C H R I S T I N A DESIGN PORTFOLIO

D R E I B H O L Z

ZEBRA EFFECT 4

ACCUMULATION 12

URBAN YARD 20

UNIVERSITY ART 24

EROSION PAVILION 30

TESSELLATION 36

DRIFTCITY 42

C O N T E N T S

Z E B R A E F F E C TTIME SQUARE, NYC

PROJECT SIZE: 50,000 SQ. FT

CRITIC: GUY ZUCKER

Times Square is a hyper reality and a radical context of movement, stimulation, and spectacle - an urban

condition in the extreme. A banal program such as housing jars against this over active background and needs

relief from the constant bombardment of sound, light, and motion.

The answer to reconciling the two opposing programs- residential and Times Square- is through Camouflage.

Camouflage answers this problem with a methodical technique that allows architecture to become one with

the site and manifest itself in every dimension and scale that is architecture- floor ceiling, walls, occupation,

circulation, privacy, atmosphere, experience, time.

Camouflage works by comparing two objects in relation to each other: a foreground and background, and then

disrupting the perceived distinction between the two. For example, Zebra herds create their own background by

traveling together, making it impossible for a predator to single out one animal from the pack. The layering and

movement of their stripes break up the edges of the individual zebras, making the herd appear as one large unit.

The location of the site, situated above the Toys R Us store on Broadway between 44th and 45th Streets allows

as little as possible to the context as to be more in line with the subtlety of camouflage. The appearance of the

building changes as the observer moves around it. This is an image from the left, moving north on Broadway. It

is a series of screens that appear to converge into one unit when viewed from the front.

Sectionally, the six screens vary in height, and use layering to create the image of a single,

deeper building. They create personal exterior spaces for the residents to occupy on top of each

unit. Occupying these terraces begins to blur the distinction between what is interior and what is

exterior on the building when viewed from the street.

The point of entry for the residents is through the Toys R Us store which creates privacy and a

disconnect for the residents as they leave the city behind and transition into their personal space.

When considering the surface treatment of the building, it must be of the site. Lights,

advertisements and billboards are a major part of Times Square. Alternating between reflective

and translucent frames blends together the private, interior lives that coinside with the constant

chaos happening outside. This allows for constant relevance and accuracy, camouflaging and

integration within the site.

As all of these elements get reinterpreted from the natural world of survival into the built urban

world of architecture to not only disguise the program but also to harmonize it as well. From a

static, permanent internalized network of enveloped- through camouflage- evolves a dynamic,

visually and physically interactive and all together more Time-Square of a spectacle.

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Layering Effect

RIVER THAMES, LONDON

PARTNER: ALINA VILAS

CRITIC: HOMA FAJARDI

Throughout the London’s history, trade and markets have occupied a central role in economic and cultural

experience. From Bourough Market, to Covent Gardens, to Brick Lane, transient markets pop up all across

the city selling differnt goods at different times of the year. Markets bring people together and unite them by

providing universal necessities. Creating a flexible home for these organic gatherings was the idea behind this

bridge. Spanning the Thames, it’s designed to be flexible, open, and adaptable as a result of accumulating

programmatic variations that come with different market’s needs. This public space hosts spontaneous events,

creating separate layers of circulation dictated by occupant’s rate of speed. The structure of the bridge is

determined parametrically: inputs of program, circulation, and site dictate the accumulation of structural

members, creating a change in density and porosity.

The North and South Banks of the Thames Rivers have existing artificial infrastructure and natural conditions

that are very distinct, and therefore, specifically inform the resulting qualities, characteristics, users and needs.

The North Side is more developed and has a closer link to the city of London. The transportation centers are

located here as well, resulting in a more systemic hardscape area. The South side is derelict post-industrial, with

abandoned warehouse and vacant lots used as leisure parks and green areas.

