Alberto Piccioli_Portfolio
Index
0. introducing AP
1. Mangoto school toilets [Kahe, Tanzania]
4. adaptive transgressions [Bangkok, Thailand]
8. b&w – temporary dwellings [Valencia, Spain]
12. a shelter for Emergency [Lampedusa, Italy]
5. infrastructures of everyday life [Medellín, Colombia]
9. open air mall
[Valencia, Spain]
13. Savena’s area [Bologna, Italy]
2. Mikocheni community hall
3. Del Rosario community upgrading
6. bringing a tower back to life
7. music is all around us
[Mikocheni, Tanzania]
[Galliera, Italy]
10. the light of knowledge [Cairo, Egypt]
[Manila, Philippines]
[Vienna, Austria]
11. overlooking the green [Modena, Italy]
14. the courtyard: city meets green [Bologna, Italy]
15. other works and research
Introducing Alberto Piccioli Brief CV milestones Born in Assisi (Italy) on December 1987 Completed secondary education in Bologna in 2006 Studied Building and Architectural Engineering between 2006-2013 Spent a year on Erasmus in the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia in Spain in 2009-2010
“This experience literally opened my mind and at the same time made me eager for discovering new things” Students competitions since 2010 Joined Studio 4S, an architecture office in Parma (Italy) for an internship in 2012 Went to University of California Berkeley to prepare my master’s thesis in 2012
“In California, I learned a highly professional and structured working approach and was able to attend fascinating lectures on a variety of topics” Went to London (UK), to study the MSc in Building and Urban Design in Development at UCL in 2013
“An incredible year of learning and testing alternative approaches to architecture and planning, in a thriving academic and social setting” Joined C-re-aid, a Tanzanian NGO that works on the “possibilities of architecture” in Moshi, Tanzania, in 2015
“I learned by doing what participation means, how materials taste like and the importance of human relationships in our profession and beyond” Started volunteering with CatalyticAction, a London based non-profit design studio that works internationally, in 2015
“Through rigorous design practices, community engagement and understanding each context, we believe that small changes can result in a big impact” Joined the Shelter and Settlements team at the International Organization for Migration in Geneva, by the end of 2015 - to date.
“I am currently exploring the role of spatial design and planning in the context of humanitarian emergencies” How I see architecture Architecture can be seen as a service that few people – the architects – provide to others, and for this reason I always value efficiency, functionality and good response to the program more than appearance. However, architecture is much more than this: is the whole process of conceiving, designing, and constructing or re-using a building, involving the users proactively throughout several phases. Nonetheless, I also see the poetic side of architecture, the one that accompanies the architect through his process of giving shape to thoughts, the passage from ideas to drawings and then to reality. This shouldn’t isolate designers in a separate sphere, but make them engage with clients and users in a creative way. Moreover, I believe that today architecture faces a great challenge, due to the energetic crisis, the huge growth of resources consumption and the large portion of empty building stock. Sustainable practices, urban renewal and building reuse are therefore themes that I am most keen on, and believe that are central to address in this context. Finally, I believe that architecture can help society and try to provide the largest number of people with an adequate standard of living: the “other 99%”, not only the wealthy minority. For this reason, in my opinion social housing, community-based and humanitarian design are necessary themes to focus on, because they make architects face the hard challenge of designing a good building with limited resources. They thus have to look for innovative and efficient solutions, working hand in hand with other professionals, and most importantly the people, in a process of creative exchange and empowerment that goes much beyond the construction itself.
