ashley's student works architecture portfolio
DESCRIPTION
A collection of my design works from my time at Kansas State University.TRANSCRIPT
a collection of architectural works
simpson
Project Overview
Konza Prairie Winery
Pre-Fab Facade
Assistance Center
Gallery 1817
Travel Photography
Trauma Center
3
2
1 4
5
6
1
designed details: enhance experience.
terracotta roof | Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy
Galle
ry 1
817
Kans
as C
ity, M
issou
riexperiential.
floor plan
site plan
19th Street
Mai
n St
reet
view towards building
Gallery 1817 is located in the crossroads district of downtown Kansas City and is architecturally designed to showcase furniture. The corner of the site is adjacent to a main intersection and embraces a large green space. The overhead plane is an architectural feature that spans from the entry to the corner acting as a visual cue to welcome gallery visitors. In addition, this space is designed to function as a public gathering space for the art district's First Fridays and other gallery events. On the interior, the cellular layout is organized and designed to clearly identify public and private zones. Each cell has a separate function (entry hall, secondary gallery, cafe, warehouse), and the main showroom connects all the cells as a mezzanine level, tying everything together. The exterior walls that form these cells integrate with the public realm by providing pockets of benches for the passerby.
view into plaza
wall sectioncafe
main showroom mezzanine
seating on main walls
2
collaboration: architecture+landscape.
built+natural environment | Cinque Terre, Italy
Assi
stan
ce C
ente
rThe Assistance Center is programmed to help those who are struggling economically. This project was done in collaboration with landscape architecture students. It was a semester long urban design project in Arapahoe Square, a twenty block area of downtown Denver that has come across some economic hardships. We first re-programed and re-developed this area to blend it in with the surrounding Denver area. After completion, we zoomed in to one site where Rachel, my landscape partner, and I collaborated on our building and plaza design. We adopted similar design concepts, radiating lines (signifying breaking through boundaries), to help our designs grow in a similar manner. A series of angles were used throughout both designs to create a connection between the two and to symblize the change the users were going through. As a result of the thorough development and collaboration, an overall design was created which successfully integrated two separate design projects into one. Focus was placed on how the user perceives the spaces and connection between the building and plaza in order to enhance their experience.
Denv
er, C
olor
ado
process
site rendering with integrated building courtesy of design partner Rachel Barth, landscape architecture
building and plaza connection
collaboration.
3
integration: preserves environment.
madonna del latte vineyards | Orvieto, Italy
Konz
a Pr
airie
Win
ery
Man
hatta
n, K
ansa
s
12
3
4
5
6
7
8
1 Grape Receiving and Crushing 2 Laboratory3 Pressing, Fermentation, Filter4 Aging Area5 Services6 Bottling Area7 Cased Good Storage8 Shipping
1011
12
13
14
15
10 Reception and Wine Tasting11 Outdoor Wine Tasting12 Office13 Women’s Restroom14 Men’s Restroom15 Konza Overlook
ground floor
basement level
floor plans
The Konza Prairie Winery is designed for research of grape growing and wine producing in the rolling hills of the prairie; it is also open for public visits and tours. The design integrates architecture and the wine making process into the flowing prairie; this is where my design came from: giving the building the appearance of growing from the land forms, ending at a scenic overlook at the most exposed portion of the building.
view from tasting room
rendering | entry sequence
view from the Konza
Upon further exploration of the design, more focus was placed on developing the experience of the green roof and entry sequence. The visitor approaches the overlook by first being exposed to the green roof and views into the tasting room. The discovery of the overlook comes at the end of this path, building anticipation with small glimpses.
entry sequence
walk towards the overlook
integrate.
4
new tools: pre-fab design.
national technical library | Prague, Czech Republic
Pre-
Fab
Faca
deM
anha
ttan,
Kan
sas
Designing a new, concrete, pre-fab skin for the facade of a hotel was the goal of this group project. My partners and I came up with an undulating design resulting in a visually pleasing facade. Each window sticks out as an as an extension of the facade and varies its facing direction at five degree intervals; this variance of openings helped us achieve the undulating effect. A wave-like finish is placed on the exterior to increase this effect. This overall design and finish produced visually stunning shadows that enhanced the undulation.
full scale model | texture
rhythm diagram
connection.Attention to detail was essential in this collaboration. The greatest challenge after the design phase was figuring out how to attach the new pre-fab concrete pieces to the existing structure while not changing much of the existing slab.
view from road courtesy of Ryan Wilson
wall section
1- Pre-Fab Ductile Concrete2- Fasteners3- Z-Plate4- Fasteners - Welled in place5- 1/4" x 12" notch for Z-Plate6- Joint Sealant and Backer Rod
connection detail
undulation
full scale model | z-plate detail
5
graduate thesis: humanitarian design.
shelter on the beach | Roatan, Honduras
Trau
ma
Cent
erRo
atan,
Hon
dura
s
process sketches | individual design
concept model
build the facility. The goal is to create this trauma center while staying in a very strict budget because the island has very little funding. To do this we are looking into efficient building methods while also using local materials, natural means of ventilation and daylighting, and collecting rainwater. Phase one of this project was completed in collaboration with Logan Carlyle, Nathan Geier, Wenjing Li, and Danielle Smith.
