Architecture Portfolio - Tania Pilon

TANIA PILON M. Arch, LEED AP BD+C

TANIA PILON 514-836-5875 pilon.tania@gmail.com Montreal, Canada

Languages

- written & spoken French, English, Spanish

2015-2017

Education & Accreditation 2019 Passive House Designer Course 2017-2018 Master of Architecture, McGill University, Montreal Design Studio Directed Research 2016 LEED Accredited Professional BD+C 2012-2015 Bachelor of Science in Architecture, McGill University, Montreal Graduated with Distinction – top 25% of faculty’s graduating class 2014 Exchange at Universidad de las 5 months Americas Puebla (UDLAP), Mexico OJIQ bursary Rio Tinto Alcan bursary McGill Mobility Award

2015 2014 5 weeks

2017-2018

2010-2012 Science Program, John Abbott College, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Academic Honour Roll

Proficiencies AutoCAD, Revit, Rhinoceros, Sketch Up, 3DS Max, Grasshopper, V-Ray, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Adobe Premiere Pro, Ecotech, Hot2000

Professional Experience Intern at ARCHITEM Wolff Shapiro Kuskowski architectes, Montreal AutoCAD drawings (permit & construction), design, coordination with engineers, presentation drawings, renders, 3D modeling, site measurements, full responsibility of the material library, text translations, administrative work, etc.

Residential (houses, condominium tower), commercial and institutional (homeless shelter, museum), renovations and new construction Winner of 2017 AZ Awards’ People’s Choice (Socially Good category): Old Brewery Mission renovation Freelance work: Preliminary designs of a residential pool pavilion Intern at the architecture firm Lab4D, Puebla, Mexico 3D models, renders, designing

Volunteering Solar Decathlon China, TeamMTL Exhibition design, logistics, construction in China of the net-zero energy home - the Deep-Performance Dwelling, conference at the Centre for Sustainable Development in Montreal

2016

Design Committee, City of Pincourt

2013

Habitat for Humanity, Construction, Montreal

2013

Redesign plans of a building for an autism camp

2013

Assisting Guy Dubreuil, architect, Montreal

CONTENTS

Translated Collaboration - Powered by Indigenous Culture Year-long thesis, Indigenous Service Center, Montreal Re/Source Natural Alternative Health Center, Montreal NYC Farm Housing Contest, Comprehensive Design Studio, NYC Casa Saludable Puebla, Mexico SHERBS Research Oriented Studio Model Making

Hand Drawing

TRANSLATED COLLABORATION - POWERED BY INDIGENOUS CULTURE INDIGENOUS SERVICE CENTER, MONTREAL M. ARCH

2018

YEAR-LONG THESIS

Approximately 30,000 Indigenous individuals currently live in Montreal.

Too often in architecture, their needs are ignored and forgotten. Through this thesis, I investigate the role of the architect as a collaborator, facilitator, and translator rather than a sole decision-maker. This research also studies the influence that Indigenous cultures may have on architecture.

Collaborating with the organization Native Montreal, I hosted three workshops with staff members, the board of directors, and members visiting their current center to envision a new one. We looked at the types of spaces and esthetics desired. The workshops allowed the participants to teach me about their culture and the role it plays in their lives. Native Montreal will use my report on this project to orient the future design of their center.

ADVISOR: PROF. MICHAEL JEMTRUD

After the workshops, I translated the content discussed into a design to be located adjacent to Lionel-Groulx metro station, Montreal. This city is unceded territory of the Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawks). Three distilled driving principles shaped this design: it is a center that is urban, intertribal – as Montreal’s Indigenous community is very heterogeneous – and connected to the land, a value shared by all First Nations.

I propose an urban sanctuary where a large courtyard filled with native vegetation in the center of the building. This allows to be more private and connected to the natural land rather than the concrete one made by colonizers. The courtyard is fully glazed and can be seen from all activities in the building. The building’s exterior is more opaque and inserts itself more quietly into the urban fabric.

To make this center welcoming to all Nations, I learned from the pow-wow approach which respects the place of gathering. The large multipurpose space is built all out of wood to have an aesthetic appearance suited to host pow-wows, round dances and other ceremonies. It can also act as a gymnasium for sports.

St-Jacques Street

Bicycle Path

Greene Avenue

VIEW EXITING THE METRO

Atwater Av enue

VIEW FROM ST-JACQUES STREET

LIONEL-GROULX METRO

SITE PERSPECTIVE

NATIVE MONTREAL’S CURRENT CENTER

WALL SECTION IN THE LARGE MULTIPURPOSE SPACE 1:200

POW-WOW TAKING PLACE IN THE LARGE MULTIPURPOSE SPACE

SECTION A

SECTION C

SECTION B

SECTION D

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Additionally, the lobby gives a view straight onto a big Eastern White Pine, the Peace tree planted in the courtyard a symbol of the Kanien’keha:ka, which incorporates the cardinal directions, important in many Nations. Therefore, the lobby and part of the building are aligned to the cardinal directions instead of its surrounding streets.

