Educational Buildings

Extended precedent analysis

View from the campus

View from Main Street

View from building across the street

I was very exited to visit the innovation center by elemental, especially because someone in my studio just did a precedent analysis on it. When I first learned about the building the most intriguing thing was it’s monumental look. When I saw the building in person I was pleasantly surprised by the facade. The concrete was not one continuous smooth surface. Instead it expressed the texture of the wood formwork. The grain of the wood softened the look of the harsh concrete while the connection joints of the wood pieces created a textured effect. The floors of the buildings are exposed by the joints of the formwork. When I walked inside I was surprised at how small the atrium was. The floors were straightforward with the elevator core in one side and offices/work space around the atrium. The special part of the building for me were the triple floored balconies and its iconic look. That is why for my sketches I was more focused on how it looked from different spots on campus. 

Nunca Mas

A site that I was looking forward to visiting on this trip was the Museum of Memory. I had done a lot of research on this topic in AP Spanish in high school and the subject weighed heavily on me. While visiting the museum, I couldn’t help but notice there were parallels between it and our 9/11 memorial in New York City.

First of all, they both use enormous scale gallery walls that can be seen from almost any part of the museum. The Museum of Memory has the enormous wall filled with many picture frames of victims of the attacks and the 9/11 memorial in New York has varying shades of blue tiles to represent what color most people described the color of the sky was on 9/11/01.

New York City 9/11 memorial tile wall

My sketch of the wall of picture frames in the Museum of Memory

I think that this large scale is used to make a great impact on whoever is entering the museum and to make them realize just how many lives each specific event has effected.

Another similarity between the two museums is the use of water. I think that the water in both museums represent the absence of those who were taken from their loved ones on these days.

Museum of Memory

Reflecting pools at 9/11 memorial in NYC

 

The Innovation Center: “Design of the Year”

Innovation Center – Giant openings puncture Elemental’s “monolithic” concrete innovation centre. 

Not only green plants are used to be landscape design, but also stone designs could be a special way to illustrate beauty. I was intrigued by these cement spheres that were situated in front of the Innovation center due to their unique design and diverse purposes. Such as the stone spheres in front of the innovation center in PUC. The stone spheres is emphasizing the shape of circle while the with contrast of formal rectangle shape of innovation center is creating the sense of recreation. So people can feel more entertained. There were three sets of the cement spheres containing roughly thirty various sized spheres in close proximity to each other. The texture of the spheres looked like a mixture of cement and other aggregates. As I was observing how the spheres related to the campus, I noticed they were being used more so as a place for gathering, sitting, and elemental design instead of relating to its context. Multiple people were sitting on the spheres, including our Santiago group, to rest or meet people to go inside the innovation center. The cement spheres acted as its own location marker due to how easily it was to spot and notice them as so the building. 

America, Land of Who?

The United States of America or just America, that’s how I and most others refer to these 50 states. Whenever I travel abroad, I refer to myself as an American. I know my customs and traditions to be American. I remember the first time that I was introduced to the concept of “America” meaning more than just the United States of America. It was in one of my introductory Spanish classes at OSU. My professor asked us who was more American, us or someone from Panamá, perhaps. After all, Panamá is located in Central America. Ofcourse I was already aware of the existence of both Central and South America but we, the USA were the Americans, right? It was during that Spanish class that I began to challenge that idea. I was indirectly reminded of this when visiting La Moneda Cultural Center. On the glass walls, the phrase “America, Tierra de Quienes”  was painted. This translates to “America, Land of Who?”. As I was pondering on this, I began to think of the ethnic and cultural background of the people that make up “America”. Let’s think about Latin America in particular since we are in Chile. In 2019, it’s a melting pot like the United States but we know that much of the cultural make up comes from Spainards, enslaved Africans, and Indigenous peoples native to this land. I saw this cultural make up represented in the artwork all over Valparaíso which we visited on day 5. Some of the people depicted on the murals were, in my opinion very clearly of African descent and others indigenous. This experience in Chile has truly brought this concept to life for me and I will continue to learn about and expand on this idea of America being more than the United States of America.The United States of America or just America, that’s how I and most others refer to these 50 states. Whenever I travel abroad, I refer to myself as an American. I know my customs and traditions to be American. I remember the first time that I was introduced to the concept of “America” meaning more than just the United States of America. It was in one of my introductory Spanish classes at OSU. My professor asked us who was more American, us or someone from Panamá, perhaps. After all, Panamá is located in Central America. Ofcourse I was already aware of the existence of both Central and South America but we, the USA were the Americans, right? It was during that Spanish class that I began to challenge that idea. I was indirectly reminded of this when visiting La Moneda Cultural Center. On the glass walls, the phrase “America, Tierra de Quienes”  was painted. This translates to “America, Land of Who?”. As I was pondering on this, I began to think of the ethnic and cultural background of the people that make up “America”. Let’s think about Latin America in particular since we are in Chile. In 2019, it’s a melting pot like the United States but we know that much of the cultural make up comes from Spainards, enslaved Africans, and Indigenous peoples native to this land. I saw this cultural make up represented in the artwork all over Valparaíso which we visited on day 5. Some of the people depicted on the murals were, in my opinion very clearly of African descent and others indigenous. This experience in Chile has truly brought this concept to life for me and I will continue to learn about and expand on this idea of America being more than the United States of America.

