NICOLE KEROACK A D E S I G N P O R T F O L I O

MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

2012

771 Madison AvenueCharlottesville VA 22903

352.281.5476ndk4yx@virginia.edu

nicolekeroack.wordpress.com

AcAdemic + work experience

Selected workS

2009 | Intern VMDO Architects | Charlottesville VA

2008 | Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Studies | Davidson College NC

2009 | Dripps Studio | Residential College at U.Va

2010 | Waldman Studio | Culinary Institute in Istanbul

Summer 2010 | Vicenza Study Abroad Program

Plein Air Drawings

2010 | Intern VMDO Architects | Charlottesville VA

2010 | Cox + Roettger Studio | Roots of Music New Orleans

2010 | Teaching Assistant || Architectural Theory + Ethics

C O N T E N T S

I believe in a vernacular architecture, not in the sense of those sloped roofs that Le Corbusier would have hated, but in the idea that a designed environment should be sensitive and responsive to the cultural, ecological, and environmental climate that surrounds it. Most of my projects are engaged with exploring not only relationships that concern SPACE, the volumes and relationships formally within a building, but that of PLACE, the social interactions that aggregate over time in a given location and give it a specific identity or character. I believe that SPACE is thoroughly enriched in a dialectic with PLACE. PLACE furthermore has a specific environmental or climactic condition-- whether it be a natural characteristic, or as the result of human intervention. These conditions can be leveraged or altered with the addition of a built component.

This vernacular architecture requires tools of analysis and of construction. It requires systems thinking-- the ability to place the specific intervention outside of its own context, or furthermore, to design the parts of the system as well as the interaction between the parts. This requires sophisticated tools of analysis and an understanding of the site and its surround both synchronically and diachronically. For such systemic, responsive thinking parametric modeling techniques are often utilized. Combining this technology with older techniques such as mapping--both with the aid of digital technologies, and making experiential and cognitive maps by hand, as well as creating experiential drawings leads to a rich understanding and empowers the design process.

Lastly, this vernacular architecture should speak to particular social issues in the context. In the case of Venice, the existing water infrastructures were strained to the breaking point, in New Orleans, the students at the Roots of Music needed an environmentally and physically protected area in which to march. In Istanbul, teasing out one of a myriad of problems led to a series of explorations over and over again to discover where the critical point of intervention lay.

The result is a design approach that is highly sensitive and analytical, producing beauty in the exploration of both space and place, by examining the particular and the systemic.

2010 | Intern VMDO Architects | Charlottesville VA

2010 | Cox + Roettger Studio | Roots of Music New Orleans

2010 | Teaching Assistant || Architectural Theory + Ethics

2011 | Design Development2011 | Sieweke Studio | Design Research in Venice

2011 | Teaching Assistant | Lessons of the Lawn

2011 | Summer Research Project in Istanbul Turkey

2011 | Design Research Seminar | Addressing Urban Dissonance: Restructuring the Waterfront in Fener Istanbul

2011 | Menefee + Moellmann Studio | Urban Voids in Charlottesville VA2011 | Soft Surface Operations | Pandora Light Responsive Roof

PERSONAL STATEMENT

A residential college at UVA emphasizes the creation of a social space by creating and cultivating connections between its residents, the greater University community, and its constituent natural geology.

Utilizing the concept of emergence to script a building type that adapts to the number of occupants, and parametric design for roofs that direct water, this campus becomes a field of activity in which the students become active participants in their academic life.

PARAMETRIC STuDIES AND WATER FLOWS

[right] A section and an aerial perspective show how the residential campus is geared to channel water flows to the open space in the center.

[below] a model showing the structural bays that support the residential college.

A series of diagrams show the patterns that emerge as the college grows to accommodate a growing student population, with roofs added at the end.

Section perspective looking toward Emmet Street shows low lying buildings conforming to a hilly landscape

DRIPPS STuDIOreSidentiAl colleGe At U.VA

Perspective showing approach from the Hippodrome at Night

cUlinArY inStitUte in iStAnBUl

Istanbul is a complex, multi-layered place whose city center is being threatened by tourism. A culinary institute revitalizes the historic center as a generative space its social, cultural, and historical landscapes.

