ARCHITECTURE MANUSCRIPT Not as homeless but as an “artist”
Sylvia Kim Clemson University Graduate School of Architecture Studio G1 Spring 2011 Harding • Schwennsen• Wilkerson
SYLVIA KIM ARCHITECTURE MANUSCRIPT Not as homeless but as an “artist”
Clemson University Graduate School of Architecture Comprehensive Studio G1 Spring 2011 Harding • Schwennsen• Wilkerson
Greenville Arts Expression Program Homeless Center To serve as a canvas to find one’s song
Concept model Canvas + Oil Paint
SYLVIA KIM
6 7
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Project Background Site Research The Program The Concept Schematic Design Design Development Structure and Envelope References Acknowledgements
8 12 18 20 30 42 56 67 69
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
8 9
SYLVIA KIM
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Happiness Boot Without Tie
Students individually participated in the ACSA/AISC Steel Design Student Competition designing Homeless Assistance Center in Greenville, SC. According to the US Department of housing and urban Development, there were 664,414 sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons nationwide on a single night in early 2008. This number suggests that 1 in every 190 persons in the United States used the shelter system at some point in that period. Homelessness in the U.S. is increasing rapidly in both the number without shelter and severity of their condition. The cause of homelessness is the scarcity of low-cost housing, lack of job skills, alcohol and drug dependency, and domestic violence. Offering design solutions to meet the basic necessities of food, shelter and clothing is much more complex than one would first anticipate. The new composite portrait of a homeless person is evolving from the single older male of the 1970s toward a person who is younger, better educated, and often accompanied by family. At 39%, children were the fastest growing segment of the homeless population in a national survey conducted in 2003. Programming for these diverse demographics is difficult. Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of shelter design is fully understanding a homeless person’s point of view. The typical homeless shelter resident is undergoing a crisis that has resulted in a change of lifestyle and the loss of familiar surroundings. This experience can effect a dramatic change in a person’s world view, impacting
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
10 11
SYLVIA KIM
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Homeless Sidewalk
their needs and priorities. Therefore, designing shelter includes services such as social worker counseling, health care, nursery care, literacy programs, and job readiness training. They also include other public functions, bringing privacy, security, and dignity as major concerns that must be considered. (Competition Program) The challenge of the Homeless Assistance Center calls for: 1. Develop a program for a homeless assistance center that acts as a bridge to preparing residents for reentrance into society. 2. Execute the program in the design of a facility on an urban site. 3. Develop a program for a homeless assistance center that acts as a bridge to prepare residents for reentrance into society. 4. The homeless Assistance Center should be between 75,000 to 100,000 s.f. of interior space.
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
TYPES OF SHELTERS IN GREENVILLLE
21%
26%
Men Men Women Women Children Children
11%
Family Family
21%
Women w/ with/Children Children Women 21%
SERVICES WITHIN 2 MI. RADIUS OF SITE 2% 2%
Basic Needs Services (Food, Clothing, Financial Help) Basic Needs Services
6% 9%
Health care/Medication 31%
Emergency Emergency Shelter Shelter
HousingAssistance Assistance Housing
10%
Job Training/Education Counseling Counseling
10% 14% 16%
Addiction Services LegalHelp Help Legal Internet Internet
SYLVIA KIM
SITE RESEARCH
12 13
Shelters and Services in Greenville
The site for the homeless center is located in Greenville, South Carolina. An analysis of existing homeless assistance services suggests that the greatest need in Greenville at this site location is a transitional shelter for families. Greenville statistics show that 70% of the homeless population is male, but currently there are four shelters that serve men. There are also four shelters that serve women and five that serve women and children. Whereas there are only two shelters in Greenville that allow families to stay together, one of which you have to have a marriage license for men and women to stay. After several visits to locations in Greenville, there was expressed concern about families being divided based on ages and the sex of family members. According to state law, any male child over the age of 12 is considered a man. This family will be split up. It is extremely important not to split up a family during these times of need and change. It is also important to be aware of the fact that some of these families have men, which are normally divided into other shelters and counted as individuals and not family members. Another factor is the current economic situation, in which many more families will become homeless due to foreclosure in the near future. The Salvation Army Kroc Center is a community center currently under construction across the street from the site. The use of the center is restricted to those possessing
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
