Zhanina Boyadzhieva Portfolio

ZHANINA L. BOYADZHIEVA HARVARD UNIVERSITY. GSD MASTER IN ARCHITECTURE I www.zhaninaboyazdhieva.com zlboyadz@gsd.harvard.edu

RESUME PROJECTS

COLLECTIVE INDIVIDUALITY: RECONSTRUCTING THE PUBLIC REALM

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ON THE ORDER OF OBJECTS: BETWEEN FABRIC AND MONUMENT

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[IN]FORMAL CLASSROOMS: BRINGING EDUCATION IN SLUMS

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ENCODED CITY. ENCODED ARCHITECTURE

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ACTIVATED SURFACE THEATER: PERFORMANCE CENTER IN BOSTON

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THESIS PROJECT. HARVARD GSD. 2013-2014.

ISTANBUL STUDIO. HARVARD GSD. SPRING 2013.

KYOTO STUDIO. HARVARD GSD. FALL 2012.

CORE. HARVARD GSD. SPRING 2012.

CORE. HARVARD GSD. FALL 2011.

ZHANINA L. BOYADZHIEVA www.zhaninaboyazdhieva.com zlboyadz@gsd.harvard.edu cell #: 415.515.6325

EDUCATION

Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA, USA (Aug. 2010 - May 2014) Masters in Architecture, I Professional Degree 2014 Thesis: Collective Individuality: Reconstructing the Public Realm Advisors: Ingeborg Rocker & Eve Blau Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, USA (Sept. 2006 - May 2010) Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude. Double major: Architectural Studies and French Thesis: Layering and Networking Public Spaces Advisors: Prof. M. Davis and Prof. T. Long NY Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, New York, NY, USA (June-July 2009) Project: Rethinking the Great Pedestrian Experiment: Layering Public Spectacles Advisors: Kevin Kennon, Julia Choi, Fumio Hirakawa DIS Danish Institute for Study Abroad, Copenhagen, Denmark (Aug.- Dec. 2008)

HONORS

Outstanding Housing Research and Design Prize Harvard, Nominee, Cambridge, MA, USA (April 2014) Platform Harvard GSD, projects nominated for Plaform 4, 5 & 6, Cambridge, MA, USA (2011-2014) Harvard Graduate School of Design Cossutta Prize, Nominee, Cambridge, MA, USA (May 2012) Mount Holyoke College Architectural Prize for Excellence, South Hadley, MA, USA (May 2010) Joseph Skinner Fellowship for Graduate Studies, South Hadley, MA, USA (Sept. 2010 - May 2011)

EXPERIENCE

CultureNOW at BSA Space, Collaborator and Intern Fellow, Boston, MA, USA (May - July 2013) Initiated and helped organize a “Coast-to-Coast Pecha Kucha Event” (New York - Boston - Los Angeles) with 30 speakers including Barry Bergdoll, Larry Scarpa, Nader Tehrani, Anthony Vanky, and James Wines Organized, led and uploaded interviews with over 60 architects, artists and designers in Boston and New York Trained interns at branches of CultureNOW in Boston, New York and Los Angeles Boston Architectural College Summer Academy, Studio Leader, Boston, MA, USA (June - July 2012) Introduced a group of 12 students to a range of design thinking and skills through drawings, physical models, discussions and city explorations (projects: Future City, Collage, Dwelling, Sitting and Constructed Landscape) Rocker-Lange Architects, Summer Intern, Cambridge, MA, USA (May - July 2012) Assisted with research and production of book layout for five publications Kokkinou + Kourkoulas Architects, Summer Intern, Athens, Greece (June - July 2011) Assisted with schematic design for a village of 100 houses as part of Costa Navarino Resort Analysed topography, proposed land distribution and studied house typologies Built competition model and prepared drawings and diagrams for presentation Mount Holyoke College Art Slide Library, Office Assistant, South Hadley, MA, USA (Jan. 2007 - May 2010) Researched and catalogued digital images through online databases (Content DM) Selected and prepared materials for Art History and Architectural Studies lectures

