Design Portfolio | Nicholas L Ratcliff

NICHOLASLRATCLIFF

UNIveRSITy of vIRgINIA

bACHeLOR OF SCIeNCe · ARCHITeCTURebACHeLOR OF ARCHITeCTURAL HISTORy

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FALL 2010 - SPRINg 2013

perspectival watercolorssuspended function

spring 2011

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MAP 4PRACTICEPERFORM 6

BOWTIEKNOT 9WELLNESSCENTER 10

GREENGREY 12

STRANDBEESTENPORTAL 14

SENSORYTHERAPYCENTER 18ARCHITECTUREATOP 17

SCULPTURALLIGHTING 16

DESIGNTHESIS 20

T I ME L I NE

The element of place is examined through a variety of contexts, perspectives, and scales.

The mapping sculpture focuses on the city of Rich-mond, Virginia. Three-dimensionally placed pieces represent topography, manmade intervention and density.

Voids gain the same level of significance as solids in this piece, as city blocks are subtracted, to expose the underlying grid of the urban condition.

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map

2 MS

2 MS

2 MS

E5 659.255 HzA4 440.000 Hz

B4 493.883 Hz

pERFORmOPERABLE PIANO cAPsuLE

A preliminary mechanical mapping per-forms a visual analysis of the kinetics behind the tapping of a piano key, along with the operation of pedals and strings in relation to the keys.

KINETICS

A piano is one of the most versatile and wide-ly played instruments, compositionally. It is included in a variety of musical contexts and genres. However, the grand piano’s mass and volume allows it less versatility in terms of venue space.

Concert pianists must depend on venues to pro-vide adequate instruments. But what if a modu-lar enclosure allowed a pianist to travel with his or her instrument?

In performance mode, the unit’s operable arms are open to allow full reverberation in any setting. The form of the module both conforms to and de-nies the contours of the original piano cabinet, which is left unaltered.

Performance mode allows for one or multiple accompanying instruments to surround the unit. The architecture of the module inherently allows for spectators and accompanists to position themselves in order to gain or deny full auditory and visual stimuli.

pERFORm

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OPERABLE PIANO cAPsuLE

The piano capsule encloses the player, both visually and auditorily. Practice sessions are enclosed from the ele-ments, while still allowing natural ven-tilation.

The arm can be set slightly ajar to allow for minimal sound travel while rehears-ing, to give spectators hints and glimps-es as to what is taking place inside the capsule.

pRacticE

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The bowtie knot is intricate, layered, and suspended. The basic exercise dilated these intricacies, and displays them at a scale of explosion to further describe the tying process.This project encompassed a wide variety of media in order to provide familiarity with materials and methods.

Starting with bent wire, the spatial framework is established with orthogonal direction changes. This phase of the project discovers the actual path that the tying material takes to form the finished knot.

3D-modelling adds thickness and width to the compo-nents, as color and opacity variation brings visual hierarchy to the phases of the knot.

The bowtie knot reaches its final representations in the forms of a wooden massing model, a chipboard surface model, and a hybrid model composed of both materials and composition.

knOt

wooden massing model composed of a Spanish Cedar

core supplemented by ribbons of plywood

FORMAL VIsuALIZATION

DIGITAL VISUALIZATION

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cEntERFA:L:L 2010

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The site invervention is composed of ribbons of a set of rudimentary materials. Mass meets surface to form environments conducive to therapy and wellness.

Wall placement, filtering light, and elevation variation enhance the user’s experience of a spatial condition. Moments within this experience are emphasized in early renderings as displayed.

Paths of built objects form rib-bons, taking from the original knot project. A stair’s landing may form the same surface by which the reception desk operates. An-other metal ribbon of metal bends and encapsulates a person during his or her routine, in full view to the surrounding context.

The ideal of interconnection among components and paths translated from the Bowtie Knot project into the design for a wellness center located in the downtown of Charlottesville, Vir-ginia.

