brandon hall architectural portfolio
DESCRIPTION
Work from 2006-2011TRANSCRIPT
BRANDON HALL
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4000CF: Derivative GeometriesProfessor Ben Pell
Fall 2010
Derived from a leaf, this surface represents the molecular
ordering as represented by 7 sections. The surface is a sectional
exploration, demonstrating a relationship between the ordering
of the molecular lines and programmatic functions, which are
inserted between the regulating sections. The project capitalizes
on the shift in complexity from the molecular structure to
simplifi ed program sections. The wall is conceptualized
as a solid, which allows aperture for the user to engage
simultaneously with the tangible as well as select focuses to the
other side of the wall and voids within the wall.
She
lter
Soc
ial S
pace
Con
tem
plat
ion
View
View
Loun
ge
Enc
losu
reB
ridge
Brid
geVo
id V
iew
Eat
ing
Gat
herin
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SOCIAL SPACE VIEWLOUNGE
BRIDGEVOID
GATHERING EATING BRIDGEENCLOSURE
VIEWCONTEMPLATION
SHELTER
REGULATING ORDER
EGU
INSERTING PROGRAM INTO SURFACE
molecule
sub structuree
nucleii
regulating geometryegulat
y
regulating geometryy
REGUUEGULAULATI
E
G ORR
M M
ORDDERO
RIG
IN
SIG
PR
OG
RA
MA
M
SEAM: The Visual_Temporal StratumSocrates Sculpture Park, New York, NY
Professor Ben Pell
Fall 2010
Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, NY utilizes diverse climatic
conditions to offer a variety of activities throughout the year.
These activities are limited by time, season, and scales creating
a situation where activities are in a constantly changing
dynamic condition year round. Utilizing two axis as organizing
elements, the project situates the temporal space by altering
the landscape, and visual space through the articulation of
elements on the built form, derived and interpolated from two
axis based on site conditions. The axis creates a grid where
the visual realm operates parallel to the axis and the temporal
operates perpendicular to the axis. The project capitalizes on
the changing tides and elevations to create an experience
where the interface between art(visual) and water(temporal) is
constantly changing.
Boat Staging/Signup
Boat Dock (low tide)
Bicycle Parking
Gallery Entry
Entry/Meeting/Yoga Space
Waterside Space(low tide)
Waterside Space(high tide)
Performance/Movie Space
PROG
RAM
CIRCU
LATIO
NTID
E Wading Area in High Tide
Unused in High Tide
SUPP
ORT Bathrooms
Bike Storage
Kayak Storage
Park Entry (Park Goers)
Street Entry (Bikes/Boats)Water Path
Site
INTER
FACE
Interactive Sculpture
Performance/Movie Space
Extrude the Site to Visual Line (+5’)
Implement AxisAxis 1: Beach to Park to Midtown
Axis 2: Entry to Water to Roosevelt Island
1
2
Create GridTemporal Level: Perpendicular to Axis
Derive Building Form From Grid
Implement Form on SiteRemove Solid to Create Space
Create Grid Visual Level: Parrallel to Axis
Derive Building Form From Grid
Implement Form on SiteCreate Space Through Positive Elements
Itinerant Musicians Hostel: ARMATURENew Haven, CT
Professor Jennifer Leung
Spring 2011
This hostel is conceptualized as a building which acts as both
an armature for musicians visiting the New Haven area, as well
as an armature for musician’s personal affects. The result is
a system where each individual unit is an extension from the
main core and provides space imbedded into it that provides
accommodations for different functions (i.e. desk, bed, storage).
The armature is in a constant dialog with the site and the
individual unit, contorting itself to accommodate circulation and
service functions, and creating a variety of interactions with the
adjacent buildings.
Unit Support Structure
Unit Veneer Panel
Armature Skin
Ribbed Building Support Structure
Floor Panel
Roof Structure
Ribbed Unit Support Structure
Section StructureFloor Structure
Balcony Structure
Insulated Panels
Building Skin
Perforated Panels
2
3
5
6
4
7
8
1
2
35
6
4
7
8
Unit Locations
Bathroom Locations
Practice Room Locations
1
Elevator InstallationNew Haven, CT
Professor Ben Pell/John EberhartDesign Team: Teo Quintana, Brittany Hayes, Ollie Niuland-Zlotnicki, Daisy Ames
Fabrication Team: Brandon Hall, Ryan Salvatore, Noah Morgenstern, Amy Kessler
Spring 2011
Originally designed by the design team, this ambitious project
quickly became a collaboration between the fabrication and
design teams to fabricate and build this MDF installation in a
matter of a week. Intended to provide a respite for passengers,
this installation creates a distinct set of spaces in an otherwise
Normal box elevator. The installation acts as a seat, a leaning
post, and a fi lter of light. My responsibilities on this project
included overseeing the CNC Milling of the pieces as well as
heading the assembly and addressing many installation issues.
