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ARCHITECTURAL PORTFOLIOKEVIN D. CONANT

ITERATIVE DRAWING I [URBAN PHOENIX]

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PORTFOLIO: “A selection of a student’s work compiled over a period of time and used for assessing performance or progress.”

Such is the typical denotation of a portfolio, with the key word being progress, for every element of design is iterative. One builds the same models and composes the same drawings over and over again in the hopes of forward development; in the hopes of attaining progress. This portfolio acts as a testament to this concept at a comprehensive scale. For while each project is comprised of many individual repetitions, each design is within itself an

iteration of a designer’s collective whole; of his canon. The following pages work together to not only substantiate a portfolio but also act as a design time line, capturing moments of an architectural career and tangibly retaining them on the printed page. They encapsulate the essence of:

6 Semesters. 4 Projects. 1 Designer.

Kevin Conant

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02-03 Iterative Drawing I

04 Designer’s Statement

05 Table of Contents

06 - 13 Urban Phoenix

14-15 Iterative Drawing II

16-21 Chasmic Foundation

22-23 Iterative Drawing III

24-29 Publicly Private 30-31 Iterative Drawing IV

32-37 Overlap 38-39 Iterative Drawing V

Table of Contents

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THIS THESIS investigated how the integration of architectural program and derelict industrial bridges could revitalize both the structure itself and the surrounding urban context while simultaneously resurrecting the lost building typology of the inhabitable bridge. THE DESIGN drew heavily from the state of decay perceived to be inherent to the site, both conceptually and physically. Thus, the formal massing was designed to tangibly build this concept of decay and dissolution by having angled roofs gradually slope up and eventually subsume the existing bridge structure clearly confronting the dialogue between old and new.

07CLOSED 60° OPEN OPEN

EASTERN BANKSTAIR RAMP

PLEACHED ALLEE

ENTRY PLAZA

EASTERN SPANAUDITORIUM

CENTER SPANCIRCULATORY OUTRIGGER

NAVAL MARITIME MUSEUM

CENTRAL LOBBY

STAGE RESTAURANT

PIER GRAVEYARD

OUTDOOR DINING / DOCK

WESTERN SPANRETAIL / COMMERCIAL

RETAIL / COMMERCIAL COURT

PUBLIC RESTROOMS & ELEVATOR

CIRCULATORY OUTRIGGER

WESTERN BANKWESTERN ENTRY PLAZA

WESTERN BANK DRY DOCK

ABOVE : Bird’s-eye aerial depicting extent of the project’s intervention in the surrounding urban context.

RIGHT: Sequential diagram outlining how the bridge maintains its operability.

This Deck Floor Plan (originally 3’ x 7.5’ at 1/8” = 1’) was intended to be composed in tandem with the Longitudinal Section and to be read as a pair of technical drawings, reminiscent of engineers’ drawings for bridges.

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LEFT: Photoshop Perspective of the stage restaurant looking out into Boston Harbor.

BELOW (Left): Photoshop Perspective of the Western Bank’s Entry Plaza.

BELOW (Right): Photoshop Perspective of the auditorium.

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ABOVE : 1/2” = 1’ Sectional Detail Model of the restaurant’s northern corner bay.

TOP RIGHT: Detail of bridge’s existing ornate structural truss members.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Detail of corner condition with new perforated copper paneling facade.

This Longitudinal Section (originally 3’ x 7.5’ at 1/8” = 1’) is cut through the center of the design proposal, showing the elevation of the shopping court and the interior space of the lobby, restaurant and auditorium.

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ITERATIVE SECTION II [PUBLICLY PRIVATE]

Emergent Marsh Emergent Marsh Boardwalk Exterior Balcony

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Main Classroom Public Path Administration Entry Boardwalk

THIS DESIGN PROPOSAL drew heavily from both the site, the South End of Boston, and the program, a culinary institute. The site was interpreted as an “urban chasm,” with two existing site buildings on either side, with a void slipping between. The program was envisioned as being composed of three constituent components: the students (programmatically via the 6 teaching kitchens), the resources afforded to them (administration, library, faculty etc.) and professional experience (the restaurant). Thus, the building was composed as two piers (students in one, resources in another) with the restaurant bridging the 20’ void between them.

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OPPOSITE: Photoshop perspective taken from the park looking back towards the design’s southwestern facade.

ABOVE (TOP): Conceptual diagram sequence outlining the process taken to develop the project’s formal massing.

ABOVE (BOTTOM): Initial conceptual models exploring both site and programmatic issues.

CONCEPTUAL MASSING

REALIZED MASSING

SECTIONPLAN

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LEFT: Rendered Ground Floor Plan.

ABOVE: Acoustic sectional sketch through the lecture hall.

LEFT: Director’s Suite 2nd Floor

MIDDLE: Lecture Hall 3rd / 4th Floor

BOTTOM: Restaurant 5th Floor

BOTTOM RIGHT: Entryway

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LEFT: Photoshop Perspective of the Director’s Suite on the design’s second floor.

BELOW (Left): 1/4” Study Model of the proposed lecture hall.

BELOW (Middle): Final 1/4” Sectional Model of roughly 3/8 of the project.

BELOW (Right): Rendered Front Facade of the proposal with existing South End buildings included.

OPPOSITE: Rendered Longitudinal Section

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ITERATIVE DRAWING III [OVERLAP]

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Publicly Private, a project involving the design of a school sited on one of Boston’s most historic parks, was conceived to harmonize this rather unique relationship: the privacy of an elementary school and the publicity of a city’s park. The proposed design broke the rather extensive program into two bars, “Shared” and “Educational,” and then split them apart, with the resultant fracture creating a void through which one of the park’s public paths could pass. In doing so, the design aims to create a sectional relationship between the private space of the school and the public nature of the park.

