Portfolio_2022

laura ellis Bachelor of Design in Architecture Minor in Sustainability and the Built Environment University of Florida : 2018-2022 undergraduate portfolio

laura ellis In May 2022, I will graduate with the highest honors - a Summa Cum Laude - for my Bachelors of Design in Architecture and a Minor in Sustainability and the Built Environment from the University of Florida.

This portfolio is a culmination and documentation of my undergraduate career. Using my background in architecture and sustainability and the built environment, these projects display the skills and abilities I have acquired from the University of Florida. In the upcoming future, I plan to create architecture that integrates and celebrates the natural creation right before us while additionally providing spaces the changing world needs.

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ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO

contents

hotel milano

architecture portfolio

01

[p. 04]

threading the past and future of milan’s water systems

02

edges of performance

[p. 10]

movement of art in orlando

03

vertical suspension

[p. 14]

04

the amelioration

2022

vertical armature for motocross

[p. 16]

a proposal for a restaurant in gainesville

05

amphi(bious)

06

grasshopper studies

laura ellis

a proposal of gainesville’s new wetland park

[p. 20] [p. 24]

digital studies

07

depth

[p. 26]

wandering a continuous field

08

chirping with nature

[p. 28]

ornithology research

09

urban playscape

[p. 30]

mixed-use development in rome

10

travel sketches

[p. 36]

comparing façades

CONTENTS

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site

milano, italia professor

Alfonso Perez-Mendez

01

hotel milano

threading the past and future of milan’s water systems

individual/group

Laura Ellis Acacia Li class/year

design seven - fall 2021 individual/group

SECTION - study of surroundings

hotel water therapy hydraulic studies This design seven project has also been a part of an undergraduate Honors Thesis submitted towards the fulfillment of the requirements for the designation of honors from the University of Florida College of Design, Construction, and Planning.

SECTION

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POPULATION

CIVIL STATUS

Located in Milan, Italy, this vertical tower project is a cross program of a hotel and water therapy. Through analyzing the history of water in Milan and diagramming different studies, the fluidity of water has played a starring role in the past of Milan. This vertical datum embodies the culture and history of the water canals of Milan. All the tectonics on this structure mirror this rippling effect water has that has been taken away by time. The ribcage, skin, program, plan, etc. act in response to this undulating effect the history of water had and unrealistic hope of the younger generation. The unrealistic hope of the younger generation is indicated by the caging of the ribcage attempting to coalign this age group with traditional standards.

The ribcage floats on top of the massing to hide the emotions of the younger generation.

The composition of the main programs spotlighted by yellow masses, dictates a musical rotation of vertical ascension and of programmatic hierarchy.

01 - HOTEL MILANO

AERIAL

architecture portfolio

laura ellis

5

SITE AND DEMOGRAPHICS

2022

MAPPING

STREET VIEW - approaching the monster

INTERIOR SHOT - circulation

To start to develop the systematics in the interior, a series of bracketed initial plan studies of the space were created. Following the same theories of Peter Zumthor’s experimental block studies to create the Therme Vals, Hotel Milano mimics those principles.

BRACKETS - initial studies of the structure

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01 - HOTEL MILANO

architecture portfolio

INTERIOR

The suspended shell, made of a dual skin and ribcage system works to formulate a cave effect to drive young wandering minds.

2022

As Peter Zumthor said, “Sketching was a playful form of research without architectural models. I remember feeling greatly – freedom in pursuing issues of composition, working on them out on the basis of these block studies, giving them shape in spontaneous drawings and trying to understand them.” These bracketed initial plan studies helped with scale, program, and created a musical rhythm for the interior. groundwater hydrology

laura ellis

circulation

private

restrooms

conservation studies

restaurant

café

reception

The interior lamination of the lobby builds up the journey from exterior to interior and drives visual and physical processions.

hydrologic studies

LOBBY AXONOMETRIC

PROGRAM AND INTERIOR

BRACKETS - initial studies of the structure

7

To find out the initial program, a series of bracketed studies came into play mapping out the primary versus secondary spaces. Bracketing out and taking away the non-important, secondary spaces presents the primary spaces. Primary spaces represent the main function of the building, while secondary spaces make those primary spaces usable. This helped with connectivity of the different scales and learning what was most important and what wasn’t crucial to the project.

INITIAL STUDIES - primary versus secondary spaces

The contoured, elegance of the ribcage follows existing curving geometries of the waterways that are now covered.

