NICK SCHWERTSCHLAG

SEGMENT II PORTFOLIO
JULY 14, 2014
BOSTON ARCHITECTURAL COLLEGE
b.arch
for Ava Faye
BACKGROUND
When I was thirteen, I took an architecture class at a
summer camp called Artworks at the Waring School
in Beverly, MA. It was there that I frst became inter-
ested in design and stimulated a lot of creativity in my
teen years. From there, I started drawing foor plans of
houses I would want to live in, made models of build-
ings, and started woodworking projects in my fathers
woodshop. After high school, I made a misguided de-
cision of attending business school at Western New
England University in the Business Marketing Pro-
gram. However after two years, I realized that I was
not interested in becoming some sort of sales repre-
sentative, and my mind started to drift back towards
design. I had a baby girl on the way, so I made the
decision to move back to the North Shore and pur-
sue architecture at Boston Architectural College. In my
frst year, positions in architecture frms were scarce,
however the construction feld was busy. Since then,
I have worked with a couple of different employers,
learning frame to fnish construction. The skills that I
have learned and the skills that I am still developing
in the feld in conjuction with the BAC curriculum, I be-
lieve will make me a better designer, a better builder,
and a profcient architect.
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C1 Studio: Small Scale
Fall 2011
Instructors: Cynie Linton & Mike Ferrara
For my frst C Studio, entitled Small Scale, our project
was to design a preschool in Cambridge on McGrath
Highway just outside of Boston. The premise for this
course as was explained at the beginning of the semes-
ter was that every aspect of our design was to be gener-
ated by hand and only then could be altered using digital
sources. The origin of the concept was derived from the
the site, random object selection and a precedent study
on a concept of interest by another architect. Inspirations
for the project came from my at the time, three year old
daughter, examination of infants at play and several visits
to the Childrens Museum in Boston.
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SITE
The site for our preschool is
situated at a nexus on Mc-
grath Highway where the res-
idential neighborhood pas-
sage meets the main road.
This nexus also neighbors
the MBTA Lechmere sta-
tion. There are many differ-
ent businesses and buidling
types surrounding the site, in-
lcuding hotels, fast food, gas
stations and shops.
McGrath Highway
Here we see the site at center, McGrath
Highway on the right, and passage to
residential Cambridge on the right.
Residential Cambridge
Once away from McGrath Highway, the
essence of the neighborhood drastically
changes to strictly residential.
Boston
This node is just a stepping stone away
from the Museum of Science, major high-
ways, and the outskirts of the city.
SMALL SCALE
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Circulation 1
This early basic diagram
shows three different di-
rections a vehicle might
approach the site from
(blue), and early ideas of
how pedestrians may cir-
cumvent the site (red).
SMALL SCALE
SITE
This perspective map of the
site (shown in white) repre-
sents the paths of circulation
across the area on which the
site sits. The red lines show
pedestrian traffc around the
parcel and the blue lines rep-
resent vehicular movement
about the site. Shown at the
far right are three diagram it-
erations of how vehicles and
pedestrians might arrive or
move through the site.
Circulation 2
In this second approach
to site movement, we see
vehicles starting to pass
through the site from Mc-
Grath Highway and from
Gore Street. Pedestrian
traffc circumventing be-
comes more defned.
Circulation 3
Here we see this node
forming a circulatory
node within its self, a
nexus within a node if
you will, the early stages
of a drop-off area for the
preschool.
Steven Holl
Concept Sketch
Simmons Hall, MIT
Series of Light Wells
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Nature
I felt like nature plays a big role in a grow-
ing childs life, and decided to represent
that with this branch from a tree located
on our site.
Preliminary Concept
As my frst concept drawing I sketched out
a section of different blocks, with cylindri-
cal light wells penetrating through the roof
to allow for growth of a familiar type of veg-
etation, the key word here being growth,
the idea of a tree growing from the core of
the classroom as the children grow intel-
lectually.
SMALL SCALE
SITE
One of our early assignments
was to pick two different ob-
jects that we felt would have
meaning to the design of our
preschool and to combine
the two objects to assimilate
a concept between the two.
The purpose was to form
an idea for the program of
the building. The leaves and
the childrens cubes (shown
right) were my two objects.
PRECENDENT
In conjuction with the two ob-
jects, we were also asked to
research a precedent study
that we felt could strengthen
our concepts. For my prec-
edent study I chose Simmons
Hall at MIT by Steven Holl.
Building Blocks
Building blocks, self-explanatory isnt it?
these building blocks which contain minia-
ture vehicles belonged to my daugter, who
always enjoyed these blocks as an infant.
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Flow Diagram 1
This frst diagram represents an al-
most tiered program with a linear
path through it.
Flow Diagram 2
This second diagram represents
more of a funnel shaped program
with a parabolic path instead.
1
st
Plan Iteration
In my frst plan iteration I experi-
mented with octagonal shaped
classrooms, closely derived off
of the second fow diagram. Here
the program designation is a bit
different because we were asked
to accommodate for two daycare
classrooms and two preschool
classrooms, among other neces-
sities. The rectangle at the center
of the building is an
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A Staff Area
B Daycare 1
C Bathrooms/Stairs
D Communal Area 1
E Daycare 2
F Preschool 1
G Bathrooms/Stairs
H Communal Area 2
J Preschool 2
K Preschool 3
SMALL SCALE
SITE
After fnding the core concept
for the design of the building,
it was time to start research-
ing a suitable program for
preschool children. My frst
idea for the program included
the necessary playground,
learning areas, activities ar-
eas, arts & music area, a
quiet spaces for nap time and
a playroom. The diagrams
(shown right) exhibit a de-
sired circulation through the
spaces, with compartmental-
ized areas for learning.
16
SMALL SCALE
PROCESS
After fnding the core concept
for the design of the building,
it was time to start research-
ing a suitable program for
preschool children. My frst
idea for the program included
the necessary playground,
learning areas, activities ar-
eas, arts & music area, a
quiet spaces for nap time and
a playroom. The diagrams
(shown right) exhibit a de-
sired circulation through the
spaces, with compartmental-
ized areas for learning.
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SMALL SCALE
REFINEMENT
With a few more sketches to
test the curvature of the build-
ing and to attempt to bring all
concepts together, I was able
to establish a boundary to
keep the building within. In
order to do this, I had to push
the building tight to the prop-
erty lines of the narrow sight
to achieve the forms you see
following.
First Sketch
The site sketched out underneath, with a tri-
angular mesh overlay with punchtures.
Second Sketch
Triangular disks with continuous cylindrical
punctures for light/tree wells.
A Entry Vestibule
B Staff Offces
C Directors Offce
D Staff Kitchenette
E Daycare Gallery
F Library
G Daycare 1
H Daycare 2
J Playground
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FIRST FLOOR
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SMALL SCALE
With the fnal form in place, I
began to load it with program.
Some adjustment was made
in the central courtyard form
to create better fow passage
through the building. Here we
can see the daycares shar-
ing common bathrooms, and
connect easily to the library
which ramps up from the frst
foor. The frst foor also holds
the staff areas and the play-
ground.
