DESIGN COMPENDIUM Conner Bryan
/ 2008 - 2013
CONTENTS
Conner Bryan is an architectural designer from Navarre, Florida. Conner recently received his Master of Architecture degree at The University of Texas at Austin. While completing his studies, he served as a graduate teaching assistant for Environmental Controls as well as the Public Interest Design / Build program. Conner also served as a graduate research associate at the UT Center for Sustainable Development. He has previously worked at the offices of Allied Works Architecture and HHMA. Conner views the act of design through the lens of exploration - an ontological investigation. He believes in thinking critically through the act of making. He also maintains a firm belief in design that provides smart and adaptive responses to human degradation on the environment. Conner previously studied at The University of Florida where he received his Bachelor of Design in Architecture degree with highest honors, as well as a minor in Urban and Regional Planning. He is also a LEED Accredited Professional.
CARGO TERMINAL
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education / Pearl River Delta, China
OPEN HOUSE
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education / Austin, Texas
TIMBER IN THE CITY
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education / Red Hook, New York
PHOTOBIOREACTOR
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education / Dusseldorf, Germany
PANTHER HOLLOW
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education / Austin, Texas
KUNSTHALLE
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practice / Columbus, Ohio
DESIGN NEIGHBORHOOD
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practice / Denver, Colorado
STELLATUS
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education / Austin, Texas
BEACH DEBRIS
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education / Navarre Beach, Florida
STICKS & STONE practice / Venice, Italy
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CARGO TERMINAL education University of Texas at Austin course Advanced Studio location Pearl River Delta, China date 2011 collaborator Michael Beene
Emerging manufacturing-based megacities require a new airport typology: the first airport dedicated to non-human travel. The Pearl River Delta (PRD) Air Cargo Terminal, located in China’s busiest manufacturing city, allows for unparalleled efficiency in the transportation of cargo while removing industrial waste from the delta itself. This rapid expansion of manufacturing facilities in the region has caused tremendous water pollution. As a response to this issue, the PRD cargo terminal is positioned to facilitate the clean up of industrial wastewater through a natural phytoremediation process. Plants called hyperaccumulators have the ability to tolerate large quantities of heavy metals, carcinogens, and other toxins. By implementing a hydroponic treatment system with these plants on site, the river water can be treated without the use of carbon-intensive industrial equipment. Once the river water enters the site, it flows through a series of constructed wetlands, where the hyperaccumulators absorb the toxins through their root structures. Once the plants have become saturated with heavy metals, they can be collected and incinerated, whereby the heavy metals can be captured, recycled, and re-used, eliminating them from the regional ecosystems.
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In this way, the PRD cargo terminal can serve as a model for the entire region, addressing the rising need of cargo transport for the manufacturing sector, while also alleviating the environmental issues facing China today. The building itself consists of two main elements: a series of modular processing bays and an elevated network of administration bars. This loosely defined network provides space for both administrative uses and workers’ facilities. The confined nature of the bar-shaped rooms, paired with views of the horizon, creates a more personal experience to complement the working spaces below. The modular bays can be expanded when the airport reaches capacity, clipping onto the elevated taxiway structure above. This project was awarded the Excellence in Design Award by the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture in 2011.
