marcus confino
undergraduate architecture portfolio
Marcus Confino Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University College of Architecture and Urban Studies B. Arch 2015 Undergraduate Portfolio marc14vt@vt.edu 703.732.7702
Collection of Works
Montessori School
01
Culinary School
02
Bridge to Riva
03
Travel Sketches
04
Photography
05
Montessori School
B
Third Year Studio: Joe Wheeler Site: Blacksburg, Virginia The design for the Tall Oaks Montessori School is derived from the desire to create an environment condusive to the Montessori teaching culture. A visual and physical connection to nature with access to natural light, as well as adequate space to facilitate interactive learning were the primary drivers of the design.
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Architecturally the design addresses these criteria by creating a large open space, broken down into three programmatic bays. These bays are then shaped based on the needs of the program and opportunties for natural light. The large spans are made by curved glu-laminated wood ribs, making for a fluid form, both internally and externally.
B
First Floor Plan Scale: 1/8� = 1’ 5
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The visual and physical continuity of the form serves to present truth in structure as well as to complement the style of Montessori teaching. It is the goal of this design to provide a learning environment that the children cannot only learn in but learn from. The extension into the landscape, helps to define a “place” for the school. This extension ensures an interaction between the building and the occupants, even before one enters the building itself.
Section B-B Scale: 1/8” = 1’
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Culinary School Third Year Studio: Joe Wheeler Site: New York City, New York The culinary experience is a very articulated, interactive, and strenuous under-taking, as my studio learned first hand by visiting the French Culinary Institute in New York City. The experience of enjoying a meal, then seeing the process in which the food was prepared gave us a rich back-story for our third-year project. My professor challenged us to take on the task of designing a culinary school and restaurant in a contrained urban site. Drawing mostly from my personal experience at the culinary school, I developed a design that would give the culinary school a defined presence on the street, while maintaining the interior enivronment necessary to prepare and serve meals. Externally the building reflects the interactive relationship between the culinary school itself and the restaurant it serves. The “light box” volume contains the restaurant and reception spaces, while the “heavier” brick and mortar volume houses the kitchens and classroom spaces.
The constraints of an urban site provide both opportunities and challanges. Designing for a site in New York City allowed me to study these constaints, such as height limitations, access to natural light, interaction with the street, and means of egress and fire safety. This building also serves to activate the corner site by becoming a landmark at the intersection of Broadway and Canal Street. By creating a presence on the street corner and opening up to the sidewalk, the architecture allows a natural dialogue to occur between the school and the city outside.
Rectangular Steel Section (Parapet) Steel Perimeter Channel Gypsum Board Interior Finish Flashing
Sheathing
Roof Membrane
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Light Guage Metal Stud
Drainage Mat Rigid Insulation
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Sheathing Vapor Barrier
Vapor Barrier
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Rigid Insulation
Concrete Slab
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Fiberglass Mesh 7/8” Stucco
Metal Deck
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Batt Insulation
Detail #1: 1 - Coped Steel Beam 2 - Bolted Shear Connection 3 - Square Steel Section 4 - Blocking + Neoprene Gasket 5 - 2 Layers of 1/2” Laminated Glass
Gypsum Board
1/2” Wood Finish 3/4” Acoustic Underlayment
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Vapor Barrier Concrete Slab w/Metal Deck
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Batt Insulation Gypsum Board
W14 Steel Girder 1/2” x 1/2” Laminated Glass
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Detail #2: 1 - 8” Steel Column 2 - Bolted Base Plate Connection 3 - Concrete Slab w/Metal Deck 4 - W12 Steel Beam 5 - Bolted Plate Connection 6 - 8” Steel Column
1/2” Wood Finish 3/4” Acoustic Plywood
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Vapor Barrier 2 3
8” Steel Column
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Concrete Rigid Insulation Vapor Barrier
Mat Foundation w/Steel Reinforcement
Detail #3: 1 - Light Guage Metal Stud 2 - Runner Channel 3 - Concrete Slab w/Metal Deck 4 - W12 Steel Beam 5 - Steel Web Stiffener 6 - Perimeter Channel
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Ground Floor Plan 10
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Second Floor Plan 10
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Rectangular Steel Section
Roof Structure: Roof Membrane Drainage Mat Rigid Insulation Vapor Barrier 5” Concrete Slab w/pour stop W12 Steel Beam Batt Insulation Gypsum board Finish
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Flashing
2'-2 3/8"
Runner Channel
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5 Wall Structure: 7/8” Stucco Fiberglass Mesh 3” Rigid Insulation Vapor Barrier Sheathing Light Guage Metal Stud w/runner channel Sheathing Gypsum board Finish
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8'-6"
8” Steel Column
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Runner Channel
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Floor Structure: 1/2” Wood Finish 3/4” Acoustic Underlayment Vapor Barrier 4” Concrete Topping w/pour stop Corrugated Metal Decking W12 Steel Beam w/steel stiffener Steel Perimeter Channel W14 Steel Girder 5” Batt Insulation Gypsum board Finish
Steel Stiffener
1'-11 3/4"
Perimeter Channel
8” Steel Column
Foundation Structure: 1/2” Wood Finish 3/4” Plywood Vapor Barrier Concrete Slab 3” Rigid Insulation Mat Foundation with steel reinforcement Vapor Barrier Compacted Earth
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Steel Base Plate bolted w/non-shrink grout
1/2” x 1/2” Laminated Glass
10'
Bridge to Riva Fourth Year Studio: Frank Weiner Site: Riva San Vitale, Switzerland A semester abroad gave me an opportunity to design for a new site, a new culture, and a new mindset. While aboad I stayed in a town called Riva San Vitale, Switzerland. This town lies in the Swiss Alps and is only minutes away from the Italian border. This project served as a way to become closer to my surroundings and appreciate the place itself. The goal of this project was to design a bridge to connect Riva San Vitale and Capolago, two towns seperated by only thirty feet of water. Approached from an experential standpoint, the design of the bridge is based on a controlled and choreographed path of motion over the Laveggio river. The spatial quality is purposely layered over the course of the bridge, varying a person’s understanding and perspective of the bridge. Through changes in the ground plan, ascension onto the bridge and an articulated overhead plane, pedestrians are guided across the river through the natural motion of the bridge.
