march portfolio
DESCRIPTION
Portfolio of work done in all design studios while at the UIC SOA.TRANSCRIPT
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Port of Green Bay- Foreign Trade Zone- 22 Navigational Depth- 16 Acres Available Property
Port of Milwaukee- Foreign Trade Zone- 26 Navigational Depth- 32 Acres Open Property- Within 0.5 miles of existing Ferry Terminal
Port of Chicago- Foreign Trade Zone- 27 Navigational Depth- 3000 berthing space- 100 Acres Available Property
Traverse City Harbor- 18 Navigational Depth- Within 2 miles of Intl Airport- 100 Acres Open Property
Muskegon Harbor- 16 Navigational Depth- 40 Acres Open Property- Contains Trans-Lake Ferry Terminal
Port of Indiana- Foreign Trade Zone- 57 Acres Available Property- 28 of Depth
Work. This is the portfolio of Aaron Spiering. The works presented within are considered products of a summation of multi-disciplinary references; some architectural, some cultural, and some fictional. They are presented here as a series of brief manifestos that, once aggregated, result in a single body of work.
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Visions...
Outliers.
Roof.
City Mouse.
Platforms.
Typologies.
Landscapes.
References.Ground.
Heights.
Components.
An image for a new urbanity in Chicagos downtown. A visual introduction to App Urbanism.pages 20-21
A teaser for a new urba/suburban model hybridizing a rural landscape with a dense city block.pages 4-5
The upper level plans are shown here. The third and fourth floors plus the upper geography are visible.pages 14-15
The introductory manifesto to City Mouse/Country House. Basic concepts both formal and intellectual are discussed.pages 6-7
A cutaway section of the block reveals the physical relationships between the units. An explanation of the block as a primitive.pages 16-17
A brief typologic discussion showing the differences between the units and their location within the block.pages 8-9
A final look at the geography provided by the block, and a recognition of its potential for various contexts.pages 18-19
An interlude showcasing cultural research related to the project. The research highlights an attitude carried out through the design.pages 12-13
The lower level plans are shown here. Both the ground and second floors are shown, consisting mainly of the garage units.pages 10-11
A description of the fluid paths through app. urbanism, illustrated via elevations of each facade and an interior photo.pages 36-37
Diagrams describing the formal logic behind the project. A reinforcement of the conceptual backing, and images of deployment within.pages 28-29
The movement of people across the globe is discussed. Including the colonization of the island, as well as the planets transient populations.pages 44-45
A case study of architectural mechanisms that could be used at specific moments within the project.pages 52-53
App.Urbanism.
Collectives.
Layers.
The introduction to the concepts behind App Urbanism, including the problems at hand, and an initial discussion of types.pages 22-23
Final rendering of the educatorium on site above Union Station in Chicago.pages 38-39
A detailed section drawing accompanied by photographs of an earlier massing model.pages 30-31
A case study of existing transient cities. The results of the study are primitive diagrams used to colonize and organize the island.pages 46-47
Choices. Stages.An examination of the educatoriums program, plus a further breakdown of the three types present.pages 24-25
An introduction to the issues at hand, along with a proposal of reconciliation that comes about via performative, political, and informative registers.pages 40-41
Images from the interior of each use type, side by side with a plan drawing of the twenty second floor showing the location of the photos.pages 32-33
An introduction to initial populations of the island. Immigrantion numbers are presented along with a strategy for connecting them in the interior.pages 48-49
Assistants.
Plans.
A case study used to estract architectural elements for deployment in the educatorium. pages 26-27
A description of the 21st century phenomena of rapidly growing cities. The potential for growth of the island is demonstrated. pages 42-43
The ground floor plan along with a catalog of plans for each level including the roof plan.pages 34-35
Conceptual and formal origins are presented as a series of imaginary precedents. The island is a product of narratives put to real performance.pages 50-51
Konectdoche. Outbursts.
Hordes. Cities. Booms. Fictions. Mechanisms.
Table of Contents.Aaron SpieringMArch Spring 2012University of Illinois [email protected]
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An image collapsing the information presented in the previous chapters. It is an alloy of citizens, narratives, and data collection.pages 54-55
A look at site location and as plans for the eventual expansion of Konectdoche across Lake Michigan. Also, plans for a transition from mainland to island.pages 56-57
The final formal arrangement of the island, conceptual and colonizational reprecussions, and the fluid nature of the islands interior.pages 58-59
Crowds.
Genealogy.
Curves. Barrios.
A final reinforcement of ideas culled from the research; political, cultural, organizational, informational, geographical, and fictional.pages 60-61
A final image describing the connections between the buildings interior, and immediate exterior. Evidence for the potential of Post-Nothing.pages 76-77
A case study of similar projects from architectural history. Further evidence of the projects legitimacy.pages 68-69
A case study of formal explorations. Investigations into curve drawings, and their translation into thickened surfaces and 3D models.pages 84-85
A further discussion of the project as gap filler/creator. Also, a description of the character of the city in regards to the project.pages 92-93
Leaves of Mass.
Plans.
Flows.
Plans.
An introduction to the conceptual ideas behind both the technical and narrative approaches to the project.pages 62-63
An introduction to the digital formalist project for United Colors of Benetton, located in Tehran.pages 78-79
Documentation of all plans of Post-Nothing, from first through fifth floor, plus a roof plan.pages 70-71
An explanation of circulation patterns in the project, and the central void uniting all the spaces.pages 86-87
A continued explanation of the various types of gaps in the project, and their relevance mainly visible in plan drawings of several scales.pages 94-95
Growth.
Matter.
Masses.
Precedents.
An absurd back story for Post-Nothing as well as precedents for the use of fiction in architecture.pages 64-65
A description of symbiosis between building envelope and building interior. pages 80-81
An explanation of the projects structure as derived from discussions with engineers.pages 72-73
A final image reinforcing the idea of the project as being wholly united; top to bottom, inside to outside.pages 88-89
A case study of housing projects from around Europe. Organizational strategies were extracted.pages 96-97
Interiors.Sections.
Mind the Gap.
Site.
