Jesse MatthewsArchitecture Portfolio

contents

built projects

Parakiore House

Harris-Bell Dinning Room Addition

190 Lambton Quay Lobby

soon to be built / unbuilt projects

The Plant Room

New World Supermarkets

ABC Urban Design Competition Entry

student work

Final Year Thesis - The Possibilities of a Provincial Urbanism

Arch 412 - Ken’s Gym

Arch 411 - Paraparaumu Airport

about me & architecture

This house for a couple with adult children sits on the steeply sloping northern face of volcanic Mt Parakiore, just north of Whangarei in Northland, New Zealand. Designed for passive & active solar collection and a sustainable lifestyle, the house is a student of its site, responding to its microclimate and a strong genius loci. The design was undertaken while in the fourth year of university.

The site has expansive views over a typically rural Northland valley, dominated by Mt Hikurangi just west of The site has expansive views over a typically rural Northland valley, dominated by Mt Hikurangi just west of north and allowing glimpses of sleepy Hikurangi village. It is sheltered from southerly and westerly winds by the hill itself as well as a stand of mature totara trees, which in combination with the northern aspect makes it a perfect site for passive solar design. The design challenge therefore became how to distil and enhance the qualities of the site, while creating a distinctive architectural experience of its own in harmony with the site and functional requirements.

The brief called for a warm, sunny, single level sustainable home that could be a place in which to retire and The brief called for a warm, sunny, single level sustainable home that could be a place in which to retire and enjoy the qualities of the site. A building platform was levelled prior to the commencement of the design stage and the design needed to conform to the shape of this to avoid further earthwork.

Conceptually the house seeks to abstract the morphology of the site and landscape to create a multitude of indoor and outdoor spaces, each differing with respect to shelter, privacy, spatial character and outlook to cater to differing activities, proclivities, and weather conditions. This is manifested in both plan and section.

In plan the building is strung along an east-west axis to maximise sun penetration and follow the contour of the In plan the building is strung along an east-west axis to maximise sun penetration and follow the contour of the hillside. Two bedroom wings sit either side of the main living areas, the eastern wing containing small guest bedrooms while the more private western wing contains the master bedroom suite and acoustically isolated ‘snoring room’. Water storage tanks are incorporated into the design and sit in a cleft between the western wing and central living area.

Gridlines in plan are derived from the cardinal points and landscape elements, especially neighbouring volcanic Gridlines in plan are derived from the cardinal points and landscape elements, especially neighbouring volcanic cone Mt Hikurangi, to which a balustrade free deck makes the strongest reference. The main living areas are orientated 15° to the east of north to allow quicker warm up in the morning while the master bedroom wing is at 15° to the west of north to enhance the warmth of these rooms in the evening.

2005 - 2007Parakiore House

Autoclaved aerated concrete blocks were chosen as the main wall construc-tion material due to their high thermal and acoustic insulation properties. The sun’s warmth falls on an insulated, 100mm thick exposed concrete pad, while a single expanse of generously eaved pro-filed metal roofing shelters the entire build-ing from Northland’s frequent rainfall.

A large free standing roof clad in trans-parent sheeting behind the house reach-es up into the grove of mature totara, al-lowing views up through trees on the steep hill face while providing shelter for car parking, an entrance way, workshop and a patio opening off the dining room. Visually this roof picks up and continues the slope of the hillside above and ex-tends the line slightly over the main roof of the house, symbolically tucking the main body of the house under the land.

The roof on the northern side slopes in the opposite direction; opening up to the valley and flooding the living areas with light and sun in winter while carefully sized overhangs shade the house during summer. The roof of the western bed-room wing folds over a small ridge creat-ing a broken hip to introduce a more inti-mate and domestic scale to this side of the house, as well as providing north facing roof area for solar hot water panels and possible P.V. panels in the future. The form of this part of the build-ing also shades the main living areas from hot western sun.

Although ceilings are predominantly high and raking following the slope of the roof throughout the house, the ceiling is low-ered to 2.2m at critical points to provide a sense of enclosure and intimacy. These low ceilings help relate the bodily scale to that of the building, as do the relatively low lintel heights over external relatively low lintel heights over external doors and windows and low terminating rafters over the entrance deck.

190 Lambton Quay Lobby2008

Undertaken while at HDT, this renovation to a small existing lift lobby on Wellington’s main corporate street was completed in 2008. Renovations to staff toilet facilities serving upmarket retail tenancies were also undertaken concurrently. I was tasked with overall design responsibility, production of working drawings and presentations and liaison with an on-going large corporate client.

