Elizabeth Weber

Architecture and Art

ARCHITECTURE ARTWORK ABOUT SHOP
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Graffiti-Oper

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Archive of Memory

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Infinity's Embrace

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Lunar Hospitality

Graffiti-Oper

graffiti-oper
Project Description
Student Project: Design a city in a foreign country and research its culture. Choose a site in that city and design a restaurant that includes at least one form of entertainment. The restaurant must be at least 5000 sq ft.
Site
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany
Approach
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg is a neighborhood divided – though the Berlin Wall that separated it has gone, a cultural divide remains, symbolized by the river that divides the districts. Graffiti-Oper, translated as "Graffiti-Opera" in German, combines the culture of Graffiti with the grandeur of Opera. The project thus bridges the neighborhood gap both physically, in the form of a literal bridge, and culturally, as a space designed to facilitate cultural expression.

--- Elevation ---

As the space expands so does the glass coverage, allowing for expansion of space without exposure to the elements. The dining area is covered with a large glass dome, left open near the balcony to allow guests to view the surroundings in the open air. Public areas are open to the surroundings, inviting Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg to take ownership of the space. Private staff areas are kept to a minimum, and the exterior of those walls is open to graffiti, as all exterior walls are.

--- Visual Development ---

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The expansive form of the opera house is quite literally "opened up," with sections of its form left open to the air. Symbolically, this opens up this historically prestigious cultural space to the public, and to both Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg.

The walls are left blank, invited to be painted by the public, filled with the Graffiti cultures of both Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg.

Proposed graffiti (image on right), references the influential magazine "Jugend" which inspired the "Jugendstil" (German Art Neveau) movement in the early 20th century.

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--- Site ---

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--- Floor Plans ---

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The first floor is a functional space for staff, housing the kitchen, staff locker room, and staff toilet. The kitchen is walled in glass, so the cooking can be viewed as guests make their way up the ramp to the dining area.

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The second floor contains the first of the dining areas. Food is brought up through the elevator, and guests make their way up the ramp.

Archive of Memory

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Project Description
Student Project: Create an archive (library) of anything that is not books. The project must be at least 5000 sq ft.
Site
Flagstaff, Arizona
Approach
The project archives the concept of memory, with an experien­tial space that takes visitors backwards through conceptual rooms representing the stages of memory development over the course of a human life. Informed by this, the graphic approach depicts the conceptual work in a vibrant papercut style, referencing the surreal qualities of memory.

--- Visual Development ---

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Through conceptual sketching, we developed the visual "look" of the space and how it interconnects. We layered 5 concepts: "Today", "Yesterday", "Amnesia", "Childhood", and "Before", with each layer downwards into the earth more surreal and less grounded in its design.

--- Site Analysis ---

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--- Floors ---

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TODAY / GROUND LEVEL: The first of the floors, the "Today" level is grounded and open to the air, encouraging visitors to live in the present moment. The "Today" floor represents memories in the making, the most vivid and present stage of memory, and hides its architecture in the surrounding foliage.

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ARCHIVE OF YESTERDAY / SUBLEVEL 1: Just below "Today" is "Yesterday," a space representing recent memory.

This space represents memories made vibrant only by their proximity to the present. Thus, the only light in the space is brought through skylights from the "Today" floor.

Like today, the space is similarly grounded in reality, as memories have yet to be distorted by the mind.

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ARCHIVE OF AMNESIA / SUBLEVEL 2: Claustrophobic, with no corners to hide in, the "Amnesia" floor removes control from the experience, guiding visitors through a space they cannot touch. A round elevator takes guests through an aquarium, immersing them in an intangible, suffocating space which evokes the feeling of blurry memory.

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ARCHIVE OF CHILDHOOD / SUBLEVEL 3: As in childhood, everything on this level has been scaled so that an adult can once again experience the proportions of a 5 year-old. The kitchen represents a universal space, one that is central to most cultures and childhoods. This space is brought into a child's perspective not only by size but by color, as everything is hypersaturated, mimicking the bright adoration a child might find in objects and colors well-known to an adult.

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ARCHIVE OF BEFORE / SUBLEVEL 4: The last floor, "Before" represents memories formed before birth. These are memories not remembered in the mind but in the body. To reference these memories is to recall not an experience but a feeling, an instinct.

This space recalls the body memory through soft walls, floors, and comfort, a space enclosed. A heartbeat plays over speakers, and there are spaces not just to walk but to dwell, to rest, and to remember.

Infinity's Embrace

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Project Description
Student Project: Create a community center that meets the needs of Jaycee Park. Research the community and site, and design a building that fits the community and environment.
Site
Jaycee Park, Tempe, Arizona
Approach
This project expands upon the theme of "Gravity" in order to design a community center that pulls people together. The two buildings resemble spatial bodies in harmony with one another, creating a space that feels balanced and comfortable.
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EARLY CONCEPT - GRAVITY

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SPACES / LEVELS

The early conceptual illustration (left) depicts a person surrounded by stars, representing the proposed community center's person-oriented design. The figure's empowerment is depicted by their illumination and their positioning, as they are placed literally at the "center of the universe," and the center of the design. Without community, there can be no community center

--- SITE PLAN ---

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The two buildings orbit one another as celestial bodies in harmony. This balance is further emphasized by the flow of the pathways, which "pull" visitors in along anticipated "desire pathways," the shortest natural pathways from the parking lot to the buildings.

The community garden is a third space, connected to the community center through a "wormhole" structure, creating both a shaded pathway and a space for vined plants to thrive.

--- ELEVATION ---

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This section demonstrates best the flow of the buildings. The lower floor is communal, for public events, and the second floor houses a public library.

Lunar Hospitality

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Project Description
Student Project: Create an imaginative, multi-story hotel / living space on the moon.
Site
The Moon
Approach
Community is one of the most vital parts of human society, and Lunar Hospitality makes community its prime goal. In it, the classic American "neighborhood" is deconstructed, embracing the Moon’s lower gravity by allowing residents to leap between levels. Residential, commercial, and industrial spaces are interconnected in a dome of air, creating convenience and normalcy both for proposed scientists and their families. The central area is left open, simultaneously fostering human connection and fighting claustrophobia. In an alien environment, Lunar Hospitality creates a welcoming, livable neighborhood – a home away from Earth.