JessicaMaddocks-Smith

I like to consider myself a romanticist when it comes to design. I lay emphasis on the haptic and intangible qualities of a site before exploring the pragmatic and tangible qualities. My process generally follows a pattern of interpreting my abstract drawings into a physical space that allows people to have an intimate experience regardless of the size of the site.Before embarking on my journey through architecture school I did papers in Art History, Philosophy and French Studies. I feel that having had this foundation of knowledge before starting architecture gave me a unique insight into the workings of a project and allowed be the ability to tackle problems from a different angle and drawing inspiration from a plethora of areas. I am a strong believer in the saying “We see the world, not as it is, but as we are --or, as we are conditioned to see it.” By Stephen W. Covey.

About Me

Jessica Maddocks-Smith+33 7 85 78 34 49

jjmaddocks11@gmail.com

SKILLS

Microsoft Office Suite Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign Sketchup Rhinoceros 3DsMax AutoCAD ArcGIS

Organization skillsDrawingPaintingModel makingClient interaction and consultationCustomer service Reception and admin skills

CERTIFICATES

NZILA Excellence Award 2013Class Representative for Landscape Architecture Second YearClass Representative for Landscape Architecture Third YearDeans Award 2014

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Balliage Hair, February 2008 to March 2012 Assistant and client consultantMane Hair, June 2012-February 2014 Assistant, client consultant, colorist and receptionPacific Radiology, February 2014 - Current Medical typist, admin

EDUCATION

NCEA Level Three with Merit EndorsementBachelor of Arts majoring in Art History, French and English 2011 – IncompleteBachelor of Architectural Studies 2012 to 2014Masters of Landscape Architecture 2014 - continuing

Ever Changing Scenes is a philosophy I have been exploring through my work at university. It is a means of ensuring a design offers more than one idea without being over-programmed. I believe it is important for spaces to offer the ability for the program to be determined by the users and inhabitants. Good design allows the meaning of spaces to be re-imagined by the person experiencing it to suit their needs, be they physical or emotional. It is the designer’s role to first create a space with meaning and a strong sense of purpose, but to then stand back and allow for new meanings to take over.

Ever Changing Scenes

2014

A set of renders for Miramar Peninsula

Diagram of relationships

Shared Housing Plan

Plan of key park space, Miramar

Miramar Revitalisation

Through connecting the centre of Watts Peninsula in Miramar, New Zealand with the coast, the opportunity arose to design spaces along the way that would promote public and private life to cross over and blend together. The Greater Wellington region uses the key wedge path as a weekend destination, the general Miramar residents use it as an access route and by the immediate residents as a back yard and a place to mingle. The path dips below ground level, which creates tension between both sides while remaining harmonious and humble in its offerings.The park spaces are minimal by design; they do not immediately offer any obvious program but the careful placement of terraces, groundwork and planting offer spaces where programs can create themself.

Urban planning, large scale mapping, rendering

Harbour view platforms

Amount of programmed design

Density of use

Highly designed public space - High in programme Residential spaces - Medium in programme Low designed public space- low in programme

Diagram of site inhabitation and social density

My design process is an evolution from the abstract to the tangible. When a brief is given to me I sketch, I make models, I paint and I read. To other people the results of my brainstorming may not appear to offer much or make much sense in terms of a resolved design idea, but for me it is a way to allow ideas to evolve from something as small as a single word or a couple of lines drawn across a map of the site. Often, I myself am not sure where my ideas are leading in the first instance but I think early on when designing, it is as important to trust your instincts as it is to thoroughly analyse the site.

Good designing is not just pretty pictures; it’s a set of messy sketches and diagrams that test all elements of the site and all ideas for the design. Great designing is when these tests resolve an issue in an eloquent way that makes sense from the largest site map down to the human scale relationships.

Abstract to Actuality

2012

The Reverse TreehouseThe Reverse Treehouse is a study from the early days of my architectural education where I decided to explore positive and negative space. The monolithic block recreates the ideas of a tree house according to a child’s vision, but in a physical form. In the mind of a child their tree house is a fortress, their place of solace and the greatest structure known to them. My interpretation of this was to create a near-impregnable space that is terrific and sublime in an almost romanticist manner from the outside, while still feeling safe, cozy and organic within the interior.

Model making.

Reverse Treehouse

Abstract to Actuality

2013

Revealing hidden spaces - self directed drawing exercise

Opening up Edward Street

Designing in a site-responsive manner that leaks into the subconscious of the users requires an in-depth understanding of the site’s demographic. In landscape architecture, this more than often crosses over multiple demographics, which can make it difficult to have a singular theme dominating the site. To cater to all walks of life expected to utilize the area, I look at a site as an opportunity to find a single thread that can connect all users to the site. An open space on top of an island in the centre of one of the country’s most important harbors is going to give most people a similar feeling of exposure, isolation and the sense of being tiny. While there will always be outliers, a select few users of this particular site may in fact live on the island and view the site as home, and regardless of the size and segregation would not necessarily feel isolated. A brief understanding of the site’s users can reveal a unique opportunity to design a space, that for example could take this isolation and turn it into a retreat while also allowing the inhabitants to go about their day as normal as if the site was an extension of their home.