The program calls for a tripartite space which manifests itself in plan and section: a teaching kitchen, bakery and wine cellar, a grand dining room on the piano nobile with a window that tessellates the reflection of the Blue Mosque opposite, and finally a series of living spaces for the teachers.

Interior spaces are complemented by three gardens a formal Islamic garden, an entry garden to transition from Sutanahmet Square, and a labyrinthine garden that replicates the fragmented city fabric.

OPERATING ON DEEP HISTORY

Preliminary mapping shows the Hippodrome in relation to other major monuments

Mapping and diagramming exercises show the hippodrome, the site, and the Blue Mosque in Comparison

WALDMAN STuDIOcUlinArY inStitUte in iStAnBUl

Alluding to the juncture between public and private and East and West present in the city, the building has a public and a private side, joined on the first floor by a kitchen. A multiplicity of materials and forms of expression allow for easy movement between these multiple spheres. On the right, A plan shows the two halves of the building, each with their own garden. A series of models explore the different expressions that the sides of the building can take. At bottom, an early collage and sketch shows the context that this building is placed within, on one of the few public spaces in the historical city.

ELEGANT DICHOTOMY

First floor plan

My music keeps me strong. I take my trombone. My trombone is my order in the upside-down world. I provide the sta-bility for the entire band. They rest on my low-blow beat. My low blow beat is my powerit bounds through the French Quar-ter. It blasts apart the bridge.

[Academic use only]

The problems of New Orleans require a careful consideration many factors the creole culture, flooding and land subsidence, and the hot and humid climate. This school for the Roots of Music program provides a space for community building and cultural expression.

By creating an boulevard, the building provides a perfect space for marching while providing areas for eyes on the street. In addition, passive design strategies are utilized to provide a level of comfort, and water catchment systems allude to the waterborne nature of the city.

CREATING AN INTERIOR STREET

Preliminary investigations into the nature of music, New Orleans, and site explorations provide the foundation for the design work.

Section showing the exhibition venue and a view into the interior of the complex

COX + ROETTGER STuDIOrootS oF mUSic new orleAnS

[left] A section shows various passive thermal systems at work to keep the school comfortable for the marchers. Evapotranspiration from a water catchment system, the chimney effect, and louvers work to minimize solar gain inside and outside the building.

[below] a plan and a section show the relationship between the building and a marching space denoted on its interior, and a series of courtyards to provide semiprivate gathering spaces.

[above] A series of models show the development of the scheme.

[above right] A perspective showing an approach from Canal Street, and the marching band.

[right] A section-perspective showing the interior of the street. The right contains the main marching building, the left is the Library.

1/64 : 1

The vertical horizon is a learning center located in Charlottesville Virginia. It is made out of precast insulated concrete panels analogous to those manufactured by thermomass.

The concrete in combination with the insulation provides a great deal of thermal massing to help with cooling, in addition to the strategic placement of fins on the west and east sides to prevent solar heating at undesirable times of the year. Windows are set in deep casings and are also doubly insulated. All mechanical systems are located behind a dropped ceiling above the mezzanine. Passive ventilation is also used extensively.

LEVERAGING NATuRAL SYSTEMS IN A SPACE FOR LEARNING

A combination of daylighting and electrical systems allow the building to achieve minimum footcandles for reading and writing. Clerestory windows above and strategic fins help to filter direct sunlight.

Sited at the top of an incline, all water collected on the roof is stored below, while water on site is directed to a low lying retention and infiltration area where it will slowly seep into the ground, just beyond the section for the geothermal wells.

Geothermal wells [black], radiant floor heating [orange], air conditioning [blue], and passive ventilation [yellow] combine to form a comfortable thermal environment.

DESIGN DEVELOPMENTA leArninG center

[left] a detail shows the construction of the staircase in relationship to the precast concrete panels. A set of steel joints act as a belt to cinch the panels together, while simultaneously holding up the staircase. At the top, a dropped wood panelled ceiling conceals mechanical systems.

[below] A series of perspectives shows the life of the building, and though it looks relatively austere from the outside, the concrete panels help filter the light; inside it is bursting with life and activity.

