Takuma JohnsonCornell University Bachelors of Architecture 2017

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I am currently a third-year Architecture student at Cornell University and a native of Nashville, TN. Architecture is most effective and communicable when its primary focus is to establish a spatial and experiential under-standing. In this way, I see Architecture as the clear desire to escape the banality of enclo-sure and occupation of spaces that often char-acterizes typical construction; Architecture should exhibit the clear intention of shaping and changing the perception of itself and its surroundings.

Throughout my life, I’ve been lucky enough to travel around the world, and at an early age, I was exposed to the Architectures of both Asia and Europe. Embedded in each disparate typology is an ultimate expression of cultural identity. I see these identities to be crucial to understand a specific context, as well as tools for great design; instead of seeing traditional and historic identities as barriers, they should be seen as avenues to inform successful design.

I’m intensely focused on developing projects and solutions that prioritize the functionality and experiential qualities of spaces as they might be related to each specific context. In this way, I don’t believe that contemporary Architecture should dominate its context with the imposition of new ideas and form; the best design should accomplish the most by doing the least.

TAKUMA JOHNSONBachelors of Architecture 2017

Cornell University

takuma.johnson@gmail.com615.788.9345

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Palimpsest | Rome .........5 - 13 38 - 41

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Dragon Day.....................

Sketches + Additional Work..............

Fall 2013

Fall 2012 / Spring 2013

Baird Competition Rose Center....................

El jardin di mi hospi.......

Cheekwood.....................

Spring 2014

Student Work Supplementary Work

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Palimpsest | Cornell in Rome - Fall 2014 | Rome, Italy

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Rome is a city of layers. Built one on top of another, the city becomes an obvious pa-limpsest of history.

To the South of the Aurelian Walls, the Rioni of Ostiense and Testaccio are the hearts of the formerly industrial center. Relics from the Roman age are adjacent to artifacts of Industrial factories and warehouses.

Palimpsest is designed as a transportation hub located at the Roma Ostiense train sta-tion. The station, itself a remmant from Fa-cist Italy, maintains a close proximity to many other networks of transportation and ameni-ties. A distinct lack of definition to the neigh-borhood and site weakens Roma Ostiense as a landmark for the area. Palimpsest nego-tiates the demands of a hub for Metro, Bus, Locomotive, and Automotive circulation and creates a piazza to give the neighborhood a community space for events, outdoor mar-kets, socializing and general well-being.

PalimpsestStudio Critics

Val Warke Danielle Durante

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Perspective looking North from South-Western corner

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Early Site investigations, done in larger groups, revealed a complex composition of nearby landmarks and build-ings. Surrouding the Roma Ostiense station is a vasy array of buildings spanning many different construction periods, usages, occupant demographics and architec-tural styles.

City > Rione > Site

Roma Ostiense in RomeRoma Ostiense in Ostiense

Roma Ostiense + Site

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Perspective looking Southeast from Northwest corner underneath Bus Terminal

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Left: Images of Final Model isolated from Site ModelRight: Ground Floor Plan

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At the end of the semester, the entire Cornell in Rome program curated an exhibi-tion showcasing the work pro-duced in all of our classes.

In addition to producing work for this exhibition, I was one of several students who were pri-marily responsible for organiz-ing and setting up the exhibition. We created templates for each student’s work to be printed on, and decorated Cornell’s stu-dio space in Palazzo Lazaroni.

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Strata - Baird Competition - 1st Place Prize | Fall 2013 | Ithaca, NY

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StrataStudent Competition

Drawing inspiration from archeological dig sites, STRATA utilizes the existing column grid of the Temple of Diana to generate an artificial bed that references archaeological excavation grids. Placed on top of the raised plane are boardwalks that can be moved to create a multiplicity of configurations in which to view the temple.

Located in the city of Merida, Spain, STRATA is an intervention that negotiates the modern urban fabric and the ruins of the Roman Fo-rum and Temple preserved in the middle of this city block.

For the Baird Competition, I was a First-place winner for my design and drawings Site Plan + Diagram of possible boardwalk arrangements

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Final Rendering with hand-drawn perspective base

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Hand-drawn perspective

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Above: Section parallel to Temple frontRight: Developmental process / sketches

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Stratus - Haiti Inclusive School | Spring 2014 | Ithaca, NY

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Stratus

Studio Critic

Spring 2014

Aleksandr Mergold

STRATUS is a collaborative project to develop an inclusive school for primary school aged children in Haiti. My team members and I wanted to design a school that responded to both the sky and earth. To do this, we con-structed a dialogue that separated the two systems, associating the sky with the im-ported construction materials and processes and the ground with local traditions of ma-sonry and textile production

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Clockwise from Top: Section Perspective with exploded details, Plans showing flexibility of space, Images of Final Model (including opposite page)

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Clockwise from Left: Construction Process Diagram, 1-to-4 scale mockup of cardboard tube truss for canopy, collaborative ink-wash rendering of the interior of the school

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Images of scale model depicting Structural and Phenomenological system created by the canopy and structural masts

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Viewing Pavilion + Archaeology Museum | Fall 2013 | Ithaca, NY

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Viewing Pavilion

Studio CriticLorena del Rio

Located in the countryside of Catalonia and surrounded by several small villages, my Viewing pavilion is designed to take advan-tage of the scenic views afforded by its hilltop location to see the surrounding countryside.

