Practice Chronicle

SRINJOY HAZRA PRACTICE CHRONICLE ARC_48-649

Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture

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O R E N D A - a chronicle of choices

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“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.�

- Aristotle

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Two Tramps in Mud Time - a stroke of inspiration

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Foreward - the Storyteller who lives many lives

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Roots and aspirations

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What I do is who I am

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Being the Change

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Through the dark woods

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The path I Choose

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Dharavi

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Miles to go, before I sleep

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The Image of a City

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The Architect’s goal

Admire and Aspire

Understanding Structures

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The path I Follow

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UDBS

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The Cogs of the Machine

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Deconstructing Blight

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Reconstructing Authenticity

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The Values of ReCon

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Implementation - on the clock

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Municipality and its importance

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Team to build and method of delivery - narrative

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Commission : Fabricating Steel

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Two Tramps In Mud Time Out of the mud two strangers came And caught me splitting wood in the yard, And one of them put me off my aim By hailing cheerily "Hit them hard!"

I knew pretty well why he had dropped behind And let the other go on a way.

I knew pretty well what he had in mind: He wanted to take my job for pay.

Good blocks of oak it was I split, As large around as the chopping block; And every piece I squarely hit Fell splinterless as a cloven rock.

The blows that a life of self-control Spares to strike for the common good, That day, giving a loose my soul, I spent on the unimportant wood.

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.

You know how it is with an April day When the sun is out and the wind is still, You're one month on in the middle of May. But if you so much as dare to speak, A cloud comes over the sunlit arch, A wind comes off a frozen peak, And you're two months back in the middle of March.

A bluebird comes tenderly up to alight And turns to the wind to unruffle a plume, His song so pitched as not to excite A single flower as yet to bloom.

It is snowing a flake; and he half knew Winter was only playing possum.

Except in color he isn't blue, But he wouldn't advise a thing to blossom.

The water for which we may have to look In summertime with a witching wand, In every wheelrut's now a brook, In every print of a hoof a pond.

Be glad of water, but don't forget The lurking frost in the earth beneath That will steal forth after the sun is set And show on the water its crystal teeth.

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The time when most I loved my task The two must make me love it more By coming with what they came to ask.

You’d think I never had felt before The weight of an ax-head poised aloft, The grip of earth on outspread feet, The life of muscles rocking soft And smooth and moist in vernal heat.

Out of the wood two hulking tramps (From sleeping God knows where last night, But not long since in the lumber camps).

They thought all chopping was theirs of right.

Men of the woods and lumberjacks, They judged me by their appropriate tool.

Except as a fellow handled an ax They had no way of knowing a fool.

Nothing on either side was said.

They knew they had but to stay their stay And all their logic would fill my head: As that I had no right to play With what was another man’s work for gain.

My right might be love but theirs was need.

And where the two exist in twain Theirs was the better right--agreed.

But yield who will to their separation, My object in living is to unite My avocation and my vocation As my two eyes make one in sight.

Only where love and need are one, And the work is play for mortal stakes, Is the deed ever really done For Heaven and the future’s sakes.

- Robert Frost

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FOREWARD

“The deepest learnings can be found in the strangest of places, but only if you keep an open mind.�

I am a storyteller.

I have always been one. And as storytellers or writers live many lives through their characters, I too wish to have a myriad of experiences with my hands in as many cookie jars as possible. Hence, I dabble - I am a writer with a flair for photography, I am an artist who loves to teach, and an activist who enjoys design.

By vocation, I am an architect.

And all my lives collide.

In all the stories I have read and told, however short or long, what I have quoted above, is something that I have found it to hold true in every aspect and circumstance. I have learnt as much from Oliver Twist, as I have from Harry Potter and Hercule Poirot. I have found Nietzsche to be as fundamentally instructive as Calvin and Hobbes. The ability to extricate knowledge, wisdom and experience from the seemingly small, insignificant places, to stay grounded, makes a huge difference to how one perceives and analyzes the world.

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Roots and Aspirations

“Two Tramps in Mud Time� by Robert Frost, has come back to me with different sensibilities at different stages of my life. It has morphed my understanding of vocation and avocation - and I have grown to firmly believe that one needs to love what one does, to be able to do it well. Most recently, it has been the last stanza that has inspired me to shape my personal and professional aspiration to be multi-faceted. I aim to actively pursue being an architect, a writer and an educator - pursue with a passion that unifies the three and propels me towards a bigger goal.

I want to be able to carry out the responsibilities that come with all three of these titles over the course of my life and begin to bring about awareness of and solutions to the problem regarding lack of affordable housing in India, and more specifically in my home state of West Bengal. The importance and usefulness of design and architecture now remains restricted to the more affluent social stratas and thus impedes the spread and development of both the profession and the quality of life of most of the population that is not as fortunate in terms of financial prowess. I wish to bring about a change in this scenario over the course of my career. I wish to speak, write, spread awareness of, design and build - I wish to begin a movement towards a better future for the countless that live on the streets of the places that I can possibly reach over the course of my career, my home town and state definitely being one of them.

However, I want to work with and learn from certain, well known architectural practices that I have grown to respect and admire over the course of my career. BIG, SOM, MASS, Morphosis and/or Vastushilpa are some of the firms where I wish to understand how these practices function at the level they do and gather enough experience to use that as leverage in pursuit of my larger ambitions.

Alongside doing what I love, I want to accomplish a level of financial stability that allows me to provide comfortable lives for my family who have showed me the way thus far and continue to impart values that inspire me to do something that positively impacts people beyond my immediate periphery through my work.

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Roots : The view I had growing up

Maniktala - the iconic chowrasta; Kolkata, India

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What I do, is who I am

I loved to read and write and have aspired to become a writer for as long as I remember. As I got older and saw my parents dealing with problems of housing and affordability, I was driven by the simple dream of owning a house, towards studying architecture and over the course of time, finding a way to solve our problem. Architecture school - both undergrad and grad, have been instrumental in broadening my perspective and identifying the gaping holes in the system back home that impede the idea of “architecture for all”. Apart from the immense satisfaction that I would obtain by being able to solve problems at a scale greater than I had thought possible, the dream of being able to do that through action that I love is what fuels me to work harder every day to acquire the experience and skill set that would give me authority over the identified issues.

My convictions regarding my choices go back to the first, albeit insignificant, tastes of success that I had over the years. The first time I won a major national competition by virtue of my writing skills, the first time in middle school I managed to teach a group of children at a village in Bengal through a program named “Each one, Teach one”, the first time my economic, vernacular housing design model for the flood affected areas of Sunderbans was chosen to be implemented to help people survive subsequent floods - all of these firsts gave me small boosts of confidence and I learnt to live off these small successes. My continuous training and experience, that grows every day by virtue of the exposure that I get, regarding all three identified avenues, make me believe that I would be able to do justice to the professional outlet I have identified.

My end game is to establish myself and be known for being an architect, writer and teacher who works with all social stratas, helping the less affluent with the skills that I am obtaining through my life as a student and alleviating their lives as far as possible. I would, maybe someday, like to have my own practice but that is not something I am set upon- I would prioritize the avenue that would let me pursue all three aspects of my skills and focus on the bigger picture.

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Pictures (above) from low cost bamboo housing in a remote village in the mangrove forests of Sunderbans, Eastern India.

Picture (right) showing model prototype of modular bamboo housing that is designed to protect the inhabitants from floods. The raised plinth allows it to be above water levels of up to 20 feet. Empty barrels attached to formwork underneath and tied securely to trees around, allow the house to float like a buoy.

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Winner, National Literary Fest Mumbai, India.

Winner, Journalism Trophy Adjudged Best Account of How Religion and Architecture are being used in combination to Dominate sectors in the country.

Rourkela, India.

My successes as an author consolidated my belief in my Professional Aspiration and how I have chosen to go about it.

Playing to my strengths would allow me to reach more people through my writings.

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Sharing views across the world In discussion with Yashvardhan Khemka UDBS, CMU Pittsburgh, USA.

“The current state of architecture and design requires wxtensive collaboration and an investigative attitutde and we continue to research and develop new technologies.� - Zaha Hadid The next project will describe how along with two team members, I designed a responsive facade system as part of an international design workshop with Sapienza University in Rome, Italy. The project is catered towards environmentally responsible design that allows for buildings to adapt to climates without polluting the environment with chlorofluoro carbons via air conditioners.

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Any construction achieves its purpose not just when it does the work that it was meant for but carries a sense of adhesion to its funtion and cohesion to its features simply through its look and feel and the ambience at large.

It is but common parlance that how a building looks is as important as how good it works. What is really interesting is when the faรงade of a building not only seduces the onlooker but also adds to the value of the purposeful user.

Faces, a week-long workshop at the beginning of November, 2015, actually helped us visualize this very fact with a hands-on experience through design and crafting a physical working model of a corner situation of an office building. The students of 4th year were cast in groups who had different approaches and of course had varied outcomes. Our objective was to focus on functional counteractive measures against the hot and humid climate of Kolkata through efficient and eloquent practicable designs of the faรงade. Choosing the South-East corner to work on, we went about trying possibilities of not only reducing the radiation intake of a generally conditioned office space system but also give a good thought to natural ventillation which is a very important aspect of design in such climatic conditions. Importance was also given to the filtering of direct glare of the sun while accommodating glare-free natural lighting wherever possible and to good extents.

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With regular inputs from Prof. Federico De Matteis, from Sapienza University of Rome, to shape and mould our thought process and enhance our construction vocabulary with practical knowledge, we developed multiple schemes, each time better than the previous. The utilization of the tunneling efect of wind has been used to draw in air through small openings in glazings in the windward southern side, keeping larger areas open in the leeward facades to generate potential differences at ends for air circulation. The concept for chimney effect was applied in the southern facade by creating double glazings with air vent gaps in between which on heating through solar radiations shall dissipate through the open ended top acting as a chimney stack The Eastern facade as well was double glazed but the application of the chimney effect was not required. Instead metal sheets between the glazings helped increase floor space utilization. The orientation was such that only the glare free light from North would ooze into the offices.

The solar radiations were restricted by programmed use of vertical aluminium fins, angled and overlapped to suit the solar angles. The outer glazings were adjusted and fixed to these vertical fins which were clamped and rivetted to metal plates pinned to concrete.

Whatever little stray direct light still managed to seive indoors in the early hours of the day could be counteracted by panels of horizontal louvers that could be slid and adjusted to need. These louvered panes were in between the two layers of southern glazing to further increase the thermal mass so as to reduce air conditioning requirements.

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The Thunderous Silence that needs a voice “As a profession, you are not a profession that has distinguished itself by your social and civic contributions to the cause of civil rights, and I am sure this has not come to you as any shock.

You are most distinguished by your thunderous silence and your complete irrelevance.”

WHITNEY M. YOUNG, JR. KEYNOTE ADDRESS 1968 AIA CONVENTION IN PORTLAND, OREGON

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Professor John Folan narrating the iconic speech in Ethics and Professional Practice, CMU

Being the Change

I firmly believe, that the best chances of achieving your goals lie within those who are striving to solve an issue or problem relevant to themselves. Since my simple reasoning at a young age that a problem of housing can be solved by being an architect, I considered and began pursuing architecture as a career by getting into architecture school. I quickly learnt that architecture cannot happen through individual endeavour. Today, I recognize, that only people or enterprises sharing the will to do the same kind of good in the world share the same aspirations that I do. They are extremely few in number back home.

However, affordable housing is a ‘wicked problem’ that plagues places all over the world. For a while, during my undergraduate years, I was not sure how to go about bringing around the change that I wanted to see in the profession.

Not many people however, are dedicating their lives to solving this wicked problem. The lack of research in the area, especially in and around my hometown, is holding back the profession from working actively towards finding a solution or even working towards one.

My research led me to the term PUBLIC INTEREST DESIGN (PID) and I found a name for the brand of architecture I wanted to identify myself with. I began to look for ways to familiarise myself with the many forms and avenues that PID embraces to help communities lead better lives. I am not sure what fuels other people to continue on this path other than striving to make the world a better and more equitable place - which, from the looks of it, is surely an uphill task. I am confident of this aspiration of mine to sustain my interest for my lifetime since it is not something that can be solved overnight for one. It is a long, arduous process especially at the places where I plan to implement them.

