R[A.I.]Lworks- Rafael Ayala

r[a.i.]lworks an urban robotics project

rafael ayala spitzer school of architecture at ccny undergraduate thesis portfolio fall 2014 - spring 2015

designer: rafael ayala project: urban robotics workshop critic: prof. jeremy edmiston august 2014 - may 2015

table.of.contents

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“A designer’s creativity stems from the infinite imaginations and influences of the human mind and becomes a reality with the effort and engagement of the designer’s own two hands. The hands become the extension of the mind and is the bridge between imagination and reality. A designer’s hands must work strenuously to produce countless majestic wonders to contribute to this world. Us designers must never forget the essence of production and its effects towards the end product.”

323 west hudson st. long beach, ny 11561

holzman moss bottino architecture

new york,ny

raf_ayala@yahoo.com

architectural intern

(516) 244 - 6224

duties: schematic design, programming, space planning, presentations, model maker, renderer, construction documents, interior design

ayala.arch

Seeking a position in architecture to gain valuable experience and knowledge in how to apply my classroom studies into “real world” situations within the architectural field. I am willing to expand my horizon as an enthusiastic and exultant designer.

projects: university of central florida270,000 sf. library expansion west virginia university122,000 sf. creative arts center 24 central park south- lobby/facade renovation monmouth university20,000 sf. bruce springsteen archives and center for nj music acoustics of multi-use performing arts centers by mark holden- textbook diagrams

studio js2 architect p.c. city college of new york spitzer school of architecture bachelor of architecture (b. arch) august 2010 - may 2015

advanced placement scholar 2010 covanta scholars 2010 - 2011 ccny dean’s list 2013 - 2014 cityworks 8- fall 2013

assistant project manager

sept. 2013- may 2014

projects: 52 lispenard residences- 30,000 sf. loft (tribeca, ny) rubenstein residence - 3,000 sf loft renovation (brooklyn, ny) karja residence - 6,000 sf. loft renovation (brooklyn, ny) cerina residence - 36,000 sf. condo renovation (jericho, ny)

park’s martial arts assistant instructor second degree black belt

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new york, ny

duties: schematic design, construction documents, construction administration, 3D modeler, renderer, office management

american institute of architecture students (aias) kukkiwon south korea

st. mary’s of the isle parish church usher church volunteer

may 2014- present

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r[ a.i ]lworks [ an urban robotics facility design located at one of new york city’s main attractions, the high line. this project aims to introduce a new paradigm of contemporary manufacturing in a renowned industrial site. with its rich industrial history, this facility will introduce a type of recreational manufacturing that would serve as a catalyst for other new types of contemporary manufacturing. recreational manufacturing is a way to fully engage the public in industrial processes where not only a select group of people are creating, but also people of the general public. ]

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17th street

st

we

10th avenue

18th street

y wa igh eh

sid 16th street

15th street

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site information:

building program:

address: 501 west 17th street

new york, ny 10011

gallery/bar:

4000 sf

19th street

store:

2000 sf

lecture room:

5000 sf

19th street

block: 689 lot: 17 y y wa wa igh igh eh eh si d si d st est we w

lot area: 30,000 sf

18th street

classrooms:

18th street

meeting rooms:

9th avenue 9th avenue

10th10th avenue avenue

current use: parking

6000 sf 2400 sf

primary zoning: c6-4/high line subarea h labs/studios:

17th street

max. far: 10.0

8000 sf

17th street

storage:

2000 sf

restrooms:

16th street 16th street

200 sf/floor

administration/office:

5000 sf

entry/lobby:

