Degree Project - Design Review

 

Much of my design thinking research had to do with urban revitalization and the issue of the loss of population in formerly industrial urban environments. In the city of St Louis, the Land Reutilization Authority (LRA) owns 11,000 plots of vacant land and structure. The LRA is a city organization that acquires vacant land and structures. The 11,000 plots does not include countless other plots and structures that are not cataloged or that are still owned. Reuse of these buildings and the infill of existing building fabric is something that I focused on. I chose the neighborhood of Midtown because it already has several creative companies that are moving into the neighborhood.

 

The building I chose was built in 1910 and was formerly a clothing manufacturing and storage warehouse. The building itself is 34,000 square feet, 6 levels and is currently empty. The structure of the building is timber column structure and a load bearing brick exterior wall.

 

My initial concept studies involved infusing this historic building with new program. I wanted to create an environment that would encourage collaboration and innovation among individuals. The program for the building is something that I am calling a creative arts generator. I was thinking about how the city of St Louis has world class universities and a vibrant, albeit small, creative community that needs space that supports these activities. So if I can provide space and resources for these, would people be enticed to stay or even attracted to move here? The program would cater to creative industries and provide shared resources like material shops, desk spaces, and library resources.

 

Within the building I wanted to pull apart the existing floors and create a connection through the building vertically. The section diagram pulls space in through the bottom and through the building's middle via an atrium space.

 

I removed portions of the existing floors to create a section cut through the middle that would encourage movement and connection floor to floor. I also added new construction with an addition to the east wall by cantilevering floors to create the extra space needed for the new program.

 

Around the new construction I added a screen that would articulate the removed volumes on the interior onto the exterior. The review itself went pretty good, my panel of critics had a great discussion about the possibilities which is always a good sign. My next steps are to really figure out how the structure work and what the screening element is really like. I think that some things will change but I am excited about what will happen with the project.

Studio! Done!

After working on individual schemes until spring break, after mid review our professor, Andrew Cruse, chose three schemes that he thought we should move forward with. From that we split up the  12 person class into 3 groups of 4 and each group worked on developing one scheme. For my group, we worked on the scheme that I had designed, which focused on multilevel units with double height spaces that would increase the natural light. The building we were working on is neighbored by two equally sized buildings that were about 8 feet away from each side. This made getting light into the building from the side really difficult, which is why I developed the strategy of bringing light in through the top and down into double height spaces.

The original building was six two-bedroom units, I increased the density of the building to ten units; four two-bedroom units and six one-bedroom units. Within each unit, it was a requirement to have a bathroom for each bedroom, full kitchen and washer and dryer in the unit.

When we started working in groups, we also began to do intensive energy modeling on the design where we measured energy and water usage, light conditions and window strategies. We tested the building as-is, how it would generally be remodeled and then with the energy efficient conditions that we had developed. Our most efficient design reduced energy by 75% and was creating 25% electricity with PV panels installed on the roof. Obviously, this is all testing data and we wouldn't have actual results until it was tested in the field, but it was still interesting to see actual data on a design.

In the review, everyone was really impressed with my design because of the architectural intervention. The three groups each had a different focus. One group was redesigning the building units more conventionally, using the same floor plates and unit arrangement and just rearranging the wall to be more pleasant and the other group went for a more dense approach and employed a dorm-style unit. Each of their units was 250-375 SF and they designed a large common room/kitchen and a fitness center. 
 

Each group also had to build a 1/2"=1'0" scale model that will be on display in the student housing office as examples. It took us about 2 1/2 - 3 weeks to build, they were huge.

After the review, we had a reception in a gallery space where the projects are being displayed and the vice-chancellor of the university came. I am currently in one of his classes right now and he was really impressed with our work as a studio, which is good because he approves funding for a lot of things. About my project he said that if he was a commercial developer building market rate apartments that he would definitely build mine first because it is the most desirable and marketable, but would be really expensive for students because of the rent mark up.

So, moving forward the housing department will get estimates for each scheme and then make a decision on construction from there. The school plans to continue doing this studio in partnership with the housing department for the next five years, which I think is a real asset to the university. It was a really valuable experience to have such a real project and get feedback from so many different people who were involved from funding to management to design and engineering.

