Architecture Portofolio 2021 by Alexandra Pițuru

ALEXANDRA PITURU ARCHITECT Work selection 2019-2021

SELECTED PROJECTS

01 THE AGRICULTURAL ACTIVE LEARNING CENTER Diploma Project, 2021

02 MERCANTILE// INTERACTION//ART 5th year, 2nd semester

03 OFFICES BUILDING 5th year, 1st semester

04 INCLUSIVITY// URBAN DESIGN 5th year, 1st semester

05 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MNST) 4th year, 2nd semester

06 MNST// INTERIOR DESIGN 5th year, 2nd semester

07 SHOW-ROOM// CONVERSION AND REABILITATION 4th year, 1st semester

08 A HOUSE FOR MYSELF 4th year, 1st semester

01 - THE AGRICULTURAL ACTIVE LEARNING CENTER Diploma Project

Caracal, Romania

People have lost the genuine connection with nature and our basic instinct to grow food due to industrialisation and globalisation. In the near future, countries developed around agriculture might emerge as global keys. Romania had been known for its agriculture, therefore it can be brought back as a development pole. The proposal is answering the current issues Caracal City is facing: depopulation and ignorance of the geographical potential . The intention is to increase the efficiency of The Agricultural Research Station of Caracal, which already has national importance. The intervention plays a key-role in tissue regeneration, but also on a social, economic and urban scale through empowerment. Social inclusion, creation of a sustainable and responsible community with vision are the main goals. Altogether, this is happening in the context of Caracal as an important pole for the surrounding villages, but also for the country’s Southern area in terms of agriculture. This project aims to explore the architectural solutions, to understand the overall characteristics of the community while creating an area that can truly reconnect people to their inherent being of working the fields. The solution could be linking diverse agricultural subfunctions by a multidisciplinary approach that helps bringing agriculture back in the mind of people, in the everyday discussions. City residents, researchers, students, all converging around a common purpose, growth of life through architecture. To achieve this, the concept is the integration of education and agriculture. A built environment intertwined with fields’ pattern creates different types of spaces and continuous surfaces. It connects functions, people and vegetation. Moving along with the linear shape of the agriculture “blanket” on the site, the architecture takes retrive the lines as a base for the buildings. By extension, the field becomes building and building becomes fields, exploiting all the potential of the site.

02 - MERCANTILE// INTERACTION// ART 5th year, 2nd semester

Bucharest, Romania

The architecture program was a free choice, but the two sites were imposed by the brief. Thus, we started from the premise of observing the characteristics of the Old Center of Bucharest. Center which now has two different valences, due, perhaps, to the categorical cutting of I.C. Boulevard. Bratianu. From this analysis we deduced the need to reconnect the two areas: a strongly gentrified area and another with an apparently intertwined existence compared to the present, which, however, began to coexist with the alternative culture. In the first phase of the project, having as a starting point the problematics of the area, the intervention at urban level propagates in the depth of the tissue, not only on the two sites opposite. Although the second part of the project was individual, we tried to keep a connection between the two plots. Thus, they are connected by a Shared Space type, the portion of Caii Mosilor is open to pedestrians, but with car restrictions. From a functional point of view, the building is complementary to the context created by the proposal of the first phase teammate (student dormitory) with which it communicates through a portico, opening onto a small square. I proposed a flea market (tailor shops, traditional pretzel shops or various window shops) on the fairly fluid ground floor that opens to shared space. I treated the exterior facades of the ensemble with smaller openings, sometimes closed by masonry, and towards the inner courtyard, where, scenographically, all the activity takes place, I treated the facade differently, with larger glazing. I included the near-by house to my proposal, its yard being a potential for the spatial quality of the ground floor, giving it the function of a flea market.

03 - OFFICE BUILDING 5th year, 1st semester

Bucharest, Romania

The brief was an office building, on the site at the intersection of Berzei Street and Garii de Nord Street which is an area with a new-built boulevard and a strategy of urban regeneration started by the townhall. The urban reglementation on this site is quite strict and clear, so I tried to bring up the potential of the relatively small width footprint of the ground floor, through transparency. I tried to bring a fluid perception between the inner courtyard and the street. This inner courtyard can acquire a character of semipublic space, not being open only to employees, but being served by cafes, bookstores, exhibition spaces, located both on the ground floor of the proposed building and in the historical buildings on the island. These last mentioned, are proposed for restoration and functional conversion. The entrance to the core yard is made by a subtle gesture of breaking the continuity of the ground floor and one smooth concavity of the upper floor slab. The circulation nodes, the connections between spaces in the building are configured in such a way that it can be rented for small offices or it can be adjusted for open space. The main entrance of the offices space is placed in the core of the building, which hosts also the multifunctional room. It becomes a remarkable space opened centrally on more levels. This solution is an aesthetic, but also necessary due to the large width of the central body with a need for zenithal light.

