Alexandros Prince-Wright, M.Arch Portfolio 2020

A L E X A N D R O S

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P R I N C E - W R I G H T

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PORTFOLIO

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A R C H I T E C T U R E Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation Selected Works

selected projects

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QUASSAICK CREEK

OTHERNESS

A bridge between two boroughs, serving as a weir.

A truck stop anticipating the increase of electric cars and trucks.

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THREE PLANES

SIX TIMBER

S O L I D WAT E R

A project where the ground, apartments, and roof, act as housing.

A reading space with an integrated and sustainable structure.

An isolated performance space.

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Axonometric

Alexandros Prince-Wright

C O N C E RT WA L L

B R O O K LY N S TA G E S

MISCELLANEOUS

Exchanging parts of life between the subway and the street.

A project with SD, DD, and CD drawing sets.

Observational drawings and photography.

Axonometric

Alexandros Prince-Wright

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QUASSAICK CREEK Program: Weir.

Location: Newburgh, New York.

Studio Critic: Robert Marino.

2019.

During the site visit and research period, aside from understanding how industrial and automotive focused the area is, what stood out to me was the split between Newburgh and New Windsor – how the creek, trees, and topography change act as a physical border between the two. The existing connections nearby are mostly used for vehicular use and are not well connected to the creek – an attractive green space below. Furthermore, there is a lot of dead space under these bridges where drug activity and crime occur.

I am trying to create a pedestrian connection between the two boroughs, while creating a natural connection with the creek and utilizing that extra space a bridge creates. The project is a study of form, specifically exploring how water moves in a creek.

The material is mass timber, with a rib-like structure – this sits easily with the surrounding context, while making the structure porous for ease of accessibility. The weir is below the timber structure and is clearly visible to the public, thus making the water itself an attraction point. For the boroughs, the two curved points on the structure have the potential to generate public gathering spaces or plazas that overtime would attract commercial programs.

STUDIES OF FORM AS GEOMETRY

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The driving force for the form of the project came from how water moves, and specifically turns, within a creek. In plan, there are two and a half curves where water will flow through the creek; these moments are when the velocity of the water is reduced, thus decreasing any erosion and withering effects on the weir.

These curves became the focus points for the exploration and experimentation of structure, design, and space. For example, the number of mass timber ribs is increased on both the inside and outside of the curve, in order to serve as retaining walls to the adjacent grounds.

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WITHIN THE WEIR

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A perspective view from inside the weir showing the curvature of the bridge, material of the mass timber structure, and movement - of both water and people.

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WITHIN THE BRIDGE

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A perspective view from inside the bridge - the space now reaches far beyond the uses of a simple bridge, but now becomes an area of relaxation, learning, and attraction.

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MATERIAL AND STRUCTURE

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At the base, a concrete container is installed, which acts as a retaining wall to hold the ground and soil, as well as a bed where the river will flow More concrete will be used at the curves, in order to elevate the peaks to allow for a natural flow of water. Concrete columns are placed at even increments on the base - these columns are thick

and relatively short in order to withstand the force of the river. The mass timber structure is then installed using a rib-like system. These ribs allows for the structure to be porous, allowing sunlight, nature, and people to flow in and out.

The bridge sits easily in the creek, as only natural materials will be visible from the outside.

The weir is below the timber structure and is clearly visible to the public, thus making the water itself an attraction point. For the boroughs, the two curved points on the structure have the potential to generate public gathering spaces or plazas that overtime would attract commercial programs. The project would have the aspiration to increase the activity of the two boroughs, and furthermore expand the uses of a bridge. The spaces under

bridges can be harmful to the community and environment, and this project can be used as a example for utilizing these wasted spaces. Designing the crossing between each side would be the next phase of the project, where people can physically cross above the weir.

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OTHERNESS Program: Truck Stop.

Location: Reno, Nevada.

Studio Critic: Michael Bell.

2019.

This project anticipates the increase of electric cars and the introduction of electric trucks in the United States, The form of the truck stop is formulated by taking the turning radius of a truck, and mirroring it. This creates an almost round-a-bout shape, where the structure is placed in between interstate roads in order to also function as a turning point.

Not only will this new model of the truck stop be cheaper to run and maintain, but also increase health benefits by reducing noise pollution, having better air quality, and increasing energy security. The project places an emphasis on keeping the sense of community, sleeping area, and food services, while rethinking and reducing its size significantly.

