architecture portfolio
podoleanu Vlad Andrei
C on t en t s About me
General information Skills & competences
Projects Architectural Diploma project
Multipurpose Atcheltics Complex Location: Baia Mare, Romania
Office - Private project
“Mega Image Vergului” Supermarket Location: Bucharest, Romania Office: MetaSpace
Office - Public project
“Connecting Carol I Park & Tineretului Park” Pedestrian walkway Location: Bucharest, Romania Office: MetaSpace Advocacy Planning, Bucharest, Romania Note: 1st Prize in Public Space & Urban planning section - 2015 Bucharest Architecture Annual Nominalization in Unbuilt Projects section - 2015 Bucharest Architecture Annual
Office - International contest
“SixtyNine Seventy - The spaces Between” Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Office: MetaSpace Note: Competition Entry
Office - International contest Detroit Riverfront Competition Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA Office: MetaSpace Note: Competition Entry
Concept projects
“Mogosoaia” Single Family House Location: Mogosoaia, Romania Office: MetaSpace
Drawings & Sketches
Selection from the “Meet the Space” School for architectural drawing
G en er al infor m a t i on Vlad Andrei PODOLEANU Baia Mare, Romania May 25th 1988 vpodoleanu@gmail.com 0040 742 923 521
Name Born E-mail Phone
Wor k exp er i en c e
S kills & c o m p e t e n ce s Software experience
Architectural assistant
Advanced or solid working knowledge in
Member at
AutodeskAutocad & Autocad Architecture - 2D Drafting/3D Modelling/ Extensive project documentation 3DsMax - Rendering (V-ray&Mental Ray) Adobe Photoshop - Render processing Microsoft Office - Word, Excel, Power Point
MetaSpace Architecture office january 2013 - present
Advocacy Planning (NGO) Bucharest, Romania november 2013 - present
MetaSpace Architecture office
Intern at
march 2012 - january 2013
Medium knowledge and learning in Corel Draw - Concept design / Presentation work Autodesk Autocad Civil 3D - 3D Modelling Adobe InDesign - Layout Editting/Book formatting
Stu d ies & acad em i c a c t i v i t y Teacher’s assistant at
Begginer in Autodesk Revit & Revit Architecture -3D Modelling/Documentation work Netfabb - 3D printing Microsoft Project - Project sheduling and organization Google SketchUp - 3d Modelling / Rendering (V-ray)
MeetTheSpace School for architectural drawing july 2012 - september 2014
Student & volunteer at
School of Bunesti Architecture Workshop august 2010
Student & volunteer at
Intl. Building Site Course Mesendorf Workshop september 2010 august 2009
Student at Language skills Romanian - Native proficiency English - Full professional proficiency, IELTS - General Training Certification Spanish - limited working proficiency French - limited working proficiency
“Ion Mincu” University ofArchitecture and Urbanism Bucharest,Romania
september 2008 - july 2014
Student at
“Baia Mare Arts Highschool” Architecture technical class Baia Mare,Romania
september 2003 - june 2007
Dip loma P roj ec t Multipurpose Athletics Complex City of Baia Mare, Maramures, Romania Baia Mare City Sports Complex “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism Bucharest, Romania 2014 Coordinating professors Architecture prof. phd. arch. Stefan SCAFA-UDRISTE lect. phd. arch. Gabriel COSTACHESCU Structural engineering engr. Dragos MARCU
In the following material I am going to talk briefly about my diploma project, where I explore a scenario in which the city of Baia Mare, my home town, could greatly benefit by channeling it’s efforts into upgrading the local sports infrastructure and using it as a platform for raising the city’s status and encouraging its economic growth by hosting various international sporting events, concerts, conventions and other similar activities. It is my strong belief that such an endeavour, if wisely managed, has the potential to become the social and economic activator the city of Baia Mare, and needs.
