Architecture Portfolio 2021 by Mohamad Younis by Mohamad Younis

MOHAMAD ALAMIN YOUNIS ARCHITECT

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO 2021

MOHAMAD ALAMIN YOUNIS ARCHITECT

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO 2021

In Memory of Prof.Jamal Abed, Dean of Faculty of Architecture.

Portfolio 2020 By Mohamad Alamin Younis (46 pages) (Cover and end page are not inclusive in page numbering)

Bachelor of Architecture Total of 183 Credits Faculty of ARCHIDES AZM University Issued first in November 2020 Best 5 Academic Projects Some visuals could be found on my Instagram @Archi.Collage

[FIGURE 1]:

Generative Strategy diagram, MAK House, drawn during my internship at Built by Associative Data (BAD Architects).

PREFACE

Profile and Methodology Besides not being fully understood, time is of the essence. As a child, I remember being a problem-solver without me knowing what it really means. The only thing I remember was that I invested so much time to finish whatever I had passion for. I remember going through all of the manual to build my first T-Rex Dinosaur from legos. Only by reading and reading again that I was able to reach meticulous features such as the small head, toothless beak, shorter front legs, longer back legs, stiff tail, the spikes on its back, and sharp nails: A road to details. Developing my reading skills for a faster understanding of any given problem is what I believe has most improved over the last 5 years of study. Mastering the tools of architectural communication - be it via technical or artistic visualizations - has given me the opportunity to respond to needs of illustrating the generative strategy in the context of interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary projects. The use of collages is and will always be my favorite medium of communication with the viewer. At times, a balance between artistic and technical illustrations should be maintained. I learned that it is essential in some areas of the project to unite all disciplines into one decisive “illustration” to merge them together. Another area of improvement, besides the significant urge to narrate a comprehensive storyline using collages, is testing and prototyping using physical and digital models. I learn by trying, and by trying I strengthen my design statement in order to validate my proposal. Overall, these years at the faculty of ARCHIDES have put me under the pressure of working to multiple scales, especially the scale of the city. I must say that working on such scales taught me how to work on a range of projects and dive into urban studies very early. My latest interest - that of my Bachelor thesis - is directed towards the intersection between urban design strategies and problems of Waste Management in the context of providing better sustainable living for the generations to come. Architecture is a story... When I work, I work to show. There is nothing against captivating the viewer with the power of art while he reads “through” the project’s present and potential opportunities. This is why I stress so much on my illustrations. My drawings are not any drawings; they carry a message, and belong to a specific time, if not chosen. For each project, I like to adopt the appropriate architecture style to highlight any relevant artistic or architectural grounds. “Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.” – Frank Gehry

Mohamad A. Younis

- Mohamad Alamin Younis Architect

ACADEMIC

CV.

(1999-2015) Baccalauréat Français (Scientifique) - Graduated from Lycée Français de Koweït (High School Degree specialized in Science) (2015-2020) Bachelor of Architecture - AZM University - Faculty of ARCHIDES (Department of Architecture and Design)

AWARDS First Prize + Publication: Sustainable Architecture Competition by Archiol (Bachelor Thesis Project) Organized by Archiol, the competition wanted to write about a visionary project about the future of sustaibale architecture.

- BASIC INFO Nationality: Lebanese

International Architecture Drawing Competititon by Archue (TOP 30) My proposal was mentioned succeeding the top 15 Finalist on Archue Instagram Page (visit @Archue_).

Date of Birth: 7/7/1997 Birth Place: Kuwait Residence Place: Tripoli, Lebanon

2nd International Architecture Drawing Competititon by Archue Awaiting Results on July 18 2021.

Final GPA: 3.46 / 4

- LANGUAGES Arabic

(Native)

English Fluent French

Fluent

German B1->B2 Spanish A1

- CONTACT Tel: 00-961-76745111

Archiol’s 2021 Render Challenge Competition Awaiting Results on June 5 2021. Competition Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat Competition (CTBUH) proposal in 2018. Although our proposal did not make to honorable mention, our project posses a unique vision for future skyscrapers. AUF Business Competition hosted by Berythec (Lebanon). Business Proposal was won 1rst Place by representing the University, but did not make it to the regional level.