1
Kahe, Tanzania
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Mangoto School Toilets - Ventilated Improved Pit Latrines
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C-re-aid+ | Design of toilet blocks for Mangoto Secondary School - Kahe | May 2015
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cks for Mangoto Secondary School - Kahe | May 2015 BB
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C-re-aid+ | Design of toilet blocks for Mangoto Secondary School - Kahe | May 2015
Project Info Location: Kahe, Moshi, Northern Tanzania Type: Architectural Design and Construction Object: Two toilet blocks, water and sanitation Materials: fired bricks, concrete, timber, iron sheet Budget: â‚Ź12,500 including labour Area: 30 m2 (boys), 50 m2 (girls)
Anza involved C-re-aid for the design of two toilet blocks for the Mangoto secondary school in Kahe. This project is connected to their Feminine Health Programme in partnership with Femme International. Its aims are to provide means, information and guidance for girls to manage their menstruation. Considering the severe conditions of the school toilets, the construction of new sanitation facilities is aligned with such program. C-re-aid’s approach for the design was based on a participatory model organized in several meetings that tackled different issues and aspects of the toilets: priorities, location, user interface, waste management system, spatial distribution and design. The project committee from the school was composed by four teachers and eight pupils divided in two groups of boys and girls from each of the four grades. The team together with the committee opted for a dry ventilated-improved toilet system after debating several options, and established the location of the blocks according to environmental, safety and privacy reasons. Construction was completed in October 2015, with the involvement of volunteers from the UK as well as local craftsmen.
C-re-aid Tanzania Development Architect Internship Year 2015 Moshi, Tanzania Partner Organization: Anza Team: Freya Candel, Alberto Piccioli, Lineia Caldeira
2
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Mikocheni, Tanzania
Program & Access
Capacity & Use of space 1m
5m
Office Hall
Mikocheni Community Hall
Porch
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Store
Shop
14m2 44m2
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Delivery Shop window Main entrance
Project Info Location: Mikocheni, Lower Moshi, Tanzania Type: Architectural Design and Construction Object: Community hall, shop, store and office Materials: cement blocks, concrete, timber, steel Budget: â‚Ź 20,000 including labour Area: 242 m2 (covered surface)
FT Kilimanjaro is a non-governmental organization that is concentrating on infrstructural upgradings for the area of Mikocheni. They contacted C-re-aid to work on a community center that would serve as an administrative and business space for the village. The program required a meeting hall, an outdoor covered space, a small office and a storage room with adjacent shop for agricultural products that are produced and sold by the village members. After the first meeting with the project committee, formed by the sub-village representatives, the team brainstormed on the preliminary concepts, spatial distribution and materials, that were presented to the partner and the committee. C-re-aid worked closely with the community and focused on the use of locally available materials, techniques and labor, while at the same time trying to push the boundaries to test innovative solutions. The area is characterized by the presence of aggressive minerals in the soil, which greatly affect the lower portions of buildings causing significant structural damages. Specific design and building techniques were used to prevent this phenomenon.
C-re-aid Tanzania Development Architect Internship Year 2015 Moshi, Tanzania Partner Organization: FT Kilimanjaro Team: Freya Candel, Alberto Piccioli, Marie Heyvart
3
Manila, Philippines
Project Info Location: Del Rosario, Metro Manila, Philippines Type: Strategy, Planning and Design Object: Community upgrading, incremental housing Materials: Timber, concrete, bamboo Area: approx. 4,500 m2
Del Rosario Community Upgrading
The community of Del Rosario is located in Valenzuela city, metropolitan ManiIa. Since the 1980s it has been affected by heavy floods during the rainy season and the residents need to seek shelter in a nearby structure because of the poor quality of the current houses. They formed an association in 1998 and are repaying the loan they received to purchase the land. The proposed strategy is a process of community participatory upgrading, drawing on previous experiences of ACHR and CODI in South-East Asia. Apart from mapping and surveying, I worked on defining an investigative strategy through three stages, focused on the assets and main issues of the community, the aspirations for their future dwellings, and the relations with the context. The project focuses on three main elements for the upgrading of Del Rosario: 1) Elaborating a set of rules for the compound re-blocking, housing all the families and building on existing assets. 2) Improving and adding communal areas and facilities in strategic positions. 3) Typology and features of incremental housing resilient to flooding.
