Portfolio
Nico Forlenza
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Design professional with backgrounds in architecture and interiors in both the residential and commercial realms who excels at evaluating and translating schematic concepts into realized architectural work Values design where even the smallest of details relates back to the overall vision of the work Looking to continue a career in place making, where design is driven by not only a project’s location, but more importantly the people who it is intended for
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Contents
Residential 3521 Cornell
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Sulphur springs ranch
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Commercial Lifeway
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222 2nd ave
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fifth & broadway
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Residential My residential experience was heavily inluenced by the observations in Christopher Alexander’s “A Pattern Language” which outlines and describes a number of “patterns” which when followed will ensure the creation of desirable space. These patterns are a number of both macro and micro design principles that are not limited to just the residential realm. They can be used in city planning, to large scale architectural applications all the way down to the design of a home. The principals stressed that we were not just creating homes, but weaving a tapestry of Alexander’s outlined patterns that when combined, created beautiful, desirable spaces.
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commonly used patterns 106 107 109 114 120 124 127 129 133 134 135 159 168 176 190 197 203 252
positive outdoor space wings of light long thin house hierarchy of open space paths and goals activity pockets intimacy gradient common areas at the heart staircase as a stage zen view tapestry of light and dark light on two sides connection to the earth garden seat ceiling height variety thick walls child cave pools of light
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In short, no pattern is an isolated entity. Each pattern can exist in the world only to the extent that is supported by other patterns: the larger patterns in which it is embedded, the patterns of the same size that surround it, and the smaller patterns which are embedded in it.
” Christopher Alexander (1977). “A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction”, p.13, Oxford University Press
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3521 cornell ave Highland Park, Texas
designing a modern home to fit within the mold of an upscale neighborhood defined by its traditional, timeless charm The town of Highland Park is a small, self-governed neighborhood that sits a couple miles outside of downtown Dallas that is complete with its own laws, schools, and city hall. It sits as an idealized example of what the perfect town ought to be with beautiful canopies of trees shading perfectly kept streets lined with just as perfect, classically designed homes. The challenge given to us was to create a home that felt modern and fresh yet encompassed the traditional feel of the neighborhood. The goal was to ind a sweet spot between the warmth of the surrounding beautiful classical homes around it while incorporating the clean lines and materiality that deine a modern house.
(right) street view of the front elevation
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KITCHEN
DINING
PANTRY
GREAT ROOM MUD
POWDER
ENTRY PORCH
LOGGIA
ENTRY
POOL/GUEST BATH
GUEST/ REAR STUDY STUDY
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
BATH 1
BATH 2
CLOSET 1 BEDROOM 2 MEDIA ROOM
BEDROOM 1
CLOSET 2
EXERCISE/PLAYROOM
STORAGE LANDING MASTER BATH
LAUNDRY MASTER CLOSET
MASTER BED
SECOND FLOOR PLAN a modern floor plan and unique elevation The loor plan is organized to create a clean low through the spaces while trying to capture light on two sides of as many rooms as possible. It utilizes an open loorplan that is prominent in many homes today while also attempting to create some more intimate programmatic experiences within it. The home is centered around a side courtyard with a pool which can be viewed from various angle on both the irst and second loors.
The West elevation of the home is unique in that it opens up to a public park next to it. This means that the side elevation of the home will be viewed straight on at times as opposed to being mostly hidden by a neighboring home. This makes it vital that the West elevation is visually organized and appealing.
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west elevation viewed from the neighboring park
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(above) view of entry stair from study
bringing the modern palette indoors
Many of the clean lines and materiality of the exterior styling was brought into the interior spaces to create a seamless integration of the interior and exterior of the home. The main culmination of this can be seen in the entry stair which wraps around a dark, roman brick wall that appears to by loating and accentuated by various, thin steel details. These details speak back to the numerous thin steel details accentuating the exterior facade.
(above) view from the rear study looking north across the courtyard (below) view from the kitchen out over the living space
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Sulphur Springs Ranch Sulphur Springs, Texas
creating a brand new home to appear as though it’s been there for 100 years while taking advantage of expansive views Nestled away on a family ranch property in East Texas laid a patch of land on the north end of a small lake where a new home was to be built. The property had been occupied by the family for generations with various decades-old structures scattered around it. The goal for the design of the new residence was to take advantage of the expansive lake views while also making the brand new house appear as though it had been there since the other structures were erected.
