Selected Works // Spring '19

OMAR KHALIFA

Selected Works // Spring ‘19

1

CONTENT 01

FARMSCRAPER

02

TYPEFACE-TOWERS

03

WE-BIKE

04

INCUBATOR

05

STORAGE CASTLE

06

Miscellaneous Work

2

01

Farmscraper Spring 2018 // Comprehensive Studio King + King Architects Leadership by Design Competition - Honorable Mention Instructor: Daekwon Park Partner: Ethan Russell-Benoit

The Farmscraper is proposed as an economic engine to begin to respond to two major problems for the city of Syracuse: a lack of affordable housing downtown, and the lack of proper grocery stores within close proximity to affordable housing or to downtown.

Our proposal is a mixed use development with a restaurant and farmer’s market that are supplied in large part by a vertical urban farm adjacent to a housing tower. The economic activity of such a unique attraction downtown would be able to subsidize high quality affordable housing on the upper levels for the developer. These programs are unified not only economically, but also architecturally within a monumental greenhouse structure to facilitate urban agriculture and to help temper the environment of all of the programs throughout the year.

The effects of these spatial relationships seen in our section and renders are produced by a specific tectonic and environmental strategy. Our tectonic strategy is about embracing and even exaggerating the bulky dimensions of mass timber construction.

Our environmental strategy is about maximizing the growing season and the portion of the year in which the space can be passively conditioned through stack ventilation and the greenhouse effect.

3

Sectional Model

4

5

Interior Renders

Exterior Render

6

7

Ground Floor Plan

Exploded Axon

8

9

Section

Typical Apartment

Connection Detail

10

02

TYPEFACE TOWERS Fall 2017 // 4rd Year Visiting Critic Studio Instructor: Margaret Griffin // Griffin-Enright Architects

Facing the FDR and East River on one side and Murray Hill on the other, TT, adds a recognizable symbol to the NYC skyline. The studio objective was the exploration of ideas of both essential mass and multiple profiles.

TT equates both it’s E and W facades, and faces both sides. Along with irregularity of the site, this lead to the creation of a diptych.

Almost paying homage to it’s predecessor, the American Copper, the two residential towers are connected by a multi-storey piece. TT form was generated by testing different relationships of the two towers with the connecting piece. The resultant form accomplishes multiple profiles in elevation. On the plaza level, the two towers embrace public seating seemingly diverging from TT. The Sky Park is sheltered in deep planted beds, but still provide a beautiful outdoor view and connectivity between the towers.

The typographical treatment, and addition of ‘serifs’, to TT serves several purposes: to enhance it’s profile and making it more recognizable, provoke directionality through the treatment of the openings, and extend the raised sky garden by providing more space for structure.

11

Site Axonometric

12

Section AA’

S

13

W

Form Diagrams

S

W

S

W

S

W

S

W

S

S

W

W

Elevation Oblique

S

W

S

W

Essential Mass Studies

Form Diagrams

14

’A

nalP roolF ht81 ’23 =”1 :elacS

A

nalP roolF ]ecarreT[ ts12 ’23 =”1 :elacS Sky Park

A ’A ’A

15

A Ground Plan

nalP roolF ht81

A

Elevation Oblique

16

17

Study Models

Final Model

18

03

WeBike Spring 2016 // 2nd Year Design Studio Instructor: Galo Canizares

Occupying a corner adjacent the NY Public Library, WeBike combines both an extension of the library (WeLearn), with private and collaborative workspaces for WeWork.

WeBike aims to expose the growing bicycle culture of NYC and physically intertwine it through its design. This emerges as a full-service bike-service ‘spine’ running up the E side of the building, rentable storage spaces on the ground floor, and bike paths throughout the building.

Bringing people in from both 40th st and 5th ave, the bike are suspended in a field of columns, that support the auditoriums above. WeBike not only uses the paths to divide it’s spaces, but also celebrate the culture as a whole by giving the user the ability to bike from their house to their desk, if they please.

19

Model Photos

20

21

Sectional Axon

Eighth Floor

Fourth Floor

Seventh Floor

Eighth Floor

Fourth Floor

Seventh Floor

Fifth Floor Fifth Floor

Eighth Floor

Fourth Floor

Eighth Floor

Fourth Floor

Seventh Floor

Third Floor

Eighth Floor

Fourth Floor

Seventh Floor

Third Floor

Fifth Floor

First Floor

Fifth Floor

First Floor

Bike Circulation

22

2.

1.

3.

11.

4.

10.

9.

8.

7.

6.

5.

8th Floor Plan

23

1. WeWork Front Desk 2. Kitchen Area 3. Bike Storage 4. Lounge 5. Conference Rooms 6. Open Work Space 1 7. Open Work Space 2 8. Open Work Space 3 9. Outdoor Seating 10. Metal Cladding 11. Bike Path

Eighth Floor Plan Scale: 1/8th

1.

3.

2.

4.

Ground Floor Plan

First Floor Plan Scale: 1/16th

Section Scale: 1/8th

Section

24

Why are we even here?

There are no bikes to fix.

25

Graphic Narrative

Why didn’t we bring any food?

Typical.

There was a lecture today? I was asleep here.

I got coffee...?

I really enjoyed the lecture today.

26

04

Incubator Spring 2017 // 3rd Year Visiting Critic Studio

Instructor: Katherine Hogan & Vincent Petrarca// Tonic Design/Construction

We were tasked by our instructors to choose a ‘pastime’ and structure our project around that. At no surprise, this studio centered itself around our instructors’ own pastimes; design and construction. We were given the opportunity to, not only determine the spaces within our design, but also consider it’s construction methods, later represented through a ‘Chunk’ model. From that, INCUBATOR was created.

