Mircea Nastase | Selected Works Portfolio

Mircea Nastase

he/him/his

Mircea is a fourth-year student at Iowa State University pursuing a Bachelors in Architecture and a minor in digital media. He is looking for internship opportunities to further develop skills in the workplace with interests in inclusive design, social/cultural justice, sustainability, and publication production.

Creating designs that are unique, and being able to visually represent those designs in efficient ways, is valuable to Mircea. He enjoys continuously learning new programs and improving his skills while also helping others develop their understanding of software in collaborative settings.

Mircea is detail oriented and works efficiently to accomplish his tasks. He is a self driven designer seeking a work environment that is diverse, energic about design, and thoughtful.

Mircea is optimistic about how architecture can continue to shape the future for all people.

Retrospection

Expressing the Immigrant Story

Retrospection is a social justice center in Portland, Oregon, designed in response to the needs and goals of the non-profit organization, The Immigrant Story. Portland has a rich and complex immigration history. For decades, Portland has provided a home and community for a diverse range of immigrant groups from Japan, China, Mexico, etc. This immigration fostered a place dense with culture; unfortunately, this contribution was not always valued or welcomed. The Immigrant Story seeks to rectify Portland’s historic disregard and underappreciation for the immigrant and refugee population by honoring their tremendous strength and persistence through storytelling. Storytelling has always been a way to nurture empathy and understanding. Retrospection provides a tangible place for this to occur. The large pillars erected in Tom McCall Waterfront Park are a visual reminder to the community

of the strong and permanent presence of immigrants in Portland, occupying their space beautifully and powerfully. As you proceed closer, you are gestured toward the structure framed by the city grid and invited by the stairs to explore below grade. There, you will find a celebration of differences and spaces designed to inspire compassion. It is a space to inform the public of the hardships that immigrants have endured, the violence and racism, to acknowledge that experience, and recognize them for their courage. Up the stairs and in the park, the ground has been sculpted to form small hills which emanate light from the program below. They give movement to the landscape, mimicking the rippling water of the river beside it, inviting onlookers to traverse the undulant terrain. Retrospection invites the community to embrace the city’s diverse heritage and provide recognition where it is deserved.

F’22_Arch 401

Integrated Studio

Partner: Arden Stapella

Professor: Nathan Griffith, Brian Warthen, Nick Lindsley, Khalid Khan

Grade Plan

showcasing monumental staircase connection of city to water, playful mounded light well interaction, and adjacencies to site

Main Level Plan

Program includes: Exhibition space, auditorium, community/volunteer rooms, and podcast rooms. The outside zone affords outdoor ampitheatre space or extended exhibition space.

Mounded lightwell creates playful interaction on ground level and provides light to spaces below. Structure innovates the slab for longer spans. Translucent stone used to appear monolithic during the day and maintain its presence through light during the night.

Radiant floor heating and cooling alongside floor HVAC to declutter cieling condition.

drawings Emphasis on perspective framed by the street, structure in relation to mounded lightwells, and monumental staircase. Auditorium and exhibition space visible in view.

Bridging Boundary

Blurring Public and Private Space

For those visiting Chelsea, the Highline appears as a spectacle of urban renewal: a once deteriorating railroad that now enhances life for Chelsea residents. From the Highline, tourists gaze in awe at the wealthy lifestyle perpetuated through the area’s continuous development, shielded from what lies below–the local community. Despite the initial aim of the adaptive reuse project, many residents do not feel the elevated park was designed for them. Thus, a vertical boundary is created that distances tourists from local Chelsea communities. An architectural intervention can integrate Chelsea’s local culture into the Highline and

provide a new lens for tourism in the area that centers on the overlooked but vibrant and diverse local community. By integrating the local culture into the Highline, we blur the boundary between culture and tourism by connecting public and private spaces. This is accomplished by providing market space for artisans on the street and Highline levels. These artisans occupy artist residencies with studio spaces for residents needing a maker space lifestyle. By connecting and allowing these artisans and vendors to create and sell their work, tourists can interact with the culture of the Chelsea community.

