Portfolio 2013
Eleni Gianpapa
Architectural and Urban Designer
Eleni Gianpapa
Architectural and Urban Designer MSAUD 2013, GSAPP Columbia University
Curriculum Vitae // EDUCATION
Columbia University in the City of New York, GSAPP, USA Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design National Technical University of Athens, School of Architecture, Greece Diploma in Architecture
May 2012-May 2013 2005-2012
// PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Dongsei Kim, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Columbia University, GSAPP Assistant Assisting in animation, graphics and representation techniques for the project “Borders as Urbanism” Columbia University, GSAAP and University of Memphis Art Museum Coordinator Coordinated the installation of the “Instant Installation”, a project by Caterina Tiazzoldi and GSAPP students at the Art Museum of University of Memphis Columbia University, GSAAP Assistant Teaching Assistant for the “Contemporary Chinese City” class National Technical University of Athens, Assistant, PC-Laboratory of School of Architecture Provided technical support and assistance to students regarding Computer-Aided Design Freelance, Vacation House in Greece Re-designed the interior of the house, the surrounding property and supervised the construction
October 2013 - present
May 2013
September 2012 -December 2012 October 2010 -December 2011 March 2010 -December 2011
// PARTICIPATIONS
“Prothesis” X|A Summer Workshop, Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece Participated in the workshop of Advanced Architectural Design, organized by XAtelier Architects
July 2013
New York Design Week, “Instant Installation”, Studio-X, USA Coordinated the design and installation of the project in Studio-X, as a member the “NY Design Week” class for GSAPP
May 2013
Brooklyn Navy Yards, “Designing the Future”, USA Participated in the exhibition “Designing the Future” at BLDG 92 with the project “REFURBANISM”, Urban Studio II, MSAUD, GSAPP
May 2013
Exhibition of Diploma Projects, Prytaneia Exhibition Space, Greece Participated in the exhibition with the Diploma Project “Centre of environmental education in the park of Nea Filadelfia”
July 2012
Diploma Project for The Firefighters Academy, Greece Participated in the conduction of a diploma project, regarding educational techniques and collaboration between engineers and the Fire Brigade
2009
“Protecting Museum Exhibits from Earthquakes”, Greece Attended the international conference, organized by The J. Paul Getty Museum and the National Technical University of Athens
2008
London International Youth Science Forum, UK Attended the LIYSF 2005 under a scholarship
2005
// PUBLICATIONS
Abstract 2012-2013, GSAPP, Columbia University, USA The project “Instant Installation” was selected by the faculty to be published in the yearly publication of student work of GSAPP
2014
Interni Magazine, Issue (634), Italy Published the project “Instant Installation”, presented in Studio-X by GSAPP “NY Design Week” class and Caterina Tiazzoldi
September 2013
Sucker Punch, http://www.suckerpunchdaily.com Published the project “Instant Installation”, presented in Studio-X by GSAPP “NY Design Week” class and Caterina Tiazzoldi
May 2013 July 2013
// HONORS
The Gerondelis Foundation Scholarship, USA Received the scholarship based on academic and design excellence during Graduate studies, across all American Graduate Schools
// OTHER SKILLS
Languages Greek, French Software AutoCAD (2D & 3D), Maya (3D & Animation), GIS, Rhino, Grasshopper, 3DsMax (rendering & post production), Sketch-Up, Ecotect Analysis, Adobe CS6 (Creative Suite & After Effects) and MS Office
// ACTIVITIES Participating in “Portal Room�, a mentoring program for undergraduate students seeking graduate studies abroad Have been transcribing subtitles in videos for TEDxAcademy Other hobbies: cooking, travelling, photography, theatre, reading, cinema, animation
2013
// Contact Information a // 15 W94th Street, apt. 2F New York, 10025, NY, USA t // +1 347 206 8991 m // elena.gianpapa@gmail.com
// 1
Studio // Learning Cities - Smarter Regions Team // Gianpapa Eleni, Kevin Le, Xiaokang He, Noor Makkiya Tutors // M. Baratloo, J. Moore, S. Marpillero, D. Kim, L. Altman University // Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design, GSAPP, Columbia University, USA Fall 2013
Refurbanism An adaptive refurbish proposal for the City of Brooklyn and its greater region
Decades of declining maritime activity have left parts of the city’s waterfront underutilized. Meanwhile, various insufficiencies or inefficiencies were located along East River only to become pressured nodes within their respective systems (power plants, recycling facilities and it’s neighboring tech industry).
