2023 Portfolio

noel - amyr adechoubou

anoel@vt.edu | +1 5713378207 noeladechoubou.com

education

Virginia Tech | Blacksburg - Virginia

Bachelor of Architecture at the Schoolof Architecture + Design

August 2015 - July 2020

College Aupiais | Cotonou - Benin

Scientific baccalaureate

May 2014

Ecofuture Design experience

Freelance Designer

3Dmodelling+renderingdifferentprojects in their conceptual phases.

August 2020 - December 2020

Peia Associati | Milan - Italy

Architectural intern

Drawing details for multiple projects and participatingintheproductionofconstruction documents

3D modelling in Revit and Sketchup Designing and detailing of furniture.

June - August 2017

Riva Residency Program

Riva San Vitale - Switzerland

SemesterlongArchitecturestudyabroad and travel program.

January - May 2019

AIA ArchEx | Richmond, VA Conference participant

ExhibitedandpresentedthePrinceWilliam CountyprojectforanEco-ParkCenteratthe

AIA Virginia's annual conference.

November 2017

24-hrcompetition33rdedition

Honorablemention |projectpublished by IF - Ideas Forward foundation.

May 2020

Virginia Tech Honors College

EnrichmentGrant |mycolleaguesandI were awarded this grant to build a second version of the 'grass sofa' on campus.

August 2019

Digital|Illustrator,Photoshop,Indesign, Lightroom,Sketchup,Autocad,Revit,Rhino, Grasshoper , Enscape, Lumion

Manual | Model making, Sketching, Woodworking,Lasercutting,CNC,Robotics

Language|French(native),English(fluent), Italian (amateur)

recognition skills interests

Photography Travelling Cooking Soccer, Basketball

Urban Sanctuary

thesis abstract

Definitions of sacredness and sacred architecturehavelongbeentiedtoreligion and worship.Those definitions essentially create a hard line between sacred spaces and non-religious, mundane spaces. As a result, religious architecture has been the only typology to fully engage with the realm of the sacred; offering spaces that move us tremendously, evoke intense emotions and provide momentary refuge from our everyday lives. At a time when our lives are pressurized by extreme amounts of noise and stimuli from both the physical and digital world, the need for such spaces is paramount.

When discussing sacredness, Abraham Maslow writes “The lesson of mystics, Zen monks and psychologists is that the sacred isintheordinary..”Thisthesisaimstoimbue sacred experiences into mundane life.

B.Arch thesis

Supervised by Prof. Heinrich Schnoedt

What makes a space sacred?

Our individual understandings and experiences of the sacred are shaped by cultural, personal and universal factors and as a result, they can be very subjective. The cultural and personal factors play a significant role in what we consider sacred. However, we all seem to share a collective understanding of what a sacred space is. On that subject, Michael Brill states “There are many sacred places which most people sense as sacred upon a first encounter and without the presence of any accompanying ritualorevenanyknowledgeoftheirsacred history.”The hypothesis he suggests is that we all, somehow, share an archetype built intothestructureofourmindwhichallowsus to experience sacred spaces. He goes on to say that there must be a set of common and fundamentalcharacteristicsbywhichthese places reveal themselves to us as sacred.

Throughcarefuldesignoftheaperturesofa building,theconstantfluctuationofnatural light and the passing of time are more perceptiblehenceconnectingustotheworld beyond.Thisstudyconsistsofexperiments ontheshape,dimensionsandpositioningof apertureswithinmultipleconcretestructures in order to find a pattern or rule.

Thestudyrevealedthatinsacredbuildings it is best for the light source to be hidden. It creates a sense of mystery necessary for sacred experiences to occur.

“There must be a crack somewhere in the construction which allows enough natural light to come in to tell how dark it is.”

-Louis Kahn

study of sacred light

Urban Sanctuary

The urban sanctuary functions as a place of refuge within SoHo, NYC. In the city where we are constantly bombardedbyinformationintheform of images and sound leaving us with ourattentionsquandered,thisstructure invites us to experience moments of stillness. The building consists of art gallerie rooms, a bar and a chapel,

This project started by studying building elementsandhowtheycancreateenclosure. Notfullenclosuresbutratherpartiallyenclosed spacesthatshelter,yetallowforaconnection withnature;whetherthroughsight,hearing or touch. This was achieved by introducing awoodenscreenmadeoftimberslatswhich helpedcreatinganoutdoorshadedcorridor as well as a partially enclosed garden at the lobby’s entrance. It creates a soft transition from the street to the building.

