Alexa Greene Architectural Portfolio

ALEXA GREENE COLUMBIA GSAPP MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE CANDIDATE

“ARCHITECTURE IS AN EXPERIENCE OF ALL SENSES. MY EARLY DESIGNS FOCUS ON THE EFFECTS OF TOUCH, SOUND, AND SIGHT. MY LATER DESIGNS COMBINE WHAT I LEARNED IN EACH COMPARTMENTALIZED STUDY OF A SPECIFIC SENSE TO CREATE MINDFUL, COHESIVE, AND ENJOYABLE SPACES THAT CHALLENGE THE SENSES.”

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROFESSIONAL WORK

Rockwell Group Catch Steak Black Tap Singapore Jeffrey Beers International 108 Leonard One West End

COHESIVE

Prato Park Competition / Urban Green Space Plan & Exploded Axon Orthographic Drawings Site Renderings Chain of Rocks Bridge / Manipulative Dwelling Elevations & Sections Orthographic Drawings Manipulative Diagrams Isolating Bridge Dwelling Soulard Park / Sustainable System Eco Unit Programming Elevations & Sections Vertical Greenhouse

SENSORY

Touch / Human Intervention Basswood Topography Wire Topography Flying Machine

2-5

6-9

10-13

14 - 17

18 - 21

22 & 23

Sound / Passerby Experience Forest Park Observatory Experiential Demonstration Orthographic Drawings

24 & 25

Sight / Reveal & Conceal Light Surface Experiential Demonstration Orthographic Drawings Concordia Seminary Urban Chapel

26 - 29

CATCH STEAK /

ROCKWELL GROUP

88 9th Avenue, NY, NY Led material selection, including acting as point person between the client and the vendors in developing several custom materials for the space. Drew custom furniture drawings, as well as itierations of floor plan layouts and floor finish plans for client approval. Picked up construction document red-lines, monitored construction progress on site, and mapped accessory location for installation. Gained valuable experience participating in design meetings and communicating with the client on site.

2

3

BLACK TAP MILKSHAKE /

ROCKWELL GROUP

The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Singapore Collaborated on the conceptual design for the space, fitting the existing Black Tap branding to a new space. Created rendered floor plans and elevations for presentation to the client. Participated in weekly design calls and assisted with material selection and specifications. Created details and elevation drawings for custom-build stand-alone milkshake bar and atrium seating.

4

5

ONE WEST END /

JEFFREY BEERS INTERNATIONAL

1 West End, NY, NY Assisted with staging the model unit, lobby, and amenity spaces. Selected furniture, lighting, and accessories and assisted with installation. Collaborated with client for furniture selection and placement. Attended several photoshoots for spaces, helping to prep the model unit for presentation.

6

7

108 LEONARD /

JEFFREY BEERS INTERNATIONAL

108 Leonard Street, NY, NY Assisted with staging the model unit for the sales office. Selected furniture, lighting, and accessories and assisted with installation. Collaborated with client for furniture selection and placement.

8

9

PRATO PARK /

COLLABORATIVE COMPETITION PROJECT SITED IN PRATO ITALY / PROF. ZEULER LIMA

A46 ARCH 312A 01 ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN II “Our park is designed as a response to the committee’s task to create a space that admires the rich history of Prato while bringing in its current standing as a diverse community enriched by contemporaneity.

Within the features of our design, we created a wide array of multifaceted spaces.

The spaces fluidly transition from one to the next to unify all areas of the park with common themes. The programmatic compositions [the pavilion, the cafe, the elevated terraced seating] create opportunities for a variety of activities for all ages and ethnicities of the Prato community.

We believe our park, Il Prato Centrale di Prato fully functions as a contemporary intervention for the many Prato communities and while underscoring Prato’s identity as a forerunner as an international contemporary city.”

- OUR STUDIO MISSION Created the elevations and renderings for the group project and contributed to the overall project layout for final review. Visited the site with a smaller group to collect initial helpful data and site photos.

CREDITS & MEDIA PARTNERS

10

EXPLODED AXON

BUILT STRUCTURE

WATER FEATURE

GROUND INTERVENTION

GREENERY

SITE CONTEXT

11

1

2

4

3

12

A B

1

4

2 3 B

A

N

PLAN VIEW

NORTH ELEVATION

SOUTH ELEVATION

13

CHAIN OF ROCKS BRIDGE /

DWELLING AS A RURAL ISOLATIONIST RETREAT / PROF. ANNA IVES

A46 ARCH 311 04 ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN I The bridge dwelling program is centered around two movable walls, one moving forward and back and the other up and down. The two walls yield minimal movable parts for maximum possible layouts. The individual in the retreat may manipulate the walls for an interior environment best suited to his or her research. Building off the previous sensory explorations, the movable walls allow the inhabitant to touch and interact with the space to change how they see and hear the site at a given moment.

POSSIBLE EXAMPLE ARRANGEMENTS OF WALLS 1

2

3

4

14

TRUE ISOLATION Sitting below the main deck of the bridge, the dwelling is undetectable to visitors walking along the main deck, just as the visitors above are unobtrusive to the dwelling inhabitant.

T.O. ROAD WAY Elevation + 109’ - 6”

T.O. ROOF Elevation + 100’ - 0” LEVEL -1 CEILING Elevation +98’ - 0”

LEVEL -1 Elevation + 89’ - 0”

LEVEL -2 Elevation + 78’ - 6” B.O. FOOTING Elevation +76’ - 0”

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16

17

SOULARD PARK /

INTEGRATED URBAN GREEN SPACE IN A CLOSED ENVIRONMENT / PROF. CHRISTINE ABBOTT

A46 ARCH 212 02 INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN PROCESSES IV SUSTAINABLE INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS As a beginning conceptual study, the eco unit is meant to house a singular air plant. The closed system keeps the air inside humid, thus allowing the plant to survive. Moving forward with this new understanding of designing to support plant life, the urban greenhouse is mean to be an indoor enclosed park in Soulard, St. Louis. The surrounding neighborhood lacked green space and the park is laid out to mimic the program found in a common outdoor urban park.

