h /a
THERE!
I’m Hannah Alcantara , an architect and a strong believer in architecture’s ability to give experiences within practical means, of being able to ensnare the senses by means of creating art as spaces, even in simplicity.
As someone who has grown up in the beautifully diverse environment of UAE, it helped shaped me into being a designer that takes realistic creative approaches and maintains open dialogues and optimism within collaborations amongst a group of different cultures and backgrounds.
Hope to share those beliefs through my work in this portfolio!
HI
P. E. L.
+971 50 954 1080
hannah_alcantara@hotmail.com
Dubai, UAE
CONTACT ME! EXPERIENCES
HONOURS BACHELOR’S DEGREE
Heriot-Watt University Dubai (2018-2022)
BA (Hons) Architecture
EDUCATION SKILLS
WATTCLUB MEDAL OF DISTINCTION | 2022
H eriot-Watt University
CONCEPT TEAM INTERNSHIP | 2021
G odwin Austen Johnson Architects
RIBA STUDENT COMMITTEE | 2021
H eriot-Watt University
DUBAI DESIGN WEEK EXHIBITION | 2020
“LIVING LATTICE: Reimagining Living in the City”
ARCHASM DESIGN COMPETITION | 2020
“URBAN CHAIR: Rethink street furniture”
RHINO LUMION PHOTOSHOP ILLUSTRATOR INDESIGN AUTOCAD WORD POWERPOINT EXCEL
HAND SKETCHING MODEL MAKING PHOTOGRAPHY GRAPHIC DESIGN
WRITTEN & ORAL COMMUNICATION
3
4
CAELUM
EXHIBITION
5 CONTENTS O2 HOUSING
MATERIAL VIRIDIS INNOVATION HUB LIVE-WORK HOUSING PG 30 PG 16 PG 22 PG 26 01 02 03 04 05WEAVING PLACES OF HARMONY OFFICE FOR THE UNHCR PG 06
SPACE RESEARCH CENTRE
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WEAVING PLACES OF HARMONY
Architecture has the ability to include, and simultaneously exclude in varying degrees in our existing environment. Through exploration, it was found that inclusion and exclusion in space is about connection, permeability, and access.
A highly exclusive neighbourhood in Ajman was chosen as the testing grounds to establish harmony through a UNHCR office that blurred boundaries between the existing and the intervening design, creating an agora of refuge where all voices can be heard.
“Let our spaces of tomorrow find harmony in both inclusion and exclusion. ”
OFFICE FOR THE UNHCR / TYPOLOGY: INSTITUTIONAL / LOCATION: AJMAN, UAE / ACADEMIC YEAR: 2021-2022 (4TH YEAR)
ANALYSING PROMINENT EXCLUSIVITY AROUND THE SITE
AREA
OF INTERVENTION
DESIGNING “INCLUSION” AT A
SMALL SCALE
MOST INCLUSIVE
HARMONY
MOST
EXCLUSIVE
7 01
Taking
BLURRING
Based
a non-space between existing functions and adjacent to the most exclusive area within area of intervention so as to explore subversion of exclusion and disconnect.
BOUNDARIES
on the overlapping of the mapped grids that decide the inclusive/exclusive interventions needed, and lines of mediation determining the push and pull against the boundary, the boundary wall is made mostly permeable and visually connected, making it hard to determine where the property ended and the design began. BOUNDARIES AROUND SITE COUNTERACTING WITH EXCLUSIVITY COUNTERACTING WITH INCLUSIVITY COMPROMISE OF BOUNDARIES
LINES
OF MEDIATION LINE OF JOURNEYCOMBINED INTERVENTIONS 12% INCLUSIVE 67% INCLUSIVE 73% INCLUSIVE 89% INCLUSIVE STUDY OF MAPPING BOUNDARIES BALANCING EXCLUSION 8
PLACES OF CONNECTION FOOD & DRINK MOSQUE RETAIL MOSQUE PARK SCHOOL
SPREADING THE GRID
CONNECTING INFLUENCE
The
urban
space reacts
to
the push and pull
of
the grid, growing inclusivity from the site outwards by connecting to the context.