Refurbanism examines an curates a legacy of what are now underutilized and often abandoned hydraulic infrastructures and insufficient energy modes of productions within the city and offers through the lenses of Redesigning, Retrofitting and Refurbishing an evolutionary urbanism that cultivates sustainable practice through systems of exchange that include algae farming for energy and conformity to the growing trend of adjacent technological industries for adapting resilient and defensible Brooklyn.
// 2
Studio // Three Peripheries in Transition Team // Gianpapa Eleni, Shiyao Yu Tutors // R.Plunz, G. Mehta,V. Body-Lawson, M. Conard, P. Kempf, K. Orff University // Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design, GSAPP, Columbia University, USA Spring 2013
Triggering Sustainable Growth Systems and Strategies for Asokore Mampong
The focus of this proposal is to achieve sustainable growth in Asokore Mampong, Ghana, through the insertion of micro-triggers. These triggers are anticipated to change the infrastructural, ecological and socio-economic levels in the town. In order to achieve that goal, a number of strategies, such as the introduction of a new waste management system and the densification of the existing fabric have been suggested. These are to be implemented over a period of time that can transform Asokore Mampong to a hub for development and a model for future growth in the surrounding areas.
Our strategy is based on collaboration between the public and the private sector for developing specific areas, which will act as triggers for sustainable growth in Asokore Mampong. The partnership will be established through a Build- Operate-Transfer strategy, meaning that the local authorities will provide a developer with a parcel of land on which he will construct mixed-use units according to the new planning regulations. The opportunity to build higher buildings, ground rent and the important location of the land will attract the interest of developers, so the project will be a tax generator for the Asokore Mampong Municipality. In return, the developer will be responsible to place and operate essential pieces of infrastructure, sanitation plants and main pipes. After a specific period, defined by the partnership, the units can be returned to the local authorities and the community.
We are also introducing social capital credit system to encourage individual participation in phasing out the existing inadequate waste management system. The locals can earn credits by disposing their solid waste properly, or connecting to the system. Social capital credits can be exchanged for trotro cards, training hours at community centers, favorable terms in micro-financing or even compost fertilizer for use in gardens and farmland.
// 3
Class // NY Design Week Coordination Team // Gianpapa Eleni, Andriana Koutalianou, Christos Constantinou Tutor // Caterina Tiazzoldi University // Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design, GSAPP, Columbia University, USA Spring 2013
Instant Installation Art Installation at Studio-X and Art Museum of the University of Memphis
Instant Installation explores architecture’s capacity to adapt and be reconfigured for different uses and locations with a unique spatial experience and a highly innovative yet cost efficient assembly type. It is a product reinventing the materia, social, and educational possibilities of temporary exhibit spaces, creating visitor involvement into the space. It is a space articulator, which defines and organizes public and semipublic spaces, informing the space with an adaptive boundary between spatial interiority and urban exteriority. Realized with colored rubber strings and CNC fabricated wooden rails, the configuration is a spatial generator which moves for an exhilarating adjustable space, continuously revealing and hiding the presence of the other people. The form enables a playful engagement with the visitor and the space where visitors are absorbed by the geometry and layering of materiality, conceived to encourage and to solicit the visitors’ curiosity and reactions.