Spring 22_ARCH 302

Urban Housing

Partner: Connor Shanahan

Professor: Bosuk Hur

Current Condition

Highline currently acts as a boundary seperating culture visible on ground level with tourist-aimed highrise construction.

Proposed Condition

An architectural intervention could promote interaction on highline level between locals and tourists.

Courtyard Rendering (bottom)

Public market, courtyard space, supplemental.

Rendering features monumental stair that connects the highline level and the street level. The courtyard space acts as an intersection between the two levels. The open air market encourages the interaction of tourists and local artists as they easily access to and from the highline.

Accessible entrance off highline, market space, cafe and food court, tourist residencies, seating.

Accessible entrance off highline is highligted alongside the studio cantilever bridge that acts as a banner to draw people into the space. Residencies have operable panels to respect privacy needs of residential units facing highline.

Level 5 (studio) Plan (top)

Public Studio Rendering (bottom)

Outdoor residential ammenity space, private and public studios, exhbition space and lobby seating.

Various floor elevations were used to create a more dynamic and interesting space. Space would act as an ongoing exhbition of volunteering local artisans currently working on projects that would be willing to interact with the public.

Level 7 (private vs. public) Plan (top)

Exhibition Space Rendering (bottom)

Residential units, flexible space: classroom, exhibition, etc.

Operable exterior louvers would control the daylighting available depending on exhbition needs. Double height space also available for taller instillations. All work would be from local artists as a way for toursists to engage with the culture of Chelsea.

One bedroom tourist unit aimed for temporary living conditions. Fully accessible kitchen and bathroom provided.

One bedroom unit with 1.5 baths. Retractable sliding wall to seperate living room for privacy.

Two bedroom unit featuring thickened bathroom, kitchen, W/D, and entertainment.

Studio unit provided with W/D and operable bedroom wall to expand space as needed.

Unit D

Unit B

Unit C

Unit A

In Thirds

Ritualistic Self Healing

Ritual can be perceived as a specific action, but it can also be perceived as a process. By using this narrative of ritual as process we created a structure that would embody this definition. Our process started with a massing study where we decided to carry over the catenary shape of our previous project. We then chose to integrate the triangle shape to compliment the archways, During our massing study we did not have a ritual set in stone, and therefore we carefully designed our massing study to allow for us to explore various branches of rituals. Due to this we created seven archways and three triangles as these numbers are historically referred to in various religious beliefs as the perfect number seven, and the symbolism of the Holy Trinity.

Our massing study created a passageway that we would use for our ritual. We chose a ritual of self healing, through the process of writing, reading, and reflecting. This built on our narrative of ritual as process. Our structure thus became a three-step process in self healing that used the triangular shape as a symbol of stability for those wishing to seek more stability within their own lives through our structure. By choosing our site at Ada Hayden Heritage Park in Ames, IA, we were able to position our structure at the top of the largest hill on site. This aided our narrative as the process of self healing went beyond the structure itself, but the journey to the structure as well.

Spring 2022_Arch 202

Architecture x Detail

Partner: Megan Sawyer

Professor: Ayodele Iyanalu

1: Dock View

2: Pre-existent Structures

3: Field Condition

4: Gravel Road

5: Building Site

Site Plan Ada Hayden Park, Ames, IA showcasing hill site and relationship to parking, park, and water view.

Scale: 1” = 35’

Embedded Inscape

Extended Realities to

Explore Landscape

If you were to visit the Waterworks Prairie Park in Iowa City, IA, you would be able to see the park for what it is. However, what if you could see the countless hidden features of the park, such as the water treatment facility, the out-of-view sludge lagoons, or the park as the quarry it once was. What if you could visualize proposed projects such as the MidAmerican Energy solar panel project that the people of Iowa City turned down. Embedded Inscape aims to achieve this by being an interactive learning center

that utilizes extended realities to blur the boundaries between the digital and physical world to examine what was, what is, and what possibilities there are for the future. Integrations of digital environments within the natural landscape open up possibilities to connect and understand the site from new perspectives. By being transparent about the park’s history, present functions, and future possibilities, the people of Iowa City can be more aware of the park’s impact on the environment and urban establishment.