Salvation Army Boys & Girls Distance 1.0 miles Car 3 minutes Foot 20 minutes
Greenville Amtrak Station Distance 1.0 miles Car 3 minutes Foot 19 minutes Miracle Hill Greenville Rescue Distance 0.6 miles Car 3 minutes Foot 12 minutes
Kroc Community Center Distance 0.4 miles Car 1 minutes Foot 4 minutes
DOWNTOWN GREENVILLE
SITE
Reedy Place Across Street from the Shelter
Greenville Free Medical Clinic Distance 0.5 miles Car 4 minutes Foot 12 minutes
New Horizon Family Health Services Distance 0.6 miles Car 3 minutes Foot 12 minutes
Project Host Soup Kitchen Distance 0.4 miles Car 3 minutes Foot 6 minutes
Employment Office/Job Services Distance 0.9 miles Car 3 minutes Foot 12 minutes
United Ministries Distance 0.8 miles Car 3 minutes Foot 12 minutes
0.8 Mile Radius
BUS ROUTE CAR ROUTE SWAMP RABBIT TRAIL
14 15
SYLVIA KIM
SITE RESEARCH
Destinations Map
a membership. The goal of the center is to be accessible to all by offering scholarships to low income individuals. Some families at our shelter could apply for the scholarships and utilize the centers facilities. The Worship Center is open to the public and could be utilized by anyone without a membership. The map on the left lists the distances by car and foot of the immediate surrounding destinations for the homeless. The specific location of the site has a great potential to connect the surrounding assistance centers and become the focal point that instills the efforts of the City of Greenville to serve its’ homeless and impoverished citizens.
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
16 17
SYLVIA KIM
SITE RESEARCH
Site Plan Site Photos Site Massing Studies
1. The site is an easy five minute walk to main street (main road to downtown Greenville), with crosswalks all the way. 2. The neighborhood behind the site is in pretty good shape; a nice quiet residential area bounded by two rail lines and 123. Walking by this neighborhood, from the south up Hudson, the site takes on a much stronger sense of refuge and feels appropriate for a Homeless Center nestled between the two churches on Hudson. 3. The site in conclusion does a good job of combining a sense of refuge, proximity to main street, access to bus lines, and future access to the Kroc Center. The proximity to the school could also be an asset.
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
MAIN PROGRAM
HOUSING
OFFICES
COMMUNITY SPACE
LAUNDRY
MAINTANENCE
CLINIC
LOBBY CIRCULATION [20% TOTAL] HOUSING [450/FAM]
30000 1000 20,000 9000
ADMIN COUNSELLING CLASSROOM LIFE SKILLS CLASSROOM
9500 2500 1000 3000 3000
LIBRARY/READING ROOM LIVING ROOM REFLECTION SPACE DAY-CARE DINING KITCHEN COMPUTER LAB
7850 750 2500 500 1,400 1,200 1,000 500
PERSONAL STAFF
1,500 1,000 500
MAIL LOADING DOCK STORAGE [10% TOTAL] JANITOR/MAITENANCE MECHANICAL
RECORDS WAITING EXAM DENTAL TOTAL
Greenville Expression Program
AUDITORIUM GALLERY SPACE ART STUDIO DANCE STUDIO (3@1000) MUSIC CLASSROOMS (6@300)
13,250 250 1000 10,000 1000 1000 950 200 250 400 100 63,050
5000 5,000 3500 3000 1800
18 19
SYLVIA KIM
THE PROGRAM
Main Program
Program for the Homeless Center derived with the primary attention to the services Greenville lacked to the homeless. With research on different programs in Greenville, we found that a family homeless shelter will be in most need and will serve the homeless the best. We also found need to reestablish home for children and families a safe, supportive, and nonthreatening environment. Our program incorporates the need to engage families as co-participants in a healing and growth cycle with new participant in the program. Our main program is 63,050 s.f. of basic services for the homeless including housing for the 20 families. The remaining square footage up to 35,000 s.f. can be dedicated to a secondary program as individual students will choose upon their design.
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
SYLVIA KIM
20 21
THE CONCEPT
Howard Cook Art From the Streets
I probably have a song in me somewhere. Howard Cook, homeless artist
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
22 23
SYLVIA KIM
THE CONCEPT
United Ministries Homeless Center
My first inspiration for this homeless shelter came upon a mural hung on the wall of an existing homeless shelter in Greenville South Carolina. I realized then, whether you are poor or rich, young or old, that art can be appreciated by everyone including the homeless. With this in mind, I would like the new homeless shelter to provide a place for the homeless to express their song through the shelter. Upon my research on the art programs provided to homeless throughout the states, I have found many success in programs such as Art from the Streets, and DrawBridge, and Artbridge which gives art lessons to adults and the children of the homeless. The art produced then is later sold at an exhibition and the proceeds go directly to the homeless to provide for their living. In Greenville, there are art centers that provides classes, including the Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities; yet the homeless does not have any exposure to these programs because they are only entered through auditions and recommendations. The new Greenville Arts Expression Program will be tailored toward the homeless and also the impoverished in the Greenville, offering free art, dance, music lessons to those whom never had the opportunity to become in contact with art. The family shelter with their 20 families will be the first to use the facility in learning art, music, and dance.