Formal AnalysisProfessor Peter Eisenman
Fall 2010
Tugendhat House, Mies van der Rohe
Il Redentore and San Giorgio Maggiore, Palladio
Sant’ Ivo and San Carlo, Borromini
Tugendhat House, Mies van der Rohe
Unbuilt Pallazzo Plans, Serlio
Row House For A LifetimeCopenhagen, Denmark
Professor Bo Christiansen
Fall 2009
While studying in Denmark in the fall of my senior year, our studio
project assignment was to look at the conventions of the very
typically Danish row house. My proposal looked to challenge
the normal conventions of row housing to create housing to last
a lifetime. The row house was conceptualized as a composition
of three parts: the solid, the core, and the void. The idea is that
the core unit provides enough space for a couple, while the solid
and void units provide necessary infrastructure for expansion,
which is carried out via interchangeable prefabricated units
and a miniature crane integrated into the solid part to simplify
interchangeability. While the mechanics of the system are fairly
simple, the discussion became more about the community and
social situation in which this system would be effective and
sustainable, highlighting how vital the need for the community
to work together and encourage the addition and subtraction of
space in ways that all residents support.
GROU
ND F
LOOR
SCAL
E =
1:50
FIRS
T FL
OOR
SCAL
E =
1:50
SECO
ND F
LOOR
SCAL
E =
1:50
NurseryBedrooms
Family RoomLarger Dining RoomHome Office
Voluntary Expansion
NecessaryExpansion
Voluntary Expansion
NecessaryExpansion
Voluntary Expansion
Comunal Family Space Expansion
Leisure Space/ Storage Expansion
Exterior Space Expansion
SaunaInterior StorageExterior Covered Storage
Elevated Green SpaceElevated DeckMore Balcony Space
Bedroom Expan
RETURN TO CORE U
Typical Row Housing
Flexible Row Housing
BUILT ENVIRONMENT
NO MASS PRODUCTION OF UNITS MUST ORGANIZE AND RECYCLE UNITS thereforeIN ORDER FOR THE SYSTEM TO WORK, RESIDENTS MUST BE FRODAY 1 AND THE SYSTEM MUST BE MONITERED TO ENSURE THE A
Voluntary Expansion
sion
EXPANSION SUBTRACTION
Voluntary Subtraction
MandatorySubtraction
Voluntary Subtraction
Add-On Units Sheild in Communal SpaceCommunity Pressure
Sustainable Reduction in SpaceReduction Due to Lack of Space Efficiecy
Need to Return to Core Unit
UNIT
ULTIMATELY THE COLLABORATIVE NATURE OF SUCH A COM-MUNITY BRINGS ABOUT THE KIND OF PROTOTYPICAL SOCIAL EXPERIMENT ENVIRONMENT. BUT IN THE END THE NEED TO ADAPT TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND ADD ON WILL FORCE PEOPLE TO MOVE FROM VOLUNTARY EXPANSION TO NECES-SARY EXPANSION.
THE NEED TO FIND PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO ENGAGE BOTH WITH THE COMMUNITY AND THE DWELLING ARE CRITI-CAL, BECAUSE IDEALY THE MOST SUSTAINABLE APPROACH REQUIRES CAREFUL PLANNING.
SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
TRASITION FROM VOLUNTARY EXPANSION TO NECESSARY EXPANSION
FAMILIES SHOULD WANT TO GET THE NECESSARY SPACE TO GROW INSTEAD OF MOVING OUT.
