PORTFOLIO 2015KATHLEEN GILLETTE

PAPER MODULES

Using cut and folded paper, create a module which can be repeated and grown in both two and three dimensions. Use the inherent properties of the module’s shape to create a pavilion-like structure.

The module created was a sort of inverted cube in a star-like shape which naturally lent itself to a dynamic and flexible form with an almost infinite amount of variations possible. The pavilion created could be grown to any required size and permutation, maintaining a unified and interesting aesthetic without sacrificing freedom of form.

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1. Begin with a square sheet of paper. Fold the paper corner-to -

fold the sides together.

2. Flip the paper so that the corners push down on the table. Push the sides toward the middle to create a pyramid shape.

3. The module is made using six pyramids that overlap one another. To make the module hold itself together, overlap the pyramids so that the corners of each pyramid alternat e between folding over and folding under the next corner.

4. Carefully intertwine the six pyramids until the full module is created.

AUTO

RIVERBANK

CITY CENTER

PROJECT SITE

SUBURBS

RIVER

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PEDESTRIAN

RIVER

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PEDESTRIAN

RIVER

AUTO

On a small plot of land along the Arno River at the outskirts of Florence’s historic city center, design an industrial design museum that also serves as a gateway into the city and a re-connection to the channelized river.

Using existing site lines created by the river, its tributary, a connecting park, and a pedestrian path the project aimed to blur the transitions between the layers of the site (auto, pedestrian, and river). Building massing was formed to facilitate movement into and out of the project and create spaces with varying degrees of openness. A large folding roof serves as a beacon for the project.

BELARIVA MUSEUM

JOSHUA TREE VISITOR CENTER

On a gently sloping tract of land at the intersection of two trails and a small road in Joshua Tree National Park design a small interpretive nature center with a rock climbing training school.

The emphasis of this design was the preservation of the natural beauty of the park through formal design and sustainable systems. The project developed as a simple, low to the ground building which blends into the surroundings as it sinks into the ground. Over the exhibition space floats the only disruption to the sight lines, a floating roof of folding triangles which extend out to shade the outdoor rock climbing training area. Sustainable strategies pursued included the study and use of materials to provide insulation or thermal mass, the locating of window openings to allow for cross- and stack-ventilation, and the orienta-tion of the building based on sun and wind studies.

HOUSING AREA

STORAGEOFFICE AREALABORATORY

ENTRY AND STORE

EXHIBITION SPACE

On a seasonally flooding ravine in the San Bernardino Mountains design an 800 square foot retreat home for one to two occupants, but with space to entertain. Conduct structural calculationacs to properly design all foundations, retaining walls, and framing. A basic set of construction documents was to be prepared as well as a final model built at a 1”=1’ scale.

This design was driven by 3 major ideas. The first was the complimentary design of earthwork and roofwork. A heavy concrete basin serves as a receptacle over which fits the lighter wooden shell of the roof and upper walls. The second was the use of cantilevers to span the ravine, pushing out from the concrete tub to break the cube of the building. The third concept was to minimize, in such a small home, the use of interior walls. A single, thick poche wall serves to divide spaces, facilitate circula-tion, and provide storage.

MT. BALDY HOUSE

Creating and manipulating large geometric masses, design a 30,000 square foot museum for artist Ellsworth Kelly on a 12 acre plot of land in the Faircrest Heights area of Los Angeles.

The design for this project was driven by the use of a shearing operation. Beginning with a single rectangular form, diagonal lines cut and sheared the mass to create gallery spaces. The shifted masses were then sheared in section to create spatial variety to accommodate for larger sculpture galleries as well as more intimate, private galleries for the display of sketches and light-sensitive drawings.

ELLSWORTH KELLY MUSEUM

1. LOBBY2. AUDITORIUM2.1. AUDIO-VISUAL ROOM3. ADMINISTRATION4. BOOKSTORE5. PERMANENT GALLERY6. ROTATING GALLERY7. LOADING8. STORAGE AND PREP9. MECHANICAL10. WC11. SCULPTURE GARDEN

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TOWER SCHEME INVERSION STAGGERSKIP-STOP REMOVE CORE SCATTER VOIDS

The project is a mixed-use development of housing and retail located in the heart of the South Park neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles. The site is at the north corner of the Grand Avenue and Pico Boulevard intersection just blocks from the Los Angeles Convention Center, Staples Center, and LA Live. The South Park district is a rapidly gentrifying area which has seen the development of many new housing, retail, and entertainment centers in the past few years and is the site of numerous planned or under construction new projects, making it the ideal location for this project.

The residential units are located in a tower centered on the site while the 5,500 square feet of commercial program hugs the perimeter along the two major streets. The 64,000 square foot tower will house 175 single- or double-occupancy units no larger than 300 square feet and approximately 7,000 square feet of shared community spaces.

The architectural strategy of the project centers on the inversion of the traditional tower scheme, bringing the circulation to the exterior of the building. This inversion and the utilization of a staggered skip-stop system creates a vertical promenade which wraps upward around the building, carved from the main mass. A series of carved voids will allow for the penetration of light into the central portions of the tower and will also serve to create community spaces along the circulation promenade. The exposure of the building circulation and units creates a dynamic façade based on the movements of the building’s inhabitants. Within the tower the housing units respond to the subtractive massing to form highly articulated plans and sections both inter- and intra-unit.

The main interests of this project lay in the creation of a dynamic, animated façade which exposes the actions of the occupants instead of obscuring them as well as the creation of housing units which are articulated in both plan and section. Thus the project asserts that both of these architectures are of equal importance and work as symbiotes, neither subjected to the other but both designed in tandem, creating a cause-and-effect cycle in the design process.

SENIOR PROJECT(in progress)