MATERIAL STUDY

PLAN MOMENTS

PERSPECTIVE MOMENTS

VERSATILE SPACEarchitects killingsworth, brady and smith

RESIDENTIAL TYPOLOGIES

SINGLE FAMILY

CLUSTER

MULTI-FAMILY

precedential study adaptation

PRIVATE PUBLIC SERVICE

VERSATILE SPACEarchitects killingsworth, brady and smith

INDOOR/OUTDOOR TRANSITION SPACE

PRIVATE LIVING

PUBLIC LIVING

PLAN SECTION

HOUSE A HOUSE B

SAMPLE UNIT

SEPARATE UNITS

PARKINGPRIVATE PRIVATE

1/4 acre. compact

1/2 acre. expansive private

1/2 acre. cluster

multifamily. main band frontage

multifamily. integrated residential

GR

EE

NB

AN

D P

ATH

WA

YS

frank house. killingsworth brady & associates

stuart bailey house. richard neutra

alpha. richard neutra

via vigano. cino zucchi architetti

yerba buena loft. stanley saitowitz

statistics

square footagelot size

total # of units


total # of units


total # of units

square footagetotal ground acreage

total # of units

square footagetotal acreage

total # of units

1800 sq. ft.1/4 acre788

2600 sq. ft.1/4 or 1/2 acre495

1200 sq. ft. / unit1/4 or 1/2 acre463 couplets (houses a & b)

1200 sq. ft. / unit11.4 acres870

800 sq. ft. / unit9.621048

RESIDENTIAL STRATEGY housing centered around public outdoor greenloops

single family REDEFINING THE PRIVATE YARD by using compact, adaptable private housing whose precedential foundations were designed specifically to create natural outdoor public and private spaces by positioning housing closer to the street front, minimizing unused front yard space and allowing for more outdoor interaction in the forms of rear and side gardensclustering FACILITATING SHARED OUTDOOR SPACE by using single family dwellings that can share common outdoor space, including driveways, lawns, patios, and swimming pools by positioning this housing so that both private and public outdoor spaces are naturally createdmulti-family ADAPTABLE DENSITY by using precedential foundations that are highly adaptable, in that storeys can be added/deleted, first levels can be utilized for commercial space, and invididual units can be stacked or placed adjacent to one another compact and concise one level plans make either of the precedents perfect for senior housing models

Business/Commercial Mixed-Use Units

Bus P Loop Total Square Footage SlopeSmall: 5 1 6 9,775 sf ea. 8-44% Regular: 0 1 1 9,775 sf ea. 8%Large: 9 3 12 19,869 sf ea. 5-8%X-Large: 7 6 13 39,520 sf ea. 5-8%Total Units: 21 11 32 820,613 total sf

Business Tower Units3-Floor: 5 1 6 13,200 sf ea. 4-Floor: 9 4 13 17,600 sf ea.Total Units: 14 5 19 308,000 total sf

Apartment Commercial Units Ground Lvl: 97 97 1,849 sf ea. Total 97 179,387 total sf

Programatic Use

RestaurantsBanquet & Reception RoomsTerminal Concourse & Waiting AreaBoarding AreasBus StopsParking SpaceRooftop Plaza & Visitor DeckGreen Park Areas

Accomodates four 30,000-ton ship at a time* : 6,800 people

Square Footage Distribution External Gross SF: 4,717,805 sf

Programatic Use

Central Raading Room15 ClassromsNumeorus Computer stationsOpen Book StackMulti-Purpose RoomsAdministrartion OfficesBook StoreCafe

Square Footage Distribution

Total Interior SF: 161,459 sf

Programatic Use

SeatingObservation Deck Exterior TheaterSmall Cart BusniessesTree Preservation Children’s Water Park


Total Park Length: 1.45 mile - 689,040 sf

Programatic Use

15 ClassroomsTeacher’s LoungeGymnasiumPlayground


Total Project Area: 8,510 sqm

Programatic Use

100 SuitesRestaurantOperaSpaSwimming poolParking Lot


Total Project Area: 45,000 sqm

Programatic Use Bed Distribution: 252 beds 4 Interior Courtyards Retentnion Pond Physician’s Offices Emergency Center Parking


