Design Portfolio

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

ANDREEA ILIESCU Part I Architecture Graduate

The feeling of things Design Portfolio

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

VISION ‘The feeling of things‘ by Caruso St. John Architects is one of the first articles I have read as an architecture student. Ever since the first year of my studies, it has been my mantra when it came to design - that spaces should generate emotions; I believe that, as individuals, we are driven by feelings - of belonging, of appreciation and sometimes, although very rarely, feelings of the sublime. They all mix together with their opposites, always creating a different result.

When I first put up a portfolio, I tried to link all my academic and professional projects with the idea of feeling, since it was the most common denominator I could think of. In the end, spaces are valuable because we live our lives in them and to me, their quality is dependant on what they transmit to us. I strongly think that empathy is a key aspect of working as a designer; having the ability to understand how people live and, most importantly, what they need from their spaces is crucial in order to be able to create atmospheres.

I am on a quest of seeking different life experiences, which I can then incorporate in my body of work as a designer. The following pages represent a small window into my academic and office work, which has been created through endless trial and error, experimentation and testing through different scales and media. The projects are presented in inverse chronological order, aiming to showcase a variety of different skills, which can be transferrable to other disciplines, such as installation, exhibition and/or interior design.

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

01

Feelings of real-life practice Martin Edwards Architects Part I Architectural Assistant

Projects included: residential extensions, public buildings and interior refurbishments

Last year I experienced what it’s like to be part of a real-life architecture practice. I worked as a Part I Architectural Assistant for a small and creative studio in Shoreditch. Their area of expertise spans from residential extensions to interior refurbishments; the vision is to unravel unexpected opportunities in every project, without disregarding the historic context of a building and its surroundings.

I have learned a lot about craftsmanship and problem solving, having been involved in a variety of assignments such as 2D and 3D drawing and modelling, technical detailing and presentation work, testing ideas through hand-sketching and physical models and liaising with people through site visits and client meetings.

Another important aspect of my experience in practice was coming up with a suggestion for unifying the graphic identity of the practice, particularly when it came to presentations. I have tested a variety of means of representation until we established a graphic language around which to work.

Having had some time to reflect upon my experience, I have learned a great deal about people in a professional environment, how to cope with stress and pressure when it comes to built projects which involve clients and money, as well as to know where to look for information or seek help when needed.

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

Le Chocolat, Alain Ducasse, Harrods The first project I worked on when I joined MEA studio, Alain Ducasse - Le Chocolat has given me the opportunity to go through all the stages of the design process, from concept to construction.

A French chocolatier, Alain Ducasse has built a brand of his own - high quality chocolates that bring people together. The general feel of the shop was intended to be industrial - light reflecting onto the blackened metal surfaces in contrast to the brass details.

illustrative plan showing general arrangement and layout

From left to right: first two photographs from LivingEtc magazine ( https://www.livingetc.com/whats-news/le-chocolat-alain-ducasse-harrods-214075 ) third author’s own, official opening April 2019

perspective illustration showing inhabited space - main view from Harrods Food Hall

The Sheep House Farm, Cotswolds

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

The aim of this project was to extend an old farm located in the Cotswolds to maximize the living space for a four member family. We encountered a series of challenges on the way, since the Cotswolds is an area of outstanding natural beauty and, therefore, requires particular attention when dealing with the contextual response. Through testing at different scales through modelling and drawing we reached the conclusion that a barn typology would be appropriate in this case.

Study models, from top to bottom: 1:10 detail of connection space, 1:20 overall context, 1:10

Planning application illustrations: from left to right 1.linking space between old farm and new barn typology, 2.extension terrace of barn

Cricket Pavilion, Tilford

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

The studio participated at the competition for the cricket pavilion in Tilford.

I worked on the 2D CAD drawings and layout presentation for the competition entry. The challenges were the site’s topography, as well as the contextual response to the existing building on site, Tilford primary school.

Side elevation, showing inhabited space and relationship to surrounding area

Site plan illustrating relationship to Tilford primary school

Front elevation

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

The Ship on the Green Located in Stepney Green, the Ship is an old pub which has been remodelled into a house. The site got bombed during WW2; the intention was to create a studio space for the client who is a sculptor, as well as a rear extension of her living space, without disregarding the building’s rich historic context.

Second floor plan, indicating new built studio

First floor plan

Site visit, March 2019 - beginning of construction

Section indicating levels and context, from left to right: back garden, new extension, living room(+library and studio on top), Tilbury Road

Ground floor plan - indicating extension in gray

Golden Lane Estate - interior refurbishment

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

The estate is a 1950 council housing building in the city of London. Our studio has worked on the refurbishment of a variety of flats in Golden Lane.

This project illustrates the general arrangement and layout of the flat, the floor finishes and new furniture, as well as giving insight into the building (pictures were taken at the first site visit).