A discussion of the organizational and infrastructural uses of the voids. A case for their functionality.pages 66-67
Several views from the interior of the project, along with a description of how the form creates enclosure.pages 82-83
Section drawings along with interior photographs. Visual cues to the buildings interior.pages 74-75
An introduction to the residential project for Barcelona including a site plan revealing it as in the gap between neighborhoods.pages 90-91
A few words as to the importance of site, as well as context to Mind the Gap.pages 98-99
Post-Nothing.
Absurdities. Holes.
Motion Pictures.A discussion of precedents in film, and how elements from these films were deployed within the dwelling units. pages 100-101
Broad Sides.A final image of the project from the broad avenue of the modern side. A final reinforcement of the concepts behind the gap.pages 102-103
Alloy. Displacements. Replacements. Transitions.
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As a solid mass draped in a landscape it is a geographic oddity no matter where it is sited.
Pop forms describe a neighborhood for those wanting both urban density and rural greenery.
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The new block type is an initiative towards modern, hybridized styles of living.
Outliers.
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An open landscape + urban/suburban hybrids = A Country House for the City Mouse.
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In the 80s the suburbs were one thing, and the city was another. In the 90s that same phrase could still be used, but the meaning was different. The fluid definitions of these two places is at the heart of City Mouse/Country House. The initiative was to create a new block type; one that takes into account the changing perspectives on urban and suburban, and to hybridize the two. Starting with a clear pop sensibility
fig 1 the country house builds up into a
single, rural landscape which provides the suburban lawns for the various houses packed into the mass.
fig. 2 The houses
bear similiarities to existing urban, suburban, and exurban types City Mouse/Country house references the yurt,
fig.3
the yaodong, common in China,fig.4
terrace housing,fig.5
and the typical Los Angeles dingbat house.fig.6
Following contemporary patterns of settlement, country house for the city mouse creates a block of varied housing options at a city-like density that maintains openess. Neighbors live on top of each other, but dont even know it.
City Mouse/Country House.fig.3
fig.1
fig.4
fig.5
fig 6
fig 2
Welcome Back Shermer HighProfessor Paul AndersenFall 2011-Spring 2012
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Typologies. The geographic oddity that is Country House for the City Mouse blends four housing types into its mass. As part of the landscape, these types fit together like strata in a ground sample. In order to be both a single, solid block, and an alloy of distinct residential types the differences from one to the next are of immediate importance.
Single Room Cabin.Tiny houses nested into the terraces, atop the landscape.
Terrace Apartments.At the top of the mass, split level apartments with outdoor patios.
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Penthouse Apartments.Organized around light wells, and stacked three high from top to bottom.
Garage Apartments.Two story, single family homes, at the bottom of the mass, with parking spaces underneath.
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Ground.
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References: A Case Study
Sa Pobla, Gracia, 2010Gracia, an affluent neighborhood of Barcelona, annually
holds a festival where locals dress as demons and run through the streets with torches. It is a night to spend as savages rather than their normal, cultured selves.
DNC Protests, Abbie Hoffman, 1968Abbie Hoffman becomes the architect of protests at the Democratic National Convention. The ensuing
Yippie movement would create a reverence for the 60s as the nation embraced a shift in values.
Like the changing relationships between city and suburb, differences between pop and high art are fluid too. These pages are part of an exploration into that idea, and how that informs a populations interaction with their environment, and creates a disseminated urbanism.
Fire Painting. Yves Klein, 1960Kleins fire paintings are considered some of his more visceral and spiritual work. The raw power
and emotion of this projects serves as a counterpoint to the more intellectual work in his oveure.
Jailhouse Rock, Elvis Presley, 1957Elvis begins his recording career and brings rock n roll to the masses. The popularity of the music
would create an ambivalence to earlier styles. American pop culture would never be the same.
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The Redneck Games, Mac Davis, 2010These games were begun in response to the 1996
Olympics. Davis founded the event to reinforce the idea of the redneck. Unlike the Atlanta Games this
is a celebration of what makes southerners different.
Statue of Liberty, Frdric Auguste Bartholdi, 1886This statue is a long standing icon for immigrants to the USA. Groups from all over the globe passed by as they
were welcomed to their new home. Here, the statue looks over New York Harbor, greeting new visitors.
Bank of England, John Soane, 1788In his proposal, the architect rendered the building
in a state of decay. The images was intended to demonstrate an immortality. By shrinking the timeline
the banks monumental importance was suggested.
Leap Into the Void, Yves Klein, 1960This image was intended as a denouncement of
NASAs attempts at space exploration. Klein was demonstrating his ability for solo lunar travel.
The leap is an affirmation of his difference.
Glitter Bombing, Gay Rights Activist, 2011This phenomena has been occurring in rsponse to anti-gay politics. Groups organize when targeted
politicians schedule public appearances. Here, Newt Gingrch is bombed at the Minnesoata Family Council.
Pruitt-Igoe, Charles Jenks, 1968In this demolition, Charles Jenks declared the death
of Modernism. The housing project was seen as proof of the failure of a movement. With the onset of Post-
Modernism, the end of a lengthy era had arrived.
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0 5 10 20 40Roof.
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figure 1.
figure 2.
figure 3.
figure 4.
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Pop is the language of City Mouse/Country House from its graphic roof plan, to its all-for-broke landscape, to its cartoonish interior. It is an excersice in absurdity that obsessively explores density and difference; a geographic oddity hybridizing city living with suburban ideals and rural retreats.
The interior is pieced together precisely in order to fit together all types across the plan. At the lowest level, making contact with the ground are the garage units.
fig.1 With two to
four bedrooms apiece, and parking underneath these are most similar to single family homes. At the outer edges are the terrace apartments.
fig.2
These split-level units contain a semi-enclosed area underneath the public space on the green roof. Centered around the lighwells are the penthouse apartments.
fig.3 These are stacked three
high from top to bottom and contain the cores. Above all else are the tiny cabins,
fig.4 single room
units resting on the landscape as if they are rural homes resting on a public lawn for an entire neighborhood with access to and from the street.
As Aesops fable serves as an allegory for different tastes, the Country House for the City Mouse is, too, a primitive for contemporary, hybridized styles of living. In this neighborhood the City Mouse gets all the creature comforts of his cousins rural abode while maintaining the density and activity of his metropolitan home. Its a pop formalism those who want it both ways.
Platforms.
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Landscapes.
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Visions...
The cities buildings can be divided by use. Like apps, specific programs can be directly accessed.
