top of page

Second and Third Year Portfolio

California Polytechnic State University-

San Luis Obispo

 

ar·chi·tec·ture /‘är-kə-ˌtek-chər’/ noun

-the art or science of building; specifically  :  the art or practice of designing and building structures and especially habitable ones

-formation or construction resulting from or as if from a conscious act  

-a unifying or coherent form or structure

 

 

 

Anchor 4

the [HIVE]- On-Campus Co-op Experience

Restaurant | Gym | Residences

San Luis Obispo, California

Spring Quarter 2016

hive /ˈhīv/ noun

-a place swarming with activity

-the usually aboveground nest of bees

 

Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo is a campus that is constantly growing and with the addition of the [HIVE], the Master's program will be able to expand into and occupy Poly Canyon. the [HIVE]'s location is a twenty minute walk from the heart of campus and will allow the Master students to learn, work, and live within the canyon while still being able to enjoy the main campus' amenities. Working within a group of four, we divided the campus into three different programs: "Understand the history of the Canyon," "Work within the Canyon," and "Live within the Canyon." We each then focused on a part of the program and connected our buildings by allowing the public to move throughout the campus on the same topography line. My program was focused on "Live within the Canyon" and encompassed the main restaurant, gym, and residences for the Master students.

​

The program divides itself into three different buildings and forces the inhabitants to connect with natures as they move in and out of the connecting interstitial spaces. The restaurant and gym are on the same topography line and creates a zone for the public and private residences to intermix as they go about their day to day activities.  While within these public spaces, the views are focused inwards towards the canyon and frame specific viewpoints. As the master students move away from the restaurant they can walk up an open and communicative outdoor stair that moves them towards the residences.  

 

Taking the concept of coding pods from my previous project, [SHOP] Local, I further expanded upon this idea to better understand the connection between offices and residences. As a result, sleeping pods are created within the first floor of the Residences. Wanting to create two different experiences for the residences, they can decide between a private room or a sleeping pod. Inhabitants of the sleeping pods are able to move their rooms in a horizontal direction along a track system. This mechanized system allows the user to move away from the central atrium and towards the exterior facade of the building. Within each of the sleeping pods, the unique shape allows framed views toward the canyon and the experience of the outdoors in.  

​

If the students decide to live within the [HIVE], then they are able to constantly collaborate and interact with their fellow peers as technology, design, and innovative ideas spread constantly between them.

​

Anchor 1

[SHOP] LOCAL- High Tech Office Space

Seattle, Washington

Winter Quarter 2016

lo·cal /‘lōk(ə)l’/ adjective

- belonging or relating to a particular area or neighborhood, typically exclusively so

 

Seattle is such a dynamic city and it currently accounts for the second largest number of cranes in the world. [SHOP] Local serves as a collaborative space that meets the growing demand of the surrounding area and work force generation shift. After researching workplace trends and workspace design, I decided to focus on two key concepts, High Collaboration and Visibility. If these two concepts are successfully achieved within the office building, it will lead to increased innovation, creativity, and productivity for the inhabitants. 

 

The definition of a typical workday is rapidly evolving and technology allows people to work anywhere and everywhere. [SHOP] local gives people a reason to come into work everyday and fosters an innovative space that is flexible and allows the users to maintain a work/life balance.  Gestural model exploration led to my form driven concept of Beehive versus engine. "Beehive" constitutes the very visible and open five level atrium space that is located on the East side of the site. Achieving a sense of visibility within the atrium space, I wanted to allow the public as they walked in to be able to look up and see what was occurring within the office space. This creates a visible connection between the public and the workers, but also allows the workers to feel a visual connection to different aspects of the office . Studies show that developers who are working are coding are more productive in office spaces of one to two people. Using this research, I developed the idea of the coding pods that are cantilevered off of the 3rd floor- floor slab. These one person work spaces service as a functional, but aesthetically pleasing space that intersects the glass box's void. The "engine" is the intersecting part of the building that houses the mechanical systems, structural cores, floor slabs, and open floor office space. 

 

Wanting to create different zones within the building for different occupants, I brought in inspirations from different aspects of Seattle. [PLAY] Ground, [EXPLORE] Seattle, [under] GROUND, and [Reflect]ion are all collaborative spaces that are located at the hub of the circulation paths within the buildings.  These four zones are strategically placed to facilitate creativity by bouncing ideas off of each other and allows people across multiple disciplines to collaborate towards one common goal.  [PLAY] Ground makes up the first floor and fosters collaboration between the public and private offering a café, farmers market, and gym. [EXPLORE] Seattle is a common break room that allows multiple disciplines to work together and interact with each other. [Under] GROUND is differentiated from the façade and allows meditation and relaxation rooms to be occupied as people try and escape from the craziness of the everyday work force. Last, but not least on the journey up the open and communicative stair is [REFLECT] ion. This overhead circular form is the final destination as you more upwards within the building and provides views towards the space needle. Users are then able to take escape from reality above the city and then can return back to their workstation more refreshed and revived. 