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A Preschool 1
B Preschool 2
C Preschool 3
D Preschool 4
E Kitchenette
F Preschool Gallery
G Ramp to Library
H Playground Canopy
SECOND FLOOR
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SMALL SCALE
The second foor is a bit more
interesting in that its pre-
school classes have the lux-
ury of learning around a live
treewell in their classroom.
Like the frst foor, these
classrooms share common
bathrooms, two share a tree-
well, and a kid-friendly ramp
links the children directly to
the library.
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SMALL SCALE
LONGITUDINAL
SECTION
As said before, one of the
purposes of this studio was
to continue deriving design
through hand drawing. The
skeleton drawing of this sec-
tional, and the one that foll-
lows in the next page were
done completely by hand,
then later altered in Photo-
shop to give it more context.
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SMALL SCALE
LATITUDINAL
SECTION
Ficus
Ventilation
Steel Post
Lexan UV Glazing
Maple Seat
Concrete Slab
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SMALL SCALE
NATURES
INFLUENCE
TREEWELL
The treewell idea remained
a constant driving force
throughout the duration of
this project. From the early
sketches of branches grow-
ing through lightwells to a
fully designed, fully intera-
tive monument to every pre-
school classroom.
PLAYGROUND
Like the treewells, the
playground got its in-
fuence from trees as
well. Derived off of the
two precedents shown
right, the sketch shown
left was the vision I had
for the courtyard play-
ground for this small
scale school.
AERIAL VIEW
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SMALL SCALE
32 32
C2 Studio: Affordable Housing Competition
Spring 2012: February - April
Instructors: Henry Celli & Michael Rosa
My second C studio and my frst C2 studio was a hybrid
of a studio and a design competition. For the frst two
months of the semester, my studio consisting of seven
students joined the Affordable Housing Development
Competition of 2012. There, we split up into teams and
joined up with other students from Harvard University,
Northeastern University and Tufts into seven different de-
velopment teams. At the preliminary competition dinner,
the different development sponsors gave their presenta-
tions of parcels they had selected to redevelop. One of
the parcels was located in Salem, MA, which worked out
perfectly for my BAC team mate and I, since we are both
from the North Shore. For two months we worked rig-
orously with the North Shore Community Development
Coalition in Salem to develop to our surprise on not one
but three separate parcels. With myself and fellow BAC
student Julie Tavares in charge of architecture and de-
sign and the rest of the team on fnancials, we developed
three affordable living developments for the Salem Point
in Salem, MA.
Bedroom
Bathroom
Living Area
Kitchen & Dining
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING
PRE-DESIGN
Before the competition be-
gan, we still had about two
weeks of studio to begin dis-
cussing affordable housing
developments. After studying
a couple of different devel-
opments around the world,
our instructors asked us to
begin thinking about design-
ing effcient spaces for a stu-
dio unit, a one bedroom unit
and a three bedroom unit in
an affordable housing com-
plex. I personally experience
with interlocking units, always
thinking of them as parts of a
whole.
Studio Apartment
Simplicity at its best, a shared kitchen and
dining area, followed by a bathroom, a lofted
bedroom, and a balcony.
One Bedroom Apartment
A more luxurious version of the studio apart-
ment, with larger living spaces, more storage
areas and a balcony.
Two Bedroom Apartment
Here we have a central kitchen, dining and
living area, with two bedrooms and two bath-
rooms and a balcony branching off of the core.
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Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 1
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
PRE-DESIGN
After developing the units, it
was time to test them as in-
terlocking parts of a whole.
Shown on the right is a se-
quence of how these units in-
terlock together to form these
apartment wings, then can
be stacked to form the build-
ing. At far right, I am testing
the possibility of a multi-use
building, especially at street
level.
Commercialized Facade
At the street side, this low
rise appears as an apart-
ment building with a cen-
tral entrance, and different
commercial spaces at the
ground level. Depending
on the views we are try-
ing to capture, this facade
could easily be fipped
around.
Circulatory Backbone
At the rear, a vertical spine
gives occupants access to
their apartments, complete-
ly privatized away from the
commercial public spaces.
SALEM POINT
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING
For those who do not know
the Salem Point in Salem,
Massachusetts, it is the pov-
erty stricken neighborhood of
the touristic city. It is located
around the Shetland Indus-
trial Park and can most ac-
curately be described as the
slums of Salem. The North
Shore CDC has been clean-
ing up this neighborhood for
years, but there is still much
work to be done. Shown in
black are the three parcels
the North Shore CDC had se-
lected to be revitalized.
78 CONGRESS STREET
The frst site on the main street that bisects
the Salem Point serves as an overfow park-
ing lot for the employees of Shetland In-
dustrial Park. The owners of Shetland Park
have agreed to let the North Shore CDC de-
velop on this property on the condition that
they preserve the same number of parking
spots that exist there now. The site is rough-
ly 20,000 sq. ft.
16 LYNCH STREET
The second site, like the frst one, serves as
another overfow parking lot, and is located
closer to the offce buildings and adjacent
to one of their parking garages. Again, here
we are looking to preserve all of the existing
parking spaces and place a 40 unit building
on the site. The site is roughly 40,000 sq. ft.
38 PALMER STREET
The fnal site exists as a parcel where a
house had burned down in the past. The
North Shore CDC acquired the parcel with
the idea of developing a three to six unit
complex on it. The site is much at a much
smaller scale at roughly 2,000 sq. ft.
CONTEXT
Bus Stop
1/8 Mile Radius
Business
Proposed Parcels
Open Space
Historic Building
Household Demographics
DEMOGRAPHICS
Our fnancial team for this project was able to gather demographics data
on the fnancial standings and other information on the typical residents of
the Salem Point. Shown on the right you will fnd education demographics
of Salem residents compared to Salem Point residents, as well as housing
demographics between Salem residents and Salem Point residents.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING
42
SUMMER
WIND
WINTER
WIND
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
SITE CONDITIONS
This region of Salem borders
the Salem coastline, so the
summer winds cool the site
in the summer and the chilly
northwesterly winds are dif-
fused by the mainland. Most
of the buildings are under fve
stories so the sites receive
adequate sunlight as well.
SUN
PARKING
Since we are looking to preserve parking on site, this dia-
gram examines options for public on-street parking near
the three sites.
CIRCULATION
For the most part the circulation through the site is pretty
steady except near the entrance to Shetland Park and
the bridge that connects the Point back to Salem.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Underground Parking
A minor redesign and some negotia-
tion with the NSCDC allowed us to
reduce parking spaces in order to ft
the building.
78 CONGRESS
The Congress Street site was
our fagship development, so
we began with these designs
frst. The North Shore CDC
requested a design that in-
tegrated parking, housing,
a public gallery, and offce
spaces, all in one building. So
we began with several dia-
grams which evolved into the
form of the Congress Street
building.
Main Circulatory System
Three vertical circulation tow-
ers, one south, one north and
one main central because of
the length of the site.
Main Vertical Circulation Atrium
The central node of the building,
connecting parking, housing, offces
and the gallery in one junction.