Development Planning Unit – University College London MSc in Building and Urban Design in Development Year 2013-2014 Critical Urbanism Studio II Tutors: Giorgio Talocci, Anna Schulenburg Student: Alberto Piccioli
4
Adaptive Transgressions
Bangkok, Thailand
Project Info Location: Rama IV, Bangkok, Thailand Type: Strategy and design interventions Object: Tranformations of existing housing blocks Area: 95,500 m2 (surface), 45,000 m2 (built)
Lack of identity, isolation and rigidity were key issues for the Rama IV land-sharing project in Bangkok. To address them, instead of a specific design intervention I suggested a set of transformative uses and practices called tactics of adaptive transgression, imagining that the blocks were re-occupied and incrementally transformed from their current condition. Changing and growing needs demand for higher levels of adaptation, leading to a strategy of disruption, transformation, deconstruction and expansion that unfolds through intertwined phases and encompasses both the urban and individual scales. A workshop can assess the residents’ needs, followed by a soft set of provocative tactics or small interventions to raise awareness and promote community participation. The workshop can be used to share skills, propose ideas and encourage local production and recycling. Following, participatory interventions in the public space begin and the workshop can be scaled up. The third stage seeks the implementation of the most transformative techniques that allow incremental and continuous evolution.
Development Planning Unit – University College London MSc in Building and Urban Design in Development Year 2013-2014 Urban intervention studio - Bangkok Tutors: Dr. Camillo Boano, Dr. Caroline Newton Student: Alberto Piccioli
5
Infrastructures of Everyday Life
Medellín, Colombia
Project Info Location: Comuna 8, Medellín, Colombia Type: Strategy, Planning and Urban Design Object: Infrastructure (metro cable) and social urbanism interventions
The intervention aims to use the infrastructure imposed by the Medellín cable car system to create new spaces of community engagement. Even if intended to better integrate marginalized informal areas with the rest of the city, cable car stations and supporting pillars have splintered the urban fabric, leaving little opportunity for local communities to appropriate the space. Recognizing the existing diverse livelihoods and systems of exchange, the aim is to provide a loose infrastructure around the pillar that may serve as an open, mixed-use, flexible space. A structure would be provided for shading, and flexible urban furniture such as tables could serve as workshop space and potential storage areas for shared materials. Users can appropriate space and be creative. The cable car stations, due to their larger scale, can still offer important communal space as mixed-use hubs. They may serve as the link between the smaller neighborhood/pillar areas and the wider urban context. In this way, we aim to fill the void opened by infrastructure as an opportunity for connecting and expanding livelihoods of Comuna 8 residents.
Development Planning Unit – University College London MSc in Building and Urban Design in Development Year 2013-2014 Critical Urbanism Studio I Tutors: Dr. C. Boano, Dr. C. Newton, A. Schulenburg Workgroup: Alberto Piccioli, Nicola D’Addabbo, Pedro Mora, Joana Dabaj, Asimina Paraskevopoulou, Rafaella Lima, Sarah Brennan
6
Bringing a Tower Back to Life
Galliera, Italy
Project Info Location: Galliera, Province of Ferrara, Italy Type: Architectural Restoration and Design Object: Restoration of medieval tower Materials: bricks, mortar, cor-ten steel and glass Area: 71 m2 (plan), 670 m2 (façade surface), approx. 1,200 m2 outdoor areas
Restoring a 900 years old tower is a delicate process. It starts from the deep understanding and study of its historical and cultural context, its history, construction, materials and current conditions. Once the on-site and analytic process has started, providing data and inspiration, the conservation and re-use design can give new life to the ancient monument. The idea is to dig the layers of soil that covered the lower level of the tower, creating an open air plaza and an access to the interior of ruin, carefully restored but left as clear and untouched as possible, with a floating staircase that allows one to reach the top and have views of the rural landscape. This makes it a new landmark by recalling at the same time the original sighting function of the defensive towers around Bologna.