A store becomes a wall for vending machines, the gap pump becomes a charging station, and electric trucks can now be parked even closer to the structures. The truck becomes the architecture, as well as its contents. The idea of a truck is no longer ugly, dirty, and loud, but is rather seen as an elegant, quiet, and sustainable machine of the future.

HISTORY AND WHAT IF?

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The site is located near the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRI Center, or TRIC), and is a privately owned 107,000 acres (167 sq mi) industrial park, located at Interstate 80 next to Washoe County, in Storey County, Nevada. The center is the largest in the United States, occupying over half of the land mass in Storey County, and is base to over 100 companies, including Tesla, Panasonic, WalMart distribution center, and more.

On the right, two sketches of the architecture, the machine, and the user. A parallel is found between the two adjacent arrangements where you have both the machine and the structure; on one side, a canopy and the gas pump, on the other side, a store and the vending machine. Fuel as the primary reason to stop, and store as a secondary.

What happens when we dissolve the architecture at a gas station, and are left with an endless line of machines - taking out the unnecessary items.

An automated gas pump and a vending machine hold service, product, economy, and structure in one small volume. I am arguing towards the eradication of the community of the truck stop, where there will be only machine and user left.

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2010

2019

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CHOREOGRAPHY AND FORM

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Researching choreography helped formulate an idea on the movement of the truck and the user.

How can we start to think through the body of the machine, in this case the truck, and the user?

The turning radius of the truck became a driving factor in the formal strategy - a round about with no center. When the truck enters the structure,

it becomes the architecture, where it is enclosed within the form, but is also acting as a void to activate other spaces with its placement. Both the charging station and the vending machines are placed in a wall, which serves as the machine gathering point. This wall serves as a buffer between human space and machine space, and

includes other service programs, like plumbing and electrical.

Because of the scale of the truck stop, it can be dispersed across the united states, located in between interstates and highways. It can serve as a place of rest, a round about, a charging station, and lodge for one person per structure. Here, there are no employees,; a place of isolation where cars are driving past and around you, and people are stopping to buy drinks and food. The placement

of the truck stop serves as a convenience to people around the user and a security measure for the user. There is a sense of ownership in the space - a feeling of otherness and self-enclosure.

A design to create a specific mood within a specific space and time. Designing for the emotional, as well as the functional.

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LACAN AND THE OTHER

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The term “otherness” came from my want to design isolated spaces. The word comes from the French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist, Jaques Lacan. The “other” is perhaps the most complex term in Lacan’s work. Freud uses the term “other” to speak of der Andere (“the other person”) and das Andere (“otherness”). When Lacan first

begins to use the term, in the 1930s, it is not very salient, and refers simply to “other people.” This term is mentioned in an essay by Norman Bryson, The Gaze in the Expanded Field, where Lacan is describing the “other” as a strangers dialogue on the nature of being and non-being.

“My argument will be that the line of thinking passes from Sartre to Lacan in crucial respects remains held within a conceptual enclosure, where vision is still theorized from the standpoint of a subject placed at the center of a world. Although that centralized subject is progressively dismantled by Sartre and Lacan - and the direction of their thought is unmistakably towards a radical decentering of the subject - there seem to me to be areas in

which the standpoint as a center is actually retained; the result of that residual contering upon the standpoint of the subject is that vision is portrayed as menaced at that vestigial center, threatened from without, and in some sense persecuted, in the visual domain, by the regard or Gaze.� - Norman Bryson, The Gaze in the Expanded Field, 1988.

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THREE PLANES Program: Housing.

Location: Bronx, New York.

Studio Critic: Hilary Sample.

2018.

This project places an emphasis on commonwealth within a housing complex, which ultimately leads to collective, sustainable living. The project focuses on the idea of living on three different planes: the ground, housing, and the roof. On the ground plane, the formation of public and private spaces happens in conjunction with each other.

The first phase of the project involves incorporating an ‘occupiable’ public street programmed with social gathering spaces into the ground plane. This space includes programs such as a basketball courts and a public landscape, which goes through the entire housing complex.

The next phase utilizes the perimeters of the housing units to create private spaces. This allows them to be used by residents in flexible and various manners like a typical backyard.

Through the act of sharing and trading underutilized appliances and secondhand clothes, this project proposes ways of reducing residents’ trash output and carbon footprint.

