Philip Pitzerm. arch

Academic Portfolio

University of Colorado DenverMaster of Architecture

Texas A&M UniversityBachelor of Environmental Design

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Table of Contents

graduate studioarch6171arch6170arch6150arch5140

fourth year studioarch406arch405

third year studioarch382arch305

second year studioends205

first year studioends106

miscellanous works

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Reposearch6171

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graduate studio

History Museum Denver, COThe history of Denver is one synonymous with the gold rush in Colorado. Born in the late 19th century, the architecture of the period relates both to aca-demic eclecticism as well as the old west, creating a unique style of traditional architecture. Desiring to continue this character and the streetscape of Lar-imer Square, a historic street in Denver, this project draws its character from the unique traditions found there.By studying the elements and composition of Lar-imer Square, as well that of Classical Corinthian proportions, traditional language becomes the backdrop for design. From there, adding playful-ness and Denver characteristics in a unique way to the dignified, austere nature of a museum creates a unique yet contextual design from concept down to the details.In order to fit the downtown character, the project includes retail on the first floor and offices on the third floor, with the museum taking the second floor.

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Reposearch6171

Second Floor PlanStarting with a symmetrical layout based on the three most important spaces, the expected rhythm is broken by the shifted entry space, off axis entry to two of the main spaces, and recentering. Taking a concatenated, reposed plan and shifting the experi-ence, while continuing to reference the center, the museum plays with expectations.

Northwest ElevationThe facade continues the pattern of threes, both vertically and horizontally. The scale and austerity of the entrance speak to the nature of the museum, while the placement of storefront elements belies the playful aspect. Traditional elements take on the same shifting language, so that the entablature be-comes the parapet and the railing, while the flat-tened facade and cut corners give the building the old west character.

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graduate studio

InteriorThe interior as well is guided by the same language developed in plan and elevation. The building section shows a hierarchy within the museum, articulating three different kinds of spaces separately. The gallery, library, and cafeteria spaces receive the most decorated design. The spaces are each defined in threes by the ceiling pattern as well as the floor pattern while the walls are treated as having a base, middle, and top. Stripping down the details to simple curves or angles, the austere quality of the museum is carried through-out the building.

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Pavilionarch6170

Environmental Education Center South Park County, CODesigned for CUSP, a nonprofit watershed protection group, this pavilion is designed to bring people back in touch with the natural environment. Connection to the natural surroundings is accomplished by grand views of the plains and the ranch, careful sculpting of negative space, and erosion of the architecture around its edges. Vernacular structure and materials make reference to ranch and surrounding regional architecture, while using modern construction methods, spatial principles, minimalism, and materials, such as an expan-sive curtain wall system.

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graduate studio

Floor PlanAn explorative environment is created through redi-rection, connectivity of space, and playing on space within space. Cost and flexibility go hand in hand with the use of repetitious, cheap structure to create an open plan and minimalist design to forgo unnec-essary details.

Transverse SectionSectional concepts of spatial connectivity, space within space, and vernacular language are fleshed out in section. Primary spaces, the multi-purpose and classroom spaces, become part of a single space with the services areas placed within. Out-door spaces are implied by lattices, structure, over-hangs, and half walls.

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Pavilionarch6170

NMasterplanThe Environmental Education Center is part of a complex including administrative offices and short term cabins. The facility is located on Krain Ranch outside of Como, CO. Controlling view and access, along with the positioning of the complex, creates a strong connection to the ranch and allows the visitor to disengage from surrounding development. Redi-rection, procession, setbacks, and buffers are all elements become part of both the masterplan and the building design used to disconnect from every day life and to return to the landscape.

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graduate studio

The context of the ranch was as important to design as lighting, temperature, access, and other aspects of the building design. All of the concepts were applied both to the plan and the section, so that no area was left untouched. Exposing secondary spaces, utilities, structure, and finishes allows for the use of the building as a teaching tool for how environments, built and natural, work and also appeals to the raw, functional, and minimalist nature of the landscape.

