Reflection +
Matthew N. MacRaild
Master of Architecture Master of Urban Design Master of Business Administration
Media Arcade
Pharmacological Research Laboratories
City Hall 24/7
Centre de Cultura Activa
Soulard Office
Contents Media Arcade_St. Louis, MO_with Sung Ho Kim + Heather Woofer at Axi:Ome llc
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Pharmacological Research Laboratories_Precedent Study_with Katie Finnegan
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City Hall 24/7_New Orleans, LA_with Jesse Stock + Norma Yancy
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Centre de Cultura Activa: Cultural Research Activity Center_Barcelona, Spain
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Soulard Office_St. Louis, MO_with Sung Ho Kim + Heather Woofer at Axi:Ome llc
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Symbiosis_Los Laureles Canyon, Tijuana, Mexico_Urban Design Thesis Project
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ssing Human Cro
er Estuary Tijuana Riv ssing Ecological Cro ssing Ecological Cro
ssing Human Cro
ssing Border Cro San Ysidro
ana Downtown Tiju
Ti ju an
s Canyon Los Laurele
Symbiosis
a
Ri
ve r
g Border Crossin Mesa Otay
Along with the loss of population in St. Louis over the past hundred years, the city’s urban fabric had decayed, taking with it the activity and density that allowed cultural institutions to thrive. St. Louis’s Grand Center, formerly known as the theater district have recently undergone a renovation to bring these institutions back to the area, including the construction of the Pulitzer Foundation and Contemporary Art Museum. We were asked to design a mixed-use media building on an irregular site adjacent to these institutions, mixed income neighborhoods and the St. Louis University edge. The program for this building was thought of in five parts. First, we address media content with a lab and copyright office that would govern public domain of the projection surfaces at the ground level. A cafe component encourages daily participation from nearby student, tourist, and business venues. On the second level, three viewing rooms of various sizes project outward from the triangular site. A ramp connects the ground and second level to pull the street activity into these public viewing rooms. At the top of the structure, five residential units overlook the city and media screen. One of the units would house an artist-in-residence sponsored by rotating University interests. The fifth essential program element is the media screens. The media screens exist as a public venue. The arcade is composed of self-supporting enclosures of solar cell technology fused with a transparent surface. The media screens are constructed such that the image ‘bends’ from exterior surface to an interior, enclosing condition. Light and shadow are crucial to the materiality of the space in the combination of light passing as if from a ceiling above in the sky, and light emanating from a digital fabrication. The nature of the screen and its projected color invades any concreteness. We wanted the Media Arcade project to provide for multiple readings within and about its perimeter. For this reason, the street and sidewalk inflate such that the projection experience surrounds the individual from the ground level with projections on the belly of the surfaces above, to the second level with projections on all sides. The ramp then passes over the adjacent street to the neighboring lot of planned condominiums. The typical floor slab construction is rejected for interlocking volumes and continuous space. As a design strategy, we thought of the building occupying the totality of the small triangular site. The building is a privately funded solid that carves volumes of public space for interfacing. The wish for the architecture is one of balance between the lightness of its enclosure and the prevalence of its street and public domain. The roof-scape and streetscape distinguish between public and private, but their consistency lies in their surface and the apertures that break between to give glimpses of the city skyline and streams of light. The activation of the space depends on a multivalent leisure that breaks down the gates separating neighborhoods.
Principals in Charge: Heather Woofter and Sung Ho Kim Project Coordinators: Sam Moen, Matthew MacRaild, and Daniel Gass Design Team: Seth Looper, Jonathan Stitelman, Andrew Sternard, Kara Sharpe, Philip Jia, Mark Epstein, Daniel Wind, Michael Heller, DJ Kim, Seanna Walsh, and Rodrigo Pantoja.
Media Arcade
Grand Center , St. Louis, MO Public media and entertainment space, ground-level commercial space, three theaters of varying capacity and five residential units with one as an artist-inresidence unit to monitor and create digital samples for the media screen.
Programmatic Diagrams 3
Massing Model
Detail Model
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Northwest Aerial
Northeast Aerial
Southwest Aerial
Southeast Aerial
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Theater Plan
Arcade Plan 7
Residential Plan
Section A-A
Section B-B
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Pharmacological Research Laboratories Biberach, Germany Designed by Sauerbruch Hutton Architects
A material and technology precedent study of an addition to the research campus of the pharmaceutical company, Boehringer Ingelheim.
