ana arenas -...

Ana ArenasSelected Works

Spring 2020

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Backyard Living

“Green living” and “natural living” are becoming ubiquitous in our increasingly environmentally conscious society, where people are committed to practicing ecofriendly habits, growing their own herbs and veggies, and living closer to nature. In the middle of the city, living in nature is not necessarily possible, but what if nature is brought inside the home? This project proposes the design of small backyard homes that center around interior greenrooms that bring a sense of nature into one’s living space. The space created within and around these backyard dwellings is an intimate niche for tenants and neighbors to pass through and hang out in. The heart of the neighborhood is this new backyard turned front yard; the inward orientation of the front entrances creates this courtyard space in which community life takes place.

East Boston, MA community | environment | module

Backyard Living Spring 2020 Critics | Andrew Scott, Alex Anmahian Project | 01

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Open space in the backyards of this East Boston block presents the opportunity to densify from within, while maintaining the character and enhancing the community of the neighborhood.This project proposes a co-operative strategy in which neighboring homeowners partner together to create a backyard community across their property boundaries.0

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MAVERICK STThis site has porosity between the existing buildings to allow pedestrian access to the inside. The sawtooth language created by the triple deckers establishes a dialogue with the new intervention. A line of trees mediates between the existing and the new, and creates a strong sense of nature both for venturing homeowners and for new tenants. The new units push and pull in response to the grid of trees, while maintaining an order internally around a central courtyard. Homes are accessed from this internal courtyard, transforming the heart of the backyard into the new front yard. While the fronts of the houses faces inward, the backs, where the greenrooms are located, orient toward the line of trees to create a rich edge of green.

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structural insulated panel

2' x 4' clerestory window

greenroom

loft

4'x4' wall + 4'x4' window panel

4'x8' wall panel

interior plywood finish

rigid insulation

particle board

cross connection member

roof

wood beams

moisture membrane

rigid insulation

vapor barrier

exterior plywood finish

cross connection member

wc unit

the babysitter

the home o�ce worker

the fitness bu�

the filmlover

the hammock lover

the artist

the musicians

the socialite

the dancer

the entertainer

the at-home chef

the petlovers

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Integral to the success of this venture is a system of construction and assembly that is logical, simple, and also flexible. This system consists of a series of pre-fabricated wood elements that include cross-shaped joint members, structural insulated wall panels, and C-shaped end units, all of which center on a 4’ module to accommodate the dimensional limitations of sheet material. The cross members connect to wall panels though tongue and groove joints, and they allow a number of different wall connections and configurations, using just the same two elements.

There are 12 new dwellings in total, ten of which are single-unit and two of which are double-unit. Single-unit dwellings are 450 sf plus a 96 sf loft, and double-unit dwellings are 800 sf with a 96 sf loft.

Thanks to the configurability of the system, each dwelling can take on its own character, suited for the particulars of each new tenant, from the dancer to the hammock lover to the pianist and guitar player.

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Chelsea Local

Chelsea is a district in Manhattan characterized by a mixture of quiet residential neighborhoods, art galleries, luxury apartment buildings, and the High Line. The site forms a junction between local neighborhood scale and metropolitan development; and between the underprivileged city dweller and elite urbanites. In the midst of gentrification and large-scale development, Chelsea Local aims to preserve the local neighborhood feel of its immediate surroundings, while bridging the social divide that exists in the area. It does so through the gestures of uniting, sharing, strengthening, growing, and collaborating. These are expressed through the interaction between the programmatic elements of food, performance, education, residence, and work.

New York, NY community | matrix | uniting

Chelsea Local fall 2017 Critic | Alfonso Perez Partner | Carol-Anne Rodrigues Project | 02

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To the east of the performance center, seven residential towers nest into the food and dining spaces. These towers are linked together by community gardens where residents gather to grow their own crops and plants, as well as grow as a community.

In the center of the shape formed by the towers is an atrium that opens to the ground floor of the food spaces. The atrium creates a visual connection between the food space and the residential towers above.


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The central plaza acts as the matrix in which the community manifests itself. It unifies the block from east to west. A music center forms a backdrop to the plaza and becomes a focal point for the entire block, where people share culture.


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YMCA Spring 2019 Critic | Mariana Ibañez Project | 03

Ground Floor Plan

Fourth Floor Plan

Third Floor Plan

Second Floor Plan

YMCA

Coney Island is an urbanism of contrasts; it serves as both a tourist destination and residential community, and therefore must mediate between amusement and quotidian life. In a context so charged with activity and transience, the YMCA functions as an anchor for the local community. It serves as the interface between the contrasting environments that exist here. This proposal for the YMCA Coney Island adopts a language of contrast through a dialogue between solid and void. The interface between becomes the heart of the project – the interstitial, unprogrammed space where communication and community flourish.

Coney Island, New York binary | interstitiality

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Ground Floor Plan

Main Entry

Public Gallery/Shop

Seating Areas

Reflection Pool

Library Courtyard

Café

Dark Room

Light Cannon

Studios

Main Gallery

Administrative

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photography institute spring 1017 Critic | Lisa Huang Project | 04

photography institute

Charleston is a dynamic urban setting rich with history and contemporary development. It is a city that morphs and grows over a fixed foundation of cultural history. Marion Square is an open public space in the rapidly developing sector of downtown. This location has seen many different programs and as the site changes over time, its history builds upon itself in layers as with a palimpsest. Such traces of history are captured through the art of photography. The proposal for a new photography institution across from Marion Square builds upon the palimpsestic nature of the site and responds to the ever changing urban fabric of Charleston.

Charleston, SC layering | contrast | time

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In juxtaposition to the light apertures throughout the building,

two dark rooms protrude from the second level floor plates,

hanging down into the main entry and public seating areas.

Light is arguably the most important element in photography.

In this proposal, light is exposed through 3 light cannons that

puncture the institutional, exhibition, and public spaces.

When approaching the lobby of the building from Calhoun street, one experiences a juxtaposition

between dark and light as one passes under a dropped down overhead, where the dark room is

located on the floor above, before reaching the beam of light that intersects the lobby.

photography institute spring 2017 Critic | Lisa Huang Project | 04

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