Davide Sala architecture portfolio
Architecture is my bread and butter and through it I can also combine my other passions like history, design, photography and reading. I love writing stories and that’s what guides me in every project. The idea starts from the real world with its con text, imagining the users of the architecture itself. The project then comes to life firstly through descriptions and then through preliminary sketches. They combine into my mind in a mixed dance that thrills me every time. I thrive working in group, sharing time with other people and I strongly believe that’s the only way you can achieve your best. I’m enterprising and a hard worker because I’m passionate about what I do. This portfolio is a small collection of my favourite works, developed during my university years. I hope that by sharing them I can invite you into my view of architecture and let you enjoy it.
I’m a curious person and I like observing my surroundings. There is no one day where I do not explore the world around me to learn something new.
Hello and welcome to my place!
I’m Davide, a 23 years old enthusiast Architecture and Build ing engineering student.
Student member of GOAL (Green office of Alma Mater) space for discussion and projects development, managed by students, professors and administrative staff to implement the culture of sustainability
The Bauhaus Campus 2021 Student Architecture Competition by Arkitekturo Collaboration for the exhibition ‘‘Emilia-Romagna 2000|2020, Which architecture? XXI century trends of italian architec ture.” Curated by prof. Giovanni Leoni Located in MUseoSElla - Sella di Lodrignano, Italy C40 - Student reinventing cities Architecture Competition in Kypseli, Athens Elected student representative of the high school European Patent Pool Lifeguard BLS-D at the National Society of Rescue
Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna Architecture and building engineering (5 years course) Universitat politecnica de Valencia - Escuela superior de Arquitectura (Erasmus+) Scientifico Augusto Righi, Bologna level by IELTS SCORE 7,5)
COMPETENCES AND SKILLSItalian (native) English (fluent and C1
Liceo
Official
Spanish (good knowledge) Autocad (advanced) Adobe Photoshop, Indesign, Illustrator (advanced) Sketchup (advanced) Vray (good knowledge) Rhinoceros + Grasshopper (basic) QGis (good knowledge) SoftwareLanguagesskills +39saladavide.sd@gmail.com3312413144 DAVIDE SALA Davidedavidesala.jpegSala
Bologna, Italy 16 July 1998 LinkedinInstagrammobileemail EDUCATION 2012-20172021-20222017-present EXPERIENCES
december 20162016-20172020novemberoctober-2021september2019-20212021
ETSA
INDEX 01 The Bauhausdip XXI The rooftops project Arriba full project here full project here the representation of some projects has been slightly improved for the creation of the portfolio 040302
dip
Near the long concrete slab of the new harbour, there were still the left old moorings of the fishermen’s boats. There wasn’t so much, just a wooden walkway and large logs traversed to the bottom, but that definitely was his favourite place. The afternoons after school, from the first sun of the season, he likes to go there by bike and af ter passing the pier, he usually climbs to the high poles. At first, he always just sits enjoying the sun. There, from the top, he can observe better the endless expanse of wa ter that stand out in front of him. He is always fascinated by the slow and constant undulation of the waves. They shine under the sun’s rays but they are able to violent ly change the colour intensity at the slightest alteration of the sky. After a while, when his body begin to warm and his skin to sizzle, he deeply breath, close his eyes and throw himself headlong. There is no more beautiful feeling in the world. In the first moments, he feels floating in the sky, weightless. Falling down, the impact is getting closer but he never knows when is going to be exactly. Anyway, he knows that it will certainly bring a freshness released in light chills through out his body. By that time, the dive has begun, and he is quickly shrouded in darkness. The sounds of the port, from the long sirens of the ships to the clubs of the gulls, suddenly fade. Embraced from that huge body of water he feels in another dimension. With a stroke of the legs he tries to go down as deep as possible, until the seabed. Finally, he gently resurfaces, returning to the real world. And so he does for hours, jumping and diving, each time experiencing new sensations and adventures, like the characters in his favourite books. Once he is an astronaut on the moon, descending along a steep crater, some times he is an amazon fisherman chasing the big striped fishes that live among the mangroves or another time he is a gold hunter from the far west, delving into the under ground rivers with his sieve. It is a whirlwind of emotions that never tires him. Indeed, once he get in, he never wants to get out.
