TESS LACEYarchitecture portfolio

Urban Street

Sketching Real i ty

Drawing the Eternal

Subterranean Subl ime

Heath Ceramics Complex

Schoolhouse Retreat

The criteria for the site includes a showroom and factory for Health Ceramics on an abandoned parking lot in Minneapolis near the Mississippi River. Our focus was on materiality so our projects had to take into account and adapt to the use of concrete in the showroom and steel trusses systems in the factory.

My design directly relates to the proportions of the site and within the buildings themselves. The ceramic showroom features a low, com-pressed entrance that opens up into a much taller space to display the ceramics and also gives a glimpse into the factory. The factory’s two stories are directly proportional to the height of the store with office and storage on the second floor. There is also a large com-munal work area in the middle where customers have an interactive experience of the making of the ceramics with smaller, more intimate working bays off to the side.

Heath Ceramics Complex

overview

concept

Studio I / Fa l l 2013Inst ructors: Dan Clark + Andrea Johnson + Mar tha McQuade

ideadeveloping the compression and expansion

throughout the site by changing the roof planes

as a result of wooden conceptual models

Patio

Kiln

Parkin

g Lot

Showroo

m

Work Spa

ce

Cashier

Patio

Kiln

Parking Lot

ShowroomWork Space

Cashier

programthe site functions as a series of contraction and

release in both the showroom and the factory;

each with a large gathering space and more

sheltered, reclusive places

While living in Istanbul, sketching became the most vital and influential way of documenting architectural and atmospheric qualities of space. Each sketch took between 10 to 30 minutes and was meant to be a quick study of a detail or moment that caught our attention.

Sketching Real i tyI s tanbul Study Abroad / Spr ing 2014

document

Sancaklar Mosque

Selimiye Mosque

Topkapi Palace

The site is located on the banks of the Mississippi River in rural Wis-consin with stunning views of the river and bluffs on the Minnesota side. The owner’s property consists of a vacant lot that cannot be built upon and a lot with a renovated schoolhouse that serves as a vacation retreat for the owner’s family. The site is also in a 100-year flood zone.

My proposal for the schoolhouse highlights the importance of the view from the home to the surrounding bluffs and big woods that the area is known for. By turning the house and punching through the facade, the river becomes the focal point. Raising the house up to a higher elevation will not only accentuate the view, but also keep the house from flooding. While approaching it from the street, the charm of the schoolhouse is maintained while still modernizing the house to its full potential. The addition of a small, floodable guesthouse also creates a retreat for extra family members.

Schoolhouse Retreat

overview

concept

Studio I I I / Fa l l 2014Inst ructor : Cynth ia Jara

100-year flood line

100-year flood line

front elevation

left elevation

back elevation

right elevation

Storage

Deck

Storage

Deck

floor 1 floor 2 floodable guesthouse

This project was a study of subterranean space that looked at volumetric proportion and connection throughout the design. The volumes and proportions were created from earlier cardboard study models that directed the form of our spaces that includes large gath-ering spaces, small meeting spaces, and a connection pathway.

My model focused on extreme horizontal and vertical paths and columns. The project thus became a combination of winding path-ways and vertical streams of light. Light became primary important in distinguishing spaces with diffused light in larger chambers and intense vertical light in small chambers. There was also a material differential using light materials for vertical spaces and dark materials for horizontal spaces.

Subterranean Subl ime

overview

concept

Design Fundaments / Spr ing 2013Inst ructors: John Comazz i + Adam Jarv i

ideathe site consists of winding pathways and ver-tical streams of light; the materiality is reflected differently in these horizontal (dark slate) and vertical (white granite) spaces to understand the lighting conditions throughout the site

We were each given a section of Rome to analyze and interpret the essence of our area into a drawing. All of our drawings had to match up into a conglomeration of the city of Rome. Taking into account the historical and architectural layers of the city, the drawings morphed the present with the past creating a palimpsest of history and culture which truly represents the spirit of Rome.

Drawing the Eternal

overview

Rome Study Abroad / Spr ing 2014Inst ructor : Ozayr Sa loo jee

My study focused on the procession to the Spanish Steps. The drawing highlights the existing and past morphology of the historic landmark. The left side of the drawing reflects the rolling hills that once connected the square below to the Trinità dei Monti and the wrecked boat represents an urban legend of a boat washed up in the piazza after a terrible flood that inspired Bernini’s design for the fountain.

ins ight

The existing site is located on the bank of the Bosphorous Strait in a densely populated part of Istanbul. It’s set into the historic center of the city adjacent to the Galata Bridge sunken a level below grade. The site includes a ferry station, a fish market, and room for other smaller vendors.

The purpose of the site is to create a modified version of a typical street in Istanbul that functions as a pedestrian walkway during the day and a motorway to deliver goods in early morning. The masses of the buildings create a pathway to channel people through the site. Along this pathway are moments of rest and reflection to appreciate the calmness of the surrounding water despite the surrounding city.

Urban Street

locat ion

concept

I s tanbul Study Abroad Studio / Spr ing 2014Inst ructor : Ozayr Sa loo jee

ferry stat ions near s i tediameter of each circle is equal to the level of traffic through each ferry station which all serve as public transportation for commut-ers and visitors every day

s i temaintains organic tree canopy with informal seating and small moments of reflection

The tree coverage shelters the site from the chaos of the city beyond. To maintain this overhead quality, the new program is covered in a canopy through the use of natural and man-made materials. The fish market and viewing areas within the site have sloped roofs of fiberglass to enclose the space yet still allow for versatility.

structure