LECTURES

Collective Individuality. A Thesis Project at Harvard, Kuwait University, Kuwait (March 18, 2014) Rethinking the Communist Urban Blocks, Harvard GSD Open House, Cambridge, MA, USA (Nov. 1, 2013) Thoughts on Education Abroad, W.A.I.L.D program, South Hadley, MA, USA (July 26, 2012) Reinterpreting le Corbusier’s Principles, Harvard GSD Open House, Cambridge, MA, USA (April 9, 2011)

ACTIVITIES

Women In Design at Harvard GSD, Member and Writer, Cambridge, MA, USA (Sept. 2013 - present) L.E.F.T. Harvard University, Coordinator, Cambridge, MA, USA (April 9-11, 2013) ProjectLINK at Harvard GSD, Instructor, Cambridge, MA, USA (Sept. 2012 - May 2013) Five College Architecture Club, Co-Founder, Amherst, MA, USA (Feb. 2009 - May 2010) Mount Holyoke College International Club, Co-Chair, South Hadley, MA, USA (Sept. 2006 - May 2008)

SKILLS

AutoCAD, Rhino, Revitt, 3ds Max, Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Dreamweaver) Physical Model Building, Laser Cutting Bulgarian (native), English (fluent), French (high intermediate), Spanish (intermediate)

COLLECTIVE INDIVIDUALITY RECONSTRUCTING THE PUBLIC REALM THESIS WORK. HARVARD GSD. 2013-2014.

ADVISORS: INGE ROCKER & EVE BLAU *NOMINATED FOR GSD PLATFORM 7. *FEATURED IN BULGARIAN MEDIA DNEVNIK The thesis project originated from a 6-month research that compares the Socialist and the Post-Socialist City with a focus on a particular case study in Eastern Europe: Sofia, Bulgaria. The research book studies the two contrasting paradigms in terms of their ideologies and urban expressions. The Socialist City presents a physical utopia for collective equality; it is an ordered, systematic and scientific city, inspired by Modernist principles infused with Socialist values.

The Post-Socialist City showcases the cult of the individual expression and private property; it is a metropolis of fragmentation, disunity and chaos. Neither one of the two models produces a healthy environment, especially when referring to the notion of the public realm.

Whereas the public is an enforced concept in the Socialist city, it becomes a “dirty word� (quote by the Director of the Ministry of Architecture and Urban Planning in Sofia, Bulgaria) in the Post-Socialist city.

The second phase of the project involves the redesign of Lyulin, the largest communist residential neighborhood in Sofia. Although the original design focuses on the distribution of public areas throughout the 10 microregions of the neighborhood, none of the visions were realized. What is left are the communist urban blocks with a deserted and unappreciated spaces in between them. The project proposes a strategy of developing 3 types of public ground: horizontal, diagonal and vertical to bring continuity and diversity throughout the site. Horizontal ground involves a new definition of the vast flat ground that is currently on the site. It includes variations of terraces that break down the massive scale of undefined spaces in between the blocks and adds a variety of programs to the exterior spaces. Diagonal ground extends the logic of public realm to the blocks by breaking the rigidity of the original blocks designs and creating continuous connections of public spaces throughout the structures that would serve a variety of user groups.

Vertical ground is defined by the construction of new public structures inserted throughout the site that mimic the original blocks but produce a rich experience of juxtaposing private and public programs. and occupiable roofs would be always open for the general public.

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THESIS PROJECT

COLLECTIVE INDIVIDUALITY | SITE MODEL

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THESIS PROJECT

Research book | Comparison of socialist and post-socialist cities and the change in perspectives of the notion of “public” in the cultural, ideological and physical transformation of Sofia

COLLECTIVE INDIVIDUALITY | RESEARCH BOOK

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Lyulin | repetition of typologies

Lyulin | public transportation

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THESIS PROJECT

Lylin | Original drawing of design with diverse zones for communal interaction; in reality the only built public spaces are the repetitive typologies of highschools and kindergartens.

