M.Arch Portfolio by Alex Stitt

breach

housing+museum for new orleans

house on whittier peninsula

sample highrise(s)

columbus hotel + casino

dupont circle addition

glen echo residence

residence for an inventor

independent photography

throughout

academic

ohio state university | knowlton school of architecture

verge

“the terrible alone is sublime.” -Edmund Burke the eroded structure of the old mint museum in New Orleans anchors a cluster of housing and museum programs whose suspended and linear condition draw on existing housing typologies of the gulf coast. a network of layered arteries begin as linear site lines converging on the mint museum’s carcass, which then form into circulation spines and other monotonous constructs that serve to augment the otherwise simple and remote condition of the program clusters. a storm is more than an assemblage of complex relationships and forces at a specific location at a specific time, it becomes an autonomous thing that leaves its mark on a city for years, and occupies a rectilinear built environment with it’s organic destruction. in the same way, the individual elements of the arteries diverge from their course and reconfigure themselves as nodes of inhabitable public spaces, while always maintaining a connection to the original network that occupies the orthogonal mint museum frame. unlike a storm the arteries are curated and operate at a scale in which human activity inside, around, and through them is facilitated as they oscillate from being singular to collective throughout the building. by witnessing the same elements act in vastly different manners throughout, the visitor is simultaneously aware of the relationship between their immediate locality and the collective, and how these two can never be divided.

alex stitt | housing+museum for new orleans | arch 341 | fall 2005

artery typologies singular

ground

mid

air collective time

siteʼs relationship to stormʼs occupation of new orleans

residential clusters

public clusters

activity clusters between

material ﬂow of arteries between

breadth of ﬂood vs. concentration of inﬂunece in new orleans

forces occupying substrate | wood, pvc, elastane | 9’ - 0” tall

forces occupying mueseum as individual tectonic elements

forces occupying mueseum as free elements

a moment of uncultivated nature is found within downtown Columbus, offering a relief from a linear, urban, and expected lifestyle, while at the same time engaging with it. the difference between subtle formal shifts arising from nature and the often violent relationship between city and nature is studied to reproduce the juxposition and tension found in an urban river environment.

alex stitt | house on whittier peninsula | arch 243 | spring 2005

car collection

kid’s

park

living

art

kitchen

garden

first floor plan

master/guest boat launch

studio

ground plan

art

second floor plan

curved elements support the house’s structure, circulation, systems, and act as flood deterrents, mimicking the adjecent natural forms continually shaped by river forces. orthogonal elements penetrate the countour of the structure as occupiable spaces, much in the way our human-hand occupies nature in a context such as the engineered/urban river. while in these programmatic spaces the visitor is offered a suspended view of the river and nature. quickly they become aware of their audience role in relation to the two, and are offered direct access via the curved elements.

3D fields

alex stitt | sample highrise(s) | arch 441 | autumn 2006

this project went on to contemplate site + program, but I prefer to think of it how I show it here: not as one big piece of program, but multiple fragments all over the city/world. much in how a sample never truly begins or ends the tension between normative and expressive in this system does not limit itself to specific location. instead its can be used as a processor of human emotions that transcend place/ cultural differences.

sample range 2D field

this three week project borrows techniques from the world of hiphop production to generate form. a single element of expressive optimism (a support detail from a ken yang canopy) was selected, chopped, looped and reconfigured the way a producer would with preexisting musical beats to make something new. a buoyant-feeling Gorillaz song was reinterpreted in terms of the moods, feelings and affects it gives its audience. the two were synced-up and the element underwent a metamorphosis from a single part in a specific context to an entirely new visual entity that lends itself to the range of emotions of the musical experience. this range was then denied the specificity of the song and turned into a field-condition that represented possible configurations and relationships between the parts/units (expressive) and the whole (the normative field). this sample of interactions between normative and expressive was translated into a three dimensional “sampler”.

this project called for a casino, hotel, and a retail/entertainment center in the heart of downtown Columbus. a city without a strong juxtaposition between urban and non-urban moments, the aim was to introduce an architectural promenade to the city that bridges these two extremes. this path bends back in upon itself so that the urban and “wild”/ non-urban pockets come together and become visually linked, while remaining separated in section, the experience becomes about wandering between the two, constantly shifting between the direct and indirect access and dialogue of both. the casino, seen from yet sunken below the street, sets up the specific organization of the path between the two extremes, which become retail and restaurant programs. at the same time, the changes in section that correspond to the change from urban to non-urban are consolidated in the interior casino room so that a hyper-juxtaposition of urban and non- urban layers become apparent from there: the casino becomes a tool of hyper- voyeurism.

