PROFESSIONAL WORK 2013-2014
Earth Slice
Bonaventure and Gerard Halls
Residence Hall “O”
827 Collins Ave » Pittsburgh, PA 15206 » (412) 584-2170 yvonnehidle@gmail.com » http://yvonne.arealess.com
Research Assistant, Web Designer August 2012 – May 2013 August 2014 – Present 5000 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh PA 15213 (412) 268-2000 » Responsibilities: Management, design, and coding of http://www.cmu-dfab.org & http://www.cmu-maad.org
Architect-in-Training May 2013 – October 2014 307 Fourth Avenue 200 The Bank Tower Pittsburgh, PA 15222 (412) 281-6568
» Responsibilities: construction documents; project management; shop drawings/submittals; jobsite meetings; client meetings and presentations; schematic design; programming; renderings; graphic design; proposals; member of the Revit Standards Committee » Worked for the following clients: University of Pittsburgh; The Children’s Home & Lemieux Family Center; Carlow University; Albion College; Saint Vincent College; Seton Hill University; Heinz Hall; Vassar College
Architect-in-Training May 2012 – November 2012 5880 Ellsworth Avenue Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15232 (412) 363-3800 » Responsibilities: Construction documents; shop drawings/submittals; accessibility compliance; energy code compliance; surveying; rendering; graphic design » Worked for the following clients: Martin’s Ferry Recreation Center; Dunham reGroup LLC; Developer Todd Palcic; Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium
Designer (1099 Contract) December 2011 – April 2012 200 Fifth Avenue SE Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401 (319) 363-601 » Responsibilities: Construction documents; schematic design; programming; modeling building; surveying; client presentations » Worked for the following clients: Kirkwood College; Principal Financial Group
Iowa State University, Ames Iowa Graduated December 17, 2011 3.71 Cumulative GPA » Magna Cum Laude, Dean’s List, Honors Program
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA Expected Graduation: December 2014 4.08 Cumulative GPA » Focus on sustainability, accessibility and their relationships to architecture and digital computing
Undergraduate architecture competition Fall 2009 (Team; Nominated; Finalist)
Tuition Scholarship 2006 – 2011 (Selected)
Undergraduate architecture competition Spring 2010 (Individual; Nominated; 1st Place) November 2014 - Present
Undergraduate architecture exhibit 9/3/11 – 10/23/11 (Individual; Selected)
» 70% of IDP complete » Registered for first ARE exam in January 2015
Undergraduate architecture competition Fall 2011 (Individual; Nominated; Finalist)
» Space planning/programming » Schematic/conceptual design » Interior design » Construction documents » Existing conditions documentation and surveying » Rendering and visual representation » Planning and zoning regulations » Code research (particularly ADA, some energy code with ComCheck) » Specifications (limited, Master Format) » Design and historic research » Sustainability and LEED » Shop drawings/submittals » Project management
» Word » Powerpoint » Excel
» Model Building » Laser Cutter » 3D Printer » Power Tools » CNC Router
» Revit Architecture (2009 – 2014) » AutoCAD (LT; 2009 – 2013) » Cinema4D (R10 – R12) » Google Sketchup (7) » Rhino3D (4 – 5) » Grasshopper (v5) » 3DS Studio Max (2014)
– » Photoshop » Illustrator » Flash » Premiere » Acrobat » After Effects » In Design
» CSS » HTML » PHP » WordPress » JavaScript » Processing » Arduino » openFrameworks
MCF Architects Vassar College Center for the Multidisciplinary Studies April 2014 - September 2014
When we received the RFP for this project, the client had already put together a white paper that described the Multidisciplinary Program, as well as its history and hopes for the future. Many goals and desires were listed in this document, but the main statement in the white paper and the statement we would hear client meeting after client meeting was simple: The Multidiscplinaries or “Multis” wanted a building they could call home. Up until this point the program had been an orphan child, tossed from one building to the next as spaces opened and closed. They never had a building of their own and as such expressed a severe lack of identity. With this opportunity they wanted to create a space that would showcase their program on the campus, give them an identity and more practically speaking be an open, light filled, collaborative space where disciplines from across the campus could come together.
I was given the task of coming up with several ideas, in particular schemes that were contemporary and could be on par with the “High Design” firms we were competing against. During the timespan between April and September, I produced several designs; the Earth Slice is one of those schemes. The Earth Slice, as its name implies, was intended to rise up from the earth, to be a part of the landscape and yet hold its own among the buildings around it. The main idea was to connect the low lying field with the 4-6 story buildings that surrounded the site. I wanted to do this in a unique way that would add to the eclectic nature of the campus, which for all intents and purposes was a showcase of architecture over the past 150 years. The design is a response to the buildings around it, the landscape, existing pedestrian pathways and flows, and fnally an embodiment of the desires that the client expressed in both the white paper and meetings.
