This document contains summaries and descriptions of various design projects by Stefani Biddle. It includes projects exploring concrete and materials, a mobile materials exhibition, investigations of different materials, measurements of the JMU Design Studio Center, a graphic interpretation of a photograph, a wine poster competition entry, interpretations of Lebbeus Woods' Solo House design, typographic studies, drawings of a historic building called the Crowle Building, and concepts for renovating it to house a clockmaker's workshop.

1. S t e f a n i B i d d l e

2. Mobile Materials Exhibition
Material Investigations
JMU Design Studio Center
The Block
From Photo to Graphic
Competition - Wine Poster
Photography
Portfolio - March 2015
StefaniBiddle
Solo House
Typography Studies
Tomatillo
In the Machine
Part I
Part II
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05
08
11
13
14
15
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3. Mobile Materials Exhibition
This project investigated and explored the prop-
erties and possibilities of concrete and its use as
the core material for a mobile materials display.
We first familiarized ourselves with concrete as
a medium. Using 12”x12”x3” square molds we
cast concrete on top of varying materials, such as
tiles and plastics, to study texture and thickness.
Initial models were constructed out of wire, met-
al, and paper to create form, line, shape, and
space as elemental figures that would later be
used as a framework for the final concrete model.
Once an initial prototype was picked, we cre-
ated multiple variations and placed them in
a 1/4 scale functioning concrete site model
to help hone in on a scale for the final piece.
01 02

4. Mock-ups and construction then began for the exte-
rior concrete, steel, and rebar frame as well as the
pockets to hold the materials and the removable tod-
dler piece. The final product is fully functional at 6’ in
diameter with ”floating” pockets on a steel framework.

5. Material Investigations
In order to fully understand the properties of multi-
ple materials both individually and cohesively, a se-
ries of smaller side projects was initiated and com-
pleted by groups of students. The two groups I was
in studied larger cast concrete forms, aluminum
blocks, steel rods, wood, and sheets of homasote.
The first project was a set of four mobile pin-up
boards with concrete bases, woven homasote, and
wood shelves placed through evenly-spaced steel
rods. The steel rods are set in place to the concrete
using the aluminum and a series of inlayed bolts.
The second project was a redesign of a profes-
sor’s office. After painting two of the walls with
chalborad painted, our group installed a ho-
masote shelving wall and one of the two large
concrete work desks, as well as the desk stands.
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6. JMU Design Studio Center
These are the measurements and as-built drawings
encompassing the front elevation and first floor plan
of the JMU Design Studio Center before the recent
renovations, which were completed in summer
and fall of 2014. Both drawings are in 1/8 scale.
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8. The Block
This project was an investigation into various com-
puter programs. Starting with a 14”x4”x2” block of
wood, I used each of the main tools in SketchUp
once to create a unique shape. I then made ac-
tual cuts in the woodshop. Using the wood as a
basis, I measured each side and drew a full scale
model in Adobe Illustrator, which resulted in a
model constructed of basswood and chipboard.
Finally, I explored Rhinoceros and built the block
again to familiariaze myself with the program.
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9. From Photo to Graphic
I took a photo of one of the rose bushes on the main
campus, brought it into Adobe Ilustrator, and used
it as inspiration to create a new, graphic version.
Competition - Wine Poster
This is the final design I entered for the 2013
Bodegas - Terras Gauda annual worldwide
wine poster competition in Spain. It was pre-
sented to the public before being judged.
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11. Lebbeus Woods - Solo House
Isolated in a deserted region, the Solo House
was designed by Lebbeus Woods to break the
norms of traditional living by creating a function-
al “freespace” for an individual that was “emp-
tied of pre-conceived value, use, function, mean-
ing” and was “a condition of maximum potential.”
My interpretation of the house was more of a real-
istic approach than the abstract drawings Lebbeus
provides. While it is obvious in his drawings that
there is an extensive use of mechanics used for
the structure, there does not appear to be any in-
dication of distinct floors even though he mentions
that the top floor was meant to be an observatory.
This led me to take creative license of the interi-
or while keeping true to Lebbeus’s exterior shape.
Lebbeus’s original model of the Solo House was
meant to be comprised of metal and wood, I kept
the notion of repurposed metal but replaced the
wood element with glass as a reflection to the
“other worldy” site that Lebbeus had in mind.
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12. Typographic Studies
MINIMAL LETTERFORMS (ATFE)
Typeface: Didot 335 Bold
STEFANI BIDDLE
GRPH 206_ SPRING 14
Jun Bum Shin
James Madison University
A look into the relationships between letterforms us-
ing positive and negative space. The final serif font
is Didot and the final sans serif font is Helvetica.
2019

