Portfolio - Marc Szarkowski

PORTFOLIO OF WORK
MARC SZARKOWSKI
CONTENTS
PAGE NUMBER AND PROJECT TITLE:
3
CONTACT AND DEGREE INFORMATION
4
PROPOSAL: CROSS STREET MARKET
ADDRESS
Marc Szarkowski
1301 St. Paul Street, Apt. 82
Baltimore, MD 21202
PHONE
410.218.8694
6
PROPOSAL: EAST BALTIMORE INFILL BLOCK
8
EMAIL
marc.szarkowski@gmail.com
WEBSITE
http://marc.szarkowski.us
(résumé and additional work samples available online)
CONTACT INFORMATION
PROPOSAL: JONES FALLS CANAL
GRADUATION DATE
May 2010
16
SELECTION OF: DETAIL MODELS
18
SELECTION OF: STREETSCAPE RENDERINGS
DEGREE
Bachelor of Architecture, Magna Cum Laude
SCHOOL
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
School of Architecture
110 Eighth Street
Troy, NY 12180
DEGREE INFORMATION
3
CROSS STREET MARKET
2011 - 2012
This proposal envisions
rebuilding Federal Hill’s
Cross Street Market to
accommodate additional
commerce and space for
other social functions.
Several commonly-discussed
ideas for improving Cross
Street Market - dissolving
the blank walls facing
Cross Street, adding a
second floor, adding more
entrances, adding stables
for arabbers’ horses, and
improving natural lighting have been incorporated into
the rebuilt market proposal.
The proposed market’s
architecture was inspired by
Baltimore’s rich maritime
history. The market’s brick
and stone exterior seeks to
complement the attractive
brick rowhouses of Federal
Hill, but its exuberant,
oriental, bazaarlike
architectural motifs and sea
monster ornaments allude to
the city’s fascinating history
as a beehive of commerce,
shipping, trade, and exotic
seafaring activity.
The market’s buttressed
facade intends to recall the
impressive architecture
of the Fifth Regiment
Armory, while the airy, light,
glass-and-steel (or cast
iron) interior gallery arcade
alludes to the Peabody
Library’s awe-inspiring
atrium.
Above: This section was cut through one of the
proposed market’s three headhouses to highlight
their interior appearance. The market incorporates
several headhouse transept windows, arcade
windows, transoms, and a vaulted glass roof to
allow natural light to flood the interior.
Below: The first illustration is an elevation of the
proposed market as seen from Cross Street; the
second illustration is a longitudinal section through
the market’s central gallery. Arched steel or cast
iron trusses support the glass roof and distribute its
weight to the ground via steel or cast iron columns.
Above: This section was cut through one of the proposed
market’s three headhouses to highlight their exterior appearance.
The market’s oriental cupolas, towers, sea monster sculptures,
and covered arcades seek to convey a bazaarlike atmosphere and
a romantic aura of nautical adventure.
Above: This section was cut through the proposed market’s
gallery to highlight its construction and spatial configuration.
The sunlit, glass-roofed central gallery contains seating areas
and tables to accommodate customers from the adjacent market
stalls, restaurants, and bars. The ultimate intention is to make the
market’s interior feel light, airy, and cheerful.
This market proposal
hopes to serve as an
attractive focal point for
Federal Hill, to boost the
neighborhood’s street life,
and to improve the exposure
of the neighborhood’s retail
establishments and other
businesses.
A full-size pdf of this
proposal is available at the
author’s website (via a link in
the online portfolio).
5
EAST BALTIMORE INFILL BLOCK
Right: This elevation sketch
illustrates a strategy for
unifying the facade of an
entire block of medium
(middle income) infill
rowhouses.
2010
The typical East Baltimore
block is already arranged
hierarchically: larger
rowhouses traditionally
face the outer (wider)
streets of a block while a
narrow brick alley bisects
the block to provide access
to smaller alley rowhouses.
This arrangement can be
modified to provide larger
corner stores and interior
gardens for each block.
I decided to reinforce the
perimeter block strategy
by proposing two different
templates for infill blocks:
the first block would contain
a community garden (A) and
a pocket park/playground
(B) in the interior (similar
to Harlem Park), while
the second block would
continue to offer small (but
affordable) alley rowhouses
(C) in the interior.
Both templates would
contain large corner business
blocks (D) which would
offer ground-floor retail and
offices or apartments above.
The corner business blocks
would be connected by short
lines of rowhouses (E).