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/ economic + aviation timeline
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A elevated taxiway B cargo conveyance C admin program D admin building E cargo facility F cargo sorting + storage G foundations
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TAXIWAY
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CARGO FACILITY E
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CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS
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/ exploded site diagram
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/ section through administrative building + cargo facility
/ section through cargo facility
/ south-east elevation
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/ ground level plan
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NN
/ upper level plan
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/ administrative building roof detail
/ cargo facility wall to roof detail
/ administrative building floor detail
/ cargo facility wall to foundation detail
/ cargo facility skylight detail
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cast-in-place concrete zinc cladding system displacement ventilation duct set in concret
g rod
ming anel system k
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PARTIAL FLOOR PLAN 1 : 50
/ typical wall section
/ section perspective
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/ interior view of administrative building
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/ interior view of cargo facility
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/ exterior view looking west
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OPEN HOUSE education University of Texas at Austin course Advanced Studio location Austin, Texas date 2013 collaborator s Garrett Martin Taylor McNally-Anderson Tyler Noblin
The University of Texas at Austin is developing a small house design for entry into the 2015 U.S. Solar Decathlon competition. The current concept has been driven by four different overarching ideas: urban development, design simplicity, space extension, and smart technology. One of the main difficulties in developing an entry into the competition is prescribing a purpose to the design, something of greater weight than a twoweek technological demonstration. In addressing this need, the team is focusing on Austin’s urban development problem. Specifically, what can be done to house new arrivals to the city while simultaneously maintaining the people and character of the existing neighborhoods? The University of Texas School of Architecture has proposed a solution previously – the Alley Flat, a small home that can be built at the rear of a homeowner’s property that could serve as an additional source of income that could allow families to remain in place. The Solar Decathlon proposal serves as an extension of that program – an 840 ft2 design that can be placed in a substantial number of backyards in Austin. The key is the modularity of the design – two 420 ft2 volumes; one housing living, dining, and kitchen; the other housing two bedrooms and a bath. These volumes can be placed in a number of different configurations (parallel, perpendicular, in-line, etc.), reduced in scale (one bedroom), or sold individually depending on the site and the needs of the client. In order to make this effort feasible and affordable, ease of construction became a point of emphasis. Each volume will be pre-fabricated in a factory and transported to the site. Once the footings have been placed, the volumes will be hoisted into place and the
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roof attached. This order of operations works equally well with both the competition and in practice, limiting the level of inconvenience for the both the team and the homeowner. Additional savings will come in the form of natural materials, ones that are locallysourced and low in embodied energy. This money will be reinvested back into the project’s architecture, particularly the craft, detail, and fenestration. The deft handling of fenestration is a critical component of the primary architectural focus of the project, the relationship between interior and exterior living. The two volumes are separated by an unconditioned central space, one shaded with vegetation, serving as both entry and a seasonal extension of the living room. Two other outdoor spaces are present – a more private space adjacent to the main bedroom and a more public space just off the kitchen that supplements its program. These outdoor spaces are emblematic of the Austin experience, a sociable one that takes full advantage of temperate weather in the fall, winter, and spring. The final concept, another trait commonly associated with the city and appropriate to the competition, is the use of smart use of technology. The proposed, locally developed systems would respond to user movement and contextual clues to project relevant information throughout the house. In such a scenario, cabinets in the kitchen could display their contents, weather data could be projected near the door, video could be displayed on the living room wall, etc. The system would adaptive, learning the traits of its users, primarily in how best to regulate the thermal metrics of the house. Despite its omnipresent nature, the system would be non-invasive, hidden in the background if the homeowner chose to untether from the outside world.
/ material tests
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/ final model: basswood, birch, graphite, moss
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SITE CONSTRAINTS
MASSING + ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES
typical east austin lot size + envelope set backs
maximum build-out envelope
split volumes to increase air flow solar decathlon envelope
shifted volumes to frame outdoor space + gardens
secondary apartment overlay service walls as buffer
tapered roof pitches secondary apartment maximum square footage
roof overhangs for shading
rainwater collection + storage
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/ longitudinal section
/ transverse section
/ north elevation
/ south elevation
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N / ground floor plan
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/ interior view of living bar
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/ exterior view of inner porch
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/ exterior view of house from alley
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TIMBER IN THE CITY education University of Texas at Austin course Advanced Studio location Red Hook, New York date 2013
The competition prompt asked for a new mid-rise, mixed-use complex with affordable housing units, a job training/educational facility, a center for innovative manufacturing of wood technology, and a distribution center. In addition, a bicycle sharing facility was included to promote more sustainable, less autocentric means of transportation for the future city. Aspiring to regenerate a dissipating urban manufacturing sector and address the housing needs of Red Hook and the greater New York City urban fabric, the project proposes a place for the creation of vocational opportunities embracing new wood technology.