Total Project Area: 90,932 sf

Dead Sea Resort & Opera HouseAccent Design Group | unbuilt

Yokohama International PortForeign Office Architects | 2002

TU Delft LibraryMecanoo Architects | 1999

NYC High line ParkCorner, Scofido + Renfro, Oudolf | 2009

Gunma Kokusai AcademyKazuhiro Kojima + Kazuko Akamatsu| 2005

Aspirus Wausau HospitalSkidmore, Owings & Merrill | 1979

Hotel Precedent

Transit Station

Library & Civic Offices

Public Space

Hospital

Middle School

Public Buildings | Concept The Green & Grey public buildings were chosen with three clear intentions: to contrast the flat landscape of the site, to intro-duce the sense of a new kind of city through full use vertical design, and to use the public buildings as a way of creating a healthy community. All the public buildings chosen as precedents for new buildings in Forney, TX. are based off of Emre Arolat Architects (EAA) public buldings designs, which exhibit our proposed qualities to a full extent. The design of our proposed buildings contrast the flat landscape of their surroundings by imposing a new green roof strategy, in which the building surfaces seemingly emerge from the ground all the way to the roof, bringing together the ground and the roof as one continuous surface. This design ap-proach then allows for the possibility of vertical density, by encouraging the use of public building roofs as a gardens, walkable skylights, or otherwise park areas. In addition, by having building roofs become usable with favorable views and leisure uses, we encourage city dwellers to become more active and more aware of their city, improving the overall health of the population.

Public Buildings | Precedent General Summary

Business/Commercial BuildingsEmre Arolat Architects

Public Buildings | Typologies

Business & Commercial Units

perspectives

pedestrian pathway

business park

hospital garden

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GREYREsIDENTIAL MAsTERPLANNING

A flat and barren site in Forney, a small suburb of Dallas, TX, attempts to break the mold of large-scale contemporary residential develop-ment with green belts which infiltrate into sin-gle-family and residential clusters.

A system of residential typologies are es-tablished from inspiration of mid-century prec-edents designed by such architects as Richard Neutra.

The table describes the typologies through the lenses of plan, section, and perspectival anal-ysis. These diagrams result in adaptation to the Forney site and ultimate masterplan with lot images supplemented by acreages and unit quantities.

RESIDENTIAL TYPOLOGIES

Theo Jansen designed and invented the in-famous “Strandbeesten,” which are wooden contraptions composed of moving pieces which counterbalance one another.

The Strandbeesten Portal adapts the crea-tures to the streets of Manhattan, with the portal located along the Highline Park.

The portal complex is composed of four programmatic towers which latch onto the highline, and are interconnected at strategic points.

Towers are specifically designated for phases of Strandbeesten development, from the ac-tions of building, repair, and refueling, to ex-hibition and living spaces for the specialists who make their presence possible.

With an emphasis on formal qualities, the towers look inward, with translucent exterior cladding and transparent imbedded atriums. This facilitates various levels of exposure and consealment.

TOWER FUNCTION

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pORtalPuBLIc INFORMATION GATHERING

LIVING

EXHIBITION

A study of shape, light and material culminates in this inde-pendently-developed design project. Digital modelling and rendering were predominant media in this exercise.

Intense vertical light radiates at slightly various heights, cre-ating an electric topographical condition of material within a framework system of smoky glass tubes. The tubes are cut on both ends at sharp angles, and positioned in an array of rotations at a variety of heights and lengths, but still existing within a strict grid. This lighting design could inform a se-ries based on the formal themes set forth.

LIGHTING DESIGN SCHEME

liGHtinGAN INDEPENDENT DEsIGN scHEME

WallDyNAMIc MODuLE

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AN INDEPENDENT DEsIGN scHEME

DyNAMIc MODuLE

DECK SYSTEM

atOp

Emphasis on user experience comes to the forefront in a preamble to the Sensory Therapy Center project.