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fig.5
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??
?
?
This studio addressed the issue of contemporary public space through the development of a complex program on an urban site. As a design and research problem, the thrust of the studio was towards the precise translation of rather abstract cultural forces and practical demands.
The assignment was to develop an educatorium building of one million square feet in Chicagos West Loop neighborhood, directly above the Union Station train platforms.
Chicago, 9 AM.fig.1
Just like every morning millions of people crowd into downtown. Many are seeking the same types of experience, but in this mess commonalities are hard to decipher. There relationship to the city is like ours to the web.
fig.2Unregulated movement between
syndicated episodes. There are three issues at stake:Program is Syndicated.Circulation is Chaotic.Browsing is Search based.But today we are spending more time in fewer places. We go where we want for what we need, and leave when we are fulfilled. Its an urban organization based on apps.
fig.3 The educatorium is App. Urbanism in miniature.
Everything can be found under one roof.fig.4
Live, work, study, play, travel! Each sector with direct access. Get where you want when you want.
fig.5
Program is Subscription based.Circulation is Direct.Browsing occurs through Links.
App. Urbanism.
Architecture + the CityProfessor David BrownFall 2010
fig.1
fig.2
fig.3
fig.4
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retailrestaurantbarretailcoffeerestaurantgaming centerbar
bar coffee
retailrestaurant
bar
retail
restaurantbarretailsuper market
gaming centerbook storerestaurant
restaurant barcoffee
retailgaming center
sports center
librarylibrarylibrarylibrary libraryinfo.dining hall
dining halldining hall
dining hall
auditorium auditoriumstudent center
library
restaurant
train station plaza
cinemacinema
cinemastorageoffice
office
office
office
lockersfitness rooms
staff loungefitness rooms
loungesupport
support mail
health centerhealth centerhealth centersupport
exam roomsexam rooms
exam roomsexam rooms
collection
support
receiving
graduate apartmentsdormitories
class roomsclass rooms
class roomsclass rooms
study zonesstudy zones
graduate apartmentsacademic offices faculty apartments
faculty apartmentslab
labjuice bar
retail officesretail offices
retail officesoperations
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Program was the driving force behind the form. Initially separated into categories of Live, Work, Learn, and Play, the list of required programs was lengthy.
fig.1-6 Included was a million square feet for a
university, apartments, restaurants, a library, a sports complex, cinemas, retail, and much more.The Apps. came next. After a use analysis, Each program was placed into one of three categories; Coming + Going, Sticking Around, and Browsing, each one defined by an average length of time for which they are used, and each one having its own system of access. The building was effectivley split into three.
fig.7
Coming + GoingThese areas are reserved for those with a specific purpose. Included are exam rooms, the health center, and cinemas. The majority of users intend to come in, take care of business, and get out. These spaces are attached to elevator cores for quick access from the street.Sticking AroundHere are the more private programs such as apartments and classrooms. These users spend the majority of their time in the private area manifested in as a single shape existing within the buildings perimeter. Included is a secondary public space with limited access.BrowsingLarge public programs fill in as browsing space. More clearly mimicking the existing condition, these areas form a continuous vertical public space, with shopping, eating, watching, and more. At street level, this space begins with an exterior rampr from the plaza down to the train platforms.
Choices. fig.1
fig.2
fig.3
fig.4
fig.5
fig.6
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Assistants: A Case Study
Looking for help with several design issues, a genealogical study was done. Several projects were studied, and elements were co-opted.
John Hancock CenterSOM
Programmatic zones are kept distinctly separate.
Elevators bypass undesired spaces for direct access.
Seiyaku Womens DormitorySANAAPrivate program exists between two types of public space. On one side a large mixing area, on the other a sort of front yard.
A corridor supplies discreet access into the space. If it were to instead pass directly through it becomes a building within a building.
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3D GardenMVRDVThe outdoor, elevated landscapes are reconsidered as private spaces rather than public. They are attached to the interior, but separate.
Yokohama Port TerminalFOA
Inside is a public space for those who come with aticket, but the outside is a space for any and all.
Private Space.
Semi-Public Space.
Public Space.
Tre Grande LibraryOMAPrivate areas are arranged in space, punctured by a grid of elevators. In between is the open, public areas.
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Components.SiteSituated along the Chicago river, adjacent to the loop
fig.1 the educatorium
is surrounded by a large plaza.
AccessA grid of cores
fig2.
is aligned along the perimeter of the tower. This
allows easy access from the street.
Coming + GoingThese private areas behave like apps. Contained in hermetic cubes
fig3., they have direct connection to the ground, and the
train station below. Users have access similar to a subscription.
fig.1
fig.2
fig.3
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Sticking AroundOstensibly a building within the building, these
areas remain privatefig.4
, while maintaing a connection to the rest of the building, allowing its
inhabitants to use the building how they want.
BrowsingA series of ramped
fig.5
floor plates, the browsing area is a continuous public space from the rooftop restaurant down to the trains, and public plaza below.
SkinWrapped in an unchanging facade,
the three buildings within the educatorium are recognized as one.
fig.4
fig.5
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tickets
Layers.In section the Coming + Going sections are seen as densley packed cantilevers1 punctured by elevator cores2. Sticking around is characterized by its glass encasement3, and the browsing area by its ramped floors4, and snaking escalators5. At left, a study model on site.
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2.
3.
4.
5.
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The twenty second floor contains two auditoriums in the browsing area.
fig.1
Class rooms including a student lounge
fig.2 are in the
Sticking Around portion. And in the Coming + Going section there is a large scale exam room.
fig.3 At
right Images of these areas point to their corresponding location in plan.
Stages.
fig.1
fig.2
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Coming + Going
Sticking Around
Browsing Floors G-2
Floors 3-7
Floors 8-12
Floors 13-17
Floors 18-22
Floors 23-27
Floors 28-32
Floors 33-R
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The ground floor contains access to the trains below, the plaza outside, plus retail and restaurant space. The private space holds the receiving area as well as building operations. At left is a catalog of all plans.
Plans.
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App. Urbanism is a search for continuous, yet clearly defined spaces. All three types within the educatorium conform to this. The browsing space is most clear; bound by the facade and connected via ramps. Sticking around too has clear limits as it bends through the interior, and the spaces within are connected as a single building. The apps that make up coming and going are continuous as well. they meet the ground with direct access, but also, they move along the buildings perimeter in a continuous flow, as seen in the elevations.
fig.1
The apps are made up of the private programs, accessed directly as if via a subscription.