My graduate thesis project is geared toward humanitarian design. It is a collaboration between students to design a Trauma Center on the island of Roatan in Honduras. The locals currently have few medical clinics and one hospital that can't manage very many patients, making this center pertinent to their well being. We had the opportunity to travel to the island and visit with locals and government officials who wanted us to design and help
thesis. part 1.
preliminary sketches
section through courtyard
Apartment
Medical
Community/PublicSupport Space
Apartment
Medical
Community/PublicSupport Space
apartmentmedicalcommunity/publicsupport space
Upon programming the trauma center, we thought about the function and circulation heavily. We kept the building long and thin to help promote cross and stack ventilation and then we started breaking down the functions. Having the most public portion (waiting and community) at the entry, changing to semi-public where medical functions take place, to private where back of house services and visiting doctors' apartments are located. This helped us keep everything clear and concise throughout the project.
diagram | evolution of function
aerial rendering courtesy of Nathan Geier
Further development of the trauma center led to a discovery that we could create a sectional quality for the buiding that would solve all passive strategy challenges, from natural daylighting, to cross ventilation and even water collection. Not only would this meet needs of the island to save money, but it also created an aesthetic quality that gives the interior of the trauma center an experiential dynamic.
natural.
floor plan
site plan
passive strategy diagrams
public entry courtesy of Nathan Geier
model | overhead view
At this point in the design project, teams merged. The team now consists of six fifth-year students: Naihao Fan, Nathan Geier, Kelsie Kremer, Ashley Simpson, Danielle Smith, and Andrew Stith. Having similar schemes, we were able to combine the two projects into one.
The opportunity was provided at the beginning of the spring semester to take a second trip to the island of Roatan in order to present our designs to the government officials and get feedback regarding what needs to be changed, added, etc. Some feedback received included materiality change from wood to CMU to mitigate the cost of upkeep, placing the building on the ground instead of elevating to rid the risk of mosquitos, adding some programmatic features and zoning, and considering the possiblity of expansion into a larger facility in the future.
In addition to these changes, we developed the design to further maximize water collection by changing the sectional quality of the roof to a true butterfly roof. The sequence of spaces was also rearranged to assure that the private portion of the medical facility remains as such while also giving the entry/waiting area more of an experiential quality.
thesis. part 2.
site plan + originally proposed hospital footprint
function diagram
Apartment
Medical
Community/Public
Apartment
Medical
Community/Public
apartments
medical
community
privacy gradiant diagram model | overhead view
grid diagram site model
construction diagram
public (residence/waiting)public (medical)semi-privateprivate
AA BBM N O P Q R S T U
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
2
I J K LF G HEDBA C CC
1
consultationadministration
ER ward
family waitingreception +pharmacy
recovery suitedoctor
locker room laboratory X-ray
X-ray dark roomjanitor (medical)
outpatient surgery
operating room
Prep/Sterilizationwhite zone lobby
maintainence +storage
bathroom
bathroom
Delivery +ER suite
utensil wash room
clinic:internal medicine
clinic:internal medicine
clinic:pediatrics
clinic:pediatrics
pharmacy storage
break room
laundry +janitor
records
waiting area
community room
upup
down
private classroom
kitchen
laundrydining + commons
storage dorm 1dorm 2dorm 3
public bathroom
public bathroom
ambulance entrancepatient entrance
visiting doctor residence
nurse station
generator
incinerator
floor plan
AA BBM N O P Q R S T U
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
2
I J K LF G HEDBA C CC
1
consultationadministration
ER ward
family waitingreception +pharmacy
recovery suitedoctor
locker room laboratory X-ray
X-ray dark roomjanitor (medical)
outpatient surgery
operating room
Prep/Sterilizationwhite zone lobby
maintainence +storage
bathroom
bathroom
Delivery +ER suite
utensil wash room
clinic:internal medicine
clinic:internal medicine
clinic:pediatrics
clinic:pediatrics
pharmacy storage
break room
laundry +janitor
records
waiting area
community room
upup
down
private classroom
kitchen
laundrydining + commons
storage dorm 1dorm 2dorm 3
public bathroom
public bathroom
ambulance entrancepatient entrance
visiting doctor residence
nurse station
generator
incinerator
model | entry view
north elevation
model | porch view
approach
exterior view from hill
exterior porch/waiting
emergency ward
thesis. part 3.
A final portion of the Roatan Trauma Center project was an exploration of innovative construction methods that could be used with local materials and remain affordable. This research included building and testing bamboo trusses with fiberglass connections. The ease of construction, use of a natural material, lightweight nature of the structure, and strength were many of the positive outcomes.
The trusses that were constructed were 1'-6" deep and spanned 16'. Shorter spans were initially tested in the engineering department, and we found that this means of construction would be very suitable for the island. It was calculated that each joint in the truss would need to support 300 pounds; after testing, we found that each joint was able to hold around 1100 pounds before the member failed. It was also seen that the material is what failed first, not the fiberglass connections.
The test continued on the 16' span. It was constructed by connecting several smaller spans together that could be assembled on site. The test proved this size is also successful as it was able to hold 2000 pounds which is roughly what it would need to bear in a real life application.
1- bamboo
6- engineered testing 7- material failure
2- chopped web members
3- start of assembly
8- testing 16’ trusses 9- deflection after 2000 pounds added
4- fiberglass connections 5- complete trusses
Trav
el P
hoto
grap
hy
single rose on a cold morning | Orvieto, Italy
stranded boat on shore | Roatan, Honduras
duomo | Orvieto, Italy
tower bridge | London, England guggenheim museum | New York, New York
park guell | Barcelona, Spain
simpson