America, Land of Who at La Moneda Cultural Center

One of many colorful murals in Valparaíso

Mural in Valparaíso

San Joaquim vs. Ohio State

Something I was curious about before this trip was how a Chilean university compared to an American one. After visiting San Joaquim, I was shocked at how different it was from Ohio State. There was a large variety of buildings, differing in scale, shape, color and materiality. This is a direct contrast from the many similar buildings on Ohio State’s campus that follow the brick standard. Both campuses are similar in that they have prominent central features that dictate the organization of the site. The main quad at San Joaquim is a wide, paved path that serves as a linear axis for all the buildings to line up along. Ohio State differs in that the central feature is the Oval, a large landscape that divides the campus into two parts: North and South. In terms of actual campus size and layout, San Joaquim’s campus is much smaller that that of Ohio State and splits up into multiple parts, with the architecture school being located in an entirely different location than the main campus. Ohio State differs in that it is one continuous campus but can also relate to the organization of the main campus of San Joaquim in the density of academic buildings seen on their campus and also on North campus.

Innovation Center at San Joaquim

Torres Siamesas at San Joaquim

Building with interesting window features at San Joaquim

Round copper museum on San Joaquim’s campus

Diagram comparing organization of San Joaquim and Ohio State

Materiality & Structures in Chilean Infrastructures

Chilean architecture often shows or mimic the materiality. Throughout the duration of the trip, I have learned that many buildings in Chile embraces  materiality and expose structures and mechanical works. Many buildings around here are made of strengthen concrete in order for it to withstand earthquakes. The concrete is then left exposed to show the infrastructure of the building. This occurs in many types of infrastructure ranging from metro stations, museum, monasteries and museum and school. They were all build in different eras but still represent the same idea.

First are metro stations. Some were built more than 20 years ago and some were built this past year.a majority of them are located underground, but there are exceptions. Underground infrastructures are made of concrete. The concrete are often smashed like brutalist concrete with a large structural beam supporting the weight above and mechanical wiring exposed. The stations above ground are often made of copper or metal. The different pieces are then bolted together to create the infrastructure. All the bolts and metal are left exposed like the stations underground. 

Underground Station Structures

Underground Station Material Patterns

 

Above Ground Station Materiality

 

Underground Station Structural Joint

Second are local monasteries and museums in Santiago. The Precolombino Museum and the monastery are both made of concrete and glass. The glass shows the lightness of the structure and the concrete shows the roughness of it. The way concrete is pour in Chile often leaves a unique pattern that looks like wood on the surface of the concrete. Sometime Chilean architecture uses one material to mimic another. In this case it is wood, because there are more than 100 difference species of trees. This technique allows the concrete to keep up its materiality and let it mimic wood. 

Monastery Material Pattern

 

Third are educational institution. Many schools  we visited uses the same materials. University Adolfo Ibanez is made entirely of concrete. However, it breaks away form the traditional style of Chilean concrete pouring. Instead of a rough pattern, it embraced a smooth concrete surface and still embrace the idea of exposing the material. The school also brings back the importance of wood to Chilean culture by utilizing it in the architecture. 

 

Educational Insitution Materiality Differentiation

Universidad Adolfo Ibanez: Contrast, Trick, Purpose, and Community

The Universidad Adolfo Ibanez is a private design school with an interest in systems engineering. The physical school has been rewarded for its complex design.