// 4
Supervisors // N. Marda, K. Moraitis University // Diploma in Architecture, School of Architecture, National Technical University of Athens, Greece 2011-2012
Diploma Project Center of Environmental Education in the park of Nea Filadelfia
The thesis concerns the design of an environmental education center in Park of New Filadelfia , in order to regenerate the area of the lake, restore the landscape, educate local students and raise awareness about the environmental problems, as well as strengthen their contact with nature. The main reason behind the thesisis the current state of the park and the need to improve both its image and its functionality, as its accessibility remains limited to the residents of the neighboring municipalities. Simultaneously, very important role in shaping the central idea and the program was the notion that green space in an urban environment should not be limited to recreation but have multiple functions. Following this logic, the program envisages the creation of an environmental education center that will target students of all levels, both locally and regionally , and at configuration of the land-
scape of the park in order to attract visitors and enhance their relationship with the natural environment.Therefore, the plan is to construct three underground buildings which will house different functions of the center (classrooms, library, cafeteria) and will be integrated in the restored steep slope of the grounds . In flat areas, the new landscape will host various crops, that the students can engage in activities with, depending on their grade and the subject of their courses. The roofs of buildings are walkable, planted and can store large amoutns of rainwater and underground water that
gets collected in order to irrigate crops . The sections in the soil, creating points of view of the city and the grove, the path to nature, close to the modulated landscape, are the basic elements of the design, which guide the form of the buildings and their surroundings . The walks that are created in the area of intervention highlight the natural beauty of the grove, reveal vantage points for one to stop and admire the view, small spaces for concentration and isolation, while connecting the built environment with the natural landscape.
// 5
Studio // Architectural Design 9 Team // Gianpapa Eleni, Klemou Annita Tutors // S. Rogan, E. Haniotou University // Diploma in Architecture, School of Architecture, National Technical University of Athens, Greece Fall 2009
Regeneration of Tavros Area Urban Design
The regeneration of the area starts from the deciphering of its problems. Train lines that prohibit the connection between the two parts of the neighborhood, avenues carry heavy traffic, a lack of parks and open spaces; all are problems that characterize the area. However, the most important problem is the absence of a center, a square that can unite and define Tavros. Therefore, our primary concern was to create that missing space, in order to ameliorate the lives of the citizens by providing them with an free open space, a park and a “high line� that unites the neighborhoods and breaks the barrier of the train lines. Residential buildings with a broad range of apartments, commercial buildings that satisfy the needs of the area and some municipal services complete the master plan.
// 7
Studio // Architectural Design 7+8 Team // Gianpapa Eleni, Klemou Annita Tutors // N. Marda, K. Moraitis University // Diploma in Architecture, School of Architecture, National Technical University of Athens, Greece Fall 2008 - Spring 2009
Building for the Architects Association in Athens Public Service Multiple Finctions Building
The complex consists of three separate buildings. The library, the auditorium, the exhibition areas, the restaurant, the cafÊ and the administration offices; all are components of the Architects Association Building. A project so demanding contributed in the deepest understanding of the complexity that a multi-functional building presents. Apart from studying the general space requirements and synthesize the building mass, it was also necessary to solve construction details, from the auditorium’s acoustics specifications to the variety of materials that would be used throughout the project and their practical application. The thorough research resulted in the construction of a 1:50 section model that represented the exact structure of the building, according to the site-spesific regulations and restrictions.
// 8
Studio // Architectural Design 8A Team // Gianpapa Eleni, Karafylli Maria, Karafylli Christina Tutors // A. Kourkoulas, S. Mavrommati, E. Haniotou University // Diploma in Architecture, School of Architecture, National Technical University of Athens, Greece Spring 2009
Zenetos - City View - Natural Site - Lycabettus Architecture of outdoor public spaces in urban and natural sites
The city web defines the tracings at the platform level. The perspective given from the roads determines the positioning of the built volume and the water paths. The creation of rain collectors at two different points on the plain defines the movement of visitors. The water runs to the lowest point of the gorge and seating levels surround its route. Concidering necessary to define routes and create multiple levels on the platform, the main intervention has the shape of a fan, in a more abstract version. As a basis for renewal, the form offers numerous possibilities in transforming the surrounding area. Different qualities are combined with unique levels of viewing of Attica, without negating the current usage of the outdoor seating.The fan is implemented with ramps that emerge from the ground, lift and sink in it. The premises resulting from the lifts and dips are used in various ways and each level is oriented towards a different visual frame of the city.