Heights.
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Browsers move fluidly through the residual space of the apps. Each space remains linked with the others.
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A series of collectives are created by app urbanism. The chaos of the street is abandoned for life in the clouds.
Collectives.
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App. Urbanism suggests a way to interact with the city that meets the new expectations of the post-web world.
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3.
2.
4.
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On a planet of exploding populations people are on the move like never before. Cities are popping up and expanding at a heretofore unprecedented rate. These cities are drawing populations not just from hermetic localities, but from the globe as a whole. Their respective cultures are not to be combined as if in a melting pot where everything is boiled down to a single, homogeneous brew, but rather as an alloy; a place where contradictions and correlations can react together as if in a gradient. This is Konectdoche; an island city, located in Lake Michigan, serving to connect individuals to the global community and the world back to each of its inhabitants. The city is a unit made up of parts derived from the whole. Konectdoche, like any city, consists of an infinite amount of layers.
fig.1 These layers form a
primitive; a set of principles that, when applied to specific constraints, makes up the island. This form generating machine is pregnant with the potential to accommodate all types of programmatic, organizational, and political strategies. This island is a synecdoche. The images at left demonstrate where in this machine, one can find continuous interiors
fig.2, ferry
terminalsfig.3
, neighborhood centersfig.4
, and all of the constituent elements of Konectdoche.
The city operates at multiple levels.
The interiors have various relationships to the cores.
Regions have different relations between fixed and free space.
A collapse of information represents Konectdoche.
konectdoche.
Offshore CitiesProfessor Lluis OrtegaFall 2011
fig.1
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At nodes typical layouts collide with each other. They are forced to adapt while at the same time they begin to share free space. It is likely that commercial centers would arise in these collision spots.
Fixed Space.Free Space.
Infrastructural Corridors.
3.
4.
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Outbursts.
Places across the globe are playing host to rapidly densifying populations
fig.1. In China, India, central
Africa new cities are being built at inconceivable rates
fig.2. As these cities modernize, and industrialize,
they also globalize, bringing in hordes of new citizens from outlying regions. Citizens with their own expectations and problems.
Konectdoche is in a position to accommodate these types of population outbursts. The phase displayed at left is merely a part of a whole that expands across the lake. As such, the model is capable of growth3. The north end is already elevated above the water in preparation for the next phase. Inside, these fluid populations are free to move into spaces that accommodate them best, whether they intend to settle in permanently, or Konectdoche is merely an ephemeral host. And as this city is a transitional entity so it has transitions within it as well4. Here is where populations collide.
Rank City Population Country Growth
Projected Fastest Growing Cities to 2020
1234567891011121314151617181920
GhasziabadSanaaSuratKabulBanakoLagosFardabadDar es SalzamChittagongTolucaLutumbashiKampalaSanta CruzLuandaNashikKinshasaNairobiDhakaAntananarivoPatna
970,0001,747,0005,390,0003,586,0001,809,0007,938,0001,055,0002,498,0002,580,000
785,0001,140,0001,420,0001,595,0004,799,0001,620,0008,200,0003,130,0007,940,0001,403,0001,800,000
IndiaYemenIndiaAfghanistanMaliNigeriaIndiaTanzaniaBangladeshMexicoCongoUgandaBoliviaAngolaIndiaCongoKenyaBangladeshMadagascarIndia
5.2%5.0%4.99%4.74%4.45%4.44%4.44%4.39%4.29%4.25%4.10%4.03%3.98%3.90%3.90%3.89%3.87%3.79%3.73%3.72%
fig.1
fig.2
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Hordes.Waves of people are moving en masse from region to region. Unlike the nomads of the Sahara, or the Khans Golden Horde, these groups arent in a permanent state of flux, but they move from point to point for varying degrees of time. Many of the transient cities presented here are in some way refugee camps, but this point is incidental to the fact of their temporality. This impermanence is built in to Konectdoche. Various transient cities have been identified as fitting for particular rates of growth along with a typical organizational for the colonization of Konectdoche
fig.1. Thus,
as the population varies, so does the ground.
Of course, the most prolific of transient city types would be the airport. Urban or rural, destitute or wealthy, air travel has adversely affected the way we live. With the ability to move, people, products, food, armies, etcetera, everything is connected by a days travel. The entire globe has become a transient city, with airports as the hubs. This is not different from methods in which Konectdoche operates. Each component has a central corridor2 containing rapid transportation, ostensibly connecting every person in Konectdoche to every region within the ground. Chief points in the hierarchy are not defined by centrality, but by degree of fraternization with the whole.
TRANSIENT CITIES EXIST ACROSS THE GLOBE.
LIKE AIRPORTS, THESE CITIES ARE HUBS.
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Colonizing Typesby rate of growth
less than 50%
150% to 200%
100% to 150%
50% to 100%
more than 200%
Free Space.
Infrastructural Corridor.
Free Space.
Infrastructural Corridor.
Infrastructural Corridor.
Free Space.
fig. 1
2.
2.
2.
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For the purposes of an investigation in to the ground system of Konectdoche, transient cities have been defined as non-permanent settlements established for various, non-endemic populations. In the course of the research, it was recognized that there is a definable correlation between the average length of time that a resident spends in the city, and the ratio of fixed to free space. These ratios have been manifested as the diagrams pictured at left. The white space represents free, open areas, and the black relates to fixed, or private space. The more ephemeral a population, the more free space. These diagrams, aggregated and proliferated, provide the make-up of Konectdoche at the architectural scale.
Transient Cities: A Case Study
Presidio, San FranciscoYears: 1906-1908Population: 16,000Duration of Residence: 1-2 yearsType: GridAfter the 1906 earthquake several relief camps were set up in the cities parks, the largest being in the Presidio. The interstitial space between cabins became playgrounds and community spaces. Most of the cabins were relocated along with the families upon reconstruction of the city.