As I mentioned before, the question of sustaining interest is also easily answered as it involves processes I revel in - design, writing and educating, thus improving lives of communities by working with them. There are also my personal interests at stake, which keeps driving me forward - as Professor Folan puts it, the people who care the most are the ones “who have some skin in the game.”

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Through the dark woods...

I have identified the biggest challenges that my professional aspiration will face in maximizing its potential to be tripartite in nature.

Financial- PID, although growing, is still not found as commonly as other types of practices. The most common reason for that being the lack of funding for such practices to run smoothly and successfully. The main form of revenue generation for architecture firms happens through the fees charged from clients. Since PID devotes it’s work to a section that is not as affluent as others, the architects involved in such work have to be resourceful and rely on grants and awards for financial support and recognition. The region of India I definitely want to work in, faces the same issues with far less scope and opportunity for improvements.

Understanding “Architecture for all” - To spread awareness and belief that architecture is indeed affordable and is essential for a better quality of life, in a region that does not rely or have faith in architects for any issues, is bound to be a challenge.

Client/Architect barrier- Last and most importantly, it is difficult to get people from these sections of the society to trust us simply because they are wary of all concepts foreign to them and they do not want to get their hopes up based on empty promises that we cannot deliver upon. This becomes detrimental to the profession and forms a barrier between the client and the architect.

The problem of lack of housing, especially for people without the financial means or stability of procuring the same, is of global importance - these sections of people can be found throughout the world in various countries and thus the means for being able to produce contextual, globally relevant, yet affordable residential architecture needs to arise from the work that PID undertakes. How is it possible to make architecture “affordable” when the cost of construction is either not negotiable or can only be controlled to a certain degree? How can technology aid this process? Can it come together with vernacular approaches - exploring adobe, brick, bamboo and other organic materials, to come up with techniques that locals can be trained in, thus allowing them to earn a living wage, thus alleviating their lives to some extent? Architecture cannot alone solve the problem however. Multiple policies, interdisciplinary action, economic models, government subsidies and support and several other factors are necessary to even begin working towards a solution. My education here involves gathering experience in similar aspects and applying these lessons with modifications to suit societies where I will work.

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21 For the common masses to be more aware, there needs to be better and easier lines of communication between the architect and the society.

The Path I Choose

I understand that it is not possible for everyone to understand and accept architects and architecture as a norm and as a means to solving social issues.

Where I come from, it is looked upon as a luxury that is meant only for the creme de la creme of the society. It becomes difficult in such a scenario to be able to take the profession a step forwards where we are able to sustain ourselves and do the good in the world that we wish to do. Moreover as Whitney Young pointed out in his keynote speech at the AIA, we, as a profession, have not done a very good job of communicating or actively engaging with uplifting the society in general - and it is the same across the world.

The work of this profession is misinterpreted owing to the following reasons: 1. Architectural jargon 2. Lack of involvement with the community 3. Lack of recognizing the importance of interdisciplinary action to solve social issues Which is why I feel that reaching out to the masses. Having outreach programs that communicate through writing and multimedia like projections in small communities, helping them understand the benefits that can be reaped, helping preach the idea that architecture is indeed meant for all and helping them through conferences and media in small scales to propagate the good that can come from spreading the profession, and finally executing on the work required will aid the process of painting the larger picture. Documenting work and leveraging that to spread awareness is also of paramount importance. The intitiative needs to be from our side, only then can these sectors of people begin to trust us.

Although Architecture as a subject and profession, has come further along over the past two decades, there is still a lot of ground to cover as far as PID is concerned in West Bengal in India, where I primarily want to work and bring about a change in how things are perceived. Even in the education realm, students undergo 5 years of training and emerge as licensed architects without ever hearing the term PID and thus are often unexposed to the possibilities that it brings. Given this scenario, I would want to equip myself with all the experience and knowledge that I can gather from around the world and go back to this place to start programs that preach and work on spreading Public Interest Design as a lifestyle for budding architects, who can eventually go out into the world as change agents and share and carry forward the dreams of many.

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WHITNEY M. YOUNG, JR. 23 KEYNOTE ADDRESS 1968 AIA CONVENTION IN PORTLAND, OREGON

Dharavi is a locality in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is considered one of the largest slums in Asia.

Dharavi has an area of just over 2.1 square kilometres (0.81 sq mi; 520 acres) and a population of about 1,000,000. With a population density of over 277,136/km2 (717,780/sq mi), Dharavi is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

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Dharavi, the slums within the city of dreams Mumbai, India

The Dharavi slum was founded in 1883 during the British colonial era, and grew in part because of an expulsion of factories and residents from the peninsular city centre by the colonial government, and from the migration of poor rural Indians into urban Mumbai (then called Bombay). For this reason, Dharavi is currently a highly multi-religious, multi-ethnic, and diverse settlement.

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Miles to go, before I sleep

Success to me, has always meant one thing - my mother’s approval. She plays a pivotal role in how I view the world today and she has taught me the value in not being satisfied with myself over successes but worrying over the tiniest of flaws and working on them. Through her lens, I would be able to call myself successful only when I have managed to uplift the lives of people outside of my immediate periphery through my work. I understand, that to do that, one needs to focus on other factors that would aid the process, but that, is my end game. I have not yet figured out exactly how, be it through PID or through non profits or through providing education for the underprivileged or all of them combined. I understand that to realize all of this, it is essential to have a level of financial security, and also build a reputation that would give me credibility among the masses. It is essential to have the confidence of your clients and the people around you to be able to excel in Public Interest Design - thus I feel it is important to have portions of all the factors mentioned, namely - financial wealth, public/professional recognition through awards, empowering the team working with me, helping them succeed, eliminating bodies threatening the free will of others - all of it combined would truly paint the picture of success.

It is arduous. But I am hopeful.

Apart from this, it is important for me to have a level of financial success that would allow me to provide comfortable lives for my family who, in spite of trying times, have never let me feel the dearth of money and have never let it affect my career in any way. This can be achieved through commision work and for-profit work alongside working in the Public Interest Design sector.

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The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

Abstract from “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening� by Robert Frost Painting - Self

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Kolkata - the city with a soul A culture loving, slow moving city that still holds on to the colonial British era.

It resists change as much as Pittsburgh.

Bringing about a change here is always an uphill task.

The following sketches form an observatory study I conducted as a part of an urban design course during my undergraduate studies.They tell the tale of the place and its people.

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The architect’s goal

It would take substantial time and effort to bring about noticeable change in the affordable housing sector in the region of India that I have in mind. I would consider getting a headway on that front to be a successful beginning in the journey. Having people of the society there, accept and learn about using architecture as a tool for building a better scenario, having communities involve themselves in the process alongside architects to have a hand in creating a better future - these beginnings would be significant successes for both the profession and the public. As the name suggests, PID cannot be accomplished without the Public coming forward with their Interests towards Designing a better tomorrow with sustainability, equity and equality in terms of rights.

This can be achieved only through several ideas merging together and working hand in hand with people. Increased access to housing through my practice, attracting government and private funding for projects, implementing economic models like Robin Hood models which would sell market rate homes to the wealthier class and leverage the profits to build homes for the underprivileged.

Success would mean eradicating the notion that architecture is an expensive commodity not meant for all.

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“It is not an individual act, architecture. You have to consider your client. Only out of that can you produce great architecture. You cannot work in the abstract.�

- I M Pei 31

Admire and Aspire

Although I want to work in PID in the long run, I want to have had the experience of working in other kinds of practices at the beginning of my career to be able to leverage what I learn over the course of my career. I have identified some of the practices that I would cherish an opportunity to work with as I believe it would benefit me in the long run. I am at the very beginning of my professional career, and have no preference of geographic location as long as the work I am doing is of substance. However, 10 years down the line, I would want to get back to my hometown and start working towards making it a better place for the profession and the society at large.

Design Build - I identify being able to work with passion in a Design Build practice since I am interested in construction and having authority over the design as well as the built form from conception through construction till the product is delivered.

Typically, an owner hires an architect to draw a building and a contractor to oversee the subcontractors that will build the building. This separation could be adverse for the quality and cost of building.

SHoP Architects (177 members : 4 principals) - SHoP Architects is an architecture firm in Lower Manhattan, New York City, with projects located on five continents.

Led by four principals, the firm provides services to residences, commercial buildings, schools and cultural institutions, as well as large-scale master plans.

SITU NYC (27 members : 3 partners, 24 associates) - SITU is an unconventional architecture practice that uses design, research and fabrication for creative and social impact. It was founded in 2005, in Brooklyn, New York, by four friends studying architecture at the Cooper Union. Their staff is made up of a wide range of specialists across disciplines: architecture, art, design, engineering, fabrication, geography, programming, urbanism, visualization, research and development—all dedicated to exploring and crafting spaces at multiple scales.

Irving Smith Architects - It has been developed as a niche Architecture practice based in Nelson, and works in a variety of sensitive environments. They demonstrate an ongoing commitment to innovative, sustainable and research based design, backed up by national and international award and publication recognition, ongoing research and teaching at the University of Auckland, and regular invitations to lecture on their work.

Studio Rick Joy - Since 1993, Rick Joy has led a cooperative practice engaged in architecture, planning, and interiors around the globe. Studio Rick Joy is based in Tucson. The core values that drive the work of the firm arise from a studio environment in which creativity and discovery thrive alongside expertise and experience.

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**Descriptions are derived from the respective websites of the mentioned practices.

SHoP team, designing and building

SITU logo

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Enterprise - An enterprise is typically an architect led large interdisciplinary practice that amalgamates single source responsibility for design, construction and commisioning.I would cherish the opportunity to work and learn from practices like BIG, HOK and SOM at the beginning of my career and use the knowledge and expertise I gather from them later on. I also believe that an association with names such as these would give me a stronger footing in my quest for bringing PID as a change in professional culture in India. I have admired their work throughout my academic career and would cherish the opportunity of learning from their techniques and adding to my skillset.

Bjarke Ingels Group (400+ members : 17 partners, 26 associates and 15 directores) - BIG is a Copenhagen, New York and London based group of architects, designers, urbanists, landscape professionals, interior and product designers, researchers and inventors. The office is currently involved in a large number of projects throughout Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East. BIG’s architecture emerges out of a careful analysis of how contemporary life constantly evolves and changes.

HOK (133 key members) : As of 2018, HOK is the largest U.S.-based architectureengineering firm and the fourth-largest interior design firm. The firm maintains more than 1,700 professional staff across a global network of 24 offices and is active in all major architectural specialties. Its senior leaders are located in several different locations across the world. HOK designs buildings and spaces that respond to the needs of people and the environment. Their designers claim to be rooted in technical excellence, driven by imagination and focused on a solitary goal: to deliver solutions that inspire clients and communities.

SOM : It is arguably the largest architectural practice in the world. With offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai and Dubai, their global collective is committed to improving the built environment and enhancing people’s lives. They assemble creative, interdisciplinary teams that work as small, dynamic studios, with all the resources and diversity of a global firm. They provide young architects the opportunities to collaborate with industry experts on some of the most exciting and transformative architecture, engineering, and planning projects in the world.

Morphosis : Founded in 1972, Morphosis is an interdisciplinary practice involved in rigorous design and research that yields innovative, iconic buildings and urban environments. With founder Thom Mayne serving as design director, the firm today consists of a group of more than 50 professionals, who remain committed to the practice of architecture as a collaborative enterprise. With projects worldwide, the firm’s work ranges in scale from residential, institutional, and civic buildings to large urban planning projects.

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**Descriptions are derived from the respective websites of the mentioned practices.

Bjarke Ingels, the man with the BIG ideas 35

Public Interest Design - This is the kind of practice I want to be associated with in the long run. I would want to have my own PID practice in India at some point in my life that would allow me to bring about equality and equity as far having access to affordable housing is concerned.

Mass Design Group (140 core members) - It is a fairly large Public Interest Design group that collaborates with non profits for projects of all scales all over the world.

