ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO 2018 mykaela scarpace
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LARGE SCALE DESIGN
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THESIS INVESTIGATION
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SMALL SCALE DESIGN
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LARGE SCALE DESIGN
ENTRANCE PAVILION graduate, fall 2017
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CULINARY SCHOOL undergraduate, spring 2016
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MARKET PLACE undergraduate, fall 2016
SCHOOL ENTRANCE PAVILION location: benin, cotonou, africa studio: graduate, fall 2017 [group project] skills: revit, rhino, hand-drawing, illustrator, photoshop featured in: Benin Studio Exhibition | Benin, Africa | Mar. 2018 ACSA 106th Annual Meeting | Denver, Colorado | Mar. 2018
This project emerged after a ten-day studio trip to Benin, Africa in Fall 2017 as part of the Master’s program. The entirety of the design - the program, site and concept – was inspired by specific experiences and observations made while visiting the neighborhood of Akpakpa-Dodomey. The public elementary school sits within the informal fabric, yet does not follow the axes of the streets. A wall surrounds the school and its entrance gate is concealed on a side street, creating a barrier between the school and the community. It is not clear what is beyond the wall until the children leave through the gate as the school day ends. There are unfinished school buildings on the site consisting of a completed classroom and two incomplete classrooms. This was seen an opportunity to intervene and change the image of the school. The intent of the proposal is to the break the barrier between the school and the community in order to create a connection between the two. The pavilion design offers a new entrance to the school and serves as a public place for the community to gather. Each aspect of the design was inspired by everyday life in Akpakpa-Dodomey and focuses on which elements draw people together in a place with few designated public amenities. The wall is physically opened on the main street at an angle to encourage people to enter. A platform lifts the pavilion off the street, defining the space and creating a place to congregate. An angled roof extends off the existing school building to provide shade, collect water and shape the space below. One existing bay of the school is removed and its roof is manipulated to create a connection between the pavilion and the inner courtyard. The design features a mini-library, a fresh water well, various forms of seating and numerous blackboards for expression, playing and learning.
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site axes
intersection
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FLOOR PLAN
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SECTION: north - south
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roof collects water
shade provides reason for gathering
extension of existing roof
removal of classroom provides new entry
stoop extends into street stairs connect different levels
angled wall opens the space
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SECTION: west - east
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FORT POINT MARKET PLACE location: fort point channel, boston, massachusetts studio: 4th-year undergraduate, fall 2016 skills: revit, illustrator, photoshop featured in: Wentworth Architecture Review publication & exhibition | Jan. 2018
This project was part of a studio master plan for the Fort Point Channel in Boston, Massachusetts. The area on either side of the channel is currently underdeveloped, lacks infrastructure and is disconnected from the rest of the city. The master plan addressed the residential, commercial, institutional and public sectors for potential development. The market place serves as the connection point between downtown Boston and the proposed developments on either side of the channel. The shape of the market is informed by the existing buildings, site circulation and the water. The layout of the design is inspired by Boston’s Faneuil Hall Market with a central building and two buildings on either side. Various stores, restaurants and other attractions occupy the buildings. The buildings expand off of the South Station terminal, becoming part of the large transportation hub. The buildings then angle towards the water to create a connection with the opposite side of the channel. A cohesive roof system links the various market buildings as well as the existing buildings. The roof system expands across the site over the pathways along the channel and up onto the rooftop gardens. The form and facades of the buildings step down towards the channel emphasizing the directional aspect of the design. The façade is composed of brick, but breaks to glass to reveal building entrances and the rooftop spaces. The market improves the atmosphere of the site and encourages the public to interact with both sides of the channel with the hope that the area will become a continuous part of the existing city.
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site axes
site connection
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FLOOR PLAN: ground level
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SECTION A: west - east
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FLOOR PLAN: third level
FLOOR PLAN: second level
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FLOOR PLAN: fifth level
FLOOR PLAN: fourth level
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SECTION B: west - east
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SOUTH END CULINARY SCHOOL location: south end, boston, massachusetts studio: 3rd-year undergraduate, spring 2016 skills: rhino, revit, autocad, photoshop, illustrator
Sited in the South End, this culinary school sits amongst the Boston brownstone homes. The residences are six stories at the tallest and are arranged around intimate green spaces and small parks. The site for the proposed design neighbors an elementary school that interrupts the existing fabric of the neighborhood. The intent of the design is to introduce a new architectural style into the neighborhood while creating an intimate space for the entire community to embrace. The form of the building follows the constraints of the site and the existing school building. The orientation of the building creates a large green area for the two schools and the community to use. In order to preserve the existing street-scape, the main faรงade of the building is flush with the faรงade of an existing building on the site. The exterior walls of the building are angled in attempt to act as a delicate intervention in the neighborhood. The angled walls also create a unique experience inside the building and allow sunlight into the narrow exterior spaces. Large panels project off the angled walls to provide shading and to ensure that the form follows the existing street-scape in the neighborhood. The design consists of public and private program that emphasizes the connection between the school and the community. The public is encouraged to use the building and the exterior spaces with the hope that the design does not impose on the delicate, historic fabric of this neighborhood.
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site voids
void circulation
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A
B FLOOR PLAN: ground level
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A FLOOR PLAN: second level
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SECTION A: south - north
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SECTION B: south - north
SMALL SCALE DESIGN
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COURTHOUSE INTERVENTION graduate, spring 2018
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CONTEMPLATION INTERVENTION undergraduate, fall 2013
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VIEWING INTERVENTION undergraduate, fall 2013
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BRIDGE INTERVENTION undergraduate, fall 2013
COURTHOUSE INTERVENTION location: edward w. brooke courthouse, boston, massachusetts studio: graduate, fall 2017 [group project] skills: rhino, vray, photoshop, wood construction [This design was built and installed in the courthouse where we observed the results of the intervention.]