To give the building an identity and make a connection to the Boehringer Ingelheim company, the glass patterning for the panels was take from a microscopically enlarged crystalline structure of one of the pharmaceutical products.
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The Pharmacological Research Laboratory in Biberach, Germany, designed by Sauerbruch Hutton Architects, is an addition to the research campus of the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. Sauerbruch Hutton’s building scheme pushed the offices and laboratories into separate wings; the offices are located on the west side and are ventilated naturally while the laboratories sit on the east wing and use artificial ventilation. The double wall system of the building features an exterior layer of colored glass panels. The panels are situated such that operable panels start at a height of three feet on each level, where the drive rod and motor are located for adjustments, and rise six feet from this level. Above and below the operable levels are spandrel glass panels. Moving inward from this exterior glass wall is a three foot wide metal grating used for servicing, which separates the exterior glass skin from the interior glass facade of the building. The operable interior glass facade allows for ventilation in the offices spaces.
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Plan
Panel
Facade 19
0 degrees
30 degrees
45 degrees
60 degrees
90 degrees
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Typical Floor Assembly
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Operable Window Assembly Aluminum Sill Backer Rod + Caulk Steel Angle Poured in Place Concrete Rebar
Detail 1 - Window Sill
Heating Unit
Detail 2 - Grate Connection
Metal Grate Metal Plate Connection Poured in Place Concrete Insulation (Ghosted)
Rebar Steel Angle Operable Window Assembly
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Operable Glass Panels
Adjustable Supports
Fixed Glass Panels
Fixed Supports
Drive Rod
Steel Profile Supports
Double Bracing Metal Grating
Exploded View of Operable Facade and Connections
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City Hall 24/7 New Orleans, LA
New Orleans is a city that is alive 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. City Hall, however, does not live by these same rules. In order to have City Hall respond as well as reflect the vibrancy of its constituents, it too must be a place within the city that never sleeps. It must be plugged into the network and operate accordingly. New City Hall - New Network
•Extend Streetcar line of St. Charles to City Hall and design a streetcar station. Bringing infrastructure to the network. •Claim the corner of Poydras and Loyola for New City Hall building so that it may relate to its surrounding building typologies. •Re-use existing City Hall as residential artist work/live spaces, with the understanding that this housing will turnover as the exhibitions change within the City Hall network. •Design exhibition and performance spaces as well as a performing arts center that will tap into the resident artists. •Add a market to the site that brings a daily inflow of citizens to City Hall.
New Orleans Existing Cultural Context St. Charles Street Car Connections
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French Quarter
Site Superdome
Riverwalk
Existing Urban Nodes Proposed Extended Streetcar
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Residential Neighborhood
Superdome
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Green Space
Circulation through site
French Quarter
View from Poydras
View from I-10 freeway
View from Loyola in French Quarter
View from Loyola in Business District
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Ground Level Site Plan
View from French Quarter
View of Public Greenspace
View from Superdome
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Upper Level Site Plan
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Reprogramming of Existing City Hall
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New City Hall Tower
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Section 1
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Section 2
Section a
Section b
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View of new Streetcar Station and Retail
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View down Loyola
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Centre de Cultura Activa: Cultural Research Activity Center Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Spain
This project is based upon freeing the ground level in order to maintain the public usage as a plaza and gathering space. In order to maintain the sense of public open space, it was important to maximize the amount of natural light that came into this space. This is achieved by the use of various translucent materials as flooring through the various levels of the building. Holes were also intentionally cut through the floors to allow various amounts of light to shine through to the ground level at different times of the day.