They have a research arm that innovates and helps in coming up with systems that allow the locals of the areas where they work to collaborate on site and thus learn skills that benefit them in the long run. They work on projects that are missionaligned, that serve the public, and that their board of directors believes are worthy of consideration. They believe architecture is a right and a public good and for this, they believe more nonprofits are needed in the marketplace. Everything, beginning from how it started with the Butaro Hospital, to their work at present, inspires me every day. buildingcommunityWORKSHOP - It is a Texas based nonprofit community design center. The practice seeks to improve the livability and viability of communities through thoughtful design and making. They enrich the lives of citizens by bringing design thinking to areas of cities where resources are most scarce. To do so, [bc] recognizes that it must first understand the social, economic, and environmental issues facing a community before beginning work.

Anna Heringer Architecture - Architecture is a tool to improve lives. The vision behind, and motivation for their work is to explore and use architecture as a medium to strengthen cultural and individual confidence, to support local economies and to foster the ecological balance. Joyful living is a creative and active process and Miss Heringer is deeply interested in the sustainable development of our society and our built environment.

Utile -Utile is an architecture and planning practice that specializes in working with public-sector clients such as redevelopment authorities, city governments, and state agencies. By taking a “think-tank approach� to design and planning, examining economic, social, political, historical, and environmental factors around a project, Utile works toward design solutions that address systemic change. The firm’s hyper-local focus has enabled Utile to develop deep expertise in the South Boston neighborhood and in the City of Boston at large, becoming adept at navigating the complexities of development in dense urban cores. Over the past decade, Utile has expanded its scope of work to larger-scale and more complex public-realm projects, creating networks with government departments across the Northeast and deepening its understanding of the political and socioeconomic constraints around public-realm work. With an entrepreneurial approach focused on publicsector clients, Utile demonstrates that fee-for-service public realm design and planning projects can be inroads to public-interest design.

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**Descriptions are derived from the respective websites of the mentioned practices.

37 Alan Ricks and Michael Murphy, Founders, MASS

Understanding Structures - PID

FOUNDING PARTNERS

MANAGING DIRECTOR

DESIGN DIRECTOR

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SENIOR PRINCIPAL

ARCHITECTS

ENGINEERING DIRECTOR

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OPERATIONS MANAGER POLICY MANAGER DEVELOPMENT MANAGER MEDIA MANAGER

DESIGNERS

ENGINEERS

SENIOR ASSOCIATES

ASSOCIATES

JUNIOR ASSOCIATES FELLOWS INTERNS

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Derived based on designations within MASS Design Group

I believe, there is nothing more valuable than experience in this profession. It teaches you more than you can possibly learn from anywhere else. Hence, the more experienced your senior/teacher/supervisor/boss, the more there is to learn from them. That holding true, I should not be offered absolute authority over all decisions before ever having delivered a building.

It would be take me, an esitmated 4 years of experience under a registered architect, to be confident enough of my skills to start to handle projects. I would like to have a minimum of 8-10 years of experience before starting my own PID practice.

Adaptability is of crucial importance if one is to remain of relevance in today’s world, irrespective of what profession one belongs to.

Diagrammatic representation of Financial Structures

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Understanding Structures : Possibilities for Enterprise and Design Build

CLIENT

A1

A2

TECHNICAL + ADMINISTRATIVE PRINCIPAL

B

DESIGN PRINCIPAL (A)

SUPPORT STAFF

C1

PROJECT ARCHITECT (B) C2

D1

C3

Systems Integration

JOB CAPTAINS (C) D2

D3

INTERNS 1-3 (D)

D5

Enclosure

D4

Interior/Program

PRIMARY COMMUNICATION / RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESPONSIBILITY HEIRARCHY SECONDARY / LATERAL COMMUNICATION NETWORKS

A1

RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL DESIGN DECISIONS, PRIMARY CLIENT CONTACT - REGISTERED ARCHITECT WITH 15+ YEARS OF EXPEREINCE

A2

RESPONSIBLE FOR FIDUCIARY, FISCAL, AND TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF PROJECT DELIVERY - REGISTERED ARCHITECT WITH 15+ YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

Diagram representing Practice Model for Small to Medium Enterprise Source : Ethics and Practice Lecture Content

40

Diagram representing top down organizational. In case of an architectural practice, the top of the pyramid would be occupied by the founding member or principal.

Source : Ethics and Practice Lecture Content

Diagram representing top down organizational. In case of an architectural practice, the top layer of the pyramid would be occupied by the founding members or partners or principals, followed by managers and at the lowest level the technical staff and junior architects.

Source : Ethics and Practice Lecture Content

41

Diagram representing flat organization. No leaders, completely collaborative. For integrated project delivery.

Source : Ethics and Practice Lecture Content

Diagram representing holocratic organization.

Source : Ethics and Practice Lecture Content

42

Diagram representing flatarchies.

Source : Ethics and Practice Lecture Content

CLIENT D

A G

STEEL FABRICATOR SUB CONTRACTOR

B

C

CIVIL ENGINEER

D

G

GRADING AND EXCAVATION

M/E/P ENGINEERS

E

G

ELEVATOR SUB-CONTRACT ELECTICAL SUB-CONTRACT

G

MECHANICAL SUB-CONTRACT

G

PLUMBING SUB-CONTRACT

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

D

A

GENERAL CONTRACTOR

I.T. SUB-CONTRACT

THEATER CONSULTANT

E

ARCHITECT

E

G

E

G

INSULATION SUB-CONTRACT

ENERGY MGMT CONSULTANT

E

E G

CURTAIN WALL SUB-CONTRACT

E G

STEEL ERECTOR SUB- CONTRACT

E G

ELEVATOR MANUFACTURER

E H

H

LIGHTING MANUFACTURER 1

LIGHTING MANUFACTURER 2

H

LIGHTING MANUFACTURER 3

H

CURTAIN WALL MANUFACTURER

F

F

F

AUDIO VISUAL CONSULTANT

ACOUSTIC ENGINEER LIGHTING DESIGNER

IT CONSULTANT

FIRE PROTECTION CONSULTANT

LANDSCAPE CONSULTANT

ENVELOPE CONSULTANT

PHOTOGRAPHER

EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS

FURNITURE MANUFACTURERS

H

A AIA A 201 - 2007 GENERAL CONDITIONS OF THE CONTRACT FOR CONSTRUCTION B AIA B 101 - STANDARD FORM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN OWNER AND ARCHITECT C AIA A 101 - 2007 STANDARD FORM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN OWNER AND CONTRACTOR D AIA C 195 - STANDARD FORM SINGLE PURPOSE AGREEMENT FOR INTEGRATED PROJECT AREA E AIA C 401 - 2007 STANDARD FORM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN ARCHITECT AND CONSULTANT F NON PROJECT RELATED RELATIONSHIP OR AGREEMENT G AIA A 401 - 2007 STANDARD FORM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN CONTRACTOR AND SUB-CONTRACTOR H CONTRACTOR GENERATED PROCUREMENT AGREEMENT

Diagram representing relationships between different entitites involved in delivering a project and the relevant contracts pertaining to them.

Source : AIA contract diagram model

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The Path I Follow

Aspirations and Convictions My work so far has been steered towards creating something that serves the purpose of greater good. I thrive on community driven projects or projects that are oriented towards creating awareness of issues.

Even in academic projects, I have tried to address the same issues of catering to the society and contributing in a meaningful manner towards creating a better future.

Architecture plays a vital role in that in terms of society, economics, environment and many more. A deep dive into Public Interest Design and learning more about it through my graduate studies, will help me to apply the lessons I learn here, in the different areas or projects that I will be working on in the subsequent years.

Realizing that architecture alone cannot solve the problems of housing identified, is crucial to formulating a path of interdisciplinary action and having an open, collaborative mindset that is flexible. I believe that will lead to success.

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Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson

45

Graphic above is from the online description of UDBS on the Carnegie Mellon University website.

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Preface to UDBS

I am an ACTIVIST at heart.

I have walked in protests, worked for the needy, empathized and contributed to my community - but alas, mostly without documentation. I realized much later in life, that there is value to documenting and representing activism. I learnt this from Professor John Folan - the reason I came to study architecture at Carnegie Mellon University.

The UDBS program description captivated me. It seemed like it would help me get along the process of learning more about and solving the problem of affordable housing. That was my primary goal when I completed my undergraduate studies.

As I have discussed previously, the concept of Public Interest Design is not quite developed where I come from, and this seemed like a great learning opportunity.

Some research on the program later, it seemed to me that this program was the natural stepping stone for me to achieve my larger goals. The activist in me found the path to be on.

I applied and was accepted into the program. What followed was one of the more exciting phases of this story.

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48

The Concentrated Poverty Matrix : the very first thing I saw as I entered the Urban Design Build Studio was this, covering an entire 12 foot wall. As I later learnt, entire bodies of work existed from previous UDBS cohorts, all of which were as awe-inspiring as this.

Authored by Anthony Kosec and team, UDBS

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POOR BUILT ENVIRONMENT

LEGAL DISPUTES

EVICTION

Image courtesy of Rick Wood

Image courtesy of Yves Marchand

COMPLICATIONS WITH DISABILITY

STIGMATIZATION OF URBAN BLIGHT

ABSENTEE LANDLORDS SLUMLORDS

MEDIA-DRIVEN NARRATIVES

NORMALIZED PERCEPTION

Image courtesy of Metro Times

Images courtesy of ABC/NBC/FOX

DISENFRANCISEMENT

NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES

Image courtesy of Lucas Jackson / Reuters

PAST EXPERIENCE WITH DEVELOPERS

NEGATIVE PERCEPTIONS OF OUTSIDERS

Image source unable to be found

HOMELESSNESS

FEELING UNWELCOME TO NEW DEVELOPMENT

Image courtesy of Maya Dukmasova

POOR QUALITY OF HEALTH

DIMINISHED QUALITY OF LIFE

POOR HOUSING CONDITIONS

Image courtesy of Getty Images

Image courtesy of CIEH

Image courtesy of The Atlantic

Image courtesy of Louisa Marie Summer

BIASED PERCEPTIONS

Image courtesy of Detroit Urbex

LACK OF TRUST

Image courtesy of Camilo José Vergara

GENERATIONS OF FAILED URBAN RENEWAL

PEOPLE GETTING PUSHED OUT

HIGH COST OF LIVING

LIMITED ECONOMIC MOBILITY

UNAFFORDABLE HOUSING

Image courtesy of Elvis Batiz

Image courtesy of John Marino

CONCENTRATED POVERTY

Image courtesy of Randy Simes / UrbanCincy

GENTRIFICATION

Image courtesy of Deborah Svoboda / KQED

NEIGHBORHOOD CHANGES SEEN AS NEGATIVE

RISING RENTS

LIMITED ABILITY TO BUILD EQUITY

LACK OF SKILLS TRAINING

Image courtesy of The Washington Post

Image courtesy of Megan Harris / WESA

Image courtesy of Iris Schneider / LA Times

LACK OF OPPORTUNITY

Image courtesy of The Grio

Image courtesy of Patrick Semansky / AP

DEFICIENT EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

LACK OF COMMUNITY

Image courtesy of Jahi Chikwendiu / The Washington Post

LACK OF COMMUNICATION

Image courtesy of Amy Stone

NEW RESIDENTS LACK COMMUNITY REVERENCE

Image courtesy of okayplayer

Image courtesy of Chris Saulit

LACK TO TIME SPENT WITH CHILDREN

Image courtesy of Getty Images

Image courtesy of Seth Wenig / AP

MULTIPLE LOW-WAGE JOBS NECESSARY

LACK OF WELLPAYING JOBS

MASS INCARCERATION

HIGHER CRIME RATES

Image courtesy of Marion Post-Wolcott

DECAY OF CULTURAL TRADITIONS

GANG ACTIVITY BECOMES A CULTURE

HOPELESSNESS

DEPRESSION

DRUG ADDICTION

TEEN PREGNANCY

SINGLE PARENTING

Image courtesy of John Dominis

Image courtesy of Getty Images

LARGE DEATH QUANTITIES

SENSE OF LOSS OF COMMUNITY

PLAYERS OF THE PROJECT

Authored by Alison Katz, UDBS 50

The above network depicts the different entities - client, designers, client representatives, consultants etc, and the roles of the major players are described in the following page.