// 9
Workshop // Advanced Architectural Design Workshop Tutors // N. Chatzimina, E. Carcamo // XAtelier Architects Place // Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece Summer 2013
Urban Erosion Kitsch Prothesis
Urban Erosion is a phenomenon where parts of the city start eroding by an unknown factor, by something unseen. The erosion happens instantly, therefore interrupting the norm, the fact that erosion needs time. It imitates the forms of rocks that get destroyed by the sea, but it accumulates these forms in a single event, thus creating an optical illusion, an unnatural effect that cannot happen normally, that cannot be mimicked. Kitsch is the exaggeration; Kitsch is the unnatural prosthesis in the city, the deviation from the norm, the interruption of time and place.
// 10
Class // Architecture: The Contemporary (from 1968 to the present) Tutor // Bernard Tschumi University // Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design, GSAPP, Columbia University, USA Spring 2013
Theoretical Approaches
The double role of the envelope Studying Musée du Quai Branly The intentions are to explore the case of “Musée du Quai Branly” as an example regarding to the way an envelope can relate to the urban fabric and the exhibition that it includes. A previous study of the building regarding to the visitor’s experience in relation to the exhibition space has set the foundation for further research that expands to the way the envelope of the building is capable of fulfilling its double role. This manifest will discuss whether the results of the study can be generated and act as a pilot for future projects.
// The Issue In 1965, Michael Brawne wrote that there are two different approaches regarding the function of an exhibition space. On one hand, space functions as a neutral canvas, on which art pieces are the dominant elements, without having predefined positions and affecting or getting affected by the architecture of the building. This theory derives from the perception that art and architecture are in a constant competition, resulting in the idea that the space should be neutral or the art will fall in to disgrace. It is category into which a large number of the greatest exhibition spaces in the world can fall. Starting from “old-fashioned” museums that are housed in imposing, classical palaces, like the Louvre in Paris or the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, to the new generation of exhibition spaces, like M.O.M.A. in New York or Centre George Pompidou in Paris. Either being palaces or buildings by famous architects, working as “cabinets of curiosities” or having a very specific kind of exhibits, their internal organization couldn’t be clearer. Having a sequence of identical spaces or a sequence of paths and stops through one great space, the building stands apathetic towards the art that includes, letting the visitor get absorbed by the exhibits while it keeps its function to the minimum; it becomes just an envelope for the art. On the other hand, “Art in an exhibition space is like a concert in a concert hall: it exists as an entity because it is a piece of its environment”. Brawne quotes the “semi-theatrical approach”, regarding spaces that function in the exactly different way as the previously described ones. The exhibits have specific positions in the building, usually they consist of permanent collections, consequently not only their value emerges but also their power to create and form the space around them. In this case, the collection itself creates the need for space, and the architect designs the building thinking about the content as well. The inside is more important that the outside form because it interacts with the exhibits. The question that rises from this distinction of exhibition spaces is whether we can advocate that a building can work in both ways. Is it possible to have a building that acts as an envelope towards it’s surroundings and at the same time interacts with the art inside in a way that it is unique for the specific collection that it hosts? Can we have an envelope that addresses all the issues that an exhibition raises but also respond to the urban situations around it?
