nicholas karl
DESIGN This book contains the academic, personal, and professional architectural design and visualization work of Nicholas J. Karl as of his graduation from the University at Buffalo Masters of Architecture program in May of 2014
CONTACT ME
150 amherston dr. williamsville, ny 14221 njkarl@buffalo.edu 716.604.2657
EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, Buffalo, NY Master of Architecture May 2014 Overall GPA: 3.67 Design Studio GPA: 3.77 B.S. in Architecture, May 2012 Overall GPA: 3.48
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Uniland Development Company, Amherst, NY Architectural Designer, August 2012- present • Digital modeling and rendering for conceptual design, design development, and building marketing. • Technical drafting at multiple scales (site planning, unit planning, and construction details) University at Buffalo GRoW House, Buffalo, NY Architectural Design Intern, June 2013- present • Assist and Lead a team of architectural designers and engineers in the design of the 1,400 square foot NetZero house that will compete in the 2015 Solar Decathlon Competition. • Wrote and produced imagery for the University at Buffalo’s proposal that was one of twenty schools accepted into the 2015 competition. Main Transit Fire Department, Amherst, NY Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician, April 2008- present • Works in large and small teams in high stress and difficult situations • Member of the Steering and House and Grounds Committees that were in charge of major building renovations and additions. • Took an 8 month (120 hour) course to become a New York State certified EMT Studio North Architecture, Chris Romano, Buffalo, NY Graphic and Web Designer June 2012- present • Graphically designed and organized professional work • Designed multiple websites for businesses and private ventures
EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE
B/a+p Headed WEST, West Coast of the United States Student, January 2014 • Traveled from Seattle Washington to Pheonix Arizona by bus visiting and sketching modern and historic architecture of a variety of programs Sustainable Futures 2011 Study Abroad, Monteverde, Costa Rica Student, May 2011 to August 2011 • Worked interdisciplinary with 12 other planners, landscape architects, and architects for a not-for-profit organization to design and build projects for the benefit of the community
PERSONAL PROJECTS
[NAPA] Emerging Vineyard - FINALIST Arquideas Conceptual International Student Competition, May 2012- July 2012 Training Facility Design Build Service Project, August 2011 SF Fire Re[Park]ment Archmedium Conceptual International Student Competition, June 2013
HONORS
Graduated Cum Laude, Deans List 6 times in undergrad, Perfect 4.0 one time Finalist in Arquideas International Winery Competition Won University at Buffalo’s sponsored Pella Competition with the SHIFT house University at Buffalo’s GRoW house shortlisted in Department of Energy 2015 Solar Decathlon GRoW House published in UB Reporter and WKBW Channel 7 News Stepwell, Market Office, and GRoW house published in Intersight Active Skyline published on Buffalo Rising Buffalo N’ More is the featured project on UB’s IDEA Center Website 505 Ellicott published in Buffalo News, Buffalo Business First, and Buffalo Rising
SKILLS
AutoCAD, Google Sketchup, V-ray for Sketchup, Rhinoceros, V-ray for Rhino, Lumion 4.5, Grasshopper, 3DS Max, Adobe Crative Suite 6 (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash), Autodesk Revit, Bentley Microstation, HTML/CSS Web Design, Microsoft Office, OpenStudio, EnergyPlus, Ecotect
Academic Work
Undergraduate and Graduate Work_ University at Buffalo
08 16 22 24 28 34
SPRING GRoW House
2014
ARC608 Martha Bohm
F A L L MODlam House
2013
ARC607 Bradley Wales
SPRING SHIFT House
2013
ARC599 Martha Bohm
SPRING ACTIVE Skyline
2013
ARC606 Ed Steinfeld
SPRING Buffalo N’ More
2013
ARC606 Ed Steinfeld
F A L L FLUID topo
2012
ARC605 Laura Garafolo
38 42 46 52 56 60
WINTER HEADED West
2014
ARC610 Greg Delaney
SUMMER Monteverde Instituto
2011
ARC403 Chris Romano
SPRING Life Cycle Center
2011
ARC302 Jordan Geiger
F A L L Market Office
2010
ARC301 Martha Bohm
F A L L StepWell
2009
ARC201 Nick Bruscia
SPRING Construction Tech
2011
ARC442 Chris Romano
Personal Work
Professional Work
Competition and Service Work
64 68 72
Uniland Development Company
SUMMER Emerging Winery
2012
Arquideas Competition
SUMMER Fire Training
2011
Main Transit Fire Dept.
