Katelynn Elliott's Portfolio 2023

Architecture Student’s Portfolio

Introduction

Hello!

I am Katelynn Elliott, a passionate 3rd-year architecture student and a proud cyclone at Iowa State University. I grew up in the diverse community of South Bend, Indiana, where I embraced many opportunities to grow as a designer, fed my curiosity, and learned from others with experience.

I look back on my work and experiences happily with what I accomplished and am eager to see how I can improve my skills.

Table of Contents

- Marriage of Perspectives: Event Space

- Transparent Screen : Part, Connection, and Whole

- Ritual of Renewal : Function determining form

- The Place Project

- Wearable Art

- Hand Drawings & Mixed Media

Marriage of Pespectives

Site Informed Design

I collaborated with Alex Gerber for all processes of designing this Event Venue. Our design is an experience that emphasizes some of the most prominent views in Greenwood Park. In doing so, it promotes exploration between the Rose Garden, Mary Miss sculpture, and the Greenwood Pond and pays respect to the park itself. This project beautifies a previously underappreciated spot and unlocks a new park experience.

Through our initial site walks and experiences, we found a dramatic view through a tree archway located on the Rose Garden’s southwest end. We knew this view could be enhanced with architecture. Through this archway of trees is a rather unenthusiastic part of the park, filled with overgrown grass, weeds, and dead trees. While this spot is forgotten compared to the rest of the park, it does offer a gorgeous view of Greenwood Pond and the Mary Miss installation.

Site Mapping

The main elements we considered in our design include The Des Moines Art Center, Rose Garden, the trees creating an archway, and the Mary Miss installation over Greenwood Pond. Our venue’s relationship with the site improves circulation throughout the entire park to enhance the overall park experience. The venue’s location respects the park’s beautiful aspects while enhancing a neglected area. Siteinformed event venue makes a great addition to the beautiful Greenwood Park.

Analitical Overlay

The center point of our purposed building is the exact point at which these axes meet, and the Marriage of Perspectives occurs. Our main entrance starts at the south end of the Rose Garden, and an installed pathway travels through the archway of trees and to the building itself. It is oriented toward the pond, so when you enter the building, it leads you toward the view of the pond. Visitors arrive on the second floor of the building, and the axis of this pathway continues through the building.

Section Drawings

The path through the gateway of trees allows visitor’s view to zoom in towards our venue, and once inside, the architecture allows the view to zoom out towards the pond. They arrive on the second floor of the building, and the axis of this pathway continues through the building to the balcony, where you are greeted with a view of Mary Miss.

While the venue aligns with the pond view horizontally, it opens vertically much more dramatically as you look down towards an atrium-style event space and up toward a sloping roof.

Our venue is designed to enhance these two views through a new connection through the organic archway, which Marries the Perspectives, between the Rose Garden and the park’s southern end.

Transparent Screen

Architecture details are what make space a sensory experience. During this project, I progressed with experimentation and the design process by directing my curiosity to notice architectural details. I dove into researching materials, art pieces that evoke emotions, and ways of assembling materials. I included parts, connections,s and whole to help focus my design. Modifying different materials of various opacities, layering them together, and testing how much light could pass through and the effect it created.

It was important to define my definitions for part connection, whole, and screen.

Part: Like a chemical element, a part is the smallest piece of a whole and can not be broken down further.

Connection: Combination of parts in an intentional way to create a whole

Whole: A cohesive and completed piece made up of parts and held together with connections to invoke emotions.

Screen: An Architectural detail that uses one of the senses to create an experience.

Ritual of Renewal

The unusual five-sided building creates a unique space to escape the mundane cube spaces and renew one’s self.

The front entrance faces north towards a cornfield with large windows to the beautiful view without glare. The east side faces the backside of Casey’s gas station. The solid wall blocks out the unpleasant view, and the light tan-toned wood warms up the space and provides a door to enter the backspace. The south-facing wall is also completely glass and is shaded by an overhang to help reduce direct sunlight into the space. The west wall creates privacy from the residential area. The center of the space is a closed light court with some plants to bring the outside into the space.

Building Model

A ritual is a practice or series of actions done with intention. The built environment creates opportunities for rituals to happen. Designing for a specific program can make it easier to use, open people to new possibilities, and elevate the overall experience. Renewing ones self is an important practice of life so we can keep our minds sharp and continue to be curious.

When designing for a personal ritual like renewal, it is important to investigate the steps to accomplish and how architectural details can encourage, inform, or guide.

The Place Project

Natural and organic items can be arranged uniquely to create installations that are not permanent.

Installations are meant to inspire people and invoke emotion. I wanted to bring invite people to this neglected and overgrown area. This project was sustainable because I only used found material. By clearing out circles in the land and lining them with branches I found on the site, I created spots that were designated for people to step on without invading the vegetation.

Wearable Art

Challenged to create a wearable piece of art using only three materials, collaborating with people of different design disciplines, and taking inspiration from a song was no easy task. We used R.E.S.P.E.C.T by Aretha Franklin, used-grocery bags, cardboard, and hot glue. Many hours were spent meticulously weaving this piece together, and in the end, I gained respect for the people I worked with as well as our piece, which demanded respect.

Hand Drawings & Mixed Media

Design Thinking is a never-ending process, even if a piece is declared finished. The process is very important with pencil, micron, drafting, and painting. Brainstorm, sketch, modify, decide, execute. I am always proud of my work and learning for the future. These drawings have all taught me how to adapt when things do not go

The pandemic changed our lives unexpectedly, but it is all about perspective. My first year of college was completely online, and I could still make the most out of it and create this piece in my dorm room.

Identity is the most important element in design to me. I was a part of the Camp Crosely community for ten years, three of those years as a part of the Staff. Last summer, I proposed the idea of painting a mural in the waterfront area to my boss. It was one of the most rewarding projects, not only because I got to leave a mark on the camp but because I also received help from so many people. Even if they only did one brushstroke, they are also part of this legacy.