Creative Generation: Innovation and Collaboration in St Louis

Design Thinking (DT) is the class that you take before starting your final semester and studio. In DT, you do all of you research and development on program and site for your final project, which is like a thesis so this semester is basically thesis prep. At the end of the semester we make a book that encapsulates all of our research. Also, part of the requirement is that our site is within the St Louis region. What I'm beginning to research is how we work with and around each other.

Our final product for the class is book that contains all of our research and work in about 100 pages. For our final presentation though we have to condense all of that down into 5 slides that we present in 3 minutes and get feedback on. Included here are my 5 slides and what I said.

 

I started out by exploring the context of architecture and the idea of infusing spaces with different uses and investigating what happens when those uses overlap and begin to mix. Former industrial urban regions are still recovering from the elimination of the manufacturing industry and it is causing these regions to empty out, uprooting infrastructure and population. One successful revitalization strategy that is occurring is the infusing of creative initiatives into existing urban fabrics. These creative enterprises animate places and spark economic development. This leads to gains in livability, jobs, incomes, and innovative products and services all the while boosting cultural industries.

 

The creative city prioritizes livability, diversity, and economic development goals. The creative sector is St Louis is being propelled forward by momentum created by the existing startup community that is paving an incredible growth trajectory. These are fueled by the success of their peers. Successes will breed further success.

 

Arts-related activities play a key role in contributing the kind of quality of place that attracts and retains talented people and enables people to put all of their talent to work. These kinds of places generate additional innovation and economic activity, which broadly benefits entire urban areas.

In the revitalization of urban areas, adaptive reuse is a driver of community development and economic activity. Existing building stock maintains a character that is an invaluable asset. In the next 10 years, 90% of construction activity will be in existing building stock. Additionally, historic tax credits have been responsible for $4.5b in development. The traditional bones of older cities - short blocks, diverse uses, and architectural character - work well to promote walkable neighborhoods and encourage citizen interactions.

The program goal is to provide a diversity of activities in a space that allows and encourages collaboration and promotes a culture of work, participation and community. A cross-section of backgrounds, experience and skill levels would be welcome with spaces for teaching and working.

 

Overall, I got good feedback and encouragement. My critics liked my location, program proposal and the fact that I want to do an adaptive reuse. They were a little skeptical about the adaptive reuse and making it architectural rather than just an interior remodel so that will be a hurdle for next fall. 

The Quadrangle Experiment

We had a pin-up today for schematic design in studio. So like I've explained before the project is a renovation of an existing 1920-30s apartment building that is being used as student housing. My concept centered on the exploration of sectional space. So I created two level units that have double height space that brings light down into the middles of the units. The units are one and two bedrooms, single level on the bottom and interlocking L-shapes on the second and third floors. 

Next up we will continue to work on these designs until right before spring break and then after spring break, we will choose 2-3 designs to continue working on and developing for the rest of the semester as a group and will hopefully be constructed next fall.

Design Thinking

Design Thinking (DT) is the class that you take before starting your final semester and studio. In DT, you do all of you research and development on program and site for your final project, which is like a thesis so this semester is basically thesis prep. At the end of the semester we make a book that encapsulates all of our research. Also, part of the requirement is that our site is within the St Louis region. What I'm beginning to research is how we work with and around each other.

For the first time in history more than half of our population is living in urban centers. In the last century we've restructured our economy from manufacturing to services to technology. Historically, populations have followed jobs and while that is still true it isn't the guarantee that it once was. Cities are still trying to attract economic developments but research is showing that cities are working to attract people as much as companies. This is being called the Creative Shift because the population that is being courted is primarily in the creative sector; arts, design, technology, education, etc. These are the sectors that are transforming cities, revitalizing urban cores. Workers are more mobile now, able to work from anywhere for a company headquartered anywhere.

I am interested in finding a way to attract this population to St Louis and build the resources that already exist here. Between Washington University and St Louis University, St Louis is home to two premiere educational institutions, the people graduating from these institutions are not always staying in St Louis and building on the community here. I want to know what will keep them here, assuming that they have the choice to stay. What if we create a hub or a incubator that provides them with resources to allow them to live and work in St Louis. Also focusing on creative industries, providing desk space, internet access, workshops, conference rooms, etc.

