Portfolio_Meghan O'Shea

Meghan O’SheaB. Arch. at Pratt Institute

Contents

Design I: Fall 2012

Design II: Cultural exchange: Spring 2013

Representation II: Casa Garau Agusti: Spring 2013

Representation III: Rebranding Sony, Streamline: Fall 2013

Design III: Wave Hill Academy: Fall 2013

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Design V: Graduate Dormitory, Specifically Mundane: Fall 2014 Pg. 16-21

Design I: Fall 2012Professor: Robert Brackett III

Isometric ElevationMeghan O’Shea:: prof. Robert Lee Backett /|\ Project 510'4'0' 20'

Section C-CMeghan O’Shea:: prof. Robert Lee Backett /|\ Project 510'4'0' 20'

The generation of my project consists of a series of processes and rules based one upon the other. It began with the succession of the pencil drops, then translated into line diagrams, to deformed paper models using verbs from Richard Serra, and then into digital models. From there, the digital models were photographed and used to create collages, which then were translated into digital models, and finally into small paper model “cells.” These cells were then aggregated into “permutations,” which we took sections of and connected the sections to form lofted volume systems. This is the point when my own intuition was allowed to come into play. The volumes became the “site” for the project. The site became an extremely irregular shape. I decided to build around it, using the crevices and caverns as spaces for occupation, and weaving the pathways around the extending limbs. By aggregating my structures in this orientation, a large portion of the site became background to the architecture, serving as a large, cliff-like terrain encompassing the structures themselves. As a result, the amount of architecture underground became nearly equal, if not more, than the architecture above ground. I began with the idea of having a secluded space, with room enough for one to three people to gather and relax, followed by a hybrid space, consisting of an outdoor deck and a small indoor area for thinking and gathering, and finally a high intensity large gathering space that could be used for various purposes. I was drawn to the idea of the connections between the spaces being the focal point, rather than the spaces themselves. By classifying the connections aslow intensity, hybrid intensity, and high intensity, depending on the speed of human motion intended, along with the direction and destination of the pathways, I created a series of transitions varying in speed, altitude, and intimacy.2

Section AMeghan O’Shea:: prof. Robert Lee Backett /|\ Project 510'4'0' 20'

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Plan BMeghan O’Shea:: prof. Robert Lee Backett /|\ Project 510'4'0' 20'

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Section B-BMeghan O’Shea:: prof. Robert Lee Backett /|\ Project 510'4'0' 20'

Section A-AMeghan O’Shea:: prof. Robert Lee Backett /|\ Project 510'4'0' 20'

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Plan AMeghan O’Shea:: prof. Robert Lee Backett /|\ Project 510'4'0' 20'

Ascend quick

ly and co

nstantly

Slow, observe (movement interrupted)

Stop, refresh, enjoy Continue to ascend, steadily

Continue, disperse

Enter and ascend

Swiftly descend

Rest Continue, accelerate

Withdraw, relax.

Continue and descend

Movement and Activity DiagramsMeghan O’Shea:: prof. Robert Lee Backett /|\ Project 5

Design II: Spring 2013Professor: Carlyle Frasier The objective of this project was to create a space of cultural exchange. A space where one can find a variety of different worlds every time he or she turns a corner, or ascends to another level. The space itself is secondary to the masses that form it, as they control the slivers of light that enter, and the sights that one can see beyond. Each level reveals new views, and new worlds, whether it be the sky above, the buildings beyond, or the spaces below. The original precedent was the Higgins Hall Auditorium; I was most intrigued by the five square windows along the top of the front wall, in juxtaposition with the rows of seats facing them. I then analyzed three of the imaginary worlds created by Italo Calvino in his novel Invisible Cities, connecting the features of the auditorium with the fantasies that Calvino describes. Based on the stories of Perinthia, Fedora, and Zaira, the space took on its own narrative: The new space exists between the façade of the past. One enters in isolation, channeled in, as the path expands. Slivers of light and fragments of the space beyond streak through the shifting splits between the masses, pulling one forward. Within, is a labyrinth of portals; a collection of worlds, each activated by the people within. These spaces are temporary; momentary glimpses into each ideal world. The path through is not singular, and the guiding sights are unaligned, reminding one that these realms are not set in stone. In the quest for the ideal fate, the concrete reality cannot be forgotten.

