AO p.A
driana lusitano vera
portfoli
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ADRIANA LUSITANO VERA Dottoressa in Architettura PoliMi 2018 14 / 12 / 1992 venezuelana / portoghese
CONTATTI +39 3884019196 adrianalusitano@gmail.com Milano, 20138
SOCIAL /adrnlv /Adriana Lusitano Vera
COMPETENZE linguistiche
spagnolo madrelingua
inglese C2
italiano C2
tedesco B1
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FORMAZIONE Politecnico di Milano
Politecnico di Milano - Kazuyo Sejima Studio
da ott 2015 a lug 2018
da feb 2017 a giu 2017
Laurea Magistrale in Architettura - Doppia Laurea
Politecnico di Milano da feb 2017 a mar 2017
Inujima Island
Politecnico di Milano - Francisco Mangado Studio da mar 2016 a giu 2016
MIAW workshop con Ippolito Pestellini - OMA
In Between Stone and Air
Politecnico di Milano - Stefano Boeri Studio
Universidad Central de Venezuela
da ott 2015 a feb 2016
da feb 2011 a lug 2018
Milano Animal City
Laurea quinquennale in Architettura - Doppia Laurea
ESPERIENZE PROFESSIONALI
Assistente alle vendite presso Skira Editore da ott 2018 a gen 2020
Mostre Picasso, Antonello da Messina a Palazzo Reale; Cenacolo Vinciano e Pinacoteca di Brera
Tirocinio Mediazione Culturale presso la Triennale di Milano da mag 2017 a nov 2017
Accensione e spegnimento, svolgimento di visite guidate e dare informaizoni sulle mostre
Insegnamento delle lingue spagnolo e inglese da ott 2016 a dic 2017
privato, libero professionista
PUBBLICAZIONI “Ejercicio experimental en Venezuela: la tensegridad como sistema estructural” Esercizio sperimentale in Venezuela: la tensegrità come sistema strutturale feb 2015
ArchDaily online
digitali
Pacchetto Office
Adobe Photoshop
SketchUp
Adobe InDesign
AutoCAD
Adobe Premiere
Adobe Illustrator
Rhinoceros
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ARTENSEGRITY
architecture of structure
During the academic experience several individual tests were carried out in order to understand how tensegrity and tensile structures work. All of this process leading to the design of a modular artefact in all its parts without any particular use that could potentially be repeated infinitely in all three dimensions. The result was the full-scale construction of this prototype with the purpose of putting to the test the studied structural system, the materials and the ad hoc created connections.
Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo Universidad Central de Venezuela Edwing Otero + YamandĂş MelĂŠndez February 2015
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THE KIT
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a
x160
b
x8
c
x48
d
x48
e
x24
f
x80
g
x24
h
x10,5 m
The device was conceived as a sort of IKEA kit, that people could just assemble at home with the help of a catalogue of included pieces. CONTENT a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h.
steel rope clamp node washer screw bolt tensor tube / pipe wire
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The piece
The origin of the module is a Y-shaped iron piece consisting of three identical long tubes, each ending with external nodes, joined by a central one. The tubes are fixed to all the nodes using bolts, screws and washers. The single piece works under compression using wire to tie the ends of the three tubes by the node that possesses four holes in an X-shaped scheme in order to receive other potential wires from twin pieces in different directions. This piece, when put in tension with an identical one, begins to work in a self-supporting way creating the initial module that can be repeated infinitely.
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assembly details
The central node works under different compression and bending forces as well as the traction given by the wires.
The external nodes receives the rest of the traction from the external elements in different directions.
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The artefact
Once the system is established the proposal is that of a 3.4 metres high artefact consisting of eight Y-pieces put together in tension with each other creating several modules. The whole 7.2 m2 prototype touches the ground in three points in an attempt to produce a light visual effect with elements heavy and rigid enough to support themselves and moderate winds but giving a quality of lightness using their shape and colour.
