George Washington Howard

Undergraduate Portfolio

Architecture is a place to be in as much as it is a place within itself. Inevitably, architecture is a relation between the built and our human interaction and perception. Therefore as architects it is our responsibility to design with the human in mind.

Today the field of architecture has been saturated and stifled by consumerism and societies desire for efficiency. These factors have become a defining aspect of our decisions throughout various fields and the “human” has been largely neglected or overlooked. Our interaction with the built goes beyond a pragmatic relationship since we as humans innately are unpredictable in our thoughts and actions. With consumerism infiltrating every aspect of life, we are hindering our ability to relate to architecture and even ourselves. I believe that architecture must have a cohesive relationship with its context; the human, site and function. Architecture always has an identity; whether it becomes a part of the city, town or rural village, even though it may stand out by itself it is still attached to the place it’s located in. It must relate to itself as a construct as well as the context to be able to gain an identity with use. During my architectural education I have encountered various situations that have constantly reiterated or have an underling factor that drives my interest in the human relation. Explorations in destination, connections, culture, site, relied on my understanding and acknowledgement of our human interaction because without it there is a gap, a disconnect between the construct and the user. Architecture must relate to people as much as we relate to it, we must develop a cohesive relationship between the built environment and our societal construct. As a society we have become aware of the problems associated with “big box” stores, even our cities have reflected/absorbed its mindset; density, profitability, efficiency, and many have neglected the human ability, leading to an increase of medical issues including depression , anxiety, and stress.

Because of this I am intrigued by landmarks and monuments because these amongst all other buildings are expected by society to exhibit a relation to the human. Whether they play on the exaggeration of the human scale and capabilities or emotions and senses they are able to relate beyond the function and convenience. They allow a person to be. As I continue with my architectural education I hope to continue this exploration, to develop and bring awareness of the importance of our relationship to the built environment beyond that of the landmark. In the hope that we become a part of architecture as much as it is a part of us and itself.

Table of ContentsStudio 1: Oglethrope House9

Studio 2: Bywater Community Center25

Studio 3: Paris River Gauce Train Station45

Studio 4: James Monroe Public Library67

Construction Technology89

Travel Portfolio97

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Studio 1 - Oglethrope HouseSavannah, Georgia

The redesign of SCAD’s Ogelthrope House was the project for my first design studio, for which it was required to design an autinomous housing development upon the existing O’house.

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Site

Savannah, Georgia

The city was laid out in 1769 around four open squares. The first four squares were designed by James Oglethorpe. The plan anticipated growth of the city and thus expansion of the grid. Additional squares were added during the 18th and 19th centuries, and by 1851 there were twenty four squares in the city. Unfortunately, due to growth and population a few of the squares were demolished, and today 22 of the orginal 24 are still around.

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North Elevation

Site Diagram

Roof Top Perspective

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ExplorationThe focus of this project was to explore the human interaction with the roof top environment. I tried to exaggerate the human scale inorder to spark the users sensory capabilites. I used this to draw upon the raw emotion, and awe-inspiring state when entering a new environment. And to achieve this effect I used ISO containers stacked upon one another, with slight shifts of angel depending on there orientation to the sun and adjacent containers.

Above - Aproach from Northeast side along Olgethrope Street.Right - Early rendering of rooftop perspective, with ISO containers highlighted

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Studio 2 - Bywater Community CenterNew Orleans, Louisiana

The Bywater Community Center is a restoration of a historical stable in the residential area of New Orleans. The focus of the project was the exploration of the relationship between the historic mule stable and existing Bywater residences.

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“There was something about that city, though it didn’t let me feel guilty that I had no feeling for the things so many others needed. It let me alone.”

W. Charles Bukowski

New Orleans New Orleans

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New Orleans This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are. -Plato

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New Orleans This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are. -Plato

Bywater, New Orleans, is just east of the central city. It is a primarily residential neighborhood, accented by continual blocks of shotgun type houses. But like many neighborhood in post katrina New Orleans, Bywater is marked by deterioration and abandonment. The hope is that the new Bywater Community Center will not only connect the survivors of Katrina, but also attract new residences to the neighborhood. Which in this case is a necessity for the area’s survival.

Diagram of Site Views

Birds-eye View

Elevated Perspective

Exterior Courtyard

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Above - Space planing Sketch. Right - Concept Model, and

sketches

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First Floor Plan Second Floor PlanSecond Floor Plan

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Above - Perspective of courtyard staircase.Left - Section Cut through Polland Ave.

Second Floor - Sitting Area

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Studio 3 - Paris River Gauce Train StationParis, France

The Train station for Paris Rive Gauche area was designed to be a lighthouse for the city, and signify the development of the transportation system. As well as the relationship between a rapidly growing modern area, within a predomintaely classical city.

