Undergraduate Work by Ryan Lawber at Coroflot.com

Undergraduate Work

Undergraduate Work from Ryan Lawber

Undergraduate Work

General Education Campus Center - Architecture in combination with ecology is fundamentally argumentative; creating structures inherently degrades the environment. In this architectural project that is primarily haptic in design, passive interaction is being assisted through physically maneuverable elements, participatory spaces, lines of sight, and texturing. Reasoning behind this is rooted in the topic of environmental sustainability; allowing people to connect and interact with the building should allocate awareness of the architecture and surrounding location/ecology through individual experience. This social philosophy is one that would also allow for adaptation to occur by the building throughout its existence. Moveable spaces will adjust to changing objectives of the building, substituting the universal structure to which the inhabitants need to adapt; textured materials can bring about past familiarities to associate with the new understanding. Awareness of particulars and local resources establish a connective bond between the impromptu subjects and the environment. Integrating this participatory model into an educational facility can grow into a democratic model for shifting an ideological position. While designing the architecture to be as sustainable as possible, the external social ecology can be improved through intrinsically motivated users of the structure.

Carbondale Public Library - Third year context course. The library as a cellular unit breaking open. Bands of glass unite the interior with the exterior and illuminate without direct sun to harm the texts on the interior.

Carbondale Public Library - Concept animation of the breaking open of the cellular unit (seen from the inside) and morphing into the finished form.

Alaska House - A second year architecture project. This was to be a winter home for a symphony conductor. Thermal massing and solar gain was researched for this cool climate.

Alaska House

Theremin Dance Studio - Music and choreography have a unique bond with visual form, and incorporating this into architecture creates an interactive structure. Including prior Theremin technologies as an interface to the reality of the dancers invokes a proximal empathy from the patrons of this dance theater. Creating this interactivity allows users to preview what they will observe in the upcoming performance and after the show is over, mimic what has been seen on the stage inside and adapt the technology to become one of the performers. This Theremin interface creates a bond between the users and the professionals. To enhance the experience, the structure is clad in lighted panels which respond to the orchestral tones and volumes produced. A higher pitch creates a stronger pronunciation of light; a louder tone creates a larger geometry, etcetera. Inside, the theater is canopied by arrays of lights creating a sea-like collection of amorphous shapes produced by ambient sounds. During performances, dancers maneuver between sets of glass panes which are illuminated by exciting molecules, making the transparent walls translucent. These movable sheets contain Theremin equipment to produce the audio/visual show. The exterior skin reveals hints of the occurrences inside, uniting the internal and external.

Theremin Dance Studio - (see first image for full description) The underside of the studio entrance where Theremin technology is embedded into the columns. Proximity to the columns then produced sounds, and a dance form is created.

Theremin Dance Studio - (see first image for full description) view of the studio from the street

Theremin Dance Studio - Section through the dance studio and theater seating. The theater viewers enter the building on the rear elevation after passing through the Theremin field.