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The artefact
Although the original premise was that of a structural system without any particular use, it was important for the exercise that the scale of the final result interacted with the human one. The shape and scale of the proposal give the impression of a sheltering space, being able to fit a few people under it as well as supporting their weight.
the module
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This realistic quality was helped by the presence of fabrics in strategical points, strengthening the topic of tension. They also represent a possibility of breaking the symmetry of the composition concluded by the top piece giving it an almost arthropod-like appearance.
2
FAR-IN FESTIVAL MIAW
The historical journey of Scalo Farini in Milan is not an easy one: abandoned for many years now, the area has been subject of countless of plans to reconnect the city and projects to bring the space back to use. The reality is that most of those projects include lots of new residential constructions when in Milan one out of three dwellings remains unsold. That’s why, taking into consideration the diverse selection of subcultures currently present, an idea to occupy the space in the most flexible way and to revive the neighbourhood is born in the shape of a festival.
Milan, Italy Politecnico di Milano Ippolito Pestellini March 2017
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What about a crazy party in the wild, but in the centre of Milan? New relations have been imagined for Scalo Farini and its surroundings, which can colonise the existing abandoned structures. Through some openings in the walls and in the roof, the nature around the area can enter the existing abandoned buildings and create new atmospheres, giving the impression of living in a detached world, different from the crowded and urbanised dynamics of Milan. Based on a new form of urban economy: refusing to launch a long term development plan for the area. Is for this believing that the fluctuations of the current and future economy cannot be grasped by the fixed nature of architecture. Our plans consist of an incremental system of short term, partially ephemeral interventions. They will not go on hold or be cancelled simply because there won’t be time to go on hold or be cancelled. Taking on account the natural state of the place to develop the intervention creating the minimum possible impact, the project earns a core and a theme by turning the existing railways into the only way of public access. The following scheme shows the purpose of collecting people, hypothetically from the soon-to-be dismissed Porta Genova station, stoping at several others, until we reach the site of the festival. Making of the journey and the will of escape that unites these people, the experience itself.
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These spaces are designed to respond to the needs coming from people involved in the music field. All those who are unable to express their talent in the “real” world have a space for playing music within a creative space, shaped also through the use of digital projections and animations. For the people who prefer a more playful way to approach music, the area provides a space in which the traditional “twister” game is transformed in a floor keyboard. The Sanctuary: existing
building. The sanctuary is the space where the “light wildness” purification process ends. It represents the place of liberation, a sort of temple where people can find again themselves. The light comes only from openings created in the roof, which illuminate spherical transparent rooms where people can experiment the sensation of being in total silence, alone. The grey concrete walls of the existing building will turn multicolour thanks to this peaceful clash: the people will dedicate to
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pure fun, during which they will get dirty as much as possible with coloured powders to honour an ancient rite which symbolises rebirth and the desire to resurrect another form of full beings life from those who engage in this ritual. “Experience the city from a spontaneous gathering of strangers around some loudspeakers; get carried away by the trance of a nightclub; immerse ourselves in that dark space where constant flashes fragment our body into a piling sequence of
snapshots and disconnected postures; observe how the space around us deforms, swelling and sinking with the sound enveloping us; dream of sensorial cities founded on hedonism and excess; take photographs of gigantic mountains, inexistent mountains; jump on a soft amorphous surface transforming us into a weightless particle floating in space.” The logo is supposed to catch the attention around the city. It was design representing the initials of the festival’s name as well as the name of the place: “Far-In”.
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3
PARALLEL CITY MAC
Milan, complex and multiform city, like all urban settlements, was born and raised to satisfy needs of the human being, damming and manipulating the non anthropocentric world inside itself, unconsciously affecting its future and life quality. In the urban space, between buildings and roads, nature still finds its way spontaneously but remains confined or ignored by the citizen, who’s often not even aware of the biodiversity the city can hide. The fact is that its biological value depends on its variety that must not grow spontaneously wherever there’s a slight opportunity.
Milan, Italy Politecnico di Milano Stefano Boeri January 2016
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The takeover
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Letting a place for nature implies getting away from our human way of thinking and concentrate on the need for a natural dimension that men have lost. As Jacques Derrida says in his book “L’animal que donc je suis”, we are all animal living on the same common ground, and as all the other animals we perceive the city in a practical way and we establish a relationship with it depending on our needs. We are inevitably tied to the natural world and in a sense, we cannot help it. We can’t help but to appreciate and loving its perfection and completeness which we also need to know ourselves. What is not to be forgotten is: nature in itself does not need humans.