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Recreationarch6150

Recreation Center Denver, COThis recreation center is set on busy Curtis St, be-tween 15th and 16th St in downtown Denver. An urban infill project, verticality provides many logis-tical and design challenges. This design seeks to embrace the living community in downtown Denver rather than attracting transient or tourist city go-ers while celebrating the excitement of movement. As part of a comprehensive studio this project de-manded solutions to structure, systems, material, program, and detail.

Project GroupPhilip PitzerNadia Hoff

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graduate studio

EnvelopeDouble glass wall on the SE facade with a 3 foot gap between walls allows the building to breathe. A single pane outboard wall allows heat to penetrate and gather inside the space, while a double pane, insulated inboard wall traps the heat. The 120 foot height of the space causes stack ventilation to pull air through the interstitial wall and out through the top. Using this vacuum, cool air is pulled through the building from operable windows into the inter-stitial wall, and sucked out of the building. During the winter, this hot air can be circulated through the building to heat space.

DaylightingBy focusing smaller spaces with daylighting needs on the SW side of the building, the larger primary spaces allow light to penetrate into the open floors from the SE. The smaller secondary spaces re-ceived controlled light by means of translucent fins and horizontal louvres. The primary spaces, being double height and open from one end of the build-ing to another, receive copious amount of daylight.

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Recreationarch6150

ProgramGeared towards families, the program for this recre-ation center called for program elements designed specifically for children and families, such as an indoor playground, climbing wall, and childrens’ sports. A sense of community is created through careful use of scale, while the building engages the pedestrian through visual activity. Daylight is also an important aspect of spatial relationships, deter-mining vertical hierarchy.

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graduate studio

Structure Detail

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Spiritualityarch5140

BathHouse Denver, CODesigned on a hilltop of Confluence Park on the edge of downtown Denver, this public bath house seeks to rejuvenate the spirit. Rather than com-pletely discarding the surrounding urban life and immersing the user in nature, this project embraces the complexity of both environments on a meditative path from inner relaxation to outward enjoyment.

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graduate studio

Lower Floor PlanMoving from the rectilinear, functional urban grid to-ward the fluid, pavilion-like spaces of relaxation is a journey. Starting with the most internal, personal is-sues first, the program and floor plan accommodate contemplation through visual slivers and soothing sounds.

Longitudinal SectionThe journey begins in the deep, in the intimate, qui-et womb. One progresses successively upward, into the light and into the company of others, bringing inner peace outwards.

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Spiritualityarch5140

InteriorThe bath house is an outward journey. First one be-gins by digging into themselves and into the earth, seeking internal peace in meditation, spa, and steam. One is guided along the path by the flow of water, searching for the source instead of its end. Light also becomes a path, shafts of light raining from above pulling you upward out of the depths. The journey culminates in a large community pool overlooking the park, reconnecting with people and nature.

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graduate studio

ExteriorThe relationship to the site is no less important than the interior journey. As the culminating deck pool is a stage, it calls to the other platforms in the park. The building form recognizes both the recti-linear nature of downtown and the terracing, more fluid reality of the park. This dichotomy evident in the landscape also mirrors the transformation of the spiritual journey.

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Wellnessarch406

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Wellness Center Austin, TXThe man made, built environment which defines the urban context, to a large extent, engulfs natural ele-ments that struggle to exist and appease the pan-demonium that is urban life. The Austin Re-Ligare Institute will alleviate these stressors of day to day life through GROWTH in its program, form, function and site development in harmony with natural ele-ments.Design is based upon the existing urban needs of the site and the meek landscaping that has been overtaken by mega-construction; a corner lot on a prominent street in downtown paved over a small creek. The building’s form addresses the discon-nect between two existing parks and reaches out to each one to create a new green belt along the creek, bringing life and nature back to the city. Garden terraces and open public spaces encour-age all urban dwellers to seek wellness, while the landscaping and abundant natural light restore the body. Steel as utilized in the building and bridge are essential to suggesting the flow, continuation, and connection of the creek and the surrounding land-scape to itself and to the urban context.