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
24 25
SYLVIA KIM
THE CONCEPT
Concept Canvas
The building will become a canvas to display the homeless art and a tool for the homeless to find their song as they prepare for the next stage of their lives. There will be a gallery space where the homeless art will be in display. This gallery space will be open daily to the public for viewing and also the community could buy the artwork to help the homeless. The shelter also houses an auditorium for performances of dance and music, as both the gallery space and the auditorium will provide interaction between the homeless and the community. The homeless families staying at the shelter will find acceptance through their work and also find new identity not as a homeless but as “artists.� Concurrently, the most affected from the program will be the children living in the family homeless shelter as they will get to experience the world of free expression whether they are painting or playing the violin. I remember my old memories of attending music academy where I took cello lessons. The academy was always full of students learning music and the beautiful sounds of different instruments resonated throughout the space, becoming a wonderful memory from my childhood. Hopefully, I could also provide this memory to the homeless as the whole shelter will be full of music and arts, becoming a beautiful music box and canvas.
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
26 27
SYLVIA KIM
THE CONCEPT
Program Studies
The secondary program for the Shelter will be provided by GAEP, increasing the total square footage of the shelter to 81,550 s.f.
GREENVILLE ART EXPRESSION PROGRAM Auditorium Gallery Space Art Studio Dance and Music Studios CoffeShop/Lobby
5,000 5,000 3,500 3,000 2,000
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
28 29
SYLVIA KIM
THE CONCEPT
Nathaniel Anthony Ayers ~ Homeless Musician
GAEP is a program where arts embraces the homeless families that will be staying at the homeless center. There will be painting, music, dancing and sculpting studios that enhances the homeless to find their song through exploring arts. GAEP also gives opportunity for the community to interact with the homeless through the exhibition space which will be open daily to the public and the auditorium which connects various groups. The homeless will find themselves identified as artist and will learn to free themselves from the hunger that exists in every soul whether young or old.
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
30 31
SYLVIA KIM
SCHEMATIC DESIGN
Massing Sketches Digital Models
During the Schematic Design stage of the Project, initial massing studies were done with the site. With North Calhoun Road being the street front where urban activity can occur, the emphasis was placed on giving the street front that any city deserves. Concurrently, many massing studies were accomplished in reference with the existing A.J. Whittenberg Elementary School. With the overhanging structure conversing directly with our site, the consideration of the surrounding architecture was crucial in the form of the homeless center. As the auditorium will be an anchoring program that serves as the connector for the community, the form of the auditorium will be crucial in the overall design of the homeless center.
AJ Whittenberg E.S.
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
SYLVIA KIM
SCHEMATIC DESIGN
View of the Art Classrooms and Gallery Space
32 33
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
1
2
3
4
34 35
SYLVIA KIM
SCHEMATIC DESIGN
Process Diagrams 1. Original Geometry 2. The Canvas 3. Housing Units 4. Line Connection
The process diagrams on the left show how the form and shape of the homeless center was developed during the Schematic Design stage of the project. First, many different geometric forms were placed on the site to full fill the programs and the square footage. Secondly, the important canvas was place on the forms to enforce the program GAEP for the homeless. Third, the housing units were arranged on the second level and a grid was organized around the units. Lastly, the grid for the adjacent program was found by connecting the dots of the housing units to the end of the geometric form to create the final form for the homeless center. Image four on the left and the space in pink is the final plan of the homeless center during the Schematic Phase of the project.