Three small villages and 5 other building sites for accompanying buildings (designed by other students in my studio) are all used as reference points to inform the views de-lineated by the pavilion.

On the existing site, there is an old church on top of the hill with a path that encircles its base. My proposal for the pavilion references this path as a mediator between the church and countryside

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ArchaeologyMuseumStudio Critic

Lorena del Rio

Located in the heart of Merida, Spain is an old Roman Temple whose current ruins are the site of a proposed Archeological muse-um. The museum is designed to mimic the narrow streets in the heart of the city but contradicts them by having strong diagonal slashes that act as viewfinders to distort a passerby’s perception of their relationship to the street and temple

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ARCHAEOLOGY MUSEUM:1 PERMANENT GALLERY2 ENTRY FOYER3 COAT CHECK & TICKETS4 RESTORATION WORKSHOP5 ATELIERS6 STAFF OFFICES7 TEMPORARY GALLERY8 STORAGE & SERVICE ENTRANCE9 AUDITORIUM10 CAFE11 MUSEUM STORE12 PUBLIC ENTRY

Opposite: Site Plan with Temple of Diana and urban fabricClockwise from Top: Plans of Archaeology Museum, Site Model with Museum inserted , Sections [Laditudinal and Longitudinal]

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Freshman Year Studio | Fall 2012 + Spring 2013 | Ithaca, NY

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Fall 2012

Studio CriticsVal Warke

Jim Williamson

Deconstructions of athletic gear reinterpret-ed into abstract representations of move-ment, performance, and optimization.

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Images of Deconstructive and Analytical drawings + Model images reconstructing abstracted mobility.

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Utilizing an existing building as precedent, designed an adaptation of the embedded ideas of

Spring 2013

Studio CriticsVal Warke

Jim Williamson

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The Hemeroscopium House by Ensamble Studio was my precedent from which I studied its unique relationship negative and positive space. Negative space appears to nest itself within the massive structure of the house while simultaneously draw-ing one’s attention and focus outwards.

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El jardin di mi hospi | Internship: Design 2014, Construction 2015 | RICA Studio

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El Jardin de mi hospi

RICA Studio

Summer 2014

Inaqui CarniceroLorena del Rio

A project designed to bring the natural world to hospitalized children in Spain, El Jardin de mi hospi is an initiative for the non-profit founda-tion Juegaterapia. Juegaterapia is a Spanish foundation that does a lot of work in making hospital life for children more enjoyable and fun. El Jardin de mi hospi started in 2013 with the construction of a rooftop garden and playground in Madrid, with this project as the second roof to be re-appropriated. The hope is that the initiative will continue to grow and touch more and more children as more hopsitals participate.

Site constraints prevented the literal translation of natural environments to the rooftop of a hos-pital in Valencia, so we developed a system to blend the artificial world with natural elements.

Ropes are very commonly used for playground structures for their versatility, strength and tac-tile quality - we utilized these characteristics to imagine large hanging structures that change with the sun and wind. They cover swathes of the rooftop that can be enjoyed both as overhead canopies and also as large colorful “flowers” from the hospital rooms above.

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Rose Center | Fall 2013 | Ithaca, NY

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Rose CenterFall 2013

This was a project done with a partner in which we constructed a scale model with ac-curate structural system of the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City.

The model includes the trussed frames and spaceframe roof, along with the tensioned glass curtain walls which utilize a dou-ble-curvature tension system to brace the walls.

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Construction Manager: Dragon Day Parade | Spring 2013 | Ithaca, NY

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Dragon DaySpring 2013

I was selected by classmates as co-leader to design and manage the construction of a Dragon parade float for Cornell University’s Annual “Dragon Day” celebration in 2013.

Dragon Day is an annual parade put together by Cornell’s freshman Architecture class as a celebration of the entire department. The Freshmen Architecture students design and build a Dragon parade float that is displayed around campus.

Utilizing joints tied together with parachute cord, the Dragon was designed to maximize movement with the least amount of materi-als to ensure that it was easy to carry.

Our Dragon was meant to act as a blank can-vas that we would then color as the parade continued. Colored Holi powder was thrown onto the dragon that culminated in a massive blossoming of color.

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Connection details describing joints between two body segments. Parachute chord is tied

between the two in order to ensure a tight yet flexible joint allowing for maximum mobility.

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Cheekwood | Spring 2012 - Senior year of High School | Nashville, TN

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Cheekwood Treehouse

Spring 2012collaboration with:

PLAD Studio

Selected as one of seven winners out of 27 submissions to design and build a treehouse to commemorate Cheekwood Botanical Gar-dens’ 10 year anniversary of their first sum-mer exhibition. Done in partnership with PLAD Studios, now Centric Architecture.

On exhibit from May to September 2012.

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Sketches + Additional Works

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Sketches + Additional

Work

Compilation of various work from both Cornell University and earlier.

Interpretation of concepts of Japanese Architecture and Garden design [Hierarchy, Boundaries, + Layers] | 2014

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Icarus | 2012 Self-portrait | 2013

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Left: “Zeitgeist Festival” posterRight: Computer drawing of flowers

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