Ana Celdran Academic Portfolio

ANA CELDRAN

Illogical Scenes

School of Design Master in Architecture Advisor: Brian DeLuna

This research takes representational techniques as a starting point to develop abstract thinking, and form finding. The basis of descriptive geometry allows us to identify an object’s projection on a plane or a surface and understand how much it differs from its true shape and dimensions. These techniques represent objects through rotation, folding, overlapping, and discontinuity highlighting their pictorial qualities.

Using these representations on a typical colonial envelope resulted in a catalog of 3-dimensional parts. These three-dimensional pieces of a colonial building are then flattened and projected onto a plane to create 3-dimensional artifacts from their 2-dimensional composition. The combination and composition of two-dimensional views inform profiles as well as their volumetric qualities.

Fall 2021 University of Pennsylvania

Weitzman

Project objectives:

•Propose a design methodology using descriptive geometry representation techniques

•Produce a series of visual artifacts that exhibit the main aesthetic features found in the site analysis

•Understand the connotation of cultural mixture, and contemporaneity of Cuban identity

Architectural Inquiries:

1. Could technical drawing methods be used to develop abstract thinking despite oppressive conditions and an architectural statement of individuality?

2. Can the identity of a country be found within the amalgamation of colonial ornamentation and contemporaneity?

3. With curated design constraints, can we recreate the authentic qualities of a building typology such as a „Cuban solar” through contemporary architectural methodologies and pedagogy?

Fig 1. A dissection of the site plan describing the connection between hidden rooms and the courtyard.

Fig 2.Drawing Composed by Choisy View of a Typical Colonial Envelope and 3DModel Plan Oblique Projection of East Elevation

Fig 3. Two dimensional projection of Threedimensional Model Plan Oblique Projection of East Elevation

Fig 4. Threedimensional library of a typical colonial building envelope

Fig 5. Images of existing conditions of the studied site

Fig 6. Artifacts compositions and color studies from previous analysis

Fig 7. Drawing Composed by two dimensional projection of Threedimensional Model Plan Oblique Projection of East Elevation using parallelism of profile

Fig 8.Drawing Composed by two dimensional projection of Threedimensional Model Plan Oblique Projection rotating a plane that intersect an axis

Fig 9. Site Plan Drawing of Solares in La Habana They describe Cuba, the solar and the hidden rooms as a unified image where the overlapping of flattened images and volumetric studies collapse in search of pictorial depth.

Drawing Composed by Choisy View of a Typical Colonial Envelope and Threedimensional Model Plan Oblique Projection of East Elevation

Choisy

Threedimensional

Threedimensional

Axonometric

Crepta

Public market as a machine in function of nature.

Neighborhood in Philadelphia 1025 Callowhill St, Philadelphia, PA 19123

Philadelphia grew from a rigid orthogonal grid connecting east to west along the rivers. Most of the urban development occurred along main transportation systems such as ports and rail road lines. During the 20th century, there was a bloom in urban development due to factories and manufacturing plants. The orthogonality of Philadelphia’s initial grid was kept within the old city area, while new neighborhoods were developed in response to manufacturing plants locations. Today, Philadelphia describes a completely different scenario where those factory buildings that were abandoned are now being repurposed. This urbanization can be interpreted as a glitch where the city morphology loses clarity and redefines itself again later. From an overlay of analytical map studies and an analysis of the features of Art Nouveau, the project seeks to reflect how Philadelphia’s grid combines modularity and fluidity. This movement was a new approach to technology and it was described as a redefinition of the industrial movement.

Spring 2020 University of Pennsylvania

Fig 2. Fig 3.

This project merges the symmetry and regularity of typical industrial buildings with dynamism and movement inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and flowers. The industrialization left us the buildings, while nature has seized the ruins and evolved them into gardens. Unlike those robust factory ruins, this market works as a machine in function of nature.

Fig 1. Analytical interpretation of Art Nouveau painting. I meant to understand geometry, colors, and overall configuration.

Fig 2. Fig 3. A series of maps explaining Philadelphia growth from a rigid orthogonal grid connecting east to west along the rivers. Most of the urban development occurred along main transportation systems such as ports and rail road lines.

Fig 4. Axonometric view showing how the industrialization left us the buildings, while nature has seized the ruins and evolved them into gardens.

Fig 5. Choisy view of the market and purification plant blending together. Unlike those robust factory ruins, this market works as a machine in function of nature.

Fig 6. Site plan showing urban connection with the market and the water treatment facility.

Fig 7 South elevation render view.

Dissonant Organ

The city felt safe; yet the beating organ resonated in a slightly dissonant way.

The one who was never lived, found itself becoming a decaying body. The sun is rising, and it feels like years when everyone was around. The solitude and the morning light become one just like it did with the night. Time is more than a word for a marvelous mechanism as the humidity dries on its metal skin. Multiple parts of its inanimate system are corroded. A strange smell is coming from this corroded surface. Its past life is nothing more than a memory, but forgetfulness is just its twin. Who can remember the life it had, when there have been years of solitude? The smell becomes stronger as the day passes. Corroded surfaces start to layer into fibers. Moisture is making the redness of the rust an amalgam. Above and below the metal surfaces, an interactive goop starts growing.

Spring 2021 University of Pennsylvania

Coinnext

Design research is a method of researching through the act of designing. To assist in the development the final proposal, the project is broken into assignments that will explore the structural, spatial and logistics typologies simultaneously. We will also build physical models using precise digital methods that will require assembly and multiple materials to accomplish the form and materiality of each proposal. The assignments will be as follows and will be distributed and discussed when each assignment begins. Through the cumulative nature of the assignments the proposals will develop in design and concept.

Fall 2022 University of Pennsylvania

Weitzman School of Design MSD-AAD Co-Teaching with: Brian DeLuna

COINNEXT is written specifically for students to grapple with concerns that are relevant to the design education of a Penn student. Undergraduate knowledge is a strength and will be challenged through the course of the semester.

Sequence of assignments:

1. Building Precedents and Hybrids. 2 weeks.

2. Hybrid Model Spatiality. 2 weeks.

3. Hybrid Model at Scale and on Site. 2 weeks.

4. Midterm Proposal including 2’x2’ physical model.

5.Final Proposal Model at Scale (dimensions: 18”x18”x25”)

Fig 1. Final Model by Xindy Lyu and Henwen Liang

Fig 2.Final Model by Dylan Yang and Xinhao Yuan

Fig 3. Final Section Drawing by Xindy Lyu and Henwen Liang

Fig 4. Final Model by Xindy Lyu and Henwen Liang

Fig 5. Final Section Drawing by Fangchao Yang and Yiqing Zhu

Fig 6. Final Model by Fangchao Yang and Yiqing Zhu

“Technical drawing helped reassert the importance of the object within a practice that was on the verge of annihilating it; it provided a precedent showing that overlaid multiplicity adds up to a unified picture”

Robin Evans