The existing lift lobby was cold, crampt & dilapidated and did not provide an appropriate sense of The existing lift lobby was cold, crampt & dilapidated and did not provide an appropriate sense of entry to the office building above. The design therefore sought to combine potentially contradictory notions of warmth and spaciousness, using a restrained kit of simple elements without intruding into the restricted space.

Overlapping recycled timber veneer panels create a steady rhythm of movement from the narrow Overlapping recycled timber veneer panels create a steady rhythm of movement from the narrow street entrance, culminating in a crumpling effect around the entrance to the elevator. Vertical strips of low-energy LED lighting are placed between each overlap to wash light across the timber and increase relief of the panels’ slight angle from the wall. The pattern is intended to create a feeling of gentle movement as people pass across it from the street, and can be read as an abstraction of the pattern created by the alternating movement of water across sand. This is also a subtle reference to the beach that existed on the other side of the street prior to the 1855 earthquake, which raised this the beach that existed on the other side of the street prior to the 1855 earthquake, which raised this part of the harbour by up to two metres.

The renovations to the staff facilities were intended to bring them up to a standard commensurate with the tenancies and inject a sense of sophisticated joviality. A palette of metallic prefinished panel, mirror, recycled timber veneer and LED lighting was used throughout. In the bathroom shown to the right, carefully considered vertical stripes of mirror and panel create a forest of interesting recurring reflections while increasing the feeling of space in the room considerably.

This project entailed the addition of a roughly 4 x 6 m dining room and living space to an existing small house on the shore of Whangarei Harbour for an artist & novelist and their young family. It was undertaken for private clients under the supervision of HDT.

A tight budget, responsible material selection and the maintenance of a rich, somewhat rough and additive aesthetic were guiding concerns for the project. Minimally treated radiata pine plywood clads both interior and exterior walls, richly stained on the exterior, accented by aluminium trim and window joinery.

Honey coloured macrocarpa timbers form a pergola and canopy which wraps around the exterior of the new addition, Honey coloured macrocarpa timbers form a pergola and canopy which wraps around the exterior of the new addition, providing shade and shelter. Hinged macrocarpa slats to the under floor form a door allowing access to a storage area with shelving for wind surfing equipment, while generously dimensioned steps form a welcoming entry and sunny place to sit and enjoy a morning coffee. Currently under construction, completion is expected in early 2010.

2009 - present

Harris-Bell Dining Room Addition

This series of projects undertaken while at HDT involved the development of a new architectural language for a nationwide supermarket chain and its implementation across four new supermarket buildings up to the stage of developed design. My responsibilities included driving the creative development of the new language, and I worked in close collaboration with the directors on concept designs for each market. I was also responsible for the creation and maintenance of very large digital models describing the developments in context, as well as the creation of presentation graphics and animations.

The client wished to eschew traditional ‘white-box’ supermarket retailing and create a new brand identity based on natural materials and The client wished to eschew traditional ‘white-box’ supermarket retailing and create a new brand identity based on natural materials and local character. Despite a nationwide brand, each market was to have its own identity; as such each market differs markedly from the next depending on its context. These vary from typical green-field suburban banality to redeveloped inner city insertions which include sig-nificant apartment and mixed use developments adjoining and above the markets. All four supermarkets are currently undergoing planning consent, and Newlands New World (pictured), is the only one whose images are currently in the public domain.

Newlands New World constitutes an addition to an existing suburban shopping centre, enclosing an existing car park on its third side. It is bordered by an arterial road on two other sides and an existing building on the fourth. The site slopes up three metres from the road to the car park so a basement car park with level entry from the road was provided to reduce the building’s bulk.

Formally the building is shaped by a clear expression of the trading area versus back of house functions and an engagement with vehicuFormally the building is shaped by a clear expression of the trading area versus back of house functions and an engagement with vehicu-lar and pedestrian movement. Significant effort was put into achieving a number of urban design and CPTED outcomes, including strength-ening existing pedestrian pathways, providing significantly increased amenity to the shopping centre as a whole through a careful re-design of the car park, and achieving ‘active edges’ within very restrictive programmatic constraints.

A single expanse of roof covering the trading hall slopes up from one of the road frontages to reach a high point adjacent to the car park, signifying the building’s main entry. Part of this form bends to follow the curve of the road near a round-about. A taller ‘L’ shaped mono-pitched form housing an enclosed truck dock, stockroom, plant, food preparation and office areas then wraps the trading hall on two sides.

The material palette consists of extensive exposed timber, honed concrete block, glass, and charcoal-coloured profiled metal panelling. A woven timber cladding system with occasional vertical strips of glazing was developed to clad the two street facades in order to provide texture, interest, and movement where functional requirements prevented the use of transparency. Careful planting including fruit producing vines on the building were also introduced to soften the composition and emphasise the idea of fresh natural bounty.

