Brad Capadanno - Portfolio Segment One

Boston ArchitecturAl collegeSegment One Portfolio

Submission: January 3, 2012

Prepared By:BRAD J. CAPADANNO

Table Of ContentsCover Page p1

Resume p3

Table of Contents p5

Master’s A Studio Project One p6-13

Master’s A Studio Project Two p14-21

Master’s A Studio Project Three p22-31

Studio B1- Project One p32-39

Studio B1- Project Two p40-53

Studio B2 - Project Zero p54-61

Studio B2 - Project One p62-73

Studio B2 - Project Two p74-89

Free hand Drawing p90-99

Sketch Problem A p100-103

Sketch Problem B p104-107

Design Connection Essay & Professional Work p108-113

Photographs p114-115

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The first project served as an introduction into studio atmosphere at the Boston Ar-chitectural College. For Project One, the class was instructed to design image boards consisting of planes, lines, dots, and a combination of all three. The next iteration of the design was devoted to developing a final presentation board based on the planes board. This presentation board became the ground work for designing a final model, which re-flected a design illustrating depth and fluid movement.

Project One:

Studio:Masters’ A

Instructor:Jeffrey LeClair

Duration:6 Weeks

Masters A

- Project One

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Figure 1 shows the planes board. Black and white paper overlap creating a transparent brown space. Transparency is simulated by overlapping the colors.

Figure 2 shows the lines board. By having equally spaced black and white lines utiliz-ing brown as negative space, the illusion of inward movement is created.

Figure 3 shows the dots board. By varying the size and configuration of the dots to re-semble an hour glass shape, the dots trans-form into the corresponding color resulting in an image of continual movement.

Figure 4 shows the combination board. Separating the black planes (negative space) with brown lines and focusing on the white dots, the visual image created is the chang-ing color of the dots from white to black. The black planes provides depth, drawing the white dots into this space.

Figure 1: Planes Board Figure 2: Lines Board

Figure 3: Dots Board Figure 4: Combination Board

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In preparation of the final board, a simplistic design that balances all three colors; brown, black, and white combine with the transparency achieved with the planes board was explored.

Figure 5: Sketches incorporating design elements

Masters A

- Project One

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The figure to the right demonstrates how taking an eight sided shape found in this board achieves phenomenal transparency. The idea is based upon a square. The edges of the squares overlap. This overlapping creates the transparency which reveals the underlying color. By alternating this rule, an optical illusion of infinity was achieved.

Figure 6: Final presentation board

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The next iteration was to transform the 2-D image board to a 3-D model. The initial model is to the left. By creating a series of squares and placing them at random distances from one another, I was able to raise and/ or lower pieces to create the overlapping image achieved. I wanted the extraction to be completely random to simulate infinity.

The frame model was then refined as shown in the solid model to the right. Replacing the frame with a solid surface the model became rigid and the random distances creates transparency found in the final board.

Figure 7: Frame model

Figure 8: Solid model

Masters A

- Project One

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The final design builds upon the concept created in Figure 8 by building mul-tiple solid units. Connecting the units at random points creates the trans-parency within the defined space and infinity found in the final board.

Figure 9

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

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The hand drafted drawings shown below are of a plan view of the model and a sectional view to show the connection of the design.

The section to the right shows the random extraction and how individual forms are placed in front of, and behind other pieces creating depth, transparency, and movement.

This project taught me the ability to use color, shape, and orientation to present images such as depth, movement, and transparency.

Masters A

- Project One

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The second project in Masters A Studio was the inhabitable wall. This project was intro-duced to allow students to better familiarize themselves with designing space. By em-ploying some of the strategies learned in project one, the class underwent a four week study to create the inhabitable wall. I define the term inhabitable as space that people can occupy.

Project Two:Inhabitable Wall

Studio:Masters’ A


Duration:6 Weeks

Masters A

- Project Two

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The model to the right is a narrow space with a pitched roof. I wanted to create a space with ca-thedral ceilings and a bench for resting which is sup-ported by columns. The model was created using chip board and due to the weight of the chip board the model collapsed on itself. After the collapse, a phenomenon happened that I wanted to explore more intensely: the art of folding. By exploring the art of folding, I can find the strengths, weaknesses, and maximum bending point of folding a material such as chip board.

Initial sketches to the right show different spaces created by folding a material. Through these sketches, I learned that by folding a material in different configurations, niches can be created becoming places to sit. These niches can become an intimate, private space separating itself from the rest of the structure. Folding a material at non right angles creates weaknesses in the material that need to be supported by braces.

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Showing human scale in different positions helped me deter-mine space required for occupancy in the Inhabitable Wall. By using a person approximately 5’-10”, I was able to envision how a person would comfortably move throughout my design.

Masters A

- Project Two

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I chose to use chip board as the material for my project to see how this would fold and bend to make structural shapes. By sketch-ing and then modeling these strategies, I was able to create a system. The system for the Inhabitable Wall (top & bottom right) is based on a rectangular shaped piece of chip board. The chipboard is then scored in half on one side which serves as the axis of rotation. Equally spaced triangles are then drawn on both sides of the chipboard. Lines are then scored as shown in the diagram, the hidden lines are showing the direction of scoring on the reverse side. The material is folded and the shaped is created. This system provided the most flexibility in design and is the most durable due to the counter forces of the folds. I achieved through this system, the ability to create space with a self sufficient design.

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The top left sketch is a preliminary design of the Inhabit-able Wall. The curvature design to the left is created by allowing the system to move freely.

I envisioned this system as being frosted glass panels with steel supports. The folds in chipboard are where steel supports are located. I thought of steel for it can be hollow, light weight, strong, and durable. The frosted glass serves as a barrier to public and private. The wall is outdoors in a public area and the panels will be translucent allowing sunlight in, and creating privacy within.

Below is a hand drawn axonometric showing the tecton-ics of the system. The support frame is steel rods with inserts shaped into the steel. The glass is to inserted into the steel rods and a rubber gasket holds the glass in place and creates a watertight seal.

Masters A

- Project Two

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I wanted people to interact with the design so I cre-ated two entrance points for fluid movement. These locations are conjoined by an overhead canopy. The plan to the right shows an ‘S’ shape form. Each area has benches along the wings allowing people to sit. The canopy is a transnational space allowing people to pass from one side to the other, and providing shade and shelter from the weather. The openness allows people to move throughout the inhabitable wall.

An elevation shows the height of the space and trian-gular pattern of the material.

A section cutting through the canopy showing human interac-tion.

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The different views of the Inhabitable Wall shows the concept of folding imple-mented into the design to create space. The model was created out of one long piece of chipboard. The maximum bending point is at the overhead canopy. Here the system folds over itself, twists, and return to the other side creating the other wing/wall. I designed this as a one piece system without the use of glue or binding agents.

During this project, I manipu-lated a material to create space and find its maximum bending point through the concept of folding. By specifying a material that alters the appearance of the facade, I was able to create space within space.

Masters A

- Project Two

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Project Three’s program consisted of creating a museum for students within our studio to display their artwork. The artwork comes from the students interpretation of music we were assigned to listen to. The class was given a choice of ten songs. From the ten songs, we individually chose six and than narrowed the selection to two of which we liked. From the two songs, the class developed models which became the design of the muse-um. The project starts with an analysis of an assigned vacant site to the right of Sonsie and across from the Boston Architectural College on Newbury Street in Boston, MA, then culminates with the final museum design.