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fourth year studio

Group responsibilities consisted of collaborative programming, conceptual design, schematics, and presentation. Individual responsibilities consisted of site analysis, structural design, detail design, and 3D modelling.

Project GroupPhilip PitzerJennifer BranhamEthan CookStuart Peterson

truss connection

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Identityarch405

Corporate Headquarters Hurst, TXTransparency, openness, flexibility, and community. These words describe the corporate image embedded in the design of this office building. Open plan offices along with a central atrium maximize public interac-tion, while the addition of a cafeteria and showroom welcome all employees to be a part of the image of the company. Passive systems, clear views, and open space allow for integration within and without the building, providing a workplace environment that celebrates the value of the individual as well as the whole.

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fourth year studio

First Floor PlanIntegration of the workplace environment with the natural world. Solid service corridors, juxtaposing the wide open office space, breaks down the scale of space so that the individual is not overwhelmed.

Transverse SectionOpening to the interior spaces as well as to the ex-terior increases the sense of connection to people and the workings of the company. The lightweight structure of the office space: pipe columns, open web joists and beams, and tension rod mullion sys-tem, further emphasis openness.

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Masterplanarch405

Bell Helicopter Co. Hurst, TXA commercial / industrial campus that has never had a plan, this campus is a hodge-podge of short sighted Goals of the project were to create an or-ganization scheme, promote the corporate image, reduce carbon footprint, and increase campus walkability. By creating a commercial face along the edge of the site, the design allows Bell to orga-nize its functions around the industrial core while opening up to green space. Decreasing parking surface area and increasing green space promotes being able to enjoy walking to work while living in a greener,healthier environment. Integrating office and industrial buildings with landscaping gives the outside world a look into what workplaces should look like in the next 25 years.

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fourth year studio

Group responsibilities consisted of collaborative programming, conceptual design, schematics, and presentation. Individual responsibilities consisted of site analysis, conceptual design, research of sus-tainable items and systems to be implemented, transportation system design, and team leadership.

Project GroupPhilip PitzerErin CallahanAshlin Roddy

building type

transportation

circulation

security

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Movementarch382

Lightrail and Streetcar

Transit Center Portland, ORThis transit center is designed for the west bank of the Willamette River in Portland, OR. The facility combines 4 modes of transportation; light rail, streetcar, wa-ter taxi, and bicycle, in a pre-cast concrete system.

Water Taxi Bicycle and Pedestrian

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third year studio

Every mode of transportation has its own mo-mentum which relates back to the others in force. Each mode influences the visual weight, scale, and amount of enclosure of the building, increasing and decreasing each as the mode speeds up and slows down. The more momentum a mode has, the more mass is needed to slow it down.

Pedestrians and cyclists which have the least mo-mentum float above the other modes. The water taxi which has the weight of the water behind it comes into the center from below grade. The light rail and streetcar have midrange momentum and take the ground plane. Each mode has its own platform, and in order to switch from one mode to another pas-sengers are pushed upward into the cyclists/pedes-trian realm.

The esplanade is an important part of the water-front, and the cyclists that use it engage in an im-portant sustainable effort on the part of the city. A bike shop plus a plaza give cyclists a unique place of their own; it is a public place for bikers to come to-gether that is endorsed by the transit authorities. By encompassing the bike shop and plaza in the tran-sit center, the transit authorities assert that cycling is as valid and sustainable a form of transportation as mass transit.

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Educationarch305

COSC Building College Station, TXPart of an ever expanding institution, Texas A&M University’s Construction Science Department has need for its own facilities. Designed to create a natural flow in a dense environment, this courtyard building embraces an organic approach to construc-tion and design. As a design-build project, design students partnered with construction science stu-dents to present full scale construction proposals. Group responsibilities included creating a company identity, programming, conceptual design, initial drawings, schematics, model, and a proposal book.

