Jason Hendersonundergraduate portfolioUniversity of Florida

2010 MArch applicant

03 term: fall 2006 critic: Levent Kara size: < 500 sqft

door window stair

The project investigates the creation of tectonic systems and is the first undergraduate project that deals directly with the idea of occupation. The notions of door, window, and stair are taken out of their conventional contexts and reinterpreted into a system of spatial logics. The system is anchored on a large armature piece that acts as a generative context for intervening. A dual materiality emerges as one material holds or is held by the other.

Moments of pause, contemplation, and interaction are created within a sequence of movement. Light and sectional fluidity become two of the main unifying aspects of the spatial experience. Apertures integrated into the system act as viewing portals between separate layers of the project, adding to the phenomenal qualities of occupying the space.

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Spatial logics were initially explored through a series of line diagrams that analyze the temporal and cinematic qualities of a given film. ‘Door window stair ‘ synthesizes these abstract systems into a tectonic and spatial narrative in an attempt to reexamine the notion of occupation.

07 term: fall 2007 critic: Ruth Ron size: 1,000 sqft

house in the florida landscape

The project began with the question, “what is a house in the digital age?” A house in the digital age is one of the many locations where interconnectivity is possible. It is no longer a mere vessel for domesticity. In this case, the house becomes an icon in the Florida landscape. A series of columnar elements carry an elevated series of volumes with possible functional attributes. These functional volumes are pierced by transparent light wells.

possible plan arrangement:1. bedrooms2. kitchen3. reading room4. living room

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Colored by abstracting tones from the surrounding landscape, these light wells transform the interiors of the house into animated spaces, and enhance the spatial experience of the pathway that leads up to the entry. Walls are replaced by transparent walkways that are suspended between the volumes, adding to the idea of an interconnected house in the digital age.

09 term: summer 2009 critic: William Tilson size: 1,500 sqft

tectonic pavilion

The tectonic pavilion is a project done prior to going to Mexico for the UF Study Abroad program in Guadalajara. The purpose of the project is to invent through the act of making. The main material conceived to be used is steel. A free-form series of reflective panels are held in tension within a rigid steel framed structure. These panels create a sense of movement and distortion within the space through their form and by reflecting the exterior into the interior of the volume. The pavilion uses one material to produce multiple experiences of the architectural object.

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A series of twisted fins on two of the facades bring the dichotomy between movement and rigidity to the exterior. Through the act of making, the pavilion becomes both an architectural object and a generator for architecture. Some of the formal and tectonic ideas of the pavilion are carried into the design of the final project of the Mexico studio.

13 term: summer 2009 critic: William Tilson size: 3,000 sqft

chapel on the water

San Martin de las Canas is situated within the landscape as a reading of the existing topography. The center of the town is marked by the existence of a large dammed body of water. The chosen site lies on the northeastern tip of this diverted lake. Three main roads converge on the site, instituting a complex possibility for the creation and extension of views out over the water and into the surrounding landscape. An immediate sectional change of about sixteen feet defines the level of the street in relation to the level of the lake water.

With a population of 778 people, approximately eighty-six percent are declared as Catholic. The chapel emerges from a three part system of diagrams: boarding, departure, anchoring. Boarding brought to the surface the existing contextual lines and cues, departure began the extension and reinvention of those cues, and anchoring determined the extent that the chapel would be pulled out into the water. These three processes unfolded into what became the three stages of the project: a large covered public space at street level, a footbridge dug into the landscape of the public space that leads out into the water, and the main chapel space that exists at the end of the promenade.

site analysis diagrams

15 The covered public terrace is a simple series of thin tree-like columnar elements that structurally support two large canopy pieces. These pieces subtly angle towards each other, collecting and directing rainwater through a single cutout aperture above a collection pool. Water is directed through the public space from this central collection node, overflowing into vessels of different volumes and eventually overflowing into the lake. The bell tower penetrates through the canopy, structuring it, while also acting as a visual node for the existence of the chapel on the water.

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The chapel is a vessel on the water as well as a vessel for water, through the articulation of joints between tectonic systems and pool systems. As a singular space, the chapel maintains both a religious and secular atmosphere, opening up to the water and to the landscape as well as the surrounding public spaces. The chapel is tectonically simplified yet expressive through the reinterpretation of local building methods. A tripartite procession from public space to bridge to chapel recalls the design strategy while directly affecting the experience of the occupant. The architecture becomes a singular entity on the lake, tied to the landscape through the promenade and through the extension of the landscape.

19 term: fall 2009 critic: Alfonso Perez size: 150,000 sqft

Jason Henderson, John Guinn

manhattan hotel

The hotel is a large vessel that functions as a temporary storage unit for people. An analysis of the amenities at existing hotels, from the most fundamental to the most extravagant, led to the idea of organizing the building envelope through social stratification and monetary typologies. The two extremes of organization are the excessively lavish and the exceedingly frugal. This method of organization becomes the architectural and sociological idea of how one views or is viewed by the city.

The hotel project is the first group project at UF. My group partner and I took equal leadership roles during the project by acknowledging and discussing each other’s opinions and ideas. We both put in an a substantial amount of work on the ideas, diagrams, and renderings for the project.