Public/Commercial Space
The frst two foors of the
north wing reserved for gal-
lery space and community
event gatherings.
Housing
Approximately 40 affordable
living units on the south wing
of the building.
Public Vertical Circulation Atrium
Vertical circulation solely for public
use for the north wing with the option
of keyed entry for residents to cor-
ridors to the south wing.
Offce Space
Two foors of offce suites to be oc-
cupied by the North Shore Commu-
nity development Coalition in the
heart of the Point.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING
78 CONGRESS
The completed plan of the
78 Congress Flagship Build-
ing. Show close right is the
ground foor plan, and the
typical third/fourth foor plan
shown far right. The building
features a pulbic use north
wing and a private housing
complex south wing, with a
jogging facade for room en-
largement and an aesthetic
appeal. These jogs could
possibly be used as canvas-
es for local artists to show-
case their mural skills.
An existing mural at the 78
Congress Stree site.
One Bedroom Unit
Comfort, coziness and effciency,
wrapped up into an economic
sized apartment.
Three Bedroom Unit
Like the two bedroom unit,
it was essential to give the
right areas window access.
In order to do this, the triples
occupied the corners of the
building.
Two Bedroom Unit
For these units, it was impor-
tant to our design to ensure that
both bedrooms and the living
room were located along the
exterior wall.
48
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
78 Congress Street Apartments
Size: 54,000 SF
No. of Units: 40
Unit Sizes: 600 - 900 SF
Cost: $9.9M
Time to Completion: 3 Years
26 Units
Floor Plates
Column Grid
Entry Vestibule
Circulation System
Vehicle Ramp
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING
16 LYNCH
For this parcel, we developed
a four level parking garage
structure on a column grid,
then using the Lynch Street
and Perkins Street sides,
placed units within the col-
umn grid in an L shape to
hide the parking garage. The
four extra levels of parking
helped us meet our parking
requirement for the Congress
and Lynch sites.
Retro-fttable Units
As a backup option to add more units in the future, our team
proposed retro-fttable units that could be placed within the
column grid at a later date if the parking space requirement
for the site was ever lowered. Here those retro-fttable units
are shown in blue.
16 LYNCH
LYNCH STREET
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING
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16 LYNCH
As described before, an L-
shaped building that hides its
parking garage infrastructure.
The parking garage links
to stairwells that exit at the
street to Shetland Park for
employees, but also includes
parking for residents as well
along the back walls of the
housing corridor.
One Bedroom Unit
These units are a bit smaller
and more compact than the
Congress site, yet still eff-
cient.
Two Bedroom Unit
Very similar design to the
Congress site, however we
decided not to jog the fa-
cades on this building.
Three Bedroom Unit
Like the other site, the triples
had to occupy the corners of
the building to give the third
bedroom a window.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING
16 Lynch Street Condominiums
Size: 40,000 SF
No. of Units: 26
Unit Sizes: 500 - 900 SF
Cost: $8M
Time to Completion: 3 Years
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Secondary Egress
Primary Egress Circulation Atrium
Unit 3
Unit 2
Unit 1
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
38 PALMER
Unlike the other two large
scale parcels, the 38 Palmer
Street site gave us the op-
portunity to design something
a little different. In this ap-
proach, we designed a three-
family condominium. Since
the site is close to the water,
we wanted to give it more of
a luxury appeal to possible
business professionals of
Shetland Park buyers.
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PALMER STREET
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
38 PALMER
The design of the unit closely
refects our three bedroom
design, with an extenuation
of the kitchen, dining and liv-
ing areas, and the addition of
a second full bathroom. The
condo includes a front patio
as well as parking for the oc-
cupants.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING
38 Palmer Street Condominiums
Size: 5,000 SF
No. of Units: 3
Unit Size: 1,500 SF
Cost: $770,000
Time to Completion: 2 Years
32 62
C2 Studio: Affordable Housing Re-Design
Spring 2012: April - May
After the competition was over, our studio still had about
four weeks of studio left. Our instructors asked us to pick
one of the three parcels we had just designed for in the
competition and to completely start from scratch with a
new design with less strict parameters to design for, or
more design freedom. I chose the 16 Lynch Street site
to redesign because I appreciated how close it was to the
ocean and wanted to capture ocean views, not to men-
tion the site footprint give a lot more freedom to design
compared to the other two sites.
Blocked view of Salem harbor at
ground level
Open view of Salem harbor at 30
elevation
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING
SITE RE-ANALYSIS
One of the parameters that I
had to abide by in the com-
petition was the zoning height
requirement of 40. The park-
ing garage adjacent to the site
completely blocks a beautiful
view of Salem Harbor, and
the view was something that
was not possible with a park-
ing garage core and a height
limit on the building. So I
wanted to extent the height of
the building to 8 levels to give
some residents exceptional
harbor views.
SITE INFLUENCES
Harbor View
Condominiums
West Wing
Circulation
Fitness/Daycare
Site Footprint
Lower
Apartments
North Wing
Circulation
General
Store/Cafe
Proposed
Green Space
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Using the same diagram-
matic style I had used dur-
ing the competition, I de-
rived a new version of the
L-shaped plan, with half
extending to 8 levels. Also,
in accordance with the wind
patterns in the area, I kicked
the sides of the L-plan out
to open up the building for
more surface area and to
receive more winter sun
and summer breezes. In
turn, this also shades the
building more in the sum-
mer and puts the cold north-
westerly winds at the units
back. The ground level has
been reserved for neces-
sary commercial spaces
and services needed by the
locals.
SUMMER
WIND
WINTER
WIND
SUN
A Primary Egress
B 7-11
C Starbucks
D Harbor Cafe
E Outdoor Area
F Secondary Egress
G Gym
H Daycare
PLANS & SECTIONS
Ground Level Levels 2-4 Levels 5-7 Roof Plan
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A B C D
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J North Wing Units
K West Wing Units
L 5
th
Floor Roof Deck
M Harbor View Units
N 8
th
Floor Roof Deck
N - S Section W - E Section
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING
KITCHEN
FULL BATHROOM
BEDROOM 1
ENTRY
DINING AREA
HALF BATHROOM
BEDROOM 2
LIVING AREA
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING
TYPICAL UNIT
The target market for this
building would be for young
business professionals and
young families of 3-4, which
is why I solely designed two
bedroom units. I designed
doubles keeping in mind that
families could split the bed-
rooms with their children or
young business profession-
als could use the extra room
as offce space.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING
SUSTAINABILITY
With the idea of sustainability
always in mind, the fnishing
touch on this building was an
idea to embed wind turbines
to harness wind energy within
the parapets of the roof gar-
dens on the building. These
wind turbines, diagrammed
on the far right, sole purpose
would be to reduce energy
costs within the building.
