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CHRISTOPHERG A R D N E R 2008-2012

P O R T F O L I O

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STUDIO PROJECTS:

THOMAS C. GREEN SWIM CENTER DESIGN 6 SPRING 2011

GRID PARK advanced design-europe fall 2011

DESERT CARCASS DESIGN 5 FALL 2010

TAYLOR ART+SHELTER DESIGN 5 FALL 2010

SHOE STUDY DESIGN 3 FALL 2009

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18

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32

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VARIOUS WORK:

PRECEDENT STUDY DESIGN 1 FALL 2008

ANALOG DRAWING VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS 1+2 Fall 2008/ SPRING 2009

DIGITAL DRAWING VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS 3 FALL 2009

BALLET ANIMATION SUMMER 2011

FIREPLACE MANTEL Competition SUMMER 2010

BURGEONING BUTTS COMPETITION SPRING 2010

RESUME + CONTACT INFO

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4 DESIGN 6 / SPRING 2011

THOMAS C. GREEN SWIM CENTER

The semester long project for Design 6 was a Swim Center located on Austin’s Town Lake. After many adjacency stud-ies, I discovered the dichotomy of wet and dry within the program. I took this separation and applied it to the overall building, having a stereotonic plinth representing water and a tectonic canopy representing the swimmer. The structure of the canopy is derived from the combination of a space frame and the basic elements of an arch. This semester is called “sound building” and required thorough development of the design including the actual sizing of structural mem-bers, a detailed section of the building envelope and even an HVAC and mechanical plan.

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STREET LEVEL (DRY)

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POOL LEVEL (WET)


BAY MODEL 1/2” = 1’ - 0”

Part of the semester was devoted to designing the envelope of our project at the detailed scale of 1/2" = 1'-0" including specific material choices and dimensions as well as systems integration. This also included the construction of a bay model at the same scale. For my model I used 3D printed connectors at the nodes of the canopy.

18 PARIS STUDIO / FALL 2011

GRID PARK PARC QUADRILLEÉ

During my study abroad in Europe, I was in studio with French students for 8 weeks. Our project cen-tered around revitalizing an urban site, under an el-evated metro. After studying the history of Parisian urban development, I wanted to create a project that didn’t exist on a time line, that could evolve with the site and the neighborhood while still adhering to the plan I’ve set out. My proposal called for the imple-mentation of a 4m x 4m grid across the whole site, expressed in either the first, second or third dimen-sions. I also designated an area of the site in which a system of temporary walls would allow for many different programs.

MASTERPLAN

MY SPECIFIC SITE

1ST DIMENSION: LINEAR

0 DIMENSION: POINT

2ND DIMENSION: PLANAR

3RD DIMENSION: VOLUMETRIC19

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SCENARIO: MARKET SCENARIO: ART EXHIBIT SCENARIO: CONCERT

GROUND LEVEL PLAN

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RAIL LEVEL PLAN

TEMPORARY SYSTEM


DESERT CARCASS

Design 5 was a theoretical semester focused on Design/Build projects. Our first assignment was the design and construc-tion of a shelter/art piece in Marfa, Texas at the annual El Cosmico Music and Arts Festival, 3 weeks after the introduction of the project. My group (Matt Krolick, Ty Larson) found inspiration in the idea of a dead animal carcass providing shelter and the implied narrative of adaptive reuse.

To achieve the natural forms of ribs and spinal column, we CNC routed organic skeletal shapes out of plywood and con-nected them using acrylic cartilage. We weaved bailing wire around knobs on the outside of the ribs and wrapped the interior with burlap, thereby securing and weatherproofing the structure. The week after the project was constructed we each made a YouTube video documenting the experience: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S8VxLbOTNM

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CHRIS GARDNER, MATT KROLICK,TY LARSON

PLYWOOD RIBS

PLYWOOD SPINE

PLEXI CARTILAGE

JAR LAMPS

BURLAP LINING

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32 DESIGN 5 / FALL 2010

ART/SHELTER TAYLOR, TX

The main project of my design/build semester was the de-sign and construction of a personal shelter/art piece for the “Design/Build 17” event in Taylor, Texas. The event stimu-lated arts in the Taylor area by involving local businesses and high school students. I began with the concept of the Desert Carcass, with organic shapes made of manufactured mate-rials, and flipped the “equation” by taking organic bamboo from the site and manufacturing it to make a structure.