1500 sf

14th street

exhibition area:

site research : SITE research

14th street

6000 sf

SITE research

building typology

parks A

building typology

parks

M11

A M11

M11

M11

M11

M11

M12

M14

M14

M11 M14 M12 M14 M12 M14

M14 M12

M11

M11 M14

M12 M14

M12 M14 M12

M11

M14 M12 M14

M11

M14

M11

M14

M14

A

M14

M14

A

transportation

voids

history transportation

site history: 1840s history

1840s An Industrial Waterfront An Industrial 1851 Waterfront Death Avenue

1851 Death Avenue

M14

M11

M14

M11

Building The High Line

1929 1929

voids

Groundbreaking At The Rail Yard 2006 1980s 2012 1960s Nature Takes Over Groundbreaking At The Rail Yard 2006 Construction Begins 1980s Decline 2014 High Line HQ 2012 1960s Nature Takes Over2002 2004 Construction Begins Rail Yards Opening Decline 2014 2005 High Line Design High Line 1970s and HQ Milestone Year Early Advocacy 2004 CSX Donates High Line To City Of New 2002 RailYork Yards Opening Partnership With The City 2005 and Milestone Year+ High Line Design 2008 1970s

Building The High Line 1934

Early Advocacy CSX Donates HighLine Line To City Of New York Building The High Building Community Partnership With The City 2008 The High Line Is Open + Friends Of The High Line Building The High Line Building Community

Lifeline Of New York 1934

Friends Of The 1990s High Line

Lifeline Of New York

1990s

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2009 The High Line Is Open

2011 2009 Double The Length 2011 Double The Length

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historical site photo ca. 1930s

a once living machine, the high line has seen its function evolve over the course of its lifetime. once a major transportation network of goods in meat in the west side of manhattan, this railway car system became a major asset to the meatpacking district. ever since its decommissioning in the 1980s, it has turned into a useless artifact in the city and being a victim of demolition efforts. a movement later began for its revival. in the 21st century, the high line has evolved into a major public park attraction (courtesy of diller scofidio + renfro and friends of the high line). evolving and adapting to the current era, the high line always had the potential to adapt and reinvent itself. with a new program, the high line is once again a living machine with a different purpose. how do we continue to modernize the architecture around this special site?

current site photos

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robotics research what kind of knowledge and research can this program and facility provide?

humanoid

assembly

warfare

exploration

space travel

nanorobotics

medical

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how do we draw the high line? what is the high line? what does it do? how does it behave?

high line distortion sketches the high line’s evolution into a public park has changed the way we see it in the urban fabric. the high line’s ability to distort the grid was the unseen trait i began to research and analyze within this project. what is “distorting the grid”? this study focused on the circulation and activity occurring within the high line’s vicinity. ever since its conversion into a park, the activity around it began to change with it as well compared to when it was just an empty ruin filled with foliage. more people have come to inhabit and use the high line as a place of leisure. it has become a city attraction where now thousands of people walk through it in a week and the places around it have seen an increase in activity. within this study, i focused on this qualitative aspect of the high line: distortion.

point studies studies were conducted with this idea of the high line’s distortive quality. points were mapped around the site and relationships were established as i began drawing the site.

point connection

point distortion

point warping

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point pointfield field

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distortion techniques what if the high line was transformed in different ways? how would the grid react to it? imagining the high line as a straight line, grid transformation studies were conducted to see the different results that may occur through different manipulations of the high line geometry.

current bend

folding

folding + doubling

current bend + mirroring

current bend + rotation

current bend + folding

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field distortion

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[re:]verberation 10th avenue

18th street

19th street

20th street

21st street

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15th street

16th street

17th street

14th street

field drawing

the drawing which explains my understanding of the site culminates all the previous studies i have conducted. the way i see the city and the site is reflected in this drawing. with this drawing, i have drawn both the site and the program which is the robot. what generates this drawing are the relationships between the sites hotspots which are the points plotted in the drawing. i have drawn these hotspots through thorough observation within the site. the resulting drawing is a drawing by mathematics which is how robots work. the resulting lines that come about are determined by the relationships generated by the nodes. just like a robot, every motion is controlled in a range yielding many different possibilities and outcomes. the system of a robot focuses on repetition that is continuously changing based on certain conditions. the way the city works is how the robots work.

field variations

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surface study

how do we turn this drawing into a three dimensional architectural surface?

the field condition drawing then becomes a system of twisted surfaces that play with the light and the views of the site. it is a three dimensional understanding of the measured activities of the field drawing.