72
Harbor View Condominiums
Salem, MA
Size: 70,000 SF
No. of Units: 36
Unit Size: 1,000 SF
74
C2 Studio: Librarium
Fall 2012
Instructors: Colin Booth & Tagore Hernandez
In my second C2 studio, the project was dubbed Librar-
ium: A Modern Library for the Digital Age. Set in Union
Square, Somerville during its revitalization, the purpose
of this studio was to develop a library that could work as
a communal hub for this multi-cultural section of Somer-
ville. Plans for the revitalization included an extension
of the MBTA green line to Union Square, about a block
away from where this library was set to be built. Due to
the nature of the Square and the location of the site, right
from the get go I knew that this was going to be an iconic
building for the community.
Proposed Revitalization
Property Lines
Proposed Green Line T Station
Buildings to be Constructed
An artists rendering of the proposed MBTA Green Line T Station at Union Square
76
LIBRARIUM
UNION SQUARE
REVITALIZATION
The map shown right is one
of many Union Square revi-
talization maps in the Union
Square Redevelopment Plan.
Here in maroon we see a fair
amount of parcels slated to
be demolished and recon-
structed. The two maps on
the adjacent page give us an
idea of the types of building
uses in the area. At center we
see the proposed location for
the new Union Square MBTA
green line stop.
1
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2
78
LIBRARIUM
SITE
Amidst the revitalization, our
site is located at the juncture
of two of the busiest streets,
Washington Street, (which
comes from I-93) and Somer-
ville Avenue, (which stretches
to Boston). During the day,
this node and the Square see
a lot of vehicular and pedes-
trian movement.
LIBRARIUM
80
SITE CONTEXT
The map shown right should
give a good impression of the
vehicular traffc around Union
Square. The red streets sym-
bolize one-way streets, the
blue represents two-way
streets. The new MBTA sta-
tion peculiarly is located on a
one-way street, so future civil
plans may call for a switch.
Pedestrian Traffc
Since this is heavy pedestrian area,
I walked the site several times to un-
derstand the extent of the density
of pedestrian traffc around the site.
The two nodes are heavily populated
throughout the day and at night as
well.
Views Around the Site
Shown left are a couple of view-
points around the site that I found to
be interesting. Some look at Union
Square from the site, some look at
the site, some look beyond the site.
Of course these views are constant-
ly in movement from the amount of
traffc.
Noise from Nodes
The Union Square nexus adjacent
to the site and the sites Washington
Street Somerville Avenue node are
actually the loudest areas in Union
Square, so I knew that our building
would require sound reduction mate-
rials.
SPIRIT COLLAGE
82
LIBRARIUM
SPIRIT COLLAGE
Our frst assignment after
gathering information on the
site was to develop a Spirit
Collage, a collage which
captured the design intent of
our library. I decided to work
in section on this collage, us-
ing many of my images from
the Seattle Public Library, a
precedent which I referred to
for the design of my modern
library. The sketches shown
right are the earliest section
diagrams that led to the de-
sign of the spirit collage.
Sketch 1
In this frst iterative
sketch a central atrium,
surrounded by books,
computers, a cafe and
compartmental areas are
connected by a possible
ramping system.
Sketch 2
A bit more refned, this
sketch is essentially the
same but this time taking
views into account.
Sketch 3
A couple more compart-
ments added, some have
been moved into the
atrium, plus the addition
of trees to diffuse sound
from the intersection.
Seattle Public Library
BASE ITERATION 1
ST
ITERATION 2
ND
ITERATION 3
RD
ITERATION 4
TH
ITERATION 5
TH
ITERATION
84
LIBRARIUM
FORM
DEVELOPMENT
To develop a form for the li-
brary, keeping the stacked
program in mind, I began with
a box. The idea was to leave
the footprint of the building
rectangular and to fnd a new
form for the top level that was
in accordance with site views.
Then, the bottom level would
be lofted to the top level to
derive form. This sequence
shows the development of
that form and how the edges
were stretched out (blue vec-
tors) to make the building
appear to reach out for the
views the building is trying to
capture.
CAFE
NEW
TECHNOLOGY
COMPUTERS
ROOF GARDEN
WI-FI
KINDLES
READING
AREA
BOOKS
BOOKS
SHOP
RECEPTION
READING
AREA
Sketch 1
Early ramp iteration sketch
Sketch 2
Refned ramping system
with alternating foor plates
Model 1
Rendered ramping endoskeleton
to be applied within exoskeleton
Model 2
Ramp system embedded within
exoskeletal form
86
LIBRARIUM
PROGRAMMING
THE TIERS
Once the fnal form was de-
veloped, I overlayed a spiral
program diagram that I have
recently developed which
represented the ramping
between spaces. The spiral
diagram was an effort to rep-
resent the path of old technol-
ogy to new technology, and
how it would rise through the
levels of the building. From
books, the oldest form of
technology, to computers, to
WI-FI areas, to new technolo-
gies such as touchscreen in-
terfaces and kindles, the as-
cent from old to new through
the library ends at a top foor
cafe and a roof garden for
outdoor reading.
The model on the adjacent
page shows the foor plate I
was able to derive from the
unique sprouting form of the
building, which allowed me to
develop a plan for every indi-
vidual foor, which as you can
see from the model, is a se-
ries of staggered levels that
work in accordance with an
ADA ramp that spirals up the
central atrium of the building.
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A Reception
B Book Shop
C Primary Egress
D Public Space
E Magazines
F Main Stacks 1
G Reading Area
H Main Stacks 2
PROGRAM
A
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J Newspapers
K Main Stacks 3
L Reading Area
M Main Stacks 4
N Computers 1
O Computers 2
P Cafe/Kitchen
Q Dining 1
R Dining 2
S Meeting Rooms
T Graywater System
U Mechanical Room
V Outdoor Garden/
Communal Space
T
W PV Array & Water
Collection
W-E Section N-S Section
88
LIBRARIUM
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
P R O D U C E D B Y A N A U T O D E S K E D U C A T I O N A L P R O D U C T
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
SOMERVILLE AVE
WASHINGTON ST
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
P R O D U C E D B Y A N A U T O D E S K E D U C A T I O N A L P R O D U C T
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
90
LIBRARIUM
PLAN & SECTION
DETAILS
To understand what I was de-
signing further, I developed a
couple of details, one in plan
view and one in section view.
In plan view we can see the
steel columns that form the
unique corners of the build-
ing, sheathed by tempered
glass and a perforated steel
skin on alternating panels of
the building.
On the section view, we see
a bit more framing of the slab
on steel construction, as well
as the exterior walls with
large window openings that
peer through the glass and
perforated steel facade.
Vertical Steel Columns Diagonal Steel Columns Levels 1 - 1.5 Girders Levels 2 - 2.5 Girders
Levels 3 - 3.5 Girders Levels 4 - 4.5 Girders Level 5 & Roof Girders Final Frame
Aerial View of
Steel Construction
92
LIBRARIUM
FRAMING THE
BUILDING
Since my employment back-
ground is in construction, my
instructors asked me to fgure
out how a unique form like
this one could be framed. Af-
ter one week, I developed the
sequence that is show here,
a network of steel columns,
girders and beams (beams
not shown for clarity purpos-
es) that built up the bones of
the building. In all, I was able
to fgure out how to engineer
my form.
94
Main Stacks: View of Union Square
This section of the main stacks overlooks Union Square and the Washing-
ton Street plaza. Shown in the model above, you will see that two sections
of the main stacks are closely tied back to Union Square.