SUMMER SFFD Headquarters
2013
ArchMedium Competition
78 82 84 88
F A L L 505 Ellicott
2012
Uniland Design
SPRING 25 Gates Circle
2013
Uniland Design
F A L L Catholic Health Admin
2013
Steiglitz Snyder Architects
WINTER D’youville Campus
2014
Steiglitz Snyder Architects
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nicholas karl
DESIGN
Academic Work
Undergraduate and Graduate Work_ University at Buffalo
08 16 22 24 28 34
SPRING GRoW House
2014
ARC608 Martha Bohm
F A L L MODlam House
2013
ARC607 Bradley Wales
SPRING SHIFT House
2013
ARC599 Martha Bohm
SPRING ACTIVE Skyline
2013
ARC606 Ed Steinfeld
SPRING Buffalo N’ More
2013
ARC606 Ed Steinfeld
F A L L FLUID topo
2012
ARC605 Laura Garafolo
38 42 46 52 56 60
WINTER HEADED West
2014
ARC610 Greg Delaney
SUMMER Monteverde Instituto
2011
ARC403 Chris Romano
SPRING Life Cycle Center
2011
ARC302 Jordan Geiger
F A L L Market Office
2010
ARC301 Martha Bohm
F A L L StepWell
2009
ARC201 Nick Bruscia
SPRING Construction Tech
2011
ARC442 Chris Romano
GRoW house
Spring 2014 Professor: Martha Bohm Worked with a group of eleven other students to design and write a successful proposal for the University at Buffalo for the 2015 United States Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon Competition. The GRoW House, for “Garden, Relax or Work” takes an innovative approach to residential design. The GRoW house contrasts a glassy passively conditioned sunspace with superinsulated, efficiently conditioned core living spaces to create a range of living environments which flow spatially with the changing seasonal conditions. The house is firmly rooted in its home in Buffalo, NY; it is optimized to the climate and solar conditions, is built from local materials, and enables occupants to grow their own vegetables, lowering their energy footprint and addressing the food insecurity challenging many Buffalonians. The GRoW House is designed to be both energy positive in Buffalo, and to exceed performance requirements at the competition site. The massing of GRoW House is comprised of three discrete “thermal boxes”: the Garden Box, the Relax Box, and the Work Box, each a unique thermal zone.
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GROW | NICHOLAS KARL design
1 2
HEAVILY INSULATED
ACTIVE
INSULATED & OPERABLE
PASSIVE 3
OPERABLE
1 3
module
flat packed
2
module
radiant floor
shading unnecessary
shading necessary
cross ventilation
thermal mass out
GARDEN What can we grow and when?
thermal mass in
ESTIMATED POUNDS OF PRODUCE
384
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Landscape Warm Season Production 3120 SF of land
1,350
Annual Consumption data collected from USDA
Cool Season radiant floor
shading unnecessary
shading necessary
cross ventilation
thermal mass out
thermal mass in
45- 65 degrees Start Warm Season Seeds Broccoli
Lettuce
Beets
Peas
Cabbage
Spinach
12 to 24 inches apart 2 plants per planter 1-2 inches apart 100 plants per planter 12-24 inches apart 2 plants per planter
16 inches apart 2 plants per planter 2 inches apart 100 plants per planter 3-4 inches apart 50 plants per planter
Kale
8-12 inches apart 25 plants per planter
HEAT SOURCE Warm Season 70 degrees Cucumber
Peppers
Beans
Zuchini
6-10 inches apart
radiant floor
shading unnecessary
shading necessary
cross ventilation
thermal mass out
thermal mass in
2 inches apart
Tomatoes
2 feet apart
HEAT BUFFER
18 to 24 inches apart
2 to 3 feet apart
1800
1600
1400
1200
800
1000
THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM
600
Greenhouse Cool Season Production 72 SF of planters
400
200
0
Average Annual Produce Consumption per person
WASH
- Storage of tools and accessories - Cleaning and washing of tools and vegetables. - Drying and Ripening Area
PROCESS
- Cooking - Food Preparation - Cold Storage - Tablespace for canning
STORAGE
- Dry and Dark Storage for canned goods
COMPOST
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MODlam house
Fall 2013 Professor: Brad Wales The ModLam house uses glulam beams to structure and emphasis the modularity of the project that is necessary due to the constraints of the competition. Glulam beams and columns are anchored to a well-insulated terra-cotta clad storage wall on the south side of the house in the competition. North walls are mostly glass allowing the uarget audience of urban gardener to feel as though they are connected to nature and their urban garden. When the project is brought back to Buffalo, it will be rotated completely to allow for the glass to face south and maximize solar gain.The alternating roof scheme also allows this rotation for the competition providing ample square feet in both configurations to install a solar array that is capable of producing a net zero efficiency.