The client responded very positively to the work produced and the language is currently being rolled out across the client’s portfolio of supermarket buildings.

2007 - presentNew World Supermarkets

The Plant Room is the Wellington regional team com-peting in The Sustainable Habitat Challenge (ShaC 09), a national collaborative project for teams around New Zealand to design, develop, and build sustainable housing in their local community. The Plant Room is a prefabricated room that bolts-on to a variety of existing apartment types, improving the quality of living, reducing energy and water use, and growing food for reducing energy and water use, and growing food for the occupants.

Rather than develop another sustainable suburban new-build, we decided to focus on the improvement of the existing building stock, particularly poorly performing existing apartment buildings, of which Wellington has a growing number. This was a two pronged strategy, firstly to improve the sustainable credentials of the apartments themselves, and secondly to make urban living and higher densities more attractive to New living and higher densities more attractive to New Zealand’s overwhelmingly suburban population.

A Plant Room provides hot water for one occupant and a healthy growing space for herbs, fruit and veg-etables all year round. It also offers a worm farm, a rainwater tank, an outdoor space or enclosed room, and built in furniture that acts as a seat, supports creeping vines, provides space for drying clothes and folds out into a spare sleeping space. Its form and dimensions are carefully considered to shade the dimensions are carefully considered to shade the apartment to avoid summer overheating and while col-lecting hot air to circulate warmth into the apartment in the winter.

The Plant Room is designed to be applied to a single apartment unit but has also been developed to be applied to an entire building facade en-masse. When applied in this way it will not adversely affect the privacy, amenity, energy generation or solar access of other apartments or Plant Rooms. The Plant Rooms will share rainwater and grey-water, solar-hot water and electrical connections to take advantage of the and electrical connections to take advantage of the efficiencies of scale in a large application. When grouped together over an entire building external insula-tion of the building envelope, green roof systems, col-lective recycling systems and rooftop energy generation systems can also be employed.

I was a core member of a team of about 8 Architects, building scientists, graduates, and digital media design-ers who developed the Plant Room concept to a stage where technical development and documentation has been completed and it is ready for construction and installation. My contribution centred on architectural design development, technical research, and creation of presentation visualisations. I was also responsible for of presentation visualisations. I was also responsible for presenting the project to a number of potential sponsors, architectural firms and at the Sustainability Fundamentals conference hosted by Auckland Univer-sity in 2008.

The Plant Room was highly commended by SHAC judges for its vision and communication. The team is currently looking for a key sponsor to make possible the fabrication and installation of a prototype on the MacAlister Heights apartment building in Wellington, (pictured) whose body corporate and residents are very enthusiastic about the project.

www.theplantroom.co.nzwww.theplantroom.co.nzwww.shac.org.nz

2008 - 2009

The Plant Room

2007aBc Competition Entry

This winning entry for the international urban design ideas competition aBc (Airport via the Basin reserve to the City) was an attempt to use the experience of movement through the city and subsequently the development of public transport as a way to strengthen and enrich public space and urban collectives.

The brief asked entrants to ‘return to first prinThe brief asked entrants to ‘return to first prin-ciples and question why and how we move through the city’ while using the Basin Reserve (currently both a congested and under-utilised space concurrently acting as a cricket pitch and the southern hemisphere’s largest round-about) as a ‘hinge’ to inform movement along a proposed corridor from the central city to the airport.

Our entry was based on a great depth of theoretical and empirical research and proposed an incremental and comprehensive spatial strategy for implementing an efficient public transport system over a number of years. The system was intended to be not only feasible and efficient, but also to increase people’s psychological understanding of their people’s psychological understanding of their city’s structure (and thus their place in it), encourage density, and facilitate a complex interplay between social networks, sub-cultures and economic growth. It proposed to develop movement infrastructure as an essential con-stituent part of a broader communications infrastructure, necessary for a vibrant and pro-ductive city.

Spatially we focused at two levels, firstly of the city as a whole, completing macro scale investigations such as understanding where density should be encouraged, where physical connections were lacking between neighbour-hoods, and what specific experiences of movement could enhance citizens connection to and understanding of their city. to and understanding of their city.

Secondly we looked at transport corridors and interchanges at an architectural level, propos-ing ways to incrementally modify the street-level morphology of the city to integrate arterial roads, pedestrian streets, activity generators and varying forms of public transit.

The entry was completed in a team of three and was judged supreme winner out of over 120 entries.

