architecture portfolio

This is my brain on:PaperSelected Works by Ross Morgan

Ross MorganEducation08-13 Kansas State University04-08 MSSU00-04 Neosho High School

Skills [Analog]Hand DraftingSketchingModel BuildingCommunicationTeamwork

[Digital]RevitAutoCAD3DS MaxSketchupAdobe CS5Microsoft Office

Contact [email protected] 15224 Goldfinch Road 417.389.3948 Neosho, MO 64850

Biography: I am a recent graduate of the M.ARCH program at Kansas State University pursuing entry into the profession. I believe there is always more to learn and new skills to add to the already wide variety I possess. My hope is that with a position within the profession, I can grow as a designer, as a thinker, and as a person.

In return, I am confident that I possess the qualities and skills to make myself a valuable part of a team immediately.

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Girl Scout Prototype Cabin

The Underground Brewery

Furniture Design

Lykin Community Center

Girl Scout Prototype Cabin

03 Ross Morgan Selected Works

Girl Scout Prototype Cabin 04

Floor Plan // added emphasis Reflected Ceiling Plan // added emphasis Interior Elevation // added emphasis

Master’s Thesis StudioFor my final year of studies at Kansas State University, I chose to participate in a design/build studio. While my studio worked on two projects for the Girl Scouts, I worked exclusively on the development of a Prototype Cabin. The challenge facing myself and my studio mates was to design a cabin that would be more comfortable and exciting than the existing platform tents, which had a variety of shortcomings. Additionally, where most studio work comes to an end, we had to also construct the cabin on a very tight budget.

After gathering a great deal of information through a variety of processes such as client meetings, precendent studies, and site and climate analysis, our basic design directives were fairly clear. Our prototype needed to house six girls comfortably, needed to provide shelter from weather and bugs, and needed to provide adequate ventilation using both natural and artificial means. Additionally, in spite of a tight budget and time constraints, my colleagues and I were determined to work some other amenities into the design. A few of these will be described on the following pages. I will also explain my area of emphasis on this project.


Foundation Axon // “loaf” and piers Exploded Axon // “loaf” formwork Detail Photo // crisp corners

The “Loaf”One of the features my classmates and I were determined to include in our cabin prototype was a social space for the girls. Originally, this space was intended to be inside the cabin, but it ended up being cost prohibitive to have more enclosed space than absolutely necessary to comfortably sleep six. raise the cabin off the ground. To achieve this, a concrete step was added. Initially, this step was merely large enough to allow entrance to the cabin. However, once we learned that our concrete was to be donated by a local company, we saw an opportunity to redesign the step to include the social space we wanted.

The solution was to make the step the same width as the cabin and to make a large por-tion of it into bench seating that faces the communal fire pit. Additionally, we added custom reveals to increase visual interest.

Detail Photo // open doorDoor Detail // latch and steelDoor Detail // hinge and corner

The Devil in the DetailsAnother key feature that my classmates and I were able to work into the final prototype was a “seamless” door. We had always intended to clad the door exactly the same way we clad the rest of the cabin. Once that idea had become part of the design, it was almost irresistible to figure out a way to make it line up perfectly.

Initially, we all thought it would be a relatively simple proposition. As the designated detailer, I would soon find out exactly how complicated one of these “simple” ideas could be. What no one considered was that the several layers of material had to line up both in elevation and section. This proved to be a challenge.

Another aspect we didn’t consider was how to avoid having an ugly and potentially weak sid-ing edge showing around the door. The solu-tion was to add a small steel angle all the way around the door opening. While it was certainly frustrating at times, once the details were fully developed and the door lined up properly on site, it was a very rewarding experience.



Foundation // digging and pouring Framing // walls and roof Sheathing // walls and roof Siding // and curtains

The End ResultIn addition to allowing a group of students to gain a whole new perspective on design, our prototype cabin was intended to eventually replace all the cabins in the camps run by the Girl Scouts of Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas. This summer season is meant to serve as a trial period.

We have already been recognized by several groups within the world of architecture; winning both the Kremer Prize for outstanding Master’s thesis work from the College of Architecture, Planning, and Design at Kansas State University and the AIA Kansas Student Architecture Award. More importantly, however, our cabin has now been occupied by scouts for several months and all reports indicate that they are very pleased with the prototype.


Furniture Design

Furniture Design 14

Easy ChairThis is the final project of my semester long chair design studio. We were given the freedom to choose what type of chair we would like to build. From there, we found an existing chair that was similar and took measurements off that chair. Then we developed base drawings to sketch over. This led to the eventual form of Easy Chair, a lounge chair made primarily of walnut.

The entire chair was modeled in Sketchup and from that model, working drawings were created. From there, I printed live scale tem-plates for each piece and rough cut them on a bandsaw. The joints were all custom mortise and tenon joints to reduce the appearance of seams. I then vacuum-formed the back out of bending plywood and covered ti with walnut veneer

Sketchup // measurements side view Sketchup // with matching ottoman Sketchup // with ottoman

Final Product // overview Final Product // back view

Furniture Design 16

Lykin Community Center

Lykin Community Center 20

Photo of Model // as well as North elevation

The Lykin Community CenterDuring my second year at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, I was presented with this project. This was one of the first large scale architectural projects we had been given to that point.

