Portfolio McDermott- Flip Book

Cascading Community

Drawing upon my experiences from a mission trip to Ghana, Africa, I was deeply moved by the profound lack of access to potable water and the conditions as a result. My thesis project, inspired by these observations, focuses on addressing this pressing issue within the village of Diari, located just outside Tamale, the second largest city in Ghana. Diari benefits from access to the groundwater table and a sustainable annual precipitation rate, which means that it is a suitable site for intervention. The Cascading Community Center is centralized and designed to provide clean drinking water along with communal amenities. Emphasizing a seamless integration of local culture into its architectural design, the center serves not only as a necessary resource center but also as a natural extension of the community’s identity. Beyond its pragmatic function, the project prioritizes encouraging community connection by reflecting local aesthetics and forming to the specific site, climate, and culture of Diari. Celebratory events are likely to mark the achievement of clean water access, symbolizing unity and empowerment within the community. By combining practical solutions with cultural sensitivity, the Cascading Community Center works not only to deliver essential resources but also to reinforce and celebrate the resilience of the Diari community in Ghana.

PRECIPITATION IN GHANA, AFRICA

Centralized Space

EXPLODED AXON APPLYING LOCAL MATERIALS AND METHODS

Borehole Water System

Rammed Earth Walls

Layered Bamboo Structure

Metal Decking Roof

Metal Screen

Rainwater Collection & Reuse System

Mud brick Perforated Wall

The Origami (Gami) Community Center

The form of The Origami Center, also known as The Gami Center, draws inspiration from geometric angles and creates a sense of connection through varying elevations, forming a complementary relationship with the community functions of the building. This architectural approach not only encourages visual permeability, allowing for a sense of transparency within the structure, but also emphasizes specific areas and views, while blending with the existing building heights that surround the site.

Within The Gami Center’s design narrative is the metaphor of folding, symbolizing both the physical facade and the sense of connecting a community. The center’s spatial organization revolves around each program, offering different levels of intimacy, productivity, and security, all while maintaining a seamless connection with the surrounding landscape.

Through the incorporation of courtyards in various stages of openness –from fully exposed to partially exposed to untouched–The Gami Center celebrates the integration of nature within the built environment. This use of natural elements also allows for a sense of seasonal change to be experienced from within, furthering the connection with the surrounding landscape. By integrating these courtyards across all three stories, the center provides an opportunity for interaction among its users, including students, educators, staff, and visitors, creating a strong sense of community.

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

SECOND FLOOR PLAN

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

NORTHEAST ELEVATION

Dynamic Geometry

With a primary focus on Grasshopper, this project was driven by the objective of creating a pavilion through the program, visualizing it in Rhino, and then altering its shape across three distinct values solely by adjusting a numerical slider in Grasshopper. This process generated a taxonomy of forms, as depicted on the right, from which one was selected and further refined through rendering techniques, incorporating suitable materials to align with the intended function as a pavilion.

Team: Adam Royle

Programs: Rhino, Grasshopper, Illustrator, Lumion

Iteration 2, Variation of the x variable (LENGTH) Grasshopper Code

Iteration 3, Variation of the x variable (LENGTH) Grasshopper Code

3D VIEW

Atone Avilla Community Center

The Atone Avilla Community Center was created to fit in and interact seamlessly within the existing Fall River location. With a centralized courtyard that works both as an activity space and pedestrian path way, the building masses are able to protect pedestrians from the busy streets, Columbia and Hope Street, while also having the ability to be gated off during closed hours for the building’s protection. In addition, the mass directly responds to the weather conditions as well as the needs of the community. The building is created from the purest forms of shapes, construction material and systems in order to make it feasible, considering the community’s financial state. With this, the community center nicely coexists with its soundings through the design of hardscape and materiality. This can be seen through the use of bronze metal cladding that mimic the color of the long history of brick in this area. Lastly the project is able to give back to this community through the programs that it houses and the greenery that it offers back to the public. Team:

PASSIVE STRATEGIES DIAGRAM

Lisett Ronchi

AIRSOURSE

TOTAL: 51 Tons

AIRSOURCE HYBRID SYSTEM

TOTAL: 21 Tons

GEOTHERMAL SYSTEM

TOTAL: 40 Tons

AIRSOURCE SYSTEM

TOTAL: 32 Tons

PHYSICAL MODEL

Attraction - Repulsion

Tasked with designing a field utilizing an attraction/ repulsion curve generated through Grasshopper, I created a dynamic landscape characterized by protrusions layed out in a grid formation. The protrusions in the field are manipulated by incrementally growing in width and elevation as they distance themselves from the attraction curve, as a result of the Grasshopper definition. These protrusions serve to modulate perspectives from one side to the other, establishing a directional flow that encourages movement. The resulting geometries are purposefully integrated to accommodate community engagement within a park setting, optimizing interaction among adults and children as they travel through the entirety of the field. Programs: Rhino, Grasshopper, Illustrator, Lumion