Project Three:Museum For The Students

Studio:Masters’ A


Duration:6 Weeks

Masters A

- Project Three

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As a group, the class visited the existing site to take photographs and field measurements. To access the site you enter down an alleyway on Hereford Street. Our site is an existing parking lot that is between Sonsie and the real estate building on the corner of Newbury and Her-eford Street. The site is long and narrow. To access Newbury Street from the site, you need to go up a set of stairs. During the weekends people sell there artwork along the brick wall that separates the site from Newbury Street. This gave me a feeling that the newly design building needs to represent the art influenced atmosphere around the site. The surrounding buildings include a restaurants, businesses, and apartments. The existing buildings are constructed out of masonry brick. By finding the height of one brick and multiplying all vertical bricks by the one bricks height we were able to determine the building heights. Three bricks with mortar joints equaled eight inches.

Base drawings of the surrounding area where created by hand including a site plan, elevations, and sections. These base drawings become under-layments as I begin designing for my museum.

Site Plan

Front Elevation Facing Newbury Street

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After the site visit, the class was assigned ten songs to listen to. The songs are instrumental with no vocals and varied from rock to classical. We were to chose six of the ten and then sketch our interpretation of the song as a 2-D design.

Music # 1. The music started off with a lot of heavy bass. The long shaft is pauses in the music with thin blue lines wrapping as soft moments of bass. The song ended with fast percussion shown in thick blue lines. Using lines represented the string cords in the song and the colors represent how hard or light the instrument was struck.

Music # 2. The music started off very monotone tune which remained constant throughout the song. The brown lines represent a stringed instrument and the red lines represent an air instrument.

Music # 3. I interpreted this piece as starting off very slow and ending very fast. I compared this song to ice and fire (slow and fast) and I designed an elemental shape showing this. The shape of the body is uniform and steady (slow) reaching the peak with is random and unpredictable (fast).

Music # 4. The song was very dramatic for it has a melody that remained constant but with a dark scratchy tune and strong piercing notes. I drew this with hard, random lines to represent the pierc-ing, scratchy tune.

Music # 5. There is light background music with emphasis on a xylophone being struck ever so lightly to create a melancholy and monotone song which is beautiful and very relaxing. To represent this I used cool colors with very light strokes striking an object. When I listened to this song it felt like light rain hitting an object.

Music # 6. The song features alternating sound waves with a faint background that remains constant as the instruments intertwines through one another.

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5 6

Masters A

- Project Three

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I chose song 1 and 5 to create a 3-D model to rep-resent the music I heard.

1. I created this object with a strong base simulat-ing the heavy bass at the beginning of the song. The winding band wrapping around an irregular tube simulates the pauses in music and soft moments of bass. The top is a twisting, curvature piece emulat-ing the percussion sounds. I created this model with thick bass wood sticks for the intricate unique base. I wrapped wire mesh around three foam balls and added a curve to the shape to give the irregu-lar appearance. I boiled water and with wide bass wood, I began to shape the wrapping effect around the model for the moments of bass. To create a unique finish to the model I took another piece of wide bass wood and twisted and wrapped the wood on itself to create the fast percussion I heard in the music.

5. I created a simple model here to represent light-ness and elegance of the song. The center piece hangs from wire which is held in suspension by wires above and below. The wires are representative of the rain hitting an object.

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This is when the program of the museum was introduced. The class was instructed that their music model is being used as the concept for design, and the artwork in the museums. Each of my fellow classmates cre-ated a criteria that I needed to include in my museum to display their work. Some of the criteria included lighting, sunlight, no sunlight, open space, and suspension from the ceiling.

I have found in all student’s artwork an or-ganic element; one had rocks and needed to be seen looking down, one had clear walls alternating in size with green track lighting, another one was balls stringed together and hung from the ceiling. I took the organic features and integrated these into my music model. The shape and design of my mu-sic model translates into the design of my museum.

To transfer the music model into a building design, I created several models shown to the right. I took elements that I found strong in each model and transferred them into the final product. The model to the far right shifts like the music model.

Masters A

- Project Three

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The final project consisted of floor plans, sections, elevations, site plan, perspectives, an axonometric drawings, and various models.

Using the circular shape of my music model, I choose to place each students’ artwork on their own floor because I wanted each piece to be viewed separately. The narrow design of my building allows each students art piece to be shown as intended. My artwork is on the seventh floor for it represents the culmination of the artwork in the building, and the building is based off of my music model.

The building sits on columns representative of the strong base in the model and heavy bass in the song. The first floor and entrance to the building is on Newbury Street because the entrances to the surrounding buildings are found on Newbury Street. I choose to keep the existing staircase to allow ac-cess to the alleyway. Movement through the build-ing is circular. Viewers enter the room, view the artwork, and exit at the rear of the building where there is a staircase that wraps around the building bringing you up to the next level entering from the side. This circulation allows people to comfortably view the artwork at their own pace, leave, and move to the next piece at their own leisure.

I arranged the artwork to enhanced the experience of the building. I was able to incorporate their artwork into my vision of an organic shape such as a tree. The first floor is a stone piece represent-ing the ground and the earth. The fifth floor artwork is walls of glazing alternating in height with green accent lighting which symbolized the leaves and branches of the project. The sixth floor is a hang-ing structure with interconnecting wires and balls symbolizing the sky and stars. The seventh floor is my artwork (music model) reaching the pinnacle of my building.

1st Fl. 2nd Fl.

3rd Fl. 4th Fl. 5th Fl.

6th Fl. 7th Fl. Roof

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Front Elevation

Site Plan

I chose to keep the ally open for parking spaces for the museum. The existing staircase allows for access from the lower alleyway to the Museum on Newbury Street.`

Axonometric view of the Museum

Section Through Newbury StreetThe section shows the building twisting as in my music model. I tilted the middle two floors toward Newbury Street creating a movement in the build-ing and an observation point viewing the pedestrians below. I then tilted the building back on itself to regain its vertical composure.

Masters A

- Project Three

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From this project I gained the ability to create architecture integrating an interpretation from sound into building design. I was able to create building design, based upon a set of specific criteria for the space within the building. By incorporating their space within my design, I was able to create a build-ing that met their requirements as well as my design intent.

Masters A

- Project Three

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Project One engages the students to analyze a 20th century building of their choice from a provided list. The intent of this project is to understand the nature of diagramming as a tool to represent architecture. The project culminates with a transformation assignment where I choose to eliminate an element in order to strengthen the original design intent.

Project One:Building AnalysisBerkowitz-Odgis House

Studio:B1

Instructor:Daniel Steger

Duration:6 Weeks

B1 Studio Project One

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I chose to work on the Berkowitz-Odgis House located in Martha's Vineyard, MA designed by Steven Holl. This architect interested me because I study in Massachu-setts and wanted to study an architect who worked in Massachusetts and understands the area and history.

A full set of architectural documents needed to be assembled before the analysis of the building began. Taking plans from a book in the library, I scaled the documents and developed a working set. While drafting, I imagined people circulating through the rooms, and spaces. An observation of the design is the building is long and narrow. There’s several transitions where you need to step down which immerses you in another portal of the house. The most compelling space is the projecting triangular dining room that overlooks the ocean. The dining room also features two doorways that lead outside to the walkway that spans the length of the house. My interpretation is Holl chose to have the dining room windows angled having views facing the ocean as opposed to straight across.