A C C U M U L AT I O N

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ERODED SYSTEMS [density striations]

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The immediate surounding area lacks commercial center of goods and a connection between north and

south sides. We propose a public infrastructure that serves as the community’s open space for spontaneous

venues simultaneously linking the North and South. Each user has a special need and a different speed. The

circulation paths expand and become market areas. The markets can either fill the open space framed by the

infrastructure or appropriate the space by attaching to the infrastructure. The frames manipulate the paths if they

become straight or meandering, which dictate the user’s speed.

The frames change in density to highlight the paths intensities towards the markets. The denser areas become

darker and circulatory while the less dense areas become lighter and used more for commerce and leisure. structural system [framing series] double height

density pattern dictated by programstructural frames

[covered market]

[storage]

framing [density+enclosure]

U R B A N YA R DHUDSON RAIL YARDS, NYC

PARTNER: ABEL VARGUESE

PROJECT SIZE: 10 MIL. SQ. FT, 26 ACRES

CRITIC: MARK MCGLOTHLIN

New York City is a melting pot of cultures and history. The Island of Manhattan is a quilt pieced together of

neighborhoods, each unique in its own residents and construction. To move through the island is to weave in

and out of a fabric of time and an infinite array of uses. The Hudson Rail Yards are two square city blocks on the

Hudson River in an industrial section of western Midtown. Currently they serve as a loading area and storage

station for old rail cars and train tracks. The design for revitalizing the Rail Yards includes building an elevated

platform 25 feet above the tracks, thus allowing them to stay in use with development above.

The main entry is a series of steps and terraces as well as an underground ramp at the north-east corner of

the eastern yard. The steps bring the occupier up to the top of the platform and into an open plaza that holds

a split office building, creating an exterior atrium space. Entering through the ramp, there is an underground

entry into the cultural center to the west and the office tower to the east. It opens up onto the platform next to the

amphitheater.

The south edge of the yards reaches terra firma, allowing the high rise buildings to have a direct connection

to the street edge and bring pedestrians up through the platform and into the towers. The cultural center is a

sculptural piece that is reminiscent of the nearby water. It houses an aquarium and a public amphitheater. The

site's program has an open interpretation for pedestrian movement throughout.

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CHARLESTON, SC

PROJECT SIZE: 20,000 SQ. FT.

CRITIC: LEVENT KARA

Founded in 1670, Charleston is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The many layers of history solidify to

form the context of the town, that must be carved into to extract its striated meaning. The idea of a cultural center

that corresponds with the nearby College of Charleston would offer a space that could be used at all times of

the day or night and not wasting a valuable spot of history to low peak hours.

The primary program is an art museum and meeting hall to serve the local area. Residence and students of the

College of Charleston can utilize these public spaces for special eventsduring the day. At night, receptions are

held upstairs and some rooms are converted into a quiet study area.

The form for the cultural center comes from an idea of holding separate autonomous pieces together by an

exterior, wrapping skin. The skin pulls up from the ground and begins to become more transparent and screen-

like as it suspends itself above the building. This layer serves to shade the interior spaces from the southern sun

and creates additional raised area that can be occupied outside.

U N I V E R S I T Y A R T

Keeping the north and south edges of the building

transparent opens the narrow street and visually

connects the main road with the private courtyard

within the cultural center property. This horizontal

transparency brings in light natural light as well as

color and movement from the outside. The natural light

is used in more refined and controlled ways as one

moves up in the building.

The ground floor is almost all glazing, letting

the movement and light from the street wash in

unceremoniously. The second floor is mostly solid

walls, with several different sized light wells perforating

the ceiling and the floor between the two levels. The

primary light well also acts as a display for hanging art

and as a visual connection between segregated areas

of the center.

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E R O S I O N P AV I L I O NGOVERNOR’S ISLAND, NYC

PROJECT SIZE: 20,000 SQ. FT.

PARTNER: STEPHEN VANLEER

CRITIC: BEN KRONE

Passive building systems have built upon the science of the natural cycle of erosion, to harness the forces of

energy happening all around us. For this project, we designed a passive building that harnessed the wind

direction and speed of the site and directed it along the paths where the buildings begin to break down and

separate by program, as if it were the wind that forced a rock in nature to crumble into lesser pieces. The skin

of on the pavilion appears as striations in the landscape that twist and open at points to allow ventilation and

sunlight in a controlled atmosphere.