View of Rectilinear Exterior Volumes

At first, I thought the interior curvilinear forms (Ramps and rooms) were possibly a response to the curvilinear nature of the mountains meeting the sky and the landscape. Then, the more rectilinear exterior forms would stand in contrast to the site and the interior. Additionally, the white exterior continues to stand in contrast to the blue sky and brown earth, while the off white and light brown interior relates to the earth of the exterior. Therefore, the site, exterior, and interior react equally with one another, and dictate the design. 

View of Weaving Ramps

After taking a closer look, I realized the organization and form as a reaction to the exterior was unlikely. This is because the apertures in the main corridors are rectilinear and random; Very rarely are they related to the human, room, or hallway scale. Additionally, any stairs are designed to appear as they are floating in the middle and grounded at top and bottom by differing stair thickness and tread length. Lastly, the ramps are not understood alone but as a weaving of ramps, which is disorienting through circulation. Therefore, I concluded that the relationship between interior, exterior, and site was not the only design solution, but that the school is designed to trick and confuse the eye and disorient the user. 

View of Floating Library Stairs

In relation to Lo Contador, and the comment made my a professor there, what is the purpose of having a confusing building. At first, I thought there is no purpose. But, Knowlton is a confusing building to outsiders but not to us. Most likely, Adolfo Ibanez is confusing to us but not the students and faculty. Similar to Knowlton, this most likely increases the sense of community of the building and in the school.

San Joaquin v. La Contador

One example of the different approaches to site specific design is that both campuses have a very different attitude toward main circulation. At the Campus La Contador the passage mostly occurred through the interstitial space between buildings. As the site is small a lot of the buildings must be accommodated by squeezing them in tightly next to one another. This means there is no central axis or point that guides the circulation. San Joaquin Campus definitely has a central axis which you are meant to use to branch off into different paved ground. The buildings generally line up with this main axis so it is very much a key driver of the design. 

Another example of the difference in attitude is how the landscape is created. San Joaquin definitely makes use of its vast sight and spreads out as many kinds of vegetation as possible. It also makes use of large planters that become furniture or objects on the site to encourage interaction with the landscape. On the other hand, Campus Lo Contador had the restriction of the small site to work with. They deal with this small site by gathering their many types of vegetation into one courtyard. The courtyard at Lo Contador does not have as much of an idea of interaction in place. Most of the vegetation feels as if is on display and non approachable by people. 

Overall I had a great time learning the differences between the two campuses today. It also gave me a lot inspiration for my new studio project, which is a mixed-use building like UC Innovation Center. Also, seeing the campuses gave me a lot of ideas on how to improve our own campuses. 

San Joaquin’s large site allows for bigger formal opportunities

Proximity of buildings at Lo Contador make courtyard spaces like this important for bringing in light

Courtyard at UC Innovation center is also used to bring in light at a larger scale

A Perfect Harmony

Today we visited what was my most sought after destination, the innovation center. The reason I was so excited for this building was because it houses a business incubator program similar to the smaller scale one that I’m in the process of starting back in my hometown. I wanted to take my financial knowledge and couple it with my preliminary architectural ideas to see how well this building fit its purpose. More specifically, to see how the Chileans and the University of San Joaquin are able to create a thriving incubator program. The innovation center is breathtaking to say the least. As soon as the campus was visible via the metro, I was immediately drawn to the center. This was Elemental’s intention as the university wanted a landmark building. The momental concrete structure with large voids thanks to repressed windows created a beautiful building. I had two initial thoughts. First, that this building is just beckoning for individuals to explore it. The large scale and limited transparency on the exterior makes for the curious mind to run wild with imaginations of the building’s layout. That curiosity is amazing marketing, in the aggregate, for the program. Individuals will be drawn to enter the building and that proximity will allow for a higher consumer traffic through the tenants. While that is good, my second thought questions the transparency of the internal building as it relates to the limited transparency of the external. A common system in an incubator program is to have relative transparency between one member and the next. It is the intention to have the tenants be inspired by each other‘s work and determination in order to increase their own drive. I was initially worried that the lack of transparency on the eternal would also lead to a lack of transparency in the internal yet as I entered the building I knew right away that was perfect. Whether it was the open middle section allowing for visibility to nearly every tenant or the adaptable rooms so that companies are able to utilize their space to best suit their needs, building was tailored for multi-tenants, transparency, and innovation. I have made intentions to try and decipher the program structure of the innovation center and will still research that at the conclusion of this trip yet basing solely off the architecture of the center, tenants have a great opportunity at their hands to jump start their business due to the location, marketing, and passion found at El Centro de Innovacion. 

