VIRGINIA SOCIETY AIA COMPETITION 2014

The two-day competition asks for students to renovate an existing highway interchange, with the inclusion of “hybrid infrastructure” to blend public space, housing, and the highway interchange together. How can innovative urban spaces encourage community building across the highway, not just along the highway?

First and foremost, the old highway interchange was re-routed out to the sides to create new space in the center spanning several hundred feet. Next, the ground was sunken down to nestle residential buildings into that space. The difference in elevation facilitates dispersion of noise from the highway interchanges on either side, and eases the installation of noise cancelling barriers above. Then a public walkway and plaza were stiched on each end of the interchange, elevating them above both the residential buildings and the highway. Finally, a curved shelter was placed over the entire residential area, with voronoi apertures sized according to daylighting algorithms to provide more light into deeper areas of the residential complex.

Situated on the main street of Virginia Tech University, this program calls for a functional symbiosis between an IKEA showroom, a bakery, and several condominiums within a 7,500 s.f. building area by renovating a parking lot located beside an old post office.

The form for this project originated from an attempt to weave a modern IKEA showroom into the conjoining brick post office in a graceful manner, while providing a functional arrangement for a bakery on the floor level as well as condominiums above.

For my proposal of the IKEA storefront, I realized a parametric showroom that flows from the conjoined post office corner out onto the sidewalk and curves back into the courtyard at the main entrance. This not only created a nestled retreat and an inviting opening to the street, but also blended the modern showroom into the existing context of the univeristy main street.

Tension curves that govern the form of this project are visible in the retreat of each successive floor level. This zoning creates proper daylighting for each of the condominiums and opens up accessible terraces facing the front of the street. The teardrop plaza in the center of the courtyard is enveloped by a ramp and path leading to the back of the building, rerouting the original walkway.

The first photo on top illustrates how the IKEA showroom curves out onto the sidewalk from street view. The second photo below depicts the view of a person looking down from a condominium terrace.

With daylighting and privacy in mind, I designed and 3D printed a set of brise soleil for the exterior of the condominiums. The sun screen is regulated by selective parametric openings. This allows more light to enter the living room out front while simultaneously inhibits public visibility into the more private areas in the back. On the other hand, the array of structure that comprises the white IKEA showroom on ground level allows straight from the interior while blocking most sunlight overhead.