LEGEND:1. Main Entrance2. Patio Entrance3. Mud Room4. Dining Room5. Private Rooms6. Living Room7. Kitchen8. Outdoor Patio9. Roof Patio

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My interpretation of the elevation and sections to the left is Holl wanted to have the building become integral to land elevation.

In a biography of Steven Holl by Kenneth Frampton, I read that the concept of the Berkowitz-Odgis house came from the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville. In Moby Dick, natives turned a beached whales skeleton into an inside-out balloon frame structure creating shelter. The elevations show the exposed wood members resembling the beached whale. The face is the front of the building, the blow hole is the chimney that exhausts smoke, and the tail is at the rear of the building as the tower. To me this is an interesting way to approach design, where artistic creations with careful thought about program can create architecture. In my opinion, Holl took a na-tive story and created a design integrating natural elements to an oceanfront lot that in other locations may not have been so successful.

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The site was also problematic having to work around zoning, non buildable areas, marsh land, and the slope of the site. Once all this was taken into ac-count the site ended up being 25 feet wide. The site plan to the right is showing the contours of the land. The hidden (dashed) lines show the non-build-able areas. Where hatching changes is the marsh-land. The site section in the middle shows the hill that the house was built on.

The axonometric view to the right is showing the first floor. It is important to show the first floor open because the locations of the stairs on the left side show the transition of spaces. It shows how narrow the main corridor is. It also emphasize on the openness of the vast space experienced in the dining room.

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The tectonic detail below is created by having pylons into the ground. A base plate connects the wood timbers to the concrete footings. This design was chosen due to the current soil conditions. By building this way as opposed to having a foundation, land disruption was minimized and much of the origi-nal site/ landscape remained intact meeting zoning regulations.

The top right diagram shows the first floor public and private space. Dark colors represent private, and light colors represent public. The ratio of public to private space creates a feeling that the house is more for entertaining than seclusion. The middle diagram shows the linear flow of circula-tion. Partition walls create a narrow corridor that creates emphasis on how long the building and not how wide it is. The bottom right diagram is showing natural light into the building. I wanted to show emphasis on the dining room and the kitchen for the skylight and glaz-ing around the area is so abundant it creates a focal point in the building.

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The above diagram focuses on the dining room and natural lighting. The sun illuminates the space in the morning due to all the glazing. In addition it offers sunset views for the owners for the dining room is facing west, and the front of the building faces north towards the ocean.

Diagrams to the right show where natural light en-ters the entire building. Like the above diagram, I felt that most light entered around the dining room space. Holl filled the narrow corridor with natural light making a dark space brighter. There is one skylight also filling the kitchen and dining room with an abundance of light.

E S

NW

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One aspect of the house that always stirred my cu-riosity is how Holl handled the transitional spaces on the first floor while the ceiling remained on the same plane. My feeling is that the exposed beams create a sense of depth and continuity that could not be visible if they were covered up. If I was in the living room, which is the lowest point, and transcended up to the mud room, which is the highest point, my sense of continuity would remain the same due to the exposed beams. I wanted to change that by covering the exposed beams with a solid material. The sense of continuity would be eliminated which changes the feeling of the entire house. When you are in the living room and transcend up to the mud room you would feel the space shrink creating an uncomfortable claustrophobia. This alteration takes away from Holl’s design segre-gating the transitional areas of the house as op-posed to conjoining it.

I am fascinated by the circulation of people and how they can flow through spaces which is why I felt fix-ated on the corridor leading me to the transforma-tion of the ceiling. The corridors channel traffic mak-ing it one of the more intimate areas of the house. The design of this house was emotional and practi-cal. I realize that you have to take everything into account and if one aspect changes than the whole persona of the house changes.

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The ‘Boat House’ project was split into two sections: site analysis (6 weeks), and build-ing design (4 weeks). I developed a site analysis of the Esplanade on the Charles River in Boston, MA. The Esplanade was the assigned site to the class. The project then moved into building design. The program for the building included: Storage for boats: 4 at 40', 2 at 25', and 10 at 15', Shop/ Storage for additional boating equipment, Launching Dock, Male and Female locker rooms, Meeting/ Conference Room, and Public Areas including a viewing platform. I created the final project based on my concept, site analysis, and incorporation of the program.

Project Two:Site Analysis and Boat House

Studio:B1

Instructor:Daniel Steger

Duration:10 Weeks

B1 Studio Project Two

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The class was asked to create a map of their interpretation of the Esplanade before visiting the site. I have never visited the site before this assignment, but I do drive down Storrow Drive and see from afar the Es-planade and the Hatch Shell. I chose to create an enlargement of the Hatch Shell to the right.

In the diagram above, I showed two shades of the blue for the water. The darker color indicates turbulent water, and the light blue is calm. I thought that once the water entered the lagoon it would slow down and act as a viewing pool. I also wanted to diagram how people moved through the site and where they rested. The red is indicative of the pathways and brown is the benches. To show the separation of the Esplanade and Boston I drew Storrow Drive as a black line to act as a barrier between the two.

Part I: Site Analysis

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The mapping to the right is a zoom view of the Espla-nade, similar to that of the mapping exercise before I visited the site. After visiting the site, I made several observations. I found the flow of water does slow down once entering the Lagoon, and there is an abun-dance of areas to rest/ sit.

The blue diagram below is an enlargement of the city. It shows the direction of traffic, and the location of buildings. I also felt the wind increase substantially as I walked from the Esplanade into Boston.

The green and yellow diagrams below are enlarge-ments of the Esplanade in the middle of the site, and at the Hatch Shell.

The green diagram features pathways and park benches. I drew dashed red lines around the benches because I felt these benches are orientated a certain way as to group them together to create a space within a space.

The yellow diagram shows the Hatch Shell which holds events. I wanted to further explore the center of the Esplanade. Here the places to rest are enlarged to show the connection made between benches and park areas.


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While working with enlarged and reduced site plans I also drew sketches while walking the site. By sketch-ing some sections, abstractions, and snap-shots of the site, I was able to fully immerse myself into the Esplanade.

Above is a diagram showing a count of the type of people who were enjoying Storrow Drive. For a 30 minute duration, this is what I recorded.The first row of people running/ jogging.The second row is people walking.The third row is people riding bicycles. I felt the movement of the site was quick and if given the chance to change some-thing, I would like to slow the pace down and have people enjoy the site more as shown in the below diagram.

This diagram is showing the relation-ship of the path to a typical roadway. Dashed center line controls the flow of traffic. I observed on the right hand side moving away from me, while on-coming pedestrians stayed left of the center line.

The second perspective is of a couple on a park bench enjoying the scenery from across the Charles River into Cambridge. This image illustrates a slower pace, conversations, an enjoyment of nature in middle of hectic city for some people and I wanted to re-create this feeling.

The above diagram is an interpretation of how trees are acting as noise barri-ers for the Esplanade. The density of trees along the perimeter of the site reduced the noise coming from vehicles on Storrow Drive. Towards the Mass Ave bridge there was a dense amount of trees, as I walked further down the site the amount of trees lessened and the road noise increased. Trees located specifically at predetermined spots suc-cessfully creates a noise barrier between the Esplanade and Boston.

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Through my analysis of the site and my interest with areas of rest, I decided to map out these locations for future study. The map below shows the abundance of areas to sit/ rest at several locations. The dark dashed line is where I chose to do my site transformation. At this location, there is currently a bridge with heavy pedestrian traffic. I choose to remove this bridge, thus altering the circulation of traffic at the site resulting in a niche where I could increase quantity of places to rest.

