Academic Portfolio
- 1. CONTACT : Robert Spooner 1928 Agate Eugene OR 97403 robertspooner@gmail.com 541.285.5342
- 2. PORTFOLIO CONTENTS VANCOUVER REGIONAL LIBRARY BRIDGE OVER THE COQUILLE PEEL: A CARDBOARD CHAIR SAUNALAHTI SCHOOL DOCUMENTATION: SAUNA SKETCHES: ITALY PHOTOGRAPHY: FINLAND
- 3. FORT VANCOUVER REGIONAL LIBRARY Ft. Vancouver Regional Library is an actual commission that my professor, John Rowell, proposed for our terminal studio. We also had the opportunity to work with Miller|Hull, the project architect. The library is part of a plan by NEGATIVE SPACE EXPLODED ISOMETRIC Vancouver (WA), to stimulate the historical VERTICAL CONNECTION MORPHOLOGY downtown and reestablish strong community. ( NORTHERN READING ROOM ) The design process began by critically analyzing traditional library typology, specifically, the grand reading room. The final design seeks a more practical solution that heightens social interaction between community members. a b Today inviduals see the library as more than a c place to find information. People are looking for a d place to explore, relax, work, and share with e others. The library should create the occasion for f focused, enticing, and chance encounters. The a b c d g library must also provide a diversity of places and e f g experiences that match the many characters of Vancouver. The design takes the traditional top floor reading A DIVERSITY OF SHARED SPACES CONNECT room, chops it up, and distributes equal parts at THE FOUR STORY VERTICAL READING ROOM. the north side of each floor. This parti creates a vertical reading room. The room is united by shift- INDIVIDUALS SIMULTANEOUSLY EXPERIENCE A SPACE OF THEIR OWN AND AN AWARENESS ing terraces within an open four story volume. OF OTHERS. This openness forges social connections between floors through an awareness of others’ activities. It also provides many unique places and cool, diffuse reading light.
- 4. S N LE HE T. .S MT VANCOUVER PACIFIC COAST LIBRARY SITE PORTLAND MT .H OO D ViewÊ OfÊ LibraryÊ EntryÊ FromÊ TheÊ SouthwestÊ Ê
- 5. Looking West in the Entry Lobby m 2
- 6. Looking West in Northside Vertical Reading Room 3 4 5
- 7. 1/8” Basswood Model Entry Atrium Room Study Looking Down At The Staircase Looking East Up The Staircase
- 8. Initial Massing 1/32” Sketch Model 1/32” Sketch Model Final Composition 1/8” Vertical Reading Room Study 1/8” Vertical Reading Room Study 1/8” Analog Push/Pull Model
- 9. BRIDGE OVER THE COQUILLE Rivers act on us in a special way. They make many changing sounds as they bend from the mountains to the sea. This sound washes away everything but that which is occurring at the specific moment. This is what we mean when we speak of the river’s “current”. It is alive and happening. The river is vital. This covered bridge asks what may be captured for the pedestrian’s experience, not simply what can be kept out, namely the rain. The bridge captures the sound of the river, the changing light of the day, and even the gentle sounds of the rain on the water. This form is informed primarily by its function as a reflector of sound. Its parabolic cross section is intended to actually focus the sound specifi- cally at the center of the bridge. In addition, parabolic curves are similar to funicular curves, so this form is structurally efficient for spanning the river. The form also recalls the local topog- raphy and the curved riverbed below the bridge. The grid shell structural system was chosen PARABOLIC SHELL GATHERS, AMPLIFIES, AND FOCUSES because it employs materials of our time in the THE SOUNDS OF THE COQUILLE RIVER AT THE CENTER OF THE BRIDGE same way the original covered bridge did. Now we have small sections of sustainably harvested lumber, while the original bridge used heavy timber trusses. The layered intersections of the grid shell also recall the Towne trusses of many historic covered bridges, including the striking light that filters through the soft hues of the wooden members.
