Nicole M. GorlaSAMPLES OF WORK

T: 513.212.7954 E: iamfannin@gmail.com

Center for Great Neighborhoods1650 Russell St. Covington KY 41011 | www.greatneighborhoods.org

In 2012, I had the opportunity to work with a neighborhood resident and local chef who dreamed of opening his own restaurant in Covington. I helped him envision the concept, exterior renovations, and interior design. I produced all of the base drawings which were finalized by Decker and Associates. Commonwealth is now in construction and will open in February 2014.

[Far left] Sample of wallpaper specked for project, to be used in dining spaces.

[Left] Photo of the buildings’ original condition at the start of the project. The design entails merging two buildings into one restaurant.

[Left] Interior elevation renderings for initial concepts and materials. Top elevation shows the bar area. The bottom two elevations show both sides of the dining space. All wood used will be reclaimed, and all exposed brick is original to the building.

[Right] Images during construction, taken December 2013.

[Below] One of the initial facade studies, developing concept.

[First page, far left] Final exterior renderings. Roof deck shown in the bottom image will be a future phase.

[First page, left] Top drawing is the finished floor plan for the ground floor. There is additional seating and more restrooms on the second floor, along with office space in the attic. Bottom two drawings are finished exterior elevations.

Center for Great Neighborhoods1650 Russell St. Covington KY 41011 | www.greatneighborhoods.org

During my 3 years at CGN, I wore many hats, including Financial Education Presenter, Youth Program Facilitator, Tax Preparer, Marketing and Communications Specialist, Event Planner, and Drafter. I helped to re-brand CGN, created countless flyers, managed Constant Contact communication and social media presence, and produced architectural plans and elevations for 12 residential rehab projects.

This first page is all work I did for our housing team, including examples of floor plans, electrical plans, and elevations, a 3-phase master plan study for the Jackson Square neighborhood, and marketing to explain and advertise our housing development strategy.

Make positive changes in your

community!

Be a better leader

Share success stories

Find out what’s

happening in your

neighborhood!Enjoy diverse

opinions

2011 Covington Neighborhood Summit

April 30th 9:30am-2pmMadison Avenue Christian

1530 Madison Avenue

FREE event plus breakfast and lunch provided! Come for one workshop or stay the whole day!

Build partnerships

Keep residents engaged

Please RSVP for meals to Rachel: 859-866-7527 rachel@greatneighborhoods.org

Meet your neighbors!

[Top left] Cover pages from the CGN Annual Report that I put produced for three years.

[Top right] An example of one particular branding campaign that I implemented to advertise our largest annual community event, Covington Quest.

[Middle left] Marketing for our annual Celebration, where we honor residents for their leadership in the community and celebrate the year’s accomplishments.

[Middle right] An example of one particular event flyer.

[Bottom left] Marketing for a youth event that I organized.

[Bottom right] I worked with a group of Covington residents to submit a proposal for a design competition in Cincinnati, exploring unused spaces.

Master’s Thesis - Bahay sa BuhayRefining Architecture’s role in informal settlements

N

Masterplan: large-scale development for Payatas

= buffer zone from hazardous dumpsite; transformed into eco-park

= 3 neighborhood districts; dense housing blocks; approximately 2-2.5 hectares each

= central activity zone; public infrastructure including existing market, church, basketball court, town hall, school campus, library, polic/re station, and health clinic

= existing public infrastructure

= new public infrastructure

= community open space

= existing housing

= new inll housing

= existing trees

= new trees

8. Library

9. Police / Fire Station

10. Shared School Facilities

11. Preschool

12. K-6 Classrooms

13. 7-10 Classrooms

1. Commercial / Retail

2. Church

3. Existing Market

4. Sunken Basketball Arena

5. Health Clinic

6. Lumber / Mechanics Stalls

7. Town Hall / Municipal

COMMUNITY CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE: = bus stop

= pedestrian arcade

= boulders

= blackwater trench

= clean water

= vehicular road

= pedestrian road

e

0 10 20 30 40 50 75 100 150 250

3

1

24

5

6

7

8

9

1011

12 13

QuezonCity

NMetro Manila

N

Project SiteArea = 10 hectares

Barangay Payatas,Quezon City

La Mesa Dam

500 ft

200 m

Flooding

Rebuilding Community: architecture’s role in redefining informal settlements in Payatas, Philippines

How can Christopher Alexander’s Pattern Language inform a design vocabulary for the improvement of urban poor housing in Payatas, Philippines that is sensitive to the socio-cultural needs of the people, currently not being met by standard Gawad Kaling housing?

