Architecture Portfolio - Jordan McGeehon

INTERSTITIAL SPECIES

Buildings, Drawings, Models and the Quality of the Inbetween

2023

Jordan McGeehon

Petrichor House

In this adaptive redesign, a temporary artist-in-residence home, private and public realms are explored in the distinctive yet integrated division of floors. Interior walls carry rainfall down a vertical procession from the roof copluvium into the lower level plenums. The building strives to raise public awareness and support for water conservation, inviting artists that work with water as a medium to draw the public eye.

Nolan Park, House 14, Governor’s Island, New York, NY

Opposite. Interior Detail Photograph of Model

Above. Exploded Axonometric

Roof Copluvium

Conservation Plenums

Private Artist Residence & Studio Space

Public Gallerys

ADA Accessible Ramp Interactive Terracing

Above. Roof Plan; Chunk Model: Resin, Copper, MDF, Plywood, 3-D Prints, Acrylic

Capillary Jungle

Located in the heart of Brooklyn’s warehouse district, this middle school design focuses on climate literacy and questions the typology of the conventional wall. The school has an open plan, allowing for flexibility of program where spaces are suggested through the tapering of circulation and light wells. The semi-enclosed space becomes more private and closed off as the user ascends through the levels of the school. 21-31 Delavan St., Red Hook, Brooklyn NY

The building’s organic form is derived through studies on material gestures. Ink blot drawings became the jumping off point from which this middle school’s form began to explore the suggestion of an orthogonal boundary through curvilinear expression of the void, floor plan, and wall. The methodological approach is inspired by both Anne Holtrop and Junya Ishigami. This design was nominated by Andrew Heid for Pratt’s Fall 2022 InProgress publication.

Chunk model floor plans with ink blot circulation diagrams

Private Study Rooms

Grade 6-8 Classrooms

Public Programs (Cafeteria, gym, library, lounge)

Ink Blot Diagrams

Ink Blot Diagrams

Pleated Thresholds

The spatial evolution of this design is guided by two rules: offsetting around a point, and recognizing thresholds. The design seeks to emphasize the transition between levels through repetition of ribbed elements and overhangs. Texture is then used to break the language created by repetition and pattern through intentional moments of organic deformity and cracks. Interiority is explored through the varying instances of color and reflectivity of materials.

Joseph Giampetro

Adaptive Reuse

Boise house, owned by artist Deborra Bohrer, is located alonside a picturesque river that serves as inspiration for her nature oriented art. My work includes an adaptive redesign of the master bedroom - bringing it down from the second to the first floor - so the focal point of the property, the river, can be better emphasized and experienced from the client’s bedroom.

Artist River House Adaptation

The resulting design combines the two downstairs guest rooms, transforming them into the master bedroominclusive of bed space, full bath, reading nook, closet, and storage area. Throughout the process I worked closely with a local Boise contractor to understand the plumbing lines and structural elements of the house. My contributions include taking the initial measurements of the space, designing floor plans, and creating renders for the owner’s future use.

The final design was economically sustainable, as many of the walls were kept in the same place and the bathroom was reoriented to where the plumbing pipes were originally located. The decision to take out walls was intentional - only a few non-loadbearing walls were demolished in order to create increased closet space and a connecting hallway between the bed and bath. Floor to ceiling walls and a sliding glass door that lead from the bedroom into the backyard were added to strengthen relationships between interior and exterior elements.

Opposite. Axon Floor Plan

Above. Interior Renders

Detail Drawings

A technical understanding of building material composition and assembly is explored through this sampling of drawings - all features of the Urban Systems Engineering building located on Arizona State University’s campus. The measurements of the building’s spaces were taken by hand and then modeled online. Overall these drawings allow for deeper insight into how buildings are constructed as well as graphically represented.

floor landing of the Engineering Building a concrete slab with rebar, steel decking, The floor sits into the rubber baseboard covers between the floor and drywall. the floor system, is a linoleum. The landing a flight of stairs that first and second stories

Because the concrete is attached to the that make up the stairs, steady flow from the lower level of the space. This material is visually users within the space connects the separate

The entrance wall of the U.S.E. Building stands two stories high. Its windows are oriented facing North and South, allowing in natural, indirect light. This orientation also directs the user’s view towards the movement of the street, and the glass panes allow for subtle permeation of outside sounds. The wall’s facade adds additional warmth to the interior atmosphere when the sun hits the red brick veneer. Overall, the natural light, sounds, and movements create a relaxed space, encouraging users to linger comfortably. Continuity of the wall’s windows from the ground to the roof connect the two interior floors, suggesting that the two separate levels within the building are both designed with the same purpose: an invitation to rest and connect with others.

Studies include how a building turns the corner, how a floor meets a wall, the different materials used in construction, and how the vast array of building components fit together structurally.

Arcosanti on Film

An exploration of Arcosanti, Paolo Soleri’s urban experiment in protoype architecture, became an exercise in observation, encouraging a keen realization of geometric detail and spatial balance. These pictures highlight the unique interplay between structure and the manner in which light interacts with built form. The emotion evoked concludes itself in the burgeoning of community. Architecture’s part in forging human relationship.

Arcosanti Mayer, AZ

How does designed space influence and allow for the rhythms of daily life? Arcosanti is rife with structural protrusions that signal organic nooks in which communal connection and discourse are often found to take place under or around.

The specific mix of material and light can either pull closer or reorient a user’s procession through a space. At times Arcosanti’s apertures suggested a secrecy even within an open space, inviting recognition and accessibility in a space that more often than not found itself overlooked. These moments were particularly common in corridors and changing thresholds.

Materials that hold lighter visual weight are juxtaposed by the undecorated desert environment in which Arcosanti sits. The conversation between the two suggests that delicate relationship may not only find sanctuary but also thrive amidst the context of a harsh landscape.