CORE
DESIGN
PORTFOLIO
2016-2017
JASON BARKER
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Wall Intervention.
2. Machine De Phenomenon
3. Urban Intersection.
4.War Memorial.
5.Celebration Space.
6.Caples Mansion.
7.Highline Museum.
8.Trips.
Savannah.
Charleston.
Puerto Rico.
New York.
9.Elective Projects.
10.Independent Sketching and Analysis.
01
MACHINE
DE PHENOMENON
01
MACHINE
DE PHENOMENON
The first project involved conceptual analysis and
abstract creation of a spatial intervention, which
prepared us for the second assignment. Drawing
some ideas from the first, we were instructed to
create a tower situated within an abstract context
of intersecting planes ofplexiglass.
01: CONCEPTUALIZING
The first project ran in to the second, and it all began with a
conceptual analysis of a Russian film, from which we
developed a number of abstracted sketches that eventually
informed process models, more refined drawings, and a final
model.
Initial Sketches.
These geometric, abstracted rawings
were generated via our impressions of
form, color, light, shadow, and other
traits seen in a film we were assigned
to watch. From this, we had to create
something the captured our overall
feeling of what the film was, without
simply depicting it in a purely
representative form.
Models.
Early conceptual models that would be
intersected with each other at a later
date were developed, using museum
board.
Layering Sketches.
From these models, layered drawings
were devloped that generated the final
conceptual form for the model.
Abstracted Final.
The site was constructed from laters of
MDF board, carved with a lasercutter,
while the intervention was made out of
museum board. The basic concept for
how the final form interacted with the
site was that of a growth, with tendrils
extending from the central mass and
forming new extrusions at their tips.
This project was important in the
development of the Machine de
Phenomenon, as it dealt with the same
idea of inserting an intervention in to a
materially different yet somewhat ab-
stracted site.
02: MACHINE PROCESS
Sketching formed the basic process of the Machine de
Phenomenon, emphasixing the vertical nature of the structure
and the progression up a tower-like space.
03: FINISHED MACHINE
The final model was constructed from plaxi glass, basswood,
and museum board. The plexi provided a context, while the
rest of the materials formed the actual space itself, atached to
the transparent site.
Atmospheric forms.
A general similarity to clouds, and the
plexiglass echoing air and sky, led to
an embrace of clouds and weather as a
metaphorical form generator. The entire
structure was meant to give an
impression of lightness, vast space,
uplift, and other traits one might
associate with clouds.
Sections.
Final drawings were two sections at an
area of our choice, simply expressing
scale within the space and the relation
of floors to the overall form.
02
URBAN
INTERSECTION
02
URBAN
INTERSECTION
The final assignment of Core 1 drew from our
analysis of Savannah and Charleston, specifically
of the overall urban layout and the way individual
building sinteracted in their larger context.
We were instructed to combine elements of both
cities to generate a dynamic urban layout, and
then create an intervention that had some public
purpose (specifics were left up too us).
01: URBAN CONTEXT.
The initial step was to create an abstracted urban context
out of wood, which would be made of interlocking horizontal
lengths. It would vary in height and begin to form the basic
gestures of a cityscape. One area would be selected for the
intervention.
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Sketch models.
The form of the intervention was ex-
plored through quickly made sketch
models of chipboard. These form
generators could be intersected with
one another to develop forther forms,
and this would lead to the basis of the
final structure.
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Gestural streets.
Diagrammatic sketching led to the
development of the overall street plan,
particularly the idea that the intervention
would be at a major thoroughfare where
a vertical, horizontal, and diagonal
move all converged.
This also aided in developing the overall
scale of the intervention in relation to
the site.
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Taking shape.
From the sketches came a foamcore
draft of the overall urban context. While
nowhere near a final version of the site,
this further refined the basic odea being
explored, allowing amore robust
visualization of the surrounding
enviornment and how that related to the
intervention.
City meets Experience.
These watercolors developed the
manner in which the intervention and
the context communicated with each
other.
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03
WAR
MEMORIAL
04
WAR
MEMORIAL
This assignment was the first major project of
Core Design 2. It was the most involved yet, with
a long development cycle and a great deal of pro-
cess work, allowing the idea to fully conceptualize.
Of all the projects I have been involved with, this
one is by far my favorite, as it comes closest to
matching my vision, while at the same time
imparting a great deal of knowledge.
