architecture portfolio
M A R C E L L A I T A L I A N O ARCHITECTURE DESIGN PORTFOLIO 1. Adaptive Reuse: A New Proposal for San Diego’s Old Library 4 2. Mi.MA: A Town Center for Mira Mesa, San Diego 8 3. Thusters: Intuitive Neighborhood Design 12 4. Mixed Use Buildin in Sao Paulo, BR 18
1. Adaptive Reuse: Architecture school proposal for San Diego’s old Library
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Saaan S nD Diiego’s eg old eg d Li Libr b ar br a yh haas be beeen n clo ose s d forr maany n yeaars and rec e entlly tth he ci c ty has ass dec ecid ided id ed to acccep eptt al alteern rnattivvess to ut utilililiz lize ize th iz he bu buililildi d ng. T e ch Th chal alle al leeng leng nge pr prro opos opos op o ed to th thee stud u en nts ts was adap pt th thee o olld fa faci cililility ci ty to ac a oo omo m da date at a sch choo o l oo off arcchi hite tect te ctur ct urre fo forr 70 00 st s ud uden en nts ts.. S Sttud udio ios, io oss,, c assrooms cl m and ms n audit ud d tor oriu ium iu m we werre paarrt o off the he prog graam an a d we w ree accom cccom mod dat ated ed d int n o thee exxisti issti ting ng faaccilityy an ng nd th t e new ad ddi diti tiion on. S ud St die iess o off volum um ume m an nd flo oo or aarrrea ea wer ea e e made to find fi nd out u what wo oul u d bee the h appropriate floorr p an to ac pl a como odat daate te studios and classroom oms ms. s. T e new aad Th ddition, respects the existing hist sttoric iccal building’s volu ume me.. At A the same ti t mee, t e ch th hoiice off mate at rials for th t e faca c dee cre reates es constr t as a t wi w th h the h old d and n set etss an et an inspiiring sccen e ario for dessig ign n st stud uden ud e ts en ts. s
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A new steel structure providess su up pp po ort r for or the new addition. The two o ne new fl floo oors oo orrss rec ecie ievee a perforated corten stee eeel sc scre rreeeen n tha hat al allo low low adequate lighint and nd d ven nti tila latttiion o int nto th he building
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2. Mi.MA : Town Center for Mira Mesa, San Diego Down Do nto t wn wn Mirra M Meesaa is curr cu urr r en ntl tlyy de desi sign si gn need d arro ar roun ro und the th he auto auto au tomo mobi b lee and d nott thee pede pe d ssttriian de an. Th he ar area ea is po ea poor orrlyy con onne onne n ct cted d to th he s rrrou su ound und ndin ng co comm mun unit ity. It ca can bee cha hara ract ra c errissed ct ed a a sou as oule less ess sho h ppi ppin pp ing ce c nttre re forr t e neig th neig ne ghbo hb bou ourh ourh ho oo od. d. O e id On i ea ea for or thi h s pr p ojjec ectt w waas to con onti ttiinu nuee thee na th nattu u ura ral ne ra netw etw twor worrk o off can anyo yo ons ns by crrea eati eati t ng a pa p rk con onec ecti ting ng n g them heem ru runn nniing ing th in thro roug ro oug u h tth he he n neeig igh hbor hb orho ho ood o . Lo ook okin in ng cl clos ossel o ely at at the he tto opo p gr grap aphy ap hyy of th h thee arreaa, th thee ca cany nyon ny onss se on seem m to bee faad diing g at thiss poi th oint n , an nt nd th her eree iiss no ap par aren aren e t co oneecttio ion on betw betw be weeen th theem em. In em. Inst s eaad a smal st sm maallle lerr sc scal ale neetw tworrk o gre of reeen n spa p ces cees wa w s cr crea eate ea ted. te ted d.
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Canyons Topography
Connecting Quadrants: The four areas that are separated by main roads are connected by an internal loop. The major community assets are connected and new nodes are created.
