SAMANTHA THORNTONUO M.Arch CandidateArchitecture Portfolio

Selected works 2007-2013

CONCEPTUAL WORKS

Metal Trade HallPortland State University

Water LibraryPortland State University

Anonymous RemainsPortland State University

Able Bike WorkshopPortland State University

War Letters MuseumUniversity of Oregon

Sustainable UrbanismUniversity of Oregon

CONSTRUCTION

Design Build: Ladakh, India

EXTRACURRICULARS

National Park(ing) Day

Sand in the City

Photography

Studio V Arch282 Critic : Jason Jones

Metals Trade Hall

In developing a collaboration between the industrial community that once occupied the site to those that do now, an iron trade hall is proposed. This facility houses knowledge of the past with technologies of today and provides a space where new sustainable innovations in steel can be displayed and observed by the public. Feeding together the attributes, characteristics and tectonics of metal with the needs, wants, and goals for sustainable design, this trades hall is a place of observation, knowledge, and experience. A place where information is presented and sent back out into the community. It will house exposs of metal in sustainable design. It is not only visually a model for green design but is experientially a place for sustainable living.

Sustainability : Systems and Spacial Design

Adjustable Solar PV-T panels tilt on a horizontal axis, following the sun and optimizing the amount of solar energy captured. Fluid running on the underside of the panels cools them down, increasing electrical efficiency.

With a helical twist of 120 degrees, the QR5 Turbine is virtually silent and vibration-free. The

drive allows the turbine to switch seamlessly from regeneration to drawing power, as well as

giving accurate speed control thus producing the maximum amount of energy from gusty and turbulent winds. Each installation can produce up to 7,500 kilowatt-hours of electric power a year..A Roof garden provides additional thermal

mass with grass and soil, reducing heat flow through the roofing system by 70-90% in the summer and 10-30% in the winter.

Large glazed windows makeup most of the faade, allowing natural sunlight to illuminate the building while maintaining indoor temperature regulation and reducing direct light glare.

Smart lights connected to light sensors only come on as needed and to the required brightness.

Green-walls for Rain Water collection.

Gray-Water purification beds. System collects all water from facility basins to provide 15L per day of toilet-flushing water.

The living-walls are natural air filters that remove VOCs and CO2 from the air as it passes through the wall and into the building. The plants provide freshly oxygenated

air and help control humidity and temperature.

A Living Machine treats wastewater through a series of tidal-flow wetland cells, which alternately

fill and drain to move water through the system. At the end of the one-day process, 60 percent of the water is recirculated; 40 percent is disinfected for

toilet flushing, irrigation and other uses.

PV Panel Living-wall Living Machine system

Program: Living MachineExposition/Show SpaceClassrooms

CafeRoof GardenConference Rooms

OfficesLavatoriesParking

Circulation PathsElevator

East facade and neighboring structure.

Classrooms and water purification beds.

Walkway overlooking exposition space.

Cafe mezone and roof garden.

W-E Section : Living Machine, Exposition space and Cafe.

Final works

Site Concept Model. Media: mat board, metal, some acrylic.

Design M

odel. Med

ia: Basswo

od, plexig

lass, mat

board.

Exposition space.

Studio VIII Arch382 Critic : Rudy Barton

the water library

In the Desert exists a scarcity of water. Evaporation exceeds annual rainfall, causing for poor soil that leads to extensive salt planes where nothing can grow. Though extremely dry, pools of water may exist through large amounts of drainage-water from nearby mountains.

Tropical Rainforests are luxuriant, dense, and rich in biodiversity. Though rainfall is heavy, most of the rain never reaches the forest floor due to the dense and fully layered canopy.

Taiga grounds are soft and damp as a result of sitting water. Much of the land is made up of lakes, bogs, and shallow ponds housing many shallow water plants. Moss and grass grows to cover the ground leaving it to appear firm.

The Arctic Tundra is known for its glaciers, lack of trees, and large amounts of ice. With its frozen ground and permafrost, low growing plants are the only existing vegetation able to sustain life. Though rainfall is minimal, due to the frozen ground, water is unable to drain and instead accumulates to form Marshes, lakes, and bogs which in turn help to form the Tundras deep and vast landscapes.