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52

3:30 am, UDBS The studio that never sleeps

How the machine works : Project RE_ is a non profit run by Professor John Folan that partners with Construction Junction, Trade Institute of Pittsburgh, the UDBS of CMU to deconcentrate poverty by virtue of architecture and a complex array of socio-economic strategies with the help of ELDI, the client-developer group to achieve its mission of reusing materials to facilitate landfill diversion; rebuild communities by strengthening capacity of local residents; and restore lives by teaching trade skills to help people secure a living wage.

RE_CON is a broad housing initiative that seeks to address issues of concentrated poverty, gentrification, and urban blight in Pittsburgh starting with the pilot and modified replications of the same. Profits from the sale of these two market rate homes are leveraged by the non-profit developer ELDI through an escrow fund and utilized to stabilize the homes of existing low income residents in the neighborhood, thus attempting to offset the gentrification currently plaguing the East Liberty neighborhood and contribute to the development of a healthy, mixedincome community. The Pittsburgh market for an urban single family home expects 1800-2500 sqft homes with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a roof deck, a garage and an open floor plan. The houses should also be highly energy efficient. Our potential buyer profile and the comparable analysis sets the price point between $550,000 and $800,000.

East Liberty Development Incorporated (ELDI) is a 501(c)3 community development organization intended to foster the revitalization of the East Liberty neighbourhood in Pittsburgh, PA. In order to uplift the community, the organization works in collaboration with neighborhood stakeholders in the areas of planning, advocacy, facilitation, communication and investment. The UDBS has partnered with ELDI in the development and implementation of the RE_CON 01 proposal.

The UDBS cohort consisting of a group of undergraduate and graduate (myself) students of architecture (B.Arch, M.Arch and AECM) at CMU led by Professor Folan, attempts to fight the Urban Decline Cycle in Pittsburgh by constructing built intervention that can be replicated to match the scale of the solution to the scale of the problem. It partners with consultants and manufacturers like TAKTL through Project RE_ and 475 to achieve this. By empowering communities through the replicable built form, we affect the urban landscape and allow for the reclamation of the city. The UDBS is generously funded by the Allegheny Foundation, Autodesk, the Heinz Endowments, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA). As a member of this team, I have been working tireless over the past year to realize the project in line with the mission of ELDI, Project RE_ and the UDBS.

I wear the UDBS badge with pride. It allows me to make a difference.

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**Descriptions are derived from texts developed by myself and Alison Katz for the UDBS entry for the Solar Decathlon competition 2019.

DECONSTRUCTING

BLIGHT The first studio (Fall 2018) I joined as a member of the UDBS family, was titled “Deconstructing Blight”. It was oriented in a manner so that the studio would investigate the relationships between building disassembly, material harvesting and new housing construction.

Gordon Matta Clark’s iconic work shown adjacent represents the nature of the curriculum for the studio for this session. It is as intriguing as is inspiring.

As a new member, the first task at hand was to recognize and be acquainted with the body of work that had gone into realising RE_CON through a series of interlinked assignments that gave me familiarity with Pittsburgh as a city, the neighbourhhod of the site, the essence of home, familiarizing with terminology relating to blight and a keen knowledge of the blight that proliferated the city and how to deconstruct it to serve our larger purpose. These assignments, while gearing up the studio for designing RE_CON 01-02, taught us the rigour and discipline required to function effectively as a team, to rely on each other in an environment run purely on collective intelligence.

54

55 Splitting : Demolished and Removed, 1974 by Gordon Matta Clark

HOME - one of many montages developed iteratively - in search of the universal, fundamental dimensions of scale, shadow and material that one associates with the feeling of being at home.

56 Neighbourhood - Breeding familiarity through drawings with the neighbourhoods surrounding the site to help contextualize concepts of HOME in the context where it will be implemented.

225 RAZED HOMES

330 CONDEMNED HOMES

3,089 CONDEMNED HOMES

Mapping Blight - A detailed exercise by the team that will provide a platform for research on evidence based solutions that can improve lives and strenghen communities.

Source: Pittsburgh GIS Information

DE_CON 01 - Deconstructing the Solar Decathlon House

57 DE_CON 01 - Deconstruction of tbe solar decathlon house on CMU Campus to have an experience and gain intimate knowledge of how a building is put together, and salvage material for RE_CON.

I worked on the structural components along with others of the solar decathlon house deconstruction drawings and this provides a glmipse into the same.

SIMPSON STRONG-TIE 2"X4" 20-GAUGE FACE

53 54 51

SIMPSON STRONG-TIE 2"X4" 20-GAUGE FACE

53 54

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54

2X4 AND 2X6 DIMENSIONAL LUMBER FORM THE JOISTS OF THE ROOF OF THE NORTH SIDE GROUND FLOOR SECTION AND OF THE FLOOR OF THE LOFT. THE ON EDGE MEMBERS ARE HELD BY ANNOTATED SIMPSON HANGERS AND THE ON FACE MEMBERS ARE END-NAILED.

53 53

UNDERSIDE OF LOFT SHOWN WITH JOISTS AND LVL MEMBERS.

54 54 54 54 54

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51

54 53 53 54 53

51

TENSILE ST 53

53 54 53

5 16"

PLATES FIXED TO THE LVL MEMBERS OF THE LOFT WITH THE TENSILE STEEL CABLES ATTACHED.

53 53 54

3/8-16 4 21" PARTIALLY THREADED STEEL HEX BOLT (1" THREAD), MATCHING HEX HEAD NUTS AND 38" INNER DIA STEEL FLAT WASHERS, CONNECTING LVL MEMBERS AT THE BASE OF THE FRAMING STRUCTURE OF THE LOFT.

81

NYLON STRAPS

CARLISLE CCW

79

HARD HAT

WORK GLOVES

POWER DRILL HIGH VISIBILITY VEST

53

REMOVAL OF THE LOFT

AFTER UNFASTENING ONE SIDE OF THE CONNECTION, ENSURE ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL HAS SECURED HOLD OF THE LVL MEMBER BEFORE REPEATING THE UNFASTENING PROCEDURE

3 4"

52

LAG BOLTS 51

3 4"

3 8" STEEL H DRIVE NUT

SOCKET WRENCH

5 STACKED WALL SIPs

LOFT MODULE

DISCONNECTING THE PSL MEMBERS FROM THE LOFT PRIOR TO DISENGAGING THEM FROM THE STRUCTURE.

2 STACKED ROOF SIPs

4 GROUND FLOOR STRUCTURE REMOVAL PERSPECTIVE NOT TO SCALE

ON SITE SIP STORAGE TO BE SAWED OFF INTO SMALLER PIECES.

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3/8-16 3 21" HEX DRIVE PARTIAL STEEL BOLT (1" LG THREAD), M HEAD NUTS AND 38" INNER DIA

53 53

51 52 51 52 52 51 51 51 51

3 8"X3" LAG BOLT WITH 3 8" INNER DIA STEEL FLAT WASHER. 5 16"

METAL PLATE CONNECTOR AT THE TOP OF THE FRAMING LVL MEMBERS OF THE LOFT

NYLON STRAPS

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51 52 51

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REMOVAL OF PSL MEMBERS BY CRANE AFTER TYING THE NYLON STRAP SECURELY

3/8-16 4 21" PARTIALLY THREADED STEEL HEX BOLT (1" THREAD), MATCHING HEX HEAD NUTS AND 38" INNER DIA STEEL WASHERS HOLDING PSL MEMBERS TOGETHER.

PSL

PHILIP HEAD SCREW

METAL PLATES 52

WOODEN LEDGE

51

PSL AND THE WOODEN LEDGE SCREWED TOGETHER WITH A METAL ANGLE 3/4-10 2 41" HEX DRIVE PARTIALLY THREADED STEEL BOLT (1 21" LG THREAD), MATCHING HEX HEAD NUTS AND 3/4" INNER DIA STEEL FLAT WASHERS CONNECTING PSL MEMBERS TO THE CONCRETE SLAB. PICTURE SHOWING UNINSTALLATION PROCESS.

51

3 PSL REMOVAL PERSPECTIVE

FULL LENGTH FILLET WELD FOR THE 165 " THICK STEEL PLATES.

NOT TO SCALE

5 16"

58

THICK STEEL PLATES SHOWING WELDS

53

53 3/4" I.D. STEEL FLAT WASHER 51

61 51 51 51 54

THE 5/16" THK STEEL PLATE SHOULD BE UNFASTENED USING A POWER DRILL/SOCKET WRENCH WITH A 3/4" BIT AND A 3/4" CRESCENT WRENCH (1 PERSON)

37 TENSILE STEEL CABLE 53 53 54

53 53 54 53

51 53 53 53 41

66

51 FIRST FLOOR FRAME BELOW LOFT

61 53 62

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UNINSTALLING THE SIP ROOF OF THE LOFT

CARLISLE CCW 3/8 - 16 X 3-1/2" HEX DRIVE PARTIALLY-TURGADED STEEL BOLT (1" LG THREAD)

HEX T

POWER DRILL 3/8" SOCKET BIT WORK GLOVES 53

3/8" CRESCENT WRENCH

THE 5/16" THK STEEL PLATE SHOULD BE UNFASTENED USING A POWER DRILL/SOCKET WRENCH WITH A 3/8" BIT AND A 3/8" CRESCENT WRENCH

2 LOFT REMOVAL PEREPECTIVE NOT TO SCALE

81

NYLON STRAPS

61

LLY THREADED MATCHING HEX STEEL WASHERS.

2 9 O C T 2 0 1 8

F O R D E C O N

52

61 SIP PANELS DISLODGED BY CRANE USING GALVANIZED STEEL PICKPOINTS AND NYLON STRAPS AND PLACED ON THE GROUND.

BOTH 28' ROOF SIPS WERE SECURED TO THE PSL STRUCTURE BY 12" LG PAN HEAD #3 SQUARE DRIVE PARTIALLY THREADED SELF-TAPPING WOOD SCREW (3" LG THREAD) AS A STRAIGHT EDGE

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KEY NOTES: ¾” THK CEDAR EXTERIOR CLADDING 1.

2.