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An algorithmic method was used to organize the skin of the building, creating a systemic gradient between each of the apertures. Multiple apertures cover hotel rooms that are more “private”, while more “public” rooms are defined by one large aperture that becomes an occupiable pod. These apertures define how the occupant wishes to see, or wishes to be seen, by the city. The scale of the gradient affects the urban experience of both the block and the city through an hectic display of architectural fluidity.

circulation core

hotel rooms

section diagrams investigating “bracketing” of space

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The public spaces are conceived of as public “rings” that change in section and wrap the entire perimeter of the hotel. This creates dynamic public spaces with altered views of the cityscape. The hotel rooms fill the space between the public “rings” and the circulation core. An elevated retail band wraps the perimeter of the hotel near ground level, thus framing the entry to the hotel as well as creating a covered public space at street level. The retail band is punctured by a system of large apertures similar to that of the hotel, putting shoppers on display to both the occupants of the hotel and commuters on the street.

public rings

commercial bands

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The public spaces of the hotel become dynamic and animated through the insertion of occupiable pods that are extruded from the skin. A translucent overhead condition allows for occupants of the public space to see movement in the more “public” hotel rooms above them. The hotel situates itself in the city as an urban viewing node, where the desire to see or be seen is determined by the occupants willingness to spend.

27 term: spring 2009 critic: selected jury size: < 500 sqft

woven banner

Jason Henderson, John Guinn, Wylie Gunn

This project was a ten hour design charrette that was coordinated by the UF School of Design, Construction and Planning. The competition was titled “Pride In Place Charrette.” My role in the project mainly focused on the renderings and Photoshop aspect of the final product.

For the Pride in Place Charrette our team focused on the idea of a banner as a means of broadcasting information, ideas and goals from the student architecture community to the greater university. It is our idea that our proposal be a temporary showcase and celebration of the school of architecture and its productions. It is a way of letting the greater student body identify the school of architecture and to encourage them to experience the work of the design curriculum and perhaps partake in the some of their activities.

The banner is a curvilinear surface that is constructed of laminated bending birch. The pieces are woven through the existing columnar structure of the UF architecture building. The structure provides large surface areas that face the courtyard for projecting information, platforms for displaying physical models, and areas for seating. The construction of the laminated planks can be accomplished through creating four separate jigs constructed out of two-by-fours. After creating the jig for each plank section, a sheet of bending birch would be applied to the jig, and then the subsequent layers would be glued to that to achieve the correct form. The process would be finished after vacuum packing the jigs and planks in plastic.

29 term: fall 2009 critic: Alfonso Perez size: 1,389,300 sqft

mixed-use manhattan block

My group partner and I took equal leadership roles during the project by acknowledging and discussing each other’s opinions and ideas. We both put in an a substantial amount of work on the ideas, diagrams, and renderings for the project.

Jason Henderson, John Guinn

The goal of this project was to investigate and understand the implications of urban form, street presence, and the various intensities of public space. The site is a block adjacent to the east side of DeWitt Clinton Park, between 11th ave. and 10th ave. The development of this mixed-use project began with the desire to incorporate the green space of Clinton Park into the block’s formal layout. The area of the block was extruded and then punctured by two large courtyards. In order to bring the green space closer to the urban fabric of the city, the courtyards were pushed as close as possible to the perimeter of the block. This also allowed for the insertion of a large, third courtyard for the residential towers on the south side of the block.

extruding the block and inserting courtyards

pushing the courtyards to the perimeter

stepping existing courtyards and adding central residential courtyard

inserting residential towers and breaking into secondary programs

caged vegetation

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54th St.

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DeWitt Clinton Park

SITE

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diagram of public spaces that receive at least four consecutive hours of direct sunlight

interior render of the cultural spaces

In order for the courtyard spaces to become a part of the urban activity on the street, the block materializes as an extremely transparent set of buildings. Two, twelve foot wide office strips orient themselves towards 11th and 10th avenue. Commuters on the street can pass by the block and view people working, shopping, and moving throughout the courtyards. They can also choose to enter the block into the courtyards, retail spaces, or cultural center.

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residential towers

mediarooms/classrooms

rentable/retail spaces

The public courtyards exist at three different elevations within the block, and vary in their levels of intensity. The form of the towers responds to the courtyards below with a cantilever that marks the end of the residential units. The volume below the residential units houses a series of media rooms and classrooms for both the residents of the tow-ers and the students of the school. The block becomes an area where domesticity, learning, and working exist and overlap.

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columnar structures/circulation

cultural space

offices -> warehouse space -> studios

Life within the block becomes visible and public through the use of extreme transparency. The structure of the block, conceived of as a vast sea of thin columns, adds to this notion of transparency by blurring the visibility of programs throughout the spaces. The courtyards are a place to be, and a place to see the activity of the urban surroundings, as well as the activities within the block.

My thanks and gratitude goes to those who have helped make this endeavor possible for me:

My parents, Carol and Steve, who have been the most generous and motivating people in my life.. Without you, literally none of the past twenty-two years would have been possible.

My siblings, Brian and Traci, who have always been there for me when I need a calming voice of advice.

My professors at UF, who have helped mold the way I view the architectural world.

My in-studio (and out-of-studio) friends: Ashley, Carolyn, Julie, Drew, Nathan, and many other people that have helped maintain my sanity and insanity during the nocturnal stages of studio life.

My friends outside of studio: Zack, Kyle, Kristen, Laura, Daniela, Jason Hall, John Faichney, Julius, Chris and Kimbo, for allowing me time to relax once in a while.

My closest friend, roommate, and design partner, John Guinn, who I have managed to spend almost every hour of every day with, for the past four years, without really ever getting into a serious dispute. I think we’ve broken a record somewhere along the line. I hope that we can continue to work together in the architectural field in the years to come.