Portfolio, Vol. 1

2016

PORTFOLIO

VOLUME 1

{works by Kirk Gordon}

KIRK GORDON k irkg o rdo @g m ail.co m 6 4 1 .8 9 1 .7 5 2 9

E D U C AT I O N

WORK EXPERIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, CENTER FOR DESIGN & HEALTH | Urban Conditions Researcher

Master of Landscape Architecture Candidate, 2019

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY B.S. Plant Biology & Zoology Minor in Horticulture 2014

Urban Design Research - (09/2016 - present) In collaboration with a Stanford anthropologist, my team is working to produce a set of maps and “ethnographics” which explore the urban flows and conditions impacting anexos (informal, volunteer-led drug rehabilitation clinics) in Mexico City’s poorest barrios.

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE | Exhibitions Designer Art & Architectural Exhibition Design - (09/2016 - present)

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY

I offer design and installation support for art and architectural exhibitions which feature work from throughout the university and across the globe.

Semester abroad in New Zealand studying landscape architecture 2013

OPENLANDS | Freelance Print Designer

RELEVANT COURSEWORK

Conservation and Green Community Outreach - (11/2014 - present) I design the layout and graphics for a variety of publications and print communication. Major projects include an EPA report on stormwater management in school gardens, a technical manual for green infrastructure engineers, and a brand kit for a fundraising campaign to establish a new national wildlife refuge.

GREATER GOOD STUDIO | Design Studio Manager ECOLOGY & HORTICULTURE Ecology Landscape Planting Practice Plant Form and Function I Landscape Plants I & II Plant Propagation Diseases & Insects of Trees Experiments in Plant Biology Plant Physiology Evolution

Social Impact Design - (09/2014 - 06/2016) I handled all administrative & financial business operations, outward communication, scheduling, and social media; as well as contributing to design brainstorms, research, & project work. I also managed all renters, events, and operations within the coworking space we owned and operated out of.

ECOGARDENS, LLC | Horticultural & Green Roof Maintenance Technician Greenroof and Rooftop Landscaping - (05/2014 - 08/2014) I performed design installation & maintenance for numerous clients across the city of Chicago, from smallscale residential to large-scale commercial properties. Duties included planting, watering, pruning, and weeding; as well as selecting material from the nursery and creating plant health reports.

DESIGN Design Foundation Studio History of Landscape Architecture Digital Practices in Design History of Design Planning Digital Graphics

AWARDS & HONORS UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA - SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Incoming Student Grant Award

SOFTWARE InDesign Photoshop Illustrator Rhino Grasshopper AutoCAD GIS Vectorworks SketchUp

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY - SCHOOL OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE Best in Class - Computer Applications in Landscape Design Best in Enhancing Understanding of Gender & Design - History of Design & Culture

P U B L I C AT I O N S AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE Kwon S, Aye G, Aye SC, Gordon KR, Trowbridge M. Use of human-centered design to promote healthy eating among school children: a pilot study. Submitted Feb 2015, under final review.

INTERESTS EXHIBITIONS Environmental Psychology Speculative Design Architectural Representation Communications Design Anthropocene Adaptations

NG GALLERY - CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND Research poster exploring the evolution of gendered spaces on transatlantic liners was chosen for display in Architecture + Women NZ’s 2013 exhibition.

PROJECTS

03 - {biotic logic}

05 - {volcanoes | atolls}

09 - {terra firma}

13 - {spatial diagramming}

15 - {erebus on site}

17 - {protean ring}

19 - {regional cartography}

21 - {openlands}

23 - {in f(lux) structures}

reproductive clonal unit

soredia

crustose

foliose

fruticose

nuclear radiation

cortex algal layer (phytobiont) medulla (mycobiont)

{layering / covering}

LICHEN

cortex

substrate

polluted field (uninhabitable)

drehpehs kram

mark shepherd

mark shepherd

mark shepherd

wind dispersal remediated forest (habitable)

reproductive clonal unit

soredia

canopy cortex

tree (photobiont)

algal layer (phytobiont)

crustose

{elevated symbiosis} fruticose

foliose

medulla (mycobiont)

student (sapiobiont)

terrace cortex

nuclear radiation

substrate

CO2

H2O pathway

O2

SO2 (industrial p

wind dispersal

reproductive clonal unit

{clonal colonies}

soredia

{layering / covering}

Zn (industr

fruticose

Pb (industrial pollutant)

