Lee Tomolonis Portfolio of Work
SPRING 2023
ARCH 202 - Design Il (Site & Structure) Professor Bradley Morgan State University School of Architecture + Planning AREN + INTD Degree Program
Entertainer Housekeeper Child Observer Couple Shopper Criminal Shadow Caster Lounger Receiver PROJECT ONE WEARABLE ARCHITECTURE At the beginning of Project One, we were assigned a figure that oriented us within each subsequent project. I was assigned the observer, starting with a graphic interpretation of this figure in a land acknowledgment poster and correlating narrative. Using various mediums, I drew from childhood memories, DNA test results, and the land on which I grew up. Through inward exploration, outward research, and the iterative process, we carried this consideration into the design of a wearable piece of architecture. The materials were to be architectural and connect to our figure, personal history, and the land acknowledgment.
Land Acknowledgment Poster
5.60%
3.90%
ARCH 202-001
Lt Tomolonis
1.90%
0.30% AFRICAN
EUROPEAN
SOUTH ASIAN
ADMIXED AMERICAN
EAST ASIAN
35.40 % northern european 18.20 % british isles 14.50 % n.w. european 11.00 % toscani italy 9.30 % iberian
2.00 % gujarti indian 1.80 % punjabi 1.20 % sri lanka tamil 0.60 % bengali
1.90 % peruvian 1.00 % columbian 0.70 % mexican 0.30 % puerto rican
1.00 % japanese 0.20 % african carribean 0.60 % chinese dai 0.10 % esan in nigeria 0.20 % southern han chinese 0.10 % kinh vietnamese
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88.40%
88.40%
ia kas k
OSAGE OFO ADENA KASKASKIA MONONGAHELA MYAAMIA SHAWANDASSE HOPEWELL
City Chicken
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OSAGE OFO ADENA KASKASKIA MONONGAHELA MYAAMIA SHAWANDASSE HOPEWELL
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EUROPEAN
35.40 % northern european 18.20 % british isles 14.50 % n.w. european 11.00 % toscani italy 9.30 % iberian
5.60%
SOUTH ASIAN
2.00 % gujarti indian 1.80 % punjabi 1.20 % sri lanka tamil 0.60 % bengali
35.40 % northern european
ka
18.20 % british isles
1.90% EAST ASIAN 1.00 % japanese 0.60 % chinese dai 0.20 % southern han chinese 0.10 % kinh vietnamese
14.50 % n.w. european
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1.90 % peruvian 1.00 % columbian 0.70 % mexican 0.30 % puerto rican
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3.90% ADMIXED AMERICAN
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11.00 % toscani italy
9.30 % iberian
0.30% AFRICAN 0.20 % african carribean 0.10 % esan in nigeria
White Trash
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2.00 % gujarti indian 1.80 % punjabi 1.20 % sri lanka tamil 0.60 % bengali 1.90 % peruvian 1.00 % columbian 0.70 % mexican 0.30 % puerto rican 1.00 % japanese 0.60 % chinese dai 0.20 % southern han chinese 0.10 % kinh vietnamese 0.20 % african carribean 0.10 % esan in nigeria
6
iterations
City Chicken 88.40%
5.60%
ARCH 202-001
Lt Tomolonis
1.90%
3.90%
0.30%
EUROPEAN
SOUTH ASIAN
ADMIXED AMERICAN
EAST ASIAN
AFRICAN
35.40 % northern european 18.20 % british isles 14.50 % n.w. european 11.00 % toscani italy 9.30 % iberian
2.00 % gujarti indian 1.80 % punjabi 1.20 % sri lanka tamil 0.60 % bengali
1.90 % peruvian 1.00 % columbian 0.70 % mexican 0.30 % puerto rican
1.00 % japanese 0.60 % chinese dai 0.20 % southern han chinese 0.10 % kinh vietnamese
0.20 % african carribean 0.10 % esan in nigeria
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Land Acknowledgement Graphic
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Wearable Vision Board
materials aluminum cans cardstock hardware cloth jute rope crushed pine cones paper fasteners denim insulation thread bread ties
My name is Lee Tomolonis. This Three generations ago, nearly all my relatives were in Russia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania. I could trace my maternal grandmother Elsie’s lineage within the U.S.; the results all landed in rural southeastern Ohio and near the northern panhandle of Wv, where I grew up. This land belonged to various indigenous peoples before being divided into what we now recognize as Ohio & West Virginia. I do not speak from a place of authority on this recognition but from a place of considerate observation and grief. I’d like to recognize this land was stolen from the nations and tribes named Ofo (o-foe), Hopewell, Adena (uh-de-nuh), Shawendasse Tula (shah-whan-deiz too-tula), Shawnee, Osage, Kaskaskia (kuhs-kass-ku-uh), Myaamia (my-ah-mia) and Monongahela culture. I understand that these names do not represent the entirety of the people to whom this land belongs, and I acknowledge those unknown to me. City Chicken is a Polish American dish. I did not know this was so until my wife encouraged me to ask the internet. I always thought my grandma just gave it this name because we grew up in rural Ohio & West Virginia, and maybe she thought fried chicken was a city thing. But it is a Polish American meal, and it is not chicken. It’s chunks of breaded pork, skewered and pan-fried. Food has always had a strong correlation with my memories. The poster design is similar in appearance to the small square recipe cards of the 1970s with exciting meals like ‘Ham & Banana Hollandaise.” The white silhouette represents my appearance as a white man. It’s blank. It’s just space. The space I occupy. This is my appearance, the first thing people see. But the silhouette in the back represents my genetic makeup, my ingredients. The vertical delineation represents the larger categories that house the smaller percentages represented by the horizontal gradations. Each gets smaller and more pigment as the percentages decrease. This color palette comes from a strong memory of my grandmother’s couch. Seneca Lake Resort is a small park of campers, RVs, and trailers on small lots with porches and a fire ring where everyone travels by ATV or golf cart. My grandma, uncle Jim, Pap, and I would cram into the gold minivan and drive two hours as many weekends in the year as we could. This place was my little escape from reality, and it has imprinted on me and my sense of space. Pictured within the white silhouette, I have traced the map of Seneca Lake Resort. It represents my brain, with the names of the indigenous who rightfully occupied these places before colonization, divided, relegated, erased, and scarred the land with ownership and violence. I often carry these thoughts about our history with me. I want these names, the history, and the people to occupy my thoughts so that I may remain considerate and aware as I grow as a human and share this place with others. I hope to continue to learn, be open, and remember to always consider others throughout my life and recognize the effect I have on others and our environment. Often I find myself as an outside observer. Anxiety disorders have a tendency to see oneself as two separate selves. I connect with my figure, the observer. I’d like to observe the past and present to better affect the future. The second silhouette behind the upfront white profile represents this internal observer. I quietly recognize this existence, challenging myself to respectfully engage despite the nature to second guess, judge, or anxiously anticipate. I appreciate this presence, and I thank you for being present with me and listening to my story. Thank you.