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Mankind instead, does need nature, which can sustain itself only by using the given space. In order to preserve it, men need to take a step back and understand it first, for it is impossible and counterproductive to pretend we can tame and shape it. Through history, mankind has neglected that condition and focused too much on the product of their actions, trying to keep everything under control. Using this violent approach, however, they suffocate the wealth that the world has in itself, like its biodiversity. It’s necessary for the man to resize himself and redirection his attention to a natural aspect through a change of perspective that considers distance and respect.
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The change of perspective
This is why the project is part of this process of reflection, with the aim to make a proposal that addresses the issue of biodiversity by binding tightly to urban planning in the city to support its future growth considering its natural background and original geological conditions that the city development has neglected in order to give back to nature as much as possible. To make this possible, the process of the project approaches the problem from a less anthropocentric point of view in order to give the
priority, among the needs of the city, to those natural and organic. Looking at the city, we recognised that the different animals living in it find it interesting as a passing-through space but most of them can hardly find a place to stay. As suggested by Gustavo Gandini, for the survival and development of animal species in the city, they need an easy way to enter and exit, a friendly environment with adequate conditions, variety of environments for different species to establish and mostly, respect.
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We find the perfect condition along the navigli system, which is a natural corridor to enter the city. In a future vision you can imagine how, taking advantage of this network that is highly relevant and connected to the widespread green suburban areas, it could be possible to build a great system to support biodiversity inside the city, as if it were its own infrastructure, reviving at the same time the old navigli network long forgotten by its city.
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The climates
The intention behind this project is to enlarge the biodiversity possibilities and embed it in the city. Through the connection and interaction with the city, the place becomes both a communication route and a habitable place for the animal. In addition, a special interest is incorporated: a learning process in which, in order to be in contact with nature, you must first respect it keeping a distance and change your point of view to be able to understand the space and life how an animal would.
A common misconception when thinking about urban biodiversity is to believe that it only refers to animal life inside the city. While the truth is, it refers to all life forms. According to this, after a profound study of the place, we decided to take advantage of its geological conditions that the city has neglected to build an artificial channel, and bring back the possibilities that all the types of soil present in the area can provide to create different environments somehow lost during the city history.
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4
MASSIVE AIR
the light in the stone
The macael quarry sitting on top of the mountain is the acropolis of Cóbdar, a village in the sierra of southern Spain. They share a visual connection as well as a cultural one. It’s an already manipulated landscape for the marble extraction, giving it a peculiar appearance. The intention of the experience is the creation of an exclusive space that celebrates and exhibits art and artists; taking advantage of the local materials; in addition to the view, since the platforms serve as a panoramic viewpoint.
Cóbdar, Almería, Spain Politecnico di Milano Francisco Mangado June 2016
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The view
Whether we are permanent inhabitants of architecture or plain passengers and viewers, the connection to the context is not only inevitably present but must also be accentuated by the project. The proposal sits on top of the widest platform in an attempt to complete what was taken away from it.
The belvedere shares its meaning with Cรณbdar, including the villagers since the building shows itself with a greek temple-like appearance from afar and below until it completely disappears to the viewer. Mimicry in this case is an important concept as the building is in itself a thickness that occupies the height of the platform fitting into the landscape without creating too much of an impact, both visually and tectonic.
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The approach
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Following the shape and the existing route that surrounds the mountain, the approach to the building is a crucial topic for the proposal. It seeks receiving and leading the visitor through a long marble ramp that extends from the upper platform beyond the square volume. Guiding people’s view that changes as they immerse slowly into the deepness of the museum. The first frame of the landscape is the welcome point: the central patio that acts as a buffer zone and is in fact the only opening in the flat, thick concrete cover.
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The route
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From here, the composition of the program is suddenly clear. The perimetral circulation is completely open and continuous. It’s the meeting point, both between different functions as well as different construction materials. Two main spaces compose the internal exhibition. The hidden and dark one, cave-like three rooms get their charm by being made of and surrounded by rough marble, with walls made of the platform itself. They work with low amounts of light provided only by the patio and a subtle gap between the roof and the platform.
