Nicolas Ronchetti PORTFOLIO
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NM Sc. I C OArchitecture LAS RONCHETTI
Online portfolio bit.ly/nicolasronchetti
+32 499 97 25 23 +1 929 392 6219 Ronchettinic@gmail.com
EDUCATION
PROFILE Date of birth
13 / 10 / 1994
Nationality
Belgian
Language skills
dutch: native french: native english: advanced italian: beginner
Bio - engineering sciences
Bachelor in Architecture
2012-2014
2014-2017
Bachelor’s degree, unfinished KU Leuven, Belgium
Master of Architecture
KU Leuven, faculty of Architecture, Belgium
Master of Architecture
Magna cum laude
Università degli Studi di Genova, Dipartimento Architettura e Design, KU Leuven, faculty of Architecture, Italy Belgium 2017-2018
2017-2019
Experience AWARDS DOCEXDOCE 2019 Honourable mention in the European architecture student competition Master Thesis (Productive Enclaves) awarded with The Dean’s Choice-label Vectorworks Student Competition 2019 Second place Gentcement 2018 Shared winner of yearly competition
INTERESTS
Nov 2019 - Nov 2020 - internship !Melk Landscape Architecture and urban design, NYC 2018 Materialise - production and management of 3D prints 2016 Woodworking - wooden pallets 2015 BENEO - administrative assistant / competition research
Skills AutoCAD Rhino Adobe Package Sketchup BIM (ArchiCAD/Revit) Microsoft office Lumion
other activities 2017 - 2018
2018 - Present
Studied architecture for 10 months at the Università degli studi di Genova, Italy
Copywriting - SEO
Erasmus mobility exchange
2018
Florida International University workshop Extreme environments and climate change
Author at Textbroker
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Contents Professional works 6-21
A selection of some of my academic projects, developed at KULeuven in Belgium and the Universita di Genova in Italy.
ACADEMIC WORKS
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Showcasing some of the projects I worked on during my internship at !Melk Landscape and Urban Design.
Independent works 57-65
A quick glance at who I am and what I do through a selection of personal projects.
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Conceptual large-scale research for a new airport project in Xiamen, China
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ProfessionaL WOrK This part of my portfolio comprises work I’ve accomplished after graduation, during my internship at !Melk Landscape architecture and Urban Design, in NYC. Together with !Melk’s team of architects, landscape architects and urban planners, I have worked on a multitude of projects,W varying in scope and scale, as well as on large international competitions, often in collaboration with other firms.
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Paseo arboleda Wellness Plaza
During my internship at !Melk I was primarily involved with a project in Monterrey, Mexico together with of team of 2 other people. My main responsibility was developing the conceptual design of the project - a Wellness Plaza underneath a building - and advancing the project towards the detailed design phase. Designing the plaza required a
professional work year: 2019 - 2020 | Location: Monterrey, Mexico Work at !Melk Landscape and Urban design Phase: Schematic Design
great understanding of the needs of this space: the plaza was to have a cafĂŠ, a green and permeable buffer zone, as well as multiple nodes where people could sit down and relax. This prompted me to think about zoning the plaza, as well as desinging adequate urban furniture, such as benches integrated into planters and stepped decks that provide the opportunity to sit down.
Additionally, I had to think about planting, grading and material layouts, which were all sketched, transferred to CAD drawings and finally visualized in Lumion renders. I was, together with my 2 team members, involved in all of these steps. What follows is my design process for this plaza, from sketch to render.
Renders showing !Melk’s design of the Wellness Plaza
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Renders showing !Melk’s design of the Wellness Plaza
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Plaza progression 1
Planters dispersed throughout the plaza, creating seating opportunities
Plaza progression 2
Introduction of zones - water, garden and maze
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FINAL PLAZA
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Plaza cafĂŠ design Being part of a bigger project, I was asked to design a cafĂŠ for the plaza in the same architectural language as other structures nearby wooden slats and an overall transparancy.
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Urban furniture explorations The plaza required a multitude of spaces where people could sit down, relax and socialize. The idea was to try and incorporate seating oppurtinities with the planned vegetation along the wellness plaza.
Multiple concepts were explored, such as planters that would turn into benches, steps that would become a deck, or a pond of water. Comfort was key.
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prince bay plot 03-04 & 03-05
The project encompassing the 03-04 and 03-05 plots in Shekou Shenzen - to me now known as “the work-from-home quarantine project� - consists of a large public space surrounding new highrise architecture, as well as a rooftop garden. !Melk was commissioned to envision a walkable and enjoyable open space in front of the skyscraper which would serve as a
Professional work work PROFESSIONAL year: 2020 | Location: Shenzen Shekou, China Work at !Melk Landscape and Urban design Phase: Detailed Design
welcoming space and would be the host of many activities, day and night. !Melk had designed a variety of landscape elements, ranging from wooden decks and benches to wild and impressive sculptures. Throughout the whole plaza a simple yet convincing paving pattern would guide the public towards the site elements or the building.