Fall 21_Arch 301

Architecture x Landscape

Partner: Nick Cheung

Professor: Anna Aversing

Site

Sludge Lagoons

Site Section Relationship of sludge lagoons, prairie, and lake. Building embedded in hillside and follows the original topography of the hill.

Started with a box mass of 20,000 square feet and a ceiling height of 24 feet.

Created a courtyard in the front of the mass while reducing overall foot print on the landscape.

Decreased cieling hieght to allow for second level green roof opportunity.

Split building in center in response to the curvature of the topography and created main entrance.

Rotated building to follow topography which allowed for more sunlight on SW facade.

Moved building into hill to allow for better views of the sludge lagoons.

Exhibition (bottom)

Mixed Reality Lab (top)

Showcases information and models of site in interactive ways

The lab allows park goers to experience and learn about elements of the site that are otherwise innacessible

StratAA

Architecture Archive

The publication name, StratAA, is derived from stratum, a layer or series of layers of rock in the ground. The culmination of student work is a layering of knowledge, time, and labor. In order to progress our collective knowledge base we must acknowledge where we came from and learn from the archives stored in this publication. StratAA was originally formed by three undergraduate students in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic. Classes were instructed digitally, public gatherings were canceled, and a great distance formed between students. It was made clear that the value of sharing architectural works with peer through reviews was lessened by an online method of delivery. From this loss the architectural student archive was created, hoping to distribute and share a collection of student work that deserves to be seen

StratAA aims to disseminate/archive studio work in a cohesive publication highlighting the diverse talent across architectural courses, culminating in a physical and digital publication showcasing each individual project submitted. This collection serves as physical evidence of the labor and effort ontributed by all students in the Department of Architecture in their studies. All work within the publication was submitted on a volunteer basis. As the final members of the original publication team graduated, Mae Murphy and Cameron Wahlberg, a new team took on the challenge and adventure of Layer 2. The editorial team hopes this publication serves as an opportunity to highlight the expansive array of compelling student work that investigates and questions the world we live in.

2020-2021: Layer 1

2021-2022: Layer 2

StratAA Publication Team

STRATAA

FRONT COVER

Participated in initial design collaboration and spread design. Assisted with student work collection and finalization of publication. Worked in conjunction with several officers responsible for recognizing StratAA as an official student organization at Iowa State University.

Publication produced by Mae Murphy, Cameron Wahlberg, Jacob Gasper. Photography by Mircea Nastase and Gabriella Saholt, edited by Cameron Wahlberg.

Layer 1

Layer 2

Mircea Nastase

he/him/his linkedin.com/in/mircea-nastase

Mircea Nastase

mirceanastase11@gmail.com (515) 350-5760

Iowa State University: Bachelors of Architecture

Digital Media Minor

GPA: 3.86/4.0

Graduation: May 2024

ASK Studio: Architectural Intern

Worked alongside founding principal on design development for varying scale projects, including schematic design for a homeless shelter and marketing for an office building alongside full schematic and construction documentation for a Home Inc. affordable house. Design development for an IFA apartment building.

Pizza Ranch: Cook and POS

Handled, stored, and served food under Ecosure safety protocols and handled phone directory and cashier transactions.

StratAA: Student Work Archive/Publication

Officer assisting with the financial operations regarding publication purchasing and selling. Participating in design collaboration of publication.

DATUM: Student Architecture Journal

Current Secretary participating in group discourse exploring concepts within architectue and design

BUILD: Multicultural Mentor

Anna M. Aversing Assoc. AIA

Associate Professor of Practice

Iowa State University

Email: aversing@iastate.edu

Brent Schipper AIA, LEED AP, IIDA

Principal | ASK Studio, Des Moines

Email: bschipper@askstudio.com

Bosuk Hur

Design Principal | folio, South Korea

Associate Professor of Practice

Iowa State University

Email: bhur@iastate.edu

Mentoring first year multicultural students and helping them explore and navigate various art disciplines.

Recognitions

Iowa State Dean’s List DLR Group Competition Finalist

AIA Iowa Emerging Professionals Competition 3rd Place Wells Concrete Competition Finalist