living systems

a portfolio bychris mackey

BA in Architecture from Yale UniversityApplying to MARCH I First semester

chris@mackeyarchitecture.com516-509-0165www.mackeyarchitecture.com

All content © 2010

Chris MackeyBA in Architecture from Yale UniversityApplying to MARCH I First semester (3 1/2 years)

contentsarchitectural designs

formal exercises

websites and blogs

sustainability initiatives

house for a filmmaker 5

welcome pavilion 9

community forum theater 11

atlantic city holocaust memorial 13

de young museum analysis 19

designing a building from a section 22

working with the grid 23

sketches from the shanghai world expo 24

assorted charcoal drawings 25

dean sakamoto architects website 29

redhot & blue website 30

yale sustainable development journal website 31

mackey architecture website 32

an american in copenhagen blog 33

video blog against sustainability misconceptions 34

cycle system proposal for rockville centre 37

analysis of chicago urban heat island policies 39

2008

2010

2009

2011

architectural designs

house for a filmmaker

Project Type: AcademicRole: Designer (the only one)

Location: 16th Street, Manhattan, NY

Client: An Obsessive Filmmaker (fictional)

Duration: 4 WeeksDate: Spring 2009

Primary Critics: Dean Sakamoto Joyce Hsiang

Concept: The house is a web of circulation and program that manages the space between the filmmaker’s internal studio and his/her external sources of inspiration. Back Porch

Exit to dreams

Exit to public urban life

Studio

Office

Living Room

Additional

Gathering/

Lounge Space

Dining Room

Entrance Hall/

Gallery

Kitchen

Bedroom Bathr oom

Bathr oom

Food Delivery Moving fr om Bed to

Br eakfast

Moving fr om

Bed to Shower

Food Delivery

Getting Fresh Air During Work

Moving inside when it rains

Working on finance to

workng on film

Impress Employ-ers before talking

Casual way to

greet guests

Bringing in

Groceries

Relieve Guests

Getting Fresh Air During Work

Feed Guests

Contimuous Pa rty Space

Alleviate Traffic f rom Large Pr esentations

Contimuous Party Space

Feed Guests

inspiration inspiration

inspirationinspiration

Roof TerraceFront Entrance

Backyard

BedExit to the enclosed

private outdoors

Exit to the open private

outdoors

Initial Diagram

5

Studio

Circulation Program External Inspiration Sources

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7

From the street

In the studio

In the bedroom

8

welcome pavilion

Project Type: AcademicRole: Co-Desinger (all images here are by me)

Location: Kampong Botanical Gardens, Miami, FL

Client: Kampong Botanical Gardens

Duration: 6 WeeksDate: Spring 2009Co-Designer: Kyle BriscoePrimary Critics: Dean Sakamoto Joyce Hsiang

Concept: The moveable wooden fin is used to control the wind and sun entering the pavilion, thereby stabilizing the indoor micro-climate year-round.

Exterior

Interior

9

10°

20°

30°

40°

50°

60°

70°

80°

8AM

9AM

10AM

11AM

12PM

1PM

2PM

3PM

4PM

5PM

NORTH

EAST

SOUTH

WEST

Wind Rose Sun Plot

NORT

H

EA ST

SOUT

H

WE

ST

10 km

/h20 km

/h30 km

/h40 km

/h50 km

/h

Late SpringEarly SpringWinter Summer

Primary Wind Direction

Cool air pooling ventilation maximized in summer

Solar gain maximized in winter

PrimarySun Direction

10

communityforum theater

Project Type: AcademicRole: Designer (the only one)

Location: Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY

Client: Falconworks Theater Group

Duration: 10 WeeksDate: Fall 2009Primary Critics: Owners of Falconworks Theater Company Adam Hopfner Turner Brooks

Concept: The theater is a democratic forum space that gives all users equal access to the means of expression. The “fourth wall” that privileges actors with attention is bro-ken down with a more equal distribution of performance space, theater program, and visual access to “behind the scenes.”

Spectrum of Theater Politics

Demo-cratic

Executive Declaration Discus-sion

Final Plan Reflects Democratic Discussion Ideal

11

Democratic Discussion in Final Section

Model Shots12

atlantic city holocaust memorial

Project Type: AcademicRole: Designer (the only one)

Location: Atlantic City, NJClient: The Atlantic City Holocaust Memorial Design Competition Duration: 20 WeeksDate: Spring 2010Primary Critics: Steven Harris + Thomas Zook

Concept: The boardwalk is covered in a pattern of reflective tile holocaust badges. Individ-ually, each badge represents a victim but, collectively, they form a tapestry honoring the beauty in human differences. The memorial also minimizes the need for electric lighting on the boardwalk by reflecting the light of existing street lamps and billboards.

