Gail Bray Architecture Portfolio

PORTFOLIO

M. Arch

4 10

Undergraduate

16 18

GAIL

BIOMORPHIC FOURPLEX

middle housing solution in mass timber

COMA

columbia modern art

LightHAUS 2024 solar decathlon award winner

Habitat 909

net-zero skyscaper adaptive reuse

BRAY

26

Béton Arts visual arts school

SELF-SHAPING CURVED MASS TIMBER BIOMORPHIC

FOURPLEX

passive layer

mortise + tenon joints

face-glued onto active layer stiffer, less deformation

active layer edge-glued together load-bearing grain direction higher swelling/ shrinking

notch

WET STATE

Using a design process detailed by researchers at the University of Stuggart*, curved mass timber structural members can be manufactured at an industrial scale using a novel process of “self-shaping”. The natural tendency of fibers to deform when introduced to moisture can be utilized and predicted with computational models to create complex, organic shapes through a process of moisture application, drying and deforming into shape, and lamination. The final laminated components are pre-fab, structural and load-bearing.

This process eliminates the material waste required to cut curved shapes from large, laminated timber sheets, which is the typical manufacturing process for curved timber.

acoustic DLT panels Pre-fab DLT panels can be manufactured at any increment up to 12’ wide, allowing for greater design flexibility without panel waste, making acoustic DLT ideal for a smaller residential scale with CNC milled profiles for acoustic material.

sound absorbtion

DLT shear walls

light-frame walls

acoustic DLT panels

moisture application

Fourplex Prototype

4

The fourplex prototype engages mass timber as an expressive structural element to establish an external identity for each of the four modular units, in contrast to the impersonal podium apartment buildings that pockmark the downtown heart of Columbia, Missouri. The 2-story, 2-bedroom units are designed as stackable pairs that overlap and notch together, inspired by traditional wood joinery techniques.

This geometry creates shaded entry moments, pseudo-front lawns, and internalized vertical circulation. At a total of 3,604 ft2, the small scale of the prototype allows for salient and novel experimentation with timber structural design. The nonrectilinear sillouettes are achieved without material waste by engaging a computational “self-shaping” manufacturing process for curved CLT.

half-lap joint

kiln-drying

DRY STATE curved CLT column

initial self-shaped bilayer

column tie

glulam beams curved CLT

SELF-SHAPED CLT PANEL self-shaped bilayer

DLT shear walls

cold bent locking layer

column base

6

curved CLT panel *Grönquist, Philippe. (2020).

Smart Manufacturing of Curved Mass Timber Components

by Self-Shaping. 10.3929/ ethz-b-000405617.

DLT panels

COLUMBIA 2b

edr oom

elevate private spaces

uni t. 9 01 f t2

rotate

.

void circulation

carve

stack

C 2’

8

1’

8’ 4’

16’

10

O

M

A

MODERN

ART

shop

lobby + calder

primary gallery

LANDSCAPE WITH 2 HORIZONS

mech.

GROUND FLOOR

Columbia Modern Art will serve as a cultural hub to ground the thriving North Village Arts District.

The program includes specialized gallery space to showcase the works of Isamu Noguchi, Barbara Kruger, Alexander Calder, and Dan Flavin as well as educational outreach, a cafe, and artist-in-residence. The rest of the site will home a sculpture garden with the works of Richard Serra and Eduardo Chillida.

precast GFRC form poured concrete wythe tie rebar rigid insulation

mech. patio collection storage + curator workroom

cafe

kitchen

lecture

classroom

16” precast hollow core planks

This project proposes an analytical reinterpretation of a selected Richard Diebenkorn painting by translating its compositional, chromatic, and spatial qualities into a three-dimensional surface. Rather than treating the painting solely as a two-dimensional image, the study investigates how Diebenkorn’s layered geometry, ART IN COLUMBIA subtle color modulation, and spatial tension can be understood as variations in depth, elevation, and topography.

precast loadbearing walls

flavin

NORTH ELEVATION

noguchi kruger mech.