Finally, on the roof plane, all the buildings physically connect and create a continuous, dynamic roofscape, which provides a platform for residents to connect. Thus, through the meaningful interactions on the roofscape, the idea of sharing and trading becomes more natural and casual.

Project partner: Yoonwon Kang.

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MODULAR EXPERIMENTS

The design process and formative concept was started in section by exploring the relationships of space and user, and inside and outside. These two dimensional sections were turned into three dimensions by extrusion in axonometric and plan view. The idea was to form a system where one module could function alone, or in a system.

Open space was a paramount part in our design.

Generous outdoor space is given to each module, which consists of three - four apartments. Just above, are the final four modules that were designed to form the final project. Every resident has his/her private entrance, with a shared exterior space.

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SECTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS

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In section, one can differ each module as separate parts, or see it as a whole system. The total aggregation is split into three bars, where each bar has a private backyard, only for residents. On the other side of each unit, are public spaces, where pedestrian circulation, parks, public amenities,

and parking is located. The residential program is elevated to live above these public spaces, in order to create privacy, noise mitigation, and sunlight for the residents. Finally, on the roof plane, all the buildings physically connect and create a continuous, dynamic roofscape, which

provides a platform for residents to connect. Thus, through the meaningful interactions on the roofscape, the idea of sharing and trading becomes more natural and casual.

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THE BACKYARD AS COMMUNITY

The next phase utilizes the perimeters of the housing units to create private spaces. This allows them to be used by residents in flexible and various manners like a typical backyard. Through the act of sharing and trading underutilized appliances and secondhand clothes, this project

proposes ways of reducing residents’ trash output and carbon footprint. The sense of community between residents is a paramount park of the Bronx - this encourages th residents to help eachother, therefore creating a more safe and thriving area.

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SIX TIMBER Program: Library.

Location: Brooklyn, New York.

Studio Critic: Gordon Kipping.

2018.

This project started with a detailed analysis of the zone surrounding the site; splitting into pieces used for research to determine the ideal ratios between hardscape and softscape.

In the building itself, the project has a high focus on how the structure can be integrated carefully into the library as a program. A mass timber waffle slab and columns are designed to create outdoor space, communal space, private space, furniture, egress, and structure.

The massing takes a careful consideration of the existing building on the site, and thus mirrors it, and then encloses to become a courtyard. The ground floor will become open, therefore creating ease of access to the center. Having a porous site will allow for a more friendly courtyard experience with pedestrians, who can pass by, check-out and book, and sit on the attracting forms that the mass timber waffle slab creates.

ORGANIZING THE BLOCK

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The first step of the site analysis was a detailed study of the zone surrounding the site. The district where the site is located was split and extracted into single blocks to try and find a relationship between the hardscape and softscape of each property. After each block was organized, every building outline was drawn, along with its outdoor

space. These spaces were filed and ordered by size, according to each block. In conclusion, the ideal ratios between hardscape and softscape were discovered and these numbers were transferred onto the design process.

block breakup

ordered in size

lot breakup

hardscape focus

hardscape versus softscape

softscape focus

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existing site

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mirror existing building

The next phase of design was formulating a way to organize, connect, and split the program that was allocated. I created a system of simply grouping programs by user. The visitor and the librarian will use different programs and will therefore take different paths through the library.

However, there will be an overlap at certain points.

These overlaps are highlighted in red and orange hatch. Another paramount part of the library is the contents - books. I mapped the circulation of the book, from the loading to the circulation desk, and took the intersection of all three and highlighted them with a black dot. These programs that are marked, where all three “users� meet, are the nods of the library.

MASSING

The massing takes a careful consideration of the existing building on the site, and thus mirrors it, and then encloses to become a courtyard. The ground floor will become open, therefore creating ease of access to the center.

Having a porous site will allow for a more friendly courtyard experience with pedestrians, who can pass by, check-out and book, and sit on the attracting forms that the mass timber waffle slab creates.

courtyard typology

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structure

enclosed spaces

public space

book stacks

book stacks

private reading

ground floor

second floor

third floor

fourth floor

fifth floor

sixth floor

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SYSTEMS INTEGRATION

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Each floor has different timber system, depending on program of the space. Overlap of system include spaces like egress, classrooms, seating, and book stacks. The timber structure is also used as a finish material inside the library to create a warm and natural atmosphere.

