THOMAS ABELA Portfolio
2009-2015
contents
academic STUDENT HOUSING all thing to all men massing study school of cinematography court-in-court house in the forest ca’ granda restoration residential garden birgu ditch holistic centre the gate
other photography
STUDENT HOUSING PROPOSAL FOR A STUDENT HOUSING SOLUTION CLOSE TO UNIVERSITY GROUNDS Architecture Design Studio
visual of site
M s i d a , M a l t a
2011
The building complex was a housing solution for multi-national students with different backgrounds and cultures. The goal was to take into consideration as many influencing factors from the dense urban surroundings of the site. These ‘influence’ lines were then super-imposed on the existing topography of the land to create a new landscape.
front elevation
back elevation
model view a
model view b
‘A L L T H I N G S T O A L L M E N ’ PROPOSAL FOR THE REVIVAL OF THE GROUNDS AT DAR TAL-PROVIDENZA student design competition
siggiewi, Malta
2012
The administration at Dar tal-Providenza seeked to create a fully-accesible space within an existing courtyard within the perimeter of the site. This served as an entrance to a chapel which was put into shadow due to the sprawl of accretions and connecting spaces around it. Rather than creating a shading solution an effort was made to promote involvement of the residents. The concept was to create a ‘marketplace’ with fixed focal points in the courtyard will still allowing an ever-changing range of activities within the space.
plan of courtyard | scale 1:500
s e c t i o n a-a’ | s c a l e 1 : 5 0 0
section d-d’ | scale 1:500
sketch of entrance facing the chapel at dar tal-providenza
MASSING STUDY TESTING MASSING METHODOLOGIES FOR A LOCAL DETACHED DWELLING Architecture Design Studio
M s i d a , M a l t a
2010
A study was carried out to analyse an alternative solution for a layout in a detached dwelling by taking into consideration the various spiral arrangements of the floors. This produced a great number of architectural elements that created huge interest within the tight area of the site. Structural ambiguities were avoided by having a loads dissipated through a unit that repeated itself throughout the whole building.
SCHOOL OF CINEMATOGRAPHY PROPOSAL FOR A SCHOOL OF FILM WITH ON-SITE FACILITIES Architecture Design Studio
hal-ferh,Malta
2013
visual of production labs & auditorium
sketch plan of site layout
The brief provided asked for a School of Cinematography that had a substantial amount of on-site facilities while being capable of providing residential quarters for the student. The site at Hal-Ferh provided a clear path that linked it to the valley and the beach nearby. This provided the basis to creating a grid layout that housed the different units required while keeping it inherently interconnected to the rest of the spaces. Another challenge was ‘diluting’ the adverse effects of these industrial type buildings in such a landscape. A system was created were an interplay between the foreground and the background of the support structures mimicked the substantial number of tall trees surrounding the site.
front elevation
back elevation
visual of main entrance to production complex
‘COURT-IN-COURT’ PROGRAMMING EXERCISE OF A BOUTIQUE HOTEL IN AN INFILL SITE Design Studio
sliema,Malta
2012
The brief was to design a layout for a boutique hotel in the heart of an infill site in Sliema. The site was surrounded by a noisy car park and two arterial roads. The desition was made early on to focus and direct attention to the inner parts of the building envelope. Courtyards and corridors were used as a tool of dispersal from the outer rushed environment.
ground floor layout
first floor layout
HOUSE IN THE FOREST PROPOSAL FOR A SUSTAINABLE RESIDENCE & STUDIO FOR A PIANIST building technology workshop
ground floor plan
main elevation of residence
b o r g o t i c i n o, i ta ly 2 0 1 2
west elevation
g i v o n i ta b l e - t h e r m a l c o m f o r t a n a lys i s
CA’ GRANDA CONSERVATION WORKSHOP AT OSPEDALE MAGGIORE IN MILAN HISTORICAL BUILDING PRESERVATION STUDIO
M I L A N , I T A L Y
2012
An on-site workshop provided the fantastic opportunity to work on a significant historical entity in Central Milan. The goal of the workshop was to test material and deterioration recognition skills. Furthermore an emphasis was made not to stop at identification level but to delve into analysis of the various modes of deterioration within the building envelope. The data gathered was used for the conservation and further study of the building fabric at one of the courtyards at Ca’ Granda. The on-site workshop was complemented with a serious of lectures that looked at the chemistry of decomposition of stone & other building elements.
