ALICIA MOREIRA University of Maryland Bachelor of Science in Architecture
CONTENTS
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ABOUT
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POROSITY Piazza Tasso, Florence, Italy Two months, Spring 2018 Professor Franco Pisani
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FRAMING Bardini Museum, Florence, Italy One week, Spring 2018 Professor Franco Pisani
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HOLLOW Ellicott City, Maryland Two weeks, Fall 2018 Professor Joshua Hill
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BURROW Ellicott City, Maryland One month, Fall 2018 Professor Eric Hurtt
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REVEAL Blagden Alley, Washington, D.C. Two months, Fall 2017 Professor Andrew Linn
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ART
I have never been so inspired than during the train ride back to Florence from Rome. I am not religious, but the experience was holy. The city along with its art and history made me ache. Traveling on my own through Copenhagen and Oslo showed me confidence I did not realize I had. Cities explored
Oslo, Norge København, Danmark Berlin, Deutschland
Amsterdam, Nederland
Barcelona, EspaĂąa
Firenze, Italia Roma, Italia
West Maroon 12,490’
Frigid Air 12,405’
Devil’s Causeway 11,814’
Mountains climbed Discovering more about nature enhances my understanding of myself and brings a new appreciation to life itself. The serenity, pride and rush that come from reaching the peak of a mountain go unmatched. about_03
My first assignment in Florence was a vague one, that I interpreted to mean a space for my passions to live. So I scribbled down a list in my sketchbook with everything I could think of that I am obsessed with, unapologetically, obscure or mundane. I came up with a full page of ramblings that I realized divided fairly evenly into things I love about nature and things I love about the built environment. This model is my interpretation of where my passions and curiosities would live: a simple, calculated, fabricated glass box shoved into the side of a natural, waivering, unforgiving mountain face.
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POROSITY This two-month urban infill project explores porosity through the visual, auditory and tactile senses in order to emphasize the community’s invasion of the private realm and flow of publicity upward from street level. Light, sound, void and inhabitants become more populous and dense toward the bottom of the design, which creates a new urban passage and subterranean plaza flanked by accompanying ramped plazas on either side to address accessibility. The space complements Piazza Tasso, which faces the site. The porosity of the design makes the space inclusive rather than facilitating the typical exclusivity that comes from many contemporary art galleries.
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By positioning the angle of each hole in the facade differently, both vertically and horizontally, every user will partake in a unique experience with every visit, due to the ever changing position of the sun from time of day and year.
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Public invasion of private realm Redefined urban passage
Porosity of light, sound, & material
Local tree branches would be set within the poured concrete and burned by the community at the completion of construction. Through this method of creating holes in the concrete facade, the community quite literally sets fire to and pokes holes in the private realm. These holes will be more dense toward the bottom of each facade, creating a porosity of light, sound and material, which creates a greater sense of publicity from the top floor, down. The entirely open ground floor combined with the ramped plazas on its side create a redefined urban passage within the formerly private fabric.
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FRAMING During a one-week charrette with students from TU Delft, our group of four designed an intervention to the Bardini Museum in the historical center of Florence, Italy. Our design addresses what we established to be the most important issues with the existing museum, which include accessibility, confusion of entrance location and intrigue from passersby. Our concept of framing came from Bardini’s use of frames hung within other frames inside the museum, contributing to the quirky nature of the collection.
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Entry Open geometry
Exit Closed geometry
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HOLLOW Ellicott City, when first developed in the late 1700s, was nicknamed “The Hollow� for its funneling natural topography, making the town prone to flooding. The form of the tower is derived entirely from function, allowing flood waters to pass through the building. The form also follows the present dichotomy of natural organic forms, represented by the Patapsco River, and linear forms, represented by the buildings lining historic Main Street. The tubes allow circulation of both water and people, while the holes above them provide framed views of the city via pop-out decks. The flooding is not going to stop, and this resilient community should not be given any more pieces to pick up after the next disaster.
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Flood The form follows the present dichotomy of natural organic forms, represented by the Patapsco River, and linear forms, represented by the buildings lining historic Main Street. The tubes allow circulation of both water and people, while the holes above them provide framed views of the city via pop-out decks.
Parti
Linear / Organic
Program
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Burro
Obs
erva
tion
Upp
er m
Hollow
dec
k
ezza
Low
nine
er m
ezza
nine
Gro
und
ow
Und
erg
roun
d
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BURROW Following Hollow is an urban ecology center, sited across Main Street. By peeling up the skin of the earth and burrowing underneath of it, existing water flow goes uninterrupted. The newly-formed ecosystem is able to breathe, formerly confined by manmade boundaries. The earth acts as a thermal mass, reducing the need for energy use and allowing temperatures to be regulated by the ground. The translucent polycarbonate facade, reminiscent of the wood framing and plastic sheets currently covering Main Street buildings destroyed by the last flood, prevents heat loss while allowing natural light inside. Ellicott City deserves a resilient urban fabric, dedicated to its history and sustainable future.
Exposed earth layers
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Cut
Pull
Fill
The building peeks out from the landscape just enough to welcome visitors into the earth. Inhabitants watch themselves descend into the ground beside exposed layers of soil flanking the stairs and elevators. Beneath the micro-topography, the community fulfills sustainable processes, a gathering opportunity through growing, harvesting, producing and eating. The building functions as an everyday place and a teaching opportunity for visitors to learn about climate change and the history of Ellicott City. The space is ever-changing, featuring operable gallery partitions, windows and flood gates. As nature begins to take over the green roof, the building blends with its context further with time.
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Existing retaining wall as outdoor gallery
Lobby
Market WC WC
CafĂŠ
Staff lounge
Coat room Ticketing
Co-working space Storage
Office
Office
Office
Mechanical
Climate change exhibition
Seed library Green room
Greenhouse
Storage
TV studio
Ground plan
Control room
Underground plan
Longitudinal section perspective
Flood gates
Operable gallery partitions
play eat
admire
grow
learn
Axonometric
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North elevation
Vegetation Soil Waterproofing Drainage
Roof membrane
Wood framing
Translucent polycarbonate
Facade & green roof detail
West elevation
Main Street
Patapsco River
Cross-laminated timber
Floodplain
Exhibition
Greenhouse
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REVEAL Upon first visiting Blagden Alley in DC, I took interest in its parts that were falling apart, allowing new materials to be revealed beneath others. This idea inspired the design of an art gallery and studio space, built as infill behind an existing, decaying facade. Taking precedent from artist Gordon Matta-Clark, the decay eats away at the existing and new forms of the building three-dimensionally. Visitors can experience the difference between the old volume and new, though both are deteriorating and acting differently through material and structure.
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Corten steel does not naturally deteriorate at the same rate as brick, plaster and wood. The design is honest in its openness and vulnerability in unequivocally showing that the steel monocoque is designed in a way that represents deterioration, without faking an age that could never coexist with its older, existing brick facade counterpart.
Layers of time represented through the reveal of layers of material
Existing structure
Monocoque structure
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ART Fine art, travel sketches and photography have each contributed to my ability to analyze architecture, as well as myself. Art has always been a large part of my life and the way I define myself. I have learned to see and understand through drawing by sketching while traveling. Art brings an important dimension to my travels, through museum visits, sketching sessions and photographing cities at small and large scales. I’ve also learned about composition and new ways to express myself through photography.
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Carlo Scarpa
Details
Reflected ceiling plan and elevations
Axon
Perspective
Section
Elevation art_23
Self portrait series: Made of city & nature
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ALICIA MOREIRA University of Maryland Bachelor of Science in Architecture