John Reynders Architecture Portfolio

John Reynders Portfolio

The Rangjung Yeshe Gomde Retreat Center in Cooperstown New York is an intensive Tibetan Buddhist retreat and meditation center. The proposal calls for a series of retreat cabins for people on both short and long term retreats, and as housing for visiting monks and scholars. Additionally there is a need for a new meditation hall for daily group meditation services and classes.

The retreat cabins are small and simple, without feeling spartan. The entrance off a small deck reveals the sleeping quarters nestled underneath the lofted meditation space. The meditation space on the second floor is enhanced by a private deck for outdoor meditation as the weather allows.

The meditation hall is used for group meditation, lessons from visiting monks, and other group activities. A simple interior lit by large skylights with beams crossing overhead to diffuse the light allows the focus of the space to be on the shrine. The shrine holds the only ornamentation, with traditional Tibetan Buddhist statues, tapestries, and accessories are displayed.

The Center for Civil Rights and Labor History at the Central Area Public Scholar’s Institute is a multi-use facility focused around creating and displaying multi media student projects documenting civil rights and labor history issues in Seattle and elsewhere. The building is focused around the large Experience History Hall which is a hybrid history museum and student gallery. Classrooms and workrooms are suspended in the hall allowing visitors to experience the creation of the exhibits content they’re viewing. In addition to classrooms there are apartments for student-teachers, visiting scholars, and the buildings care-taker.

N

The design for an in-patient center for returning Afghanistan and Iraq veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injuries is realized in two twisting, overlapping forms on the bank of the Milwaukee River. Building mass and earth come together to create a quiet place of healing and introspection. Internal forces push, pull, and bend resulting in a mass that both respects the street and creates a level of privacy and disconnection from the urban fabric.

John Reynders JReynders789@gmail.com 920.284.4032