(RIGHT) rear elevation of the home viewed from the lake
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expansive lake views
The house was oriented to maximize its exposure along the lake while creating enough shade on the South and West elevations to help keep the interior of the house cool during the harsh Texas summers. The clients were also grandparents with two children, each with their own families. The house was laid out to not only provide a luxurious master suite with spacious views out to the lake, but also two separate guest wings at either end of the home for each respective child and their families
(left) first floor plan
BEDROOM 2
BATH 2
BATH 1 GARAGE
BEDROOM 1 SIDE ENTRY
ENTRY
PATIO
LANDING
OFFICE
GREAT ROOM
KITCHEN LAUNDRY BEDROOM 3 LOGGIA BATH 3 MASTER CLOSET
EATING
BATH 4
MASTER BATH BEDROOM 4 MASTER BEDROOM
FIRST FLOOR PLAN 21
(above) two different views showing how the back of the home opens out to the lake
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creating a narrative of the passage time
To make the home feel like it had stood there for a long time a narrative was created to design the home around. The main, central massing is a very traditional singular massing made of locally-sourced, rubble stone. The stone grounds the home to the land it sits on and by wrapping the stone into the interior spaces of that mass, gives the rooms a reined-aging feel. The stand-alone chimney directly outside this mass in the rear porch was treated similarly as though it were an old outside ireplace that was later-on built around. The other wings of the home are clad with either a more modern, smooth-cut limestone or cedar siding with lower-sloping standing seam roofs to make them look like later additions to the original rough stone massing. Treating these masses differently gives the home a chronology that tells the story of the passage of time.
(left) front elevation of the home
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lifeway corporate headquarters Nashville, Tennessee
THE DICHOTOMY OF HISTORIC ROOTS AND A GROWING “IT” CITY
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THE SITE AND THE INSTITUTION Nashville has earned every bit of its recently donned nickname “the it city�. With over one hundred people moving to town each day and upward of forty cranes visible from downtown at any point in time, the city is booming with what seems to be a brand new, glass-adorned, shiny building around every corner.
The challenge for the design became how to create a modern, corporate ofice building that found a balance between the shiny high-rise ofices sprouting up all around downtown and a 110 year old automobile factory that it would be situated next to. Added to that complexity was the dificulty of creating a building that boasted the image and success of a company whose valLifeWay is a Christian publishing company ues are centered around humility and service to that expanded from its humble roots as a local others. Nashville publisher one hundred twenty ive years ago to an international corporation that serves in over one hundred nations at any point in time. After selling its old campus, which was a staple in downtown for over a century, LifeWay was moving to a new development on the edge of the city. Its new home would be adjacent to a block of brick warehouse buildings ingrained with their own hundred year histories.
(above) the marathon motor factory; a one hundred and ten year old factory that has been converted into a music and event venue located next to the site. (Below) an image of a book wall incorporated into the final LifeWay office space which includes the first book they printed back in the late 1800’s.
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DEPTH, TEXTURE, AND RHYTHM
The irst step in the faรงade development was to create a framework that visually tied into the surrounding warehouse buildings. A simple, limited palette of deep red, wire cut, hand-laid and thin brick and a dark aluminum composite panels speak back to the industrial feel of the neighborhood. Combined with that was the use of a rigid rhythm of openings and piers which was a prominent feature in the factory aesthetic. To introduce the feel of a modern ofice building, a curtain wall system was incorporated that took advantage of a hierarchy of mullion cap extensions of various lengths. These extensions not only gave the curtain wall a visual depth that played well off the brick, but when projected out past the brick, gave an additional layer of richness to the building by casting a dynamic layer of shadow over the faรงade.
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1’ - 0 1/2”
4
APPLIED FIREPROOFING
E.O.S. 1’ - 8 1/2”
R19 BATT INSULATION 2” MINERAL WOOL 6” CFMF 1/2” BLOCKING EXTERIOR JOINT SEALANT AND BACKER ROD FLOOR SLAB BEYOND
1’ - 7”
1’ - 4 1/2”
B
SHEET FLASHING (LAP PRECAST 1” MIN.) SELF-ADHERED SHEET WATERPROOFING MEMBRANE EXTERIOR JOINT SEALANT AND BACKER ROD MULLION CAP EXTENSION 1’ - 8”
8”
1’ - 8”
PRECAST ARCHITECTURAL CONCRETE WITH THIN BRICK INLAY
TYPICAL TOWER PRECAST JAMB
(Above) This detail illustrates how both the mullion cap extensions and brick reveal were achieved. What is critical to note is how a continuous thermal barrier was held across the whole façade, despite transitioning from the brick, to glass, to metal panel. (Right) Close-up shot of the elevation showing the whole pallet of materials and systems for the facade. This image also gives a good sense of the depth created by the mullion cap extensions.
