GRADUATE PORTFOLIO 2008-2012

{ SELECTED WORKS } M.Arch CandidateRice University 2014

TUCKERDOUGLAS

READY. STEADY.GO.

ABOUT: I am an architecture student and inspi-red designer. I have chosen to continue my edu-cation at Rice University where I am pursuing my M.Arch. Th ese fi rst studio semesters at Rice have fo-cused my studies on the importance of articulating ar-guments and understanding the architect’s agency at both the urban and architectural scales and the gray zone between.

Additionally, I am recently interested in the capacity of architecture experience to enhance and provide less typical services and delve into other areas of deign – especially in humanitarian eff orts.

CONTENTS {reverse chronology}

Accordion Clinic (Graduate)Speedy Publics (Graduate)Pin-Up (Graduate)SPL (Graduate)Seattle - Food (undergraduate)X.Change (undergraduate)Books Abroad (internship)Pavilion {arboretum project}

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2ACCORDION CLINC

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ACCORDION CLINIC {10min 44lbs $250}

Th e portable clinic is an ambassador for Beyond Tra-ditional Borders (BTB), conveying a private, welco-ming, and secure gesture to rural Malawians. It allows HSA to treat and advise patients safely and with di-gnity, even in adverse conditions. Since BTB medics face the challenge of having to provide care on the go, our scheme seeks to be as portable and as quickly de-ployable as possible. Th e tent and furniture designs

use an accordion-like formal logic that enables them to be both tightly packed and folded down in almost a single, broad gesture.

A sealable, covered structure provides a private en-vironment for examinations, as well as keeping dust out of the treatment area. At the same time, nets pro-vide natural light and ventilation without allowing outside observation. A net placed below the exami-

| SPRING 2012 | DURATION: 2 DAYS | LOCATION: MALAWIAN, AFRICA | FIRST PLACE | SPRING 2012 CHARRETTE, PACKED IN:

SAVING LIVES THROUGH DESIGN | THIS PROJECT IT CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF BEING PROTOTYPED BY BTB AND

WILL PUBLISH IN PLAT 3.0. | TEAM MEMBERS: SAM BIROSCAK, VY DROUIN-LE, AND MICHAEL MATTHEWS |

ACCORDION CLINC

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nation table opens for cross-ventilation during war-mer months, and can be sealed during the rainy sea-son or for greater privacy. Th e entrance is a welcoming gesture, a hand extending from the clinic providing a shaded entrance and directionality. Th is directionality places agency in the hands of the volunteers, allowing them to decide the most appropriate orientation wi-thout sacrifi cing the privacy of the patients.

Th e hinge system imbedded within the structure and furniture folds like an accordion, increasing set-up speed and ease of packing. Th e interior is sealed during setup and take-down, preventing dust and dirt from entering the clinic during transitions. Th e non-porous rubber exam surface is supported by ¾”hollow metal tubing, a cheap and eff ective way to support an-yone from a child to a 200 pound adult.

ACCORDION CLINC

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inviting entrance

natural light

privacy

+ dust protection

cross-ventilation

ACCORDION CLINC

8SPEEDY PUBLICS

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SPEEDY PUBLICS {fast & slow}

Th e present typology of the library is a hybrid; the library must contain within it program relating to old and new technologies; it must house social functions; and it should serve as a foundation for democracy and act as an enabler of local and global communities. Th ese diff erent variables of the library allow for a par-titioning of spaces into fast to slow.

Th is library is a speculation of the library’s future

both in terms of technology and how is holds infor-mation and its role in the social sphere.

Th e position of this project is to highlight the play between the fast and slow functions within the li-brary and utilize their diff erences in the given context and then subsequently focus on the situations created from this refocusing for slow and fast program.

In the refocusing of fast and slow, the slow-bar, re-

| ARCH503 | FALL 2011 | DURATION: 1.5 MONTHS | LOCATION: HOUSTON, TEXAS | PROJECT: REGIONAL LIBRARY |

SPEEDY PUBLICS

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FAST (service)

SLOW (knowledge)

PROGRMATIC SPLIT

ENLARGING PUBLICS

CONNECTION

01 CALIBRATING MASSING

02 CALIBRATING MASSING

SPEEDY PUBLICS

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presenting the primary houser of information, is ele-vated to a symbolic level, releasing the tension that exists within the community, allowing circulation to fl ood the site underneath, and respond to the fast pace environment of the surrounding area.

Th rough the interdependence of these bars of slow and fast circulation an overlap between spaces oc-

curs – a third space is then created. At this point the connection between these elements is understood. Th rough transparency and audio connection the con-trast between the communal and knowledge based space is understood, and can then one can operate between the two.