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VERTICAL CIRCULATION
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
DIGITAL PRODUCTION + WORKSHOP SPACES
RESEARCH LABS
SHOWCASE
WOOD PRODUCTION
BIKE SHARE + SHOP
/ ground level plan
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING TOWER
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LIVE / WORK HOUSING TOWER
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RESEARCH + ACTIVITY DECK Environmental studies on building components, assemblies and other products can be tested on the roof terrace. The public can access the roof for recreation, leisure, and entertainment activities.
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DIGITAL PRODUCTION LABS + WORKSHOP SPACES
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ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LABS
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CREATIVE STUDIO SPACES
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SHOWCASE AREA
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Products and art work can be displayed in a gallery setting to show to ongoing rearch and craft work being done on site to the greater public. Work is also sold to contribute to the artists, designers and to the cooperative.
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CAFE / BOOKSTORE
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MULTIMEDIA / AUDITORIUM
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WOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY
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BIKE SHARE
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BIKE SHOP
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BIOMEASS GENERATOR / CHP PLANT
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STORAGE
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PARKING
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RESIDENTIAL UNIT ARRANGEMENT Prefabricated units are stacked and assembled into a randomized arrangement, allowing for a different experience at each level. Amenity and fitness spaces are found throughout the building, including laundry facilities, basketball and racquetball courts, workout rooms, community kitchens, reading and leisure rooms, and a rooftop swimming pool.
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2 BEDROOMS
1 BEDROOM
1 BEDROOM
STUDIO
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POROUS SKIN ASSEMBLY The perforated cladding wrapping the podium acts as an environmental buffer, limiting the amoung of solar heat gain admitted into the building, while also providing an intimate experience indoors. The skin consists of four composite panels each with a different density of openings, allowing for a varied reading from the exterior, but also different densities of natural light on the interior of the building. In addition, a plant matrix panel can be clipped onto the backside of the assembly, allowing vegetation to grow on the exterior surface of the building.
porous precast panels utilities recycled concrete aggregate drainage for flooding control
INTEGRATED UTILITIES / FLOOD CONTROL Porous precast panels are used as sidewalk elements, allowing storm water to collect into drainage lines below grade, pumping the water out to prevent flooding. Other city utilities are also contained in this below grade space, allowing workers to access, repair, and maintain services.
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FABRICATED STRUCTURAL JOINT The beam to column connection found in the wood manufacturing facility is assembled entirely without steel. CNC milled beams dry-fit together with a system of wooden dowels. The joint is meant to showcase the technological possibilities using CNC machining combined with wood as a structural building material for those that work in and visit the building.
thermally treated wood decking rigid foam insulation + weather barrier cross-laminated timber panels + columns
frosted glass skylight flyash concrete radiant floor in-floor metal conveying system
INTEGRATED IN-FLOOR CONVEYING SYSTEM An in-floor conveying system in the wood manufacturing area allows for seamless movement of material from one area to another, preventing the need for additional machinery. This allows for a more minimal and efficient facility.
