selected works | PORTFOLIO | maddox townsend
01
EXHIBIT A+D DESIGN MUSEUM
In Collaboration with Studio Gang Helsinki, Finland Spring 2023
EMPTY FILLED
Terminal 1 Pier D Renovation - Fiumicino Rome, Italy Fall 2023
02 03
SITE EXTENDED
406 W Spring St - Adaptive Reuse Fayetteville, AR Spring 2024
04
SHELVES
A mass-timber new Carnegie Library Springdale, Arkansas Fall 2022
05
PROTO-HYBRID ELEMENT
Marlon Blackwell Seminar New York City, New York Fall 2022
06
CARE+REPAIR WORKSHOP
Studio Gang Furniture Workshop Chicago, Illinois Summer 2023
07
PUBLICATION DRAWINGS
Professional Work - Studio Gang Santa Cruz, California Summer 2023
Exhibit A+D Studio
Helsinki Architecture + Design Museum (In Collaboration with Studio Gang)
Helsinki, Finland Spring 2023
The project is a new proposal for an Architecture and Design Museum on the South Harbor in Helsinki, Finland. The Studio Director was the Dean of the University of Arkansas, Peter Mackeith, and the studio was a collaborative effort with Studio Gang. During the semester, we have had the pleasure of both visitng the Studio Gang headquarters in Chicago as well as the project site in Finland.
The concept of the proposal is to become a figural wayfinding point in the city while creating a mixture of traditional top-lit museum spaces and flexible galleries that can provide a range of functions. The figure floats over a more transparent ground plane. The form of the building is defined through a combination of functional requirements of diffused daylighting and a desire to pierce the skyline with a vertical exclamation point. The building is like many of the other prominent buildings in Helsinki in that it only breaks the horizontal datum with the tower element. On the interior, the building is experienced in the orientation in which it sits parallel to the harbor. The proposal is capped by the culmination of the collection within the large tower space that allows zenithal light to cascade down on its exhibition. The galleries provide both black boxes and diffused light conditions with the multilayered sawtooth roof system. Opposed to the darker exterior façade, the interior space is warm and bright, incorporating lighter colors and natural wood tones.. The project aspires to be sensitive and related to its contextual situation while contributing to Helsinki’s design sustainability goals in utilizing mass timber. The project does not provide a completely new proposal for the museum context, but one informed by iterations of museums before and new standards and expectations of museums of the future.
Concept Diagram
The buildings orientation and massing is determined by the contextual situation while the roof skylight orientation is determined light.
Physical Models
Modeling by hand is a key aspect of the Studio Gang process and is something that was adopted in this studio. This modeling was in the form of small conceptual massing models to large scale section models to a 10’x6’ site model of the Helsinki South Harbor
Original Concept Sketch
This sketch, drawn at the Studio Gang office in Chicago, represents the birth of the idea of a figural wayfinding tower over a transparent ground plane.
Concept Sketch
This early sketch was a representation of the essential key goals of the project. The wayfinding tower, the solar orientation, and the orientation within the harbor
Conceptual Massing Models
These models demonstrate an exploration and progression from different massings based on daylighting. The first model (far left) was completed in a charrette at the Studio Gang Chicago Offfice
Floor Plans
Ground Floor (bottom) includes public program and the upper levels feature a variety of exhibition styles as well as the upper courtyard
Transverse Section Perspective
At the heart of the museum is the flexible atrium space (lower levels) and the elevated courtyard (upper levels)
Nature Exhibition - Endless Forest
The studio began with designing a series of immersive exhibitions. This exhibition uses mirrors and an integrated column and roof to create an “endless forest.”
Cultural Exhibition - Moduli 225
This is a continuation of the exploration of immersive exhibitions. This exhibition represents a taxonomy of the Moduli 225 House by Juhani Pallasmaa.