I manufactured steel connectors which I personally cut, drilled, and welded, becoming versed in those skills through the process. The frame of manufactured bamboo and steel was supported with canvas pulled through holes in the con-nectors and secured with disposable bamboo chopsticks. The final presentation of the piece included a projected movie of me constructing each part in juxtaposition to the natural surrounding of the bamboo grove. Final Video made in con-junction with structure and exhibited in Taylor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8YeCcCVwDA

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SCORCH WELDGRIND

MARKCUT DRILL

STEEL

BAMBOO

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CANVAS

COTTER PINS

BAMBOO

CHOPSTICKS

LED LIGHTS

STEEL JOINTS

38 DESIGN 3 / FALL 2009

SHOE STUDY The goal of my study was to capture the deterioration and construction of the shoe. This included examining and drawing the loss of rubber and the space within the sole, as well as replicating the layered construction of the shoe through a representative model.

40 CONSTRUCTION 3 / FALL 2011

PRECEDENT STUDY

Construction 3 required the construction of a scale wall section model. The model and supplemental drafted wall sections needed to show every layer and component of the assembly to accurately con-vey the construction of the final building. My partner (Nick Angelo) and I decided to construct a section from Father’s House in Lantian, China by the architect Ma Qingyun. The section contains stones cast into a concrete wall which we replicated in plaster. Also, in the original building, woven bamboo mats were used as a module so we cut the pattern of the weave into each piece of museum board we used.

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2

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5

6

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44 Vis COMM 1 & 2 / 2008-2009

ANALOG DRAWING

48 VIS COMM 3 / FALL 2010

DIGITAL DRAFTING

Throughout third semester Vis Com, I gained pro-ficiency of a variety of digital drafting tools using programs like Rhino, AutoCAD, Revit, and the Adobe Suite. I created a digital model of a cube and subtracted mass, smashing the elemental cubes in Rhino and laser cutting them to allow the creation of a physical model. From there we digi-tally added extending parts to the cube and repli-cated them in the physical model. We used Revit to render 3D perspectives with specific materials in an environment.

SCALE:

1 - 1/2" = 1' - 0"

DATE:

09.27.09

CHRIS

GARDNER

UNFOLDED

1 OF 3

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT




SCALE:

1 - 1/2" = 1' - 0"

DATE:

09.27.09

CHRIS

GARDNER

UNFOLDED

1 OF 3





SCALE:

1 - 1/2" = 1' - 0"

DATE:

09.27.09

CHRIS

GARDNER

UNFOLDED

1 OF 3





SCALE:

1 - 1/2" = 1' - 0"

DATE:

09.27.09

CHRIS

GARDNER

UNFOLDED

1 OF 3





52 MODERNISM / SUMMER 2011

BALLET ANIMATION

My final project for my “Four Masters of Modern-ism” course was the creating of a line animation to analyze the work of George Balanchine. Ballet is all about the line so I created a purely objective way of representing the line by tracing a line through the pivot points on the ballet dancer’s body. I took two clips from The Four Temperaments and Swan Lake to compare the modernist line of Balanchine’s choreography to the classical style of Swan Lake. The final videos are currently on YouTube.

Four Temperaments:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XqSIuGjP-4

Swan Lake:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwb9nBkQKzY

78 1/2"

17" 44 1/2"

4"

11"

2"

50 1/2"

4"

38 1/2"

4"2"

2"

78 1/2"

74 1/2"

2"2"

6"

10"3" 7"

3" 3"

10"6"

Variable Height Section:to accomodate differing

ceiling heights

R35 3/4"

R14 3/16"

R2 13/16"

R3

11/1

6"

R1 3/8"

R9

9/16

"

R3 11/16"

R2 13/16"

R14 3/16"

R58 3/8"

R8 5/8"

R4 15/16"

R9 9/16"

R1

3/8"

R3

11/1

6"

56 3/16"

7 7/8"

40 1/2"

36 1/4"

3"

4 7/8"

10" 36 1/4"

2 1/8"

5 7/8"

2"

56 3/4"

5 9/16"

3"3"

33 3/16"

12"

23 9/16"

27 3/16"

4"2"

Christopher Gardner Design for Fireplace Surround and Overmantel 6/30/10

54 COMPETITION / SUMMER 2010

FIREPLACE MANTEL The Acme Brick Company and Texas Quarries held a competition for the design of a modular fireplace mantelpiece. For my entry I derived a profile from a Louis XIV fireplace at Versailles and placed it as a void within a basic mantel mass. The submission required dimensioned sections and eleva-tions which I completed as well as a 3D rendering.