alex stitt | columbus hotel + casino | arch 442 | winter 2007

predictability turned on it’s head

casino & filtering of hotel bars

casino activated by natural vs. urban

on high street through casino room

filtering

hard edge of high street vs. casino

urban natural

hotel bar setting up path through

converging

path exposing conflicts between urban and natural

retail retail

hotel

retail

admin

retail casino

hotel

admin

entertainment hotel entertainment

entertainment

ground

street

hotel

brevity

amass

david jameson architect

professional

HSS5X4X3/8

1/2"

8’ − 11 1/8"

this addition to a 19th century rowhouse stacks zoningconfined 12’x12’ floating floor plates inside a container of varying levels of transparency. containing a kitchen, sitting room and outdoor deck, this glass-box of program sits on top of and within a mass containing utility space and circulation. as project manager I have been involved at all stages from intial programming, schematic design, design development, consultant coordination, construction documentation, and through the current construction administration stage. all work shown was produced directly by me, with supervision from David Jameson, and is contained in one three-dimensional revit model.

1/2"

WALL SECTION @ D2-D3

3" = 1'-0"

A6.1

A 1/2x6 STEEL PLATE HSS6X2X3/8 WRAPPED IN PVC BEYOND SOLID STL 1/2"x1/2" @ VARYING LOCATIONS, TYP. 3/4"x3/4" SOLID STL @ 12" O.C., TYP.

LOW ROOF DECK 22' - 7 1/4"

3/4" MIN.

1 7/8"

HSS6X2X3/8

RUBBER FLOOR 1 1"

NEW ADDITION SECOND FLOOR 12' - 11" L6X3-1/2X1/2

CONCRETE 1 L6X3-1/2X1/2

NEW ADDITION FIRST FLOOR 2' - 7"

STUCCO 1

4" S.O.G. W/ 6X6-W1.4xW1.4 W.W.F., TYP. NEW GROUND LEVEL -5' - 7 1/2"

2" POLYISOCYANURATE INSULATION BOARD VAPOR BARRIER 4" GRAVEL

1’ − 0"

2'x12" CONT. CONC. FTG. W/ #4 BARS EA. WAY, BOT.

2’ − 0"

3 A6.0

WALL SECTION @ COLUMN A3

3" = 1'-0"

alex stitt | dupont circle addition | washington, dc | project manager | david jameson architect

F BATH 1

1 1/2"

1 1/4"

HSS9X5X5/8

3/4"

HSS6X2X3/8

RUBBER FLOOR 1 1"

L6X3-1/2X1/2 L6X3-1/2X1/2

HSS3X3X3/8

HSS6X2X3/8

HSS3X3X3/8

3/4"x3/4" SOLID STL @ 12" O.C., TYP.

HSS3X3X3/8

SITTING ROOM

STAIRWAY

HSS5X5X1/2

HSS6X2X3/8

STEEL TREADS 1

2 A4.1

structural model developed from direction from engineer

SECOND FLOOR PLAN DETAIL

3" = 1'-0"

B.1

B.9

C.9

F HSS5X4X3/8

L3X3X1/4

L6X3-1/2X1/2

HSS5X5X1/2

L6X3-1/2X1/2

L8X4X1/2

L6X3-1/2X1/2

LOW ROOF DECK 22' - 7 1/4" Existing Third Floor 20' - 11 1/2"

HSS5X4X3/8

L8X4X1/2

HSS8X3X3/8 HSS6X4X1/2

3/4"x3/4" SOLID STL @ 12" O.C., TYP.

HSS6X2X3/8

HSS5X5X1/2 L6X3-1/2X1/2 L6X3-1/2X1/2

L6X3-1/2X1/2

L6X3-1/2X1/2 NEW ADDITION SECOND FLOOR 12' - 11" L6X3-1/2X1/2 HSS5X5X1/2

Existing Second Floor 10' - 11 3/4"

HSS5X5X1/2

L6X3-1/2X1/2

HSS6X2X3/8

L6X3-1/2X1/2

L6X3-1/2X3/8

L6X3-1/2X1/2

HSS6X2X3/8

1/2"x1/2" SOLID STL @ VARYING LOCATIONS, TYP.

L6X3-1/2X3/8 NEW ADDITION FIRST FLOOR 2' - 7"

HSS8X6X5/8

Existing First Floor 0' - 0"

EXISTING MASONRY WALL 6" FULLY GROUTED CMU WALL

8" FULLY GROUTEDCMU WALL, W/#5@48" O.C. VERT., TYP.