After studying the work of Jean Nouvel, especially his work on exhibition spaces, like the “Fondation Cartier”, the “Musée du Quai Branly” and the “Institut du Monde Arab”, one can understand that on top of everything Jean Nouvel’s projects are always very specific. He creates a mythology around the buildings that he designs, mainly because first of all he materializes them with words instead of lines. Specifically regarding to these three exhibition spaces, it is evident that the design in so strongly attached to the poetic of the place that it is impossible to think of these projects in a different location. I addition, the use of the envelope in these projects has been extremely important for the function of the buildings in regard to the urban fabric. Being an architect with a lot of projects inside city fabrics and traditional environments, Nouvel mentions that the integration of a building can only be successful when “the new construction enlarges the entity of its surroundings, while the entity of the structure itself is magnified by its surroundings”. He also says “Architecture that does not interact with its surroundings and does not act as a foil for the existing features around it only does half the job.” It is evident, that the architect doesn’t pursue integration in the notion of homogeneity or of the most acceptable solution, but he believes that the building itself should become a landmark while contributing to the upgrading of the place, optically and substantially, and also respect the boundaries and the adjacencies that it creates. What comes to mind is whether through Nouvel’s work we can answer the aforementioned questions. Especially looking at Musée du Quai Branly, a study to the surroundings and a project more dedicated to the collection that it hosts than anything else, it is possible to address the issues of the double role of the envelope in a thematic museum.
// MusĂŠe du Quai Branly
A Parisian garden becomes a sacred wood, with a museum dissolving in its depths
“All that remains is to invent the poetry of the site by a gentle discrepancy: a Parisian garden becomes a sacred wood, with a museum dissolving in its depths.” For the sake of this manifest it is legitimate to move away from the study of the form of the museum, the position of the buildings in the lot and also the relationship that they have with their surroundings. The main focus should be the envelope, the transparency, the materials and their connection to the urban fabric and the inside of the museum. Keeping a distance from the form may not be easy, looking at a fragment of the museum and not perceiving it as a whole will not do it justice, but it is essential in order to be able to generate a substantial logic that can be applied to different conditions. In the case of Branly, Nouvel following the mythology of the collection, the museum displays collections of objects from African, Asian, Oceanian and American civilizations, creates a scenography to tell the story of the space and to relate the collection to the building and to the area around it. This scenography observed is much more distinct in the way in which the architect handles the relation between outdoors and indoors. He uses the envelope to translate his words about the exhibits to form. The different grades of transparency and viewing qualities that are applied to different cases in the building are elements that emphasize the function of the exhibition space in relation to its shell and define the perspective of the visitor during his tour of the premises. The points at which one can discern these qualities are many, and they work every time in a different way, keeping of course their main goal, to connect the exterior with the interior space, giving this holistic integration that characterizes Nouvel’s buildings. Initially, we observe that the main building volume in the form of the bridge that connects the two ends of the plot has two completely different sides, two different envelopes that address the different conditions of the urban fabric. Looking toward the Seine, the single form is fragmented by the colorful boxes that pop up, closed and opaque. On the inside they host screenings, exhibits, serve as music boxes, always connected to the exhibition space. But contrary to their own opacity, the façade that hosts them moves to the limits of transparency. One might say that it consists of many different layers. Looking from the inside to the outside, we meet a large single glass
surface, then a coating with printed tropical species of plants and finally a sparse matrix of wood. From one hand, these layers can limit ones view and also prohibit the entrance of a large amount of natural light entering the building, helping to maintain privacy in the showroom. But on the other hand they give the visitor the impression that the garden in which he wandered a while ago is still around. This complex way of layering the envelope emphasizes the feeling that the museum is literally inside the garden, this primitive jungle that Nouvel decided to surround his building with. This transition from the outside to the inside has no limits; it does not stop at the entrance of the building but continues even within the envelope. The other side of the main building has a different relationship of transparency with the exterior. The whole faรงade is covered with moving shades, like scales, which again permit a limited amount of natural light to the inside. Behind them there is a perforated metal surface, like a sieve, which restricts the view of the visitor but this time in a different way. Since the building is closer to the limit of the road and because it does not communicate visually with the garden, its view looks exclusively towards the town. As a result, the transparency of the envelope has a different texture and function; it exists to remind the visitor that the museum, in addition to being a piece of the primitive