Above diagram showing the existing condition with the bridge and the heavy pedestrian foot traffic.

I wanted to see how dynamically the site could change by removing the bridge. The transforma-tion shows the separation and increased areas to rest.

The Models show the pace of people: how one side is relaxed (blue) and the other is exercising (red).

Pace of people: Slow vs. Fast Groundwork: Pavement vs. Grass

Sit: Benches vs. Blankets

People: Congested vs. Spread Out

The above diagrams compare the elements of design at the site with before and after effects. With this transformation, I wanted to accomplish a slower pace of people, a relaxed atmosphere, and increased viewing of the site. By slowing the people down and transforming the pavement to grass will increase people laying out on blankets spreading out over the site and experiencing more of the views of the city which are rare.

Views: Expanded vs. Narrowed


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The class was instructed to take their site analysis and create a building placement. I choose Three lo-cations that further incorporate places to rest. The locations were chosen from the rest diagram based on areas that did not have many places to rest.

Site 1

Site 2

Site 3

Site # 2: Is not on land but in the La-goon. No places to rest are there but, can be created through docks. I wanted to play with the notion of having a build-ing in the Lagoon. The site has restric-tive views to Cambridge due to trees. Having the building in the Lagoon could interfere with boat trafficking.

Site # 3: Features areas to rest around the site by a wall along the river, and nearby docks. Due to other docks in the area creating another one could cause congestion in the Lagoon.

Site # 1: Lacked in places to rest but of-fered a lot of open space and views. The site is situated on the other half of the lagoon connected to the Charles River making a good place for a dock/ launch pad into the river.

Perspective at Site 2 Perspective at Site 3Perspective at Site 1

After considering the options for the sites, I felt it would best suit the building, program, and concept to build on site # 1. Site # 1 had the best access for boats and remained outside of the Lagoon and will benefit the Boat House and Esplanade the most by providing a rest spot with clear views of the city.

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These diagrams express different ways to utilize space.

The wavy wall creates a transitional space between public exterior and private interior to cre-ate a common area (middle left diagram). I was able to see what kind of sub-spaces are created when merging these two spaces. The common area in the center (shown in white, above middle diagram) becomes a public interior space. Adding benches around these walls create a private exterior space.

The above right diagram shows different paths of movement. Walls curving outwards creates a crevice to allow an inward movement driving people inside the building. A central object diverts people to the left and right. Adding places to rest along the curves can create a private seat-ing area.

Part 2: Building DesignThe areas of rest from my site analysis will become the framework in designing the 'Boat House'.

The first exercise is to start thinking of different types of space such as: private exterior and interior, and public interior and exterior


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The second floor shows the location of the locker rooms. To the bottom is a lounge area allowing for views over the Charles, and boat activity as it enters and deploys from the building.

The irregular placement of the walls creates circula-tion through the third floor. In between the walls seating is added to allow for views towards the Hatch Shell. Adding seating towards specific ob-jects creates an area of rest that people can enjoy while sitting. At this location the Hatch Shell is in the distance to the upper left.

Model section

I weighed the pros and cons of using curvilinear and rectilinear design. Due to the time constraints put forth in this project, I decided it would benefit the design by proceeding with a rectilinear design. By doing so, I can spend more time designing the pro-gram of the building, and layout with less time spent modeling and drafting. With a curvilinear design, I would have to spend more time with modeling and drafting.

Above is a site plan showing building layout, land-scaping, outdoor space, and the pathway. In order to build on site # 1, the pathway needed to be redirected around the building due to the build-ing width. The pathway manipulated around the building creating two moments that the pedestrian pauses and looks at the building. To notice activity, I added benches along the path facing the building and Charles River.

Hatch Shell

Model

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Massing models created above and below showcase different areas of space within the building. The space within the building helped define the shape of the exterior. In doing so more spatial areas are created on the exterior that compliment the interior.

To help with understanding ‘space’ and creating space, I developed numerous sketch models. The models are loosely related to the project but primarily aided in my understanding of space. Taking the models and getting close up, I can imagine I was in the space.


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Axonometric View of the Boat House

Site Plan

The placement of the building at Site # 1 allowed me to add benches and create a movement in the pathway. The movement of the pathway allowed for areas of pause allowing pedestrians to slow and view the building. The building is made of glass and as the pathway bends around the building, people can see into the building and the activity going on in the boat house. When I walked the Esplanade, I saw a man working on a boat in one of the boat houses. The only reason I saw him was because the garage was open. I didn’t want people to miss the opportunity to see the work done on boats because the garage was closed.

I chose this view for the hand drawn axonometric because I wanted to show the projecting canopy. The canopy provides a place to rest and also view across the Charles and down into the Boat House. This viewing platform can see the boats coming in and out of the water.

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Floor plans above illustrate the design. The building is separated by a frosted glass partition wall divid-ing the building into public and private. The left area is public and the right is private The partition wall allows translucent views into the boating area. The private space is for the boat storage and the locker rooms on the second floor. The rowers have their own staircase which leads them to the locker rooms. The public space on the left shares an entrance with the private space. At the entrance foyer, the private sec-tor segregates down its own corridor while the public space transitions into the rest of the building. There is an outdoor patio where people can either sit or enter the building from the side. A divider wall separates the staircase from a resting area.

LEGEND:1. Main Entrance2. Patio Entrance3. Public Stairway to Second Floor4. Athletes Stairway to Locker Rooms5. Outdoor Public Patio6. Interior Rest Area7. Boat Storage8. Pathway to Boat9. Launching Dock10. Canopy Entrance11. Meeting Room12. Locker Rooms13. Public Viewing Platform

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Skylights

The second floor incorporates the locker rooms, meet-ing room, and public space. The meeting room transi-tions from public to private by the usage of doors. Canopies lead outside cantilevering over the outdoor patio below creating shade. The outdoor viewing platform which is left of the launching dock extends out over the Charles River where viewers can look into Cambridge, or watch the boats below. The other canopies also offer areas to rest and offer views of the Esplanade and Longfellow Bridge. The canopy at the entrance of the building offers views into Boston. The canopy at the locker rooms offer views of the Mass Ave Bridge and Boston.

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The top drawings are hand drawn showing sections through the building, and the bottom drawings are elevations.

People are depicted in different areas of the building providing a sense of scale and space within the building.

Materials used for the boat house are steel stud framing, dark hardwood flooring, frosted glass interior walls, clear glass for the exterior (except at the locker rooms which is standard clay brick). The exterior is transparent so people can see into the building and the boating area whether the rowers are loading the boat, working on boats, etc. It was important that people see into the public space and get a sense of relaxation inside. The path that bends around the building provides an excellent chance for people to slow down and see into or enter the building. The dark floors and frosted glass interior walls provide a contrast with the glass exterior. Light colored wood paneling for the railings, and soffit at the overhangs accentuate the buildings exterior.

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The site model shows the path wrapping around the building creating slower pace than a straight design.

I learned to analyze a site and develop a concept based on the site to carry over into my building design. I am able to develop a building based on a program and incorporate my concept into the design.

Below is showing the corner condition at the main entrance near the outdoor patio, the people provide a sense of scale.