The ribcage is associated and hooks into the skin by tension trusses. Fluidity of skin reacts to the water narrative and unrealistic ambitions of the young generation reflected by the caging of the ribcage attempting to co-align the generation with orthodox norms.

EXPLODED COMPOSITE AXONOMETRIC

INITIAL STUDIES - skin and ribcage

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Here are initial drawings of how the skin and ribcage were going to connect to the program and form of the building. The idea that repeated the most throughout this was to conceal the interior from the exterior. To approach the caged monster without fully knowing what was to happen inside. Conceptually water can serve as a bridge to the arts of an architectural space.

01 - HOTEL MILANO

SECTION - bracketed longitudinal site

SECTION - bracketed site

architecture portfolio 2022

Overall, water can be exemplified in the overall form of a structure by reiterating its sense of natural fluidity. It can also challenge traditional orthogonal architecture. Within architecture, water evokes sentiments of wellbeing and calmness. As a means to expression, water in architecture not only fulfills a need but also creates a spatial illusion.

The form of the ribcage and skin mirrors this fluidity of water. The voids epitomize the missing representation of water in the city that has been taken away with the new modern technology of cars and covering up the canals.

laura ellis

STREET VIEW - approaching the ribcage

RIBCAGE AND JELLYFISH

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site

orlando, florida professor

John Maze

02

edges of performance movement of art in orlando

class/year

design six - spring 2021 program

theater public plaza dance classrooms music classrooms cafe/gift shop

SECTION - study of surroundings

My structure comes from extracting and finding different moments that stand out from the surrounding buildings to create space. This is found through extracting, erasing, adding, and implementing the same ideas from the surrounding buildings onto my own structure.

Sitting on one of the corner of North Rosalind Avenue and Wall Street beside Lake Eola Park in Orlando, Florida is Urban Edges of Performance.

This performance space for movement of art- ballet, music, & dance.

Here, individuals will come to the site to experience the beauty of art and how it moves the soul.

MOVEMENTS IN WATERCOLOR

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DIVISION OF GROUND

MOVEMENTS IN PEN 02 - EDGES OF PERFORMANCE

architecture portfolio 2022 laura ellis

AXONOMETRIC - division of ground and program

LATITUDINAL SECTION SITE AND DIVISION OF GROUND

LONGITUDINAL SECTION

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Movement here plays a part in the colored glass and fins curving and moving like a dancer. From walking around the site in Orlando, I saw the use of color in many different roles.

From the church, color-stained glass was implemented; and from outside of the museum, shadows of colors intrigued the individual passing by.

Due to this phenomenon, I used colored glass panels to celebrate the movement of the body.

Covering was implemented by modulating and impressing different materials to make a façade.

LEVEL 1

The first floor includes a dance classrooms, lobby, café/gift shop, outside gathering space for the viewers, the main floor of the theater, loading dock, mechanical/electrical, and changing rooms.

From studying the behaviors of the site, these shading fins selectively are used to distill and dilute light from the northern sunlight.

LEVEL 2

LEVEL 3

Echoing the first floor, the second floor has offices, a library, dance classrooms, balcony of the theater, more changing rooms, and a storage room.

The third floor includes the green roof top terrace for the dancers, music classrooms, and dance classrooms.

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02 - URBAN EDGES OF PERFORMANCE

architecture portfolio

Here the curvilinear ceiling structure mimics the body and rolls the audience heads downward to see the movement and art of the body come to life.

INTERIOR - theater

1

2022

INTERIOR - classrooms

laura ellis

The small watercolors are different transverse section cuts.

1. blending, tying, and erasing away 2. separation and to mark a void of upliftment to take a break from the surroundings (outside gathering, hangout space) 3. spreading, splashing, smearing, and encircling for the main performance space 4. rolling, laminating and impressing different materials, covering specific areas

clasps

glulam timber portal frames fins

The long blue watercolor is a longitudinal section on the site. Idea of the contrast of distributing, bonding, and bouncing light while binding and distilling the idea of continuously expanding to grow.

Dancers get exhausted and are in pain from being on their toes all day. So this is the idea of blending what the audience sees- which is perfection- to what the dancers feel -which is the distribution of pain coming from beauty.

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3

4

AXONOMETRIC - wall structure

overall structure DIAGRAMMATIC PLANS AND CONCEPT

glass panels

primary beams 13

professor

Sarah Gamble class/year

design four - spring 2020

03

vertical suspension vertical armature for motocross

program

racetrack practice storage/maintenance Dare to enter the vertical armature. Individuals come here to experience the spontaneity, culture, and daredevil effect of motocross.