SPEEDY PUBLICS

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16PIN-UP

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PIN-UP {site specifi c art}

| ARCH367| FALL 2011 | DURATION: 1 WEEK | LOCATION: RICE UNIVERISTY | PROJECT: SITE SPECIFIC ART |

PIN-UP

Th is project is a commentary on criticism within the academic architecture community. A student is con-stantly producing and testing work. Work is tested, analyzed and criticized. When the later, the produ-cer of work is asked to “pin-up” their work. Th e work is then viewed by an “objective reviewer.” In the di-scourse between presenter and critic it is understood that it is the work being critiqued.

However, it is impossible to detach the creator from their work. Th e work is the creator. Th e work inherently represents the mode of thinking of the cre-ator. Th us, in actuality it is the creator who is being critiqued and not the work.

Site: Th e jury room (formatted at a pin-up or gal-lery space ) was chosen because it represents an area where the entire student body regularly pins-up work

18PIN-UP

and it has personal signifi cance for all architecture students because it is where their eff orts and ideas are judged.

Project: Th e actual body of work is a mosaic or paneling of a self-portrait. Th e eyes are framed in the image. Th e eyes are cho-

sen as signifi cant because they are the facial feature which represents a person and their visual identity. Th e dimensions of the installa-tion our 10’x25’ and was attached through the use of 187 11”x17” sheets of paper.

19PIN-UP

20SPL

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SPL {case study research}

An in depth analysis of the Seattle Public Library, this case study research delves into the various way a li-brary functions; programmatically, socially, and fun-ctionally. Th is analysis seeks to unpack the diff erence between knowledge and information within the con-structs of the library as well as examine the physical architectural components utilized in the housing of information.

| ARCH503 | FALL 2011 | DURATION: 3 WEEKS | LOCATION: SEATTLE, WASHINGTON | PROJECT: CASE STUDY RESEARCH |

SPL

22SPL

23SPL

24SEATTLE FOOD 24

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Th is project does not presuppose solvency of all pro-blems, rather it creates a framework that can radiate from the city’s core. Treating the improvement of Se-attle as an evolutionary process, this project can be used as the initial step towards a more effi cient and self-suffi cient city. Seattle 2035 begins to embrace the idea of the city center as the organ to sustain life.

Th is project was developed under the outlined Li-

ving City Design Competition 2035 brief. Our team chose to diverge from the prescriptive methods de-lineated within the brief, and rather refocused on a more ecological response within the city’s urban fra-mework, aimed at positively enhancing the given so-cial mindset.

SEATTLE - FOOD {a speculative design}

| ARCH453 | FALL 2010 | DURATION: ONE SEMESTER | LOCATION: SEATTLE, WASHINGTON | PROJECT: SPECULATIVE FOR A

CITY | GROUP PARTNERS: MATT EDWARDS, GREG UHRICH, AND DON GRAY |

SEATTLE FOOD

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28SEATTLE FOOD

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sustaining population

water management

efficient farming

FOOD

work

SEATTLE FOOD

Th is project attacks the notion of the city as an all con-suming, dependent entity. In today’s current model, we produce food unsustainably and beyond the core of the city. Current reliance on oil and transportation to move food makes our cities heavily dependent upon large monocultural regions. Conversely, the proposed living city provides viability for creating an effi cient infra-structure embedded within the city’s core. Th e project intends on providing framework to reverse the role of the city as a consumer and model the city into a system yielding the nutrients needed to sustain life within the downtown core of Seattle. Th e focus for a self-suffi cient future is food.

Th e way we treat our food is a major contributing factor in the city’s tendency to be a massive consumer. In our current production model, fruits and vegetables regularly travel between 500 and 2500 miles to reach to Seattle, accounting for nearly 20% of the energy con-sumed in the U.S. Th is large agricultural radius creates immense carbon footprints for the food Seattle consu-mes.

Traditional monoculture farming methods are hi-ghly unsustainable and damaging to the land on which it is produced. Today’s system takes nearly 6.41 Barrels

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of oil to produce food from one hectare of traditio-nal row farming. Th ese methods lean heavily upon oil from the equipment used and the pesticides and ferti-lizers required to yield food. Traditional farming me-thods devour the nation’s continually depleting natu-ral resources.

By 2015, the CDC projects 61% of Americans to be overweight or obese, expressing a major fl aw in

how we nourish our bodies. We go out to eat three to four times per week, usually consuming foods high in artifi cial ingredients and calories. As a result, many people cannot describe where their food comes from, let alone understand how to grow it. In opposition to fast frozen produce, urban agriculture embodies food grown within a walking radius.