[Entrance] GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
N 9 8 6
7
5 4
3 2
980'-0"
HOUSING 1. Counseling/Clinic 2. Classrooms 3. Computer/Library 4. Kitchen/Dining 5. Living Room 6. Day care 7. Outdoor Courtyard 8. Housing 9. Service / Laundry
1
7
966'-0"
6
8 9
5
3 1
966'-0"
J
J
2
960'-0"
4 Art Studio 1. Admin Offices 2. Dance/Music Studios 3. Lobby 4. Art/Sculpture Studios 5. Exhibition Space 6. Storage 7. Mechanical 8. Outdoor Sculpture Garden 9. Car Drop-Off Area
36 37
SYLVIA KIM
SCHEMATIC DESIGN
Floor Plans
Initial floor plans developed from the rigid structural grid of the housing for the shelter as illustrated on the previous page. The art component of the program is mixed with the classrooms for the homeless as the art studios are interchangeable and is talking with the art gallery on the adjacent side. The movable walls allow for the free flow of the art gallery space and the art studio space. Concurrently, the homeless families staying above on the housing level will always be crossing the bridge overlooking the art studio to get to their housing units. The auditorium also serves to bridge the gap between the disconnect between the center and the community.
947'-0"
4 3 2
955'-0"
952'-0"
1
Auditorium 1. Auditorium 2. Lobby/Coffee Shop 3. Bookstore 4. Storage
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
38 39
SYLVIA KIM
SCHEMATIC DESIGN
Massing Sketches + Digital Models
MUSIC as inspiration for the steel structural frames. Looking at the repetitive order and what it seems to indicate. The workings of a piano and its’ mechanisms that makes music and sound possible. As the dampers are part of the what creates music in a piano, the structural system is the music that decorates the lives of the homeless that lives within the center and also for the visitors whom interacts with them.
Grand Piano on Stage
Hammers and Dampers
Still by Nelleke Koop - Piano dampers and strings
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
SYLVIA KIM
SCHEMATIC DESIGN
40 41
Physical models
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
SYLVIA KIM
View From Calhoun Rd.
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
42 43
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
1
THE GLASS BOX The Homeless
WOODEN LOUVERS 2 THE The Shelter
THE AUDITORIUM
3 The Arts
44 45
SYLVIA KIM
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
Concept Diagrams
During the Design Development Stage, the initial floor plans and structural systems were developed further and the diagrams on the left illustrates the final project concept. As the glass box represents the homeless and the wooden louvers the shelter, the whole building symbolizes the relationship of the homeless and their need for a shelter. Concurrently, the auditorium and the gallery space also serves to create a place of hope in connecting with the community as the homeless learn to free themselves from their situation and move on to the next stage.
GAEP Conversation between the Homeless and the Arts
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
947'-0"
955'-0"
960'-0"
966'-0"
GROUND LEVEL Art and Homeless Classrooms Auditorium
980'-0"
HOUSING LEVEL Homeless Family Housing Administrative Offices Gallery Space
46 47
SYLVIA KIM
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
Floor Plans
The new floor plans shifted the auditorium to the outer edge of the site with consideration of the auditorium acting as the grand entrance in welcoming the community to the shelter. The gallery space has moved upstairs on the upper floor which can be accessed via the art lobby between the auditorium and the gallery space. The art and homeless classrooms are celebrated within the lower ground level with movable walls, encouraging the interaction of the arts and the homeless by allowing different classrooms to mix freely.
Program Diagram
2 1 5 3 4 1
7
5
6
1 Art and Homeless Classrooms 2 Administrative Offices + Clinic 3 Gallery Space 4 Art Lobby 5 Homeless Family Housing 6 Auditorium 7 Storage
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
My favorite part of Art from the Streets is a bunch of people who have the same talents and desires that I do. I get to make a little profit. It’s exciting to be recognized and appreciated for my talent. It makes me want to do more. I love interacting with people. Being here is not isolated. I love watercolor, acrylic, a variety, also pastels. I would describe my style as international, no boundaries. I’m a genius (laugh, laugh) creative. Your mind is a vehicle. I am a magician in styles, complex to simple. I create whatever moves me. Being homeless, feeling other’s pain through my own suffering, this gives me the desire and motivation to strive harder in my art, my style. I am attracted to anything that moves. I gain strength from helping others. Hugh Miles, Art from the Streets
SYLVIA KIM
Gallery Space
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
48 49
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
50 51
SYLVIA KIM
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
Auditorium Perspective
The auditorium is hinged on the main artery of the shelter, the ART WALL. This art wall houses artworks which are produced by the homeless and also serve as the circulation corridor as it organizes the programmatic spaces in the shelter. Consequently, the auditorium uses the art wall to display sculptural works which will be placed on the niches carved out on the auditorium interior wall for display and for acoustical purpose. MUSIC is also the inspiration for the steel structural frames of the auditorium. The workings of a piano and its’ mechanisms that makes music and sound possible; as the dampers are part of what creates music in a piano, the structural system is the music that decorates the auditorium as the shelter welcomes the community.
