Portfolio June 2024

PORTFOLIO Lydia Rosenthal B.Arch, Cal Poly, 2024 Open Arms Library (Spring 2022) 3° Ring Apartments (Fall 2022) Platz 089 (Spring 2023) Waste Streams (Thesis 2023/24)

OPEN ARMS LIBRARY Winter / Spring 2022 Prof. Stacey White

Collaborative work with Katherine Neuner San Diego, California, USA Located in the underserved Logan Heights neighborhood of San Diego, Open Arms Library exploits the intersections of environmental and social sustainability to create a lasting, welcoming addition to the community. As part of a new law school campus, we had to be particularly aware of the area’s tense history with institutional impositions. To create a welcoming yet private environment, interactions between users are encouraged on the ground floor and in outdoor space, but controlled through separate circulation and curated views on the upper floors.

Studio Prize Winner

Law Library Stair

Bus

Vegetation

The expansion of public transport into the campus area better connects the divided area

0 sq.ft to 5500 sq.ft

Bicycles Increased and convenient bike parking reduces carbon emissions and caters to students

Pedestrians

UP

UP

Public functions and a porous ground floor encourage flexible circulation for all pedestrians

UP

Children’s Library

UP

Our site mediates the residential and university boundary. In an effort to increase transparency and access, the ground floor is porous and intentionally non-hierarchical, inviting all users in with public programming, such as a cafe and children’s library.

Entrance + Cafe

UP

Plantings on site are native to the area. and engaging to the senses, increasing occupant health by engaging biophilia

Wooly Blue Curls

Western Redbud

Sky Lupine

Pride of Madeira

Blue Fescue

California Milkweed

Yarrow

Lavender

Cape Weed

Cleveland Sage

California Mock Orange

Lamb’s Ear

A

A

L

K

B

J

butterfly gardens

A

B

C

J

D

K

J

D

K

J

L

I

K

view to San Diego Public Library

I

I

I

I

I

I

K

passive convection through experiential stair

K 16TH C

DAYCARE A. cafeteria B. classroom C. play room D. storage E. active play F. children’s library G. roof playground H. theater LIBRARY I. group study J. conference pods K. breezeway L. reading room

J

I

H

D

E

F

G

RAINWATER CAPTURE A. roof membrane B. downspout filter C. cistern D. filters E. uv light disinfection F. carbon filter G. potable water tank I. water heater J. chlorine tank K. drinking fountains, sinks L. greywater

n

Benchmark 31.2

2030 Target: 22.2

20.0

g

10.5

Predicted EUI

3° RING APARTMENTS Winter 2022 Prof. Nanni Grau Berlin, Germany What will life look like, three degrees warmer?

This project focused on a renovation of an existing apartment complex at Mehringplatz, Berlin, imagining how architecture and urban form can be adapted to not only survive, but thrive on a warming planet. The project covers strategies at the urban and architectural scale, and aims to improve the passive thermal and ventilation performance. Throughout, a focus on adaptability, light-weight intervention, and connection to outdoor space was of particular import.

TRAFFIC CALMING To limit non-resident traffic and protect the privacy of the community, commuter bicycle and car paths will be rerouted outside of the interior ring.

WIND TUNNELS

DENSIFY

Yellow indicates partial demolition of existing walls to allow for the prevailing winds to pass through the urban complex. Community gardens in these spaces will unite the community.

The red areas indicate places where open space in the ground floor will be filled with new programs. In these areas, additional floors will also be added to densify the complex further.

URBAN STRATEGY Developed in collaboration with Franka Marxer and Ramona Friedrichs.

The Mehringplatz residential complex was designed by renowned German architect Werner Düttmann in the 1960s. Although quite radical for its time, the design has proved less successful than anticipated. Its repetitive structure is characterized by covered throughways which are underutilized and unwelcoming. The central grassy area is similarly little-used, and primary pedestrian traffic consists of commuters walking through the complex to reach a subway station. The ring orientation means that many apartments have poor orientation, and are either too hot or too cold throughout the year.

GREEN CORRIDOR

FACADE SHADING To protect the southern exposure in a warming climate, a system of balconies and arcades will extend the living space and provide adequate shade. These may also begin to affect building circulation.

The rewilding of the local park and nearby river will protect from the heat and provide a barrier against more frequent flooding events.

REMODEL TYPOLOGY A 2 Bed, 1 Bath

REMODEL TYPOLOGY B 1 Bed, 1 Bath + Studio

REMODEL TYPOLOGY C 3 Bed, 1 Bath

Minimal intervention in the existing floorplan improves ventilation and offers increased flexibility in the living spaces.

One bedroom apartments enable a greater diversity of lifestyles. Both receive southern and northern exposure, and can be cross ventilated.

Densification of the existing apartments can also be achieved through an additional bedroom abutting the balconies.

ARCADE STRATEGY Each apartment may extend onto the new arcade, which provides additional living space, shading possibilities, and instant connection to outdoor space.

