Architecture Portfolio - Master Application

SELECTED

WORKS

Irina-Alexandra Gherman 2017-2020 I am an enthusiastic and curious designer whose interest in architecture stems from my wish to be part of a creative elite that innovatively and elegantly raises awareness of today’s global issues.

That is why my academic projects address topics such as homelessness, immigration, and corruption. I believe that good design can be the answer to many of today’s problems and I strive to become a well-rounded, well informed, and responsible architect that plays the role as the community’s, the environment’s and even the individual’s advocate. This portfolio aims to showcase my interest in socially responsive architecture and briefly reflect my understanding of it.

I. CITYSCAPED MULTI STAGE THEATRES AND WORKSHOPS

INTRODUCTION Location: Dalby Road, Cliftonville, Margate, UK Client: larger community of Cliftonville with a focus on the immigrant community Gross Floor Area: aprox. 2000 m2 Brief: Design a large scale, civic institution that spans societal and political boundaries, creating shared collective environments.

Concept: open two-type program: one educational (theatre related workshops at ground floor) and one recreational (multi stage theatres to be found in the tower) where the work developed by the immigrant community in the workshops can be displayed/used as props.

Relationship building to neighbourhood: -achieved through massing and bay windows interpretations

Relationship building to street:

-sewing and prop design workshops’ windows open -up to the street for monthly fairs.

-coffee shop opening up to the street.

Relationship building to the immigrant community:

- workshops and their own private courtyard -gallery where they display their work; shared coffee shop and courtyard

Relationship immigrants/craftsmen to community: -the main theatre using the products crafted by the immigrants -on the last floor the craftsmen will tell their stories in front of an audience -the rooftop theatre does the same thing as the previous one and allows the craftsmen and community to mingle

SITE

PLANS AND ISOMETRIES

6. Toilets 7. Service entrance 8. Shared courtyard 9. Gallery 10. Elevator

Ground floor plan

1. Entrance 2. Reception 3. Sewing 4. Private courtyard 5. Set design and furniture workshop

Last floor plan

1. Lobby fully cladded in timber 2. Main elevator 3. Pocket galleries - retractable walls 4. Performance space 5. Window with its sear pointing towards the sunset 6. Stairs to rooftop 7. Elevator to rooftop

11. Coffee shop/Lobby 12. Outside area a. possibility to open the front glass doors to have fairs and sell products

There are 3 moments to consider on this floor: 1. there is no performance: walls a and b are completely closed and passer bys cannot see the stage.

2. the is about to start: the walls are closed halfway, meaning passerbys see the stage and can sit down 3. the show starts: a and b are closed completely and three new spaces are formed: the timber cladded lobby (1), the new hallway (8) and the performance space (3+4).

ELEVATION AND SECTION

EXPLODED AXONOMETRY

ISOMETRY

VIEWS VIEWS VIEWS VIEWS VIEWS

TECHINCAL DETAILS

Roof construction - Green roof - vegetation - 100 mm substrate layer - 1 mm geotextile filler - 25 mm drainage mat - 4 mm fibre protection mat - 2-ply bituminous water - 300-600 mm EPS thermal insulation to falls - 280 mm reinforced concrete - 100 mm acoustic insulation - 25 mm plaster finish

Wall construction - exposed concrete blocks 40x20x15 - 20 mm cavity - 180 mm thermal insulation - 250 mm reinforced concrete wall - polished finish

REVERSED CEILING PLAN OF WORKSHOPS

Floor Construction SECTION THROUGH THE WORKSHOPS’ ROOF

- exposed concrete with 60 mm - cement screed (with heating pipes on the actor’s changing rooms) - separation layer - 15 mm impact sound layer - 180 mm thermal insulation - 1000mm concrete floor waffle/ 600 reinforced concrete slab

Workshop Roof - cement roof tiles - 2-ply water proofing membrane - 300 EPS thermal insulation - 280 mm reinforced concrete ceiling - 25 mm plaster finish

