ARCHITECTURE
PORTFOLIO
VITALIE
ROBU
robu vitalie
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Bachelor of Design in Architecture College of Design 137-24 70 Ave. Apt.C Kew Gardens, New York 11367 robux003@umn.edu 347.903.7628
Contents |
Design Work trans-foodsion - International Design Competition contemporary arts center - Structure Analyses urban revitalization - Design Charrette dynamic light effect - Design Concept artistical creation - Hand Made Work architectural photography - Architecture through my lenses
trans-foodsion
Project Description
This is a team entry to the Paris Market Lab international competition, organized by ArchMedium. The objective was to create a new restaurant concept in which the dining experience is augmented. Customer interaction is created within the kitchen to exist as a restaurant and cooking school in situ to develop into the best in the world for food and learning. The “Market Lab” transforms into a new experience every night –enjoyable for many. The team consisted of: Jingyi Feng, Jonathan Jacobs, Nicholas Kramer, Vitalie Robu, and Floyd Lemon.
Project Thesis
In the heart of the Luxemburg, the sophistication of the left bank saturates the air between the aging walls. Adjacent to the St. German market, the liberal mind of Paris embraces her Gastronomy Market Lab with full appreciation of the pioneering exploration of food. Trans-Foodsion caters to the ever-changing perception of gastronomy while juxtaposing traditional Parisian patterns. The interior maintains a tangible transparency from the street, and evolves along the building’s skin—light is re-processed by colored ceramic. Indeed, it is the experience of delectable cooking.
Project Solution
The analysis of site began the process of the design. This revealed cultural aspects of the site that were highly considered during the process. The focus was to attract people through curiosity to the site so that the building is successful and functional within the program for which it is intended. Reflecting on various monumental aspects of the site, the desire was to connect the building to important site features by creating specific and intentional views from balconies and openings. The challenge was to incorporate every team member’s idea to develop a final proposal for our team. This taught me how to work well in a team environment, which made our team successful.
Site Plan
Site Model
Interior representation
Facade detail
Conceptual Design
x-trusion
tor-sion
d-vision
x-ertion
in-tegration
re-unification
Level 1
Level 3
Level 4
Offices Extensive green roof provides garden area Translucent ceramic tiles
Patio/ Exterior gathering space Salon/ Classroom
Plaza Retail/ Reception Area
contemporary arts center
Project Description
Zaha Hadid’s dynamic architecture is influential and inspiring for my architectural studies. The Contemporary Arts Center, in Cincinnati, Ohio, has an intriguing building form of stacked layers comprising the building. It redefines galleries with a series of innovative spaces, along with the urban carpet that provides a continuity of exterior to interior that draws in pedestrian traffic.
Project Solution
Due to its success, The Contemporary Arts Center functions as a model for museums worldwide. The center serves as a focal point for downtown Cincinnati. I built and rendered a 3-D model of the building to have an enhanced appreciation for the elements that make the project successful as a museum, and how people use it. Diagrams, floor plans, and sections, function as representational aspects of the building quality that enable a more meaningful understanding of the project.
Project Description
Exterior renderings show the context in relation to the city and the building’s affectation on pedestrians as they pass the stacked-block building. Zaha used the urban carpet to merge multiple metropolitan settings in the project. This characteristic guides one to understand how the architect relates and merges divisions of the city to the building itself by incorporating site features to the design. The interior render corresponds to the program, and how people cultivate the space of the building. This represents diverse qualities of buildings, and tells the story of the success of each individual element of the design.
Level 2
Building’s Program - Galleries - Lobby - Offices - Terrace - Stairs, Toilets, Utility rooms - Museum shop
Level 4
Project Description
The understanding of a building’s function is augmented when working with floor plans, sections and elevations. The evaluation and reproduction of technical drawings of a building is an essential importance to a building’s analysis. Upon evaluation, spatial quality of a building, project’s scale, ideas behind the creation, purpose, and the program of each space created by the architect is recognized.
- UnMuseum Rooms - Performance Space
Level 1
urban revitalization
Project Description
The catastrophe provoked by the tornado of May 2011 caused multiple buildings enormous damage. Some of these were repairable, some not. In a design charrette, I and other four members had to derive a redevelopment proposal for the specified neighborhood. The focus was to reinterpret existing neighborhood features and exemplify attractive features. The long but narrow site allowed a design for two family size buildings. This was to serve as a model for other tornado-stricken homes and communities. The development of ideas enabled community interaction for an integrated design process that values community. Other team members were: Olga Berkovskaya, Lorren Mueller, Mandi Tauferner, and Matthew Thompson.
