GNorton Portfolio

00 DEGREE PROJECTSpring 2012

ARCHITECTURE FOR COLLECTION& RE_COLLECTION

In order to share conceptual ideas, we manifest constructions that attempt to best represent the purest form of our original concept. But within this machine of construction, losses occur and hinder perfect translation for others. Even our own memories suff er unavoidable losses, for every recollection / re-collection of a memory initiates a completely new construct of the past moment (and therefore a less pure construct), with the gaps fi lled by fi ctions we have acquired over our own continuing experiences.

How then can architecture, as a construction, deal with loss; loss of memory, loss of concept, loss of life?

Degree Project consists of three stages:

1. An introverted evaluation and output of personal experiences and memories, rendered without any sort of strict design parameters, which then is post-evaluated for typologies that can translate and bind the project moving forward.

2. Renderings of space within the realm of architectural rendering conventions, that begin to emote feelings of loss and memory through aesthetics, spacial precedents, scale and program.

3. Design of an architecture that can assist the conversation between the living, whose identities change with experience, and the dead, whose identities change through every recollection.


Sited in the Bonneville Salt fl ats, the conclusionary structure acts as place for exchanging memories between the living and the dead. The program contains shelving for the memory containers, individual rooms for contemplation and an underground archive for all past “tenants.”


SECTION - sketchup, vray, pen & pencil

01 HOFFMAN ISLANDFall 2011

Hoffman Island, located within Lower New York Harbor, was artifi cially created to house sick immigrants during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some 500 immigrants, mostly children under ten years of age, died on the island during this time period. The unfortunate history, coupled with the island being a place of transition for so many families, makes the site a perfect place of remembering.

The project is intended to help mediate the ritual of remembering the dead by giving the living a more interactive and personal experience versus a contemporary cemetery. The body is brought to Hoffman Island where it is cremated, with a portion of the cremated remains then cast into a small block. The block is then permanently placed into a container, the Book, which is placed into one of the Libraries, the main method of burial on the island.

Library Elevation

Library Section

Hoffman Island

Site Plan

Island Section

Island entry Ash grove

Southeast decking w/hutsMain path to Libraries

01 HOFFMAN ISLANDFall 2011

02 SOUTH ARM PASSIVE HOUSEWinter 2011-2012

This project stemmed from an interest in how Passive House systems work together, coupled with an extremely modest design footprint of 20 feet x 30 feet. The goal was to maximize gathering space in the home, while offering views of the nearby lake and providing plenty of south facing glazing to maximize thermal gains. Mechanical equipment was housed discretely behind the bathroom and utilizes the latest available technologies to help retain energy and decrease the energy footprint of the home.

Light frame construction

Offset frame wall & additional insulation

Cellulose insulation

Wooden siding & high-R windows

Wall Detail

Continuous soffit vent

Wooden siding

4.5” high density spray foam

1/2” air space

Substrate to support spray foam

Rigid insulation

Gypsum board

Airtight drywall approach

PU Foam

NP1 sealant

Metal flashing

Water protection membrane

Insulation wind baffle

Roof insulation Continuous ridge ventilation

Styrofoam sis sheating

Gypsum board

Closure board

Sealant

Adhesive

Crawl space vent

Masonry

Concretefoundation

Gasket

Sealant

4.5” high density spray foam

Capillary break

Masonry foundation wall

Continuous vapor retarder

Li h f i

Off f ll & ddi i l i l i

C ll l i l i

Locus Map

Interior Render

Fitchburg, Massachusetts is a town struggling with an identity. Once a mill town and home to a fl ourishing GE plant, the recent economic recession has hit Fitchburg especially hard.

In an effort to seek advice about how to energize the growth of Fitchburg, their Mayor recruited RISD to help inform them of potential ideas to enable growth and give the town a greater community, centered literally and conceptually around Main Street. The studio worked together on this problem, with all students approaching design uniquely from the point of infrastructure, green space, playing fi elds, bike paths, facade renovations and vacant lots.

03 FITCHBURG - REVISITEDSpring 2011

Early design iteration


A proposed sundial was an effort to give Fitchburg an identity through monument, in a form that would be interactive and unique to its place on the earth, located across from a the new town park, a project previously undertaken by the current Mayor. The building adjacent to the sundial would be turned into a permanent home for the local Fitchburg Farmer’s Market, whose wishes for the building included preservation, cooking, teaching, and selling of their produce.

Existing abandoned structure

Sundial / outdoor market rendering

Proposed Public Market


04 ECUADOR TRAVEL STUDIOWinter 2010 - 2011

The second core design studio was split into two projects- the fi rst consisting of a design-build project for a community garden, with input and coordination amongst all students in the section. The built project focused heavily on the grain of the given material, with the program leading the gardeners along a twisting path which bounded individual parcels while also creating neighborly sight lines.

Drawings needed to be created for the project and I was chosen to draft the drawings that would remain in Ecudaor. Half of the design was built during our tenure there, with the remaining half to be completed at a later date.

04 ECUADOR TRAVEL STUDIOWinter 2010 - 2011

05 ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNSpring 2009

The second core design studio was split into two projects- the fi rst consisting of a design-build project for a community garden, with input and coordination amongst all students in the section. The built project focused heavily on the grain of the given material, with the program leading the gardeners along a twisting path which bounded individual parcels while also creating neighborly sight lines.

Aerial of site

Garden Rendering

Brainstorming diagram


COMMUNITY MUSIC CENTER

The second portion of the studio was the design and creation of spaces for practice, performance, observation and spectacle of community music. The design was oriented around the journey of both the student and teacher, intersecting at the space of performance and practice, then releasing the learned students to the outdoor arena for performance.

1st fl oor plan

2nd fl oor plan


Section 1

Section 2

06 ADDITIONAL CURRICULUM WORK2009 - 2012

An exterior rendering for a gymnasium/auditorium located next to the RISD Architecture building in Providence, Rhode Island. The structure was designed to be powered completely with solar panels and be as naturally lit as possible to provide proper lighting standards for usage as a gymnasium or auditorium.

An interior rendering for a project which consisted of hanging steel pods, each sized to house different program. The project was integrated with an Olympic ski-jumping infrastructure at the site of the 2012 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

To learn more about building details, full scale envelope drawings were drawn and evaluated around the varying circumstances of air, water, light and structure.

Precedent study of the Cranbrook Natatorium by Tod Williams & Billie Tsien

Precedent study of James Turrell’s installation Roden Crater

07 OTHER2009 - 2012

Intro to Photo course fi nal project35mm B&W

Zissou Kings cardAdobe Illustrator

Northern Parula wheelgouache on bristol board

07 OTHER2009 - 2012

Documents

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