01: FOLDS AND LINES.
The initial step was a freeform exercise in paper folwing. Two
11 x 14 pieces of paper were used to form a landscape with
several conditions: ground, wall, tower, and ceiling. From
this, we created sketches and a final drawing, searching for a
central parti and other useful ideas.
Parti Drawing.
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02: THE JUNK MODEL.
The next step in this assignment was a bit unusual. Pursue
form generators by creating “junk models” out of found
electronics. VCR’s, TV’s, stereo’s, computers, and more. This
afforded the chance to create some truly unique constructed
objects.
Found Forms.
Thiis assignment taught the value of
found pieces as form generators, which
would allow for the spontaneous emer-
gence of spaces by virtue of their basic
proximity to one another.
Not done at any specific scale, this was,
instead, a generalized approach that
allowed for more organic relations to
take hold.
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Coded Systems.
Different conceptual parts were repe-
sented via color. White for the basic
site and context, gret for wall, floor, and
ceiling conditions, and orange for the
tower.
From this model came the idea of the
tower somehow reaching out and affect-
ing the entire site. Represented here via
lengths of painted basswood. Though
in the final model, the impact it had was
more conceptual than immediate.
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03: PRECEDENTS.
For the third step, we moved away from our own ideas, and
did a series of sketches of existing architecture. Drawing from
a list of architects, we analyzed several designers and how
they handled the conditions of our focus: wall, floor, ground,
ceiling, and tower.
The Method.
A large printout with twelve lists of
different architects was distributed to
everyone in the class. One group for
each person. Our instructions were to
create a Pinterest account, and then
set up folders to save images of the
buildings of each architect in our list.
We would cycle through the list, and for
each group we would analyze a specific
condition.
So, for one group we would
analyze how the architects handled
ceilings, and sketch our analysis with
notes. Then we would go to the next
group, and look at the pinterest gallery
for the person who had that group, and
add to it while analyzing the next condi-
tion (floor, etc.)
We did this until we have a huge
amount of structural analysis of the dif-
ferent conditions we had to understand.
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Media.
This was largely a mixed media affair.
The drawings were primarily done on
sketch and trace paper, with some
done on vellum, mylar, or regular
drawing paper.
Graphite, mechanical pencils, markers,
watercolor, colored pencil, pastels, and
charcoal were the media of choice.
These were chosen based on specific
toning needs. E.G. pastels and charcoal
were useful for expressing dramatic
lighting conditions, while markers were
better at expressing tone in regards to
materiality.
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Designers.
The architects were drawn from all over
the world, across the twentieth and
twenty-first centuries. From early
masters of modernism, to contempo-
prary superstar firms.
04: PROCESS MODELS.
The process model segment of the project ranged from simple
fast sketch models to more intricate, large scale final drafts. All
geared towards developing individual components of the site.
Wood and Cardboard.
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One Piece At A Time.
This 1/4 scale model was a high quality
draft/process model of one of the con-
ditions that would be inserted in to the
final war memorial site itself.
Working at this scale allowed us to
think about detail and connection in a
way that may not have been possible
had we jumped immediately to the final
scale.
Floor and Ceiling
The relation between floor and ceiling,
and how that fit in to the overall scheme
of the final project, was the focus of this
particular model.
This presented a unique challenge, as
the wall condition was suposed to be
minimal. Therefore, we have to think of a
different way of suspending the ceiling
without a fully articulated, opaque wall.
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Tower Derivation.
Once the model was
complete, we were told to
photograph it with
dramatic lighting, put
those images in photo-
shop, increase contrast,
and then use the
resulting image as a
form generator for the fi-
nal component of the war
memorial: the tower.
How the image informed
the tower was left to us.
We simply had to use
the photo to generate a
drawing of a basic parti
concept and use that as
the starting point.
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The subsequent drawing
provided an approach
that quickly solidified in
to what the tower would
eventually become. In
addition to basic form,
there was a focus on
light, and how it related
to circulation and
negative space within the
tower.
From this point, it was
all a matter of bringing
the disparate elements
together in a single
context.
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Concept Sketching.
Further sketching was done to devel-
op the relation of different concepts
to overall circulation. These sketches
depict the idea, later realized, of the
floor and ceiling condition being near
the edge of a cliff/drop off at the edge
of the site.