Biomes : Design Exploration

In an exploration to advocate how water is a poetic touchstone for the making of architecture, spatial and ephemeral relationships between the man-made and natural worlds made possible by water are investigated.

The response was to design and create a water library. A library to house water and works about water. A place where humanity and nature meets. A place where the man-made world provides insight into the ephemeral and fluid world of the natural. Water is diverse in many ways. How it forms, accumulates, reacts, disperses, etc. In seeking to interpret water and its diversity, I explored how water acts in different places, in different ecosystems. By replicating four of the worlds most diverse biomes within an already existing ecosystem to form an experiential library, a global response to a local area can be recognized. In establishing visually what can happen with water modification and its repercussions in a specific region, the public can see clearly the effects and toll that can take place when man interferes both positively and negatively in our environment.

Experiential moments of water are situated in an ascending fashion guiding one towards the river. Beginning furthest west with the Exhibition Space and ending east with the Biomes and the river, each experiential moment is complete with water and its accompanied knowledge is heightened.

Exhibition Space

Water Feature[Water] Volume Garden

Biomes

Arctic Tundra

Boimes

Taiga

RainForest

Desert

Exhibition

AdminLavator

y

Mechanical

Storage

Adjacency study:-Shared space mechanical and storage.-Shared space exhibit, administration and lavatories.

Adjacency study:-Shared space, mechanical and storage.

Chosen Arrangement:-Shared space, mechanical and storage.-Shared space, exhibit, administration and lavatories.Locating the mechanical and storage space beneatheach biome gives each its surrounding freedom whilekeeping its necessities near.

Program Development and Design Response

The study of water and its role in diverse ecosystems. A collection of simulated outdoor environments within controlled indoor spaces, Implemented to educate the public about water.

The site is located just east of the proposed OHSU Schnitzer Campus on the south waterfront between the Marquam Bridge and the Proposed Porter-Sherman Tri-met bridge. The campus, which cradles the greenway, is designed for maximum accessibility by various means of transportation.

Alternative biome Positioning studies of program elements. Biome positions based on accumulation hierarchy, tidal flow and sight paths.

In creating a positioning grid, each biomes location was determined by two factors; its relation to the sun (signifying the North-South axis) and the biomes hierarchy within water accumulation (signifying East-West axis.)

Desert

Tropical Rainforest

Taiga

Arctic Tundra

The human body is a tool used by one soul, Architecture is a tool used by ritual. In an exploration to understand interaction and the relationship between built form and natural forces, a ritual of human disposal is investigated. Thus, creating a site specific depository for bodies that have no identity.

Studio III Arch280 Critic : Jeff Schnabel

Anonymous Remains

5 years

10 years

15 years

20 years

25 years

30 years

5 years

10 years

15 years

20 years

25 years

30 years

To take possession of space is the first and last gesture of the living. For the anonymous, without name nor identity, they are simply forgotten. In giving anonymous remains identity, an enclosure with exposed containers is proposed.

Divine Proportion : Exploration

The Divine Proportion and how it relates to the human body.The Divine Proportion, or Golden Section, is a ratio or proportion defined by the number Phi ( = 1.618).

When a line is divided such that the smaller section of the line is related to the larger section of the line in the same ratio as the larger section is related to the whole line, then the line is divided in the Golden Section.

The burgundy line, a golden section of the black line, defines the distance from the head to the finger tips

The brown line, a golden section of the burgundy line, defines the distance from the head to the navel and the elbows.

The green line, a golden section of the brown line, defines the distance from the head to the pectorals and inside top of the arms, the width of the shoulders, the length of the forearm and the shin bone.

The yellow line, a golden section of the green line, defines the distance from the head to the base of the skull and the width of the abdomen.

The tan line, a golden section of the yellow line, defines the position of the nose and the hairline, the width of the head, half the width of the chest and the hips.

A golden spiral is a logarithmic spiral whose growth factor is , the golden ratio. That is, a golden spiral gets wider (or further from its origin) by a factor of for every quarter turn it makes.