Deployment: Long Term Temporary
Abu Dahi, ChadYears: 2003-PresentPopulation: 18,000Duration of Residence: varies greatlyType: Polycentric, ExpandingTemporary cities are set up throughout southern Sudan to provide shelter for those fleeing violence. The dwellings are arranged in the camp around supply points, creating a polycentric layout. Residents come and go constantly, making popula-tion statistics difficult to compile.
Deployment: Fluid, Unstable
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Askar, West BankYears: 1948 - PresentPopulation: 30,000 +Duration of Residence: 63 yearsType: PermanentAskar was one of a number of refugee camps founded in the West Bank of Israel to house Palestinian refugees. Over the course of its existence it has grown from a collection of tents to a contemporary city.Deployment: Stable populations.
Dejima, NagasakiYears: 1641-1853Population: 150 permanentDuration of Residence: 212 yearsType: FortressDejima was created by the Japanese as an island city to house the Dutch traders, and localize foreign influence. The island, accesible by a gated bridge was permanent home to about 25 traders, and their families. When a ship was in harbor it became home to a larger population.Deployment: Stabilizing
Superdome, New OrleansYears: 2005Population: 26,000Duration of Residence: 7 days or lessType: OpenWhen Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans, many who were not able to leave the city were housed in the Superdome. With unkown numbers flowing in, the stadium floor was left open, with spatial configurations determined by the residents.Deployment: Unstable, Exploding
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Large corridors contain transportation networks transversing the island.
The citizens are connected via this network.
fig. 3
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+0-50%+50-100%
+100-150%+150-200%
+200%
Far EastMiddle East/ India
Central AmericaCanada
Western EuropeCentral EuropeEastern Europe
Africa
Foreign Born Population GrowthLake Michigan Area
Far East 1272Middle East 1101Central America 6685Canada 1327Western Europe 1005Central Europe 1861Eastern Europe 266Africa 187
Far East 9,158Middle East 5,764Central America 32,639Canada 2,553Western Europe 5,509Central Europe 10,659Eastern Europe 3,217Africa 2,503
Far East 146,496Middle East 102,812Central America 542,250Canada 13,504Western Europe 55,667Central Europe 166,317Eastern Europe 38,758Africa 22,162
Far East 70Middle East 79 Central America 578Canada 1,997Western Europe 195 Central Europe 606Eastern Europe 135Africa 51
Far East 8,901Middle East 2,048Central America 21,912Canada 2,823Western Europe 1,234 Central Europe 1,558Eastern Europe 384Africa 1,099
Far East 6,474Middle East 4,029Central America 20,381Canada 3,149Western Europe 3,052Central Europe 6,742Eastern Europe 796Africa 2,979
Far East 746Middle East 122Central America 397Canada 544Western Europe 292Central Europe 1012Eastern Europe 0Africa 0
Far East 4,524Middle East 2,263Central America 8,941Canada 2,465Western Europe 5,937Central Europe 14,628Eastern Europe 2,762Africa 914
Far East 106,711Middle East 56,421Central America 274,682Canada 12,237Western Europe 64,077Central Europe 115,081Eastern Europe 18,827Africa 10,338
Far East 124Middle East 0 Central America 73Canada 1878Western Europe 456Central Europe 771Eastern Europe 0Africa 0
Far East 3,833Middle East 770Central America 4,834Canada 2,808Western Europe 2,481 Central Europe 3,235Eastern Europe 71Africa 0
Far East 3,625Middle East 2,424Central America 8,148Canada 2,842Western Europe 4,322Central Europe 7,842Eastern Europe 617Africa 1,163
+526+979+6,288+783+713+849+266+187
+4,634+3,501+23,698+88-428+3,969+455+1,589
+39,785+46,391+267,568+1,267-8,410+51,236+19,931+11,824
-54+79+505+119-261-165+135+51
+5,068+1,278+17,078+15-1247-2,851+313+1,099
+2,849+1,605+12,233+15-1270-1,100+179+1,816
+71%+802%+1,684%+144%+244%+84%------
+102%+155%+265%+104%-7%+27%+16%+174%
+37%+82%+97%+10%-13%44%+106%+114%
-44%---+692%+6%-57%44%-21%---
+132%+166%+353%+0.5%-50%-88%+440%---
+79%+66%+150%+0.5%-29%-14%+29%+156%
1,087,966 +429,592658,374 +65% 47,602 +16,61930,983
756,238 1,264,953 +508,715 +67%
+54%
39,968 + 21,93618,032 +122%72,002 + 29,56842,434 +70%
13,704 + 10,5913,113 +340% 3,711 + 4093,302 +12%
Foreign Born Population Growth Over the Last Ten YearsLake Michigan Area
Northwest
West
Southwest
Northeast
East
Southeast
Booms.Population booms are occurring along with, and sometimes resulting as en masse migrations. Those who have found their way to the Lake Michigan area have been targeted as the first potential citizens of Konectdoche. Certain demographics of the foreign born population here has, in some cases, increased by 1,000% over the last 20 years. Scattered about, these people are living in contiguous, yet disconnected space. Once on Konectdoche, they will be reconnected, in a physical sense, with their compatriots, while simultaneously forming attachments to transient populations from all places.
fig.2
fig.1
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Fictions.Debt is owed to a great many precedents both real and imagined. As a starting point the Ewok village
fig.1 on the make-believe planet
of Endor was selected as a mode of ground consolidation. This was chosen in part because of its limitless ability to bridge gaps between points, not unlike the Oakland Bay bridge
fig.2.
The nodes were given a hierarchy based on degree of connectivity rather than locality
fig.3.
Endless, boundless, and pervasive, Konectdoche is preceded by a great many imaginations, one of which being SuperStudios
fig.4. The ground
was formed in this same way. First connecting points, then multiplying, establishing hierarchy, and finally pervading its own interior
fig.5.
And in its desire to join disparate parts there is a likely antecedent. It wouldnt be completely unfair to describe Konectdoche as some sort of pacifist Death Star; that ultimate generator of schisms and conflict
fig.6.
1.
3.
2.
4.
6.
fig.5
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Details can be the hardest to define. In a search for architectural specificity it is necessary to examine existing projects for information and ideas. These precedents are looked at as specimens; studied and investigated for any pertinent intelligence contained within. The intentions of this case study were to extract architectural specifics from these projects that contained pre-existing corollaries with the transitional diagrams, combine them, and deploy them in Konectdoche as if they were an alloy. The most useful information was culled from the following projects; (counter clockwise from below) CCTV by OMA1, Marina City by Bertrand Goldberg2, and Walden 7 by Ricardo Bofill3, and the deployment in Konectdoche4.