Sanctury at all ScalesLarge Scale

Destination SomesSomes Island is in the centre of Wellington Harbour in New Zealand. The island has a rich history as a quarantine zone in New Zealand’s early days, about one hundred years ago. It is a protected area where planting is highly site responsive with specific plants native to Wellington. The landscape is rugged and the site is a local attraction. The aim of the project was to create a space on the island for large-scale functions while still respecting the preservation of the land. This brought about my idea of turning the journey into the destination. The design takes people through different heights and levels and exposes them to different features, such as gridded grasses and concrete paths worked into the ground. This gives people the affordance to explore before reaching the climax of their travels – the function area. This area at the top was an open space, that upon entering felt vast like the island itself. As you reach the centre, you are lowered into a large circular space that is dwarfed by the surrounding plantings of native trees, dense ferns and flaxes.

Rendering, Planting

Perspective of the final piece of the Destination Somes journy before entering the function space

Sanctuary is more than just a place of refuge. A refuge can offer retreat or be a haven, it harbours an air of importance and of strong presence. My understanding of designing for sanctuary focuses on the response the design space can offer. One person’s sanctuary at a certain point in time could be a small solitary area where silence is appreciated and sitting alone is welcomed. For others, sanctuary could be a large open area that affords noise and larger gatherings. Sanctuary is as much a state of mind as it is a physical space, and as a designer one is able to create areas that let this state of mind roam, and design areas that are sensitive for the appropriate type of sanctuary required.

Sanctury at all Scales

2013

Small Scale

Sketches of positive terrain space vs negative sub-terrain

Models of light shafts through negative spaces

Sanctuary of the Loner

This project explored the intimate understanding of how open and closed spaces feel for people going through a hard time or people who aren’t comfortable in social situations. The project includes an underground room that serves as a reflective chapel. Once the person is ready to enter a social situation they can then climb the ladder up the concrete cast of a former Rimu tree (from an earlier project) into the open space above.New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architecture Excellence award 2014. Each year, this award is given to one student in each year of the Bachelors of Landscape Architecture degree across all New Zealand universities.

Excellence award for second year recieved from the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architecture

Landscape architecture is about the human relationship with one’s surroundings. The tactile qualities of a site are one of the first things to be interpreted by the people entering and experiencing it. The quality of what they can feel and touch is what sets the design apart from the immediate surroundings. The use of materials in clever and unconventional ways leaves a lasting impression, and can make the difference between a site with a purely utilitarian purpose and that of a site that is not only highly user-friendly but also a space people want to return to. I feel that I can truly know and understand a design when I am able to interpret my ideas into physical sensation.

Tactile Qualities

2013

Ink study

Flirting with Danger

This project aims to explore the tactile and emotional experiences my designated site at the time enabled me to feel and to turn these feelings and discoveries into a set of physical models. The next step was to render these models into installations back within the site. This project became all about the sensation of entering a dangerous place alone and the rush it give you when you know you are not supposed to be there.

Physical model making, 3D software.

Wood and leather interactive models

Close-up of CNC routed model, designed in Rhino

When learning to design, it is important to get a taste of every aspect of the design process, construction of the smaller details is as important as the big picture. Often the smaller details are what brings an entire design together. Construction elements can be used as another layer of design. Utilising particular elements can reinforce your design ideas and strategies. The smaller details are often what capture the attention of site users. Taking care to ensure the fixtures on the seating react in a specific way will emphasize the design as a whole.

The set of four pictures to the right show a 3D model from a project about repurposing an old set of bunkers from the Second World War. The design is large and concrete like the bunkers, yet the smaller elements are more delicate in their presence and work to create responses from the users in the site. The benches you see are fixed to the flooring with a steel Z frame. This compresses and creates tension when it is sat upon, reminding users of the fragility that can be caused by war. The larger render on the far right exhibits handrails and balustrades that tilt outwards and are transparent. If standing on the edge you would not be able to lean on the handrail and it would offer no feelings of security, leaving you totally exposed to the drop down the escarpment to the ocean below.

The Devil in the Details

2014

Final render of Fort Ballance Repurposing

East Section of the entire construction. Stair ways head underground to lead to the next platform down. Each platform has seating that also doubles as a fixture for the balustrade.

1 2 3 4 5 6

1Polystyrene �lled concrete lipping

2700 mm

Reinforced coarse aggregate concrete

Corten staircase

150 mm

200mm-----------300 mm

Polystyrene Bench

13

14

15

Timber slab for seating Steel �xture and leg

Glass balustrade

200 mm

6000 mm

Steel bolt �xture

North

Balustrade wedges into seat and concrete lipping

60 Degrees

Concrete lipping

The timber seating consists a large timber slab held in place by steel frame shaped braces. These timber slabs are shaped to fit the bend in the concrete lipping and end in line with them. The end of the seat also acts as a fixture for the glass balustrade by having a cut in the that the balustrade slides in to.

