ADRIA MOYER

PORTFOLIO

THESIS: BRADDOCK INNOVATION CENTERreviving the rust belt

The overall studio focused on Regenerative Design: Reviving

cities, towns and neighborhoods struck by natural disaster and

catastrophic human failure. My individual project focused on the

problem of Post-Industrial Urban Decay, which is a human failure.

It focused Braddock Pennsylvania, an old steel town 7 miles

outside of downtown Pittsburgh. It is one of many similar towns

suffering from this problem, and in many ways is the poster child of this

issue.

Tied in with urban decay, my project looked at the potential of

Generation Y as a means to revive the town. Generation Y, also known

as the Millennias, were born from 1980 to 2000, and are currently

between the ages of 13 and 33. They are the next big wave of home

owners, and the way that this generation thinks about housing is

drastically diff erent than previous generations. At the same time,

they are saddled with more debt than any previous generations;

The average college graduate has $25,000 of debt, which has a huge

impact on what they can aff ord, and what they see as necessary.

Location: Braddock, PA

Year: 2013

Program: Innovation Center and Community Center

Pittsburgh was successful for developing industries

because it is located at the intersection of the Allegheny and

Monongahela Rivers which form the Ohio River. Steel mills

lined the MonValley while company headquarters were located

in the city center of Pittsburgh. Braddock was one of the steel

towns located along the Monongahela River. As manufacturing

decreased in Pittsburgh, other service sectors grew, and

Pittsburgh shifted from steel production to the education and

healthcare. The reason steel towns such as Braddock were hit

so hard is because their local economy relied entirely on steel

production

As history has shown, in order for a city to be healthy,

its economy must have variety rather than relying on a single

industry. Braddock’s steel mill is still in production, and produces

28% of the US domestic steel. Although it did suffer a decline

in production, it still employs about 900 people, most of who

commute from the suburbs of Pittsburgh into Braddock. So, the

steel industry is still present, there just aren’t any supporting

businesses or residents.

This project looked to solve two problems; how to

establish residents who will stay and help the city to grow

while establishing local businesses. The building proposal

is a live/work innovation center. The innovation center will

provide the shared resources necessary for an individual to

establish a business. At the same time, it will serve as a center

for collaboration for creative individuals. The live/ work

component will provide incubator space for start up businesses

and establish residents.

LIVE/ WORK

WORK SPACE

COMMUNITY

The main space within the innovation center is the workshop.

This space is not only open to the residents, but to the larger community

as well. While a Braddock resident might use it for a home improvement

project, another individual might use to create the goods they sell. This

openness works to encouraging interaction between all members of the

community.

Other shared amenities within the innovation center include a library,

print room, conference room, classroom, and computer lab.

The community portion of the program includes an auditorium

and event venue. While the auditorium may occasionally offer lectures

and classes to the greater Pittsburgh community, it will normally function

as a movie theater for the residents of Braddock, providing a place for

Braddock youth to gather.

The live/work housing lines the northern portion of the site along

Braddock Ave. With live/work housing, retail functions can activate the

street, while residential or commercial functions can occur on the fl oors

above. The units are fl exible in that they can be used in a variety of

different ways, and multiple units can be combined. The hope is that as

businesses within the innovation center grow and are established, they

can eventually relocate into other parts of Braddock.

The fi nal portion of the Program is the Braddock Farms. The

Braddock Farms was existing on the site, so it was a goal of this project to

incorporate space for them into the design of the building. New offi ces

look out onto the farm, and large walkways give space for the farmers

market to set up on the weekends. At the same time, the building opens

up to the urban farm, allowing the community spaces to fl ow out to the

exterior.

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LEATHER GOODS WOOD FURNITURE RESTAURANT

SIGNAGE

Façade Design

The live work units are designed to

allow for fl exibility of arrangements. Likewise,

the façade system allows for panels to be

arranged differently based on the tenant’s

needs. The façade pattern is based off the

pattern of brick buildings surround the site.

There are three different types of façade panels:

terra-cotta, glass, and a metal screening panel

with a pattern based of the molecular structure

of steel. Through these three panel types, users

can customize their unit’s façade to fi t their

needs.

OLD TOWN PORTLAND

The neighborhood of Old Town/ Chinatown

in Portland has been a transient neighborhood for

immigrant communities since the city began. Greek,

Japanese, and Chinese families all took residence

here. It now serves as the center of Portland’s

social services, casting a negative stigma on the

neighborhood.

