CHRIS DUNN // Selected Works

is a fourth-year student at the Tulane School of

Architecture in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is from

Charlotte, North Carolina, and has a prevailing

interest in how to properly connect architecture with

its predominantly urban context in order to create

more cohesive and more liveable cities. Recently,

he has also been excited about the possibilities

that parametric design offer to both architecture

and urban design, and he most enjoys working in

three-dimensions, either through software or with

physical models.

CHRIS DUNN

CONTENTSNEW ORLEANS DANCE ACADEMY

LIGHT CATCHER

HARBOR ROW HOUSES

KLØVERMARKEN INDUSTRIAL SITE REDEVELOPMENT

ADAPTIVE CIRCULATION SPACES

CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT CREDIT UNION

1

5

7

11

15

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NEW ORLEANS DANCE ACADEMY // New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; 2013

In creating a place which honors dance, public access to spaces of performance is critical. However, an effective method of grouping and relating dance studios is also imperative as students learn dance. The solution to both was found by establishing a single cohesive circulation core throughout the height of the building. This core offers a multiplicity of routes between destinations in the building, but all are related in such a way as to encourage the occupant to join into the dance which the project seeks to celebrate.

01

Public

Circulation

Massing

Service School

NEW ORLEANS DANCE ACADEMY

02

NEW ORLEANS DANCE ACADEMY

03

Service + Support Spaces

Courtyard

Dance Studio

Backstage

NEW ORLEANS DANCE ACADEMY

04

View of Entry to School

Construction + Facade Assembly

LIGHT CATCHER // 3D Print, Modeling in Grasshopper

Initially thought of as a filter for light, this project evolved into a deceptively complex form that can be rapidly changed into a surprisingly different array of configuartions. This is constructed with only four mass-es, each of which runs in a spiral. Three of these spiral masses run in the same direction and are roughly equivalent; the fourth mass rotates opposite the first three, meaning that it bridges all three continuously, and vice versa. The whole form is thus simultaneously expressive of its tectonic construction, the lighting qualities of its massing, and the nature of its physical fabrication.

05

Light Catcher as lamp

Spiral created Spiral copied, shifted Spirals lofted Spiral copied, mirrored Mass created for support Final

Photo of 3D Print

LIGHT CATCHER

06

Photo of 3D Print

HARBOR ROWHOUSES // Pakhuskay, Copenhagen, Denmark; 2013

When applying the rowhouse to a floating setting, it is crucial that family lifestyles be maintained. This project therefore looks to take advantage of a second-level public access path in order to place family living spaces at the core of the building. With bedrooms and bathrooms separated by stairs, the family is left with a clean space for living and for entertaining guests.

07

Student Room + Bathroom

Living Spaces + Kitchen

Boat Landing + Swimming Deck

Family Bedrooms + Bathroom

Roof Garden

Natural Light from SouthViews of Harbor

HARBOR ROW HOUSES

08

Roof Garden

09

Flexible Roof Space

Bed Rooms + Bath

Balcony

Entry + Living Spaces

Student Bedroom + Bath

Boat Landing + Deck

Bridge across Harbor

Overview of Single UnitSite Map

10 m

10 m

5 m

Access to Sea

22 Units Total

HARBOR ROW HOUSES

10

View of Entry and Living Space

11

Existing Buildings & Paths into Site Creation of Urban Mass, framing Public spaces

View of Sports and Community Center

KLØVERMARKEN INDUSTRIAL SITE REDEVELOPMENT // Copenhagen, Denmark, 2013

On the island of Amager, an increasingly urban subset of Copenhagen, sits Kløvermarken, a cluster of twenty-five sports fields. However, these fields lie just beyond a large industrial site, separating them from both Copenhagen and Amager itself. This project establishes paths through a redevelopment of this industrial site in order to connect Copenhagen and Amager with the fields of Kløvermarken. Mixed use buildings following the city’s courtyard paradigm are established on the site in order to help satisfy the city’s housing shortage and ensure the prolonged vitality of the area. Centrally-located is a Sports and Community Center built onto an existing pumping station. This Center will provide a vital social and activity hub for residents of the new community, and will act as a welcome center to new visitors.

12

KLØVERMARKEN INDUSTRIAL SITE REDEVELOPMENTMixed Use, High Commercial ActivityMixed Use, Some Commercial ActivityOfficesHousingCommunity + Sports Center

13

Final FormCarving Public Access to Sports and Community Center

Basketball Court/Multi-Purpose

Men’s Lockers + Rest Women’s Lockers + Rest

Theater Rest Kitchen

Cafe

Lounge

Entry

Ground-Level Plan for Sports and Community Center

KLØVERMARKEN INDUSTRIAL SITE REDEVELOPMENT

14

View of Lounge + Entry to Café

Section through Theater and Lounge

Theater Lounge

ADAPTIVE CIRCULATION SPACES // Digital exercise, 3D scanning and Grasshopper; 2013

Taking inspiration from the randomly tessellated, triangular mesh faces that may result from modelling curvilinear surfaces, this project provides the framework for a geometric logic which accentuates important areas of circulation. This is achieved by applying the formal language of a triangulated mesh to a field of values which corresponds to distance from selected paths through the site; areas closer to these major paths are thus raised, so areas where the paths converge are given additional height and prominence. Mesh faces which are oriented to the north and have a steep enough slope are opened for sunlight.

15

Photo of Original Model to 3D Scan

CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT CREDIT UNION // New Orleans, Louisiana

In an effort to provide a greater sense of transparency, and thus trust, in the banking industry, this project opens up the facade of a credit union to reveal the life inside. At the same time, pieces of program which are important to the function of the bank are made more visible by bringing them to the front of the facade. Elements such as meeting rooms, bank floors, and even the vault are thus visible in the large facade. Areas which require privacy, such as rooms for meetings between customers and representatives are still given proper privacy, and are pucshed back to the rear wall of the buidling.

16

3437 Calhoun Street, New Orleans, LA 70125 // 704-900-4922 // cdunn2@tulane.edu