Project Solution
In the process of making this project, I incorporated building codes into the design and implemented these technical aspects in AutoCAD. Using plan and elevation drawings, I constructed a 3D model. This was then rendered to provide an enhanced sense of the proposal possibilities. Level 1
Level 2
dynamic light effect
Project Description
To define the program and construct conceptual purpose, rather than the purpose defining the limitations of the material inspired me to work with wood toward its maximal capacity. An interesting design was made that was developed into a concept that could be utilized architecturally. I chose to define the concept as a building envelope. The phenomenon created a manifestation of dynamic shadow effect.
Project Solution
The process of creating this project consisted of bending and twisting the wood to its extents. Through these types of tests, gradual cracks formed in the material. The material limitations were based off of these observations. The final design was achieved by shifting the ends of each warped piece to the center of its bend. Through this, powerful eloquent forms started to emerge. This process created a unique outcome every time because of the innate properties of wood; a result that is difficult to recreate. Also, a digital reproduction of this type of work is also difficult and may be inconsistent to duplicate. This quality makes each piece unique since the wood would create different shapes each trial.
Project Description
As a result of the previous process, I developed a 45�x30� palette of twisted pieces of wood. These were arranged in rows so that the ultimate limit of the twist was achieved in the center pieces of the display and gradually decreasing in distortion to the outer edges. I took several photographs of the construction, and then manipulated those in Photoshop. Two best iterations show how this form could be integrated into a building as an entire facade that contains large openings to let light pass through in a semi-controlled method. Or use a tighter pattern that limits the light passing through. Both methods utilize the effect of light and shadow in different scales.
Project Description
When I took the project further to see its functional characteristics, I discovered the intensity and attractiveness of the shadows. The result of warped wood directed the light in different angles giving a sense of movement especially with varying incoming light. The shadows, in turn, also had a dynamic and movement-like quality to them: bringing the project to life and giving a particular experience in a space that may contain these light qualities. This effect makes the project successful, even with a few challenges like its difficulty to recreate, or have better control of shadow and light interplay.
artistical creation
Project Description
Conveying ideas and concepts through an assortment of mediums, clarifies and accelerates the work-process. In architecture, the ability to sketch, and make contour and technical drawings is very useful. It enables better translation of analog drawings into digital media. The synthesis of digital and analog drawings is extremely effective to evolve and distill concepts. Through a rigorous process, it was discovered that the more time spent on development of these drawings, the outcome became more careful and more accurate in its attention to detail, which helps to discover and portray a better sense of the subject’s semblance and character.
Project Solution
I was able to improve my ability to see visual phenomena such as space, light, and form. I learned how to combine seeing with drawing in the way that is specific to the discipline and profession of architecture and I studied drawing as a process of visual exploration of architectural concepts and systems of visual notations.
architectural photography
Project Description
A series of photographs were developed to represent the intentions of the gallery titled, “The Time is Right to Turn Nothingness into Somethingness.” Pictures were taken of different moments, at various locations, and multiple situations to strengthen and elucidate the theme.
Project Theme
“The time is right to turn Nothingness into Somethingness”. If Somethingness involves evoking creativity by stimulating the sense, Nothingness is the exact opposite. It involves clearing your mind so you have room for new ideas. We live in a fast paced world that we often fail to pay attention to small details that can leave long lasting effects on us. In other words, these details can make people wonder, reflect on them from a definite but not specified or identified angle. Perhaps these details guide the reader in a certain type of thinking. Therefore these details transform into something more, something bigger and of superior purpose. Details might enclose complete story lines associated with particular designs that themselves may contain passionate moments in a seductive curve or a jagged edge.
Project Description
The goal was to depict special moments of my own interest in a way that most do not see. Those that are observing the photos are drawn to rethink their judgment of what is attractive, interesting, and what is worth appreciation. Photos on this page are different from one another, but they carry a consistent conceptual idea that is core to the theme. The photo on the bottom-left is an example that shows how the environment was handled through a perspectival approach that represents particular architectural elements of the building’s envelope. The photographs were edited and manipulated to emphasize and enhance the aesthetics of their pertaining characteristics.
Thank you
robu vitalie University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Bachelor of Design in Architecture College of Design 137-24 70 Ave. Apt.C Kew Gardens, New York 11367 robux003@umn.edu 347.903.7628