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(Above) The two images depict the rhythm and texture of the building exterior viewed from various elevations. These elevations illustrate how modern, metal elements were combined with the brick piers to create a building that played off aesthetics of both warehouse and corporate architecture.
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On the west elevation near the visitor garage entrance, a painted brick mural was added. This not only created an additional branding element, but further weaved the building into the fabric of the neighborhood rich with similar, striking, painted murals. (above) a collage of other painted masonry murals in the neighborhood. (left) The LifeWay mural created a striking, visual element on an otherwise boring facade. The artwork also brings your eye up, away from the transformers that had to be placed there
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INTEGRATION OF THE HISTORIC FABRIC LifeWay had curated its own vault of artifacts over their 125 year history, some elements of which they wanted to include in their new lobby space. The centerpiece of this collection was a series of 20’ tall stained glass windows nearly a century old that depicted stories which relected the company’s core values The design problem with displaying these became a similar one to exterior: how to showcase these very traditional, historic pieces in a modern way which called attention to them while tying them in to the character of the space.
The solution was to hang the stained glass pieces in custom steel frames turned 90° from the windows in the same rhythm as the exterior openings. This would allow the stained glass to protrude slightly into the two story lobby volume without being too obtrusive while casting a beautiful, color-illed light onto the space in the morning sun.
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(Above) This was a rendering I developed with guidance from the interiors team to illustrate the concept for the stained glass in the lobby. This image immediately made the clients fall in love with the idea and move forward with it. (left) post construction shot of the lobby from the same angle
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sobro tower 222 Nashville, Tennessee
THE interpretation of sound through architecture
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A CITY’S CHARACTER AND MOST PROMINENT PARKING GARAGE The most exciting aspect of getting to work on Sobro Tower 222 was its prominence in downtown and in the skyline. Located in plain view from the riverfront, across from a new outdoor music venue that sees over one hundred ifty thousand visitors a year, and two blocks off Broadway, which hosts over ten million annually of its own, this building is right in the public’s eye. It was important from a design standpoint for a building of this impact to relect the identity of the city it stood in.
twelve-story vinyl record rain screen. The challenge for the tower became how to clad twelve lower level stories of parking garage on the most prominent strip of buildings in Nashville in a way the harkened back to the theme of music without being overtly blatant. Added to the dificulty of that was doing it using a two-toned rain screen system approved by the developer which also abided by the necessary code mandates for garage ventilation.
Most people could tell you that Nashville is also known as Music City. When a city has such a strong identity tied to it, especially one like music, it is easy even in architectural design to get caught up in a lot of kitschy one-offs and exterior features like giant guitar shapes or a
(Right) Rendering I created showing the view of the building from the new amphitheatre seating
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(Above) Close-up photo of the execution of the facade. Notice how the maximum amount of shear between perceived bands was used to try to emphasize the distinction between them
THE ABSTRACT REPRESENTATION OF SOUND The inal design of the garage was based around how sound waves control particles as they propagate through space. Depending on where in the curve of the wave, the particles expand or contract in moments of either compression or rarefaction respectively. When these reactions of particle movement are drawn out, they created interesting patterns of form and void. In terms of the garage rain screen, a solid white panel was used to represent the form, while a perforated dark gray panel the void, which doubled as the necessary openings for garage ventilation.
VARIOUS SOUND WAVE PATTERNS
COMPRESSION
RAREFACTION
DIRECTION OF PROPAGATION PARTICLE VELOCITY ACOUSTIC PRESSURE
AMPLITUDE WAVELENGTH
BREAKDOWN OF A SOUND WAVE
(ABOVE) Diagrams illustrating the movement of particles propagated through space as a result of sound waves. This ultimately became the concept around which the garage cladding was based 47
(Above and Left) Renderings created personally to test and illustrate the various potential cladding layouts. These images were also used for marketing and MDHA approval of the garage.