Mechanisms: A Case Study
CCTV by OMA. The building is a loop closing in on it self. It contains continuous spaces, both public and private, that adapt to the geometry of the overall loop. In plan these private areas appear as boxes. The white space around them is assumed to be public, or free areas.
In this diagram it is possible to see the vertical connections of space, pervasive free space as void, and sprouting from central hubs.
1.
4.
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Walden 7 by Bofill. The building is a series of vertical tubes separating and rejoing. Below is a study model with voids as free space. This space is consistently located centrally with frequent approaches to the periphery.
Marina City by Goldberg. A series of petals attached to a shared central core. this act of sprouting was studied in the model at left.
3.
2.
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Collapsing all information, Konectdoche is as complex as any city.
The void, as in the model at left is the free space. More or less left open to change with the masses.
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Colored pink, the infrastructural network runs consistently through the island. These narrow lines make up the ground; a simple series of bridges.
Alloy.
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Muskegon to Green Bay124.8 miles
Milwaukee to Muskegon83.1 miles
Traverse City to Green Bay120.6 miles
Chicago to Milwaukee79.8 miles
Michigan City to Chicago38.3 miles
fig.6
fig.5
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Green BayPopulation: 104,057Area: 54.3 sq. mi.Density: 1,916 ppsm
Traverse CityPopulation: 14,674Area: 8.7 sq. mi.Density: 1,686 ppsm
MusekegonPopulation: 38,401Area: 18 sq. mi.Density: 2,133 ppsm
Michigan CityPopulation: 31,479Area: 23.1 sq. mi.Density: 1,362 ppsm
MilwaukeePopulation: 594,833Area: 96.9 sq. mi.Density: 6,138 ppsm
ChicagoPopulation: 2,695,598Area: 234 sq. mi.Density: 11,519 ppsm
Port of Green Bay- Foreign Trade Zone- 22 Navigational Depth- 16 Acres Available Property
Port of Milwaukee- Foreign Trade Zone- 26 Navigational Depth- 32 Acres Open Property- Within 0.5 miles of existing Ferry Terminal
Port of Chicago- Foreign Trade Zone- 27 Navigational Depth- 3000 berthing space- 100 Acres Available Property
Traverse City Harbor- 18 Navigational Depth- Within 2 miles of Intl Airport- 100 Acres Open Property
Muskegon Harbor- 16 Navigational Depth- 40 Acres Open Property- Contains Trans-Lake Ferry Terminal
Port of Indiana- Foreign Trade Zone- 57 Acres Available Property- 28 of Depth
Great Lakes Charter Region USA Dominant Foreign Born Populations
Far EastMiddle East/ India
Central AmericaCanada
Western EuropeCentral EuropeEastern Europe
Africa
North West Shore
West Shore
South West ShoreSouth East Shore
East Shore
North East ShoreGreen Bay
Milwaukee
Chicago
Michigan City
Muskegon
Traverse City
Total Foreign Born Population: 5,300
Total Foreign Born Population: 56,000
Total Foreign Born Population: 40,000
Total Foreign Born Population: 1,202,000
Total Foreign Born Population: 89,000
Total Foreign Born Population: 17,200
Displacements.The boom in foreign born population is occurring across the USA. The Great Lakes region
fig.1, like the rest of
the country, is playing host to an ever changing mosaic of demographics. Initiated off Chicagos shoreline, Konectdoche will proceed to grow to accommodate these citizens. Points of contact are located within an hours ferry ride to major cities
fig.2 evenly distributed
along the shore. Ports containing ferry terminals, and foreign trade zones with existing customs infrastructure have been identified
fig.3. Have been identified.
Each city will act as an exit point for the displaced citizens of the surrounding region
fig.4. The resulting map appears at
rightfig.5
. Below is Konectdochefig.6
on site.
Foreign Trade Zones Ferry Terminals Available Land
Green Bay
Milwaukee
Chicago
Traverse City
Muskegon
Michigan City
fig.4
fig.3
fig.2
fig.1
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1.
3.
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Colonizing Typesby rate of growth
less than 50%
150% to 200%
100% to 150%
50% to 100%
more than 200%
Free Space.
Infrastructural Corridor.
Free Space.
Infrastructural Corridor.
Infrastructural Corridor.
Free Space.
Replacements.
With location decided, the task has come to determining where precisely on Konectdoche the citizens will be replaced. Each module is understood to be accommodating of a different typical layout. To maintain fluid relationships between the types these modules are arranged on lines
fig.1,
the summation of which results in the island. The organization of the island progresses as such; The base line holds the least stable populations. Those growing at a rate of 200% or more
fig.2. On this line are
located terminals, and other large scale programs such as hospitals
fig.3.
Aggregating upwards, each successive line accommodates groups of citizens growing at slower and slower rates, always connected back into each other
fig.4. At the top, where the most
stable populations are quarteredfig.5
the lines become fractured, and flows occur between fixed populations, and citizens amidst dynamic transitions.
fig.2
fig.4
fig.5
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Transitions.
Located near ports of large cities and towns, the island of Konectdoche remains connected to the mainland in spite of its separation.
The islands offshore condition allows itself to be divorced from political, formal, and contextual constraints of the city. It is a place for fluid instability.
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The citizens of the island transistion from an existence of contiguity without continuity to something quite the opposite.
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This studio finds its basis in a return to techniques central to the discipline of architecture; models, plans, and sections. These methods are used to explore aspects of the project including form, quantity, scenario, and, of course, concept. The assignment, in which no site was given, is a five story mat office building.
This project is imagined to take place in a future where cultural assimilation has become of the utmost importance.Visitors circulate up through columns extended to the ground and emerge into an open landscape organized by massive posts. Movement through the floors sticks near the perimeter of these cylinders, allowing the visitors to stay on the periphery of the programmatic zones, and determining their own level of involvement. Simultaneously, by keeping the walls round there are no dead ends or corners to hide in. They must, at some point involve themselves in the program. Their inevitable interactions with the office workers will assist in theirassimilation into a Post-World.
Post-Nothing.
