Katsunori Shigemi Portfolio 2008

01 thesis Symbiotic Urbanism

02 project Animation School

03 project Museum of Steel

04 project Amusement Voyage

05 furniture AL.+39

06 practice Stephen Phillips Architects

07 practice Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Images on the cover: Conceptual digital Images representing a coral’s structure. 2008 Thesis Project “Symbiotic Urbanism”

Instructor Tom diSanto Adviser Eric Nulman

2007 - 08 Thesis - Symbiotic Urbanism

L.A. WEB - Housing for Los Angeles 2020

The future building will not stand alone but stand together. It will connect a large amount of people and com-municate with infrastructure and information. As cities become denser and deeper, people are forced to live in a more compact, 3 -Dimensional world. My thesis, “Symbiotic Urbanism”, explored how architecture can mediate in such city not only to connect people but also to provide an adequate space (not too close nor too far) between who lives there, while cooperating with existing surroundings.

The population of Downtown Los Angeles is expected to grow from 36,000 to 250,000 by 2020. To accommo-date this large influx of population, many residential towers are being constructed around the perimeter of the financial district and Bunker Hill. However, these individual towers do not have connections and not efficient in terms of mobility. Currently, Downtown Los Angeles is currently undergoing two 2 billion dollars of developments, Grand Avenue Project and L.A. Live Project, which will increase the activity level in the area. Nevertheless, these two projects are divided by the steep hill of Bunker Hill and lack attractions (after 6 p.m.) in the Financial District. My project, L.A. WEB will fill the gap between the two proposed projects with housing, which will increase pedestrian activity through out all time of day.

Katsunori Shigemi Portfolio 2008 B. Arch from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo 01 Thesis - Symbiotic Urbanism / Project - L.A. WEB page 2 of 40

Bank of America Plaza

Disney Concert Hall

505 Flower St. Underground Mall

LA Central Library

Metro Station

Macy’s Plaza

4th Street

Westin Bonaventure Hotel

7th Fig. Shopping Mall

101Grand Avenue Project

The Grand Avenue Project will transform the civic and cultural districts of downtown Los Angeles into a vibrant, new regional center showcasing entertainment venues, restaurants, and retail mixed with a hotel and up to 2600 new housing units. The total estimated cost of the project is $2.05 billion, which incudes up to 3.6 million square feet of development, the cre-ation of the new park, streetscape improvements as well as outdoor public spaces throughout the development.

L.A. Live Project

Anschutz Entertainment Group has developed a $1.7 billion tourist-oriented “sports-entertain-ment” hub. The plan features a 55-story tower housing two high-end hotels and residences, Nokia Theater with 7,100 seats, ESPN broad-cast facilities, 14-screen movie theater and nearly a dozen restaurants and clubs.

10 min. walking distance from the center

5 min. walking distance (0.25 mile) from Central Library

Earea Gr-2

Project Figure Map

new multi-use projects

new residential projects

Live

Infrastructure/ Circulation

Commercial

Distributing different uses and layers of circulation patterns creates a diverse living experi-ence and finer grain of civic environment. In my project, programs are placed through the site based on three series of networks that trace existing activities. This method creates intervention among programs, and it gener-ates distribution of program, without losing connectivity. Each program type owns a distinct physical form to match the uses and to enhance the mobility from node to node. The overall architecture is formed by the interwoven programs; in addition, it is also trimmed with a 45 degree boundary surface to minimize solar impact to surround buildings.

Forming Program

Diag

ram:

Pro

gram

Dist

ributi

on

Katsunori Shigemi Portfolio 2008 B. Arch from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo 01 Thesis - Symbiotic Urbanism / Project - L.A. WEB page 4 of 40

US Bank Tower

KPMG Tower

Wells Fargo Tower

Bank of America Plaza

Bunker Hill Tower Condominiums

Promenade Towers Apartments

Bunker Hill Tower Apartments

Grand Tower Apartments

1.3

1.1

1.4

1.4

0.8

0.3

0.8

2.6

1.0

0.7

1.0

0.9

1.3

Citigroup Center

City National Plaza -Two Towers

Figueroa at Wilshire bldg.

