Portfolio of Design Work J Fraser Lea 2011-2018
First Semester
CONCEPTUAL EXPLORATION designing by hand
PROJECT - Mars: Earth v2.0 When we colonize Mars, we will need to develop a new architectural language as we build cities and spaces. Though we will take much of our science and culture with us, the Terran ways of designing will not be suited to this new world; we will, by necessity, develop a new way of thinking and designing for this Martial landscape. In this studio, we were to explore the possibility of a new architectural language independent from those preexisting on Earth. Using aerial photographs of Martian landscapes as a starting point, we created models and drawings to analyze the tectonic aspects of the landscape, and then extrapolated from those models to create new spatial possibilities.
DESCRIPTION
> Oblique perspective shot of the basswood model. 6in cubed, 1/8in basswood and glue
This piece was derived from a set of hand drawings that I created in order to analyze the architectural characteristics of a Martian landslide. This six
> Orthogonal views of three facets of the model.
by six by six model is a slice out of the three
dimensional space described in my drawings, reduced down to its axonometric planes.
> Interior shot Views like these aided in interpreting the architectural possibilities of this proposal.
First Semester
DESCRIPTION In this project, the relationship between ground
> 24in x 24in, 1/8in basswood on chipboard base
and architectural form is critical. This model and drawing were the culmination of a series of explorations of topographic mutations. The resulting morphology begins to describe an tectonic language for designing in the Martian landscape.
> 18in x 18in, graphite on mat mylar This is one of my original analysis drawings. I attempt to describe the ‘static energy’ in the Martian landslide that exists in fault lines and slip planes. This drawing also shows the gradual entropic morphing of a regular grid, which eventually resolved into a new order, reflecting the manner in which the landslide destroys flat ground to create a new formal order in the landscape.
Third Semester
DIGITAL POSSIBILITIES
manifold geometry and natural light
PROJECT - Redesigning the MiSci The MiSci is a science museum located in Schenectady, NY. For this project we were instructed to develop a design concept for an addition / renovation of the MiSci Museum based on the requests of the museum board. As per our section coordinator, the design of the building was based on a study of the phenomena of light. DESCRIPTION Since lighting is essential in the design of a museum, I began by completing a series of light studies.
> Render of final site design Rendered in Autodesk Maya using MentalRay render software
Through iterative experimentation with different
surfaces, light frequencies and lighting angles, I arrived at a final light study which I would use to drive the formal design of my museum. The digital models of my final design were created in Autodesk Maya, a polygon-based, manifold geometry modeling software.
> Early lighting study model Folded taskboard cut with a CNC laser cutter. This model was constructed and lit in order to explore the lighting effect I was attempting to reproduce. > Rendered lighting study of final design This final rendering was post-processed in Adobe Photoshop. It illustrates the lighting effect that I desired to create based on my earlier light studies
Fourth Semester
Student living units were arranged vertically in order to maximize access to light and ventillation. This allowed the two flanking masses to be relatively tall and thin, making more space for floating ‘learning’ spaces between the two cores.
STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT
meeting practical program requirements AND design goals
PROJECT - Residential College The project brief was to design student housing for five hundred students plus faculty and guests for an existing piece of property owned by the school. Students were to be arranged into clusters of twenty-four living units, with each cluster based on a shared, extracuricular interest. This model follows the emerging ideas of a ‘live-and-learn community’, in which students are enabled to pursue self-determined learning objects during their free time and in the comfort of their own adaptable housing. We chose to place modular ‘living’ units in the
> Pull-out schematic section of a typical cluster
two outer masses of the building, providing equal
Colored to show program usage. Generated by exporting linework from Rhino 3D model to Adobe Illustrator.
access to sunlight, ventillation, and building amenities. Floating between these two masses we arranged the ‘learning’ units: fully-adaptable
> Section drawing axially through building
free-spaces equipped to accomodate extra-
The two walls of solid building mass frame an interior area composed of suspended walkways and rooms. This is the ‘dynamic use’ section of the building where students are free to program space as they see fit in order to pursue their cluster’s collective interest.
curricular actvities. These learning spaces were shared by all students within a cluster and were completely adaptable to student-determined uses, such as cooking, robotics teams, or music rehersal.
