BIOSWALE RETENTION PONDHIKING PATHS ALONG HILLSIDE TO

AGRICULTURE

COMMUNITY PLAZA

SITE + PROCESS

The way we think about the resource ecologies is becoming critical about how we can formulate a process that allows for the way we live to become a part of a larger scope of processes. Millvale’s vision of its economy lies within hyperlocal food production. The aim for the proposal is to have architecture become the vessel through which integrates the processes of producing food in aquaponics with public program (restaurant, market, community space, and a food lab) to occupy an existing 1900’s German brewery building at the threshold of the town.

The program is contextualized as part of a larger development of a residential community on the site, situating the building as the waypoint for the neighborhood, Millvale, and public to utilize.

Millvale . PA / Fall 2014 / Sustainability Studio

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RESTAURANT FOOD LAB COMMUNITY FLEX SPACE

PROCESSING

COMMUNITY + PROCESS

PRODUCTIONCOMMUNITY DISTRIBUTION

SEASONAL GARDEN

VERTICAL GROWING BEDS

AQUACULTURE TANKS

HYDROPONIC BEDS

LOADING ZONE

Aquaponics requires particular conditions and phasing to yield annual production. The methods as to how one maintains maximum yields depends on the parameters monitored. In addition to distributing food to Millvale, the form logic of the production process derived from an approximation of the nutrients necessary to sustain the studio’s proposal for a new community of the site.

The sizing of equipment as well as the existing building organized the program to maximize the demonstration and efficiency of the system.

Approximate energy input are also included to recognize energy efficiencies in the system.

hydroponics

green house

multi use space

aquaculture

loading dock

historic brewery building 01 02

01 aluminum rainscreen02 existing masonry brewery building03 dimensional lumber framing04 vertical hydroponic grow beds05 restaurant terrace06 greenhouse07 5th floor08 hydroponic grow beds09 4th floor10 double glazed facade11 aquaponic tanks12 Mezzanine13 existing staircase14 2nd floor15 aluminum rainscreen16 1st floor17 loading dock18 substructure19 primary steel structure20 market hall21 cafe22 elevator23 seasonal garden24 community flex space25 shear wall26 north tower27 food lab28 kitchen

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In collaboration with Gloriana Gonzalez, a site strategy aims at directing the local ecology of the site through managing the watershed of the site to be utilized in the processes at the brewery building. Gloriana’s proposal form logic of the site established a wedges in the proposed neighborhood derived from the local watershed to create retention and sustainably manage the watershed. A public park and agriculture spaces offer variety of public spaces to engage as well provide an assortment of food for the restaurant.

01 community park02 public plaza03 distribution loading zone04 agriculture05 hiking path

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process models

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a. concept design/ program studiesb. mass / existing building circulationc. restaurant + public program juxtaposition with aquaponics + contextd. addition / subtraction studies with existing buildinge. circulation / sequence exercisesf. composition of vertical hydroponic growing wall + circulation

iteration 01

iteration 02

final model

Through a series of thought exercises, models and sketching supplemented the design process to approach the charge of weaving the program through the existing brewery building and approaching site conditions.

The north banks of the Allegheny River have begun to shed the historically factory-filled urbanity. Across from the strip district, a place of commerce and trade within downtown Pittsburgh, and adjacent to the Heinz lofts, the north shore is a place of growth for not only a new addition to the rowing community but also a destination for visitors, regulars, and club users to interact in a design that propagates the ritual of rowing and frames a multiplicity of experiences and views of the river.