CO2

nuclear radiation

O2

H2O

SO2 (industrial pollutant)

{permeability} drehpehs kram

mark shepherd

polluted field (uninhabitable)

mark shepherd

mark shepherd

Zn (industrial pollutant) Meadow Creek

Pb (industrial pollutant)

remediated forest (habitable) drehpehs kram

polluted field (uninhabitable)

{bioindication} remediated forest (habitable)

BIOTIC LOGIC {towards a nonhuman intelligence}

The goal of this exercise was to derive design inspiration and spatial sensibilities from a nonhuman lifeform, taking into account their morphology, behavior, and sensory capacities. I chose lichen, a composite organism resulting from a symbiotic relationship between algae and fungi. By exploring a lichenous lifestyle through secondary research and rapid modeling, I was able to derive a set of design principles which could be directly applied to our future site: University of Virginia’s Lambeth Field dormitory complex.

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VO L C A N O S | ATO L L S {landform analysis}

The purpose of this exercise was to explore the physical processes that create landforms, and to pair these insights with parametric modeling in order to create novel landforms made specifically to collect and disperse water. After diagramming the transition from volcanic island to atoll, I catalogued existing atoll morphologies from around the world, eventually mutating and translating them into digital landforms in Grasshopper. I then created foam and plaster physical models of these landforms to test their collective and dispersive properties.

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ATOLL {collect} {collect}

6 Kirk Gordon LAR 6417 - Fall 2016

ATOLL {disperse} {disperse}

7 Kirk Gordon LAR 6417 - Fall 2016

TERRA FIRMA {site soil analysis}

These works explore the complexity of below ground soil dynamics across a site. The chosen transect runs through University of Virginia’s campus cemetery before cutting across the Meadow Creek riparian corridor nearby. The section and soil samples below compare soil conditions between the cemetery and creek, mapping the movement of water and its relation to varying rates of organic decay. The model to the left consists of a set of panels that can be layered and lit accordingly to explore relationships between different soil characteristics.

TATION OF PLANT COMMUNITY

unction I

Because of the ever-changing dynamics of autumn, returning to our site even one week later brought with it a number of chan was the leaf canopy, which was overall slightly thinner and much more yellow in color. While the Mockernut hickory leaves had beeches were now almost entirely yellow as well. The red maples on the site, despite their potential to add even more color, w Due to cloud cover, the light today was softer and much more diffuse, constrasting the direct sun and strong shadows cast on of the dull, even light, new details were observed. First was the presence of large stones of granite scattered across the site. D soil survey, some of the bedrock had managed to find its way to the top, perhaps having been deposited from another area. A was also found near the base of one of the hickories. Depsite the advancement of autumn abscission, the number of leaves o surprisingly low. Given the site’s slope downward into a nearby river, perhaps the leaves were washed or blown down the hill.

Name: Condition:

Chewacla silt loam Hydric

KEY SPECIES

SITE INVENTORY

Fagaceae Fagus grandifolia - American Beech Aceracae Acer rubrum - Red Maple Juglandaceae Carya tomentosa - Mockernut Hickory

Fagaceae Fagus grandifolia - American Be Aceracae Acer rubrum - Red Maple Juglandaceae Carya tomentosa - Mockernu Dryopteridaceae Polystichum acrostichoide Aquifoliaceae Ilex opaca - American Holly Betulaceae Carpinus caroliniana - Musclew Betulaceae Betula lenta - Black Birch Magnoliaceae Liriodendron tulipifera - Tulip

organic material

0-16 in

silt loam

mottling (iron oxidation)

16-40 in

ntext: Mostly Granite Bedrock - Robertson River Igneous Suite

moisture

oxygen

decomposition

organic matter

silty clay loam

Context within Ivy Creek Nature Center

ganic material 40-79 in

silty clay loam

lt loam moisture

oxygen

decomposition

organic matter

lty clay loam

lty clay loam

16-40 in

bedrock (Lynchburg group)

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LIGHT INTENSITY

U N D U L AT I O N S

DREAM FLOW

An inverse relationship between morning and afternoon

Changes in ceiling height

Movement of day beds from day to night

F LO O R M OV E M E N T / I N V I TAT I O N

F O OT C I R C U L AT I O N

Emphasis on transcendence beyond structural boundaries, into the garden

In relation to the corridors created by structural walls

I N T I M AT E V S. C O L L E C T I V E S PAC E An organization of hospitality

M AT E R I A L N E T W O R K S

WAT E R F LO W

Transitions from grout to growth on the rooftop garden

Atop roof and rooftop garden, into gutter spouts and pool

S PAT I A L D I AG R A M M I N G {case study: Villa Sarabhai}

These diagrams explore how the formal characteristics of Le Corbusier’s Villa Sarabhai influence the spatial, social, and environmental phenomena on site. Located in Ahmedabad, India, Villa Sarabhai represents a work by Le Corbusier that is particular attuned to climatic conditions and fluctuations: namely, stifling daytime heat and refreshing night breezes.

