Hellervik Portfolio

tiffany hellervikdesign portfolio

table of contentsarch.381pickathon.architecture for music

arch.380tyon life community farm.permaculture

arch.281sunlight observatory

arch.280study of scholar/athlete

arch.121case study.phillip island house

humanitarian workextremehomemakeover.amore

Light and energy come together to create a dialogue that react in such a way to create space. The sun moves me, energizes me, and directs my art and spatial awareness. Lack of exposure is what started it. I began to yearn for the sun, and in that absence of sunlight, I began to experiment with how light and energy interacts to create space. The energy from the sun is what sustains me, and with an archi-tecture degree, I will create space that interacts with light and energy to craft sustainable architecture, for both commercial and private housing, but most importantly - shelter. In my second year of architecture school, I created a measuring device that recorded sunlight, which is what really began my awakening to the sun and its relationship to architecture. From precedents such as Frank Gehry’s concert hall to the Grand Ol’ Opry hotel in Tennes-see, the way the light engages with glass to create a humid environment, or how the sunlight hits the curved metal surfaces to create a hot, untouchable surface is remarkable. It inspires me to create architecture based on the sun’s energy. My influences are first and foremost everything I see, feel and experience throughout a typical day from street fashion, to how the sunlight is broken up through tree leaves to create beautiful patterns on the sidewalk. I am constantly soaking up the energy of people, what I’m studying, nature and light and finding ways to transform that excess energy into my artwork. Throughout my life, I’ve always wanted to be an architect. In grade school, I would get detention for sitting in at recess and drawing house plans, or sitting during class drawing. When I got into high school, something changed in me and all my confidence was completely lost. I didn’t think I could get into architecture school, I wasn’t a brilliant student, I didn’t get straight A’s and I couldn’t draw very well. So I gave up my dream. Before I came to Portland, I was studying music and about to transfer to Tennessee State University’s music department. I was completely miserable, and one day my friends sat me down and told me to follow my dreams and move to Portland. One month later, I was packing my bags to move to the dorms and excited to start my architectural education at Portland State University. Architecture is a calling, deep within me that I cannot quiet. Julia Morgan, considered the first female architect, was denied acceptance into the Ècole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts two times before she was accepted. Her perseverance is inspirational to me. Whatever it takes, I will keep my energy soaring to provide my own artwork for shelter.

arch.381pickathon.architecture for music

In Architecture 381 studio, the focus of the term was on Architecture and the Performing Arts, and how architecture is influenced by these art forms. My studio was taken through a two part process, first starting with a design for an outdoor music festival gate, and translating that into an urban space. My concept was based on layers, a concept taken from the phenomenon of how songs are com-prised of layers. My gateway layered existing architecture styles, music, and interaction, creating a dialogue to my urban music venue incorporating nature, layering levels, and interraction between spaces and the communication between public and private space.

arch.380tyon life community farm.permaculture

In Architecture 380, the main theme of our studio was urban living spaces in relationship to the city. The site was Tryon Life Community Farm, a 7 acre farm within city limits of Portland, that houses over 20 people. The main focus of ths farm is to help educate the general public on the importance of connecting with the earth through permaculture techniques of farming. Choosing one element of permacul-ture, we then designed in regards to that one element, creating an educational space for the general public.

My design focused on water and water collection for use on the farm. Since Portland is notorious for its copius amounts of rainfall, I wanted to create a space that both celebrated and educated that phenomenon. A train wraps silently around Tryon Life Community Farm, where unsuspecting passers-by are greeted with a long, narrow entry way where the sloped roof drips rainwater into a catch, guiding the hikers way toward the interior of my space, where they can go into the enclosed space and become educated on the goals aod mission of Tryon Life Community farm.

In the study of orientation and place-making, I was assigned the site of Tom McCall Waterfront Park, specifically The Bowl. I examined the site as a constructed, cultural artifact by learning of the history, vegetation, use of space, and other natural phenomenon that occur in the site through site book and mapping assignments. My aim for this course was to understand how sunlight controls the energy of the site. I wanted to give the public a space where they can observe and feel the sunlight and its energies even on a typical rainy Portland day.

arch.281orientation and place-making.