Take FiveProfessors Penelope Dean Andrew Moddrell Ryan PaliderSpring 2010
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Sam Jacob has written that architecture, like Wile E. Coyote
fig.1contains a raging desire combined with a
capacity for innovation, yet still finds its goals beyond possible.* Answers, he says, can be found by embracing the absurd. Post-Nothing has, at its root, an absurd story used to justify its absurd form. In that spirit... It is the future. The global population had become accustomed to an automated life style. A pre-programmed existence. But now things have changed. The robots their lives had revolved around have ceased operating. No warning, they simply stopped working. Dead in their tracks. Done, kaput. Now they lay in piles in our yards, on the sides of our streets, in the alleys of the city. The more industrious of the population have begun collecting the parts, using whats available in a suddenly lo-tech world. The rest are fucked. Wallowing in their own inertia and paranoia, never knowing whos out there, whats next, why now? Welcome to life in the Machine Parts Age, a world freed from mechanization. The robots are gone. It is Post-Nothing.
This is by no means a unique foray into the absurd. Architects have referenced Blade Runner ad infinitum for years.
fig.2 The work of Lebbeus Woods often finds
itself on the border between architecture and science fiction
fig.3 and, infact, he was credited as a consultant
on the Gilliam film, 12 Monkeys.fig.4
Jimenez Lai of Bureau Spectacular bases most of his work off of comics he does beforehand.
fig.5 And of course, no
mention of the absurd would be proper without paying homage to Jorge Luis Borges,
fig.6 that grand innovator
of architecture plus fiction. This all comes out in the concept for Post-Nothing
fig.7, a gathering place
for people getting used to a world without robots.
Absurdities.
fig.7
labrynthine interior. peripheral circulation.
continuous space. public territory.
* ACME, Log 22, Spring/Summer 2011
fig.1
fig.2
fig.3
fig.4
fig.5
fig.6
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Post-Nothing as a place for social + cultural reconciliation.
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All of Post-Nothing is organized around the voids.To the right
fig.1 the formal process
is revealed as subtractive operation, where the holes are dropped into a mass. Below, program and circulation adapt to the form.fig.2
All movement from floor to floor occurs inside one of the three posts that reaches the ground, where the retail sections are located.
Holes.
fig.1
fig.2
Restaurant.
Lobby.
Office.
Retail.
Program.
Circulation.
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Genealogy: A Case Study
Post-Nothing is a matt building, flat and expansive, necessitating perforations for light access. It is one among many buildings of this nature. Presented here are just a few that fit into the same family tree.
ArchizoomNo-Stop City
This experimental matt building demonstrates how a very regular office layout can exist
within and amongst peculiar forms.
Toyo ItoSendai MediatequeItos library contains large tree like tubes piercing each floor. They contain mechanical and electrical infrastructure as well as circulation.
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SANNARolex Learning CenterThis single story building gains light and outdoor access via the egg like punctures through the interior.
Le CorbusierVenice Hospital
Corbusiers hospital is one of the first matt buildings. Characterized by
low, deep floor plans, they are well suited to many types of program.
BIGGreenland National Gallery of ArtThere is a simplicity to BIGs diagrams that conveys both formal and conceptual intent with a great deal of clarity.
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First Floor.
Third Floor.
Fifth Floor.
Second Floor.
Fourth Floor.
Roof.
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The fifth floor contains a restaurant1 along with the office space which covers the other levels. Three posts reach the ground and contain stairs, elevators, and wet areas.
Plans.
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fig. 2
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As an exploration into structure, the studio consulted with structural engineers. The discussion resulted in the idea of three points of contact with the ground, and the remainder of the building being thought of as a massive truss, hovering over the site. The posts were then divided between structural and non-structural which became glazing.fig1.
A wireframe model was made to further the understanding of the buildings supportive system.
fig.2
Matter.
fig. 1
Elevations.
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32
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Interior views reveal the complex and unique spaces within Post-Nothing. Above are office spaces on the first and fifth floor. The section cuts at left demonstrate how the stair cases occur within the thickness of the three posts that meet tne ground.
Sections.
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Crowds.
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Underneath Post-Nothing is a vast public space, connected to the interior with views through the post holes.
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NN
Leaves of Mass is an exploration in tectonics.Utilizing organic geometries, each surface is connected to all the others, establishing a symbiotic relationship within itself. Although concrete, the project has a fluidity to it, an ability to adapt, and to take over. It inhabits its site with total autonomy. Inherent in the system is the capability for expansion and change in multiple directions.
An objective of the course was to explore new possibilities in geometry through contemporary techniques including animation software. The brief was for a real competition on a site in Tehran, asking for the design of an eight story multi uses building for the clothing retailer, United Colors of Bennetton.
leaves of mass.
ControlProfessors Paul Preissner
Laura Fehlberg Julie Flohr
Fall 2009
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1.
4.
First Basement
Fourth Floor
Ground Floor
Seventh Floor
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Growing inward, the exterior services gives way to the surfaces on the interior. The branches that make up the structure1. Bifurcate and form leaf like plates.
fig.2
Proliferating along the facade, the floor plates are derived
fig.3,
each featuring a central void, around which circulation occurs.4
Growth.
Bifurcation.Origin. Growth. Proliferation.
fig.2
fig.3
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The surfaces on the interior are a product of those on the exterior creating a sort of interior picturesque landscape similar that is at once a part of the facade. The same branching logic that creates the floors also creates the enclosure.
fig.1 The
system encompasses the entire site, top to bottom, inside to outside.
fig.2
Interiors.Origin.
fig.1
Branching.
Enclosure.
fig. 2
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A precept of the studio was that the animation software, Maya, would be used for geometric exploration. The following is a series of curve studies, that were then transformed into thick surfaces in anticipation of an architectural project.
At left and below are two drawings from the series that would lead to the Tehran project.
Below, left: This drawing began as a single node. When proliferated its periphery stretched and distorted to create a surface. Directly below is the thickened version where the landscape is replicated underneath as well.
Curves: A Case Study
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This drawing looked to create a surface through line density. The thickened model failed in that it simply replicated the surface without continuing the experiments with density.
Below, the curve drawing attempted to create emergent forms by overlapping shapes. While the drawing has potential, the thickened surface again attempts a one to one translation rather than continuing the investigation.