0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3

19 20

900 mm

60 Degrees

Glass Balustrade Corten Balustrade �xture

150 mm

150 mm

Steel �xture to hold bolts into the glass and corten �xture

East

The balustrade is as un-invasive as possible. Using glass and a hollow fixture means the view and sense of drop you get when standing on the lipping is as uninterrupted as possible.

Timber Seating

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Repurposing Fort BallanceThis design acts as a threshold that leads people from the busy park area (from Miramar Revitilisation, page 3) and Fort Ballance down to a coastal pathway. The design consists of three platforms that open up and reveal the view. Each time you descend down to the next platform you are taken a step further to the coast and getting closer to the ground plane. The main shape and form of this design is solid and sturdy like the concrete and steel bunkers of Fort Ballance but the smaller elements like the corten stairs and the balustrade are delicate and feel less sturdy in comparison.

Construction details, Rendering

Construction details of handrail and balustrade (above), details of bench fixtures (below)

East Section of the entire construction. Stair ways head underground to lead to the next platform down. Each platform has seating that also doubles as a fixture for the balustrade.

1 2 3 4 5 6

1Polystyrene �lled concrete lipping

2700 mm

Reinforced coarse aggregate concrete

Corten staircase

150 mm

200mm-----------300 mm

Polystyrene Bench

Full construction section of Fort Ballance repurposing

Big house appartment

Two storey house

One storey house

Public space

Well lit pedestrian path

Parking

Access point

Vehicular road

Big house appartment

Two storey house

One storey house

Public space

Well lit pedestrian path

Access point

Vehicular road

Terrace housing

Two storey house

One storey house

Public space

Well lit pedestrian path

Access point

Vehicular road

Big house appartment

Car parking

While it is often important to design places in the most cost efficient ways, it is also important to design urban realms that promote sustainability, a better quality of living and a connection with nature, all without isolating or excluding certain demographics. Much of my Bachelors degree focused on how to implement mixed housing typologies with areas designed to promote walking and cycling. This is because New Zealand is facing a crisis of running out of buildable space. The ‘classic kiwi dream’ has always been a medium-sized house on a quarter acre section. With New Zealand’s rugged terrain and wild climate, this is simply not sustainable, and a challenge facing many New Zealand designers is how to persuade kiwis to adapt this dream into a more future-proofed way. I have become increasingly interested in the idea of urban affordances, this is an idea taught to me while under the supervision of urbanist Peter Connolly, who coined the phrase ‘Landscape Urbanism’. Under his guidance, it has become apparent to me that in the near future there will have to be a synergy between the urban and rural, and the physical and psychological. Cities will no longer be designed around the car, and spaces will be designed with the idea creating self-sustainable living, with less reliance on imports and exports.

Urban Affordances

2014

Housing layout typologies

Diagramming opportunities and constraints - Miramar Peninsula

Public park land

Pedestrian road

Private properties

Cluster HousingA particular interest of mine has been cluster housing and creating shared space while still allowing for private areas. Reducing property sizes is often desireable option for residents if they are offered plenty of park space in return. To take it a step further, these open park spaces can be situated along key linking routes promoting walking and cycling. All these small suggestions afford a greater density of housing.

Advice from Nature

For this project, a key concern of mine was ensuring all public and residential spaces were connected and linked in the most efficient way, while taking care to leave many enclosed and isolated areas as this residential community has a high crime rate - typical of areas with high unemployment and state housing. To combat this issue, I looked towards nature. Leaves survive on a series of networks that send nutrients throughout the leaves using the most direct and efficient routes. I studied the patterns of leaves and used that information and applied it to a large residential area.

Urban Planning

Native �ora

Historic preservation Exotic �ora

Coastal access

User friendly roads

Public land

Private dwellings (Inland)

Private dwellings (Coastal)

1

32

45

Intimate

Personal space

Social space

Public Space

Private dwellings

Private garden space

public space e.g retail, sports �eld

Public landscape

Relationship between upper level housing and lower level street

Site division diagrams

MOTOR CAMP

SCHOOL

WOBURN STATION

Shopping Precint

Pump Station

Communal hug

MOTOR CAMP

SCHOOL

WOBURN STATION

Masterplan, sections and diagrams for urban expansion in a highly flood prone area

Masterplan of Montoire-sur-le-loir, France

Others have described my personal work as curious and strange. Painting and drawing is for me, is primarily a creative outlet, though I do enjoy making extra money painting in the summer. I don’t take my style too seriously and I like to have fun and experiment with different compositions. I spend my free time roaming galleries and searching through books for inspiration. I am currently residing in France, where I am privileged enough to be exposed to some of the greatest renaissance and romantic art that I’ve been studying for years.

Personal Work

Digital paintings on a drawing tablet of my sister and parter.

Endoskeleten study Close encounters- self portraits

Dental work study Dead moth - spead painting Various paintings