REQUIRES COMMUNAL BARN RAISING MENTALITYe MUST MAKE RESIDENCY CYCLICALOM SPREAD FROM EVERY AGE DEMOGRAPHIC FROM ABILITY TO HAVE A COMMON POOL OF ADD ON UNITS
Add-On Unit Installation Sequence
Private
Semi Private
Mechanical / Entry
Private/ Roof Deck
Semi Private
Leisure/ StorageSemi-PublicGreen Space
SPATIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE BUILDABLE VOID
Organization of Core Unit Reorganization of Void
Core Unit Built Up Area
SOLID
Crane Enclosed in Core
Mounting Points For Additional Units
All Mechanical Systems are Run Through Chases in the Core
Voids Created to Add Space and Fuctionality to the Core Unit
CoreEntry
Mechanical
Bathroom
Study
Family Room
Kitchen / Kitchen Table
Front / Rear Balconies
Master Bedroom
Master Bathroom
Front Balcony
Rear Balcony
GRND FLR 1ST FLR 2ND FLR
Removable InsulatedPanels
Balcony Space (15 m2 Total in Core Unit)Liveable Space (85 m2 Total in Core Unit)
Sectional Organization of Core Unit
Buildable Void
Void for Expansion
SOLID
CORE
BUILDABLE VOID
DESIGN PROPOSAL: MAXIMIZING EFFICIENCY AND FLEXIBILITY THROUGH A COMBINATION OF PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY SPACES The Key to Flexibility: 3 Separate Zones
Parking Meter GallerySt. Louis, MO
Professor Liane Hancock
Spring 2008
A studio project assignment in the spring of my sophomore
year was to select one object of interest and design a collection
space for that object on Cherokee Street, a neighborhood
street in St. Louis. My chosen object was an ordinary parking
meter and my study was about the perspectives created when
meters are positioned along a street. The result is a fi eld of
meters, arranged within a gallery going over an undulating fl oor
plane which highlights the perspectives that are carried from
the street into the space, a standard 30’ x 90’ lot. The lines
of parking meters are highlighted by transparent poles. The
symbolism of the ever-present parking meter in the urban fabric
was highlighted with the use of glass partitions of the building
selectively refl ecting the street-scape.
Partition wall (combination of reflective and non-reflective glass)
Grid of parking meters (collection of various meters as the gallery compo-nent)
Perspective lines and the transparent poles that mark the meters as part of the greater system
Transparent panels even out the floor condition
Undulating floor surface highlights the network of perspectives
Bringing the perspectival lines of the parking meters into the site
Testing alternative pole materiality with full-scale mock-ups (transparent and PVC) Reflective panels bring urban fabric into gallery
GUTTERTOGULFNew Orleans, LA
Professor Derek Hoeferlin
Spring 2009 - Spring 2010
Guttertogulf is a research and design initiative to understand
and advocate for legible water infrastructure in New Orleans.
The idea being that once the infrastructure that sustains the
city is understood it can infl uence design to help delay and
accommodate water that would normally go straight to the
water evacuation system. The following pages are dedicated to
a variety of projects that I have been a part of in this movement.
Cover Page: Layered Systems Model, Spring 2009:
Built collaboratively as a studio over two weeks and transported
via plane to New Orleans. Displays the layering of infrastructural
systems.
Page 2: GUTTERTOGULF.COM, Summer 2009
Website created to show work of fi rst Gutter to Gulf Studio to
fellow designers and residents of New Orleans.
Page 3: Water Neutral House, Spring 2010
Working with two fellow students, Sofi a Balters and Jim Peraino,
This Competition entry explored the potential of a house that
retained all stormwater on site.
Measuring Device and ReliefSt. Louis Basilica, St. Louis, MO
Professor Janice Wang
Fall 2007
A studio project in the fall of my sophomore year focused on a
study of the St. Louis Basilica. Sketching the vaulted hallway
at the back of the pulpit led to an idea for a measuring tool
that enables an artist or architect to capture the panoramic
view of the geometry of a space such as a vaulted ceiling. The
model photographed to the left portrays how the lines of the
vault converge and diverge due to perspective, which change in
distortion based on the geometry of vault. The lines were then
carried into a relief that played between 2D and 3D perspectives,
as the geometry of the vault was shown in a fl at, vaulted, and
arched condition.
Panoramas of a single vaulted space. Distorting one of the panoramas in order to derive lines from the space, which were transferred to the relief
Each individual layer tests how the flat perspective of the panorama changes when recreating the vault of the ceiling, either in the regular or inverse direction
Panoramic Measuring Device
Networks For SustainabilityGammel-Torv/Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark
Professor Bo Christiansen
Fall 2009
Concurrent with the COP 15 Climate Conference in Copenhagen,
our studio project was to design a pavilion in the old city hall
square. My proposal challenged the concept of a pavilion by
utilizing the entire area of the square as a projection screen
which would educate visitors and residents alike about how
networks zooming out in scale, the pavilion aims to show how
Copenhagen’s networks integrate with each other to create
sustainable solutions. Utilizing the symbolic nature of the
site, which was the footprint of the old city hall, the center of
each map is situated on the historical center of the city. The
networks range from transportation and power, communication,
and information networks, but also for showing how necessary
it is to integrate networks on every scale in order to promote
sustainability.
