[m]architect

Advanced design studio

book carving [p.4] 1 week advanced design studio 413.02

draw-del [p.6] 2 weeks advanced design studio 413.02

plaster casting [p.10] 1 week advanced design studio 413.02

insertion [p.12] advanced design studio 413.03

final schematic design [p.14] 1 month advanced design studio 413.02

final presentation [p.16]

RWU visual arts center [p.20] 4 week core design studio 313

the gateway [p. 26] 4 week core design studio 313

heavy timber house [p.32] 3 week core design studio 214

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Project Statement: By means of representation (two and three dimensional), dissect, analyze, and explain what you consider to be a central condition to the book (conceptual, pictorial, formal, organizational, etc.) Using these, propose and execute a means of carving the book to reveal your findings and to represent it with. I was given an old modern architecture textbook and started by thinking of what modern architecture means to me. Modern architecture is refined and has clean lines that are easy on the eyes.

The book shown to the right is an abstract interpretation of a skyline. With the cover rising above the smaller forms, the slits act as the varying heights of sky scrapers. The curled pages underneath represent the smaller buildings you would find in the city only if you were up close and walking around them.

intent

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intent

The idea then evolved into using urbanization as a means of representing modern architecture. I started with carving a skyline in the cover of the book that penetrated all the way through to create a void in the book when opened. Unfortunately that did not work out but it quickly led to a better idea which was to use the pictures of the book and create a skyline from them. Without cutting and pasting, all of the images were folded down and positioned to create a balanced skyline of many different scales.

intent

Working on a site in Igualada, Spain, I was given a prompt to interpret any transition space in the exisiting cemetery. This cemetery was originally designed by Eric Miralles and Carme Pinos with the effort to burry a vertical cemetery into the ground, and it looks as though the cemetery was unearthed after years of being covered. This seamless integration into the site allows for a peaceful connection to nature.

I chose to look at the procession though the chapel for a transitionspace because there are a series of special occurrences along the chapel and my “draw-del” study reveals them in an abstract way.

I used a section analysis to look at the occurrences, and made the section cuts roughly 10 feet deep (to scale) at each special point. I then used a series of paper strips and inserted them into the base sheet to recreate the moves made by the chapel at the select points. It starts out with a single wall on your left, then moves to a wall on your left and your right. Next there is a roof above you with walls on either side, and then the chapel opens up to the left. There is then an opening above you with a slab of concrete appearing as though it is falling through the hole. This method of analysis was used until you are in open air at the opposite end of the chapel.

The second draw-del shown(on the next pafe) is an exploration of the views that exist at the same section cuts used for the first draw-del. At each section cut I placed a nail to represent the viewer. From the viewer, the views stretch out in each direction and length proportional from where they exist from the view point. To link the views together I used one continuous string representing how each view is connected by the path that the viewer take

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intent

The next step of the process was to explore in plaster castings. From the drawdels, I created the same forms but in a different medium, which in turn gives a separate result. The procession is the same as the drawdel, but the secondary conceptof “insertion” was used when working with the wood. The changein material was purposely done toemphasize the idea of insertion.

intent

After using the various methods ofstudy, the design process then started on the final project. Usingthe concept of insertion, I took a series of paper strips and folded them like I had for the draw-dels, and the forms quickly evolved into a dynamic roof that would overhangvertical walls of graves. These formsmimic the undulation of a landscape that consists of rolling hills.

The idea of a roof then changed intomaking the ground undulate allowing the walls of graves to rise from the ground and be discoveredby unearthing them, similar to theconcept Miralles and Pinos had.

This was done solely by flipping the concept model upside down.

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intent

Using the orientation of the existing site, I used the same angle and multiplied it, radiating from the original intersection point. From here the forms undulate creating a dynamic landscape that allows for the user to engage in certain areas.

The burial plots are in the walls created by raising and lowering the ground with passages in between.

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intent

The forms, or fingers, were then pushed together to create more per-son relationships. The fingers now rise and fall according to their func-tion. If the form is where a series of graves are, there are much more dynamic movements vertically, but if the form is meant to be a path, the slope is relaxed allowing for a per-son to comfortably walk along that area. Because the fingers are now side by side, they allow for a person to walk from one finger to another without crossing any gaps. This has caused a much more dynamic site and causes the occupant to explore more interesting areas.Use of the nails came from one of the original draw-dels that explored the views. One of the nice characteristics of that draw-del was how it formed rows at one angle and a wall at another angle, similar to an apple orchard. This discovery allows me to direct the public to where I would like them to go.

final presentation

In this project I was interested in studying the transformation of space over time. The changes that occur when a person walks through a space. How a simple opening in a wall can invite the user to enter a different space or simply grab their attention for a moment. The dynamic change of the fingers allows for the user to engage a series of spaces and make decisions on their own that in turn, change the space entirely. Every person is given a different experience based on where they intend to go in the site.

The chapel space placed to the bottom left (in the site drawing to the right), is oriented to view the mountains off in the distance to give a natural relaxing feeling to anyone who occupies it. This feeling is meant to help cope with the emotions of a funeral.

