Gavin Architecture Portfolio

GAVIN KIM

SELECTED WORKS 2022-23

GAVIN KIM

gavinkim77@outlook.com

+1 (647) - 782 - 3276

SKILLS

Rhino 7

Photoshop

Grasshopper Illustrator

EXPERIENCE

AutoCAD InDesign

Communication and Event Coordinator - NeighbourLink

Enscape Premiere

Revit 2022 Figma VRay Blender

- Planning and managing events for low-income residents of North York’s Willowdale Community

- Developing graphics for social media and for webpage layouts for events of small and large scale

- Attending and overseeing planned events, coordinating everything accordingly

Architectural Instructor - Canadian Contemporary School of Art (CCSA)

- Preparing projects for students ages 6-18

- Instructing students on basic elements of architectural drawing and design (scale, etc...)

- Instructing students on basic model making and drawing skills

Summer Design Build Project

- Worked with a small team in developing a design for a temporary installation project

- Contributed to the design for a temporary installational project

- Participated in the construction of the constituent parts for the installation

Front Counter Staff - MilkCow Cafe

- Greeting customers

- Preparing ingredients and presenting/serving various food items

- Managing/organizing stock and other tasks within cafe space

Guest Service Support - Young People’s Theatre

- Greeting patrons and informing them of theater policies

- Managed and assisted with special events/workshops

EDUCATION

University of Toronto

Bachelor of Arts, Architectural Studies

Graduated with final GPA of 3.75 and with High Distinction

Don Mills Collegiate Institute CyberARTs Program

Specialized Arts program focussing on fine and digital arts

ACHIEVEMENTS

Dean’s Scholar List

Tree House Competition - People’s Choice Award

Brewed Bali Competition - Shortlisted

Turf Student Housing Competition - Shortlisted

THE GROTTO RESIDENCE

DATE: 04/13/23 LOCATION: VARSITY WORK: ACADEMIC

Situated within the University of Toronto St George Campus, this student residence aims to reactivate some of UofT’s hidden urban landscapes to create a residence that invites students to not only explore the campus and it’s surrounding cityscape, but to also engage a larger community of students to interact with one another, to make newfound memories with friends both old and new.

Through establishing a formulated structure of pentagons with a series of embedded atriums/courtyard spaces which open up to the surrounding existing pathways within the site, the atriums act as a space for a complex circulatory network where students can experience the simple act of walking. Such a simple gesture allows students to walk and engage with each other as they navigate through the buildings various types of social programming, allowing for unique moments of either more public or private social interaction. The atriums act as a well, filled with playful a playful and welcoming social life, creating community for students both new and old.

TOP - Tasked with drawing a simple section of our own dwelling, this prescedent study of our own room was aimed to allow for an understanding of the more intimate thresholds that exists at the scale of the individual. This exercise demonstrates how the space of the individual establishes various scales of thresholds from the obvious such as doors and entrances, to the less obvious ones generated from the establishing of space by the individual such as the arrangement of clothing and such.

BOTTOM - This drawing is an overdrawing of a seperate case study, the Goldring Athletic Centre at the University of Toronto campus. This threshold demonstrates how the finite architectural scale of things, can be interpreted in varying ways, masking and revealing various borders or passageways that either invite or seperate the inside and out, allowing for a greater understanding on how to establish invitingness in our own residence’s design.

LEFT - Through establishing the unique pentagonal form which creates three unique atrium-esque spaces of congregation and circulation, the circulation within the three pentagonal volumes all purposefully lead towards the varying programmatic spaces embedded within the building, allowing the atrium to act as a conduit for social engagement, whilst subtletly inviting the wandering residents into more private yet social spaces for gathering.

ROCKADE PAVILION

DATE: 2020 LOCATION: KENSINGTON MARKET WORK: ACADEMIC

Within the context of Kensington Market, specifically situated within Bellevue Square Park, this pavilion acts to invite and intrigue guests through a variety of lighting gestures made at the level of the facade.

The pavilion itself acts to house the work of artist Haegue Yang who’s works predominantly involve the use of natural lighting and the act of filtering said lighting to create an interactive installational environment.

In order to fuel this aspect of her works, the pavilion in itself mimics the gestures of Haegue Yang’s works to filter the natural lighting conditions of the site to further enhance the qualities of Haegue Yang’s artworks.

