client: tulane city center
team: studio critic e. taylor-welty, t. moraczewski, v. cohen
ROLE: team leader, DESIGN, DETAILING, FABRICATION, installation
Project constraints and collaboration in development refine a project, creating more from less.
The challenge of this design-build project was to create an identity and define useable program spaces within a 6,000 square foot volume on an extremely limited budget. Throughout the process, project constraints and collaboration with the community partner allowed ius to refine the design at every stage, improving the final outcome.
Installation shown here designed, fabricated and installed in collaboration with Tatiana Moraczewski and Victoria Cohen.
Early projective programming plan designed collaboration w/ Sara Conner (representation mine). Presentation/lecture area, Projection area, and gallery/promotion area to highlight Tulane City Center’s portfolio and community partnerships.
Digitally rendered freehand perspective sketch showing presentation/lecture area when not in use.
Digitally rendered freehand perspective showing pinup/presentation area when in use.
Digitally rendered freehand perspective sketch showing area for Tulane City Center promotional materials, highlighting their community partners and past projects.
Conversations with staff and other students led us to design three program-defining interventions (individual carrels, staff workspace, and bookshelf/soffit.) 1/8”=1’-0” model (with K. Allen and S. Mears)
In development, the bookshelf/soffit evolved into a single “wrapping” screen element with integrated shelving and a pinup board that separates a co-working area beneath an existing mechanical soffit from the main studio volume. This drawing shows the development and assembly logic of the layered tectonic intervention.
Certain custom elements required fabrication. Testing led us to define a production process, refine the elements for efficiency of fabrication, and create jigs to facilitate standardized production while sharing work across teams.
Custom-fabricated floor brackets serve a dual function: pragmatically, the brackets lift the wood fins away from the concrete floor to reduce moisture wicking. Emotionally, the detail imparts a feeling of lightness to the installation.
By enclosing the space beneath an existing mechanical soffit, we were able to more fully define two spaces within a single volume. This allowed us to connect to existing structure (to minimize redundancy and increase stability) while creating a defining visual element in the larger volume. Exaggerated depth of the assembly passively controls acoustics and allows shelf storage in the co-working space.
This photo showing partially completed installation illustrates how off-the-shelf mounting hardware – applied creatively – reinforces the tectonic quality of the assembly and emphasizes the vertical line of the upright 2" x 12" supports.
Frosted plexiglas panels create separation, lend visual interest, and increase privacy. Material mock-ups allowed testing of colors, material combinations, and joint details.
Completed installation (pre-cleanup.) A steel-framed homasote pinup board sits within the band of plexiglass panels. As the light changes, the board blends in with the frosted panels or stands out from them as a separate element ( as seen here.) Panel seams in the pinup board align with the vertical uprights for ease of mounting and to subtly continue the vertical line through the horizontal band.
Spring 2015 Design-Build Option Studio: Students pin-up in the studio space.
Tulane City Center Staff claimed the intended leasable co-working space for their own use upon project completion.