This was also one of the first projects that included consideration of a group of stakeholders in place of an individual client. Our task was to design a community center for the Lykin community in Kansas City Missouri.

Ground Floor/Site Plan // with second floor plan


A Complex ProgramThe program we were given for this project called for a full service community center. In addition to the community room to be used for large gatherings of all kinds and it’s at-tendant spaces, our community center was to include classrooms, offices, and a chapel.

While our site was rather large, we did have a minimum number of parking spaces to be concerned with. Despite the fact that it may have been prohibitively expensive, it was my strong belief that preserving some green space around the center was important. One of the key functions of the building was to help provide child care. To me, it is extremely important that children have room to run and play.


Section // through entry way and cross section through chapel

Section // long section through chapel and underground parking


Photo of Model // as well as East elevation

What I learnedThis project was very enlightening. As one of the first community oriented projects I had been involved with, it really opened my eyes to a facet of architecture that I hadn’t really considered before. It also made me appreciate even more the role that design has to play in enriching environments and helping to promote social change. The ability to make a greater change in the world in which I work is something that greatly appeals to me. Knowing that my chosen profession can provide me with those avenues is very gratifying.

The Underground Brewery

The Underground Brewery 28

The Underground BreweryThis project was undertaken in the fall semester of my fourth year. The brief was to design a brewery that would fit in an urban site at 14th and Baltimore in Kansas City Missouri. This area is not far from the Power and Light District, an entertainment area around the Sprint Center.

There were several key challenges in this project. The first was to find a reasonable way to fit both a large building and on-site parking into a relatively small urban lot. Secondly, it was a key for me to connect the brewery to the Power and Light District to the west. I spent a good amount of time analyzing traffic flows to determine the most appropri-ate area to attract pedestrians as well as the most sensible location for the parking. Finally, I strove to design a building that would be interesting and exciting without looking completely out of place within the context. As you can see in the composite image to the left, the adjacent building is low rise, however on the north side of 14th street there are several very tall buildings, including the old Power and Light building located diagonally across the intersection.


Multiple BarsThe programmatic requirements for the brewery were fairly space intensive. In addition to the need for a fairly large space for the brewing process, we also needed quite a bit of hospitality space. These spaces included a catering kitchen, bar and seating areas large enough to host a large party.

If all of this square footage was placed on ground level, it would have been difficult to fit all the necessary parking spaces on site. There were two factors that led me to a natural solution to this issue. The brewhouse needed to be a double high volume because of the tall brew kettles, and I had the flowing green roof over the rest of the building. The most natural response to these two factors was to create an outdoor bar on the roof of the ground level hospitality space. This also creates at least two distinctly different atmospheres for patrons.


Early Conceptual Drawing and Model // the birth of the “second roof”


BNIM Studio

Scale

Project number

Date

Drawn by

Checked byRoss MorganRoss Morgan

BNIM Project 1October.2011

Oct

ober

.201

1G000

Cover PageUnderground Brewery

Ross Morgan

The Underground BrewerySheet List

G001-General Information SheetA100-First Floor PlanA101-Second Floor PlanA150-Roof PlanA151-Re�lected Ceiling Plan First FloorA200-Building ElevationsA201-Building ElevationsA202-Interior ElevationsA250-Building SectionsA251-Building SectionsA300-Wall SectionsA301-Wall SectionsA302-DetailsA303-Details

1401 Baltimore, Kansas City MissouriNo. Description DateThe “Second Roof”

The most attention grabbing feature of this brewery is obviously the flowing green roof which covers the entire building. This feature was a part of the project from the very beginning. One of my initial concepts included a green roof which gave the brewery a striking visual element as well as limiting water run off and kept my building from contributing to the heat island effect. On an urban site, both of these are very important. In this way, the roof becomes not only an attractive feature which would surely draw interest from potential customers, but has a performative aspect as well.

The original green roof was a single curve that rose from the ground and was supported by massive columns, as you can see in the model to the left. During design development, I realized that by creating separate “ribbons” that move independently of one another, it creates a much more pleasing visual effect. Additionally, the spaces where the roof ribbons don’t line up introduce a good amount of natural light which was key in making the rooftop bar a more welcoming space. This light, during certain times of the day, will also make it’s way into the double high brewing space.


KeyBlue -- pedestrian trafficGreen -- vehicular trafficGrey -- siteRed -- connection points

Pedestrian and Vehicular Traffic Analysis // conclusion diagram


The Front PorchOne of the key objectives for me in this project was creating a connection with pedestrians going to and from the Power and Light District west of my site. After observing traffic patterns, it became clear that the key area to make an impression on passersby was the street frontage along 14th street. Many pedestrians walk along this sidewalk as they go to and leave both the Sprint Center and the Power and Light District.

This lead me to develop what I call the front porch. The idea is to create a feature that not only catches the attention of passing people, but also gives them some indication of where to enter the building. In the case of this brewery, the pillars supporting the green roof create a massive scale front porch. When considered in combination with the glazed facade, this not only invites people in, but also allows them to quickly and easily determine where the entrance is located.

architecture portfolio

Documents

cabin prototype

social space

studio work

concrete step

girl scouts

enclosed space

studio mates

designbuild studio