The filtering of light additionally aligns with the context of the existing pathways at the site, allowing for an inviting presence with a monolithic demeanor.

analysis

CONTEXT

EXTRUDE

extrusion of fins in clusters of four, each cluster displaying the same pattern of gradual size reduction of fins

MIRROR

CONNECT

reflection

the

STRETCH

LIGHT

Light filters out through a panelling system, where the most amount of light filters along the existing pathways of Kensington Market and Bellevue Square Park.

of the pathing within the park to establish the base of the pavilion

of the initially extruded fins to create a series of apertures and overhands for fluctuating levels of filtration

placement of imaginary extrusions within the interior, allows for a mesh to stretched overtop for varying levels of height

through the use of meshes, the top and bottom fins are connected to each other, creating a series of shading devices

the stretched mesh is further cut, creating further apertures to allow for an undulating filtration of light within kensington

FANNING HALL

DATE: 2021 LOCATION: UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, VARSITY CENTRE

Situated within the University of Toronto campus near the Varsity Stadium and centre, this study hall plays with lighting conditions to allow for an immersive and inviting atmosphere that allows for a comfortable and open space for study and leisure.

The prompt of this project was to generate a study hall based on one word, the word for this particular study hall being “Fanning.”

The word “Fanning” was adapted to generate a series of panels and extrusions that would “Fan” out from supporting columns which would then create various walls, openings, floors, and stairs that would all be connected in some way. Through this gesture, I was able to generate a repetitive sequence of spaces that were all connected and at the same time, were very open and had ample levels of natural lighting, qualities which would create a healthy environment for long periods of studying and such.

WORK: ACADEMIC

Ground.

Third.

Second. Roof.

Fanning to meld and merge volumes into one united programmatic experience.

THE CURTAIN HOUSE

DATE: 12/15/2022 LOCATION: KENSINGTON MARKET WORK: ACADEMIC

Situated within Kensington Market, the prompt this particular project was to design a “Tower House,” in the sense that we were tasked with designing a house within a relatively small plot of 5x11m, that must not only act as a domestic living space, but also a commercial one, forcing us to build upwards.

Situated within a unique zone of transition within Kensington where commercial blends into residential, my house has a direct split of domestic and commercial space, but with the unique characteristic of trying to assimilate the domestic to be a part of the commercial experience.

The commercial space being a house plant store, the logic was to assemble a series of glass boxes, all offset from one another which divides up the space into private-domestic or commercial while still having a continuity of volumes, and creating stricter divides through an act of “curtaining” over these volumes to create moments of pure transparency or pure privacy.

PRESCEDENT - SUZUKI HOUSE

- This study of the Suzuki House by Bolles+Wilson examines the ways in which “suspension” as mentioned by the firm, is played out in determining volumes and spaces of both public and private program. How domesticity can be establishing through a suspension of architectural elements for the common house.

Suspension works to create a heirarchy of spaces, all framed at an intimate, domestic scale.

LEFT: Exploded Isometric section, displaying the splitting between commercial and domestic through the central circulation. Circulation acting as a mediator between the two programs, a space of congregation, not divide

.

RIGHT: House fitted within context of Augusta Avenue.

“Void space becomes program, an endless continuity of open and closed domesticity”

“Melded volumes create moments of reveal and intimacy”

DISTORT - LAMP SET

DATE: 2023 LOCATION: N/A WORK: ACADEMIC

Wood has numerous special qualities about it which make it such an amazing material to experiment and work with once one begins to dig into unveiling some of the ways they can use said properties into making a block of wood, into an unique artifact.

Creating an artifact was the premise of the project, and given everything we were taught on the various properties of wood and ways to use wood, this project aims to transform the wood into something transparent, flexible, and delicate, things that wood is rarely ever seen as.

By using a kerf-cutting technique, the bassplywood that was used for this project, was transformed into something flexible and translucent, acting as a perfect lamp shade of sorts, and using similar techniques to make the lamp shade, a box was formed to house the wiring and such used to allow the lamp to function. This project aims to test and understand the limits of wood, to transform it into something wood not usually ever seen as.

THE SUN

Through a multilayering of various kerf cut and bent pieces of wood, the transparency of the cut is relayed and reflected upon turning the lamp on, unveiling a variation in the cut pieces, exposing more or less light with a cut-out sun-like form at the top of the towering lamp.

THE LOTUS

Each piece is layered and folded amongst each other, filtering light at varying levels. The layering produces a flower-esque form, allowing for moments of greater lighting or lesser lighting to allow for an atmospheric shading affect.