Robert Quinten McElvain
Portfolio architecture + design
selected works 2011 -2015
Library Project, SHIFT IN SECTION year
spring 2014
place
Seattle Washington
Designed to be the beacon of the town, the aim is for the library to have a transparent glazed skin that emits light to illuminate the new public square. Offering almost double the space for IT facili es, the building is designed to meet the needs of our new genera on of technology-savvy learners. The building’s low energy use will cost less to run, and the useable roof with great views over the town offers great opportuni es for funcons and events.
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The strong, sculptural form of the stone, related to the specific topography and context of the site, is elevated o the ground, and situated above vitrine like elements. The stone contains a large open space for the library’s visitors and users to interact while the vitrines expose the collecon, reading room and public func ons to the street and adjacent surroundings We’re crea ng a vibrant, walkable, family friendly town centre full of opportunity and poten al. It will be compact enough to be welcoming and accessible, but large enough to have a high quality market, shops, leisure and cultural facili es.
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WALL WALK year
fall 2014
place
rome italy
The idea is to revitalize the abandoned area next to the exis ng gate. The new project contains seven dierent buildings and public space in between, all of which func onaly suppor ng the exis ng gate. The idea is to create a space that flows. It privides and encourages people’s interacon and integrates the exis ng with the new.
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CHICAGO OPERA HOUSE year place
spring 2013 chicago illinois
A project to design a new opera in the new proposed city plan of chicago. The design was based around improving the quality of life for a rapidly changing community. The opera house will be situated on the new waterfront and is designed to be a prominent landmark of the new cityscape. The project started with the seclecĆ&#x;on of a precedent of the students choosing. The hall of the precedent was then translated into the design of each student and proposed along with the newly design house.
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UP
UP
UP
UP
UP
UP
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The design was centered around con nuing the rhythm and pa ern of the city horizontaly while limi ng you ver caly. I did this by con nued the lines from the exis ng city to creat a bar like system while divding it ver caly with the opera hall. The reason why I did this was in order to create two lobbys. One showing o the compactness of the city and the other to show the free and openness of the water front.
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Five spaces, PART TO WHOLE year
spring 2011
The building is a cluster of boxes all designed around a single unit or piece. The pieces then gather to create space. The boxes went out of the ini al volume in order to provide space and light for the growing subvolumes. As an outcome, there is a game of shadow between the dierent facades.
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CITY GROWTH year
fall 2012
place
chicago illinois
This project proposes a new city in south Chicago. The development of the project focused on quick, rapid schema c design exercises followed with the crea on of a master plan for the growth of the city. The site given to us was an old US Steel factory on the bank of the Michigan River. Connected by Lake Shore Drive and the view to downtown Chicago, the site allowed us to study how Chicago opperates, grows, and func ons. Star ng at a very large scale, we developed the city plan and sec on through collabora ve dissucions on how a city will operate in a future se ng.
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Pathways
Streets
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250 feet Minimum
Statistics Population: 80,000 Residential Units: 32,000 Commercial: 25,000,000 sq. feet Retail: 1,390,000 sq. feet
Mixed Use
Pedestrian Walkways
250 feet Minimum
Mixed Use
Streets
200 feet Minimum
Retail
180 feet Maximum
Public Space
80 feet Maximum
Residential Destination
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N
1”:250’
Underground Parking Garages
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FIRE STATION year
fall 2012
place
chicago illinois
A fire sta on supports the needs of the fire department and the community in which it is located. It must accommodate extremely diverse func ons, including housing, recrea on, administra on, training, community educa on, equipment and vehicle storage, equipment and vehicle maintenance, and hazardous materials storage. While it is usually only occupied by trained personnel, the facility also needs to accommodate the general public for community educa on or outreach programs.
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Faye eville is a growing suburb of northwest Arkansas. The proposed Fire Sta on will serves a unique response area composed of a college community, which is reflected throughout the design of the facility. The new sta on includes three, drive-through apparatus bays, a large fitness area, oďŹƒces, and a spacious kitchen / dayroom space. Due to a strict district, the new sta on and site layout has been carefully designed not to created any addi onal surface while s ll mee ng the expanding needs of fire service at the same loca on.
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ROME SKETCHS From a semester abroad
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Robert Q. McElvain 14617 Dearborn Overland Park, KS, 66223 rmcelvai@uark.edu (913) 633-6089 Education: University of Arkansas Fayettville, AR 4rd Year Student GPA: 3.3 Computer Skills:
References: Available upon request
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