13. Tomatillo In the Machine (Part I)
Basement
-8' - 4"
Ground Level
0' - 0"
Second floor
12' - 8"
Third floor
25' - 4"
Attic
37' - 5"
Parapet Wall
49' - 4"
Roof
45' - 4"
Basement
-8' - 4"
Ground Level
0' - 0"
Second floor
12' - 8"
Third floor
25' - 4"
Attic
37' - 5"
Parapet Wall
49' - 4"
Roof
45' - 4"
1/8" = 1'-0"
1
East
1/8" = 1'-0"
2
South
The first part of this project was the mea-
suring and as-built reconstruction drawings
of a historic building in Staunton, Virginia.
The Crowle building was constructed in 1886 ini-
tially as both storefront and home to the Crowle
family. The outbuilding was added shortly there-
after. After a major flood in 1896, the rear facade
was rebuilt. The ground floor facades have been
changed from a four-store to two-store layout and
both have recieved newer interior renovations.
However, all of the columns and load-bearing
walls, as well as the entire layout of the base-
ment, top two floors, and outbuilding are still in
the original state. The only other addition was
the walkway from the ground floor of the main
building to the second floor of the outbuilding.
The green lines indicated on the third floor of the
main building represent the raised ceiling in the
ballroom and the skylight in the center of the home.
A detailed drawing of the leaves surrounding a
tomatillo. The drawing is graphite on white strath-
more paper in 2/1 scale based on the image below.
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14. UP
DN
DN
A1061
A106
- -
2
1/8" = 1'-0"
1
Ground Level
UP
UP
A1061
A106
- -
2
1/8" = 1'-0"
1
Basement
DN
UP
A1061
A106
- -
2
1/8" = 1'-0"
1
Second floor
DN
A1061
A106
- -
2
1/8" = 1'-0"
1
Third floor
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15. In the Machine (Part II)
The second part of this project was to choose and
research a maker to occupy part of the Crowle
building in an effort to revitalize the city. I chose
a clockmaker. His/her workshop and store is lo-
cated in the basement and first floor of the main
complex facing the back alleyway and outbuilding.
The final space itself was created in response to the
actual mechanics of a standard wall clock. By seeing
each gear as a platform and connecting them with
ramps, a person would find themselves winding up
and around the room as if in a clock themselves. The
ramps and platforms are 4mm thick perforated met-
al sheets suspended on columns with steel centers
and oak wood “wings”. In order to balance out the
complexity of the ramp system, the storefront walls
facing the interior of the Crowle building are entirely
made of glass. Natural light also enters the space
along the exterior facade. Indirect lights are found
tucked away within the unique column structure.
The first image, to the right, is an expanded ax-
onometric drawing showing the different gears
and central mechanics of a standard wall clock.
The second image is a 12”x12” graphic of
Staunton, Virginia that includes three maps of var-
ious scales and a hexagonal pattern found inside
the Crowle Building. It conists of graphite, marker,
charcoal, and conte crayon on thick chipboard.
The third image is a concept diagram focusing on
the mechanics and individual parts found in modern
clocks. This includes both the visible and hidden as-
pects of the object. The layers of this drawing direct-
ly correlate with the layers in the Staunton graphic.
On the next page, the first drawing is a plan section of
one of the columns and the indirect lighting fixtures.
In the center is an initial Revit file that was brought
into SketchUp and Photoshop to add layering, tex-
ture, depth, light, and full-scale people and objects.
The last drawing is a side section detail of both
the indirect lights and the support system connect-
ing the columns and perforated metal platforms.
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17. S t e f a n i B i d d l ebiddlesn@hotmail.com
(703) 727-7085 *photo taken by Erin Gover29 30