Gr8 Tower Presentation

Gr8 Tower: A Residential High Rise

The criteria for the project was as follows:

The proposal:  200' high rise residential affordable housing tower. 

Location:  San Diego, CA

                - Corner of 8th and G St.

The purpose of the project was to get us to think of the current mindset for residential high rise towers and how we can further develop this idea into a better design.  With that in mind, I really focused on the residents of the building and how his or her quality of life would be affected by living at the Gr8 Tower.  Many times, it is seen where a user is confined to his or her unit with little to no control of the interior environment.  I wanted to change this by designing a building, sustainably, that would give control back to the occupant and allow him or her the complete control of his or her interior environment.  

To accomplish this goal I designed an operable screen system on the exterior of the building.  These screens serve as a "living skin" due to the randomness of their location on a daily basis and will never be the same due to the preference of the user within.  The building becomes a symbol of the architect remembering that he or she is designing for human quality of life and does not hinder this by ego and self expression.  

This is the main perspective and most iconic view of the building looking down 8th street.

Screens completely closed for privacy + environmental control.

Screens open to flood the space with natural lighting.

This is a street perspective looking west on G street.  The street level will be
confronted by leasable commercial spaces. 

Each unit is equipped with a balcony for immediate outdoor relief.

This diagram shows the active and passive systems within the building with active
systems (HVAC, plumbing, electric) being situated closer to the core whereas the passive
systems (operable screens + windows) are situated near the exterior.

Community roof decks take advantage of the great San Diego weather and enable
interaction amongst the tenants.  

Due to the screens ever changing facade, night views of the building will have
a unique pixelated effect.

Site Model:

The model was made at a scale of 1/16" = 1'0" using basswood, museum board, mdf board, and foam core.

Detail Model:

The detail model was made a scale of 1/2" = 1'0" using plaster of paris, basswood, perforated aluminum, and mdf board for the base.  The photographs on the board were light studies of how the operable screens would affect the interior environment of a unit.  The screens on the model were made operable in order to further the understanding of the mobility.

The Presentation: 

The set up

All in all, I received a very productive and thorough critique form the jury members where much of the emphasis was placed on further developing of the likelihood of the exterior operable screen system.  Although the screens were designed down to the exact materials used as well as mechanical system to control them, future maintenance and cost would prompt a cost estimation and analysis of the screens.  This would be a great further endeavor and, with more time, I would have loved to have explored this further in order to better propose this system of living.