 

If we are constantly going to live most of our day to day lives within an office space, how do we evolve the workplace for the evolving generations to come? 

 

Anchor 2

Center for Synthesized Sound- D I S S O N A N C E

San Francisco, California

Fall Quarter 2015

dis·so·nance /‘disənəns’/ noun

- lack of harmony among musical notes

-a tension or clash resulting from the combination of two disharmonious or unsuitable elements

 

 

Along San Francisco’s infamous waterfront and tourist destinations is

D I S S O N A N C E, located at the corner of The Embarcadero, Bay Street, and Kearny Street. The 29,000 square foot Center for Synthesized Sound has the perfect location with street access from all three sides of the triangular site and breathtaking views out towards the Bay, Coit Tower, and Pier 39. Located in close proximity to everything San Francisco has to offer is the Center for Synthesized Sound where people can come and study and enjoy synth music.

 

Synth music was created by various components all coming together. sometimes the sound waves were in sync with each other or they would collide and create dissonance. Inhabitants experience the music in various parts of the building such as the underground small hall or elevated main hall. The different cores have so much to offer and as a result the occupants can learn about the music through the exhibition halls or enjoy a relaxing lunch at the restaurant while listening to the musician’s play. The three major paths of circulation are through the main core’s lobby

through the exhibition space to the restaurant, one to the main hall, and the last one through the music classrooms and administrative space to the outdoor multi-purpose space. The third core has cascading patios that interact with the corner of the embarcadero and bay and the outer cores have a skin system that follows the programmatic spaces and creates shading for the south and west facades.

Anchor 3

Film Institute-

Catalyst

Palm Springs, California

Spring Quarter 2015

cat·a·lyst /‘ka-tə-ləst’/ noun

- a substance that enables a chemical reaction to proceed at a usually faster rate or under different conditions than otherwise possible

-an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action

 

Located at the corner of North Museum Drive and West Tahquitz Canyon Way, two blocks from Palm Spring's downtown, is Catalyst.  The Film Institute allows locals or tourists to learn about film making and experience the films being shown in theaters.  Inhabitants can go to the library, learn about films in the classrooms, attend film showings, or reside in the on campus apartments. Films for many people serve as an escape from reality and the chaos of everyday life. When watching a movie trailer, often times the

viewer only gets a hint of what the movie is about. Throughout movies there is often a parallel of reality vs. illusion, what the audience sees vs. what the character sees, or sometimes two parallel storylines.

 

With the program, it’s broken up into public versus private with the public spaces located on the first floor with quiet, private spaces above. These two program spaces run parallel to each other and when the circulation is added in on the second floor it creates a collaborative patio that looks down into the courtyard below. The orientation of the building allows the northwest winds to travel throughout the space cooling all aspects of the building. The outdoor viewing area is sunken into the ground allowing a public gathering space that can be utilized during the day and transformed at night when the wall is moved out. Due to the hot and arid climate of Palm Springs, the use of concrete as a thermal mass allows passive heating and cooling to occur

throughout the course of the day. It is used in a way that the inhabitants of the building are forced to look inward towards the central courtyard or out towards the neighboring mountains. It’s similar to a movie at the climax when all the different characters and storylines come together into one main idea. The film institute becomes an escape from reality for the public when people are able to utilize the space and everything is focused inward around the central couryard.

Anchor 5

Little Italy Design Library-

Cognition

San Francisco, California

Winter Quarter 2015

cog·ni·tion /‘käg-ˈni-shən’/ noun

-conscious mental activities : the activities of thinking, understanding, learning, and remembering

 

Cognition is a Design Library located in Little Italy at the corner of Union and Stockton Street. The site's location is at the corner of Washington Square Park and allows the library to serve as a central area for locals and tourists to learn about the Italian culture.  Within the building on various levels there are quality library spaces that house a collection focusing on 20th Century Italian design. Adult and teen reading rooms are differentiated from the facade and allow inhabitants to look onto the park and surrounding area, yet still provides privacy between the screen cladding. The screen serves two purposes: one- it wraps around the second and third floor for privacy and two- it provides shading to prevent the books from getting sun damage. The first floor is very visible with full height glass windows that allow people walking by to understand what's going on in the community exploration room and coffee shop. The mezzanine level looks out over the building and allows the users to enjoy the views of George Washington Park and Coit Tower.  The exhibition spaces are broken up within the second and third floor to allow varying experiences depending on the exhibition's needs. People exploring San Francisco are able to get away from the chaos of the street and truly immerse themselves in learning more about the Italian Culture and it's design history.

bottom of page