UNION PIER

JOE ANAYA | ANDREW SCHICK

UNION PIER

2021 | EXPERIMENTS IN COMMUNAL LIVING | Resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and cooperation in the fallout of COVID

David Franco | Ulrike Heine | Andreea Mihalache | George Schafer

As the site is 90% water and located on the East side of the lake, Union Pier envisions a new urban waterfront typology: one where healthcare and community intersect. With the site just being two miles north of downtown Seattle, the city is currently facing a drug addiction epidemic with overdose death rates increasing 104% in King County, Washington since 2014. Lake Union’s water & lakebed are heavily polluted due to past industrial uses, shipbuilding and more recently, stormwater runoff. While the design simultaneously cleanses patients and water, Union Pier serves two primary functions: supporting patients suffering from substance abuse and purifying polluted lake water. Union Pier is placed with both pier foundations and floating structural systems which correspond to the path of the rehabilitation process. New patients are firmly supported while patients further along their journey to sobriety have the opportunity to be exposed to free-floating dwelling types. With a mild climate that receives an average of 40” of rainfall received throughout the year, Union Pier utilizes roof runoff catch basins, hydro pumps and fog catchers integrated into the design for drinking water, greywater and mechanical systems. Other active and passive design strategies include agrivoltaics and geothermal tubes that reduce outside energy demand, while

operable louvers & windows allow patients to regulate their comfort throughout the year. Union Pier recognizes the opportunity to not only reclaim patients’ lives and that of water but to also reuse local materials. Recycled SIP panels were utilized for their light-weight and high performance as well as utilizing locally reclaimed carbon sequestering glulam timber and exterior cladding. In order to create privacy, public and private entrances to the site were designed, and treatment programs were separated from the public as well as raised vertically. During each individual patient’s unique path to sobriety, there are five different housing typologies that relate to the particular stages that the patient is in. The first housing types are studios with communal kitchens, with the detox patients placed at the highest level of the facility. The next are one and two bedroom floating homes and finally a floating co-housing typology to re-integrate with the public. Furthermore, in addition to the five different housing types, patients also gain freedom to higher levels of responsibility around the site and residents earn the opportunity for closer interaction with the public through community gardens, aquatic recreation and professional outreach.

TRANSUBSTANTIATE

TAYLOR HART | AYLA WOOTEN

TRANSUBSTANTIATE

2021 | EXPERIMENTS IN COMMUNAL LIVING | Resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and cooperation in the fallout of COVID

David Franco | Ulrike Heine | Andreea Mihalache | George Schafer

To bring light where the sun doesn’t shine, Transubstantiate’s ambition is to revitalize the dying coal town of Glasgow, West Virginia into a healthy, productive place to live by repurposing the Kanawha River Coal Plant into renewable energy and the abandoned mines into underground agriculture. Transubstantiate is a sustainable living community

with an underground farm connected to the residents’ homes. The key element to Transubstantiate is it’s repurposing of existing coal mines into underground farming. This community is welding together agriculture, sustainability, and architecture.

PASSAGE

BRYAN HAZEL | HENRY LEE

PASSAGE

2019 | LOST SPACES | Architectural solutions for leftover space created by America’s elevated urban highways

David Franco | Ulrike Heine | George Schafer

The current state of affordable housing that is offered on the Southeast side of Portland is in a dismal state. While investigating the site and surrounding areas we found zero options. In addition, the local extension of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry plans to expand and create a large campus by 2030 that will bring in multiple research positions and even more jobs that will service the museum. With this in mind our design addresses the lack of housing that is provided in the area, adding safe access to the Eastbank Esplanade, creating a community node for the incoming jobs, addressing pollution that is created by I-5 that is above and adjacent to the site, and creating a cyclical rain harvesting system that uses Portland’s rainy climate to the advantage of the building and its inhabitants. The design creates a new community node that will provide access to amenities that are not currently accessible. The existing site is in the

middle of a food desert and has a desperate need for a local grocery store or venue that could support a farmers market. The 139,000 square foot building is placed on an existing site mainly zoned as industrial, which introduces situations where buildings are occupied from nine to five or not at all. With the design we propose there will be mixed use programming that supports a thriving community at all hours including a library, coffee shop, daycare, gym and shared working space. This will create a safe environment to live and work in regardless of the hour of the day. An environment that is high in crime currently surrounds the site. The objective of the design of the community spaces both indoors and out , is to create a space that provides classes to learn skills that inspire the community and create a safe environment for the workers of OMSI, residents of Passage, and the visitors to the community.