9
GUEST EMERGENCY COORDINATOR PR TEAM DEPUTY DIRECTOR ADMIN DONOR REFUGEE REPRESENTATIVE IT STAFF STUDY OF BREAKING PLATFORMS INTO LEVELS USER HIERARCHY +5m ADMIN + FINANCE COWORKING IT / SERVER +16m max +10m EXECUTIVE OFFICES 3F COWORKING EMERGENCY, SECURITY, SUPPLY 2F +7m PROGRAMME SUPPORT +8m EXTERNAL RELATIONS GF CAFE + LIBRARY 0m EXHIBITIONS 1F COWORKING HIERARCHY IN FUNCTIONALITY Hierarchy determined according to user movement, wherein the frequency of use of the space by user types were counted, ie. inclusivity levels of each function, which also determined functional grouping. Floors grouped according to which users use which functions. 10
SECOND FLOOR ZONING
GROUND FLOOR ZONING Most interface happen in transition GUEST EMERGENCY COORDINATOR PR TEAM DEPUTY DIRECTOR ADMIN DONOR REFUGEE REPRESENTATIVE IT STAFF The design aims to become a new hub for relationships, led by voices that are often not heard in our public spaces. ! A connection between enclosures. As it stands, conflict becomes an ever present challenge worldwide, and often to those unwillingly involved. Dubai’s aim to connect minds to create the future becomes a bridge between worlds - west and east, peace to discord, discord to discord. ! FIRST FLOOR
ZONING
To facilitate connection and interaction, most of the circulation are outdoors between functions, where in which places of discussion connect them underneath these woven canopies, while connecting to each other between floors - becoming mini forum spaces between functions. 11
BUREAUCRATIC 5% INCLUSIVE 80% INCLUSIVE PLATFORMS OF INTERFACE LEVEL CHANGES FUNCTIONAL ASSEMBLY INDICATIONS OF SPACE OPERATIONS 15% INCLUSIVE ENCLOSURES / OPENINGS COLUMNS LANDSCAPING LOGISTICS 35% INCLUSIVE 12
2F PLAN
‘LIFE IN’ EXHIBITIONS
THE FORUM SPACE
13
14
While spaces may demand exclusivity, this should not stop the city from growing past barriers to include its people , through connections, permeability, and access, to create places of harmony.
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HOUSING
O2
16
public, sell their
woodworking
creations for extra income, and keep the dying art of
alive. FRONT ELEVATION
SKETCH OF DUBAI CREEK ACROSS SITE
WORKSHOP EXHIBITION SPACES MICRO-UNITSWATERFRONT DOCKS LIVE-WORK HOUSING / TYPOLOGY: RESIDENTIAL / LOCATION: AL JADDAF, DUBAI / ACADEMIC YEAR: 2020-2022 (3RD YEAR) 17 02
SITE PLAN
REUSING OLD DHOW SAILS AS SHADING
REUSING OLD DHOW SAILS FOR TENSILE ROOFING
RECYCLING DHOW TEAK WOOD FOR PANELLING
SUSTAINABILITY IN MATERIALS 18
GF
LIVING BLOCKS PLAN
GF WORK BLOCK PLAN
LIVING BLOCKS TYPICAL UPPER FLOORS
WORK BLOCK: WORKSHOP INTERIOR
LIVING BLOCK: MICROUNIT INTERIOR
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SECTION A SECTION B 20
DRONE SHOT OF MASTERPLAN
VIEW OF EXHIBITION AREA IN FRONT OF WORKSHOP
EXTERIOR VIEW OF STREET SIDE
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VIRIDIS
Viridis, an Innovation Hub for Algaeculture, aims to have facilities for the research and development of the under-utilised algae to ensure true progress and food democracy.
The design is a living organism - a design that breathes, adapts, self sustains; where nature is harnessed into its function and allowed to take root. It lives by having algae gradually grown throughout the cladding structure as dynamic shading, which additionally serves as a “metabolism” by being a source of on-site food and energy production, but also by the design itself being free and permeable.
