elizabeth p. cernymaster of architecture, 2 yr program

projects portrayeddesign works 2011 to presentthe functionality in formstudio II, ‘14, Professor: Kristen Paulsen

The Functionality in Form project acts as a collaboration station - a place for architecture students to work together. By creating a form that was both functional + sculptural, the station created a unique program.

contrasting form studio I, ‘13, Professors: Dan Clarke, Andrea Johnson, + Martha McQuade

Contrasting Form brings together two material forms - a concrete store + a wooden trusses studio - with overlaps in user flow + planned areas of interaction by visitors, workers, + passersby to create continuity.

the underground compassdesign fundamentals, ‘12, Professor: John ComazziUnderground Compass is a subterranean facility designed to skew user perception of space + time through qualities of light + scale. Light is used as a compass, allowing a user to comprehend the changing form.

observation mandatorystudio II, ‘14, Professor: Kristen Paulsen

Observation Mandatory is a design innovation lab created for University students of all design disciplines with a focus on the ideal; that if ideas are designed to slide alongside one another, collaboration can flourish.

the pausing pavilion studio III, ‘14, Professor: Mary Guzowski

The Pausing Pavilion was designed on a site commonly used solely for passing through. By creating a moment of refuge, whether that be from winter wind or the summer sun, this pavilion creates a reason to pause.

core dynamicsstudio III, ‘14, Professor: Mary Guzowski

Core Dynamics is a Community Art Center which collides two communities in form to create a core of inspiration. A dynamic facade allows users to interact not only with others but also with the building

functionality in formin collaboration with: claire breyen

This freestanding, easily collapsible structure was designed to be placed in the design hall of campus with the intention of use by architecture students for small group meeting, pin-up reviews, and individual study space. The freestanding structure allows for approach from all sides to make the structure not only functional, but also become sculptural while not in use. The ribboned form of the structure creates a continuity and flow between all programs of the space, but the breaks in its language correspond to specific program needs.

All of this occurs while creating an unique, ephemeral experience through its form. The structure itself also acts as the needed furniture for the space; forming into tables, chairs, and a small napping area. The breaks in the taller ribbons also allow for pinups of work to occur on the smaller, straight ribbons that emerge. This design used functionality and structure to create a unique and interesting collaboration station for architecture students.

a collaboration station

above: collaboration station in the main courtyard of the architecture building with multiple students using the structure without interrupting another’s use of the structure

left: early studies of form and movement through the structure as a connection to types of program

contrasting forma ceramics studio + storeThe ceramics store and studio were designed to meet the needs of designated program, as well as create collaboration between two separate forms of architecture - a heavy concrete store alongside a light, wooden truss studio space. To create a language between the materials, the program and structures of the two buildings follow the same boxed grid layout, interacting with each other in terms of height, window systems, and a mezzanine structure that bridges the gap between the two buildings’ programs. The mezzanine allows for visitors of the ceramics store to enter the studio space and witness the creation of the products they plan to buy without being in the way of the ceramics studio workers. The location of the two structures allows for a large events garden to emerge between the connected structures themselves and the adjacent bridge. This creates both a new source of revenue for the ceramics studio, as well as a unique place for passersby to see as they walk by.

right: early connection studies of various wooded truss systems alongside the heavy concrete form

below: early light studies of concrete models

left: distilled movement of two main users of program, revealing the overlap created in specific moments of interaction

below: section study portraying the overlap of the mezzanine between the heavy concrete store and the light wooded truss studio

worker path visitor path interaction

the underground compassin collaboration with: olivia coughlin

This facility was designed as a subterranean space that would bring out the adventurous side in its visitors, functioning as an underground hiking destination for the courageous. By providing routes that vary in depth, height, and elevation, the common experience of human scale becomes skewed, creating a unique experience for those who venture into the cavern. There are drastic changes in these variables - a tight, short space often opens into a tall, expansive space. This creation of multiple thresholds was done to alter the way in which the user experiences the space. Since the users are already underground, with no real markers of where they are in terms of space, the changing thresholds allows users to create mental markers of their location in the space in comparison to the extremes on all sides of them. Light was a secondary contributing factor to this. With a constant band of light, seen from all areas, users we able to orient themselves to what is above them and the structure they inhabit.