Section Thru Auditorium
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
SYLVIA KIM
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
View of Auditorium Entrance
52 53
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
SYLVIA KIM
Final Physical Model
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
54 55
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
56 57
SYLVIA KIM
STRUCTURE AND ENVELOPE
Structure Axons Envelope Skeleton
Two weeks of intensive structure study with initial massing studies indicated the use of steel frames for the general structure of the homeless center. As seen on the physical models on previous pages, the cleanness of the regular structural grid informed the program and also made the free program of classes to occur within the ground level. I have used Mies Van Der Rohe’s Crown Hall to reference the steel frame’s ability to span a long distance without any vertical penetration or columns, allowing for the open floor plan on the Classrooms level. The envelope includes wooden louvers, the glass box, and the metal panels for the auditorium.
Crown Hall Interior
Crown Hall Exterior Structure
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
58 59
SYLVIA KIM
STRUCTURE AND ENVELOPE
Under the Envelope
The structure for the GAEP Homeless Center borrows from Miesian’s clean architectural language of celebration of steel beams and girders. The main structure of the center consists of steel beams and girders that allows for free open space on the ground level for the interaction of homeless and the community; the arts and the people; and the music and painting. Also the grided steel girders allow for the division of private and public spaces. The main structure is also covered by the curved steel girder that provides natural ventilation for the movable facade on the ground level as well to provide shade and optimize use of less energy through its’ shading. The louvers serve to decorate the simple structure yet give a fun twist to the Miesian structure that is hidden inside the envelope of the clean wooden louvers.
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
SYLVIA KIM
STRUCTURE AND ENVELOPE
60 61
curved steel girder with wooden louvers main steel girder structure attached to I-beam steel column insulation over metal deck steel girder attached to I-beam supporting roof return ductwork plaster ceiling suspended from I-beam
2nd level housing and gallery
floor finish above concrete floor on exposed metal decking and steel beam
class room 1st level open space free program
steel channel for mullion system floor spacers for raised floor system supply ductwork concrete floor slab base course of gravel concrete footing below main structural beam/column
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
62 63
SYLVIA KIM
STRUCTURE AND ENVELOPE
Art and Homeless Classroom
The ground floor utilizes an open floor plan with movable walls, encouraging the interaction by allowing different classrooms to mix freely. The ability for the steel frames to span a long distance without any vertical supports allows for this free interaction as the music, arts, and the homeless mix freely, creating an open dialogue for creativity. Concurrently, the wooden louvers also is an element that lets natural ventilation and sunlight to also play in the space.
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
64 65
SYLVIA KIM
STRUCTURE AND ENVELOPE
Night View of the Shelter
At night, the glass box illuminates between the wooden louvers creating a beacon of light representing hope for the homeless to move on to their next step. As the homeless will find hope within the walls of the GAEP Homeless Center, they will find themselves identified as artist not as a homeless.
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
SYLVIA KIM
REFERENCES
66 67
Happiness Boot Without Tie. http://www.flickr.com/photos/silwerstar/3388497552 Competition Program https://www.acsa-arch.org/files/competitions/Steel/10-11_AISC_Competition_Program.pdf Crown Hall Exterior Structure http://farm1.static.flickr. com/69/183109328_4e588eb094.jpg Crown Hall Interior http://farm5.static.flickr. com/4016/4630618058_15fc394988.jpg Homeless Sidewalk http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/08/citing-crime-concerns-dallas-p.html Howard Cook Homeless Artist Art From the Streets http://www. artfromthestreets.com/show_08/photomain_08.htm Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Homeless Musician http://www.flickr. com/photos/rios-enriquez/3731870114/in/photostream/ AJ Whittenberg Elementary School http://www.harpercorp.com/ DEF4F9B20BAC4D82B87932FB559CC39A.asp?ccb_key=E0DC8 44F1B2B4D8CAE88294457B84BEF Grand Piano on Stage http://www.olemiss.edu/libarts/ newsletter/2008spring/08-EvolvingDept.html still by Nelleke Koop - piano dampers and strings http://www. guylivingston.com/photos/sixty/select.htm Hammers and Dampers http://www.pianonoise.com/Piano10. HammersAndDampers.JPG
GAEP HOMELESS CENTER 2011
I would like to thank Professor Dan Harding, Kate Schwennsen, and Julie Wilkerson for their support and advice.