Pittsburgh, PA / Fall 2013 / Computational Design

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01 WOOD RAINSCREEN PANEL02 STEEL BOX BEM03 RIGID INSULATED PANEL SYSTEM04 WOOD SHEATHING STRIPS05 WOOD INLAY06 LOUVER SYSTEM07 SUBSTRUCTURE08 STEEL BOX BEAM 09 SOLAR CHIMNEY SYSTEM

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10 WOOD PANELS11 SCREEN SYSTEM12 COMPOSITE FLOOR PLATE13 LOUVER SYSTEM14 LOUVER SUBSTRUCTURE15 PRECAST CONCRETE PANELS16 ENTRANCE17 INTERIOR PARTITION WALL18 SLAB ON GRADE19 CAST IN PLACE CONCRETE

LEGEND01 REAR ENTRANCE02 TRAINING FACILITY03 LOCKER ROOM04 RENTAL OFFICE05 RESTAURANT / FELX SPACE

06 DOCK07 BOATHOUSE DOCK08 PARKING

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prototype - sheet aluminum

3 module types to induce air circulation vertically

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The aggregation of these modules attempts to stack modules vertically to transfer air through the system. Particularly, the folds on the bottom of each module provide an intake point for air to circulate through the system

final prototype - stainless steel 24 guageprocess diagram of concept

allegheny river restaurant dock path North Shore trail

OPACITY

TRANSPARENCY

Through exploring folded steel as a aggregated component, the design of the facade system induces ventilation across the building through the solar chimney effect. The direct gain of the material generated the parameters for the orientation of the facade to access the potential for stack ventilation. The variation across the facade directly related to views and openings to site and function.

Prototypes of the southern solar chimney facade investigated fabrication methods and processes.

process: solar chimney facade system

With the opportunity to utilize the Burdett Assistantship towards a project, I set the charge to offer the school a piece of furniture to use for students and faculty. Given the space near the studios of the first two years of the program, the design of the table derives to answer how a table can offer different scales of behavior, collaboration, or work. The process of understanding use and scale derived from three different scales of behavior: a single user, a dialogue between two, and a large group discussion. Details of the leg connections evolved from a necessity to assemble the structure in the space as a result of the scale and asymmetrical shape. Additionally, small details in the top offer guides for user’s computer cords as this space may be used to work or give presentations. Ultimately, the table will activate this underutilized space.

COLLABORATION TABLE

Independent Study / Spring 2015 + current

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process

The design iterations aimed at resolving the treatment of the elements of the table, constructibility, and materiality. A waffle grid introduced an increase in rigidity in the table surface, and resolved issues of the leg structure. Although this strategy offered solutions to the composition and constructibility, later iterations organized the legs and table surface as more distinct elements.

Accommodation of students and faculty is incorporated into the design through the detail of the table surface. Four slots offer organization of computer cords from the table to the floor as well implying work zones.

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A semester long project assessed energy retrofit opportunities in Hazelwood, a poor neighborhood of Pittsburgh for wood frame construction housing. Working with a client and an original $7,500 budget, our group responded to feedback to deliver a proposal that offers the neighborhood added value to their homes. Budget was supplemented across the Heinz Foundation among other organizations to make retrofits affordable to the homeowner. The scope of the retrofit is residing the existing vinyl siding with a fiberboard cement panel on four inches of extruded polystyrene. ROI and paybacks were budgeted to provide a sustainable and energy saving design for the residents of Hazelwood.

Hazelwood , Pittsburgh . PA / Fall 2013 / Issues of Practice

in collaboration with Chris Chan, Edwin Cho, Richard May & Amir Jahanbin

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4’ x 8’ fiberboard cement panel + substructure 4” eps foam + 2” shouse wrap + osb sheathingadditional flashing and caulking around openings to account for increase in thickness.repair and paint porchrepair gutters + downspout

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EXISTING PROPOSED RETROFIT COMMUNITY RENEWAL

HAZELWOOD HOMEOWNERSBOTTOM 20% AVERAGE ANNUAL INCOME IN HAZELWOOD

$12,338.00 - 16,450.00

HOMEOWNER CAN SPEND UP TO 10% PER YEAR

$1,233.00 - 1,645.00

90+ WOOD CONSTRUCTION HOUSES

Projected Electricity Use after Retrofit5,514.8202 kWh / year

after 10 years: $3,167.92 per household

after 30 years: $9,503.76 per household

HEALTH AND WELL BEING

average general patient visits: 289 less visits / yr

tal Cost of Respiratory Visits: $66.70/person/yr

tal Health Savings(10 years): $2,017.26-$3,842.40

ELECTRICITY COST CALCULATION

Typological studies aimed at identifying the community benefits from the reproduction of the retrofits. Approaching wood construction as the primary target for retrofits, our group identified key aspects of construction and organization for approaching the retrofits.

