Portfolio
- 1. Component It was found that changing 1 a rule set at the micro level Design + would dictate new behavior Fa b rication in the overall structure. For H o u s t o n , Te xa s example, interchanging strut lengths in a 123-312-231 order 5 t h Ye a r / Fa l l produced a spiraling structure (bottom left). Later studies sought potentially habitable structures with more regular- ized geometries. The final configuration (below) includ- ed a cable system that would allow adjustability but also hold the components in stasis. Abstract BELOW: Angled vertical supports put The purpose of this studio was two- too much pressure on joints. fold: to develop a system of com- BOTTOM: ponents with a set of combinato- Outrigger joints were strong rial rules, and to design full-size but overly complicated. prototypes of those components. Structural systems and joinery were chosen as a general direction. By looking at how nature builds structures in the book On Growth and Form, it was ob- served that many natural struc- tures (such as bubbles and bee hives, above) have a common ge- ometry with sides joining at 120 degree angles, forming hexagons connected by three-way joints. To study this geometry, a system of joints and struts was made to mimic the natural systems and ex- plore new structural possibilities.
- 2. Full-Scale Fabrication Making the full-scale prototypes involved not only designing the joints and struts themselves, but the processes and machines with which they were to be made. The joints were constructed of 1/8” birch plywood laminated into curves and bolt- ed to birch cores (top row, left). The fourth mold design (top row, middle and right) refined earlier versions by combining functions. The MDF acted as both mold and stand, and the threaded rods were used for compression as well as align- ment. For bending, the plywood was rinsed under hot water to increase pliability, and Gorilla Glue was the adhesive chosen due to its ability to bond wet surfaces. The first strut design (bottom row, left) was a kit of laser-cut parts that locked together with dowel pegs. This strut design, though strong, was mainly re- placed due to its length being limited by the size of the laser cutter. The fi- nal strut design utilized the full length of the plywood sheet, and strips could be spliced together to form even longer struts. A compressive lamination jig (bottom row, right) was designed to spread glue evenly between spliced layers.
- 3. Assembly To hold the tower of parts in stasis, a system of aircraft cables connected to joints with threaded rods was developed. The whole tower consisted of five hexago- nal “floor plates” connected by three 6-foot vertical struts between each layer. The tower was erected using existing small cranes to a height of around 45 feet. In Retrospect Ultimately, the struts proved too flexible for the amount of torsion the system put on them. In translating from model scale to full scale, the joints became rela- tively stronger while the struts, though lightweight, were proportionally weaker than their model-sized counterparts. As a result, the tower could not stand alone as did the model. Perhaps more testing of the components in addition to a com- puter analysis of forces could have improved the performance of the system.
- 4. Artist’s 2 Studio + D i s p l ay Houston, Texas 3 r d Ye a r / Fa l l 1st Week Charette Abstract The objective of this project was to develop an artist’s studio and display space in the Houston Heights while focusing on one main construction material. Milled lumber was chosen for its beauty and strength. Tendon- like bundles of lumber connect to the adjacent building and then dis- perse into louvers to provide shading for the outdoor space and daylight control for the second-level studio. Joints in the ground-level display wall become gaps on the second level (above), allowing the artist views Second Level out while also maintaining privacy. Scale: 1/8” = 1’
- 6. Literacy 3 3 r d Center + H o u s i n g Mumbai, India Ye a r / S p r i n g Abstract India is known to have one of the highest rates of poverty in the world. As a result, adequate housing is a problem in both urban and rural areas alike. Accord- ing to the United Nations, the rates of both illiteracy and population growth in India are main contributors to the continued poverty. After a ten-day trip to gain some perspective on these crises, the studio set out to design transitional government hous- ing along with some other major program in the Byculla district of South Mumbai. This project integrates housing with a read- ing center to stimulate literacy rates in the surrounding community. To create an en- vironment conducive to learning in the chaotic city, the building was conceived as a protective shell, obscuring the outside world and then progressively revealing it again as one ascends through the spaces.
- 7. Ground Level Second Level Fourth Level East-West Section Scale: 1/32” = 1’ Scale: 1/32” = 1’ Scale: 1/32” = 1’ Scale: 1/16 ” = 1’ A restaurant attracts street life An entrance court for the read- Ascending to level three from From a street-level staircase, the while the small bookstore acts ing center leads to the lobby the second-floor lobby reveals building welcomes visitors into as a gateway to the more se- where tutoring and computer the tutoring carrels and an ex- its protective shell. As one moves cluded reading center above. use are scheduled. At the pansive window wall (page 3, through the sequence of spaces, the The ground floor is elevated top of the residents’ stair, a lower middle). Another flight shell begins to give glimpses of the to accommodate monsoon window wall allows a visual rains. A breezeway gives ac- connection between the learn- of steps leading to the fourth- outside world. A secluded stairway cess to the rear courtyard (see ing and residential programs. floor library glows with illu- at the rear of the library leads to the map, left) along with a pri- A second flight of stairs leads mination from the skylights fifth-level reading room, where the vate entrance for residents. to the third-floor residences. above. (page three, lower left). city is re-revealed on a grand scale.