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BRICK 2 BRICK 1
L
1/3 L 1/3 L 1/3 L VERTICAL 1/3 RUNNING BOND BRICK REPEATABLE PATTERN
SMALLER SCALE, SIMILAR SITUATION Cladding the two garage entrances posed a similar issue to the one of the rain screen above: how to do it in a way that called attention to itself without being obnoxious. Given 2 different color ways of brick to use, the challenge was how to create a repeatable pattern of brick that could be replicated by the masons while vaguely calling back to the musical theme of the garage. The end result is a pattern which takes its inspiration from the bars of an equalizer rising and falling.
(Right) Close up photo of one of the garage entries displaying the full effect of the final pattern
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full shot of the garage entry directly across the street from the amphitheater entry
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fifth + Broadway Nashville, Tennessee
the importance of communication Communication is key. Especially when embarking on building a contemporary residential tower, Class-A ofice tower, 235,000 square feet of walkable shops and rooftop restaurants, a renovated conference center, the upcoming National Museum of African American Music and world-class entertainment offerings. The Fifth and Broadway development will be all that as a downtown destination that will transform the former 6.2 acres of the Nashville Convention Center into a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood of its own. My task on this project was a daunting one: take a project that was $100,000,000 over budget with no working BIM model after SD, start building a new model from the ground up, and create a clear set of color-coded plans that explained the project with all its embedded relationships and programs. This would begin the process of getting the project back
on track and use as a tool to explain the project to future consultants and tenants. After that was complete, it was my task to help the retail architecture team detail and draw the project, speciically the more than 30 areas of circulation while also managing all the exhibits for contracts for the dozens of potential tenants. All this only skims the surface of this testament to teamwork and coordination.
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THE IMMENSE URBAN IMPACT The scope of the project is not only massive, but so is its prominence. As you can see in the panorama above of the site, it is located adjacent to some of the most prominent landmarks in the city: the Ryman Auditorium, the mother church of country music, Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators, and of course Broadway which hosts millions of visitors annually in its world famous honky tonks.
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(right) A conceptual three-dimensional stacked diagram of all the color coordinated plans. This diagram illustrates how the plans represented different programs within the project as slices of the project moving upward in elevation of the development
NES VAULT OPEN TO BELOW
BIKE ROOM
DOWN TO B1
UP TO 5TH
OFFICE SLAB @ (+20)
FSAE
STOR.
ELEV MACH.
OPEN TO ABOVE
UP TO OFF 04
DOWN TO 5TH
RETAIL STORAGE
R S
1,188 SF
E
RETAIL C-107
RETAIL C-105
RETAIL C-104
RETAIL C-103
RETAIL C-102
RETAIL C-100
4,339 SF
2,050 SF
2,112 SF
2,661 SF
2,305 SF
3,480 SF
OPEN TO ABOVE AND BELOW
RETAIL CIRCULATION 6,557 SF UP FROM B1
S
S
DN TO B1
DN FROM 02
OPEN TO BELOW
OPEN TO ABOVE
LEASING
P
P
RETAIL C-102.5
RETAIL C-101
1,000 SF
1,059 SF
UP TO 02
1,916 SF
OPEN TO BELOW
27'
27'
46'
26' 35'
24'
30'
31'
45'
36'
CONFERENCE
92'
BOH OFFICE - BOH
85'
ELEC. RISER
854 SF
BUSWAY RISER ROOM
65' TELE
SECURITY
F&B B-101 8,194 SF
OFFICE CIRCULATION
86'
OPEN TO BELOW F&B A-106
RETAIL A-110
RETAIL A-109
RETAIL A-110
4,972 SF
3,802 SF
4,759 SF
9,773 SF
PARKING
3 LEVELS AND ROOFTOP TOTAL GLA 11,221 SF
RESIDENTIAL LOBBY
RESIDENTIAL
RETAIL B-104
1,059 SF
RESIDENTIAL CIRCULATION RETAIL BOH
28'
RETAIL STORAGE
293 SF
OPEN TO MUSEUM BELOW
935 SF
RETAIL CIRCULATION 3,309 SF
P
31'
P
OPEN TO ABOVE
F&B B-103
18'
3,011 SF RETAIL BOH
RETAIL A-105
21'
20' 20'
694 SF
20'
F RETAIL B-105
P
RETAIL A-104.5 RETAIL A-102
639 SF
RETAIL A-104 1,075 SF
2 LEVELS TOTAL GLA 16,411 SF
245 SF F&B A-000
806 SF
RETAIL - F&B
7,539 SF
3 LEVELS TOTAL GLA 27,115 SF
2 LEVELS AND ROOFTOP TOTAL GLA 12,122 SF
RETAIL B-106 F&B A-103
25'
DOWN TO B1
DOWN TO B1
UP TO BROADWAY
RETAIL B-105.5
RETAIL BOH
1,070 SF
10,816 SF
F&B B-100 5,335 SF
RETAIL - BOH RETAIL CIRCULATION
S
1,011 SF
1,776 SF
RETAIL
RETAIL - LEASING RETAIL - OUTDOOR DINING TERRACE
