‘You employ stone, wood, and concrete, and with these three materials you build houses and palaces. That is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly, you touch my heart, you do me good, I am happy and I say: 'This is beautiful.' That is architecture.’ LE CORBUSIER, 1923
Religious Temple The proposal was to create a bulding that could house more them one religion. The project was based on the concept of light as divinity due to its importance in many religions and its relation with the sacred. Some of the influence on this project was the well known architect Richard Meier and his Jubile Church in Rome, and the Cathedral of Brasilia by Oscar Niemeyer . The duo chose to work with open spaces enabling a variety of layout combinations, and transparency. The program required was composed of a main roomn for important cerimonies, a smaller and private room for ocasional events, administrative offices, scullery, and aditional spaces that the duo may fell the need. The underground form and the height where not only esthetic but also ways to prevent high temperature inside the center since the site is located on a tropical area.
Facade
Floor Plan
Community Center The concept for the comunity center was based on fulfilling the fisical, mental and spiritual needs of the elder population. The project consists in three blcoks that united becomes only one. (the being) Always thinking in easy acess and the users well- being the project was developed on the street level with both stair and an elevator conecting the t wo floors. In each “block� we displayed a different activity based on the concept: first rooms with terapist and phycologists, then a pool for water activities, and on the second floor and third block pilates and yoga room and an space for small events or get together. I
Ground Floor
First Floor
Section
Sleeping Ball At the begining of the Studio class , a playfull project was proposed: to create a sleeping unit where the students could sleep or rest on campus. The unit should be introduced in any area of the facility and should have a dynamic structure. To be able to rest on campus I always pictured a isolated place with peace and silence, so the idea of a capsule came to my mind. Combining with the idea of a rocking chair that new moms used to sing their babies to sleep,and thus the Sleeping Ball was created. The swing was a way that I imagine to distract the busy mind of an architecture student. The Ball is freestanding and has a swing system similar to a popular toy called “João Bobo”, were there is a heavy weight located on the bottom of the toy making it impossible to it turn upside down. The system allows free swings with no worries. The material is a new kind of plastic made with recycled soda bottles , very easy to handle and to create the roundform. For ventilation purpose the ball is “leaked” not completely sealed with a closing mechanism internaly to be used when wanted. Although the prototype is intinerary was proposed a fix spot under the grove area of the campus, a more ventilated, private and quiet spot perfect for a nap.
Social Housing As a sequence of an earlier work this project was a development in a micro scale of the new housing area proposed by the students.In this step the actual house was developed. One social aspect observed that was determinant to this proposal was the constant change and remodeling that the community houses were subject to. As the families grown big their houses would grown as well, usually one paviment up risking all the structure that was already weak. Such growth was so usual that an area on the new project was offered predicting future expansion, however not a paviment uppstairs but downstairs so the self construction would be controled and not harm the house structure.To manage the termic disconfort we proposed a gren roof that helps stabilish a regular temperature and a panel to block some of the heat and yet allow the wind to came through. The panel is located on the side and on the back of the houses, where the sunset light hits. Due to the ocean view the back panel is mobil and moves between the living room and the bedroom, so at least one of the views is always available. For constructive purposes the houses are germinated, two houses at a time and has a total area of 49 m², not including the expantion area.
Floor Plan
West Facade
North Facade
East Facade
Tall Building At Studio 5 , the focus was on the development of tall buildings. The chalenge here was not only design a building of a million square feet but also with the Battery Park Tunnel as a site. The concept of the project was to bring the park and freedom atmosphere inside a skyscraper, to bring a better quality of life loosing the sensation of enclousure. Being a mixed used building ( park, retail, offices, hotel and residences) the fibonnaci sequence was used to vertically organize this uses. Also to connect the surroundings was created three entrances so people can come in from every direction. For ventilation purpose was created a double all, with a skin that was based on the structure of mushrooms a freestanding structure. Separating the diferent uses and its demand the skin adapts itself having different scale on depending on the use. The swing and separation, also the set backs, of the floor blocks was made in order to create as much as free space as possible, A park was created in front of the building connecting it to Battery park and the Tunnel Ventilation Building was re-designed in order to better fit the project and integrate the park.
Sky Lobby
Ground Floor
Skin Render
Velux Award Project that was developed with the purpose of participating in the competition of the International Velux Award 2012, for students of Architecture. The award explore daylight in its widest form and future light in the built environment, having as overall theme: “Light of Tomorow�. The project consists in a unit based on the famous lava lamp where heat and light is used to melt a substance creating a movemnet and cicle inside it unit. Differing from the lamp the unit is based on sun light, in order to let the sun come inside the building at the same moment creating a thermal barrier avoiding drastic temperature change and creating a colorful flow of shades. shades
C贸rdoba Exposition The Federal University of Bahia selected among the student`s works one project of each atelier to be submitted as an honor mention in the competition of the XXXI Meeting and Congress of Inhabit the city, time and space, helded in C贸rdoba, Argentina. The project selected of stelier 3 was the Social Housing project, and was exposed during the congress.
Thank You Beatriz Kauark Fontes fontb845@newschool.edu / biakauark@gmail.com