- 8. Looking south, the photo at left shows the expanse of windows that give a view of the city from the top-level reading room and library below. Read- ers on the uppermost level are bathed in sunlight from many north-facing win- dows (right). The south deck of the reading level (below) completely re-in- troduces the sights, sounds and smells of the sur- rounding neighborhood.
- 9. Operable 4 W i n d o w S c r e e n Mumbai, India 3 r d Ye a r / S p r i n g 1st Week Charette Scale: 3/8” = 1’ Abstract Challenged to design a window at some location in Mumbai, India, a warehouse/residence was chosen along the city’s harbor for its allur- ing view. When closed, the win- dow screen gives privacy and shade while allowing ocean breezes to pass through. With an inward pull, the bottom half of the screen slides down a guide and pivots into a seat. The top half can be pivoted outward to make an awning or left closed for additional shade and privacy.
- 10. Fu r n i t u r e 5 Cube Project Houston, Texas 1 s t Ye a r / S p r i n g Abstract This project explored the design pos- sibilities of an eighteen-inch cube. Mainly useful as a lantern, this piece can also be utilized as seating. The exoskeleton is composed of eigh- teen-inch strips of Russian Birch plywood, glued together at the cor- ners of the cube. This is strength- ened by an inner shell of translucent polycarbonate, which acts as a shear wall against racking. Finger joints on the top strip were cut using a dado blade, then fitted with cross strips. These were subsequently trimmed flush using a japanese furniture saw.
- 11. Exotic Car On the ground-level (opposite 6 page, bottom), high-security Dearlership doors recess into a central cavity to reveal a glass en- Houston, Texas try. From the rear court, cars can be driven onto a rotating 4th Year / Spring circular lift in the east wing for storage or display. The south wing accomodates re- strooms as well as stairs and an elevator to access upper floors. On the second level (right) a section of structural glass flooring in the cen- tral showroom gives ground floor visitors a glimpse of the vast space above. Abstract This project conceptualized the precision mechanics assembled behind the sleek skins of exotic automobiles, focusing on the development of tectonics hidden be- hind a polished shell. Located along a light rail line in Houston’s Midtown, the project is a high-end car dealership with the capability to host public auto shows. Smaller programmatic elements include a cafe, an exotic car museum and theatre, an outdoor auto court, and a top-floor residential loft. The autos are stored in either a four-level garage, or, for the most exquisite collection, in a circular display space located on the second level. Perched atop this central space is the owner’s loft, from which the most elite machines can be perused from a glass balcony. Aligned to true north, the loft also frames a spec- tacular view of the Houston skyline.
- 12. Second Level Scale: 1/32” = 1’ Ground Level Scale: 1/32” = 1’ Axonometric Section Scale: 3/32” = 1’
- 13. A circuitous strip of windows interrupts the white fiberglass panels of the exterior hull, exposing the tectonics of floor plates and the inner skin (axonometric, oppo- site and perspective, right). The backlit inner membrane, composed of individually- dimensioned panels of translucent polycarbonate, gently constricts as it rises to make the showroom appear taller. Harmful ultraviolet radiation is diminished in this space by light-diffusing cloth butterflies that expand and contract hydraulically (diagonal, right). On the north facade (below, right), thin strips of aluminum tilt towards true north to safeguard the vibrant hulls of the exotic machines within.
- 14. Architectural 7 Storefront Houston, Texas 3 r d Ye a r / Fa l l Abstract Site analyses were carried out by each student to This project for an AIA Headquarters gain perspective on the in Midtown Houston sought to neighborhood. This map demonstrate the power of architecture (above, left) demonstrated to create an iconic anomaly in the a quarter mile radial survey of building uses. The landscape, functioning as a gathering circular “clock” diagram place for both architects and the public. above illustrated the hours Rising from the flatness of Houston, at which each building type a continuous surface conducts visitors was active. Arc thickness to programs such as a bookstore/ translates as the percentile cafe, an auditorium, offices, and a that each building type museum. To help educate the public makes up (i.e. Residential is 33% of all buildings, active about architecture, the surface acts 6pm-7am). The diagram at like a virtual tour guide, changing left shows how the surface functions as it reacts to different supports and adapts to adjacencies throughout the project. the rest of the program.
- 15. Above (section model is 52” long at 1/4”=1’): The “L”- shaped Museum of Architecture turns to cantilever over the offices below (see model outline, left) Page 3: Bottom left: Variegated strips of basswood represent vegetation on the ubiquitous surface as it ascends to the museum’s entrance. Bottom right: The bookstore/cafe on the ground level attracts the public from a nearby rail stop. The self- advertising auditorium just a few steps away offers continuing education to architects as well as programs for the public. Top right: The vegetated surface, viewed from inside Second Level the museum, offers recreation to office workers and the Scale: 1/32” = 1’ public alike.