architecture portfolio 2022

Portfolio

Margherita Bartolozzi 2015-2022 selected works

Margherita Bartolozzi 28/09/1996 Pisa, Italy

Contact+Address

bartolozzimargherita@gmail.com +39 3397332346 Via G.Marconi 20, 56121, Pisa, Italy

University experience

2010 | 2015 Diploma Liceo Classico, G.Galilei, Pisa 2018 Bachelor in Science of Architecture, University of Florence, Italy 2019 | 2022 Master in Architecture, Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio, Switzerland

Languages

Italian, mothertongue - English, C1 (IELTS) - German, A2French, A2

Professional Skills

Autocad, Vectorworks, Rhinoceros, Adobe Creative Suite, Cinema4D, Video and photo shooting and editing, Modelmaking (wood, styrofoam, cardboard)

Work experience

2018 Six months internship, Giraldi Iacomoni Architetti, Pisa

2020 | 2021 Nine months Internship, Felgendreher Olfs Koechling Architekten, Berlin

Additional activities

January 2018 17>20 Landscape Workshop WRI+2i with Gianluca Peluffo, Vincenzo Latina and Paolo Di Nardo organized by AND, Palermo

February 2018 V-RayforC4D workshop organized by MTSYS, Florence

December 2018 1>2 Post-production workshop Unbuilt Architecture with Uroš Nešić e Igor Kozić, Florence

July 2019 3>7 Earth Construction workshop Full immersion nella terra organized by Cratérre and Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cagliari

January/2019 Curating art Workshop Organized by Art Curator School, Milano

September/2021/13-18 Earth Reality, Truth and Stage Space Scenography workshop with Daniele Finzi Pasca

2022 on Assistant curator for the exhibition Mino Trafeli: Impossible Sculpture 2018-1980 in Volterra

Index: Open theatre..............................................................06

When does a theatre become a public square?

Atelier Bijoy Jain, 2022 (AAM)

A

Museum for Villa Adriana 16

A new addition to the Antiquarium of Villa Adriana Laboratorio Fabio Fabbrizi, 2018 (UNIFI-DIDA)

A Plan for Oerlikon...................................................28

Housing in Zurich

Atelier Jonathan Sergison, 2020 (AAM)

How simple can we built?......................................... 42

Designing an infrastructure through in-depth research of Angola and its resources Atelier Johan Arrhov, 2022 (AAM)

Earth reality, Truth and Stage Space........................ 54

Scenography workshop with Daniele Finzi Pasca, 2021 Illustration and short films........................................ 56

Personal works Appendix ............................................................ 63

Open theatre

When does a theatre become a public square?

New Movy Club, Brussels Atelier Bijoy Jain, 2022

Tools used to develop the project: Collages, drawings, painting, 1:500 and 1:50 wooden models, Autocad, Rhinoceros, Cinema4D, Photoshop

The collective research of the atelier (entitled Archive for all the memory of the world) raised the question of how architecture can be further used as catalyst for culture with a focus in Brussels. The topic of the studio, the Archive, was intended as a testimony to human activity but also interpreted with personal freedom, looking for “traces” in ourselves.

This is precisely why I started from me, from my life, from what my personal archive could be: perhaps the box containing objects linked to my memories stored under my bed? (1) Or my collection of theatre texts, full of notes? (2) We are still talking about objects, but if in the first case they are material, in the second they are immaterial, they become actions, sounds and words. So I wondered how it could be an intangible archive, what could it contain? What kind of space could this archive hold?

1) My personal box

Rituals can be considered immaterial archives as collections of repeated actions and words that do not change over time (3).

Throughout our lives, collective rituals such as funerals, weddings, masses and others are the norm and every day we are in contact with ceremonies developed to bind and represent communities. However the one I have tried to focus on is one of the smallest (and perhaps the most obvious) ritual that humans possess and practice everywhere, which is not bound to a specific culture or society, but belongs to everyone’s life, to the human species: Storytelling. Storytelling is the universal practice that underlies teaching, the transmission of knowledge and stories, it is the oldest tool and the basis of all human development (4).

