Student Design Portfolio

MARIA C. KENNEDYM.Arch Option IIUniversity of Oregon 2013

B.S. in ArchitectureUniversity of Minnesota Twin Cities

Maria Kennedy114 Winn TerraceBeaver Dam, [email protected]

CONTACT INFO:

DISCOVERING PLACE 1

DRAWING CONCLUSIONS

EXPLORING MATERIAL

TRACING TYPOLOGY

DIVERSIFYING DENSITY

DESIGNING URBAN PLACES

SHARING IDENTITY

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5

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CONTENTS

9

TREETOP TOWER

GRADUATE MEDIA

This design evolved using a playful meth-od of modeling with a “kit of parts” to create a place for three programmatic elements: a bed, solitary chair, and table with three chairs. As an explorative design study, this project required care-ful thought about what makes a formal space into a meaningful, memorable place. Using the simple spatial elements floor, wall, and roof, the site was re-configured through numerous iterations.

Implied boundaries, differentiation of spaces using the floor plane, and views toward a central space were used to organize the program and cre-ate meaningful places. This project re-quired consideration of what elements are essential in articulating spaces and how these relate to the scale of the human body. The design explores how traditionally formal elements gain meaning and define the human experi-ence and other phenomenal qualities.

floor + wall + roofmaterials: chipboard, balsa wood, card-board, modeling clay, plexiglassstudio II: spring 2010Prof. Lance Lavine

DISCOVERING PLACE1

This set of drawings is the result of an in-depth study and analysis of the cen-tral staircase in Rapson Hall, the archi-tecture building on the University of Minnesota campus. Through numerous study sketches, I became interested in how the staircase acts as an anchor for the central circulation space in which it is located. It is a meeting place for movement, light, and volume in both the horizontal and vertical directions. Subtle design decisions like the care-ful placement of windows and light-ing, and the juxtaposition of voids and massing emphasize its importance as a central pivot point within Rapson Hall.

DRAWING CONCLUSIONS2

building analysismaterials: pencil on bristol, white pencil on black architectural drawing: fall 2008Prof. Andrzej Piotrowski

This project involved an iterative pro-cess of refining diagrammatic concepts and design ideas using different medi-ums. Focus was placed on exploration of how material choice affects the meth-od of making, the character of spaces, and the relation to the human scale. The challenge was in maintaining overarching design concepts while translating these ideas to different materials and methods of construction. Determining the ap-propriate method of making based on the inherent properties of each mate-rial challenged the design concept and allowed ideas to become clearly refined and developed throughout the semester.

This study explores how variations in the ground and ceiling planes create a sense of compression and release, re-sulting in the feeling of both physical and phenomenal heaviness and lightness at different points along the path. Section diagrams were used as early spatial ex-periments, which were refined based on information about the program and site.

EXPLORING MATERIAL3

materials and spacematerials: mdf, foam molds, plaster, bris-tol paperstudio I: fall 2009Prof. Dan Clark, Martha McQuade + Andrew Dull

Several iterations of digital photographs were represented spatially in the form of MDF wood blocks. These blocks were then arranged into a spatial path, forming the basis for the first itera-tion of the plaster model. Numerous refinements in plaster resulted from the gradual introduction of information about the site and program, which in-cluded a community room, bathrooms, and a bus stop. Shifting the material from heavy plaster to lightweight paper, introduced unique structural properties and distinct ways of thinking about the relationship between void and space.

The program involves creating a con-necting pathway through a city block in a multicultural neighborhood just west of the Minneapolis campus. This path-way uses the location and heaviness of the overhead planes and changes in the height or material of the ground to de-fine spaces for waiting, sitting, walking, and gathering. The final paper model ad-opted a system of scoring and folding, so that all non-structural walls and ceilings are part of one ribbon-like piece of paper.

site

final model

final model path

path in plaster

This measured documentation of the courtyard in the Benito Juarez Law School in Oaxaca, Mexico was a learn-ing experience in the process of ana-lyzing typology. By drawing and expe-riencing the spaces and comparing our knowledge of this courtyard with others studied in studio class, we determined the essential elements of the courtyard type and gained a deeper understanding of the role of typology in architecture.