96
Reading Area: View of Boston
This section of the building is one of the many reading areas, carefully
snuck into some of the strange converges of corners created by the build-
ings form, something I like to call, quiet tuckaways. Since these reading
areas are located on the corners, they offer the best views. In this case,
the view is of the city of Boston.
98
Loft: View of Interior Ramp Spiral
The main design of the foor plates was a bit repetitive, so I thought is
would be a pleasant experience to remove one of the foor plates to
created a high-ceiling loft at the mid-section of the building. This loft
looks out over Somerville Avenue, and offers views of Union Square
and Boston.
Greywater Filtration System
Text
100
LIBRARIUM
SUSTAINABILITY
As always, I like to think about
ways of making a building
more energy effcient in the
short time that I have to de-
velop my studio project. For
this project, it was a combina-
tion a solar energy and water
collection. Fortunately, I was
able to hybridize the two with-
in one design feature. Above
the roof garden, I designed a
V-shaped copper roof trough
with a photovoltaic array on
it. This roof acts as a solar
capture, a water collector
and shades part of the roof
garden. The PV array lowers
the buildings energy costs
and the water collection is fl-
tered into a graywater system
which runs directly into the
multiple public bathrooms in
the building.
102
104
Design Workshop: Roadside Collage
Spring 2013
Instructor: Chip Piatti
For the Spring 2013 semester I decided to take a break
from studio and get my workshop out of the way. I was
fortunate to land myself in Chip Piattis roadside collage
workshop. In this design workshop, we studied in the
depth the evolution of roadways, rail roads, cars, gas sta-
tions, diners and signage. Every week, Chip would give
us a unique collage assignment to capture the things we
studied in class from the viewpoint of a driver in a car,
looking out through the windshield. Things to look for in
these upcoming collages are light, shadows, movement,
gas stations, diners, cars, people, the rear view mirror
and the perspective. One of the most valuable things
that I indirectly learned in this class was how to make
photorealistic images in Adobe Photoshop, aside from all
the other valuable things I learned about the evolution of
modern commodities that we use every day.
106
Collage 1
Dubai by Night
The frst collage was entirely conceived by myself. Chip
asked us to collage any type of scene that we wanted, as
long as it showed some direction of movement, a dash-
board, and a rear view mirror. I decided to depict a scene
of driving towards downtown Dubai at night passing the
beautiful Burj Al Arab Hotel.
108
Collage 2
Pre-1920
For our second collage, after studying old cars and the
origin of gas stations and motels, we were asked to de-
pict a pre-1920s scene. For this collage, it was crucial to
pay attention to the year and make of the vehicle being
driven and others around it, as well as the buildings that
surround it. Notice the absence of the rear view mirror? It
wasnt invented yet. Here, the driver is considering either
leaving town, or buying the girl a coffee.
110
Collage 3
Modern Day
After collaging a pre-1920s scene, we jumped forward in
time and were asked to depict a modern driving scene,
however from an old car. We were also required to in-
clude a minimum of two gas stations within the collage,
as well as a rear view mirror. How many gas stations can
you fnd?
112
Collage 4
Speed
This was probably my favorite collage, speed. For this
collage it was required that we make the collage appear
to be moving fast, through whatever setting we chose.
Of course I put the driver inside a brand new Ferrari, be-
ingtailed by another Ferrari, chasing a Porsche down the
Autostrade under an Autogrill in a race to Rome!
114
Collage 5
View Through Diner
To change pace a bit, after studying so many diners we
took a break from the drivers seat and decided to stop at
a rest stop and peek into a diner. Is that Vince Vega and
Jules Winnfeld in that psychadelic diner with the sweet
juke box?
116
Collage 6
Nexus
This collage is about a nexus, or a node, an intersec-
tion where we must either maintain course or change our
path. Its been a long drive from Salt Lake City, maybe
well stop for a bite at Rosies Diner before we hit the ca-
sino in Las Vegas.
118
Collage 7
Early Morning
How different does the world look in the morning? Just
woke up, heading into work early. Looks like all of the
contractors are on their way to work. The diners dont
look too busy, maybe well grab some breakfast before
work, probably wont take too long.
120
Collage 8
Road Trip
Sometimes, dont you feel like you could just get in your
car and drive? Where would you go? We could hop on
I-90 West and go across the country. What will we fnd
on the way? What will we fnd on the other coast? Dont
need to worry about getting lost with our trusted GPS.
122
Collage 9
Looking for a Motel
Been driving all day and night, it would probably be a
good idea to take a break and fnd a motel for the night.
Who knows how far the next town is through those moun-
tains. Better call it a night here.
124
Collage 10
Daytime Collage
One thing to be mindful of when driving is the glare from
the sun. Especially out here in the desert. If only there
were more shade besides the insignifcant shade created
by the shadows of these low buildings.
126
Collage 11
Nighttime Collage
Our whole persepective changes at night. Here, we see a
different type of glare from artifcial lights. During the day
everything is lit up by the sun but at night, everything in
the city is trimmed with accent lights. Lamp posts are on,
at least we can see the color of the traffc light without a
diffusing glare from the sun.
128
Collage 12
Changes Through Time
After a semester of studying the evolution of travel, dining
and boarding, it was time to develop a collage that told
the story of changes through time. Here it looks like we
are sporting a 1921 Rolls Royce, the past of horse-drawn
carriages and trolleys in our rear view, a 1972 Cadillac
passing by, a 2012 Cadillac up in front. It feels like old
New York City here but up ahead, it looks like the future
is being built.
130
C2 Studio: Organicism
Fall 2013
Instructor: Tyler Hinckley
For my fnal Segment II studio I selected the Organicism:
Montessori School project as my frst choice and was
fortunate enough to get it. In many of my projects I have
always incorporated some type of organic or natural fea-
ture, yet it was never really the focus of the project. In
this studio, we studied the Montessori School approach
to education, and began development by designing the
classroom for the frst half of the semester, with no site
assigned. While we researched the Montessori approach
and developed a classroom, we also were required to
formulate, test and refne our own defntions of organi-
cism to be applied to the building once we were given a
site to design on at week 8.
ORGANICISM
(in architecture): architecture whose design is devel-
oped in relation with processes of nature rather than
based on an imposed design; a building should follow
forms that are in accordance with its environment. fur-
thermore, the materials used on and within the building
should be those of the buildings setting, as if the building
had actually grown from its site, physically or abstractly
or both.
student teacher
content of
environment
education
interaction application
independence
freedom
within limits
sense of order
APPROACH
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CURRICULUM CLASSROOM
132
ORGANICISM
THE MONTESSORI
APPROACH
The Montessori Program
educational approach de-
veloped by Italian physician
and educator Maria Montes-
sori and characterized by an
emphasis on independence,
freedom within limits, and
respect for a childs natural
psychological, physical, and
social development. The
diagrams that lead to the de-
velopment of the Montessori
classroom over the next few
pages include many ideas
derived from the Montessori
Approach.