a r e a o f s t u dy at c a’ g r a n d a
RESIDENTIAL GARDEN PROPOSAL FOR A GARDEN WITH POOL FACILITIES IN THE LOCAL BUILDING SCENARIO LANDSCAPING & DETAILING WORKSHOP
M S I D A , M a l t a
2013
ground floor plan
Plan & sectional detail of ALTERATION SHOWN IN VISUAL
POOL CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
SECTIONAL ELEVATIONS
BIRGU DITCH PROPOSAL FOR A HOLISTIC LANDSCAPING SOLUTION FOR BIRGU DITCH URBAN DESIGN WORKSHOP
B I R G U , M a l t a
2013
VISUALS OF PROPOSED SITTING AREA OPPOSING KALKARA
The brief was to create a clear connection by providing a trail between the opposite ends of Birgu. This provided the opportunity to provide a sufficient number of recreation spaces. At the edge of Kalkara Bastions, sheltered and unsheltered seating spaces were provided to further embellish the area while ensuring minimal impact.
masterplan
BAR/ CAFETERIA OPPOSITE ENTRANCE FROM KALKARA
HOLISTIC CENTRE PROPOSAL FOR A WELLNESS CENTRE AS PART OF THE LAZZARETTO ARCHITECTURE DESIGN STUDIO
SKETCH OF ADDITION
MANOEL ISLAND,Malta
2013
The brief established that Division 1 of the Lazzaretto be changed into a long-stay respite centre would could also provide public spaces to maximize use of the space. An addition was proposed to fulfil this multitude of roles. The resultant area not only respected the existing fabric but used it as a background layer for specialized PV panels.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN | DIVISION 1
VISUAL OF ENTRANCE TO CAFETERIA
LONGITUDINAL SECTION
The programme of the building required complete separation between the Public-Ground Floor to the Private facilities provide at First Floor Level. This meant that the proposed addition served as a funnel into the older part of the building channelling users from one space to another. Small indoor courtyards spread around the building provided energy to interconnected the levels of public space . LECTURE ROOM
VISUAL OF INDOOR COURT
FIRST FLOOR PLAN
VISUAL OF PROPOSED ADDITION
THE GATE PROPOSAL FOR A SHOPPING & RESIDENTIAL CENTRE IN QARWA ARCHITECTURE DESIGN STUDIO
Q A W R A , M a l t a
2014
TRIAL VOLUMETRIC LAYOUTS
MASTERPLAN
INITIAL SKETCHES OF PLAZA
The goal behind the studio was to create a fresh coastal destination in the North of the Maltese Islands. Creating an attractor point in such a social landscape was a challenge. Research showed that most of the times we were dealing with the lower demographic of society. So do you isolate the lower social demographic and create the typical landmark coastal architecture or seek spaces of higher significance within the scheme that will enrich the experience of all those involved. Careful studies were undertaken to produce an ‘urban merge’ between these incongruous parts of society.
VIEW OF MARINA
PLAZA CONNECTION TO ROAD LEVEL
VISUAL OF FACADE ELEMENTS
Technical analysis were required to ensure minimal impact of such buildings to ensure the fundamentals weren’t lost in the process. Wind analysis of the towers was carried out to monitor the vortices created in the plaza areas which would be highly populated and at the various terrace levels. Programmatic-al changes had to be carried during the design stages to ensure adequate thermal comfort and reduce energy demand by the built envelope.
SECTION SHOWING SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF SHOPPING CENTRE
W I N D A N A LYS I S I N VA S A R I
FACADE COMPOSITION
OTHER
PHOTOGRAPHY