ISSU portfolio

M A T T H E W R O N G A
P O R T F O L I O

F I R E H O U S E
The objective of this project was to develop the new Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, Station
44 in the Hill district. The facility was required to house a crew of 30 firefighters as well
as three fire chiefs and three lieutenants. The new station needed to serve as a
gathering point, landmark, and safe haven for the area residents and surrounding
neighborhoods and provide an inclusive, welcoming space of civic and community
pride.
My project underwent many revisions over the course of the semester as I strived to
create a space in the core of the fire house that would embody these elements of
community, breeding social interaction among firefighters, chiefs, lieutenants, and
members of the community visiting the space. This space ended up manifesting in the
form of a multitstory, multipurpose amenity space in the heart of the station. Once this
feature was established the rest of the project soon fell into place with a heavy focus
on site design as well as circulation.

Apparatus Bay
5 1

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6 Bioretention Garden
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F I R E H O U S E
+1162' - 0"
+1159' - 3"
Outdoor Recreation Area
F.F Residential
+1149' - 6"
Apparatus Bay
+1135' - 6"
+1126' - 0"
ighter ammenity, and community spaces
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Community Parking
1:40
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1:5
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Firefighter entrance
Community entrance 1 (to intermediary floor above bathrooms)
Workshop (162 sqft)
Decontamination Laundry
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Emergency medical supply/
SCBA
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Dining
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Bathroom 1
Bathroom 2
Quiet room/office +1126
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Community entrance 2 (to intermediary floor above bathrooms)
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Kitchen
+1126
Storage
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Lobby
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Apparatus Bay
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Community
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Fitness
+1126 Community entry vestibule
Firefigther entry vestibule
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Alarm Room
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Laundry
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Basketball
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1:5
Bus Stop
Site Plan
1/16" = 1'
5 10
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40

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Officer Suite Bathroom
Seating/Rest Area
Reading Room
Second Level Community
Lockable Storage
Kitchen
Heat Pump Room
1/16 Building Model
Bioretention Garden
+1126
Fire fighter entrance
+1126
+1135
Community entrance 1
Office
+1148 3/4
Bedroom
+1148 3/4
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F.F Sleeping Quarters
+1148 3/4
F.F Sleeping Quarters
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Lockable storage
Bathroom
+1148 3/4
Amenity space
+1148 3/4
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Bathroom
+1148 3/4
Bathrooms
+1148 3/4
Lockable storage
+1148 3/4
F.F Sleeping Quarters
+1148 3/4
Office
+1148 3/4
Bedroom
Firefigther entry vestibule
+1126
F.F Sleeping Quarters
+1148 3/4
F.F Sleeping Quarters
+1148 3/4
1/8 Structural Model
Second Floor Plan
1/16" = 1'
1:11
Basketball
+1126
5 10
20
40

F I R E H O U S E

B A T H O U S E

The objective of this project was to create a bathhouse in New York City that would
appeal to residents in the surrounding neighborhood as well attract non-residents. The
site is located on the East River, in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan; a
neighborhood which, from my observations on site, could be characterized by the narrow
streets consisting of long stretches of continuous brick facade.
Taking this into consideration, I wanted to symbolically open up this facade to expose a
more natural space, one that I hoped would provide a striking contrast to the
surrounding buildings.

B A T H O U S E

4th Floor
3rd Floor
2nd Floor
1st Floor

B O A T H O U S E
The objective for this project was to create a boathouse from
which visitors could rent and launch boats. The site assigned was
located in Bald Eagle State Park, a park local to State College,
which consists of a large lake surrounded by miles of forests. The
boathouse was to be built on a small strip of land on the edge of
the lake, accompanied by a dock and/or boat launch. As this may
imply, one of the challenges we were faced with when designing
was having to find a way to incorporate the essence of the lake
into our building through the form of our structure.
I looked to approach this challenge in my design by creating a
structural system that would allow me to cantilever large CLT
members on top of the two buildings, in hopes of creating the
illusion that the buildings were hovering above the water's
surface, similar to a Bald Eagle hovering above the surface of a
lake.

B O A T H O U S E

E U R O P E A N
C A F E
The objective of this project was to create a cafe that would bridge the gap between the academic and resid
College. The site is located between these two parts of town, on College Avenue, a street that runs through
downtown area. As a result, one of the challenges we were faced with when designing was having both the u
residential scale in mind, bringing people from both areas together in a cohesive space.
I took on this challenge by creating a cafe made up of two very distinct sections. The side closer to the unive
campus, with the ceiling raised higher and the plan allowing for the free flow of people through the space. T
residential part of town reflects aspects of the residential neighborhoods, following a more rigid separation
ceilings. I chose to unite these two spaces by creating a staircase/ramp system that would ease the differenc
while also creating a space for performers and the general gathering of people.

ential parts of State
the
niversity and
rsity reflects aspects of
he side closer to the
of space and lower
e in height on the site,

E U R O P E A N
C A F E
CAFE del MONDO

Bathroom 2
Bathroom 1
Urban Outfitters
Harpers
Office
Pantry
Kitchen
Counter
College Avenue

O T H E R
PRECEDENT STUDY
The following are documents from a group precedent study of a sauna in Gothenburg,
Sweden. My contribution to the group consisted of documents that analyzed the
materiality and structure of the buildings within the complex.

CHAIR DESIGN
The objective of this project was to create and produce a chair made of laminated
wood members. The document below shows the joinery and members that were
required for our chair as well as the assembly of each component. Below that are two
of the laminated wooden members we produced as a group.