[14]

Identifiable Neighborhood

define small neighborhoods with

all major roads placed outside

[30]

Activity Nodes

create centers of action about 300

yards apart - connect with path network

[37]

House Cluster

arrange houses in rough clusters of 8-12 around

common land and paths

[53]

Main Gateways

mark each boundary with great gateways

where major entering paths cross

the boundary

[64]

Pools and Streams

allow water to flow naturally and form barriers, with paths and footbridges for

pedestrians

[104]

Site Repair

place buildings on least plaeasant part of the site, and leave precious, beautiful, healthy land intact

[106]

Positive Outdoor Space

give each space around and between buildings enclosure which does not spill

out indefinitely

[38]

Row Houses

place along pedestrian paths,

each with long frontage and shallow

depth

[61]

Small Public Squares

width should be no more than 70’

accross, but length can be more

[66]

Holy Ground

identify sacred site as consecrated

ground; design series of nested precincts,

each one more private than the last

[105]

South Facing Outdoors

always place buildings on north of outdoor space and

keep outdoor spaces to the south

[67]

Common Land

make 25% of land in each house cluster

common and near to each of the homes

that share it

[111]

Half-Hidden Garden

never place garden fully in front or back of the house; instead

some kind of half-way position on the

side of the house

[112]

Entrance Transition

add space between street and front door

and bring path to connect entrance; mark with change of light, direction,

surface, or level, etc.

[158]

Open Stairs

do away with internal stairs - connect upper

floors directly to the ground via open

staircase approached directly from the

street

[207]

Good Materials

only use biodegradable, low

energy materials which are easy to

modify on site

[250]

Warm Colors

choose surface colors which together with

lighting create a warm feel in the

rooms

Chapter 1 The Squatter Problem in Manila

Chapter 3 Methodology: Translation of Christopher Alexander’s Pattern Language to Payatas

Chapter 4 Site Analysis

Chapter 2 Precedent Study Hassan Fathy

A

rchitecture for the Poor “Every people that has produced architecture has evolved its own favorite forms, as peculiar to that people as its language, its dress, or its folklore. Until the collapse of cultural frontiers in the last century, there were all over the world distinctive local shapes and details in architecture, and the buildings of any locality were the beautiful children of a happy marriage between the imagination of the people and the demands of their countryside.”

How does the form of the house respond to socio-cultural needs?

Gaw

ad Kalinga

Philippines

= public= private= shared space

PollutionTraffic Obstruction

Water Contamination

E N V I RO N M E N TA L

Safety ConcernsDisease

OvercrowdingCity Image

S O C I A L

P O L I T I C A L

Land Ownership

Eviction/Relocation

Disconnect between people and govt officials

M A R K E T CO N D I T I O N

S U BT R AC T I O N CO N D I T I O N

VO I D CO N D I T I O N

V E RT I C A L A D D I T I O N

Due to the fact that standard urban housing models do not respond well to the particular needs of site and culture, learning from the deficiencies of Gawad Kalinga (slum improvement organization) as an example, can a new urban housing vocabulary be developed using Christopher Alexander’s Pattern Language as a framework for design, and the Payatas squatter community in Quezon City, Philippines as a case study?

Bahay sa buhay means “from house to life” in Tagalog, the official language of Manila, capital city of the Philippines. And that is the main goal of the project; to increase the quality of the people’s lives who are now living in squatter homes. My thesis research included analysis into the specific conditions of the site as a whole (approx. 10 hectares near Payatas garbage dump) and the typical homes found there, along with months of study on Filipino architecture and the evolution of the house, Filipino social characteristics, and precedents of urban slum improvement projects from around the world.

Master’s Thesis - Bahay sa BuhayRefining Architecture’s role in informal settlements

Basic Color Palette:

cement hollow block

cement hollow block;volcanic ash mix

Concrete Texture:

CMU Block Variations:

concrete footing

CMU Base Variations:

1 2 3 4 5 6

121110987

Patterns from Traditional Filipino Architecture:

Construction Process: developing a module for efficiency

C U R R E N T P R AC T I C E :

S T E P BY S T E P B U I L D I N G P RO G R ES S I O N :

WA L L S EC T I O N :

K I T O F PA RT S O P T I O N S :

corrugated metal deck; 20 mm thickness; painted

corrugated translucent fiber glass; 20 mm thickness

mosquito net; nailed in place

fiber cement board; 25 mm thickness

concrete column; poured in place; textured; painted

translucent fiber glass; 20 mm thickness

fiber cement board; 50 mm thickness

2x4 standard lumber roof truss

2x4 standard lumber wall studs

iron rebar

metal door; painted

4x8 timber beams

My design included a master plan with new eco-park, town center, and 4 different conditions for infill housing in the existing infrastructure of the settlement. Care was taken to replace every house too close to the garbage dump in one of those infill conditions. I proposed new designs for the infill housing, which matched existing Filipino building techniques, cultural living styles, and local materials. At the same time, I implemented several new ideas for more efficient use of space and manipulation of materials for better light and air qualities as well as unique characteristics that make it a home.