projector grid axon
UNSUSTAINABLE ENERGYNEED TO ELIMINATE NEED FOR FOSSIL FUELS
NO EXTERNAL ENERGY
SUSTAINABLE HOUSING
MORE GREEN SPACE
HOW TO MAKE NETWORKS SUSTAINABLE
TRANSPORTATION NETWORK
PEDESTRIAN (15 MINUTE WALKING RADIUS) BICYCLE ROUTES (WITHIN 4 KM)
HIGH DENSITY10000+/DAY
DESIGNATED BIKE LANE
S TRAIN DANISH RAIL NETWORK E
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
REVISING POWER GRID TO BE COMPLETELY CO2 NEUTRAL ENERGY SOURCES
COPENHAGEN CO2 NEUTRAL 2025
INTEGRATION OF NETWORKS IS KEYBIKE NETWORK
PEDESTRIAN NETWORK
BUS NETWORK
METRO
S and REGIONAL TRAIN
CONSUMER
ELECTRIC CAR ELECTRIC TRAIN GENERAL ELECTRIC
COAL POWER PLANT
RECYCLING TRASH
TRASH POWER PLANT
WIND POWER
GEOTHERMAL HEATING AND COOLING
SUSTAINABLE POWER SOLUTIONS UNSUSTAINABLE POWER SOLUTIONS
ROAD (MAJOR ROUTES) POWER GRID
EUROPEAN RAIL NETWORK GLOBAL NETWORK (SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA)
Redefi ning the Infrastructural ParadigmSt. Louis, MO
Professor Gia Daskalakis
Spring 2010
ONEPRIZE Competition Semifi nalist
This proposal seeks to redefi ne the role of abandoned
infrastructure. In this case an abandoned rail trestle in North
St. Louis provides necessary infrastructure for the cultivation of
urban agriculture. The trestle is conceptualized as an axis, with
a series of distribution, storage, and educational ‘nodes’, where
infrastructural interfaces are re-established with the three major
modal systems of St. Louis: road, river, and rail. Once the axis
has been developed a variety of agricultural techniques are able
to ‘plug’ into this system.
REDEFINING THE INFRASTRUCTURAL PARADIGM: ST. LOUISCONVERTING BLIGHTED ABANDONED INFRASTRUCTURAL SPACES INTO PRODUCTIVE AGRICULTURAL CENTERS
This proposal seeks to redefine the role of abandoned infrastructure. In this case an abandoned rail trestle in North St. Louis provideinfrastructure for the cultivation of urban agriculture. The trestle is conceptualized as the axis, with a series of distribution, storage, and ‘nodes’, where infrastructual interfaces are re-established with the three major modal systems of St. Louis: road, river, and rail. Once been developed a variety of agricultural techniques are able to ‘plug’ into this system.
Phase 2: Rebuild the Rail PT
Phase 1: Embrace the AXIS
REinvesting in the AXIS: A Phasing Guide
Geometry of Adjacency
Abandoned Rail Trestle as Agricultural Axis
Geometry of Adjacency
s necessary educational the axis has
Phase 3: Plug the Agricultural Typologies into the Axis
Rail GrowingRaised BedsGround FarmingHydroponics
Phase 4: Using Language of Adjacency, Establish Circulation Paths
HIGHWAAY I 0HIGHWAY 70Infrastructural Node
Geometry of Adjacency
Phase 5: Expand Form of Circulation Path to Create a Distribution Core
Circulation Paths
Phase 6: Add Educational Core on Top of Distribution Core
LETT
UCE
Rest
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arke
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Circ
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of F
ood
Cont
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Verti
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ircul
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Peo
ple
And
Food
Con
tain
ers
Exhi
bitio
n Sp
ace
Food
Sto
rage
Verti
cal C
ircila
tion
of F
ood
Circ
ulat
ion
of P
eopl
e
Audi
toriu
m
Vario
us M
etho
ds o
f Ag
ricul
ture
Dem
onst
ratio
n
Traditional Farming
Raised Beds on Ground
Hydro/Aeroponics
Raised Beds on Warehouse
Storage
Rail
Planting on Rail
River
Road