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM_UniversitĂ degli Studi di Bologna Building and Architectural Engineering Year 2010-2011 Architectural Restoration Laboratory Prof. Ing. Claudio Galli Tutor: Ing. Arch. Mauro Dorigo Workgroup: Alberto Piccioli, Fulvio Martelli, Simone Rinaldi Alessandra Capelli, Alessandro Cecchini
7
VHOM_Music is All Around Us
Vienna, Austria
Project Info Location: Stadtpark, Vienna, Austria Type: Architectural Design Object: Music Conservatory and Auditorium Materials: Concrete, glass, green roof Area: approx. 3,500 m2 over two floors + outdoors
The project for this “house of music” in the Stadtpark in Vienna starts with the idea that the park continues up on the building’s roof, which aims to integrate as much as possible with the surroundings. It is like a sheet that folds and models itself giving shape to the building. Other keypoints of the relationship with its context are the compact façades towards the streets and the high pinnacle which recalls the cathedral and offers views onto the city centre. The big central void creates a green courtyard where to stand and enjoy open air events and concerts, respecting the original geometry of the park. The access points are shaded by long cantilevers made by the flexible roof; the entire project, in conclusion, has a strong sense of opening and linkage with the context and especially the park.
Students Competition - Archmedium Vienna House Of Music Year 2010-2011 Team: Alberto Piccioli, Michele Manzella
8
Black & White – Temporary Dwellings
Valencia, Spain
Project Info Location: El Ensanche, Valencia, Spain Type: Architectural Design Object: Temporary dwellings block Materials: concrete, steel, perforated panels, glass Area: 800 m2 (ground floor), 50 m2 ( avg. flat), tot. 39 flats, 5 common spaces, roof top.
This residential building for temporary dwellings leaves a passage between the built front to permit a clear entrance to the central commercial area inside the block. It also splits up in two bodies in order to allow the sunlight to pour in, leaving a translucent central space, with hanging connections between the two sides. The exterior façades are black as a sign of elegance and solidity, but their sense of enclosure is animated by the fully-opening blinds before the sliding windows. The whole building is rich in common spaces, adding many possibilities for the users, from sitting areas and meeting rooms to communal gyms and a rooftop garden.
Universidad Politécnica de Valencia Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura Year 2009-2010 Projects III_taller 2 Exercise number 3 Prof. José Luís Alapont Ramon Student: Alberto Piccioli
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Open-air Mall
Valencia, Spain
Project Info Location: El Ensanche, Valencia, Spain Type: Architectural and Urban Design Object: Outdoor shopping mall + public space Materials: Concrete, U-glass, steel, green roof Area: approx. 5,300 m2
An “open air mall” in the heart of an urban block, which brings life and activities to the back side of the traditional buildings of the Ensanche in Valencia, giving it a new role in the city and also allowing pedestrian crossing. The proposal is to leave a long central void which represents an interior square surrounded by shops on one side and many other activities on the other. The two border bands are connected at the ends giving identity to the space and clearly indicating the exits to the underground parking. The project also brings green areas into the grey block, alternated with benches and shaded spaces, according to a defined 1x1 module.
Universidad Politécnica de Valencia Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura Year 2009-2010 Projects III_taller 2 Exercise number 2 Prof. José Luís Alapont Ramon Workgroup: Alberto Piccioli, Ignacio Fernández Gil, Ana Lacárcel Alberola, Ana Clemente Marqués
10
The light of knowledge
Cairo, Egypt
Project Info Location: Cairo, Egypt Type: Architectural Design, Construction details Object: Skylights for a library of rare books Materials: glass, steel cables, aluminum profiles, plasterboard, ventilated façade Area: approx. 120 m2 (floor plan)
A library of rare books located in the dense center of Cairo, Egypt. Most of the functions are underground, leaving to emerging blocks the role of capturing the sunlight from above. The project concretely concerns the design and technical solution for the skylight, which – according to the sunpath – carries light to the interior and with the convex shield diffuses it gently downside. The same element by night becomes a source of light itself thanks to an integrated led system.
