Victoria Harrington - Architecture Portfolio

architectural portfolio

selected works

2018-2023

portfolio contents

01. The Social Facade

The focus throughout the semester long design studio was on documenting the existing infrastructure, history, and culture of the city of Jackson,MS, and developing strategies for new developments through the design of two artifacts – the joint & the façade

The Joint (left) was a hand drawn graphite drawing that was produced in two parts. The first was documenting an existing wall in the city. The second was developing a design for a wall that would adjoin to the existing wall to explore materiality, patterns, and cohesion of surfaces.

The design challenge of The Façade (right) was to use the existing urban fabric to design an infill building in that focuses on creating an attractive and functional façade and section, while also enhancing the overall urban streetscape and pedestrian experience. My goal was to create a building that seamlessly integrates into the existing urban fabric and contributes positively to the quality of life in the surrounding area. I took inspiration from the surrounding architecture by incorporating materials and design elements traditional to the area – colored bricks were chosen and used in a modern application to give nods toward the heavy use of the material in the historic downtown fabric. The ground floor of the building is designed with an open and inviting entrance, and large windows that provide a sense of transparency and accessibility. There are areas of the façade that are pushed back, both at the ground floor and upper floor, to provide a place for gathering and create a sense of community. In addition to the facade design, the project includes enhancements to the surrounding streetscape to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment. This includes widening the sidewalks, adding trees and other greenery, and incorporating street furniture to create a more inviting and lively pedestrian experience. Overall, the project creates a harmonious and integrated urban streetscape, with the infill building acting as a positive addition to the surrounding community.

02. Mass Timber Proposal for Sustainable Urban Development

This multi-use complex of residential, commercial, and community spaces located in the once lively downtown of Hattiesburg, MS seeks to bring life back to the area and revive the historic downtown. This project consists of new construction and historical preservation and includes a restaurant and bar, community market, community garden, cafe, community creative center and residential units.

After experiencing the site and the atmosphere of the downtown area, it became clear that the downtown was lacking one vital thing- the presence of the community. Therefore, the concept that guided every design decision I made was the idea of drawing traffic into and through the site using outdoor gathering and green spaces. The goal of my design was to cater to the community and create spaces that would draw them to the site.

To achieve the goal of bringing the community to the site, I chose programs that were not currently present in the downtown fabric and would serve the members of the community. I incorporated a fresh produce market and farmers market, a community garden and a community lounge with an adjacent cafe. The community garden is intended to provide produce for the markets and restaurant and offer educational opportunities for the community. The community lounge was included to draw in the student population from the nearby university and offer a space for studying and collaborating. All of these programs, in addition to the residential lobby and bar/restaurant, are connected by two main axes. These axes also hold many pockets of seating a places to offer opportunities of community gathering and relaxing.

How these spaces present themselves in terms of materiality took inspiration from the historical preservation aspect of the project and the mass timber structure. I preserved all of the brick buildings on the site and grounded the newly constructed portion with a brick base. On the exterior, I wanted to celebrate the material of the structure, so I chose a wooden cladding and screening system to provide privacy to the dwelling units and shading to other interior spaces. The structure naturally enhances the beauty of the project, so I chose to expose the beams and columns and the cross laminated in select places, making sure not to overwhelm but to celebrate the material.

THIRD FLOOR PLAN

1 - COMMUNITY GARDEN

2 - RESIDENTIAL LOUNGE

3 - OUTDOOR LOUNGING TERRACE

4 - OUTDOOR GATHERING TERRACE

DWELLING UNITS

5 - DWELLING UNITS

MATERIAL SELECTION + STAINABILITY

Carbon + Embodied Energy

CARBON + EMBODIED ENERGY CALCULATIONS

2 GLULAM STRUCTURAL BEAMS : 12” x 18” x 12’ Yellow Southern Pine columns are manufactured by SmartLam out of Dothan, AL and are SFI + FSC certi

enough energy to operate 463 homes / year

28, 477, 485 of totaled embodied can power a light bulb 197, 760, 107

5 LUNAWOOD EXTERIOR SCREEN SYSTEM : 1 1 1/2“ battens used as an exterior screening system.

3, 141 metric of CO 2 is stored in this

Material selecation must be representative mass timber construction of the building and selected with the same attentiveness as the interior structure exposure. The project must mass timber construction through material selection.

this much wood is grown U.S. + Canadian forrests 9 minutes enough CO2 to keep 972 cars off the road

Selected materials must provide warmth of comfort to all spaces weather interior or exterior. aesthetic qualities of the materials should not stimulating; they should be minimal and natural