Montessori Approach
An approach where the
trained instructor presents
the student with a stimulative
learning environment.
Montessori Curriculum
The curriculum is designed to
provide an education through
interaction and application of
learning materials.
Montessori Classroom
Within the Montessori classroom,
it is important for the children to
wayfnd there way through learn-
ing with a sense of independence,
freedom within limits, and order.
Design Approach
Within this learning triangle, all
components must be met within
the classroom. The student must
be given work periods by the in-
structor in which they can test
learning materials through inter-
action and application through
curiosity and independence within
their prepared environment.
Practical Life // Social Science // Math // Languages // Sensorial // Creative
Classroom Activities
Practical Life Activities // Practical activites such as folding a cloth, putting things away, cooking, taking
care of plants, taking care of self, cleaning, etc.
Social Science Activities // Studying the world beyond the classroom, making connections to other
cultures/people, geography puzzles, match & memory, etc.
Math Activities // Counting sticks, Add/Subtract game boards, Fraction circles, Multiplication blocks,
Number pattern games, etc.
Languages // Letter associations, letter blocks, words and pictures, words and objects, handwriting
(print & cursive), letter/word puzzles, etc.
Sensorial Activities // Musical/rhythmic instruments, wooden architectural blocks, various puzzles,
classifcation cards, tactile image tiles, etc.
Creative Activities // Building blocks, cut & paste activities, drawing, painting, sculpture, 3D puzzles,
textured stamps, etc.
134
ORGANICISM
THE MONTESSORI
CLASSROOM
To understand the Montes-
sori classroom, it was impor-
tant to research the different
subjects and learning ma-
terials presented within the
classroom. Shown right are
the different subjects pre-
sented to the students within
the classroom, followed by
their descriptions.
practical life social sciences mathematics languages sensorial creativity
1
st
Iteration:
In this frst iteration, I am experi-
menting with how the different el-
ements in the curriculum can be
laid out on a classroom grid. Here,
the elements fow about the sen-
sorial axis. The point of entry and
start of progression begins in the
practical life area, the the student
moves through, social sciences,
languages, then mathematics and
creativity exercises.
2
nd
Iteration:
Here, the sensorial activity area
becomes the origin of the other
subjects, where different sensory
activities lead to learning activities
in math, languages, creativity and
social sciences. Practical life ac-
tivities remain independent. This
diagram suggests that languages
and social sciences can begin the
day after practical life, then math
and creative activities.
3
rd
Iteration:
In my fnal iteration, the sensory
area and the three main senses
(visual, audible, and touchable),
feed the rest of the classroom. Dif-
ferent senses work better for spe-
cifc subjects, for example, visual
and touch code to mathematics
and creativity. Audible codes to
languages, however, all senses
can be used for each subject,
some more so than others.
136
ORGANICISM
THE MONTESSORI
CLASSROOM
Programming
Shown below is a diagram
of the basic program of the
classroom requirements; a
small enclosed area, a large
open area, another small
area and another large area.
Shown left are the different
iterations of classroom learn-
ing material layout to present
a guided path through the
childrens education. Once I
got to my third iteration I was
able to translate the diagram
into an actual classroom,
show on the adjacent page.
The colored work tables cor-
respond to the colored sub-
ject designations.
138
ORGANICISM
THE MONTESSORI
CLASSROOM
Development
With a preliminary classroom
design in place with the basic
program of childrens spaces
laid out, it was time to start
evolving the concept into
something tangible for the
school.
Facade
To me it was important
to create a type of on-
julating facade in which
classrooms could receive
sunlight in two different
ways, then it occured to
me that I could give each
classroom both.
Classroom Iteration 2
The idea to onjulate the facade
for sun reception is meant to
maintain a comfortable atmo-
sphere in the learning environ-
ment. In winter, the sunny ar-
eas of the room can be utilized
to maintain warmth, or can be
avoided during warm months
and guide children to learn in
shady areas of the room.
Classroom Iteration 3
In the third classroom it-
eration, I began to split up
the room by subjects. Here
you see a cubby/bathroom
entry vestibule, which goes
into the practical life area
and kitchen. The fsh tank
remained an important
component of the practi-
cal life area throughout the
project. On the second lev-
el of the classroom we fnd
multiple work spaces and
private pockets against the
windows. To house learn-
ing materials, more shelv-
ing has been added.
A Entry/Cubby Area
B Practical Life
C Kitchen
D Open Work Space
E Languages
F Math/Critical Thinking
G Creativity Area
H Science/Greenhouse
J Cultures/Computers
K Restrooms
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
J
K
140
ORGANICISM
THE MONTESSORI
CLASSROOM
4
th
Iteration
By midterm I had reached
my fourth iteration of the
classroom, shown left. The
evolution of the classroom
here was infuenced by the
previous two iterations and to
make the room appear to be
growing or stretching out-
wards, so that when a student
enters the room, they almost
fan out across the learning
environment and are drawn
to the light from the back wall
glazing. The thickened walls
have grown to accommodate
built in fush mounted shelv-
ing units, and create room di-
viding soffts to separate the
different areas in the room.
Entry/Cubbies
An independent room, this en-
try vestibule allows students to
excuse themselves from class
for bathroom breaks or to go to
their cubbies.
Interactive Spaces
Here we see the way the room is
broken up into different learning
sections by differently elevated
foor plates. He we see the cul-
tures area with computers for
interactive learning, neighboring
the science & exploration area.
Peaceful Hideaways
Another vital concept in my project was
to create these private hideaways for
children to retreat to when they need
space to think and self-educate. Slight-
ly elevated and closed off, these hide-
aways give children the opportunity to
be independent.
ORGANICISM
SOCIALLY
INTERACTIVE
PASS-THROUGHS
The independent hideaways
stem from the idea that chil-
dren always strive to be in-
dependent, so here we are
giving them the chance to es-
cape the classroom by them-
selves or with their peers to
explore different subjects
within the learning pockets.
To understand how these
pockets would work within
the classroom, further inves-
tigation had to be made.
Facade
One thing these pockets
did was create a more in-
teresting facade for each
classroom, to add to the
aesthetic appeal of the on-
julating exterior walls of the
building. Here you will see
the thickened walls stretch-
ing out to show the continu-
ation of the wall to the exte-
rior of the building.
Interaction
Inside, double sided shelv-
ing was embedded within
the wall with a possible
walkthrough for children so
that they could move from
one learning pocket to the
other without going around,
so that they could infuence
or be infuence to explore
by their peers from one
area to another.
0 40 80 20 Feet
S
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Bellis Cir
Pem
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B
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142
ORGANICISM
THE SITE
After developing the class-
room for the frst eight weeks,
we fnally got our site. The
site is actually an existing
Montessori School in Cam-
bridge located on Sherman
Street. Our studio actually
visited the school and were
fortunate enough to examine
the learning materials within
the room (some of which can
be seen on page 134). The
site is situated on a quiet
neighborhood block, with an
adjacent parking lot for the
school between the site and
the railroad tracks.