Site Plan
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Access to Site
Roman Ruins
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a Se
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bla Ram
ite rra ne
s bla am sR La
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s bla Ram
City Plan
M
Las
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Materiality
Public and Private Spaces Private
Public
Diagram Natural Light to Ground
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Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Private Public Public Public Public Public Public Public Public Public Public Public Public
Site Panorama
Potential Structure and Open Space
Walls
Large Columns
Platform
Thin Columns
Combined Structure
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2 3
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View 1_From Information Desk
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Level -1 Plan
1 - Exhibition Hall 2 - Lobby 3 - Information Desk 4 - Open Excavation 5 - Plaza 6 - Internet Cafe 7 - Patio 8 - Workshop 9 - Terrace 10 - Administration
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View 4_To Ground
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View 5_Cafe
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View 2_From Street
5 View 3_Through Plaza
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Level 0 Plan
Level 2 Plan
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View 7_Cafe
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Roof Level - Transparent
Level 2 - Metal Mesh
Level 1 - Translucent
Level 0 - Translucent
Level -1 - Concrete
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Floor Materiality
Metal Mesh Floor Panels
Minor Structural Element Major Structure Element Metal Mesh Ceiling Panels
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12.6m: Roof 9.6m: L2 6.3m: L1
0m: L0
Street Elevation
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12.6m: Roof 9.6m: L2 6.3m: L1
0m: L0
-4.5m: L-1
Section A-A
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Soulard Office St. Louis, MO
The Soulard Office Project was a modest proposal for a stair and kitchen storage area. The clients wanted office workspace on both the lower and upper levels of this 1,200 SF office. Because the partners were located in the upper level, the stair was designed to encourage guests to enter and proceed upstairs. Although the unit was an unfinished space, the stair and room locations were fixed in the anticipated build-out. The lower stair treads and bench were formed from aluminum plates bent and cut to form a continuous edge for the stair unit. When the direction of the aluminum bend shifts 90 degrees, a cut in the material is made to give the equipment adequate tolerance. Breaks in the material also help to shorten the length of the installation and act as overlapping joints for support of the planar elements. The handrail is an extension of the tread, shaping a thin line moving up along an illuminated path.
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Stair Elevation
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Unfolded Assembly Diagram 61
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Site Model with Walls
Site Model with Stair and Kitchen Units 63
Kitchen Furniture
64 View towards Stair and Kitchen
er Estuary Tijuana Riv
rossing Ecological C
s Canyon Los Laurele
rossing Ecological C
M
ssing Human Cro
ssing Border Cro San Ysidro
ana Downtown Tijju Ti ju an a
Ri ve
r
Symbiosis
Los Laureles Canyon, Tijuana,Mexico Along the border many resources find themselves being shared between the United States and Mexico, of this, water may be the most important. Because of this, there are political implications to the collection and treatment of that water. There currently exist many symbiotic relationships for residents of the Laureles Canyon. These could be between San Diego and Tijuana, the formal and informal developments, or the economies, but there is also a relationship in the way that waste is disposed of and where it ends up. The informal settlements in Laureles Canyon begin by using scraps of construction materials from San Diego. These small settlements grew over time, and become permanent. As these become permanent, they emptied their waste into the canyon, and as a result, the river. Because the river flows directly into an ecological reserve in the United States, the results have an impact the entire San Diego/Tijuana region. The rapid growth of this canyon has led some people to begin to build in the riverbed. This is dangerous because this has very poor soil and is continuing to worsen due to the rapid erosion of the canyon cliff. By investigating the issue of safety, it is the responsibility of good design to address on the larger context and design a system of responsibility.
ssing Human Cro
er Estuary Tijuana Riv ssing Human Cro
ssing Ecological Cro ssing Ecological Cro
ssing Border Cro Mesa Otay
ssing Border Cro San Ysidro
ana Downtown Tiju
Ti ju an a
Ri ve r
Canyon Los Laureles
Canyon/Estuary Context View of Estuary from Border
Water Crossing Border
Channel to USA
Canyon Conditions
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Riverbed 100 Year Flood Colonias Site
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Canyon Transportation
Major Access Roads - Paved Major Access Roads - Unpaved Bus Routes Site
Canyon Services
Schools Recreation Hospital Social Assistance Police Commercial Area Activity Area Site
Border TJ - SD
San Diego Tijuana
al Av. Internacion
Downtown Tijuana Aut. Playa s de Tijua na
o nt ie am br Li b. Li
Au t. E sce nic aT iju an a-E ns en ad a
Playas de Tijuana
r Su
Infrastructure
ores
d nda . Fu
Blvd
San Bernardo
Access to Water
Access to Drainage
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Bus Stop
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Bus Stop
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Natural Conditions
Erosion of Canyon 69
Transportation
Dry Riverbed
Building in the Riverbed
Schools Recreation Commercial Area All Services No Sewer Stolen Water, Stolen Electricity, No Sewer
Established Middle Class Formalized Working Class Informal Development
Communities
Site Services
Bottom of the Canyon
Middle of the Canyon
Various Housing Typologies As Related to Location
Top of the Canyon 70
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Site
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Sym•bi•o•sis
(N) - 1. the living together in more or less intimate association or close union of two dissimilar organisms (as in parasitism or commensalism); especially mutualism. 2. a cooperative relationship (as between two persons or groups).