The first node is a space for storing the race bikes. Containing openings, lets the light from the sun and the noise from the races above filter downward. In the middle of this space, there is a vertical pulley system for the race bikes to lift to perform and to release down for maintenance.

DIAGRAMMATIC COLLAGE

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SECTION

03 - VERTICAL SUSPENSION

architecture portfolio 2022 laura ellis

PHYSICAL MODEL

Continuing upward, individuals are welcomed into the node for practice. As a room known for speed, the horizontal elements above press the racer to push faster and faster like how they would have to in the race.

Lastly, the space for performance. The non-racers watch the daredevils here experience ramps, jumps, and obstacles to see who will win.

GROUND STUDIES

DIAGRAMMATIC GROUND STUDIES AND PROGRAM

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site

gainesville, florida professor

04

the amelioration

a proposal for a restaurant in gainesville

John Maze class/year

design six - spring 2021 program

cafe catering roof top terrace

LONGITUDINAL SECTION

Sitting on one of the busiest corners of Gainesville (1st Avenue and Main Street), East End Eatery: the Amelioration, encompasses both space and outside air.

LATITUDINAL SECTION

LEVEL 1

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LEVEL 2

The first floor includes a dining area, the main kitchen space, outdoor dining space in both the front corner and the back NW area. Here, a void is cut through the site to show a path of circulation, let light in, and make the space feel more open than compressed.

Echoing the first floor, the second floo ceiling height is much taller to create 04 - THE AMELIORATION

architecture portfolio 2022 laura ellis

MAPPING OF CITY

LEVEL 3

or has space for catering and the e a main event space.

SITE AND PLANS

The third floor includes the roof top terrace and is all open-air, minus the storage space for the restaurant.

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MODEL STUDIES INTERIOR MEMORY SHOT

By rolling and pushing the curtain walls back, not only light is refracted, but the balconies can be extended outwards for more openness of space to be collected. This tectonic expression is impressed and woven together by different elements to create a rhythm and measure. This measure is echoed and layered throughout the project and is most noticeable in the roof top terrace.

metal railing tongue + groove flooring timber EXTERIOR MEMORY SHOT

glulam connection detail

glass panel

marine grade plywood 2” x 12”

pre-cast concrete pier natural grade

WALL SECTION

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STUDIES OF STRUCTURE 04 - THE AMELIORATION

architecture portfolio

2022

laura ellis

STREET VIEW

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COMPONENTS AND INTERIOR

site

gainesville, florida professor

Martha Kohen

05

amphi(bious)

a proposal of gainesville’s new wetland park

class/year

design five - fall 2020 program

75 acres wetland park welcome center open-air amphitheater plaza

SITE PLAN

This venue is comprised of three different structures stitched together by a common plaza space. Totaling a little over 10,000 square feet these structures are held in a 75 acres recharge wetland park. Open for all ages, the first structure on the north side is a welcome center comprised of bathrooms, an office and break room for the keepers of the park, nature exhibit, arts and craft room, and a storage room.

normal

exaggerated

TOPOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS

SECTION - study of site

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PLANT WILDLIFE FROM SITE 05 - AMPHI(BIOUS)

AXONOMETRIC - study of site

architecture portfolio

LATITUDINAL SECTION

RENDERS

2022

birds

laura ellis

nature

SITE PLAN

enclosure vs openings

roofing system

walkable

conceptual

AXONOMETRIC - program SITE AND DATA ANALYSIS

RENDER OF PROGRAM

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THE WELCOME CENTER The right structure is a welcome center with bathrooms, an office and break room for the keepers of the park, nature exhibit, arts and craft room, and a storage room.

Due to the local schools nearby, I created a space for the students to learn about the nature of the park and a space for the students to express their feelings of the nature of the park in the arts and crafts room.

steel joist 5 5/8” CMU 2” air 3” rigid insulation 1 5/8” metal furring 5/8” gypsum wall board

column footing 4” concrete floor slab

PLAN - welcome center

WALL SECTION - welcome center

When entering the welcome center, individuals are wrapped in by the exposed steel ceiling joists overhead and welcomed by the receptionist.

Nature bleeds into this space by the tall windows encapsulating light in and the double-sided Cotswold glass sectioned roof overhead exposing the light downward.