The area has been lacking development,

an issue that isn’t easily solved. Each group has a

different interest in the area. Preservationists want

to uphold the historic integrity of the neighborhood,

developers feel they can not build profi table

buildings with the low FAR and height restrictions,

and owner’s do not want to put money into an area

where the homeless population is so high.

This project was about demonstrating

to each interest group that a new building in this

neighborhood can not only be cost effective, but

it can be benefi cial to the entire community, and

respect the area’s historic character.

Location: Portland, OR

Year: Fall 2012

Program: Mixed Use Max out block square footage

Creation of alley for housing entry

Development of courtyard

Second Floor Plan

Third Floor Plan

Fourth-Sixth Floor Plan

Within this area, there has been a growing number of students,

an no response to meet these changing needs. This building proposal

is a mixed use structure with ground fl oor retail and fi ve fl oors of

housing above. It works with the existing structure on the corner of

4th and Davis, and incorporates an addition on Davis and 5th. The

building creates a courtyard in the center of the block, allowing the

retail spaces and existing buildings on the block to open up and spill

out into the space. While the street front is more solid, the courtyard

side of the building opens up to allow for light and views.

Commons Area

Unit Perspective

DAVIS ST.

SITE

FLANDERS ST.

COUCH ST.

CONTINUATION OF FESTIVAL STREETS TO CONNECT WATERFRONT PARK TO THE PARK BLOCKS

FESTIVAL STREETS BECOME MORE PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED

EDUCATION DISTRICT

pdx mediatheque

Periodicals/ Reading room

In order for the library to become the center of the

community, I expanded on the program to make the building a

live, learn, play model. The library becomes the fl exible glue that

secures the housing to the retail. Just as the library form itself

is fl exible; the spaces within the library are designed to allow

for change. This was accomplished by minimizing walls within

the library spaces. Instead spaces are defi ned by the location of

columns and the difference in levels.

Program within the library is organized by the

dependency on natural light. The main fl oor of the library has

the maximum amount of light and is similar to the living room of

a house. It contains periodicals, the children’s library, and reading

spaces. This fl oor is a more very informal space where people

can meet up and noise level isn’t a concern. The second fl oor

of the library requires less natural light, and subsequently the

facade increase in opacity. This fl oor contains the book stacks,

classrooms, and small group areas. The third fl oor is the media

fl oor, containing all the functions that rely on minimal light. There

are small rooms for media listening and viewing, along with the

media studio, and open media storage. Computers are scattered

throughout the library rather than being assigned to a single

location. This is because people have the tendency to move back

and forth between computers and other media such as books

and periodicals, rather than being confi ned to a single location.

Location: Ankeny and 1st Avenue, SW Portland

Year: Fall 2011

Program: Mediatheque

Courtyard

The fi rst fl oor of the building is

the retail fl oor. It contains many of the

community spaces such as the child care,

cafe, shop, and public gathering. It was

also expanded to include a bike commuter

center, a restaurant, and a bar. It is from this

fl oor that all functions within the building

are accessible, although there is a secondary

entrance on Burnside to the main fl oor of

the library. Many of the retail functions open

up into a small courtyard in the center of

the site. This space is accessible both from

Burnside and Ankeny. In having a mix of day

and night time functions open up into the

courtyard, the space will become active at

all hours of the day.

The facade of the building reveals

the function within. The housing and retail

are the two more solid masses connected

to the library form, which torques to display

its fl exibility in function. Each fl oor of the

library decreases in transparency as the

spaces within rely less on natural light. This

is done by increasing the frequency of solid

panels. The structure of the building is also

infl uenced by the torque. As the fl oor plates

pivot, the columns slant with the movement.

idc project

The fi nal project of my undergraduate career was an Integrated

Design Competition. It was a semester long, partner project that

integrated material from technology based architecture courses into

the design studio project. Along with my partner, we designed a

building that was not only aesthetically and conceptually thought out,

but also calculated its structural members, sustainable techniques, and

mechanical systems into the design process. It was a challenge learning

how all the components worked together and infl uenced one another,

and how the systems infl uenced the design of the building. It was also

a valuable lesson in teamwork.

The site for the project was located along the waterfront

in Washington DC. Originally a navy ship yard, ‘The Yards’ is now an

up and coming district where existing industrial buildings are being

renovated into restaurants and retail shops. Also, being located along

the Anacostia, a tributary which empties into the Chesapeake Bay,

stainability is a main concern for this area.

The program for the vacant site was mixed use, with retail

spaces on the fi rst fl oor, and offi ces above. The fi rst fl oor of our building

was devoted to retail, the second and third fl oors were prime offi ce, and

spec offi ces were the fourth through seventh fl oors. Although all the

fl oors were thoroughly laid out, only one of the prime offi ces had to be

completely developed.