Universidad Politécnica de Valencia Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura Year 2009-2010 Thematic Architecture III Prof. Ricardo Meri de la Maza Student: Alberto Piccioli
11
Overlooking the Green
Modena, Italy
Project Info Location: Modena, Italy Type: Architectural and Urban Design Object: Residential development, park, apartment blocks and common spaces Materials: Bricks, wooden blinds, glass panels Area: approx. 3,100 m2 covered area
This was an ex-industrial area in Modena, Italy, in need of coversion and rehabilitation. It has been designed with a central longitudinal park and some new buildings that try to integrate the existing ones, and with their zigzag shapes offer views towards the park, literally overlooking the green. A great mix of functions gives to this place a strong variety of activities and users that inhabit it. This variety is also pursued by the different heights of the buildings and the cuts between them, mostly designed to create perspective views and for best natural daylight. Each elevation has then been designed to perfectly respond to the orientation and the surroundings.
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM_UniversitĂ degli Studi di Bologna Building and Architectural Engineering Year 2008-2009 Architecture and Architectural Composition Laboratory II Prof. Luisella Gelsomino Ing. Eugenio Ansaloni Tutor: Ing. Alessandro Rigolon Workgroup: Alberto Piccioli, Valentina Sartini, Maria Beatrice Starace, Valentina Villani
12
A shelter for Emergency
Lampedusa, Italy
Project Info Location: Lampedusa, Sicily, Italy Type: Architectural Design, Construction details Object: Hospital for migrants Materials: concrete, resin panels, blocks, PV Area: 3,500 m2 covered area
Lampedusa is a small island in the Mediterranean sea that is so close to North Africa that most of the migration flows towards Europe pass through it. EMERGENCY, a humanitarian NGO based in Italy, proposed to study the possibility of building a health structure to assist the people who come in life-threatening conditions after hard journeys through the desert and the sea. The hospital has to be easy to build, with a repetitive grid that allows future extensions. It is conceived as a one-floor structure, open green areas even inside the perimeter and a particular system of blinds and protection from the intense sunlight. Renewable energy (solar power and natural ventilation primarily) are key components of the project. The wind towers are both a symbol of the building and a modern reuse of the ventilation techniques of Middle Eastern countries.
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM_UniversitĂ degli Studi di Bologna Building and Architectural Engineering Year 2008-2009 Technical Architecture Laboratory I Prof. Ing. Luca Guardigli, Ing. Luca Venturi Tutor: Arch. Serena Venturi Workgroup: Alberto Piccioli, Valentina Sartini, Fulvio Martelli, Alessandra Capelli
13
Savena’s Area Redevelopment
Bologna, Italy
Project Info Location: Savena district, Bologna, Italy Type: Urban Planning Object: Mixed-use redevelopment, park Area: 92,400 m2 residential, 22,400 m2 offices, 8,500 m2 commercial, 54,900 m2 park, 9,700 m2 parking, 4,500 m2 street parking, 12,400 m2 buffer zone
Within the area of the so-called “city of the river Savena” in Bologna, this masterplan has to face the need for new public and private buildings without forgetting the strong presence of existing structures and greenery. The most important aspect of the proposal is to create a connected net of pedestrian paths between the ideal centers of every open block. Functions as offices and commerce have been located in different areas; the former to provide acustic and visual shelter from the railway; the latter to bring activities to the relevant streets and to other points of gathering, such as the central “piazza” and the park in the north-east portion of the plot, which includes wide green areas and public facilities.
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM_Università degli Studi di Bologna Building and Architectural Engineering Year 2008-2009 Urban Planning Laboratory Prof. Ing. Carlo Monti Tutor: Ing. Elisa Conticelli Workgroup: Alberto Piccioli, Valentina Sartini, Elena Pirani, Francesca Lolli, Federica Morandi
14
The courtyard: the city meets the green
Bologna, Italy
Project Info Location: Bologna, Italy Type: Architectural Design Object: Residential block Materials: bricks, wood, ceramic tiles Area: 340 m2 covered area, 110 m2 courtyard
With an urban street at the front and a park in the back, this residential block tries to solve the lack of orientations and the abrupt interruption that the built band creates between the city and the green area. Thanks to a central courtyard, the project lets them meet, generating a link and therefore giving continuity to the space, from the sidewalk through the courtyard and until the park. Nevertheless, it marks the difference between the two spaces, first of all with the materials, which change to make clear that the inner courtyard is a more private space.
