Matthew Dane Vernon Academic Portfolio 2023

PORTFOLIO ARCHITECTURAL

MATTHEW DANE VERNON

I have always enjoyed problem solving. Finding unique solutions to challenges and design constraints is rewarding to me. Restriction often breeds ingenuity and in turn makes a bespoke solution to a problem all that more meaningful. However, I am not bound by limitations when it comes to my interests and pursuits. In the true spirit of a “renaissance soul”, I value and enjoy the exploration and understanding of multiple disciplines. A degree in architecture, for me, offers an avenue to coalesce my diverse collection of experiences, interests, and skills and effectively apply them to an industry that is just as vast.

MASS STUDIES

2 OBJECTS

STUDIO 1 FALL, 2020

TECTONIC VS. STEREOTOMIC

Exploring the two diverse architectural languages of tectonic design and stereotomic design, it is imperative to understand that built masses are just as important as the resulting void spaces they create. Whether a structure appears carved out of a solid or built up from a collection of pieces, architecture inherently affects not only the immediate space it inhabits but its surrounding context.

SOLID-VOID THEORY VIA LIGHT

The light on each object is used to help exhibit the spaces these forms inhabit. Light reflects off the surfaces of the stereotomic object to inform the space of its mass while light passes through the tectonic object to define its implied space.

THE GOLDEN RATIO

The golden ratio is used as the primary design principle for both models. Its unique geometric properties are imparted on each object from different angles to create their distinct forms.

SHELTER IN THE PARK

COLORADO PAVILION

STUDIO 1 FALL, 2020

ACOUSTIC DESIGN

As a musician I have had the privilage of performing in a number of venues, but I’m often dissatisfied with the sound environment on stage. Certain arrangments reflected harsh frequencies above the rest, or none at all. I set out to find a solution to the acoustic issues that accompany uninformed stage design, while creating an inviting shelter in a park that resonates within its context.

MULTI-PURPOSE

The spacing and size of the openings are calculated to enhance the natural reflection of certain frequencies while allowing for unwanted reverberations to escape the shelter. These acoustic reflections create an auditory sense of enclosure while the space itself is open and airy. The bicycle parking and bench seating encourages interaction with the space while not in use as a music stage or when inclement weather arises.

ACOUSTIC

COMMONS PARK, DENVER, CO

Sharing its dimensions with the state of Colorado, this pavilion was designed with the spirit of Denverites in mind. It's indoor-outdoor functionality harbors multiple usages, from being a shelter in a park to an iconic amphitheater in the heart of the city. This pavilion encourages the intermingling of urban living with outdoor recreation and entertainment.

DYNAMIC ARCHITECTURE

STUDIO 2

SPRING, 2021

TRANSLATED DICHOTOMY ROTATING FORM

This design seeks to manifest the duality of the client’s needs and personality in built form. Just as introverted and extroverted tendencies can exist and fluctuate within the same person, so too could a space adjust between public and private functionalities.

The entire teahouse structure rotates on an axis to change from “open mode” (extroversion) to “closed mode” (introversion). Each structural element serves two separate purposes depending on the form’s open/closed state.

MULTI-FUNCTIONAL DESIGN

CLOSED OPEN

The space is fully transformable to either allow for company or as a secluded place of respite for the client to relax and recharge — all with one simple motion.

THE PUBLIC BACKYARD 04

YARD

STUDIO 3

AKRON, CO

This open-ended prompt in Studio 3 allowed for the design of anything imaginable to be built within the context of the town Akron, Colorado — so long as there was a solid explanation as to why. Therefore the architectural concepts behind the proposal needed to be unimpeachable, the reasoning logical and natural, and the design appropriate for the site.

UNDERSTANDING AKRON

The population of this small town has plateaud since the 1970s. Those who have remained a resident here do so because they call this place their hometown — they’re intrinsically attached to Akron.

EXISTING STOREFRONT

The town has a rich history revolving around agriculture and the construction of the BNSF Railway that connected Denver to Chicago. While some buildings along its Main Avenue sit vacant, the town’s vibrant culture and people are filled with life and authenticity.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

The 1,770 people who chose to reside in this small township pride themselves on being a tightknit community. Whether they are bound by work, connected to their neighbors, continuing a family legacy, or are drawn to the small-town environment; something is encouraging them to remain in Akron. This proposal draws upon the concept of community to celebrate those connections.