RED MAPLE INTERIOR CLADDING 3. ¼” CYPRESS PLYWOOD 4. ¾” THK x 3” WIDE OAK INTERIOR TONGUE-AND-GROOVE CLADDING 5. ⅜” THK OAK INTERIOR CEILING PANELS 6. 1" BIRCH HARDWOOD TRIM WITH P.U. COATING 7. 1/2" DOMESTIC BIRCH PLYWOOD SHEATHING WITH P.U. COATING 8. BIRCH HARDWOOD DADO BORDER WITH P.U. COATING 9. ¼” ASH PLYWOOD VENEER 10. GYPSUM WALL BOARD 11. BACKER ROD WITH DRY CAULK 12. HARDWOOD TRACK SHOE WITH GASKET SEAL 13. BIFOLD DOOR TRACK 111 SERIES BY JOHNSON HARDWARE 14. MILLED HARDWOOD DOOR WITH GASKET SEAL 15. STANDING SEAM METAL ROOFING 16. PERFORATED METALWORK 17. SOLID GALVANIZED STEEL AWNING 18. PERFORATED GALVANIZED STEEL AWNING 19. FIXED WINDOW: REFERENCE AS2.11 20. AWNING WINDOW: REFERENCE AS2.11 21. MIXED TYPE WINDOW: REFERENCE AS2.11 22. SINGLE EXTERIOR DOOR METAL WITH INSET GLAZING AND STATIONARY PANEL 23. DOUBLE EXTERIOR DOOR METAL WITH INSET GLAZING 24. INTERIOR DOOR WOOD WITH INSET GLAZING 25. INTERIOR DOOR WOOD 26. EXTERIOR METAL DOOR FRAME 27. INTERIOR METAL DOOR FRAME 28. LADDER TO LOFT 29. PV PANELS BP5170 BP SOLAR MONO-CRYSTALLINE 30. RACK FOR PV PANELS 31. SOLAR THERMAL COLLECTOR 32. RADIATOR FOR SOLAR THERMAL COLLECTOR 33. 4” CELLULAR POLYCARBONATE INTERLOCKING PANEL 34. ⅝” TRIPLE WALL CELLULAR POLYCARBONATE 35. POLYCARBONATE EDGE DETAIL 36. ALUMINUM FRAMING FOR POLYCARBONATE 37. SHIM/BLOCKING 38. 3/4" RIGID INSULATION 39. 1" RIGID INSULATION 40. APA RATED OSB PLYWOOD SHEATHING FOR WALLS 41. OSB PLYWOOD SUBFLOOR 42. CLOSED CELL INSULATION 43. BIRCH PLYWOOD / RIGID INSULATION COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION 44. 1” x 3” WOOD FURRING STRIPS 45. WALL MEMBRANE CCW 705 46. ICE AND WATER SHIELD 47. TCS GUTTER 48. TCS FLASHING 49. 10 GA GALVANIZED CARBON STEEL COLLAR 50. 20 GA GALVANIZED STEEL 51. PREFAB BRACKETS, 5/16” THK WELDED STEEL PLATE 52. 3-1/2” X 9-1/4” PSL MEMBER 53. LVL MEMBER 54. 2”X4” DIMENSIONAL LUMBER 55. 2”X6” DIMENSIONAL LUMBER 56. 2”X10" DIMENSIONAL LUMBER 57. 2"X12" DIMENSIONAL LUMBER 58. COMPOSITE LUMBER DECKING 59. COMPOSITE LUMBER RAILING 60. COMPOSITE LUMBER RISERS 61. 10 ¼” THK SIP 62. ¾” THK PLYWOOD 63. ⅜” THK PLYWOOD 64. WR GRACE WATERPROOF MEMBRANE 65. 2’ 1-¾” LVL BLOCKING 66. C 10X22 STEEL CHANNEL 67. WT 9X32.5 STEEL SECTION 68. 18” DIA. CAST CONCRETE FOOTING W/ #4 BAR AND STL BEARING PLATE 69. 3½” THK POURED CONCRETE SLAB W/ EMBEDDED PEX TUBING 70. LIGHT FIXTURE 71. STAINLESS STEEL BAR HANDLE 72. WOODEN CUBBY 73. WOODEN KITCHEN CABINETRY SET 74. STAINLESS STEEL MICROWAVE 75. STAINLESS STEEL OVEN 76. STAINLESS STEEL STOVE 77. OPEN CELL SPRAY FOAM INSULATION 78. SEE MECHANICAL KEYNOTES 79. PREFAB BRACKETS, 1/2” THK STEEL PLATE 80. OSHA-COMPLIANT CRANE HOOK 81. SPREADER BAR 82. 8' 0" TALL CONSTRUCTION FENCE AT WORK AREA BOUNDARY BY GENERAL CONTRACTOR 83. PORTABLE TOILET PROVIDED BY GENERAL CONTRACTOR 84. 30 YARD ROLL OFF DUMPSTER PROVIDED BY GENERAL CONTRACTOR 85. 180 DEGREE ACCESS GATE PROVIDED BY GENERAL CONTRACTOR 86. EXISTING TREE 87. EXISTING LAMP POST 88. EXISTING CURB AND SIDEWALK 89. EXISTING PLUMBING EASEMENT/CONNECTIONS 90. 12' LONG X 8' WIDE X 3' HIGH 10-YARD ROLL OFF RECYCLING DUMPSTER PROVIDED BY GENERAL CONTRACTOR 91. 35' ROLL OFF TRUCK FOR DELIVERY OF DUMPSTERS PROVIDED BY GENERAL CONTRACTOR 92. 50-TON CAPACITY NATIONAL CRANE NBT50 MOUNTED ON A PETERBILT 359 4-AXLE CHASSIS WITH A 102’-0” BOOM LENGTH PROVIDED BY GENERAL CONTRACTOR 93. FLAT BED TRUCK W/LIFT GATE FOR PORTABLE TOILET SERVICING PROVIDED BY GENERAL CONTRACTOR 94. TEMPORARY ELECTRICAL SERVICE, 4 GFCI DUPLEX OUTLETS PROVIDED BY ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR 95. SCAFFOLDING 96. PORCELAIN CAROMA DUAL FLUSH TOILET 97. PORCELAIN HAND SINK 98. BATHROOM FIXTURES 99. OAK RAILING 3' 6-1/8" LONG X 1' 0-9/16" WIDE, 44" ABOVE FLOOR 100. ¾” THICK X 3” WIDE BATHROOM DECKING 101. METAL SUPPORT FOR RAISED FLOOR PANEL 102. CONTINUOUS PIANO HINGE 103. 4”X3/4” PLYWOOD FLOOR PANEL 104. 2”X2” LVL FLOOR SPACER 105. STEEL FLOOR RISER

5000 FORBES AVENUE DE_CON 01 PITTSBURGH, PA 15213

TEEL CABLE

URBAN DESIGN BUILD STUDIO CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERISTY 5 0 0 0 F O R B E S A V E N U E 201 COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS P I T T S B U R G H , P A 1 5 2 1 3

3/4 - 10 X 2-1/4" HEX DRIVE PARTIALLY-THREADED STEEL BOLT (1-1/2" LG THREAD)

GENERAL NOTES: 1. THESE DOCUMENTS ARE THE COPYRIGHTED PROPERTY AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF THE CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY URBAN DESIGN BUILD STUDIO (UDBS). THE DOCUMENTS ARE NOT TO BE REPRODUCED OR UTILIZED FOR ANY PURPOSE OTHER THAN ORIGINALLY INTENDED AND AS STIPULATED ON THE COVER SHEET AND TITLE BLOCK. USE OF THE DOCUMENTS FOR ANY PURPOSE, SPECIFICALLY STIPULATED OR NOT, SHALL BE GRANTED ONLY VIA AUTHORIZED WRITING BY THE CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY URBAN DESIGN BUILD STUDIO AND ITS DIRECTOR, JOHN FOLAN AIA, LEED AP. 2. NONE OF THE DOCUMENTS INCLUDED IN THE DRAWING INDEX ARE INTENDED TO BE CONSIDERED IN ISOLATION OF ONE ANOTHER. ALL PARTIES/ENTITIES UTILIZING THESE DOCUMENTS FOR COST ESTIMATION, BIDDING, QUANTITY SURVEY, AND/OR CONSTRUCTION SHALL CONSULT THE GENERAL NOTES AND INFORMATION LOCATED ON THIS SHEET AND ALL "G" SERIES (GENERAL INFORMATION AND DATA) SHEETS FOR INFORMATION AND CONDITIONS GOVERNING WORK DESCRIBED IN DOCUMENTS LISTED IN THE DRAWING INDEX BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH PROCUREMENT AND/OR CONSTRUCTION. GENERAL INFORMATION AND DATA SHEET(S) ("G") PROVIDE CODE, PROCEDURAL AND USE GUIDELINES GOVERNING ALL BID AND/OR CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS. ALL BIDDERS, ESTIMATING, AND PRICING SHALL UTILIZE COMPLETE SETS OF THE BIDDING AND/OR CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS IN QUANTIFYING AND CONSTRUCTING. NEITHER THE OWNER, ARCHITECT, NOT URBAN DESIGN BUILD STUDIO (UDBS) ASSUMES RESPONSIBILITY FOR ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR MISINTERPRETATIONS RESULTING FROM THE USE OF INCOMPLETE SETS OF BIDDING AND/OR CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS. 3. EXISTING SITE CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE 4. MATERIAL YIELD WILL BE TRANSPORTED TO PROJECT RE_ UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE

CHAINSAW

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54

1

ROOF SIP REMOVAL PERSPECTIVE NOT TO SCALE

NAIL THE 2"X4" DIMENSIONAL LUMBER IS NAILED INTO THE SIP PANEL, THEN CUT THE SIP PANEL INTO 4'X8' PANELS USING THE 2"X4" AS A STRAIGHT EDGE

AS3.14

HARD HAT W/ FACE SHIELD

20

OF

STRUCTURE EXPLODED PERSPECTIVES

TWO 28' SIP ROOF PANELS WERE LIFTED FROM THE STRUCTURE USING THE 50-TON CRANE

37

59

PHASES OF THE PROCESS OF DESIGN

60

Following the assignments, glimpses of which are shown previously, the UDBS dived into the design of RE_CON 01-02 at 315 and 317 N St Clair Street in the East Liberty Neighbourhood of Pittsburgh from concept to implementation.

Since we were attempting to produce a single family, market rate, urban infill home and a variation of the same, in Pittsburgh, it became essential to answer 2 very important questions at the very onset.

What does the current Market for single family homes in Pittsburgh look like?

To answer the question, we visited comparable housing units in different neighbourhoods surrounding the city.

Neighbourhoods around RE_CON site visited to study the market

The Pittsburgh market for an urban single family home expects 1800-2500 sqft homes with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a roof deck, a garage and an open floor plan. Our potential buyer profile and the comparable analysis sets the price point between $550,000 and $800,000.

Avatars for Target buyer Average earning : $215,000

Because the target buyer group is at the beginning of adulthood and in the process of building their career and their families so the flexibility of the space, and the ability to grow into their home is important, otherwise they will have to relocate as their needs change.

RE_CON 01 targets young professionals moving to Pittsburgh for job opportunities in the tech industry at companies like Google, Uber and other major companies. The average annual income of an individual working for Google as a software engineer in Pittsburgh is $107,782.

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+$60,000

STABILIZE + REHAB

+$90,000

STABILIZE + REHAB

+$50,000

RENOVATION

+$60,000 +$100,000

STABILIZE HOME STABILIZATION OF EXISTING HOUSING FOR THE RETENTION OF RESIDENTS

+$40,000

PV PANEL + CISTERN INSTALL

$300,000 PROFIT TOTAL $700,000 SALES PRICE EACH

Authored by Timothy Khalifa In these diagrams, the purple homes are RE_CON 01 + 02 (315 and 317 North Saint Clair Street) sold at market rate value for $700,000, the profit from this sale is then set aside by our partner EDLI into an escrow fund that is dedicated to stabilizing long term neighborhood residents, and supporting renovation and repair efforts in the affordable housing sector, here shown as the orange homes.

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What is a Pittsburgh house? The Conceptual Design and Approach.

Analysing the context and coming up with a viable and optimal solution.

40’- 0”

315 N ST. CLAIR STREET 83-K-83

317 N ST. CLAIR STREET 83-K-82

100’ - 0”

70’ - 0”

3’ - 0” 24’ - 4”

24’ - 4”

Lot Size (24’ - 4” x 100’) (RE_ CON 01 to the left)

317 N ST. CLAIR STREET 83-K-82

315 N ST. CLAIR STREET 83-K-83

18’ - 4”

3’ - 0”

3’ - 0”

3’ - 0” 18’ - 4”

18’ - 4”

Lot Setbacks (15’ front and back, 3’ side setbacks)

18’ - 4”

Zoning Height Maximum (40’) (RE_CON 01 to the left)

CONTEXT VOLUME

Contextual referencing maintains the window sills and lintels in the datum lines of the existing context. Environmental consideration and creating efficient and beautiful architectural interiors and exteriors drive the design.

63 Diagrams authored by Gargi Lagvankar

RE_CON-NAISSANCE

1

VACANT LOTS 315-317 N.ST CLAIR

2

3

64

BUILDING EXCAVATION

BUILDING MASSING Authored in collaboration with Gargi Lagvankar

4

CONTEXTUALLY GENERATED FORM

5

PRIVATE SPACE SEPARATED FROM SOCIAL

6

EXTENSION OF SOCIAL SPACE OUTDOORS

65 Authored in collaboration with Gargi Lagvankar

7

12% DRIVEWAY SLOPE WITH COMBINED WITH 15’ SETBACK SEPARATES VEHICULAR ENTRANCE

SOCIAL CONNECTION MAINTAINED BY SUBMERGING GARAGE

8

25 DEGREE ROOF ANGLE 1384KHW/M2 AVE. INCIDENT RADIATION 550 SQFT AREA FOR 30 PANELS AT -25N ORIENTATION

ROOF ANGLE OPTIMIZED TO MAXIMIZE PERFORMANCE OF PV PANELS

9

TO ALLOW FOR MAXIMUM AREA WITH 8’ CEILING HEIGHT ON THIRD FLOOR

66

DORMERS INTRODUCED TO MAXIMIZE USABILITY OF SPACE Authored in collaboration with Gargi Lagvankar

67 Hard at work, DE_CON

RECONSTRUCTING

AUTHENTICITY

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Total-Totality-All, 1959-1964 by L. Nevelson

Louise Nevelson, also known as the Queen of Assemblage, was a groundbreaking American artist who created wood assemblages that transcended space and transformed the viewer’s perception of art. She brought mystery back into the sculpture, extending the properties of illusion into its vocabulary.

