C O M P O S I T I O N & C H A R A C T E R : Sam Lima Architecture

Chicago Woodburning

2012-01-03T11:14:00.000-05:00

A piece created for my wife, recalling wonderful times in Chicago.

House Design Competition: New Harmony, IN

2011-10-01T20:08:00.001-04:00

This entry for the New Harmony Bicentennial House Design Competition was recently awarded Third Place. The 1,200 square foot house is designed to be durable, energy efficient, affordable, and in keeping with the character of the historic houses of New Harmony (a small historic city in southern Indiana). The competition was initiated by Historic New Harmony and the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art, and was supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Restoring Trastevere

2011-08-30T23:41:00.005-04:00

Detail Plan, New City Gate, Piazza Perspective, and Aerial Axonometric

The aim of this project was the redevelopment of a poorly designed and rapidly decaying area of Trastevere, in Rome. The area historically lay outside the city walls, and is adjacent to the Porta Portese, on of Rome's city gates. Modern high-rises, constructed on the site in the mid 20th century, are quickly falling into disrepair and are eyesores in an otherwise beautiful area.

The new neighborhood plan is based on the formal planning of Renaissance and Baroque architects (who utilized straight streets with formal relationships to important buildings and piazzas). The buildings of each block are arranged around planted common courtyards which offer space for gardens and for children to play while under supervision. Finally, a new outdoor theater is created on the banks of the Tiber, framed by two pedestrian bridges and a dramatic stair on the opposite shore.

Site Plan

Existing Conditions

Site Section

Students for Classical Architecture: 12-Hour Esquisse Competition

2011-05-31T18:42:00.004-04:00

This entry was recently awarded First Prize in the inaugural design competition of the Students for Classical Architecture. We were given 12 hours of design time between reception of the program and the submission of final drawings online. Entries were to be hand drawn/painted and designed with Palladian precedence in mind. The site is in the Veneto region of Italy, across the river from Palladio's Villa Foscari.

This drawing and the other winning entries will be exhibited at the Snite Museum of Art on the University of Notre Dame campus between June 5 and July 21 in conjunction with Palladio and His Legacy: A Transatlantic Journey.

For more information on the Students for Classical Architecture, visit: http://www.studentsforclassicalarch.com/

Villa Lante

2011-04-01T14:24:00.003-04:00

Here is a new watercolor of the plan and section of Villa Lante in Bagnaia, which I visited today! The painting is very small, at 5.5" x 8.5". It took 1.5 hours to draw (freehand) and paint.

Lucca

2011-03-07T10:08:00.000-05:00

Lucca, Italy: a view of the city wall from another part of the wall. Lucca has a wonderful and intact circuit of walls on top of which its citizens regularly walk and bike.

Piazza Margana

2011-01-20T09:44:00.007-05:00

A plein air view of Piazza Margana, in Rome.

Washington D.C.: National Museum of Science and Technology

2010-12-12T17:48:00.011-05:00

This new museum for the Smithsonian Institution is proposed for the current site of the J. Edgar Hoover Building (offices of the FBI) on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. The aerial perspective above shows the building as it would appear from the top of the Old Post Office tower.

This section cuts through the large galleries and rotunda and shows one of the large permanent displays, an interactive scale model of a through-arch bridge.

The building contains two large permanent display galleries on the South side of the building, an IMAX theater, a central rotunda and vertical circulation core (a grand circular stair and 4 elevators), a whisper chamber (the eliptical room in the plan), and flexible exhibit spaces on the North side of the building. There are also two main entrances (as in many D.C. museums).

These perspectives illustrate the central rotunda and one of the large permanent display galleries. Click on any image to see it in high resolution!

The Previous Post contains a large charcoal rendering of the portico of this museum. Duncan Stroik was my professor for this project.

Charcoal

2010-11-04T12:06:00.025-04:00

Click Image to Enlarge

This half portico detail is for a new Science and Technology Museum in Washington D.C. The drawing is over 6 feet tall and was drafted at 3/4" = 1' scale in graphite. The figures in the tympanum are, from right to left: an Allegory of Wisdom, an Allegory of Science, a Biologist, a Chemist, and an Astronomer. The piece is fully rendered in shade and shadow with charcoal.