DETAIL SECTION 1:100 POST AND BEAM GLULAM STRUCTURE WITH NLT DECKING

It was very clear in the workshops that the participants wanted to see nature and the use of wood in the center. I translated this into a design attuned to the true realities of nature to better connect with this land, showing plants changing with the seasons rather than adding interior vegetative walls.

This design celebrates the use of wood, as it is a natural renewable material, a local resource, and was used by Native ancestors to build. The entire building has a post and beam glulam structure and nail-laminated timber decking, linking the design with the modernity of the First Nations. In addition, taking advantage of what nature offers, the design integrates some passive architecture principals. Also, the native and medicinal roof garden, enclosed by tall walls, opens to the sky and frames the one view of the mountain that is unobstructed by tall buildings.

VIEW FROM THE ROOF GARDEN

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SECOND FLOOR PLAN

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RE/SOURCE NATURAL ALTERNATIVE HEATLH CENTER, MONTREAL M. ARCH

FALL 2017

PARTNER: SARAH SCHLEGELMILCH

Adjacent to the Champs-de-Mars metro station, the new CHUM hospital, downtown and the old city, this site recently covered another segment of the Ville-Marie expressway which divided the city in the 70s. This studio gave total freedom to the students for their intervention.

INSTRUCTOR: SYBIL MCKENNA

This project Re/Source counterbalances the mega-hospital’s stern architecture and philosophy by proposing a health center with alternative natural methods to well being. The ground level, where one may maintain his or her health, offers a superfood coffee shop, a classroom for cooking classes, an exhibition room and a medicinal herb shop. These spaces are all connected to a grand living room and circulation space visually linking all floors and programs. On the second floor, the clinics are where one may improve his or her health by consulting professionals such as osteopaths, naturopaths and dietitians. On the third floor, alternatives for the future are researched at a natural drug laboratory. The forth level hosts yoga classes, medical marijuana consumption room, and a roof terrace. The greenhouse attached grows certain foods for the café and cooking classes, medicinal herbs for the shop and prescriptions from the second floor, plants for the research and medical marijuana. Although grown in restricted quantities, the plants are meant to raise awareness of the city’s passersby and the visitors.

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WALL SECTION DETAIL

1:100

NORTH ELEVATION

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As opposed to the hospital, this building is designed for the human experience, as it considers the proportion of each of the spaces in relationship to the size of the body, and uses natural light as an element to animate space. The alternative look of the diamond structure of the greenhouse and windows of the building provide a playful attractive light. To allude to the past community of small brick buildings that were obliterated by the construction of the highway, the front facade is subdivided with columns into small shops and the building is cladded in red brick. The building’s position on the site along with its red brick pedestrian path reinstates the historic edges and streets. The greenhouse and the large western brick wall block the wind and sound from the highway. However, the transparency of the greenhouse frames what may one day be built to the west covering more of the scarring highway.

Re/Source mends the gap of the site, acting as a counterpart to the mega-hospital and recognizing its past community.

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NYC FARM HOUSING URBAN FARM + CULINARY INSTITUTE + CONDOMINIUMS, NYC B. SC. (ARCH)

WINTER 2015

PARTNER: CAROLINE PFISTER

CONTEST & COMPREHENSIVE DESIGN STUDIO INSTRUCTOR: HOWARD DAVIES & DAVID NEWTON

As part of the AWR competition NYC Sky Condo, this building had to combine urban farming, condominiums and a program of our choosing. To obtain a synergy those and the public, we felt education was the key. Teaching is at the core of the program, with a culinary institute acting as the public image of the project.

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The building is shaped as a deconstructed box leaning to the side, in a gesture that embraces the High Line, while its materiality translates the environmental consciousness of the project, with tinted photovoltaic glass panels enclosing the greenhouse area.

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SITE PLAN 1:4000

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Cladding the urban farm, translucent solar photovoltaic panels produce 316,000 kWh per year, supporting the average energy consumption for 27 individuals. They are tinted a copper-like color to filter light so that only the wavelength useful for plant growth may pass. The remaining light is transformed into energy for electricity.

50m SKY JUICE BAR

FRONT ELEVATION

A central vertical open space links the entrances on 10th Avenue and the High Line, inviting passersby to take a seat in the student cafe or to taste the farm’s produce in the restaurant. Ascending this public space which connects every floor, visitors may peek inside the various farming areas and learn about urban agriculture. At the top floor, a sky juice bar offers freshly harvested fruit cocktails and a panoramic view of New York City.

AQUAPONICS HYDROPONICS

CONDOMINIUMS

HYDROPONICS

RESTAURANT 10m

STUDENT CAFÉ

CULINARY INSTITUTE

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Residential and farming are distinctly separated for functionality and efficiency while the circulation acts as the central connecting point.

