Portfolio

david folsomPORTFOLIO

david folsomPORTFOLIO

history. cities. culture.

in order for an individual to be success-ful in their occupation, they must have passion. passion in many ways is the offspring of living a life of purpose and having a vision for the better future. the study and pursuit of architecture has given me a passion for the subject mat-ter and a greater vision for my existence.

my love of architecture evolved from my love of history and cultures. cul-tures are often times defined by their architecture and that architecture tells a story about what a culture values.

the medieval cities in scotland, told me that these soaring walls and castles acted as mighty fortresses in a time when pro-

tection was paramount. the famous sky-scrapers of new york reveal a time when america was bent on showing our finan-cial dominance and ingenuity to rest of the world. the story of the mayans was made evident to me in their ancient capital city of chichen itza. their precision and atten-tion to detail was incredible. (pictured left is from the temple of one thousand pillars.)

architecture can be iconic or mundane but it all tells a story. this grouping of projects tells the story of my architectural discovery. what i love about my study and pursuit of archi-tecture is that with every work, i grow as a de-signer. the next project is usually conceived with more insight than the last. this pursuit is a continual evolution of my own culture.

contentschicago’s philharmonic hall

galileo’s pavilion

marvin hall building expansion

willis tower retrofi t

university of kansas botanical garden

a meditation on light

brookline ridge winery

chicago philharmonic hallindividual project

the design goal of this project was to cre-ate a building as a machine that would house a 2,000 seat philharmonichall. the site was on the shore of lake michigan in chicago, illinois. the new philharmonic hall would be another chi-cago city landmark that would rival the willis tower, the john hancock building and the bean.

there are many mechanized parts of this building that adapt to the weather, sun-light, and or functions taking place in the building. the fl anks of the building open up to allow patrons with 360 degree views of chicago and lake michigan. dur-ing intermission, the roof of the building opens up to allow star gazing through the glass enclosure of the music hall. for the socializing patron, a deck will extend out cantilevered over lake michigan before, after and during the performance.

this building has been named the “ma-chine for music.”

fi rst fl oor second fl oor

third fl oor fourth fl oor

fi fth fl oor

music hall fl oor plans

building transformations

opening wings and roof panels

extending deck bar and lookout

galileo’s pavilionstudio 804 project

the goal for the galileo pavilion is to cre-ate an environment which is a node of activity and interaction on the campus of johnson county community college. the building, situated to the south the campus main quad, incorporates and enhances the existing galileo sculpture designed in the 1980’s by sculptural artist dale el-dred. the design amplifi es the artist’s con-cept of working with the sun by showcas-ing the sun sculpture in the center of the main courtyard.

the building is approximately 3,300 square feet, housing two twenty fi ve oc-cupant classrooms, a student lounge/ ex-hibition space, coffee bar and conference room. the building is designed to be pas-sive haus certifi ed and leed platinum.

section

plan

1. Passive Solar Design.a Summer Solstice: 75 °.b Winter Solstice: 28 °2. Photovoltaic Solar Panels3. Living Roof4. Wind Turbine5. Cross Ventilation6. Cool Earth Tubes7. Thermal MassStone gabion wall8. High performance glazingTwin wall construction, operable windows9. Evaporative Cooling10. Radiant Heating-Cooling11. Super Insulation12. Energy Recovery Ventilator13. Rainwater Harvesting and Retention14. Draught Tolerant Landscaping

marvin hall expansionindividual and group

the proposed 30,000 square foot marvin hall expansion building at the university of kansas will accommodate the ever growing needs of the architecture and urban planning department. the building weaves its way into the university context by providing an inviting quad and enhanc-ing circulation paths frequently traveled by students and faculty. the four story stu-dio tower provides occupants with views of the kansas prairie south of lawrence, ks and the rest of the campus.

the program of the building was broken up into two wings and a prominent stu-dio tower. the north wing houses faculty offi ces while the south wing houses the architectural library, computer lab, con-ference room, and exhibition space.

many environmental factors were used in the design of this building. special con-sideration was given to passive heating and cooling techniques, rain water har-vesting and renewable energy production methods.