Holocaust Badges

Jew Political Prisoner Ethnic Foreigner Gypsy

Asocial Habitual Criminal Homosexual Jehovah’s Witness

13

One Badge for Each Victim

11,869,000 Badges5.76 Miles of Boardwalk

16

formal exercises

de young museum analysis

Project Type: AcademicRole: Researcher (the only one) Drafter (the only one) Model-builder (the only one)

Location: San Francisco, California

Original Architects: Herzog and de Meuron

Duration: 14 WeeksDate: Fall 2008Primary Critic: Ariane Harrison

Summary: The de Young Museum’s form can be abstracted to Herzog and de Meuron’s signature box shape. The more complex form results from a number of dialogues between this box and the landscape and the final experience of the building as a box is further masked by an organic circulation network.

The de Young Museum’s tower and cantilever emerge from the initial box to have a dialogue with the surrounding terrain

1

2

19

3

4Internal voids result from the landscape entering the building as two strips that are pinched to create circulation connections

20

CaféTower

Entry CourtAuditorium Entrance

Lobby

Gallery Intersection

Gallery Center

Stair Bottom/Top

The de Young’s internal circulation spaces emphasize “nodes” over the general box form.21

designing a building from a section

Project Type: AcademicRole: Designer (the only one)

Duration: 3 WeeksDate: Fall 2008Primary Critics: Bimal Mendis Margaret Deamer

Concept: Golden ratios between different elements of the section were identified and became the basis of a system to extrude the section into plan.

Given Section

Plan

Model

22

working with the grid

Project Type: AcademicRole: Co-designer (model building done jointly; 2 of the 3 drawings are by me)

Duration: 6 WeeksDate: Fall 2008Co-Designer: Josh FeldmanPrimary Critics: Bimal Mendis Margaret Deamer

Description: A series of designs working around a cube with a steel cross through it. Each design explores different architectural concepts.

Exploded Cube Unit of a Larger System Light/HeavyTension/Compression

Details of Exploded Cube

23

sketches from the shanghai world expo

Project Type: PersonalRole: Artist (the only one)

Location: The 2010 World Expo Shanghai, China

Duration: 2 DaysDate: Summer 2010

Description: A series of sketches drawn over two days at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. Mediums used include drafting pencil, charcoal, and oil pastels.

Netherlands Pavilion USA Pavilion

Denmark Pavilion

Norway Pavilion

Expo Axis

24

assortedcharcoal drawings

Project Type: AcademicRole: Artist (the only one except for the New Haven Skyline in which all 3 drawings were done jointly with another person)

Duration: Sporadically Over 3 Years but Intensely for 10 WeeksDate of Intense Study: Spring 2008Partner (for New Haven Skyline): Faris MontgomeryPrimary Critic: Sophia Gruzdys

A Figure Drawing

The New Haven skyline over a sunset

6:30 PM

8:00 PM

9:30 PM

25

On-site drawing of the industrial Gowanus Canal of Brooklyn, New York. (site of the building on pg. 10)

26

websites and blogs

dean sakamoto architects website

Project Type: OfficeRole: Web Designer (the only one) Coder (the only one)

URL: www.dsarch.net

Client: Dean Sakamoto Architects LLC

Duration: 5 WeeksDate: Fall 2010Primary Critics: Dean Sakamoto Co-Workers

Concept: The website’s aesthetic draws inspira-tion from Dean Sakamoto’s work, accen-tuating an underlying grid and following a code of simplicity and clarity. The site also reflects Sakamoto’s emphasis on functionality with a compre-hensible means of navigation, a capability of being viewed on mobile devices, pages that load quickly, and html code that is optimized for search engines.

29

redhot & blue website

Project Type: PersonalRole: Web Designer (the only one) Coder (the only one) Graphic Designer (for a new logo)

URL: www.redhotandblue.org

Client: The Singing Group Redhot & Blue

Duration: 8 WeeksDate: Summer 2009Primary Critics: The Members of Redhot & Blue

Concept: The site was designed as a part of a complete remaking of the group’s image to one that better reflects a jazz repertoire. It was designed to accommodate a variety of users including clients, potential members, alumni, friends of the group, and many other parties.

