My New Architecture Portfolio

[Mings]

Hey guys,

I have spent the past couple of days tightening up my portfolio and doing a little bit of redesign to let the projects stand out more versus the graphics. It is a bit more restrained now but still retains a bit of the edge that the previous versions had. I also brought in the logo treatment from the cover into the main body of the portfolio in terms of title blocks. Feel free to critique everything from the projects to the colors to the font. The color is no longer the reddish-orange I had (I changed it to a more basic orange). I'm including a link to the album and a few previews in the post.

Thanks in advance!

Click here for my entire portfolio

[Mings]

Well, I'm guessing photobucket isn't doing a great job of showing it, so I am putting the PDF up.

Portfolio PDF

Thanks in advance for looking.

[fiasco!]

Mings, in the six years we've been acquainted, your talent and skill have grown by leaps and bounds. You are going to be a great architect, I know it.

[Mings]

I already told you this once Joel, but it bears repeating. I really appreciate it. Thank you. That along with Isabella loving the wall art I put up in her room really made my day.

[Mings]

Hey guys,

One of my professors suggested having people not associated with architecture read over my descriptions for each project to get rid of architecture-speak and make them really hammer the point home. I'm going to put them all here, so please let me know what parts you may not understand, parts that I need to simplify and put into basic English, things of that nature. The point is to be lean, mean, and clear. He also suggested that I had some more editing to do, so I'm going to meet with him this week to see, since I've already gotten rid of a lot of things from previous versions of the resume.

Thanks in advance guys.

1) Segregation (Both/And) Integration

Utilizing the Both/And condition present in the site, the Louisiana Civil Rights Institute becomes a play on Segregation and Integration by taking segregated institute and community masses and integrating them through use of a bridging gallery and unifying perforated and profiled Cor-ten steel skin. Strands of program within the institute converge to create a central focal point/stair. Punctuated moments in the skin visually connect the occupants back to the surrounding community. Reclaimed Sinker Cypress flooring and handrails give a warm feel to areas that the occupant interacts with the building evoking a ?Southern? feeling.

Fritted glazing serves to expand the both/and condition by giving the institute a separate reading in the courtyard. The Auditorium and community space expands into the courtyard through the use of a kinetic wall creating a large performance area for the entire community. Lifting the gallery up and using a large box truss as a transfer beam allow for an uninterrupted plaza and courtyard space giving green space back to the community and repairing the urban fabric. The entry stair evokes the main stair/front porch condition found in the majority of homes in the South. The Both/And condition comes into play here with the bottom step both above the ground and the railing walls touching the ground creating both a rarefied condition and an everyday condition; both touching and separate, segregated and integrated.

2) Collisions of Duality

Collisions of Duality: Exploring the Phenomenology of the Solid/Void Condition deals with the notion of collision of dualistic tendencies inherent in the urban fabric of Paris, France and how those collisions can inform the dualistic Solid/Void condition in architecture. The collisions of Haussmann?s plan versus the medieval, organic layout of Paris in the 1800?s creating a series of long, axial boulevards informs the void space of the building. Public functions inhabit this void space with the solids being informed by semi-public and private functions. As in dancing, where the solids create and inform the void space between the dancers, the void space can also inform the dancers in their movements. This notion plays out in the building through the interplay and informing of both spaces through functional and phenomenological needs.

Being an Urban Infill project, the inclusion of light into the interior of the school becomes a priority. By breaking the program up into three solids representing a group of dancers, a glazed void opens up allowing for light to enter the school. The void creates 2 additional facades through which to gather and bring light into the building. By opening the school to the outside, the passage of light and time becomes symbolic and plays against the movement from dance studio (practice/learning) to theater (performance).

3) Integrated Intersections

Inspired by the intersection of scales and districts at the site, the notion of intersection becomes paramount in this design. The site rests at the intersection of the Central Business District, where the majority of the buildings are skyscrapers, and the Warehouse District, where the majority of structures are two to three stories. This intersection of scales led to an exploration and re-imagining of the Modernist mat and tower typology, specifically the intersection of the two. The exploration of that intersection drives the concept of this design, as this intersection was crucial in the fitting of the building into the two differing scales of the site.

The form of the tower folds programmatically due to the distribution of single and double occupancy rooms (a room ratio of 55% to 45% single vs. double) and integrates itself with the mat. The form of the tower also responds to its context by shifting the orientation of the rooms near Tchoupitoulas Street to allow for ample light and views in the case of future construction around the site. The mat and tower then integrate themselves with the courtyard and ground plane through further use of folding.

4) Clarity amid Chaos

This project creates an observation area at the site of the 17th Street Canal Breach that was responsible for the flooding of the Uptown and Mid-City areas of New Orleans after Katrina. When visiting the site, there was a sense of clarity amid the rebuilding. To the West and North you see Metairie, which is rebuilt and the newly installed floodgates along Lake Pontchartrain. To the South, you see the site of the floodwall breach, and to the East you see the rebuilding process still taking place in the New Orleans area. This leads to a concept of clarity in the design through simplicity, clarity and lightness of structure. An experiential ramp and singular observation area were created. To obtain lightness and clarity in structure, a community wall was created to allow for the necessary support to cantilever the ramp and observation area. The community wall further serves to create a sense of clarity by educating tourists who visit the site daily and acts as a remembrance wall for residents. In the observation area, the views are controlled by placement of apertures. To the south, apertures allow for views of the breach. One aperture shows a changing view as you move up the ramp; the other shows a singular view representing the breach.

5) Blending Boundaries

This project takes into consideration thresholds and boundaries while designing a ferry terminal at The Fly, a park in New Orleans. While at the site, the park blends people of all backgrounds and cultures harmoniously for a little R&R. This blending became the overlying concept for the intervention. The mapping shows the blending that occurs throughout the site through the use of gradients, transparencies, and music designating culture. An 8? x 8? x 2? assemblage shows three types of blending in different layers. The first layer shows blending through the integration of mass and structure. The second layer shows blending through the use of covering or skin. The final layer shows blending through by screening. Taking the various methods of blending and trying to connect them to the site further, the boundary between the park and the river is blended. Using the field condition and methods of blending from my assemblage, I blend together the ground plane, plinth plane and overhead plane. Gradients also show up in the overhead plane of the model, while the ground and plinth planes are organized on a square ?street? grid.