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Project Zero serves as an introduction to tectonics. Construction details are provided to the students where they analyze,interpret, and arrive at a Tectonic idea: a concept based on key relationships between parts and/ or spaces. The concept will serve as a basis for iterative design explorations in Project 1 and 2.

Project Zero:Tectonic Strategies

Studio:B2

Instructor:Ryan Link

Duration:4 Weeks

B2 Studio Project Zero

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Diagram #1 Diagram #2 Diagram #3

Diagram #3 Models

During the first phase of Project Zero, I examined several provided construction details. After analyzing and sketching these details I chose two diagrams to further develop. I chose No. 1 & 2. I liked these details given there is an insertion concept within both. After examining both items, I felt No. 2 was the best option to move forward with for it offered the most flexibility in the design.

The first diagram is a solid object with several slotted openings. Planes insert into these openings and are held in place by a wedge. I choose to show wedges and planes at angles for it added angular moments in the design.

The second diagram is multiple solids inserting through rods. The solids can move up, down, left, and right. This diagram allowed movement at different points, and also allowed for expansion of the design with move-ment in flat planes at 90 degrees by adding more solids to the rods.

The third diagram is a further exploration of the second diagram which maintained the same principles of solids inserting through rods. This time the rods were allowed to move, slide, and spin along with the solids. This created more possibilities with this tectonic idea and allowed for further exploration and expan-sion.

The models to the right show diagram # 3 three dimensionally.

The opposite page shows diagram # 3 being used at three different scales.

The top left is depicting the model being used at a large scale. The small black dots represent people and how that can occupy the space.

The diagram to the right shows people occupying the space at a medium scale. I interpreted this scale as a jungle gym and people being able to sit and swing on different parts.

The bottom left diagram is a small scale where the model can fit in your hand.

The bottom right diagram shows different axis points on planes.

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The ‘Chair’ exercise takes the tectonic study from diagram three into a real world application. The application is small, and a starting point for the larger project. I chose to build off of diagram three because I wanted to keep exploring the possibilities of this system, and with the chair, I can take it to the next level. The chair is simple in design: rods are the supports with braces, and the solids are the joinery. Two diagonal members on either side of the chair serve as tension members connecting the top back brace and the bottom legs. I saw this particu-lar design in a chair book and wanted to create a similar design. It interested me because the back isn’t supported by legs like traditional chairs, it is supported by the cross braces. The entire system is supported on the two diagonal rods.

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After the chair exercise, the instructor mentioned other objects that could be used instead of rods. The intent of that conversation was not to limit myself with the use of rods, instead to start thinking of other objects that are similar to rods.

The ‘Apparatus on a Slope’ program given by the instructor takes the ideas from the analysis and chair exercise and further develops them into a portable device that can be easily transported by photographers.

In keeping with the initial tectonic idea of having rods penetrate planes, I substituted cables for rods. I thought of having the deployable appa-ratus being able to hang over a cliff, because a light deployable platform is perfect for photogra-phers to take photos of nature and the wild.


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To help enhance this apparatus, I decided to Pho-toshop the model in different scenarios. The first is at the beach where it can be used for photography or even shelter. The second image was the initial concept utilizing the unit over a cliff. The last image is on a lake where it could potentially be used as a temporary dock to photograph water life.

# 1 # 2 # 3

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I learned from this exercise to look at a construction detail in depth and analyze how this detail works. By pulling data from this detail, I was able to create a tectonic strategy that will follow for the remainder of the studio. Iterating these details and showing them in different real world applications, I get a bet-ter sense of building design for future projects.


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Project One’s focus is to incorporate tectonic studies of suspension from Project Zero into a building design at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plains, MA. The design of the building includes an educational center to learn about the history of the arboretum and a public space which is designated for functions and gathering. The building is also to en-gage the site in three different ways: sitting on (I wanted the building to be level with the site), sitting above (I wanted to have the building be raised above the site), and sitting into the site (I wanted to have the building built into the ground). I didn’t want to disturb the existing trees found on the site so I developed a concept of minimal disturbance.

Project One:Tectonic System - Apparatus On A Slope

Studio:B2


Duration:5 Weeks


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I visited the arboretum during the winter and the ground was covered with snow. The only instance of nature available was the trees. The arboretum could include flowers and shrubs in the proper season. After walking the site, I noticed the design of the pathway is a large circle that rises up a hill. There is a path that leads to the top cen-ter of the hill. I notice on each tree there is a badge with a brief biography of that species of tree. It became apparent that the landscape was critical to the design and needed to be an integral component without disturbance, preserving nature as much as possible.

Entrance

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The diagram to the right shows an enlarged section of the arbo-retum where the project site is located. There are three poten-tial sites each offering its own challenges.Site 1 slopes down like a valley.Site 2 slopes inwards like a bowl.Site 3 slopes upwards like a hill.

Site 2 is chosen by the instruc-tor for the class because it included some features found both in Site 1 and Site 3 which worked for me because I can ex-plore different ways to approach minimally disturbing the site.

Overlaying an aerial map of the site with the contour lines allowed me to see the site slope and get a good sense of the trees around the area. From this map I can plan the location of the building so that it will not interfere with the existing landscape. The contour lines are spaced at 2 feet per con-tour line which was provided to the class as an AutoCAD file.

Site 1

Site 2

Site 3


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The diagram to the right shows the existing trees near the project site. Considering each tree has a badge identifying a unique species, my design should be unique like the trees. I created an existing tree diagram to locate the trees on the site. The design will account for nature and result in minimal disturbance to the area. The sun can strengthen the overall experience by creating shade and shelter from the trees and building as shown in the sun study diagram.

The bottom right diagram shows a pathway cut through the existing landscape. Referring back to these maps helps determine the layout of the building and orientation.

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The aerial diagram showing the contour lines helped me create a working site model. The working site model is for laying out massing models show the building. There is no re-quirement to the size of the building as long as the program is met and minimal distur-bance is achieved. The site is created out of corrugate cardboard and stacked upon layers to show the slope of the land. The massing models are created out of Styrofoam and cut with a heat knife.

Massing models engage the site in three ways: sitting above, in, and on.

Top row massing models are sitting on the site.

Middle row massing models are sitting in the site.

Bottom row massing models are sitting on the site.

The image outlined in green shows the mass-ing that most accurately represented the three engagements. It also resembles the previous diagram showing the layout of the existing trees. Achieving minimal disturbance by taking form around the existing trees, and building on columns.


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The idea from the previous massing model resulted in the above T-Shaped design. There are three wings and a central congregational area. Each wing has a room and corridor. The corridor leads to the central congregational space. The rooms hold the educational programs, and the congregational space is for functions. The middle right diagram is showing the existing circulation (green) and new circulation (red). After splitting from the existing path, the new path continues through the building until merging with the existing path. The building also is orientated around the existing trees.

The upper right diagram shows the building engaging the site through section. The building design works in plan but in section it only engages the site by sitting in it. I demolished a lot of land for the current idea to work which takes away from the original concept of minimal disturbance to the site. I read that Frank Lloyd Wright thought buildings should work with nature and not destroy nature so buildings can exist. I decided to design a new plan that worked with the existing nature and not disturb it so my building can exist.

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Each layout has pros and cons. I listed the pros and cons to the right. The pros helped simplify the design process and keep the final design intent clear. If cons are identified, these issues can be addressed and the design re-worked.

The upper right diagram features a design incorporat-ing the most pros for it engages the site in all three ways, features a long design, simplifies access to and from the building, results in minimal disturbance to the existing site, and features occupied space above and below the building.