The Project 5 Universitat politecnica de Valencia, 2022 Prof. Diego Carratalá, Jesús Navarro
The project was born from the idea of a dip. Those same feelings of im mersion were the design guide. The library in the Grau, indeed, is presented as a simple sea cut in the middle of the buildings plot. There, it is possible to dive and to experience the entrance into an another world. The same emotions you feel when you dip into the water are similar to the time you spend inside a library, where you immerse yourself into projects, group works, projections, events or just into the reading of a book. The building is configured as a single block and the exterior is complete ly envelops by an opaque glass and tiles. Upon entering it is possible to experience an oneiric space that is configured through contained ac cesses, a descent ramp that leads to the deepest point and the upper floors that are articulated increasing in height, collecting more and more light. site contest axo site longitudinal section site traversal section
LEVEL 1 LEVEL 0 LEVEL -1 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 3 6 - Atrium and bar 5 - Ramps, common spaces 4 - Principal Atrium 3 - Workshop area (3D printers, laser cutting..) 2 - Ramps, common space and objects library 1 - Warehouse for books and objects 8 - Classrooms for meetings and seminars 7 - Area for individual work and silence 12 - Workshop and group work area 11 - Area relax 12 - Auditorium 9 - Kids area 15 - Covered space for events and shows 14 - Open-air space for free re-creative activities 13 - Covered space with tablesThe spaces of the project are config ured with great clarity and simplicity. The floors are articulated with an outer ring of circulation where stairs, elevators and all the accessory spac es, such as bathrooms and storage rooms, are placed. The two spaces are highlighted by a large bookshelf which is getting rar efied with less objects and plants going upwards. Moreover, partitions are largely mobile, so they can be opened and closed to need, making spatial distribution flexible. level -1 level 0 level 1 level 2 level 3 longitudinalsiderooftopelevationsection
1 - Waterproofing sheath 2cm 2 - Light slanted concrete screed 8cm 3 - Natural insulation 8cm 4 - Vapour barrier 0,5cm 5 - Reinforced concrete slab 30cm 6 - Wood lintel 20x20cm 7 - Natural insulation 8cm 8 - Plasterboard countertop 5cm 9 - Opaque glass layer with double glazing 10 - Ventilated facade in opaque glass 11 - Flexibrick system, bricks tiles 5cm 12 - Concrete floor (outer ring) or linoleum (inner space) 13 - Floating slab 5cm 14 - Natural insulation 10cm 15 - Plasterboard partition and interior insulation 10cm 16 - Steel reticular upright supporting the flexibrick system 75cm 17 - Soundproofing plasterboard countertop 10cm 18 - Stainless steel fin 1mm 19 - Natural insulation 15cm 20 - Clay blocks 40cm 21 - Plaster layer 2cm 22 - Light-concrete slab with installations 15cm 23 - Thermoacoustic natural insulation board 5cm 24 - Armoured concrete cast 5cm 25 - Piñatas made of bricks 20cm 26 - Base curb in reinforced concrete 20x20cm 27 - Exterior pavement 5cm 28 - Drainage gravel layer 10cm 29 - Virgin soil 30 - Reinforced concrete retaining wall 30cm 31 - Anti root waterproofing sheath 1cm 32 - Ventilated crawl space 55cm 33 - Reinforced concrete cast 5cm 34 - Lean cement layer 10cm 35 - Armoured concrete grade beam 36 - Drainage pipe The facades are made of three layers. A first inner glass plate and a second one that wraps the entire construc tion, thus creating in the middle a ventilated chamber. In the outermost part, the Flexibrick system allows to ob tain a facade of tiles joined by a grid of metal wires. The system is both proposed for a scenic effect, like a water splash, and to obtain a natural partial darkening, con trolling the temperature inside. The structure is made with armoured concrete pillars and beams. constructive scheme
front transversalelevationsection
Student competition, 2020 In collaboration with Benedetta Ferri, Silvia Bartolucci
At the heart of his mission settles the conviction that to enhance the world, men must restart by re-exploring reality from new perspectives and re inventing it thinking out of the box.
In this forest of oppressive innovations hidden be low a necessary myth of incessant development, small sprouts are already growing. The world will experience a new honey moon with technology, in a sustainable way.
A humble industrial object as a massive castellated beam, declined in its unlimited spatial possibil ities, rotating and shifting it generates spaces and it shapes a new campus where art, science and architecture thrive.
Every time she entered in the factory of her father, she was amazed, like it were the first time. The place was a tangle so dense of pipes, machines and ducts that sometimes you could lose yourself.
Surrounded by puffs of warm air, metallic sounds, computer screens and burning smell she was feeling Therehome.was something magic over there.
The assembly line seems able to go on endlessly, without any kind of human touch but only taking the energy somewhere, from a mysterious source. She loved going to search for that powerful enti ty, following the heat and looking on the ground, where the iron pipes full of hot water warms the Sheconcrete.loved thinking that even there, between that dense cement aggregate, something could grow.
