ae j

ABOUT MEI am a New York City native; coming from a city gives you a different approach to building design. In NYC everyone walks everywhere, as a result one is more conscious of his or her surroundings and how they are directly impacted by their surroundings.

As a future architect, understanding the arts has great significance because it shapes culture and design. Moreover, it’s imperative to understand the people for whom one is designing for; thus, the knowledge of cultures is one of the best to obtain.

As a designer I aim to be innovative with given projects, and truly push myself to a greater understanding of each concept and design.

ae jauna n. briggs

Table of contents

11 flat pack design

3 design build

5 Design charette

7 technical construction

9 landscape integration

A

B

C

Delta Program PergolaState college, PADesign Build

Model Aerial view of proposed design

CONCEPT OF CURVED PATIO GEOMETRY

This design was a nine-week project of five students. We were given a client: Delta Program an alternative High School in State College, PA. They requested a pergola to shade their patio and trellis work to plant during the spring.

Once we built the smaller model we understood the scale of the structure’s footprint onto the patio. The goal was to optimize the shadows cast across the patio and arrange the tables around these shadows. In addition we were given constraints of 144 sq. feet and a height of 12 feet, so that we wouldn’t need a building permit.

CONCEPT OF ANGLED GEOMETRY

3

Current Site Post-Interventionsite with shadows cast on patio

mock-up Detail of girder joints DETAIL JOINT OF MAIN GIRDER

EXISTING CONSTRUCTION ON PATIO

CUSTOM HANDMADE HARDWARE

After the construction of the small-scale model we realized we needed to think more structurally. We designed a second beam structure and angled arms to support the moment on the ends of the cantilevered slats.

The final construction of the pergola was of white and red oak, with custom handmade hardware from existing beams in the metal shop. Galvanized bolts were purchased for the upper girder, and the entire pergola was weather sealed with a translucent paint.

4

DETAIL OF slats connection

AURELIAN WALL WORKSHOPRome, ITalyDesign Charette

Site map of castro pretorioEXPLODED AXON. DIAGRAM ENCLOSING WALL

VIEW OF WALL FROM public access

The Aurelian Wall Workshop was a two-week design charrette. Each team was comprised of one student from USA, Italy and Japan. The aim was to re-envision the wall not merely as an ancient artifact but as a living and existing part of Rome.

Our group was given Castro Pretorio a region surrounded by military barracks and a university hospital. Our site was the only area that offered a bar and rest stop for those walking along the wall.

Reading/ Sitting area

Exhibition Cafe

Reading/Sitting Area

Book Shop

Reading/ Sitting areaReading/

Reading/Sitting Area

5

CONCEPT OF PROGRAM ALONG WALL

Cafe

Sitting Area

BookstoreExhibition

WALL’S RELATIONSHIP TO HUMAN SCALE

We used this existing function as a necessity for further activities along the wall. The proposal was to break the linear system of the wall and create a double skin that allows for more fluid movement. The double skin consisted of a light steel framed structure with a transparent mesh draped over.

The mesh also allows for the wall’s protection as well as defining programmatic spaces. The new functions introduced into the site overlap creating new areas of shade and rest.

VIEW IN BOOKSTORE WITH DOUBLE-SKIN MESH Elevation OF DOUBLE SKIN facade

6

7GEODESIC SPHEREState college, PATechnical Construction

CONSTRUCTION OF SPHERE DESIGN

CONCEPT OF SOCCER BALL GEOMETRY UNROLLED

The geodesic sphere project lasted three weeks and consisted of three people. The requirements were 27” in diameter with no singular piece being over 9”. A soccer ball inspired us through its connection points between each polygon. We liked the simplicity of the soccer ball, but to advance the design we altered the pentagons and hexagons into circles.

The angles were calculated to connect the different tangent points of the circles. There were two different angles to create the connection joints: hexagon to hexagon, and hexagon to pentagon.

CONCEPT OF ANGULAR TANGENT POINTS

hexagon hexagon

hexagonpentagon

TECHNICAL DRAWING FACADE OFFSETS

Plexiglass

Metal

Masonite

Spacer

Connector

Note: Refer to Unrolled Elevation for the pattern of plexiglass and metal discs (A, B, C)

3

R 14"

BA

C

GEODESIC SPHERE FACADE

SHEET 2 OF 6REFERENCE ELEVATIONSCALE 1:2

Circle 1Material: Sheet Metal

Circle 2Material: Plexi

7 5/8"

9 5/8"

20 sets12 sets

Sphere component details

8

SPHERE WITH INTERIOR BLACKLIGHT

SPHERE WITH COMPLETED FACADE

We then designed a facade for the sphere and composed technical drawings for an aditional three weeks. I specifically took lead and proposed the intricate design and difference in materials. Once the assembly of the facade was complete we were asked to take a picture of the sphere with a light on the interior and exterior. This allowed us to see the shadows cast through the facade.

We used a black light on the interior of the sphere to highlight the plexi-glass. On the exterior we used a soft white light. The facade was made out of sheet metal and plexi-glass. We used plastic beads and screws as pins to offset the facade from the pure form of the sphere.

B

C Plan A Elevation

B Section

NOTE: Refer to Sheet 5 to see disk dimensions

Villa Borghese MuseumRome, italyLandscape Integration

SITE PLAN OF GALLOPATOIO

CONCEPT OF STRUCTURAL GRID EXTRUDED

The museum was a nine-week project located at Gallopatoio Park within Villa Borghese. There is an existing parking garage built under the site on a 13 x13m grid. Since there was a lot of green space there was great consideration on how I could incorporate more outdoor space with the proposed museum.

The concept of the museum was the intersection of the existing topography lines and the extraction of the structural grid lines from the parking garage below. The building was dictated by the parking garage but the topography lines created integrated piazzas and courtyard spaces.

CONCEPT OF TOPOGRAPHY LINE CIRCULATION

Scale 1:200

9

Scale 1:200

SECTION A-A

AB

CD

EF

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

G

SECOND FLOOR PLAN

SECTION A-A

AB

CD

EF

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

G

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

Scale 1:200

The vertical planes on the facade accentuated the linear planes as well as provided shading for the site. Circulation within the museum was emphasized when the topography lines cut through.

Since the site was so large there are only a few double height spaces within the museum. As a result there is a strong relationship to the exterior and interior spaces.

10

SITE SECTION WITH PARKING GARAGE BELOW

VIEW OF EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR OVERLAP

11Wine rackState college, PAFlat-Pack Design

CONCEPT SKETCHESWine rack pattern DESIGN

ENVISIONING THE WINE RACK AS A MODULE

The wine rack was an introduction exercise for the duration of two weeks. I initially sketched some ideas for lightweight design that could be placed on any scale. The design was derived from the diameter of the average wine bottle.

The initial sketch model I made did not have enough stability. Therefore, a more detailed model was made to test the structural integrity of the design. I found that the more wine bottles the rack contained the more stable it became because of the mass and forces being pushed to the base.

INITIAL SKETCH MODEL SECONDARY MODEL

12

Final Construction of Wine RackWORMS-EYE VIEW OF FINAL CONSTRUCTION DETAILED VIEWS OF JOINTS

The idea was that this concept could be continued from ceiling all the way down to the ground. The rendering envisions the wine rack as a module that can be repeated and extended in any direction and on any scale.

There were a few requirements for design: the wine rack had to be cut through a CNC router (flat pack design) and be able to fit on a sheet of MDF that was 4’ x 8’. In addition, no adhesives or alternative connections could be added. The joints established were a notched friction system.

Side view of connections