Brooke RobersonRev. on 20141202PORTFOLIO

01.....Character

02.....Studies

03.....3rd St Tower

04.....Contraction

05.....The 750sqft Home

06.....Coming Soon

CHARACTER

UKCoD Spring 2011 / ARC 151 / Prof. Scroggin

Brooke Roberson

5by5 Unit Connections & Feild StudiesPoint, Line, and Plane relationshipsExplorative model & Final Model - A single family home

This architecture studio began with the study of making units and combining �ve similar units in a systematic way. Any unit consisted of simply one 2” by 2” chip board (foldable), one 2” piano wire, and one 2” rectangular dowl rod. After quickly building �ve or more di�erent unit types one was chosen and exhausted into di�erent system-atic combinations. This study was inspired by the basic architectural graphic standard of the point, line, and plane. Any drawing is made up of points, lines, and planes and this studio was heavy on learning best practise techniques for drawing. Repetition visualized a characteristic movement to me and so I developed an experimental model that combined multiple 5by5-unit systems and composed them in a way to suggest a movement frozen in time. I looked to examples in the natural world for inspiration that would lead my study into a concrete, plastic expression. This sculptural quality I was looking for was apparent in the formations of migrating birds. The behavior of these �ocks of birds provided me with a reference point to explain the rules of my new system. Migrating birds appear chaotic yet organized. Their liberal movements are intently controled by instinct. Each bird is focused on what its nearest partners are doing - creating a chain reaction of movement that determines the form of the entire �ock. The �nal model was built at the scale of a single family home. So with this in mind the theory of attraction accompanied a theory of seperation in order to carve out living space amoung my units. My rules were liberal but functional, o�ering an open plan, balenced space, possibilites for natural light, and an exceptional visual character. Circulation, for example - The aggre-gated setback of units provided a gentle transition from private to public space. These setbacks maximize pathways by bluring the hardlines made by traditional hallways, giving occupants more usable square footage. The system also enabled passive daylighting where sunlight is allowsed to penitrate as units either split apart or subtract out of the system. I felt an advantage color relationship was important due to the... of units. Black points of the setbacks articulate the element of movement while the highlight of the wood’s natural beige catches the light. The contrast creates depth. As the occupant moves throughout the space it is clear the room takes on a new visual relationship.

Final Model with color scheme

DetailsImplied enclosure allows for a view of the interior space. Light reaches inside and black setbacks create depth highlighting changing spatial relatinoships.

Spacial diagramsSetbacks in the plan-cut are visible above as are penitrations for natural light below.

First Model - DetailsThe �rst implimentation of �ock rules.

SectionsLine weights in two sections reveal the changing spatial quality of the interior.

Plan cut & sectionO�er an idea of the model’s interior and exterior character.

5 by 5 unit studies relationship diagramA diagram showing the connections of 5 simple units.

Experimental Model in Movement StudiesThe compilation of �ve 5by5 units. Photographs are snapshots from a moving camera taken as a way to explore factory-line like movement.

Bird �ocks & Canadian Geese

Darwin Falls (Death Valley)Middle Springs (Saline Valley)

Distance from Darwin Falls: Approx 3.5 hours to 4 hours

Lower Falls Cascade & Creek

Falls Formation Diagram

northeasterly trade winds

Panamint Range

Darwin Falls

Telescope Peak

Badwater Basin

Argus Range

Panamint Valley

Amarcosa Range

Amarcosa Desert

November - MaySnow fall

Summer

snow melts, travels towards Panamint Valley

water is kept clear and cold,erodes softer canyon rock

Darwin Falls Trail and Panamint Valley

Parking

Falls

3200

2800’4746’

Jan.Feb.Mar.Apr.MayJun.Jul.Aug.Sep.

Nov.Oct.

Dec.0 20 40 60 80 100

Jan.Feb.Mar.Apr.MayJun.Jul.Aug.Sep.

Nov.Oct.

Dec.0 .25 .50

PREC

IPIT

ATIO

N

AVER

AGE

TEM

PERA

TURE

LO

WS

*All data for Precipitation and temperature lows are based on conditions at Furnace Creek, located approximately 50 miles east of Darwin Falls. Elevation, 190 ft below sea level.

Orientation on Site & Best Views Better to Fair views

blur

populationslocation

light direction comparison

range/valley conditionstravel - (color)

identi�cationperspective

light �uid

speci�cationspeci�cation

separationcirculation

Columns which create visual patterns and provide the guest with a sense of were circulation �ows.

Column Strategies

Now as structural grid which implies visual pattern when viewed in the procession. May verge onto the ceilings or facade systems.

When implimented as a regularized structural member its feature as an experiencial moment in plan diminishes but now has the possibility of providing views through the slab. (glass or open �oors above.)