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The site remains undisturbed in my final hand drawn plans except for a path that was created from the pathway to underneath the building. Weighing the pros and cons, I decided to go with a longitudinal design. The long design worked with my concept by inducing minimal demolition to the site by orientat-ing it through the site maintaining the existing trees. Entering the building from the right, the viewer experiences the educational center where they can learn about the site and nature. This entrance is where the building sits on the site. You continue through the building by stepping up to the public space which holds meetings, functions, and outings. In the function room the building is sitting above the site which is critical for views of the arboretum and features space underneath the building acces-sible by the new pathway. The viewer transitions into another space which is separated by a partition wall. This is a private space because it sits into the site and is dimly lit with little natural light penetrat-ing into the building. I chose this layout, direction, and size based solely on the site. The left side is a staircase that leads to a roof level so people can walk onto and experience nature from above.

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LEGEND:1. Main Entrance2. Education Center3. Function Hall/ Public Space4. Study/ Private Space.5. Exit6. Stairway To Roof Plaza

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LEGEND:1. Main Entrance2. Exit3. Roof Plaza4. Pathway Underneath Building

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Above, the interior perspective shows the tectonic system consisting of vertical cables connecting to floor plates with horizontal members for stability. Al-ternating the thickness and locations of the horizontal members creates a method to incorporate natural light into the space. By utilizing the sun to create different shades and shadows, different light patterns are cre-ated within the building. The material for the building is; glass for the glazing, dark colored vertical wood paneling for the horizontal trim, white steel cables for the structure, and light colored wood for the flooring. The exterior color is dark like the bark on trees, and the orientation of the paneling is vertical to simulate a tall structure. The interior floor is a light color to accentuate the natural light and shadows entering the building. Below is perspective wall section showing a person occupying the space.

At different locations the design sits above, into, and on the site. As shown in the sectional view the building is engaging the site, it also shows the building minimally disturbs the site at the two ends. The rest of the building is sup-ported on columns. Where the building sits above the site, a path has been created for people to walk down and experience the open courtyard for people to enjoy. People are depicted in elevations and sections to get a sense of scale of the buildings size and proportions.

To the right is an isometric view of the building illustrating the layout in a three dimensional view.

LEGEND:1. Roof Plaza2. Main Building3. Underneath Space

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The final site model and final massing models helped finalize the shape, length, and orientation of the building. The massing model shown is yellow, the final model is light gray, and site model is brown.

The massing model helped lay out and orient the building to reduce the disturbance on the site. The building cuts into the ground at two areas, however, this disturbance was minimal with the building situated such that no trees were disturbed. The middle of the building is supported on columns.

A larger building model helped to see the spaces created, how natural light entered with the paneling system, and the transitioned spaces. The model helped evaluate how the building interacts with the site.

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I was able to visit a site prior to designing the project and identify design crite-ria. The program allowed me to apply design aspects in my building maintaining the original intent of the design minimizing the disturbance of the site. This par-ticular site has history and I learned to work with history and nature as opposed to altering or destroying it.Nature is evident in all design projects and I learned to develop a language as shown with my designs.


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The ‘Urban Cultural Center’ project is located at an assigned Chinatown site in Boston, MA. The premise of the project is to create a bike path from the Back Bay train station to our site with a potential future expansion to North Station (not part of the project). The program for the building is to accommodate parking for 300 bikes, an outdoor amphi-theater, and male and female locker rooms. I chose the tectonic system for the building to be suspension cables. The class collaborated on designing the bike path but worked individually on their own buildings.

Project Two:Urban Cultural Center

Studio:B2


Duration:6 Weeks




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The collage to the right is a compilation of pictures I took at the site. I used Photoshop to insert a transparent image of the site. The surrounding area includes an open courtyard, several patio tables with umbrellas providing shade. I noticed a family enjoy-ing the playground behind the smoke stack, dozens of people playing a board game (possibly a com-petition), history, and murals on the smoke stack. Our site was narrow, not maintained,trash (scratch tickets, and cigarettes packs) are evident, and the site is fenced in. To me it felt like it was a forgot-ten place in Chinatown. It was overlooked and not cared for. However, I felt there was a lot of culture and history involved with the area and wanted to incorporate that into the design.

The diagram to the left is my map show-ing the Chinatown site, and the Back Bay Station. The class developed additional maps to aid in the design of the bike path connecting the two sites. This map helped in understanding the distance between the two sites and the best way to route the new path. The map to the right is an aerial view of the site showing the location between the smoke stack and Giza Restaurant. The site is parallel to Surface Road. Hudson Street runs behind the site, and is where the China-town shops are.

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Perspective image looking into the site from Hudson St.

Perspective image looking into the site from Surface Rd.

I did these perspectives from photographs I took at the site and I developed them in Photoshop. I wanted to see into the site and observe what is happening in and around the area. The perspective looking out into Surface Road shows the view into Boston.

Perspective image looking away from the site from Surface Rd.




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Since the buildings in Chinatown were made of brick but the murals featured vibrant colors I felt one way to explore culture in Chinatown was to look at different colors and how these tied into Chinese culture. The diagram to the left has the five main colors in Chinese culture and the meaning. The circle below represents the circle of life; how one element ties into the next. There is no domi-nant element, each relies on another to complete the circle. A circular form at this point is a good idea to move forward, and have the design be rela-tive to the circle of life.

The diagram to the right is a representation of how I could layout the building. From the start I wanted to have bike parking on the left because the playground and public space was on the right. I didn’t want to have the parking interfere with any activities that were happening. Views out into Sur-face Road are important because Hudson Street is very congested, buildings are close together, and heavy pedestrian traffic from all the shops.

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I wanted to develop the circle of life concept into a circu-lar design and tensile architecture allows for the irregular shaped system. In order to create this system I wanted to understand exactly how tensile architecture works. Some of the different forces includes: uplift, downward, and lateral. This helped me to understand how wind, ground, and snow effects a structure developed from cables. Since the cables needed to be hanging, I started to diagram columns and how this system would work. Es-sentially it will be a beam connected to a column and the cables will suspend from the beams. Doing this allows me to design with structure in mind similar to a real world scenario with structural engineers.




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The site diagram below shows the green way where the new bike path will be. I chose to remove vehicular parking. The green way allows a straight path through the site with an area to pull off the bike path and park in my building. The path is on Surface Road and not Hudson Street because Hudson Street did not have a straight pathway through Chinatown. This would be problematic in re-joining the bike path. Below diagram shows the grouping of people based on observation. People grouped near the stack would be a great spot for the building to proj-ect outwards and connect with the grouping of people.

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After drawing and understanding how the structure worked, I began to search the internet for complet-ed works of tensile architecture. I drew the build-ings to the right based on internet research. The top left and middle designs is a tensile struc-ture featuring a translucent material emitting light and color but prohibiting views into the building. I thought this material would be interesting to use in my design to depict colors based on Chinese his-tory at different seasons and special events.

The top right, and bottom designs helped me in laying out the building in circles. The top right im-age features the system angling outwards which can translate into my design to protrude outwards for views into Boston and Chinatown. The bottom dia-gram is how a way to construct the circular design representing the circle of life.




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This site model is so I could visualize the de-sign and see it in 3-D. I used the laser cutter for the first time at school to create the site model.

