Portfolio

Hailey Mae Strobel Studio 102B, Spring 2010 Rebecca Lowry 10 May 2010

Table of Contents

Project 1---Project 2---Project 3---Project 4---Project 5----

04-09 10-17 18-23 25-29 30-37

Project 1

FOUNDSPACE MAKES NEW

Distillation This project was an introduction to the foci of the semester: solid, surface, and tectonics. The assignment was to find a space, observe and record it, and translate the discovered idea into a new space. The space to be designed was a multipurpose kiosk to be placed in the courtyard of the School of Architecture.

In terms of massive structures, all entrances to the foundspace are carved solids, becoming the unique, attentiongrabbing elements of the space. Additionally, though the surrounding structures defining the outdoor foundspace appear from within the space to be solid, in reality they are created from and utilized as a series of surfaces; also, these surfaces are generally used to delineate paths of circulation. In terms of tectonics, most of the foundspace is seamless concrete, yet there are a series of beams on one side of the foundspace; however instead of looking strictly practical, these beams are highlighted by their color and material, and echoed decoratively throughout the space. The sum of these observations is a space that is open, organized, and simple yet original and lingering in its details.

1A

OBSERVE/RECORD

Process: Solid/Surface/Tectonics and Organization/Movement/Light Within my foundspace, one feels surrounded by solids, but in fact these forms are utilized as surfaces. These surfaces are used to delineate paths of circulation, and where one enters the foundspace they appear to be carved solids. The tectonic elements used to support these masses/surfaces are emphasized by their color.

The main design inspiration that I chose to translate from the foundspace to the kiosk was the illusion that functioning surfaces could read as a solid mass. To capture this idea, I redefined the cubic area of the kiosk into a series of squares. The effect of these two-dimensional squares is to create through phenomenal transparency the appearance of a small cube within a larger cube. As in the original space, the vertical surfaces facilitate the circulation. In keeping with the feeling of the space, a single tectonic beam was added to the kiosk, which serves the dual purpose of supporting the roof and breaking the hierarchy of surfaces on a grid to become an eye-catching and memorable emblem for the space.

1B

TRANSLATE/COMMUNICATE

Final: Student Activities and Events Kiosk The Kiosk was required to accommodate at least three students and a variety of activities that would allow it to function as a representative beacon for the School of Architecture. The idea I translated from my foundspace was surfaces acting as solids, which is accomplished here by using squares to create a phenomenal cube.

Project 2

SPATIAL SOLIDS

Distillation This project was an explorative precedent study. Its purpose was to practice analyzing a buildings spatial qualities such as movement, functions, and visual/ physical connections to inform an empirical process of design. It required viewing architecture not as its physical attributes, but as strategies with design potential.

2A

SPATIAL SOLIDS

Process: Analog/Digital Research, Analysis, and Diagramming The precedent I was assigned was the Santa Maria Church by Alvaro Siza, built in Marco de Canavezes, Portugal 1990-1996. The buildings is a hollow mass in which simple angles highlight elegant curves. There is a definite sense of direction to the movement and a specific use of light and view in the openings.

This placement of voids was determined by the spatial organization of the building on its site, acting as extensions of the possible paths of approach. Since in the church Siza experimented with the reconciliation between curves and angles, these voids express both lines as well; based on the diagram of the churchs moving versus its static space, where the voids intersected moving space they were articulated as curves and where they intersected static space they were expressed as angles. This lead to some interesting relationships between the voids; it also changed the human perception of the building based on whether one was inside or outside of the building.

Eventually, the voids evolved to become spaces that could be habitable. In this version of the spatial solid, voids that would act as circulation are expressed as curves while areas that remain orthogonal are more likely to be utilized as static space. However, after this design the number of curves was reduced to use them more effectively as Siza does in the church; as largescale, elegant accents that highlight specific attributes. The arrangement of voids also become more centralized, bringing the focus away from the external and to the more relevant internal. Unlike Sizas church, this spatial solid makes much more use of the positive and negative space.

