Aliform Pavilion & Structure

The Aliform Pavilion was a project inspired by the structure and form of a wingspan.

a l i f o r m - O f   t h e   s h a p e   o f   a   w i n g .

The structure of the pavilion uses four canted parabolic arches and a central

circular arch to support itself. Structurally, the pavilion is a closed system, where

the tensile forces in the centered spine and the compressive forces in the cantilevering

members terminate into the base plinth.

HSR Train Station, Dwight Illinois

The rail station and town center in Dwight, IL was a structurally determinant project; 

meaning that the design was to engage the role of structure in the act of architectural design. 

The rail station represents a reinvention of the rail transportation area. The design is intended to 

represent the promise of the industry and promote the vision of the national and local high speed rail initiatives.

The station at Dwight presented an opportunity to extend the definition of the rail station into a place that was to be a town center, one greatly needed in a place that lacked social and cultural space and infrastructure.

 

  
 

 

Mix Use: Residence & Gallery, Chicago Illinois

3400 Lincoln represented an intersection of city and dwelling, two scales of inhabitation and ownership and a shared concern for urbanity and civility. Each component was to be invested in issues of density and infrastructure that afford a particular vitality and economic dependency. The mixed use building collected the moment of public and private, collective and individual into a single entity. 


The intersection between commercial and residential, as well as mass transit and public corridors; marks the site of this proposed mixing used development. 3400 Lincoln was designed to discuss intersections between ideas, materials and urban interventions. The building inserts itself into the fabric of the city, attempting to bridge cultural, civic and environmental issues.


Programmatically, the project seeked to bridge connective elements through a centrally inward looking courtyard space - providing a link to residents above and the main level gallery space. A transparent outer lower level skin filters a dense urban condition, while removable and interchangeable panels on the residential levels empower dwellers with an ability for self-expression - echoing the gallery below. Proposed movable walls at the gallery level promote  a flexible attitude towards condition the space for exhibiting art at a wide range of scales.

                                                                     

Solomon Park Pavilion

The Soloman Park Center was inspired and developed with the idea of a softly gracing building on site. In collaboration with the structural pre-design structural study, and a preliminary site mapping, the design is meant to have a minimal foot print and initiate a dialogue with on site berms.The structural system allowed for a layering approach to the construction of the park pavilion and center; one that became a way of understanding the fluid program and site dynamics. The design became a playful collaboration of structure, site and materiality. 

This truss framing model was developed as part of a pre-design exercise for a park center design. Centered around the exploration of this structural system was understanding how to span large spaces. 

The structural steel truss frame became a means to create open 

space and articulate structure as it related to program.

The primary structural elements of the steel truss frame set up a system that could grow with additional layers. Transperancy, light and material experession became a derivative of this building process.

The following model photos represent a study of these ideas.

Three Suns Pool House

The 3 Suns Reservoir Pool House and Sauna in Tierres Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico was a project driven by the movement of water. It’s phenomenological and physiological presence on site and through the building is a guiding feature in the internal and external components of the program. 

As a central component to the program, water became the element in defining the entry and process through the building. Water as a cyclical element passes through various warming and cooling process in the building depending on the program.The pool house responds to climate conditions by using solar exposure and passive solar heat to warm water. Rammed earth masonry was thought of as the building material for its thermal properties as it relates to passive heating and cooling in the building. 

Jackson Street Plan; St. Paul, MN

This study of settlement patterns in St.Paul was part of a larger study of housing patterns, commerce, and industry in the greater Twin Cities.In this study, these various forces informed expansion and development in the areas being studied. 

The Jackson Street Renewal Plan was a project intended to reinterpret a 12 square city block of streets and 

buildings; reinvigorating street life, creating greenscape, managing storm water, and parking in an effort to develop a sense of place in the public realm on this site in St.Paul Minnesota.

A more focused 3 block group was later developed as part of a more detailed urban design.Attention was paid to material choices for pavement surfaces, spatial sequencing, reposing intermediate 

spaces and water ponds and spaces.

TEA2 (Tom Ellison Architects), a Minneapolis based firm, founded in 1979, focuses on highend residential design with an emphasis on quality construction and craftsmanship. Working at TEA2 provided me an opportunity to learn first hand the architectural design process from reknown architects Daniel Nepp and Tom Ellison. Both have been staples in the Minnesota architectural community for over 30 years and have had a profound affect on my thinking as a student of design. Their approach instilled in me has long been something that has carried me through my academic career.

The following drawing samples represent drafting work done over the course of four years. 

(Work examples provided with permission from Daniel Nepp and TEA2)

TEA2 Architects

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