Exploring Threshold + Programmatic Friction - A Culmination of Thesis Research
INSTRUCTOR: McLain Clutter
DATE: 2011-2012
The thesis began by researching the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago and analyzing its potential for dialogue between its two stakeholders - the public citizen and the administration - created by the spatial juxtaposition of programmatic territory for each. A typical civic building aims to represent its power over the public through mechanisms such as barrier and monumentality. The Thompson Center, however, begins to suggest a different model for operating upon the relationship between its two constituents. The building purports to represent an implicitly democratic relationship between the administration and its citizens through its provision of a retail mall and concourse that shares the same open air space with the civic offices within its 17-story atrium, as well as its direct connection to the underground pedway, creating a public thoroughfare that links several buildings across the city.
Despite these provisions of public territory, however, the JRTC still represents its authoritative identity over its citizens, though it is created through more adaptive, subtle aspects. The building is enclosed by a mirrored façade that causes it to begin to disappear into the urban landscape, simultaneously playing out its surroundings as a 17-story movie screen from the exterior, and representing a shift in identity for those allowed on the interior who are can view the exterior public without being observed themselves. The retail mall within its bounds provides some interior public space, though there is still a distinct line between areas that are restricted and those that are explicitly public. While this threshold has been adapted to fall inside the building, it still exists as a rigid though less visible barrier. Even its connection to the pedway takes on an authoritative condition; while it is a public network, the system links primarily civic and financial institutions that similarly limit public access, becoming more of an edited version of the city based on civic interests than a public realm.
The thesis aims to create a new government center paradigm by acting upon the conditions of threshold manipulation and spectacle introduced by the Thompson Center. By agitating and proliferating the thresholds between public and civic space throughout its spatial configuration and tactical control of perceptual connection through transparency and reflection, the project simultaneously maximizes the visibility and friction of the rift between the two territories, normalizes the awareness of the divide, and begins to form spaces in the overlaps that become a new spatial condition where programs arise that are neither civic office or public retail.
INSTRUCTOR: Doug Kelbaugh
DATE: 9.11 - 12.11
In collaboration with: Cameron Stewart
* Project selected for 2012 TCAUP Student Exhibition
* Published on AnnArbor.com as a part of Downtown Opportunities: Selling Ann Arbor’s City-owned Properties for Urban Residential Development
ANN ARBOR, MI
Located on a prime site in downtown Ann Arbor atop a just-completed underground parking structure, this project strives to take on the real- life challenges of examining in detail the true limitations and necessities of such a project. Careful consideration had to given to structural restraints, building codes, zoning restrictions, and city needs. The proposed project is a 131- unit market-rate housing tower with some live-work units, a ground floor dedicated to retail and restaurants, a public gym, and a small civic auditorium. The existing column grid of the underground parking structure beneath the site makes the proposed building especially challenging, as portions of the grid are not capable of supporting a 180-foot building, which the zoning codes allow. With this in mind, the southwest corner of the site is dedicated to a ground-level public plaza, with the building stepping up in height towards the east. Additionally, the building takes advantage of the existing elevator cores on the site.
Despite the restrictions, the proposed tower is quite unique. Units span two floors in height, with a ‘double skip corridor’ system (access every third floor) acting as the circulation between them. This allows units to span the entire 54’ width of the building, letting light in from both ends. The units range from studio to three-bedrooms, and are standardized to just 5 layout types. The units are also standardized in dimensions so that they are capable of interlocking in multiple configurations. The configuration of the standardized units differs from floor to floor. The standard 14’ width of the units allows them to be prefabricated off-site and transported in for assembly. The units are composed of a steel tube structural system with spanning steel beams providing the framework. Additionally, a modular, operable channel glass shading device system exists on each unit. The shading devices can slide independently along tracks and rotate to control the amount of light each unit gets based on occupant preference.
An aerial view of the public plaza at the southwest corner entry to the lot.
INSTRUCTOR: Jennifer Harmon
DATE: 1.11 - 4.11
CAVE CITY, KY
The National Speleological Society (NSS) is a society of “cavers” who are interested in the exploration, preservation, and mapping of cave systems all across the United States. Currently, the headquarters is located in Alabama, acting as little mre than an overnight weigh station and resting place for its membership as they travel to explore a variety of caves in the Tennessee/Alabama/Georgia (TAG) region. The studio itself focused on the formidable task of determining the exact needs of a unique and unfamiliar society, who are looking to expand and relocate, and design a new headquarters more suited to the society’s needs and desires. As a group, we had a chance to explore the Mammoth Cave system in Kentucky, as well as several propose site locations in the surrounding region, to gain a better understanding of the interests and aims of the society as a whole, prior to approaching the programming and design of the headquarters itself. It was determined that the nearby town of Cave City was a more suitable location, due to its proximity to various cave systems nearby.
Examinations of the ambitions and needs of the NSS in their new headquarters while maintaining an awareness of budget constraints led to a development of program in four categories: social, monetary, intellectual, and circulation/ utilities. Based on a roughly 14,000-18,000 square foot total as determined by budget, these programmatic elements were mapped out and began to be arranged based on an interest in conveying the experiential nature of caving through a modifier of sound and echolocation. By placing these four categories at different locations tied to relative to one another at distances determined by their relative size and allowing them to resonate “frequencies” (again, proportional to size), individual programmatic elements can be placed at the intersections of these waves and begin to suggest programmatic relationships and phsyical layout. By placing the social category at the “front” of the space in line with the NSS’ new outreach efforts, a spatialized system of program can be established and form can be influenced by the frequency of the relationships between individual program elements, rendered in the occupant’s awareness through speed/distance of travel, sectional change, physical overlap, etc.