This study also led to an awareness of the importance of people in determining the character of an architectural space. This courtyard has a very dwarfing scale and formal feel when it is not populated by the crowds of students who use it daily. They enliven this social gathering space, and it becomes a much more hab-itable and comfortable place when filled with people. This unexpected character and function, determined by the people, contribute to the rich collective memo-ry of the building, and demonstrate the central role of the user in how archi-tecture is experienced and interpreted.

TRACING TYPOLOGY4

My partner and I shared the measuring and docu-mentation work equally. I personally completed the wall section and elevation drawings.

courtyard documentationpartner: Miranda LaBergematerials: ink on mylarstudio II: spring 2010Prof. Lance Lavine

typical wall section

A A

section A-A

This mixed-use dense housing complex is located on a vacant site in a St. Paul historic district with views of the down-town skyline. The site slopes to the west, and is bordered by East 7th Street, a ma-jor thoroughfare on its north side. A rain garden is located in the lowest corner and green roofs cover all of the buildings.

The site is organized into three distinct public courtyard spaces whose char-acters are determined by the types of housing that surround them. The fam-ily garden courtyard at the eastern end of the site acts as a communal garden space for the surrounding family-style apartments. The central open area is a park and plaza, with a bus stop, planter-benches, and a statue commissioned by a local artist. The urban professionals courtyard has an open paved area for markets and events with gently terraced steps that emphasize the natural topog-raphy of the site. The low basin can be flooded in winter to create an ice-skating rink. Facades on the exterior are more respectful of the historic context, while those facing the courtyards are more modern in their massing and materials.

existing site conditions

longitudinal section

DIVERSIFYING DENSITY5

proposed development

My partners and I worked equally on the design and group drawings. I worked on the specific building plans, sections, and elevation individually.

East 7th Street

dense housing proposalpartners: Louis Martin + Briana Turgeon-Schrammmaterials: mdf, autocad and adobe suitestudio III: fall 2010Prof. Julia Robinson

urban context

first floorurban professional courtyard

public park + plaza

family garden courtyard

second floor

third floorsection A-A

street elevation courtyard elevation

A

A

individual building design

I chose to study the faces of individuals from various cultures to see how their faces are both unique and similar. I am interested in how we often perceive others as very different from ourselves, but yet we all share the same features and understand the same expressions and emotions. I wanted to portray the unique cultural identity and emotion of each person while using composition and medium to emphasize the commonality and beauty of our shared human traits.

SHARING IDENTITY6

final projectmaterials: charcoal on dry mediumintroductory drawing: spring 2008Teaching Assisstant Toby Sisson

This project involved the redesign of a public plaza located in Oaxaca, Mexico, a historic World Heritage Site city with a vibrant arts culture and very public com-munity. Maintaining the use of the exist-ing buildings, which include the basilica of the patron saint of Oaxaca, Soledad, the city hall, a music school, a smaller church, and a popular marketplace spe-cializing in traditional ice cream, was es-sential. The site acts as a path between the two major thoroughfare streets that border it, meaning it must be a place that offers the opportunity to pass through easily and to socialize and spend time.

New program required the addition of a library, exhibition space, and a private home for the city historian. The chal-lenge of adding more program into an already complex space and find-ing a way to create a private realm in the center of such a public space were instrumental in our design solution.

DESIGNING URBAN PLACE7

public plaza redesignpartners: Miranda LaBerge, Sam Shafermaterials: chipboard, balsa wood, butter-board, ink on mylarstudio II: spring 2010Prof. Lance Lavine

redesign site model

longitudinal site section

exhibition + library section

existing site photos

This design creates large public spaces directly at the level of the street that create a physical and visual connec-tion to the city, removing the barri-ers that currently exist in the plaza. These spaces are inspired by success-ful public places in Oaxaca, and provide many opportunities for various pro-grams and interactions to take place.