Her sculptures appear puzzle-like, with multiple intricately cut pieces placed into wall sculptures or independently standing pieces, often 3-D. One unique feature of her work is that her figures are often painted in monochromatic black or white.

A figure in the international art scene, Nevelson was showcased at the 31st Venice Biennale. Her work is seen in major collections in museums and corporations.

Nevelson remains one of the most important figures in 20th-century American sculpture.

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The UDBS continues the course of action from the previous studio discussed, namely Deconstructing Blight. Since the process of design is iterative, it is difficult to draw exact lines of chronology without being repetitive. The work is a seamless flow between both the studios and is in a process of continuos development. For the sake of simplicity of the narrative and better clarity, I will begin the to showcase the architecture of RE_CON 01 and 02 as a part of the following studio named “Reconstructing Authenticity” (Spring 2019).

The adjoining image of Miss Nevelson’s composition begins the narrative of the studio’s nomenclature and explains how it relates to the work continuing to develop for RE_CON 01-02.

Miss Nevelson used reclaimed wood to make these stunning compositions that boast of a poetic harmony that is created from seemingly mundane objects.

The UDBS attempts to imbue the same spirit as we continue to collaborate and exploit the potential of designing for deconstruction by putting to use reclaimed material from DE_CON 01 and such similar ventures. DFD or design for deconstruction through panelized construction as a design and building method is an innovative approach to accommodate potentially changing the preference of occupants over time. DFD allows durable and resilient architecture that allows disintegrating the kit of parts and reusing them for further construction..This saves the embodied energy of the “parts” and prevents construction material going to landfill.

As Marlon Blackwell had put it on his visit to Project RE_ , the studio is attempting to create something strange and beautiful that is of the place.

Learning from the best, Ar. Marlon Blackwell at Project RE_ 70

ARCHITECTURE OF RE_CON 01-02

Third floor

Second floor

First floor

Basement floor

71 Authored in collaboration with Timothy Khalifa

RE_CON Spatial Organisation

Dormer window

Solar Array

Bedroom (203 sq ft) Roof deck (97 sq ft)

Bathroom (44 sq ft) Bedroom (195 sq ft)

Master Bedroom (41 sq ft) Walk in Closet (67 sq ft) Bathroom (56 sq ft) Laundry (49 sq ft)

Mechanical Room (41 sq ft) Powder Room (25 sq ft) Kitchen (200 sq ft) Dining (180 sq ft)

Double height Living (230 sq ft) Porch (115 sq ft) Terraced Ramp to Basement/ Garage

72 Authored in collaboration with Timothy Khalifa

TRANSVERSE SECTION

73 Authored in collaboration with Timothy Khalifa

74 Authored by Timothy Khalifa

SECTION LONGITUDINAL75

DOUBLE HEIGHT SPACE

CLERESTORY WINDOWS

METAL PANEL CLADDING

DOUBLE HEIGHT LIVING SPACE

CLERESTORY WINDOWS

THIRD FLOOR BEDROOM 76

Authored in collaboration with UDBS

DOUBLE HEIGHT LIVING SPACE

MASTER SUITE 77 Authored in collaboration with UDBS

Photovoltaic Panels

Low Flow Plumbing Fixtures

Shared Plumbing Wall

Radiant Floor System Mechanical Room Domestic Hot Water

Low Flow Plumbing Fixtures

Energy Recovery Ventilator Geothermal Heat Pump High Efficiency Kitchen Appliances

Heat Pump Water Heater

Home Monitoring System

Electric Car Charging Station

Transverse sectional perspective overlayed with section to show location of mechanical and plumbing fixtures. Diagram authored by Timothy Khalifa, Shailaja Patel, Kyle Bancroft and Ryan Smerker.

RE_CON 01 integrates building performance with the mindset to create functional spaces that facilitate seamless activity for the occupant in the long run.

High efficiency appliances are used in the kitchen and laundry, and a ground source geothermal heat pump powers the radiant floor system. The high efficiency conditioning equipment provides comfortable interior space with consideration of quality and life long maintenance costs. RE_CON 01 utilizes an array of 20 solar panels to offset electricity usages in order to minimize financial impact. The home monitoring system tracks occupant energy use and allows the occupant to receive alerts on their cell phone. The use of panelized construction and TAKTL high performance concrete as cladding aid in durability for the envelope to minimize maintenance in the future.

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Painting a positive picture...

MARKET RATE HOUSING PROPOSALS Diagram authored by collaboration with Fernanda Mazzili and Alex Lin. RE_CON 01 + RE_CON 02

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Ethical Positioning of RE_CON through different lenses : As discussed previously, RE_CON addresses the larger issue of homelessness and lack of affordable housing via a series of entities and their fostered partnerships implementing elaborate and complex socio-economic strategies.

The studio usually has discussions and reaches a consensus on the order of importance placed on the ethical positioning. However, in this case, the order has been depicted from the most important to the least, as I see it personally.

PITTSBURGH

Neighborhoods with majority African American pop Red-Lined Neighborhoods of Pittsburgh 32.4%-48.6% pop below poverty line 24.4%-32.4% pop below poverty line 19.1%-24.4% pop below poverty line

Redlining has left a lasting impact on neighborhoods over 50 years later.

Diagram authored by self.

Concentrated poverty is a national issue. It is largely prevalent in certain areas of Pittsburgh and this city being topographic, it is easy to just turn a blind eye on these tucked away neighbourhood that are falling into further despair.

RE_CON as a program is seeking to to address issues of concentrated poverty, gentrification, and urban blight in Pittsburgh.

It addresses, first of all, its obligation to larger picture of lack of affordable housing and launches the program as an agent to fight the issue through affordable, contextual replication of the pilot project.

The RE_CON housing initiative distributes profits from the sale of market rate construction to stabilize existing residents.

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EAS

TL

IBE

RT Y

GARF

IELD

LA

RI

M

ER

Vacant residential lots in Garfield, East Liberty, and Larimer East Liberty’s has seen a growth in development since Target, Home Depot, Google, and other tech companies have moved into the neighborhood.

Diagram by self.

In lieu of the replicabilty of project, RE_CON addresses the needs of the public and client simulataneously with the help of Project RE_.

RE_CON 01 aspires to promote social and cultural sustainability through its functional organization and use of material. The organization of RE_CON 01 is designed to sympathetically align with ELDI’s objectives of fostering spaces for social engagement on the interior and exterior of the house and cultivating a lively and safe streetscape. Outdoor living space, including a front porch, is provided to connect the home’s living spaces to the street and support the “porch culture” that is so prevalent in Pittsburgh. Rebuilding porch culture creates an environment where community members have eyes on the street, creating a safer environment, and creates an outdoor room with a direct connection to the neighborhood, connecting neighbors and building community. Regionally-sourced building materials help to enhance the identity of the neighborhood and promote long-term investment in place.

The replicabilty ensure business for ELDI as well as fostering their social agenda by promoting mixed income sustainable communities.

FUTURE POTENTIAL TO CREATE A MIXED INCOME NEIGHBORHOOD 60-80% MEDIAN INCOME Annual Income:

$46,650

23.8% of families in East Liberty are families with kids

<60% MEDIAN INCOME Annual Income:

$36,540

69.6% of households in East Liberty are single mothers

MARKET RATE Annual Income:

$156,023

79.1% of families in East Liberty are families without kids

Future potential to create a mixed income neighbourhood Diagram authored by Jake Clare.

NOT IN WORKFORCE Annual Income:

$28,399

17.3% of people in East Liberty are seniors 65+

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RE_CON 01

82

RE_CON 02

Improved Urban Site Plan showing RE_CON Replication Diagram by collaboration with Fernanda Mazzili.

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In simpler terms, the objectives of the program were designed to align with ELDI’s goals in a 4-fold manner 1. Creating an Economic, Environmental, Social and Culturally Sustainable Community 2. Developing a positive image for the neighborhood that fills residents with pride 3. Collaborating with residents and community members to address regional issues VACANT PARCELS REPLICABLE ADAPTABILITY 4. Improving information exchange to enhance awareness broadly amongst the community These objectives facilitate RE_CON’s economic model of large scale replicability, generating funds that are reinvested into the community.

-10° N/S

30° N/S

218 LOTS

192 LOTS

17%

15%

40° N/S

11%

141 LOTS

40° E/W

25%

320 LOTS

Lot orientation distribution analysis across Pittburgh

RE_CON upholds the values of the profession by executing the program in an ethical and moral manner and designing in a manner that is environmentally sound along with being socially and culturally uplifting.

It employs the idea of construction through community.

Through PROJECT RE_, RE_CON seeks to capitalize on the benefits of offsite pre-fabrication while creating job skill training for local residents. Job skill training creates opportunities for local residents, making this housing project more welcome by the existing community than standard market rate housing initiatives. RE_CON’s support of affordable projects in the neighborhood while helping current residents stay in their homes includes the community as beneficiaries of this project.

TAKTL or Ultra high performance concrete panels, are available to RE_CON by virtue of their partnership with Project RE_. RE_CON diverts TAKTL high performance concrete panels from going into the landfill by using imperfect or off cuts of this product. The material is over four times as strong as traditional concrete, will not degrade from salt and freeze thaw conditions, thus adding to the efficiency of the enclosure.

84

This makes scheduling the construction of these homes easier with less concern for the weather on site. Panelized construction with TAKTL HPCP in the form of 4, 6 and 8 foot modules allows RE_CON forwards the growing interest in off-site construction and creating job skill training opportunities for the community in the same process.

RE_CON 01 & 02 JOB SKILLS TRAINING: SOLAR RE_CON 01 & 02 JOB SKILLS TRAINING: CARPENTRY

Carpenter Apprentice $13.28 / Hr

Solar photovoltaic installer $18.98 / Hr

Carpenter $25.39 / Hr

The Living wage for a single adult supporting a child in Allegheny County is $22.35.

RE_CON 01 & 02 JOB SKILLS TRAINING: HPCP RE_CON 01 LIVING Job WAGE skills training: Carpentry

Job skills training: Solar

SOURCE: LIVING WAGE.MIT.EDU SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

SOURCE: LIVING WAGE.MIT.EDU SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Production Salary $17.59 / Hr The Living wage for two working adults supporting 3 children in Allegheny County is $17.68.

Job skills training: HPCP

Render showing TAKTL HPCP as cladding on RE_CON. SOURCE: LIVING WAGE.MIT.EDU SOURCE: LIVING WAGE.MIT.EDU SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Prefabricated panelized framing was used in the construction of PROJECT RE_ and incorporated job skill training as part of the building process.

Sources : Bureau of Labor Statistics Diagrams by Anthony Kosec.

PROJECT RE_â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facilities actively being used for job skill training of local trade apprentices, many of whom reside in the neighborhoods that RE_CON targets.

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RAIN GARDEN & GARDEN MIST SPRINKLER MANAGEMENT OF 100% OF RAINWATER

RAINWATER CAPTURE The city of Pittsburgh relies on a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) that carries both storm water and sewage water in a single pipe. In the event of heavy rain in months such as July, excess water overloads the system and results in an overflow into the cities streams and rivers.

This creates a hazardous environment for both city water quality and river ecology.

Drainage System

IN 4in PVC - FROM GUTTER

TOP SOIL

SHARP SAND

RIVER ROCKS WILD HIDRANGEA

EPDM LINER

OUT

FOX SEDGE

The rainwater system proposed will capture 100% of the rainwater on side and prevent water from entering into the sewer system.

ROOF

MCELROY METAL MERIDIAN PANEL AIR BARRIER 5/8” OSB SHEATHING 4” R20 XPS RIGID INSULATION 11” R44 DENSE PACKED CELLULOSE 2’ O.C. 2X12 WOOD I-JOISTS 5/8” GYPSUM BOARD

R60

YELLOW MARSH MARIGOLD OUT

WOOD BENCH 2in OVERFLOW PIPE

GRATE

Graphic by Fernanda Mazzili.