Sculptural Installations at San Joaquin

At the UC Campus San Joaquin, one particular design aspect truly captured my attention. In front of the innovation center, there was a sculptural piece, comprised of several concrete orbs. The spheres consisted of various sizes, with a diverse range in height and diameter. The installation was interesting. At first glance, I assumed it was just a sculpture garden. Located in front of the innovation center, I assumed, like most museums, they were displaying some sculpture or art piece that compliments the architecture of the building, and also hints at the main entrance to visitors and building occupants. However, after further observation, these concrete pieces are not only sculptural and can be used for a social gathering space. 

The innovation center shows how the floors are obscured and obstracted, but also shows how the concrete becomes somewhat sculptural. The series of wooden form work indentation on the concrete becomes a sculpture in and of itself.

From my observations of Chile so far, similar pieces like these concrete orbs are found throughout parks, campuses, and exterior spaces. With the beautiful Chilean climate region, it encourages users to explore exterior spaces more, versus in colder climates, these exterior spaces are not as mindfully designed. Even the planters on campus have a gentle lip to them, to encourage students and visitors to sit outside, enjoy the weather, and engage in discussions with their counterparts. 

Sketch analysis of the concrete spheres outside of the innovation center. Shows the various sizes of this sculptural piece.

At the innovation art center, there were several sets of these balls clustered together. This not only allows for users to move toward the shade with the moving sun. But also, it shows strength in numbers, and has a heavier, more dominate presence versus if there was just one cluster of them. Furthermore, the shape of them strongly contrasts with the linearity of the innovation center. This juxtaposition strongly identifies and diagrams exterior space and interior space.

An exterior shot of the innovation center, on campus. The jut out beaks the box and barrier of the defined building.

Contrasting Elements

Today, we saw many buildings. The first thing that I realized about them is the contrasts within each of them. I believe that these contrasts are used to emphasize the thoughtful materials and designs. In the Torres Simenas, the eye catching contrast is that of the glass shell with the wood that wraps around its bottom. However, as you go inside there are several more subtle, yet clearly well thought differences amongst the glass, differing wood types, and metal railings. This gives the building a look that is sleek and modern, but also rough and imperfect. In the chapel, the curvature in the roof contrasts the straight lines of the wooden posts laying below it. The perfectly symmetrical posts lie behind the roof which takes an asymmetrical form through its curvature. More over, such contrast throughout both buildings also work to emphasize light vs dark features. The light  creeping in from above the chapel becomes more eye-catching as it follows the exact curve of the roofed opposed to if the roof were closed and flat. Similarly, the metal rods in between the inner and outer shell and on the outside of the glass of the Torres Simenas create beautiful shade within the glass, brightly lit building.

The shade created between the glass and concrete shells.

A place where all of the materials meet.

The curving roof against the wooden panels.

Transparency Inside/Under the Thickness

I was very excited to visit one of the Pritzker winning building today. It is Alejandro Aravena’s the Innovation Center at his graduated university

The dynamic openings are very deep and high (three story hight) which control the light and separate spaces inside. The contriver blocks were creating shadow and adding powerful gesture for the project. The simple shape and move, but the project stand out from surroundings due to its large scale. While the entire project’s scale is very large, the façade treatment/molding patterns match to human scale. The color changes slightly on the bottom. About 1/3 of bottom façade are darker than the above facade which adds visual volume and dense on the bottom.

Unlike the heavy and sublime feelings on the exterior, the interior spaces are very open and transparent. When you ride the elevator, you can see all of the floors and even the parking garage in the underground. A large part of its structures are exposed and an excessive amount of glasses are used. The light through the skylight and the punctured openings reflect those glasses. It makes the datum wood framings look like floating. The view from the openings is fantastic. I could see the view from the elevator. It was hard to believe that we were in the thick volume building when you see how transparent to the outside from the inside.

My sketch trying to show the volume of the balconies and the cantilever.