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1.THERMOMASS INSULATED PRECAST CONCRETE PANEL2. COPPER FLASHING3. RIGID INSULATION4. PRECAST HOLLOW CORE SLAB UNIT5. HIGH DENSITY PLASTIC BEARING STRIP6. WOOD PANEL DROPPED CEILING7. FIBER COMPOSITE CONNECTOR AT 16 O.C.8. STEEL REINFORCING9. GRATED STEEL DECK10. STEEL ANGLE WELDED TO STEEL PLATES CAST IN CONCRETE PANEL11. SYNTHETIC RUBBER BEARING PAD12. GYPSUM WITH SEMIGLOSS STUCCO COVERING13. VAPOR BARRIER14. CONCRETE FOOTING15. GROUT AS NEEDED16. EXPANSION JOINT17. EARTH18. COMPACTED FILL19. GRASS20. SLAB WITH EMBEDDED HEATING PIPES21. DOUBLE GLAZED WINDOW22. STEEL MULLION23. HEADER24. ROOF MEMBRANE25. 6 DIAM. STEEL DUCT26. EXHAUST FILTER

The building is designed to insulate and retain heat-- large amounts of concrete plus insulation give it a great R value. Extra heating is gained from the radiant floor slab, cooling from ducts hidden beneath the dropped ceiling. Windows [not shown] are double-paned and insulated also.

mAteriAlS

1RAINWATER HARVESTING

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SALTWATER EVAPORATION

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channeled by roofs and campi condenses on meshescollects in tubes

evaporatescondenses and collects

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ltered and stored in cistern collects along transit routes SALTBRACKISH WATER

FRESH WATER

ballast water for ships

industrial use

agricultural usedrinking water

TRANSIT ALONG VAPORETTO ROUTES

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This plan proposes to reimagine the hydrologic infrastructure of Venice by cultivating local or guerilla methods of harvesting water rather than depleting distant freshwater sources.. It leverages the tourist industry to help support these new systems and empowers a more sustainable tourism through eliminating plastic water bottle waste and reliance on distant aquifer supples.

Our proposal would restore the network of cisterns in Venice, making them available as public fountains. The

sand filter would be repaired and brought into line with modern standards, and water filter would be added above ground to bring water to drinking quality. A lever on the pump would pull water through these filters. Cistern fountains would collect rain of city surfaces and could be supplemented with freshwater gathered throughout the lagoon.

Local water production could benefit and catalyze several of the industries in Venice. These industries could help subsidize each other through investments in mutually beneficial infrastructure.

WATER AS uRbAN IDENTITY + uRbAN CRISIS

SIEWEKE STuDIO deSiGn reSeArcH in Venice

in collABorAtion witH AlexA BUSH, UVA mlA 2012TOp 10 AECOM URBANSOS COMpETITION 2011

RAINWATER HARVESTING

TENSILE FABRIC ROOFSTEEL SUPPORTING RIBS

STEEL POLES

BRASS SUPPORT FOR WATER BASINS

FOUR TIERED WATER FILTRATION SYSTEM DRIVENBY HAND PUMP

DOWNSPOUT DIRECTS WATER FROM ROOF TO WELL DRAINEXISTING WELL HEAD

PIPE WITH HIGH PRESSURE PUMP

STEPPED SEATING AREA FOR WATER INFILTRATION

EXISTING SAND FILTRATION STRUCTURE

Diagrams show the current and traditional process of rainwater harvesting on Venice

The flexible fabric roof was developed parametrically and can be adapted to any campo configuration

LOCATION OF 5991 CISTERNSBASED OFF 1857 SURVEY

Only 231 well-heads remain to mark what has become an invisible infrastructure

[below] Current use of wellheads, diagram showing the rooftop watershed that feeds a campo, and their one-time ubiquity in Venice

[right] Section shows the past functionality of the cistern, its current state of disrepair, and at bottom an envisioned future in which the water culture is revitalized.

PRE-1884 CISTERNS AS SOCIAL SPACE

POST-1884 WATER MOVES TOWARD PRIVATE COMMODITY

PROPOSAL RETURN WATER TO PUBLIC REALM

A separated axon shows activity of either side of the central courtyard that defines the urban campus. Mobility paths are outlined in green.