Streets for people The four quadrants of the area were connected by new streets. The large number of pedestrian only streets help create a healthy environment for people to walk rather than drive in.
street layout
Network of public spaces On this map we identify the core of the open plazas within the blocks and between the buildings. A pedestrian excsive route was created to protect the pedestrians from cars. This would create opportunities for events and gatherings.
open spaces
Cars where they belong The parking lots for the existing supermarkets were kept as it is, and new parking structures were suggested to accomodate vehicles. 10 parking
Organizing Information Organizing the presentation boards for this urban project was another challenge of the task. The amount of information needed to be presented clearly and in an engaging way. The layout and the colors were chosen to tell the story of the project as well as to create a consistency of graphics throughout the presentation. The hand drawings and watercolor were introduced in order to create an unique language to the presentation.
A TOWN CENTER FOR MIRA MESA Downtown Mira Mesa is currently designed arround the automobile and not the pedestrian. The area is poorly connected to the surrounding community. It can be characterised as a souless shopping centre for the neighbourhood. Mira Mesa is surrounded by the I-15 highway on the east, the 805 freeway on the west, and the 52 and 55 freeways on the north and south. Mira mesa is south of the penasqitos canyon. There are two transportation routes the ºrst is the main road along the east-west Mira Mesa boulevard. The second route is along the north south Camino Ruiz boulevard which runs from an industrial zone in the south to a park rich area in the north.
hard and soft survey
hard and soft survey
The area of study suffers the consequences of automobile lifestyle. The parking lots and shopping malls are surrounded by poor pedestrian routes and lack of connectivity. The environment around the area is characterized as a souless shopping center for the neighborhood. Today the main access into the area is through automobile transportation. The commute through public routes takes about 1,5h from Downtown San Diego. However, there are multiple Quickway lines proposed (dashed lines) along I-15 and I-5 and though Mira Mesa Blvd. New stations and stops
will increase mobility in the area in the future when the project is effective. Major anchor stores are being kept because of their in»uence on decision making in a case of redevelopment, also ofºce and public buildins will be saved to to their economical and educational roll in the community. Also, green areas
PREVIOUS ANALYSIS AND NEW DIRECTIONS
previous proposal In the previous proposal, the blocks are smaller, therefore, there is a large number of routes for cars. Our big idea was to create a loop connecting the 4 quadrants of mira Mesa town centre.
marcella ITALIANO veena RAVI dennis SELKE jacob QUIST richard YEWCHUCK NSAD WINTER ‘16 hannah hobbs + michael stepner
The idea to connect the four quadrants is strong, but we did that by creating more streets, eventhough one of our principles is to prioritize pedestrian »ow. For the next step, we reduced the number of streets, and increased the pedestrian routes. Another idea, was to continue the natural network of canyons by creating a park conecting the canyons running through the neighborhood. Looking closely at the topography of the area, the canyons seem to be fading at this point, and there is no aparent conection between them, we decided to maintain the idea of the network of green spaces, but with smaller scale connections.
Canyons Topography
Attempt To Connect
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Streets for people We decided to connect the four quardrants by creating,more streets, especially pedestrian only streets. We decided to reduce the number of automobile streets and increase the number of pedestrian only streets to create a healthy environment for people to walk rather than drive in. We created more public spaces such as a linear park by creating a network of green spaces with pedestrian only paths.
street layout
Main Street 9
open spaces Cars where they belong In our proposed layout, all the streets have curbside parking, to protect the pedestrians on the sidewalks. This was done in order to meet parking requirements for the existing buildings. The parking lots for the existing supermarkets were kept as it is, and we suggested locations for new parking structures.
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This diagram is a comparison between the ºrst proposal and the present proposal. The streets layout was simpliºed, giving the neighbourhood more options to develop pedestrian exclusive routes without too
LIFE IN MIRA MESA: THEMATIC DISTRICTS AND STORIES TO TELL
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The right hemisphere of the brain controlls the entertainment district of the neighbourhood which can be associated with the artistic side of the brain.