Mohamedxyounes@gmail.com Instagram: @Archi.Collage

SOFTWARES USED

Behance: Mohamad Younis ISSUU: Mohamad Younis

Drafting (2d) and Modelling (3d) : AutoCad, Revit, Rhinoceros & Grasshopper, and Sketchup Pro. Rendering Engines: Vray, Enscape, Lumion, and Keyshot. Final Presentation/ Media: Prezi, Microsoft Offices, and Adobe (Indesign, illustartor, Photoshop, Premiere Pro).

EXPERIENCE (2019-2021) Architectural Designer at ARCO Group 2 years of experience as a freelancer at the architecture firm, where I worked on diverse projects including Residential, Retail, and Experimental projects. My role was mainly to design, draw architectural + all MEP plans, and finally to render projects from A to Z. (2019) Intership at Palmyra Engineering Consultants, Kuwait (5 weeks). Worked on 7 residentials projects. (2018) Internship at Nabil Gholam Architects, Beirut (6 Weeks): Worked on 4 Residential Projects (Schematic plans, Execution drawing, Beirut design week proposal, and preparing the final plan for the client). (2018) Internship at Built by Associative Data / BAD Architects, Beirut (6 Weeks): Worked on diagramming the generative strategies of both MAK House and EuroFind comerical projects. (2016-2017) University Required Internship (3+3 Months): Internship report. Architecture materials and usage. Observing and understanding the skill. Second internship was about surveying building construction. Internship report. Studying building construction sites. Understading how building technology works in the local market (technical knowledge). (2016) ProBono Works / Community Service (2 Months) : Available report. Helping the community by assissting to the various proposed renovation strategies in Tabanneh and town planning. (2017) Designing an office building proposal for Tripoli’s Order of Physicians (LOPT) + Residential Tower for M1 Group company owner Mr. Jamal Ramadan (Real Clients): The proposals were based on an early meeting with both these entities, which was at the time an early exercise during architeture studies. (2016-2018) Lecture Series + 4 Workshops (3 weeks days) : Attended a Series of 4 lectures under the theme: “Creative Processes.”by Marwan Basmaji, Maxime Julian, Karim Nader, Nadim Karam, Celia Arbeed, & Iyad Kanaan. Also lecture by Juan Palomar and workshop (Luiz Baragan Architect). Moreover, we had a worshop from “Train-Train” NGo about understaning train station design. Other 2 workshops were “Reviving Tripoli’s Historical City”. Design proposals which aim to improve the quality living and solve the question of traffic, and Beirut Urban Charette. We had to revitalize Beirut Digital District in the town of Bachoura. The workshop was devided into site visit, lectures, design, and coming with a proposal. (2019) Venice Biennale : Design proposal. This year’s biennale was about the following topic: “How will we live together?” Our proposal tackled the expression of digital platforms as a space. 06

[FIGURE 2]: Map showing Tripoli (Lebanon), where the train station is emphasized in red in order to showcase how -historically speaking- the city h connected the North with the South and Turkey with Syria.

0- About Mohamad Alamin Younis /Curriculum Vitae 1- Thesis Project Design Research + History + Urban Planning Strategies + Sustainability 340,000 m2

2- Between History and Memory History + Architectural Expression 39,000 m2

3- CTBUH Competition Sustainability + Design Idea 60,000 m2

4- Office Building Design: Lebanese Order of Physicians Client Challenge + Parametric Design 450 m2

5- The Fall of Wall House 2 History + Design Intervention 6,000 m2

CONTENTS

5 SELECTED WORKS 2015 - 2020 + PROFESSIONAL WORK

had a vein that

01. Thesis Project - 1rst Prize Towards the Metamorphosis of the Landfill: Transforming Tripoli’s Polluting Backyard into a Life Engineered Momentum

[FIGURE 3]: Most cities around the globe follow a linear model in their operation: a flow of input/supply- be it energy, water, people, food, vehicles, and material - is processed and consumed resulting into an output flow of sewage, garbage, waste, and pollution. Such an unsustainable operation necessitates that every city designates a “backyard” to dispose of its output on a site that is out of its sight! The city of Tripoli is of no exception. Located at the delta of the polluted city river, this backyard is composed of a 60,000 m2 garbage landfill with a volume of 3,000,000 m3, a centralized sewage treatment plant, a wholesale vegetable market, and a municipal slaughterhouse.