EXPLODED SECTION ASSEMBLY AXONOMETRIC

RESIDENT PLAZA

Carbon + Embodied Energy Calculations

28, 477, 485 MJ of totaled embodied energy

enough energy to operate 463 homes / year

this much wood is grown in U.S. + Canadian forrests in 9 minutes

can power a light bulb for 197, 760, 107 hrs

3, 141 metric tons of CO 2 is stored in this wood

enough CO2 to keep 972 cars off the road / year

Calculations

by certi-

3 CROSS LAMINATED TIMBER PANEL : 5’ x 12’ x 6”

3-ply Yellow Southern Pine CLT panels are manufactured by SmartLam out of Dothan, AL. Product is SFI + FSC certified.

6 KEYBONY EXTERIOR DECKING : 7/8” x 5 3/8” Kebony decking boards. Boards are naturally modified using a bio-based liquid to enhance the wood cell walls and give it hardwood characteristics representative of the and must be decision of must celebrate its selection. warmth and a sense exterior. The not be over

1/2” x system.

and &

03. Architecture for Climate Change +

Adaptation - Community Center + Storm Shelter

This project, located in a coastal city near the Gulf of Mexico, consists of a community center that can be used as a storm shelter and disaster relief center during and after tropical storms and hurricanes - natural disasters this area faces annually. The project incorporates transitional housing for members of the community displaced during the storms to stay until they have recovered and revived from the disaster. The focus of this project was on designing for change throughout time including changes in programmatic needs, changes in the climate and changes the site may physically undergo during a natural disaster. My design aimed to target each of the challenges in these areas.

The main entrances into the lobby are proceed by plazas that engage with the community and create outdoor spaces for gathering. These plazas would also serve as a distribution after a hurricane to supply the members of the community with essential items and food to help them survive the aftermath of the storm. The interior spaces focus on versatility and flexibility of spaces. The long, undulating plan of the community center houses interior spaces such as classrooms, offices, meeting rooms and event space with small gathering spaces nestled throughout. The in-between, gathering spaces are visually connected to the outdoors and by providing area for the community to meet and work or relax and connect with each other.

The transitional housing also takes into consideration the changing climate and cater to the life cycle of the community before, during, and after a storm. The foundations for the housing before a storm are platforms designed to be used by the community to hold farmers market, art festival, or as place to go sit, relax, and enjoy being among nature and the community. Immediately following a hurricane each platform would receive two housing units for the families that were displaced and left homeless by the storm to use. These housing units are designed to provide shelter for the families even beyond this site.

TRANSITIONAL HOUSING FLOOR PLAN

Climate Considerations + Solutions

Envelope + Cladding

Taking into consideration the harsh southern sun and focusing on how to decrease heat gain in the building, I chose for the southern and southeastern wall to be a thermal massing wall to absorb heat throughout the day and regulate the interior temperature. Cross ventilation and the cladding system also aid in temperature regulation inside the building. When making decisions about the cladding, I wanted to incorporate permanent shading where glazing was placed foe the purpose of making a connection to the outdoors. To achieve this, I chose to clad the facades with wooden slats. These slats expand and contract away from and towards the building in different areas to create shaded exterior spaces. They also expand and contract away from and towards each other to provide different levels of privacy and shading for the glazed interior spaces. The screen pulls away on the south façade to create shaded outdoor circulation. On this same façade the screen acts as an additional anchor to strengthen the structure and the roof against harsh hurricane winds that come from the south and rotate counter clockwise.

Site + Vegetation

The placement of the community center on the highest part of the site took into consideration the possibility of a rising flood plain, but this placement also allowed the building to engage the street and the plaza to draw in and transition the community into the building. The position of the building on the site also takes advantage of the solar position throughout the day and year. In order to combat water collection and runoff and to prevent flooding during a hurricane, I manipulated the topography to create a bioswale that would collect water and naturally filter it and introduce more native grasses into the site. I strategized to reserve and restore the environment by raising the foundation to reduce the buildings footprint and using native plants in the landscaping to enhance the natural habitat

04. Dwelling in the City

A Proposal for Urban Living

Located on Clinton St. in Chicago, IL, this project is an apartment building with dwelling units that cater to single, young entrepreneurs moving to the city to start a career.