How can we archive such a ritual? Maybe creating a protected space for storytelling and exchange, which is not subject to social prejudices (such as the idea that only intellectuals and rich people go to the theatre) and which does not exclude anyone? Does something similar already exist? (5)

What would happen if we combined a space like a theatre, where speech and communication are the centre of its being, and a public square? How far can we go to make an open theatre? How much can the two types give to each other?

3) Ritual, 20x15cm, oil on canvas 4)

5) A space made of words, tempera on paper, 29x42cm

The project area is located in the residential area of Forest, a multi-ethnic neighbourhood of Brussels, more precisely in the middle of an urban block, behind the church of Saint Antoine. It is only connected to the street via a corridor that cuts through a 1930s residential building on the ground floor. What is there now is a disused former cinema from the 1980s and a warehouse.

The proposal consists of the coexistence of a theatre and a public square.

The decision to widen the access corridor, transforming it into a covered public passage, more like a street, leading to a raised square through the forced passage in the theatre facilitates access, introducing new flows, and pushes the two types into constant dialogue.

What new situations could be created? The square could turn into a summer theatre, or a group of young people could decide to have dance rehearsals there, or improvise a performance: the theatre thus constantly experienced would become a real ‘theatre of life’ for the inhabitants of Forest.

The new Movy club is built on three deeply connected levels. The basement contains the theatre’s technical spaces, together with the main stage and seating that connects to the public ground floor. The latter is open to the stage and hosts a café and offices.

The corridor connecting these spaces serves as a public “passage” to the stairs leading to the upper level, a vast courtyard nestled between the buildings that gives a breath inside the urban block and creates a new outlook for the surrounding houses. Multiple rectangular skylights bring natural light into the theatre, illuminating the outdoor space at night.

level -1 theatretechnical spaces level +1 elevated square

A Museum for Villa Adriana

A new addition to the Antiquarium of Villa Adriana Laboratorio Fabbrizi, 2018

Tools used to develop the project: Collages, drawings, 1:100 cardboard model, Autocad, Rhinoceros, Cinema4D, Photoshop, Illustrator

The starting point of the process was finding traces within the Villa to guide the design choices for the new archaeological museum, understanding and interpreting them: capturing them was the most difficult task.

Walking around the Villa, one cannot help but notice the differences in height, a fact that can also be detected by the state of the Antiquarium, consisting of two rows of cells on different heights.

These differences in height were generated both by the topographical situation of the terrain and by the intervention of archaeologists who, from the 19th century onwards, began excavating the site to unearth the remains of the Villa. This ‘multi-level’ view of the site certainly does not help us to grasp it as a whole and its original authenticity; on the contrary, it causes a feeling of bewilderment in those who find themselves there, and eludes them from reading it. This perception, however, belongs to the Villa’s current situation and is a fact that cannot be overlooked or ignored.

Villa Adriana is therefore a complex and articulated space, but despite everything it can be read as unicum: within the villa it can be noticed a various systems of buildings that form junction mechanisms by intersecting, each time differently but each time reasoned by spatial relations and topography, an example is the Maritime Theatre, which constitutes a rotula connecting the Pecile to the Hospitalia

Another common feature of the elements composing the Villa is the very heterogeneity of styles, but also the constant homogeneity in construction technique: the opus reticulatum mixtum

The relationship with a nature shaped by man to his will, with the insertion of small waterfalls and the generation of new spaces thanks to buildings against the ground, is another characteristic of the Villa

The Antiquarium itself relates to this logic being a support against the ground used originally as a store.

The aim of the project is therefore to create a new space while respecting the ancient and the archaeological site, trying to fit it into this specific context, working on a language common to that of Adrian’s Villa, trying to interpret it in a contemporary key.

The Antiquarium is thus a structure that supports the ground consisting of a line of cells arranged on two different levels. Key actions of the project were:

1) The declination of the existing space through the insertion of a pivot within a central cell and the rotation around it of two arms.