EMPTY FILLED
TERMINAL 1 PIER D RENOVATION - FIUMICINO AIRPORT
Rome, Italy
Fall 2023
The conceptual scheme of the project is related to the organization of the Imperial Forum. In a quote from an architectural competition reimagining the forum, it is said that the forum is an interesting and complex sequential game of empty and filled spaces, with a major prevalence of emptiness. It is my opinion that the airport’s program and organization would be more powerful if it relates to the architecture of Rome, which is an architecture of movement from interiors to interiors. The program that I am suggesting for the airport apart from the purely functional necessities of an airport are related to ancient Roman programs in a contemporary context. The basilica as a professional workspace, the forum as the open atrium, the market as the shopping areas, the theater as a large stairwell and auditorium, and the temple as a quiet and contemplative space. Floor One is the primary floor of the project, and includes the level where departures have an entry forum, gate seating, the atrium and central forum, shopping, and the base level of the “temple” and “theater.” The first floor is dedicated to the facilitation of movement along the airport with a central path that compresses and expands lengthwise. Floor Two includes primarily the basilicas, along with more shopping above the atrium as well as the top of the theater. This space is not dedicated specifically to arrivals or departures but can be seen as a place separate from the movement and dynamism of the rest of the airport. It is a place where both arrivals and departures can utilize collaboration and workspaces as well as places of rest. The third floor is dedicated to arrivals, with an arrival corridor running the length of both facades. While this floor includes more workspace, the primary function is to facilitate the movement of arrivals out of the terminal. The façade shifts from a solid travertine rain-screen wall to a large curtain wall depending on the desired interior lighting conditions for each space. A large metal roof hovers above the solid masses and extends out to provide shading on the façade in the summer. It also works in conjunction with a light shelf to provide light deeper into the space in the winter. This new model for an airport aspires to relate to the architecture of Rome not literally, but metaphorically, blending the spatial complexities and programs of the Forum with the contemporary function and logic of the airport.
Axonometric and Floor Plans
Axon and plans show the shifting from interior masses to large open spaces modeled after the logic of the imperial forum.
Third Floor Plan
Second Floor Plan
First Floor Plan
Transverse Section - Forum
Forum is the central space of the project with multilevel shopping and arrival catwalk
Exterior Perspective
Exerior facade comprised of curtain wall and a travertine rain screen with a thin metal panel roof hovering above. Gates are made of travertine and provide vertical circulation.
Transverse Section - Basilica Basilica provides a space away from the movement and dynamism of the airport
Longitudinal Section and Elevation
Section and elevation reveal the massing logic and how this logic helps to inform the facade
Central Path Diagram
The central path expands and contracts framing views of each successive space and creating dynamic interior massing
Temple and Theater Axons
The temple and theater are examples of “Roman” programs reinterpreted in the airport to provide additional amenities to travelers.
406 W SPRING STREET
SITE EXTENDED - ADAPTIVE REUSE
Fayetteville, AR
Spring, 2024
The project is an adaptive reuse of a single-story brick warehouse building on N West Ave and W Spring St in Fayetteville Arkansas. In the initial research and site analysis phase, it was discovered that the site was located in the middle of a series of intersecting spheres of influence and civic programs, including commercial, residential, university, theater, arts, parks, and leisure. These programs are manifested in important relationships between the campus, downtown, and major thoroughfares such as Dickson St, the new Cultural Arts Corridor, and the Razorback Greenway. It was determined that the new proposal would need to address a variety of programs to maximize its utilization. The concept is to create a civic indoor space with a multiplicity of intersecting programs relating to those of the city using the building’s exterior façade as a container. The new functions are related to the university, arts, theater, and leisure spheres, including study and workspaces, a workshop for the theater, and a café, capped by a public living room. The building is organized into functional zones that collide to create new unique spatial relationships. Circulation is organized to create a procession through each zone vertically.
1. COUNTER FLASHING
2. FLASHING
3. DRIP EDGE
4. 1” IGU
5. 1/4” x 3” COUNTERSUNK SCREW
6. 1 1/2” x 2” WOOD BLOCKING
7. 1/4” x 12” ALUM. FLAT BAR INTERIOR PANEL, POWDER-COATED
8. 1” RIGID INSULATION
9. CONT, VHB TAPE, 3M
10. 3/8” WIDE SILICONE SEALANT / BACKER ROD
11. 1” x 1” x 1/8” ALUM. ANGLE
12. 1/4” x 1/8” DRIP EDGE ROUTED INTO BOTTOM PANEL
13. 1/2” x 12” ALUM. FLAT BAR PERIMETER FRAME, POWDERCOATED
14. 2 1/2” x 2 1/2” X 1/8” ALUM. ANGLE
WELDED TO FRAME
15. 1/2”: x 3” SCREW BOLT
16. 1 1/2” x 6” WOOD BLOCKING
17. 3 5/8” BRICK
18. 1” AIR GAP
19. 3” SPRAY FOAM INSULATION
20. 1/2” OSB
21. 6” METAL STUD FRAMING
22. 5/8” GWB WALL (LVL 5 FINISH)
Transverse Section / Floor Plans
The section and plans show how the density of programs is achieved in the smaller existing brick shell, with four half levels organized around a single concrete circulation mass.