section

exploded axonometric

programmed spaces

shading elements

HVAC

structure

green roofs

site circulation

rain-water harvesting

circulation and egress

willis tower retrofi tindividual, four week project

retrofi tting the sears tower (aka. willis tower) was an enormous undertaking. the facade of the building is anodized alumi-num siding and single pane bronze refl ect-ing glass which does not provide much in the way of energy effi ciency. also, the tower relies solely on mechanical systems for heating and cooling. our goal is to re-duce the towers need for mechanical sys-tems for environmental control while also enhancing the programmatic functions of the world famous building.

the concept for the double envelope sys-tem was a blue glazing system resembling fl owing water defying gravity rushing up the tower and gushing over the setbacks to create spaces for additional program-ming. the water fl owing counter to the natural laws was derived from the his-toric reversal of the chicago river in by chicagoans in 1900.

a curtain wall is placed over the current facade and the current windows are replaced with double pane functional window. this provides much needed relief to the current conditions. the seven setbacks on the sears tower were also reprogrammed to facilitate a new gym, business offi ces, parks, and meeting rooms.

process

axonometric diagram

set back structure

the curtain wall resembles a waterfall rushing over a cliff. the glass begins to ripple at the base of the set-backs and continues on to meet the next facade. it gives the overall building a sense of movement.

curtain wall

kansas botanical gardenindividual, fi ve week project

situated on the university of kansas west campus, the university of kansas botani-cal garden and arboretum facilitates the growing and exhibition of many trees, shrubs, and fl owers that are native to kansas. the facilities include a high effi -ciency greenhouse, visitor’s center, farm-ing education center, and many acres of the native tall grass prairie.

the visitor’s center was placed at the south end of westbrooke road which has been lined with trees native to kansas to create a processional entrance to the bo-tanical garden. the visitor’s center build-ings are connected with a canvas canopy resembling the form of a buffalo’s back and beaconing the days of settlers cross-ing the prairie of kansas.

site plan

visitor’s center fl oor plan

01 Foyer02 Exhibition Space03 Hearth Area04 Educational Space05 Sun room06 Offi ce07 Mechanical Room08 Rest rooms09 Bookstore10 Reference Library11 Mechanical Space/ Storage12 Bathrooms13 Bakery Dining Space14 Bakery Kitchen

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meditation on lightindividual, two week project

a meditation on light is a non denomina-tional chapel on the university of kansas west campus. the site was on the west side of iowa st. directly south of the pio-neer cemetery in lawrence, kansas. the process included exploring fundamental tectonics as well as studying chapel prec-edents.

the purpose of the design was to create a warm comfortable atmosphere for in-dividuals seeking solace. at 12:00 p.m., the central isle space is completely lit by the sun. another method for bringing soft indirect light into the chapel is the use of clearstories and light baffl es. to control morning lighting conditions, louvers aim to allow for a view to the east while let-ting in enough light to light the space.

brookline ridge winerygroup, fi ve week project

the program for the winery on the prairie was to create a gravity fl ow winery that contains; grape receiving and crushing area, fermentation tanks, vintner lab, bot-tling, a barrel cellar, etc. the site is locate approximately forty miles south of kansas city, missouri. the wine maker is hoping to promote wine tourism with his winery.

the goal was also to create a building that would be off the power grid as much as possible. our initial process started with visiting a couple wineries and research-ing on the process of gravity fed wine making. the design was aimed at creat-ing a dialogue between production and consumption. the waving pavilion tied the production facility to the glass encased offi ce and tasting area to create a central space for gathering and potential parties.

concept model

plans and section

fi nal model

cv

architectural education

1998-2002 education in secondary school autocad and drafting

2009-2012 university of kansas

work experience

2011-2012 architecture intern, studio 804

2010-2011 graduate teaching assistant for building technology

course, university of kansas

2004-2011 ran contracting business for residential remodels and

construction, folsom contracting

2006-2008 business to business sales representative for metlife

group employee benefi ts

2005-2005 marketing intern for joe’s on shannon in melbourne, australia

publications

Lesnikowski, Wojciech. “New Philharmonic of Chicago - Three Concepts.” Archivolta Feb.

2011. Web.

*cover and feature article