MODLAM | NICHOLAS KARL design
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A B C D
ENTRY
A
ENTRY
B
C
D
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NTRY CE + E e s US SPA
BON SPACE PUBLICoom CE IO SPA OR PAT
O OUTD
space Bench ro P ogam le ib x le F
R Dining Kitchen al Room nic Mecha om Ro Living
u the ho ouse ntry to H Front E ector ffor the oll Solar C rogram P Flexible
PACE VATE S PRIV m o Bathro ry Laund m Bedroo
ONE: spatial considerations
TWO: patio microprogram
THREE: modularity
The house is split into three main pieces, one for entry, one for public space, and one for private space.
The house is shifted back and forth along the east and west orientation to allow for microprograms and connections between the interior and patio spaces
The house is further split into four modules so that it could be more easily transported to the competition
FOUR: sectional changes
FIVE: rotation of the plan
SIX: design parti
The houses roof angles change to allow for spaces that desire more space to have taller ceilings. This also addresses solar gain in Buffalo and California
The house is rotated 180 degrees to accomodate for different desired solar orientations for Buffalo and California
One side of the house is made of heavily insulated terra cotta clad storage walls while the other side is all glass allowing for complete movement from interior to exterior
SHIFT house: Conceptual Design for 2015 Solar Decathlon Spring 2013 Professor: Martha Bohm
The shift house seeks to make a statement about the relationship between the public spaces of residential architecture and the exterior as well as the relationship between the user and the constructions of the home. The ability of the user to shift parts of their home to become closer or farther way from the thermal or spacial exterior condition is not common. This is achieved by not only creating a construction that is modular and allows this shift, but strategically shifting the entire volume of the home, creating a core of public space with the overlap and connections and adjacencies with both the private space of the home, the sun space, and the exterior.
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ACTIVE skyline
Spring 2013 Professor: Ed Steinfeld The Active Skyline draws on inspiration from the surrounding Buffalo landmarks to reuse the resources that the Buffalo Skyway offers. The project takes advantage of the views of the existing skyway in Buffalo and all of its surroundings to benefit the health and interests of the public of Buffalo. Connections to professional athletic facilities, local gyms, and Buffalo’s transportation system can help make this project a success. The programs of the Active Skyline include an area for retail and rental, sledding and park, restaurant and viewing of Buffalo sports, and an athletic complex, that are all laced together with a track. The gaps between each program are filled with open park space that will allow activity to happen in those areas as well.
TWO MILE CIRCUIT RETAIL AND RENTAL
OPEN GREEN
SLEDDING AND WARMING
OPEN GREEN SPACE
ATHLETIC VIEWING & RESTAURANT
OPEN GREEN SPACE
ATHLETIC COMPLEX
Retail and Rental Rental of sleds, ice skates and skis for public use and retail of winter clothing items athletic equipment
Sledding and Warming Rental of bicycles and retail of summer clothing items and athletic equipment. Courtyard used to welcome the public.
SKYWAY | NICHOLAS KARL design
Circle used for sledding and family activity and Interior used for lodging and a warming hut for family use.
Exterior park and picnic area for family use
Basketball and Hockey Viewing for pond hockey that is housed below. Connection to First Niagara Center for Sabres and Bandits events.
Athletic Track and Fields Viewing for basketball courts below and watching of summer sporting events in restaurant setting
Track above used for cross country skiing and below for covered ice skating. Complex used for winter athletic events
Track above used for running and jogging and below for covered bicycling. Complex used for summer athletic events
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BUFFALO&MORE children’s museum Spring 2013 Professor: Ed Steinfeld
Atrium Cut
office retail
museum
play ground office entry museum entry
morning sun
cafe entry
afternoon sun
The project was to design a building with 40k square feet of children’s museum program and 80k square feet of office building on a canalside site in Buffalo, NY with the considerations of the Erie Canal Development Company and the current museum in mind. The building form was derived from subtractions that are specific to the site in terms of pedestrian access, sun and wind as well as programatic desires of views and light. Initial pieces were removed to allow for the expression of the building’s entries at the corners of the site. An atrium, as well as a piece from the south east side and a piece from the top were cut out to allow for more light to enter the spaces of the museum and the office space.