DETAILED SECTION

Skylight double glazing: 2x 8 mm lam. safety glass + 20 mm cavity + 2x 8 mm laminated safety glass with solar coating; U value = 2.0 W/m2K 1. neoprene seal 250/8mm steel plate 2. steel angle 3. 2x 12.5mm plaster board Roof Construction gravel water proof membrane 300mm thermal insulation vapour control layer 200/350 mm reinforced concrete with a polished finish

II. SEAFRONT HEALING AND PERFORMANCE SPACE

INTRODUCTION Location: T.S Eliott shelter, Margate, Kent, UK. Client: Margate’s community, with a specific focus on the immigrant community Brief: Design a small-scale, public intervention to act as an offering to the town. The purpose is to deliver a single-room of intense interiority in and around the dilapidated, existing promenade structure of intense exteriority.

Concept: One room building that during the day is used for individual and group therapy, and during the evening it is used for the immigrants to perform in front of the audience and tell their story. The building is supposed to act as a friendly attack to the site and the societal issues Margate is facing. While it clearly allows you to see what is happening inside, the lack of an obvious entrance aims to highlight the sensibility of the problem, and at the same time, revive the already existing structure.

REVIVING THE SITE

BRIDGING THE SOCIAL GAP

INTEGRATION OF IMMIGRANTS

ARCHITECTURAL INTEGRATION

Plan of the intervention on the site

ELEVATION AND SECTION

ISOMETRY

III. HOMES FOR THE HOMELESS

INTRODUCTION Location: Edge lands, the Taff corridor between Whitchurch and Radyr, Cardiff, Wales Client: Homeless people around Cardiff Gross Floor Area: aprox 1900 m2 Brief: In recognition of the fact that people experiencing homelessness all have unique circumstances and very different needs, aim to design a range of different accommodation ‘types’ within the housing project. These should all be suitable for people aged 16 - 25 years, and should include all necessary support facilities. In addition, design a public space to be used by the community together with the homeless.

Concept: Due to the nature of the site (extremely large and open,bounded on one side by allotments), I designed a multitude of clusters of houses, where depending on the mental health issues the clients might be facing, each person would be allocated a shared 2 bedroom house. The cluster is located in the middle of the site so that while the more public houses would be neighbouring the allotments, the more private ones would face the empty field. The public face of the small “neighbourhood” are the allotments in the middle of the it, which aims to bring the community and the homeless people together to work on the crops.

PLAN

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1. Entrance from allotments 2. Reception 3. Staff’s Kitchen 4. Staff’s Bedrooms (2) 5. Isolated House: Living room + Kitchen 6. Glass corridor connecting living ro0om (more public) to the bedrooms (private) 7. 2 en-suite double bedrooms

8. Tools shed / Therapy room 9. Pair of houses - dwellers are slowly ready to socialise and reintegrate into the community 10. Public allotments 11. Cluster of houses - dwellers are ready to socialise and reintegrate 12. Stairs leading to rooftop - fact that differentiate these houses from the rest.

TECHINCAL SECTION AND ELEVATION Technical Section: 1. Roof Construction: roof membrane, gravel layer, waterproof membrane, 120mm thermal insulation, vapour retarding layer, 18 osb sheeting, 50/255mm wood rafters with 20mm insulation in between, 12.5mm x 2 plasterboard.

2. Wall Construction: brick work: 215/102/65mm bricks in stretcher bond, 100mm cavity, moisture diffusing layer, 100/50 mm bears with 85 .. insulation, vapor retaining layer, 12.5 mm plasterboard.

Section

EXTERIOR VIEW

3. Floor Construction: 20mm flooring, impact sound mate, 60mm underfloor heating screed, 120mm thermal insulation, structural floor slab, dpm.

IV. CULINARY SCHOOL

INTRODUCTION Location: Edge lands, the Taff corridor between Whitchurch and Radyr, Cardiff, Wales Client: community of Radyr, with a specific focus on potential students to attend the culinary school, including the rehabilitated homeless people from the housing scheme next door Gross Floor Area: aprox 1300 m2 Brief: Design an educational facility and also a food hall where the public can purchase or consume produce grown on site and prepared by chefs and attendees of the culinary school. The aim of the facility is to cultivate a food secure community, strengthen the local food system and improve access to nutritious, affordable food.