This intervention involved research and observation of the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts. As a group, we determined existing issues in the courthouse from the physical building to the process of going to court. We addressed an issue that we felt could be solved through design: privacy and separation. This design attempts to provide privacy and separation in a place where there are heightened emotions, stress and discomfort. There are two parts to the intervention. The first is a simple bi-folding wall to be installation in the waiting rooms in the courthouse. This creates a barrier in the rooms to allow people a choice of where to sit and the opportunity to avoid their opposing side while waiting for their case to be called. The second part of the intervention aimed to create pockets of privacy along the very public and open benches in the hallways of the courthouse. These pockets would allow people to have a private conversation or relax and calm themselves before their case is called.
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proposed design
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implemented design
implemented design
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design observations
potential improvements
further improvements
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proposed design
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implemented design
implemented design
VIEWING INTERVENTION location: copley square, boston, massachusetts studio: 1st-year undergraduate, fall 2013 skills: revit, photoshop, illustrator
Located in Copley Square, a green in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, this intervention encourages people to admire the surrounding city. The design sits on axes with and directly in between the Boston Public Library and Trinity Church, two significant architectural figures in Boston, and emphasizes their importance. The ground plan ramps up from the street, leading visitors to and from the square with direct views of the library and the church. Thick walls guide visitors through the intervention, framing the views to the church and to the library. Various screens enclose the space and vary in transparency. The screens frame views to the sides of the square while creating a sense of intimacy inside the intervention. The walls part as the ramp ends, allowing the visitor an unobstructed view of the square. The surrounding trees become part of the intervention and can be seen through the transparent screens. The walls, screens and trees cast shadows and play with the sunlight, creating a different feel and experience for each visitor throughout the day. Two sets of stairs allow the visitors to rise off the ground level and view the intervention, square and surrounding city from a platform above.
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ground level
second level
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SECTION: west - east
CONTEMPLATION INTERVENTION location: copley square, boston, massachusetts studio: 1st-year undergraduate, fall 2013​ skills: revit, illustrator, photoshop
This intervention was intended to allow visitors a journey through contemplation. It is located in a small, public square in the center of Boston, Massachusetts. The building has a long narrow form with four main parts. Visitors step up off of the grass into a glass box that serves as a transition into contemplation. It allows the visitor to leave the public square, but still have a view of their surroundings. They descend back down a few steps onto a gravel path intended to make them walk slower. There are wooden walls on either side of the path with limited view to the surrounding square. After their time in the contemplation area, they proceed into a room made of stone that allows them to meditate before exiting the intervention. A platform at the end of the building encourages visitors to relax before descending back down into the public square.
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design iteration
design iteration
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FLOOR PLAN
BRIDGE INTERVENTION location: copley square, boston, massachusetts studio: 1st-year undergraduate, fall 2013​ skills: revit, illustrator, photoshop
This site is part of a series of green parks in Boston, Massachusetts. There is a continuous river flowing through the site with various foot bridges connecting either side of the river and the different levels of the park. Tree canopies cover the majority of the site, yet streams of sunlight still shine through. The intervention aims to mimic the form of the bridges. Square wooden arches of different heights and widths intersect the existing foot path and extend into the river. The wood construction relates to the natural site. The various heights of the arches appear to form the same shape as the bridges. The arches cast shadows and play with the sunlight similar to the way the tree canopy does.
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conceptual collage
conceptual collage
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SECTION
THESIS INVESTIGATION
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FRAMING THE THESIS
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TESTING THE THESIS
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ESTABLISHING DESIGN INTENTIONS
RESPONSIVE FACADES This thesis emerged from an interest in improving the experience of urban skyscrapers. In attempt to do so, it addresses the performance and aesthetics of skyscrapers which effects an individual’s experience of the building. By retrofitting existing skyscrapers, a new, sustainable façade system can improve the performance of the building with natural light and ventilation. Complex facades systems can also contribute to the overall aesthetic of the building as part of the larger urban fabric. An existing building in downtown Boston serves as the case study to test this thesis. The issues of this building serve as the criteria for other buildings that architects may look at to renovate and improve. The thesis attempts to improve the performance, experience and aesthetics of the building while addressing some of the existing design issues.
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FRAMING THE THESIS | The following diagrams display the criteria for the buildings that architects may look at to renovate.
the building is located in a dense urban fabric
the building is more than 25 years old meaning that the facade system is at the end of its lifetime
the form and the orientation of the building do not respond to directional aspects
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the east, south and west facades are exposed to the sun without any external shading strategies
all of the building facades are treated the same way regardless of the direction that they face
the form and the orientation of the building do not respond to wind direction
ESTABLISHING DESIGN INTENTIONS |
The first set of diagrams serve as analysis of the existing building including both performance and design issues. The second represent the types of relationships that the design intends to create or improve.
the east, south and west facades are completely exposed to the sun, resulting in closed blinds
the ribbon windows prevent individuals from relating to the scale and composition of the building
the program is pushed to the exterior of the building with a central core
the atrium does not take advantage of sustainable strategies and does not enhance the inner part of the building
there is no connection between floors or between interior and exterior
the building interrupts the path of the greenway, but does not relate to the green space
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connection between the user and the inner facade
connection between the inner and the outer space
connection between the user and the space
connection between the user and the outer facade
connection between the pedestrian and the facade
connection between the users
TESTING THE THESIS | These perspectives and axons represent the various and unqiue proposed facade designs that intend to enhance the overall experience of the building.
north upper
west middle
south lower
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west upper
north middle
east lower
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