The covering for the bridge is meant to be seen as a seperated but complementary addition to the design. A distinct change in materiality and very minimal physical connection to the structure of the bridge help to delineate the overall form of the covering. However the general form and directionality of the covering follows the path of the bridge below; only at certain points does the covering stray from the edges of the bridge. The structure of the bridge itself extends well past the constaining banks of the river. This extension allows the bridge to engage in the surrounding landscape of the towns that lie on either side and intensifies the experience of crossing from Riva San Vitale to Capolago.
Travel Sketches
Architecture Residency Program Riva San Vitale, Switzerland
These are sketches that were taken during my four months studying abroad in Europe as a part of Virginia Tech’s study abroad program. These sketches tell a story not only of what I saw but what I experienced and how I perceived each place that I visited.
The world should have stories told about it, it should be wrtten about, sketched, drawn, painted, and photographed. The world should be seen, heard, felt, and shared with others. Sketching is about trusting your eyes more than your brain.
Photography Architecture Residency Program Riva San Vitale, Switzerland
These photographs only begin to describe my experiences abroad. Through photography I am able to communicate the power of travel, the power of experiencing the world beyond anything I’ve ever known. Nothing is more invigorating or enriching than reaching out and touching a world that had previously been out of reach or only seen in textbooks.
01 Matterhorn Peak - Switzerland 02 Therme Vals Spa - Peter Zumthor - Vals, Switzerland 03 Kunsthaus Museum - Peter Zumthor - Bregenz, Austria 04 St. Benedict Chapel - Peter Zumthor - Sumvigt, Switzerland
Heidi Weber Pavilion - Le Corbusier - Zurich, Switzerland 01 Covenant de La Tourette - Le Corbusier - Eveux, France 02 Notre Dame du Haut - Le Corbusier - Ronchamp, France 03
01 Caja Madrid Obelisk - Santiago Calatrava - Madrid, Spain 02 Rolex Learning Center - SANAA - Lausanne, Switzerland 03 Paul Klee Museum - Renzo Piano - Berne, Switzerland 04 Museu Blau - Herzog & de Meuron - Barcelona, Spain 05 CaixaForum - Herzog & de Meuron - Madrid, Spain 06 Messe Basel New Hall - Herzog & de Meuron - Basel, Switzerland
01 Barcelona Pavilion - Mies van der Rohe - Barcelona, Spain 02 La Sagrada Familia - Antoni Gaudi - Barcelona, Spain
San Carlo alle Quatro Fontane - Borromini - Rome, Italy 01 St. Peter’s Basilica - various architects - Rome, Italy 02 S. Maria della Vittoria - Carlo Moderno - Rome, Italy 03 Roman Colosseum - Rome, Italy 04 Pantheon - Rome, Italy 05 Roman Forum - Rome, Italy 06
Brion Cemetery - Carlo Scarpa - Treviso, Italy 01 Nordic Pavilion - Sverre Fehn - Venice, Italy 02 Duomo di S. Maria del Fiore - Filippo Brunelleschi Florence, Italy 03
“To break into pieces in order to launch oneself on a road with an uncertain outcome demands such heroism that it is primarily children who are capable of it. But, children must, moreover, be seduced to engage in it...Depart. Go out. Allow yourself to be seduced one day. Become many, brave the outside world, split off somewhere else.� Michel Serres in The Troubadour of Knowledge
“Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. There it begins.� Ludwig Mies van der Rohe