The human form, governed by divine proportion or (golden section) is a mathematical casing all humans share. In permanently marking the container with its occupants individual proportion, an identity is given through connecting the anonymous back to humanity, the human condition, and the natural order. Each casing is placed on site with its own shelter and accompanying quaking aspen seed. With each new installment, the enclosure matures, revealing from growth the golden spiral descending along the site, bringing life from death, creating a time line and revealing a story.

Spatial exploration. Media: Acrylic on paper on canvas.

Media study: Pencil drawings.

Studio VI Arch380 Critic : Sergio Palleroni

Bike LaneLower Traffic Street

Able Bike Workshop

The heart of Old Towns Public Square and the home of Portlands Saturday Market is an area lacking in vitality. In the effort to help bring the public back to what was once a vibrant area, I have proposed to renovate an old building in the market plaza to become a bicycle shop run by and addressing the needs of disabled adults and children. Thus weaving the new with the old physically and perceptually, as well as bridging the cyclist and disabled communities.

Studio VI Spacial exploration

Site Studies. Media: Paper relief; Paper, metal, twine

Site and original structure

Spatial exploration. Media: Collage with Cont.

Clean Workshop

Dirty Workshop

Water Collection/ Filtration

Bicycle Gallery

Bicycle Storage

Water Purification Tanks

Elevator Tower

PaintRoomWashRooms

WashRooms

The bike workshop is made of both new and old structures. Revitalizing the sites original brick structure and coupling it with a new modernly designed extension celebrates both new and old building techniques. The original structure is at first misleading. Though it appears to be a rectangle, it is actually a trapezoid with one end 5 wider than the other. With its atypical angles and proportions, the building itself follows the concept of skewed perceptions versus actuality.

Living

Wall

A dialogue exists between disability, sustainability, and bike making. All three threads share stigmatic notions that stifle their growth through old views and unchanged perceptions

Final perspectives

How we set up allows people to experience their disability. We can change that. In showcasing cycling (not commonly associated with those with disabilities) in a structure that aims to mirror a break through in visual barriers, its inhabiters gain empowerment.

The original structure remains with added cutouts putting focus on the exposed moments and activity. While the fully exposed gallery space extrudes from the concealed representing growth and a confidence of strength.

Faade Art. Media: collage, paint. Spatial explorations. Media: Collage (2); Pencil, Graphite.

Studio VII Arch381 Critic : Clive Knights

The Artisan Co-Op

The artisan co-op is a community of eight freestanding live-work structures and one communal kitchen/ open cafe and common area. The nine structures are joined together by an elevated out-door gallery space that weaves through and around the units uniting them as one. The artworks created within the studios are displayed within the up-per and lower level gallery space where not only the live-in community can en-joy them but the open public as well.

Full length diagonal section elevation.

[5]Block: [2]

Glisan investigation

Glisan Pages. Mixed Media.

[6] [7]

[2]

[5] [6] [7]

What and where are the marks of human passage on a single street? By engaging with its temporary realities through ambulatory encounter, an attempt to answer this question is pursued. Focusing on the temporal dynamics, the marks of change in process, the evidence of cycles underway, and the gauges of transformation over time, an exploration is conducted to comprehend these phenomenons within human terms.

[16]

Story of Glisan. Class collaboration Mixed media.

[17][10]

[17][16][10]

Having sensed, experienced, and interpreted 102 blocks along Glisan Street, we were asked to select a location at which to intervene, and to make a case for a particular intervention that will push the street in the direction of the good life. On block 5, sandwiched between Grand Avenue and MLK Boulevard, an existing yet internally abandoned buildings faade has been completely taken over with the views and opinions of individuals that have taken a stance to share openly through artistic expression. In holding on to the sites current use, this primarily open structure is a place where the artists are free to display their work openly and without restriction.

Final Works

Each of the eight freestanding live-work structures sit independent on the site strategically placed in groups of three. The elevated outdoor gallery space then connects the units visually, allowing energy flow within the community, strengthening and unifying the live, work and community spaces.

East facing section elevation.

Lower level commons; Suspended gallery exploration.

Faade and interior exploration. Section Elevation.