2B

SPATIAL SOLIDS

Process: Subtraction/Carving/Removal The next phase of the project was to use the strategies employed by Siza in the Santa Maria Church and to insert five voids into the spatial solid created from the churchs form. The voids were required to have specific volumes, connections, and intersections.

My design strategy began with the categorization of the program: the spaces were divided into wet versus dry and public versus private. The result of this analysis was that the changing room was discovered to be a pivotal point in the building that overlapped all strategies. This lead to a centralized plan that radiated out into various areas based on public/wet. public/dry, private/ wet, and private/dry. There are two curves, both of which are visible from the outside and both of which resolve into straight edges; one opens up to create a view for the spa area and one opens down to create a space for the outdoor shower. Aspects of light and view are also explored by the slit which remains at the same height throughout the building from the exterior; however, on the interior rooms were placed at different elevations to take the best advantage of the slit. For example, in the locker room the slit is ten feet off the ground to allow for privacy; in the sleeping area, the slit runs along the ground and is placed under a bench for minimal lighting; in the spa area it is located so that someone sitting in the spa can look through it.

2C

SPATIAL SOLIDS

Final: Program/Precision/Process The final phase of this process was to use the strategies of the spatial solid with voids to create a pool house. The pool house was prescribed to be a free-standing structure located next to an existing 30 x 60 pool on a country estate. It addressed issues of scale, sequence, proportion, light, and human experience.

Project 3

SURFACE

Distillation The goal of this project was to explore surface as the generative device for the production of form and space, and as a mediator of light. The assignment was to explore various two-dimensional materials for their structural, spatial, and organizational implications and manipulate these qualities with a specific strategy.

These surfaces were supposed to represent continuous surfaces that could be used to create infinite patterns. Several operations I experimented with were: folding, cutting, scoring, stretching, and extruding. In general I found that folding, as well as cutting and bending, were the best strategies to used when creating a system that could resolve itself, giving it the potential to become architecture.

3A

SURFACE

Process: Systems, Materials, and Effects This phase of the project had two parts: the first was to manipulate a single semirigid planar material; the second was to combine a rigid material with a flexible sheet material. Both phases required manipulated the surfaces with a variety of techniques and analyzing the results for their generative potentials.

My first final surface was created by slicing, bending, and folding square and hexagon shaped of three different sizes into a mirror image pattern. The second was made by drawing a square, extending its lines, repeating this for several concentric squares, and cutting and bending out every other section. The third was made by using orthogonal bends to bring out curved bends, and filling the curves in with a translucent material. The fourth was made by dividing a surface into a grid, excavating a third of the area by removing squares of three sizes, and adhering folded shapes based on the size of the cut-out square.

3A

SURFACE

Final Though this project remained abstract, the final surfaces had a volume requirement; they also were supposed to demonstrate the use of a system with the potential to incorporate versatility and hierarchy. These qualities became useful late when attempting to apply the same strategies to a building.

Project 4

SURFACE STRUCTURES

Distillation This project was to choose two of the surface models to develop into autonomous structural systems; the purpose of this was both to analyze previous work and to become a further exploration of its dominant qualities. We were instructed to rationalize and articulate the geometries of the surfaces into tectonic structures.

TOP ELEVATION

The surface that I chose to continue to work with is based on concentric squares whose construction lines extend infinitely; this surface was selected because of it is infinite yet can be resolved on any scale, and their is an inherent hierarchy to the system. The first attempt was a direct translation of the surface. In later attempts, the goals were to add a more structural support system and to encompass the space rather than merely define it. The gradually lead to a system based entirely on folding, with the potential to create a building of any size that folds in upon itself to enclose space in a way that allows for hierarchies of size and light.
SIDE ELEVATION
TEXT SIZE: NOTE

4A

SURFACE STRUCTURE

Process: Operation The first step of this project was to translate the surfaces into purely tectonic structures; next, a structural strategy was incorporated. The result was a system that resembled the surface but had further evolved into a workable, structural system with the potential to resolve itself into a building.