Constructed upon a rooftop of pre-existing offices and shopping venues, this design intervention serves as a therapeutic architectural environment which forces inhabitants to choose paths, meditate, and take in framed views from this secluded, floating system of masses and surfaces.

The space is intentionally designed for visitors to use before and after medical appointments. A layered system of decks allows for a diversified and con-trolled user experience, with a covered pavilion rest-ing at the pinnacle of the journey.

PRELuDE TO MEDIcAL cARE 1 7

The sensory therapy center reveals an architectural account of the visitor’s experience of the site, and its intervention. Upon approach, one meanders across rolling topography to enter the vertical, trans-parent reception and patient intake facility set on a large plinth.

Patients descend into the therapy corridors to expe-rience variant sensory conditions within the array of baths and chambers.

Mapping analysis indicates the proposed site for a sensory therapy center as a satellite extension for the University of Virginia Hospital, to be located on the outskirts of Charlottesville, Virginia.

The site is a tract of land of land directly outside the major points of building density consisting of UVa and the surrounding Charlottesville context. The topographically hilly site, which contains a pre-exist-ing manor along with barns and stables, enjoys ther-apeutic views to the west with direct access to vital locations within the city.

HYDROTHERAPY

tHERapYcEntER1 8 FALL 2012

The sensory therapy center site intervention is centered around the con-trast between actions of horizontality, in conformation to the rolling land, and the vertical denial of topography . Therapy chambers within the sunken corridor allow the visitor various visual, auditory, and tactile experiences while using the baths and pools. The pools are arranged adjacent to observation spaces that accommodate medical research on the use of hydrotherapy.

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tHEsiscusTOM, cOMPAcT, AND OPERABLE LIVING

Prefabricated residential architecture of the 1920’s displays an unrivaled level of con-venience, complexity, and innovation within a compact programmatic and circulational framework.

This design thesis adapts these aspects to an urban residential model of the present. Dwellings accomodate individualized modes of living by means of tectonic modules.

Architecture of the user interface activates in both phases of apartment conception and in-teraction within the indidualized spaces.

End-users may input information based on daily routine and lifestyle preferences, which are then organized into programmatic catego-ries.

These categories form different combinations which result in operable modules for living.

The chaos of user input gains order by catego-rization and design implementation into molu-les.

USER INTERFACE

Units are composed of combinations of pro-grammatic and functional modules based on the original user preferences which compose individual routines and lifestyles. Coded im-ages correspond to end-user profiles shown on the user interface to the right.

LIFESTYLE TRANSLATION

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MODULE TRANSLATIONPROGRAMMATIC YIELDPRIORITY CRITERIA PROFILEINDIVIDUAL

31 years oldsingle

mechanical engineer

45 years oldpartnered

banking consultant


freelance artist


banking consultant


freelance artist

73 years oldwidowed

retired

22 years oldsingle

graduate studentpart time job

23 years oldsingle

graduate studentpart time job

routine

sleeps 6-8 hours high darkness preference

prepares and eats breakfast aloneeats out for lunch

morning showers extended time preference

exercises directly after work cardio and yogaoften prepares dinner while entertaining 2-5 guests

SLEEPING

EATING

FOOD PREP

goes out for dinnerunless entertaining for dinner 3-6 guests

evening shower steam preference both inhabitants

rests early minimal light preference

reads before resting near book storage

WORKING

RESIDENTIAL UNIT

functional interfaces

infrastructural framework options

infrastructural spine

infrastructural codependency

water module

exercises after strenuous metroride cardio and strength

relaxes in horizontal lounge mode reading or visual entertainment

exercises alternating days cardio and strength

relaxes in sitting mode prepares for night activities

rests earlyhorizontal lounge mode reading or visual entertainment

spatial collapse

track operability

storage

enclosed

work surface

visual technology

shelving display

BATHING

storage

steam

shower

bath

spacious

visual technology

shelving storage

enclosed storage

shelving storage

collapsible

expandable

visual technology

surface

storage

collapsible

expandable

specialized preparation devices

visual technology

surface

shelving storage

collaborative

visual technology

CLOTHING

shelving storage

enclosed storage

hanging storage

visual technology

cleaning/steaming

goes out for entertainment some nightsreturns for rest late low sound travel preference