The judges said: “This offers an original and The judges said: “This offers an original and visionary plan for Wellington over a 30 year timeframe, which uses an investment in high frequency public transport to direct urban growth. It placed a strong emphasis on public space, and broadening the structure and density of the CBD to Te Aro and other impor-tant town centres."tant town centres."

This project asks what urban and architectural possibilities might arise out of a medium density urbanism developed specifically for New Zealand’s pro-vincial towns and cities. It stems from the presupposition that the suburban model of city development no longer satisfies the needs of a significant sec-tion of the population, and that our overwhelming reliance on this (sub)urban form could become a liability as energy costs continue to rise in the coming century. It is proposed that a new form of new-world urban development that is based neither on suburbanism nor metropolitan concentration could lead to greater vitality, sustainability, and social and architectural opportunity in small cities.

The trend towards mixed-use, liveable and walkable cities is now being accepted as a positive development by architects and planners world-wide, however its implementation has by and large been limited to the centre of the world’s progressive metropolises. What of smaller cities, overlooked by theorists and architects but facing the same environmental and social drivers fuelling the densification trend, and arguably in greater need of a reassess-ment of their patterns of urbanism and growth, which are still set on the segregation of land uses, automotive dependence, and offer no alternative to suburban living.

Research focused on approaches to urban master planning, alternative medium density housing typologies, and extensive investigation into the qualities of the site itself. Composition of both the overall urban form and detailed design of how housing and other buildings would interact with the urban envi-ronment were developed concurrently, allowing each to inform the other. Eventually this process led to the development of an urban model which cre-ates an environment where urban spaces are treated as only the most public of a total living environment and where medium density housing can offer almost all the advantages of suburbia through careful and coordinated design, within a rich and vital urbanity which belongs integrally to its place.

A site on the banks of the Hatea River on the edge of the town centre of Whangarei (a city of approx 60,000 in northern New Zealand) was chosen as the context in which to test and develop these ideas. The site has a geographical, infrastructural and historical position in the city allowing one to engage strongly with issues of civic identity, Genius Loci and contemporary waterfront regeneration precedents. Importantly, the site is also slated for real development in the near future, its previous fabric being levelled for the creation of a major new intersection and four lane road, which severs the city’s connection with its river while concurrently opening space along the water’s edge, providing both significant urban and architectural opportunities city’s connection with its river while concurrently opening space along the water’s edge, providing both significant urban and architectural opportunities and challenges.

Specific goals of the overall urban design therefore became to reconcile the city with its river and famous international marina, mitigating the effects of the recent insensitive roading reconfiguration, and to create opportunities for personal significance and local culture to develop through engagement with natural, historical, and built context.

Development of housing typologies sought to encourage interaction with the urban realm through a comfortable and well defined gradient between public & private, encourage natural surveillance, capture passive solar energy, use timber structural systems (an inexpensive, sustainable and locally abundant material), and above all to create beautiful living spaces which are in harmony with their context and Whangarei’s sub-tropical climate.

Final Year Design-Research Thesis, 2006

The Possibilities of Provincial Urbanism

Provincial Urbanism - Developed Housing Prototypes

Provincial Urbanism - Urban Pathways

' | The purpose of this program is to simulate the the |' | three parameters which control the form and apearance |' | of the gym machines. These variables are Exposure, ' | Relative Exposure, and Chromaticality (colour). |' | |' | Press Shift+F5 to start. |' | |' | |

wa = 1200000 'speed exposure simulation works at (higher is slower) '(adjust to compensate for fast/slow computer)ag = 9.8 'acceleration due to gravityreduct = 5 'weight reduction factor for other users (higher value results in lower values for weights lifted by other users)maxweightkg = 150 'maximum weight available on the machine (kg)

LET maxweight = maxweightkg / 5

SCREEN 12SCREEN 12start:

' ask for lifting weight of subject user

LOCATE 4, 14: PRINT "How much weight is the user lifting? (0 -"; maxweightkg; "kg)";INPUT z

menu:LOCATE 8, 6: PRINT "Press 1 - To run exposure simulation"LOCATE 10, 6: PRINT "Press 2 - To run lighting colour simulation"LOCATE 10, 6: PRINT "Press 2 - To run lighting colour simulation"LOCATE 12, 6: PRINT "Press 3 - To re-enter weight value"LOCATE 14, 6: PRINT "Press Q - To Quit"

s$ = INPUT$(1)

IF s$ = "1" THEN GOTO exposuresim IF s$ = "2" THEN GOTO coloursim IF s$ = "3" THEN GOTO start IF s$ = "q" THEN END ELSE GOTO menu IF s$ = "q" THEN END ELSE GOTO menu

exposuresim:RANDOMIZE TIMERe = (z / 150) * 10 'calclate exposure valuee$ = STR$(e) 'truncate valueee$ = LEFT$(e$, 4)e = VAL(ee$)