Enclosure System

R40 WALL

TAKTL RAIN SCREEN AIR BARRIER 5/8” OSB SHEATHING 3” R11.40 XPS RIGID INSULATION 7.5” R30 DENSE PACKED CELLULOSE 5/8” GYPSUM BOARD

R6.25

WINDOWS

475 BEWISO ANNE WINDOWS DOUBLE SASH

R4.7

BASEMENT

865” R19 XPS RIGID INSULATION

IVANY BLOCK WALL

Graphic by Christine Zhu.

R20

R30

BASEMENT FLOOR

POURED CONCRETE 4” R20 XPS RIGID INSULATION

DOOR

PELLA ENCOMPASS EXTERIOR DOOR

R30 CONDITIONED FLOOR

MCELROY METAL MERIDIAN PANEL AIR BARRIER 5/8” OSB SHEATHING 4” R20 XPS RIGID INSULATION

32 -1 HERS INDEX

WITHOUT RENEWABLE

HERS INDEX

WITH PHOTOVOLTAICS

55

PHIUS+

HERS TARGET SCORE

55

Based on REM/Rate modeling

NREL PVWatts Calculator

Indicating that this home, if built as designed and detailed, would use 68% less energy than the average American home without the use of on-site renewable energy.

Indicating that this home, if built as designed and detailed, would reach NetPlus status through building load mediation and on-site renewable energy.

By this measure, RE_CON 01 exceeds minimum HERS score for PHIUS+.

Passive Ventilation promote occupant comfort

DOE ZEHR HERS TARGET SCORE FOR CLIMATE ZONE 5A

Solar Shading Passive Strategy

Geothermal Heat Pump + Radiant Floor Heating Consideration of high

Prefabricated Wall Panels reduces construction cycle time and costs

savings

Solar Panels Offset energy costs

Material Re-use TAKTL Repurposing local materials for new value

Porch Material Re-use Contextual to Pittsburgh

Diagram and data by Kyle Bancroft and Ryan Smerker.

Water Collection reducing stress on storm water system

Replicability through larger scale impact

87 Locally Responsive Appeal to community and to potential occupants

To attain a net zero energy rating, the RE_CON 01 housing program proposes the implementation of a premium grade solar array to balance production with consumption.

Photovoltaics (PVWatts) PVWatts calculations yield up to -109.0% annual electric consumption offset

ANNUAL ENERGY USE SUMMARY

Domestic Hot Water 8.1%

27.2

Cooling 5.5%

Photovoltaics (REM/Rate) REM/Rate calculations yield up to -86.0% annual electric consumption offset

MMBTU/yr

Heating 21.3%

Lighting & Appliances 65.1%

NET ZERO OPTION Plug Loads 16.4% LIGHTING & APPLIANCE LOADS

Mechanical Ventilation 7.1%

19.5

Washer / Dryer 17.2%

MMBTU/yr

Refrigerator 11.1% Dishwasher 4.7%

Oven / Range 19.2% DUQUESNE LIGHT COMPANY NET ENERGY METER

LG 360 Q1C-A5 An estimated annual energy consumption of 8505 kwh suggests Interior that a Lighting solar array of at least 7.2 Kw must be 24.3% installed. To foster energy consumption awareness and efficient use of electricity in the home, a home energy monitor is to be installed.

SMA AC/DC INVERTER SUNNY TRIPOWER 10 98.3% EFFICIENCY

SENSE HOME MONITORING PV SYSTEM MONITOR ENERGY USE TRACKING APPLIANCE DETECTION

UPCYCLED ARRAY OPTION

UPCYCLED ARRAY

BP SOLAR BP5170S QTY. (30) USED PANELS 80% POWER OUTPUT WARRANTY FOR 25 YEARS (2030)

To promote system upcycling and material reuse, the RE_CON 01 housing program offers the option to reuse a 5.1Kw solar system reclaimed from a local deconstruction project. While pv panels are up to 96% recycleable, the process is labor- and time-intensive. Reusing this system offers both energy and economic sustainability options by diverting material from landfill as well as financial payback.

88

Diagram and data by Kyle Bancroft and Ryan Smerker.

Windows 43.2% Ventilation Mechanical and

Mechanical 9.9%

Infiltration 7.9%

Last but not the least the members of RE_CON as an architectural design project uphold their obligations to their colleagues by virtue of the environment of collective intelligence within the UDBS. We help each other learn and progress while recognizing and respecting each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contributions under Professor Folanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guidance and pedagogical nurturing.

The following is a blog post I made on Tumblr that exhibits how much the Studio influences a member, makes them think, lets them develop sensibilities relating to architecture and otherwise.

89

IMPLEMENTATION AND SCHEDULE

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Feb. 8, 2019 Deadline to apply for contextual variance

Mar.

Feb.19, 2019 Solar Decathlon Progress Report Due

Mar. 26, 2019 Solar Decathlon Project Report Due

Dec. 4, 2018 Review w/ EDLI

Feb. 8, 2019 Concept Review workshop

Feb. 13, 2019 RE_CON 01-02 Proposals to ELDI Community Planning Commmittee

Apr.

May

Jun.

Apr. 12-14, 2019 Solar Decathlon Design Challenge Weekend

Jul.

June 10, 2019 Commence Construction (General Contractor)

Apr. 9, 2019 Solar Decathlon Project Presentation Due

May 30, 2019 Solar Decathlon Faculty Report Due

May 3, 2019 CD set at 100% completion Apr. 5, 2019 Schematic design packages delivered to (3) pre-qualified General contractors for initial bid

Apr. 10, 2019 Presentation to ELDI Real Estate Investment Board

May 5, 2019 General Contractor selection announcement

May 24, 2019 General Contractor pulls building permits for RE_CON 01-02

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Aug.

Sep.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May 21, 2020 Construction Complete

May

Jun

Jul

Jun. 1, 2020 Presentation for Sale

Schedule is subject to constant change according to the project conditions. By self and Alison Katz.

91

ZONING COMMISSION PLANNING COMMITTEE PUBLIC HEARING, CIVIL BUILDING DOWNTOWN PITTSBURGH.

JACK MILLER ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

LASHANN FAULK ASSOCIATED WITH NON PROFIT

ALICE MITINGER ATTORNEY

To get an understanding of of how municipal authorities work, I attended a zoning commission planning committee and listened to a number of hearings that were scheduled that day.

Since RE_CON is planned to be replicated throughout the neighbourhood, variances will be required to be issued by the zoning committee to implement the same.

For a variance to be issued, there first needs to be approval from the clients and the members of the community. The proposal is then brought forth to a committee similar to the one shown in the photograph.

92

J J RICHARDSON ATTORNEY

REPORTER

The committee then judges the merits and demerits of the proposal before coming to a judgement on it. The decision is relayed by mail at a later date.

The committee is extremely reasonable and usually rule in favour of the appealing side if there are no conflicts and if the appeals are oriented towards building a better community.

For an easy pass, we need to make sure these issues are resolved before appearing in front of the committee.

The hearing can last from a minimum of 10 minutes to over an hour depending on the case.

93

BUILDING THE TEAM TO BUILD - diagram authored in collaboration with Alison Katz

DE_CON

material sal

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DECONSTRUCTION PROJECT

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mater

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ma

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T.I.P. APPRENTICES construction skill training

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

an

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mas

supporter

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01

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consultant

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CHRISTINE ZHU student RYAN SMER KE TIM studenR OTH t Y KH A SH stud LIFA ILA ent JA PAT stu EL den t

LI ZIL t MA den DA stu

Thomas Corbett

NINA BAIRD

ALEX LIN student

AZRA JOY Hstudent SRIN

ROFT BANC KYLEent stud TON YA LIN C KA R VS EVE dent LO stu OZ A K nt N LA tude s

R KA nt VAN tude LAG s E LAR t OB C den JAC stu N KATZ ALISO student

JOHN FOLAN

executive director

EC ANTHONY KOS student

manufacturer

sig

GI

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CMU Legal FMCS

p u b li c i n t e r e s t d e

YASH KHEM KA student

y

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UD

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& HOME INCUBATOR

Narrative : All the major players relevant to realizing RE_CON are depicted here in this network. UDBS being the core design team, works with ELDI the clients, taking into account the community input through ELDIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s CPC. The construction of RE_CON is realized through a general contracted decided by bidding, along with a team of consultants, engineers and construction managers.

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BMRA consultan

DA VE

BE

NN IK

t

01

contractor

subcontractors

K

se

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WIL Ass L FISC ista nt P O roje ct

mat eria l re -u

PAT RIC Ris K FER kM ana USON gm ent

K NA LUS ndent PO VE rinte STE Supe Site

OC OLL N P er DA anag JOR ject M Pro

DAVE VERICO Project Superintendent

JECT

Engineer

employs consultants

Construction Manager decided by bid

General Contractor

n

desig

RE_CON HOUSING PROJECT

01 + 02 non-profit developer

IA AD r H M lto RA rea

clients

SA

e stabiliza tion projects

G LLIN L PE cling DAL recy KEN of land r to c dire

315 317

s hom

leased space

Maelene Myers

executive director

fu nd s

ers

io n

me

mb

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS & NEIGHBORS

v at eno nd r irs a a p e r

MMY director eldi paTA OM of Circ rtner anTH ON les Gre d execPS ater Pi utive ttsburg h

AB HW r SC directo SKIPeputy d

D

employs subs

com

mit

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participa

CUBATOR

Delivering the project through an integrated project delivery system by open channels of communication between the client, contractor, sub contractors, engineers, managers and architects would create a successful project. This process usually prevents issues caused by design in the future, and can reduce costs associated with mistakes or misunderstandings.

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Plates delivered from McKamish laid out at CMU woodshop

FABRICATED STEEL INSTALLATION : HARD HAT HANGER IN THE SOA ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES, COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS BUILDING, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY

COMMISSION The commission project was created by Professor John Folan and Jamie Clemente, who is the senior Vice President of McKamish as a part of our Ethics and Professional Practice course. The projected is oriented towards teaching the importance and nature of the relationship between designers and fabricators and the importance and challenges of creating a ‘confluence’ - a cohesive whole from parts through collaboration between the student designers. It also helps the students explore the transition of materials - steel in this case - from planar to spatial in context of fabrication and also the physical capabilities of the material itself.

In this collaborative project, 1/8” thick (11 Gauge), A36 grade plate steel pieces are explored as semi-automated one-off components attempting to form a customized, economically feasible, structurally networked system. These components are in a relationship with each other, as well as with the local environtment.

DRAWINGS The 90 students were divided into 45 sets of two and were asked to inscribe designs on paper within a given template such that the plates (outcome shown on left) when set up formed a confluence or convergence – an act or process of merging, students will be paired and randomly assigned the development of a single metal component that must seamlessly aggregate into a customized chain sequence.

This posed as a challenge since the 45 groups had widely different design ideas and that needed to be refined and reiterated for the sequence to be seamless.

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PLAYERS CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY

John Folan : Professor (Project Head, Instructor) Garrett Rauck : Fellow (Assists Professor Folan) Timothy Khalifa : TA (Assists students in Design, ensures files are in order) Gargi Lagvankar : TA (Assists students in Design, ensures files are in order) Rachel Baker : TA (Assists students in Design, ensures files are in order) Hannah Martinez : TA (Assists students in Design, ensures files are in order) James Katayungi : TA (Assists students in Design, post fabrication processing and installation) CMU students : Designers (Draft the design for plates in given templates by collaborating to form a seamless unit. Post fabrication processing.)

MCKAMISH Jamie Clemente : Senior Vice President (Project Manager) Terry Tumulty Sr : Shop Foreman (make plasma cutter file for steel pieces) Terry Tumulty Jr : Worker (Overseeing, deburring) Ian Young : Apprentice (Operated dye machine) Nick Clemente : Worker (Operated plasma cutter and press break to bend pieces)

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TYPICAL PROJECT SCHEDULE Fabricator pays for materials Fabricator sends bill to client

Production of steel parts

Receive drawings from client

Order placed

Ship to clients Payment made

Process drawings

Materials received

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PROJECT SCHEDULE Professor Folan and Mr. Clemente discuss possible projects for students to better inform them of these partnerships.