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public space

recreational space

general reading

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book stacks

class and meeting rooms

individual seating

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UP

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GRO

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

UP

ground floor plan

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10’ 5’

51 15’

second floor plan

MASS TIMBER

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A current issue in architecture is the loss of potential to contain secondary functions in structural systems. Our research explores the potential of mass timber waffle structure configurations - the material they utilize, the surface they generate, and the program they imply.

third floor plan

In the building itself, the project has a high focus on how the structure can be integrated carefully into the library as a program. A mass timber waffle slab and columns are designed to create outdoor space, communal space, private space, furniture, egress, and structure.

fourth and fifth floor plan

The mass timber waffle system introduces numerous technological and performance merits to building assemblies– the timber parts are prefabricated off-site, whereas the final assembly of the system is completed on-site, which increases construction efficiencies related to construction schedule and material waste. The timber itself is a carbon-capturing material,

sixth floor plan

and the material is able to span longer than standard framing systems, and allows easy and fast assembly and disassembly.

The facade consists of timber fins, used as a shading strategy and for privacy. The depth of the fins is determined by the interior program. The negative area, where there are no fins, are filled with fiber cement facade panels.

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SOLID WATER Program: Pier.

Location: East River Park, New York.

Studio Critic: Carrie Norman.

2017.

I’m trying to create an isolated performance space, away from all the sounds of New York City. The noise pollution in this location would be trains, boats, and cars. The main driving concept for form of the project was treating the water as a solid.

The form resembles a screw being twisted into the water. The resulting ramp becomes an extension to the existing bicycle path on the boardwalk. The path splits in two: one for pedestrian and the other for bicycle, both spiraling down.

There is no physical entrance or exit, but the project is seen as a continuation of the boardwalk. One side of the boardwalk rests on the water, whereas the other side cuts into the river, treating it as a solid.

The further one walks, the deeper they are in the river – surrounded by tall walls, this is the only element between them and the water.

The stage for the performance area is not a physical stage, but is meant for the central void created by the spiraling seating/steps. Thus, the programs becomes a diving center with a pool at the bottom. As the divers do actions midair, the audience views the performance vertically.

The project serves as an extension of the boardwalk from land, curving into the water. The transition from land to water is slow and never forced. The visitor chooses to walk into the unknown; into the spiraling depths of the river.

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From this side of the pier, once again, the structure does not have a large presence, however, the boardwalk is now inverted, and slopes down into the river. The water seems to be split into parts.

A view taken from one side of the pier. The structure has almost no presence from the ground level, and is seemingly only an extension to the boardwalk. Closer exploration surprises the visitor into journeying further.

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PERFORMING IN THE RIVER

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The form resembles a screw being twisted into the water. There is no physical entrance.

The stage for the performance area is not a physical stage, but is meant for the central void created by the spiraling seating/steps.

Thus, the programs becomes a diving center

with a pool at the bottom. As the divers do actions mid-air, the audience views the performance vertically. The further one walks, the deeper they are in the river – surrounded by tall walls, this is the only element between them and the water.

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CONCERT WALL Program: Subway Station.

Location: Stuyvesant Town, New York.

Studio Critic: Carrie Norman.

2017.

The concept of the wall is to exchange parts of life between the subway and the street. Specifically, the underground has windows of over-ground life; and on the street, the wall and ground level opening act as an urban megaphone.

The form of the structure initially derived from the idea of bringing acoustics from the underground to the street level. This would help notify pedestrians when the train is arriving.

The stepping typology of the form is to create a friendlier platform space while waiting for the subway. This design move created a solid wall in the center of both platforms where the central circulation was placed. Pockets of space were extracted from the wall to create windows of street life - performances, food, social gathering, etc.

PERFORMING IN THE SUBWAY

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Pockets of spaces are subtracted from the wall, and create performance spaces. Not only is performance an act of entertainment, but it becomes the act of movement, work, and every day life.

The stepping typology of the form is to create a friendlier platform space while waiting for the subway. This design move created a solid wall in the center of both platforms where the central circulation was placed.

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B R O O K LY N S T A G E S Program: Theater.

Location: Brooklyn, New York.

Critic: Sarrah Khan.

2018.

The Brooklyn Bridges Theater, located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, is a technical project that went through Schematic Design, Design Development, and Construction Documents within four months.