WIND FLOW In relation to air humidity and sleeping locations

V E G E TAT I V E F O R M S I N V I E W First and second floor comparison

13

Light Temperature (K) Blue Light Emergency Phone 1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

Scale: 1” = 100’

N

EREBUS ON SITE {dark narratives}

{Dusk} Darkness is a highly spatial phenomenon. Though often conceived as the absence of light, it is far from negative. Darkness, rather, is a positivity -- a substance of its own. It actively invades spaces and bodies; engulfing, encroaching, and embracing. Darkness is both contained by spaces and a container in itself, full of indiscernible objects and indefinite possibilities. What could be out there? Anything. Fear of the dark derives not from a lack of spatial awareness, but from an excess.

In Greek mythology, the god Erebus represented the personification of darkness, drawn across the sky each evening by his wife, Nyx. Night time is the stage upon which we interact with darkness, making choices about whether to embrace or avoid it. Our interaction is informed by many things, including the quality of light present and the capacity of spaces to accept or refute this light in place of darkness. These conditions inform our individual feelings of safety, solitude, and serenity, resulting in a highly subjective night time experience which differs from person to person and night to night.The purpose of this project is to explore these subjective experiences.

Together these maps chart the pooling of light and darkness across our given design site, UVA’s Lambeth Field dormitory complex, taking into account its aesthetic and spatial characteristics.

The map to the left exhibits the visual qualities of light on site in order to elicit a visceral response from the viewer. The map below considers notions of open exposure and covered enclosure, promoting a discussion about how these different spatial typologies might inform our interaction with darkness and the potentialities contained within.

Wooded Hill

Parking Lot Colonnade

Field

Open Areas Covered Areas Inaccessible Zones Unlighted Spaces

Pedestrian Circulation Density

15

PROTEAN RING {a study on hands}

Hands are fascinating subjects. Remarkable versatile, they allow us to simultaneously perceive, interact with, and manipulate the world around us -- to communicate, create, and control. This dynamic functionality is enabled by an equally dynamic form. Within their fixed morphology, hands can embody both intimacy and force, precision and flexibility, weightedness and grace. The influence of their vast capabilities is observed in nearly every artifact that surrounds us.

My intention with this project was to create a wearable art piece which considered the profound versatility of hands in both its form and function. While dexterity is celebrated in the work’s form, it is paradoxically impeded by the imposed functionality as jewelry. Disguised as benign accessory, the ring traps the adjacent finger underneath it, limiting movement and forcing the wearer to confront the ramifications of this handicap on everyday tasks such as typing. The subtle antagonism of the ring’s rigid inanimateness demands that the participant become aware of the vital agency within their own hand.

precision | adaptability

protection | strength

grasp | movement | touch

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VIRGINIA GAZETTEER

48

Powerline

Coal-Fired Power Plant

Railroad

Gas-Fired Power Plant

Pipeline

Hydroelectric Power Plant

Urban Area

Chemical Plant Superfund Site

Major Roadway

Port

REGIONAL CARTOGRAPHY {mapping resources & production along the James River}

This map reinterprets a historical copy of the Virginia Gazetteer by treating water as the basis for development and resource allocation. The map highlights the James River’s transition from the Piedmont Region to the coastal plain, emphasizing the settlement of urban areas at the fall line. One of the region’s most important industries, chemical manufacturing, is mapped to reveal its strategic positioning at major intersections of water and energy resource networks. The area’s superfund sites are included as an alternative commentary regarding these sites’ critical locations near bodies of water.

Virginia Atlas & Gazetteer, published 2000

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protecting nature.

in land we trust.

enriching lives. always.

This garden is supported by Openlands’ Building School Gardens program.

If you would like information about this garden or to volunteer, please contact Openlands’ School Garden Hotline at 312-863-6269.