Location: Washington DC, The Yards

Year: Spring 2011

Program: Mixed-Use

Site Plan

Site Plan

Office Plan

For this project I developed the 4 k prime offi ce.

I started with the prime fl oor and determined how to

best maximize access to natural light without making

the lease span too short to function well. This created

the elongated form. Because of the form, the spaces is

almost divided in half with the southern half containing

the administrative program (president’s offi ce, vp offi ce,

and secretary) and the northern half containing the main

offi ce spaces (the associate offi ce, work stations, copy

room and kitchenette. Dividing the north and south

zones is the circulation, and in the center of the offi ce is

an informal area for group collaborate.

Walls were kept to a minimum in the space and

primarily used to divide administrative offi ces from the

main work area. Programs such as the conference room

and kitchenette, which need little natural light, were

placed along the interior wall of the 4k offi ce. Throughout

the main offi ce area, the ceiling plane and columns area

used to visually divide spaces. This not only makes the

space fl exible for alterations, but also easier for light to

penetrate all areas of the offi ce. Access to natural light

was a main goal in the design.

DESIGN OF THE 4K SPACE

MECHANICAL

Water Source Heat Pump Zones

Mechanical Plan

MECHANICAL

MECHANICAL

Air Floor Diagram

Detailed Offi ce Section

STDY ABROAD EPERIENCE

Pisa, Italy

Studying abroad in Florence, Italy gave me

the opportunity to learn from European cities while

experiencing life as a Florentine. I was able to visit

a variety of different Italian cities on class trips, and

location outside the country on my own. It was an

eye opening experience which allowed me to further

develop as a designer and a person. My Italian

professors brought a new perspective to architecture

and urban design. The city of Florence taught me

how buildings that are hundreds of years old can be

adapted to meet the needs of each new generation,

yet preserved to maintain their historic character.

Location: Florence, Italy

Year: Spring 2010

Pisa, Italy Barcelona, Spain

KING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Proposal

This proposal was for an elementary school located

outside of Akron, Ohio. The existing building was built in

1923 and had the beauty and detail of a building from that

era. While the building was becoming too crowded for the

growing student body, renovation was not an option for the

city of Akron. They felt the most cost effective and effi cient

approach would be to demolish the existing structure and

start fresh. There was a lot of debate between the community,

who saw it as an icon for their neighborhood, and the city

who was trying to perform their duty in providing a safe

location for education.

The goal of my design was to preserve the character

of King Elementary by keeping pieces of the existing facade,

while expanding the building to create a school that meets

the needs of the new generation of students.

Location: Akron, Ohio

Year: Fall 2010

Program: Elementary School

Detailing on existing facadeProposal

Large storage rooms are shared between adjacent classrooms to give teachers some much needed space

The core of the classroom is a fl exible, teacher determined space. It can be arranged to best fi t the needs of the students and adapted to welcome new technology.

Extended learning spaces allow for a less structured environment. These spaces can be formed by teachers to suit the academic needs of the students, whether it is for collaborative work, individual reading, or story time, they are open for creative use.

EXTENDED LEARNING SPACE

COMPUTER SPACE

CLASSROOM

SHARED STORAGE

Classroom Layout

philadelphia rohouse

The design focused on bringing

natural light into the space, and allowing

spaces to be defi ned by fl oor plates. It

began with organizing the circulation along

the southern wall to create the most usable

space. Secondary circulation was then placed

next to the primary circulation, allowing the

remaining northern half of the building for

living space. In order for the building to

pass local historical requirements, no additions

could be seen from the street. To utilize the

roof space, a railing would have to be set back

six feet from the front of the building. The

use of terracing became the solution to this

problem. Terracing was then brought into

the rest of the structure as a means to defi ne

space without having harsh vertical barriers. It

allowed for the narrow house to feel open and

spacious.

Location: Philadelphia

Year: Fall 2010

Program: Renovation of a row house to meet

Philadelphia’s historical requirements

Existing Rowhouse

Transformation into loftAlignment of circulation along southern wall

Determining setback for addition to be out of view.Use of lightwell to bring natural light into the space.

Terracing of roof to allow for the maximum amout of usable roof space.

Use of terracing within the light well.Extension of light well.

Use of terracing on fi rst fl oor to defi ne spaces.

Alignment of vertical circulation.Terracing in basement.Push 2nd and 3rd fl oor back wall out.

1st Floor

2nd Floor

3rd Floor