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/ process models
/ section perspective
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/ exterior view of main entrance
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PHOTOBIOREACTOR education University of Texas at Austin course Intelligent Building Skins location Dusseldorf, Germany date 2012
Hydrogen, manufactured locally using water, wind and sun, is a secure, inexhaustible, emission-free fuel for consumer electronics, heat and electricity production, the next generation of highway vehicles, and future building skins. Green algae produces hydrogen naturally by dividing water into hydrogen and oxygen. Comparing the CO2 – O2 ratio, the process is not only CO2 neutral but, in fact, it is a net negative CO2 relation. That means a surface applied with these microorganisms will produce hydrogen by dividing water and producing oxygen as a natural organism like trees. The only byproduct of this energy generation is water vapor, making this fuel source virtually perfect. H
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Solar radiation is absorbed into photobioreactor cladding, growing algae colony, while also blocking direct solar gain from hitting the facades of the building
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In this way, the project can be used as a model of future building energy generation systems. The system can be deployed on any existing or new buildings and responds to the growing need of distributed, sustainable energy solutions for our future cities. H
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ALGAE H
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ALGAE H
Algae create hydrogen gas as a biproduct of photosynthesis. The hydrogen gas is removed in the central plant for the building. Hydrogen gas fuels a series of Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells,
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ALGAE
In this project, a photobioreactor cladding system was designed in a retrofit application, acting as a sun shading device reducing the overall heat gain of the building, while also producing fuel (hydrogen gas) in order to produce clean electricity and hot water for the building. An algae solution is pumped through the facade and to a separate central plant space where the hydrogen gas is removed and used for energy generation.
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= =
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ALGAE H
Excess heat converts water to steam, while fuel cells power steam turbines, creating electricity for the building. Excess hot water is used in hydronic conditioning system and for hot water use in the building.
= This clean off-the-grid energy production system is a future alternative to carbon-intensive non-renewable central power plants.
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PANTHER HOLLOW education University of Texas at Austin course Vertical Studio location Austin, Texas date 2010
This project serves as a place of escape and repose, hidden within the hollow. Dug into the hillside, the cantilevered structure acts as a marker in the landscape. The pool at the end allows for a moment of reflection for the passerby.
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This project was exhibited in a show titled Land Lab at the University of Texas Coop Material Resource Center in 2010.
/ final model: chipboard, dry pastels, piano wire
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/ section through structure
This project is intended to awaken the spiritual sensibilities of the occupants through their interaction with light and water. The cantilevered structure represents a place of escape and repose hidden within the hollow. The reflecting pool inside bounces sunlight into the dark space of the structure. The occupants’ view from within is directed out to another reflecting pool dug into the hillside.
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/ site plan
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KUNSTHALLE practice Allied Works Architecture location Columbus, Ohio date 2012
Allied Works was invited by the City of Columbus to participate in a design competition for a new contemporary art museum. The project site is located on the Scioto Peninsula, a prominent 90-acre site immediately across from the downtown core of Columbus. The museum is intended to catalyze new economic activity and redevelopment of the peninsula and to provide new cultural offerings for residents and visitors. The concept began with a new masterplan for the peninsula redevelopment, which capitalized on key connections to the surrounding city and existing landscape, historic, and cultural assets. Within this framework, the Kunsthalle and adjacent Artists’ Square define the heart of the new district as a shared space for public gathering, civic events, and arts programming. The Kunsthalle provides a range of sites and spatial experiences for occupation and transformation by artists, performers, and curators.
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Personal support for this project included: research, drawing production, digital modeling, rendering, and physical model production. This project was selected as a winning proposal and is currently moving ahead to the schematic design phase.
/ concept model: white oak, brass, graphite, wax
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/ interior view of main lobby
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/ interior view of gallery space
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DESIGN NEIGHBORHOOD practice Allied Works Architecture location Denver, Colorado date 2012
This competition dealt with the rehab and reuse of the former Denver Post printing plant, converting it to a new neighborhood and center of design. The competition brief asked for a multi-dimensional facility for design professionals, including retail and restaurant space. Two phased schemes were created, both of which added 250 - 500 residential units on 10 acres of the site. At the heart of the site will be a new, 90,000 ft2 building with flexible work areas, leased to tenants who share common areas, office equipment, and technology hubs. The final phase of the proposal called for the extension of the Denver Regional Transportation District’s light rail line northward, creating a transit stop at 41st and Fox streets, just two blocks from the proposal’s site.
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Personal support for this project included: research, drawing production, digital modeling, and rendering. This project was selected as a winning proposal and is currently moving ahead to the schematic design phase.
