Architecture Porfolio

Martin

Garcia Jr

Architecture Portfolio

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

CONTENTS Elysian Field

Cal Poly Pomona, Pomona, CA

The Reserve Observation Facility O’Neill Conservancy, Mission Viejo, CA

Oxford Elementary School Korea Town, Los Angeles, CA

Noguchi Museum

Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, CA

1 2 3 4

Elysian Field

Cal Poly Pomona, Pomona, CA Fourth Year (F14) |Group Axel Prichard-Schmitzberger | A&E Stadium Studio Studio Competition: 1st Place

1

After a quick analysis on the geometry of the entire Cal Poly Pomona campus, we noticed a major emphasis on linear geometry. As a result, we took the stadia program as an opportunity to introduce a new geometry to the campus, an elliptical geometry. This new geometry would not only serve as an anchor for the campus, it would serve as a beacon for the surrounding community to see and orient themselves. In plan, everything is organized radially around the ellipse; the vertical circulation, restaurants, VIP boxes, concession stands, restrooms and locker room areas are all organized to follow the curvature of the ellipse.

The Team: (Left to Right) Dante Riveragranados | Engineer Austin Morgan | Engineer Kevin Castillo | Engineer Mikhail Gershfeld | Engineering Professor Martin Garcia Jr. | Architect Nasim Tahami | Architect Axel Prichard-Schmitzberger | Architecture Professor Mahnaz Nasri | Architect Brian McCalmon | Architect

Once the design in plan of the stadium was complete, we moved on to two critical elements in stadia design: the roof and the façade. Starting with the roof, we did not want a flat roof; we wanted a dynamic roof that would enforce this idea of a forest that we were after. In other words, we needed a roof that followed the datum line of a tree line, having high and low points. This resulted in the roof having an anticlastic shape, or in simpler terms a “pringle chip” shape. This roof would be constructed of lightweight material that would allow natural light to filter down into the seats below. Supporting it is a truss and column system that is also organized radially around the ellipse. The second critical element to the design was the façade. Because we wanted this idea of the spectators coming up to this “forest” we decided that there should be no façade, rather the columns would make up the façade and would be arranged in such a manner as to represent the trunks of a tree line.

Entry Concourse

VIP Level

Concourse II

Tier II

Transverse Section

The Reserve Observation Facility

O’Neill Conservancy, Mission Viejo, CA Third Year (F13) | Individual Nadim Itani | Research and Observation Facility

2

The Observatory Project was the first project in which structure and structural calculations were used throughout the design of the facility. The client, the O’Neill Conservancy, wanted a facility in which workers could spend a couple weeks to a month at a time living out in the facility for research purposes. The facility would primarily be a private use building that would be open to a small public group (25 maximum) twice a month. The group would be able to go out and hike with members of the O’Neill Conservancy and learn about the research that was being conducted out in the field.

Ground Level

Second Level

Since the facility would be used by the researchers for working and living, I organized the program in a way that would allow the public to see the work the researchers were conducting and exposing them to private areas the public could see but not go too. Since the facility was placed at the highest point on the given site, I designed the facility to have two levels. This move created a viewing platform that would be used by both the conservancy and the public to look out over the site and beyond. One of the major elements in the design was the incorporation of an 8-foot concrete wall that would separate the trail from the entrance of the museum. This was done to anchor the project on site and to establish the entry into the facility. Another major element in the facility design was the skin system. The skin system was designed to block and frame certain views for the users. The materiality of the folded skin was a perforated metal sheet that would help shade the interior of the facility without completely blocking off the views out. The purpose of the observation facility is to observe, which is why this folded skin system and material were chosen.

Oxford Elementary School Korea Town, Los Angeles, CA Third Year (S13) | Individual Hofu Wu | Elementary School

3

Applying the concept of a community within a community, I began arranging the program to fit together in such a way as to create a community in which the students can interact with one another. This interaction led to the creation of two courtyards: one that would be used as the interaction point between students, and the other as the entrance to the school.

The initial phase of the design consisted on establishing a working parti and arranging the larger program elements such as the library, MPR, administration and classrooms on the site.

Since Western Ave. is a busy street, I placed the larger program elements, such as the MPR and library along Western to create a barrier between the busy street and the courtyard inside.

Administration

Kindergarten

Library

Classrooms

MPR

Outdoor Space

Adding to the idea of the community and using the school as a means to reach out and unite the community, the MPR and library were placed on the busiest side of the site not only to act as a barrier from the Western Ave. noise, but to become available for use to the community after school hours. As seen by the three phases below, the third and final phase consisted of the introduction of an angle into the design. This was done to funnel the students into the school’s main courtyard. Apart from the architecture of the school, one of the major emphases of this quarter was focusing on the integrated building systems of the school in order to not only understand how structure at a larger scale works, but also how systems such as lighting, mechanical and acoustical systems work in this type of program. As a result, an analysis on the kindergarten section was conducted as part the delivery package requirement for the project. (Note: this analysis is separate from this portfolio)

Parking Level

Ground Level

Second Level

Longitudinal Section

Transverse Section

Noguchi Museum

Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, CA Second Year (W13) | Individual Alex Pang | Museum

4

The concept for the Noguchi Museum was to expose Noguchi to a maximum audience. For this studio, we were given two requirements: one, to make it a public right of way project, and two, to create a path that connects 1st street to the plaza behind our site, which is 11 feet above ground level. In designing this path, or shortcut, I kept in mind the concept and allowed for non-ticket holders to not only experience the museum, but also experience Noguchi by exposing them to several Noguchi pieces. These pieces can only be seen, and never touched, and in some cases, only half of the art piece is visible.

1st St.

San Pedro St.

Planes Model

Ground Work Model

Midterm Model

The design of the museum consisted of three sub-projects that were combined into the final rendering of the museum. The first phase of design consisted of casting a negative and positive plaster model, and picking out favorite for the second phase. The second phase consisted of studying the edges of our favorite plaster model, picking thirteen edges and extruding them to get the planes model show to the left. Volumes were then created by deleting some of the sub planes created through the intersection of the larger planes. The third phase consisted of creating a grid and applying that grid to the ground plane.

This exercise allowed for the pushing and pulling of the ground plane. The fourth and fifth phases (midterm and final) consisted of taking the planes and ground extrusion exercises and making one final rendition by literally placing the planes model on top of the groundwork model and designing a system in which the two separate designs began to work as one and inform one another.

Level 1

Level 3

Ground Level

Level 2