Student Rooms
Student Rooms
Hallway Common Areas
Lounge Hallway Fire Stair
> Pull-outs of typical cluster These graphics describe the sectional organization of a typical cluster.
Lounge
Fire Stair
Fourth Semester
This massing model illustrates the overall form of the two ‘living’ masses and the intermediate ‘learning’ matrix in the center. The entire building was lifted up on massive stair cores, creating an open plan for the ground-level plaza.
> Photograph of study model Taskboard, basswood and acrylic sheet with foam core base. 1:16 scale.
> Photograph of model facade in elevation White taskboard fenestration and blue-tinted acrylic helped simulate the material effect of the facade.
> Photographs of model interior detail This mock-up of the interior suspended rooms and walkways aided in finalizing our design for this part of the building.
(Note: this project was completed while working with another student as a design partner. All images represent work that I myself completed solely or in direct collaboration with my partner)
Fourth Semester
> Photograph of final model (section) 1.5ft x 2.5ft x 5.5ft. Taskboard, MDF, foam core, corrugated cardboard, painted. 1:4 scale. This model is a slice of the whole building. As per the design, the main building is supported above the ground by fire stair and elevator cores, structurally designed as massive columns.
> Photographs of model detail These close-ups reveal some of the detailing and craft that went into building this model
> Photograph of model interior, looking up This angle (looking up at the building from what would be the courtyard between the two towers) reveals the spatial effect and articulated complexity that we intended for this design.
Fifth Semester
SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL DESIGN
balancing the interaction between human movement and nature
art exhibit
(emphasis on local art)
river pier
(space for art installation)
PROJECT - Bali Eco-tourism Over tens of thousands of years, the native Balinese have developed a system of farming and irrigation that creates perfect harmony between humans and nature - a system that ecologists call a hybrid ecosystem. This system, called Subak, has allowed the island to
SECTION 2
> Digital rendering of intervention
art exhibit
(emphasis on local art)
Rendered in Rhino and post-processed in Photoshop.
> Unrolled section of walkway Rendered in Rhino and post-processed in Illustrator.
festival cycle
SECTION 1
educational fins pergola-windca horizontal windc rain shelter
rice growing cycle and Subak system
Shallow Slope
consistently produce more rice than it is theoretically should be able to. However, in the village of Bedulu and Pejeng in Gianyar Province, the Subak system is being destroyed by tourism and commercial interests. Our project was to develop our own master plan for an Ecomuseum (a museum where the collection
remains in its original context) that would both support the tourism industry and protect native ecology, as well as a specific architectural intervention for this ecomuseum based on the principles of fluid dynamics.
foot
Steep Slope
Standing Water (part of year) Access to River
> Diagrammatic site plan of intervention
River (flowing water) Pathway Pathway (dirt)
My intervention was a raised pathway which allows tourists to travel through the rice terraces without harming them. Each section diverts wind to passively cool visitors as they traverse the pathway. These elements also double as shade, signage or rain shelter. The modules were developed with the aid of Autodesk Vasari’s wind simulator tool.
> Site Analysis map Created using Ecotect climate analysis tools and GIS topographic data. This analysis was used to identify an advantageous location for intervention.
100 ft 1/4 mi
crest
Sixth Semester
ARCHITECTURAL KNOCKOFFS designing a museum for forgeries
DESCRIPTION This project was completed during a semester abroad af Tonji University in Shanghai. The thesis of the studio was to look at China’s culture of knock-off design, not in a negative light, but in the context of the productive possibilities of iteration and augmentation. We challanged the Western view that only total originality can lead to good design. The building itself is a “forgery” which borrows dirrectly from several existing buildings and typologies from around the world, combining them into a new whole which critiques the nature of tectonics and structure. Additionally, our site strategy provides a vast public space underneath the building which helps to link the economically booming riverfront to the south with the residential neighborhoods to the north.