Dip lom a p roj ec t Multipurpose Athletics Complex About the city and region LOCATION
SIGNIFICANT CITY AREAS
First, I would like to tell you a few words about the city of Baia Mare. Positioned in the northern part of the country, it has been the commercial and social center for the regions of Maramures and Satu Mare and Salaj for the better part of the last century, it being the capital of Maramures County. After the ‘89 revolution, Baia Mare, like most post communist, heavy industrialized Romanian cities, has seen a strong decline in many aspects of its life: from closing down almost all the former industrial establishments to losing more than a third of its population in the last 15 - 20 years. Maramures County, in itself is a rather popular tourist location for a lot of Romanians and Western Europeans alike, but Baia Mare sees almost none of the income generated from its own administrative territory, in part, due to its position outside the mountainous circle that surrounds the historical region.
Premise
SITE CONTEXT
SITE MANIPULATION
One solution to this problem would be to try and transform Baia Mare into a tourist attraction itself, and a base of operations for the neighboring social and economic activities. Like most mid-sized Romanian cities, Baia Mare has a number of sporting venues built in the communist period, that could easily constitute a good working ground.The existing facilities have been build between the early ‘50s and the late ‘70s. Although most of the buildings are used to some extent today, none have been fully functional for more than two decades, and put together, in their current state, they wouldn’t amount to a very high standard of sporting infrastructure or even a decent seating capacity. Upgrading and expanding this infrastructure could give Baia Mare a powerful tool to work with in it’s pursuit of becoming a serious tourist attraction. Event tourism, particularly through sporting events, has become one of the most profitable businesses in the world today. Sporting competitions attract a high number of spectators, raise the city’s overall media exposure and and it’s general status. The project you are viewing today bases itself on this idea and strives to become a versatile facility, positioned in a fairly important area of the city, meant primarily for athletics and other indoor sporting events, but also as a concert hall or large scale conference space. With a capacity of 6000+ seats in its stands and another 1500 on the floor, it would become the main sporting facility for the entire northern region of the country.
Dip lom a p roj ec t Multipurpose Athletics Complex The area, the site
ENVELOPE DIAGRAM
I’ve chosen its position in an area of the city where there already are a few smaller sporting venues: an Olympic-sized indoor and outdoor swimming pool with 1500 hundred seats, a small sports hall, mainly used for handball (the local passion sport), also with 1500 seats, an outdoor 400m running track with a football pitch and a rugby field, both with no conventional seating available. The area itself is quite large and very close to the city centre, making it a perfect setting for a new urban park that doubles as a sports complex. The presence of a park would also create a more desirable living area for the nearby residential and office buildings.
Terrain configuration
GROUND ACCES DIAGRAM
UNDERGROUND ACCES DIAGRAM
One of the main issues within the development of the project has been from the beginning, configuring the access layout and the way the site would be populated and traversed during events.These aspects would also reflect the way the building itself has been positioned and shaped. The entire site is bound by three major roads in the city and another smaller one, creating four busy intersections with automobile and pedestrian traffic.Through the site ran two more secondary roads of witch the central one has been cut out, thus creating a singular urban space meant for pedestrian use only. I have chosen to connect the four intersections in a direct manner, on an axis that would accommodate the new construction and an ample central plaza from witch the user could easily find his way to any of the facilities or simply linger; for this not to get extremely crowded in the case of multiple simultaneous events, every venue in the park has been given its own urban foyer - a smaller plaza. The alleyways of the park are generous in size, almost street-like dimensions, meant to accommodate heavy foot traffic during events, bicycle lanes, running lanes and leisure space. Another important issue in creating sporting venues in general, is the size of the building compared to its surrounding constructed tissue, and in this particular case, most of the buildings around the site are around 4 to 6 floors high, not exceeding 20m in height. Even though the site is large and the hall itself is positioned quite far from the existing buildings there was still a desire to make it as low as possible without losing its potential iconic aspect for the city and without completely burying it underground. The solution here was to create a large circular sunken courtyard witch would serve as an access path for athletes,VIPs, technical staff, and as access to the underground parking garage.
d i ploma project
Dip lom a p roj ec t Multipurpose Athletics Complex The shape The shape of the building is mostly dictated by its orientation and position on the site and by the way the access system has been configured.The wider, taller part of the hall indicates the area with a higher seating capacity and easy access for large groups of people.The sides of the hall have been dimensioned to ensure an adequate number of access points (and exits). The lower, narrower part of the building has been configured as the main foyer which can be accessed from the underground parking from both sides or from the parks main plaza on the ground level as more of an initiation path into the atmosphere of the event. This configuration orientates the building towards the central plaza of the park both in height and width making it the focal point of the ensemble and giving it a dynamic presence.