LONGITUDINAL SECTION

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4 1

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TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN (LEVEL 4)

HIGH LINE

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HIGH LINE LEVEL FLOOR PLAN

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10TH AVENUE

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

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1. Vertical Circulation 2. Urban farm 3. Condominiums 4. Culinary Institute 5. Restaurant 6. Student Café 7. Condominiums’ Lobby 8. Retail 9. Loading Docks

CASA SALUDABLE SINGLE FAMILY HOUSE, PUEBLA, MEXICO B. SC. (ARCH)

WINTER 2014

EXCHANGE AT UDLAP

INSTRUCTOR: ROBERTO MARTĂ?NEZ V.

Located in Puebla, Mexico, this house contrasts a glazed space for the stairs with solid masses on both sides. The interior green walls provide a background to the stairs, and ensure privacy together with opaque walls. As the client requested that the exercise room conceptually and formally influence the project, the room cantilevers out and reaches for fresh perspectives from the second level.

The first floor, which is completely open, blends in with the garden due to the glazed and sliding walls.

A vegetable garden is located on the roof of the carport, receiving the most solar exposure. The two other green roofs are tilted up at opposite ends to bring the whole to life, while stucco walls are painted blue to celebrate the traditionally colorful Mexican buildings. On this land, nature and architecture dance.

SOUTH-EAST ELEVATION 1:150

SOUTH-WEST ELEVATION

NORTH-EAST ELEVATION

NORTH-WEST ELEVATION

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A

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

1. Entrance 2. Living Room 3. Kitchen 4. Dining Room 5. Washroom 6. Carport 7. Terrace 8. Vegetable Garden 9. Master Bedroom 10. Dressing Room 11. Master Bathroom 12. Bedroom 13. Exercise Room 14. Bathroom 15. Laundry Closet

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SECOND FLOOR PLAN

SECTION A

SHERBS LOCAL FOOD NETWORK, MONTREAL B. SC. (ARCH)

FALL 2015

ADAPTIVE RE-USE

PARTNER: ROXANNE TURMEL

At different levels, all interventions rely on SHERBS’ three pillars: production of fresh vegetables in greenhouses, distribution of them to the community, and education on gardening and health. The school and secondary interventions send their excess food to the bases to be sold in the markets.

Base Secondary Intervention School Intervention Food Deserts Food Deserts Limit Montreal Borough Limit Sherbrooke Street

PARC AVE.

ATWATER AVE.

DECARIE HIGHWAY

In order to promote the civic function of existing buildings along this street, our project used food as a tool to unify all communities.

SHERBS is a network of greenhouses built on the roof of existing civic assets (churches, schools, museums & community centers) located in food deserts.

INSTRUCTOR: TALIA DORSEY

URBAN FARMING SOLUTION

WESTMINSTER AVE.

For this studio called «Civic Assest», Sherbrooke Street, in Montreal, was analyzed through a multitude of angles, such as circulation, urban landscape, nocturnal life, immigration, history, and interviews.

The results demonstrated a great cultural and demographic diversity along the corridor.

RESEARCH ORIENTED STUDIO

PIE-IX BLVD.

PAPINEAU AVE.

PROPOSED MARKET AND RESTAURANT IN BASE 1

NETWORK ALL GREENHOUSES ALONG SHERBROOKE ST. 19,790 m2 525 metric tons of food/year feeds 13,850 people/week

PRODUCTION

SECONDARY INTERVENTION DISTRIBUTION EXISTING TRINITY MEMORIAL CHURCH (in danger of being converted to condominiums)

BASES

SCHOOLS

EDUCATION

FOOD DESERTS ALONG SHERBROOKE STREET & SHERBS INTERVENTIONS

MODEL MAKING

GRILLED CHEESE STAND 1:10 MODEL EACH SHIPPING PALLET WAS INDIVIDUALLY MADE IN WOOD AND ASSEMBLED AS IT WOULD IN REALITY, ON A METAL BASE AND SUPPORTED BY A BALSA WOOD STRUCTURE REPRESENTING 2X6S AND PLYWOOD PANELS.

FLOATING OPERA 1:100 MODEL PAINTED CARDBOARD

3D MODEL OF THE WALL SECTION

RE/SOURCE 1:10 WALL SECTION MODEL PAINTED PLYWOOD AND CARDBOARD AND BLACK FOAM CORE INSTRUCTIONS WERE TO HAVE A MONOCHROMATIC MODEL EXCEPT FOR THE INSULATION EXPLORATION OF EXTRUDED BRICKS AND TILTED WINDOWS

CENOTAPH WITH PIVOTING BENCH 1:20 MODEL ALUMINUM, STAINED CHERRY WOOD, BLACK PLEXIGLASS

HAND DRAWING

BRIDGE TO ILE D’ORLÉANS QUEBEC CITY, QC

ST-SAUVEUR QUEBEC CITY, QC

OLD PORT QUEBEC CITY, QC

LUNENBURGH, NS

EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC OF A GRILLED CHEESE STAND MADE OF SHIPPING PALLETS HAND DRAWN AT 1:30

TANIA PILON M. Arch, LEED AP BD+C

514-836-5875 pilon.tania@gmail.com