Electrical heating and health benefits are speculated to provided a quantified benefit to the retrofits for the home owners.

By including the Center for Life and Urban Redevelopment Authority, the siding retrofits are feasable with a investment plan over two years.

This specific condition illustrates the incorporation of a chilled beam system with a structural beam. In addition to the cooling system, the structural depth is used to house utility lines while allowing access.

Our proposal for the ACSA Steel Design Competition provided us with an opportunity to dedicate our attention to investigate a comprehensive material system. By using plate steel as the component, we were able to develop a multiplicity of conditions in which the structural depth was used to merge building systems and skin into a single element. As a result, the value of the steel transcended from inside to outside - unifying the tectonic expression to be read as a holistic architectural strategy.

Carnegie Mellon University’s Hunt Library was built in 1960 to accommodate a fraction of the students that attend today. Even though the library facilities have yet to expand proportionally, studies suggest that the amount of content that circulates has actually decreased with the mass digitization. This shift can be traced farther back in time to the mechanization of the printing process, in which the library sought less to be purely a container of books. Libraries, today, accommodate information no longer formally restricted to print, which has challenged the building type to reshape itself to embrace new forms of mass communication. Knowledge and entertainment are now found in an open source exchange environment serving an increasingly diverse audience. With this, architects are challenged with envisioning the library as more than a place to store knowledge but as a place in which to share it.

This design utilizes the ground plane to mediate between the various elevations of the site and raises the architecture above - allowing the building to expose the learning process it houses to the surrounding community.

Pittsburgh . PA / Spring 2015 / Independent Project

in collaboration with Jose Pertierra

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1/2” TOP STEEL PLATEUTILITY TUBING1/2” STEEL PLATE W/ UTILITY HOLES1/2” STEEL PLATE ANGLEBENT STEEL PLATE (SINUSOIDAL)VENTILATION AIR SUPPLYCOOLING COILSAIR GRATE

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STRUCTURAL BEAM INTERSECTIONDETAIL 1

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TECTONICS

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NORTH ELEVATION

DETAILED SECTION

CHILLED BEAM + STRUCTURAL BEAMDETAIL 2

6” CONCRETE SLAB WITH WELDED MESH + RADIANT TUBING2” METAL DECK1/2” STEEL PLATE4” DIAMETER UTILITY TUBING1/2” STEEL PLATEVENTILATION AIR SUPPLYCOOLING COILS

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LIGHTING + STRUCTURAL BEAMDETAIL 3

LIGHTINGEXPANDED STEEL FACADE PANELGLAZINGOPERABLE VENTILATION WINDOW1/2” STEEL COMPOSITE RIBRUBBER THERMAL BREAK

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Programmatically, this library focuses on the exchange of knowledge as more important in the dissemination of information rather than resorting to maintaining the need for printed material to be in circulation. This design proposal incorporates a book bot, a storage unit in the basement that will accommodate the issues of today and speculate the use of this space as a place for data storage in the future. Stacks of books are organized in a shelving unit in which the robot retrieves the book that the user requires. The focus of spaces for group study or individual spaces reside in majority of the program of the building.

As the library offers other forms of learning, the program of the proposal offers spaces to learn by doing. Having digital fabrication equipment along with work spaces and exhibition space offers opportunities for students to generate work flows and learn how machines work as tools to aid in their solution to design problems. The making space is the vatrine to visitors to demonstrate the ideals the school follows, integration of arts and sciences. The second bar is the majority of the open spaces for collaboration and study, accessing most of the southern light and connection other program.

Connection to the Miller Gallery, the on campus art gallery was integrated into the program as a proper entrance and additional gallery space would make this more of an attraction on campus. Additionally, on the site of the library proposal, two buildings, Warner and Cyert Hall, program, primarily the data storage and web stations are also considered. The library of CMU’s campus is the threshold to campus, showcasing the work and rigor of the school for today and the future.

process