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FLUID topography
Fall 2012 Professor: Laura Garofolo The project was to build an aggregation of homes in the Great Lakes Region that deal with water and other resources in a way that changes how the people of those homes use those resources. It is also meant to bring about a social and culture change that will prevent the consumption and abuse of these resources. Therefore, these homes are not just a series of complex technologies but rather an architecture that combines these systems with the way that the occupants live to increase awareness and responsibility.
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Cluster Scale Movement The clusters were designed to embed a smaller scale of sharing therefore forcing the user to have more responsibility. The clusters also lend themselves move to the metrics of the systems that are needed to sustain water cleanliness. FLUIDtopography takes into consideration what resources between its occupants are shared and what are individual. Those resources that are shared complete cycles back to the unit and cluster of twelve homes which causes a social change based on the natural responsibility that the system creates.
PRIVATE: bedroom The bedroom space of the units along with the bathroom are the only spaces of the units that are not shared between anyone but the users of those individual units.
SHARED: kitchen space The kitchen space of the units is shared between 2 users giving more responsibility of the user allowing other people to see whaty ou do with your water and resources and it also open to views from the living room.
SHARED: living space Since the living area is for the most part public and cna be shared between people of different units. One band along the front of the units will allow people to do this
SHARED: agriculture The constructed wetland and agriculture are shared and maintained by the people within the units. The space acts as the traveling path for output water and input heat as the greenhouse on the end collects heat.
SHARED: water The overflow of the water from the agriculture goes into the wetland retention in the middle of the units and then is moved towards the lake.
FLUID TOPO | NICHOLAS KARL design
ROOF COLLECTION DEGREE OF FILTRATION AND LAYERING Gravel and small stone stops large sediment like leaves
HOUSEHOLD DEGREE OF FILTRATION AND LAYERING
Sand stops smallest organisms that affect the human body
Multiple layers assures the best water cleanliness
Cisterning water is held within the wetwalls for use.
WATER IS USED WITHIN THE HOUSE
CONSTRUCTED WETLAND
DEGREE OF FILTRATION AND LAYERING Soil and roots use water organisms to live therefore cleaning water Gravel and small stone stops large sediment like leaves Sand stops smallest organisms that affect the human body
AGRICULTURE
DEGREE OF FILTRATION AND LAYERING Soil and roots use water organisms to live therefore cleaning water while using it to farm
RETENTION POND
DEGREE OF FILTRATION AND LAYERING Soil and roots use water organisms to live therefore cleaning water Gravel and small stone stops large sediment like leaves Sand stops smallest organisms that affect the human body
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GOING WEST
Winter 2014 Professor: Gregory Delaney A group of thirty students accompanied by two professors and two teaching assistants traveled by bus from Seattle, Washington to Phoenix, Arizona. In between, the group visited Tacoma, Portland, Sacromento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego touring buildings and city landmarks discussing their importance to architecture and city planning and sketching. In these four pages, there are some of the sketches and pictures from the favorite buildings of the trip. As a part of the class, the students on the trip produced a 300 page book with the history of every building a city that we visited and why it was significant. The trip was packed with sixteen 12-hour-days that allowed us to see over 150 building sites.
MONTEVERDE INSTITUTE addition
Summer 2011 Professors: Chris Romano, Martha Bohm Group members: Dee Abraham, Angelica Aquino, William Baskerville, Lindsey Brown, Summer 2011 Professors: Chris Romano, Martha Bohm Kevin Chen, April Gosser, Bryan Hadley, Nicholas Karl, Pablo Lituma, Mark Storie, Lucy Wang, Duane Warren, Amber Williams
The project was to design an addition for the not-for-profit institute that the student group had been working at for ten weeks. The Sustainable Futures group designed according to the desires of the current occupants in terms of sustainability, human comfort, and spacial adjacencies. The group was made of architects, planners, and landscape architects and it was necessary for each person to think and design according to the design moves of others which helped the group dynamic grow.