COLLECTIVE INDIVIDUALITY | ANALYSIS OF LYULIN

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Microregion 8 | repetition of typologies

Microregion 8 | light studies

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Microregion 8 | flow of open space

Microregion 8 | proposal for zoning areas

COLLECTIVE INDIVIDUALITY | ANALYSIS OF MICROREGION 8

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Strategy 1 | Horizontal Public Ground Manual

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Strategy 1 | Horizontal Public Ground applicaiton in a singular block

COLLECTIVE INDIVIDUALITY | STRATEGY 1: HORIZONTAL GROUND

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Strategy 2 | Diagonal Public Ground Manual

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Strategy 2 | Diagonal Public Ground applicaiton in a singular block

COLLECTIVE INDIVIDUALITY | STRATEGY 2: DIAGONAL GROUND

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Strategy 3 | Vertical Public Ground Manual

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Strategy 3 | Vertical Public Ground applicaiton in a singular block

COLLECTIVE INDIVIDUALITY | STRATEGY 3: VERTICAL GROUND

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18 THESIS PROJECT

Microregion 8 | strategy applied to overall site

COLLECTIVE INDIVIDUALITY | REDESIGNED MICROREGION 8

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20 THESIS PROJECT

Microregion 8 | development of a singular block

COLLECTIVE INDIVIDUALITY | MODEL OF A NEW URBAN BLOCK

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ON THE ORDER OF OBJECTS BETWEEN FABRIC AND MONUMENTS ISTANBUL STUDIO. HARVARD GSD. 2013.

CRITICS: HASHIM SARKIS & ERKIN ORZAY IN COLLABORATION WITH BETH ECKLES The site for the studio is located in the heart of the old peninsula of Istanbul. It presents a juxtaposition of two urban types - monuments and surrounding urban fabric - and asks for a careful mediation between the two. Inspired by features of the bazaar and the hypostyle, the project balances between the idea of individual units and a collective composition to produce ambiguity of readings. The goal is to invoke an equilibrium between figure-ground and solid-void relationships.

Taking the language of a hypostyle, the project is based on a geometrical system of repeating singular units (“mushrooms�). Each mushroom consists of a structural column and an inhabited cap, holding a specific program. All mushrooms are self-similar and positioned in a distorted grid to form a collective composition that is continuous and coherent.

Just as the bazaar, the overall composition is affected by external conditions such as orientation of streets and monuments. The system of mushrooms responds to the externalities and adapts by continuously reorienting itself. At the same time similar to the cisterns, the system readjusts to the internal parameters of the object itself. The repeating mushrooms are flexible in height and size depending on their specific programmatic needs, producing the effect of a staggered order. Columns can become circulation cores and inhabited caps can merge to form large spaces for lecture halls and auditoriums. There is a hierarchy of the spacing in between the elements to further enrich the experience. As a result, the project offers a constant mediation between exterior and interior factors that influence both the overall framework of the system and the individual components. The design can be read as an aggregate which is simultaneously additive and subtractive and absorbs qualities of both the monuments and the urban fabric.

22 ISTANBUL STUDIO

ON THE ORDER OF OBJECTS | SECTION MODEL

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Historic Peninsula in Istanbul | fabric vs. monuments

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Historic Peninsula in Istanbul | characteristics of fabric and monuments

ON THE ORDER OF OBJECTS | SITE ANALYSIS

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Step 1 | distorted grid

Step 2 | centers of areas

Step 3 | access points

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Step 4 | grouped lower level

Step 5 | grid on upper level

Step 6 | program insertions in upper level ON THE ORDER OF OBJECTS | DESIGN PROCESS

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28 ISTANBUL STUDIO

Site | insertion of design into context of historical peninsula

ON THE ORDER OF OBJECTS | SITE MODEL

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public promenade

classrooms, offices, workshops, performance halls, cafe, restaurant

retail, book shops, museum lobby

embedded circulation

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ON THE ORDER OF OBJECTS | SITE APPROACH

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Site plan | Level 1

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Site plan | Level 2 ON THE ORDER OF OBJECTS | PLANS OF LEVELS

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34 ISTANBUL STUDIO

ON THE ORDER OF OBJECTS | SECTIONS THROUGH SITE

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36 ISTANBUL STUDIO

ON THE ORDER OF OBJECTS | SECTION MODEL

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[IN]FORMAL CLASSROOMS EDUCATION IN SLUMS KYOTO STUDIO. HARVARD GSD. 2012.