THE NEW TOWN SQUARE

Incorporating an existing building along Main Avenue, this design’s centralized location reinforces its agency as a gathering point for the community. The long structural form houses a barbeque-centric restaurant surrounded by an expansive network of tiered patios, a wrap-around porch, multiple yard spaces, and an outdoor music venue.

PUBLIC BACKYARD

A BACKYARD FOR THE PUBLIC

The concept of community celebration is established through elements inherent to a private backyard rendered for a public sphere — the public being the community of Akron as a whole. This space has a welcoming, “at-home” atmosphere and design aesthetic that mirrors familiar residential motifs found throughout the town but on a larger scale.

SUNKEN YARD

The public yard is recessed to instill a sense of intimacy while within it (think of a perimeter fence creating a private space) while remaining visually open and inviting to its surroundings from outside of the yard.

Yard games, a fire pit, a playground, outdoor grilling, patios, picnic tables, live music, good company — everything that comprises an ideal backyard experience can be found here. The outdoor spaces are open for public use year-round. The middle restaurant corridor is flanked by sliding doors that allow circulation and travel across the site during summer business hours.

05

COMMERCIAL PROJECT

REVIT FALL, 2021

DINOSAUR RIDGE, CO

As an introduction into the program Revit, I was tasked with designing a fossil museum located along Dinosaur Ridge in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The aesthetics were left to personal choice, as the curriculum focused on creating viable floor plans as well as other supplemental construction documents.

SOUTH ELEVATION

WEST ELEVATION

FOSSIL MUSEUM

LAYOUT & CIRCULATION

There were multiple room types and building components required to be placed into the design - designated to two separate floors - and so a hierachical development of program adjacencies and circulation was necessary for effective floor layouts.

With the site located on a hillside, windows and natural lighting were limited to the west side of the building. Thus, public and administrative areas were positioned along the building’s western facade with back-of-the-house and utility spaces placed further inward.

A smaller floor plate on the lower level allows the building to be recessed into the hillside while reducing cut-fill costs associated with soil removal.

WINDOW & DOOR LEGEND

MAIN LEVEL

LOWER LEVEL

06

RINO MIXED-USE

MAKER SPACES

SITE-DRIVEN DESIGN

Just as the site of a new project should inform its design, so too should architecture inform its context. This cyclical conversation formed the basis of our design concept and the goal of Studio 4’s curriculum. This group project required us to design a mixed-occupancy building informed by in-depth site analysis and research.

SYMBIOTIC MAKERS

The “makers” (designers, producers, hairdressers, artists, etc.) that would be occupying the commercial spaces of this building, as well as living in the residential units, were chosen from site research as well as from personal appeal to individual group members. The neighborhood has a rich jazz history, and as a musician, I chose a jazz artist as one of the makers to design for. The two other makers include a kite maker, chosen based on the predictable wind patterns on site as well as the lifestyle impacts of the pandemic; and a phycologist (scientist of algae), chosen based on the marshy flood plain in the area as well as the high waste-producing industrial sites in the neighborhood.

THE GOAL OF OUR MAKERS:

REGENERATION

KITE MAKING

RESTORE PUBLIC WELLFARE & HAPPINESS AMIDST THE PANDEMIC

JAZZ

REVIVE HISTORIC CULTURE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD

BY WAY OF:

PHYCOLOGY

OFFSET ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF INDUSTRIAL ZONING

TRANSFORMATION

KITE MAKING

RAW MATERIALS INTO A JOYFUL PASTIME

JAZZ SOUNDWAVES INTO AN EMOTIVE EXPERIENCE

PHYCOLOGY

INDUSTRIAL WASTE INTO BIOFUEL & POTABLE WATER

CONSIDERING TERTIARY PRINCIPLES OF:

MOVEMENT WAVEFORMS INTERACTION

ABSTRACT DESIGN PRINCIPLES

With three vastly difffering makers selected, it was necessary to distill their occupational processes into actionable design principles. Moreover, these design principles needed to be shared by all three makers in order to maximize their value and significance as we translated them into a built form.

