NOMA CONFERENCE 2020
This was UBC NOMAS' second year participating in the annual NOMA Conference and also entering the annual Barbara G. Laurie Student Design Competition. Although the conference was completely virtual, we had an amazing time seeing everyone's faces across the NOMA(S) Chapters.
After working on our entry for six solid months, we had the immense privilege to be chosen as one of the seven finalists for the student competition this year and an Honourable Mention recipient of the ACADIA+Autodesk+NOMA Computational Design Award.
Competition Coordinator: Lukas Ewing
Advisors: Thomas Gaudin + Roy Cloutier (Patkau Architects)
Collaborators: Andrea de Bernardini, Tarnjeet Lalh, David Law, Jenny Lee, Rebecca Li, David Park, Angela Zhang, Willy Zhou
Project Proposal:
The objective of this project was to create a community cultural hub that could combat the various environmental and social challenges of the East Oakland site. Residential, commercial, and cultural zones were strategically arranged to provide residents with agency over their own spaces. The stepped, retreating form of the massing responded to the Bart train lines by providing access to transit, while reducing the noise pollution. Furthermore, the aim was also to bridge the division of the green network, through vegetation as well as the redirection and restoration of the Arroyo Viejo creek; to compliment this, the center of the project was prioritized for communal gathering, viewing, and events. The site also prompted for accessible and direct routes towards the center. Lastly, the facade including its materiality, responded to the climatic conditions as a strategy towards a net positive goal.