Documentation, Research
Professional Work, Research
Set Design
Academic, Research
Professional Work, Design
Academic
Jacob Gasper
PANDEMIC PAUSE
Field Notes
Iowa State University Computation + Construction Lab, Ames, Iowa Summer 2020 2020 acadia field note
“The following field notes record the physical space of the Iowa State University (ISU) Computation + Construction Lab (CCL) located in Ames, IA during July 2020. The drawings and text capture a space simultaneously frozen in time and transitioning to a new future. When the pandemic began, the work of the CCL shifted: robotics labs and digital fabrication seminars were transitioned to online courses, research halted, and equipment retooled to produce 2,000 face shields for Iowa healthcare workers.
The collaborative work at the heart of the CCL was fundamentally altered by social distancing and masking. The KUKA robotic arms sat frozen in the position they were left in on March 12, 2020, the last day of in person class on. Zoom had became a verb. Clay prepared for the Potterbots sat dry in five-gallon buckets. Dust collected on the CNCs. The following drawings are artifacts of this moment in time, accompanied with text, drawings, and notes. These field notes reveal the culture and practice of computational design relies not on equipment but rather on the people who animate spaces and work with these tools.” (Gasper & King, 2020, pp 250 - 253).
acadia presentation featured in architects newspaper
J.
C
Pandemic
In Yablonina, M., Marcus, A., Doyle, S., Del Campo, M., Ago, V., Slocum, B., (Eds.) Paper Proceedings of Distributed Proximities: 40th Annual Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture ACADIA Volume II. Oct. 26-30, 2020, Online (pp.250-253)
Selections from Pandemic Pause
Gasper,
King,
(2020).
Pause.
+ 1.2 (top) potterbot workstation; isu ccl; handwritten notations + 1.3 (bottom) work tables with research equipment; isu ccl; handwritten notations
+ 1.4 (top) concrete 3d printing workflow and nozzles; isu ccl; handwritten notes + 1.5 (bottom) work tables and me; isu ccl; handwritten notes
Selections from Pandemic Pause
+ 1.2 - 1.5; jacob gasper
Pandemic Pause
AUGMENTED CONCRETE 3D PRINTING
Professional Work | OPN Architects
Rudd Public Library, Rudd, Iowa Spring 2022 - Fall 2024
OPN Architects is a 120 person firm operating in several states in the greater Midwest. In my position as an Architectural Designer in the Des Moines, Iowa office, I initiated an unprecedented research collaboration between the firm’s digital pracrtice team and the Iowa State University Computation + Construction Lab. From April 2022 to September 2024, the parties designed, fabricated, and installed seven 3D-printed concrete follies for the new Rudd Public Library in Rudd, Iowa, population 358. Augmented reality workflows facilitated the bending and placing of custom rebar profiles - reinforcing the curved shapes and enhancing their strength and longevity.
Throughout the project I worked with firm leadership, Professors Shelby Doyle and Nick Senske, OPN coworkers, the Rudd Library Board, and community members on object design, code compliance, transportation, photography, fabrication, augmented reality workflows, and final installation.
The project aimed to merge academic and professional practice workflows to translate research into a built outcome in order to expose the public and profession to emerging technologies, particularly in rural environments.
2024 acadia paper 2024 acadia presentation iowa architect magazine sp ‘25
in collaboration w/ iowa state university: shelby doyle nick senske
opn architects: justin bishop jamie craine hugh soward
personal contributions
+ initiated overall collaboration
+ led design development of follies
+ developed all diagrams for publication and presentations
+ aided with fabrication, transportation, and installation
+ coordinated communication, schedules, budget and research intentions between the firm and university
+ co-authored acadia publication and presentation
+ 2.9 (top, left) rudd public library; site axonometric + 2.10 (top, right) interactive follies activating public space; axonometric + 2.11 (bottom) seven follies; elevation
+ 2.12 (top) rudd public library; south lawn; aerial photo
+ 2.13 (bottom, left) child crawling through object e; photo + 2.14 (bottom, right) child laying on object g; photo
+ 2.15 (next page) rudd public library; south elevation; mid-afternoon; photo
Selections from Luminosity, Labor, and Liability
+ 2.9 - 2.11; jacob gasper + 2.12 - 2.15; alex michl
THE FASHION SHOW
Set Design | Iowa State University College of Human Sciences Reiman Gardens, Ames, Iowa Spring 2021 in collaboration w/ directors
The Fashion Show, organized annually by the Iowa State University College of Human Sciences is one of the largest student run fashion shows in the country, viewed by ~2500 people annually. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the show shifted from its usual home in an auditorium to Reiman Gardens in Ames, Iowa on 16 & 17 April 2021 at 5:00 p.m. CST.
As a Set Design Director, I co-led a team of multidisciplinary students through the design, fabrication, and installation of 42 “frames” spanning the width of the sidewalk runway. The triangles of varying heights and widths created view sheds for photographers, attendees, and the models themselves throughout the show.