**COLLAGE TOP 30 @Archue_ for the International Drawing Competition

[FIGURE 4]: Collage showing the vision for the dump’s transformation into a green space. As the metamorphosis of waste disposal and flow systems takes 7 years to happen at the waterfront, the design is missioned to anchor people in nature where human meets the machine.

[FIGURE 5]: Drawings showing the evolution of soil condition through modifications in the soil engineering. These main 4 steps lead to a ground where the vegetation could actually grow which also has the capacity to seal any leakage of leachate and biogas release.

[FIGURE 6]: Exploded diagram showing all the layers of the project’s evolution on a span of 7 years. On the urban level we could see changes in the width of the river and construction/removal of the dump. Then we witness how the proposed program sits according to the existing sorting plant. Last, the visitor center comes and stretches its path along the project reaching to the Mediterranean Sea passing by the slow growing park, and connecting all floors of the program.

[FIGURE 7]: In order to remove the saturated dump, sort, process and dispose the incoming waste, we need to use many facilities to improve the efficiency of the waste management. Amongst many other facilities, those who occupy the most most of spaces are: Anaerobic Digestors, recycling plant, brick manufacturing plant, LFG treatment plant, powercranes, power plant, vertical farming, composting plant, smoke exhaust, filters, water tanks, waste pit, research center, awareness center, and visitor center.

[FIGURE 8]: Drawing showing the main regulatory lines that the masses must follow. One of which is the Abou Ali river: the closer to the river, the smaller the heights.

[FIGURE 9]: Collage showing how Tripoli’s landfill looks like after the saturated dump is removed. A potential park and stage are the immediate spaces that come to mind.

[FIGURE 10]: Collage showing the “Environmental Alarming Device” in action. During these 7 years of waste removal, people are exposed sceneries where steam is released by the tensile trucks and sails which fill with air like a balloon. To commemorate this event, the walls of the dump are kept intact and could be reused.

Compacted Waste is

made of horizontal lines

and Vertical lines.

[FIGURE 11]: Exploded physical model revealing all the project’s layers in addition to code colors of the different actors contributing in the f interventions. The model is made of wood, red plexiglass and cardboard (2,44m x1.22m).

When we twist them like garbage

and free the mass

we get the final material.

formation of the project. The visitor center’s path is highlighted in red, while the red elements on the right are minimal urban

[FIGURE 12]: Blueprint showing the project’s plan. We could see the entrances, the functional distribution, the facilities used, the circula and the green park.

ation system, the flow of cars, the public’s access, the façade’s architectural expression, natural elements, parking lot,

[FIGURE 13]: Section (A-A) showing the inside of the project. The project is made of 4 interconnected floors that overlook the inside machinery. systems used are a double layer of steel trusses that are pinned on vertical steel columns. The visitor center’s path guides people green spaces, and seating areas as well as service areas. The path is made of glass all along the edges to allow people visualize th last overlooks the city and becomes by itself an important anchor for people wanting to walk distances on an inclined floor.