COMMUNAL FLOORS Remodel and extension typologies are flexibly and diversely arranged in order to promote intermingling between residents. Spaces that were opened for the urban wind tunnels host community gardens, while the rerouted circulation emphasizes connection to outdoors.

PLATZ 89

Summer 2023 Prof. Thomas Neumann Munich, Germany Platz 89 serves the needs of many disparate groups – including seniors, young families, and students. Sited on a prominent corner in a quiet neighborhood, the project offers intimate, appropriately scaled building volumes housing meeting and living spaces.

Beyond these safe and solid anchor points, the space in between is full of airy spaces for spontaneous use or friendly conversation.

Platz 89 aims to invite users into an exploratory and open mindset.

Residential District

PEDESTRIAN

BIKE

VEHICLE Preservation of existing park, invitation at corner

Division of community vs. residential, public facing

Appropriately scaled volumes, “village” organization Commercial District

H

H

H

C

H

H

H

H

H

H

H

STRUCTURE A B

Structural system consists of a combination of self-supporting CLT walls, and mass timber frame systems. Mass timber was chosen for its carbon sequestration abilities, as well as its friendly impression in this neighborhood. Two CLT volumes are elevated, necessitating a hybrid system. Circulation spaces exist between or outside the volumes, giving them an airy quality, with abundant glazing. Privacy was a concern for student apartments - there, the circulation corridor is pulled out from the volumes, with individual “entranceways” leading to each apartment.

A B D

CIRCULATION E

F

FLOOR 3

A. Group room B. Workshop C. Gymnastic room D. Music room E. Lounge F. Gardens G. Terrace H. Student apartment

G

ROOF Waterproof Bitumen Membrane Mineral Wool Insulation max 200 mm + 250mm Moisture Barrier (PE Film) 175 mm Cross Laminated Timber

WALL 36 mm Cement Fiber Eternit Wave Panels or: 19mm Larch Siding 2 x 30/60 mm Steel Batten Weather Resistent Barrier 20 mm Fiberboard 150 mm Wood Fiber Insulation 125 mm Cross Laminated Timber

FLOOR 20 mm Wooden Floorboards 20 mm Fiberboard (for sound insulation) Installation Level / Wood Framing 95/45 mm 175 mm Cross Laminated Timber

CONSTRUCTING ELEVATIONS The simple, friendly facade organization gives the buildings a human, approachable scale, and helps them blend into the neighborhood.

Subtle interlocking patterns between materials lend texture and visual interest and help indicate underlying structural organization.

WASTE STREAMS Thesis - 2023/24 Prof. Dale Clifford

15m

Duffins Watershed

Don Watershed

Rouge River Watershed

Humber Watershed

+ F.J Horgan Water

10m

Treatment Plant

Mimico Watershed

+ R.C. Harris

Lost Rivers

Water Treatment Plant

Garrison Creek/Sewer

+ Ashbridges Bay

Wastewater Treatment Plant

5m

This thesis project proposes that embracing the intersection of infrastructure and nature is an opportunity to be honest about our relationship with the world. Architecture that reveals the impact of our actions can help us make more thoughtful decisions in the future. Using the Garrison Creek Sewer in Toronto as a case study, I propose a series of wastewater treatment stations that can engage with this hidden history of natural destruction. An unromantic, frank positioning in regards to what has been lost and what we may stand to gain gives rise to an idiosyncratic, playful form that brings people, nature, infrastructure, and history together.

20m

Toronto, Canada

Etobicoke Watershed

Lakeview Wastewater Treatment Plant 5m

+

10m

15m

20m

25m

30m

A

2.5m

++ +

+ + ++

+

B +++

+ + +

C

5

Blackwater

4

6

Combined Sewer Input

Me

y

erg r En

e fo than

Return to Watershed

Runoff

3

Water

Feces

Oils

Urine

Litter

Paper

Fertilizer

+

+

+

2 Water

+

D

Treatment Station

7

++

+ + 1

Biomass + Inorganic Waste

Fertilizer

GARRISON CREEK SEWER

++ To Conventional Chemical Treatment

E

+

+

+

SEWER STATIONS Careful mapping revealed the traces of Garrison Creek within downtown Toronto. A series of “stations” can engage this path and connect to their surrounding community, reanimating the sewer/river in the city.

+

F

FORM FINDING Iterative hand drawing and sketch modelling in search of a scalable, symbolic form that can be used for multiple interventions in the cityscape.

BEACON IN THE CITY The symbolic cone form is a common thread in each station, indicating the sewer below. The quasi-sacred geometry invites reflection.

INTERTWINING INFRASTRUCTURE The circulation around the treatment infrastructure offers a huge variety of interactions and viewpoints for all visitors.

REINVIGORATED WATERSHED Treated water is used to locally revive the riparian habitat, creating a newly healthy landscape without reviving the river entirely.