/ exterior view of main entrance
/ exterior view of storefront promenade
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/ ‘cut’ scheme
/ ‘object - field’ scheme
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/ interior view of turbine hall
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/ interior view of mezzanine level of turbine hall
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STELLATUS education University of Texas at Austin course Prototype location Austin, Texas date 2012 collaborator Jeff McCord
Stellatus Lighting System represents a unique step in lighting technology, bringing high-architecture to the discerning design consumer. Applicable at a variety of scales from task lighting, to paneled assemblies, to architectural aggregations, Stellatus is a simple, modular, and dynamic means of achieving dramatic and customizable lighting effects at minimal cost. Available in a variety of materials and appropriate for interior and exterior applications, Stellatus can be adapted to the standard dropped ceiling grid, typical wall assemblies, or any build-out system.
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This piece was exhibited in the West Austin Studio Tour at the University of Texas Coop Material Resource Center in the spring of 2012.
/ module iterations
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/ final piece: portland cement, plaster of paris, acrylic, LEDs
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BEACH DEBRIS education University of Florida course Environmental Technology location Navarre Beach, Florida date 2008
This attempts to highlights the conflict between man and nature. The luminaire consists of found materials from Navarre Beach, Florida - my home and ground zero for Hurricane Ivan in 2004, the sixth most costly hurricane in U.S. history. Ivan reached Category 5 strength and became the 10th most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. At its peak in the Gulf of Mexico, Ivan was the size of the state of Texas. It also spawned 119 tornadoes across the eastern United States. Porous driftwood serves as the focal point of the piece; it is punctured and suspended within with a series of rusted roofing nails. The light is meant to illuminate the tension of this natural artifact captured within an industrial man-made material. Traces still remain years after the storm.
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This piece won an honorable mention in design and was exhibited in the Luminaire exhibit at the University of Florida School of Architecture in the fall of 2008.
Porous driftwood serves as the focal point of the piece; it is punctured and suspended within with a series of rusted roofing nails. The light is meant to illuminate the tension of this natural artifact captured within an industrial material.
This project attempts at showcasing the conflict between man and nature. This luminaire consists of found materials from Navarre Beach, FL – my home and ground zero for Hurricane Ivan in 2004, the sixth most
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STICKS & STONE practice Allied Works Architecture exhibit Venice Architecture Biennale location the Casa Scaffali at the Arsenale; Venice, Italy date 2012
This piece was designed for the Venice Architecture Biennale 2012 – Common Ground – as part of the exhibit titled Wunderkammer.
Personal support for this project included: fabrication, logistics, and documentation.
exhibit description
piece description
In keeping with the theme of shared or common ground, this installation explores the interwoven phenomena of inspiration, collection, and meaning in everyday objects. Architects and artists often draw inspiration from the most unlikely or mundane items. These things often provide a clue as to how they think and what moves their work.
Allied Works’ home is in Oregon, the Pacific Northwest. It is a place formed by violent forces that have over time yielded a landscape of tremendous power, vitality and beauty. The raw materials that are abundant here – timber, stone, obsidian – are records of change. Like the landscapes they define, each material is a site, a locus of potential.
In recognition of this, thirty-five architects and artists from around the world were chosen by the curators (Tod Williams and Billie Tsien) and asked to select objects that have relevance either to themselves or to their work, and place them in a simple wooden box or “chest.” The chests originated in New York and were shipped to each respective recipient around the world, collecting this “information” before arriving in Venice.
The inspiration for this project is rooted in the land, the innate qualities of material, and equally, in the possibilities of making, craft, memory, and infinite space.
The resulting collections of objects – chosen by practices and individuals from North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Asia – are disparate, unexpected, and evocative. In Venice, the chests and objects became a collection, a tapestry per se of the commonalities and differences that are shared by architects and artists.
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/ final piece: wood, obsidian, geodes, petrified wood, mirror
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