Habitat for Humanity / ICA&CA Competition

2010-09-13T12:37:00.004-04:00

This 1,236 square foot home was recently awarded Honorable Mention in the Dream Dallas Home Design Competition administered by Habitat for Humanity and the Texas Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America. It is designed to be affordable and energy efficient, but also beautiful and enduring. Dr. Christopher Miller of Judson University was my sponsor for the competition.

For more information, visit: http://blog.classicist.org/?p=1157

Public Library

2010-09-13T11:55:00.006-04:00

(click to enlarge image)
This 60,000 square foot public library is designed for a corner lot in South Bend, Indiana. It is designed around a central sky-lit atrium containing a grand stair. Large windows light the shelves and reading room, and are organized to align with standard stack spacing. Small pedimented aedicules are centered in each arched window and express the shelves they are aligned with (and by extension the use of the building as a home for books). A theater/lecture hall, which contains murals of St. Joseph County, terminates the procession of the staircase as it arrives on the second floor.
The project is rendered in India Ink (mixed with Lamp Black and New Gamboge). The design and rendering took five days.

Tuscan Arcade

2010-09-13T11:47:00.002-04:00

This one week project for a small brick and limestone garden pavilion is rendered in watercolor. Vitruvius' three ideal qualities of architecture, Firmitas (durability), Utilitas (functionality), and Venustas (beauty) are inscribed in the frieze.

Rockford Charrette

2010-05-10T17:36:00.002-04:00

These are a few watercolors from a charrette that I recently participated in for Rockford, Illinois. Under the leadership of the Rock River Development Partnership and Live Work Learn Play LLP, we worked on a plan for the revitalization of a focus area near the river. Brendan Herr, Dr. Christopher Miller of Judson, and I drew the scenes, and then I painted them.

The subject of the paintings is a new central market for the city and the restoration of several downtown buildings.

Chelsea Barracks

2010-04-17T13:20:00.003-04:00

My studio project this year has involved developing a master plan for the site of the Chelsea Barracks in London. The plan grew out of a thorough study of the peculiarities of London urbanism, and subsequently included a wide range of building types from mews houses to large apartment structures. After completing the urban design portion of the studio, I focused on the design of one of the buildings in the master plan, a four story mixed use building designed to house a church, multi-use space, offices, and a child care facility.

An animated fly-through of the scheme can be found HERE.

House

2009-12-09T23:52:00.003-05:00

The finished watercolor from the last post.

Future Watercolor

2009-12-09T01:21:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it seems like a shame to do anything to a nice line drawing (even if it is transformed into a watercolor). For that reason I decided to post this one before I start painting! The drawing is of a house I designed last year. It is drafted on Arches 140lb cold pressed paper using a .3mm 2H pencil.

Orangery

2009-12-02T21:48:00.002-05:00

15x22 Watercolor Analytique of the Orangery at Hestercombe Gardens, Lutyens

Watercolor of US Custom House

2009-11-11T23:54:00.002-05:00

12"x17"
Cass Gilbert U.S. Custom House, New York
Unbuilt version
Drafting: 8 hours Painting: 10 hours

Orders

2009-11-05T00:57:00.003-05:00

The Tuscan Order, in green Florentine marble

The Corinthian Order from the U.S. Capitol Building rendered in a monochrome mix of French Ultramarine and Payne's Grey

AIAS & AARP Competition Entry

2009-10-23T11:42:00.008-04:00

My American Institute of Architecture Students/AARP Livable Communities competition entry. The project is a mixed use (but primarily senior living) building arranged around a courtyard in an urban context. The design was awarded Honorable Mention in the competition this spring and exhibited at the AIA National Convention in San Francisco in the summer of 2009.

101 N. Spring St.

2009-10-07T21:34:00.003-04:00

A new watercolor (10x14) of the entrance to the Lutheran Child and Family Services Building in Elgin. (6 hours)

In Memoriam

2009-09-27T22:28:00.001-04:00

A measured watercolor of a tomb in Bluff City Cemetery, Elgin.

Ridiculous

2009-09-10T10:08:00.000-04:00

The Burnham Plan Centennial may not be absurd, but this image promoting it is. The words have been edited to better represent the picture.