2) The insertion of a frame, consisting of a bandage wrapping around the Antiquarium.

3) The “excavated” elements generating cuts in the ground and interrupted views.

The new space is declined through the insertion of a pivot inside a central cell and the rotation around it of two arms. This rotation generates two voids, two “breaths” that separate the old structure from the new one and bring light into the new spaces.

The entrance to the structure is at a height (2 metres) and to access it it’s necessary to climb the stairs or walk along a ramp parallel to the building. Then we find ourselves inside an 'openair box', consisting of a collapsed cell and the new parapets inserted for the terrace.

The sense of this gesture is to reproduce the idea of the heterogeneity of the villa, where we pass from a wide and open space to a narrow and austere one in a concise manner.

Once inside we find ourselves in a large space where we can clearly see all the elements that articulate it: on the right the stairs leading to the permanent Archaeological Museum, in front the stairs and lift leading to the second floor, and on the left the infopoint accompanied by a large multifunctional space and the volume containing the auditorium/didactic area.

On the second level there is a space for temporary exhibitions and a terrace system with an access to a café. From there a series of paths connected to the landscape starts.

The theme of the façade comes from the desire to exalt the remains of the Antiquariuum, ideally trying to fill in the missing elements and to move as in a conservative restoration, where the lost part is not reproduced but is filled with a simple distinct addition respecting the authenticity of the building.

The façade thus appears as a materially homogenous wrapping around the old Antiquarium: this highlights it thanks to the contrast created by the different materials, in fact we find in the new part the use of rough white cement and in the old part the ancient reticolatum made of stone and brick.

The entrance, which is elevated and can be reached by a staircase or ramp, is dug into the ground and is the only element that directly is placed in relation to the Canopus: it doesn’t attempt to prevail, but rather, the access seeks to imitate it in its being an excavation, an object that has emerged.

A Plan for Oerlikon Housing in Zurich

Atelier Jonathan Sergison, 2020

Tools used to develop the project: 1:2000 wooden/styrofoam models, Autocad, Rhinoceros, Photoshop, Illustrator

Seebach is a neighbourhood in the north of Oerlikon situated between the suburbs and the city in which many industries that have been reconverted and assimilated by Zurich were located.

Zurich is a city with a growing demand for housing and Oerlikon is a complex area that is going to be densified in the near future.

The district includes different scales of buildings, from industrial ones to residential ones, the latter of which follow the logic of the garden-city.

In the general strategy plan we develop in the atelier the bicycle lane was extended in order to better link the neighborhood to the green areas.

Seven zones of interest were identified and their volumetric was analysed: they range from big allotment plots to small houses sites.

Site 7, located in a tranquil neighborhood of small houses, was the one chosen for a thorough study.

The selected plot was composed mainly of two-to-three-storey houses with generous private gardens in between.

The intention was to redesign the plot with increased density while remaining silent and coherent to the current quality of the neighborhood. Then two organic shapes were designed in order to maintain perception of smaller individual houses surrounded by the green.

The two buildings share the same logic of composition but with small adjustments responding to the different urban conditions and topography.

Each building is composed of four arms stretched into the green, connected by a central core. This allows for a closer relation between each apartment and the gardens.

Strategy plan

bicycle lane new green areas new volumes new densification areas

General consideration medium-size building

streets railways big-size buildings small-size buildings

The two buildings surround small gardens with their shape and in the middle they encompass a bigger one. Each garden can contain a tree of the diameter of about 10-15mt that contributes to having the perception of separated volumes. The landscape is drawn by several paths that allows people to experience the gardens and there is a passage in the ground floor of each building at the same level of the ground that connects the entire plot.

The groundfloor and landscape

standard floor plan

The facade develops vertically in order to better follow the organic shape of the buildings and to adapt to the topography without interfering with the upwards elements.

As for the materiality of the facade greenish-blue painted concrete panels were chosen with different sizes of flutes which grow thinner and more compact as they rise.

The slabs are thought to be covered by metal panels; the same metal is tought to be used for railings and windows as well.

