Architecture Portfolio

PORTFOLIO

APERTA

The Aperta is located in Sheep’s Meadow, Central Park, New York. One of Cen tral Park’s most well-known and important landscapes, Sheep Meadow is the upmost expression of the Park’s essential purpose as a retreat from urban life. The design was created as a part of a competition focused on raising the inter est in reading among people. Digitalization of the modern world has caused a dramatic decay in our reading habits. Libraries have not been reconsidered like other aspects of our lives. But why is it important to read anyway?

Recent studies of Sussex University shows that reading reduces stress by 68% and it is faster rather than listening to music or going for a walk. A peaceful and seclud ed place for reading is a mere solution for a tense and demanding lifestyle in New York. The USA ranked 22 among other countries with 5:42 hours spent reading per person per week. The human brain needs constant development and reading is just the activity to help. The Aperta serves as a concealed spot for reading heavily integrated in nature. The idea was to experiment and create not a typical reading environment but rather relaxing and ethereal space.

The concept og the structure was developed from a visual of a fully open book where pages bacame ribs in reality providing shade but still leting the light in.

Parametric benches mimic a person’s body shape creating comfortable lying or sitting areas. The circular ramps allow one to experience the space in one unin terrupted motion. There is no specific designated entrance the structure could be entered for any side which reflects the availability of knowledge delivered by books.

West Elevation

South Elevation

THEATRICAL COLLONADE

The Theatrical Collonade occupies a city block at the heart of London’s Embank ment, prominent from both the riverfront and the Strand. It is surrounded by a number of historic listed buildings. The proposed elevation is composed of col umns of varying heights, providing shading and making a visual link with materials found in this context. The dimensions of these components are derived from the columns in the facades of neighboring buildings. The map on the right represents the allocation of the columns and the height of each one. This ‘taxonomy’ of col umns restores the vertical aesthetic and proportion to the site, characteristic of the existing buildings in the area. The project incorporates a theatrical production and festive activity.

In the theatrical performance, the stage becomes the world whereas during the festivity the world becomes the stage. The design is aiming to combine both of those qualities by providing the passage through the site for the Lord Mayor Show Procession and incorporating the production of the theatrical stage sets. The pro posed elevation is composed of White stone columns, providing shading and mak ing the visual link with materials found in the context of the area. The front facade screen is emerging from the height of the column of the listed buildings surround ing the site. The proposed building acts to record and reflect its own context like a mirror, commemorating forgotten grandness and opulence of the previously ex isting building, Arundel House.

The core of the Ground floor plan is the inner garden. The proportions and rigidness of the inner garden date back to the seventeenth century when the original arrangement was on the site. The cobalt stone was used to form the rectan gular shapes and encourage people to use those spots as a seating area while the white tiles allow the flow from the arches to the riverfront. By bringing back the forgotten elements and qualities of the site the structures gains back its grandness and enriches the area and neighboring build ings.

Somerset House King’s College Temple Place Site International Institute For Strategic Studies British American Tobaco

Somerset House King’s College Temple Place Site International Institute For Strategic Studies British American Tobaco

MATERIALITY

The analysis of the buildings in the area enabled an interest ing material pattern happening on the Victoria Embankment.

The white stone is repeated in every second building. Starting with Somerset house which is built out of white stone and to the British American Tobacco building.

Since the design is aiming to complement the neighboring elevations when observed from the South embankment the white Portland stone was cho sen as a main component of the materiality.

The louvers and interior col umns are made out of marble and Onondaga limestone to create a warmer feeling for the occupiers.

SECTION AA

The perspective Southside sec tion is unraveling the spaces and gives the understanding of the depth of the overall structure. The West tower is incorporating the Scenography production office with the meeting room. The exhibition space acts as a potential storage for the Lord’s Mayor Cabin as well as a dis play of the physical models cre ated as a part of the stage set designing. Moving on from the exhibition the visitor will expe rience the cafe overlooking the south embankment. The cafe and exhibition space becomes a linking segment between two towers. The East tower is inte grating the rehearsal space and the parterre for the spectators with the control booth on the south side overlooking the river Thames.

SECTION CC

The perspective cross-section of the West tower unravel the principles of the space organ ization. The top floor is occu pied by costume workshop. The costume making requires a good exposure to the north light the glass roof was installed in order to serve this require ment. The staircase at the back of the structure connects the production zones of the build ing from the basement through the costume store to the cos tume workshop. The large arch dimensions are suitable to serve large processions or festivals such as Lord Mayor Show. The width of the arch was deter mined by the width of the street and the height derives from the height of the processional truck. The same arch cuts through the East tower. The observation bal conies are allowing the larger numbers of spectators to enjoy the festivity.

Yala cafe is located at the Mina Zayed Port, Abu Dhabi. The unit is a part of a bigger block displayed on a master plan. The organization of the bar is divided in blocks as well following the master plan. The majority of the sitting spaces is located outside in the archway, all the utilities are stored at the back of the unit. The client is an entrepreneur in Kombucha brewing. The Kom bucha culture hit the UAE quite recently so the business is rela tively new and fresh. This needed to be reflected in the interior design of the place. The client is a big fan of Nordic culture with a cold and sophisticated selection of materials. Therefore the color palette was reduced to a minimum and the selection of furniture is very classy.

This project is a product of collaboration with a Lithuanian interior design studio. The apart ment plan originally has a very unique shape and it was quite challenging to work around it.

some thinking process the decision was made to emphasise the plan shape by adding

plinth on the ceiling

a zig-zag shape. The client is a big fan of Japanese culture and unexpected decisions. The name AO Midori means blue green which is the most unexpected color decision made.

The cafe is located in London, Shoreditch. This area has an undergoing thrive of private own buisness of imigrants which is heavily reflected in the design industry as well. Signature coffee shop is a small place run as a Arab family business for over 10 years. The interior renovation was a part of a big rebrand ing. Even though at the first sight the interior looks very westernized it still has some authentic touch like rattan chairs and tropical plants. The idea is to make the place as spacious as possible so the area close to the counter is free of sitting space. Surprisingly the majority of interior desisions made at a mood board stage remained the same.

CASA

The design was created as a part of my work experience at architecture practice in Kyiv. The practice specializes in pre-made paneling systems. Simple and affordable design is dictated by the wall paneling technology. The walls are fabricated at the factory originally and delivered to the site which allows to speed up the construction process in 3-5 times and de creases the overall cost. The price of the prefabricated module is lower by 25-35% than monolith frame technology. The other important benefit is the minimization of the labour required - nine story houses could be built by nine people.