the developing country and crumbled its infrastructure. In a country where population destiny is a stunning 971 people per square mile, millions of citizens were displaced by the destruction. The town of Titanyen and other areas just outside Port-au-Prince are experiencing massive informal growth as people migrate out of the ruined city to reset tle.

As a class, this studio developed an urban design project for the future of Titanyen. We examined the needs of the developing world and synergies that exist within those needs. I specif ically worked with a fellow student to address the development south of Highway One. This area was previously not part of the set tlement, but since the earthquake has become a new, informal neighborhood of tarp and plywood shelters and other structures and zero access to services.

Our initial response to the needs of Southern Titanyen was to designing of a central plaza based on synergies between a school, a library and a community garden. A community kitchen, textile coop and laundry station were added into the complex to create three plazas, fronting the neighborhood and buffered from Highway one with a future commercial zone. The goal was to bring basic necessities to the neighborhood that would make it self-sustaining and ultimately help them prosper in their growth. Education as empowerment became the design’s driving force.

When we examined the inf luence this could have on the neighborhood it would spawn, we found we could combine the infrastructure with rainwater management system. The system could prevent erosion - a major problem in the country - and support a system of gardens on the interior of the neighborhood blocks. The neighborhood was thus designed on an easily phased structure to support the educational benef its of the garden-school synergy. Revolved around an agriculturally minded school, the neighborhood would be permeated by the knowledge, encouraging a higher quality of living.

URBANIZED FABRIC

RAINWATER MANAGEMENT

RESOURCE UTILIZATION

GARDEN IRRIGATION NETWORK

right // block drainage systemPen, Pencil, Watercolor, Photoshop

3 years

phased executionand development

5-7 years

EXPANSION OF ROADS

PERMANENT DWELLINGS

ADDITIONAL BATHROOMS

ELABORATION OF PATH NETWORK7 years

10 years

// exemplary unit: spatial definition withing dwelling space

The current Taft Home is an assisted living facility in a historic building in downtown Portland that offers a sanctuary for elderly and formerly homeless individuals with mental illness. We were tasked with remodeling the dilapidated building. After evaluating their current condition of dwelling and community, I look at them as separate issues whose solutions reflect should each other. The dwellings could be activating spaces for the residents, and conversely, the community areas could be spaces activated by the residents.

I explored the new units by maintaining the current units’ square footage, but segmenting and arranging those to create pseudo rooms within one room. Each of the community space and smoking decks also has it’s own condition and range from small, calm corners to larger, more exposed spaces.

// The Taft Homearch 481 : winter 2013 : Brent young : Portland State University

above // exemplary unit composite spaceRhino, Illustrator

top // exemplary unit renderingRhino, Photoshop

bottom// tesselated room placement parti

// south exterior community spaceRhino, Photoshop

// west exterior community spaceRhino, Photoshop

45’

// exteriorRhino, Photoshop

// community spaces as nodes along circulation

indoor community space

outdoor community space

vertical connection openings

horizonal connections

// MODEL in context

right // interior renderingsRhino, Photoshop

FAR RIGHT // night lighting studiesRhino

The movie experience creates an inaudible conversation on ideas, culture, interpretation - in a way which makes it unique among media. The program was a small-scale Movie House with two theaters seating 16 each and a medium-size café/lounge. Through conceptual modeling and analysis of “Time” and “Projection”, I discovered a distinct connection between movie maker and movie viewer that needed to be maintained through the architecture. I found that the architecture could enforce the role of the film as a restrainer of the person and then enabling it to ultimately be an inspiration. I utilized these concepts to examine and enrich the design.

// the Movie Housearch 381 : winter 2012 : Jason Jones : Portland State University

50ftN

above // site planautoCAD, Illustrator

left // interior renderingRhino, Photoshop

top // Exterior renderingRhino, Photoshop

right // SEction perspectiveRhino, Illustrator, Photoshop

// Renderings created for site 05 sanitation block and landscaping proposalPhotoshop, Rhino

“KOUNKUEY DESIGN INITIATIVE (KDI) transforms impoverished communities by collaborating with residents to create low-cost, high-impact built environments (Productive Public Spaces) that improve their daily lives.” -kounkuey.org

// Kounkuey Design InitiativeSUMMER INTERNSHIP : JUNE-OCTOBER 2013 : Nairobi, kenya

// l-r: demonstration models for composting toilet systems, participatory design at site 05, foundation construction at site 06

// diagramatic contruction scheme and design for kpsp05 laundry padAutoCAD, Illustrator

// construction document samples and Rendering of KPSP06 Final designRhino, Photoshop, Illustrator

phone // 651 214.5635email // amkarlen@gmail.comweb // alikarlen.prosite.com

///////////////////////////////Thank you for your consideration