Union Bank Plaza

1100 Wilshire

The Medici

L.A. Live717 Olympic 8th Grand Project

Los Angeles World Trade Center

LAUSD H.Q.

LA Center Studio

Figuoera Courtyard

777 Tower

801 Tower

AON Center Tower

255

595

228

632

224156

456

391

Grand Ave. Project

3rd x Grand

2nd x Figueroa

3rd x Fig.

4th x Fig.

5th x Fig.

6th x Fig.

7th x Fig.

8th x Fig.8th x Francisco

7th x I.S.#110

8th x Flower

7th x Flower

4th x Flower

5th x Flower

3rd x I.S. #110

4th x I.S. #110

2nd x I.S. #110

L.A. Live Project

MM

Storm Water Conducts NodesMajor Sewage LinesMain NetworkMetro StationMM

Existing Flying BridgesFlying Bridges Intersection

CommercialCommercial NetworkMain Network Podium Parks

Connections to other Networks

Existing Flying BridgesConnections to the Bridges

Office Gross Floor Area (million sq. ft.) - -- Live Work Network

Main Network Residence Residential UnitsFreeway lower than the gradeConnections to other Networks

Disney Concert Hall

Marriott Hotel

7th Fig Shopping Mall

L.A. Live, Nokia Theater

Staples Center

L.A. Convention Center

Westin Bonaventure Hotel

Bank of America Plaza

YMCA

Los Angeles Central Library

505 Flower St. Underground Mall

Macy’s Plaza

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

Live Network connects residential buildings and offices, while intersecting with main and commercial network. Live network also follows Interstate 110, a high-way below the grade of adjacent downtown, to create “urban lid” housing above the polluting highway.

Main Circular Network connects existing underground systems (sewage and storm water lines) and serves as new infra-structure for this and future projects. Main network also works as bridge to existing buildings.

Commercial Grid Networkis generated following the existing activities, parks, and landmarks. The box form is ideal for commercial use because of its flexibility to accommodate often temporal and unknown busi-nesses.

45 Degree Angle Boundary shapes the overall project to keep the privacy of the residences from the surrounding skyscrapers . On the other hand, the boundary helps mitigate shadows on existing buildings.

Firewalls - boundary between public and privateCorridors and Vertical CirculationLights and Views

Site Plan at Area Gr-2 (Grand Ave. + 2nd St.)

0 150 ft.

node06

node05node07

node08

node01

node02

node03

node04

Hope

St.

3rd St.

Flower St.

Grand

Ave

.

Travel Distance 200 ft. max

Bunker Hill Financial District

Disney Concert Hall and Grand Avenue (upper level) beyond

Bank of America Plaza (4 acre of garden with 200 trees)

YMCA

s1

existing podium parksgradual surface

Intermediate yards provide flatter paths from Bunker Hill down to the Financial Core (max 50’ height difference), connecting all podium parks, such as Bank of America Plaza, YMAC, and Westin Bonaventure Hotel.

EFlower Street West Elevation View

50’

Katsunori Shigemi Portfolio 2008 B. Arch from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo 01 Thesis - Symbiotic Urbanism / Project - L.A. WEB page 6 of 40

10:00 AM

12:00 PM

3:00 PM

5:00 PM

Uniqueness of Living

node01perspective view

nodes’ figure diagram

8:00 PM

area Gr-2 Aerial View

Since Le Corbusier’s Radiant City proposal, standardization of lives in modular mass housing units have been disliked for their generality. However, standardiza-tion is still necessary to construct mass housing with limited budget and time. My solution to supplement this standardization is to keep modularity for living units but make the node areas where the residents walk through daily individual. None of the nodes are identical and all floor plans of each node is different. This individual-ity of nodes gives residents more intimate life experience through diverse space.

7:00 AM

Shadow StudyEquinox

Imag

e 1: I

nterm

ediat

e Yar

d

node01Cross Section s1 s2

A benefit of having web like housing is the intermediate yard providing openings to the sky. Placing the green space in the middle of the project provides better views to downtown while creating better transitions to the existing podium parks. The 45 degree angle wall limits shadows cast onto adjacent buildings.

