ARCHITECTURE

​UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

{ART}ITECTURE

We were tasked with designing a private residence for Vancouver artist, Rodney Graham. Inspired by the cubic minimalism of visual artist, Donald Judd, Graham equates text with the production of meaning. And so, in the design of his vacation home, having profound appreciation for the contribution of a psycho-spatial tabula rasa in the generation of creative work, I drew inspiration from the 19th & 20th century books Graham turned into sculptural objects, specifically his famous sculpture: Standard Edition.

This resident's massing began with stacking of 'hardcover books': rectilinear concrete covers rotating about the Z-axis to yield private, yet interconnected spaces. Within these enclosed spaces, the stories of Rodney's life is told, and the inner life can only be understood from the paper-edge thresholds represented in the building by glazing. But although in Standard Edition it is the thickness of each volume that determines progression of empty spaces, within this house it is the programme of each individual space that determines dimensions:
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CUBICAL LATTICE

I aimed to generate space by manipulating form unconstrained by function. I experimented with a crossword puzzle, devising a simple formula to catalyze a 3D rendition of a 2D object. I assigned an extrusion factor of 1 per square. For example, a row of five squares would yield a 5-meter-high wall along its axis which corresponds to a 5-letter word on the planar grid. I then determined that intersection X-Y axes would be subtractive in nature and not additive. Thus, the generated form not only varies in elevation as dictated by its plan, but all the interstitial spaces connect in peculiar ways along 3 axes, yielding fascinating forms that inform function.
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PROGRESSIVE SECTIONS

The following progressive gallery provides insight into the intersection of vertical extrusions along the X-Y axes, and how their amalgamation yields surfaces. Some of these spaces are interconnected as directed by the original plan of the crossword, while others are enclosed, corresponding to blacked out blocks. The height of the generated spaces is proportional to their square footage, which is dictated by intrusions of black blocks. This planar relationship, once translated into a 3D structure yields varied and beautifully natural proportions.

ECHELON

This complex is designed to generate a hierarchy of interstitial spaces which vary in scale, location & orientation. Their ambiguity aims to encourage occupants to apply their own program onto the tabula rasa. The open spaces range from smaller, private balconies, to semi-private spaces shared b/w multiple units to larger spaces accessible to the entire floor plate, & these neighbourly interactions create a variety of micro-communities in the larger context of the building.

1111  MELVILLE

How does one reinvigorate a dark, neglected courtyard shared by multiple commercial buildings in Downtown Vancouver's busy business district? How does one accommodate the odd, triangular shape of the site whilst taking circulation, light, ventilation and function into consideration? That was our task for 1111 Melville Street -- one small, peculiar site: countless fascinating renditions.

SITE LIGHT ANALYSIS

The following model is a composite of 16 separate models, each of which corresponds to a daytime quadrant (9am, noon, 3pm, 6pm) for all 4 seasons. The separate models were combined to yield a 3-Dimensional representation of natural light exposure within the site. The model on the right (plugged into our site) represents the variance of light exposure as dictated by surrounding buildings, limited by the sun's seasonal arc across the sky. Following this study, we were able to ascertain how our designs could best take natural lighting into consideration so as to reduce the building's electrical demands whilst avoiding excessive solar gains.

DESIGN PROPOSAL - FOLDING PLANES

What if one were to fold a long, rectangular plane at acute angles to generate horizontal and vertical planes never breaking in continuity? The result is a soaring tower which varies along all three  axes. This manner of folding yields protrusions that serve as overhangs, rotating about the X-Y axes to provide systematic permeations for light, sight, & ventilation. In this model, two such 'ribbons' were folded to yield a pair of towers, which interact according to their ground-level orientation, and this rotational offset grants privacy to residential units through means of alternating opaque & translucent surfaces.