'calculate base colour value'calculate base colour value

CLSLOCATE 12, 5: PRINT "Weight lifted by user:"; z; "kg"LOCATE 14, 5: PRINT "Absolute exposure value: "; e; "/ 10"

LOCATE 12, 50: PRINT "Weights lifted by others (kg):"LOCATE 29, 60: PRINT "Press Q to end"

' assign weights lifted by other users

user1:user1: LET maxseed1 = maxweight 'define theoretical maximum max1 = INT(RND * reduct) + 1 'reduction factor

LET maxseed1 = maxseed1 - max1 u1 = INT(RND * maxseed1) + 1 'generate weight based on random maximum LET u1 = u1 * 5 'conversion to kgs

LOCATE 14, 60: PRINT "User 1: "; u1 'display this users weight

IF runnin = 1 THEN GOTO backin 'get back in loop IF runnin = 1 THEN GOTO backin 'get back in loop

user2: LET maxseed2 = maxweight max2 = INT(RND * reduct) + 1

LET maxseed2 = maxseed2 - max2 u2 = INT(RND * maxseed2) + 1 LET u2 = u2 * 5

LOCATE 15, 60: PRINT "User 2: "; u2 LOCATE 15, 60: PRINT "User 2: "; u2

IF runnin = 1 THEN GOTO backin

user3: LET maxseed3 = maxweight max3 = INT(RND * reduct) + 1

LET maxseed3 = maxseed3 - max3 u3 = INT(RND * maxseed3) + 1 LET u3 = u3 * 5 LET u3 = u3 * 5

LOCATE 16, 60: PRINT "User 3: "; u3

IF runnin = 1 THEN GOTO backin

user4: LET maxseed4 = maxweight max4 = INT(RND * reduct) + 1

LET maxseed4 = maxseed4 - max4 u4 = INT(RND * maxseed4) + 1 u4 = INT(RND * maxseed4) + 1 LET u4 = u4 * 5

LOCATE 17, 60: PRINT "User 4: "; u4

IF runnin = 1 THEN GOTO backin

user5: LET maxseed5 = maxweight max5 = INT(RND * reduct) + 1

LET maxseed5 = maxseed5 - max5 LET maxseed5 = maxseed5 - max5 u5 = INT(RND * maxseed5) + 1

Ken’s GymArch 412

This project was an exploration of unlikely architectural possibilities inherent within exercise equipment, concerned with ideas surrounding body image, privilege, and power within the social and psychological context of the gym. Developed using para-metric design principles, the machines change their form and colour dynamically in real time, privileging and exposing or con-cealing and humiliating the user based on their relative strength to others in the gym at any particular time. These variables are based on an iterative mathematical model simulated in the programming language QBasic. To inform the algorithm, survey based research was carried out to determine what colours and forms people tend to associate with ideas such as ‘strength’, ‘exhibitionism’, and ‘docility’.

This project for a large regional airport in Paraparaumu explores issues relating to the expression of regional identity in architecture, of the creation of iconic form, and of flows, sequence and movement. All roof forms in the building were parametrically generated and manually iterated.

It is also an exploration of form as direct metaphor and referencing natural It is also an exploration of form as direct metaphor and referencing natural forms in architectural detail, of the edge between earth and sky as a ‘coast’ analogous to the Kapiti Coast’s distinctive topography. Through these means it seeks to heighten the drama of departure, arrival and the magic of flight.

Paraparaumu AirportArch 411

about me & architecture

I came to Architecture fascinated by our existential experience in the world, and in the human created structures which define so much of it.

I think of Architecture as the natural expression of a culture and an economy, as our natural 'third skin' against the elements, as one of the things that allows us to be truly human.

I believe in the idea of beauty, and that in Architecture it must be strived for. This I believe in the idea of beauty, and that in Architecture it must be strived for. This is because I think of beauty as that which makes manifest to us our most noble aspirations, as individuals and as people. We recognise this when we see it, and we must be reminded of our potential to create beauty and of what we aspire to.

I think that the quest to realign human systems to work as a positive part of I think that the quest to realign human systems to work as a positive part of natural systems is the defining challenge of our generation, and that as we realise our place as an integral and constructive part of nature's whole, we can create environments of incredible richness supporting superlative levels of well-being.

I believe that the processes of the universe are fundamentally creative, and that by creating we are no doubt fulfilling our part in the great unfolding. As such it seems inescapable to me that Architecture is an act of profound optimism.