Anyway, this is still the beginnings of my research. Right now, I'm working on finding an appropriate site and exploring the idea of adaptive reuse. These images are collages that I've been working on that illustrate my research.

Exhibition of BA Studio

After every studio abroad, the next semester the university hangs up the student's final boards in the hall so other students can see them and hopefully be enticed to go and sign up for the semester abroad. Our boards from Buenos Aires were put on display this weekend and I wanted to share the email announcement because it gives a little different description from what I've talked about.

BA Student Exhibition

My friend, Alex Morley is the work about. He did a really interesting project that primarily reused shipping containers from the adjacent port.

The Quadrangle Experiment

So, I am back in St Louis and it is cold. Freezing, actually. But I've found my sweaters and some warm coats so I am managing. My studio this semester is my first option studio. The way option studios work is that about 10 professors present their studios and projects to the student body and then we rank the studios in order of our preference. Then we get placed into studios based on that and our seniority within the school. They try to give everyone their first choice in studios, but obviously that doesn't always happen. Luckily this semester, I got my first selection, which is a studio officially called "Of Donks and Dyads: the Quadrangle Experiment." The studio is taught by Andrew Cruse, who is the organizer of the Environmental Systems courses. The studio joins the three themes of sustainabilty, building reuse and housing. The main intention of the studio is to address student housing in the Parkview Gardens neighborhood (where I live) and where a lot of university housing is located.

Quadrangle is the university's housing branch, which rents off-campus housing to undergraduate and graduate students. The university and Quadrangle is currently undergoing renovations of 850 housing units. Much of the housing stock located in Parkview Gardens is brick buildings constructed in the 1920-30s as single family apartments, usually 4-6 apartments per building. Our studio project will focus on two buildings which we will research, plan and create drawings for this semester and then will be constructed and implemented next fall.

Our studio is being held off-campus in an already gutted building that is typical of the building stock in the area. It is a six-unit building that has been stripped to the bearing walls except for the top two apartments where our studio is located.

 

In general the studio is going to be ran more like an office with everyone working on a different aspect of the project. The way this happens still has yet to be seen because Wash U hasn't done anything like this before, which is one of the main reasons I ranked it first. One of the main problems I've had with the university is that it is so insulated from the rest of the city and isn't always doing a lot to engage with the city's problems or issues. So, I saw this as an opportunity to really engage with both the way the university works and the neighborhood that I've been living in for the past two years and also shape how the university interacts in the future. We will also be working with students from the business school and the engineering school, measuring sustainability performance and feasibility.

 

The university is hoping to use these buildings as case studies for the future renovations of existing buildings. Right now we are doing research, historical and theoretical that will result in a book that detail these facts and how we will proceed. 

In addition to studio, I am taking Environmental Systems II, Community Development and the American City, as well as Design Thinking which is the thesis prep course where we doing all of our research and planning before our thesis studio. Right now I'm still in the planning phase for that but here are some initial images.

 

 

 Anyway, I'm pretty excited about this semester and hoping I can really explore some of the ideas and theories that I've been working on over the years. In addition to school, I'm working as a monitor in the woodshop, basically just making sure people don't cut their fingers off and also on the exhibition team that puts up and takes down exhibitions. Once it warms up hopefully I'll be working a little faster. :)

Buenos Aires Final

Officially, I'm back in St Louis now and have started the new spring semester at Washington University. However, I am posting my final boards from the Buenos Aires studio.

 

These were my final presentation boards, which all in all went pretty well. My final project ended up being a school that included art studios and workshops and a community market where people in the neighborhood could sell their wares. I proposed this as a way for the villa to create an identity for themselves and to invite the rest of the city into their neighborhood.

We had an Urban Design professor who flew down from St Louis for the final reviews and he was a little harsh on everyone. I got most of my criticism from him because he didn't like the site I had chosen. It was all a little difficult and subjective because the entire semester we had been so restricted on visiting the site and getting a feel for the neighborhood.

Overall, the university was really pleased with our work and will hopefully be continuing the project and the relationship with the villa. This studio project was probably one of the most relevant and worthwhile that Wash U has done and I am so happy to have been a part of it.