SITE PLAN
03 INNOVATION HUB / TYPOLOGY: INSTITUTIONAL / LOCATION: DUBAI INTERNET CITY, DUBAI / ACADEMIC YEAR: 2020-2022 (3RD YEAR) 22
200mm STEEL FRAME 150mm DIAGONAL WELD STEEL SUPPORT STONE CLAD CONCRETE PEDESTAL 200mm STEEL SUPPORT ALGAE BIOREACTOR PANELS STRUCTURE SPACE FRAMES CLADDING + SHADING ALGAE R&D CELL ALGAE EXPO CELL ALGAE POND URBAN FARMS INCUBATION CELL VEGAN CAFE 23
FIRST
FLOOR PLAN
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
SECTION A
SECOND FLOOR PLAN
24
LIGHT
&
WATER: MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENTS FOR ALGAE
ALGAE PONDS BETWEEN THE CLUSTERS
ALGAE EXPO CELL
25
Caelum brings space research to life within Mushrif Park; it simulates the weightlessness of celestial bodies and embodies endless space, as it is lifted using steel quad-stilts above its rolling terrain.
Its branching paths between components give a sense of adventure and interaction with the environment to emulate the life of astronauts. Its elevation allows a lush garden to be nestled underneath within an existing dip in the terrain, becoming the mundane Earth guarded by a celestial body floating above.
separated by
of
paths
PUBLIC ZONE RESEARCH INSTITUTE COLIVING SERVICES REQUIRED AREAS Components
outdoor bridges, active interaction with landscape Branching
give sense
adventure and exploration like astronauts. FINAL SCHEMATIC SECOND SCHEMATIC CAELUM 04 SPACE RESEARCH CENTRE / TYPOLOGY: INSTITUTIONAL / LOCATION: MUSHRIF PARK, DUBAI / ACADEMIC YEAR: 2019-2020 (2ND YEAR) 26
FLOOR PLAN viewed from +11.50 m 27
SECTION A-A
GARDEN PLAN SKETCH
viewed from +7.50 m 28
THE
GARDEN SPACE
COWORKING SPACE INTERIOR
BIRD’S EYE OF GARDEN AND BRIDGES
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EXHIBITION MATERIAL05
!
NOMINATED FOR:
Abu Dhabi University’s Ninth Undergraduate Research Competition
PLAYING WITH SPACE
THE EXECUTION OF GAME-SPACES AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
DISSERTATION
TUTOR: Dr. Harpreet Seth
YEAR: 2021- 2022
Video games have become part and parcel of our present. An irrefutable staple in our culture in the advent of innovation between technology and storytelling. And as it flourishes as an industry, its gameplay spaces begin to look like spaces of reality; realism and immersion a goal that developers seem to always climb to, and over the years, have been doing so successfully. This metamorphosis sees reverberations in other fields of design – namely architecture, seeing the obscurity between Real-Space and Game-space as they feed into each other’s progress.
The question to be asked then emerges: can video games provide an improved perception of architectural space as an interactive medium?
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INVISIBLE THREADS
LIVING LATTICE
INSTRUCTORS: Dr. Harpreet Seth & Manupriam
ACADEMIC YEAR: 2020-2021
Living Lattice was a visual exercise of re-imagining lives in the city, through narratives that juxtapose the old and new dwellings of Dubai that conveys the physical, emotional, and mental needs of the people. Invisible Threads takes the Ruang Tekuni design and re-imagines Dubai’s low-income expats from their cramped shared accommodations into central connective courtyards and balconies bonding individual studio units together, allowing their own spaces while giving them the opportunity to interact and connect – to form communities to be reminded they are not alone, and make this a home away from home.
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ME TOO
ARCHASM URBAN CHAIR COMPETITION YEAR: 2020
Mumbai is a city of opportunity, where many come to fulfil their dreams but get lost in its bustling streets. Our design gives people an opportunity to rest, providing a momentary break from the fast-paced urban lifestyle within the peace and serenity of Worli Sea Face, its surfaces marked with stories of a diversity of people to remind them that the world is not meant to be walked alone.
Our goal is to bring comfort to souls - that by walking in someone else’s footsteps and experiencing their stories, there are others with them in their journey of life.
That to sit overlooking the sea, despite the hardships presented by life, is a reminder that there are beautiful things to look forward to along the way.
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ARCHI-DOODLE YEAR: 2018 Black ink on Canson paper, 29.5 cm x 77.5 cm LINE & SHAPE YEAR: 2018 Mixed media relief, 29.8 cm x 119 cm DESIGNING HISTORY BE BOLD 33
+971 50 954 1080 hannah_alcantara@hotmail.com Dubai, UAE P. E. L. CONTACT ME!