john bledsoe plasterselected projects and built works

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lions park master plangreensboro, alabama - rural studio thesis programjohn plaster - terran wilson - sandy wolf - brett jones - carrie laurendine - evan dick

By 2008, it was clear that Lions Park’s initial master plan had been so successful at drawing new users to the park, that a second plan was needed to accommodate the new people. Auburn University’s Rural Studio began work on Lions Park in 2005 in Greensboro, Alabama. The 40-acre park is jointly owned by Hale County, the City of Greensboro, and the Greensboro Lions Club. The initial design team master-planned the baseball complex in addition to designing and building backstops and dugouts. This group was followed by two more that added restrooms, a stage, benches, paving, and landscaping.

In August 2008, six new thesis students, including myself, began reworking the master plan for Lions Park and adding new elements to the already bustling program. This phase of Lions Park includes a football/soccer field, parking lot, skate park, picnic area, lawn, basketball court, and mobile concessions stand. The new scheme activates unused areas of the park by organizing the “Great Lawn,” a green defined by the covered picnic area, walking trail, skatepark, and two earth mounds.

The master plan makes the most of the park’s limited resources by allowing the different groups to share elements within the park. Walkers and skaters can share areas on the trail. Vendors share the concession stand according to the sport season. Footballers and baseballers share the lighted fields for practice. The Great Lawn itself can accomodate volleyball or pee wee soccer, and there is a new hybrid football/soccer field.

john plaster - terran wilson - sandy wolf - brett jones - carrie laurendine - evan dick

original park phases 1-3

phase 4

phase 2 gates- photo copyright tim hursley

phase 3 bathroom- photo copyright tim hursley

phase 3 stage- photo copyright tim hursley

phase 1 backstop

existing amenitiesbaseball-basketball-walking-rodeo

new amenitiesconcessions-skatepark-hybrid fi eld-parking lot-picnic-basketball-great lawn

circu-lationdia-grams

master plan iterations

diagram of great lawn &grand central

tree diagrams park-usediagrams

park-useschedule

axon

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site map

proposed grand central concessions

proposed view of bbq pavilion

current view from car

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proposed view from car proposed football field

proposed view of great lawn

proposed view of skatepark

proposed view of great lawn

proposed view of basketball

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entrance to great lawn

site map

great lawn panorama

team-mates

mobile concession standgreensboro, alabama - rural studio thesis programjohn plaster - terran wilson - sandy wolf

The mobile concession stand is sited within the middle of Lions Park’s Grand Central, a space located at the center of the baseball fields’ hub and spoke organization. The stand was designed to provide a 270-degree view for the vendors so that they could monitor the crowd and watch their children play baseball while the stand was in operation. The concessions stand also needed to be portable in order to service activities located throughout the 40-acre park.

The result of the need for mobility and views is a mouth-like structure that can be towed by a truck. Reminiscent of a barracuda or dinosaur, the roof of the concession stand opens like a jaw to expose the vending area while the service area is contained in the back of the “mouth.” The anthropomorphic design serves to delight the kids and secure the main opening. When the mouth closes, the vending area is inaccessible from outside.

The materials used for the structure are aluminum, steel, and wood. The interior finish of the walls is truck bed liner, and the countertops are stainless steel. The stand is cooled by a ventilation fan. The structure is sited between two mature oak trees which provide shade during the afternoon sun. A winch controls the opening and closing of the mouth.

The team, Sandy Wolf, Terran Wilson, and I, both designed and built the project. We learned how to weld, pour concrete, and fold sheet metal in addition to learning how to design collaboratively, set schedules, and manage the project.

night rendering - open

day rendering - closed

lions park site plan

grand central site plan

1st iteration:repurposed concession trailer

2nd iteration:gull-wing

3rd iteration:coke sponorship?

4th iteration:270 degree view

5th iteration:mouth!

plan

long section - closed

long section - open

construction drawings of trusses

short section construction details

142 miles119 days

birmingham

construction begins: june 3

tuscaloosa june 30

aug.

7

oct. 30

LIONS PARKjune 30

newbern

birmingham

tuscaloosa

newbern

the great state of alabama

construction photos

study model

axon

final model

final modeleasy to open - push a button

first day of moving the mouth

closing the mouth

opening day

concessions team

opening day - photo courtesy tim hursley

opening day - photo courtesy tim hursley

opening day - photo courtesy tim hursley

opening day - photo courtesy tim hursley

opening day - photo courtesy tim hursley

villa mirabellagabbro, tuscany, italy - building arts school and director’s residence - interiors studio - professors dagg and miller

Villa Mirabella’s transformation from a ruin into a year-round secondary school requires re-programming the existing struc-ture, and the additions of an in-terior stair and residence for the school’s director. An effort was made to make the new elements as discreet as possible, so that the villa’s relationship with the landscape would not change. The director’s residence is under-neath the back courtyard of the villa to maximize both privacy and proximity to the villa. The new in-terior stair is in the same location as the old one, yet its exterior sur-face contrasts with that of the villa so old and new elements are si-multaneously read. The new stair is also designed to code.

