seanramseiertowards an architectural synthesis

cook remodelingarizona state university sci-arcmichael maltzan architecture

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practicalconceptual behavioral

3 conceptualexecuted: arizona state university [05_1999]project: con[temporary] car museum

the proposed site is bounded on one side by firebird international raceway and on the other by a highway. an attempt was made to flesh out the concept of speed through study models of an original photo thought to embody this same concept. the resulting final proposal is a car museum that showcases the newest car models by a different manufacturer each month. the cars become jewel like within the clear fiberglass boxes that are suspended from pnuematic cables embeded within the “speed ribbon”. this “ribbon” is a space frame sheathed in fiberglass with embedded led technology that advertises the current month’s installation. the “museum” becomes a living billboard bounded and wrought from a conceptual interpretation of speed.

speed blur photo study interpret photo to model conceptual perspective

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elevation

plan

fiberglass model

6residenceexecuted: cook remodeling [08_2005]project: bedroom and golf cart garage

bedroom and golf cart garage addition to residence in sun lakes, az. constructed of 2x6 balloon frame covered in stucco with a concrete tile roof. construction drawings and construction (excavate footings, lay concrete, rough framing, lay roof tiles, finish carpentry).

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foundation plan floor plan electrical plan

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roof framing plan details

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elevations

framing sections

10 civicexecuted: michael maltzan architecture [09_2008] project: bandshell and stage

playa vista park bandshell. constructed of steel tubing coped at every joint with translucent white architectural fabric as envelope. covers a 45 foot diameter concrete stage and lower level bathrooms. construction drawings and 3d modeling for fabrication.

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site plan generative geometry

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refelcted ceiling plan north-south section

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lighting entry bridge

14behavioralexecuted: sci_arc [09_2007]project: death of stagnation|thesis

in order to test this thesis a taxonomy of techtonic components was generated from particle simulation tests. an existing building/parking garage in downtown los angeles bounded by a highway on one side was then chosen as the test bed for site specific application of the generated taxonomy. this existing structure was “wrapped” in order to create a new form directly derived from existing conditions. the resultant form encloses the existing slabs of the parking structure in order to create a sort of billboard for the added gas station program.

“and as every state of a simple substance is a natural consequence of its preceding state, so that the present state of it is big with the future.”-gottfried leibniz

i postulate that architecture as a profession has become a procession of iterations and the categorization and deployment of the outcome of these “tests”. thus, a momentum is continuously and consistently built towards the development of a personal aesthetic. however, on the odyssey that is a career one must always begin from the bottom up, whether literally as in ranking, or in this case metaphysically as a design methodology. gottfried leibniz defines the monad as a basic unit of perceptual reality, or according to epicurus “the smallest unit of matter, indivisible”. i believe the use of particle simulation allows an attempt to consolidate the idea of time being built from abstract ideas that are indivisible and infinitesimal with the development of space from this same principal. simulation by definition is an abstraction of “real” ideas that is relied upon to then inform decisions extraneous to the simulation, in other words this abstract simulation is not merely attempting to mimic or predict the “real” world but eventually comes to fruition as the “real” world. so, what better instrument of this transference than the simplest and most abstract unit available within the virtual world, the particle. over the course of this thesis an attempt at categorizing a series of these “tests” informed by some perceived “real” world input has been made in order to understand that if indeed something abstract, metaphysical, and esoteric can evolve into a concrete idea that is understandable by the populace.

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input|output index chartaudioandvideo

intendedsiteforce

existingsiteforce

inherentfluidforce

inherentfluid forceinfluencedby the site

tbdno architectural applicationyet determined

envelopethin shell envelopewrapping space

structurethin shell madeof structural members

volumehybrid of structure andenvelope to create space

inherent fluid force study model wrapping sequence

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component sequence site plan intended affect of new building wrapper