All the rowhouses would
retain small backyards
(F) that could be used for
additions, gardens, garages,
parking pads, or patios.
I proposed unifying the
facades of the blocks so they
would read as impressive,
unified ensembles and
avoid falling into the trap of
repetition that plagues some
of Baltimore’s rowhouses.
The unity might also help
each block develop its own
self-contained identity.
C
E
350’
E
B
350’
A
ALLEY
D
D
ALLEY
These sketches illustrate a
vision for infilling the vacant
blocks around the Johns
Hopkins Hospital with new
rowhouses arranged in a
“perimeter block” format.
ALLEY
F
F
CORNER STORE
w/ APTS.
SCENARIO 1
ROWHOUSE ROWHOUSE ROWHOUSE
ROWHOUSE
ROWHOUSE
ROWHOUSE
CORNER STORE
w/ APTS.
SCENARIO 2
350’
350’
Right: This elevation sketch
illustrates a strategy for
unifying the facade of an
entire block of large (high
income) infill rowhouses.
ALLEY
ALLEY
CORNER STORE w/ APTS.
ROWHOUSES
ROWHOUSES
CORNER STORE w/ APTS.
Top: These plan drawings
depict two different
strategies for building
perimeter blocks (described
in the text to the left).
CORNER STORE
w/ APTS.
ROWHOUSE
ROWHOUSE
STUDIO
APT.
ROWHOUSE
ROWHOUSE
CORNER STORE
w/ APTS.
Middle: This elevation
sketch illustrates a strategy
for unifying the facade of
an entire block of small
(affordable) infill rowhouses.
Right: This elevation sketch
depicts a strategy for infilling
a block that already contains
several rowhouses (far right)
with new rowhouses, shops,
and apartments that form
an enclosed perimeter block.
The architectural motif
varies even though all the
infill buildings are built out
to the existing street wall/
sidewalk.
ALLEY
7
JONES FALLS CANAL
2010 - 2011
SITE LOCATION
This proposal envisions
rebuilding Baltimore’s
Jones Falls Expressway into
a formal canal lined with
a promenade/bikeway,
tram network, tree-lined
boulevard, and many infill
buildings and blocks.
The existing desolate
corridor serves as a
physical and psychological
barrier between various
neighborhoods: The
struggling Johnston Square
and undervalued Station
North and Remington
neighborhoods are cut off
from thriving Mt. Vernon
by a repellent, barren
no-man’s-land of railroad
tracks, overgrown ditches,
drab bridges, noisy sunken
highway lanes or gloomy
elevated highway decks,
decrepit warehouses, and
a motley arrangement of
dusty outlands and vacant
expanses of weeds and
brush.
B
SIDEWALK
BIKE LANE
PARKING LANE
2 TRAVEL LANES
PLANTING STRIP
TRAM TRACKAGE
A
SIDEWALK w/ TRAM STOP
PUBLIC STAIRWAY w/ BIKE RAMPS
PROMENADE w/ SHOPS
PLANTING STRIP
PROMENADE w/ BIKEWAY
LAMPPOST STRIP
JONES FALLS CANAL
Above: The new Jones Falls corridor
contains a sunken canal and
promenade/bikeway, a tram line,
a tree-lined boulevard, and a bike
lane and wide sidewalk enclosed
with infill buildings. This illustration
is a section through half of the canal
and boulevard complex; the other
half is a mirror of the same layout.
The proposed boulevard
and canal strive to improve
the connections between
downtown and uptown
Baltimore by uncovering
and revitalizing a neglected
asset (the Jones Falls)
and transforming it into a
commercial and recreational
byway.
This byway intends to serve
as a pleasant processional
route from the Inner Harbor
to Druid Hill Park to improve
access to the park and spur
further revitalization of that
urban gem. The tree-lined
boulevard along the canal
replaces the JFX and the
sunken promenade/bikeway
serves as an extension of the
Jones Falls Trail.
A full-size pdf of this
proposal is available at the
author’s website (via a link in
the online portfolio).
INFILL BLDGS
3 to 7 stories
A
B
Left: This close-up rendering shows
the canal and sunken promenade/
bikeway pass underneath a bridge.
The promenade/bikeway contains
alcoves built into the embankment;
these can serve as vendors’ kiosks or
farmers’ market stalls.
Left: This close-up rendering
depicts the wide boulevard
sidewalks enclosed with infill
buildings. Canopies, shop displays,
signs, and restaurant tables are
encouraged to spill out onto the
sidewalk to entice passersby.