The biggest exhibition space is completely permeable from one side, facing the view. Packed with rows of concrete columns that become the language of the facade, they leave room for air and light to enter, making the exposition of artworks more interesting. Lastly, the ateliers become part of the exhibition as well, as their disposition along a covered corridor and their distribution allow visitors to experience the art piece from the very beginning and process up until the final result.
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Among functions, the concentration and elevation of the most private ones leaves room for the main attractions to appropriate not only the ground floor but, being in direct contact with the pedestal, they have the opportunity to extend themselves as wider as desired.
To empower this freedom, and making the most of the present climate, the exterior pursuits the maximum permeability, as well as the modern reinterpretation of most classic architectural languages, blending with the mountain through air, light and stone itself.
5
RESONANCE
Resonance is an important concept in architecture when it comes to how it relates to the context, and it’s commonly well appreciated. What happens when you try to apply it to areas of the city that have been developed with the ideas repetitiveness and anonymity embedded into it? Just a series of similarly-looking buildings distributed like seeds on a field that accentuate the lack of character of the already mistreated outskirts. How do we, as architects, behave in such a situation?
Milan, Italy Politecnico di Milano Giancarlo Floridi + Alberto Lunati February 2017
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Sant’Abbondio in the Chiesa Rossa neighbourhood located in the southern outskirts of Milan, is a predominantly residential part of the city, with ten-stories similarlylooking tall buildings all around and few small businesses and other functions. The area of interest is surrounded by these towers, and it’s a kindergarten that shares the lot with a small public park. The function of the kindergarten is to be kept, but the existing structure can and will be dismissed since it’s
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one of the dozens around the periphery that follow the same exact design including siting, materials and colours. The main challenge is not only the approach in such a situation, being completely free in terms of height and extension, but that the fixed kindergarten program must share the space with an unrelated function in the same construction. They both have to coexist in harmony and serve a coherent and profitable purpose for the neighbourhood.
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The choice of the second function resulted in a first-aid ambulance service. It’s a local organisation that is not affiliated in any way to the red cross and acts as a small centre for firstaid assistance together with an ambulance service that takes residents to the nearest hospital. It’s composed of nurses and trained volunteers. The choice seemed fitting to assist the residents in such an isolated and not particularly wealthy area of the city in which not everyone has the means to get to the hospital independently, as well as to promote volunteering in the community for either students in the medical field or just people eager to lend a hand and learn about safety and basic medical notions. The importance lies also in its uninterrupted activity that helps increase the feeling of safety during dead hours, mostly during the night.
In an attempt to better interact with the surroundings, the area was set to stretch, meddling with the park, leading to its reshaping and redesign. As a rebellious act towards the monotony of the neighbourhood, the answer was that of keeping all the proposal on the same level and have a one-story volume hosting both of the programs, as opposed to the scale of the towers around the lot. The horizontal nature of the volume is also a visual remainder that reflects the difference in use. Since the intention to resonate was as strong as the will to create a statement, a choice of mimicry dictated the materials and colours to be used. The whole volume is claded with vertical clay-coloured cement panels, mirroring the appearance of the residential towers, including the rooftop.
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Privacy and the children’s safety were an additional challenge. The two programs had to remain completely separate and the park obviously couldn’t be used as an outdoor space for the kindergarten. The relationship between the outside and the inside had then to be entirely independent for each one. As a result, the enclosing of a courtyard using three long volumes synthesises the proposal, creating the main outdoor recreational space for the children. All of the volumes (two containing the kindergarten and one the first-aid assistance) concentrate their services along the internal triangle in a sort of thick wall that serves also as entryways for the courtyard. The two kindergarten
volumes posses smaller patios that separate and provide light for the six classrooms and host didactic outdoor activities that have to be separate from the recreational ones. Same thing happens with the canteen, kitchen, infirmary and the entrance hall. The volume closest to the park ends in a small auditorium that can be also accessible from the outside so it can be used by the community if necessary as well as host small shows by the classes. The first-aid volume hosts parking space for four ambulances as well as small scale infirmary and assistance rooms, staff rooms and a small classroom for the preparation of the volunteers in matters of health and safety.