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Representation II:Fall 2012Professor: Philip Lee 2

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1: Cli�2: Valley3: Ridge4: Saddle

Meghan O’Shea Casa Garau Agusti Arch. 112-04

Meghan O’Shea Shape Analysis

This project began with the analysis of “Casa Garau Agustí” in Barcelona Spain, a residence designed by architect Enric Miralles. I was immediately drawn to the shifting and rotating of the walls, and desired to figure out where the forces —whether physical or imaginary —originated. I found that the rotation of the walls and the surrounding topography had a strong correlation. In plan view, the walls shifted every time they hit a topographic line, or a shift in elevation, in order to intersect the line perpendicularly. After passing the line, the the wall rotates again, either inward or outward, before turning to hit the next topographic line perpendicularly. Viewed in section or elevation, the building shifts up or down with the topography, following every shift that is seen in the plan. Prior to discovering this pattern, I tested the theory on different regions of the site. Starting with a traditional house, I used two regions of the site that expressed different topographic conditions than the existing building’s location. I then applied the same rules, rotating the walls so that they hit every line perpendicularly, and shifting the home in section in accordance with the plan’s transformation. These studies lead me to question whether the complex forms of contemporary architecture originated as such, or were derived from something much simpler. Perhaps the curves, angles, and strange shapes of buildings that appear throughout architecture were formed through similar processes to my findings on Casa Garau Agusti; created through external forces on an initial volume. Rather than the destruction of traditional forms and spaces, it is simply the deconstruction; maintaining the existing space, in an altered form.8

Representation III:Fall 2013Professor: Carlyle Frasier

Sony

Bitim dea ressili nvenica pertum horumus achuctam se inti, conte es sulemul egerfes tilium simpror umuliculudam prit. Maesim nostod C. Dium eorum meristi fecresuppl. consus bonsulia? Ad iuro publique vilicon tem, Catuitia L. Milii simihilla opoptis con tam norendu ctorit.Otam quistam inte contemne clus octu ses ere fauterit, uret fat, pules itemquo issinatil urnum, quonsupplis. Sp. Ac vigilin temunum videtrunum us es noves in poribut pari spertiemque nonverte, iam ad in vivasta bultis aderbit; nicaterunt, quam steriustre, que patrum perum diis los viste, C. Fuliquem ursulto dienterio consultu int dem moeris ca nox merem quitimpro, clus autus me imerica uconsum liendi conultum quitilius, viverum nius lis; Cupimo cerfiri acchuciveri in vitemer porbissa vitam.Voctus fac tam imoris num perei iam escit ine ad maximis averman ditiam dum corus ompor am satuuss endienam nos, nonscreo, quonverio in Etra senatilis, vehem quo tesust vic iam facterferum derfectuam tus hen tanum iam inum audeor int? Nos nonsuam terbis se cone in tea nostil ute imoluterena, nocribus, mene conem patis bonium ubliusses, pernicaudam

Loculi conum patil vignat. Serio potam factu viri, nitri sultoreisse tur auconvehem eribus dius. Oximus, Catum ubliena, diem iniquon audet issedo, Catemussest vigit nihin Ita, conlocu ltoratin vis, nonfic tea L. Simena, nos auc or uncupie nsuloctod mantilis imantere issa nos se acchicum host? Ficam nius cipteri ptiliss icatquos occipio C. Verferes autem compero, Ti. Eporae poernici sena, Catum publiam inum sulvis. Patum ducerorum tasdam audem nondem occia nosulia? Vivit ia avo, pon pracci potilnest et apereni hilicia nequem iaede adducta, none conveni quisque nosti, que invericaeque adhucient vit intem.Horei publiumus prartem pes terobunum tum rentis, cae iume audam aus cultilin noritum. Sena, nena, vid nerfes cons cre poendum estresi missentis patium nost? Nam nem etemuste tem adetro crionsu ltilius in verit, con host L. Aximilia more cupiontem meris. At ac omnocci public reconsu quam te, serfestrum Rommo elus consiliur. Arictum dica Scidem. merfex nost? Nihili pertior latam intrum in pubis cus, ubliciam ingulus, nero tum peraves se, ves cae medius inemovisqui caesignos licae et vividicii pra ad fac rei sti, comnequit, Patis publibus, non se inertatu efaci peri sim vis.Us is. Iquam quem. Ili pri pro habestrum ubliam