The structure and envelope The structure chosen to create the buildings shape is composed of four main longitudinal beams that meet at the ends and are held in place by steel cables strung perpendicularly through the beams. The entire system works in a cross manner, where the lower left beam pulls on the upper right beam and the lower right beam pulls on the upper left beam, making the resulting forces meet in the middle where the structure is stabilized by a number of smaller steel beams that act as spacers between the two upper beams. The longitudinal beams, partly hollow, contain the main electrical and ventilation systems within, thus becoming the lifeblood of the entire hall.The intermediate longitudinal beams create a braking point in the cables’ direction, stabilizing the structure even further and shaping the halls cross section with a broken slope in order to prevent snow accumulation. The asymmetrical longitudinal section also facilitates most of the water and melted snow to run in one direction for collection, filtering, and use in the buildings water system. The actual cover layer of the structure is composed of a double ventilated PTFE membrane on the sides (covering the stands) and photovoltaic plastic film over the central part, between the higher beams.
AXONOMETRIC LAYERS DIAGRAM
UNDERGROUND PLAN
TRANSVERSE SECTION
FAÇ ADE
LONGITUDINAL SECTION
FAÇ ADE
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
1ST FLOOR PLAN
Dip lom a p roj ec t Multipurpose Athletics Complex Functionality and versatility The functional configuration of the hall has been layered from bottom to top beginning with spaces for athletes; technical equipment/staff; storage spaces and ending with VIP boxes, a lounge, spaces for press commentators and technical spaces for lights operation/video streaming and recording.All these spaces, sandwiching in between the larger space, more open space meant for general spectator use. The playing surface of the hall has been dimensioned so that it can accommodate a 200m running track and athletics equipment or if needed a larger floor space. The floor has its separate steel structure that can be lowered for smaller playing surface configurations and extra seating. Also the large front foyer, due to its size and multiple access points, allows for a number of modifications that might prove necessary during certain types of events.
Conclusion
DETAILED PLAN - STANDS
SIGHTLINE SECTION
The project is meant as a forerunner in the proccess of upgrading Baia Mare’s status and standing by giving it a tool with which it can begin to build a sustainable social and economic strategy. The proposed project can be a platform on which investments in transport infrastructure, social development and in the tourist industry can be correlated and justified. Although, at times, buildings such as the one proposed prove to be costly for city budgets, one can assume that with a proper public - private partnership program (in which the private entity would manage the city’s investment) the number and type of events hosted by the city Baia Mare would help raise its social and economic profile, thus achieving the projects initial goals.
DETAILED BEAM SECTION
DETAILED FAÇADE SECTION
Pr iva t e P roj ec t Mega Image “Vergului” Supermarket
Bucharest, Romania
METAspace - office for architecture Bucharest, Romania 2014 Coordinator phd. arch. Horia BEJAN arch. Sorana BADEA Team arch. Sebastian CUCU arch.Vlad PODOLEANU
Mega Image - Client Founded in 1995, Mega Image is the largest supermarket chain in Romania, with a network comprising of over 450 stores in Bucharest and other important cities such as Constanta, Ploiesti or Brasov, under the brands “Mega Image”, “Shop&Go”, “AB COOL FOOD” and “Mega Drive”. The Mega Image company is part of Delhaize Group, an international retailer founded in 1867 in Belgium, which currently operates on three continents.
Pr ivat e p roj ec t Mega Image “Vergului” Supermarket Relationship Mega Image is a long-lasting client within the METAspace Office, together having completed the documentation for over 100 stores. Most stores are located within existing buildings which are either bespoke retail spaces, or have to be converted from other functions (such as clothing factories or auto shops). There are also cases in which they requested newly built retail spaces.Apart from typical retail construction documentation, we have also been contracted to design various facades and interiors for their stores.