Aidea ArchitectsGrad School Co-op | Manila, Philippines | www.aidea.com.ph

Left page - Polakay Watertown Master PlanRight page - Toledo City Mall, Cebu + Legaspi Master Plan

[Left] POLAKAY - Visayas, Philippines: “The Sustainable Water Town” 100 hectare island eco-tourist destination project; exhibiting local nature and culture. Phase 1 of the master plan focuses on the design of ‘treetels’ and ‘single huts’ to house Polakay visitors.

[Right] TOLEDO CITY MALL Cebu, Philippines: Retail Center to include supermarket, entertainment, and community features.

LEGASPI - Luzon, Philippines: 100 hectare city center development project; half reclaimed land. To include a Government Center, Central Business District, Tourism Anchor, Renewable Energy Source, Fishing Village and, Transportation Network

Re-purposeDesign Project | Grad School | Spring 2009

This urban planning project was a team study of a corridor in Cincinnati, Ohio with the intent for City-directed redevelopment.

Our team of four worked together to propose development ideas for an urban setting that aligns with the ‘Go Cincinnati Plan’ for the City’s economic and community progress.

Our vision was to rehabilitate abandoned industrial brownfields around Cincinnati into public green space linked to existing parks with public transportation. This would include a new ‘rails to trails’ installation.

The finished development became a place where community members could live, work, eat, and play in an environmentally and socially sustainable setting.

Afro-centricDesign Project | Grad School | Fall 2008

This was an experiment in the realm of architecture focused on serving a specific demographic.

The studio was conducted by guest professor Jack Travis, an interior design professional in New York City. We researched and attempted to define Afro-centric design, and chose 2 sites in downtown Cincinnati’s ‘Over the Rhine’ district, which is 80% African American. The project challenged questions of race, identity, equality, and poverty. My design was a youth center that gave a face to the children of this specific population, representing their culture, and giving the kids a safe haven to express themselves in. The center was to entwine education, recreation and art to instill drive, ambition and pride in the children of the community.

Architectural Resources GroupUndergraduate Co-op | San Francisco, CA | Summer 2007 - Winter 2008

Projects on this page include the restoration of the ‘Monterey County Old Jail’ and rehabilitation of several DeAnza Community College buildings. The top image is the proposal for the west elevation of the jail. The bottom two are programming diagrams for two of the buildings at DeAnza.

Elkus-Manfredi ArchitectsUndergraduate Co-op | Boston, MA | Summer 2006 - Winter 2007

All images on this page were included in presentations to our client at Duke University. We partnered with Ceasar Pelli Architects in the master planning of a new ‘campus quad’. My role in the project was conceptual study and program iteration. I also completed a brief lighting design study.

DE ANZA COLLEGE

PROGRAMMING STUDYFEBRUARY 2008

EAST COTTAGE RENOVATION

MAIN LEVEL BUILDING PLAN - PROGRAMMING CONCEPT1/8" = 1'-0"

SiteDesign Project | Undergraduate | Spring 2008

This was my design for a 10,000 sf wellness center to be added

to the existing Cranbrook campus in Michigan.

My proposal seeks its own identity as a spa, while also relating back to Eliel Saarinen’s original design scheme and site context. It was informed

by existing topography, geometries, and site forces.

The main concept for this design was to create a juxtaposition of heavy and light, earth and sky. I treated the programmed spa area as the heavy, bearing wall construction, growing out of the ground. The circulation and hospitality spaces were light construction, cantilevered off of the spa to create a visual, conceptual, and programmatic contrast.

PreservationDesign Project | Undergraduate | Spring 2006

This project combined interior design and historic preservation for the rehabilitation of an abandoned building on UC’s campus, intended for demolition. We were to propose a program for all three floors, and design as necessary. The goal was to find a use that would bring this building back to life, drawing students from across campus. My design included a bookstore for the basement, banquet/exhibition hall for the ground floor, and rented office space for the top floor. I designed custom furniture pieces for the first two floors (illustrated by the images on this page).

SustainabilityDesign Project | Undergraduate | Fall 2006

This project was an exploration into the design of a LEED

accredited building on an existing site in Cincinnati.