In order to free the circulation and facilitate access for trucks and people, the structure is designed with big spans. The structural throughout the project by revealing bit by bit the different activities inside and outside the path. Some relevant inside features are he views inside and outside the project. On top of the project lies the upper part of this path, which is the roof promenade. This

LEGEND: 0. Steel Column 1. Steel Braces 2. Foundation 3. Pickup Truck

4. Double Rigid Insulation 5. Wooden Deck 6. Double Glazing Window 7. Tree/ Path Garden

8. Insulation 9. Primary Trusses 10. HVAC Duct 11. Secondary Trusses 12. Perforated Roof Structure

13. Rooftop Promenade 14. Roof Drainage 15. Maintenace Stairs 16. Recycled Steel Panels 17. Facade Structure

13 11

14 10

9 16

15 7

[FIGURE 14]: Blueprint showing a detailed section (B-B) of the façade system. The façade system is made of a triple layer: the actual façade made of recycled perforated metallic panels, the inner curtain wall, and the space of the inner path which is separated from the inside hall by another curtain wall system. Special details are the sloped roof promenade and the maintenance door leading to last floor.

[FIGURE 15]: Façade details shown on plan in relation to its rendering image. The zigzags seen on the plan are the reflection of the decay and compaction that occur in the waste management sector in order to minimize the disposal space and to increase efficiency of work. The scale of each unit is gigantic, each bend spans 2 to 3 meter long which gives power to the façade and project.

02. Between History and Memory Tripoli Train Station: Succeeding Incarnations

[FIGURE 16]: Collage narrating the collective memory of the people I interviewed: “Technological Advancement, Power, Sound, and Crowdedness”. Because of the clash between the collective memory and the current image of the abandoned train station, memory and history have been brought together but never allow to interfere in each other. Such duality could only be expressed by restoring the MACHINE, in other words, restoring the utilitarian value of the site. Since it is impossible to restore the utilitarian value in the literal way, I saw that by restoring the old train rails I could bring back the mechanism of the machine.

[FIGURE 17]: Diagrams showing how the vision of the project is directed towards following the historic rail (rail gauge) as a rationale for potential urban interventions.

1200 m

900 m

600 m

300 m

600 m

900 m

[FIGURE 18]: Generative Strategy displaying how the rail gauge has become the main regulator for the site, stretching from the Bourj Al-Sibaa till the Northern leftovers of the station. All rails die at Bourj, while on the opposite end, they fload and diverge to many sub-railsa cross the station.

[FIGURE 19]: When intersecting the rails with their orthogonal lines, a matrix is formed. This matrix has the potential to give birth to many design iterations and determine form, function, and location.

[FIGURE 20]: Physical model presenting the abstract proposal of how the rail gauge has evolved to become a matrix on its own, therefore shaping the project’s urban fabric based on the existing elements.

[FIGURE 21]: Ariel Perspective showing the East side of the project in its context and how dynamic it has become due to the diversity of spaces

and the presence of natural features such as gardens and terraces.

LEGEND: 0. Garden 1. Train Carriage Steel Slab 2. Train Wheels 3. Insulation 4. Wooden Deck 20cm x 60 cm 5. Corridor/Walkway

6. Metallic Archs Structures 7. Garden Antrance 8. Courtyard 9. Skylight 10. Double Glazing Window 11. HVAC Duct 12. Train Wind Signage

11 5

7 8 4

3 1

2 0

[FIGURE 22]: Blueprint showing a detailed section through offices, exhibition spaces and corridor throughout nature. The use of train wagonsa as a structure cuts project’s cost and enhances user’s experience. Ironically, the slabs sits on wheels, which are bolted to the ground for structural purposes. People are free to circulate across these wagons which exactly recalls the experience of getting into the train for a departure.

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[FIGURE 23]: Render showing how the architectural expression inside the project resembles the inside of a moving train where spaces and materials are light and carried in nature.

[FIGURE 24]: Longitudinal section showing the leveling and code color of different functions of the project. The more we get closer to Bourj Al-Sibaa, the closer spaces get to the ground, which sets an inferior tone to project as it touches reaches the end of the site.

