ellen duff\’s portfolio
DESCRIPTION
selection of works from my first two years of architecture school at Northeastern UniversityTRANSCRIPT
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ellen duff
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“architecture...a product of happy peoples and a thing which in itself produces happy peoples.” -Le Corbusier
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south boston public library
south boston middle school
art museum addition project
thick thin project: 3 spaces
villa savoye re-design
art work
table of contents 5
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south boston public library
After a site analysis in the South
End of Boston, I designed a new
branch for the Boston Public
Library. The proposed building is
on the site of a subway stop and is
surrounded by a meshing of
different types of neighborhoods.
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Book
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The lowest level is for children’s books, located toward the most noisy side of
the street. The next floor is for the general reading stacks, having the closest
accessibility to the reading area. The top level is for research, and is
adjacent to the quieter side of the site.
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The idea for my building is the
concept of ‘wrapping around the
community’. This is accomplished
by placing three separate book
stack areas around a central
reading room. The type of stacks
on each floor deals with the noise
level of the surrounding area
around the site.
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A proposed site massing for a
school was designed to reflect the
rhythm, landscape, and culture of
surrounding neighborhoods after
analysis of the site.
south boston middle school
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classrooms
administration
auditorium
School Program
For the proposed site massing, I
held the continuous street edge
from the neighboring blocks to
create a corner condition. For the
school part of the site, I decided
on a form that not only meshed
with the neighboring homes, but
also created two separate urban
spaces. The first space is more
open to the urban surrounding,
while the interior is very orthogonal
and closed in for private usage,
common to those in the blocks
surrounding the area.
urban space
urban plaza
courtyard
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Top: View of massing from the
public garden, located southwest
of the site in the site plan.
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As the project progressed, a class room module was designed to place into the
school. In the module, groups of five classrooms were arranged to dedicate a
learning environment to each grade level. A common area was placed in the
center with views to the second level ‘specialty’ classrooms, as seen in section.
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The first project given in my
freshman year of architecture
school was to design three distinct
spaces within a given grid using 9’
and 15’ walls. I chose to apply the
principles of layering, tension and
compression, and spiraling to
create a guide through the spaces.
thick thin project: 3 spaces
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As seen in the plan, the placement
of walls creates spiraling through-
out the three spaces in order to
maximize the area given. The
repetition of horizontals creates a
layering effect that allows light to
guide the circulation.
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Top: The usage of differing wall
heights create tension while in
walkways so that when entering
the spaces there is a sense of
release.
Bottom: The three distinct spaces
are side by side in the center of
the plan.
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art museum addition project
Two paintings in the Museum of
Fine Art in Boston were to be
placed in separate rooms of an
existing art museum for a special
exhibit. The two separate rooms
were designed after an analysis of
each painting.
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Above are the two paintings that
are placed in the art museum
addition. To the right is where they
are placed in the space.
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The stairs that link the two gallery
spaces create a tensional quality.
At the beginning of the stair, the
circulation is wide and open, while
in the main stretch is long and
dark, with a light at the end. This
allows a sense of release when
entering the second exhibition
space.
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v i l l a s a v o y e re - d e s i g n
After studying some of Le
Corbusier’s projects, such as the
Carpenter Center and the Villa
Savoye, his five points of
architecture were implemented in a
residential project.
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The split levels show how family living is on the top floor, service on
the bottom, and a combination of the two in between.
The circulation is towards the site of the pre-existing building in
order to open the views for the main living areas.
bath
work space
living area
terrace
kitchen
kitchenterrace
solarium
circulation
bedroom
garage
terrace
hanging garden
circulation
circulation
bedroom
studio
bedroom
bath
bedroom
circulation
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Above: A rendering showing the
ribbon windows, roof garden, and
pilotis similar to that of the Villa
Savoye by Le Corbusier.
Right: A hand drawing shows the
proportions of the building along
with the central outdoor living
area. The other main living areas
are directly beside this space in
order to optimize the views and
natural lighting of the site.
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1st Floor
1 1/2 Floor
workroom maid’s roombath
entrance garage
dining room living roomkitchen patio
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2nd Floor
2 1/2 Floor
solarium
outdoor terrace
hanging garden studio
bedroom bedroombath
master bedroom
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a r t w o r k
A series of artwork. To the left is
“still life of fruit” -colored pencil.
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“staircase” -colored pencils
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“the coliseum” -oil pastels
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ellen duff
architecture student
northeastern university
336. 907. 2418