We consume linearly, growing crops in mono-

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culture fi elds, using gasoline to generate food, har-vest food, and transport food. Th e linear consumption model is both unsustainable and removed from the consumer. In a cyclic model, citizens of Seattle can grow and harvest their own food. By remodeling our impactful relationship with food, we intend to shape a more culturally self-suffi cient Seattle.

Urban agriculture infused into the heart of Seat-

tle, brings together the city’s iconic waterfront, cul-tural marketplace, and the need for an effi cient, con-nective system. Utilizing urban agriculture, combined with community green space and mass transit, enhan-ces the existing attributes of Seattle while creating a culture based upon the education and societal reliance of closely harvested foods.

32X.CHANGE TOWER

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X.CHANGE {mid-rise tower}

Th is project attempts to act as a social condenser within the confi nes of skinny site located in the Lower Bowery in New York City. Th ree types of living are di-spersed vertically throughout the building, zoned in elevation according to activity levels within the site; POD units positioned at the front edge, with couple units at the middle, and family units at the back side.

Th e programmatic elements involved in this

project were left to be defi ned as the project progres-sed. Progression of diagrams illustrates the response to New York building code requirements and the deve-lopment and specifi cation of aff ordable housing ele-ments.

| ARCH454 | SUMMER 2010 | URATION: 5 WEEKS | LOCATION: NEW YORK, NY | PROJECT: MID-RISE HOUSING

X.CHANGE TOWER

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M iddle s ized units300 – 400 sqf tThis res ident ia l unit created to ser ve a fami ly of t wo or for t wo young profes-s ionals that want to share accom-modations.

Family three600 – 800 sqf tThe fami ly of three res ident ia l units are a imed at accommodat-ing one couple and one chi ld.

PODs80 – 100 sqf tThis res ident ia l unit i s focused on the young work ing profes-s ional

FAMILY THREE (3)COMMUNAL

MIDDLE SIZED UNITSOUTDOORS SPACE

PODS

GREAT JONES CAFÉ

CIRCULATION & EGRESS

X.CHANGE TOWER

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38BOOKS ABROAD

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BOOKS ABROAD {library project}

| INTERNSHIP | SUMMER 2010 | DURATION: 6 WEEKS | LOCATION: GAMBIA, NIGERIA, KENYA, & GHANA | PROJECT: LIBRARY |

Wings of the Dawn is a nonprofi t organization ba-sed in Texas. It specializes in setting up these centers in communities without libraries and upgrades exi-sting educational facilities to serve as central locations where children, youth and adults can have access to education, employment and business resources.

Literacy is the gateway to freedom and equality. Th e lack of materials, staff and facilities can be sol-

ved with a targeted program of delivering books and a space for local readers to remote locations. One answer - sturdy, depreciated and decommissioned shipping container fi lled with books and computers. Th ese hardy structures are designed to travel by ship, plane, rail and truck and to withstand the most bru-tal environments.

BOOKS ABROAD

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Books abroad is a project currently evolving, sponsored by wings of the dawn – international institute for children and created by fi rm817.

Wings of the Dawn is a nonpro-fi t organization based in Texas that instills Lifelong Learning Centers in Africa as an intergenerational model where adults and youth own, tailor and manage education and commu-nity revitalization services. It spe-cializes in setting up these centers in communities without libraries and upgrades existing educational fa-cilities to serve as central locations where children, youth and adults can have access to education, em-ployment and business resources.

Literacy is the gateway to free-dom and equality. Th e lack of ma-terials, staff and facilities can be sol-ved with a targeted program of delivering books and a space for lo-cal readers to remote locations. One answer - sturdy, depreciated and de-commissioned shipping container fi lled with books and computers. Th ese hardy structures are desig-ned to travel by ship, plane, rail and truck and to withstand the most brutal environments.

BOOKS ABROAD

43BOOKS ABROAD

44PAVILION 44

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PAVILION {arboretum project}

| ARCH353 | FALL 2009 | DURATION: 2 WEEKS | LOCATION: MOSCOW, IDAHO | PROJECT: PAVILION |

Th is pavilion serves as a refuge in nature. Positioned in the pond located in the University’s arboretum, the pavilion is placed out of the way of constant traffi c. Formally, the proportions are derived from the dimen-sions of a Tanami mat, implicitly reinforcing the no-tion of meditation.

In plan, the space is partitioned in several units, within each unit is a Tanami mat sized seating place.

Traditional Japanese and vernacular architecture in-spire the formal architectural aesthetic of the pavilion. Th e variation of the contour of the roofl ine allows an array of diff erent sun exposures, providing diff erent options for the inhibiter of the pavilion to select from.

PAVILION

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