jungle-garden it is also a part of the city. Nouvel has mentioned that the role of the architect is very similar to that of a film director. We can see his opinion transferred through the design of the building, as he has given theatricality to the space, that brings it close to what Michael Browne has named the semi-theatrical approach of designing an exhibition space. We can say that the first faรงade works as an actor to the play that Nouvel is directing for the museum. An actor whose role is to interact with the garden, with Quai Branly, with the river and of course with the visitors whose eye is captivated by it. The layers that we find in this envelope, the composition of the boxes that emerge from it, all of them transport the meaning of the exhibits. The envelope acts as a translation of the inside of the museum but at the same time it creates this unique experience for the visitors that are wandering inside the building. In the case of the back faรงade, the envelope allows the viewer to look at the urban landscape through the eyes of the museum, through the eyes of the exhibit. Its role is to be the face of the museum towards the city, the part that interacts the most with the urban
conditions, that remind the pedestrian that the building is uniquely positioned it this location and that the its texture is that of the city. The metal panels can easily be compared to the Eifel Tower that is close by. The envelope appeals to the industrial past of the city, the era of the machine. However, even if it is consistent with the high-tech architecture that is currently dominant, it tries to maintain a lower profile, to much the “spirituality” that Nouvel found in the collection of the museum. “Away, then, with the structures, mechanical systems, with curtain walls, with emergency staircases, parapets, false ceilings, projectors, pedestals and showcases. If their functions must be retained, they must disappear from our view and our consciousness, vanish before the sacred objects so we may enter into communion with them. This is, of course easy to say but difficult to achieve...” It is now clear that while essentially the architect has chosen to limit eye contact with the interior space, the relationship between them is achieved through symbolism and selective transparency of the envelope. The dark space of the exhibition remains an integral part of the garden and the city. The dual status is achieved exactly by this different treatment of the facades, these two differently designed envelopes that turn the surrounding area into an essential component of the exhibition space. So it is easy to place Branly in ‘semi-theatrical approach’, since the exhibits contribute to the architecture of the museum and the character of the space. But Nouvel goes one step further and is inspired by the exhibits to build the museum that will host them. Thus, it is a reciprocal relationship between the museum and the exhibit that creates an atmosphere that surpasses the logic of ‘theatrical exhibition” and becomes more like a show, in which viewers are visitors. The museum and the exhibits function as a unified whole and it’s the role of the envelopes to translate this entity for the visitors and the city.
// Conclusions
The complexity of the art included in the building has to be reflected in an equally complex way.
There is no question that the envelope in the case of Musée du Quai Branly fulfills the role that was assigned to it. It works in both as a shell that dialogues with the surroundings while it embraces the collection and reflects the inside of the museum. However, this double role is reached through a transformation of the envelope. It is not the same façade that works for every condition. The envelope has to change in order to embrace the garden and the open space as well as the city and the larger scale of the urban fabric. It keeps the main characteristics but it alters the actual form, the materials, the colors and the logic behind the composition of the façade. It seems to me, that achieving the interaction between the art that a thematic museum encloses is the part that can be approached with success in any situation. Conseptualizing the content of a building is challenging but achievable through metaphors, through the mythology of the content, through a thorough view of the true form of it. Designing a museum that projects its exhibits to the outside, like the new Acropolis Museum, is only one part of the equation though. The other part is the dialogue with the fabric, with the surroundings of the building. And while this if view individually has always been an issue for architects, dealing with museums regards of a different condition. An envelope that projects the urban fabric around it, communicates the different qualities of it, and does not engulf the content in a uniform way is far more challenging than a building that just integrates with the city or the landscape. It is easy to design an envelope that addresses local issues and traditional architecture of the place, if it hosts exhibits that are related to these issues. But, achieving a dialogue with the city when the content is extremely different from the context, that is where the true challenge relies. In my opinion, this dialogue, this double role of the envelope, can never be achieved through a single layer of information, through a single type of envelope. The envelope itself needs to change, needs to transform every time the urban conditions change around the building. Like Branly, it takes more than a sheet of glass to communicate the inside to the outside. The complexity of the art included in the building has to be reflected in an equally complex way. It may not be the condition of two façades that have to be different; it can be the condition of one envelope that needs to change vertically or horizontally across the building, or even through its own layers.
Eleni Gianpapa, New York, 2013