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Personal statement Heather Kimbrell
hlkimbr@g.clemson.edu C: (843) 619-1243 114C University Village Drive, Central, SC, 29630
I have always had considerable curiosity for the environment around me. This came from a shift in the cultural landscape in which I spent my childhood living in Charleston, SC, and uprooting to live in San Diego, California. Geographically speaking, the week-long drive physically marked a separation of two places. However, culturally speaking, the move introduced me to another lifestyle, new expectations, and remarkable experiences. In moving back to Charleston a year later, I developed my own curiosity in the realm of my room and its belongings. A new house meant a new opportunity to decorate my room, however, I took ‘decorating’ to new extremes of planning with pencil and marker drawings of room plans, axonometric drawings-before I knew their formal name- and a connection beyond paper analyzing how the space made me feel as I shifted its contents. This taught me the value of our interactions between space and the objects it holds. One iteration and my dissatisfaction with it lead me to tears on many occasions but developed my understanding of spatial awareness. Many iterations later, I was finally pleased with my arrangement. I took my interest in spatial awareness with me to high school and enrolled in civil engineering and architecture classes to sharpen my idea of what architecture is. During my two semesters of classes I worked on developing skills with codes, Revit, design aesthetic, hand-crafted drawings and models which all in summation earned me the title for architecture student of the year. From there, I wanted to keep propelling myself upward in gaining architectural experiences, awareness, and awards so I applied and was accepted to Clemson University’s architecture program. In my two years with the program thus far, evidence of expanding on the architectural experience, spatial awareness, and my own self-development are prevalent. I use the curiosity sparked in me at a young age to drive my education. It has lead me to two published works, an internship with Carlos Zapata Studios in NYC, architectural research in columns of double curvature with the integration of fiberglass weaving, and the chance to present research to the AIAS Young Researchers event in mid October this Fall.
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Refined color palette to define the path to architecture
2013
2005
2002 2003
2014
2015 2016
2017
change in cultural landscape from charleston, sc to san diego, ca
developed plan and axon drawings at the age of 8 to plan furniture rearrangements of my room
plan drawings axonometric drawings dissatisfaction of new layouts pushes me to multiple iterations
first architectural tour of hearst castle enrolled in civil engineering and architecture classes at my high school
decision to study architecture
purposeful design understanding building codes project planning
year 1: architectural foundations
acceptance to clemson university’s school of architecture year 2: techniques for design
architecture student of the year developed a column of double curvature with an experiment in composites such as fiberglass
year 3: urban planning
presented research and accepted 3rd place for the acma composites one 2nd annual competition
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Contents Cartesian Grids
6-9
Acquiring Structure
26-31
Mell Hall Cartesian Grid Study
10-15
Pastabilities
32-35
Wall House II
16-21
Pasta Villa
36-39
Methodology of Carving
22-25
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Cartesian Grids
By using diagonals and their proportions to draw cartesian grids on 4�x6� notecards, an understanding of craft, lineweight, and material properties is introduced in the beginning of semester one in architecture school. The careful placement of figures and fields (ground) is determined by assignment constraints given. Such as the series progresses, so does the complexity of figure to ground.
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ARCH 1010- Intro to Architecture. August 2015-October 2015.
Added overlay suggesting a conservative grain to the figures and fields in each quadrant.
Added overlay suggesting tension in the conversation between the four quadrants.
9”x12” museum board model combining the new overlays with existing figure and field conditions.
Complexity in figure-ground relationships grows as four previous quadrants are placed in a complete 9”x12” plane. The arrrangements of figures and field per quadrant reveal texture in its over-arching grain.
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Cartesian Grids
Axonometric drafted drawings show how all the model pieces come together. They can be seen as a plan drawing and then a model with the integration of figures and fields atop the cartesian grid.
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ARCH 1010- Intro to Architecture. August 2015-October 2015.
A revised model portrays a new plan approach taken.
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Mell Hall Cartesian Grid Study
Working through the same cartesian grid exercise, but applying the knowledge to a physical building, led to new discoveries about figures and fields as they are used in building facades like Clemson’s own Mell Hall.