03. CTBUH Competition Ecological Tower: We could build with Waste Paper (team of 2)

Our tall building concept had to tackle the city of Tripoli, where poor provision of electricity and air cleanliness echoed global health crisis. Garbage stratification is a major health disaster in Lebanon which is expected to persist and affect the citizens more and more in the coming decades. Our Ecological Tower aims at dealing with the biggest of such threats: the saturated garbage dump (located in the left side industrial part of Tripoli near the Mediterranean Sea). Our inspiration came from RECOVER’s photo showing a compacted pile of paper waste in steel straps. The choice of paper as a material is possible because of the availability of paper waste from the garage dump, where 11% of incoming waste is paper waste. Thus, we have decided to pile and compress the paper, (using a compaction machine) after a process that would make it inert (first step of recycling or via a waste washing facility).

Once the material is ready, we have created our own material for building construction which consists of mixing concrete with paper waste, exactly like in the hollow block slab. The material outcome is a modified concrete where paper represents 30% of the whole building mass. The color scheme inside the tower is very serene and gives a spiritual dimension to the atrium. We want to make the inner experience feel a little more like the building is made piece by piece, where the material decays to mark a history of paper stratification that endured 40 years. The special feature about the tower is that its roof possesses a rail system for electric cars. Dwellers could use their car to access their homes in no time. Cars are recharged using the dump’s biogas.

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Render

[FIGURE 25]: Collage showing the both the interior experience in the atrium at night. We could see how the project is made of 2 inner facades, one which is made of paper, and the other from reinfored concrete.

[FIGURE 02]: Render showing the interior space of the “Ecological Tower”. The scene pictures the moment when a dweller uses the electric car to access his home. [FIGURE 26]: After showing the gold/ yellowish texture of paper mixed with concrete, the sustainable potential of the tower isn’t limited to construction, but is also about technology and electrical systems.

04. Office Building Design Lebanese Order of Physicians in Tripoli (LOPT)

[FIGURE 27]: Having the LOPT (Lebanese Order of Physicians of Tripoli) was a real design challenge as the LOPT knew exactly what it wanted. As the workers are numerous and each wants his own view to the outside, the project offers different iterations to the outside by designing a perforated façade in a way that each view is not like the other. The split in the massing is a gesture for the shift to digital work that is kept minimal and floating on ground by the recessed structure and curtain wall.

[FIGURE 28]: These drawings stress on the façade system: the recessed glass at the ground floor makes it floating. They also emphasize the relationship between the columns, the curtain wall, and façade.

[FIGURE 29]: Section showing how the program composition behind the perforated metallic skin.

LEGEND: 1. Technical Slab 2. Steel Support/Joints 3. Tiling 40cm x 40cm 4. Concrete Slab 30cm 5. Beam 6. Metallic Grid 7. False Ceiling Struts 8. HVAC Duct 9. Window Vertical Structure 10. Initial Position of Wall 11. Double Glazing Window 12. Aluminum Fins 13. Isulation 14. Metallic U Beam 15. Screws 16. Facade Structure 17. Lighting Fixture 18. Catwalk 19. Perforated Aluminum Panels 20. Concrete Column 30cm x 70cm

3 2

14 15

4 6 8

9 20

[FIGURE 30]: Blueprint showing a detailed section of the façade. The structural system as well as the facade components are shown. The catwalk is a hidden feature that could be used by users and maintenance people.

[FIGURE 31]: Rendering of the façade in close up. The material of the façade is perforated aluminum panels connected to the slab behind which hides the curtain wall system. The sun casts a game of shade and shadow deep inside the inner spaces.The façade has been generated using Grasshopper script. The script consists of creating those playful perforations all along the façade (40cm x 125cm) in such a way to offer different views. The façade also proposes to add a green layer, where the vegetation grows on the façade using water pipes, plant structures, and an irrigation system. aylight shades and shadows.

05. The Fall of Wall House 2 Designing a Visitor Center

[FIGURE 32]: This design exercise is about studying and understanding modern architecture and modernist architects. The case at hand is Wall House 2 designed by John Hejduk in 2012. Located in the Netherlands, this project as its name says is a wall house, meaning that the whole project is about a wall that is the structure keeping the spaces intact. The notion of time introduced by John Hejduk focuses on the use of the wall as a medium of transition. When we travel through a wall, we feel that we are moving in time, therefore feeling time. This collage shows the generative strategy behind the visitor center. It takes the most important essence of the project which is the wall and creates a continuity that empowers the wall.

