Paper Folding

Paper folding allows you to work through a composition/design without thinking about it. You are suppose to read back from each move to see where the progression is headed. Moves are dictated by initial rules set up by the designer. In my paper folding, I was working with the medium and it's natural tendencies- curling and flowing. I am showing the final move for 3 different progressions , as well as the final progression and move.

Exercise IV. Defining structure - Defining architectural design

In this exercise students focus on the structural system of their studio design proposal. During this semester, we have emphasized the intrinsic relationship between architectural design and structure. Through our sessions we have reviewed the most common components that make building structures. We have learned the different components comprising a building structure (spanning and vertical), we have studied how spanning elements can be solved (form, vector, bulk, surface active, etc.) and we have studied how lateral force resisting mechanisms work. We have studied the supporting system of buildings and we have learned about the role of structure in the overall architectural composition. You have brought to class case studies of significance to the contemporary context of architecture. Through these case studies we have learned that meaningful architectural proposals are loaded with the strength of structural logic.

Exercise II. Case Study, Structural System Analysis.

This project aims to identify the structural components of a chosen Case Study and represent them through diagrams. The outcome of this assignment has two components; a scaled model and a set of well proportioned or scaled diagrams and drawings. Structural members were identified following this hierarchy:
a) Primary Structure
b) Secondary Structure
c) Lateral force resisting mechanisms
d) Materials
e) Flow of forces in the structure

MCAD Addition: The Silence and the Roar.

A Common Thread: Revitalization of the Delmar Grain Elevator Site

Over the past decade, this part of the city has been subject to close scrutiny from the planning and design communities in Minneapolis

Arising from this scrutiny have been many proposals intended to improve the area and bring it into the fabric of the city. The University has proposed and begun the construction of a new biomedical research campus. The Metropolitan Council has begun construction on the Central Corridor LRT. The City of Minneapolis has commissioned the SEMI Master Plan, which proposes wetland remediation and a Grand Rounds connection over the railyards that define the northern edge of the site. Numerous studies at the University have grappled with potential reuses of the grain elevators on the site.

What is missing from these proposals is an all-encompassing vision - something that ties together the disparate proposals for this site into a meaningful whole.

Ultimately, the individual proposals are only as good as they relate to one another and build upon mutual strengths. The aim of this project is to leverage the strengths of the existing proposals for this area into a cohesive vision for its future

Minneapolis College of Art and Design: Expansion as a microURBANISM

The relationship between art students and professional artists is a dynamic one, always changing and dependent on the location it exists in. This expansion to the Minneapolis College of Art and Design explores the relationships between this dynamic world of art in the Twin Cities and how a student of MCAD could connect with it. Pods to be used as living units with attached studios connect to create a network of living/working units, as well as interstitial useable spaces in between. Circulation through skyways create an experience similar to an art walk, easing the transition from student to professional.

MCAD Site Model