Overlooking the historic Nieumarkt in Amsterdam, Netherlands; INCUBATOR aims to act as a self-sustaining maker-space. The project is raised away from the public eye, utilizing the unused space on the roof, and creating a distinct crown on the building below.

INCUBATOR allows designers to obsessively focus on problems at hand. To effectively program INCUBATOR, I reverted back to the cyclical process of design; being in constant rotation between physical and digital prototyping, display, and rest. With obsession and fixation in mind, the layout of the 3 main spaces is optimized through an iterative process based off the building below’s inherent load-bearing structure and systems.

27

‘Chunk’ Model

28

29

Site Plan

Form Iterations

30

B

A’

A

First Level B’

31

Section BB’

B

A’

A

Second Level B’

Section AA’

32

33

Axonometric

Model Photos

34

05

Storage Castle Fall 2016 // 2rd Design Studio Instructor: Gregory Corso

Nestled between 20th and 21st st, CASTLE aims to safeguard and preserve all forms of art in the heart of Chelsea, NYC. The goal of this studio was to introduce a new way to think of a storage facility.

We aimed to manipulate the storage space within a building to create new relationships between it and the needed service programs; while maintaining the formal restrictions of art storage.

CASTLE approached storage as an inherently ‘heavier’ and more static element, treated like ‘poche’ in medieval castles; a mass which is carved, punched and peaked through.

Organized around a dynamic inner courtyard, CASTLE’s internal ring of program is embedded within an outer ‘poche’ of storage, and in-turn the housed art. Where direct sunlight is needed the program is allowed pierce that outer shell. After analyzing Louis Kahn’s castle studies I complied a catalogue of moves used to create these protrusions through the outer rim of storage.

Entering into the courtyard, the large, private core corners the space within the walls of CASTLE, eternally on watch over the cache.

35

Exterior Perspective

36

SECTIONAL PROJECTIVE STUDIES:

SKYLIGHTS AND EVENT SPACES

CONTINUOUS INTERNAL PROGRAM AREA

REFERENCES:

LOIUS KAHN CASTLE STUDIES:

INTERNAL ATRIUM AND OVERHANG CONDITIONS

SPACES ARE CARVED OUT OF THICK WALLS, BRANCHING OFF OF THE CENTRAL ATRIUM.

STORAGE STUDIES:

STORAGE CLUTTER (HOARDING) SUBDIVIDES THE SPACE, AND DICTATES HOW THE SPACE IS MOVED THROUGH.

37

Studies

PROJECTIVE STUDIES:

STORAGE RING CREATES PROGRAMMATIC SUBDIVISIONS

INTERNAL PROGRAMMATIC RING PROTRUDES BEYOND ENVELOPE

INTERNAL PROGRAMMATIC RING EXTENDS UP TO ENVELOPE

INTERNAL PROGRAMMATIC RING BREAKS CENTRAL VOID SPACE

Formal Catalogue

38

B

B

1.

1. OFFICE 1. VIEWING GALLERY 2. CONSERVATION AREA 2. CONSERVATION AREA 3. KITCHEN 4. MEETING ROOM

2.

A’

4.

A

1.

A’

A 3.

1.

2.

2.

2.

2.

B’

FIRST FLOOR PLAN SCALE: 1/16TH SECOND FLOOR PLAN SCALE: 1/8TH

B’

B

4.

1.

2.

A’

3.

3.

B’

39

2.

Plans

GROUND FLOOR PLAN SCALE: 1/16TH

1. LOBBY 2. EVENT SPACE 3. RESTAURAUNT/ BAR 4. LOADING DOCK

A

ROOF 82’ 0”

SIXTH FLOOR 71’ 0”

ROOF 82’ 0”

SIXTH FLOOR 71’ 0”

FIFTH FLOOR 60’ 0”

FIFTH FLOOR

FOURTH FLOOR 49’ 0”

FOURTH FLOOR 49’ 0”

THIRD FLOOR

THIRD FLOOR 38’ 0”

38’ 0”

SECOND FLOOR

60’ 0”

27’ 0”

SECOND FLOOR 27’ 0”

FIRST FLOOR 16’ 0”

FIRST FLOOR 16’ 0”

SECTION AA’ SCALE: 1/8TH

Section AA’

ROOF 82’ 0”

SIXTH FLOOR 71’ 0”

FIFTH FLOOR 60’ 0”

FOURTH FLOOR 49’ 0”

THIRD FLOOR 38’ 0”

SECOND FLOOR 27’ 0”

FIRST FLOOR 16’ 0”

SEC TION BB’ SCALE: 1/8th

Section BB’

40

41

Interior Perspective

Model Photos

42

06

Miscellaneous

Up: Electromagnetic H(air), Biotectonic Building Materials, Spring 2017.

When activated, much like the human hair, these magnetized strands trap hot air flowing along it.

This creates both a visually stimulating and heated surface, bringing the wall to life.

Partners: Andrew Becker & Olivia Humphrey

Right: Tessellation, ACMA Composites Challenge, Spring 2018.

43

Rigid composite forms on a flexible membrane aim to act as an interactive furniture.

Supporting itself, Tessellation could work both wall mounted while activating the floor surface.

Partners: Elena Echarri Myers & Anja Pajevic

44

45

Above: Islamic Research Complex, Ehaf Consulting, June 2015.

Below: Pyramid Hills Compound, Ehaf Consulting, June 2015.

Above: Islamic Research Complex, Ehaf Consulting, June 2015.

Below: Pyramid Hills Compound, Ehaf Consulting, June 2015.

46

OMAR KHALIFA // oskhalif@syr.edu // +1 315-395-9053 (USA) . +201220001161 (EGY)