When completed with the project, I had designed and coded over 50 pages.

yale sustainable development journal website

Project Type: PersonalRole: Web Designer (the only one) Coder (the only one)

URL: www.yalewheel.org

Client: The Yale Wheel: Yale’s Undergraduate Sustainable Development Journal

Duration: 7 Weeks and ContinuingDate: Fall 2010 - Present

Concept: The website functions as a database for The Yale Wheel’s articles and, as such, the structure of the site was designed for ease of uploading and organization of news. The overall aesthetics, based off of satellite images and a strict continental grid, high-light the Wheel’s internationally conscious subjects.

The debut of this site marked the end of The Wheel’s print publishing and a transi-tion to exclusively broadcasting on this site.

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mackeyarchitecture website

Project Type: PersonalRole: Web Designer (the only one) Coder (the only one)

URL: www.mackeyarchitecture.com

Client: Myself

Duration: 3 Weeks and Continually UpdatedDate: Fall 2009

Concept: A simple site for web publishing my design work, showcasing my blogs, and enabling interested parties to contact me. As such, simplicity, clarity and honesty were the primary factors that influenced design.

an american in copenhagen blog

Project Type: OfficeRole: Blogger (the only one for this series)

URL: www.sustainablecities.dk/en/blog

Client: The Danish Architecture Centre

Duration: 7 WeeksDate: Summer 2009Primary Critic: Anna Esbjørn Hess

Description: A blog published once a week on a website that is owned by the Danish government and run by the Danish Archi-tecture Center. The posts documented experiences from my two months in Copenhagen and presented personal reflections on sustainability in the US and Denmark.

“One of the things I immediately noticed when I first got to Copenhagen was a feeling of incredible comfort in the public realm. I didn’t quite understand why this was the case at first but, now, I think I’ve found some reasons. I’ll admit part of it is sheer aesthetic value with some of the most beautiful parks, quaint bustling markets, and a number of stunning artworks to see in museums. But this barely scratches the surface. What really makes me comfortable are the people around me: the people casually talking on benches in the squares as they enjoy a bottle of wine. Or the parents playing with their kids, bringing them to the ice cream vendor in bicycle trailers and letting them run freely over the fields in the park. But this really isn’t everything either...

Something that I really didn’t expect to make me comfortable here was the minimized use of cars... In 2005, my nation lost 42,636 people to car accidents. This is roughly equivalent to the American losses of fourteen 9/11 attacks or ten Iraq wars. And these aren’t just statistics. I’ve known three people from my high school that have died in car accidents and I’m sure that a lot of Americans can say they’ve been affected by such incidents as well. The truth is, my country has been designed around some-thing with terrible consequences – it kills my fellow citizens; it robs me of a better connection to my community; and it is rapidly compromising the environmental welfare upon which my nation subsides.”

Excerpt from “An American in Copenhagen # 5: The Sustainable City is Also Safe”

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video blog against sustainabilitymisconceptions

Project Type: PersonalRole: Blogger Blog Video Actor/Presenter and Editor

URL: http://climatechange.thinkaboutit.eu/ think4/blogger/mackey

Client: The European Journalism Centre

Duration: 14 WeeksDate: Fall 2009Primary Critic: Michelle Addington

Description: Originally created for a blogging compe-tition hosted by the European Journalism Centre, this blog addresses misconcep-tions in sustainability by breaking down issues into simple calculations and everyday terms.

One of the video posts on micro wind turbines won honors and 300 €.

Hello Everyone. I’m sitting here in a building that’s receiving energy from wind turbines on the roof and today I’m going to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of this system. According to a recent university publication, this system should produce 26 MW-hrs of electricity per year. Now, I’m just going to take this power output in MW-hrs/year and turn it into kilowatts; maybe something that we can understand a bit better. It turns out that this system is producing roughly 3 kilowatts; which is 3,000 Watts; 30 100-Watt light bulbs; or basically the amount of light in this auditorium I’m in right now. Now, typically speaking, this is great. We get 30 light bulbs to run without electrical costs. However, if you do a bit of analysis into the cost of these turbines according to the company that put them up there, it turns out that each turbine is $15,000, making the 10-turbine system up there a good $150,000 investment. If you do a bit of research into how long it will take this system to pay for itself in Connecticut electrical bills, it turns out that you would need 58 years. Now, 58 years is a very long time to re-coup an investment and I know that there are much more sound ventures out there. For example, solar energy in the southwest has been known to pay for itself within 10-15 years and wind turbines often recoup their investment even faster...