How simple can we build?

Designing an infrastructure through in-depth research of Angola and its resources Atelier Johan Arrhov, 2022

Tools used to develop the project: Bibliography*, Drawings, Wax/wood/earth models, Autocad, Photoshop, Illustrator

The atelier focused mainly on the research, both anthropological and technical, related to the wood as a material and a randomly chosen location: Angola. After understanding the manufacturing reality of wood, including techniques and natural characteristics, the atelier focused on different geographical areas of the world. The objective of the semester was to understand the potential of local architecture, often primitive, built using resources in a controlled and responsible manner, often linked to common sense and to the use of what is found, achieving awareness in what we propose as architect.

Starting from the study of simple and abstract structural models, crossing different natures and climatic situations, the research was kept alive until the end guided by the question “how simple can we build?” How can we solve a problem with the simplest solution? With what materials? With what techniques? What happens next?

1)

*

Woods Earth Water Low vegetation

1. I. Tvedten, G.Làzaro, E.Jul-Larsen, M.Bine Agostinho - Rural poverty in Malanje, Angola, CMI report, number 1, May 2017

2. https://www.ifad.org/en/search?q=angola

3. Angola national adaptation programme of action underr the united nations framework convention on the climate change (UNFCCC), 2011

4. S. C. P. Carvalho, F. D. Santos, M. Pulquério - Climate change scenarios for Angola: an analysis of precipitation and temperature projections using four RCMs, International Journal of Climatology Int. J. Climatol. 2016

5. Disaster risk profile, Angola, CIMA Research Foundation International Centre on Environmental Monitoring 2019 - Review

6. https://thinkhazard.org/en/report/8-angola

7. Biodiversity of Angola, Science & Conservation: A Modern Synthesis, Brian J. Huntley, CIBIO-InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal, 2019

Angola is a country on the west coast of southern Africa that is home to some of the continent’s greatest biodiversity, especially in terms of trees and insects. It has a subtropical climate, defined by a rainy season (November-April) and a dry season (May-October), two extremes that make Angola harsh and fragile (1). The region we surveyed is Melanje (2), a rural province located on a plateau 1100 metres above sea level crossed by a few rivers and characterised by intensive agriculture, poverty and lack of infrastructure.

The only roads that cross the province are those that connect the main towns, and along them rise villages made up of a few small houses built of earth, sometimes as few as 15 people live in these settlements (3).

2)

Every year, seasonal floods hit the country, destroying everything and leaving thousands homeless (4).

During the drought season, the sun dries out everything, people suffer from lack of water and animals die of thirst (5).

Resources are limited, what nature gives them, they take it, and they use it how they find it, almost without refinement.

In Angola, we find a great variety of vegetation; however, the province of Malanje is characterised by intensive agriculture that undermines the spontaneous vegetation.

The plants we have investigated are the Albizia Adianthifolia and the Agave Sisalana (6). The former lends itself to our study mainly because it is easy to work with by hand and because trees with trunks up to 20m in height can be found. The second, a rather common plant, possesses infinite potential: its life cycle is very fast (which makes its cultivation sustainable), the flower trunk, which it’s generated at the end of its life, is very elastic and easy to manipulate (it lends itself to becoming a structure) and fibres can be made from its leaves.

6)

The vernacular architecture of the area has two main components: the roof and the walls, usually structurally independent of each other (7).

As far as walls are concerned, Adobe (8) and Torchis (9) are the two main techniques used.

The first uses earth to create a shelter with mud bricks that provides thermal insulation. The second consists of creating a framework of wood and branches covered with earth mixed with straw.

The proposal is to create a module that is easily buildable, that protects from frequent flooding and that shelters from the hot sun of the arid season (10).

The design consists of two independent elements, a roof and a platform that can be joined and articulated to create an infrastructure (11).

The roof becomes the very shell of the module, touching the ground directly and becoming a structure in itself (12).

The foundations of the roof, as well as those of the platform, are made of stone: this technique, used in many cultures around the world, allows it to withstand horizontal forces (such as those of floods) so that the building does not deform but ‘slides’ (13,14).