The viability of the show also depended on the safety of the attendees. A social distanced seating plan consisting of arrayed “seating clusters” on a 6’ grid created tangible CDC social distancing requirements.
hannah hogan maddie uhl amelia brown design team lauren fordyce anka snider sam rushenburg andie mcconnell allison bermel ivy miller meghan hartman megan harms
personal contributions
+ co-led a team of eight students through set design development
+ designed social distanced seating plan for day of show
+ developed all construction diagrams for construction and fabrication
+ coordinated and aided in final fabrication, transportation, and on-site installation
3.1; ryan riley
ARCHITECTURAL CLAY FORMWORKS
Honors Thesis
Iowa State University College of Design, Ames, Iowa Fall 2020 - Spring 2021
As an Undergraduate Research Assistant at the Iowa State University Architectural Robotics Lab, I investigated 3D-printed clay as formwork for concrete. My collaborators and I developed robotic end effectors, built a custom air extrusion assembly, and fabricated clay formwork for a modular concrete column.
I gained a profound understanding of research culture and how isolating it can feel when faced with challenges and questions that lack thorough existing documentation. A Field Note publication, Process/Product, responded to this feeling of seclusion by documenting the project’s decisions, failures, messes, and successes through images, drawings, and handwritten notes.
2021 acadia field note 2021 acadia presentation 2021 ncur presentation iowa state honors college grant
in collaboration w/ cyle king assisted by jasmine buel advised by shelby doyle
personal contributions
+ developed all digital drawings and diagrams
+ aided in construction and sourcing of the extrusion assembly
+ aided in developing the grasshopper definition used for formwork design
+ aided in fabrication of clay formwork and casting of final column
+ co-authored acadia publication and presentation
+4.1 fabrication of two clay formworks; architectural robotics lab; plan view
+4.2 pressurized air extrusion system; axonometric; handwritten notations + 4.3 pressurized air extrusion assembly iterations; axonometrics; handwritten notations + 4.4 custom end effector iterations; axonometrics; handwritten notations
Selections from Process/Product
4.2 - 4.4; (drawings) jacob gasper
- x.x. ; (notations) jacob gasper, cyle king
Architectural Clay Formworks
Architectural Clay Formworks
+ 4.8 concrete casts and clay formworks photos; handwritten notations + 4.9 16 concrete casts photos, Ø10”x4”; plan + 4.10 stacked concrete casts on a concrete base through rebar; Ø10”x6’; elevation
Selections from Process/Product + 4.8 - 4.10; (drawings) jacob gasper +x.x. - x.x. ; (notations) jacob gasper, cyle king
Architectural Clay Formworks
Architectural Clay Formworks
THE PANTHEON
Professional Work | STARTT
Piazza Della Rotunda, Rome, Italy
Studio of Architecture and Territorial Transformations (STARTT) is a Rome, Italy based design firm operating in the realms of urban design, architecture, history, theory, landscape, and exhibition.
Under the mentorship of founding partner Simone Capra, I spent 11 months contributing to competition proposals, masterplans, and exhibition design, working alongside designers across Italy and Europe.
in construction
2022 in collaboration w/ partners simone capra dario scaravelli claudio castaldo design Team fabio coletta claudia zuccarello cecilia rosa margherita pane antonio de paulo sansone emanuele segrè braden cooper
This project aimed to create a new accessible pathway on the western side of the Pantheon, featuring a series of platforms that guide visitors to the Basilica of Neptune, located south of the rotunda.
The experience broadened my view of how to approach the built environment with a rigorous design-research lens.
personal contributions + aided in the design of the entrance platforms + aided in construction drawings + developed models and diagrams for presentations to the pantheon director.
Ramp Drawings and Diagrams
+ 5.1 (top) entrance to the basilica of neptune; axonometric
+ 5.2 (bottom, left) new entrance ramp to the basilica of neptune; exploded axonometric
+ 5.3 (bottom,right) entrance ramp; plan; 1:100
+ 5.4 (bottom,right) entrance ramp; section; 1:100 + 5.1 - 5.4; (pantheon model) braden cooper +x.x. - x.x. ; (ramp model, drawing) jacob gasper, margherita pane
Pantheon
OBSERVING AIR
Architectural Design VII | Iowa State University College of Design
Black Contemporary Artists Archive, Ames, Iowa Fall 2020
Black Contemporary is a rural field station dedicated to the research of spatial phenomena. Rural architecture at Black Contemporary does not exist as volumes of mass placed on the landscape, but instead wraps the atmosphere in various skins. Functionally, this invited air is what makes these passive machines operate.
Observing Air seeks to reveal the omnipresent atmosphere moving through and around the abandoned seed drying bin. Wind enters through openings and is diffused as it circulates throughout the space.
Layers of paper held in tension are carved by the moving air, creating constantly fluctuating voids and topographies. This consensual destruction results in the manifestation of spatial situations not conventionally seen.
The assembly is a constructed framework that, through continuous weathering, articulates and brings clarity to the natural elements of the larger midwestern context.
We did not construct an atmosphere, we revealed one.
2021 rdg bussard award winner exhibition fall 2020 published in black contemporary
in collaboration w/ mary le braden cooper mohammed alhamoudi
advised by pete goche
personal contributions
+ aided in the construction of the final assembly
+ developed experiential drawings and collages
+ documented the assembly with digital and film photography
+ aided research into agrarian architecture, landscapes, and maps, providing the basis for the final assembly
6.3 (bottom) figure walking; photo
6.4 (opposite) figure standing engulfed in layers of paper; photoshop collage
+ 6.5 observing air brings an awareness to the ever present volume of air sculpting the landscape; photoshop collage + 6.6 (next page) trace paper layers in suspension; film photo
Midwestern Atomosphere
+ 6.5 - 6.6; jacob gasper
