MEKAELWESLEY-ROSA
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implicity is the ultimate sophistication. —Leonardo da Vinci
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REGGIO EMILIA A design proposal to reinvigorate a community through an elementary school SPRING 2012
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DESERT FARM To build a greenery in the Tucson Desert by stretching the limits of convention
FALL 2012
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VERTICAL FARM As urban cities continue to sprawl the necessity for alternative farming is ever more present— especially in LA FALL 2012
REGGIO EMILIA
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The Reggio Emilia philosophy is based on the principle that children must have some control over the direction of their learning—children must be able to learn through experiences of touching, moving, seeing, and hearing; children have a relationship with other material items in the world and that they must be allowed to explore. I took these principles and applied it to the structure of the building itself allowing children to play and explore on the large trusses.
REGGIO EMILIA
The site, located just south of downtown Tucson, Arizona, is full of desolate buildings and empty lots. It is called the Barrio Histórico because of its rich history in Tucsionian culture— now it is a mere memory of what it once was. Through this proposed project the Reggio Emilia school will help revitalize and bring together the community. VACANT OCCUPIED
SITE
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DEVELOPING PROGRAMS The program called for three specific areas to be developed—administration housing, an outdoor green space, and classrooms. The green space was used as a transition space between the administration building and the classrooms. To inform the relative positioning of spaces an adjacencies diagram was developed to define the placement of different space. CLASSROOMS
ADMINISTRATION
GREEN SPACE
CLASSROOMS
GREEN SPACE
ADMIN
ADMINISTRATION
ADMIN
GREEN
RESTING GARDEN RECEPTION OFFICE KITCHEN CLASSROOM BATHROOM EATING STORAGE PUBLIC PRIVATE ADULT SPACES CHILD SPACES SPACE
PARENTS + COMMUNITY
EDUCATORS
Parents and the community are both important aspects of the Reggio philosophy. They help kids gain knowledge through collaboration.
Educators help children expand their abilities by providing any tools the children seek. They are an observer, documenter, and partner in the learning process.
PLACE TO CONNECT
PLACE TO DOCUMENT
PLACE TO SIT
PLACE TO REST
PLACE TO ENJOY NATURE
PLACE TO COOK
CHILDREN The students are proactive in their education and have a voice in what they learn based on their own interests.
PLACE TO PLAY
Adjacent To Close By
PLACE TO REST PLACE TO READ PLACE TO CREATE
CLASSROOMS
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PLAYFUL TRUSSES
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To elevate the sense of play within the Reggio Emilia school a series of large truss elements were used. These curvilinear arcs extend from the base structure and out into the green space giving the children an element to play with.
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A
B
Exploded Axon 1/8"=1'
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lar
Vis ib
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IR
So lar IR Vis ib le
EXPLODED AXON
The roof surface is white thus reducing temperature it takes in. It is only about 18 degrees hotter than the ambient air temperature. The white roof has a reflectance factor of 85.
This steel joist is welded to the truss members and runs parallel to the roof thus distributing the load of the roof to both trusses.
This space truss distributes the load to its end points through triangulation.
High solar gain low-e glazing is used to transmit heat in the winter months. This also controls the heat gain by coating the window with a thin sheet of metal layers that control heat transfer in the window .
Standard wood construction wall with header's studs and top plates
ARC 202 Spring 2012 Trumble Mekael wesley-Rosa 4/25/2012
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DESERT FARM
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When looking for ideal places to farm a desert ranks low on a farmers list of ideal places. This desert farm helps local food supplies find a closer producer and brings the community together around educating about the “green� process.
Located at a busy intersection, the site gets heavy traffic use during the day from UofA students, as well as professionals going home to the Catalina Foothills after a long day at work. There are also a myriad of transportation options—a monorail system, bicycle lanes, and several bus routes. Responding to this there were specific areas of “intersection” which many visitors from the site were coming from or going to thus it was important to place strategic entrances into the complex at these “intersections.”
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INTERSECTIONS
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ave.
d.
DESERT FARM
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edison
SUN RESPONSE Due to the nature of plants and vegetables it was necessary to optimize the role the sun was playing in this design scheme. The building was shaped to mimic the suns path during the high angle’s summer days thus maximizing sun gathering potential. BOTTOM
st
TOP
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A PLACE FOR COMMERCE + LEARNING With potential for mass amounts of visitors there was a large need for a communal gathering space. This was designed with large open areas, as well as courtyard relief spaces. Although the vertical farm is a space for producing fruits and vegetables it was also an opportunity to show the community a green way of growing crops.
SITE CIRCULATION
TOWER
DOCKING
MArket
PLAN
AREAS
COMPLEX CIRCULATION
CIRCULATION
Courtyard
Seedling Hatchery
JANITORIAL
Courtyard
Courtyard
RESTROOM
PROCESSING
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MARKET + PLAZA Being one of the first vertical farms in Tucson it was important to educate the community on the process of farming, as well as provide a warm open area for commerce.
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URBAN FARM
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As more and more cities begin to spread and push farming communities out to distant lands there is an ever-increasing need to create farmland within an urban environment. This idea is manifested in tower form as it inverts the traditional farm landscape from outward to upward.
URBAN FARM
The beginning of this project started with an extensive amount of sketching that helped to create solutions much faster than I could ever hope to do in 3d model space. These sketches helped my ideas flow from my mind to my hand to my paper.
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MARKET + TOWER + FARM This program revolves around two main ideas of lofting the vertical factory above the ground level and connecting the farm to the market through the processing tower as a means to feed the urban community.
DN
UP
UP
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B
Plan
Scale 1/64”= 1’
A Section Scale 1/3”= 1’
B Section Scale 1/3”= 1’
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DYNAMIC FACADE In a climate that has an average year ‘round temperature of 66° it was imperative to properly ventilate the building. Instead of having a large number of windows—opening and closing—the skin system operates as a whole and opens up at three specified points to maximize ventilation. 30’
30’
30’
30’
Plan
Scale 1/128”= 1’
Openings
AXON ASSEMBLY To operate this facade it was important to understand the mechanics. At the base the individual parts needed to be made so that the steel frame could rotate freely around a pin connection. At the middle a tension system was put in place to retract the facade once deployed. At the top the track and motor was necessary to release the facade into place.
BASE Steel frame Steel rod Steel plate
MIDDLE Motor Steel connectors
TOP Track Motor HSS
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OPERABLE MODEL Through the use of modeling techniques I was able to prove the operability of my facade by demonstrating the specific joint conditions in a basswood model
EXPERIENCE
ENTRANCE
MARKET
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thank-you
MEKAELWESLEY-ROSA
cell:
1.630.453.9096 |
email:
Mekaelw@email.arizona.edu |
website:
mekaelwesleyrosa.com