Live/work spacial exploration.

Unit study models.

Live/work individual unit model. Media: Mat board.

war letters museumStudio IX Arch563 Critic : Jim Givens

BOOT CAMP

DEPLOYMENT

COMBAT

HOMECOMING

Journey of a soldier, An Experiential War Letters MuseumFour floors of gallery spaces layered in hierarchy take the visitor through different stages of the military experience. The journey begins on the fifth level and descends down through a ramp lined atrium. The gallery spaces lining the south and west sides of the museum hold letters expressed visually through still-life reenactments, film and photography. A memorial wall defines the north edge of the atrium, presenting homecoming letters from each stage. The east walls display murals depicting the evolution of that stage throughout the eras of war.

Museum investigation

LibraryTheater

Lobby

Cafe

MaintBABA BA

Galleries

Research Archives Offices

Atrium

Galleries Galleries Galleries

AtriumAtriumAtrium

Military dog tags are traditionally used for soldier identification. As a set, both are worn around the neck with one from a second chain for easy detachment. The gallery spaces gain their shape from the joined set, representing the soldiers as a unit.

Circulation diagram.

Main level Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Process sketches.

Atrium; view across to memorial wall and gallery entrances. Memorial and mural walls along ramp circulation system.

Gallery space depicting still-life of soldiers camp. Letter read through audio headset. Reflection garden on atrium base/Homecoming level.

Studio X Arch564 Critic : Mark Gillem

sustainable urbanismNODAL DEVELOPMENT

A collaborative effort with Kelly Sanford, Carolina Trabuco, and Weiyang You. The following is my contribution to A new urban plan for Quy Nhon, Vietnam.

Our vision for nodal development is a city formed by series of grids with organic edges with neighborhood centers at major transit intersections and walkable connections to the beach. Continuous and expansive green spaces help to mitigate flooding and provide access to wildlife while defining district edges.

Neighborhood centers at major transit intersections

Mixed use buildings at centersTall buildings at centers ( max 8 stories)

A series of grids with organic edges

Primary street structure perpendicular to the boulevard which creates blocks with dierent geometrySteets at 100 meters intervals

Walkable connections to the beach

8m pedestrian streets shaded walkways with opportunitues for small plazasPlaces to sit along the path

Expansive and continuous green spaces to mitigate oding and provide access to wildlife

Dene district edgesSpanned by major roads and paths between districtsUndisrupted access across above main boulevard

Neighborhood centers at major transit intersections

Mixed use buildings at centersTall buildings at centers ( max 8 stories)

A series of grids with organic edges

Primary street structure perpendicular to the boulevard which creates blocks with dierent geometrySteets at 100 meters intervals

Walkable connections to the beach

8m pedestrian streets shaded walkways with opportunitues for small plazasPlaces to sit along the path

Expansive and continuous green spaces to mitigate oding and provide access to wildlife

Dene district edgesSpanned by major roads and paths between districtsUndisrupted access across above main boulevard

Neighborhood centers at major transit intersections

Mixed use buildings at centersTall buildings at centers ( max 8 stories)

A series of grids with organic edges

Primary street structure perpendicular to the boulevard which creates blocks with dierent geometrySteets at 100 meters intervals

Walkable connections to the beach

8m pedestrian streets shaded walkways with opportunitues for small plazasPlaces to sit along the path

Expansive and continuous green spaces to mitigate oding and provide access to wildlife

Dene district edgesSpanned by major roads and paths between districtsUndisrupted access across above main boulevard

Neighborhood centers at major transit intersections

Mixed use buildings at centersTall buildings at centers ( max 8 stories)

A series of grids with organic edges

Primary street structure perpendicular to the boulevard which creates blocks with dierent geometrySteets at 100 meters intervals

Walkable connections to the beach

8m pedestrian streets shaded walkways with opportunitues for small plazasPlaces to sit along the path

Expansive and continuous green spaces to mitigate oding and provide access to wildlife

Dene district edgesSpanned by major roads and paths between districtsUndisrupted access across above main boulevard

CENTERS AT MAJOR INTERSECTIONS

Centers are comprised of tall, mixed use buildings, with a maximum height of 8 stories.

