P O R T F O L I O BILAL HALLAK
“An Architects dream is an Engineers nightmare.”
About Me The previous quote is something I have become quite fond of over the years, especially when designing alongside Engineering students, as it evokes a sense of endless creativity an Architect can play with. Ever since the beginning of high school, my sense of imagination and creativity has inspired me to design what is on my mind, thus creating this passion to pursue a career in Architecture. An ambitious goal that I carry with me, and will carry until complete, is to collaborate with a team of members to design high rise buildings that can become part of an existing skyline. After my completion of high school in Saudi Arabia in 2012, I remained behind to complete multiple volunteering programs, from babysitting, tutoring and coaching football. I then returned to Australia in 2013 to study at the University of Melbourne, where I would go on to complete a 3 year Bachelor of Environments, graduating from Architecture in 2015. It was throughout the degree where I learned new ways of understanding Architecture, and how there is more to it than just design. I was also fortunate enough to take on several internships in Saudi Arabia (2014/2015/2016) and undergo tasks that pushed me to learn new computer programs, such as AutoCAD, Revit, Photoshop and InDesign. During the course of my degree, I undertook several studio classes, with each class focusing on different aspects of Architecture. As part of this design portfolio, I have included several designs and projects from 3 of the studios I completed in my course. The variety of studios helped developed a wide range of skills, such as conceptual thinking and technical skills, and this is evident throughout my work, as there is a shift in quality of design. Even throughout the course, whenever I stumbled upon an idea or design concept, I would sketch them down in my notebook, as I believed this would later help influence my thinking. I am now studying my Masters Degree the University of Melbourne and hopefully one day I aspire to become a fully qualified Architect, backed by experience gained from across the world.
d.o.b. 19.09.1993 ph. +61 455542555 email. hallak.bilal@outlook.com.au
FIRE STUDIO 2015 Third Year - Semester 2 Individual Work
This was the capstone for my degree, covering all aspects of architecture learnt throughout the course of the 3 years, from technical skills, history, communication and conceptual thinking. The purpose of this project was to design a new motel in the city of Melbourne, accommodating not only regular visitors, but also designated special interest groups that may function themselves on the premise. The brief made students think more than just the design and think more pragmatically of how the building will function. This studio in particular deemed most challenging as it required us to design according to the Australian Standards, therefore restricting our conceptual thinking. However, by doing so, it also proved to be most beneficial in terms of preparing ourselves for design in the real world. West Section
Ground Floor
1st Floor
West Elevation
2nd Floor
Typical Residential Floor (3 to 6)
Site Map of West Melbourne
The purpose of the project was to create your own building name and Architectural firm that functions within the motel. The building name, ‘The Tantique’, is Latin for ‘The Monumental’, which is an underlying style of mine that I incorporate into the design. As for the Architecture firm, the idea of ‘SHAPES’ originates from the concept of allowing clients to design their building with different blocks and shapes which fundamentally create their desired spaces and form.
Roof Top Garden
Cafe Interior
Reception
Front Entrance and Porte
T h e T a n t i q u e
Final render of Motel using Revit
STUDIO 24 2017 MASTERS 1st Year - Semester 1 Group Work This studio focuses on architecture of a territory, such as Rio de Janiero in this case, as a site for spatial intervention. Throughout the entirety of the studio, our group were asked to critically analyse and speculate scenarios that subvert the processes and repercussions of ‘the wall’ - social bubbles, ideology, geography, output, division of labour, inequality etc.
Staircase intervetion
These scenarios of transformation will be addressed from those simple moments of our existence - circulating, producing, dwelling and communicating. We were asked to question the role of architecture at different scales - from the street to the block to the bedroom - where ‘walls,’ invisible or otherwise, become a most powerful and intransigent construct of the modern political economy.
Drying the washing
Exhibition Space
Rest Space
Rooftop intervention
MANIFESTO: Moving away from conventional tourism to Nano tourism in Rio de Janeiro slums We believe people should have the opportunity to experience life in Rio through the eyes of residents living in Favelas, rather than through the eyes of conventional tour guides. Conventional tourism has been the key driver for many economies around the globe, and has socially dictated the path tourists take whilst on vacation. The objective of this project is to introduce a new form of tourism, specifically Nano tourism in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. The idea is to create a unique and unconventional approach towards tourism predominantly looking at Rio’s favelas, such as Santa Marta. By identifying existing problems in Santa Marta, we intend to address these issues by drawing on precedents such as AirBnB, by developing new spaces on existing roof tops, and alleyways, with the addition of new staircases to connect different nodes. Essentially this new form of circulation and adaption of the different spaces creates a second layer above the existing favela.
Final Outcome
Existing Problem
STUDIO 31 2017 MASTERS 1st Year - Semester 2 Individual
Studio 31 consisted of two intensive studies on crises both on-shore and off-shore, looking at real life scenarios such as refugees, poverty, slums, homelessness and first home buyers. For both studies, thorough research and investigation had been done to identify problems in which can be resolved through the mindset of an architect.
Proposed Solution
For most of the semester, my research project focused on youth homelessness, and part of this research involved extensive studies in finding the ideal site, as well as addressing the problems faced dealing with my scope through architecture. Unlike other studios I have undertaken, this in particular focuses on research, analysis, and systems thinking, and how they can be interlinked to develop a youth transition center for post-release juveniles.