Secondary Streets
Street Layout Detail 100
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The Central Nervous System Corpus Callosum
1. Cerebellum: Main Streets 200
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2. Corpus Callossum: Nodes
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proposed layout
Basal Ganglia
3. Temporal Lobe: Existing School CLIMATE ACTION PLAN strategies to reduce green house gas emissions
SIX GUIDING PRINCIPLES 1. Pedestrian centric design: reduce car trafºc and encourage walking. 2. Create Street Fronts: promote street life and increase the number of eyes on the streets for safety. 3. Create community destinations: bring people together by adding public spaces. 4. Add green areas that deºne Mira Mesa’s character parks and outdoor furniture, network of green areas 5. Improve public transit and encourage sustainable transportation: fewer bus stops and more direct routes, priority parking forz electric cars with charging stations
1. Energy efºciency: implementation of solar panels, green roofs and wind turbines infrastructure and regulations.
4. Basal Ganglia: Conecting streets and paths
Main Street Section 5
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Thalamus
5. Nervous System: People
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6. Frontal Lobe: Street Front
Amygdala
7. Primary Auditory Cortex: Trees Hippocampus
2. Water recycling: implementation of rain water capture and ºltration infrastructure in the park
8. Occipital Lobe: Ball Fields 9. Hippocampus: Linear park
3. Public Transit Priority: locate housing near mass transit, encourage use of electric cars, time trafºc lights to be in sequence to minimize idling and reduce commute times. 4. Zero waste, zero net energy: production of energy = consumption of energy, recycling and sorting stations, solar panels.
10. Thalamus: Bus Stops 11. Hypothalamus: Restaurants 12.Amygdala: Police station
Secondary Street Section 5
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13.Parietal Lobe: Food truck corner
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14. Prefrontal cortex: Library
5. Climate Resiliency: improve urban forestry by creating parks and adding vegetation
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15. Primary motor cortex: Parking lots 16. Peripheral nervous system: Regan Road connects surrounding residential to the mira mesa downtown.
6. onecting existing streets, smaller sized city blocks, and strategically open up cul de sacs and dead end streets.
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17. Cetral nervous system: The whole layout of the proposed districts.
Pedestrian Street Section Energy Efºciency
Water Recycling
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Park Section 5
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Serena characteristics. The theamatic districts that we came up with are, LIVE + PLAY which offers large green areas for kids to play close to their homes, The CENTRAL HUB and MIX IT UP districts are where the action is, the mixed use buildings, the linear park and the open market are places for gathering and meeting new people. The EAT+SING district offers designated spaces for food trucks and a large open plaza. This is perfect for a stage for local garage bands to perform. We can relate to the stories of Serena, Mike and little Johnnie, residents of Mira Mesa neighborhood, on a typical day in their lives.
WALKING BIKING DRIVING
Creating Destinations A part of the big idea is to create destinations for the neighborhood, the thematic districts. The public and open spaces are what give these districts their unique
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Park
parking
Before x After
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Pedestrian Street
Network of public spaces On this map we identify the core of the open plazas within the blocks and between the buildings. The idea is to create a network of public spaces. A pedestrian exclusive route was created to protect the pedestrians from cars. This would create opportunities for events and gatherings.
The left hemisphere of the brain can be associated with the right 2 quardrants of downtown meramesa because we have the school and the police quartes on these quardrants which keep an eye out for the residents and the children of that community.
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1/4 mi ~ 5 min walk
Serena lives in the south portion of the LIVE+PLAY district. Today she is riding her bike to a yoga class in the park, and then meeting her friend for lunch in the local market. Before going home, she walks around the shops to see what is new.
LIVE + PLAY
CENTRAL HUB
WORK + LEARN
EAT + SING
MIX IT UP
This district respectfully maintains the residential character of the edge.
In the heart of the towncenter, the central hub is a place for gathering.
The library, educational facilities and ofºce spaces compose the work+ learn district.
The food truck corner, and the outdoor stage make an after work or class go to destination.
Mixed use area with access to the park.
