Brian KerrAcademic Portfolio

Spring 2013

Table Of Contents

4-7 House for a Musician

8-11 The Learning Factory Display

12-13 Visual Communications Hand Drawings

14-15 Sackett Building Existing Conditions Study

16-17 Geodesic Sphere

18-19 Villa Tugendhat Case Study and Bird House

20-23 Enoteca

24-25 Furniture Design

26-27 Material Studies

28-33 Brooklyn Bridge Museum

4

House for a MusicianInstructor: Loukas KalisperisDuration: 5 WeeksFall 2012ARCH 231This project focuses on celebrating and emphasizing transitions in sev-eral scales, an idea derived after carefully studying Mozart’s Sonata #16. This emphasis is achieved through three massive, textured walls that are located at three tran-sitions between subtle spaces in the site. These three walls mark the lo-cation of the house, a public amphi-theater, and a private seating area. In the house, the wall marks the transition between the public mu-sic chamber, the semi-public living spaces, and the private bedroom.

5

6

7

8

9

Learning Factory DisplayInstructor: Rebecca HennDuration: 8 WeeksSpring 2012A group of 13 students worked on this design build project to improve the professional image of the Learning Factory, a metal shop located on Penn State’s campus. The design allows for the display of the various awards that organizations connected with the Learning Factory have collected and the shop’s sponsors, as well as more practical functions of storage and workspace. My role within this project was to focus on designing details and work out the logistics for the process of bending wood and implementing this into the design

10

11

12

Il Redentore Analytique (Above)Villa Stein de Monzie Shadow Studies (Right)Uffizi Analytique (Opposite Page)Instructor: James CooperDuration:Il Redentore: 2 WeeksVilla Stein De Monzie: 2 WeeksUffizi: 3 WeeksFall 2011The purpose of these drawings was to study the art of hand drafting and orthographic pro-jection, the effects of light, shade, and shadow in architecture , diagramming, and experien-tial sketching as means for expressing ideas

13

14

15

Sackett Building Existing Conditions StudyInstructor: Danielle RiveraDuration: 8 WeeksFall 2011These drawings were part of a study of the existing conditions and historical context of the Sackett Building on Penn State’s campus. The project focuses on how the gates of the Pattee Mall act as a historic anchor for the site, which has a rich ar-chitectural history. Over 100 years, there have been 7 different buildings construct-ed on this site at different times, each with different programmatic functions. Each building responds to the specific site, and the similarities between them shed light on the idiosyncrasies of the area, such as its relationship to the campus as a whole, its role as a boundary between the Pattee Mall and downtown State College, and its interaction with a historic set of train tracks.

16

17

Geodesic Sphere

Pennsylvania State UniversityDepartment of Architecture

Sam DavisonGalym Dyussembayev

Brian KerrJackie NietoDavid Sellers

Maddie Wagner

A1.0

CONSTRUCTION SET

Date November 8, 2012

Title

Scale 1:1

PARTIAL ELEVATION

R1312

1A4.0

3A4.0

2A4.0

4

5

3

A4.1

A4.1

A4.1

1 Partial Elevation

Geodesic Sphere

Pennsylvania State UniversityDepartment of Architecture

Sam DavisonGalym Dyussembayev

Brian KerrJackie NietoDavid Sellers

Maddie Wagner

A3.0

CONSTRUCTION SET

Date November 8, 2012

Title ASSEMBLY

1 2Facade Inspiration Unrolled Elevation

Geodesic SphereInstructor: Eric SutherlandDuration: 4 WeeksFall 2012The geodesic sphere, completed with a group of three other students, was another exploration of the process of bending wood. Unlike the ear-lier Learning Factory design, the sphere called for a lamination process for structure and in-creased accuracy. Once the structure was com-pleted, the white fins were added to study how the facade could play with light and shadow.

18

Villa Tugendhat Study and Bird HouseInstructors: Reggie Aviles and Jodi La CoeDuration: 6 WeeksThrough a study of several programs including the Ado-be Suite, Revit, Rhino, and Pepakura, this project in-volved a precedent study of the Mies van der Rohe’s Villa Tugendhat for the design of a bird house. The bird house focuses on the villa’s relation-ship with the hill, applying a similar idea to a bird house embedded within a tree, capitalizing on the different tectonic strategies required.