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The masses of people move through the building fluidly. Select stretch downwards to reach the floor beneath.
fig.1
Circulation is part of the same system making up the mass of the project. Each ramp reaches inward
fig.2 creating a spiraling path
around an atrium in the center.fig.3
Flows.
fig. 1
fig. 2fig. 3
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As a multi-use building hordes of people are meant to be accomodated. This accomodation occurs via the deployment of a singular, autonomous system of branching, delivering some real weight to the site.
Masses.
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Mind the Gap.
Barcelona StudioProfessors Xavier Vendrell
Josep Ferando Bramona Sergi Serrat
Spring 2011
View of Gracia
View of lEixample
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View from the gap.
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They say nature abhors a vacuum. Well, so does the city. Barcelona
fig.1, one of Europes densest
cities, was surrounded by a vacuum before Cerda came along
fig.2. He was charged with the
planning of a modern city to infill between the old medieval walls, and its satelite towns, a space formerly left completely unbuilt as a defense measure. Barcelona, as it is now presents to us the stark contrast between its winding Gothic corridors, and the broad avenues of the grid. We find ourselves in the gap between the two.
Set in between the barrio of Gracia and the modern area of lEixample, this project finds itself on a unique site in the city.
fig.3 Containing fifty residences
of varying sizes the building has the responsibility of bridging the gap between the two wildly different neighborhoods; one old, the other new, one posh, the other proletarian. Gracia with modern shops packed into ancient buildings,
fig.4 lEixample with
modern buildings in modern spaces.fig.5
Mind the Gap consists of four towers based on top of a double height slab the two sides are brought together by exploiting the types of gaps already prevalent in the city, i.e. the chamfered corners serving as gates to each block, and the crooked splits that make up the old quarters. These public spaces are replicated within the site; bridging the gap between the contemporary and the old, not unlike that architect did with Parc Guell so many years ago.
fig.6
Barrios.
fig. 1
fig. 2
fig. 3
fig. 4
fig. 5
fig. 6
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0 1m 2m 4m
0 .5m 1m 2m
4.35
4.2
1.0
1.0
6.85
3.05
2.9
2.6
5.8
3.0
5.8
1.25
4.3
2.6
2.75
4.3
1.5
2.75
3.75
1.456.65
1.0
6.4
8.1 1.0
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4.35
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6.4
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0 5m 10m
Interior Circulation
Visual LinesKitchen
Kitchen
Bedroom
Bedroom
Bedroom
Bedroom
Lndry.
Lndry.
WC
WC
WC
Circulation
Circulation
Dining
Dining
Living
Living
Strg.
Strg.
Strg.
Strg.
Strg.
Strg.
Interior Circulation
Visual LinesKitchen
Kitchen
Bedroom
Bedroom
Bedroom
Bedroom
Lndry.
Lndry.
WC
WC
WC
Circulation
Circulation
Dining
Dining
Living
Living
Strg.
Strg.
Strg.
Strg.
Strg.
Strg.
fig. 1
2.
3.
4.
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0 5m 10m
Circulation
Structure
WetAreas
Aggregation
Light Boxes
Typical Plan
Interior Circulation
Visual LinesKitchen
Kitchen
Bedroom
Bedroom
Bedroom
Bedroom
Lndry.
Lndry.
WC
WC
WC
Circulation
Circulation
Dining
Dining
Living
Living
Strg.
Strg.
Strg.
Strg.
Strg.
Strg.
At every scale the plans are arranged around gaps. A the scale of the city, the gap is between two very distinct neighbor hoods. At the scale of the project itself this gap happens within. The four residential towers are located around public spaces occurring at various levels.
fig.1
The units contain multiple gaps as well. The entrances are positioned in a shared public gallery that opens to the air.2 Inside, the two units are separated by a superthick wall containing storage.3 And the private areas are hermetic boxes surrounded by public gaps.4 From the site plan to the bedroom the project is organized around continuous public space.
Aggregation
Plans.
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scale 1:400
scale 1:400scale 1:100
scale 1:100
scale 1:150
scale 1:150
scale 1:150
scale 1:150
1m 5m0
N
2m
Collective Space
Individual Space
Ground Floor Communal Space
Precedents: A Case StudyCase studies of existing housing projects, both in Barcelona and abroad, was performed. Most attention was focused on the units organization rather than any formal study.
Jose Antonio CoderchBarceloneta
Barcelona, SpainThis small building utilizes angular
walls and multiple doors to make the unit feel larger than it is.
VidalPonsGalianaTorre JuliaBarcelona, SpainAlthough the units are small in this home for the elderly, the building is organized in communities, devoting much floor area to public space.
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O
ceAlison + Peter SmithsonRobin Hood GardensLondon, EnglandEach unit has access and views to the public space situated between the two buildings. Also, circulation space doubles as a front yard.
Eduardo Soto de MouraApartment Building
Maia, PortugalThe units are pushed to the exterior of the building with an internalized circulation path. The path is a sort
of gap around the private areas.
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2.
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Where context has been important to every project in this archive, Mind the Gap pays attention to site like none of the others. Due to its unique position in the city as well as its place among the neighboring buildings with which it shares party walls, site has gained importance. The elevation from the lEixample side reveals a consistency with the roof lines.
fig1 At steet level, the entrance to the
gap mimics the chamfers found in Cerdas Grid.2
Site.
fig. 1
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These apartments are just as indebted to a group of films as they are to any urban or architectural references. Ever since Gary Cooper took on Ayn Rand
fig.1 Architecture and movies have
been obsessed with each other. Mind the Gap is no different. The hermetic private spaces are derived from the obsessive worker of Pi.
fig.2The vertical
communities were inspired by the doomed residents of Delicatessen,
fig.3
as seen in the free space surrounding the confines of the towers.
fig.4 And
then there is the shared gallery. Two strangers live in a single home in 3-Iron.fig.5
Once compiled, all the characters of the towers are set in motion.
fig.6
Motion Pictures.
fig. 1
fig. 2
fig. 3
fig. 4
fig. 5
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From the lEixample side, a continuity with the neighboring buildings is registered.
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A public space is created, bridging the gap between two neighborhoods.
Broad Sides.
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Aaron [email protected]
aaroncspiering.com
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Aaron [email protected]
MArch Spring 2012
UICSOA