THE ECO UNIT Self sustained, water-recycling plant life in an enclosed environment.

1

2

3

THE SOULARD PARK The park is a relaxing haven that transports visitors from an urban, bustling concrete neighborhood to a relaxing, enjoyable destination.

18

4

5

5

4

3

1

2

1

ENTRANCE AT GROUND LEVEL

4

HANGING GARDEN

2

LOWER LEVEL FIELD

5

DOUBLE SKIN RAIN ROOF

3

RAMP TO ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES

19

4

3

1

2

The park is laid out so that the most charged, energetic areas are closer to ground level, and the space becomes calmer and contemplative as you meander up the circumscribing ramps.

1 TRANSITORY

3 ADMINISTRATIVE

2 CHARGED

4 CONTEMPLATIVE

BUILT AT 1 : 4th INCH SCALE

20

BUILT AT 1 : 4th INCH SCALE

21

TOUCH

/

THE HUMAN HAND AS A MANIPULATING FORCE IN NATURE / PROF. IGOR MARJANOVIC

A46 ARCH 111 01 INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN PROCESSES I/II MATERIALITY EXPLORATION The basswood and wire topographies abstracted natural patterns found in Forest Park, St. Louis and bring to light the natural dynamic structures in nature and how the human hand may alter these forms. The indoor kite explored human capability to mimic nature and create natural wind conditions indoors through human body movement.

EXPANSION

COMPRESSION

EXPANSION

COMPRESSION

INDOOR FLIGHT

22

1 SKIN

1

Tight weave parachute

2 JOINT 2

3 SKELETON

Light-weight aluminum

3

Jan Dec

Feb

Nov March

Oct

INDOOR KITE / MIMICKING OUTDOOR CONDITIONS

April

Wind and climate data of an ideal flying site outdoors to know exact conditions required to recreate flight indoors.

Absorbing this information, the specific structure of the kite creates enough surface area and volume to mimic the lift from wind.

ph

Sept May

MAX AVG WIND SPEEDS (MPH) NORTH EAST WIND

Aug

June July

SOUTH EAST WIND SOUTH WEST WIND NORTH WEST WIND

0% AVG HUMIDITY 100% 0%

25 20 15 10 5 0

MAX AVG MIN

MIN AVG TEMP MAX

23

SOUND

/

BUILT SPACE AS AN ENHANCER OF SURROUNDING NOISE / PROF. IGOR MARJANOVIC

A46 ARCH 111 01 INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN PROCESSES I BEGINNINGS OF ENVELOPING SPACE Objective was to design an observatory space inspired by the natural patterns explored in the topography studies. The observatory extracts the flexible structures in nature into a design that highlights the sounds of the wind passing through the trees in the selected site, Forest Park.

DRAWN AT 1 : 16th INCH SCALE

The drawing is done on double sided mylar at a 1/16 inch scale. This drawing is meant to be an evaluation of the topography in the area of the park that the class visited. There is a section cut through the topography that shows the trees in elevation to give a better understanding of the land.

TheREVERBERATION plan of the observatory is included in the drawing as well so that viewers can begin to understand thought process and the interaction of the observatory among the trees. This was the first drawing Sound off theand observatory done forbounces the project it was a step by step process in order to develop an awareness specifically walls in a similar manner as for the surface and slope sound of the ground. The photos are to add references and incorporate realistic bouncing off the ear. aspects of the area beyond what is possible only through drawing. The tracing of the leaves in the photographs are representations of the random moments that wind may enter the canopies and produce sound.

DRAWN AT 1 : 16th INCH SCALE

24

5

1

3

2

4

DRAWN AT 1 : 8th INCH SCALE

The plans and sections of the observatory are drawn at a 1/4 inch scale. There is a vertical and horizontal section cut, and a vertical and horizontal elevation. The horizontal section and elevation highlight the gentle tapering of the walls. This allows the light and sound in the observatory to reflect 1 PLAN 6 and interact off the walls. When inside each of the three compartments of the observatory, one is mean to feel contained by the sound. The slit in the front accentuates the wind and sound entering 2 RIGHT the space andELEVATION makes it more dramatic and accentuated for individuals standing inside.

3 LEFT ELEVATION 4 SIDE ELEVATION 5 SECTION CUT 6 INTERIOR RENDER 25

SIGHT

/

HOW DESIGN CHANGES THE WAY WE VIEW OUR SURROUNDINGS / PROF. CARL KARLEN

A46 ARCH 211 04 INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN PROCESSES III CONCEALING & REVEALING Began sight exploration by creating a surface that manipulates light. The surface is constructed of styrene strips arranged so that from different angles, it may be opaque, concealing what is behind, but from alternate angles the surface becomes transparent, revealing what is behind and letting light through.

REVEAL

CONCEAL

DRAWN AT 1 : 1 INCH SCALE

26

27

Moving into the next stage of designing the Urban Chapel, in Concordia Seminary park, the tree canopies perform similarly to the light surface, allowing sun to permeate from certain perspectives.

The construction of the Urban Chapel highlights this phenomena.

28

DRAWN AT 1 : 4th INCH SCALE

29

Architecture is an My early designs focus on the effects of

EXPERIENCE of all senses.

TOUCH, SOUND, and SIGHT.

My later designs combine what I learned in each compartmentalized study of a specific sense to create

MINDFUL, COHESIVE, and ENJOYABLE spaces that challenge the senses.