KEARNY MESA Quiet Pedestrian Pathways
LIBERTY STATION Open Public Market
MASSART RESIDENCE HALL Boston Massachusetts USA
BELMONT - Lakewood, CO Central hub
Kearny Mesa has a dense line of trees which runs down its main and side streets. This gives it a quiet neighborhood feel.
Liberty Station is an example of an open market that offers a space for gathering and walking. It is the heart of the neighborhood.
The massart residence hall has an open air plaza right next to the built structure.
Mixed use buildings line the main streets and meet at a crossing to create a central pedestrian hub.
TEARDROP PARK Battery Park, NY Residential, retail and park space make this area complex and complete.
Little Johnny This little man is almost 9 years old, and his mom thinks he is big enough to walk alone to get some milk from the store. Because he does not have to cross many streets, she thinks her son will be safe. After school, he plays with his friends across the street from homez,and on weekends, Johnny and his dad go out for a bike ride to get ice cream and play in the ball ºeld.
Mike After work, Mike parks his car in the parking structure then Meets his girlfriend at her house. Then they walk to the stage to watch their friend’s garage band perform for the ºrst time. After that they walk to the local bar in the corner for drinks.
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3. Thesis Project:
Intuitive Neighborhood Design Intuitive thought is an important manifestation of our humanity and reinforces our connection to the environment. The purpose of this study is to analyze how urban solutions can encourage that type of behavior. By analyzing concepts and experiments from dierent sources, this thesis study is proposing a new approach to city and to neighborhood planning.This project presents a methodology to render the authenticity of organic villages into the contemporary city applied to the Sports Arena, San Diego area. This design project is the result of the data collected applied to the realm of community planning. It provides evidence that intuitive design can be beneficial to creating stronger community character, and better relationships between people.
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existing fragments DIRECTION+PURPOSE: LANDMARKS + MAJOR PUBLIC SPACES + visuaL visu vi suaL aL a axis xis xi s
filling in the voids with similar morphology
COMPLEXITY+fragments: fragments ARRANGED IN COMPLEX ORGANIC FORM connecting fragments 1.0 : maze with multiple exits and enrties.
connecting fragments 2.0 : maze with one entry and one exit
organic village: AUTHENTIC REPRESENTATION of AN organic village in contemporary city
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The drawing above illustrates the idea of the Soft Intersection. The roughness of the stone pavement controls traďŹƒc speed, and traďŹƒc lights or signage is no longer required. This solution also requires a non verbal communication between pedestrian and vehicle, contributing to the experience of the place. An example of a blurred intersection is illustrated in figure 4.24, in a city in Belgium. A common element unites all the corners of the crossing.
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The drawing on this page shows the idea for the landmarks. A tall tower with reflective material positioned in specific angles in order to capture the iconic San Diego Sunset lighting and reflect it onto structures located throughout the community. The size of the mirrors can be dimensioned in order to capture a specific time frame of lighting depending on the sun position, and the angle can me calculated to bounce the light to an specific location. The landmark unifies the project and creates a link to the rest of the city, it also gives meaning and direction to the site. The idea is also that these structures can be seen from the distance, so to reinforce the local character of the community, and it is also a celebration of the beautiful sunset that can be seen from the beach area nearby. Bringing the light into the community is a symbolic act and a reminder of the character of the city.
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Hand Made: All graphics in this thesis project are hand drawings combined with digital tools. The final book cover follows that same language, and was also hand bound by the author.
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4. Mixed Use Building in Sao Paulo, BR (2010) Set in an old industrial area in need for renovation, the challenge of this project was to propose residential units with quality public space for the community. A courtyard typology was adopted to attend the need for green areas and retail space was proposed on the street level to activate the block. The two “L” shaped buildings create a semi private enclosure in the interior. . The number of stories varies in order to create rooftops in different levels. A 6 story height limit was adopted to helps avoid the skyscraper typology that is common in the city. The facade was designed using silimar materials and textures but in different arrangements breaking up the linear facade into smaller scale parts. This creates a better relationship with the pedestrian and avoid the feeling of “bulkiness” of the building.
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Ground Floor Plan
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Courtyard Perspective
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East Elevation
Longitudinal Section
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