Map and Site Book.Mixed Media

Montage Diagrams.Mixed Media


My recording device set up the theme for me for my observatory. The measuring device takes the same concept as the magnifying glass effect. The light hits the glass sphere, and burns onto the curve behind it. The curve is shaped in such a way so at any time of day, one can see how much sunlight is actually there. By placing a paper on top of the metal curve, it allows the freedom to change paper and begin a new record-ing on a new day.


The phenomenon of how sunlight directs energy in The Bowl inspired me to study that in further detail, ultimately designing a sunlight observa-tory. By mapping the energy of people, I observed the relationship between the sunlight and how it affects the energy of the site. By recording the sunshine through my recording device, I then montaged this phenomenon, directing my path to a built environment. The south facing wall, in-spired by the metal curve in my sunshine recording device, absorbs the suns energy throughout the day, refracting light through prisms to create color onto the walls, floors and onto the river surface. At night, the energy is seen through the west facing facade, lighting up in a thermal type of lighting to show the amount of energy and light absorbed throughout the day. Sunlight is portrayed through any condition dark or light.

Nighttime Montage of Sun Observatory.Mixed MediaPlan Section Elevation.Mixed Media



Study Space Montages.Mixed Media

The discus player’s path is the result of great calculation and order. The spins of the athlete seem to the viewer as if the technique and form is completely natural to human movement. From the wind up, to the follow through, each and every move is practiced and calculated. Through repetition and order, the athlete gains velocity and energy and in the end, will throw at a distance that would have before been unnatural to the human body. My room imitates the movement and thought of the discus player. The main movements of the athlete are around two axis points, in my structure, the axis points are the steps as he ascends from the field, and descends into his scholarly mind which are guided by the light from the sun. Once completely submerged into this new frame of mind, the scholar can then absorb himself in his scholarly activities, which revolve around physics. Energy is the pinnacle of this scholar’s investigation and in a sense, his ending point. Just like the discus player has at the release of his disc, a peak of energy before the release, as does the scholar, arriving at his destination with such built up thoughts and provocations from his journey to his space, he finds his ending point a release of his thoughts and implorations.

Plan and Section Study Space.Graphite


The discus player uses his own energy to project the discus at large ranges. Metaphorically, the window takes this “energy” and dispers-es it into his scholarly work. The shape of the pyramid is a strong symbol of energy in Egyptian architecture. Just as he is reminded on the field, the athlete releases his energy into the discus, and after his transcendental discovery to becoming a scholar; he can release his energy into scholarly studies.

Window Montages.Mixed Media



Phillip Island House is located on a secluded island in Australia. Rigorous in material, shape and form, the house gives off a no nonsense aura that detracts visitors. Which is exactly what Barrie Marshall, the architect and resident, wanted to portray. My aim in understanding this house and the stark materials he used was to study the heat and energy through the house as the sun rose throughout the day. By this, I was able to appreciate in better detail the hierarchy, material, and surrounding context of the house.

Heat Diagrams.Phillip Island House


Two Point Perspective.Phillip Island House



My fieldwork in Mexico and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition gave me great insight on the built environment of architecture in a very direct, hands on approach. In Mexico, I was given an introduction to programming space by positioning the house based on land formation, orienta-tion to the sun, water access, and plumbing access. Materials are expensive and hard to come by in this vast dry area, so by utilizing recycled wood from the old shed, chicken wire, hay and cement, we were able to build a recycled house that could keep thermal temperatures low in the high heat. In Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, I volunteered to help a family that I personally knew who had two autistic children. Designing a house that not only was safe for them but helpful in their development was an eye-opening experience. By building a house that was centralized around an open courtyard, the mother had full access to see her children wherever they were at all times.

Extreme Makover: Home Edition.Home for autistic children


Mexico.Amore Ministries


Documents

Hellervik Portfolio