NEW GROUND LEVEL -5' - 7 1/2"

steel members placed on site will be overlayed on top of engineer-required members, 12” on center, to diagram the building’s contextual and structural forces, while providing relief from an otherwise entirly open facade.

B.1

B.9

C.9

F A

C.9

+8’ - 2”

+18’ - 6”

+28’ - 2”

HIGH ROOF 32' - 7 1/4"

STUCCO 1 Existing Attic 30' - 1"

LOW ROOF DECK 22' - 7 1/4" Existing Third Floor 20' - 11 1/2"

NEW ADDITION SECOND FLOOR 12' - 11" Existing Second Floor 10' - 11 3/4"

0’ - 0”

GLASS 1

NEW ADDITION FIRST FLOOR 2' - 7"

STUCCO 1

STUCCO 1 Existing First Floor 0' - 0"

NEW GROUND LEVEL Existing Garage -5' - 7 1/2" -5' - 11 1/2"

alex stitt | glen echo residence | bethesda, md | project manager | david jameson architect

master suite

dining/ cooking

living

ground

office/ guest suite

open outdoor room

second

I am the project manager for this residence in the glen echo neighborhood of bethesda. with supervision from david jameson, I created all the images seen here, and am responsible for all phases of this project currently in design development. situated on a hill overlooking the potomac river, the architecture reuses the walls and foundations of the existing house as a base. the C-shaped outdoor roof acts as protection for the existing while the client occupies it during construction, then acts as aperture to nature once completed.

guidance from David Jameson called for a residence that could be built in two stages: first a continuous concrete ribbon that independently creates public space and provides structure for the second stage of off-site constructed capsules, containing private programs, which are inserted into the network. my design, selected from a pool of schemes created in the office, was then developed by myself and the project team. the following images were created by myself. the built-up north-eastern side of the project includes the entry, dinning room, kitchen and great room, which inhabit the space under the second level bedroom capsules and the interstitial ribbon space simultaneously. as the project moves to the more private south-western part of the site it becomes less dense and the ribbon begins to create interstitial space not only internally but also with itself on the exterior, creating a primary and numerous secondary courtyards.

alex stitt | residence for an inventor | woodside, ca | staff designer | david jameson architect

the ribbon not only stands on its own as a public space creator but also in conjuction with the directional nature of the capsules nodding to the site. the client’s facination with science lead the master suite to be oriented towards Stanford University’s satellite dishes and Bear Lake to the south-east, while the second level gallery and thrid level tower/sitting room open up to the bay and golden gate bridge to the northwest. the lower, less desnse, areas to the west respond to a less dramatic and more introspective part of the site which includes an olive tree grove.

office

pool

master great room

kitchen playroom

library

dining

courtyard guest’s suite kid’s

carport

park

office

portal

restrain

lunge

compose

qualm

fabric

education 09/03-06/07

bachelor of science, architecture//ohio state university//knowlton school of architecture 3.72 gpa (4.0 scale), magna cum laude, honors distinction

experience 09/08-present

resume

communion

david jameson architect, inc.//alexandria, va//project manager lead designer and project manager for 5 of the firm’s current projects

07/07-09/08

hamilton snowber architects, p.c.//washington, dc//architectural intern aided with sd, dd, bidding, cd, and ca

06/06-09/07

virginia sustainable building network//arlington, va//graphic designer created graphical layout of case study portion of non-profit’s directory

07/05-01/06

r.mcghee and associates//washington, dc//intern existing condition measurements, redlines, construction documents

09/02-06/03

fairfax county public schools//mclean, va//carpenter constructed 5,000 sf residence with other high school students through co-op program

awards

‘10 virginia society aia emerging leaders honors academy nomination, ‘07 knowlton school of architecture senior gui competition winner, ‘07 senior thesis scholarship award, ’06 harry e. phillian ‘38 scholarship, ‘06 IMI cladding system design competition winner, ‘06 usgbc emerging green builders natural talent (member of winning team), dean’s list 11 academic quarters

activity

american institute of architectural students elected vice president and appointed studio representative, knowlton school of architecture honors student, member of ohio state’s club ice hockey team, photography, film criticism, cooking, triathlons

skills

computer//revit, rhino, maya, 3dstudiomax, autocad, archicad, form z, sketchup, digital project/ catia, photoshop, illustrator, indesign, freehand, dreamweaver, microsoft office analog//sketching, drafting, wood shop work, clay sculpture, model making, photography