30 years oldcommitted

film historian

32 years oldcommitted

veterinarian

returns early evening

jogging

entertains often 2-7 people film screening

prepares food often entertaining 2-7 people

lounges rests late

52 years olddivorcedviolinist

LIFEofCONVENIENCE t r a n s l a t i o n o f u s e r p r e f e r e n c e s i n t o d w e l l i n g

technological interace

storage

surface

appliance

water module SMART GLASS

formal constraint

rectangular units

41’ x 15’ x 14’

human interaction

rudimentary program

prepares dinner advanced cook

afternoon shower steam preference

sleeps 6-8 hours morning showerseats breakfast

prepares breakfast for two advance cook extended surface area

works until noon in unitleaves for office

works on surface and technological interface in unit

sleeps 8-10 hours white noise preferencemorning showers prepares and eats breakfast outdoor eating preferenceeats out for lunchstays out of unit until dinnertimeprepares dinner advanced cooksleeps 5-7 hoursmorning showers eats breakfast on the way to classin class until afternoon

sleeps 5-7 hours works in horizontal lounge modeprepares brunch eats alone in unitdeparts for work

prepares dinner joined by roommate on weekends

eats out of unitreturns late

evening showers steam preference

evening shower steam preference

sleep 5-7 hourscombined sleeping environment

caffeinates before preparing breakfast learning new recipeseats breakfast prepared for bothleaves for work

early evening shower steam preference

morning shower extended time preference steam preferenceeats breakfastleaves for work returns late evening

sleeps 6-8 hourscaffeinatesprepares and eats breakfast eats with 1-2 guests often

eats out for lunchstays out of unit until dinnertimeprepares dinner advanced cook

rehearses 2-3 hours outdoor preference often

rests late

late evening bath extended time preference

A

B

C

D

E

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G

H

I

J

K

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B

C

C

D

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E

F

F

G

G

G

G H

H I

J

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phase 1

phase 2

phase 3

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Operable modules utilize SmartGlass surfaces to accomplish tasks and display information to end-us-ers. SmartGlass allows modules to serve the entire spectrum of programmatic needs, from operating a water faucet to looking up recipes.

SMARTGLASS

MODULE TECTONICS

Dwellings are composed of various combinations of operable modules which conform to individual needs and lifestyles.

The images on the opposite page display a series of programmatic modes that the operable modules can adapt to.

SmartGlass implementation modules move along tracks which can screen off spaces, allow or deny cir-culation, and create interactive entertainment spaces when juxtaposed with other modules.

Tectonics come into play as separate modules can spatially combine to facilitate actions of entertain-ment, eating, working or exercise.

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entertainment

A dwelling is shown at two separate times of day. The entertainment module is positioned to facilitate individualized morning routine for the partnered in-habitants. SmartGlass modules allow for such activ-ities as food prep and showering during this mode.

By night, the food prep module reverts to standby mode as the entertainment module slides in juxtapo-sition with the sleeping module, which independently accomodates beverage storage overhead. This in-teractive arrangement of multiple modules allows for larger guest capacity for entertaining, as inhabitants can now enjoy visual entertainment in conjunction with simulataneous use of the bath and closing off of the clothing storage modules.

CONTACT N I C H O L A S L R ATC L I F F1 9 6 4 4 S e R e N I T y L A N eb R I S TO L , v I R g I N I A 24 2 02

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N I C H O L A S L R ATC L I F F1 9 6 4 4 S e R e N I T y L A N eb R I S TO L , v I R g I N I A 24 2 02

1 . 276 . 59 1 .9 2 6 1n i c h o l a s r a tc l i f f @m e . c o m

acrylic on canvasuntitled

fall 2011

Design Portfolio | Nicholas L Ratcliff

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