a subterranean adventure

ELIZABETH CEARNY & OLIVIA COUGHLINPROJ03C - HYBRIDTA: ANGELA BATESON above: hybrid and model photos portrayig

the use of light as a catalyst for movement, creating a compass like quality to the light

right: section describing flow between spaces and their thresholds as well as connectivity through light

ELIZABETH CERNY & OLIVIA COUGHLINPROJ03C - HYBRIDTA: ANGELA BATESON

observation mandatoryThe structure of the Design Innovation Lab is designed to accommodate and encourage the passage of ideas between one form of design to another. As these programs flow in and around one another students within the structure have the ability to witness not only their own design, but the design of others manifesting in different forms.

Students are encouraged to approach design in many different ways and take inspiration from others both within and outside of their own disciplines. This is encouraged by having a studio for visiting students, as a space that encourages students from all campuses to use the innovation lab as their own studio space and interact with other visiting students from other design disciplines. A student pin up space for formal reviews, a student critique studio for spontaneous reviews, a making studio with varying sizes of storage space to accommodate the varying scales of design, serve as other innovative programs meant to help design ideas transfer from student to student.

a design innovation lab

existing pathways on site exterior penetrationsinfluencing views final form

left: outdoor niches penetrate the interior program allowing outdoor users their own space with the abillity to witness interior activity throughout the lab

below: handcrafted models that depict outdoor programs that allow people otherwise not engaged with the interior program to interact with the building

The current site is a large, unused plot of land serving mainly as a passageway from one part of campus to the other with little interaction by those who walk by. This pavilion relies on site-specific components that impact the users as they chose to either pass through or enter and pause within the pavilion. This creates a destination for those who may have otherwise kept walking past the site. The structured, crisp form of the pavilion contrasts with the site’s current ambiguous dynamics. Though the structure stands out on the site, the blurring of the otherwise harsh form created by the textured brass material allows for the structure to reflect the actual site off of the pavilion itself and blur site and pavilion programs.

Programmed spaces of the pavilion react to this with more intimate (low and thick) spaces to the north to protect from winter winds and public (thin and tall) spaces to the south. All of this interacts with currently ambiguous program of the site, such as the shaded glen to the southwest and public field to the south east with an exposed bridge cutting straight through the site.

the pausing paviliona temporary site intervention

above: model photos illustrating different approaches into the pavilion and the unique qualities created by light + color

left: where site impacts form, such as more secluded (dark green) areas and open glens (light green) that already exist on site. In more secluded areas on site the pavilion reacts with a more closed + low form. Where the site is more public the form becomes more open + tall to react.

core dynamicsCore Dynamics is a project created in response to the need of a community arts center that will create space for a creative user as well as encourage environmentally influenced design decisions. In Core Dynamics, the design is formed by the collision of two grids - the University grid as well as the City grid. These two grids are based on the neighborhoods of the two target communities of the space; University students and artists throughout the city. As the two grids collide a unique core is created for circulation and program to flow around as well as the allow the varying Minnesota seasons to penetrate the interior.

On the exterior of this form, there are purposeful penetrations of site influences. The largest openings are created in directions of influential views around the site - the biking greenway, Dinkytown, and the Minneapolis skyline. These areas are also designed as areas of refuge that provide shade in the summer, wind blocks in the winter, and overhangs that create tension between the exterior and interior transitions.

For a Community Arts Center the ability for visitors to interact each other is important, but allowing a user to also interact with the structure itself creates a creative experience. The facade of the structure furthers these concepts by allowing users both inside and outside of the Arts Center to interact with and enter into the facade’s form. Users are able to inhabit the facade in many ways, though always specific to the interior program adjacent to it.

a community arts center

june september december

interactive

openpermeabletwo-sided

active

openpermeableone-sided

inactive

impenetrableprivatesimple

clear connection

directpublicopen

left: programming of exterior and interior facade based on the uses of either the spaces within or passersby

below: seasonal impacts on exterior penetrations of the structure

THANK YOU ,