- 11. b Interior View c Approaching the Bridge d Looking Back Grid Shell Layers
- 12. 1/4” Basswood Section Model Model in a Vitrine Interior Detail Exterior Detail
- 13. PEEL: A CARDBOARD CHAIR This chair was completed during a furniture studio. The studio’s objective was to design and build a chair made entirely of cardboard. Cardboard is often thought of as a low-tech or waste material. Although conventional cardboard is made of at least 80% waste products, it is actually a high-tech industrial material with an amazing strength to weight ratio. My goal was to use the strength of this humble material to make a lightweight, structurally efficient chair. Cardboard’s industrial origins inspired me to take on the challenge of designing a chair that could be industrially produced, easily shipped, and assembled without special tools or instructions. Thus, “Peel” combines Modernist furniture ideals with the contemporary value of sustainability. The chair is made from two separate pieces of flat, glue-laminated cardboard. It is assembled by zipping the parts together. The zippers can only be zipped one way, so no instructions are necessary. “Peel” is light, non-toxic, recyclable, very inexpensive and disassembles in seconds. While it may be industrially produced, it has an elegant curving form that is both structurally expressive and stylish. Batteries not included.
- 14. PEEL: A CARDBOARD CHAIR 5'-0 1/2" 3'-5 1/4" 1'-7 1/4" 3'-9" 1'-6" 1'-3" PLAN VIEW FRONT VIEW REAR VIEW SIDE VIEW SECTION A-A A r = 12' r = 12' 3'-10" 5'-0" r = 4' - 3" 4'-7" r = 3' - 5" r = 16' - 5" r = 12' 1'-6" 1'-8" r = 7' - 10" r = 1' - 8" r = 1' - 2" 11'-3 1/4" r = 2' - 0" r = 1' - 8" A PLAN VIEW BASE SHAPE SEATING PIECE SIDE PIECE BRING CORNER A TO MEET OPPOSITE CORNER A + CONNECT TWO SIDES OF #8 VISLON SEPARATING ZIPPER + PULL ZIPPER TAB AND ZIP UP UNTIL CORNERS B MEET B B B B B B B A A A A A REAR VIEW REAR VIEW REAR VIEW SIDE PIECE BRING CORNER B TO MEET CORNER B + CONNECT TWO SIDES OF #8 VISLON SEPARATING ZIPPER + PULL ZIPPER TAB DOWN, AROUND, AND ZIP UP UNTIL ZIPPER TAB RETURNS TO CORNER B B IARC 586 + SPRING 2006 B B B ESTHER HAGENLOCHER B ROBERT SPOONER PLAN VIEW OPPOSITE SIDE VIEW SIDE VIEW SIDE VIEW 0 1 2 4
- 15. SAUNALAHTI COMPETITION The Saunalahti School project was for an open competition that I entered while studying architecture in Finland. I worked in a team with a landscape architecture student from the University of Oregon. Finnish architecture often sits at the transition between complimentary conditions and serves to intensify the intersection. The architecture acts like an instrument or a vessel that creates the occasion for this meaningful experience. The site for the school has the major street of a nodal development to the west and linked open space system to the north and east. To the south sits a community square, church, and retail shops. Our solution places a more regular bar of program along the street to reinforce the streetscape. A winding bar along the northeast open space follows the the lines of existing topography and the required sports fields. The site is divided by this winding ridge line into higher and lower zones. The curve alternately divides the fields and forms terraced seating. The two bars are spread to create a courtyard that serves the youngest users as a sheltered play yard and as an auxiliary open space connected to the community square. In addition to larger concept, the reality of the competition allowed our team to engage the particular. This project helped me develop my ability to analyze a program full of complex relationships and demanding adjacencies. This design is efficient, simple, and unique.