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form study

the idea of the twisting surfaces prompted further study and experimentation. I conducted a series of formal studies that experiment between the relationships of the twisted surfaces to the site. the twisted surface system utilizes both ribbon surfaces and solid surfaces. These two types of surfaces act together to become an architectural form where a roof or can twist and become a wall in which program can be later added on. the study focused on a section of the field drawing where it will continue to develop throughout the project.

site site photos photos

how do we make a surface twist? what do we need in order for it to twist?

site photos

MILITARY

HUMANOID

MEDICAL

SPACE

INDUSTRIAL

primary structure profiles primary structure profiles

surface structure sketches surface structure sketches

primary structure profiles

surface structure sketches

lineline controlled solids line controlled solids controlled solids

surface option a

surface option a a surface option

surface option b

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interior study

deriving from the previous surface model of the twisting solid and fin surfaces, the next step was integrating this exterior form with an interior and physicall placing it on actual high line construction. since this project focused a lot on the art of making and modeling, i decided to continue my thesis through a series of models, whether its digital or physical.

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final design with a very unorthodox form, i had to find a way to build it. the rest of the comprehensive design relied heavily in defining enclosure, materials, structure, construction technology, and interior environment. to define these elements, we had to draw them. a very powerful drawing that encompasses all these elements: a wall section. because my project was mainly about the interaction between these twisted surfaces, i have invented a way to construct these twisted surfaces. it is the same method i have been using ever since my earlier studies with these surfaces: ribs. each rib has a unique shape and form that will allow the building to hold the twist. as for connections and materiality, it can be understood within the wall section.

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the materials that the building is comprised of are steel, glass fiber reinforced concrete, glass fiber reinforced plastic, and glazing. all these materials provide a lightweight construction for the twisting surfaces. in this project, opaque is defined with solid surfaces and translucent is defined with the twisted fins. the translucency allows natural light to enter the building creating twisted shadows during the day. The fins act as louvers to provide ample amounts of natural light which lessen the need for artificial lighting. there are three access surfaces within this architectural form. on ground level, there are stairs that lead up to the high line in the north and south portions of the block. there are entries into the building on ground level and from the high line.

fin surfaces

interiors surfaces

access surfaces

solid surfaces

structural ribs

existing high line

exploded axonometric

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partial west elevation

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partial east elevation

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roof plan

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13 12 11

10 9

7 16

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3

2

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ground plan

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

cafe exhibition area lobby ticketing area admin. office research library lab/studio (humanoid) lecture hall lab/studio (nano) lab/studio (medical) lab/studio (humanoid) research library elec. cl. part storage loading area large workstations assembly hall (warfare) lounge/rest area mech. public women’s rr public men’s rr

systems plan

dry sprinkler system mechanical lighting

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4

1

2

3

5

wall section

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gfrp encasing steel rib structure w.p.m. insulated glass W6 steel beam bolted on steel rib rubber gasket rigid insulation stainless steel gutter solid steel attachments

1

roof fin connection scale: n/a

gfrp encasing rigid insulation w.p.m.

W6 steel beam bolted on steel rib solid steel attachments rubber gasket steel rib structure insulated glass

typ. glass-fin connection

2 scale: n/a

steel rib structure insulated glass rubber gasket solid steel attachments w.p.m. gfrp encasing W6 steel beam bolted on steel rib rigid insulation

3

typ. glass- fin connection scale: n/a

gfrc encasing steel rods steel ties rigid insulation steel rib structure solid steel attachment rubber gasket insulated glass

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solid-glass connection scale: n/a

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solid-glass connection scale: n/a

insulated glass solid steel attachment rubber gasket

gfrc encasing

steel rods steel ties rigid insulation steel rib structure

detail sections

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