This project we were given the brief of an election center in Des Moines, IA. The space was to hold areas for caucusing and voting, as well as office and administration. My partner was Josh Newman. Of the many concepts we came into this project with, government serving the people and food insecurity stood out. Applying these, we thought about what made an election center Iowan and what built Iowa, the plow. That became the form and it fell into place. As the plow moves it tears up the ground creating our chaotic garden spaces and behind it is our civilized election center. An underlying current of the project was our desire to make the drawings in a hand-drawn, hybrid way, reflecting our connection with the project. Working in physical and digital, both partners were heavily involved in each drawing.
Studio Project: Election Center
The Design involves two floors, with a mezzanine in the plow. The main event center caucus space is on the lower floor, under neath the gardens. Several skylights lighten up this space. The rest of the program aligns itself to the grid. On both floors one can see how the order of the square grid clashes with the curve cut of the plow. Along this is a central staircase. In the main floor area, there is the marketplace and post office. These are representative of how the government can serve the people and one way of tackling food insecurity. In the plow itself, lie hanging pulleys containing hydroponic bays. This food is served to the people by way of the market. For this, the interior is lit by purple UV light that shines down to both floors below. The form of the plow itself is clad in a weathering corten steel.
As a part of the comprehensive studio, we developed details for the project and to show the feasibility of our ideas. At the wall of the civic space, the lower floor is offset to create a clear story window and let light in. At each column, there is a skylight that helps further carry light down into that space.
Studio Project: Austerity
For this project the site is the mile between Slater and Sheldahl Iowa. From the first visit to the site, the most lasting impression was experiencing the wind. While walking you are completely bathed in the wind. I started to explore how wind was manipulated by the site. General topography was carved by glaciers, but specific topography is created by wind. I made a paper model of the topography lines and layered tracing paper over it. Applying charcoal through various methods resulted in a kind of wind map. The idea emerged that across most of the site, the wind blows through unimpeded. However, the trees stand in defiance of the wind and create an area of calm.
The monastery is laid out as four buildings, oriented to direct the wind to one point, the sanctuary. The architecture creates a space outside by manipulating the wind and creating a space of intense adversity for meditation. The high winds in the sanctuary aid focus during mediation. Forms and orientaions were tested with fluid dynamic software.
Studio Project: Austerity
From the wind studies, each of the four monastery buildings becomes a slender aerodynamic shape. Detailed here is the residential building. Each of the 24 units has an exterior door where they immediately experience the outside wind. The fore and aft of each building has a mediation space that is only clad in the perforated metal, allowing outside exposure.
Approach from Road
Studio Project: Austerity
Each building is clad in corrugated metal borrowing from the typology of Iowa and the Midwest. The facade detail comes from Perforated Horizon, a grain bin that has been standing for over a hundred years, once used to dry grain with the wind. The perforations create a light pattern that moves with the sun. The perforations are barely visible from the outside, combined with the doors, it makes what appears to be a uninterrupted skin facade. In terms of modeling, I used perforated metal cans to replicate the light effect.
Studio Project: illuminance
For this project, We went to McFarland Park, north of Ames, to discover and explore specimens in the landscape. I chose the Goldenrod Soldier Beetle to study further. My investigation involved looking closer at the beetle’s wings. They have two wings, a hard wing and a more fragile wing that works in flight. I looked at how these wings interacted and folded in. I started to abstract their folding patterns and continued it to create a circular fan pattern. My research on the species discovered that the beetle prefers yellow flowers and that is because yellow and white flowers are the brightest.
The final concept involves glass panels casting light on the prairie. This light will make all colors of flowers brighter and attract pollinators, such as the beetle. This means more colors of flowers can thrive than just yellow. This section shows how the light cast through the glass panels will illuminate the prairie below and colorize the otherwise ‘dark’ prairie. These details show how the panels are set to the according altitude and azimuth of the sun.
Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA)
During my time at Iowa State, I have competed with the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) team. Teams are Architectural and Construction Engineering students working together as a mock design build company to produce a RFQ and RFP. For the 2023 competition, the project was a university gymnasium my team won the Midwest Regionals and competed in the National competition held in Maryland. Out of 32 teams and 8 regional winners, we placed 6th. For the 2024 competition, the project was a terminal expansion at an existing airport. At the National competition in Dallas, we placed 4th.
(Left) Proposal for 2024 competition
(Right) Proposal for 2023 competition
As a part of my responsibilities with Ahmann Design, I drafted drawings through the entire design process, including sketches, elevations, floor plans, and detail sections. Shown are elevations I made as part of a bidset for a client. This Pool house was complex with the breezeway connecting to the existing building.
This sheet contains the Main Floor Plan as well as the Foundation plan. Complete with dimensions and appropriate annotations, these represent full construction documents.
DesigneD at anD property of ahmann Design
Other Design Work
Some advice given to me before starting in architecture was to have a creative outlet other than architecture. I’ve since indulged a variety.
These are selected works from my design career.
Chainmail Screen
34” x 36” Steel Boxcar Film Photograph
North Christian Church Columbus, IN Film Photograph