Meghan Palmer Graduate Portfolio

2021-2024

SELECTED WORKS

MEGHAN PALMER

MEGHAN PALMER

ABOUT

Hello, my name is Meghan Palmer and I am a graduate architecture student at Cornell University. As I grow and evolve as an aspiring architect, I am committed to never stopping in my pursuit of knowledge. Architecture has the ability to impact the way people experience their surroundings, and I feel that architects have the responsibility of making these experiences leave an impression. Buildings tell a lot about the people behind the design, what occurs inside of them, and also how people interact with it. I want to be a part of creating and facilitating this multi-faceted interaction. I also have an appreciation and curiosity of the built environment, in its construction and design. The way in which these pieces come together is extremely fascinating to me. I would love to continue to explore these subjects in the future.

*Cover page drawing

ARCH 5511, Constructed drawing

Digitally drawn axonometric abstraction of the floorplan and section of the Rode House by Pezo Von Ellrichshausen

RED FOX REHABILITATION CENTER

ARCH 5111, FALL 2024, CORNELL UNIVERSITY

A SERIES OF COURTYARDS

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY VISITOR CENTER

ARCH 405, FALL 2023, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

INTERWOVEN

BARCELONA URBAN CENTER

CARC 301, SPRING 2023, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY & BARCELONA ARCHITECTURE CENTER

FRAGMENTED REALITY

GALVESTON JUNETEENTH MEMORIAL PARK AND MUSEUM

ARCH 305, FALL 2022, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

LINES OF COMMUNITY

CARTER LAKE COMMUNITY CENTER

ARCH 206, SPRING 2022, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

KNOWLES-ROWLAND CENTER

RECORDING STUDIO FOR YOUNG ARTISTS

ARCH 205, FALL 2021, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

01 NOT A ZOO

RED FOX REHABILITATION CENTER

ARCH 5111 Professor: Nikole Bouchard

The project “Not a Zoo” is the third part in a three part project. The first two phases included “Not Quite Round,” where we were tasked with designing a one-foot sphere based on a particular part of an animal’s anatomy, and “Not Quite Flat,” where we took the design strategies from the sphere and utilized them to create a four-cube viewing platform in the gardens on Cornell’s campus. The third and final part consisted of continuing the design logic from the previous exercises and translating them into an animal rehabilitation space. The scale relates to the systems developed in project two in that it must address the role of the envelope as a mediator for the various inhabitants, both human and animal. In this moment, the building which is conventionally understood as interior space is expanded to include the delineated boundary that houses the rehabilitating animals. Unlike a zoo, the animals should not be considered simply as display or entertainment. A delicate balance of animal-specific and often conflicting concerns are addressed through the design logic.

AREA DISTRIBUTION

WALKING PATTERNS

PATTERNS

AREA DISTRIBUTION

DISTRIBUTION

A SECTION B

02 A SERIES OF COURTYARDS

UNITED

STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY VISITOR CENTER

ARCH 405 Integrated Studio Professor: Ray Holliday Partner: Kate Holbrook

Located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the USAFA embraces the natural beauty of the landscape. Significant landmarks for the academy are scattered amidst the extensive campus calling for an exploration and progression through the scenery. In contrast to the topography, the academy strictly obeys a rectilinear grid organized by a series of courtyards, which weave the various activities of the cadets together. Oriented toward the heart of campus, the USAFA Visitor Center aims to progress visitors and potential cadets toward campus through a central corridor. Utilizing the design of campus’ courtyards, each volume branches along the central corridor creating interstitial courtyard spaces, which allow for natural daylighting and access to viewscapes.

Site research and analysis, schematic design, production of architectural documents, structural framing, wall section detail, analysis diagram production, rendering Individual Contributions

“... a series of courtyards and plazas that knit together the buildings and contrast with the irregular patterns of the landscape.”

- SOM’s Design Statement for the USAFA

03 INTERWOVEN

BARCELONA URBAN CENTER

CARC 301 Study Abroad Professor: Miguel Roldan Partner: Leah Thaxton

Under the streets of Barcelona, there is a largely unknown series of excavated underground spaces that have been abandoned. These spaces range from metro stations and sewer systems to bunkers used for hiding during raids in the civil war. The barrier between the underground and the above ground is a crucial element of these places where excavation is used as a means of hiding what is placed beneath. In our proposal, we explored how we could take the idea of using the underground to retain space above for the walkability and greenery that the neighborhood desires, while also having program beneath the square.