John Folan develops working relationship with Jamie Clemente and McKamish through professional and academic work.

Drawings started by students based on the advice given by Mr. Clemente under Professor Folanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s supervision.

Template file prepared by Garrett Rauck (UDBS Fellow) and TAs of the course based on details provided by McKamish.

Project introduced to students with McKamish presentation to advise students on physical limitations of steel and fabrication.

Project budget decided at 20$ per plate. 900$ total. Material (1/8â&#x20AC;? thick steel plate) ordered by McKamish. Payment done (?)

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A single plate after being cut by the plasma cutter

Students collaborate with adjacent groups and further along the line to draft the preliminary sketches in AUTOCAD.

Terry Tumulty Jr. etches and cuts plates and marks them accordingly.

AUTOCAD files drawn by students have mistakes and are corrected first by students and then by Garrett and other TAs and are sent over to McKamish.

Nick Clemente knocks slag off and grinds plates, correcting errors as far as possible. Takes a total of 14 extra man hours than accouonted for, for the project. Finished plates are packaged and sent to CMU.

Terry Jr and Nick Clemente de-burr the pieces and Ian Young uses the press break to bend the plates.

Finished plates are inspected by John Folan and there are defects regarding burn marks, dents and sharp edges.

Terry Tumulty Sr. makes sure the digital files are water tight and sends the files in for plasma cutting.

45 CMU students visit McKamish to learn about steel fabrication process.

Post installation inspection and assessment to decide whether project is successful or not.

Plates are shown in class and dates set for cleaning, coating and installation.

Coated plates are set to dry for a few hours before being moved by Professor Folan and the TAs to CFA adminstrative offices.

CMU students continue their lessons from this project to prototype objects in their subsequent projects.

Students responsible for each plate come to woodshop and clean their plate with solvent and coat it with polyurethane.

Students come after 2 days to observe Professor Folan, Garrett and James (TA) install the plates.

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/4" 2 3 P. TY

"

SL C OT

1/2

1/2

"

L

102

Drawing as prepared by Srinjoy Hazra and Emily Wein

45째

FIXED CUT

1/2" 1'-1" MAX OVERALL PLATE WIDTH

OFFSET DIE

FIXED CUT

ALIGN

90째 BRAKE UP

1

1" 2"

5 1/2"

SCALE: 6" = 1'-0"

MIN. CUSTOM CURVE BOUNDARY, TYP.

MIN. CUSTOM PROFILE BOUNDARY, TYP. FIXED CUT, TYP.

1

HYPOTHETICAL CUSTOM CURVE

BOUNDARY REGION FOR CUSTOM PROFILE

5 PLATE PART LAYOUT

45째

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

CL BRAKE CL BRAKE

90째 BRAKE: DOWN FOR COMPONENT TYPE A UP FOR COMPONENT TYPE B

1" 8"

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

A100

COMMISSION

C M U S CH O OL O F A RC H I TE CT UR E

18 APRIL 2019 DRAWN BY: EW + SH

SCALE: 6" = 1'-0"

P R O T O T Y P E PLATE PART LAYOUT

KEYNOTES: 1. 1/8" THICK STEEL PLATE 2. HOMASOTE WALL COVERING 3. CMU SOA ULINE HARD HAT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

MAX OVERALL PLATE LENGTH 1'-0"

DESIGN

INTRODUCTION

The commission project was created by Professor John Folan and Jamie Clemente, who is the senior Vice President of McKamish as a part of our Ethics and Professional Practice course. It was introduced to us by them via a presentation by Mr. Clemente and subsequent instructions by Professor Folan.

The project would culminate in a series of steel plates that would join together through fasteners to form a wall mounted structure that would facilitate the hanging of hard hats.

DRAWINGS The 90 students were divided into 45 random sets of two and were asked to inscribe designs on paper within a given template such that the plates (outcome shown on left) when set up formed a confluence or convergence â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an act or process of merging. These designs, through collaboration, develop into 45 metal component that must seamlessly congregate into a sequence.

This posed as a challenge since the 45 groups had widely different design ideas and that needed to be refined and reiterated for the sequence to be seamless.

The picture on the left shows our drawing file as submitted to Professor Folan for correction if required and passing on to McKamish for cutting.

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At McKamish workshop

FABRICATION PROCESS

MCKAMISH VISIT

Half of our class - 45 students - had the opportunity to visit McKamishâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fabrication shop to see first hand how our pieces were being formed. When we arrived, we were asked to put on hard hats and safety glasses and we took a tour of the shop, beginning with a large warehouse where we saw metal piping. stacked steel sheets, and working welding steel.

Work on our sheets was well on the way and we witnessed how the NC file preparation begins. The steel was being plasma cut and some of the plates were already finished, with some scrap pieces still on the table. We also got to witness how the press break worked.

It was unfortunate that the full class did not get to tour the shop premises owing to logistics and safety issues.

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5'-0"

10'-0"

0

1/2

1

CNC PLASMA CUTTER P A R T L A Y O U T SCALE: 1 1/2" = 1-0"

22 APRIL 2019 DRAWN BY: GTR

COMMISSION

FX100

CMU SCH. OF ARCHITECTURE

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Terry Sr. explaining how the NC file works

STEP 1 : NC FILE

The students took two attempts to get the their indiviual autocad file to be good enough and “water tight” which was essential for the cut process to be hassle free.

Faulty drawings would cause the costs to go up since the digital file would need to be corrected at McKamish before sending it into the plasma cutter.

Even then, Garret had to fix some aspects of the individual files before he laid them out as they are to be cut on a 5ft by 10ft, 1/8” steel plate. The file prepared by Garrett is shown on the page on the left.

Terry Sr. checked this file and after setting it up, sent it to the plasma cutter.

It is important to be able to supply information and drawings reliably to fabricators to maintain good relationships, since sending in faulty files would result in waste of time and labour.

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Plasma cutter in action

STEP 2 : PLASMA CUTTING

Nick Clemente was primarily in charge of the plasma table. He told the students gathered around him the different levels at which the plasma cutter worked. For example, the plasma ran at 60amps for tasks like etching, and upto 260amps to cut steel depending on the thickness. It is usually brought down to 45amps to slow the machine down. He also told us that burns caused by the plasma beam on the plates usually extends up to 2in. and sometimes even up to 3in. Running the machine at 80amps cuts 280in. per minute and that is the rate at which the machine is usually run. The bed also needs frequent replacing since it gets damaged with regular use.

The pieces after being cut are marked as per the numbers we worked on.

Once all the pieces have been marked and the holes and slots have been de burred, the molten steel that collects around the edges due to heating and subsequent cooling of the metal, is removed by using metal brushes or press bed sander to scrub the edges clean.

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Press break used to bend the plates, Nick Clemente explains

STEP 3 : BREAK PRESS BENDING

Nick Clemente, in adjacent picture, was using the hydraulic press to bend the steel pieces designed by us at 90 degrees. The process utilizes dies within the machine that act as jigs to prevent the metal from bending too far.

The press that was being used can apply pressure upto 250 tons and has a bed size of 168ft by 8ft.

This was the final step in the fabrication process.

However, Professor Folan noticed some defects in a number of plates which led to Nick working about 14 additional hours to fix them. This mainly involved deburring to make sure that the students did not get cut on the sharp edges of the plates.

As we got to know later on in class, that Professor Folan and Mr. Clemente had worked out a pricing of 20$ per plate which made the cost of the fabrication to be at 900$ (45 plates).

However, since there were glitches in the process and resulted in additional man hours, the money McKamish received was lower than their operational costs.

We are thankful to McKamish and Professor Folan for us getting the opportunity to experience this first hand.

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At CMU woodshop cleaning and coating

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Polyurethane coated steel piece laid out to dry

POST DELIVERY PROCESSING AND INSTALLATION

CLEANING & COATING

Once the steel plates were brought to CMU, we cleaned them at the woodshop using solvents that helped get the dirt off as well as the marker number that helped us to know which piece belonged to which group.

We had to rewrite the number on the back of the plate after cleaning so that they could be installed in order.

Post cleaning, we coated each of the plates with polyurethane and set them to dry.

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At CFA Professon Folan and Garrett

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Hats hanging

INSTALLATION After the polyurethane coated plates dried properly, Professor Folan, Garrett and James installed them at the site - the SOA Administrative offices at the College of Fine Arts Building, CMU. The fasteners used to attach the plates were black oxide phillips rounded head #10 screws, 2 1/2” long; 3/4” black oxide fender washer; urethan spacer sleeves 5/16” dia and 1/2” long along with a twist resistant block anchor.

The installation process although simple involving levels and strings to make sure the pieces are well aligned, much care has to be taken to execute the same.

Post installation, the assembly looks as it was intended to be - a confluence.

Its success as a hanger for hard hats will be based on how frequently it is used. I believe it will be successful as the process of hanging the hats or taking them off of the hooks can be done with ease and it presents an interesting sight as well.

90° BRAKE

90° BRAKE 1

COMPONENT TYPE

A

OFFSET DIE CUSTOM PROFILE UNIQUE FOR EACH PART

3

2

1

1 HARD HAT STRAP AND ADJUSTMENT KNOB

HARD HAT HELMET

1

HARD HAT STRAP

2 HANGER SECTION DETAIL SCALE: 1'-0" = 1'-0"

1 HANGER PERSPECTIVE DETAIL SCALE: N.T.S.

COMPONENT TYPE

B

KEYNOTES: 1. 1/8" THICK STEEL PLATE 2. HOMASOTE WALL COVERING 3. CMU SOA ULINE HARD HAT

HANGER

DETAILS

SCALE: 1'-0" = 1'-0"

5 APRIL 2019 DRAWN BY: GTR

COMMISSION

AS200

C M U S C H O OL O F A R C H I T E C T U R E

Hanger Detail; Provided by Professor Folan

OFFSET DIE

90° BRAKE 90° BRAKE

1 ASSEMBLED PERSPECTIVE SCALE: N.T.S.

KEYNOTES: 1. 1/8" THICK STEEL PLATE 2. HOMASOTE WALL COVERING 3. CMU SOA ULINE HARD HAT

ASSEMBLED PERSPECTIVE

SCALE: N.T.S. 5 APRIL 2019 DRAWN BY: GTR

COMMISSION

AS300

CMU SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

Assembled perspective; Provided by Professor Folan

Elevation Detail; Provided by Professor Folan from drawings submitted by students. Marked plate designed by Emily Wein and I.

The highlighted piece (marked #5) was designed after discussion and collaboration with adjacent groups of Jordan Davis and Alejandra Meza (#4) and Ryan Smerker and Swetha Tulluri (#6). The groups working on plates #3 and #7 were also consulted to ensure there being no overlap of plates and continuity of design being maintained.

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OBSERVATIONS & MOVING FORWARD: Tying back to Ethics and Practice The entire process of fabrication, beginning right from the first design step was very new to almost all of us. The importance of working relationships, although stressed upon in the beginning, became evident to us more when we observed the first glitches in the process - the slag on the plates leading to additional work and how Professor Folan and Mr. Clemente resolved the issues by virtue of clear communication relative to quality of work.

A fabricator, could have blamed the client, or simply refused to take on the additional man hours but McKamish was ethical and compassionate and delivered on their goods with as much accuracy as possible. We understood that this was probably possible because of Professor Folan’s prior relationship with them.

Other fabricators may not form such partnership or share Jamie Clemente’s strong principals of helping educate young designers like us on the processes of fabrication.

These observations made me think back to the AIA canons and how the same fundamental morals and ethics can percolate across professions for all around development.

Working with steel gave us an insight into the materials limits and advantages.

As we had learnt from Kieran Timberlake’s Refabricating Architecture, the time and cost of a project are directly proportional to its scope and quality. The scope being less and the time being limited, the cost and quality was decent enough to give us proper exposure to the techniques and networks involved in the process.

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Architecture is the will of the epoch translated into space. Until this simple truth is clearly recognized, the new architecture will be uncertain and tentative. Until then it must remain a chaos of undirected forces. The question as to the nature of architecture is of decisive importance. It must be understood that all architecture is bound up with its own time, that it can only be manifested in living tasks and in the medium of its epoch. In no age has it been otherwise.

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- Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Architecture and the Timesâ&#x20AC;? (1924)

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