A SERIES OF GRIDS WITH ORGANIC EDGES

The primary street structure is perpendicular to the boule-vard which creates blocks with different geometry. Generally, streets are at 100 meter in-tervals.

CONTINUOUS GREEN SPACES

Natural expanses of park mitigate flooding and provide access to wildlife. They define district edges and are spanned by major roads and paths to connect districts.

PEDESTRIAN ONLY BEACH CONNECTIONS

A series of 8m-wide pedes-trian streets featuring shaded walkways and places to sit along the path provide walk-able connections to the beach.

Objectives

WALKABLE NODES

Transit stops are located a 5-minutes-walk apart and connect to pedestrian only streets. It takes 20 minutes to walk from the center of one node to another.

GREEN SPACES

A large expanse of green space is left preserved on the site. Both surrounding the development and between districts, large natural parks provide recreational space as well as habitat for wildlife. These large spaces will also mitigate flooding during major storm events.

STREET NETWORK

The district is comprised of streets at a variety of scales. Most streets are 15 meters wide with either bikes lanes or one strip of parallel parking. Major east-west connectors are 18 meters wide, as well as a scenic road runs around the perimeter of the development. 8-meter-wide pedestrian-only streets connect residents to the beach.

Design solution

Blocks are based on a 85m by 85 meter standard block and the grid is formulated perpendicular the major roads. Every resi-dence is located within a 3 and half minutes walk from a park or nature preserve.

3 m 1.5 m 3 m3 m 3 m1.5 m

15m ROW

B I K E L A N E S T R E E T

3 m 1.5 m 3 m3 m 3 m1.5 m

15m ROW

B I K E L A N E S T R E E T

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT

With the closest access to the waters edge, this district is a hub for tourists, where a pedestrian boardwalk runs along the beach. Resorts, entertainment, and shopping compliment the arts college, located at the southern part of the district.

1. SCHOOL2. RESORTS ROW3. UNIVERSITY

STREET SECTIONS

Street scales are designed for pedestrian comfort with sun shading techniques and varying transit methods.

Druk White Lotus students, Morning prayer ceremony. Leh housing, prayer flags.

Tensile shading structures in the nursery courtyard. Greenhouse

Dru

k W

hit

e L

otu

sArch410 Critic : Sergio Palleroni Study abroad

Tensile shading structures in the nursery courtyard.

Pergola in nursery courtyard. Traditional Rebo tent

The Druk White Lotus School is a primary and secondary school under the patronage of the Dalai Lama, and founded in 1992. It sits high in the Indian Himalayas among one of the last remaining mountain societies where a traditional Tibet-an Buddhist way of life still thrives.

While learning about traditional Ladakhi construction and materi-als, 24 students spent five weeks in the region collaborating with ARUP to improve and preserve the life of the Ladakhi community. Our projects included; the investigatory building of a traditional yak-hair tent (Rebo Tent) and construction of much-needed additions such as tensile shade canopies, a willow pergola, a rammed-earth greenhouse learn-ing center, and an instructive irriga-tion-demonstration water fountain.

Originally created by Rebar, San Francisco art and design collective, PARK(ing) Day is an annual, one-day, global event where artists, activists, and citizens independently but simultaneously temporarily transform metered parking spots into PARK(ing) spaces: temporary public parks.

Extracurriculars

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As the premier fund-raising event for Kids on the Block, Yoshidas Sand in the City brings the beach to downtown Portland. In just six hours, sand teams and architects transform over 450 tons of sand and 4,500 gallons of water into concept driven sand sculptures. Y

osh

idas S

and in

the city

Our theme, Twas a Dark and Stormy Night was a collaboration of volunteers from PSU Arch students, representative architect from Barry R. Smith, PC Architect, and Mt. Hood Beverage employees. Our theme included children camping indoors while fairy tale monsters come alive around them. 2008.

Hugs Not Drugs. A mother and baby elephant together in a puddle. 2011.

Extracurriculars

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Samantha Thornton1478 Madelyn Ave SESalem, Oregon 97306

503.851.6965