CRITIC: TOSHIKO MORI *PUBLISHED IN KYOTO STUDIO. HARVARD PUBLICATION This semester-long project began with research on the global issue of education in slums. A visit to Kyoto inspired three main points about the project: 1. The creation of a small scale, individualized space is crucial for an effective learning environment which engages the community. 2. The ‘school’ has to be multi-functional and adaptable for different purposes and communal activities. 3. The design has to take into account sustainable, local, and reusable materials.

The final proposal is an itinerant architectural bamboo system which is simple but at the same time produces a complex spatial experience. It serves as a tool for learning and promoting the use of bamboo while at the same time provide educational space for children in slums.

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[IN\FORMAL CLASSROOMS | CASE STUDY ETHYOPIA

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The general concept is one of decentralization and scale interruption. In opposition to traditional educational institution, which are centralized in stand as large monuments in the urban fabric, this project searches for the informal classroom. It proposes a dispersion of smaller scale multifunctional spaces that could serve both as educational spaces as well as community centers. The small scale allows for more personal relationship between the community and the structure.

Moreover, it allows for a production of a network of structures that could formulate a new outlook in the slums.

40 KYOTO STUDIO

slum dwellers: 80% malnutrition: 49% access to water: 22%

deforestation rate: 1,410-1,630 km2/ year years until complete deforestation: 27 problems of deforestation: erosion, drought, CO2 emissions

street children in capital: 100,000 street children in country: 600,000

overall literacy: 42.7% youth unemployment: 70% children playgrounds: 0

[IN]FORMAL CLASSROOMS | CONCEPT AND CASE STUDY ETHYOPIA

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42 KYOTO STUDIO

[IN]FORMAL CLASSROOMS | ITERATIONS

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44 KYOTO STUDIO

Step 1 | dig trenches

Step 6 | repeat throughout bays

Step 2 | place and tie exterior bamboo members

Step 7 | place primary bamboo for flooring

Step 3 | repeat throughout the bays

Step 8 | place secondary bamboo for flooring

Step 4 | weave bamboo shingles into panels

Step 9 | tie bamboo planks

Step 5 | tie panels to interior and exterior members

Step 10 | cap entrances

[IN]FORMAL CLASSROOMS | CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCE

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46 KYOTO STUDIO

[IN]FORMAL CLASSROOMS | WEAVING STUDIES

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48 KYOTO STUDIO

[IN]FORMAL CLASSROOMS | POSSIBLE AGGLOMERATIONS

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50 KYOTO STUDIO

[IN]FORMAL CLASSROOMS | INTENDED ACTIVITIES

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ENCODED CITY. ENCODED ARCHITECTURE. CORE STUDIO. HARVARD GSD. 2012.

CRITICS: FLORIAN IDENBURG & TIMOTHY HYDE IN COLLABORATION WITH ELIZABETH ROLOFF, W. GAVIN ROBB, HANSLEY YUNEZ * NOMINATED AND EXHIBITED AT PLATFORM This semester-long project approached design from an urban point of view. After “decoding� the layers that produced a couple of cities (Algiers and Barcelona), we created a set of principles for the creation of a new city. Inspired by observations of two models of production (Fordism and Post-Fordism), the intent of the encoded city is to combine both approaches and produce an urban fabric which follows three somewhat opposing principles: Diversity, Equality and Locality. Diversity is expressed in a variety of experiential and formal qualities, tied together in an overall rational framework. Equality is achieved through an equal access to goods and services which privileges pedestrian circulation. Equality is not mistaken for sameness. Locality bridges between the other two principles and encourages a sense of community within each part. The city is produced by a network of overlapped systems (0. Grid, 1. Waterfront, 2. Infrastructure, 3. Urban Mixers, 4. Urban Figures, 5. Urban Voids, 6.