The projet commission The “Vergului” supermarket, one of Mega Image’s largest in the country, was built in 2014 and is located in a fairly populated neighborhood on the east side of Bucharest, in close proximity to a very busy intersection in that area. METAspace was commissioned to design the store and to closely follow all the construction phases.This presented a great learning opportunity for myself as I got the chance to not only work on every design step but to collaborate with specialized teams of structural engineers and different types of construction specialists.
LOCATION PLAN
SITE PLAN
Pr ivat e p roj ec t Mega Image “Vergului” Supermarket Collaboration and construction
ROOF INSULATION PANELS - RIDGE DETAIL
As in most cases, when it comes to supermarkets, the functional layout of the building was established in close collaboration with the client-company’s technical department. The layout and materials used in designing these stores are fairly standard. The main space of the building, the sales floor, has to be made so that it is easily accessible and quick to exit in all circumstances. The lifeblood of the supermarket is “the back” of the store. Careful planning goes into optimizing the actual workspace of the staff. Anything from depositing the products in separate rooms and containers to meet the specific requirements for environment and hazard authorities, to the changing rooms and staff bathrooms is usually a task closely supervised by the clients technical department. The 1000 Square meters supermarket is built upon a continuous concrete foundation and it is composed of a steel frame structure covered with insulated roof and wall panels. The main façade of the building has been designed to specific Mega Image standards, using glass curtain walls and aluminum composite paneling. One of the biggest challenges of the projects, was having to move some of the cities old gas and electrical pipelines found on the propriety.This slowed down the initial phases of construction and made the entire schedule extremely tight. In order to meet the clients deadline, our office had to have a very hands-on approach in working with the foreman his construction crew, overseeing the construction phases up-close.
ROOF INSULATION PANELS - ATTIC DETAIL
DRAINAGE DETAILS - CORNICE AND FOOTING
FLOOR PLAN - FURNITURE LAYOUT Note: This is usually one of four plans for each floor/level of the building. Other plans include specifications for types of walls, materials, finishes, protection elements, fire proofing, etc.
INSULATION PANELS - GENERAL AND CORNER DETAILS
FAÇADE_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FAÇADE_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TRANSVERSE SECTION_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________TRANSVERSE SECTION________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ASSEMBLINGTHE STEEL STRUCTURE
FAÇADE INSTALLATION - SECONDARY STRUCTURE
FIREPROOFINGTHE STRUCTURE AND INSTALLINGTHE ROOFING PANELS
POURINGTHE CONCRETE SLAB
FAÇADE INSTALLATION - PANELS AND CURTAIN WALLS
Pu bl i c P roj ec t Connecting Carol I Park & Tineretului Park Foot/Bicycle Bridge Bucharest, Romania METAspace - office for architecture Bucharest, Romania 2014 Coordinator phd. arch. Horia BEJAN Team arch. Sebastian CUCU arch. Cristina NEAGU arch.Vlad PODOLEANU
Initiative This project was born as an initiative of Advocacy Planning Romania NGO in order to propose tangible projects to the local public administration, projects initiated by local communities. The beneficiary of this project was the Cycling Community of Bucharest (represented by OPTAR).The representatives of the aforementioned community chose from four different solutions, the proposal developed by the METAspace team.
Pu bl i c p roj ec t Connecting Carol I Park&Tineretului Park Foot/Bicycle Bridge Accesibility and connections
Our proposal consists in a main architectural object - a pedestrian and cycling bridge connecting the Tineretului Park and Carol Park which allows pedestrians and cyclists to cross the busy Serban Voda St. in a fast and safe manner. Under this bridge we provided underground parking garages which serve both the inhabitants of the area and the parks’ visitors.That way, the current issue of blocked sidewalks by illegally parked cars would be eliminated and there would be an increase in accessibility for those who come by car to either of the parks.
Social activator and financial sense
EXISTING PARKS AND POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS CONVERTING OLD INDUSTRIAL SITES INTO GREEN SPACES
The architectural object also includes a few cafes and retail spaces in order to serve the visitors of the park and to produce financial self-sufficiency. The central element of our proposal is the social activator represented by an illuminated small square with stands. Its purpose is to allow the development of various cultural activities both during the day and during the night.