FRONT CONTINUU

FRONT DISCONTINUU

Pituru Maria Alexandra / grupa 58

04 - INCLUSIVITY// URBAN DESIGN 5th year, 1st semester Collaborator: Ruben Pintea INTERSECTIA PRIN INCLUZIUNE A FUNCTIUNII REZIDENTIALE SI ZONEI GENTRIFICATE

Singapore Singapore advocates the idea of self-sufficiency, both at the macro level and at the micro level, at the housing level. From the analysis of the housing typologies, it was noticed that 8/10 people live in HBD blocks, public housing. Most of them, especially the old buildings, do not have cultural or entertainment facilities. In this context, there is a clear division of the social classes. This segregation is showed, initially, by the type of housing to which people belong, but also by the activities they do in their free time. Food and shopping are the two most popular activities in Singapore. Most expats lack adequate recreational options and choose to explore nearby places in Malaysia. Culture is accessible only to those in the upper social classes. I didn’t notice many theaters, cinemas or cultural hubs in the analysis. Given the intention to expand the land, we have proposed a master plan that includes several related functions. We maximized the initial character of the water, a praise brought to the area by the introduction of canals bordered by high vegetation. The chosen site is located at the major intersection between the residential area and Marina Bay which has a touristic character, not being frequented by the middle class locals. This site is the conceptual link between these two major areas. The main function is that of a cultural hub with a strong public character, open to all inhabitants, but also a park to continue the green, general aspect. We chose to have the three main elements: vegetation, water and built. They all combine in an organic way. Also, a small square was proposed on the side with the highest accessibility of the site. This square announces the entrance to the building and the park and opens to the service and education area and is outlined as a major pole in the proposal. We proposed housing with various visual openings, a small business center, to be financially sustainable.

05 - NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 4th year, 2nd semester Collaborator: Neagu Bianca

Bucharest, Romania

The project takes place on an industrial site belonging to the Filaret Power Plant in Bucharest. This hall is classified as a historical monument, as a result, we chose a “double skin interior” approach and exterior preservation. Which means a non-intrusive attitude and detachment of the intervention on the inside from the existing hall. At the level of the extension, in the architectural project we observed certain principles of careful insertion in the site, but at the same time, we created the facades that are of visual impact and landmark of the area. For this reason, we chose the stereotomy of the facades created from the concrete pillars to become a clear motive for the project, both in terms of architecture and interior design, but also in terms of visual identity. At the entrance of the extension building, I proposed an urban slab whose floor extends into the lobby. I proposed a water mirror and a skylight that helps illuminate the basement where there is an exhibitional area. Related to the exhibition trail, everything runs smoothly, in both spaces on the walkways and ramps that sometimes expand and become exhibition spaces. In the hall they become boxes for temporary exhibition, and in extension they give the possibility to observe large objects from several angles and perspectives. At the macro level, we have developed a master plan for the regeneration of the destructured area. I considered it necessary to propose, in addition to the museum that was imposed by the theme, a part for education, parallel to the hall, which closes the premises where activities and exhibitions take place, as well as a research body in the former depot and an administrative body.

06 - INTERIOR DESIGN (MNST) 5th year, 2nd semester

Bucuresti, Romania

This project is the continuation and interior design detailing of the previous museum project. Basically, the concept of the project is outlined inside and outside. Namely, inside, I preferred to use noble materials to induce the visitor the idea of respect for heritage. These materials include: corten, copper, leather, wood, etc. While the extension is a more daring interpretation of what happens inside the hall through color accents, the chromatic spectrum, somehow the same as in the hall, but no longer so “metallic”. The furniture also follows a rule, in the old hall we used leather sofas, wooden tables, lighting fixtures that are elegant, and in extension we have the same range of colors, but the furniture is modular: the sofas are made of 3 modules, varying colors, the armchairs are part of the same range of the manufacturer being on the same principle, modularity. I had a detailed area of the project, and I focused on the museum entrance. I chose to use the sincerity of concrete in contrast to a range of colors that I found suitable for a technical museum.

07 - SHOW-ROOM//CONVERSION AND REABILITATION An 4, semestrul 1

Bucharest, Romania

The intervention on the historical house is executed in three spatial directions: laterally, vertically and horizontally from the initial construction. The extension is a showroom for a shoe designer, which has a cafe at the top of the house and another showroom for clothes in the basement. In the old part of the house is kept the living function, which is functionally separated from the new intervention, but it is connected to it with a second entrance proposed with a new staircase. I chose a fairly visible gesture of covering the extension with a “hat” of corten to create a subtle landmark of the street that we found necessary through the function proposed. I also preferred not to have a large footprint with the extension so as not to deny the inner courtyard, this enhances the quality of the project by creating a space conducive to the concept of yard sales.

07 - A house for myself Collaborator: Popescu Cristian

Aspen, USA

Submerged by the intangible inner chaos and external (delusive) struggle of the worldly living, The Person finds the way back to Itself through the constancy of nature. The mountain slope crossed by a rushing river is the leitmotif of the profound renewal. It is said that the spirit aren’t simply determined by the reactions to the material world. The purpose of the project is to create a minimal living environment, almost like a non-intrusive, detached object that seamlessly matches the way each person/individual feels about society of today. A house for myself. A home for myself. A retreat. BUT WHO AM I? Maybe I am someone tired of concrete cities/ the trap of today’s living/ the imbalance of today’s consumerism. Someone who sees the sense in sustainability. Someone who seeks aesthetic of (or in?) the personal space. Or maybe I am just another solitary person that wants to return to simplicity. To nature.

VARIOUS WORKS

The following images show a part of the creative work I did for the office I worked previous in Bucharest. They are representative for my rendering and 3D skills. The design was done by myse under the supervision of the chief architect. The projects are realised in Revit, rendered with Enscape, retouched with Photoshop or Lightroom at the end.

THANK YOU!