Architectural Elements, 7. Public Activities and 8. Growth). The systems mutually influence each other producing a richness of experience. The design is a dynamic model which explores infinite options.

The second part of the project focuses on a section of the urban fabric and develops the Code from an architectural perspective. The 300 sq. ft. cube is located by the waterfront and the public promenade, resulting in two buildings - one with a small square footage and a medium height and the second with a small square footage and small height.

Following the overall agenda of Diversity, Equality, and Locality, the design produces a light ephemeral building appearance that corresponds to its location within the city. The housing buildings offer equal access to apartments directly from the core and allow for views to both north and south sides. They address needs of multiple users allowing for a variety of apartments units and terraces to exist. The patterned facade reacts to the diverse placement of interior rooms (kitchen, living room, beedrooms, toilet, work space) which shift throughout the structure as the buildings tilt in section.

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ENCODED CITY | SITE MODEL

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System 1 | grid

System 2 | waterfront

System 3 | transportation hub

System 4 | promenade

System 5 | boulevard

System 6 | urban mixers

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ENCODED CITY | SYSTEMS AND ITERATIONS

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56 GSD CORE 4TH SEMESTER

ENCODED CITY | DESIGN PROCESS OF SEGMENT

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58 GSD CORE 4TH SEMESTER

Conceptual site model of systems and resulting conditions

ENCODED CITY | SITE MODEL WITH 4 SEGMENTS

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60 GSD CORE 4TH SEMESTER

2-bedroom (5 apts)

studios (2 apts)

work & live (10 apts)

lofts (12 apts)

3-bedroom (5 apts)

ENCODED ARCHITECTURE | ENCODING THE BUILDING

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ENCODED ARCHITECTURE | BUILDING DESIGN

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ENCODED ARCHITECTURE | MODEL OF BUILDING

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ACTIVATED SURFACE THEATER PERFORMING CENTER IN BOSTON CORE STUDIO. HARVARD GSD. 2012.

CRITIC: VINCENT BANDY & ERIC HOWELER CONSULTANTS: H. SAMUELSON & J. CONZETT This semester-long project intends to revitalize Paul Rudolph’s Government Services Center in downtown Boston by connecting it with the surrounding urban fabric. The theater presents a blend between architecture and landscape. Following the change in topography, the Performing Arts Center emerges from the ground, attaching to the balconies of Government Services Center. The design is a reaction against the Modernist principles of a building standing as an individual object in space. Instead, it revolves around the idea of an activated surface, which lifts, splits, pushes down, connects and fragments a flat plane leaving multiple inhabitable zones. Each zone is assigned a specific program or purpose, which would attract the community during different seasons.

Activities include community gardens, sports platforms, outdoor performance areas, cafes, ice skating ring and viewing terraces.

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ACTIVATED SURFACE THEATER | SITE MODEL

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program

structure

circulation

natural ventilation

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ACTIVATED SURFACE THEATER | PROGRAM, STRUCTURE, SUSTAINABILITY AND ACTIVITIES ON SITE

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70 GSD CORE 3RD SEMESTER

ACTIVATED SURFACE THEATER | PLANS AND SECTIONS

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72 GSD CORE 3RD SEMESTER

ACTIVATED SURFACE THEATER | INHABITED ROOFS

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74 GSD CORE 3RD SEMESTER

ACTIVATED SURFACE THEATER | ACTIVITIES ON SITE

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ZHANINA L. BOYADZHIEVA www.zhaninaboyazdhieva.com zlboyadz@gsd.harvard.edu cell #: 415.515.6325