Ex Libris

2009-09-06T20:28:00.001-04:00

Here is the finished bookplate. It consists of imagery of some of my interests and a guttae-ed frame.

McKim Mead and White Orders

2009-09-02T14:00:00.002-04:00

Three quickly drafted studies of McKim Mead and White variations on the orders.

Doric order from the Radcliffe Gymnasium, Harvard. Note the atypical combination of a Greek Doric echinus with an otherwise Roman order.
Greek Ionic order from the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences.
Corinthian (Tower of the Winds) order from the Franklin National Bank, Philadelphia.

Sketch Club

2009-08-16T14:19:00.000-04:00

The ICA&CA (Institute of Classical Architecture & Classical America) Midwest Chapter Sketch Club had its first outing this weekend in Chicago. Led by Matthew and Elizabeth McNicholas, we sketched several notable buildings on Michigan Avenue.

Shelter

2009-08-10T19:45:00.001-04:00

I recently designed a 100 square foot conceptual cabin for Deception Pass, near Seattle, WA. Its design responds to the arts and crafts traditions of the Pacific Northwest. The space is divided into two areas, interior and exterior (public and private). The interior is meant to be a comfortable private enclosure, with operable windows, a fireplace, and a reading seat surrounded by windows. The exterior porch affords excellent views and a place for visitors.

Watch a short fly-around of the shelter HERE.

Burnham Memorial Entry

2009-07-09T15:00:00.002-04:00

http://www.aiachicago.org/burnham/entries-phase-1.asp

Building of the Month - July

2009-07-09T13:19:00.001-04:00

July's building is the David C. Cook Building in Elgin, IL. From 1901 to 1995, it served as a Christian publishing house. Two long wings on either side of the pictured facade hide the industrial printing buildings behind them. It is finished in thin Roman brick.

The building has a few unconventional quirks. First, the Ionic order is used for both the first floor portico and the second story. Generally, Ionic columns will be placed above Doric columns or below Corinthian columns, but rarely above or below other Ionic columns. Second, the upper floor has a column, instead of a window, at the center of the facade. Generally, an opening, not an object, will be in the center of a formal facade. Third, the soffit beneath the cornice is quite large, almost the size of a Prairie style soffit. While the building does have some strange features, it is well composed and worth a look if you ever find yourself in Elgin!

2009-07-02T15:30:00.002-04:00

As I was recently married (in May) and began graduate school (in June), I have not been able to post anything for the past two months. In celebration of the opportunity to post again, I decided to include a picture that summarizes the last two months (marriage and designing).

I designed and built this clock for my wife as a wedding present. It is made of red oak and features a hand glazed Motawi tile.

Building of the Month - April

2009-04-30T19:26:00.000-04:00

This monthly feature will aim to shed light on little known and under-appreciated but nontheless beautifully designed architecture. Enjoy!

April's pick is a 12 floor condominium on the North side of Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood. 1550 North State Parkway was designed by Marshall and Fox and built in 1911. The building is an American adaptation (in that it is quite tall) of a Hausmannian apartment. While neither Marshall nor Fox studied at the Ecole de Beaux Arts, the influence of the Beaux Arts movement is evident in this design (as well as several of their other buildings in Chicago).

Most of the exterior cladding and ornament is terra cotta.The inner lobby is vaulted and gilded. This section of terra cotta is being replaced, note the steel structure and arch framing. If you have a suggestions for next month's building (and it's within visiting range) let me know!

Model Cities Pt. 2

2009-04-29T16:38:00.001-04:00

More model cities! This time just in model Chicago. The aerial shots are from the top of the model Blackstone Hotel (I used my "I'm an architecture student, could I please see the building" all access pass to see the model penthouse suite). Click on the pictures to see them full sized!

Sketches

2009-04-28T23:42:00.000-04:00

Sketching around Chicago! Pencil and ink, about 20 - 30 minutes each.

Model Cities

2009-04-27T14:29:00.003-04:00

I thought this would be a fun way to kick off this site! I took these pictures in Chicago and St. Louis, then used a tilt-shift method in Photoshop them to make them look like photographs of miniature cities.