I entered this project in its Detailed Design phase, and was thus tasked with translating these designs into constructable entities through a set of details, of which some are shown on the following pages. This was a challenging project for me; I had never worked on such details before and combined with limited communication due to working from home, this was one hell of a learning experience.
Render showing the 03-05 plot public space - outsourced, retouched by !Melk
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Ground floor section through multiple landscape elements
Roof level section cutting through wooden terrace and green wall
Illustrative plan showing ground floor and rooftop- by !Melk
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Ground floor pavement - detail
Tree grate - design and detail
Green walls, wooden decks, pedestal systems and more In this Detailed Design phase, I was tasked with interpreting the design of various elements: a series of green walls on the rooftop garden, wooden decks and a large set of pavement enlargement details. Additionally I got to design a tree grate that would fit perfectly with the project.
Rooftop pedestal system - detail
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It is my intention to show that I was fully capable of correctly translating said landscape elements into professional details which were sent out to the client.
Details for a variety of green wall systems on the rooftop
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DöGpårk FENCE
Professional work year: 2020 | Location: San Fransico, USA Work at !Melk Landscape and Urban design Phase: Construction Design
Construction details with an ikea-touch
DRAFTING THE DETAILS For a project in San Fransisco, a dogpark fence with an intricate lasercut-out pattern needed to be designed. This was done using a Rhino Grasshopper script. The details I made looked like they came straight out of an Ikea folder, and have since been dubbed ‘The IKEA details’.
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verdugo wash
vision for a linear park in glendale The city of Glendale sent out an RFP in which they were asking to reenvision the Verdugo wash, a tributary of the LA River. The aim was to connect the whole of Glendale - all it’s neighborhoods, parks, cultural centers etc. - by turning the Wash and its immediate adjacent area into a long linear park, which was to include bicycle lanes, greenery and pedestrian walkways. Seeing that this project was more in line with my area of expertise - urban planning - I took the initia-
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Professional work year: 2020 | Location: Glendale, CA, USA Work at !Melk Landscape and Urban design Phase: RFP
tive to start researching and documenting the city and its important landmarks, schools, parks, recent developments and so on. The ultimate goal was to connect upper and lower Glendale by means of the Wash, while at the same time creating moments of ‘neighborhood identity’. Along the tributary, I had identified 4 potential clusters, or hotspots, where the Wash would play a role: - It would serve as an anchor, linking upper Glendale to Down-
town Glendale. - It could expand into a green fabric inbetween the mountains, connecting the neighborhoods and their parks. -The Wash would bridge the urban island between northern and downtown Glendale -It would plug into the LA River in some sort of confluence point. These diagrams were presented to the city and !Melk was shortlisted for an interview.
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ACADEMIC WOrK The following projects are some of my academic works I’m most proud of, including my thesis - which was awarded with the Dean’s Choice award - as well as projects I completed during my year abroad in Genova, Italy. I graduated in 2019 with a Master’s degree in Architecture and Urban Planning from the KULeuven in Brussels, Belgium.
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Productive Enclaves REsilient neighborhoods in Chicago What defines a space? Who uses said space? Spaces are often categorized as public, private, collective... But what about the unseen spaces? The spaces found in between the spaces we always talk about. The often informal, empty places, absent of architecture. This notion, this idea we find in between spaces, the spaces in between, represent exciting opportunities. The city of Chicago contains a great deal of heavy infrastructure which inevitably
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ACADEMIC WORK year: 2019 - Master 2 | Location: Chicago, USA. Master’s Thesis - Promotor: Martine De Maeseneer KUL Faculty of Architecture
creates these kinds of unused ‘in between’ spaces. With the projection that 70% of the population will live in urban areas by 2050, these ‘lost’ spaces can greatly benefit the public and increase resilience in communities. Chicago has always been an instigator of ideas and a generator of opportunities for speculation and is uniquely capable of inspiring and fostering moments of productive interaction, wild provocation, of radical speculation and fruitful exchange. The city must be seen within an international
discourse about the industrial and later post-industrial city and the architecture apporpriate for it. A growing population means more urban challenges for which solutions have to be found and this is no different for Chicago. In this project I take a closer look at these ‘in between’ spaces in Chicago. In particular, I took a closer look at the interstitial spaces created by highway flyovers.
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Chicago
Multilayered city - urban analysis
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Structural concept
Grid studies
Drawing inspiration from the infamous Chicago grid
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Flyover Volume studies
Using the custom grid to define zoning in the farm
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phase 1 - small scale
Creating a cohesive neighborhood by introducing green, living streets - streets with added green infrastructure and urban farming through communal gardens.
phase 2 - medium scale
Addition of infrastructure such as playgrounds and sportsfields. Greenhouse structures interacting with flyovers - under, over and between - giving traffic a sense of what’s happening.