The terraces placed in between the existing site and my addition create a relaxing experience outside of the burial area. While walking back up the terraces, the person can view the undulating fingers without physically engaging them. The removal from the burial area, with the soothing sound of running water in the stream behind them, relaxes the person after their visit to their loved one. The river runs from the entrance of the site all the way down to the very bottom where the users end up after moving through the fingers.

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final presentation

The concept of insertion drove my presentation. I inserted a black string into the drawings to connect the sections to their cut lines. The use of insertion also drove the material background of the project. The concrete forms are meant to be inserted into the ground, and at every landing they are burried by the dirt of the site. This change between existing ground and concrete enforces the concept.

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The sidewalks leading up to thevisual arts center join into a single ramp rising to the entrance. The ramps turn into a floor for the main level and then into the walls wrapping around the entire building. Once at the roof level, the wrapping walls turn into the roof mimicking the vertical transitions inside. From the roof, the form moves back into an opposing wall finishing the form of a building. Internally the center becomes a joining of the various art forms allowing each to view one another while working, creating a place of harmony for all of the scattered art forms on the roger williams campus. The observation ofother artists at work will inspire an educational work area where students are encouraged to thrive based off of one another.

1. Advanced Studio Space2. Drawings Studios3. Painting and Wet Media4. Mixed Use & Sculpture5. Print making6. Digital Media7. Photography8. Visiting Artist Studios9. Review Spaces10. Lecture Hall11. Student Gallery12. Visual Arts Commons13. Faculty Offices14. Storage15. Service Entry16. Mechanical17. Bathrooms

OVERVIEW

program

site strategy

The RWU Visual Arts Center wasplaced on the same site of theexisting arts building. The site islocated at the center of the campus, just off of the main quad. The old arts building was formerly the din-ing hall of an early Roger Williams College,meaning this is a perfect locationfor easy access from the southern end of campus.

The study of the buildingconcept was done in section tobetter understand the relationship of the ribbon to the site context and see how the building can build itself out of the ground.

Moving to the cross section, the use of the core allowed for the floor plates on either side to be raised and lowered, adding to the dynamic of the building.

OVERVIEW

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model photos

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Durring the design process it wasevident that there was going to be a solid core that housed the services to the building. The core was used to support the floor plates branching off of either side. The exterior sides of the floor plates are then supported by columns that were slipped into the corners the ramps create. Here the column staysout of the way of the studios and helps create an entrance condition to each room. The ribbon is sup-ported by a series of ribs. They run the length of the ribbons and are supported at the ends along with the two columns from each studio space. This created an instance where the ribbons seem to float above building.

structural concept

Level 318' - 0"

Level 430' - 0"

Level 540' - 0"

Level 650' - 0"

roof 244' - 0"

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A1131

A1141

Typical Roof Const.- 3 in. gravel- Water proofing membrane- 4 in. rigid ins.- 1 ft. conc. roof

cast in place- 2 ft. conc. structural beam- #3 r bar

Typical Wall Construction- Curtain wall

fritted glass containingsolar panels

- Structural tie back- Conc. floor slab

Typical Floor Construction- Raised concrete slab

2in. thick- 3 in. space

wires, heating, etc.- 12 in. hollow conc. slab.

Typical Ext. Floor Const.- raised conc. slab

2 in. thick- Fasteners

4 in. high@ 18 in. o.c.

- water proofing membrane- 4 in. rigid ins.- hollow conc. slab- # 3 r bar

53' -

0"

12' -

0"

10' -

0"

12' -

0"

2' -

0"16

' - 0

"

2' -

0"2'

- 0"

roof 244' - 0"

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Roof Const. see sheet A112

Galvanized steel parapit cap

Angled 2x12 block4 in. rigid ins.

Tie back wire

2 in. conc. rain screen

Bracing for sheething

3 in. metal bracket

3' -

1 3/

4"

0' -

8"0'

- 10

1/3

2"0'

- 7

13/3

2"

0' - 10"

1' - 3 19/32" 2' - 10 1/32"

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4' -

5 1/

2"

1' -

5 1/

2"3'

- 0"

0' -

5"

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2"

2' -

4"

0' - 5"

2' - 11 7/8"

0' - 8"

Rains Screen Brackets

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The two major forms of thebuilding are a yin yang to oneanother that allows for aseparation of two major spaceswithout placing any walls orcoverings in between oneanother.

There was a strong effort toincorporate the existingarchitectural languagealready presented on the campuswhile creating an iconic building.The use of transparency allowsfor the building to seamlesly slipinto the site and leave an openair feeling that is thepredominant feature of thecampus.

In plan the gateway was designed to separate the two major spaces while still framing a view out onto thecampus. From the centerpoint, the building branches out in bothdirections to welcome in the incoming students and open them up to the campus.

OVERVIEW

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SITE STRATEGY

The Gateway is used as a transition space for the RogerWilliams community. The goalwas to take the incoming publicand orient them to the heart ofthe campus at the quadrangle.

SECTIONAL STUDY

The study of the relationship between the major spaces and the supporting seminar rooms was done in section to further understand how the two interact. The seminar rooms overlook the major space but are set back enough to ensure a private,undesturbed workspace when deisred.

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