SITE ANALYSIS
1
2
1 2
Seasonal Wind
MBTA Noise
Sun Path
Vegetation
144
ORGANICISM
Preliminary Layout
The vicinity of the MBTA
line really put a damper
on this project, so in early
diagrams, I decided to turn
the school to the south to
reduce noise during learn-
ing hours. This worked out
well because it allowed my
classrooms to be south-
facing, for solar heating in
the winter. This diagram
also shows vehicular paths
for drop off and pick up for
morning and afternoon.
Yellow signifes classroom
areas, orange is for other
activity areas, and red rep-
resents the staff. Anything
in blue shows trajectory of
a person or vehicle.
146
ORGANICISM
BUILDING LAYOUT
Working with the site condi-
tions, I began to formulate a
proper layout for the school,
which would also in turn di-
rect the fnal shape of the
classrooms for refnement.
Seen on the adjacent page
are the three different itera-
tions of building layouts that
I came up with for this site in
accordance with site condi-
tions and the desire to cre-
ate interlocking classrooms
along the main corridor. One
thing the three iteration have
in common and what was es-
sential to the design was the
wrap the building around the
south side of the side to cre-
ate space for the playground
and gardens. Keep in mind
that the identical rooms are
the classrooms.
1
st
Layout Iteration
Here we see a linear cor-
ridor with the classrooms
and staff offces and gym
squeezed into the site.
2
nd
Layout Iteration
To create more space, I
gave the building some
curvature in an attempt
to give it better fow, how-
ever it was still extremely
tight.
3
rd
Layout Iteration
In this fnal layout, I was
able to ft six classrooms,
staff offces and the gym
in a U-shaped layout, but
would have to expand
to a second foor for the
rest.
Second Level Added
The second level was
added to make space
for a teachers lounge, a
multi-purpose room and
the upper gym. The rest
later becomes a special
roof feature.
148
THE STUDENTS
ENVIRONMENT
A Cubbies/Bathrooms
B Practical Life/Kitchen
C Open Work Space
D Mathematics
E Languages
F Sciences
G Cultures
H Organisms Tank
A
B
C
G
D
E
F
H
ORGANICISM
EVOLUTION OF
THE CLASSROOM
After much refnement, I
reinvented the Montessori
Approach diagram, shown
low left, to diagram how the
Montessori classroom can
function in a controlled envi-
ronment. Here you will see
the sequence of different
classroom designs I tested
throughout the design of the
Montessori classroom.
0"
+12" +6"
+24"
+18"
0"
150
ORGANICISM
THE CLASSROOM
The fnal classroom design
shown here on the right of-
fers the children a tiered en-
vironment in which they can
move up and through the dif-
ferent levels of the classroom
and explore different learning
materials on their own. The
image of the sectional model
shown right is the physical
representation of how the
tiered hideaways can interact
with each other through a po-
rous bookshelf.
Learning Activities Spaces
The upper part of the classroom (right)
is where most of the traditional learning
subjects are located; math, science,
cultures, languages and creativity.
Living Activities Spaces
The lower part of the classroom (bot-
tom) is where the practical life activities
take place, such as cooking, cleaning,
taking care of plants and animals, etc.
THE BUILDING
TAKES FORM
152
The Learning
Community
A Morning Entry
B Kindergarten 1
C Kindergarten 2
D Lobby/Main Offces
E Primary School 1
F Primary School 2
G Secondary School 1
H Secondary School 2
B
C
A
O
D
E
F
G
H
J
M
L
K
N
P
Q
R
J Lobby/Principal
K Gymnasium
L Koi Fish Pond
M Main Entry
N Playground &
Gardens
O Parking Lot
P Multi-purpose Room
Q Teachers Lounge
ORGANICISM
R Upper Gym
Molding a Roof Around the Program
Once the fnal foor plan of the building was in place, it
was time to fgure out how to envelop the learning com-
munity. My frst approach was to wrap a continuous
green roof around the program, almost like a ribbon that
traveled from the preschool classes to the secondary
classes to symbolize growth. However I was told it was
not organic enough so another iteration had to be made.
THE FINAL
ITERATION
154
EPDM Recovery Board
Turf
Porous Rubber Tile
EPDM Membrane
Steel Substructure
Roof Sheathing
ORGANICISM
Instead of molding a ribbon
roof around the program, for
the fnal design I decided to
use the actual shape of the
classrooms to create a tiered
upward movement of eleva-
tions in the roof of the school,
the main driving force be-
ing growth. The visual of
the roof beginning low at the
younger range of students
side of the building and pro-
gressively growing across
the site to the older range of
students classrooms is what
gave this project the sense
of organic growth within the
building and essentially the
metaphoric growth of the
Montessori student.
Section of Turf Roof View from Second Floor View of Main Entry
156
Practice
Bay View Builders
Custom Home Construction
August 2012 - Present
For the past two years I have been working with Bay
View Builders in the feld building custom Atlantic home.
When I was frst hired, the owner of my company had 30
years of experience in custom home building and knew
about the plethora of design faws that come within a
set of construction drawings. This is why before going
to work in our offce drafting up construction drawings
as my company transitions to a design/build, the own-
ers decided to train me in the feld frst, so that I could
witness frst hand the many faws that get overlooked by
architects when drafting sets of drawings. Over the last
two years, I have advanced from a framing carpenter to
a trim carpenter, and have learned how to solve design
issues in the feld, avoiding the need for a redraw or new-
ly drafted details pages, saving time and money. After
spending time in the feld learning these valuable les-
sons between design and construction, I have concluded
that every architect should be spending a minimum of
two years in the feld receiving hands on training. What
follows are several examples of faws we have run into
that had to be fxed in the feld.
158
Timeline Photos
Shown here are several of the homes
I have built with BVB over the last two
years. The homes that we build range
from 3,000 to 10,000 square feet. For
practice documentation purposes, I
have decided to chronicle issues found
during construction of the the third and
fourth sequence of photos, the Gordon-
Wiltshire Residence, a neo-cottage
style Atlantic home in Rockport, MA;
and the Burns Residence, a neoeclectic
beach house designed by another BAC
student in Gloucester, MA on the infa-
mous Wingarshaek Beach.
160
Gordon-Wiltshire Residence
Client: Jacques Gordon & Betsy
Wiltshire
Rockport, Massachusetts
Size: 7,900 SF
Architect: Ellen Levine
Design: Treehouse Design/Build Inc.
Builder: Bay View Builders
Neo Atlantic Cottage
My Role: General Framing, Engineered
Structural Beam Installation, Windows,
Exterior Trim & Siding.
Lally Columns in Basement
This projects footprint was from an ex-
isting foundation for the previous house
that stood there, however, the founda-
tion was not strong enough to withstand
the new loads being placed on it. So the
engineers decided it needed to be dug
deeper and a new foundation had to be
poured. The frst foor plan called for 16
exposed structural beams (shown be-
low during construction) that needed to
be posted down to the foundation. The
lally columns carrying these loads how-
ever were poorly placed, and slowed
down basement partition framing.
Issue
When we frame interior par-
titions, we are always mind-
ful of how the fnish is going
to go on. The lally column
placement made it diffcult
for us to put our nailers on for
door jambs, inside corners
and outside corners. With
2x6 wall construction and 4
structural columns embed-
ded everywhere in our walls,
we had to get creative on
how to frame around these
columns with such tight pa-
rameters.
