STUDIO 2020
P 04 Collective Housing Project: Clustered Communities
Inspired by the familial and community-based lifestyle of the red cockaded woodpeckers which are now endangered in Virginia and the US as a whole, this project is centered around supporting members of the community and encouraging togetherness through open spaces and clustering of interior spaces to encourage social interaction between residents and the surrounding public. With a main community center being located off the busy W Broad St, there will be opportunities for the wandering public to come in and socialize, get food, or help out the community. This area will also be a safe space for homeless and impoverished persons of the community to spend the night in a small organized hostel area and spaces dedicated to support through food pantry and donation based functions. The apartment area is meant to be a more clustered concept, with a focus on intertwining living spaces visually and organizationally. There is also a walkable community space below these elevated, tree-house-like units which allows for gathering spaces in an outdoor, yet covered, area. Not only are the structures built through inspiration by the red cockaded woodpeckers, but they are built to support and sustain the birds through the long-leaf pines that run throughout the apartment complex and in the community centered spaces. Overall, this project is centered around the idea of community, both in creation and encouragement of what is already surrounding.
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P 03 Dwelling With Neighbors: Termite Tower
Termites are known as destroyers and enemies to the architects, however, this project explores these enigmatic creatures as the architects themselves. Commonly known as decomposers, termites chew holes through dead material such as wood as their source of food. The strategic decomposition leads to the formation of their own homes, mounds in the ground, that have a focus on circulation and revolve around one central tube that connects to a wider network of tunnels in which termites come together and live as a colony. Built for two sloppy entomologists, this complex deals with the same circulation strategies as the termite nests as well as provides the duo with a chance to get a closer look at the creatures that fascinate them so much.
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P 01 Micro Dwelling: Tío Charlie’s Treasure Trove
Charles Juhasz-Alvarado, or Tío Charlie to those who know him as such, is a wildly eccentric sculptor living on the very edge of Puerto Rico in Old San Juan. Working in the large scale, Tío Charlie sculpts using primarily wood and metal, and has grown a fascination with insect habits of design and community. Particularly showing a focus on the study of bees and termites, he incorporates hexagonal shapes into the bulk of his work and continuously analyzes the both constructive and destructive lifestyles of the termites that eat away at his wooden art pieces. When he’s not working with bugs, he spends his time in the kitchen, fascinated with the art of cuisine and cultures of his heritage.
The design of this building deals with both the allusions to Charlie’s work and fascinations, and the limitations that come with building living spaces in the humid and salty environment of Puerto Rico. The design resolves the struggles of still humid air with ventilation systems that puncture th facade, barred with old spanish-style wodden poles that echo the visuals of the old city. The overall shape of the structure mimics that of a beehive, with the hexagonal modules scattered throughout the plan and section views. Additionally, the flow of the interior, being very much tunnel-like, is meant to allude to the termite nest building method. In terms of function, a malleable working space both in the kitchen and studio has been cruated for desired functionality. Additional details offer ideas of clustered forms that play with the idea of community in bug life that fascinates Tío Charlie. |
TECTONICS CLASS
A class based around formal, spatial, and anatomical analysis of architecture, Tectonics tasked us students with breaking down the elements that brought life to buildings. Through the use of diagrams, the following "Sketches" are meant to convey my understanding of 3 different buildings, draw comparisons between two structures that seemingly have no connection, and explore and analyze material quality and how it aids in the experiential and aesthetic outcome of a structure.