CONNECTING BUCHAREST’S PARKS A VIABLE NEW URBAN PALTFORM
NEWLY CREATED GREEN SPACES DEFINING THE GREEN CLUSTERS AND THEIR CONNECTIONS
ADDING FUNCTIOANLIY TO THE GREEN SPACE “THE GREEN BALL BEARING” CONNECTING THE OUTTER AND INNER RINGS
PRESENT SITUATION MARKING THE STUDY AREA
INTERVENTIONS FINDING RELEVANT CONNECTIONS AND DIRECTIONS
1ST PROPOSAL: CAROL I &TINERETULUI PARKS A NEW GREEN CLUSTER
CONNECTING THE TWO PARKS EXPLORING POSSIBILITIES
Pu bl i c p roj ec t Connecting Carol I Park&Tineretului Park Foot/Bicycle Bridge Environment and public administration
ACCES DIAGRAM
The environment concept consists of a glass floor over the parking area which allows natural light to flow underground during daytime reducing the amount of artificial lighting needed. At night time the lighting from the parking area also lights up the square creating an attractive and open atmosphere meant to invite various cultural communities to assume and use the public space. The difficulties of the project are represented by the necessity to expropriate a property, and the requisite to transplant some trees in both parks.There is also the need to allocate funds by the public administration in order to make the investment.
Benefits The benefits of this project include the increase of public accessibility for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers and the solving of the local parking issue especially for those living nearby. Other important advantages are the creation of social activator for the southern part of Bucharest, and the amplified usage of green areas through functional diversity.
CONNECTIONS DIAGRAM
FUNCTIONALITY DIAGRAM
The connection of Tineretului Park with Carol Park can create a second Green Pole of Bucharest (after Herastrau Park) in the southern part of the capital. From a cycling standpoint,Tineretului and Carol Park are the fastest transit route towards the centre of the city.
AUTOMOTIVE ACCES DIAGRAM
UNDERGROUND PARKING PLAN
AXONOMETRIC LAYERS DIAGRAM
GENERAL PLANVIEW
THE VISION At the heart of the cultural setting lies the cathartic experience, which can be broken down in its perceptual components: visual, olfactory, tactile, auditory, gustatory etc. Our vision envelops the segmentation of the proposed pathway in urban rooms, each with its distinct character at a perceptual level, which will act as liaisons between both existing and future planned cultural amenities. However, where the cultural venues offer carefully elaborated scripted
city glide 69 70
events, the in-between spaces should offer synaesthetic, flexible experiences, that can change according to the urban dynamic of its inhabitants. THE PROPOSAL One of the critical points of the proposal is coherence, namely the bringing together of its two main components: the interstitial pathway and the Main Street segment. The first measure taken in this regard is the transformation the part of Main Street, spanning the width of the two
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7/7
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city blocks, into a pedestrian zone, where the automotive traffic, with the exception of the existing railway, is being redirected underground. Taking advantage of the existing square to the south of block 70, the two intersecting paths mentioned above can be turned
1
3
into a pedestrian loop littered with
synaesthetic experiences. At a morphological level, the in-between spaces can be interpreted as a sequence
of rectangular sub-spaces that glide transversally to the main pedestrian flow. This is translated in the creation of linear architectural and urban elements that generate the diverse experiences the proposal is aiming for.
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SixtyNine-Seventy The spaces between Salt Lake City, Utah, USA METAspace - office for architecture Bucharest, Romania 2014 Coordinator phd. arch. Horia BEJAN Team arch. Sebastian CUCU arch. Emil FOGER arch.Andrei MARGINEAN arch.Vlad PODOLEANU
THE CHALLENGE
Solving the in-between spaces of the blocks 69 and 70 in the center of Salt Lake City required the careful consideration of the spatial, programmatic and functional relationships between the existing built environment and its resulting residual spaces inside the two city blocks on the one hand, and between the proposed cultural nucleus and its surroundings, on the other. The challenge consisted in creating a coherent whole that integrates a healthy urban life in a landscape littered with cultural amenities.