OPENLANDS {print design}

Presented here are examples of my design work for Openlands, one of the oldest metropolitan conservation organizations in the US. These works include promotional posters meant to evoke the idea of an immersive, emotional relationship with nature, and to highlight the networks of people and natural systems within Openlands’ area of impact.

I have also designed a number of publications for Openlands’ ongoing regional stormwater management initiatives. The largest of these projects include a 100-page EPA report on the effectiveness of community- and school-based stormwater management techniques, as well as a technical manual for interpreting the associated data. These publications utilized a mixture of clear text layouts and straightforward infographics to tell a compelling story through quantitative research findings.

In addition to these works, I developed a brand kit for a fundraising campaign to finance Hackamatack National Wildlife Refuge, a brand new national wildlife refuge established by Openlands and Ducks Unlimited. Hackmatack is the Algonquin word for “tamarack”, and the brand elements purposefully play tribute to the colors and expansiveness of the wetland and oak savanna ecosystems within the refuge.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

#abc6dd #aeb0a8

#e8a634 #a58e31 #58979b

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IN f(lux) STRUCTURES {a function of light}

This design intervention reimagines University of Virginia’s Lambeth Field dormitory complex by emphasizing its location at a key point in the city’s Meadow Creek watershed. Meadow Creek is categorized as an “impaired waterway”, with 72% of the watershed existing in pipes underground. Rather than simply daylighting the creek, I chose to highlight the dark-and-buried to daylit fluctuations of Meadow Creek’s existing water infrastructure, using it as a basis for the creation of experimental social spaces for humans and nonhumans alike. Patterns in both passive and artificial lighting allow the spaces to evolve throughout the day and into the night.

Currently, access to the site is heavily impaired by a railroad berm, whose only puncture is a small tunnel housing Meadow Creek. My design works to dramatically inflate this tunnel, exaggerating its infrastructural space to provide passage for water and humans alike. Upon exiting the tunnel, the creek continues out below a raised circular plaza before spilling out into a 5 acre wetland at the site’s northeast corner.

29 5 72%

acres of productive wetland currently exist in the Meadow Creek watershed

additional acres of productive wetland are proposed for the Lambeth Field site

of Meadow Creek is housed in underground piping and infrastructure

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{sports campus}

Exposed pedestrian circulation

{residential neighborhood}

Covered pedestrian circulation Motor vehicle circulation Enclosed structures Railway

Kirk Gordon LAR 6010 - Foundation Studio Fall 2016

{water & coverage}

{circulation}

{arts campus} Exposed pedestrian circulation Covered pedestrian circulation

Creek movement & behavior

Motor vehicle circulation Enclosed structures

Covered creek Underground creek

{elevation} 2 ft contours

Railway

Kirk Gordon LAR 6010 - Foundation Studio Fall 2016

{water & coverage}

{circulation}

Exposed pedestrian circulation Covered pedestrian circulation Motor vehicle circulation

Creek movement & behavior

Enclosed structures

Covered creek

Railway Underground creek

{elevation}

{water &

2 ft contours

{wetland}

{tunnel}

The tunnel features overpasses that connect the split sides of the plaza above, creating a dynamic sequence of light and shaded spaces along its length.

At night, the tunnel is filled with voluminous purple light. Inspired by the works of James Turrell and Olafur Eliasson, the lights create novel conditions for gathering and interaction while reinforcing the space’s infrastructural elements.

The light’s purple color is created through a mixture of red and blue wavelengths, often used in commercial greenhouses to enhance plant growth. The combination of daytime and evening light create an intensified array of growth conditions and photoperiodism. In an age of rapid climate shifts, this experimental juxtapositioning of altered behaviors diversifies plant interactions, supporting the proliferation of new and adaptive phenotypes.

650–665 nm

460–475 nm

Effects on common vegetable crops • • • • •

Strawberries - Increased shoot & root growth Peas - Higher antioxidant activity Radish, Lettuce - Higher photosynthetic rate Cyclamen - Improved flower induction & budding Basil, Lentil - Improved flower induction

day time light coverage

daylight plant community

night time light coverage

night light plant community

{ novel plant communities / altered behavior / epigenetic mutation / resilient accidents? } combined experimental photoperiod

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overpasses

snow accumulation

rainstorm response

student art / graffiti accumulation

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7am

12pm

7pm

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THANK YOU