The theater is split into two bars, in order to create a connection between the waterfront and adjacent street. The two parts are rotated to make a larger open area towards the park, which breaks the physical barrier between the two open spaces. The rotated bar, opposite of the park, opens up a corner, thus creating an entrance to the theater. Trying to have a continuous landscape from the park to the roof, steps are added to produce an urban landscape that serves as seating for performances and views towards the river.

The main concept of this project was to have multiple performance spaces, layered on top of each other. Two spaces on the roof, the park, outdoor space on the site, the auditorium, and the black box theater, all serve as performance spaces that can be used at the same time.

This project was completed in a team of four members: Matteo Cordera, Berkhan Eminsoy, Alexandros Prince-Wright, Nika Teper.

Berkhan Eminsoy Alexandros Prince-Wright Matteo Cordera Nika Teper Integration: Sarah Kahn, Agencie Architecture & Engineering PC Architecture: Clementina Ruggieri, Space4 Architecture Structure: Jason Stone, LERA MEP: Jonce Walker, Thornton Tomasetti Envelopes: Ryan Donaghy, SHoP

No. 1 2 3

Description

Date

Schematic Design Development Design Development Construction Documents

10.2.2018 10.23.2018 11.27.2018

Brooklyn Stages 18 Greenpoint Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11222

Concept Sketches

Berkhan Eminsoy Alexandros Prince-Wright Matteo Cordera Nika Teper

Date

Integration: Sarah Kahn, Agencie Architecture & Engineering PC Architecture: Clementina Ruggieri, Space4 Architecture

11/27/2018

T006

Structure: Jason Stone, LERA

Berkhan Eminsoy Alexandros Prince-Wright Matteo Cordera Nika Teper

MEP: Jonce Walker, Thornton Tomasetti Envelopes: Ryan Donaghy, SHoP

Integration: Sarah Kahn, Agencie Architecture & Engineering PC Scale Architecture: Clementina Ruggieri, Space4 Architecture Structure: Jason Stone, LERA MEP: Jonce Walker, Thornton Tomasetti Envelopes: Ryan Donaghy, SHoP

No.

Description

1 2 3

Date

Schematic Design Development Design Development Construction Documents

10.2.2018 10.23.2018 11.27.2018

Brooklyn Stages 18 Greenpoint Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11222

No. 1 2 3

Description

Date

Schematic Design Development Design Development Construction Documents

Concept Sketches

10.2.2018 10.23.2018 11.27.2018

Brooklyn Stages 18 Greenpoint Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11222

Date

11/27/2018

T006

Concept Sketches

Berkhan Eminsoy Alexandros Prince-Wright Matteo Cordera Nika Teper Date

11/27/2018

Scale Integration: Sarah Kahn, Agencie Architecture & Engineering PC

T006

Architecture: Clementina Ruggieri, Space4 Architecture Structure: Jason Stone, LERA MEP: Jonce Walker, Thornton Tomasetti Envelopes: Ryan Donaghy, SHoP

Scale

No. 1 2 3

Description

Date

Schematic Design Development Design Development Construction Documents

10.2.2018 10.23.2018 11.27.2018

Brooklyn Stages 18 Greenpoint Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11222

Concept Sketches Date

11/27/2018

T006 Concept Sketches

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Scale

Massing Strategy

Second Floor Plan

Section through the auditorium and back of house.

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Ground Floor Plan

Third Floor Plan

Fourth Floor Plan

Roof Plan

Part Plan: Entrance and lobby

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Interior Elevations

Part Plan: Flexible auditorium space

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Aluminum and GFRC Panels Section with Fin-Wall

Aluminum and GFRC Panels Section at Ground

Aluminum and GFRC Panels Section

Aluminum and GFRC Panels Plan

Roof Drainage Detail

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FACADE AND FINISHES

The finishes in the project consist of : concrete panels, concrete ground finishes, natural anodized aluminum, fin wall (glass), and IGU (glass). These materials vary depending on program between front of house, back of house, and theater space.

Lightweight, strong, and durable, and available in a diversity of shapes, colors, and textures, GFRC allowed us the widest possible range of architectural expression for the most visible element of a structure – its exterior cladding.

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MISCELLANEOUS Location: n/a Program: n/a Studio Critic: n/a 2017-2019.

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Today High-Tech

2000’s Modernist

1950’s - 1970’s Brutalist

1950’s Post Modern

1700’s Neo-Classical

1500’s High Renaissance

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C O N T A C T Alexandros Prince-Wright ahp2146@columbia.edu +1 (404)-735-1444