Opposite page: This site plan shows
the route for the entire canal/
boulevard. Existing buildings are in
gray while new infill buildings and
blocks are in black. The callouts
refer to local conditions and details.
A full-size pdf of this proposal is
available at the author’s website (via
a link in the online portfolio).
9
JONES FALLS CANAL, CONTINUED: PROPOSED TRAM LINES
Opposite page: This proposal also envisions
providing a comprehensive tram network for
Baltimore, of which many routes would run along or
across the new canal/promenade. Subway and light
rail construction has become much more expensive
over the decades, so the proposal suggests rebuilding
the city’s existing avenues to accommodate tram
lines in their medians. Trams would run much like the
current QuickBuses - rather than containing a stop
on each block, the lines would offer stops spaced
further apart, just like light rail or subway stops. The
rolling stock would be short - about the length of an
articulated bus - so the trams could maintain short
headways and clear intersections quickly. A full-size
pdf of this plan is available at the author’s website
(via a link in the online portfolio).
A
INFILL BLDGS
3 to 7 stories
SIDEWALK
BIKE LANE
PARKING LANE
TRAVEL LANE
TRAVEL LANE
A
PLANTING STRIP
TRAM TRACKAGE
PLANTING STRIP
TRAVEL LANE
TRAVEL LANE
PARKING LANE
Above: This diagram depicts the tram
network’s routes/stops as they cross
over the site. The new canal/boulevard
accommodates a north-south tram line
that conveniently connects downtown
Baltimore to the many uptown
neighborhoods. This double-track line runs
along both embankments of the canal/
promenade; the tracks split in the middle
to accommodate it. Several east-west
crosstown routes also pass over the canal.
PLANTING STRIP
BIKE LANE
SIDEWALK
Above left: This rendering shows how the pedestrian-repelling,
highwaylike avenues that currently carve up the Jones Falls corridor can
be rebuilt to serve a variety of travel modes. The new boulevards would
contain six vehicle lanes (four travel lanes, two parking lanes), a central
median for trams, and a bike lane and wide sidewalk on each side. The
boulevards would also be lined with shade trees. The infill buildings
enclosing the sidewalks range from three to seven stories high.
PROPOSED ROLLING STOCK
11
JONES FALLS CANAL, CONTINUED: PROPOSED TRAM STOPS
Below: This illustration shows how the existing
avenues could be rebuilt to accommodate
tram stops in their medians. Tram tracks would
almost always be placed in their own medians
so that automobile traffic wouldn’t interfere
with and delay tram traffic (and vice versa).
The tram stops would usually be spaced three
to ten blocks apart, depending on the size
of the blocks. They would also be sited near
intersections to allow passengers to access
them via crosswalks as well as via underground
passageways. The illustration also shows the
proposed bike and parking lanes along each
boulevard. A varied brick paving pattern and
cast iron fences are used to distinguish the bike
lane from the sidewalk. The parking lanes are
paved with stone blocks and are separated from
the bike lanes via a second line of fences and a
line of shade trees.
INFILL BLDGS
3 to 7 stories
SIDEWALK
Right: This illustration
depicts a typical tram
stop built into a boulevard
median; the stairs to the
underground passageways
(which connect the tram
stops to the sidewalks) are
also shown. The platforms
are completely fenced
in from the roadway and
are furnished with frosted
glass canopies.
Bottom right: Tram
stops are situated near
intersections so they
can be accessed via
crosswalks. To allow for an
alternate access route out
of the path of cars, each
tram stop also contains an
underground passageway
that connects the median
to the sidewalks on either
side of the boulevard.
The exit/entrance stairs
always contain signs
indicating the name, route
number(s), and route
name(s) of the tram stop.
A
BIKE LANE
PARKING LANE
B
TRAVEL LANE
TRAVEL LANE
A
PLANTING STRIP
TRAM STOP
PLANTING STRIP
TRAVEL LANE
TRAVEL LANE
Above: This diagram shows how the Jones
Falls Expressway would transition into
a boulevard at 41st Street in Hampden
and terminate at the existing roundabout
in Harbor East. The proposed canal/
promenade would be located in the middle
of the boulevard for most of its route. The
mixed-use buildings along the boulevard
would form a rhythmic street wall and
range from 3 to 7 stories high; all empty lots
and parking lots would be infilled.
