HANNAH TIDWELL College of Architecture, Art, & Design Mississippi State University





The design of this mixed use apartment building considers the idea of living in nature. The theme of “Living in Nature” is an idea that allows the residents to connect with their natural surroundings while they are within an urban area. This lifestyle promotes mental health, peacefulness, and productivity which are vitial atributes in living a healthy life. These greenery themed living spaces allow for many opportunites for the residents to grow plants within the building. The units allow for each resident to have their own private sunroom that can be used for planting as a greenhouse or as a private space to enjoy the exterior surroundings. Each floor has a greenhouse for community planting and their is a center atrium that is filled with hanging greenery with a garden space at the bottom. On the first residential floor one can find a large exterior balcony that is a great place for the residents to hangout and enjoy the fresh air. The roof is another large community space that is filled with green spaces. The community spaces also include a gym, a fitness studio, and a work space. These spaces are important places that allow the residents to be healthy and productive.
PinkCirculation and Community Space WhiteResidential/ Private YellowRetail/ Public
Orange Shows open space on the first floor for exterior seating for businesses
Sunlight Morning Sunlight
Afternoon Sunlight
Green Space
Blue shows the units. These towers were made to the size of the units and to where there would be 6 units per floor level.
Wind
Renderings: The First Rendering is an exterior view of the building. The second rendering is inside a typical unit. This is a view from the kitchen looking into the living room. The third rendering is of the interior of a unit, looking into the kitchen and living room area. The fourth rendering is of the main bedroom in a unit. The fifth rendering shows the opening of the center of the building that allows for circulation and an internal garden space. The sixth rendering is of the roof garden space. It features nice, green public spaces for the community.
Mound Bayou is a town that is located in the Mississippi Delta that is widely known for it’s historical significance. The city was founded in 1887 as an independent black community with the majority of the members being former slaves. The town has alot of important history, thus the need for the historical bank renovation and redesign project. The project was to redesign the interior of the existing historic bank building and to create an addition and together they would act as a museum of history for the city of Mound Bayou, Mississippi. When beginning the design, I wanted to make the addition different from the bank building so there would be a defined difference between the old and the new, while still keeping the existing building the focus of the project. This lead me to place only one point of the addition on the same line as the front of the existing building. This shows the importance of the historical aspect of the existing bank building by it having a strong hold on the front facade of the building.
The majority of the addition is a curved form. I chose to make it this shape to make it completely different from what already exists. The transition space is also curved meeting at the point that is in line with the existing building. The only thing that will be in front of this line is the gardens. This floor plan features a museum gallery space that has curved walls to help with the circulation of the space. The double height garden acts as a transition space from the theater back to the bookstore. The rooftop garden has a skylight feature that will have a light diffuser in the gallery space. The gardens are also important as they were designed to encourage growth in the community.
The offices and conference room is located on the second floor as well as the event space. As for the materials, the framing of the glass on the addition was spaced to line up with the windows on the existing building to create a continuation of this material from the existing building to the addition. Concrete will be used as the base and bottom floor of the building to represent the strength of the roots of this community. The curve detailing at the top of the building was created to provide a very distinct feature to the new building to separate it from the old building, but it curves down to point to the old building and then the point located in the center of this detail is to strengthen that central point.
The Cube Project was an exercise to determine the definition of what makes up a cube.
Through this project I was able to look at how light affect different spaces as well as how edges can define a shape.
The design of the art gallery began with a given shape size and verbs that where used to formulate a shape. After those shapes were created they were then looked at in a section view. This was used to create different moments throughout the building. Once a shape was chosen, a program was added to the shape and different levels were created. Light was one of the main factors in the design of the art gallery.
This is a model of the form of the building. It shows the openings and outdoor spaces that would be utilized in this design.
The design of “The Ripple” was created with the incorporation of natural curvatures to facilitate the movement of water down the surface of a wall, and more locally, the surface of a single block. The intention inspired the name and also the shape, similar to the movement of water itself, and has other features with highlight the curves and uniqueness of this design. One of these features is the surface of the block itself, whose undulating curves create the opportunity for dynamic shadowing, showcasing the natural texture of the concrete and inviting illumination. The blocks interaction with organic elements also extends to weathering: rainfall interacts with concrete facades by washing over them, which can leave deposits of dirt as well as staining from accumulated chemicals on the continous channels down the block wall prevent dirt from accumulating while simultaneously welcoming the weathering from rainfall that could provide darker staining along the concave curves on the surface, further highlighting the “Ripple”.
The 3D printed hook component, when installed, would wrap aroind the front of a selected block, and create a connectionpoint along the wall for foliage. The attachment also adds a visual element of verticality , contrasting with the organic curves of the block. Climbing plants are encouraged to follow the curving channels of the surface, and the accessory attachments provide a place to connect to and guide the growth of the plants. This reinforces the curves as a design feature as well as a functional component that welcomes interaction with organic elements, such as plants as well as water. The accessory also creates fluidity throughout the block wall by covering the harsh connection points from one block to another.
This is a drafted plan and elevation of The Luxembourg House. Architect: Richard Meier and Partners.