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VEHICULAR MOVEMENT

RAIL MOVEMENT

PEDESTRIAN + BICYCLE MOVEMENT

MOBILITY FLOWS OVERLAP

MOBILITY FLOWS OVERLAP IN SECTION

This project works to reinstate a pedestrian scale along the Preston Corridor by creating coexistence of vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian movement by establishing a more urban condition, engaging the street front with a series of paths that lead to surrounding neighborhoods. We used this urban strategy to identify critical intersectionswhere local and non-local flows of people already existedand moreover, where there was a strong potential for (1) connections between disparate communities and (2) the coexistence of multiple mobilities. The focus of the exploration along Preston Avenue is the intersection of the CSX cargo train line and a fragmented neighborhood street. Using the existing paths on the site, we developed an architectural strategy that addressed the change in topography with a propylaea that engaged multiple scales of people; a billboard that affirms the movement along the street and railroad, and a hearth that coalesces the movement of local neighborhood flows.

THE POTENTIAL OF MObILITY

Diagrams show the paths activating Preston Avenue and then the CSX intersection, and finally the building itself.

View heading toward downtown on Preston Avenue

MENEFEE + MOELLMANN STuDIOUrBAn VoidS in cHArlotteSVille VA

in collABorAtion witH lAUren SHUmAte + Ben SeSSA, UVA mArcH 2012

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[left] Perspectives show a diversity of activities within the community center. [above] A first floor plan shows the complex interaction of ramps and paths that provide a porosity to the neighborhood. [below] A diagrammatic section shows a diversity of types of mobility across Preston Avenue, supported by the paths.

P R E S T O N A V E N U ER A I S E D P A T HD R I V E W A Y

a u t o m e c h a n i c a n d c h u r c hi n f o r e g r o u n d (d a s h e d)

p r i v a t e r e s i d e n c e

c l a s s i c s i g n s (r e t a i l)

FIRST FL (T.O. PATH)0' - 0"

SECOND FL20' - 0"

ROOF45' - 0"

T.O. COCA COLA30' - 0"

SUNKEN COURTYARD-13' - 0"

ALBEMARLE ST-4' - 0"

FIRST FL (T.O. PATH)0' - 0"

SECOND FL20' - 0"

THIRD FL35' - 0"

FOURTH FL50' - 0"

ROOF65' - 0"

T.O. COCA COLA30' - 0"

SUNKEN COURTYARD-13' - 0"

T.O. TOWER78' - 0"

Two transverse sections show activity from Preston Avenue back to the neighborhood. The program serves to engage both the pedestrian and the commuter.

Teatro Olimpico | Pencil on Paper | 2010

D R A W I N G

A summer study abroad trip to Vicenza, Italy, gives the opportunity to explore a classical canon of forms and their variation. Focusing on the work of Andrea Palladio and later Baroque buildings, the experience of being is translated into a visual form. Using the analatique method, an experiential drawing is combined with analytical ones to complete the picture of the site. In this case, drawing is an analytical, learning experience, one that forces the eye to consider proportion, light, and shape in a way that the simple gaze cannot accomplish.

EXPLORING bY PENCIL

Villa Godi Axonometric| Pencil on Paper | 2010

VICENZA ITALYplein Air drAwinGS

Monte Berico through Scalletta | Pencil on Paper | 2010 Monte Berico Section-Elevation | Pencil on Paper | 2010

Santa Maria Aracelli Axonometric| Pencil on Paper | 2010 Santa Maria Aracelli Interior| Pencil on Paper | 2010

Fener Street Scene at Night | Ink, Tea, and Gouache on Paper | 2011

St Stephen of the Bulgurs | Ink and Gouache on Paper | 2011

D R A W I N GInk allows one to fully capture the play of light across the surface of a building or a desolate nighttime street. By pushing the medium, and incorporating elements of color and even the native tea that Istanbullus love to drink, a true sense of place can be captured. All of these drawings were produced on site and with a minimum of equipment. Their very immediacy gives them an air of authenticity.