Paris Rive Gauche

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10min radius The ten minute radius signifies the distance one could travel from the site with any of the given transportations. With the metro being centrally located to the site, a patron of the train station could virtually get anywhere within the city at a moments notice.

Relationship to existing context

Breakdown of Massing

Circulation

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Wind Pattern

Existing Sidewalks

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Site AnaylsisThese series of diargrams gave me the necessary information to determine the orientation of the building. As well as deciding the location of lighthouse on the site, in relation to the local building context.

Site Views Massing and Movement

Thereness Approach

Spacial BreakdownIn order to better understand the human interaction and experience with the building, I did a series of sections and axions to better understand the relationship from floor to floor. A common problem with any city is space, and Paris is no different. So naturally the next option is to build upwards, which is why the floor above and below the user is so crucial. These drawings help me to understand the human scale, and it is immediately evident in a section when a ceiling height is over scaled. The same goes for axions, when there is a imperfection or awkward space is becomes clearly seen.

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Approach

Entrance

Section

Site Plan

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Second Floor Plan Third Floor PlanFirst Floor Plan

Exterior Perspective

Interior Perspective

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Studio 4 - James Monroe Public LibraryWashington D.C.

The Project was a public library set within the dense urban context of Washington D.C. It set out to explore the way people today obtain knowledge, while still providing the numerous tasks a library is expected to have. Ultimately facilitating the needs of the user in a working environment

Washington D.C.Washington, D.C. formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington is the capital of the United States. It has a estimated population of 617,996.During the work week commuters from neighboring Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city’s population to over one million. Washington is located in the humid subtropical climate zone and exhibits four distinct seasons thoughout the year.

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Inital ProgressionLike most studios I try and develop my intial massings though a series of sections. A concept is useless if it cannot fit the necessary spaces. That is why I developed these sections with the idea of what spaces might go where and how they relate from floor to floor.

Like most studios I try and develop my intial massings though a series of sections. A concept is useless if it cannot fit the necessary spaces. That is why I developed these sections with the idea of what spaces might go where and how

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Massing DevelopmentThe initial massing for this project was simply a stacking effect, in order to have the need square footage. But it lacked the necessary relationship with the site and city. It wasn’t till I began to review pictures of the site, and personal views of D.C. did I come up with the idea of Columns. And how they could bridge the gap of the site and the city, as well as facilitate the architecture itself. From there I began to shift the initial massing to create more interest, as well as relate to the site. The final massing was derived from the site in the simplest way, the ground floor was aligned with Pennsylvania Ave, which allowed the columns to work as a divider from the busy street, where as the second floor was derived from I street which runs parallel to it.

Final ConceptThe James Monroe Library explores the juxtaposition of introverted and extroverted knowledge. It questions the idea of how people obtain knowledge, whether through intellectual discussion of ideas within the community, or from research and in depth study of past authors. The massing itself is a direct confrontation of both these ideas. The ground floor represents the extrovert , while the second floor assumes the role of the introvert. Most people believe that an extrovert is a person who is friendly and outgoing. While that may be true, that is not the true meaning of extroversion. An extrovert is a person who is energized by being around other people. The Monroe library strives to facilitate this through its community space and design. The first floor is a place to be seen, which explains the multitude of glass panels. The extrovert is energized by the idea of being around people, and obtaining knowledge. This is the opposite of an introvert who is energized by being alone. The James Monroe library also caters to their needs as well, for the second floor is the inversion of the first floor, it houses the bulk of books in the library which restricts the amount of allowable windows, thus giving the appearance of a introversion.

First Floor Plan Second Floor Plan

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Third Floor Plan Fourth Floor Plan

Exterior Perspective

Interior Perspective

Section Cut 1

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Construction Technology Savannah, GA

This course builds upon construction technology by emphasizing the various existing and emerging technologies, materials, assemblies and their characteristics. The influences of building codes, industry standards and programmatic requirements on the selection of both structural and nonstructural elements are discussed. Which, develops an understanding of the relationship between drawings and specifications.

Foundation Wall Section

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Eave Framing Detail

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Column to Beam Detail

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Beam to Wall Detail

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Travel Portfolio Southern Provance

“To draw a place is to know a place.” That was the motto for the class, and looking back I couldn’t agree more. The purpose of the class was to experience the world, and capture it through our sketch books. In doing this shed light to previously overlooked areas in daily life, and emphasize the architectural experience of a medieval culture.

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Detail: Le Tombeau de Napoléon

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Detail - Bibliothèque

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