Tyler Davis completed a design studio focused on connecting people, sites, and designs. Through assignments manipulating landforms and documenting site opportunities, Davis improved their understanding of building integration with landscape. Their final project designed artist studios nestled in grasslands, using land manipulation to divide spaces while maintaining nature connections through materials and views. Davis learned sites offer advantages and buildings can extend or construct upon land to deepen meanings.

1. Tyler Davis
ARCH 213 Architecture Design Studio - Fall 2015
Roger Williams University, School of Architecture
Leonard yui, Greg Laramie, Andrea Adams, Mauricio Barreto, Ginette Castro, Noel Clarke
Connection of
Person, Site & Design

3. Table of Contents
1 Conclusion
2 Assignment 1 - Digging & Mounding
4 Assignment 2 - Artful Intervention
6 Assignment 3 - Documenting Opportunities
8 Assignment 4 - Vertical Planes
10 Assignment 5 - Overhead Elements / Artist’s Studio

5. Overall, this studio created a strong understanding to
the connection between site location, purpose/reason,
and connections between both individual and group de-
signs. Initially after first year studio, I saw myself focus-
ing on solely the parti of the building while having paid
very little attention to the site, site context and con-
nections between different spaces. I came into many of
these assignments unsure of how to start which showed
me that I had a lot to learn regarding the specific issues
that were focused on in this studio. Since the beginning
of the semester, I feel as though I have excelled in my
understanding between building and land. A building is
not something that just gets placed on top of the exist-
ing ground, however, manipulating or working with the
existing conditions in a particular way may create a deep-
er meaning, or connection to the initial parti that I have
stated.
I feel as though my designs focused a lot on becoming
one with the landscape, acting as either an extension of
the existing context, or as a construct on it. I thought
this idea of extending vs. constructing with the site con-
text was very important within my works, and that in my
final study I had successfully created spaces that spoke
to both these topics. I feel as though my projects have
created places of exploration, or understanding to the
environment that exists around them, and that this ap-
proach was inspired by having a permanent site that I was
able to explore in a deeper way than I had been taught
prior to this studio experience. I learned that there are
so many advantages to site locations and their individual
characteristics.
Knowing fully how important the incorporation of the
site was in these projects, while still combining my ideas
to create habitable spaces that people could and enjoy
and understand, was very difficult for me to initially
bring together at the start of each assignment. Although
making the process more difficult for me in the beginning,
I found the freedom of design in each assignment to be
the most rewarding factor in the end. It allowed me to
work on my deeper understandings into my designs, while
allowing me to teach myself about the good things and
bad things were done in each assignment. As a whole, I
have learned to incorporate the needs of the people into
the overall design of a space whether it be through the
interior design elements, or through the exterior design
and connections with the existing, or altered site.
Conclusion
1

6. D i g g i n g & M o u n d i n g
2

7. 3
The word “connection” played a large role in the design-
ing of this project. The question of how could I take two
separate processes of digging vs. mounding and bring them
together at separate time throughout the project was al-
ways a factor throughout the design. I found the forms
of water within the environment very interesting and used
this as the parti of my design. The terraced, waterfall look
allows for special connections throughout the entire de-
sign. At no one time is there a singular space, as all of the
spaces connect to the separate ends at the top or bottom
of the block. In relationship to the site, I learned how dig-
ging into a site and mounding on top of a site can combine
to create strong connections between site ad designs.

8. A r t f u l I n t e r v e t i o n
4

9. 5
Attention to the specifics of the selected
site at Colt State Park began to allow an in
depth understanding of some of the details
that the grassland, wetland, and woodland
sites had to offer. Focusing solely on the
grasslands, I observed that views seemed to
be the most inspirational element to the exist-
ing site. I looked to design a gathering space
that dramatically emphasized these views by
creating a journey through the existing site
context. A pathway through the brush that
suddenly leads to a break in the surrounding
tree line, created a place allowing someone
to reconnect with the views after walking
through dense grasses and tree line. Using
site elements to create a design created a
strong experience for the design.

10. D o c u m e n t i n g O p p o r t u n i t i e s
6

11. 7
In this site analysis, we were to explore the site more in
depth regarding a specific subject and create an under-
stating of what opportunities were available on the grass-
lands, wetlands, and woodlands. Studying foci, focal ele-
ments, on the existing site allowed me to understand that
there are both places of opportunity to build on a site
along with places they are not buildable on the site. These
drawings are used to show people where these buildable
spots are located in each specific site. This was an interest-
ing approach at understanding the existing site, teaching
me how to focus more on my design connecting with, or re-
flecting back to the landscape.

12. V
e
r
t
i
c
a
l
P
l
a
n
e
s
8

13. 9
Although not fully related to the sites at Colt State Park, the design-
ing of a facade that was more than just an outer shell was a very intri-
cate and difficult process. Wanting to bring my design to connect with
the natural elements that the site had to offer as a whole, I wanted to
create a green design that connected the facade to the ground plane.
I achieved this by wrapping greenery up the facade string from both the
top and bottom to make it seem as though these elements were growing
out of the existing landscape. While influence by a green design, the
site context was also very important in the design, as the facades were
created to reflect specific features of light and views, public or pri-
vate. I wanted to create a design that reflected a journey or greater
experience to what the site had to offer, much like the idea in “Artful
Intervention.”

14. S h e l t e r i n g
10

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SHELTERING:AN ARTISTS’ COLONY
DANCER & WRITER
SITE - GRASSLAND
ASSIGNMENT 05 - DESIGN STUDIO III
TYLER DAVIS - FALL 15’
SECTION 1 - DANCER’S STUDIO
SCALE: 1/8”=1’-0”
SOUTH ELEVATION - DANCER’S STUDIO
SCALE: 1/8”=1’-0”
NORTH ELEVATION - DANCER’S STUDIO
SCALE: 1/8”=1’-0”
SECTION 2 - WRITER’S STUDIO (PUBLIC)
SCALE: 1/8”=1’-0”
SECTION 3 - WRITER’S STUDIO (PRIVATE)
SCALE: 1/8”=1’-0”
SITE PLAN
SCALE: 1/64”=1’-0”
FLOOR PLANS
SCALE: 1/8”=1’-0”
1
2
3
3
NarragansettBay
11

16. 12
This final project was important in bringing the knowledge
gained from each previous project together to create a de-
sign that brought the people, site, and design together as one.
Through nestling the design within the existing site context
of the grasslands, I had created a journey through the woods
that felt as though one was floating through the trees. By us-
ing subtle digging and mounding techniques, I was able to cre-
ate a strong connection and division between public and pri-
vate in relation to the site. The overall location had been one
of study from “Documenting Opportunities,” while the facade
and roof material connect with the inspiring views and strong
nature feel that the site had to offer. The studios, designed
for a dancer and a writer, create experiences that connect
them to the site while providing elements in the design that as-
pire to create inspiration from the beautiful site details. The
intricate design expressed creates a subtle, yet strong under-
stand in the connection of person, site, and design.