Formal Housing
Informal Housing
Tijuana is a city that lives on symbiosis. The people of the city have learned to live off of a variety of symbiotic relationships that cross economic classes, neighborhood boundaries, and even international borders. The relationship between Tijuana and San Diego, the relationship between the formal and inform ways of life, and the relationship between seller and consumer all contribute to this symbiosis. An example would be a newly constructed house in Tijuana utilizes the scraps of a garage torn down in San Diego. The scraps from the new house help to make a new piece-meal shack on the outskirts of the city.
Formal Economy 73
Informal Economy
r Wa te
Use
(Re)
Cycle “If we understand that design leads to the manifestation of human intention, and if what we make with our hands is to be sacred and honor the earth that gives us life, then the things we make must not only rise from the ground but return to it, soil to soil, water to water, so everything is received from the earth can be freely given back without causing harm to any living system. This is ecology. This is good design. It is of this we must now speak. - William McDonough 74
Relocate Buildings in Danger • Relocates homes currently in danger of flood, erosion damage, or other conditions • Allows residents to keep their existing social structure, including neighbors, job, and way of life • Builds on newly formed land, practicing and teaching responsible erosion and sediment control methods • Creates a new retaining wall from discarded automobile tires 75
Reshape the River • Slows the water’s speed • Creates a new flood plain that is used by the public, allowing for the natural flood occurrences • Creates new land for the relocation of displaced residents • Allows for natural flooding with no danger to residents’ health or property because no buildings are located in the flood plain • Utilizes native planting adapted for local conditions to help control erosion naturally
Flood Risk • Restores the river to more natural flow • Reduces the risk for residents to have home destroyed due to flood • Creates a safer environment for those effected by river on both sides of the border • Helps to control erosion of the soil, creating a more stable environment for residents to build on
Community Garden Private Buildings on New Land
Individual Building with Side Yard
Townhouses Run off Collection Treatment
Public Plaza
Large Community Commercial Buildings Buildings
Run off Collection
Private Buildings on New Land
Individual Building with Side Yard
off Run ction e Coll
t en atm Tre
Reuse Rain Water • Reuses water run off through a system of collection, treatment, and pumping • Water harvesting can allow residents a readily available source for irrigation, laundry, and indoor reuse • Smaller, more frequent, localized collection points reduce the amount of run off and sediment deposited into the river
Community Needs
Redistribute Building Types
• Safely connects the valley residents with the amenities and services located on the higher ground
• Creates a diverse neighborhood to allow diversity in housing types and uses
• Creates a public face to the canyon, allowing for vertical circulation • Programmed public space at the high traffic areas for convenience
• Ensures safety of residents from flood. • Allows neighborhood to grow and establish resolutions to future needs through the infrastructure.
• Open flexible gathering space for the residents of the canyon, both those in the valley and on the ridge • New centralized commercial area
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Solar Panels
Apartment
Retail
Cistern
Existing Building
Sidewalk
Parking Lane
2 Lanes of Traffic
Parking Lane
Sidewalk
Building
Yard
Path
River
Landscaped Flood Plain
Typical Section
Apartment over Retail
Duplex Apartments
Single Residence
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New Commercial Buildings
New Comm
ercial Buildin
gs
Water Treatment + Education Facility
Sitting + Meeting Area
Community Center Amphitheater
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Recycled Tire Retaining Wall System Original Tire
Take off top + bottom
Commercial Buildings
Pinch sides together
Flexible Space for Community
Fill with dirt
Stack!
Tire Retaining Wall with Plantings
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