Issuu

HE L E NA

architecture 2

L E CO CQ

portfolio

ABOUT

HOW I WORK

My entire life I have moved around from country to country. I have dual citizenship for Belgium, where I was born, and the U.S. I have lived in The Netherlands, Belgium, Cambodia, Arizona, and Louisiana. Now, I live in Lausanne, Switzerland where I am working at my second internship at the firm, Burckhardt Partner.

I consider myself to be a curious student in that I’m always searching for the reason or explanation of things. I thoroughly enjoy being taught various approaches to viewing obstacles and solving them. Looking at art and architecture through different lenses allows us to have an even greater experience and appreciation than a more objective and hard headed approach. While we all may have our own preferences and design styles, I believe it is extremely beneficial for us to be able to appreciate architecture or designs in styles that differ from our own.

Moving around has fostered a fascination of the world’s inner workings. It has taught me to be resilient, motivated, and enthusiastic for new opportunities and experiences, as well as to appreciate the past while still being excited about the future. The opportunity to travel, experience cultures, traditions, people, and architecture at a young age broadened my outlook of the world. It also opened my eyes to the many societal problems the world faces and motivated me to follow a career path that would allow me to make a differencearchitecture.

My design process varies but normally starts with an idea that usually becomes the main concept of the whole project. I then model that concept into a form that creates a hypothetical space through the use of tectonics and materiality: a gesture. Two main elements I always incorporate into my projects are light and views. They are the two things I believe to be critical in creating a strong connection between the project and its location.

CONTENTS

FLOAT

GRIFFIN HALL

THE GRID Mixed-use......................................................................................17

PHOTOGRAPHY

ACSA Winning Competition Residential Project...................................1

Liberal Arts University Building...........................................................9

Personal photographic work..............................................................25

F A

L Home

O Post

Sea

A Level

T Rise

INDIVIDUAL ACADEMIC STUDIO ASSIGNMENT SITE : Bayou Chene in Atchafalaya Basin, Louisiana TYPE : Residential PROFESSOR : Ashlie Latiolais, Fourth Year Studio ACSA HERE+NOW HOUSING COMPETITION 2nd place

This project sought to address the pressing issue of climate change and sea level rise by creating a home that is easily constructed, moved and lived in. A project that is self sustaining through solar energy, water collection and built in food producing systems. The main concept for the design is that while Louisianians will have to face this undeniable shift in their lives, their culture and way of living does not have to be sacrificed. By incorporating traditional housing typologies to create familiar spaces for the residents, the adjustment to this new lifestyle will be made a little easier.

1 11

SHOTGUN AXIS

SCREENED PORCH

CONCEPT: Space + typologies

DOGTROT

WRAP AROUND PORCH

WINTER / SPRING

LOUISIANA COAST 1932

SUMMER / WINTER

LOUISIANA COAST 2011 5

SPRING / SUMMER

SEASONAL WATER LEVEL RISE ON SITE

HURRICANE SHUTTER ELEVATION

A major consideration that must be made when designing for Louisiana are hurricanes. Annually, hurricane season is from the beginning of June until the end of November and is a very real threat to the residents of Louisiana, especially those on or near water. Being in the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana is frequently confronted with hurricanes; if they are lucky to be missed by one’s disastrous route, they will usually feel its effects through serious storms. This home has a series of shutter systems steel roll-away, sliding, and folding shutters - that are incorporated on all of the openings of the structure. With these systems in place, residents have the ability to either take refuge within the protected home or safely leave their home as they wait for the storm to pass.

SLIDING SHUTTER DETAIL 6

G R I F F I N CONNECTION

WITHIN

SCHOOL

INDIVIDUAL ACADEMIC STUDIO ASSIGNMENT SITE : University of Louisiana at Lafayette TYPE : University Building PROFESSOR : Geoff Gjertson, Third Year Studio

The goal of this project was to draw inspiration from the shortfalls of the current building. For example, the entrance of the current building is difficult to locate and rarely used, by emphasizing it, this will no longer be an issue. Next, the circulation in the current building is disorganized and difficult to locate, the new design prioritized the circulation, making the commute to class an enjoyable experience. The old building is dark with few windows, the new design will flood the building with light creating naturally lit atmosphere. An english building on a university campus is supposed to cultivate the knowledge and creativity that faculty and students bring into the classroom, which is what this design does.

BLOCK

SPLICE FOR DIRECTIONALITY / SPLICE FOR CIRCULATION / SUBTRACTION FOR EMPHASIS

RECONNECTION / CONNECTION THROUGH VERTICAL CIRCULATION / PUSH AND PULL FOR LIGHT

CONCEPT: Driving force

VEHIC PEDE

Student traffic arrives at a very abrupt and angled direction. Rather than trying to work around that, the moment was used as the main concept of the project, to create a strong force of directionality throughout the building. First by emphasizing the entrance through a massive cantilever, making the entrance of the building impossible to miss. Next by essentially splitting the building into two pieces and then reconnecting them through bridges and stairways so that the circulation throughout the building is brought to life and enjoyable. 12

LOUNGE AREA PERSPECTIVE

CIRCULATION PERSPECTIVE

T H E Morphology

G R I D in

Design

INDIVIDUAL ACADEMIC STUDIO ASSIGNMENT SITE : Downtown Lafayette, Louisiana TYPE : Mixed-use PROFESSOR : Tom Sammons, Fourth Year Studio

The concept of this project was to incorporate the study of Lafayette’s morphology to influence the design. When studying the morphology, many occurrences in the grid became apparent that were then integrated into the design of the building. These included grid shifts and grid intersections as well as anomalies. By using these experiential moments in the morphology as a base for the design of the building, a connection was made between the new construction and the surrounding area making it possible for the design to blend easily into the community rather than designing something that had no relationship to the culture and neighborhood. 17

The morphology is the driving force of this projects concept in that it allows this building to have spatial experiences that relate directly to the city and morphology. In studying the structure of the morphology, it became clear that there are two grid systems happening. The first is the national grid and the second is a grid that is perfectly parallel and perpendicular to the Vermillion, main river flowing through the city. When the two grids intersect, a shift occurs that can be physically experienced. Within this grid, tucked into the nooks of the Vermillion River, are anomalies that appear. While still contained within the grids of Lafayette, the anomalies still have the freedom to dance around. In the design, the anomalies are interpreted through the cylincridcal shape on the corner of the building, and the two grid systems are translated into the floor plan.

Grid shifts within grid of morphology

Anomalies within grid of morphology

Simplified floor plan displaying grid shifts and anomalies within design inspired by morphology

CONCEPT: Creating a relationship between morphology and design

EXPLODED STRUCTURAL DIAGRAM OF BOOKSTORE 21

BOOKSTORE INTERIOR PERSPECTIVE 22

LONGITUDINAL SECTION 23

Personal Photographic Work

HELENA

LEC O C Q

hasw.lecocq@gmail.com + 1

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