SYMBIOTIC EXCHANGE

CODY BLEVINS | LUKE BRIGMAN

SYMBIOTIC EXCHANGE

2017 | REFUGEES WELCOME | Reinventing the Architectural Possibilities of a Refugee Center in the Heart of Madrid

Ufuk Ersoy | David Franco | Ulrike Heine

With more than 63 million internally displaced persons globally, the issue of displaced refugees specific to the Middle East and North Africa continues to press the issue to a scale of global consequence. An archive of research reinforces that persons seeking asylum primarily enter the EU through the Southern tip of Spain. Consequently, Spain has a healthy past of immigration and has no policies in place which disadvantage their citizens or refugees. Comparing Spain’s age gap to the influx of refugees, we propose to create a mutually beneficial relationship that will sustain itself as well as the context it exists within. The Symbiotic Exchange occurs under a 111,444 sq. ft. cloud occupying 85% of Plaza Descalza in Madrid, Spain. The cloud condenses physically between the woven layers of a 52,352 lb. parametrically designed space-frame. As the life force of the proposal, the cloud shadows a 20,160 sq. ft. studio building for textile production with a dedicated 1,100 sq. ft. rooftop herb garden. Both of which are skills that contribute to the major industries in Spain as well as the refugee origin countries. The significance of the Exchange has everything to do with its location. Operating on a multitude of scales; the cloud provides a free, passive conditioning of outside air in a hot and dry Mediterranean climate. Locally, Plaza Descalza is flanked by two streets that exist as public walking markets which our proposal will strengthen. Also, being catty-corner to Puerto Del Sol transit station, the Exchange marks a destination for commuters and pedestrians alike. Economic and cultural exchange are sustainable this way

through thoughtful collaging of natural passive systems. In a climate that receives only 17 inches of rain annually, the cloud is able to effectively capture and repurpose 1,053,244 gal. of water. On the ground moisture permeates through a layered, paved surface, and is collected in retention tanks. A slow collection process accelerates evaporative cooling in warm months and decelerates it in cooler months when humidity is naturally lower. This means the temperature exchange is variable; constantly keeping the shadow of the cloud at a comfortable temperature. As moisture evaporates from the ground and reflection ponds, it is captured by a layer of embedded fog mesh on the belly of the spaceframe. A gutter system doubling as the structure of the fog mesh directs the water to voids in the skin of the canopy where it may precipitate and be retained. The biological cycle for the entire site was intentionally constructed to pro-mote a sustainable, breathing micro ecology. Various flowers, and wetland plants act as natural pesticides while also replicating natural conditions to shelter desirable insects, and provide food for local birds. The glazed studio wall is lined with a bed of lavender to purify air and foster a healthy working environment. Integrating a displaced population will be successful here because we have not designed a facility, we have not designed a market, we have designed a living ecosystem that collapses social class in crafting an atmosphere of integration.

LANDSCAPE IN MOTION

CHRIS SANDKHULER | ELIZABETH WIDASKI | JIMMY WOODS

LANDSCAPE IN MOTION

2016 | TECHNIFIED ECOSYSTEMS | The city as an artificial landscape

Ufuk Ersoy | David Franco | Ulrike Heine | Henrique Houayek

Landscape in Motion is a design project to revitalize public green spaces, establish cohesive transportation networks, and optimize urban functions. A civic center offers the city a much needed gathering space for conferences and exhibitions and a bus terminal acts as a transportation hub for the region while offering free bus services. This allows people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and lifestyles to access the downtown and their various workplaces in the region. The redesigned city block extends a designed green space from the city park’s waterfall through the center of the site, terminating it at the site’s northwest corner. This creates

an opportunity to educate the public on the landscape of the area and how to bring sustainability into their lives. The project also inspires activity, offering a myriad of pedestrian paths, biking routes, and a connection to the trails of the park. Landscape in Motion is about finding inspiration in the natural movement of our surroundings from nature to city. Ultimately, the goal is to encourage people to live healthier, more sustainable lives helping both themselves and the community.