vanessa pankhurst
DESCRIPTION
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Por t folioVa n e s s a P a n k h u r s t | S e l e c t e d Wo r k s
01. lagicompetition
02. interpretivecentre
03. house
04. freelab2012
05. representation
06. casestudy
07. room
08. school
09. freelab2011
10. structureweek
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nThe 2012 Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) competition is
to design site-specific public art installations that have the
ability to harness energy cleanly from nature and convert it
to electricity for the utility grid. In partnership with New York
City’s Department of Parks & Recreation, the 2012 LAGI
competition was held for a site within Freshkills Park.
“At 2,200 acres, Freshkills Park will be almost three times
the size of Central Park and the largest park developed in
New York City in over 100 years. The transformation of what
was formerly the world’s largest landfill into a productive and
beautiful cultural destination will make the park a symbol of
renewal and an expression of how our society can restore
balance to its landscape. The expansiveness of the design
site at Freshkills Park presents the opportunity to power the
equivalent of thousands of homes with the artwork.
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Visitors are invited to partake in a 600-metre journey
along the Eastern Mound of Freshkills Park, in essence
marking the flightpath of migratory birds journeying
over the manmade landform. The meandering
installation, encompassing the dynamic movement
of a bird’s wing in 50 variations. Ample sunlight
penetration through the transparent tensile structure
will allow for the ongoing cultivation of plant growth
below.
In Flightaic, the form of a bird’s wing has been
restructured and re-interpreted to create a series of
overlapping wings, welded together in a steel tensile
structure. The wings shall resist lateral movement by
way of attaching to a galvanized steel mesh.
As these wings touch down to the ground, the fabric
and subsequently this form of alternative energy
becomes readily tangible and visually accessible to
visitors. Flightaic shall make use of renewable and
natural, organic materials for its fabric membrane. The
fabric will be composed of amorphous silicon, which
is characterized by a random molecular structure that
allows for the greater absorption of photons from
extreme angles and therefore greater productivity.
In this installation, each set of bird wings span
approximately 60 metres and on average rise two
storeys in height at its peak. Flightaic encompasses
approximately 6.2 acres, just 3% of East Park alone.
Flightaic strives to create dialogue on a number of
integral themes – landscape, wildlife, and a tangible
form of alternative energy.
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0 1 5 15 m
Inside
Outside
The Freshkills Park Visual Interpretive Centre creates an interactive learning experience through exhibitions and personal explorations.
The centre encompasses:
• Five unique viewing galleries, each theme represents an element of the Freshkills Park• A collection of viewfinders at different scales (in the form of viewfinding windows and lookouts)• A system of elevated paths/ walkways culminating between strategically placed look out points• A large interior courtyard for picnics, and outdoor games• Functional recreation storage (bicycles, fishing gear, sporting equipment etc.) for public use
Public
Private
Down
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0 1 5 15 m0 1 5 15 m
Down
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house
The town of Lunenburg, a UNESCO world heritage site, was the vehicle for the study of
the house in the city. The house is a formal expression of intentions toward its’ program,
interior environment, and ecological content. The house is situated on a hill with a public
staircase running along side it to draw the community into the site.
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The 2012 Dalhousie Architecture Freelab focused on a
small building called the Sheiling Hut along the Eastern
Shore of Halifax. The Sheiling Hut will act as a gathering
and cooking space for campers and travelling cyclists.
Locally harvested round wood timber was used to
create the self supporting reciprocal roof. Each of the
walls of the sheiling hut incorporates a different method
of earth construction such as straw bale, wattle and
daub and cord wood.
repre
senta
tion
Through the use of sculpture, drawing, and
photography this collection of images
exhibits different techniques used to abstractly
represent movement, perspective and colour
exploration.
repre
senta
tion
The purpose of this assignment was to
gain an understanding of an architectural
work by an inspiring architect. The
complex site of the Brion Cemetery by
Carlos Scarpa was studied in depth
through representational drawings and
detailed models.
ca
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The intention of this assignment was
to design a room with a purpose for
an open, flat site. The elevated room
is intended to work as a viewfinder
to frame the exterior view for an artist.
The exterior hearth initiates further
exploration into the interior space.
room
school
The school is a new shared facility to bring together
the Faculties of Engineering and Architecture &
Design at Dalhousie University. The emphasis of
communal gathering spaces and developed
green-space will allow students from different
disciplines to interact. By sharing workspaces a
cross-pollination of ideas will occur naturally and
lead to a richer education experience.
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The intention of this “free lab”
was to design a summer kitchen
using natural building systems
and permaculture principals
at a community centre on
Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore.
A variety of natural building
techniques such as straw
bale construction, cob, earth
plasters and milk paints were
explored.
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This collaborative team assignment followed
the guidelines of the 2011 RIBA pylon design
competition. The design was based on a system
of isolated triangles connected with pin joints and a
central tension member to support two point loads
on either end.