Photo by Sarada Conaway
PROJECT TWO PARK PAVILION We began with a site visit to choose three locations to abstract, analyze, and finally choose one site to locate a pavilion. Our abstraction drawings were to drive the primary spatial and aesthetic vision while maintaining the perspective of our assigned figure-the observer. The program specified precise dimensions, including a sun deck & picnic area to service the Herring Run Park in Baltimore, MD. We moved through site analysis by way of photographs, field sketches, conceptual planning and then onto study models. Once a chosen scheme was selected, we refined our drawings into final technical drawings and a finished model.
Fracture
Shade
Shelter
Nest
Abstractions
Crevice
Path
Figureground of Herring Run Park
Bridge
On the Bend
Shannon Drive
Diagrams
Bridge + On the Bend + Shannon Drive
3 sites of Herring Run
Bridge + On the Bend + Shannon Drive Recreation
Views road
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trees
ARCH 202-001
Lt Tomolonis
Wind Study
N
N
mild
foliage water
water neighborhood
moderate
field
site
strong
buffer sports fields
Circulation
Circulation 8’ wide footpath
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iles
N
N
direct route to site
.83 m
Views 2398’ or .5 miles
proposed footpath addition
1753’ or .3 miles
unmarked alternative travel
.26
mil
es
main approaches
Each diagram is estimated to be roughly 0.5 miles by 0.3 miles.
Sun Study
Noise
Street Grid
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N
N
one way alley
water recreation
two way
road
sun coverage
sunrise sunset
Presentation Graphic
ARCH 207-001
Lt Tomolonis
Herring Run site documentation
Herring Run abstraction
Camp Small tree stake pile
Concept Model 1/8 scale
Physical Concept Models
Digital Concept Models
Sections
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32 ft
Floor Plan
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32 ft
The Sticks
Final Model 1’ = 1/4”
My role as the Observer is to quietly and considerately observe. I often find myself looking all around to notice the overlooked or the unnoticed, the camouflaged. I like to reimagine different ways to use materials around me. I repurposed waste like beer cans and crushed pine cones in my wearable. I want to carry that story over in the pavilion into reimagining a pile of sticks and stones. The abstractions were taken from nearby Herring Run Park during a walk to find potential sites for a 600sf & 400sf picnic area and sun deck. During a class field trip to Camp Small, I drove about a half mile of road lined with piles and piles of bucked trees and tree limbs lining each side in tidy piles. This scene was inspirational and beautiful. I am reminded of the piles I found in Herring Run and elsewhere when the water rises in a creek or river, pushing debris at the base of trees to create a nest-looking structure, similar to a beaver’s dam. The material and design speak to the overlooked + unnoticed + camouflaged by incorporating the almost sole use of Camp Small’s lumber. What was once undervalued waste is now The Sticks pavilion in Herring Run Park.
The Sticks
PROJECT THREE VISITOR CENTER All semester we’ve been instructed to maintain the connection & perspective of our assigned figure, but for this last assignment, we switched to design for a silent client, one of our classmates. We designed an 11,000 SF visitor center with their figure and pavilion in mind. My client, Jaire’s figure, is the criminal. His pavilion was inspired by graffiti and prison architecture primarily for its use of cement with a hexagonal shape overall. As the observer, I have considerately tried to embrace all these aspects, knowingly understanding my role and perspective as a white man engaging with these topics from the perspective of a young black man with the assigned figure of the criminal. I do not speak from a position of authority but of considerate observation and empathy to meaningfully relate to this perspective and intentional design.
Water Trail
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32 ft
Materials Transitions Light Connections criminal structure rules confinement transition pressure isolation control healing scheduled adjust freedom The water trail was inspired by solitary confinement & its roots in the Quaker religion. It was thought that if you sequester a person to a small cell, isolated from all outside influences, they will reflect and become monastic in their solitude. The water trail is an extension of the existing trail within Herring Run. Wheelchair users may exchange their chairs for water chairs located in the visitor’s center and travel through this water trail, just getting their feet wet, just like a non-disabled person might wade through a creek. It’s meant to be a place to reflect, reclaim this concept, and redirect the idea of solitary confinement.
Location Plan
Site Plan
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8
16
32 ft
Rosemary
Little Bluestem
Featured Pine
Catmint
Dogwood
Russian Sage
Magnolia
Hardy Pampas Grass
Redbud
Crape Myrtle
0
8
16
32 ft
Section A
Section B
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8
16
32 ft
0
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16
32 ft
GAC