Continuous slope

Student collage - museum space with slopes

Continuous slope

E. Jeong
ARC605 | Spring 2017

In order to create continuity on a small site (11,000 sq ft), each floor is sloped as a ramp, which creates continuity from ground to top level. A 1:20 slope ramp was used to satisfy Universal Design, but to achieve ceiling heights and variation (giving choice), 1:12 ramps are strategically used. A 1:20 ramp is easy to walk up without much effort, and children will love the slopes, and can run around from the bottom to the top level. Floor color will help users to navigate their position in the building. If a child is separated from his or her parents, the parents can call the child and ask floor color and the child can respond, “Mom I’m at the pink floor!” Changes of color will attract users to proceed to the next level.

The Children’s Museum

Students working in a design studio.

The Children’s Museum

ARC605 | Spring 2017
Professor Julia Jamrozik

This studio took on the topic of the Children’s Museum at Buffalo’s Canalside as a way of investigating spaces where different children of different ages, along with their caregivers, parents, and grandparents, come together to play and learn. Considering how the spaces of childhood are designed but also how they are influenced by social ideals, philosophies, norms, and standards, the students worked through precedents to understand examples of historical and contemporary approaches. Further, thinking of creativity, movement, sensory experiences, social interaction, communication, and play, the studio allowed opportunities to investigate and design strategies at various scales from the urban approach to the tactile detail. Beyond slides and bright colors, the course analyzed and proposed designs that are open-ended, non-standard, and playful, and which respond to the inter-generational audience of the building.

Nutritional intervention for internally displaced shelters

Student collage - exterior view of nutrition center

Nutritional intervention for internally displaced shelters

Elyse Skerker
ARC605 | Spring 2015

Ganyiel, South Sudan | According to the International Rescue Committee, 2.5 million people in South Sudan are presently in crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity. To mitigate growing concerns, the goal for the project was to provide an architectural solution which treats both nutritional and biological health for the internally displaced in South Sudan. Particular focus was placed on treating women and children in the most remote and inaccessible areas of the country.

Innovation center 2

Student rendering - exterior view of a building

Innovation center 2

Rania Al Rawwash
ARC605 | Fall 2014

Inspired by the existing innovation center, the idea of IC2 (Innovation Center 2) is to make connections between different users of the center; one to one, group to group, and company to company. Creating bridges between the incubator spaces and the post incubator spaces, metaphorically and physically is the concept of this project. Spaces in-between bridges form the informal work areas, where collaboration and team work are more needed. Break areas and lounges are also located in between these bridges.

Explore n’More Children’s museum

Student rendering - exterior view of a museum

Explore n’More Children’s museum

Nicholas Karl
ARC605 | Spring 2013

The Buffalo Explore n’More children’s museum is a prospected project for the canalside of Buffalo that is in the early design phase by a local architect. The goal of the studio was to design a museum to give new design concepts and ideas to the local firm that is working on the project. The major design concept of this project was to start with the volume of the site extruded and subtract based on site conditions and programmatic needs.

Makoko intervention : transforming the home

Student rendering of a renovated home in Nigeria

Makoko intervention : transforming the home

Wayne Fung
ARC605 | Fall 2012

The intervention proposal for Makoko, Nigeria was developed from a study of the existing conditions of the area. The project is a redesign proposal of existing homes through a transformation of construction methods and building materials. The problems that occur from the existing construction that the project focuses on are flooding during the two rainy seasons; trash and wreckage build up in the water, unsafe conditions, physical demands of construction, and overall aesthetics.

The project begins with the construction of a four layered platform with plastic drums as the base. The drums are introduced so the platform will be able to stay above water level when flooding occurs. This allows for fewer stilts to be hammered into the waterbed : only four stilts are required to ensure that the platform does not float away. Structural bents can be constructed horizontally on the platform to be raised and connected at 6′ O.C. Roofing material is to be applied with any local material that is not water permeable. In the case of Makoko, Nigeria, corrugated metal is an abundant resource and will be the typical building material for roofing.

Post-conflict reuse of military systems: The applications of mobility in the delivery of education and stabilization

Diagrams explaining the functionning of an expandable modular system

Post-conflict reuse of military systems: The applications of mobility in the delivery of education and stabilization

Daniel M. Nead
Master's Thesis | Spring 2012

Any subject that deals with massive resource flows, cycles of construction, destruction, and rebuilding, and millions of people in distressed environments would likely be a candidate for discussion and concern within the architectural community. However, the subject of warfare and conflict is often avoided within the profession. The speed of aid delivered to the populace in a warzone is critical to both the needs of the individual and the stability of representative governments. There is room for improving the delivery of aid in the immediate post-conflict. The reuse of military surplus for civil infrastructure is an underexplored topic. The new education system in Afghanistan is under a great deal of strain. There is a potential to reuse surplus military capital to serve this new education system and to utilize particular characteristics embedded within military design. Mobility is the primary feature investigated in this study; the conex container is the most promising system to carry out the practice. This study sets up an exploration of mobile applications for education through a review of historical and contemporary precedents and practices. Interviews with individuals in direct contact with the education system in Afghanistan, as well as individuals with military experience in the region, are used to direct the research. Additionally, Reports and findings from the Afghan Ministry of Education formed the basis for generating mobile reuse applications that are well suited to the Ministry’s efforts. The case study portion of the investigation comprised of a programming exercise on a specific site outside of Jalalabad, Afghanistan. The intention of the programming exercise was to demonstrate how various forms of mobile applications might serve education efforts for the specific site and also fall within the framework of the Ministry’s broader practices. Mobile systems with the potential to increase the access footprint, speed of delivery, security, diversity of program, quality of construction, and economy of resources were identified and illustrated.

Thesis Committee: Beth Tauke & Ernest Sternberg

Living learning quarter

Student rendering - exterior view of a building

Living learning quarter

Lauren Massari
ARC605 | Spring 2012

Design Goals :

• Create intimate outdoor spaces lacking on North Campus, provide more surface area for retail exposure to Lee Road, direct access from courtyards to retail, dining, and university store.

• Provide continuous indoor route for students using building as a shortcut or as protection from inclement weather, direct access to retail from both indoor and outdoor route, direct access to retail invites public usage of courtyards.

• Accomodate any type of resident, with a majority of fully accessible apartments (the rest are visitable).

 

 

Nexus bus shelter

Student renderings - Different configurations of a bus shelter

Nexus bus shelter

Student rendering - bus shelter

Nexus bus shelter

Aimee Treis
ARC605 | Fall 2010

For this project, the bus terminal was developed as a building with 2 functions : it acts as the central transportation hub on South Campus and it also performs as a ‘gateway’ to the campus and direct pedestrians. To do so, the building is split in two parts : one side serves as a bus shelter with a bicycle rental/storage space, and the other side houses vendor activities (i.e. coffee shop, newsstand, etc.). The central part of the terminal, in between these 2 aisles, function as a pass through, that all pedestrian are able to access to enter the campus.