Disney Concert Hall

Katsunori Shigemi Portfolio 2008 B. Arch from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo 01 Thesis - Symbiotic Urbanism / Project - L.A. WEB page 8 of 40

bringing up “public”

Interaction

node_01 // plan_ -02

node_01 // plan_ 00

node_01 // plan_ 01

node_01 // plan_02

node_01 // plan_ 04

node_01 // plan_05

node_01 // plan_06

node_01 // plan_07

node_01 // plan_ 08

node_01 // plan_09

node_01 // plan_ 10

node_01 // plan_ 11

node_01 // plan_ -02

node_01 // plan_ 00

node_01 // plan_ 01

node_01 // plan_02

node_01 // plan_ 04

node_01 // plan_05

node_01 // plan_06

node_01 // plan_07

node_01 // plan_ 08

node_01 // plan_09

node_01 // plan_ 10

node_01 // plan_ 11

node_01 // plan_ -02

node_01 // plan_ 00

node_01 // plan_ 01

node_01 // plan_02

node_01 // plan_ 04

node_01 // plan_05

node_01 // plan_06

node_01 // plan_07

node_01 // plan_ 08

node_01 // plan_09

node_01 // plan_ 10

node_01 // plan_ 11

node_01 // plan_ -02

node_01 // plan_ 00

node_01 // plan_ 01

node_01 // plan_02

node_01 // plan_ 04

node_01 // plan_05

node_01 // plan_06

node_01 // plan_07

node_01 // plan_ 08

node_01 // plan_09

node_01 // plan_ 10

node_01 // plan_ 11

node_01 // plan_ -02

node_01 // plan_ 00

node_01 // plan_ 01

node_01 // plan_02

node_01 // plan_ 04

node_01 // plan_05

node_01 // plan_06

node_01 // plan_07

node_01 // plan_ 08

node_01 // plan_09

node_01 // plan_ 10

node_01 // plan_ 11

node_01 // plan_ -02

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node_01 // plan_ 01

node_01 // plan_02

node_01 // plan_ 04

node_01 // plan_05

node_01 // plan_06

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node_01 // plan_09

node_01 // plan_ 10

node_01 // plan_ 11

node_01 // plan_ -02

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node_01 // plan_02

node_01 // plan_ 04

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node_01 // plan_09

node_01 // plan_ 10

node_01 // plan_ 11

node_01 // plan_ -02

node_01 // plan_ 00

node_01 // plan_ 01

node_01 // plan_02

node_01 // plan_ 04

node_01 // plan_05

node_01 // plan_06

node_01 // plan_07

node_01 // plan_ 08

node_01 // plan_09

node_01 // plan_ 10

node_01 // plan_ 11

Gran

d Ave

. (Lo

wer)

privateprivate public

publicpublic

node01Section Perspective View s2

Gran

d Ave

. (Up

per)

view1

view2

commercial areacommon area

Hallway / Lobby

Commercial Area

Common Area

Residences

other

Node01 Plans

node01_plan_Level06

node01_plan_Level07

node01_plan_Level08

node01_plan_Level05

node01_plan_Level04

node01_plan_Level03

node01_plan_Level02

node01_plan_Level01

Node_01 upper levelSection Perspective Zoom Top s2a

Node_01 lower levelSection Perspective Zoom Bottom s2b

In contrast to conventional mix use buildings, my project has commercial and social areas not only on the lower levels but also the higher levels. The public and commercial areas that surround the core area make the center of a node attractive and bring people to the higher level from the streets. Those amenities serve both residents and visitors, which creates more interaction of the two different users. The intermediate yards, which connects existing podium parks, are located in the middle of public and private sectors. Hence, the intermediate yards perform as meeting points not only between the residents and the visitors but also between the new structure and old neighbors.

Image 2: Common Area on Level 8

Boundary between Residences and Common Area

level 08

level 09

level 10

level 11

level 12

level 07

x1H

x2H

x2.5H

level 11

level 10

level 08

level 07

to elevatorscommon space

service space

service space

residential units

CLongitudinal Section

Katsunori Shigemi Portfolio 2008 B. Arch from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo 01 Thesis - Symbiotic Urbanism / Project - L.A. WEB page 10 of 40

Skip floor system is applied for the residential units. Every 3 level share a corridor on the middle floor. This skip floor sys-tem minimizes floor area for the circulation, and it allows the both sides of a unit to have windows for the upper and bottom floors. More importantly, it gives the common spaces larger volume. The high ceiling, unique skin, and commercial area around elevators produce a social at-mosphere for both residents and visitors.