INSTRUCTOR: U. Sean Vance
DATE: 1.12 - 4.12
Equilibrium was intended to create a publication exploriing research and scaled design interventions with the aim of bringing together advancements in medical processes, along with entrepreneurial and engineering considerations that are influential in the development of a new doctrine of architecture. This way of thinking was meant to foster a pradigm shift from a focus solely on accessibility into a more holistic and responsive architecture of the physical body and mental state. Our research and interventions were developed along thre avnues for measuring physical exertion: the body at play, at work, and at rest, with rest being defined as the act of respire and recovery. By examining the exertion of the body at play, work, and rest, the resulting designs aim to define new methodologies for architecture related to design and health.
Our research began with a series of explorations examining the physical and perceptual limitations that the surrounding environment exerts on the occupant and vise versa. An understanding of these limitations and their origins, either internal or external, allowed for the development of several small scale design interventions meant to raise awareness of the subtle effects of the environment on its occupants.
The final phase involved an exploration of the nearby University of Michigan hospital layout to identify the key characteristics and shortcomings that exist inherently in the relationship between the deisgn of the built and environment and the intended use of its occupants. The resulting research and proposed interventions were then released as a bound publication intended as a starting point for a new thought paradigm for influencing future design models.
http://www.issuu.com/useanvance/docs/ equilibrium_universal_design_primer_w2012_ webversi
INSTRUCTOR: Stephen Christensen
DATE: 01.10 - 04.10
TIJAUNA, MEXICO
The concept of the project was to reimagine the paradigm of the international border crossing by conceptualizing security protocols as areas of design operation rather than inherent restriction. The project seeks to dematerialize the idea of border typology as linear barricade by creating a central zone around which all circulation occurs, anchored through the shared activity of spectatorship facilitated by the stadium program. This theme of specatorship allows for visitors from both sides of the border to interact with one another while maintaining the physical separation necessary for security reasons. The building employs folding as a formal language due to its capacity to mediate threshold and its ability to reimagine the way the threshold of a border crossing can be formalized. As visitors circulating through the building’s two spiraling and interlocking paths, the line of the border disintegrates, allowing the occupants to focus on the unity created through the shared experience at its focal point.
INVOLVEMENT:
PROJECT DESIGNER
- Responsible for Schematic Design, Design Development, + Construction Documents
- Produced all Drawings, Details, + Renderings
- Reviewed Submittals + Shop Drawings
- Oversaw Construction Administration
directly for the duration of the project
FIRM:
Klein and Hoffman, Inc.
COMPLETION DATE:
October 2014
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
The skylight replacement project at Shedd Aquarium offered a unique opportunity to provide a new glass enclosure for the main rotunda dome that both offered improved energy efficiency and reduced solar heat gain, but also updated the aesthetics to both compliment the newer addition of the dolphin enclosure while paying respect to the horizontality of the original 1920’s skylight that was lost with the earlier skylight replacement in the 1960’s. Direct coordination and approval of the project design from the Illinois Landmarks Society was required due to the building’s status as a city and state landmark.
The final design utilized a four-sided butt- glazed system to create a fully-weatherproof and uninterrupted plane to protect the rotunda interior, with an applied aluminum cap to mimic the emphasized horizontal banding present in the original design. Rehabilitation of the copper flashing, cast lead crestings, and decorative terra cotta was also included as a part of the project.
Additional images provided courtesy of Berglund Construction. All rights reserved.
(Photos courtesy of Berglund Construction)
INVOLVEMENT:
PROJECT PRIMARY DESIGNER
- Responsible for Schematic Design, Design Development, + Construction Documents
- Produced all Drawings, Details, + Renderings - Reviewed Submittals + Shop Drawings
FIRM:
Klein and Hoffman, Inc.
COMPLETION DATE:
July 2013
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
The Pipefitters’ 597 Union Headquarters is located in a late 1960’s bank building in the West Loop. The client was looking for an update to the storefront window design to improve the energy efficiency of the building, increase the privacy of the interior spacesm and modernize the dated aesthetics created by the rigid spacing of the existing gray anodized frames. Privacy was a particular challenge, as the site exists at the busy intersection of W. Washington Blvd. and N. Ogden Ave.
Several designs were developed to provide different framing and aesthetic options to the client. The final design took advantage of dark bronze framing and reflective bronze glass to give the daylight openings a more modern, monolithic appearance and bring the visual focus to the vertical spacing of the concrete frame instead of the indivdual spacing of the frames.
623 South Wabash
INVOLVEMENT:
PROJECT PRIMARY DESIGNER
- Responsible for Schematic Design, Design Development, + Construction Documents
- Produced all Drawings, Details, + Renderings - Reviewed Submittals + Shop Drawings
- Oversaw Construction Administration
directly for the duration of the project
FIRM:
Klein and Hoffman, Inc.
COMPLETION DATE:
December 2014
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
The property at 623 South Wabash is an arts fabrication and classroom building associated with Columbia College Chicago located in the early 1920’s Studebaker building in the South Loop. The client was looking for an update to the granite panel design above the main entry in conjunction with a facade rehabilitation project to restore the existing terra cotta, masonry, and windows on the north, south, and west elevations. Coordination was a challenge with the project, as the college need to remain open and in operation for the duration of the work, including the replacement of approximately 35 windows in various classrooms.
Several configurations were developed for adjusting the laryout of the granite panels to normalize the proportions in relation to the rest of the elevation. Options for using panelized terra cotta were also included in an attempt to blend the materiality of the panels with the rest of the elevation.
