undergraduate studio iv: live/work in lowertown
DESCRIPTION
This portfolio is comprised of work completed in Undergraduate Studio IV at the University of Minnesota. Taught by professor Cynthia Jara, the studio focused on the creation of spatial complexity on three scales—site, building, and dwelling unit—and on the use of tectonic elements at play on each scale to define said spatial complexity. The site is in Lowertown, a historic district in St. Paul, Minnesota. The program is a live/work housing complex, catering to the community of artists, software developers, designers, and entrepreneurs for which Lowertown is known.TRANSCRIPT
STUDIO IV: LIVE/WORK IN LOWERTOWN ROY CLOUTIER
Spring 2012University of Minnesota; Professor Cynthia Jara
Undergraduate Studio IV: Live/Work in Lowertown
Thefocusof thisstudiowasoncreatingspatialcomplexityonthreescales—site,building,anddwellingunit—andonusingthetectonicelementsatplayoneachscaletocreatesaidspatialcomplexity.Mydesignfocusesonaninterplayof anglesandshiftingaxes,drawingthegeometryof thesitethroughallthreescalestocreatespatiallycomplexintersecting,interpenetrating,
overlapping,andinterlockingconditions.
PRECEDENTS: VILLA MAIREA
- Design-dominated grid vs. grid-dominated design
- Interplay of column grid and load-bearing walls
Column Grid
PlanComposite System
Bearing WallsColumn Grid
SITE: CONTEXT
LOWERTOWN, MISSISSIPPI RIVER, DOWNTOWN ARMATURE: MEARS PARK, FARMERS MARKET, SOUTH SITE, UNION DEPOT
N
SITE: PARTI AND PROCESS
STREET AXIS TRAIN DECK PERPENDICULARS COMPOSITE
UNDER-DECK GALLERY
CONNECTION TO DECK TRAILS
SITE: PROCESS
2
3
4
5
SITE: PROCESS MODELS
SHOPS + OFFICES BLOCK (WORK AND LIVING TOGETHER) - First floor shops - Second floor offices - Public circulation and gathering spaces - Lofts attached to shops - Lofts attached to offices
WORK SEPARATE FROM LIVING - Shops separate from living units - Offices separate from living units
GALLERY - Commercial, for the resident artists’ work
ARTISTS’ BLOCK (WORK AND LIVING TOGETHER) - Communal Workspaces - Studios w/ workspace - Studios w/o workspace - Exterior Courtyard
TOWNHOMES/SHOPS: (WORK AND LIVING TOGETHER) - First floor shops - Second floor offices - Public circulation and gathering spaces - Lofts attached to shops - Lofts attached to offices
LIVING SEPARATE FROM WORK - Townhomes and family amenities
SITE: FINAL PLAN AND UNIT TYPES
N
SITE: FINAL MODEL
FvLOOR 1: PUBLIC SPACE GRADIENT FLOOR 3: TRAIN DECK ACCESS
BUILDING: FINAL PLANS
N
FINAL MODEL
BUILDING: VIEWS
DWELLING: PROCESS
2 (A + B)
1 (B)
3 (A)Column Grid Program (Unit B)
“Black Box”/”Light Box” Program (Unit A)
1/4” = 1’
UNIT A
UNIT B
UNITS A & B
N
DWELLING: FINAL PLANS AND RENDER
DWELLING: FINAL MODEL
DWELLING: FINAL MODEL, UNIT A