THE VISION
At the heart of the cultural setting lies the cathartic experience, which can be broken down in its perceptual components: visual, olfactory, tactile, auditory, gustatory etc. Our vision envelops the segmentation of the proposed pathway in urban rooms, each with its distinct character at a perceptual level, which will act as liaisons between both existing and future planned cultural amenities. However, Given the large amounts ofwhere the surrounding stage performance cultural venues offer carefully elaborated scripted events, amenities, the need forflexible a the in-between spaces should offer synesthetic, exreconfigurable urban stage dynamic periences, that can change according to the urban was being strongly felt. Here, of its inhabitants. various gliding seating and
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THE PROPOSAL
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with
GLIDING AVENUE – The Visual Urban Backbone
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Main Street is the dominant element in the spatial configuration, and as such posed a significant problem in the design of the area since it divides not only block 69 from 70, but also the proposed interstitial path. Given the strong visual character at an urban The garden was designed out level, this element was designed not only to provide visual and virtual connectivity of the desire to create an between it and the rest of the interstitial rooms, but also reunite the rest of the olfactory urban experience The garden was designed out characters of the whole ensemble. coped with visual and of the desire to create an
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SLIPPERY FLOOR
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SOUND GARDEN
This room caters to auditory stimuli, where each passerby can listen or perform to their leisure, reinforcing the urban stage present in the southern block below. The square itself also creates musical stimuli interactively with the each passerby traversing the space.
FLAVOR LANE
A secondary space which provides venues like coffee shops, restaurants, ice cream shops etc. Here the focus of interaction is shifted from the urban level towards the interpersonal.
3
ENDLESS SCENE
The built borders of this square are composed of large visual projection surfaces, which can nullify the building mass by displaying live feed images of either what’s directly on the other side, images from other areas inside the block, or even images from halfway across the world in other cities.The virtual scenery is practically endless.
PLAYPEN
4
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Catering to the ludic traversal of urban space is the playpen, containing installations that cater to both children and adult activities.
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element in the spatial configuration, and as such posed a significant problem in the design of the area since it divides not only block 69 from 70, but also the proposed interstitial path. Given the strong visual character at an urban level, this element was designed not only to provide visual and virtual connectivity between it and the rest of the interstitial rooms, but also reunite the rest of This room caters to auditory stimuli, where each passerby
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on the other side, images from other areas inside the block, or even images from halfway across the world in other cities. The virtual scenery is practically endless.
The built borders of this square are composed of large visual projection surfaces, which can nullify the building mass by displaying live feed
The built borders of this
The built borders of this images of either what’s directly square are composed of large
Catering to the ludic traversal of urban space is the playpen, containing installations that cater to both children and adult activities.
The built borders of this square are composed of large visual projection surfaces, which can nullify the building mass by displaying live feed images of either what’s directly on the other side, images from other areas inside the block, or even images from halfway across the world in other cities. The virtual scenery is practically endless.
Given the large amounts of surrounding stage performance amenities, the need for a reconfigurable urban stage was being strongly felt. Here, various gliding seating and separation elements grant the possibility of an infinite number of urban configurations, catering to needs such as outdoor performances, urban lounges, recitals etc., resulting in a tactile experience of space.
Catering to the ludic traversal of urban space is the playpen, containing installations that cater to both children and adult activities.
I n ter n ation a l c on t est DETROIT Riverfront Competition Detroit, Michigan, USA METAspace - office for architecture Bucharest, Romania 2014 Coordinator phd. arch. Horia BEJAN Team arch.Alexandru APOSTOL urb.Alexandru PANISOARA arch.Vlad PODOLEANU
THE CHALLENGE Creating the new urban space that drives the waterfront into becoming one of the city’s most fertile social and cultural environments, required envisioning a new pedestrian accessibility scenario and a spatial configuration that that make the space work on its own, but also become a hub through which the entire waterfront can begin to develop. THE VISION The proposed solution aims to create a new urban landmark for Detroit by using existing elements of the site in order to reconnect it with the city in identity and spirit. Detroit being one of the most significant cases of shrinking cities today, we saw it fit for our project to reflect the city’s past and through it, become a symbol for hope for its citizens. For this to happen, the new proposed urban space, has to be a place of activity and connectivity in the city. As such, one of the main goals in our approach was to create a space that can be utilized continuously, 365 days of the year.