43'
2,374 SF
RETAIL PARKING ENTRY
603 SF
RETAIL - STORAGE
20'
F&B B-107
RESI PARKING ENTRY TRUCK EXIT
VERTICAL SHAFT RETAIL A-102 @ (+8)
LEVEL 01 PLAN (above) An example of one of the plans
simplifying and graphically representing a very complex program One of my initial tasks in this project was creating a set of color-coordinated plans which tried to explain in the simplest manner possible, all of the programmatic areas and adjacencies of the project. These were key in determining the boundaries between the retail, residential, and ofice portions of the project as well as deining the gray areas in between. These plans became the primary tool to explain the project to outside consultants and committees and was crucial to the success and progression of the design. They were also integral to explaining to potential tenants their presence in the project and gave the developers a dynamic, living document in which many tables where tied, that calculated gross area and GLA at any given moment.
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aerial view of the retail potion of the development
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(above) An example of one of the many leasing outline documents dimensioning the shell of the space, it’s proximity to egress and service corridors, as well as it’s relative location within the development
creating documents that both sell and explain tenant spaces Another very important coordination tool I oversaw were LOD’s: leasing outline documents. LOD’s were arguably the most important drawings in the project because they were used to negotiate and inalize all of the tenant contracts which inanced a great deal of the development. These documents were created for every individual tenant in the project and consisted of an overall plan showing their location in the development and a zoomed-in plan outlining the dimensions of their footprint, inish loor elevation, proximity to service corridors and exits, and called out special entrance or grade change requirements. These documents were constantly in lux as the developer talked to tenants and would request quick turnarounds of updated documents within the day in most cases.
(right) renderings of some of the retail portions of the development used in conjunction with the lod’s to attract potential tenants
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Integrating the Character of the city The main areas I was tasked with developing and documenting in the project were the circulation cores, the most prominent of which was an exterior entry that carried people from the internal street, up into the various levels of retail and food and dining. I worked closely with our signage and graphics team to incorporate their theme of “reined grit� for the project into the materiality of this circulation core as well as the 90’ graphic wall that would dominate the space.
(left) A branding identity cloud created by the graphics team to describe the development and aid them in focusing their work. (above) Images that correlated with the branding identity. The top image is of the shelves in the Hatch Print Shop. This shop has been in Nashville for over 100 years and has created numerous iconic images in the city. The shelves hold thousands of hand carved stamps used on their prints and is a piece of art on its own. It was these shelves that I wanted the design of the graphic wall to be based around which the graphics team took and ran with.
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1’ - 6”
9’ - 6”
1.5”
8’ - 6”
2”
PLACEHOLDER WALL FINISH (FINAL FINISH FOR GRAPHIC WALL TBD)
GLASS BALUSTRADE
NOSE OF STEP SEALANT AND BACKER ROD FLASHING
STAINLESS STEEL INNER STEP
CUSTOM STAINLESS STEEL OUTER DECK
DARKENED STAINLESS STEEL OUTER STEP
METAL PANEL MOISTURE BARRIER 5/8” GYP SHEATHING HAT CHANNEL
FLASHING STEEL TUBE
METAL PANEL 1.5” RIGID INSULATION MOISTURE BARRIER 2 LAYERS 5/8” GYP SHEATHING
FLASHING STEEL TUBE
ESCALATOR AND STAIR CROSS SECTION (Above) Section detail of the adjacent stairs and escalators in the exterior retail circulation core. (left) Final design concept images created by the graphics team to show how their graphic wall fit in the space. The design of the wall took the idea of the stamps on the shelves from the image on the last page, and rotated them so the characters on the stamps were showing. Also visible in these images are the elevator shaft and stairs clad in metal opposite the graphic wall. The metal contrasts the warmth of the wall, and adds to the idea of “refined grit”.
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