Energy Sustainability
Water Sustainability
Many passive systems were used to give the occupants of the building air and light so that air conditioning and artificial light was not necessary and the Institute could save money and the environment at the same time.
1
2
skylight
In order to save water, the rainwater is collected and reused in the toilets of the new addition. The waste from the toilets is treated through an anaerobic process so that it can be used later to water the vegetation.
3
4
louvers
windows
overhang
5
clerestory
1
2 3
4 5
7 6
1
rain clouds precipitation
2
roof
collection
3
cisterns holding
4
toilets
produce waste
5
biodigesters
break down waste
6
lava rock
further filtration
7
vegetation irrigation
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Taxi Drop-off
Sustainability Ramp
COSTA RICA | NICHOLAS KARL design
New Addition
Breezeway
Existing Building
Gardens
Gazebo
Fruit Orchards
Agricultural Lands
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SURFACE manipulation
Spring 2010 Professor: Jordan Geiger The project is to create a structural system and surface that mediated a persons posture, gaze, and atmospheric experience and can be later manipulated. The system created has a moment frame system with a continuous surface that is threaded through. The waffle structure and surface is modeled in the parametric modeling program Grasshopper so that multiple iterations could be designed rapidly. Each iteration has different programmatic and social experiences that are created by the system.
Base plane created to be manipulated
Plane subdivided into points
Position of the points were changed
This graph generated the numbers that each individual point was moved in the z direction causing a curved surface to be generated.
Surfaces recreated based on points
Point grid extruded up to create structure
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life cycle CENTER
Spring 2010 Professor: Jordan Geiger Lower floors consist of a Nexus area for the community to gather and learn about the environment. On the third floor of that space, a large open area was created as a flexibly programmed exhibition space. Exterior of that, a large garden space was created for the community. In the middle of the building, the birthing center offers public space for family members, private spaces that include postpartum rooms and labor rooms, and areas for the nurses. Postpartum rooms and Labor rooms alternate with the assumption that after a mother has the baby, they will move straight to the postpartum room, which helps them in their linear path through the building. Hospice floors are located on the top five stories of the building and contain a public space for the family to visit, private rooms for each of the patients, and spaces for the nurses to do their work. The top floor of the building is for the patients to get counseling and grieve the loss of their loved one that has passed. It also offers a garden for family members and patients.
Nexus Floor
Community Space
Birthing Floor
Hospice Floor
Grieving Floor
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Experiential Circulation The circulation paths that are implied by the architecture are set apart by different views and experiences created by a change in form and structure. Thickness of line in the diagram is based on the length of stay within the each program and by each user. Nexus Circulation Family Circulation Birthing Circulation Nursing Circulation Hospice Circulation
Section 1 Plastic Panel inset on both sides allows for the facade to become a desk in nursing stations and the facade to have very expressive shades. The thickness allows for more insulation and the panels direct the view to where they are desirable
Hospice Time of Occupancy: patients: 1 week-6 months nurses: 8 - 12 hours
1
Semi-Private Grieving Area Public Space Private Space Nurses Space
Section 2 Thick structure with glass inset panels allows for shelves to happen on the interior of patients rooms and vegetation to be grown by each patient on the exterior. It also allows for more shading and more privacy.
Birthing Time of Occupancy patients: 1 - 36 hours nurse: 8 - 12 hours Public Space Private Space Nurses Space
2
Section 3
Thin glass optimizes view and uses floor for shading. No insulation give increased awareness of exterior condition.
3 Nexus Space Time of occupancy: General public: 1-4 hours Public Space
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PATTERN market office Fall 2010 Professor: Martha Bohm
The Market Office building project is based on the ideas brought from projects previous and the site analysis of the Strip District in the city of Pittsburgh. The task was to take all of that concept and analysis to form a building that allowed the wall to be affective. The project included a 10,000 square foot market on the ground floor and about 20,000 square foot of office above. The interior spaces were not taken into account because it was designed as a core and shell building, where interior spaces are implied, but not permanent.
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View from different floors
View from different floors
Louver Depths
Surrounding buildings block prominent views from the site.
Surrounding buildings block prominent views from the site.
As louver depths change, the amount of view and daylight that is let into and out of the space is also changed.
Ground Floor Two or Three Floors Four floors or higher
Garden Level Floor Plan
MARKET OFFICE | NICHOLAS KARL design
Four floors or higher Three Floors Two Floors Ground Floor
Mezzanine Level Floor Plan
Building Application The building and the louver system was adapted to the site and the views surrounding to forced people to look towards views when they are more available.
