Blake Suiter Portfolio | Fall 2024

GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

BLAKE PALMER SUITER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

01 MEMORIAL CHAPEL AND PAVILION: An Adaptive Reuse Study Mechanicsville, Atlanta, GA

02 DORIS FARM RETREAT:

An Exploration of the African Vernacular Oglethorpe, GA

03 ICELANDIC BEER SPA:

An Investigation of Hidden Rivers Myvatn, Iceland

04 HOWARD STUDENT HOUSING: A Reconstruction of the Rowhome Pleasant Plains, Washington, D.C.

05 AUBURN AVE BOXING CENTER: A Structural Abstraction Sweet Auburn, Atlanta, GA

Shaping communities through thorough and involved exploration of local phenomena, this portfolio showcases meticulously crafted designs. Utilizing sections, hand sketches, architectural visualizations and orthogonal line drawings, these innovative, inhabited sculptures are conceived to pay homage to the communities they reside in.

Curated works from the Undergraduate School of Architecture at The Georgia Institute of Technology

ATLANTA, GA

01 Memorial Chapel and Pavilion An Adaptive Reuse Study Fall 2024 | Prof W. Carroll Located at the intersection of the Mechanicsville and Pittsburgh neighborhoods of Atlanta, Georgia, this project seeks to repurpose an existing auto parts warehouse into a modern space for reflection and memoriam.

Crafted from basic components pre-existing in the space, the memorial hall and chapel exist as two halves of the structure. The chapel exists under the existing warehouse, the moment of sanctuary sheltered under the A-frame trusses. The main chapel is flanked by volumetric CMU chapels, giving a space for individual reflection and grieving.

The memorial hall resides under an adapted truss, inverted to provide better views to the exterior, and allow for improved natural lighting. The hall is carefully placed into the Earth to create a double head height space, improving the flexibility and capacity of the space.

The existing warehouse contained three elements utilized in the sculptural adaptation, the wall, the trusses, and the volumetric CMU block spaces.

The trusses served as the defining feature of the project, providing rhythm and shelter, allowing the project to exist under it. This example, the standard A-shaped truss, helped to enclose the chapel, and give it a serene nature.

The walls served to support the trusses, enclosing and defining the space while lifting the roof plane up.

The CMU block provided spaces of solitude, bringing shape and structure to the building and the grieving process within.

Existing Industrial Buildings

Selected Reuse Warehouse

Excavation, Inversion, and Extension

Sculptural Structural System

Enveloping and Shaping

Detailing

The chapel is made of permeable slats that reflect the trusses above. The trusses repeat unrelentingly above, giving structure to the space. The chapel reuses the existing industrial fans to create a cross, a religious nod to the building’s past life. Flanking the main space a CMU side chapel is turned inward to provide an influx of natural light and air.

The gallery of the Memorial Hall exists just below the ground plane, making it the most connected space to the surrounding cemetery. The gallery serves as a circulation space as well as a flexible use space for events in the lower hall. The gallery is made possible by the inverted trusses, which lower in the center to create a consistent head height.

OGLETHORPE, GA

03 Doris Farms:

An Exploration of African Vernacular Spring 2022 | Prof C. Coles Found in the historic Black Belt region of America, the Doris Farm site brings the unique history of Southern United states tradition and the rich ancient African traditions together. A communal development of micro cabins, the farm allows tourists to root themselves in the land and truly experience the culture, the history, and the architecture of the region.

The two cabins are a double occupancy and a single occupancy cabin, designed with traditional African vernacular characteristics.

Made of rammed earth and placed into the landscape, the cabins allow one to feel as though they truly are rooted in nature. The single cabin features a dog-track design, as the living quarters and bedroom are separated by a quasi outdoor area, forcing one to reconnect with nature not only outside of the structure, but also within its four walls.

Both cabins are developed abstractions of traditional African symbols, including hye wo nhye, nkontim, okodee mmowere, and dono. The symbols define the space, but also remind the inhabitant of the true culture of the people that first inhabited the space. It is an effort to reclaim the once oppressive space for all, and remind the landscape of the transported roots that slaves brought with them. The forms also are curvilinear, and provide further connection with nature and the surrounding landscape, repeating forms that can be found outside of a manufactured structure.

MYVATN, ICELAND

02 Icelandic Beer Spa:

An Investigation of Hidden Rivers Fall 2023 | Prof H. Ziada Nestled by Lake Myvatn in Iceland, this location boasts breathtaking Southern vistas of the lake and its surrounding pseudocraters, as well as captivating Northern views extending to distant mountains.

Positioned above a network of subterranean water streams shaped by surface water infiltrating porous limestone caverns, this structure plays a role within a set of fences meant to highlight and acknowledge these hidden rivers.

Employing three distinct and separate floor plans, the building is stacked to optimize its integration with the natural surroundings.