SHELVES
Mass Timber Library
Springdale, Arkansas
Integrated Design Studio - Fall 2022
The project is a new branch library for Springdale, Arkansas. The concept of the proposal is to create a collection of spaces and masses under a singular saw-tooth roof that provides unique lighting conditions based on the programmatic requirements.
The building is placed towards the NE corner of the site and along Old Missouri Road. Due to this placement, the building’s two sides have related but split characters. On the East side against the road, the building presents a strong and monolithic metal façade system. On its opposite side the façade system dematerializes, raising up and down against the exterior walls to reveal entry and the mass underneath. During the day, the combination of the metal panel system and curtain wall reveal little about the spaces inside remaining largely opaque. At night, however, the project can be seen in a “new light” as the warmness of the interior wood structure, floor, and roofing system is revealed. The project is organized along a long linear corridor stretching from North to South with indoor and outdoor spaces branching off the bar. These spaces are located based on their necessary lighting conditions. The bar lends itself not only to spatial organization but also to the layout of the buildings systems and amenities. The building attempts to create a new model for a 21st Century library serving the needs of a diverse population.
Hybrid Drawing Workshop
A section perspective hybridized drawing in collab with Marlon Blackwell Architects
Longitudinal Sections - East/West
Sections displaying the sawtooth roof and how it relates to the masses underneath. The roof was developed through iterations based on daylight analysis from Climate Studio.
Transverse Section Section and rendering through the auditorium space leading up to the main collection
Details
A major focus of the Integrated Design Studio is the production of detail drawings. This project was required to have a mass timber structure and metal panel facade system.
PROTO-ELEMENT HYBRID
Stair / Window Hybrid
Grand Central Station Waiting Room, New York City, NY
Marlon Blackwell Elective Course - Fall 2022
“Course Abstract: A study of archetypal elements forms the basis for a series of investigations that transforms conventional expectationsthrough analysis, hybridization, recombination, morphological mutation, occupation, and experiential speculation.”
The project is a hybrid of two architectural elements, the stair and the window, that bridges the large Waiting Room of Grand Central Station with The Campbell Speakeasy, a hidden cocktail bar in a repurposed apartment on the upper level of the building.
The project navigates the path from the Waiting Room, which is bright, open and public, to the Speakeasy, which is dark, compressed, and private, through a very specific procession. The object rests in the corner of the waiting room, bending towards the window on the right of the space and then up towards the bar. The form masks any glimpse of the stair or the room above, and the entry hidden from view. One has to move around and explore the object to reveal the entry portal, which is scaled to the height of a person. After one enters, they are faced with a sharp bending wall on which the shadows of the people above are projected onto from an upper window. As one turns the corner, a large window illuminates the mstair, acting as a false ending where light silhouettes anyone above. After reaching this landing, the stair again curves sharply and compresses, with the small glow of the fireplace in the speakeasy as the only guiding light.
Plans and Procession Vignettes
The plans along with the series of perspectives show the phases of procession that consider the public/private, voyeur/viewed, light/dark, etc.
Design Iteration Evolution
Each design iteration built upon the last. The initial idea of a large public stair that turns into a hidden private stair remained in each.
PROFESSIONAL WORK - STUDIO GANG
Studio Gang Care + Repair Workshop
Chicago, IL
Summer 2023
The Brief: Choose a damaged or broken piece of furniture or other object and perform a visible “grafted” repair that upcycles it, allowing the piece to become functional and desirable once again - giving it a different or additional use as well as a renewed appearance.
The “rootstock,” or original piece of broken furniture, was an oak and rattan cane side chair with a missing seat and a split wooden frame. We first spent time meticulously photographing, documenting, and researching the piece. With this information, we developed multiple potential grafted schemes to create the upcycled furniture. We developed the ideas through sketches, 1/4”=1’ study models of the entire chair, and one-to-one models of joints, rattan connections, seat frames, etc. This brought us to the workshop review, with critics including Jeanne Gang (Founding principle and partner of Studio Gang), Ann Lui (Partner of Future Firm), Sarah Herda (Executive Director of the Graham Foundation), Norman Teague (Founder of Norman Teague Design Studio), and Anna Burckhardt (Assistant Curator of Architecture & Design at the Art Institute of Chicago). The main intervention of the design for mid review featured a new seat frame with a rattan shelf and arm rests. While the boxy frame was well received, the main critique was that the chair was not gaining enough additional function. This critique brought us to the final iteration: a similar frame in the form of a bench.