TitleSubtitleSony

Sony



TitleSubtitle

My strategy for the rebranding of Sony is to bring it back to the basics, while simultaneously giving it life and character. Sony has been a leading brand in electronic products for as long as I can remember; however, with all of the updates to their technology, the brand itself seems to have hardly progressed. They have become indistinguishable from any other competing brand for electronics. My theory is that this is due to the lack of focus on one individual product or idea. Thus, my concept became “Streamline.” When I hear this word, I think of the styles of the 1930s. The cars, trains, and even simple products like alarm clocks are designed in dramatic curves and streamlined forms. It is the origination of this form that interests me, as the shape was developed in order to create faster, less air-resistant forms of transportation. By bringing this concept into Sony’s brand, I hope to transport the company back to a sense of simple, functionality that I believe they once had. Pairing up with Ashley Hickman, we deveoped a kiosk space for the sale of our products. This space is based on a computer generated model that can be stretched, compressed, and altered to become partitions, shelves, seats, etc. Thus the whole room became a variety of different pieces derived from the same source.

Sony



TitleSubtitle

Partner: Ashley Hickman

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Design III: Fall 2013Professor: Frank Gesualdi Maya Lynn’s installation “Topologies” was a source of inspiration for my project. It simulates natural topographies divided into cubic volumes, then arranged in a grid. Through diagrammatic studies of the installation, I focused on the speed of the landscapes’ slopes, and the fragmentation of the summits and valleys that were formed. I carried this idea into my work through the excavation of space, and forming volume through the concentration of the displaced material. I initially experimented at a smaller scale, through the use of a tectonic system based on layering and aggregating material, while simultaneously carving out material to form voids. The idea of figure ground was a major factor in the tectonic arrangements. At this small scale, I began carving out individual spaces, and forming enclosure with the excavated material. I then applied this to the site as a whole by forming a drastic stepping of the land, creating a fragmentation of the spaces as they break off down the hill, occupying the voids that were formed. Whatever material was excavated was displaced to other regions of the site, thus intensifying the difference between what is void and what is mass. The result, and what I strove for, is the appearance of eight buildings in the form of only two.

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Design V: Fall 2014Professor: Beth O’NeillPartner: Erica Kolenski The site is viewed as a place of possible connection between the inhabitants of the site and those residing, walking, existing along side it. A portion of grid where the intimate is derived from the mundane. Look through a window and see someone preparing dinner or study articles of clothing left hanging to dry upon a fire escape. These elements of every day life constitute the site. They create it as the inhabitant constructs lives for these elements to live in. The woman cooking is a poet. The words she needs have left her head and she looks for them on the sidewalk.The feet shuffling through an apartment belong to a couple as they pave their warpath. Everyone wants what’s underneath. We want grandeur and fantastical lies. The site gives truth but not all of it. It gives it to the participant in small fragments, in glimpses and glances. The garden space existing within the block becomes this. Its separation from the surrounding city forms a hidden escape for the inhabitants. Yet it leaves them exposed and vulnerable to those who share the space, those who can peer into only portions of their lives. They see the inhabitant’s back when he presents his face to the city. The inhabitant looks across the courtyard and sees that someone exists inside of there. Not in that room but in that body. The body, which extends to become the room. The other inhabitant also looks over, contact is established and the architecture becomes activated. The place of solitude suddenly becomes shared space. The moments of connection exist between here and there. On the staircase from the inhabitants room to the outside. Across a void from one unit to the next. The unexpected intimacy begins to carve out the solid mass of the site. Nooks and spaces for one, two, three inhabitants begin to emerge as one ventures further into the mass. It’s about seeing and being seen.16

SPECIFICALLY MUNDANEERICA KOLENSKI AND MEGHAN O’SHEA 301 beth o’neill scale : 1/8” = 1’0”

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SPECIFICALLY MUNDANEERICA KOLENSKI AND MEGHAN O’SHEA

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Documents

Portfolio_Meghan O'Shea