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THE INUJIMA BEER HOUSE PROJECT
Inujima is a peaceful and beautiful Japanese island full of history and breathtaking landscapes. After the downfall of its main activities that provided her with life and income (granite and stone quarrying and copper refinery) the fear of the people is the island’s risk of being forgotten and depopulated since most of her population for years were workers. The Inujima beerhouse project’s intention is to bring the island to life again by creating a self-supporting activity that involves the participation of locals as well as attracting visitors.
Inujima, Okayama, Japan Politecnico di Milano Kazuyo Sejima + Jonas Elding July 2017
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Inujima, one of a chain of six islands belonging to the National Park, is located some 2.5 km and a five-minute ferry trip away from the mainland. With an area of approximately 0.54 square km and a circumference of 3.6 km it’s the only inhabited island within Okayama prefecture. The name Inujima comes from a boulder on the island resembling a crouching dog, since “inu” means dog in Japanese. Inujima granite is prized throughout Japan for its exceptional quality and was used centuries ago in building the castles of Edo, Osaka, and Okayama. From the Meiji era onwards, granite from Inujima supplied raw material for the foundations of Port Osaka and for numerous other projects.
When the Inujima Copper Refinery was built in 1909, the island’s population swelled up to 3000, but within ten years the price of copper plummeted and the refinery was abandoned. As of december 2010, the island counted fifty five permanent residents with an average age of seventy five. The island offers a number of unique, year-round attractions, including a Nature House and beautiful beaches. Although few, the residents have since shown interest in reviving the island’s economic, politic and social life and are eager to be involved in any such initiatives. The premise of this project is to promote new and sustainable dynamics through architecture using existing structures; natural resources and local materials.
After a research regarding Japan’s most profitable and traditional activities, we discovered that out of all the cultivations in Japan, fifty percent are cereals, barley being amongst the main four of them. In addition, Japanese people are very proud of their local beer and very much enjoy producing and consuming it more than any other one. All of this together with the will to use the island’s natural resources and land to continuously grow barley and hop and guarantee that the fields are being used and taken good care of; gave birth to the Inujima beer-house project. Three points all throughout the island were selected to host the different parts of the project and provide key information and revenue for its inhabitants.
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The origin and heart of the process is the socalled “beer-house”. An area located in the south west part of the island with the most even terrain, already equipped with a greenhouse, able to host just the right amount of square metres of crops to continuously produce beer just below, inside the actual new building that involves the recovery of two old big existing warehouses. Following the coastline, it’ll create a very fluid path to enjoy both the view and the process of producing the beer in all its stages. It’s composed of a very light structure that behaves as a covered corridor around the seafront. Visitors will be able to go as singles, private and school groups either by their own or guided by a local explaining in different languages. They’ll be able to enter and interact first-handedly with almost every room. The volume that goes around the particular shape of the seafront, ends with a restaurant in the farthest point in order to have the broadest view of the landscape as possible.
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The second key point of the project is located in the fas east of the island, around an existing structure belonging to the late refinery that overlooks the sea and the neighbouring island. The structure is completely open to the east and has been abandoned for decades, although many tourists still go see it for its charisma. It represents a possibility to interact with the history and local materials of the site as well as to elevate people since constructing more than one story is difficult given that no vehicles are allowed to enter Inujima. Thus the “showroom” is born: a building dedicated to private and public events such as seminars, conferences and festivals all about the Inujima beer.
The last point is located in the north, inside the existing village and it’s the closest to the port. It serves the purpose of an info-point and reception for visitors interested in the beer experience. The space is born from the restoration of an abandoned house with a small garden. Using local materials like wood an granite is the way not to break with the image and scale. It provides visitors with information regarding tours, workshops, events as well as accommodations during their stay and it’s also a point to taste the delicious beer. The importance of this house lies in the connection to the locals as it provides potential jobs and income in the hope to wake the interest of future residents and investors.
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