399 E WITHERSPOON

For the final project of my collegiate education, Master of Architecture students were given two full semesters to locate a problem, conduct research, and design a solution for their thesis projects. The Fall semester would consist of discovering and researching a problem, thought, idea, etc. while the Spring semester was spent designing a solution to the previously researched conflict.

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Having always been interested in skyscrapers and supertalls, I knew I wanted to design my own, but I didn't want to design a typical supertall that is only filled with office space or apartments for the uber rich. As much as I love watching supertalls go up all over the world, many of them limit the publics experience inside as the programs within (usually high end office space and extremely expensive apartments) restrict the public from enjoying the height and vertical power of these towers. To combat this, I wanted to design a new model for a supertall - influenced by the megastructural thoughts of Rayner Banham and Rem Koolhaas where the program of the building brought as many people in as possible; truly becoming a vertical city within a city. Thus, presenting the title of a megastructure back to the supertall

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After a lengthy research process, I chose Louisville, Kentucky as the location for the new model of supertall. Louisville seemed the most ideal option between weather, soil conditions, lack of supertalls, and presence of population and activity. I decided to choose a city typically not know for its verticality to highlight how a building of this layout can act as a model in any city whether it's known for tall buildings or not. 

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After deciding what program would be allowed on the site and occupying the building, I created multiple diagrams demonstrating different variations of how the program can be stacked atop one another to find the optimal layout. Once a vertical layout was established, a conceptual elevation was drawn from it, turning into more diagrams, a character sketch, and eventually computer models to finalize a mass completely dictated by the arrangement of vertical program. Once a generic mass was finalized, model making out of foam helped explore further ideas, iterations, and masses. A contextual site model of Lousiville was made to then see how these different massing models related to the rest of the city's skyline. 

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Once a mass and program list were established, the floor plans could be arranged. The vertical program consists of as many uses as possible ranging from apartments, offices, and retail space to bowling alleys, theatres, fitness centers, places of worship, and tourist attractions. Above are a selection of floors plans that highlight the variety of program in the tower, while the program section above shows all of these different spaces stacked vertically. 

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To finish off this chapter of my life, I wanted to build a physical model taller than myself to showcase the true power and verticality of a 1,200 ft tall building (at a 1/16" scale) and to enjoy making one last model. Many hours, a lot of money, 2 main models, and 80 concept models later, my final year of collegiate education is complete. 

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Above are a few images of my final design solution with different diagrams of the project as well as many model photos. Select the PDF icon to the left to view the extensive research booklet that was completed before the design of the tower started.