For the nature exhibit: images, display cases, plants, and much more circulate you around the room.

By creating a partitioned glass wall in between the arts and craft room and the nature exhibit, parents and other individuals can peak in and watch the art of the nature of the park come to life.

INTERIOR - welcome center

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05 - AMPHI(BIOUS)

RENDER

architecture portfolio

RENDER

2022

OPEN-AIR AMPHITHEATER The steel joists pull you into the final structure, which is a space for viewing. Woven into the ground, the amphitheater was created to showcase and experiences the idea of being in harmony with music and nature. Here local musicians come to play and sing and be submerged into nature. The steel joists here are used to create cascading shadows. ​​​​​​​

DIAGRAMMATIC STUDY

DIAGRAMMATIC PLAN STUDY

laura ellis

Having this open-air amphitheater lets individuals partake in the wrapping of nature’s smells, the views of the water cells, the feeling of the wind, the feeling of the earth beneath your shoes, and the sound of not only the band or musician but the exposed nature around.

Inside the back of the amphitheater is two changing rooms for performers to get ready and a back staircase for the performers to come onto the stage. North of the stage is a staircase for the performers to bring crowd members up.

DIAGRAMMATIC STUDY PROGRAM

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06

grasshopper studies digital studies professor

Lee-Su Huang class/year

advanced digital - spring 2021

For these project, I used the following programs: Rhino, Grasshopper, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Lumion.

Parametric architecture pushes the boundaries of complexity. Parametric design displays the exchange between elements. It manipulates and informs the design of complex geometries, systems, and structures.

DIMENSIONS

CLOSE UPS

PERSPECTIVE

AXONOMETRIC

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06 - GRASSHOPPER STUDIES

roof structure

roof

lights

architecture portfolio

voronoi NIGHT PERSPECTIVE

SECTION

glass

ribbed vertical

2022

Located on the busiest road for the University of Florida, there are bus pickups every five to ten minutes. This open-air bus stop lets natural air come in smoothly. The voronoi pattern in the bus stop plays with the natural light, colored glass, and the multicolored lights on the ceiling. In between the doubled ribbed structure is a curved glass panel and this double ribbed structure also is mimicked in the seating. At night, the white and multicolored lights above the seating turn on for individuals to feel safe.

PLAN

ribbed horizontal

laura ellis

seating

base

PERSPECTIVE

technical

CLOSE UPS

ADVANCED DIGITAL STUDIES

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professor

Sarah Gamble class/year

design four - fall 2021

07

depth

wandering a continuous field

program

rest study gather rest

Ground.

It shapes spaces above, on the surface of, and below the soil line. By creating various diagrams and both physical and digital ground models, the idea of measure, subtraction, and rhythm came to life. gather

The space created embodies a small part of a journey on a continuous prairie between depth and surroundings and how they are interconnected through a system of rhythm, measure, and modulation.

observe

SITE PLAN

Once entering this part of the continuous prairie, individuals are guided by the depth of the ground.

LONGITUDINAL SECTION

LATITUDINAL SECTION

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07 - DEPTH

architecture portfolio

PERSPECTIVE - gather

PERSPECTIVE - study

2022

The first node is modulation. Marked with repetition and rhythm to represent the individual’s need for resting, the node is impressed in the ground. The light here is blocked and diluted specifically to create moments of resting and regenerating.

PHYSICAL MODEL

laura ellis

Continuing in the depth of the prairie brings us to the moment for the use of studying the prairie. Built heavier, this node has a feeling of consideration, thought, place to ponder, and contemplation. This node is higher than the ground for scientists to study the birds with framed views.

The last node pulls you in by walking up the prairie. Once up the stairs, you are guided to the right by the repetition of the overhead condition. This space is mainly enclosed to keep the noise contained and powerful.

PERSPECTIVE - rest

DIAGRAMMATIC STUDY OF SITE MEASURE AND SUBTRACTION

PHYSICAL MODEL

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site

gainesville, florida

LIGHTWEIGHT CONSTRUCTION A lightweight construction fused together like the bones of a bird. Bird’s lightweight skeletons have hollow bones making them light enough to fly. Taking this concept and I created tree-like structures with lightweight, layered materials to show flight and sturdiness of a bird’s bones. Individuals come here to observe birds and partake in nature.

professor

Martha Kohen class/year

design five - fall 2020 program

birds ornithology nature studies

STUDIES OF THE WILDLIFE Here are the photographs of Newnan's Lake. Here I studied the air, the tree knees, the ripples in the water, and the local plants. The plants I studied I took from the site and pressed.