The models to the left show the skel-etal frame of the building. Showing the columns, beams, and floor plates representing the structure of the building I can see where to layout the program before I place the envelop on. The tectonic strategy of cables will wrap around the building to create the envelope/ facade.

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I found one building online (top right), the facade is not tensile architecture, but how the structure ties the circles together. I wanted to mimic this to incorporate the circle of life concept into the building. For my building I am creating three circular structures that tie into one another, one circle will be for the parking, the other two will feature a view-ing area on to Surface road and the back side will have the male and female locker rooms. Below are models showing how I can tie the three circles into one another.




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The design initially worked, but in section it looked flat. By concaving openings, I can accentuate the entrances and create these crevices that people slip right into the building.

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At the beginning of the project the class was assigned to work as a group and create a bike path to connect the Back Bay Sta-tion to the Chinatown site, and possible future expansion to connect Chinatown to North Station. By mapping out the surrounding area, places of business, parking, rest rooms, etc, we compiled data to further define where we want to layout this new path. After much discussion we felt it would be most beneficial to the site, and to the city to create the path over the Air Rights Development. We’re able to create a path that extends to all three locations and create a more green space above the highway.

Above is the ‘Greenway Plan’ and the site plan showing my building, orientation, and layout.

This exercise allowed collaborative work in a group setting where I have not done this before. This exposed me to the reality of architecture.




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LED WaterSculpture

Bike parking

LEGEND:1. Main Entrance2. Secondary Entrance3. LED Sculpture4. Kiosk/ Security5. Bike Parking6. Cafe7. Viewing/ Rest Area8. Viewing Hole9. Rooftop Amphitheater10. Male/ Female Locker Rooms11. Canopy

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The final design consisted of four levels. The ground floor, first floor, second floor, and roof top level. The bike garage is to the left and occupies three floors. This is the largest of the three circles showing the dominance for bike parking. The ground floor features an LED sculpture in the center that is visible through the first and second floor by a viewing hole. The first floor features a cafe at the rear side of the building overlooking Hudson Street, which is the busiest area in China-town featuring eateries facing street level. The outdoor amphitheater is on the roof. Having the amphitheater on the roof allows performances to be played and people can crowd around down below to hear/ see the performance. It can also serve as a celebratory area for holidays and special events. At this time colorful displays will be used to express the five colors important in Chinese history. At the entrance, a crevice is created by the circles coming together and is where people enter the building. I chose three circles because of the two viewing areas facing the street.

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The details show how I envisioned this system coming together by a series of connecting tensile rods. At the footing of the building the tensile rod will slip into a coupling and be secured to the footing through a base plate. At each floor where there is a tensile rod pen-etrating through there will be an opening in the floor where the rod connects horizontally to the cable. With this system I was able to freely create the circles in my concept with smooth transitions.




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The class worked on a site model (right) of China-town that covered seven blocks. It is constructed using chipboard, and OSB board as the base. My final design is unique to the area. The surrounding buildings are rectangular and square. I chose to create the buildings height based on a video shown in class called the ‘Powers of 10’. The basis of is everything is magnified to increase or decrease by the power of 10. I related Chinatown to this for the site is large but when compared to Boston it is very small. I wanted to create a building that fits in the site and is not overbearing like high rises found in Boston.

I designed an outdoor walkway wrapping around the building following the curves created by the cables shown on the first floor. The exterior facade of the design is metal mesh which closely resembles a ten-sile cables structure.

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The tensile system I chose is a challenging one to understand due to the complexities of the design and how the tectonics worked, which I feel I have a good understanding of how tensile architecture is designed. I was able to start with a general con-cept relating back to Chinese history maintaining program of bike parking, and progress throughout the project, being able to provide the community a design that offers a lot to the surrounding area and incorporates the clients needs into my building.




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Objective of the course was to be able to realistically produce quality work.Using the following concepts and tools of light/ shadow, value, contour, negative space, proportion, and perspective.The course was limited to the use of black and white using the following tools: Charcoal, Pastels, Oil-Stick, China Marker, Conte Crayon, and Graphite Stick.

Course:Freehand Drawing

Instructor:Patricia Mendes

Duration:16 Weeks

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The assignment was to become comfortable with the drawing medium while learning to free hand draw in perspective and utilize the light.

The above image is a perspective freely drawn of my bedroom. The light from the door way illuminated the bedroom allowing me to effectively draw the shadows of the walls, and bed.

The bottom two drawings are my first sketches of a Styrofoam coffee cup and a simple box showing shadow.

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In this assignment the class was to freely draw a piece of fabric as it lay to capture the curves and how lights dances off of the object.

In order to become comfortable in drawing the fabric I sketched out a crumples piece of paper, and also at-tempted to draw the piece of fabric. This exercise helped me in understanding how to express the shape of the fabric and also capture the shadows the light created.

In the final drawing shown above I drew a metallic curtain shade from a window. It was difficult in capturing all the curves and also the reflectance of the metal.

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The class next moved into drawing the interior of build-ings. Through drawing negative space and practicing how to draw perspective in free hand the class took a field trip to draw interior details of a building.

This is an enlarged details showing the wood grain and the light fixture on top of the wood paneling.

To understand the importance of drawing figures we started to draw negative space drawing the back-ground and excluding the image as shown above.

The detail to the left shows an interior perspective of the classroom where pipes inter-sect and enter the wall.

The detail to the right shows an interior perspective of a post and beam construction.

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After learning to draw images from a far away distance the class went in another direction and began drawing images close up.

For homework I choose to draw close up a scented fragrance box. I found this interesting for all the small balls found inside of the container created a different shadow or reflection of the light.

Another homework assignment was to draw three eggs close up to a sole light source as this candle. During this exercise I found the importance of paying close attention to every detail. The most interest-ing part of this drawing to me was how the shadow created from the candle produced a darker smaller shadow closer to the egg and a light, larger shadow further away from the egg.

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Now that the class has progressed from perspective drawings, to further and closer drawings the instruc-tor introduced new materials into the class; glass and metal.

The below image is a blown up detail of a metal thermos. Capturing every light and shadow created off this metal object was challenging yet rewarding in the end.

The image to the right is a detail of an iron. The metal plate is a bit exaggerated and really explores the shines created by different light in the room.

This image is of a vase and this was an exercise done in class. The teacher instructed me to really look at the glass. After do-ing so I noticed how the texture of lines changes when passing through the vase.

This was an in class exercise showing glass and metal

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People were introduced into the course. The class was fortunate enough to have individuals who would pose for us for a number of minutes. This class study was then to be brought home for homework were the class than drew models from home.

The above images are a representation of model study in class. I wanted to capture through light and shadow this mans torso. The image to the right is a quick one minute study of another model where I wanted to capture the form of the hu-man body. The last image is of a fellow classmate where she modeled for thirty minutes while we were to capture her.The below image is a from a photograph that I took.

This image was difficult for there was lack of light in a building we were in thus the heavy shadows that were created.

One of my favorite pieces I sketched was of a woman posing. I really wanted to cap-ture the back and the bones and muscles.

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The three images shown here are showing the iterative process.

This is one of my favorite pieces. The reasoning for it be-ing one of my favorite is because of the process in which it was created. The two smaller images to the right was the first pass. They are less realistic, and the instructor felt it was best to try again and really attempt to capture the XBox controller. The second pass is illustrated below. I felt this was ex-tremely successful for it displays a sense of three dimen-sionality and also realism.

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To me the most important part of this class was to successfully capture architectural buildings through perspective charcoal drawings.