Grasshopper Definition

Grasshopper definition shown in Rhino

Altercations made in Rhino

Axon

Community Connections

Situated in Boston, Long Island spans a length of 1.75 miles. The initiative of Community Connections began with the division of the island into twelve distinct parcels, with each member of the studio class assigned to a specific segment. Within each parcel, a blend of housing with one additional distinct program aims to create a self sustaining community life. My focus was on parcel 10, where I incorporated housing units oriented towards waterfront views and connectivity through skywalks, which additionally hold small communal amenities. To address future challenges such as rising water levels over the next decade, I integrated a raised community center into the design as my additional program, using a boardwalk system to link the community center to the housing units and skywalk system. Throughout the parcel, aspects of connection between spaces and communal programs are brought together through the importance of views and functionality.

COMMUNITY PATH DIAGRAM

SOUTHEAST ELEVATION

TYPICAL HOUSING UNIT PLAN PARCEL SCALE-

PHYSICAL MODEL

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Floating Greenery

Floating Greenery emerges as the new passage between El Born and La Ciutadella Park. Inspired by the dense groups of trees seen throughout the park, the form is similar to the growth of a tree, maintaining stability from underground. The building roots from a concrete storage space completely underground. A truss then begins underground and grows out of the ground towards El Born. In the air, the truss grows four branches towards the park where cables connect to suspend a canopy of three hanging floors. The goal was to display the importance of nature in the growing city. We took an enthusiastic approach creating a greenhouse and gallery on the fourth floor. The greenhouse is accomplished with details such as a polycarbonate facade and foliage growing along the truss to create shade for preferred temperatures. Additional features incorporated in order to maximize greenery on the second and third floors is the use of plant wall dividers and plant wall bookshelves. Not only do these features maximize greenery, yet the air is naturally purified and acoustics are improved with these features too. In order to connect the park in the design of this building, the perimeter of each floor slopes upward and alternates between glass of different transparencies. By allowing small scenes of the park to appear through the glass slopes, Floating Greenery remains connected with the life of La Ciutadellla Park.

TREE symbolic of structure in nature,

RISING greenery to hover over the Ciutadella Park and EL Born neighborhood,

GROWS as a central meeting point for local students and public.

Team: Brianna Valcourt

Depth of views from points within the Born Neighborhood

Depth of views from points within Ciutadella Park

SITE PLAN WITH VIEWS

Programs: AutoCad, Rhino, Grasshopper, Photoshop, Illustrator

Building takes the form of a tree: structural branches supporting a hanging conopy.

BORN NEIGHBORHOOD

CIUTADELLA PARK

SITE PLAN SHOWING CIRCULATION

STRUCTURE (IRON TRUSS)

CABLES SUPPORTING FLOORS (STEEL)

ROOF (POLYCARBONATE)

FLOOR PLATES (CONCRETE WITH WOOD FINISH)

ALTERNATING PANELS (FROSTED GLASS/ GLASS) EXPLODED

STAIRS/ CIRCULATION (CONCRETE)

Plant wall dividers help to create a healthy living and working environment by acting as a natural air purifier. These green wall dividers also work to create good acoustics within the space.

Connecting to surrounding by adding greenery and trees that are native to the area like hydrangeas, gardenias, and ficus trees.

Greenery grows along the truss creating a comfortable space to be inhabited. These elemets together create shaded areas to escape the heat of the sun.

Polycarbonate panels can transmit up to 92% of light which is ideal for greenhouses. This material is a long-lasting, recyclable material that naturally filters ultraviolet protecting the plants from too much exposure to harmful radiation. Plant wall bookshelves are a multi-functional way of connecting the greenery with the program within the building.

SUSTAINABILITY DIAGRAM

ELEVATION FRONT VIEW WITH SUN ANGLES

Physical Models & Additional Work

Architectural Design Core Studio V / FA 19 Newspaper Headquarters Facade- Revealing

SP 19 / Architectural Design Core Studio IV Place and the Public Realm- Shape Shifter

SP 19 / Architectural Design Core Studio IV Multigenerational Housing Complex

Architectural Design Core Studio III / FA 18 Digging and Assembling

FA 18 / Architectural Design Core Studio III Restaurant- Embedded Elegance

Foundations of Sculpture / SP 19 Landscape Memory

SP 21 / Jewlery and Fine Metals

Body as Site- Sash

Brooke Alicia McDermott