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New York Architect Inspires Students to Design Big and Small
New York Architect Stephen Cassell lectured students on three of his current projects.
By: Margaret Thompson
Architecture students were inspired to enjoy designing projects of all scales. Approximately 70 architecture students took time out of their St. Patrick’s Day festivities to listen to the principal and cofounder of the New York-based Architecture Research Office speak about the variously sized works the firm has designed.
Dwarfed in size by Cartwright Auditorium’s large projection screen, Stephen Cassel presented three of his current projects. “I like to work on projects of different scales,” Cassell said. His firm designs projects ranging from single-family houses to entire city plans.
In the dimmed auditorium, architecture students sat quietly listening. Some were reclining in their green holiday attire, while others hunched over their sketchbooks taking notes.
Cassel received his BA in Architecture at Princeton and his MA in Architecture at Harvard. At the lecture, he presented his office’s present works, one of which was just finished earlier in the day.
The first project, R-House, was winner of a competition to create a sustainable one-family house in Syracuse, NY.
Cassell explained the three Passivhaus Principles his firm applied to the project to make it sustainable. These include heat recovery, passive solar energy, and super-insulation.
Students gasped when Cassell explained how these principles affect the house. The R-House is “so well insulated you have to pump air from outside to make sure you have enough oxygen,” Cassell said. “Basically you could heat this house with a hair dryer.”
With the Passivhaus Principles applied to the structure, Cassell estimated that the energy cost would drop close to 70%, or 90% with a renewable electricity source.
“We designed it so it can be modified,” Cassel said.Because the R-House won the competition, it is currently under construction.
The second project Cassell presented was Five Principles of Greenwich South, which includes identifying solutions for the development of a 41-acre area in Manhattan.
Lack of connection of the area through streets and different structural typologies on the four sides of the area are challenges Cassell faced with the project.
The five principles of the project include encouraging an “intense mix of uses” for the area, connecting the area through street planning, building for a high population density, and creating a reason for people to “come and stay” Cassell said.
To fulfill these principles the Architecture Research Office gathered ideas through a “brain trust” of various community members including restaurateurs, writers, and environmentalists.
“A lot of what you do are the questions you ask,” Cassell said.
Some of the proposed solutions included a building that would support the raising of sheep in the city, a large open market, and a huge weather balloon installation. Cassell showed images of each of these to the amusement of the audience.
The Architecture Research Office also set up large information stands around the area for locals to interact with and to raise awareness of the proposed solutions for the area.
Five Principles of Greenwich South is in the process of being implemented through eco-friendly street environments.
The final project Cassell presented was Rising Currents.
Rising Currents addresses the possibility of rising waters in the entire lower Manhattan area.
Cassell said the area is in danger of flooding due to its change “from a natural landscape to grid.” This change he explained affects the interaction of the area with water.
Over the next one hundred years the sea level in the area will rise six feet Cassell said. A category two storm in the area would create a flood area and sewage problems Cassell said.
To combat this Cassell and his firm plan to add a “porous green street system,” which will absorb excess water, and an urban estuary.
Rising Currents includes various levels of water distribution and protection.
Cassel ended his speech by showing the dramatic difference in size of the three projects in scale to each other. He advised architecture students to have fun while doing their work, whether it is as small as a single-family house or as large as a city.
Cassel spoke on March 17 as part of the CAED Spring Lecture Series.