Social Volume

3 entrances on 1 level

node_01_plan_Level11

s3node01Section Perspective View 2

CBA

level 11

level 13

level 10

ASkin Section

3D Skin Section

common area

common area

0 10’

balcony

Sun Path Diagram Aperture Pattern DiagramShading Calendar

Conceptual Model representing Coolictive Form

1 modular set consists of 1x1BD,1x2BD,1x3BD rooms.

Living Units Elevation ImageUnits’ Pattern (above) and Facades’ Pattern (bottom)

The envelop is semi-structural, which minimizes the interior structures required and creates a larger open space inside. The semi-structural skin panels change their patterns based on the unit types and sun exposure, creating unique but homogenous and cohesive patterns through the project. Creating variations on the form, plan, and pattern, people are able to experience more individuality while living in the mass housing. While the form and envelop of the project seem s complicated, its modular composition simplifies the construction. The aperture of the skins are depending on the angle and the orientation in relation to the sun. The skin functions as a sunshade device and a screen for privacy. The slanted windows of the higher units opens to larger views, while the sun screen limits direct sun light.

Envelop_ skin + structure

Katsunori Shigemi Portfolio 2008 B. Arch from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo 01 Thesis - Symbiotic Urbanism / Project - L.A. WEB page 12 of 40

0 10’BSkin SectionResidences

level 11

level 12

level 13

level 10

Interior Image (higher level)Semi-Ex-Skeleton minimizes the structures inside.

Modulation Study

I used modulation as a tool to generate unique spaces while maintaining efficient constructability through repetition of shape and dimension. With rotating, stretching, and mirroring, one modular form can be reconfigured in seemingly unlimited applications. Changing the scale of the modulation, it could be applied for any components of a project, while creating a strong coherence among the building elements.

Animation School, San Francisco, California

2005 Winter Stephen Phillips Studio

Katsunori Shigemi Portfolio 2008 B. Arch from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo 02 Project - Animation School, San Francisco, CA Stephen Phillips Studio page 14 of 40

A A

looking at Hayes Green Park form the North

Katsunori Shigemi Portfolio 2008 B. Arch from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo 02 Project - Animation School, San Francisco, CA Stephen Phillips Studio page 16 of 37

Form Development

Through a number of form studies, this project was generated from a modular piece. For this site, the important contextual circulation and attractions informed the development of the modular piece, and it creates a relation-ship between my project and the urban texture of the site without overstating its role in project development.

Market S

t.

Van Ness

City Hall

Ocatvia

Hayes

dormitory

faculty office

social space

class room

private

public

Lobby/GalleryAuditoriumBookstore/Cafe/LoungeLibrary/Comp. Lab/StorageClass RoomsLecture HallsFaculty OfficesDorms Program Organization

modular set 3 x9

modular set 2 x3

modular set 1 x6

Lobby & Gallery

Class Room Media LibraryLecture Hall

Dormitory (Beyond)

Auditorium

The entire structure consists of three kinds of modular sets made from the original modular unit. Different kinds of programs are spread throughout the building, which creates more diverse and free movements while tying students and faculty together. Meanwhile the building is separated by public and private areas verti-cally, creating more privacy. This strategy makes the ground level more open to the public and activates the street.

Interior View of atrium Section AA

East Elevation

Katsunori Shigemi Portfolio 2008 B. Arch from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo 02 Project - Animation School, San Francisco, CA Stephen Phillips Studio page 18 of 40

Entrance and West Facade

The screen, extrapolated from the modular units, pre-vents direct western sunlight while green panels capture a relationship to nearby Hayes Green Park.

Katsunori Shigemi Portfolio 2008 B. Arch from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo 02 Project - Animation School, San Francisco, CA Stephen Phillips Studio page 20 of 40