Wall Strategies

PLAN OF TYPICAL GUEST ROOMSCALE: NTS

SECTION OF TYPICAL GUEST ROOMSCALE: NTS

23’ 6

”

19’ 6”

10’ 0

”

Hotel Color Palette

Wai

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Mai

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Audi

toriu

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Spa,

Gym

Boar

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Pool

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380’

GROUND PLAN

SCALE: NTS

SCALE: NTS

Studies

UKCoD Spring 2013 / ARC 355 / Prof. Takebayashi

Brooke Roberson

Saline Valley Spring Hotel & Conven-tion Center Death Valley, California, USAResearch & Studies toward an architecture

To begin site research for the Saline Valley Spring Hotel a preliminary area of Death Valley was selected. Darwin Falls, located between the Inyo and Cottonwood Mountain ranges, is the product of under-ground springs which are the only source of year-round water for Death Valley. With this is mind I decided to focus on the waterfall itself as guidance going into a material study. I saw that the waterfalls could signify Life in Death Valley and was eager to project that Life force into my architecture. I turned the falls on it’s side and rippled paper using water and heat to simulate the movement and vitality of the falls. A selection from the material study was scrutinized in a series of �gure-ground drawings. These studies revealed areas of depth, volume, and density. The audacious-ness of my �gure-ground studies clashed with my challenge to create a functional, practical building plan. The challenge to design the look and feel of the hotel was largely a concern building subtlety.

The vertical element was imagined in a series of computer renderings as stark contrasts to the gentle curve of the conven-tion hall. These traditional support columns were applied as thematic elements in both recreational and dining halls aswell as the guests rooms. I made a point to create a view oriented hotel that was cohesive with its surroundings. For insistence the gournd �oor is essentially an expansive corridor enclosed by glass. The natural landscape is �esh with the joints of this emense glasing system continuing the sweeping curve of the desert. This building skin merges visually with the environment and the interior making a seeming oasis out of the hotel. The color palette is taken directly from the sky and terrain excepting some saturated accent colors. The plan is split down the middle more or less with one side going to guest rooms and the other going to hotel services and ceremonies. A full courtyard including a pool and lounge is situated between diverging guest corridors.

Ground �oor plan (NTS) - First & Second �oors

Rendering of Interior Lobby

Formal approach - Saline Valley Hotel & Convention Center

Figure-ground relationships - a studyA selection made from the materials study furthered my investigation. The rigid low laying lines I thought led to a cross reference between the mountain ranges and what the hotel could be.

Support analysis Priliminary wire frame studies o�ered me an idea of how to implement columns in the open plan lobby.

Typical guest room (NTS) & hotel color schemes

Site location and climate researchDarwin Falls, Death Valley, CaliforniaThis section consists of preliminary research involving data on elevation shifts, terrain, climate, ecosystem, and weather.

Material StudiesInspired by my speaci�c Death Valley location I choose paper materials and used water, heat and glue as a means to obtain a rippled e�ect. Heat was most successful in expand-ing the folds and creating spacial elements to work with.

Lexington Financial Center:

410’

Fayette National BankBuilding:

200’

Radisson PlazaHotel Lexington:

240’

National City Plaza:

173’

3rd Street Tower:

273’

Downtown Center: Firms without parking. Attractions and shopping.

Downtown: Firms with parking. Main roads lead into the city grid.

Peripheral: Residential living. City streets begin to radiate. Names of streets change.

Site Extents

3rd Street

Winchester Rd.

Transylvania U.

Vine Street

Broa

dway

University of K

entuck

y

Harrodsb

urg Rd.

Loudon Ave.

Main Street

Newtown Pike

Leestown Rd.

= 100 people

= Caucasian= African Americans= Hispanic= Other

Lexingtondda.com. 2009. The City of Lexington. September 14, 2012.

D

C

B

A

FIRE LANE

TRASH COLLECTION-LOADING DOCK

1

2

3

4

A B C

SITE PLANSCALE: NTS

LAND OF TOMORROWLOT

DN

N3rd St. Tower

UKCoD Fall 2012 / ARC 354 / Prof. Rives Rash

Brooke Roberson

Site StudiesForm/Facade RenderingsDesign Drawings & �oor plans

The proposal for 3rd Street Tower began out of a concern for an empty property on the lower East Side of Lexington. At the threshold of an underdeveloped neighborhood yet adjacent to the Land of Tomorrow art gallery and newly revived Lyric Theatre this site provided an opportunity for an entirely new arts district. The tower would create a multi-tude of new business real estate and catapult the neighborhood into a new economic and cultural era. With this in mind I created an open �oor plan for the 20+ live/work units which could conform to the needs of both businessman and artist alike. Thanks to the already growing arts community I choose to brand the tower as a place for new art ventures and made the upper three stories devoted to gallery and showroom space with a kitchen for private catering. The tower’s program included living units, o�ce units, galleries, public parking, and a grocery store on the �rst �oor. The grocery store would provide convenient shopping for the many families living between 3rd St. and Loudon Square and along Winchester Road as well as provide the tower with a steady stream of revenue. Public parking underneath the tower would meet the needs of occupants and make 3rd more accessible for recreational activities to promote the area. The tower’s short axis runs East to West with the curtain wall facade looking out towards downtown Lexington and the Univer-sity of Kentucky. This is done to achieve a dialogue with the existing skyline. A vast outside plaza would give the community a ground to hold a farmer’s market which in turn would promote urban gardening and local Kentucky grown foods which would be sold inside the grocery store every day of the week. This project would extend the down-town study area, create a new transportation node for community members, provide new business and jobs, and become a more safe and stable neighborhood through improved citizen engagement. Most importantly it would give Lexing-ton another opportunity to deliver itself an architectural identity for the 21st century. Giving back the massive amount of architec-tural identity lost in previous decades, most notably attributed to the Centrepointe hotel failure on Main Street. A successful and critically acclaimed architectural project brings pride to a city and builds con�dence for a generation.