1:500
Seventh Semester
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT STUDIO
taking a existing project through the DD phase
PROJECT - Chapultepec Cultural Center In this studio students find an existing building which has
> Full view of final model
been designed through schematic design but never built
Our final model was at a scale of 1:50 and was constructed with MDF for structure and taskboard, acrylic film and polystyrene foam for detail elements.
and they take that project through the DD phase. My partner and I chose One-by-Nine’s sumbmission to the Chapultepec Cultural Center design competition in Mexico City, Mexico. Throughout the semester we continuously revised the design of the original building through the lens of building code analysis,
structure, material assemblies, and many other
> Interior render of atrium
Custom Panel Details
A great deal of our design effort went into articulating this atrium space. It was both the first impression of the interior and the main element in choreographing circulation.
aspects, culminating in the production of a final set of
construction documents.
> Custom facade panel This diagram illustrates the material assembly of the custom panels which we developed for our facade.
(Note: this project was completed while working with another student as a design partner. The digital rendering in this section is included to illustrate our joint design ideas, but was made by my partner, not myself. All other images represent work that I myself completed solely or in direct collaboration with my partner)
Rebar Configuration, Including Post-Assembly Second Pour Rebar Cage Placement
1:10 Detail of Individual Panel Internal Assemblies
Seventh Semester
DESCRIPTION A 1:50 model (approx. 1ft to 1/4in) was required for this course. The section cut was made at a critical point which reveals structural assemblies and showcases key spatial relationships within the building. > Full view of section cut This cut slices through the center of the four-story atrium as well as the stacked spaces a the center of the building, including a sloped seating area, auditorium and raise platform with ceiling void for special exibition. > Close view of section cut We took great care in constructing this part of the model, as we wanted to showcase the unique spatial articulation of this two-story space.
> Full view of southern facade This part of the model took the most time to complete. We constructed each customshaped panel from polystyrene, using profile cutouts and a hot wire cutter and then assembled them as they would be in the real building. > Full view of northern facade This view is very important to the building as it is on the corner and faces a very lively part of the city including the main boulevard into the downtown area. This is the face of the building with interacts most with those outside.
Undergraduate Thesis Project
CYBORG ARCHITECTURE FOR THE ANTHROPOCENE machines at the interface between humans and nature
PROJECT - Cyborg Geomancy The directive for our thesis projects was to create an architecture that deals with the issues of the
> Cell type: Interaction Activating a wide range of senses during interaction -- including taste, touch, and smell -- can greatly enrich the experience.
anthropocene, the period of time where human activities have the greatest effect on global ecosystems. My response develop a grid over a landscape with allows human visitors to circulate through a natural territory without disturbing or disrupting it. At certain key points, humans are brought down or “nature� is brought up into the grid to allow for intimate, face-to-face interaction. This would allow humans and natural non-humans to occupy the same space harmoniously, rather than in a dominant-subordinate manner.
> Cell type: Media It is important that humans be able to do human things while visiting this landscape. Actual harmony is acheived when we can create music in the same space where flowers grow or animals feed.
> Cell type: Haven Havens for encouraging shy/endangered species to thrive can also be an opportunity for interaction.
> Section of cell combination This slice through the entire grid shows how the cell types might be combined to create living experience.
Undergraduate Thesis Project
CIRCULATION Adaptable Cells in a Cyborg Grid One key feature of the grid is its ability to restructure as programmatic and environmental factors change. This adaptability sets the grid apart from a zoo, which instead adapts its natural inhabitants to program. The circulation nodes are hung in the canopy of the grid, above the natural landscape below. There are two types of nodes (diagrammed to the left), each with three different configuration. Due to their light-weight plastic design, nodes can be hung or unhung using manpower and pulleys, and an individual node can be reconfigured without removing it from the canopy. (right: 1:100 & 1:50 scale models) Circulation nodes work in conjunction with media pods and interaction terminals, delivering visitors to these sites without disrupting the nature landscape below. The open-air, rope web design of the walls allow visitor so see and smell the park as they travel to a destination within the grid.
Undergraduate Thesis Project