This project was designed to be an apartment building for budding, young professionals situated in an infill lot in downtown Chicago, IL. The constraints of the site and the process of designing in an urban fabric challenged what it meant to dwell and the necessary amenities for dwelling comfortably. I generated the following definitions and manifesto, through research and experiences of dwelling, to outline the intentions that drove my design of the units and the procession to them.

dwelling (n) : a place of shelter and comfort that encompasses the needs and desires of the inhibitor and allows routine to go beyond being mundane and be appreciated

1. The journey to the dwelling must solicit anticipation of the experience to be had in the dwelling unit. The path must be just as full of excitement and intention as the dwelling unit. The feeling of comfort must be coherent throughout the entire complex but moments of adventure must exist.

2. Create a dwelling unit that is practical for many types. A space appropriate for any inhabitant; one that can form to the preferences of a dweller. A place that is pragmatic but is suitable for interpretation and alteration where necessary.

3. The layout must be compelling and the placement of details intentional to ensure the same experience no matter where a space is entered or inhabited. Just as much attention should be given to the small strokes as is to the large moves.

4. Art is to be introduced into design, whether in small or large scale, while practicality is kept in mind. Both must be present but balanced to compliment each other and prevent the space from lacking order or character.

5. The communal spaces, integrated throughout the dwelling units, must be large and inviting to welcome residents to create more than just a building to be lived in but a community to live amongst.

05. Concrete Realities Design Charrette

The focus when making the preliminary concept models began with the study of light against curves in organic forms to create contrasts of dramatic shadows against illuminated surfaces. This lead to light studies using charcoal drawings where we observed the gradi-ents of light within the space. With these design objectives and studies, a form was created that was representative of a piece of fabric that was blown in the wind. We found that with this form, all design requirements could be achieved by fluid motions. The movements in the “fabric” could form to embrace the body, hold water, and grasp an object as required. These would dictate the reflection of light and would limit the view to the outside. The structure is made of two parts that are not touching but are nested together to let light in. This also allows for a view to be framed.

The desired experience inside the space drove many design decisions. This is meant to be a space to disconnect with the outside world and connect with oneself. The entrance is short and narrow so one must duck to enter. As one passes through the threshold, the world is consciously behind them and new perspectives and ideas can be discovered. The closed off entrance hides a view that cannot be seen from the outside so as one enters their eyes are metaphorically opened to a different view of the world. To allow for reflection, we created a shelf like structure to hold a notebook and pen so the thoughts had in the space can be recorded and remembered. As one is in the space, they can be calmed by the water that is collected and held by a fold in the structure.

06. House on a Hill

Residence on Little Mountain

Nestled in the western slope of Little Mountain at Jeff Busby Park in Ackerman, Mississippi this two bedroom, two bath, retirement residence was designed to pay respect to the site as it descends with the slope and is constructed with natural and local materials. The primary views of the site, to the west, drove every aspect of the design of this residence.

Upon entering the residence, one has views through the main living spaces and the glazed western façade into the beautiful vistas beyond. The large windows on the southern and western facades not only provide and indooroutdoor experience inside the house but they utilize cross ventilation to allow for passive cooling during the spring, summer, and fall seasons. The open floor plan allows one to see the views from any corner when on the living floor of this house. One can descend into private master suite where there are more views into the landscape and access to the outdoors and into sunroom on the corner of the southern and western facade that utilizes the low winter sun to heat the space so one can still experience the outdoors during the cold summer months.

07. Study of Light Manipulation in Indoor + Outdoor Spaces

This project was the compilation of the study of basic compositional rules and direct v indirect light studies to create two distance but intermingled spaces – and indoor, contemplative gallery and an outdoor, meditative sculpture garden.

The project began with a study of the composition and relationships between proportion of squares – a clustered composition was chosen. The solid shapes of the final composition were used to create the floor plan of both spaces. To develop the elevations, a series of extrusions of the floor plan were produced and light studies were preformed to configure forms that provided both natural light and shade to the necessary spaces. The voids of the composition were used, in addition to water features, to create a path in which one would circulate throughout the space. The idea of solids and voids were maintained in the elevations of the gallery through the use of materials. The north and south facades were glazed to give a light, transparent, and inviting presence while the east and west facades are solid, stone rectilinear shapes of different sizes to create a heavy appearance from opposing views.

Dwelling Equipment

The challenge was to design a dynamic solution for a dwelling place that interacts with the stair in a compelling yet comfortable fashion.

The design focus was to create a dwelling piece that could be enjoyed for brief moments or relaxed in for extended periods of time to fit the needs of a user. The solution to this was a moveable chair that could progress with the intentions of the user. The slats that create the back of this chair seamlessly collapse into the slats creating the seat of the chair to offer a second seating option, a stool.

EQUIMENT USED AS CHAIR

EQUIPMENT USED AS STOOL