Analog photography, from top to bottom, right to left: ‘street in the sky’ concept terrace, flat under construction illustrating view towards the Barbican estate, Golden Lane estate facade view, facade + garden

website presentation drawings, see www.martinedwardsarchitects.com

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

Radnor House School, Twickenham Storytelling is a key aspect when working as a designer. By constructing the narrative right, one can express ideas of how spaces and experiences are conceived and designed.

This drawing comprises a short presentation of 3 refurbishment schemes we have developed in the studio for the Radnor House Group - VIth Form Library, Science Laboratories and the school classrooms.

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

02

Feelings of belonging NOTCH Architects&Makers

Part I Architectural Assistant The Jewish Museum in Camden, interior refurbishment

My part-time work out of MEA Studio, the Jewish Museum in Camden was a more sensitive approach towards a real-life project.

The brief was stating the need to redesign the Museum cafe and entrance hallway in a way in which it would enhance the homely properties of the space.

It is to note that the building was originally a Georgian house, which has been remodelled into a museum.

Thus, our approach was to think about the warm, welcoming features which make a place feel like home and make them present in our project - hence, the cafe became a bagel Jewish deli (a reminder of one‘s grandmother‘s cooking), where the bagel and its making process become the stars of the show.

With regard to the entrance, we proposed an exhibition space, similar to a Parisian shop-front street, where the visitors could see a series of museum artefacts and insights into the main galleries.

This project has taught me a lot about the design process from start to finish, as well as reinstating the idea that the design concept has to be present throughout the process at all times. The intensity of the feeling became stronger once we managed to make the museum feel like a place where anyone could belong.

4

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

N.B. The project has been put on stand-by due to insufficient funds.

1

1

Elevation of main exhibition wall, to read in accordance with image 4

2

Layout of information wall, plan, front and side elevations

3

Moodboard for the main entrance corridor (exhibition space)

Axonometric isometric of information wall

Moodboard for the Jewish Bagel Deli (Museum Cafe)

Layout of first concept presentation, in collaboration with Matt Chan

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

03

Feelings of loss and melancholy The Repository of Memory

3rd year Diploma Project Tutors: Prof. Peter Salter Year/ Semester: 3( 1+2 overview)

The project looks at how architecture can offer a response to the ongoing refugee crisis by studying how fragments of memories can be used as an anchor to form a new life in Venice.

Starting from the idea of a ‘tabula rasa’ (a blank slate), our unit has been exploring personal memories related to the tables at home, attempting to empathize with the situation of an exile. My plaster cast depicts my grandmother’s bedside table where she held her religious devotional artefacts (covered in gold leaf) as if they were levitating to illustrate the power of her belief system.

By building up an islamic conglomerate neighbourhood we sought to provide an authentic mixed-use building for the future exiles. Hence, the table translates into a ceremonial inhabited wall, having religious structures and housing embedded within; the scheme extends into a cemetery for all the three Abrahamic religions- Christian, Muslim and Jewish. Furthermore, the table is reiterated throughout the whole scheme as a leitmotif - a symbol of the cycle of life.

The proposal illustrates how architecture choreographs the habits and rituals of mourning of different religions. The scheme culminates with a Paradise Garden, while the funeral ceremony ends in the memorial piazza, as a sign of celebration of life. The wall becomes a gate, a threshold between life and death, symbolizing passage of time, loss and melancholy.

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

Islamic conglomerate - personal territories illustrating our memories from home(Unit 5)

Reference: Doris Salcedo, Tabula rasa (exhibited at the White Cube Museum, London) author’s photographs

My grandmother’s bedside table, illustrating the sanctity of her precious objects

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

Cross section with the whole scheme illustrating the surroundings in Porto Marghera

Long section illustrating a ceremony taking place at the funeral chapel

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019 Housing unit

Masterplan illustrating surroundings in Porto Marghera

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

Massing model Key moments in the choreography of space- mourning rituals

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

Inside the memorial chapel - mourning ritual

Ending of the ceremony - memorial piazza

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

04

Feelings of togetherness WSA Summer 2018 Exhibition Unit 5: EXILE

We gathered a team of fellow students to organise our 2018 Welsh School of Architecture summer exhibition.

Our unit’s team came up with the concept of memory, of precious things refugees store in their luggage to remind them of their loved ones and of the families they lost.

It was a collective effort that all the unit took part in - from initial brainstorming to building and installing, hence the idea of togetherness. What is more, it was my first encounter with exhibition design and, since it was strongly linked to our unit’s brief, it seemed a lot more powerful.

Views of the Unit 5 exhibition

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

05

Feelings of lightheartedness Photography - painting with light

Photography is the means of painting with light.

Since my first year of architectural studies I have used photography as a means for study and analysis, presentation and depiction of reality in an accurate or fairly distorted way.

The following page is a series of photographs I took during my travels; I usually look at light features, architectural details or simply aim to depict atmospheres.

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

Andreea Iliescu | Design Portfolio 2015-2019

THANK YOU! Thank you for taking the time to go through some of my work. I hope to hear from you!