CAPTuRING ATMOSPHERE

St Savior in Chora | Ink and Gouache on Paper | 2011

Suleymaniye Camii | Ink, Tea and Gouache on Paper | 2011

ISTANbuL TuRKEYink And GoUAcHe

Section diagrams laid over a collage show the multiplicity of ways the neighborhood can be analyzed

reStrUctUrinG tHe wAterFront in Fener iStAnBUl

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FERRY SCHEDULE

FENER ISKELESI 1986 | VIEw OF FENER FERRY STATION AFTER LANd CLEARING 2011 | CURRENT VIEw OF THE FERRY STATIONPhotograph by Michelle Benoit

By developing a framework for studying Istanbul as a whole, and then applying that framework to the neighborhood of Fener, connections between political, technological, and social movements and their impact on the built environment can be revealed. Applying these lessons to Fener, we learn that the neighborhood is embroiled in identity politics, spending many years as the capital of the Greek Orthodoxy and a center for the Ottoman Empires Greek minority, it is now the home to other, poorer immigrants from the Black Sea regions. The waterfront, which had previously been a productive landscape, bringing both industry and trade to the area, was converted after modernization into a sanitized and denuded park, which was part of a clean up effort in the 1980s.

Through mapping and diagramming, the relationship of the neighborhood to the water has been explored, as well as the relationship between visibility and topography. As in the rest of the city, important sites are located at high elevations, and minority ones are hidden behind walls or pushed into the slope.

However, at this time, the neighborhood is lacking an identity, and is under threat by the municipality. The faceless waterfront of Fener represents the perfect opportunity to re-establish the identity and visibility of its inhabitants, presenting the neighborhood as a vibrant cultural and economic center.

ADDRESSING uRbAN DISSONANCE

Ferry routes and timetables show Fener in relationship to other neighborhoods along the Golden Horn in Istanbul

DESIGN RESEARCH SEMINARreStrUctUrinG tHe wAterFront in Fener iStAnBUl

CURRENT MONUMENTS ROAdS + pARKS

LOT SIZES | 1929 ROAdS + pARKS | 1929

A series of maps explore the development of the neighborhood over time, from early insurance maps by Jacques Pervititch in the 1930s to contemporary satellite photos. Efforts to understand the neighborhood in section, in relationships to key monuments that define the neighborhood, and to access and public spaces have been identified and explored.

MAPPING

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate

Fener Iskelesi

St Stephen of the Bulgurs

PROPOSED

CURRENT

JACQUES PERVITITCH

ALMAN MAVILERI

TOPOGRAPHIC

GREEK SCHOOLST STEPHEN OF THE BULGURSGREEK ORTHODOX PATRIARCHATEFENER ISKELESI

This drawing shows the development of the neighborhood over time, and attempts to explore more dynamically the relationship of three major monuments to the development of Fener: The Patriarchate, St Stephen of the Bulgurs, and the Greek School. When triangulated, they define the extents and the major thoroughfares in the neighborhood, as well as the major flows of people on the site.

The center of the Greek Orthodox community, it is no longer a church for a Greek community; much of the neighborhood is occupied by immigrants from the Black Sea regions. However, many Greeks from outside of Istanbul still come to this neighborhood in order to honor the church, which has been located in this area for centuries. According to an older tradition established in the Ottoman period, this church is both hidden behind a high set of walls, and lacking a dome or any significant marker. The contrast between both the construction technique of this building and that of the Bulgarian church, as well as their relationship to the waterfront and their relative visibility indicates a shift in mentality toward the Christian communities as well as the role in technology.

MAPPING

STACKED AXONOMETRIC

GREEK ORTHODOX PATRIARCHATE

Drawings on site show the structure of the church to the topography Typical home in Fener

Grasshopper generative modeling + rhino work together to make a digital simulation

A laser cutter and several iterations results in the final product, made of plexi, fabric, and servo motors

pAndorA tHe liGHt reSponSiVe rooF

F A b R I C AT I O NThis experiment sought to explore both mechanical and digital types of motion, and the feedback loop that can be generated in the interaction between the two.

PROCESS:1. Light shines on PV cells2. PV cells send reading through arduino to firefly in grasshopper3. Grasshopper computes amount of vertical motion from light level detected4. Output turns servo motors on rack and pinion5. Rack and pinion moves soft surface

COLLAbORATION bETWEEN DIGITAL + PHYSICAL

Sketches show multiple potential roof structures and outline the process of translating from digital to physical and back again

SOFT SuRFACESpAndorA tHe liGHt reSponSiVe rooF

in collABorAtion witH QiUFAn wU + AmeliA einBender-lieBer, UVA mArcH 2013