Anothermaindesignintentionwascreating unscriptedpublicspaces.Spaceswhereone canspontaneouslychoosetotaketheroleof an actor at times or of a spectator at others. it creates a possibility for direct or indirect interaction with people in different spaces. The extension of the public space by adding outdoorterracesonthesecondandthirdfloor

Ground floor

Mzuzu Library

After the University of Mzuzu's library was lost in a fire, Virginia Tech proposed to help for the design of a new one. The site is right at the main entrance of the university. It is at the intersection between the city and the university.

Looking at pictures of the site, the texture of thegroundrevealstwointenselyusedpaths of travel: one from the university's entrance to the classroom building and one from the previouslibrarytotheclassroombuilding.A new parking space creates a third axis. The massing and shape of this building results frompreservingandcelebratingthose3axes.

Thesiteoftheoldlibrarywouldbetransformed into a public garden, thus inviting people to the site and maintaining the travel path.

Fourth year studio

Supervised by Dave Dugas Fall 2019

massing diagram and second floor plan

entrance and roof render

QueensbridgeResidence

project description

The waterfront site in Queens, New-York rightnexttotheQueensborobridgeaffords amazing views of Roosevelt Island and Manhattan.Ontheothersideofthebridge, Queensbridge park, one of the largest and most popular public park lies. The design maximizes the public and private outdoor spaces, encouraging an abundance of events and social encounters. The central corridor is connected to the neighboring publicparkthroughthewaterfrontwalk,thus invitingpeopletocontinuetheirpromenade through the building.

Another important factor was maximizing outdoor living and a connection to nature through the introduction of balconies for each apartment as well as outdoor public patios.

Fourth year studio Supervised by Prof. Dave Dugas Fall 2019

TheoriginalmassingissplitintwopartsconnectedbyacentralcorridorlinkingthewaterfrontsideofthebuildingtoitsSouth-Eastside.That splitalsoallowsthecityscapeviewstoremainrelativelyaccessibleto the neighboring buildings’ occupants.

Sculptural wooden bench

DMCO design build Supervised by Prof. Edward Becker Spring 2018

project description

This project was prompted by a lecture given on computational design and digital fabrication. After the lecture, 40 students were challenged to come up with a design for a sculptural bench during a charette. Afteragreeingonafinalscheme,thedesign was further developed by a group of thesis students and later on passed on to a group of 8 students to build. The pieces were individually cut in the school's woodshop using a CNC router and later on assembled on site. We collectively decided to place it in the middle of the cowgill plazza in an effort to activate this major pedestrian intersection on campus. I participated in the initial design exercise and in the construction.

Sculptural wooden bench

Green Sofa

urdesignwaspromptedbytherealization of a lack of seating opportunities at the lakefront of Riva San Vitale. Two seating options are available for people: benches made out of metal which seat a maximum of three people, and a concrete ledge next to the water. Analyzing those two conditions broughtupacoupleofdesignfocuses:neither ofthoseoptionsareverycomfortable,neither can accommodate a family or a large group of people and neither creates a setting that fosters gatherings or relaxation

Those observations led us to ask ourselves one question: how do we encourage a fun gathering of people with seating?

Fourth year studio | Spring 2019

Supervised by Prof. Kevin Jones

Team: Pauline Cadoret, Riley Studedbaker, Stephanie Renard

After the success of the project in Riva San Vitale, my team members and I were awarded an Enrichment grant from the Virginia Tech Honor's College to build the project once again on the Virginia Tech campus. The updated version leverages construction facilities available on campus such as the CNC machine for the parametrically designed plywood frame.

2.

6. 1/4” drainage mat

7. Zoysia grass sod

8. Erosion control netting

The Lawnge Chair is the profile of the LC4 Chaise poured into a shallow bowl & covered in live Zoysia grass. Designed as a kit of parts with a digitally fabricated parametric frame. Built of naturally sourced grass. Massive-deposition 3D printed version in the works.

1. Erosion control netting

Zoysia grass sod

3. 1/4" drainage mat

4. PVC canvas waterproofing w/ drainage holes

5. Parametric plywood frame

6. 1/2" milled plywood spacers

7. 1/2" milled sanded plywood

8. #3 rebar

Supervised by Megan Blaine

2021Supervised by Megan Blaine

Supervised by Megan Blaine

Photography

2015 - 2020

Germany - Italy - Switzerland - India

A passionate photographer for many years, I find photography a great way to express myself.

Takingupphotographyasahobbyhasmadememore observant in analyzing what I see. It's a way to stop timeplaywithlightandcapturemoments,atmospheres and ambiances.

As an enthusiastic traveler, I consider my camera as a thirdhand. composepictureswithasimilarapproach when I design architectural space.