A public square in Gracia is the tangible place where neighbor’s lives are woven together and a community is formed, leading us to a structure based on the idea of a textile. The threads of this textile are then lifted in certain spots to reveal the underground and integrate the interior into the surrounding context through fenestration on both the facade and roof.

Site research and analysis, schematic design, production of architectural documents, tile analysis diagram, rendering exterior and interior Individual Contributions

EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC

SURFACE TILING OF MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS

GLULAM WOOD BEAMS

WINDOW POROSITY OF ROOF

GLULAM WOOD COLUMNS

NEGATIVE CARBON FOOTPRINT

FLEXIBILITY OF SHAPE AND SIZE

WINDOW POROSITY OF ROOF

LONGITUDINAL SECTION

FENESTRATION ALLOWS LIGHT TO ENTER UNDERGROUND

PLANTERS HOLD SHALLOW ROOT MEDITERRANEAN PLANTS

FRAGMENTED REALITY

GALVESTON JUNETEENTH MEMORIAL PARK AND MUSEUM

ARCH 305 Professor: SeWoong Kim Partner(s): Aiden Shertzer, Zachary Landrum

Located in Galveston, Texas, the proposed project was a Juneteenth memorial, museum, and bell tower. Meant to be incorporated into the Freedom Walk, which is a series of sites integral to Juneteenth and Emancipation, the project needed to encompass the history and legacy of Juneteenth as well as create a space that the community can utilize. The design concept that guided our project is the idea Fragmented Reality, referring to the different realities, perspectives, and histories and how the pieces come together to illustrate the narrative of Juneteenth. History is not linear, but rather a timeline that is fractured by people’s differing perspectives and experiences. The idea of fragmented pieces coming together to complete a whole is directly reflected in the assembly of the project, and how the two main buildings are split, but connected through a central space. This central space defining the building is meant to be filled with people, which serve as the connective tissue between the fracture.

Site research and analysis, schematic design, production of architectural documents, rendering, physical model production, including 3D printing, laser cutting, and CNC

FLOOR PLANS - BUILDING 1

FLOOR PLANS - BUILDING 1

FLOOR PLANS - BUILDING 2

FLOOR PLANS - BUILDING 2

CHUNK STUDY RENDERS

SECTION - BUILDING 1

05 LINES OF COMMUNITY

CARTER LAKE COMMUNITY CENTER

ARCH 206 Professor: Mehdi Farahbakhsh Partner: Leah Thaxton

The objective of this studio was to create a community center for a private neighborhood located in College Station. Not disrupting the surrounding site, populated by trees surrounding a lake, was a primary focus. Continuity of line and form was the driving force for the development of this project, connecting all planes throughout. The assembly of arcs become a path that is not just a 2D experience, but one that translates into a physical progression throughout the community room, library, studio, and exercise room. We explored how the continuity of line can translate to the human experience.

Below: Leah Thaxton and Meghan Palmer

Site research and analysis, schematic design, production of architectural documents, physical model production Individual Contributions

06 KNOWLES-ROWLAND CENTER

RECORDING STUDIO FOR YOUNG ARTISTS

ARCH 205 Professor: Gabriel Esquivel Partner: Brynn Amacher

This recording facility, located in Houston, Texas, is dedicated to young black artists and is meant to add to the Knowles-Rowland Center for Youth. We began designing this recording studio by extracting interior walls from preexisting houses. We then intersected, rotated, and scaled these walls, as well as created our own. Our main source of inspiration was Kurt Schwitters, a German artist who designed interiors. He did installation art, which is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. His faceted geometries are intersected with dense columns, creating a complex and textured articulation of the surface. Our final building has contrast between smooth surfaces and these jagged geometries, creating a parts to parts relationship. Perhaps the most crucial element that demonstrates this is the diagonal void slicing through our building vertically. This datum organizes, but also disrupts, the system of the building which shifts the arrangement of the plan.

Site research and analysis, schematic design, production of architectural documents, rendering Individual Contributions

THANK YOU