PERSPECTIVES

ARRIVAL To arrive to this journey to be with nature and wildlife, observers must park in Owen’s Illinois Park and then trail by foot on the trails already given to take part in and become one with nature. These suspended, lightweight structures are bonded to the trees to show that you are in flight like a bird.

SUSTAINABILITY SPEAKING Both the refuge and paused structures roofs were created with different layers bonded together to dilute the water in a specific way so that the water would run off the structure. By keeping most of the trees in the area, it brings shade, framed views, and protection. Also, it keeps the birds less aware that there is a structure nearby, therefore, the birds come to sit in these trees more.

WILDLIFE STUDIES

SITE MAP

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PERSPECTIVE - refuge 08 - CHIRPING WITH NATURE

08

chirping with nature ornithology research

SECTION

architecture portfolio 2022 laura ellis

PERSPECTIVE - refuge

REFUGE By walking up the stairs, observers are encircled by trees. These suspended, lightweight structures are bonded to the trees to show that you are in flight like a bird. By weaving around the corner, the observer can put down their stuff and enter the structure for refuge. The tectonic manifestation here encapsulates and wraps the observer to give rest. Towards the back, light is diluted to encapsulate the observer to a deep sleep while still able to observe nature while laying down and looking up.

CONCEPT AND COMPONENTS

29

09

site

roma, italia

urban playscape

professor

Alfonso Perez-Mendez

mixed-use development in rome

individual/group

Laura Ellis Acacia Li class/year

design seven - fall 2021 program

residential design-tech high school public plaza

AERIAL

Residential blocks project spatial and visual opportunities to the adjacent massing, while following contours of the exterior public space.

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09 - URBAN PLAYSCAPE

site ground plan

architecture portfolio 2022 public space

laura ellis

AXONOMETRIC

SITE MEASUREMENTS SITE AND FAR

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SECTION

Ribcage

Massing

Composite

Massing

Ribcage

AXONOMETRIC OF STRUCTURES PUBLIC SPACE

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09 - URBAN PLAYSCAPE

The smaller vessels distributed in the massing situation themselves to engage inhabitants of the plaza, inner courtyards, and performance spaces. These formulate a topography or urban playscape, assesses the motions of local gathering and movement.

LONGITUDINAL A

LONGITUDINAL B

LATITUDINAL A

architecture portfolio

BRACKET SECTIONS - monument v. fabric

2022 laura ellis

MASSING STUDIES AND SECTIONS

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BRACKETED PLAN STUDIES

STREET VIEW

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09 - URBAN PLAYSCAPE

The carving of the interior courtyards and balconies seek to bond a metaphysical relationship between residential and the attractor zones by wrapping itself.

architecture portfolio

monument

institution

2022 commercial offices

laura ellis

residential

public space

EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC - massing programmatic

STREET VIEW AND PROGRAM STUDIES

35

professor

Martin Gold class/year

analytical sketching - fall 2021 In the Fall of 2021, I took part in University of Florida’s School of Architecture’s Vicenza Program in Vicenza, Italy- a forty minute train ride from Venice, Italy. Throughout my travels to eight different countries, I captured various architectural facades. The following sketches shows a glimpse of how I experienced these unique architectural structures.

Façade is the most important exterior element of a building.

This integral piece of the building sets expectations, adds a unique personality and character, and defines the feel of the overall structure. From learning about different façades, I noticed that façades either help achieve the goal of blending in with the surroundings or helps with standing out from the crowd.

Andrea Palladio Palladian Basilica (1549) - Vicenza, Italia

Antoni Gaudí Casa Milà (1906) - Barcelona, España

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10 - TRAVEL SKETCHES

10

travel sketches comparing façades

Andrea Palladio Loggia Valmarana (1565) - Vicenza, Italia

Vicenza, Italia

architecture portfolio

Andrea Palladio Palazzo Porto (1552) - Vicenza, Italia

Porton del Luzzo (1500) - Vicenza, Italia

2022

Carlo Scarpa Casa Borgo (1975) - Vicenza, Italia

laura ellis

Colosseo (70AD) - Roma, Italia STUDIES OF FAÇADES

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laura ellis lauraellis5572@gmail.com +1 (904) 888 6822 LinkedIn: laura-ellis-8a91b6176/ issuu.com/lauralynnellis