I n ter n ationa l c on t est DETROIT
Riverfront Competition THE PROPOSAL Our first gesture was to create a green “canvas” on which we could further develop our ideas. By creating a park we generate a space that tips the scales between build space and green space in nature’s favour and starts us on our pursuit to increase social and leisure activities in the area by gathering professionals from the nearby Renaissance Centre and Cobo Hall, during lunch hours. Connecting the city to the site was done by cutting five converging paths through our green “canvas” and establishing a hierarchy between them in order to underline the main connections we wanted to speculate and also to create a well-connected focal point for the entire ensemble.The NorthSouth axis directs movement from the city towards the water while the East-West axis runs alongside the waterfront, parallel to the river.The intersection of the two main paths marks the centre of the urban space.The Diagonal paths that converge upon the focal point make for additional access points in the park and further underline the centrality of the architectural gesture. By moving the automotive traffic on nearby Jefferson Ave. underground we intended to seamlessly connect the site to the rest of the city. Using the created focal point, we generated a new space, a plaza that has the capacity to host all sorts of social and cultural activities. Not wanting to sacrifice the already proposed green space, we decided that the park and the plaza can work simultaneously in the same space, by being layered. In order to achieve the envisioned layers we simply peeled the green space away using the generated paths as geometrical constraints and thus obtaining six “leafs” that remain green on their upper side and act as a partial cover for the plaza created underneath. The newly created, covered urban plaza orientates itself inward and outward at the same time. This duality is kept in balance by the centre of it all, the „axis mundi”, a space in which we’ve placed a beacon of light that is meant as a new presence in the night-skyline of Detroit, marking a new begining, inspiring its citizens and, like the fictional „bat-signal”, appealing to the collective feeling of hope.
Con cept p roj ec t s “Mogosoaia” Single family House Mogosoaia, Romania Coordinator phd. arch. Horia BEJAN
STUDYING A RESIDENTIAL SCENARIO One of the practices of the METAspace office was to elaborate different scenarios for public, residential and commercial programs in between clients.The residential scenario is usually tailored to the Romanian market by answering to strict financial concerns without sacrificing spatial quality, functionality, client needs and desires. The presented study was ordered by a development company specifically for young families with limited financial resources that prefer a quiet suburban environment with a contemporary stance. The scenario was created for a two to four member family that want to make efficient use of their space and have a good connection between the day-area of the home and the garden. Due to specified propriety limits, the house has a narrow profile and in response a modular wooden frame structure with a relatively small span between the vertical structural elements was chosen to best fit our needs and keep initial building costs low. Because of its small dimensions, the wood structure permits the creation of a dynamic environment in both shape and functionality.The shape of the house is a direct consequence of the way the spaces where laid out. The front of the house is lifted on pillars in order to create a covered parking area that also protects the entrance to the house, while creating the opportunity to speculate a possible panoramic view from the above terrace.The back of the house aims to open up as much as possible toward the garden space. In order to create a fluid sequence of spaces that easily communicate with each other we decided to open the living room/ dining room space upwards, giving it a high ceiling and consequently, large window opening towards the back yard. While the day-area,the living room, aims to be as free and as large as possible, given the small dimensions, the sleeping area is kept compact and to a minimum. Due to the, generaly good weather in Bucharest’s the relationship to the garden space was a very important prerequisite in this scenario and therefore was treated as an exterior living room, in which daily family activities can be as comfortable as indoors and the house is perceived more like sculpture than an actual house.
3D SECTIONVIEW
3D GROUND FLOOR PLANVIEW
3D 1ST FLOOR PLANVIEW
Dr awin gs an d sket c h es Selection from the “MeetTheSpace�
School for architectural drawing
Location: Everywhere The following drawings are part of a collection of studies of some of my favourite architects and their buildings, and served as course material for the Meet the Space School for architectural Drawing.
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