Concept: An educational facility that allows people to learn culinary skills, grow food, and enjoy it there at the same time. Through the open plan that interacts with the landscape, a constant interaction between all stakeholders (students, clients and teachers) exists. This is achieved through the positioning of each space, through the glass green houses and the pools. Such attitude can lead to a better learning environment and to a more fruitful culinary experience

Plan

Section

VIEWS - INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR

V. OBSERVATORY IN A VULCANO

INTRODUCTION Location: Caldera de los Cuervos, Lanzarote, Spain Client: visitors of the volcano, hikers, tourists, sky enthusiasts Brief: Informed by previous studies you carried regarding the volcano, design an observatory and re-imagine the promise of the space. Make a spatial proposition that in some way would register an astronomical phenomena or light conditions etc.

Concept: Design a cluster of units that each intends to play with one’s sense of space and orientation. The motif of the scheme was the camera obscura, which can be found three times within the project. The camera obscura has the role to portray the scenery upside down, so that once the tourist sees it the wrong side up he pays double the attention to when he sees it the right side up. Hence, the journey of the visitor would be:

1. Frame with seats showing the W scenery, so the tourists can see where they came from.

2. Camera obscura showcasing the S scenery upside down - counter-intuitive.

3. Seating space where one can see at the same scenery they saw before upside down, now up side up.

4. Pink walls blocking the scenery they just esimilated - almost like a reminder to forget.

5. Frame with seats inside, where one can look at the E view.

6. Camera Oscura portraying the N scenery upside down.

7. Frame showing the scenery they just saw, now the right side up.

8. Shelter where they can go on the rooftop and see the scenery 360 degrees.

9. Camera Obscura showing the sky inverted: astronomical events such as meteorits storm, would be experienced differently in there.

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VI. FREELANCE WORK FOR STUDIO NESH (Location and other projects are not yet to be disclosed)

Detailed elevation

RESIDENTIAL BLOCK The residential block was one of the 4 projects I worked on for Studio Nesh. At the time it was at pre-planning stage. I was given the plans and asked to design the facade and its details. Attached are the elevations and views.

Concept: the intention was to revive some traditional British architectural elements, while still providing a high-end, modern living. The apartments are supposed to be affordable, yet qualitative and contextualised within the scape of the street. This is achieved through 2 methods, material choice and interpretation of bay windows and columns.

Materials: 2 type of facing bricks, zinc roofing and metal cladding. Each material aims to highlight the role behind the room it covers. Therefore, where yellow metal cladding is, the apartments behind were 3 bedrooms instead of 2 bedrooms. Behing the black metal cladding, all circulation is to be found. Like this, there is a clear coherence in the architecture of the building and it becomes readable for both the dweller and the viewer.

Architectural elements: to be able to revive some traditional architectural elements, a closer look should be given to the design of the windows and the appearance of rectangular columns in the structure of the building. The bay window, very well-known in British architecture, is now reinterpreted into a moder version. Furthermore, to offer the building some sort of depth, the structural column will be pushed out of the facade.

Front elevation

Back elevation

VIEWS

HOUSE EXTENSION

This house extension was at conceptual level at this stage. When the clients approached us they wanted to completely transform the rear of the house. They are a 60 years old couple who were looking for a contemporary remodelling of their Victorian house. The 2 floor extension had to include a living room, directly connected to the already existing kitchen and dining room, a cinema room and a gym. With the rest of the space I had the freedom to design it with relevance to their interests.

Concept: By making use of the already existing thick vegetation on their garden, a curtain wall was the most appropriate response to the client’s needs. Furthermore, a further expansion of the gym into a wet room and jacuzzi was designed at basement level so that the clients could relax after a tiring day.

The couple was very happy with the initial drawings and proposal and are currently looking forward to the next consultation.

Plan - Ground floor

Plan - Basement