The elevated top floor captures expansive views, while the basement floor is embedded in the earth to enhance a sense of tranquility.

The ground floor features a series of folded walls, acting as fences designed to accumulate and retain snow, creating a dynamic system that transforms the building’s appearance with each passing season.

The Belvedere maximizes the scenic views of the site, and allows for enjoyment of handcrafted beers and the geological features of Myvatn.

Perched upon a set of folded fences, the view-port raises the occupant to a bird’s eye level, both separating them from the public sphere while connecting them further with the region.

The ground level barriers cut through the site and ground, an intersection of art pieces marking the underground water streams in the region. Guests can follow the intricately folded walls to discover the ornate program of the building, and interact with the conglomeration of snow that occurs during the winter months.

Secluded under the fences, the lower floor inhabits the beer spa, allowing for the most private spaces in the building, and maximizing both the relaxation of the user and the unique experience of soaking in beer botanicals. This space is quiet, dimly lit, and a space for both hotel guests as well as visitors.

The renderings show a detailed view of the folded fences, which help to define the entrance to the building. Pictured in Summer, the walls are barren of any snow, however the ridges would collect the abundant Icelandic snow, allowing for visitors in different tourism seasons to have a vastly different experience from one another.

The section cut accentuates the interconnectedness across the three floors, primarily facilitated by the expansive open hydraulic elevator shaft. Serving as the primary circulation pathway, this shaft also functions as a prominent skylight, illuminating all three floors with natural light.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

04 Howard Student Housing A Reconstruction of the Rowhome Spring 2024 | Prof K. Wright in partnership with Aubrey Lassetter Adjacent to Howard University in Washington, DC, this project seeks to provide large scale student and young professional housing by reexamining the traditional rowhouse form. Through a thorough study of surrounding row home developments, the project created an adaptation and elevation of the form.

The housing units surrounded a large central courtyard, allowing residents to interact both with the exterior street front, as well as a communal “front yard”, emphasized by the bands of exterior walkways that served as sidewalks.

On the ground floors, the project transforms from repeated slabs to more traditional rowhouse forms, allowing for subcommunities of residences and retail spaces to be made. These have access from both the courtyard and the exterior street, to bring the most energy to the space.

LEGEND

ROWHOME DEVELOPMENT GREENSPACES SITE 0.5 MILE RADIUS

Surrounding Rowhome Development

DEVELOPMENT

D DEVELOPMENT

TERSECTION LOAD

THING

RKING ENTRANCE

As you approach the project, the rowhomes feel connected and grounded to the street level, with the larger apartment block stepped back and placed on columns above. The rowhome on the corner is turned to provide outdoor seating and a small cafe, generating engagement on two streets.

The rowhomes split in the middle to provide a staircase entrance into the middle courtyard, further connecting the interior and the exterior.

The community is enriched by the sloped courtyard, allowing for the feeling of walking through a park as you walk to your apartment. The courtyard is the center of the complex, and the units envelop it above. Every unit has a private front porch, separated from the public walkway by a small entrance strip, helping to further seclude the units, while keeping them engaged with the community. These features work in tandem to create an engaged and heavily connected community.

Site Plan

4 x Studio Unit 1

4 bed/ 4 bath Unit

2 x Studio Unit 2

Apartment Plan (Fls 5-8)

2 bed/ 2 bath Unit

Typ. Retail Rowhouse Courtyard Plan (Fl 2)

Typ. Residential Rowhouse

ATLANTA, GA

05 Auburn Ave Boxing Center A Structural Abstraction Spring 2023 | Prof M. Ancheita Located in the historic Auburn Avenue neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, this project seeks to provide a temple of empowerment to its surrounding, historically under served, community.

The structure carries itself seamlessly from the ground-plane through the roof by three canopies covered in translucent plastic sheathing, allowing the structure to interact with the street level while still maintaining privacy. The canopies open along the Eastern side of the site to further engage the urban park adjacent.

Underneath its three distinct, translucent canopies, a tri-level scheme can be found that blends both training spaces for self defense and boxing, as well as community learning classroom spaces. The scheme also includes a two story auditorium space designed for boxing shows and community events.

01. Basic Boxing Ring & Stands

02. Basic Boxing Ring & Twisted Stands

03. Offset Outer Wall

04. Twisted Outer Wall

05. Three Guarding Boxers

06. Abstracted Punch

07. Lofted Punch Structure

08. Extended Canopy

The upper level accommodates fitness equipment categorized by usage beneath each of the three canopies. From this expansive area, one can overlook the auditorium situated below. Perforated walls separate it from the classrooms on the Western side of the site. The lower level is dedicated to maintenance, offices, and a spacious locker room. The East elevation and West section emphasize the artistic features of the canopies, showcasing the building’s interaction with both the urban environment and the adjacent park area.