MARY BETH LUSTER M.

ARCH May 2013 Tulane School of Architecture

Digi-Art Museum

Historically, architecture has a sign of stability, strength, and power, an ideology reflected in its form and materiality. However, throughout architectural history, an idea imerged that architecture could take on a dematerialized quality, and begin to appear less solid, both conceptually and physically. As architecture is gradually embracing dematerialization, the digital world is becoming an ever more tangible reality. Digital art exemplifies this shift by bringing ephemeral digital technology into the physical realm.

extrude site

pull back from street edge

slice to connect to courtyard

pinch to reduce height

split to break down scale

shift to create hierarchy

10 90

This museum of digital art is located on half of a city block in the warehouse district of New Orleans between St. Charles and Camp Street, adjacent to the streetcar line and several museums and galleries. In response to the site, the form of the building pinches in toward the center in plan and elevation. A cut through the building connects the streetfront to the courtyard in back. The buildings structure and facade are formed of prefabricated concrete strips, which filter light into the space. These strips wrap around the building, creating the buildings form and envelope, and dividing public and less public spaces.

public space

circulation through galleries

Fishnet_diagrid

Building from Michael Webbs Sin Center, this private club with hotel space was designed in partnership with fellow student Caroline Meyer. My primary role was in the design of the structure, particularly the facade. In order to provide support for the cantilevering program on the street side and add an overall level of cohesion to the facade, I developed a parametric diagrid system using Grasshopper for Rhino. I modified a basic diagrid definition by manipulating the grid spacing and member thickness to create the effect of a fishnet stocking being stretched by the bulging flesh within. Where the cabaret and club rooms cantilever over the sidewalk, the grid widens, and the structural members thicken to compensate for the strain in the structure.

member thickness based on size of opening

adjust u v grid spacing with graph mapping

smashed geometry to create cutfile for physical model

finished physical model

shift_steel

This culinary school is located in New Orleans Bywater district adjacent to the historic St. Roch Market. The site falls on the corner of St Claude Street, a large commercial corridor, and St Roch Street, which is smaller and more residential. The program is separated into three volumes, to break up the scale of the building. The edges of the buildings along the sites perimeter are lowered to better match the heights of the surrounding buildings. A courtyard is created in the interior corner of the site to respond to the green space present in the residential block and create a thru point to the other side of the site. The steel diagrid system creates a structural tube around each volume, leaving ends open for a visual connection to the street. The primary building is located at the most

public corner of the site at the intersection of St. Claude and St. Roch. This volume contains the most active components of the program, including a bake shop and library/student lounge area on the lower level and a restaurant on the top floor overlooking the city, and may be entered from St. Claude or through the courtyard. The secondary volume contains the more active academic component of the school: the teaching kitchens. Each floor contains two kitchens, overlooking either St. Claude or the courtyard. The tertiary building contains classrooms, a demonstration laboratory, and a lecture hall, and overlooks the courtyard. The structural system of the building is comprised of a steel diagrid system. The angles in the diagrid were derived from the angles of the slants in the building form, and were overlaid to create a pattern. This pattern was then wrapped around the top and two sides of each volume to create a structural tube. This system allows for a free floor plan and unobstructed views.

divide volume for scale

tilt toward adjacent heightss

shift out toward active corner

shift in from quiet corner

wrap in structure for open plan

extract angles from form

overlay to create grid

wrap volumes for structural tube

hairy_Sukkah

This sukkah was intended to provide a multi-sensory experience that is different day and night. It is an experiment in creating hairy space through the natural fiber ropes hung from the ceiling. The interior of the sukkah can be molded and shaped by moving or tying the ropes, or one can simply enjoy walk-ing through a sea of ropes. During the day, sunlight filters through the translucent walls, creating a soft glow and casting interesting shadows with the ropes. At night, the walls light up with multi-colored LED lights, transforming the look and feel of being in the space.

EYE_HEART_VOODOO

This entry for the 2011 VOODOO Pavillion Design Competition for the VOODOO Experience music festival draws formal inspiration from the festivals logo for the year. A fabric tent in VOODOO purple creates shade and space for festivalgoers, and when approached from the front mimics the festival logo. Seating and signage take the form of a deconstructed block of black plywood.

WARHOL_FOUNDATION

This building was designed to house offices and gallery space for the Andy Warhol Foundation, as well as rental office space. Built on an open block along the levee in New Orleans, the building is divided into two volumes, with the Warhol Foundation in the lower volume and the rental offices cantilevering over the site. Between the two volumes is an outdoor terrace with a smal dining area. The site is terraced for use as public gathering space. The facade is comprised of panels that create a woven effect, with the weave

wall section

slice through elevation

loosening and tightening according to the sun. The panels on the lower volume are made of translucent plastic to create a diffused light effect for the exhibition spaces, and perforated metal above to filter light but preserve views in the office spaces.

panels hook into place on structure

weave changes based on sun angle

structural detail