virginia irene harrb.s. arch, university of virginia

m.arch applicant

table of contents

martinsville collegest. patrick’s cathedral

the learning bargepainting and public art

center for hellenistic studiesthe high line project

furniture designphotography

artwork

arch 401: martinsville college

Site Location: Martinsville, VA

Program Description:

Reviving the urban fabric of a small town grid with an in-fill

residential college in hopes of strengthening the community

and economy by the exchange of ideas. A public terrace

connect the street condition to the peripheral landscape

- preserving the inherent qualities of the town.

virginia harr/academic/kenneth schwartz/fall 2007

Inspired by the shifting and settling of physical Martinsville, a sculptural wall that anchors the building

provides a connective, intimate experience with punctures for circulation. Giving Martinsville identity

involves maintaining a porosity between the streetscape and the occupied spaces. The urban renewal would encourage a shared sense of place. The experiential

nature of the site influenced the project as an integration of tectonics and the ground plane. Using rhythms to

inform a parallel sequence.

arch 401: martinsville college

virginia harr/academic/kenneth schwartz/fall 2007

st. patrick’s cathedral parish house

Site Location: 14 E. 51st St., NY, NY

My role was in the Schematic Design and

Design Development for elevations and sections.

At the site of a National Historic Landmark, the project was to

renovate an existing mechanical space into a Parish House for offices,

meeting rooms, and a performance level choir room. The sub-grade,

existing condition was to be LEED certified.

virginia harr/professional/murphy burnham & buttrick/2008

st. patrick’s cathedral parish house

The South wall of the Parish House was the foundation of

the Cathedral, a combination of Manhattan schist and masonry. As an educational reminder to

the construction of the Cathedral, the foundation retaining wall

was chosen to remain exposed. Schematic watercolor and pencil

sketch above of South foundation looking up at skylights.

virginia harr/professional/murphy burnham & buttrick/2008

arch 402:the learning barge

collaborative design/build studio

Site Location: Elizabeth River, VA

Program Description:A studio of architects and engineers

designed and built an environmental classroom for public schools to use as a

destination for field trips in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed region. Through the off-grid energy and water filtration systems, the K-12 students can learn by hands-on

applications how to save and use energy.

A steel-framed armature wall acts as the spine of the structure, program, and

systematic operations.

virginia harr/academic/phoebe crisman/spring 2008

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Armature Wall Team: My role in the project involved collaborating

with the UVA School of Engineering to configure

Solar Evacuated Tube Arrays and Photovoltaic Panels

mounted to a skeletal steel system. [referenced

inside dotted line]. Later, I designed and constructed

modular casework and millwork for the

environmental classroom on the Barge.

arch 402:the learning barge

virginia harr/academic/phoebe crisman/spring 2008

image courtesy of Learning Barge Team

arch 558 (+ arch 402):painting and public art

virginia harr/academic/sanda iliescu/spring 2008

Top: Acrylic on Masonite, 6 x 11 in.Above: Acrylic on canvas, 9 x 11 in.Right: Acrylic on chipboard, 5 x 10 in.

Collaboration did not stop with engineers but reached across the spectrum to artists. Our painting studio made studies of

geometries, color, and composition. Influenced by Ellsworth Kelly and Milton Avery. After site visits to the heavily industrialized

Chesapeake Bay Area, we conducted gestural impressions of the site of the Learning Barge - also envisioning a color scheme to be

selected for the Barge paint.

arch 302: center for

hellenistic studies

Site Location:Dumbarton Oaks

Research Center and LibraryWashington, D.C.

Program Description:

By first studying the intricacies of museum quality lighting and details,

the project shifted to site planning and designing a research community with

fellows’ quarters, libraries, and galleries for Greek statues. I chose to adopt

programmatic modules from ancient Greek city of Priene, a similar site

condition.

virginia harr/academic/edward ford/spring 2007

arch 302: center for

hellenistic studies

virginia harr/academic/edward ford/spring 2007

Rather than inserting a massive structure into the hillside looking onto Rock Creek Park, the programs are compartmentalized into specific buildings which

are connected by either cat walks or underground passage ways. This is primarily to the advantage of

the research fellows who live, work and study on the same site for any given amount of time.

Ford’s studio focused on the qualties of light which I chose to investigate beyond

the interior gallery spaces. Exterior building assemblies are represented through many

forms of translucent materials such as soap, and sanded plexi-glass.

arch 301: the high line project

Site Location:10th Ave. + 24th Sreet

NY, NY

Program Description:

The in-fill site provides an access point to the Highline railway from 10th Avenue - allowing optimum

conditions for a Community Design Center with galleries and lecture halls. The design maximizes natural light by filtering through a fiber-optic wall with various light intensities and apertures

associated with different programs.

virginia harr/academic/betsy roettger/fall 2006

arch 301:the high line project

With a central stair connecting the sidewalk of Tenth Avenue to the 32’ high railway

structure of the Highline, the building divides itself into programmatic zones of circulation,

congregating space, and offices.

virginia harr/academic/betsy boettger/fall 2006

Melted soap serves as the fiber-optic element between two laser-cut, sanded plexiglass

sheets to represent the variance of light intensities that pentrate through the wall of

the 1”: 4’ scale model.

arch 201:tool drawing

anselmo canforafall 2005

virginia harr/academic/anselmo canfora/fall 2005

Program Description:

One of the first assignments of architecture studio, an

exercise in disecting an object in such a way that

is representative of its purpose, shape, and form.

furniture design: copenhagen, dk

Danish institute for study abroadsummer 2007

virginia harr/academic/furniture design/summer 2007

The Furniture Design Program held at the Danmark

Designskole presented the opportunity to work with

distinguished designers in a remarkable facility. Using

metal fabrication for molding maple veneer seat backing and

a state-of-the-art woodshop for precision unparalleled in millwork. This program

allowed me to complete my own design from start to finish

for the first time.

furniture design: copenhagen, dk

Using the proportions of an “easy chair” in Scandinavian furniture design, the intention was for formal relaxation. The “relaxed” angles are framed by a series of “formal” orthagonal rectangles.

virginia harr/academic/furniture design/summer 2007

furniture design: copenhagen, dk

1:1 scale construction drawings on trace paper made with a T-square and a straight edge desk.

virginia harr/academic/furniture design/summer 2007

photography

film

Above: Parcel X, Charlottesville, VA, Peter

Waldman Residence, 2004

Right: Jean Claude + Cristo’s “Central Park

Gates,” 2005

virginia harr/personal/photography/2004 & 2005

photography

digital

Far Right: Summer Rain, Brooklyn, 2009

Right: P.O. Box, Martha’s Vineyard, 2009.

virginia harr/personal/photography/2009

artwork

figure + light study

virginia harr/personal/artwork/2004

Right: charcoal, 12 x 12 in.

Far Right: pastel and charcoal,

7 x 8 in.