basswood site model photos

axon highlighting the courtyard

residence axon

east wall elevation

conceptual and documentary sketches

section sketch

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ground floor first floor

1. classroom2. gallery3. bathroom4. halll5. residence6. offices7. lecture hall8. computer lab9. kitchen10. library

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second floor

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exterior perspective

wall sketch

wall sketch

trastevere: master plan and portal

The Trastevere Master Plan was the focus of a collaborative studio between Auburn University and the University of Arkansas Rome programs. Teams of 5-6 students were charged with masterplanning a small district in Trastevere. Programmatic elements included housing, mixed-use buildings, an archaeological park, an open air market, and an intervention on the riverfront.

Our team, Team Aventine, decided to organize the project along a new pedestrian axis that could connect the site to itself and to important locations beyond it. The strategy called for an opening in the Aurelian Wall, and it was my responsibility to flesh out the specifics of how the opening and its adjacent spaces would work and look. The new axis provides a view to the Aventine Hill which lies across the river from the site. The axis also provides pedestrians with a safe route for accessing the river from the tram stop that sits in front of the Ministry of Education building.

The portal itself is a respectful intervention into the wall. It ties itself to the grit of the neighborhood by using steel to span the new openings and form the access ramps. The openings are extremely tall to match the scale of the wall.

master plan with phases highlighted

highlighted master planaxis - orangearchaeological park - yellowhousing - purpleriverfront condos - greenamphitheatre/park - blue

existing site with important buildings in red

new master plan

existing site

views of existing context ministry of education

wall

wall with aventine beyond

porta portese

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convent

aventine hill

arsenal

porta portese

aurelian wall

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charrette sketch axon

analytical sketches

perspective - view of park and plaza

wall elevation

plan of new portal plan with section cut

axon of portal

perspective

twenty one cross streetboston, massachusetts - mixed use development - studio VII - professor dagg

The 21 Cross Street Development is a mixed-use project located in Boston’s North End. Adjacent to the I-93 Big Dig, the site now affords views to Boston City Hall and the financial district. There are 8 studio apartments, 18 one-bedrooms, and 6 three-bedroom apartments, for a total of 32 units. Twenty four of the units cross ventilate.

The entire first floor is reserved for commercial space along with a small loading and parking area. Additional commercial space is available in the four-story glass “box.” This element holds the corner of the Cross/Hanover intersection and serves as a landmark for the newly recovered neighborhood.

google earth - site highlighted in cyan

the site looks over the former site of the big dig

google earth - ground fl oor highlighted in cyan

live maps - site in cyan

existing site

site with model

the glass box hovering over the corner of hanover and cross serves to attract larger retailers or offices to the area. the box becomes lantern-like during the evening, providing tenants with a wonderful opportunity to advertise themselves in a manner that could allow them to be seen all the way from boston city hall, which lies within view of the development across the recently buried I-93. above are ideas about types of retailers that could be appropriate for the space.

glass box iterations

eastern elevationsouthern elevation

western elevation

sketches transverse section

fourth fl oor

fi fth fl oor

ground fl oor

second & third fl oors

interior perspective

interior perspective

perspective

existing site

opelika public library

The Opelika Public Library is situated on the courthouse square. Because of its civic function and location, it was important to connect the new library to the square by aligning the building’s entry with the square’s center.

The program incorporates traditional library spaces with ones available for the use of the Opelika community. The entire first floor can be used for events such as lectures, receptions, and conferences. It includes a cafe, auditorium, courtyard, and conference room, making the library marketable to a variety of potential users. The second and third floors contain spaces traditionally associated with libraries, such as a large reading room and the stacks. Also on these floors are smaller reading areas and classrooms that offer more private spaces for group study. The classrooms also have the potential to facilitate after school care.

library and courthouse entries face the block’s center site

plan

street perspective

ground floor plan -

sketch of street view

second floor plan -

sketch of hallways

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third floor plan - sketch of reading area within stacks

fourth floor plan -

sketch of courtyard

1. auditorium2. courtyard3. cafe4. lobby5. conference room6. archives7. offices8. stacks9. reading room10. reading area11. classrooms

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court square elevationlongtitudinal section

massing models

early idea for reading room

massing models

sketching through ideas

reading room perspective

transverse section

places

the red lake - bolivia

axon - constantine’s arch

section - constantine’s arch

st. dunstan’s auburn, al

perspective - temple at villa borghese

details - temple at villa borghese

I house - greensboro, al

main streetgreensboro, al

bocas del toro, panama

casco viejo, panama

pisaq, peru

ayasofya, istanbul apartment building, buenos aires

inca trail, peru panama viejo, panama