Construction Diagram showing possible connections for movable partitions
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MONOLITHIC stepwell Fall 2009 Professor: Nick Bruscia
The project objective is to explore the materials, technologies, and methods behind a historic piece of architecture. The piece explored by the studio was the stepwell, which was used in parts of Asia as a public water source that fills up during monsoon season and is used through the dry season. The structure also acts as a cooling source in the very arid climate when wind flows across the cool water. The 380 modules used were cast out of concrete causing our eight molds to be cast over ten times to get the required amount of blocks after some broke. Of the twelve group members, Three others and I were in charge of casting.
STEPWELL | NICHOLAS KARL design
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STEPWELL | NICHOLAS KARL design
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CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY Spring 2011 Professor: Chris Romano
TA: Kathy Yuen
KITSAP ADMINISTRATION: Miller Hull Architects The second building studied is the Kitsap Administration Building by the Miller Hull Architects. The building is made of mostly precast concrete and steel construction..
CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY | NICHOLAS KARL design
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nicholas karl
DESIGN
Personal Work
Competition and Personal Client Work
64 68 72
SUMMER Emerging Winery
2012
Arquideas Competition
SUMMER Fire Training
2011
Main Transit Fire Dept.
SUMMER SFFD Headquarters
2013
ArchMedium Competition
emerging VINEYARD
Finalist in International ARQUIDEAS Competition The winery seeks to conflate vineyard and architecture. The inhabitable roof of the design becomes an extension of the vineyard. The entry for the winery allows visitors to see the fermenting process. Beyond the entry is a permanent tasting station. Other features of the space are: a restaurant, a bar/lounge, a reception room, and multiple views to the cellar below. By doing this the experience of circulating throughout the winery gives one an understanding of each part of the winemaking process, starting from growing the grapes and ending with tasting the wine.
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Building Programming and Site Circulation Reception Area
Restaurant
Process Overlook
On the far side of the building, there is a flexible interior and exterior space that will be used to hold weddings and other events to keep the public interested in the building. Large sliding glass doors allows the interior and exterior to blend and allow it to be one large space if desired.
Aside from the tasting on the roof, the building offers a restaurant and tasting bars inside that allows the visitors of the building to taste on a more casual level with food. The restaurant offers views to the exterior and views to the lower process areas to enjoy while dining.
As visitors walk towards the building, they see on the right side the process that makes the wine in the basement. The area is lined with signage that describes the many steps to making wine and allowed them to see what is happening.
Winery Walk A 1 to 16 ramp allows people that enter the site to walk onto the roof of the building where grapes are being grown to see different types of grapes and taste the wines that they make while enjoying a view of the entire site that is unrivaled.
Site Sustainability Heating_cooling
Natural Light
Material Choice
Stormwater
Temperatures in Napa Valley are on average between 55 and 60 degrees which is the temperature that wine needs to be kept at. Burying the building underground allows for cellar to use the ground temperature to store the wine appropriately. In the restaurant area there are many openings that move to cold air up and passively cool the spaces.
The sun allows for natural light to enter the building during the winter months but shades during the summer months to keep inappropriate heat out of the building. The facade is primarily glass which allowed for adequate daylight to enter the space regardless of sunlight conditions.
The storm water that the building catches will be caught in the walkway system where the water runs through the wood slats and into a pan beneath. The water will be stored in water hog cisterns that are placed within the soil. In other places, the water will collected by the plant life on the roof to prevent erosion.
Efforts were made to use natural and recycled materials in the building because not only are they sustainable, but they correlate with many of our concepts. Stone and Wood were both used because they are natural materials and the concrete used has recycled aggregate.
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FIREFIGHTER training facility Summer 2011 Personal Project
The project is to design a facility that would allow the firefighters to train in instances where ladders, roof ventilation, and search and rescue are necessary. With the technology of the fire service evolving so fast and the fact that buildings all have their own unique challenges in terms of firefighting, the goals of the project were changed. As a result, the facility was designed so that it would never lose its value because it’s possibilities are endless. This is done by creating a system that makes the interior walls, exterior walls, and the roof pitch changeable. All of these aspects together allow for a scenario to be created that tests the firefighters skills.