Though traces of the original surface and all subsequent study models are still visible, the final lifeguard station is a completely resolved building based on a strategy that begins by manipulating a grid and squares to create geometries that can be folded to encompass space based on the required program. For example, the dense area created in the middle is inherently more private and would therefore be an ideal situation for the bathroom. The large overhang has a variety of purposes; it provides shade for the rest of the building, it creates a definite drive-through for emergency vehicles, and it acts as the structure for the lifeguard observation tower. Given more time, I would have furthered this design by integrating a secondary system to add more support and definition.

4B

SURFACE STRUCTURE

Final: Lifeguard Station This phase of the project was to adapt the tectonic strategy to generate a design for a generic lifeguard station proposal for Venice Beach, which includes an observation tower as well as several other program spaces. This is where the system needed to establish a hierarchy of spaces based on some specific strategy.

Project 5

SYNTHESIS

Distillation This project was designed to be the synthesis of the entire first year design studio sequence; using all of the form-making methodologies explored in the preceding projects as well as new research, analysis, and diagramming to develop a design proposal for a small scale public building: a butterfly habitat.

I was assigned to study the circulation of the site and its surrounding area.
! ! !

The first diagram shows the site in the middle of three concentric circles; each color change represents a radius of one mile, which is the distance that the average person can walk in twenty minutes or bike in five minutes. The second diagram depicts the site and all immediate paths of circulation; also, the gray areas represent parking lots and the

green areas represent parks, both open types of spaces where it is likely people would be walking. The third diagram shows the site in its immediate surroundings, with the arrows representing probable paths of approach based on places where people are likely to be coming from. This information became useful when determining building placement on the site for maximum visibility and access.

Project 5

SYNTHESIS

Process: Site Strategy and Analogy The first part of this project was to consider its context. As a section, we analyzed the contextual issues of the site. Once a clear understanding of the existing context was gained, I analyzed the information as an individual to develop a strategy for dealing with the site in terms of placement, entry, circulation, et cetera.

The basis for my design is a butterflys exoskeleton, the hard outer surface of a butterflys body, which provides structure and form to the soft inner tissues that would otherwise be shapeless. This concept translated to architecture as a tensile structure supported entirely by a rigid outer skeleton. I experimented with several ways of using this technique to capture space, such as using varying numbers and sizes of tensile materials; what I found was that single pieces of material were most effective both visually and at fully enclosing an area of space. However, difficulties arose when I attempted to translate this idea into a building which required fully enclosed program spaces that also allowed for human inhabiters to enter and exit.

Project 5

SYNTHESIS

Process: Spatial Organization and Program Development The next phase of this project was to use the site analysis, diagramming, and the form-making strategies to evaluate the consequences of different spatial organizations and programmatic relationships. The strategy developed was required to also consider a relationship to the site and the way light enters the building.

When I attempted to translate my design concept to this particular butterfly habitat, I found that the most effective strategy was to divide the program spaces into support versus display and public versus research. The display elements were placed into the tensile structure, while the support elements were placed into a plinth; the plinth was then divided into areas for public occupation and areas for researchers. The main display element, the exhibit room, is placed in the dominant tensile structure for human occupation; the other two tensile structures contain the cafe and the second butterfly habitat and are open to below. The rest of the exoskeleton structure, essentially the negative space, becomes the main butterfly habitat and can also be occupied by humans. The building responds to its site by leaving as much of the current greenscape intact while adding paths of defined circulation based on natural paths of approach; the pure geometry of the building echoes the iconic buildings on either side of the site, while the contrast of the softer complex curves of the tensile structures make the butterfly habitat an icon.

Project 5

SYNTHESIS

Final: Butterfly Habitat The result of this project was a culmination of all of the strategies and skills developed throughout the year: a proposal for a butterfly habitat based on a comprehensive knowledge of both the site on which it is to be placed and the strategy developed to form space, arrange program, and direct light.

ROOF PLAN