B
PARKING LANE
PLANTING STRIP
BIKE LANE
SIDEWALK
13
JONES FALLS CANAL, CONTINUED: PROPOSED INFILL BUILDINGS
Right: These two
sketches illustrate a
strategy for infilling
the empty lots and
parking lots along the
new canal/boulevard
with mixed-use
buildings. The infill
buildings would
form an enclosing
street wall and offer
retail on the ground
floor (parking can
be tucked behind
buildings). These
sketches refer to an
example block that
lies along Guilford
Avenue between
Chase and Eager
Streets.
INFILL BLDGS
2 to 7 stories
SIDEWALK
PLANTING STRIP
PARKING LANE
TEMPLE GARDENS APARTMENTS
(EXISTING)
INFILL APARTMENTS
TRAVEL LANE
TRAVEL LANE
PARKING LANE
PLANTING STRIP
SIDEWALK
Above: The fragmented outer plots of Druid Hill Park near
Reservoir Hill are infilled with buildings that evoke a sharp and
majestic street wall effect (similar to New York’s Central Park).
Top left: A TYPICAL INFILL THROUGH STREET
Existing through streets are rebuilt to be more welcoming to
pedestrians. Through streets are enclosed with residential/
retail buildings and have brick sidewalks lined with shade trees.
Their parking lanes are paved with stone blocks to distinguish
them from the travel lanes and to help the through streets feel
narrower. No new through streets are one-way, and all existing
one-way streets are reverted to two-way traffic.
SIDEWALK
PLANTING STRIP
TRAVEL LANE
PARKING LANE
ROWHOUSE
PARKING LOT
WAREHOUSE
INFILL APARTMENTS
w/ SHOPFRONTS
WAREHOUSE
RETROFITTED
w/ SHOPFRONTS
Bottom left: A TYPICAL INFILL ALLEY
Most existing alleys are retained and new alleys are added to
almost every infill block. The alleys provide access to many
interior block activities such as parking pads, backyards, alley
rowhouses, and community gardens.
COMMERCIAL BLDG
CHASE STREET
ROWHOUSE
CHASE STREET
EXISTING
ROWHOUSE
PROPOSED
EXISTING
ROWHOUSE
Below: The proposal
envisions expanding
Penn Station and
connecting it to the
canal/promenade
with a plaza. The
Jones Falls Boulevard
is placed in a short
tunnel; the Northeast
Corridor’s trackage is
also placed inside a
deeper tunnel.
Middle left: A TYPICAL INFILL SIDE STREET
Intimate side streets branch off many of the through streets.
They contain a single travel lane and a parking lane and are
paved entirely with stone blocks to discourage speeding. Side
streets contain sidewalks and lines of shade trees; they are also
enclosed with residential/retail buildings.
INFILL BLDGS
2 to 5 stories
EXISTING
APARTMENTS ADDED ATOP
EXISTING BLDG; ALSO
RETROFITTED w/ SHOPFRONTS
EXISTING PARKING LOT
REPLACED WITH RETAILLINED PARKING GARAGE
ROTUNDA
(UPPER CONCOURSE)
EXISTING PENN STATION
PLANTING STRIP
SIDEWALK
PENN STATION
TRAM STOP
PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE
CONNECTING TO DOWNTOWN
TAXIS
JONES FALLS BOULEVARD
INFILL BLDGS
2 to 3 stories
DROP-OFF
JONES FALLS CANAL
AND PROMENADE
SIDEWALK
TRAVEL LANE
SIDEWALK
FOOD COURT AND SHOPS (LOWER CONCOURSE)
TRACKS AND PLATFORMS
UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE
15
DETAIL MODELS
2008 - 2010
In the scarce free time I had
during my school years,
I took the opportunity
to practice methods for
ornamenting buildings via
digital modeling and hand
sketching.
I object strongly to Loos’
“ornament is a crime”
mantra and believe that
most ornament has deep
cultural and orienting
functions. Before the era
of relatively-cheap 3D
modeling software, it also
seemed that complex
architectural embellishments
were the first elements to be
“value engineered” out of a
proposed design, but now
I think the many intuitive
parametric and generative
design tools in such software
as Revit, Rhino, and
Generative Components
can increasingly be used
to sculpt ornament in an
economic (and hopefully
elegant) manner.
Since skilled sculptors
and craftsmen are hard to
find (and very expensive!),
computer-aided fabrication
and milling techniques
could augment and assist
the craftsmen, potentially
reviving the Industrial
Revolution’s flourishing
ornament-manufacturing
industry before it was
trampled by the postwar
“less is more” mindset.