The covered and protected part of the roof stops 4 m above the ground, allowing air to circulate and light to enter (16).

The roof module consists of four inclined arms joined by a fibre knot at the upper end (15), a secondary horizontal structure put in place later stabilises the arms and allows the thatched roof to be fixed (17).

The platform is designed as a 2x2m module consisting of a simple structure that is 80 cm above ground level to create a safe and dry space (18).

The repetition of the platforms generate an independent system that can be integrated with the roof and create different types of infrastructure such as schools, warehouses, houses or an entire village in case of emergencies (19).

Trying to make the most of the structure, when intersected the roof pitches create an impluvium capable of collecting water and conveying it into reservoirs (20).

At some points holes allow the water to enter the structure and be purified by an organic filter for the inhabitants (21).

Earth reality, Truth and Stage Space

gruppo

nel piazzale retrostante Villa Argentina? e ragionamento creativo.

During the seven-day workshop, an idea was developed for Melville’s Moby Dick. The performance venue was the park behind the 18th-century Villa Argentina in Mendrisio. The main idea was to turn the back of the Villa itself into a brig, covered with ropes and rope ladders to allow the actors to move up and down. The back of the Villa is organised on three levels and was divided into five functions: the deck, the kitchen, the bunks and the captain’s room.

The boat

Scenography workshop with Daniele Finzi Pasca, 2021 ESERCITAZIONE

The waves and the sea

The audience is on the lawn in front of the Villa, surrounded by the sea.

The study of the waves led to two options, in the first they consist of waterfalls falling from above, in the second of rollers placed on the ground that can be moved.

Illustration and short films

Personal works

This is a collection of some works made over the years. Some are related to projects, others are free of any context.

The fool city

A short film on the former psychiatric hospital of Volterra

The Volterra asylum was founded in 1888 and is one of the most important examples of asylums in Italy. With its 40 pavilions, it housed more than 4000 patients and became the theatre of the unhappy history of its inhabitants, most of the time detained not for psychiatric reasons but for social ones. After the Basaglia law, the asylum, a space that housed the testimony of all these people, was completely abandoned and is now in a state of disrepair, with crumbling floors and missing roofs. The aim was to explore an abandoned space, looking for flashes of humanity, apparently invisible testimonies, and also to understand how nature can reappropriate and transform a space.

Listen to the moon

A shortfilm about “Passaggio Lunare” (“Lunar Crossing”), an urban monument located in a round in Camugliano, Tuscany.

‘Lunar Crossing’ is an environmental installation that stands on a road roundabout in Camugliano (Ponsacco). The sculpture consists of a long corridor 83 metres long and up to 6 metres high, bordered on either side by two glass-resin and masonry partitions that rise gradually, almost forming the outline of a hill. A half-moon is placed on these in the middle, the point at which the walls have the greatest height. The corridor that symmetrically divides the roundabout invites exploration and the two halves lend themselves well lend themselves well to the organisation of theatrical and musical events. It is a grandiose work that redesigns the of the road and in which its contradiction is evident: it is a passage to another place, lunar, but precisely because it is a dividing line, impossible and unreachable. This isolation given by the continuous flow of cars creates its own dimension far removed from our own. It represents a case in which a road element becomes art, but not only that, its variation and change during the hours of the day and during the seasons, its integration with the territory and with forms of representation such as sculpture and architecture make it a true environmental installation.

2001-2015 Piano studies

2009-2015 Theatrical and performing training at Teatro G.Verdi in Pisa

2015-2018 Foundation of the Nosòdi theatre company and production

July 2016 Dramaturgy workshop with Franco Farina at Prima del Teatro, S.Miniato, Italy

July 2019 Deviced Theatre workshop with Raimon Molins and Miquel Barcelona Palau at Prima del teatro S.Miniato, Italy

2022 Scenic consultancy for the play Figli by the Radiceibrida, Milan, Italy

Margherita Bartolozzi bartolozzimargherita@gmail.com