Video Excerpt from “Analysis of Yale’s Micro Wind Turbines”

34

sustainability initiatives

cycle system proposal for rockville centreProject Type: PersonalRole: Original Planner (I originally developed the proposal for a class at Yale) NOTE: All images here are by me Primary Campaign Organizer

Location: Rockville Centre, Long Island, NY

Duration: A YearDate: Fall 2009 - PresentPrimary Critics: The Citizens of Rockville Centre

Description: A comprehensive plan for cycle infra-structure in the village of Rockville Centre, divided into two phases:

1) A phase aimed at increasing cycling to the village’s center that relieves parking demands.2) A phase that will improve cycle infrastructure within the village center, creating a pedestrian-friendly atmosphere that spurs retail.

The proposal was sent to the village mayor and I am presently assembling a team to campaign for it.

37

Photoshop Renderings of Phase 1 Improvements

Cycle tracks will be added on targeted streets where there is ample room. These will be accompanied by bicycle signage and special markings at intersections.

Bicycle share arrows will be added on targeted streets where there is not enough shoulder room. This will alert drivers entering the village of cyclists’ presence.

Maple Avenue after phase 1

Hempstead Avenue after phase 1

Breakdown of Costs for Phase 1Item Price/Unit Quantity CostStriping $1/ft 45,107 $45,107Street Symbols $200 140 $28,000Street Signs $250 75 $18,750Bike Racks $1,000 10 $10,000Bike Event at Recreation Center $200 4 $800

Total $102,657

Photoshop Renderings of Phase 2 Improvements

Park Avenue after phase 2

before

after

After enough community support has been gath-

ered for bicycle use, cycle infrastructure can be used to spur retail and create a more

pedestrian friendly atmo-sphere in the town’s center.

38

analysis of chicago urban heat island policies

Project Type: Academic (originally) Office (when I began receiving pay to continue the project)Role: -Original Researcher (The project was originally my idea, which I pursued for a research class in my last undergraduate semester) -First Author (for the study’s publication)NOTE: All images presented here were synthesized by me from raw satellite data.

Duration: Several MonthsDate: Spring 2010 - PresentOther Authors (for publication): Prof. Ronald Smith Prof. Xuhui Lee

Description: Over the past 15 years, Chicago has arguably had the largest campaign against urban heat island out of any American city. This study uses publicly available satellite data to evaluate which of these campaign-supported efforts have been effective.

The research will be submitted for publication in January.

Urban Heat IslandThe condition where an urban area is a few degrees warmer than the surrounding rural area.

Importance of Combatting Urban Heat Island1. Global warming threatens to warm urban environments further, making them less liveable. 2. The world is urbanizing and cities must be comfortable although they must also minimize the energy consumed for thermal comfort.

The City of Chicago (the study area)

Chicago Urban Heat Island at

Night

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Methods of Combatting Urban Heat Island

1. Increase vegetated sur-faces, which will evaporate water instead of increasing in temperature.

2. Increase reflective sur-faces, which will absorb less solar radiation than dark surfaces.

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Since the Great Chicago Heat Wave of 1995, the city has implemented a number of localized efforts to combat its urban heat island, indicated by the blue areas in the image to the right.

Image made by subtracting values from the LANDSAT temperature band

in two images with similar atmospheric conditions.

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0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

Tem

pera

ture

Cha

nge

(oC

)

Reflectivity Increase

Surface Reflectivity Increase to Temp. Change (1995-2009)

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Vegetation Quantity Increase (vegetatoin index)

Vegetation Quantity Increase to Temp. Change (1995-2009)

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0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

Tem

pera

ture

(oC

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Surface Reflectivity

Surface Reflectivity to Temperature (June 1995)

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0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8

Tem

pera

ture

(oC

)

Vegetation Quantity (vegetation index)

Vegetation Quantity to Temperature (June 1995)

Within single images of the city, densely vegetated surfaces

generally correspond to much cooler temperatures than highly

reflective surfaces.

However, the increases in Chicago’s reflectivity between 1995 and 2009 corresponded to much

greater cooling than its increases in vegetation did.

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Dense vegetation appears to have the greatest cooling potential of any surface.

However, Chicago’s reflective polices were more effective at cooling than its vegetated ones.

This is probably because the reflective policies produced the most cooling for the smallest amount of money invested.

The study reveals a new compelling argument for reflective roof efforts over greenroof and vegtation-based strategies.

correlation = -0.620

correlation = -0.082 correlation = -0.364

correlation = -0.117

thank you for reading

for more information, visit

www.mackeyarchitecture.com