The extension of the street level into the site causes the elevation change to be condensed in the middle of the site, where the additional programmatic ele-ments are efficiently arranged onto the central platform. This area also serves as a connection to all existing buildings. The stairs punch through the platform spaces and run parallel to the platforms, encouraging users to walk through the site and interact with the many activities that bring Oaxacan public spaces to life.

I was an equal contributor in the design scheme and model building. I collaborated with other team members on completeing the drawings, but worked primarily on the site section, diagrams, and building setion drawings.

middle plaza toward Soledad church

redesign axonometric lower plaza toward ampitheater

view through outdoor exhibition space

This cabin is located in northern Min-nesota on the shores of Lake Vermil-lion. Each student worked with a po-tential client, interviewed them to understand their needs and desires for a vacation retreat. After a weekend site visit, two different sketch model ideas were presented to the clients, Mike and Judy Theron, a middle-aged couple living in an adaptive reuse condo in the warehouse district of Minneapolis.

The verticality of trees on the site in-spired form of the cabin, as well as the desire to minimize the footprint in or-der to preserve as many existing trees as possible on the wooded site. The Therons were inspired by the idea of inhabiting the treetops, so the master bedroom suite is located on the fourth floor with views to the south. The main living space occupies a double volume space on the third and fourth floors, while a more intimate gathering space connects the first and second floors. The Therons wanted space for their children and grandchildren to visit, which is lo-cated on the two lower levels. The stairs encircle the “trunk” and hang from the larger fourth floor plate, emphasizing the drama of the climb to the treetops.

TREETOP TOWER8

cabin for Mike + Judy Theronmaterials: chipboard, balsa wood, mdf, plexiglass, autocad, prismacolor pencilsstudio IV: spring 2011Prof. Dale Mulfinger

site contextcontext photos

site plan view toward cabin location

north-south section west elevation south elevation east elevation north elevation

parti first floor second floor third floor fourth floor

site perspective looking south

A sample of various media from my graduate work thus far at the Uni-versity of Oregon is included here.

Technical detail drawings from Building Enclosures demonstrate detail drawings for a panelized brick facade and para-pet wall connection to the roof and for a heavy timber frame roof edge detail.

Also included are schematic design work for my current studio project, Eugene City Hall. The plans are from the midterm review, and the perspec-tive sketches were also completed at a similar time in the design pro-cess. Although the design has evolved since then, the perspectives served as a useful design development tool.

GRADUATE MEDIA9

various media projectsmaterials: pen, pencil, marker, autocadstudio 584, building enclosures + design process media classProf. Don Corner + Prof. Jim Givens

INCA MODULAR MISSION BRICKS

3” FOIL FACE POLYISOCYANURATE RIGID BOARD

SOLDIER COURSE

TWO-PIECE FLASHING

STEEL ANGLE AT HORIZONTAL PANEL JOINT

2” FREE AIR SPACE

COLT SOLARFIN FIXED SHADE

BRICK TIE

BLUESKIN

PPG SOLARBAN GLASS 60

ALUMINUM WINDOW MULLION

W18 CASTELLATED STEEL BEAM

COMPOSITE FLOOR DECK

TAPERED RIGID BOARD INSULATION

CANT STRIP

BALLAST

BASE FLASHING

CAP FLASHING

TREATED PLYWOOD

ROOF MEMBRANE (EPDM)

CROSS BEAM

6” STEEL BACKUP STUD, 20 GAUGE

STEEL ANGLE

INTERIOR GYPSUM BOARD 5/8”

STEEL CHANNEL

VEGETATION

GROWING MEDIUM

COURSE ROCK AGGREGATE

COLT SOLARFIN FIXED SHADE SHADE SUPPORT TIED INTO STUD

METAL FLASHING

PROJECT 2DRAWING 5WINDOW HEAD AT BRICK WALL TO TOP OF PARAPETSCALE: 1-1/2” = 1’ 0”Maria Kennedy Section 1800h, GTF: Eric C.

brick parapet wall to roof detail

roof edge detail

eugene city hall first floor plan second floor plan

second story foyer plaza view

surrounding arcade in front of ground floor commercial entrance arcade