VRAY renderings of a drivers POV on Winchester Road

Plans: Live-Work Unit / Upper Floor GalleryThe �oor plans are designed to be open and maximize views of Lexington. Services and circulation are pushed toward the back.

View from 3rd Street

Site Plan

Architectural Renderings produced in VRAY and Rhino.5

Distance from Business center / Illustration of existing skyline

Location Analysis & DemographicsLocation analysis illustrats the tower’s importance as a node point between the Winchester road suburbs and the civic center.

Business Density Diagram - 3rd Street Tower is well outside the densest business real estate making it a call for development on the lower east side of Lexington.

CONTRACTION

UKCoD Fall 2010 / ARC 101 & 102 / Prof. Heller

Brooke Roberson

Two Words: Expansion / Contraction Concept Development & FocusExplorative model & DrawingsThe Larynx Project

My personal de�nition of the two words, which became my guiding concept and focus, was trenched in my curiosity of near death expiriences (NDE). My �rst impression of the two words yeilded both positive and negative implications, shifts is state of mind, physical parameters in space each provide. The diction-ary de�nes these words as having similar di�erences that complement each other and lead many to believe they are “one in the same.” Nearly all NDEs involve �rst a spiraling tunnel that terminates at a bright light followed by the sensation of levitation and conscious expansion. I was able to relate the idea of death with contraction when I observed a head spider behind my desk. In this case spiders actually contract when they die. In the expansion model I chose to break the similar di�erence and go with a more concrete, spatial conception. A city can devel-ope beyond recognition in just one genera-tion. Multiple, at times exponential, elevation shifts visual reveal an expansion of inferstruc-ture inside an urban-form. To dissolve the identity of the product boxes in the explorative models I chose to cut puzzle piece parts for the expansion model and stripes for the contraction model which would serve as the legs of my spiders. Each drawing is stipled using pen or ink to continue the aggregated or “barely there” visual experi-ence. I used these critical skills at the end of the studio to help me design an education toy with the potential to be used at the University of Kentucky Vocal Clinic. Doctor’s who spea-cialize on one aspect of the body are often treating people of all ages. Children going into the clinic for serious throat examinations are not aware of how their vocal chords work. With my toy I illustrated on the board the shape vocal chords make as we talk. They vibrate open when we speak and are closed when we are silent. Brightly saturated colors ontop of a typical particle board used for toys paired with �ve model vocal chord puzzle pieces to be inserted to match the diagram on the board. This type of game is best suited for 2-4 year olds.

Concept sketch for the larynx project

The toy denated to Dr. Rita Patel and the Univ. of Ky Clinical Voice Center

Contraction Model

Details

Expansion Model

ContractionSpiders actually do contract when they die. The imagery of one spider expanding in life and contracting in death was the basis for a conceptual model of the word.

ExpansionCities are, more often then not, expanding. One generation is capable of expanding the city form beyond recognition. This idea became the guide for a conceptual model of the word. A birthplace provided the a benchmark for scale in an otherwise ethereal land-scape.

750sqft Home

UKCoD Spring 2012 / ARC 253 / Prof. O’Bryan

Brooke Roberson

Structural Material SystemCollage & ResearchCost Analysis 1 to 1 Corner Detail Model

This studio picked up where a sopho-more studio 30 years earlier left o� - planning a student agricultural community comprised of 750sqft homes. The students were to be agricultural students of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture and the place was to be Emmert Research Farm outside Man O War in Lexington. Preliminary study revealed farmers who spend long hours outside in the sun working have actually been inclinded to shut out the outdoors world once coming inside to rest. This became a driving force in my design which I envisioned as a house for an intro-verted person. This became the lead inspira-tion for the shape and character of the house. I started by taking the previous generation’s �oorplan for a post and beam wood construction 750sqft home and pushed the service units, such as kitchen, bathroom, and utility, against the exterior walls on either side of the �oorplan. This achieved the inward looking interior living space. From there I let in natural light via operable skylights. I made the primary entry way the most pronouced by using concrete and giving it a towering pro�le. I thought this attributed to a powerful yet introspected �rst impression.

3/16” architectural model of a home for an introvert

Pro�le of interior posts which mimic the form of the main entrance

1 to 1 corner detail

Floor plan for an agricultural student - an “introverted” �oorplanThis �oor plan puches all services programs to the north and south sides of the house. This also allows for convenient North, South, and East entrances.

Elevations

Emmert Farm Site Model

Original inspiration for Post and Beam construction of a 750sqft homeFloor plan drawn by former College of Design student, Mark O’Bryan

Elevations

Emmert Agri Research Farm - view from tool shed looking towards Man O War