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OPPOSITE: Aerial view of the design proposal’s formal massing.

ABOVE: Photoshop Perspective taken midway down the public ramp looking back up towards the entrance.

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RIGHT: Conceptual Diagram

BELOW: Sectional Model and Conceptual Sketch, both expressing the unique sectional relationship between the school and the park.

OPPOSITE: Detailed Section furthering the sectional relationships and detailing the programmatic organization.

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Outdoor Classroom

Emergent Marsh Main Classroom Hall Programmatic Bridge(With Public Path Beneath)

Library(Stacks)

Entry Boardwalk

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FLOOR PLAN1) Entry / Lobby2) Grade 4 Classroom3) Grade 3 Classroom4) Grade 2 Classroom5) Grade 1 Classroom6) Kindergarten Classroom7) Art Classroom8) Music Room9) Multipurpose Space10) Kitchen11) Nurse’s Office12) Girls’ Restroom13) Boys’ Restroom14) Mechanical Room15) Library (Stacks)16) Library (Media Center)17) Reading Nook18) Administrative Work Center19) Offices20) Administrative Restrooms21) Academic Courtyard22) Public Path23) Outdoor Classrooms / Patios

SITE PLAN1) Microcosm 22) Microcosm 3 / Emergent Swamp3) Outdoor Classrooms / Patios4) Swamp Boardwalk5) Viewing Platform / Information Landing6) Existing Paths7) Entry Drive8) Parking9) Retention Pond10) Retention Pond Boardwalk11) Entry Boardwalk12) Jamaica Plain Roadway13) Jamaica Pond

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OPPOSITE (ABOVE): C.A.D. to Photoshop Floor Plan with immediate site context.

OPPOSITE (BELOW): C.A.D. to Photoshop Site Plan expressing the design’s relationship to both the existing park’s pathways and the immediate adjacency of one of Boston’s busiest roadways, Jamaicaway.

BELOW: C.A.D to Photoshop Elevation showing the breadth of the design’s rather sinuous form and the relationship it holds with Microcosm 3.

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ITERATIVE SECTION IV [PUBLICLY PRIVATE]

Emergent Marsh / Boardwalk Outdoor Class / Patio

Plants Classroom ProgrammaticBridge

Public Path Library

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Entry Boardwalk

Forsythia Screen

Parking Boardwalk

Parking Boardwalk

Natural Landscape

Retention Pond

The title “Overlap” derives itself from an extensive site analysis, where it became apparent that in section, the site was composed of three zones: the sky, the earth, and an intermediary zone of overlap, where the three-foot meadow grass blurred the line between the former two zones. Thus the building was composed as a system of overlapping programmatic elements contained within two major “L” forms whose spaces overlapped and lost all sense of separation while gaining one of unity. In doing so the design aims to satisfy the need of a school’s complex program which both requires moments of intense group work and solitary introspection.

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ZONE 1: SKY

ZONE 2: OVERLAP

ZONE 3: EARTH

OPPOSITE: SketchUp to Photoshop Perspectival Collage entitled “Threshold,” taken from the major transitional moment within the design, where separate programmatic entities overlap to become one.

BELOW: Conceptual diagram encapsulating how the concept of “overlap” was derived from the site’s homogenous condition.

RIGHT: Early Plan and Longitudinal Section in the Conceptual Development stage as the idea of separate spaces melding into a singular entity (a modern interpretation of a “One-Room Schoolhouse”) is massaged out.

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LEFT: Photoshop Perspective Collage conveying the library’s intimate ambiance.

BELOW: Early Massing Sketches.

OPPOSITE: Longitudinal Sectional Perspective cut through the main “Threshold” space of the design proposal.

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Natural Meadow Main Classroom Reflecting PoolReflecting Pool Entry / Threshold Entry Planters Parking / Approach

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“Captured” Planters(Foxtail)

Outdoor Classroom Entry Tree(Paper Birch)

Main Classroom Library Reading Garden Wild Meadow

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“Captured” Planters OutdoorClassroom

ScienceClassroom

MechanicalRoom

MainClassroom

Library Reading Garden Wild Meadow

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1 FLOOR PLAN1) Entry Drive / Turnabout2) Parking3) Entry Ramp4) Vestibule / Cubbies / Coat Hooks5) Recycled Water Reflecting Poll6) Library7) Reading Garden8) Main Classroom9) Mechanical Room10) Project Table11) Main Reflecting Pool12) Recycled Rainwater Trough13) Restrooms14) Science Classroom15) Science Garden16) Outdoor Classroom17) Ramp to Pavilion18) Pavilion / Outdoor Cafeteria19) “Captured” Planters20) Wild Meadow Grass (Foxtail)

LEFT (TOP): C.A.D. to Photoshop Floor Plan exemplifying the proposed design’s intent to both unite and distinguish the very diverse demands of an educational program.

LEFT: C.A.D. to Photoshop Section taken through the Main Classroom.

OPPOSITE (LEFT): Final Model Images.

OPPOSITE (RIGHT): SketchUp to Photoshop Rendering of the Outdoor Classroom, expressing both the seamless transition from indoors to outdoors and the way in which the indigenous grass becomes captured in concrete planters.

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ITERATIVE SECTION V [PUBLICLY PRIVATE]

Natural Lawn Classroom Bridge / Public Path

Entry Path Entry Boardwalk

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Natural Landscaping ExistingPathway

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KEVIN D. CONANT200 CALUMET ST.BOSTON, MA02120207.380.1827conantk@wit.edu