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ARCH 1010- Intro to Architecture. October 2015-December 2015.
Above are two versions of tonal studies, both inverted. All the techniques of tone, figures, and fields are combined in a composite axonometric drawing.
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Mell Hall Cartesian Grid Study
Here, a series of translating 2-dimensional studies into several models exhibits grids I found to be most prevalent. With each model, a new layer of information was added.
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ARCH 1010- Intro to Architecture. October 2015-December 2015.
To end the study, a final grid, figure and field, and tonal study were exhibited alongside an ink experiential drawing.
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Mell Hall Cartesian Grid Study
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ARCH 1010- Intro to Architecture. October 2015-December 2015.
The complete model translating grids into a physical conceptual model.
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Wall House II
16
Void
In-between
Solid
ARCH 2510- Architecture Communications. February 2016-March 2016.
Division of spaces- solid, void, and in-betweenin Wall House II.
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Wall House II
A section drawing improvises on the idea that Wall House II is both divided by its six structural columns and joined by them.
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ARCH 2510- Architecture Communications. February 2016-March 2016.
Lighting plays a peculiar role in the amoeba forms and only peeks into the hallway from long windows.
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Wall House II
Grasping an understanding of the odd spaces in Wall House II meant each space had to be understood as a part to a whole model. These are a few more notable spaces.
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ARCH 2510- Architecture Communications. February 2016-March 2016.
The Wall House II facade is observed to be floating from a distance in the way it is supported by six columns on one side of the wall.
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Methodology of Carving
Sketches reveal an attempt to understand the methodology of carving before diving into physical modeling. After three initial wireframe models are constructed with intersecting shapes, one model is carried forward to be made hollow.
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ARCH 1520 - Architecture Foundations I. September 2016.
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Methodology of Carving
Complex spaces are revealed from simple shapes intersecting.
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ARCH 1520 - Architecture Foundations I. September 2016.
An elevation-axon drawing works to shift the boolean objects and form new spaces.
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Acquiring Structure
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ARCH 1520 - Architecture Foundations I. September 2016-October 2016.
14�
Making use of remaining material from the curved crease template is the underlying constraint that forced me to keep my folded plate study bound by circular dimensions.
A simple circle shape combined with alternating concentric rings brings flat to form. Utilizing remains of this curved crease template, an idea for a folded plate experiment is borne.
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Acquiring Structure
Six studies in the remaining 14�-diameter circle allow for variations in folded plate patterns. With a simple pinching at the bottom of each “pringle� these petal-like folds are created.
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ARCH 1520 - Architecture Foundations I. September 2016-October 2016.
One study led into the next and I felt intrigued by the pinching technique as it was combined with the pattern of study #3.
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Acquiring Structure
Recycled material Recycled material, overlapped and glued Pinched and glued
To form a template for my column structure, I simply multiplied study #3 and overlapped their matching parts to create a column that blossoms with three petals. With additional pinching at the core I can control the size of its waist.
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ARCH 1520 - Architecture Foundations I. September 2016-October 2016.
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Pastabilities
Hand sketches form the backbone of hand models as ruled surface drawings are imagined with three-dimentionality.
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ARCH 1520 - Architecture Foundations I. October 2016.
Twisitng / torsion becomes my interest with ink ruled surface drawings.
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Pastabilities
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ARCH 1520 - Architecture Foundations I. October 2016.
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Pasta Villa
Parti sketches advance my earliest idea to make another pasta model introducing twisting / torsion at a larger scale in multiples.
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ARCH 1520 - Architecture Foundations I. November 2016-December 2016.
To imagine a true-to-life material that works within the same parameters as pasta brought me to a new modeling material, composites. The fiberglass joint was made atop a ruled surface part to extract the notion of ridges and translucency in its full-scale form.
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Pasta Villa
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ARCH 1520 - Architecture Foundations I. November 2016-December 2016.
N
A floor plan plays with the idea of pulling three pieces away from their triangular beginnings. The gap leaves a walkable path for pedestrians to enjoy.
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