Solution
This is an example of how
we got our door jamb nailer
past the lally column. By rip-
ping the end stud from 5.5 to
4, we cantilevered 3/4 ply-
wood strips in fve spots on
each side to support the end
stud, to allow the fnish car-
penters to run their tongue
and groove bead board and
door jambs.
Solution
Seen above is the lally col-
umn and the improvised
framing to make it possible
for the fnish carpentry to
work. We ran into similar
problems around the laun-
dry shoot, inside corners and
other door jambs where simi-
lar measures were taken to
build the frame.
162
Gordon-Wiltshire Residence
Exposed Rafter Framing
This house was tough and time-consum-
ing, in that the design called for exposed
rafters and rafter tails, all which had to
be carefully laid out to maintain consis-
tency throughout the house. However
due to a couple of footing placements,
some of these details could not be done
the way they were drawn, and place-
ment of the footings and posts forced
us to improvise on how to get these ex-
posed rafters to work without losing the
aesthetic.
Joist Direction
The original plans called for 2x10 ceiling joists
sistered together spanning 26. After disagreeing
with the engineer, we settled on 14 TGI joists.
The architect and engineered spanned this room
the long way with the joists because the foor be-
low and above spanned the short way for rota-
tional reasons.
Porch Hip Framing
Here, the architect drew a central
rafter with two hip rafters extend-
ed off of it to make the 45 degree
angle on the porch roof. These
hips are shown in plan coming off
of the central rafter. This would
not work because the weight of
this section of roof would sag over
time. Therefore, we had to frame
the hips off of the corner, angling
the hip slightly to maintain the
corner where the footing and post
are.
Hip Rafter off of Octagon
This detail was corrupted by incorrect footing placement.
In plan, the hip is shown following the angle of the octagon
and out to a post, which rests on a footing. However, to
maintain matching exposed jack rafters in the porch roof,
the hip ended up running into the face of the octagon in-
stead of along it, all because the footing was off by about
a foot.
164
Gordon-Wiltshire Residence
Other Things to Consider
Design faws are easy to make when
designing in plan, and sometimes trim
details you envision can lead to other is-
sues, such as animals or leaks/rot. Here
I have chose two issues that stood out
to me while we were dealing with this
design frm.
Flat Trim Shelf Under Sofft
This seems like a nice trim detail, a 1x12
pine fascia with a 1x6 fat pine shelf
above and 5 crown molding to com-
plete the package. For one, a fat shelf
like this with no taper is a risk for water
collection and rot. It should have been
tapered about 10
o
. Second, this spot will
undoubtedly have several birds nests
on it within a year.
Non-Ravitted Sills
The design frm we built this house for
runs its own mill shop. So here you see
one of the pine sills that they milled out
for our use under the windows. One cru-
cial part of the profle that they missed
on all of the sills was the ravit under-
neath in the back that allows the shin-
gles to tuck under the sill. So not only
did we have to cut our shingles fush
(which takes more time) we also have a
risk of water entry underneath.
Flat spot ideal for birds nest Tapered to prevent birds nest No shingle tuck w/ fat top Shingle tuck w/ tapered top
166
Burns Residence
Client: John Burns
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Size: 7,500 SF
Architect: Mike Gomez
Design: Treehouse Design/Build Inc.
Builder: Bay View Builders
Neoeclectic
My Role: General Framing, Engineered
Structural Beam Installation, Windows,
Exterior Trim & Siding.
Octagon Moment Frame
Shown below is this project early on in
the construction process. As you can
see, there are two steel posts and a
beam sticking right out of the octago-
nal room. This moment frame caused
many issues for us. Although the wind
speeds are high and the site holds soft
soil, this moment frame could have
been done out of engineered timber
beams and held the same strength,
thus reducing the following issues.
Inside Corners
This is a perfect example of poor
placement of steel framing. Not
only were we not able to provide
inside nailers for the sheetrock-
ers, as well as no outside nailers
for out plywood, but the mois-
ture that comes off of the steel
once the blueboard and plaster
is on will ruin these inside cor-
ners within this octagonal room.
Deck Post Locations
The moment frame ends with a horizontal
member at the top underneath the octagonal
roof deck. The issue with this is that we are
unable to fasten railing posts on the corners
of the octagon the way that they should be
placed. It has held up the roofer for the EPDM
membrane as well as us. The architect is still
looking for a solution. If it were me, although
not cost effective, I would have pre-welded
steel post bases to house 4x4 pressure treat-
ed posts.
Custom fabricated welded post base
168
Burns Residence
Missing Details
When we look at the second foor plan,
we see a series of jogging frst foor
roofs and strange valleys. These jog-
ging roofs were existing to the original
house, and were left with the original
footprint to build on to. On the left side,
you may notice two clipped corners of
the house, due to property line setbacks.
The architect had the roofs drawn turn-
ing with the house, however the lower
existing one was square, and we had to
match it on the second foor clipped wall
as well (seen left).
Sofft Details
Since we didnt have a detail drawn
for this corner, we had to improvise
and match the other gable end de-
tails, which were on square cor-
ners, whereas this one is angled.
What you see is what we came up
with and slowed us down a day in
the process.
Exposed Hangers
For the second foor great room, the design
called for fve exposed 8x12 douglas fr beams
suspended by custom fabricated steel hangers.
These brackets were installed tight to the frame
before the beams were dropped it. What I no-
ticed here was that we have
1
/
4
thick steel on the
frame which will receive
1
/
2
blueboard. What will
happen here is that the exposed hanger will be-
come buried by the blueboard and plaster. What
should have been done here and was not in the
scope was to have the beams cut 1 short, and
put a
1
/
2
backer behind the hanger so that the
blueboard could be run into it without burying it.
Without 1/2 pack out,
exposed hanger will
get buried behind gyp-
sum wall board
Half inch pack out
would have allowed
sheetrockers to run
their board behind the
hangers
170
NICOLAS R SCHWERTSCHLAG
320 NEWBURY STREET #102
DANVERS, MA 01923
(978) 257-1927
nick.schwertschlag@gmail.com
EDUCATION
Boston Architectural College
Fall 2008 Spring 2015 (expected)
Candidate for Bachelor of Architecture
Western New England University
Fall 2006 Spring 2008
Associates Degree in Business Marketing
SKILLS
Revit 3D Modeling/2D Drafting, AutoCAD 2D Drafting,
SketchUp 3D Modeling, Rhino Organic Form Modeling,
Adobe Photoshop & InDesign Presentation, MS Office
frame to finish construction & carpentry
WORK EXPERIENCE
Bay View Builders
Custom home Construction
august 2012 - present
Douglas Millen (978) 526 8161
Doms Carpentry
Frame to Finish Carpentry, remodeling & tile
November 2010 February 2012
Domenic Dimaio (978) 335 - 5068
Roger Burke & Associates
Fine Home Restoration & Design
September 2009 January 2010
R
E
S
U
M
E