19

20

Existing Apartments

Coffer Ribs

Ground Floor

Basement

21

EnotecaInstructor: James CooperDuration: 10 WeeksFall 2012The design breaks the program into four separate spaces, an indoor bar space, an outdoor seating area, an exhibition space, and a garden, that are connected in several subtle ways. The project explores the idea of nested space, cre-ating a cozy atmosphere with a much larger space implied by the coffered ceiling. The circu-lation, rather than be a clearly defined path, is much more open, with different attractions drawing people to different spaces based on what they notice first, creating a unique experience for every person.

22

23

The custom wine rack serves several func-tions, from simply sup-porting wine bottles, to acting as a bench, to framing views be-tween floors. As pa-trons move through the enoteca, the wine rack pattern expands from a simple strip behind the bar, to a full height wall near the outdoor seating area, and fi-nally to a two-story el-ement when seen from the exhibition space.

24

Furniture DesignInstructor: Jodi La CoeDuration: 5 WeeksSpring 2012This project started with the analysis of Alvar Aal-to’s Paimio Chair as a precedent for a dorm room chair. Similarly to how Aalto’s chair functions spe-cifically for tuberculosis patients, this dorm chair uses movement to increase focus for college stu-dents. The small changes in posture that the chair induces in order to stay balanced keeps students from becoming distracted and increases productivity.

25

26

27

Loose Insulation

1/2” Plywood Sheathing

1/2” Gypsum Finish

14” CMU Foundation4” Concrete Floor4” Gravel

1/2” Wood Floor Finish

2”x8” Wood Studs

28”x14” Concrete Footer

4” Concrete Path

2” Air Space

Anchor Bolt

4” Brick Veneer

Glazing

Steel Angle

2” Rigid Insulation

Slate Shingles

6”x8” Concrete Beam

Rolling Metal Window

4” Perforated Drainage Pipe

Steel Frame

Aluminum Gutter

Perforated So�t Board

Expansion Joint

Copper Flashing

Weep Holes @ 24” o.c. (typ)

2”x8” Rafters

1 Wall Section1’ 2’ 3’ 5’

Exploded Steel De-tail (Opposite Page)Duration: 1 WeekSoftball Field Con-cession Stand Wall Section (Right)Duration: 3 WeeksInstructor: Daniel Willis

28

29

Initial Gallery Volume Continue datum lines from context Wrap corner to block sound from the Manhattan Bridge

Define lobby space underneath the galleries Open corner to respond to the park Focus northwest corner towards the Brooklyn Bridge

Connect two elements

Brooklyn Bridge MuseumInstructor: Daniel Cardoso-LlachDuration: 14 WeeksSpring 2013This project was completed for a competition sponsored by the NCMA. As a museum for the Brooklyn Bridge, this proj-ect highlights the evolutionary nature of the bridge in history. The museum is separated into a pristine gallery volume and a more rough, solid mass hold-ing the secondary services of a museum and protecting the galleries from harsh sound from the Manhattan Bridge

30

Frosted Glass

Interior Mullions

Steel Columns

Glass Railing

Wood Treads

Exterior Mullions

Glazing

Aluminum Plate

Terracotta Module

EnterExit

The facade and roof were generated from the program-matic requirements of museum lighting and from the mu-seum’s relationship to the Brooklyn Bridge, with expand-ing views opening up as patrons circulate between galleries

31

Gallery

Research / DemonstrationSpace

OutdoorResearch Lab

Second Floor Plan

Lobby

Cafe

Shop

TicketDesk

Coat Check,Storage

2’4’10’Ground Floor Plan

Collections Storage

Basement Plan

Third Floor Plan

Gallery

Offices

Fourth Floor Plan

Gallery

MultipurposeLectureSpace

2’4’10’

Interactive MediaWall

Fifth Floor Plan

Gallery

Research

2’4’10’

2’4’10’

2’4’10’

2’4’10’

32

33

This project began with a one week study of the Kunsthaus Bregenz by Peter Zumthor in the form of an analy-tique. It also called for the design of a custom CMU . The above CMU was an exploration of digital fabrication us-ing a 3-D Printer and plaster casting. The CMU used in the final Brooklyn Bridge Museum, shown on the opposite page, enhances the horizontal move-ment of the design in a much more practical concrete masonry module.