SECOND FLOOR

insulated cast-in-place concrete wall system

sidney larson

studio artist residence

mech.

foundation

maker space

performing arts rose music hall

public art

talking horse productions cafe berlin

art walk

north village arts district

traffic box art the blue note

stephens lake park ampitheater THIRD FLOOR

director office office

sager reeves

aluminum edging stone tile cementitious bond coat mortar setting bed cleavage membrane vapor barrier foundation slab

mural

missouri theater C.A.L.

WEST ELEVATION

experimental gallery

gallery/ studio

12

16" precast hollow core rigid insulation plug grout shim sealant aluminum mullion light-diffusing glass

mech.

stephens theatre conference + break

14

HABITAT 909 SKYSCRAPER

NET-ZERO

LIGHTHAUS | solar decathlon 2024

Competition thesis project developed with Benjamin Hendricks and Ezra Stimac and presented at NREL for the U.S. Department of Energy BuildingsNEXT competition (formerly known as Solar Decathlon design challenge.)

Awarded 3rd place in Multifamily Residential category at the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, LightHAUS is a net-zero housing complex designed for international students and early-career educators in Columbia. The project transforms an industrial brownfield into a breathing ecosystem of passive systems and agrovoltaics.

Standing as the second tallest building in Missouri, the former AT&T office stands in the heart of downtown St. Louis with 44 stories and 1.45 million square feet. At the time of our proposal, the tower was vacant and its market value had plummeted by $146.7 million. The Habitat 909 retrofit proposes a net-zero, mixed-use, residential space that is marketed towards families and young professionals as a replicable, sustainable solution for adapting the growing number of abandoned office buildings in major cities. Project was modeled in Revit using Point Cloud data provided by TrueScan.

Project was designed and lead by Turma Asokan. This was a big team effort and I was responsible for developing the safety and well-being components of the project, including researching passive atrium ventilation, fire protection methods, and designing living wall systems. I also contributed to building the physical model.

solar decathlon 2025

16

RETROFIT

18

HABITAT

909

ECOSYSTEM

Building-Applied Photocoltaics efficient HVRF & DOAS

Solar + Energy

Updated wall enevelope

RETROFIT EUI: 31.9

Annual energy usage: 9,350,000 KWH

Reduced conditioned spaces by 270,000 sqft by creating protected community outdoor spaces.

Exterior wall R-value 26

construction

with

Utilized passive cooling in corridors through stack effect created by atriums.

110,420 sqft solar southern facade.

reduced conditioned space passive cooling offsite PV-covered parking EV shuttles transport residents + energy to tower and store excess energy

capture

on

Heat generated by BAPV is used to preheat boiler water lines.

Additional solar energy generated from covered parking lot designated for residents with EV shuttles for transporting energy and residents between sites.

Building-Applied Photovoltaics facade

20

909 CHESTNUT STREET

DOWNTOWN ST. LOUIS

22

Vertical Neighborhood

Community terraces

3 bed unit

co

m m un

ity

ou td o

or

sp

ac

e

flex commercial space

mech + service

mech + service

PASSIVELY COOLED ATRIUM

co

m

m

un

ity

ou td o

or

sp

ac

e

passively cooled atrium

2 bed unit

Open-air retail atrium

24

studio

Béton

Arts

The postsecondary visual arts school is 2 stories and 36,412 sqft. It is located in central Columbia, Missouri, standing between a nature trail and urban college evironment. The form is derived from the height needs of the spaces within- the tall gallery, studios, & lecture halls are arranged in L-shapes to create the striking angles of the roof. The entrance opens to a 2-story gallery space that will display student work and serve as a circulation hub.

Beyond the gallery is a central atrium with paths between studio classrooms in efficient angles, inspired by the exterior appearance, that will bring natural light into both floors of the building. The stretches of rough concrete and stone are a blank canvas for student expression.

26

duplicate

stack, create circulation

carve angles

Section

South elevation

Floor 1

create L-shape

Floor 2

North elevation

2’ 4’

8’

16’

East elevation

28

30