BAUHAUS XXI
The digital revolution completely melted with the industrial world is the fertile soil where the new BAUHAUS will grow in the XXI century.
level 0 level 1 level 2 level 0 level 1
The auditorium is an extremization of the investigation and development of all the spatial com ponents. Frontal speeches are rejected and the actor can be seen at 360 degrees, thanks to the position of the stage. The upper floors, as well as the stage, are made of bar grating and the latter can be elevated obtaining a view of the shows all-round, even up side Outside,down.the cladding acts as a canvas for the free expression of the students.
The dormitory is planned as a synergy between private and collec tive spaces. A tangle of stairs connects the large balconies, thought as places of aggregations and interactions thanks to the open-able glass doors of all rooms. Every accommodation has equipped one or two beds on lofts two meters from the ground, able to ensure privacy in the sleeping area.
On each level there are also common recreation spaces and on the ground floor a canteen for the entireThecampus.exhibition space is com posed by alcoves and views in terrupted by a forest of panels, screens, projections and art works. The whole second floor is made by removable and re-assembledable bar grating panels, forming in this way infinite possibilities. level 0 level 1 level 2 front view and longitudinal section
I don’t know if it’s true, the story they tell in books, that in ancient days a monkey could have left Rome and skipped from tree to tree till it reached Spain, without ever touching earth. The only place so thick with trees in my day was the whole length, from end to end, of the gulf of Ombrosa and its valley right up to the mountain crests. Anyway, in those days wherever one went there were always leaves and branches between us and the sky. […] This was the world of sap amid which we lived, we inhabitants of Ombrosa, almost without our noticing it. The first to give any real thought to all this was Cosimo. He realized that as the trees were so thick he could move for several miles by passing from one branch to another, without ever needing to de scend to earth. Italo Calvino, The baron in the trees We felt like the pioneers of a new world. No matter what life choices led you to want to live on the fringes of society, you would always be welcome in our tribe. In a world where a hysterical mass construction had taken over, cities had be come one dense aggregate capable of extending to infinity and escaping from it had become impossible. Our border was its infinite expanse of rooftops and our lim it only the sky. So dense and intersected with each other, the roofs made it possible for us to move for miles and miles, passing from one nucleus to another, without ever having to touch the ground. Up there, in that forgotten space, we were building our new society. From the beginning, protecting ourselves from the weather was a priority and initially we lived in makeshift shelters, like tents with small mattresses. Over time, however, we dedicat ed ourselves more and more in self-construction and with the help of architects and engineers we experimented all our creativity in a new way of living. We always built lightweight structures, ideal for nomads and similar to nests, made to last a season. With the threads of the stretchers, metal tubes or recovered woods, we created braids and tensile structures covered with sheets and other clothing. Inside we furnished with aban doned objects that we repaired and reused artistically, such as cans, furniture, small plants or tiles, creating an atmos phere as primordial as domestic.
The rooftops project Atmosphere composition Universitat politecnica de Valencia, 2022 prof. Guillermo Guimaraens Igual
Outside, instead, the tarps intersected with each other, cre ating skeins of theatrical forms capable of interacting with atmospheric agents. And so, they swelled to the rhythm of the wind, like large balloons, such that sometimes it seemed that the building itself was about to flying away. At other times, under the torrential rains, they flatten until they were disappearing. But always, due to the incessant sun, they slow ly faded day after day, assuming a candid white shade. It was an arid atmosphere, made up of extremes and dis tances. The noise of the city never stopped, and we lived ab sorbed among the scream, the roars of the engines and the constant buzz of the air conditioning fans. We were forced to enjoy everything that populated the city only from afar and many of us were missing the contact with nature. Not being able to soak our feet in the fresh grass of the parks cut out among the skyscrapers or swimming in the crystal-clear water of the sea seen on the horizon, was suffering. Nevertheless, we lived that contact only in a different way, light and whispered, but with the same intensity. We enjoyed the thin veil of sand spread on the rooftops as if we were lying on an ocean beach, the dry leaves carried by the wind as if we were immersed in the colours of an autumn forest and the pale snowflakes falling as if we were at the highest point of a glacier. The scrapers of the plaster were our screen to enjoy the re flected rays of the sunset and from the concrete of the rail ing we drew our lifeblood. Despite everything, that distance somehow made us pleased, we were a bounded community and the days were flying as a succession of activities. Among the population, there were those who ignored us, who cursed us trying to drive us away like insects and those who instead came curious to talk to us, offering a hot meal or just spending time with us. On the other hand, full of gratitude to who let us stay, we tried to give back to the society. And so, from above, sometimes we would help old grannies bring letters to their grandchildren across town; usually we would help the bricklayers forced to lift weights along scaffolds and, occasionally, we even would assistance police detecting criminals fleeing through alleys. And it was at night, warmed by the soft bonfires lit with
In this mixed dance between people and buildings, we raised stairs, we built bridges, we stretched ropes and we twisted nets. On the borders of the suburbs, when the roofs be came sparser, we invented original methods to reach them and each time it was a new challenge. And so, as we moved up there, walking between walls and overhangs, we could finally read the pattern of the city, with the alternation of its buildings with windows, doors, decorations and balconies. In that regularity, that often-fleeting order, we read the beat of the electronic music and we felt the lightness of our feet while we were twirling step by step following the rhythm. We were a flock of birds, and as we came, we flew away. We travelled from city to city, by seasons and across continents, until one after another we all came down.