[FIGURE 33]: Diagrams showing the display of 8 wall typologies and their corresponding sections. The farthest we get from the wall, the lower the walls get. Between them lies the exhibition spaces. At the end, the project sinks into the ground, meaning that the wall has completely fallen to the ground.

[FIGURE 34]: Physical model of both the Wall House 2 and its visitor center which results on site as falling walls. Like Wall House 2, the spaces of the visitor center are brought close to the walls, therefore mimicking Wall House 2.

phyiscal model [FIGURE 35]: Blueprint showing a detailed section of the inside the visitor center’s space. The wall is inclined and it withholds its equilibrium by having a counter weight facing the wall in the opposite direction (the concrete seatings). Like Wall House 2, the intervention gives people a view whenever passing through it. In addition, the optical illusion the wall is falling at people or to the opposite side is determined by the construction detail at the opening of each wall.

X. PROFESSIONAL WORK ARCO Group 2019 - 2022 Design + Rendering

Project: ARCO Group Location: Kuwait Type: Experimental Date: 2020

Retail: WILD STUFF brand This clothes store is set to be a medium to high luxury store, where buyer come to see the latest feminin clothing. Set in Kuwait, in Avenues Mall, the scene shows how the facade communicates a raw kind of atmosphere, giving importance to nature and simplicity. The nature of the clothing follow the “wild” sense of nature, as seen in the frontal booth, where literally plantation is set to live in the mall.

Project: ARCO Group Location: Kuwait Type: Design Proposal Date: 2020

Dead Corner Rivisalism The client has a home with a corner which he doesn’t proposes to turn this empty corner into a area of location on the periphery of the house. In addition, that the spaces fills with light brigh colors and feel

know what to do with it. The design therefore meeting space and memorial zone, given its the colors used are a palette of yellow so light to the person wanting to visit someone.

Project: ARCO Group Location: Kuwait Type: Experimental Date: 2020

Overnight Restaurant Designed to be open 24/7, the restaurant’s back façade was partially demolished because the potential relationship it could have with the second main street. So instead of keeping a black brick façade, the idea was to renovate the back facade and create new openings that expose the restuarant more to the street, in such a way to become a main façade for the building. To do so, the scafolding were left over, making the back service flow seem unfinished to the public.

Project: ARCO Group Location: Kuwait Type: Design Proposal Date: 2021

A Table for 2: This project re-imagines the private dining area at night, where a couple would come eat and meet. Dedicated for intimancy and privacy, the atmosphere borrows from nature the serene look and feeling of being surrounded by peace. The climbing greenery as well as the grass on grade are set to contrast the black stone floor.

Non-To-Scale Megastructures: Where Man Meets the Machine. This rendering paints the busy moment of workers in a futuristic car repair and fabrication shop. The notion of height a With cars getting bigger and more sophisticated, the need for larger machines is necessary to allow the car manufactu set to confront -in environment where the theory of scales is rapidly changing by the new unit of measurement -the Ma The scene depicts a careful balance between rushing to work and serenity, where on one hand, the workers seem to ac The shipping containers as a material of choice and the adoption of warm colors materials such as recycled metallic p in the dense presence of the mechanical equipment on the ceiling as well as the heavy crowd of people over certain to uncertain and unfinished dimension for the future.

Project: Personal Project Location: (-) Type: Competition Date: 2021

and scale questions the relationship between the depiction of an enormous car factory and its dwellers in space. uring process to remain on point, which initiates the question: How could architecture envision a space, where man is achine? ccomplish a work that seems endless, and on the other hand, they also live in presence of the natural feature all along. panels render the atmosphere familiar to the workers. Another dominant embodiment of the “Machine” could be seen ools and machinery on grade. The ceiling and the curtain wall remain unreached, leaving the question of height an

MOHAMAD A. YOUNIS ARCHITECT

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO 2021