- 16. NORWAY FINLAND SWEDEN RUSSIA DENMARK UK GERMANY European Context ESPOO HELSINKI GULF OF FINLAND (BALTIC SEA) Regional Context AGRICULTURAL FIELDS SAUNALAHTI NEW DEVELOPMENT SEA INLET Site Context Site Plan
- 17. Massing Model (1:500) East Elevation
- 18. UP ULKO-VARASTOTILAT, VOIMISTELUVALINETILA KUVATAIDE TILA RULLAKOILLE JA LAATILKOILLE JA ROSKAKATOS TEKSTIILITYO AUDITORIO NUOREISOTOIMEN TILAT JA HUONETILAT KEITTIOTILAT NUORISOJARESTOJEN APUTILOINEEN KOTITALOUS TILAT JA KEITTIOKOMERA TARJOILUTILA OPPILASHOULLON KIRJASTO TILAT WC WC HISSI WC RUOKAILUTILAT VARAST. JA NAYTTAMOTILAT WC LOUKAT 1-2 WC WC LOUKAT 1-2 WC KOHTA WC HALLINTO JA TYOTILAT LOUKAT 1-2 WC WC LOUKAT 1-2 View To Eastern Facade & Field KEITTO- KOHTA JA KOMERA LOUKAT 1-2 KURAITEINEN KURAETEINEN KIOSKI WC WC LASTENSEMI, FUTUURI LOUKAT 1-2 TOIMINTATILLA LIIKUNTA, MUU SISAPIHA, LASTENSEMI, FUTUURI LASTENSEMI LOUKAT 1-2 OPPILAIDEN PUKE JA PESEYTYMISTILA WC 8.5m POMMITTAA SUOJATA LASTENSEMI, FUTUURI LOUKAT 1-2 7.5m LIIK. OPETT. PUKE JA PESUTILA 4.5m +18 +16.7 +16.4 +16.4 +12.5 LIIKUNTA OPETUSILET, 3-6 AULA, WC, TOIMINTATILLA KOMPASSIKATU LIIKUNTA PORTII JA SISAPIHA & KURAETEINEN LASTENSEMI Transverse Section Ground Floor Plan West Elevation
- 19. DOCUMENTATION: FINLAND I spent the summer term after my second year studying architecture in Helsinki, Finland. The program incorporated a week at the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA) summer lake retreat. Arranged around the lake are a number of architects’ small summer cottages, a meeting hall, and four sauna houses. Our group split into four teams and created drawings and models of each sauna. I primarily worked on the section and model. Our instructor was noted architectural model builder, photographer, and exhibition designer Jari Jetsonen. Jari instilled in us proper sauna technique in addition to our lessons in media. Sauna Model 1:100 The New Sauna Kiljava, Finland 1964 Pentti Kauppila
- 20. Sauna Drawings The New Sauna Kiljava, Finland 1964 Pentti Kauppila
- 21. SKETCHES: ITALY I spent the spring term of my second year studying architecture in Macerata, Italy. Macerata is an Italian hilltown located in the Marche Region. Our program included extensive visits and study of traditional Italian hilltowns. I gained an understanding and respect for a town structure that is intriguing and meaningful, though, strikingly different from the American town. I also had the opportunity to visit projects by some of my favorite architects, including Renzo Piano and Carlo Scarpa. The following sketches capture some of my unique moments from this foreign study experience.
- 23. Stone Window Santa Maria a Pie’ di Chienti Montecorsaro, Italy 936
- 24. Sala Santa Cecelia Parco della Musica Rome, Italy 2002 Renzo Piano
- 25. Banco Populare di Verona Verona, Italy 1978 Carlo Scarpa
- 26. Exhibition Easel Museo di Castelvecchio Verona, Italy 1964 Carlo Scarpa
- 27. PHOTOGRAPHY: FINLAND As mentioned, I spent the summer between my second and third years studying architecture in Helsinki, Finland. The program was located at the Helsinki University of Technology (TKK). The entire main campus was designed by Alvar Aalto. Much of the program was devoted to studying and visiting his work, which I found captivating. I also enjoyed visiting projects by other leading 20th Century and contemporary Finnish architects. Our program incorporated a lecture series that included Matti Sanaksenaho (St. Henry’s), Asmo Jaaksi (Turku Library), and Juhani Pallasmaa. The following photographs exhibit the Finnish fascination with light, material, and color.
- 28. Temppeliaukio Kirkko (Church in the Rock) Helsinki, Finland 1968 Timo Suomalainen Tuomo Suomalainen
- 29. Kiasma Helsinki, Finland 1998 Steven Holl
- 30. Kiasma Helsinki, Finland 1998 Steven Holl
- 31. Turku City Library Turku, Finland 2007 Asmo Jaaksi, JKMM Architects
- 32. St. Henry’s Ecumenical Art Chapel Turku, Finland 2005 Matti Sanaksenaho Pirjo Sanaksenaho Enrico Garbin
- 33. CONTACT : Robert Spooner 1928 Agate Eugene OR 97403 robertspooner@gmail.com 541.285.5342