The building form resulted from the study of move-ment patterns as well as the relationship to topog-raphy and buildings. Structure became part of this organic language, using rammed earth walls and concrete beams to support 4 floors. Openings also followed an organic approach by being placed wherever they were needed, dotting the facade ir-regularly. Water collection, natural ventilation, and mass walls all work together to create a passive ap-proach to building systems. All of these elements become part of the building as a learning tool for the Department of Construction Science.

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third year studio

Individual responsibilities included programming and research, site analysis, conceptual design, conceptual building systems design, conceptual structural design, and landscape design.

Project GroupPhilip PitzerReid MulliganElizabeth MillerAdam Ponder

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Communityends206

HIV Rehabilitation Center CambodiaCambodia is a nation scarred by still-active explo-sives from the Vietnam War. By creating a commu-nity that treats HIV positive children and teaches vocational skills NHCC is transforming lives. The addition of a vocational training center, school build-ing, and visitor dormitories fill the gaps in the com-munity identity and promote networking the Cam-bodian way.

Project GroupPhilip PitzerJennifer BranhamChristopher Ritchie

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second year studio

Vocational Training CenterThis project focused on the need for a central facil-ity that defines the character of the campus for the future without alienating the existing environment. Use of vernacular architecture and derivatives of Cambodian culture create a strong visual center for the campus, a place for people to connect to. Large, open plan spaces allow the flexibility to accommo-date a range of uses, including community meet-ings, training sessions, or entertainment gatherings.

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Behaviorends205

Experiential House College Station, TXHow people really experience architecture is cen-tered around the senses. What one sees, and also what one feels, hears, smells, the relationship of spaces and objects; these make up how one per-ceives and thus behaves in a certain setting. Based in College Station, TX, this residence relies on the senses to engage the seasons. The changing of the seasons and the path of the sun play against the ceiling through clerestory windows, which also regulate temperature. The large curvilinear hallway carved by the path of the sun reminds the senses that time will come full circle. Natural ventilation brings smells of the season, while the open plan and glazed hallway extend the experiential scope to remind that the world is much bigger than the small escape of a house.

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first year studio

In the mild climate of College Station, TX, much of the year if fairly pleasant. This project seeks har-mony with the weather and season through orien-tation and section. The southern exposure allows limited heat gain through small view windows and insulated walls, and roof overhangs. The northern exposure allows heat loss through wide expanse of glazing and vented clerestory windows. The East-West orientation of the house reduces especially the hot evening sun as well as blocking low angle sun. The curvature and orientation of the building also allow for natural ventilation, providing fresh air and a cooling breeze. These weather related mea-sures also enhance the natural, seasonal experi-ence of the house.

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educational projects

Reinterpreted Shadow Box, from Kandinsky’s On White 2. Using material and light to create a 3 dimensional original piece.

Modern furniture design, made of post consumer cardboard and nontoxic glues. A practice in sustainable design to show that everyday objects reused in a powerful way.

Abstract Practical Sketches

Abstract cubic expression of the word whimsical. Geometries derived from a diamond inscribed in a square to express the word whimsical.

Sculpture, multipurpose artwork. Designed to shade from the evening sun, this sculpture pro-vides playful and intricate shadows.

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miscellaneous works

Rendering Graphic Design Photography

Ingredients: Purified Water, Organic Agave, Lime, Aronia Berry, Ginger, Rose, Geranium, Frankincense, TUlsi, Turmeric, Astaxanthin, Guarana Powder, Rosemary Anitoxidant, Niacin, Vitamin B-12.

Consumer Inforamtion call: 1-800-688-4534 www.essencewater.com

1258 Stanwick Dr

Chicago, IL 65322

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1258 Stanwick DrChicago, IL 65322

pantone 2925 C

Philip PitzerTaste Tester

pitzer.philip@essence.com

1258 Stanwick Dr

Chicago, IL 65322

T. 766.688.4534

F. 766.688.4536www.essencewater.com

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personal artwork

Furniture Photography

Music

philippitzer.bandcamp.com

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miscellaneous works

Art