The first floor of the Earth Slice has two primary entrances - one from the field and another from Main Circle Drive. The building was designed to act as a connection between the field and central campus. The interior corridor of the Earth Slice became affectionately referred to as “The Street”, and was meant to serve as a passageway through the building, with teaching spaces, offices, and other building programs located directly off it. The entrances were recessed into the building mass to help distinguish the main doors and to draw people into the building.
Classrooms were a key program element in the building. With that said, we were tasked with fitting different sized classrooms within the building. Large classrooms were meant to comfortably seat 30 students. Seminar rooms, on the other hand, were meant to be more intimate spaces for a maximum of 12 students. All classrooms were designed to be a single level with flexible, movable furniture. In addition to laying out generic classrooms within the floor plans, I was also tasked with creating diagrams to depict different classroom setups.
We explored and compared different office schemes, in particular closed office suites and open office plans. Each office pod was meant to serve a different department within the multidisciplinary program. We decided on doing this early on in the design process due to the client’s expressed desire for departmental individuality. Offices were scattered throughout the building and mixed with other programs to help increase activity on the floors and facilitate chance encounters between faculty and students. Every floor was given a file room and print room that could be shared between the different office pods on that floor.
The Media Center was a unique space that was meant to serve as the home and work area for the Digital Media and Urban Studies departments. The Media Center had to be a voluminous space to accommodate equipment and large scale three dimensional projects. The Media Center was put on the 4th floor of the Earth Slice due to the volume the space provided. Tall ceilings and a mezzanine level would provide ample vertical space for large projects.
The skin of the Earth Slice was inspired predominantly by two buildings: the new Bridge Building on Vassar’s campus and the Des Moines Public Library. I proposed a double skin facade, similar to the one on the new PNC Tower in downtown Pittsburgh. This double skin facade would help regulate the temperature around the building, balancing out the south and north facades. The inner skin of the building was designed to be clear glass with operable windows that would open into the void space between the layers. The outer layer of the skin consisted of a mixture of clear glass and glass with expanded metal mesh. This expanded metal mesh was meant to act as a sunshade, reflecting some of the excess heat on the south and west facades. In addition, operable windows on the exterior skin would be used to help ventilate the void space.
A lecture hall that could seat 50 people was another requirement in the program. We explored different options, some with fixed seating and others with flexible, movable furniture. The lecture hall was located in the basement. Windows to allow natural light into the hall were strategtically placed using recessed courtyards. These recessed courtyards also brought natural light into other basement spaces, ensuring that all regularly occupied rooms had day light.
MCF Architects Saint Vincent College Dormitory, Renovation Budget of $1.8 million August 2013 - August 2014
Image from: http://www.triblive.com/674292
This project was a small “paint and carpet” job for Saint Vincent College. The budget was a total of 1.8 million for new carpet, paint, acoustic tile, bathroom counters, lighting, storefront windows, furniture, limited air conditioning with mini split systems, some demo and spatial modifications, and minor repairs throughout. I was tasked with the creation of the SD and CD sets. As the project progressed I took on more roles including: client meetings, contractor, consultant, and manufacturer communications, interior design, submittals/shop drawings and jobsite meetings. The bid set was completed on time in January of 2014. The bid spread was approximately 5%. The contractor awarded the project was James Construction. Renovations in Bonaventure were started in late May and finished in mid August. Gerard’s renovation is to start late May 2015 and end in mid August 2015. According to the university and students living in the newly updated Bonaventure Hall: the new finishes and colors make the building feel more like a home. In addition, individuals have reported that more students use the public facilities in the dormitory such as the computer lab and lounge area.
Image from: http://svcreview.com/?p=792
MCF Architects University of Pittsburgh, Bradford Dormitory, New Construction June 2013 - August 2013
For this project I was put on the team to help complete the SD, DD, and CD sets. While on the team I worked on window details, floor plans, stairwells and the mechanical rooms and chases. In addition, I modeled several parametric components, in particular louvers and windows, and created a rough set of renderings for their campus newspaper. The project was completed in September of 2014 and named the Lester and Barbara Rice House. It was designed to match the existing dormitories on the Bradford Campus.
Image from: http://portalleganyonline.blogspot.com/2014_08_01_archive.html
Image from: http://www.upb.pitt.edu/templates/Beyond.aspx?menu_id=250&id=32460
PROFESSIONAL WORK 2013-2014
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