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Facility Use Exterior Operations
Interior Maze
Roof Simulator
Changeable exterior walls are important in fire training because it is not likely that you will have buildings with similar entrances and window configurations. Having the power to change the windows and doors gives near endless possibilities to the training facility.
Changeable interior walls are important to allow firefighters to train in all different situations. The person making the simulation has the ability to make more or less rooms according to how difficult they want the simulation to be.
The roof ventilation simulator on the building adds another feature to the structure, but with the ventilation comes the argument that a firefighter might not encounter the same roof pitch. With the technology of the fire service and hinges, the roof is able to be as steep or even as desired.
Hinge
Pallet used for cutting
2x4 reinforcement
Rescue 42 for support
SF Fire Re[park]ment
Summer 2013 ArchMedium Competition Group members: Wayne Fung, Joshua Graham, Eric LaMunion
San Francisco Fire Re[Park]ment stands as an icon of the city for the people. The building is dedicated not only to the people of the city, but as a tribute of gratitude towards the many Fire Departments of San Francisco. It was designed to be a spectacle of display for the residents and visitors of San Francisco. Unlike the traditional Fire House typologies that restrict public access, Re[Park]ment provides an intertwined public function allowing visitors to completely engage themselves with the Headquarters. The form of the site acts as a metaphor to the historical events in 1906; the pier has been tectonically broken up into three major sections representing various functions and levels of privacy. The headquarters building rests on these tectonic plates uniting each individual plate into one contiunous form. This design move is a strategy to tie all functions of the site together in a cyclical way. The goal of Re[Park]ment was to create a space that engages the community at large; not just the formality of a Fire Department Headquarters. Through a seamless synchronization, a visitor to the site can find themselves completely encompassed by the Headquarters. The public spaces of the site serve not only visitors but also the Firemen as well; this opts to create a unique relationship between the civil servants of the city and the residents. With a parallel mindset the designers worked closely in tangent to create a relationship that maintains a fully functioning Fire Department Headquarters while simultaneously putting all departments of the Headquarters on visual display.
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nicholas karl
DESIGN
Professional Work
Uniland Development Company
78 82 84 88
F A L L 505 Ellicott
2012
Uniland Design
SPRING 25 Gates Circle
2013
Uniland Design
F A L L Catholic Health Admin
2013
Steiglitz Snyder Architects
WINTER D’youville Campus
2014
Steiglitz Snyder Architects
505 Ellicott
Professional Uniland Development Company The building is an existing warehouse space that is to be converted into innovated commercial office space for an upcoming tenant. A series of flexible spaces that encourage collaborationg were designed for the space. The design of the building was completely done in the Planning and Design Department of Uniland. The contributions that I made to the project was to design the front entry to the building and conceptual interior design. Deliverables included extensive 3-d models, renderings, and animations as well as assistance with possible building plans and layouts. The design was published in the Buffalo News, Buffalo Business First, and Buffalo Rising.
505 ELLICOTT | NICHOLAS KARL design
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25 Gates Circle
Professional Uniland Development Company The building is a prospective residential project on Gates Circle in the city of Buffalo. The design of the building was done completely in house with help from high class condominium consultants. The contributions that I made to the project was to help in the spatial organization of the spaces and help to pick possible finishes for the interiors of the building. Deliverables included extensive 3-d models and renderings as well as assistance with building plans and layouts.
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Catholic Health Administration Building Professional Uniland Development Company
The building is a six story corporate headquarters for Catholic Health that includes amenitites for employees such as a chapel, fitness center, and multiple board rooms. The architect that worked on the project was Steiglitz Snyder Architects in Buffalo. The contributions that I made to the project was to help in the design of exterior patio, chapel and selection of interior finishes. Deliverables included extensive 3-d models and renderings as well as assistance with building plans and layouts.
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D’youville Center for Arts and Science Professional Uniland Development Company
The building is a renovation of an existing building that includes site work and the addition of a new front entry. The directors and deans of D’youville College were worked with entensively to work through deisgn options. The architect that worked on the project was Steiglitz Snyder Architects in Buffalo. The contributions that I made to the project was to help in the spatial organization of the spaces and help to pick possible finishes for the interiors of the building. Deliverables included extensive 3-d models and renderings as well as assistance with building plans and layouts.
DYOUVILLE COLLEGE | NICHOLAS KARL design
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DYOUVILLE COLLEGE | NICHOLAS KARL design
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