ALMA MATER STUDIORUM_UniversitĂ degli Studi di Bologna Building and Architectural Engineering Year 2007-2008 Architecture and Architectural Composition Laboratory I Prof. Arch. Ottorino Marinoni Tutor: Ing. Piero Vendruscolo Workgroup: Alberto Piccioli, Valentina Sartini, Angela Casale, Maria Luciano
15
Other works and research
- Pamoja Tunaweza Restaurant and Lounge, design and spatial layout of an outdoor restaurant made of different pavilions, @C-re-aid, 2015 - Iko-Eco Plastic Recycling Station, design and budget of a modular structure and layout of the area, @C-re-aid, 2015 - Towards an Architecture of Re-use: insurgent claims and alternatives to the architectural profession, final MSc BUDD dissertation, @UCL, 2014 - Cambodia under trust-formation, final report of the BUDD Field Trip project: Cambodia – Transformation in the time of transition, London and Phnom Penh, @UCL, 2014 - Insurgent Regeneration: Strategies for Participatory Spatial Practices in the city of São Paulo, @UCL, 2014 - Old|Newham, Report and Development brief of the urban analysis and design response for an urban area in the London Borough of Newham, @UCL, 2014 - Participant in the BUDD Camp “ThinkingDoingBrescia: six memos to interpret the city”, held in the city of Brescia, @UCL, 2014 - Urban intervention studio on the case of Bangkok, @UCL, 2013-14 - Participatory processes in Cohousing, course essay, @UCL, 2014 - The potential of adaptive reuse for the journey towards a good city, course essay, @UCL, 2013 - Participant in Windsor workshop: Creating partnerships for sustainable and equitable land use in Dar Es Salaam, @UCL, 2013 - Bloomsbury charette, urban intervention in central London, @UCL, 2013 - Participant in DPU summerLab: Rome Occupation City, Rome, 2013 - Thermal comfort visualizations on a web based tool for ASHRAE 55 Standard, Master’s thesis for UniBo, @UCBerkeley, 2012-13 - Internship at Studio 4S - Architettura Sostenibile, study and re-use project of an existing industrial warehouse, 2012 - Reno’s city in Bologna, analysis and project of the fluvial area according to the urban strategic plan, @UniBo, 2011-12 - Building Yard Laboratory, project and computation of the entire construction process of a residential block, @UniBo, 2011 - Renovation case study, refurbishment project of a rural house, @UniBo, 2011 - Construction Laboratory, project and calculations of a steel and a concrete structure, @UniBo, 2010-11
16 - Pumped concrete, research on characteristics, technologies and projects realized by pumping concrete, @UniBo, 2010-11 - Sustainable buildings, essay, @UPV, 2010 - Architectural prototypes, three design projects with Rhinoceros, @UPV, 2010 - Historical Constructive Systems Analysis, study of various details and pathologies of historical buildings in Valencia, @UPV, 2010 - Bioclimatic projects, conversion of a high-consumption house into an efficient one, @UPV, 2009-10 - Multimedia bookstore in the Ensache of Valencia, design exercise, @UPV, 2009 - Skylights analysis, presentation of different types of skylight in a big variety of case studies, @UPV, 2009 - Sustainable solutions for an Emergency hospital, study of sustainable techniques for ventilation, sunlight, energy consumption, @UniBo, 2009 - Cultural center in a new urban development in Modena, design exercise, @UniBo 2009 - Urban Planning Studio, master plan for the area of Savena in Bologna, @UniBo, 2008-09 - Wood structures, historical development and recent technologies and projects, @UniBo, 2008 - The architecture of Karl Friedrich Schinkel, essay on his work and role in neoclassical architecture, @UniBo, 2008 - Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, study of the project and the innovatory use of concrete slabs, @UniBo, 2007-08 - Arata Isozaki’s Domus del Hombre in La Coruña, re-drawing of a famous project, @UniBo, 2007 - The flow of time, final dissertation in high school, 2006
Other works and research
Alberto Piccioli_Portfolio