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78 1/2"

17" 44 1/2"

4"

11"

2"

50 1/2"

4"

38 1/2"

4"2"

2"

78 1/2"

74 1/2"

2"2"

6"

10"3" 7"

3" 3"

10"6"

Variable Height Section:to accomodate differing

ceiling heights

R35 3/4"

R14 3/16"

R2 13/16"

R3

11/1

6"

R1 3/8"

R9

9/16

"

R3 11/16"

R2 13/16"

R14 3/16"

R58 3/8"

R8 5/8"

R4 15/16"

R9 9/16"

R1

3/8"

R3

11/1

6"

56 3/16"

7 7/8"

40 1/2"

36 1/4"

3"

4 7/8"

10" 36 1/4"

2 1/8"

5 7/8"

2"

56 3/4"

5 9/16"

3"3"

33 3/16"

12"

23 9/16"

27 3/16"

4"2"

Christopher Gardner Design for Fireplace Surround and Overmantel 6/30/10

56 COMPETITION / SPRING 2010

BURGEONING BUTTS

Every year the Harry Ransom Center at UT has a design com-petition for an art installation in their unused planters. My partner (Alex Diamond) and I proposed the creation of a giant ash tray. We spent two weeks “harvesting” cigarette butts around cam-pus, eventually getting 20 pounds worth. Some appreciated the piece, others were repulsed, we considered it a success.

58 RESUME + CONTACT INFO

EDUCATION

University of Texas at Austin August 2008 – May 2013

• Major: Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture

• Current GPA: 3.65

• AIAS Member

Mirabeau B. Lamar High School August 2004 – May 2008

• Houston, Texas. Received the International Baccalaureate Diploma

AWARDS

Sound Building Distinction Spring 2011

• received for Thomas C. Green Swim Center

Texas TSA Best in State 2006, 2007, 2008

• for model building and CAD drawing

SKILLS/EXPERIENCE

COMPUTER PROGRAMS: AutoCAD, Adobe Creative Suite, SketchUp, IDX RenditionerRhino, Grasshopper, Revit, GIS, various sound editing software

ARCHITECTURE RELATED: hand drawing, drafting, hybrid drawings, watercolor, model building, 3D printing, laser cutting, various woodshop tools, animation

OUTSIDE INTERESTS: Photography, Art, Production Design (currently working with UT film students)

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WORK/VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

Houston Zoo (Houston, TX) June 2003 – August 2005

• Youth Counselor of the summer camp (Camp Zoofari)

• various clerical work including: cataloging animal samples, accounting, library work.

• skills gained: experience with children, organizing collections.

KPFT Radio Station (Houston, TX) June 2007 – August 2008

• Youth Program Coordinator, organized a weekly half-hour show produced entirely by high-schoolers.

• Organized extensive CD library, and digitized catalog.

• Skills gained: Recording, editing and airing radio programs, production of a live radio show, experience with audio editing software (Audacity, Vegas, Logic Pro), experience with cataloging software.

Soils Alive LLC. (Houston, TX) May 2007 – August 2010

• Designed pamphlets, brochures, advertising for circulation, a strong emphasis on clear communication

• Assisted in the creation of “compost tea” through filtering organic compost and synthesizing a nutrient rich lawn and garden treatment product.

• Skills gained: real life graphic designing, understanding of organic processes, hands-on application and understanding of organics.

CHRISTOPHERGARDNER

2814 SAN PEDRO ST.AUSTIN, TEXAS 78705

PHONE: (713) 851-0791

EMAIL: [email protected]

portfolio (old)

Documents

shoe study design

precedent study design

desert carcass design

green swim center design

taylor art shelter design

paris studio fall

project cen

urban site