Site Selection
Random Points
1
School Locations
2
Recreation Spaces
Zone 3 Parameter Overlay
Cycling/Walkability Overlay
Top 3 Points
3
Green Spaces
Cycling/Walkability Overlay ZOOM
Site Cycling/Walkability Overlay
Site Plot A=250sqm
Overview of 4 zones Ground Floor *NOT TO SCALE
Section 1 (Z1 & Z4) 1:200 @ A1
Section 1 (Z2 & Z3) 1:200 @ A1
Zone 1
Zone 4
Zone 2
Zone 3
STUDIO 21
Task 2 - 6-PACK 8 7 4
3
Throughout the course of the semester, this studio tackled the challenges of designing apartments on a small scale (Own apartment), medium scale (6 apartments, shown on this page), to a large scale (80+ apartments, on the following pages). As part of these tasks, the final outcome of the subject was to identify a problem(s) with the site and propose a solution, otherwise known as the “Big Idea”, which fundamentally formulated the design process. The following is my “Big Idea’ proposed for the final project.
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1
A
4
2
2 5
The big idea for the final project is to give a variety of occupants the oppportunity to pick the type of living they want based on their own preferences. Clients are given the chance to pick how they want their apartment/townhouse to look/feel like, giving a sense of individuality and ownership. Unlike the neighbouring monotonous townhouses on the north and east side of the site, “PICK-A-PART” (aka pAp) advocates the uniqueness of each individual.
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Ground Floor - Units 1 & 2 1:50 McGoun St
2m
0
Elevation Activation (EA) Apartments
IMAGE
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4
4
About the Project
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Elevation Activation Apartments (EA Apartments) stems from the need to create something awe inspiring in this area of Richmond. Upon visiting the site, it was noticed that the area was dull and quiet. The corner of Thomas and McGoun St almost seemed to have dried and withered out and i s n ow a n e ye s o re fo r t h o s e p a s s i n g by.
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(250/300 dpi, PDF)
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1
2
For me, it was then a matter of addressing how to reactivate a corner site along these two streets and putting Thomas/McGoun St back on the map! It was time to inject some youth and something new to the area.
5
With this in mind, the project name Elevation Activation came to life, with the BIG IDEA of the project is to create communal engagement with each occupant as well as members of the public along the south elevation facing McGoun St.
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1
1
5
First Floor - Units 3 & 4 1:50 0
2m
9 4
4
L O C AT I O N
26 Thomas St, Richmond, VIC, 3121 NO. OF RESIDENTS
N O . O F C A R PA R K S
6-12
0
NO. OF BEDROOMS
N O . O F B AT H R O O M S
6
6
I N T E R N A L F LO O R A R E A
EXTERNAL AREA
3 1 9 m2
7 3 m2
HEIGHT
SITE AREA
3 storeys
1 8 1 m2
T O TA L D W E L L I N G S
PROXIMIT Y TO PUBLIC TRANSPORT
6
170m
3
3 Dwelling Sizes
Apartment Key
Unit 1: I n t = 4 8 m 2 Ext = 5m2
Unit 4: I n t = 4 6 m 2 Ext = 4m2
Unit 2: I n t = 4 6 m 2 Ext = 5m2
Unit 5: I n t = 6 0 m 2 Ext = 4m2
Unit 3: I n t = 6 0 m 2 Ext = 4m2
Unit 6: I n t = 4 6 m 2 Ext = 4m2
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
1
Bedroom Living Bathroom Kitchen Balcony Shared green space Bike park Bin Storage Study/Spare Room
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2
5
Second Floor - Units 5 & 6 1:50 0
2m
5
1
A
Thomas St
2018 MASTERS 2nd Year - Semester 1 Individual
Task 3 - BIG IDEA project (Final)
A
B
A
B
P I C K A - PA R T - M E N T (pAp)
West Section A-A
Massing Iterations
1
Site Plan
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
SIXTH FLOOR
Bill (Single) (Bachelor)
Jeff/Margot (Couple)
(Expecting child)
Materials:
Materials:
White Oak flooring (Interior) Light Marble (Bath/Laundry)
Light Marble tiles(Interior) Tosca Red oak (Bed/Lounge/
(Balcony)
Exposed Concrete (Balcony)
Tosca Red oak decking Interior Paint: Sea Salt Green
FIFTH FLOOR
FOURTH FLOOR
Study)
Interior Paint: Wrought Iron Black THIRD FLOOR
pAp Floor Plan Iterations Axonometric Section Cut SECOND FLOOR
FIRST FLOOR
GROUND FLOOR
Axonometric Floor Plans
INTERNSHIP 2016 Jan-June Team/Individual Work
HOUSE A1
KAUST House Type A1 Created using Revit/AutoCAD
After graduating from the University of Melbourne, I was given the opportunity to do some work as a volunteer intern in KAUST for a 3rd time. However, this time the work completed was more design based and there was much more exposure to how the design team operates as a whole. The team I were able to work alongside included Project Managers, Architects, Engineers of a wide variety, and an urban planner. The combination of this team gave me a variety of exposure into the different disciplines in charge of a large scale project. Fortunately for me, my time at KAUST was during the Housing Expansion Project, which was a major development of residential townhouses in a new sector of the university campus.
Type B front end (Revit Sketch)
Ground Floor
1st Floor
Ground floor First floor
= 106 m2 = 128 m2
Total Net
= 234 m2
KAUST House Types Rendered using Revit
Type A
Type B/C
Site maps provided by the KAUST team. As shown, the new site will be integrated into the campus as part of the residential expansion project. Page 15
SKETCHES
The samples of sketches provided all stem from the same contextual root I had in mind when sketching. A desire of mine is to design high rise buildings in city skylines, and has been a passion for as long as I can remember. Provided are just some ideas I had in mind whilst thinking of where I want to take my Architecture career.
Hand Drawn Section Earth Studio Sem 1, 2014