The concept began with eroding the line between the natural and constructed sections of Governor’s Island. By

using the natural landscape and climate we conceived of a system that combined both erosion and passive

performance into an open-air pavilion. Different types of erosion are caused by different catalysts and yield

different results. Magnitude of the force over time creates specific erosive behaviors which began to inform the

program and circulation system of the hotel. A system of moving and depositing material can be seen along

the island’s natural wind directions, as it cuts through the hotel.

We set up a rift between the private and public program, that is connected by an overhead bridge. The private

program (housing) is located on the water and exhibits the characteristics of water borne erosion (massiveness,

crumbling). The public program is inland, emerging from and being eroded away with the ground.

The Hotel has different levels of enclosure based on the space’s location and program.

The primary circulation happens at the center of the building in the light wells. These

provide natural ventilation and a pavilion-like setting for flexible public use. As the hotel

guests disperse into the more defined areas, material is deposited and forms the smaller

scale spaces.

The hotel mediates the space between ground and sky, berming into the ground to cool

the space and offers more control over the light that enters the area. Components perform

together in different layers to erode the site and develop a passively cooled hotel.

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5.5' = 16.5" tall

3.5' = 10.5" tall

7.5' = 22.5" tall

1.5" RIGID INSULATION

DRAINAGE SYSTEM

GREEN ROOF

4" CORRUGATED METAL ROOF DECKING

LIGHT WEIGHT CONCRETE PANELS

CAST IN PLACE CON-CRETE WALLS

1.5" RIGID INSULATION

DRAINAGE SYSTEM

GREEN ROOF

4" CORRUGATED METAL ROOF DECKING

LIGHT WEIGHT CONCRETE PANELS

CAST IN PLACE CON-CRETE WALLS

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T E S S E L L AT I O NCERAMIC TILE DESIGN AND FABRICATION

ARCHITECTURE ASSOCIATION SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, LONDON

CRITICS: ADAM FURMAN AND MARCO GINEX

+ =

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TIMELINE START

FINISH

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D R I F T C I T YSTATEN ISLAND, NYC

PROJECT SIZE: STATEN ISLAND COASTLINE

CRITIC: WINKA DUBBELDAM

The semester began with a study of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It is an area twice the size of Texas

churning in the Pacific Ocean where garbage three feet deep, particularly plastic, has collected at the center

point of several currents, and is almost dense enough to walk across. This phenomenon has begun to gather

public attention, and groups have begun to study its effects. We’ve known for decades that our society’s

single-use, disposable plastic dependency would have consequences on our environment. Over time, this

accumulation of plastic will not biodegrade for over one thousand years. So it has to end up somewhere.

The project looked at Staten Island’s coastline and the plastic pollution problem it has. We were tasked

with designing a system that would collect and filter plastic debris out of the ocean and then repurpose into

something life-sustaining. Staten Island is known for its miles of beaches, which draw thousands of tourists

there each year to enjoy the sun and water. Plastic garbage washing up in the sand is both an ecological and

economical hazard for the borough.

I looked at New York City’s history of gentrification of dilapidated areas over the decades for inspiration of how

to change the tide on this pollution problem. The history of community gardens was particularly interesting and

relevant to the situation. Currently, there are over 600 gardens in NYC run by more than 2,000 members keeping

the city green. They were started at the turn of the nineteenth century as a way to engage the city’s population

in a healthy lifestyle and to teach people how to properly care for their land. It engages people of all ages, and

participating in community gardening fosters a closer-knit sense of community among those involved.

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The ides is to extend this known and loved pastime into the surrounding waters to rid it of plastic debris and

to recycle it into building materials that can create a drifting city. People will rent a “garden plot” in the water to

“grow” their own home by using robots to scoop the plastic and send it back to the central processing unit to

be recycled. Participants see a direct benefit by reaping what they sow, keeping track of their trash production

and producing a functional component in the end.

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