Justin Relyea

I find the best thing about architecture to be that throughout every sketch, every drawing, every late night coffee, and the entire damn design process, you honestly have to think about whether or not someone is going to really enjoy that space....It makes you have empathy and then makes you use it.

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CROSS MOUNTAIN OBSERVATION TOWERARCH 372 Spring 2012

Prof. Sean MartinResearch Partners: Hannah Daniel, Matt Barnett, Daniel Allen, Taylor Dotson

This project was a collab-orative research with PLAN ET involving analyzing several corridors in East-ern Tennessee and imple-menting designs for and in conjunction with or planned greenways.

This particular Greenway stretches from Lake city to Briceville within a for-ested valley. Just beyond the treetops however are many logging companies constantly processing and regrowing trees for lumber.

The design places focus on a nearby mountain top by adding an observation tower. While giving a great view of the surrounding mountainscape, the tower is also present for the var-ious cycles of tree growth and procession. The tower stands stoically above the treetops to allow all to bear witness to constant rebirth and death of the forest

The green way is physical-ly connected by a roadside pavilion that acts as both an area of respite and gateway to the mountain.

Entry Pavilion

Cylindrical Solar Collectors

2”x2” Wooden Slats Pinned to Metal Support

3” Roofing Insulation w/ 3” Steel Decking and Exterior Waterproof Membrane

3”x6” Steel Girders Running on a 3’ spacing of 3”x6” Steel Tube Columns

Double Pane Argon Filled glass w/ Aluminum Mullions

Oaken Veneer Column Sheathing

Steel Keys Incast into Concrete Bed to Support Glass and Slat Systems

6” Concrete Slab on-Grade w/ Perimiter “Turn down”

Footing Connected Via Incast Column Bolt

Gravel Bedding for Water Drainage

Knoxville Market HallArch 471 Fall 2013

Prof. Hansjorg GoeritzPartner: Alisha Gotham

This project seeks to elim-inate the food desert pres-ent in downtown Knoxville while also bringing a new sense of activity and iden-tity to the area.

The structure is comprised of a 30’ x 15’ steel diagrid pattern that forms on the exterior of the program spaces. This allows the in-terior to be virtually struc-ture free and thus flexible while creating a dynamic aesthetic on both the exte-rior and interior faces.

The repetitiveness and scale of the structure serves to coalesce the various programs of the market, culinary school, offices, library, and sculp-ture garden into a single atmosphere rather than separated boxes .

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1st floor

Subfloor parkingExtensions

Ground Floor

North-East Elevation

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Medium-Mega SuperscapesArch 485 Fall 2014Prof. Kieth Kaseman

what is a superscape?

What could the city be?

Can we move from the cartesean?

Is all design programmati-cally locked?

Can simplicity be achieved noticibly at grand scales?

Can a design, an entity, an idea be large enough to spread and evolve with the inhabitants?

The goal of this proj-ect was to not only ask questions, but to design through a process that was guaranteed to gen-erate both thought and unprecedented outcomes.

We designed through crafting the tools and rule-sets, using them on the regularity of the modern city, and used that data to refine our tools

Through spatial analysis of copper, paper, rhino modeling and the city’s various elements, we constructed a collection of maps that guided us from assumptions and data into physical appli-cations (or interjections) of the hidden potentials of Knoxville.

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This two-semester long design build is slated for conctruction in March 2015.

The goal of this design project was (is) to work with the Red Bird mis-sion of Clay county, KY to create a water kiosk that would allow the residents access to clean water.

The first phase was a team design/build to both create varied and respon-sive ideas and introduce us to thinking through ma-terial usage and ease of assembly.

My design team focused on building with modulari-ty and minimal re-sizing of lumber. This would allow less waste and rapid on-site construction on the mission.

Clean Water Clean LifeFall 2014-Spring 2015Prof. John McRaeTeammates: Mike Stonerobert TroukaAnthony Traylor

[UN]CONTAINEDSummer 2014Prof. Matt Hall

“Most design studios tell you to think big. This was about putting you in a box and making the walls close in”- Prof. Matt hall

This was a research project in conjunction with local developers in researching the use of shipping containers in ur-ban housing. We mostly worked within the con-fines of 2-3 side by side standard 40’ containers. The brunt of our research went into space efficient layouts and determining the qualities of pre-fab wall panels vs. traditional stick built walls.

In most cases, the 3 co-natiner schemes served to house families up to 4 individuals.

This project familiarized us with working with find-ing creative uses for a strict material and limited space.

Stick-built Pre-fab Panel Active-Vent

Slide Frame FloatSpring 2014 (abroad)Prof. Davide Vitale

The concept behind this project was to take the ruin of a small insula (pub-lic housing) and create a library for the adjacent Museo de Foro Triano.

The site itself is excavated and full of uneven terrain, stepped ruins, and ex-treme changes in eleva-tion from the surrounding streets and Foro Triano.

This project embraces the footprint of this noble structure by turning the left over foundation walls into the book stacks of the library. This brings the ancient back into use and creates several intimate spaces on the ground lvl.

The secondary element is a floating conference hall that frames the stacks below and filters skylight downwards.

This project achieved the super review for my class

Roma Sketching

Traveling through Rome served to broaden my understanding of City it-self and the place art and sculpture has within it.

Every piazza, every shad-ow laden window cornice, every cobblestone had a beauty and familiarity within it. They provided the inhabitant with a pleasure of simply bieng in that space.

The exterior of the age old buildings play with light and shadow while the in-teriors display intricate geometrical relationships. From the grandest scale of the Pantheon to the in-timacy of the Chiesa Santa Maria Della Pace, to the crowded walkways of the Foro Imperiali, The city it-self was built to be inhab-ited happily.

I have not felt this brilliance in many places. This only enforces the need for ar-chitects to strive for func-tionality AND beauty.

Thanks for your time,