ARCH IVE

THIS DOCUMENT AIMS TO EXPLORE THE ARCHITECTURAL VISION AND EXPERIENCE I HAVE ACHIEVED DURING THE ACADEMIC PROCESS, FOR THIS REASON THE RECOLLECTION OF PROJECTS PRESENTED BEGINS WITH THE MASTER AND BACHELOR THESIS – THE MOST SIGNIFICANT MOMENTS OF RESEARCH, CREATIVE EXPRESSION AND KNOWLEDGE GROWTH. THIS PORTFOLIO, BY ASSEMBLING A SHORT COLLECTION OF PROJECTS PERFORMED DURING MY ACADEMIC COURSE AT POLITECNICO, IS CONCEPTUALLY ORGANIZED INTO ARCHITECTURAL SCALES - OR RATHER THEMES. THE FOCUS IS TO HIGHLIGHT AND VISUALIZE WITH FEW DRAWINGS AND IMAGES THE PARALLELS BETWEEN DIFFERENT SCALES IN ARCHITECTURE. EACH PROJECT HAS A DIFFERENT UNIT OF MEASUREMENT, SO AS TO DEMONSTRATE A FLEXIBLE KNOWLEDGE BETWEEN DIFFERENT TOPICS.

ARCH ITECTURAL ARCH IVE RE:COLLECTION OF PROJECTS

THE ACADEMIC PROJECTS ARE A SET OF OPPORTUNITIES, GENERATION OF PROCESSES, VIBRANT TENSIONS OF CREATIVITY.

IN THE SELECTED PROJECTS PRESENTED IN THIS BOOK THE DESIGN TRANSFORMS THE SPACE IN DIFFERENT WAYS AND TIMES, ON DIFFERENT SCALES, IN PLACES AND TERRITORIES WITH DIFFERENT CONFORMATIONS. THERE IS NOT JUST ONE WAY TO TRANSFORM A PLACE, BUT IT IS ARTICULATED AND IT DEPENDS ON MANY FACTORS. TRANSFORMATION IS ALWAYS FOCUSED IN FINDING A BALANCE BETWEEN THE TRANSFORMED AND THE EXISTING, IN RESPECT OF THE TERRITORY AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT. EVERY PROJECT WORKS TOWARDS THE CREATION OF A SPATIAL CONSTRUCTION WHICH AIMS TO RIGENERATE THE SITE, INSIDE A FRAMEWORK THAT BRINGS A STRONG SOCIAL DYNAMIC. THE COMMON THREAD THAT UNITES THE PROJECTS LIES PRECISELY IN THEIR DIVERSITY: THIS HAS ALLOWED ME TO UNDERSTAND HOW DESIGN IS A STRONG AND ADAPTABLE TOOL IN CHANGING THE IDENTITY OF A PLACE. IDENTITY OF PLACES CAN BE CHANGED AND RECONSTRUCTED: THIS IS SEEN AS CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING DYNAMIC CHANGES IN REAL LIFE THROUGH THE TRANSFORMATION AND THE ARTICULATION OF SPACES. IN THIS SENSE, IDENTITY IS AFFECTED BY ARCHITECTURAL PRODUCTION - THAT IS AN UNFIXED, UNFINISHED AND VARYING PROCESS, THAT INFLUENCES BOTH THE PLACE AND THE SOCIETY.

THIS PORTFOLIO CONTAINS SOME SELECTED WORKS FROM THE DESIGN PROJECTS DEVELOPED WHILE PURSUING A BACHELOR AND A MASTER’S DEGREE IN ARCHITECTURE AT POLITECNICO DI MILANO. THE PROJECTS ARE CHOSEN TO HIGHLIGHT DIFFERENT SCALES AND APPROACHES ENCOMPASSED IN MY DESIGN EDUCATION. EACH PROJECT IS PRESENTED USING ONLY A FEW EXPLANATORY DRAWINGS AND IMAGES EXTRAPOLATED FROM THE COMPLETE PROJECT, SO AS TO HIGHLIGHT THE GENERAL FEATURES OF THE PROJECT, OR SOME FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS.

THE PROJECTS COLLECTED IN THIS ARCHIVE ARE CONNECTED IN TERMS OF RESEARCH THAT INVESTIGATES THE INFLUENCE OF URBANISM AND ARCHITECTURE IN TRANSFORMING A SPACE AND CONSEQUENTLY ITS OWN SOCIETY. THIS BOOKLET AIMS TO BE A RECOLLECTION OF PROJECTS ORGANIZED FOLLOWING A SCALAR APPROACH. THE TOPIC OF ARCHITECTURAL SCALES AND THE MULTI-SCALAR POSSIBILITIES THAT A PROJECT COULD CONTAIN IS THE MAIN TOPIC ON WHICH I BASED MY PERSONAL RESEARCH DURING THE LAST YEARS OF ACCADEMIC STUDIES.

WHEN I AM THINKING ABOUT ALL FIELDS OF ARCHITECTURE AND STARTING A PROJECT, I TRY TO CREATE A PERSONAL INTER-DISCIPLINARY NETWORK - DRAWING FROM DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES, INVESTIGATING THE PROJECT IN QUESTION AT DIFFERENT SCALES. IN THIS YEARS OF UNIVERSITY I HAD THE POSSIBILITY OF TACKLE DIFFERENT PROJECTS, WHICH DEALT WITH THEMES OF DIFFERENT SIZES. FROM THE SMALLER SIZE, THAT I RECOGNIZED IN THE WORLD OF INTERIORS, ARCHITECTURAL CONSTRUCTION AND EXHIBITION – UP TO THE UNIVERSE OF URBAN PLANNING AND LANDSCAPE.

IN THIS YEARS MY GOAL WAS TO DEEP INTO EACH SIZE AND ACQUIRE AS MUCH KNOWLEDGE AS POSSIBLE, IN ORDER TO COMPLETE MY PATH AND BE ABLE TO TACKLE A COMPLETE PROJECT. A PROJECT THAT KNOWS HOW TO DEAL WITH ALL ARCHITECTURAL SCALES, THAT DRAWS ITS CONCEPTS FROM VARIOUS CREATIVE FIELDS AND ENDS IN AN ARCHITECTURAL PROJECT BUILT FOR THE EXPERIENCE THAT PEOPLE CAN HAVE THROUGH IT. AT THE END OF MY STUDIES, I APPLIED THIS NETWORK TO MY THESIS PROJECT, WHICH I DEVELOPED IN PORTUGAL WITH THE SUPERVISION OF A PORTUGUESE ARCHITECT, ANTONIO S. F. CARVALHO - WHO HAS BEEN ALSO MY MENTOR DURING MY MASTER’S DEGREE, AND I CAN’T WAIT TO APPLY IT TO THE REAL WORKING WORLD.