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phase 3 - Vertical farming As a solution to food insecurity
The proposed flyover area to develop an intervention on is located in a Food Desert, an area where people have little to no access to fresh and nutritious foods. One proven solution for this is practicing Urban Farming, and in this case Vertical Farming. Farming up instead of out has huge advantages in terms of land and water use, with the possibility for year-round produce. A multiscalar approach is proposed, in which the community gradually scales up in terms of production and jobs, going from a local communal garden to a fully operational vertical farm. The ultimate goal is to provide access to food security and safe streetscapes in a vehicle dominant neighborhood. The creation of jobs and production of healthy foods through urban farming helps the community becoming more resilient and productive, and in turn reduces homelessness, unemployment and the related crime rates.
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Vertical farming
Self-sufficient closed loop energy system
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Roofscapes
Karachi - towards resilient megacities Karachi, a megacity with more than 23 million inhabitants. No other developing city in the world is growing and densifying as rapidly as Karachi. One of the biggest threats facing Pakistan, and especially Karachi because of it’s maritime location, is the possibility of climate change and its environmental impacts. These impacts are very likely to destabilize the city of Karachi, which is considered to be the economic backbone of the country. Every year Karachi suffers from flooding, droughts,
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ACADEMIC WORK year: 2019 - Master 2 | Location: Karachi, Pakistan KUL Faculty of Architecture In collaboration with S. Desimpelaere
extreme heat events and rising sea levels. For instance, dense cities such as Karachi are more susceptible to heat waves due to a phenomena known as the “Urban heat island effect”, which causes temperatures to be 5-8°C higher than on the countryside. The impacts of climate change will only get worse, year after year. People are suffering and are in urgent need of sustainable solutions in the city. In addition to this, there is a growing need for safe collective spaces in the city. This pilot project aims to
awaken a desire to work towards a sustainable community, focused on making life easier and safer for the residents, while providing solutions for the impacts of climate change.
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ecological approach
Rooftop farming strategies
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Economical approach
Commerce and storage
Social approach Gathering and playing
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ACCESSIBILITY
Giving residents safe and easy access to the rooftop clusters was one of the key aspects of the project. This was done by providing a backside circulation path which was made accessible through different public spaces, such as the mosques and back alleys. A low-cost stairs system using counterweights and a pulley system was used to actually get up on to the roofs.
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A logical circulation gradient was implemented in order to easily fullfil the needs of the different programmation found on the rooftops: economical activities, social settings and urban farming.
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cruise ship terminal building the city/water edge Genova is Italy’s biggest and most important port. The port is the city’s industrial and economical backbone and welcomes enormous amounts of tourists every year, most of which arrive by cruise. Meanwhile, the city’s population in declining; people are losing interest and the water edge is being abandoned. This project aimed to revitalize the water edge by envisioning a cruise ship terminal which would also serve the public domain by providing services such
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ACADEMIC WORK year: 2018 - Master 1 | Location: Genova, Italy Università degli studi di Genova
as a concert hall, a market place, restaurants and a youth center. An additional focus was put on the surrounding public space, with the creation of parks and leisure spots. As most coastal cities, Genova will probably have to deal with the rising sea level in the future. The design includes a series of steps which raise the water edge up outside the predicted sea level change. The important element was to not only serve the incoming cruise ships but to give as much of the
waterfront as possible back to the city by creating an inviting architecture with multiple activities.
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The main idea was to layer the terminal up to city, reflecting the morphology of Genova itself, lying inbetween the sea and the mountains. The concrete slabs form some kind of stratification and multiple insertions allow for different spaces: bringing the waterfront in, allowing light to go inside, using vegetation.
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As a central element, the concert hall acts as a break, a rupture in morphology. Its wooden structure contrasts with the concrete slabs and changes the rhytm of the terminal. The concept of layering and stratification are repeated inside this space, as can be seen on the interior views on the next page.
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Abstract vs specific
Architectural duality in Brussels Brussels, a city with a lot of diversity, a city of contrasts, a city of extremes. At the same time, Brussels is a city with high living and working qualities, where culture thrives. A city where there is a clear demand
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ACADEMIC WORK year: 2017 - Bachelor 3 | Location: Brussels, Belgium KUL Faculty of Architecture - Bachelor dissertation
for functions, working, living and recreation. The future of this complex and diverse city are hidden in these blendings, in these proximities. Two vacant sites in the wide surrounding of Brussels are
proposed, each with their own identity, each with their own character; Mr. Specific vs. Mrs. Abstract.
site 01 - Ambiorixsquare abstract inplanting s 1/500
Mr. Abstract site 01 - Ambiorixsquare abstract korte snede s 1/100
A spiraling structure in with layers receding in surface area. The ramp going around and up is cladded with wooden finishing and helps supporting inside boxes in which different ac-
Nicolas Ronchetti bachelorproef 2017 - abstract vs specific
Nicolas Ronchetti bachelorproef 2017 - abstract vs specific
tivities happen, such as workspaces, recreation, restaurants and concerts.