RINO MIXED-USE

To express the concept of regenerative transformation, the visual design resembles rectilinear forms along the front face of the structure that are similar to other buildings in the area. As the form continues away from the street it begins to transmogrify and shift into expressive, undulating shapes. The upper sections are tilted, implying a gravitational pull towards this new, transformative idea.

DISSECT

MORPHOLOGY

With the transformative design principle in mind, the logical placement of certain programs combined with considerations for vertical and lateral circulation led to the ultimate production of the building’s form. The central exterior passageway promotes exploration through the site and further engagement with the conversation for which this architecture advocates.

PROGRAMMATIC INTERACTIONS

The three makers are connected via the same abstract design principles, and maintain spatial interconnectivity and interaction with each other and the context at large. The maker spaces are placed on the ground floor to maximize pedestrian-level visibility and contact while the dwelling units share central corridors and residential amenities.

DESIGN STATEMENT

This is not just a building that appreciates its local context but also stands as an argument for the revitalization of its surroundings through transformative community engagement.

PHYCOLOGY

POP-UP RESTAURANT

STUDIO 5 FALL, 2022

ENTOMOPHAGY

The prospect of a diet that includes insects is commonplace throughout the world, yet still considered “gross” in the US. The environmental and health benefits of consuming insects are vast; what stands in our way of entomophagy is simply our biases against it. This pop-up restaurant aims to ease the public into the idea of consuming insects by merging the familiar with the taboo.

SITUATED RESTAURANT

TED’S MONTANA GRILL

HIDDEN GEMS WONDERLAND

VICTORIANA ANTIQUE

BUBU

This insect restaurant is positioned at the entrance of a pedestrian avenue that is flanked by popular, up-scale establishments; arguing that this cuisine also has a place amongst the other typical dining fare.

BEES AS A STEPPING STONE

VS.

BUGS VS. BEEF

It is more efficient and environmentally friendly to produce 100g of insect protein than to produce 100g of beef protein. Insect protein is more nutritious than beef protein, requires 12 times less feed resources, 2000 times less water, and generates 100 times less greenhouse gas emissions to produce. 1 It is unequivocally the more viable option for protein.

The honeycomb form suggests honey as a widely accepted insect byproduct to be used as a stepping stone into other insect-based foods, and acts as a commentary on the importance of insects in our lives and in the environment — they should be celebrated, not feared. 1

08

BIOMIMICRY

LEARNING FROM NATURE

Humans have always drawn upon nature for inspiration and innovation. But to extract actionable design applications from complex biology entails dissecting natural processes and features down to fundamental principles from which biomimetic design can develop. Our group chose the earwig as the basis for Studio 5’s biomimicry prototype design.

REPLICATING ELASTIC JOINT BEHAVIOR

SYNTHESIZING BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS

REENGINEERING FOLDING CAPABILITY

The earwig wing contains an elastic resilin protein that gives it its unique capabilities. It stores its own energy, remains rigid in flight, can fold up to 1/10th of its size, and can fold/unfold indefinitely. The strategic design challenge was how to recreate the properties of an organic protein substance to be applied to a man-made prototype at the human scale. We selected furniture design as a potential application - a product that could benefit from a space-saving, efficiently foldable, lightweight design approach.

DERMAPTERA (EARWIG)

THE SCIENCE OF ORIGAMI

There were obvious similarities between the folding performance of the earwig wing and origami. Exploring the art of origami and its scientific application resulted in a prototype design that could toggle between two distinctly different shapes by way of folding.

COMPOSITING MATERIALS

Multiple combinations of materials were explored to most effectively recreate the earwig wing’s lightweight nature, joint elasticity and memory, and rigidity in the faces of the structure. The final prototype consists of 1/16th” craft plywood, elastic cosplay fabric, and FlexSealtm inside the creases.

FINAL PROTOTYPE

At only 6.5 lbs, this box spring can support the weight of a twin mattress and 190 lb human and is able to easily fold up to 1/4th of its expanded size for storage. Future iterations combined with machined manufacturing could further increase its capabilities.

MISCELLANEOUS 09

TRANSLATING MUSIC INTO DIFFERENT MEDIUMS

STUDIO 2 SPRING, 2021

PHOTOGRAPHY & SKETCHING