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05: THE SITE.
The final step was to create the site, and miniaturize the floor
and ceiling conditions at 1/8 scale. The entire model is
constructed from basswood at a delicate scale, with a focus
on concept and circulation.
Articulated Wasteland.
The final site was a memorial to a
forgotten war. A damaged battlefield
transformed in to a museum, filled with
machine-like interventions, multiple
approaches to the tower, secret
pathways, and many other dynamic
aspects meant to give life and intrigue
to the final model.
04
CELEBRATION
SPACE
04
CELEBRATION
SPACE
Following our Puerto Rico trip and visit to a
pre-chosen site, the final assignment in core 2
was the creation of a mixed use “celebration
space”, featuring a cafe, retail, sitting area, and
a large auditorium or other multi-use area for
events.
01: INITIAL PROCESS.
The initial steps for this assignment were a condensed version
of the pervious process; sketch models and drawings. A basic
concept was solidified early on.
02: FINAL MODEL.
Given the limited amount of time (4-5 weeks, roughly) for this
assignment, we spent much less time on process, and leapt to
the final model very quickly.
05
CAPLES
MANSION
05
CAPLES
MANSION
An extension and re-utilization of an old structure
on the New College campus in Sarasota was the
overall concept of this assignment. A great deal of
flexibility was offered in how we implemented the
program requirements.
This was our first assignment in which we
utilized a large scale site that required us to deal
with topography, flood plains, soil and weather
conditions.
01: INITIAL SKETCHING.
Numerous proccess drawings and sketch models realized the
basic approach to the site and how the addition would com-
municate with the existing context.
Micro Sketches.
Small process sketches on gridded
paper allowed for fast development of
a wide range of details, moves, spac-
es, and other important aspects of the
project.
Final Drawings.
The final drawings of the project
consisted of sections, plans, and two
perspectives.
The former two were digital hybrids,
while the latter were rendered in
watercolor and illustration ink.
02: SITES AND MODELS.
Sketching led to models. PRocess, sketch, diagrammatic, and
the final site are all collected here as they approached the
culmination of the project.
06
HIGHLINE
MUSEUM
06
HIGHLINE
MUSEUM
This assignment involved an off-site extension of
the Morgan Library and Museum in New York,
situating the new facility on the Highline park near
the Hudson river. We were given a great deal of
freedom in deciding what, if any, specific focus
this new library/museum would have, so long as
the basic program was met.
01: EARLY PROCESS.
A handful of draft models and sketches are presented here in
chronological order, as these ld to the ultimate concept of the
assignment.
02: FORMS AND LINES.
Final models and drawings are collected here, with a focus on
intense graphical images highlighting the relationship between
the different floors of the museum and the archive space.
Auditorium.
Lobby.
Ramp
from
street
level.
Public space : open above.
Public space : enclosed/interior.
Auditorium.
Sculpture
gallery.
Reception
Lobby. desk.
Security.
Garden.
Ramp
from
street
level.
07
TRAVELS
07
TRAVELS
Each semester brought with it a new trip.
Savannah, Charleston, Puerto Rico, and New
York. These involved a good deal of photography,
sketching, analysis, and other activities allowing
us to understand cities and the way structures
inhabited them,
Levels and grids.
Savannah is defined by two primary traits: a grid system organized around small public parks, and the sudden
drop off and gradual sloping down towards the water. The historic architecture and infrastructure is everywhere,
giving the city its distinct character.
The Stories Materials Tell.
Historic spaces such as this are notable for the variety of old, weathered surfaces. Texture and materiality lend
a sense of history and permanence. Brick, old wood, iron, stone streets. Sketching and photographing these
things can be very valuable, as they make one thing about the lifespan of materials in the built environment.
Historical Detaling.
FRom the hotel to every
corner of the city, intricate
detailing can be found all
over Charleston, carrying
with it the mark of different
styles and periods as they
flourished in the city.
Much can be learned from
sketching these elements.
Columns, street lamps,
furniture, and more.
Diagrams, Pt. 2.
The diagrammatic
approach, mixed with
elevations, sections, and
more realstic sketching,
continued in Charlseton.
Given the variety of organic
spaces, sprawling alleys,
historic structures, and
overall dynamis, there was
a great deal to focus on in
this city.