sticks found stuck in the gutters, that hundreds of young people climbed, and enjoy with us that celebration of life. We danced following the rhythm of electronic music, ex ploring a free love and partying until the sunrise, thus pre paring for the next day. That’s because anyway our favour ite activity was moving between one roof and another. We needed it, each for his own reason.
There were those who loved adventure, those who felt the need to colonize as many rooftops as possible, those who thrived in the thrill of the jump that hovered hundreds of feet from the ground or simply those who, seeing a girl walk ing from afar, they felt in love and they devised the most ingenious way to join her.
Today I look up and, in that edge once forgotten, I see a proliferation of life. Those same rooftops are now common gardens, meeting places, shelters for refugees, small ateliers, hanging gardens and much more. Someone says that the greed of the city, with its exploitation logic, has not spared them either. Someone else instead tells of how everything started when some citizens, used to climb to observe the ho rizon, hoping that we were coming back. They so decided to stay there, feeling that trembling melancholy wait, building something new. And so now I ask myself, which will be the next boundary?
ARRIBA
The plan disposition follows the natural slopes of the mountain and it creates an intersection of private and public spaces.
Starting from this idea rooted in Peruvian culture, the project for this district in Lima, was shaped.
The steel bars that come out of the houses have been reinterpreted in a potentially infinite spiral staircase, which is not limited to connecting the two floors of a single cell, but that forcefully ascends to the sky, end ing in a small landing on which you can sit, rest and admire the entire valley.
Architectural composition I Alma mater studiorium - Università di Bologna, 2019 Prof. Annalisa Trentin
Travelling in Peru it is possible to observe how often steel rods protrude from the roofs of houses formal ly finished building and regularly inhabited. Indeed, it is customary to believe that in the future, once you earn the necessary money, it is possible to expand the dwelling upwards, thus obtaining apartments also for children and then grandchildren. Even if you are usually aware that will never be possible, due to the adverse economic conditions, you never stop dreaming, believ ing and fighting for better conditions.
In collaboration with Benedetta Ferri, Silvia Bartolucci, Francesca Useri, Kiara Perolli Lucas and Leo live in San Juan de Lurigancho since they are born. Their mum gave birth to them in a sunny day of July, eight years ago. In the neighbourhood there is not a lot to do but they have enough imagination. And there is the mountain. There, the mountain shapes everything. From the disposition of the houses, perched along steep paths, to their lives, confined by the wall of shame in that forgotten piece of land. They love climbing the moun tain, sweaty and full of sand, until the top. There they can roll rocks along free slopes, dig small caves and scream until the echo doesn’t come back to them, like the moun tain itself would talk. In the distance you can see the ini tial neighbourhoods of Lima, with those tall and modern buildings surrounded by trees, not like here. When the sun starts going down and the sky is getting purple, the first lights turn on, glowing on the horizon, and so their dreams.
- One day I will go to the city and I’ll be one of the best football player of Peru. And with all the money I will earn, I will come back and I will build the more beautiful build ings ever.
- I will come with you, I will be elected mayor of the city and you will see how this side will be doused of towers!
- We will live in highest one, so high that the mountain will seem small like an ant And so, with the heart full of hope, they push another rock down the hill, laughing and feeling so light that they could fly.
general plan
general axo
The spaces of the cell are divided by a full-height modu lar bookshelf that also has a structural value. The master bedroom can be isolated thanks to a thick curtain, as well as the kids one, which is equipped with two bunk beds. In the ground floor there is the bathroom equipped with a sink, a rudimentary toilet and a tub for washing. It was essential to place it in another level and not close to the living spaces due to the lack of a sewage system. Moreover, the project has to be done with extremely cheap materials and auto construction. The staircase is made in wood and is clearly visible on the facade, thanks to the infill of polycarbonate sheets coloured with typical pigments of the Peruvian textile tradition. The staircase itself and a coating of orthog onal strips placed along all the elevations, accentuate the idea of verticality.
shop of local products porch or extension of the extensiongardenwith an extra room for two level 0 level
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constructive method