Below is a detail of Rowes Wharf which I choose to draw. The first assignment was to take a close up of a detail

This is a sketch of an ancient Greek Temple with a hilltop back-ground

This is a sketch Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright

This is a sketch of a man staring down into town

The is a large scale drawing of Rowes Wharf located in Boston, MA. This drawing was lengthy due to the detail within entry way. I wanted to capture the detail underneath because to me that was the most interesting part of the building. But the most impor-tant rule to remember was not to forget the back-ground. That is why I drew neighboring building and some landscape. All of those factors contributed to my drawing.

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This one day charette was to engage the students in quick and thoughtfulness design. This particular charette was to design a space for a handicapped musician.

Project:Sketch Problem A

Instructor:

Duration:1 Day

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The basis of this design was to incorporate barrier free design into our project. The criteria was a blind wheel cheer bound individual. The program needed to include a stage where the individual could perform in front of a crowd. There was also to be an abundance of natural light filling the structure. The last criteria was to have a book stand to hold the individuals most favorite book.

I choose to use clerestories so I could allow a lot of natural light into the structure as seen in the above drawing. The diagram to the right was an earlier iteration show-ing how daylight and sounds will bounce off the structure.

The bottom section is to show how natural light will be entering the structure through all the created windows, and clerestory

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The models show how light enters and plays in the space provided. The stage area is created by hav-ing an open front facade to allow the individual to play in front of a crowd. The handicap ramp wraps around the structure for easy access.

I like how the light plays in the buildings it moves freely with the sun and creates interesting shadows on the floor.

The main part of the charette was modeling the final product. I wanted to capture the light with and open clerestory above.

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Sketch Problem B was a one day charette were students gathered at the Cascieri Hall and the project was introduced to us. The project was led by senior architect from the firm ICON architects. She then led the discussion of how an area near the BAC was go-ing to be built. The area to be constructed in at the intersection of Boylston street and Mass Ave. The parcel stretched over the Mass Pike. How this project incorporated the BAC was to create several dorms for the BAC as well as a library space. The project dis-persed into several groups. The group that I worked in was the site planning and master campus plan group. I worked with a fellow BAC student to develop the alley way found behind the main BAC building on Newbury street.

Project:Sketch Problem B

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Duration:1 Day

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This page shows enlarged diagrams from our final presentation board.

Incorporating into our design was a program, site plan, roof plan, and an elevation showing landscaping. The site plan shows how my partner and I intended to enhance the alley way. Since there are cafe’s on Newbury street we thought it would be interesting to show those cafe’s through into the alley way to allow passage through the store out into the alley way. This created additional seating areas and opened up the alley way for BAC students to gather and feel safer walking back there at night.

The roof plan shows how we intended to create roof gardens/ photo voltaic arrays on the roof. The BAC portion which is the portion to the right utilized roof gardens and an outdoor studio area. The left side which was to be the condominiums utilized the photo-voltaics to use the sun as an energy source.

The elevation shows how we intended to landscape the front the of Bolyston street and put a sculptural object in the front of the retail shops to help signify the BAC as an artistic community.

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Final presentation board and enlarged program shows how my partner and I were able to tie our ideas together and create a cohesive layout that expressed our ideas simply and beautifully.

At the end of the day we were to judge other stu-dents work and each student was given two sticky notes one blue one yellow expressing great ideas as blue and a thoughtful presentation expressed in a well designed manner as yellow.

My partner and I received two yellow stickies and we were happily pleased with our work.

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Design Connection Essay

Going to school at the BAC has given me the opportunity to explore my creative side of architecture, and design structures that are meaningful to the client and surrounding area. Working in the construc-tion industry gives me the opportunity to explore a realism to architecture, that designs get construct-ed. For me, working in the construction field while going to school gives me an appreciation for archi-tecture that there is so much more involved than just design. I experience architects on a daily basis and see the challenges they face with contractors, owners, and schedules. By working in the con-struction field I see and understand how buildings are constructed. I deal with owners, clients, general contractors, and architects on a daily basis which gives me communication skills I couldn’t have ob-tained elsewhere. I work with the sheet metal fabricators to understand metal flashing details so I can make them better, and in turn, help me be a better architect. I review and study plans, mainly exterior, to see how these details are constructed. I see these details in real life being constructed which helps me visually tie the two together, design and construction. The education I receive from the BAC has furthered my career. I gained the maturity to undertake more responsibility and to take risks. Since the summer I have managed several jobs simultaneously which I don’t think would have possible without my education. I feel this school has given me the maturity and professionalism to succeed in the work place. I accept criticism better for I realize this is a part of life and learning from the criticism makes me a better architect. I started my career creating shop drawings and I developed into a proj-ect manager. I take everything in stride, yet there are set backs. Older individuals find it difficult that someone is knowledgeable and can advise them on issues. I feel being young in this industry is very difficult and gaining the respect of other is very tedious. I still maintain positive and work very hard for what I have achieved, and the goals I have set. The economy is in dire straits and has hurt architecture tremendously. Finding a job is extremely difficult, and the few jobs that are posted are for individuals with more experience and have extensive knowledge in computer programs. The Construction industry is also effected as there are less jobs moving forward, and money is very tight.

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Practice Essay

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I was given the Heath School in Brookline, MA to create a full submittal package. The package contains shop drawings, and literature on the products used. The typical pro-cess when creating a submittal package includes addendumizing drawings and specifica-tions relative to roofing, contacting the roofing manufacturer to make sure the product/s we plan on installing will meet spec and be warrantable, obtaining a tapered insulation layout or creating our own, and developing all shop drawings relating to roofing and sheet metal flashing and trim. I develop a relationship with the general contractor’s project manager and site superintendant and sometimes the architect. On some projects the ar-chitect calls me directly to go over any possible design issues. I feel it is very important to have a relationship with as many parties involved to avoid any confusion or issues down the road. This particular project is beginning to move forward and I am in constant con-tact with the project manager making sure any issues are resolved in a timely fashion.

Project:Heath SchoolBrookline, MA

Contractor:Rockwell Roofing, Inc.44 Pond StreetLeominster, MA 01453

Duration:On Going

Additional Projects Worked On:Uxbridge High School

Veolia WWTF

Erving Senior Center

Hilton Gardens - Project Manager

Needham Golf Club

Plymouth Emergency Operations Center

Stop and Shop

D’Youville Senior Center - Project Man-ager

GT Solar

Abbot Elementary School - Project Man-ager

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Gropius HouseLincoLn, MA

I visited the Gropius House in Lincoln, MA in April 2011. The house is situated in a residential neigh-borhood. Before I arrived to the Gropius House I noticed the neighboring houses feature a modern-ism not typically seen in residential houses. Pulling into the drive and viewing the house for the first time I found it very modern and the circular staircase stood out. We took the tour of the inside of the house, and photography was prohibited inside. My overall feeling of the house is that Walter Gropius designed this house solely around the needs of the inhabitants. The rooms are not large but comfort-able for the amount of people living in this house; Walter, his wife, and daughter. There is some personal touches in the house such as the outside staircase for the daughter, and the study facing the staircase so Walter can see her come and go, the nook in the daughters room, and the one way mirror in Walter’s bedroom. My overall experience of the house is that form follows function. Walter designed each individual room to have a function and the build-ing then wrapped around each room to create this house.

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Photographs

Documents

Brad Capadanno - Portfolio Segment One