These pages contain
hand drawings and digital
drawings of various buildings
I modeled (in full 3D) to
study various techniques
for ornamenting facades.
Some of the buildings
were inspired by existing
structures while others
are fictional creations.
Most studies were done
independently but a few
were done for school
projects.
Above: A Revit rendering of a strategy for
encasing double-hung windows with sandstone
surrounds. The window and surround were
modeled in Revit and arranged into a family so
they could be applied to various wall types.
Right: When asked to draw and detail a wall
section for a construction systems class at RPI,
I chose to draw a wall section of a platformframed dwelling clad in brick veneer. In the
section drawing I made sure to surround the
window opening with a brick soldier-arrayed
lintel and a sloped rowlock-arrayed sill. (I have
seen several contemporary buildings that
seem to give little thought to how brick veneer
should behave when it meets window or door
openings.)
Below: A detail rendering of some rhythmic
swell-front rowhouse cornices. Note also that
the three levels of windows use different lintels:
The first two floors use a heavily-ornamented
cornice while the third floor uses a simpler
pediment.
Above: 3D models of
several apartment
buildings and
rowhouses inspired
by the many similar
residential buildings
of New York City.
Left: A view of a
fictional apartment
building with
a ground-level
department store.
This building has a
corner “wedge” in
the facade to allow
a store sign to be
equally visible from
two directions.
17
STREETSCAPE RENDERINGS
2010 - 2011
Drawings and renderings can
often convey architectural
and urban design ideas
better than a plethora
of elevations, plans, or
sections.
A powerful and enticing
rendering can help win
over a skeptical audience,
so I attempt to create
renderings that tell dramatic
and compelling stories.
Each rendering contains
a sprinkling of props and
people that are chosen
to appeal to the target
audience.
I deliberately keep the
number of people in the
renderings sparse because
I think an oversaturation
of people (so common
in today’s fashionista
renderings depicting
vast crowds of ghosted
hipsters wandering around
with dreamy expressions)
is often an attempt to
cover up abstract, barren
architecture. In reality these
abstract proposals often end
up being desolate, repellent,
and devoid of people!
Whenever I show the streetlevel view of a proposal, I
try to emphasize details
that could allow viewers
to project themselves into
the illustration (rather than
cramming in too many
strangers). Variations
in building masses,
accumulated ornaments,
street details (hydrants,
fences, lampposts, and
even some grit/weathering)
intend to catch the viewer’s
eye and project believability.
I textured, lit, rendered, and
postprocessed these scenes
myself. I also modeled all
the buildings in the scenes,
but the props (people, trees,
cars, bikes, lampposts, etc.)
were obtained from free 3ds
mesh websites.
Above: There are some streetcar-era rowhouse suburbs in Baltimore that, having fallen on hard times
in the last couple of decades, now contain many derelict rowhouses and vacant lots. If revitalization
begins to spread outward from stable neighborhoods like Ednor Gardens, Mayfield, and Mt. Washington
into troubled neighborhoods like Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello, Belair-Edison, and Pimlico,
then the hillside rowhouses pictured above could be used to infill vacant lots. These rowhouse designs
were inspired by the elegant rowhouses of Belair-Edison, but they have been modified to offer deeper
porches, wider steps and fences built of ashlar, golden Roman brick facades, and heavier cornices. As
depicted in the rendering, the infill proposal also suggests narrowing the streets to offer wider sidewalks
and planting strips for shade trees (where they don’t already exist).
Top right: This rendering depicts a proposal for a
block of swell-front infill rowhouses in the North
Central neighborhood of Troy, NY.
Middle right: There is a very handsome twoblock line of porch-front/bay-front rowhouses in
Baltimore’s Charles Village neighborhood.
Bottom right: This is the entrance to the Earl
Court apartment building in Baltimore’s MidtownBelvedere neighborhood. The scene is part fantasy
since the details shown here are romanticized and
more ornate than they are in real life.
19
ABOUT THE PORTFOLIO’S BACKGROUND IMAGE:
The fictional buildings in this pencil drawing are composed of eclectic motifs inspired by the palatial architecture of Baltimore’s Mt.
Vernon neighborhood. A quick walk around this neighborhood exposes the pedestrian to many impressive and romantic architectural
motifs; the details that left the strongest impression on my mind were used to sketch an imaginary streetscape.
All portfolio content © Marc Szarkowski