Exploded Axon + Study Models
The initial phases of the project included documentation of the existing conditions as well as study model proposals
Joint Details and Construction
As a part of the initial research and documentation phase of the project, each joint of the original root stock was analyzed and represented in a series of exploded axonometric drawings. The chair used wood dowel and domino connections only without the use of screws. The final iteration carries on the same ethos, using only wood in each new joint and connection. A lighter wood was chosen to contrast the darker cherry oak of the original rootstock in an effort to make each of the design interventions apparent.
1’ = 1’ Full Scale Joint Studies
Different methods for joining the existing frame to the new armrests and shelf were explored utilizing strictly wooden connections.
1’ = 1’ Rattan Framing Studies
Different methods for framing the rattan were explored that were non-traditional and integrated the rattan into the joint.
Final Axonometric Drawing
After the initial review, the design was modified into a bench with a similar profile and shelf
PROFESSIONAL WORK - STUDIO GANG
Publication Drawings - KRESGE College
Santa Cruz, California
Summer 2023
Drawing set completed at Studio Gang for publications. Set included site plans, floor plans, sections, section perspectives, elevation perspectives, and panoramic perspectives of the Kresge college new developements and renovations completed by Studio Gang.
Drawings completed in Adobe Illustrator.
ACAD Floor Plan and Section
The building includes an auditorium and classrooms on three levels perched on top of a large hill in the forest
Perspective and RNEW Plan
These drawings include an elevation perspective of the auditorium building as well as a plan of the upper level of new dormitories.
MADDOX TOWNSEND |
479.531.8430
maddoxtownsend0805@gmail.com
UNIVERSITY
OF ARKANSAS | Fayetteville, AR
2024 | Bachelor of Architecture | Minor in History of Architecture | Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design
Graduated Summa Cum Laude | GPA: 3.96 | Honors College Fellow
MULTISTUDIO| Kansas City, MO
June 2024 - Current | Designer
Architectural Designer role working on multiple design teams and projects at different stages
STUDIO GANG SUMMER INTERNSHIP|
Summer 2023 | Architectural Intern
Chicago, IL
Architectural Internship primarily working on publication drawings. Worked in Photoshop and Illustrator to produce orthographic drawings and diagrams. Also participated in a furniture design workshop.
CROMWELL ARCHITECTS ENGINEERS SUMMER INTERNSHIP|
Summer 2022 and Summer 2021 | Architectural Intern
Little Rock, AR
Worked with architects and engineers on a variety of project types and phases including a park design competition
ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY TEACHING ASSISTANT| University
Spring 2023 | Teaching Assistant for Dr. Tahar Messadi
of Arkansas
Work including leading tutorials, meeting with students, and organizing class assignments and structure
THE C. MURRAY SMART HISTORY/THEORY
May 2024 | University of Arkansas | Fayetteville, AR
AWARD
| Fay Jones School of Architecture
This medal was awarded at the 2024 Honors Recognition Reception Ceremony. This recognition was one of thirteen chosen by the architecture department faculty for the annual Fay Jones Rewards reception
SECOND PLACE IDS PRIZE | Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design SuperJURY
May 2023 | University of Arkansas | Fayetteville, AR
The purpose of the prize is to celebrate and gain broader exposure to the work of Integrated Design Studio (IDS) and to advance the pedagogical values of the Department of Architecture with respect to design integration, building technology, and sustainability
ENVISION COMPETITION PUBLIC CHOICE AWARD | Establishing Connections
Summer 2022 | StudioMAIN | Little Rock, AR | http://www.studio-main.org/envision
This competition was an open competition for a park in Downtown Little Rock. The project had to consider connections to existing context, open public space for all diverse citizens of the city, and the creation of a landmark to be seen from the highway. The proposal won the public choice award for establishing connections, defined as “the project that establishes vital connections for current and future contingencies.”
NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP
2019-Present | University of Arkansas
NATIONAL DISCOVER DESIGN COMPETITION FINALIST
2018 | Chicago Architecture Center | https://discoverdesign.org/2018winners
This competition was a national competition centered around a project proposal that changed every year. The project was for a community market in the South Side of Chicago. The proposals had to consider urban renewal, green architecture, access to public transportation, and fresh food and produce accessibility Rhino, Revit, Rhino Inside Revit, AutoCAD, Lumion, Enscape, Laser Cutter, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Lightroom, Grasshopper, MS Office Suite, Adobe Creative Suite, 3D Printing