Inside: central void space looking up. Excessive lighting and reflection makes wood frames look floating

The Campus lo Contador was very surprising. I was not very prepared for this visit but it ended up a very great experience. I liked how they used the underground level and the ground level. I usually avoid using an underground level on my project because of the lighting issue. This project taught me how effective it can be to utilize the underground level, how to lets light in, and how to connect to the ground level.

Campus lo Contador: Section Sketch

Lo Contador PCU…does it work?

Section and plan of PCU Lo Contador

I really enjoyed visiting the Lo Contador PCU architecture campus today, and after analyzing the plan and section I realized that when first visit a piece of architecture it is very easy to get caught up in how it looks, and fail to consider its functionality. I thought it was interesting that when we stopped to talk to a man who worked in the building, he said “the architecture is beautiful…but it just doesn’t work, it’s not functional”. This comment made me stop and analyze the architecture more closely to see what he meant by this. Only visiting for a few hours, I thought that the buildings and landscape were beautiful and the patio was a nice place to sit. However, I put myself in the place of a student or teacher who is there everyday and I realized some of the flaws in the design. Most of the buildings are not connected, and can only be accessed by walking outside. This could become a problem in the event of rain or other weather. Also a lot of the “interior” spaces were only covered by cantilevers. Another spot that struck me as lacking functionality was the roof of the design building. It was a beautifully designed space, but the hot sun made it almost unbearable to occupy. All of these things are aspects that are very important to how the building functions for the user, which is often overlooked or compromised for the sake of an aesthetically appealing design. It was interesting to experience the architecture for the first time, and then hear the opinion of someone who uses it everyday. The campus was very unlike any traditional building or American campus, which usually has distinct floors and methods of circulation, so it was refreshing to experience a space that tested the limits of architecture.

Details of the Innovation Center

My sketch and analysis of the Innovation Center.

Traveling here I knew one of the places I wanted to sketch was the Innovation Center. I had previously written a paper about it for 2300 and was excited to experience and analyze it in person. I was a bit concerned about it because we were warned that it was a challenge but I decided to stick with it and push my minimal sketching skills. I decided to focus on a section of the innovation center that had a large cantilevered area because I thought it was interesting and showed a lot of the elements of the project like the texture of the concrete, the scale, the parts that stick out, and the voided spaces. I definitely found that figuring out the proportions and angles was a challenge but I am pretty content with what it ended up looking like. I also tried to do a quick sketch of the entire project on my analysis page and after 2 attempts the end product is definitely not perfect. I was surprised that such a simple looking building was pretty difficult to portray correctly.

Something I was really interested in was the texture of the concerted and so I tried to portray that in the shading and then provided a more up close view on my analysis page. I was interested in how many details of the planks showed up in the concrete down to the heads of the individual screws used to hold them together. I think the texture helped break up the massive facade into more accessible proportions and was a wise design choice. I also analyzed the spheres on the path and the interior voided space.

I also analyzed the sphere areas along the main path. I felt like these areas were a very effective way to break up the path and create a space that allows people to interact with it how they choose. I sat on one of the larger spheres and used a smaller one as a foot rest while sketching and found that to be a pleasant experience. was sitting there a child walked by and briefly played on one of the smaller spheres which made me think back to the spheres at the infant park which Elemental also designed. 

Defying Culture Through Layers

Today, I highly enjoyed visiting the Pre Columbian Museum. I have always been a big fan of art museums, but this was unlike any other I had traveled to before. I found it very interesting that there were ancient, older exhibits paired alongside newer, modern pieces because I don’t think I’ve really been somewhere that combines modern art with historical works. The interactive and contemporary installments reminded me a lot of the Contemporary Art Museum in Cincinnati as well as the MOMA in NYC, while the ancient relics reminded me of the Cincinnati Art Museum, it was an interesting combination. I could definitely sense the boundaries between the two types of artwork and liked how the North Courtyard and upper levels were informational areas and ancient artwork areas, while the South Courtyard and lower levels were more modern. I found the museum organization and structure pleasing and easy to follow for someone who isn’t anywhere from there. The multiplicity of layers throughout the museum (the exhibit sections, the never ending mirror, layered video installment piece, South Courtyard artwork, etc.) gave me the impression that to this culture, there are many layers that mold it into what it is today, and it is important to direct each chapter, hence the combination of new and old work.

orange, never ending mirror in the Pre Columbian Art Museum

 

blue/purple never ending mirror in the Cincinnati Contemporary Art Museum, very similar to the Pre-Columbian mirror