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site 05 - Albertstraat specific concept Nicolas Ronchetti bachelorproef 2017 - abstract vs specific
the process The project begun by defining concepts for multiple sites throughout Brussels - getting familiar with the abstract and the specific. Structure and house answer to the same conceptual ideas.
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site 01 - Ambiorixsquare schets/concept Nicolas Ronchetti bachelorproef 2017 - abstract vs specific
site 04 - Ter Kamerenbos abstract referentie interpretatie
Albertstraat structural concept
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mr. specific The house - Mr. Specific- clearly has 3 parts; the first one reaches out over the sidewalk and blurs the boundaries between indoors and outdoor, between public and private. The second layer is fully indoors with wooden cladding as a way to up the pri-
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vate feeling. The last part is fully private with a big glazed facade on the backside. This triple layering can also be found in Mr. Abstract and reflect the layering found around the lake where these projects are located.
site 01 - Ambiorixsquare public privacy lange snede s 1/50 Nicolas Ronchetti bachelorproef 2017 - abstract vs specific
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Via burlando
ACADEMIC WORK
getting people back on the streets
Via Burlando, a street in the upper part of Genova where all activity ceased to exist. People are moving out of the city, the population is ageing. At the same time, everyone needs or wants a car with a traffic infestation as a result. Streets are used for parking, pu-
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year: 2017-2018- Master 1 | Location: Genova, Italy Università degli studi di Genova
blic space is non-existing and pedestrians have a hard time commuting. This project proposes a pedestrian only zone on the Via Burlando, and by doing so bringing life back to the streets. Markets, parks, playgrounds for children.
The people and government aren’t used to ‘change’ in a city like Genova. The project thus proposes a gradually changing situation, to make the people get used to the idea.
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Phase 0 - actual
Phase 1 - parking space
Phase 2 - Car free + green
Limited linkage between levels. No public space
Addition of parking spots to free up the street
Introducing public platforms and vegetation
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Via Burlando today
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Line drawing
1:1 spatial installation
In the elective IN SITU, 20 students worked on a large spatial work in collaboration with the design practice of Gijs Van Vaerenbergh. The starting point was the former auditorium, which will take on a new function as exhibition space in the near future. Here we added a new “spatial drawing” with
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ACADEMIC WORK year: 2019- Master 2 | Location: Leuven, Belgium KUL Faculty of Architecture In collaboration with: Gijs Van Vaerenbergh
hundreds of red colored lines. Two free curves - one on the floor and one on the ceiling - are connected crossways with straight lines. The result is a free ruled surface: a curved shape that is delineated by straight lines. The rolling shape and the kinetic perception create an interaction between an almost intangible appearance and accents that suddenly become
visible and disappear again. The figure also defines an “interspace” with the boundaries of the room. This space is sometimes narrow, sometimes wide, jumps in and out and directs the observer’s view on the work and the space.
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INDEPENDENT WOrK
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Hollainhof
year: 2018 - Master 1/2 |
Personal work Location: Ghent, Belgium
Gentcement - competition Gentcement is a Belgian organisation with interests in arts and architecture, amongst other things. In their latest competition they asked competitors to come up with their own interpretation of an iconic building of group of buildings in Ghen, which in this case was the Hollainhof. My entry focused on a more artsy approach and compares the housing units to the ever popular video game Tetris. This interpretation made me one of the winners.
Hollainhof, Ghent - present conditions
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personal work year: 2019 - Master 2 | Location: ZĂźrich, Switzerland In collaboration with S. Desimpelaere
Honorable mention
Global grid
docexdoce - competition 3rd edition
The Globus site. An entitiy in downtown ZĂźrich which is both temporal and permanent. There is at the same time a want for preservation as well as a desire for demolition or reprogrammation of the site. The idea of the Global Grid is to preserve this temporal aspect, by proposing an ever growing grid which connects the train station to a potential new collective space at the waterfront. The grid unifies, but can also be seen as a parasite, disrupting the urban fabric. It allows for a view on the city, which was formerly blocked by the Globus building.
It is based on the structural footprint of the existing Globus building, and extends into the city and onto the water, where it creates platforms for leisure, such as concerts and pedalos. The Globus footprint becomes the heart of the grid and includes foodhalls offering multicultural foods, bike rental places and repair shops. The demolished buildings are remembered by preserving only the facades, behind which the grid manifests itself and serves as a gentle structure for a much desired youth center.
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Personal work Pencil and graphite portrait drawings
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Nicolas Ronchetti Portfolio | 2017 - 2020