December 2021 Portfolio

Isabella Virgilio

University of Detroit Mercy

Architectural Portfolio

Isabella Virgilio is a third year Visual Arts and the Built Environment (VABE) student at the University of Windsor and the University of Detroit Mercy.

Isabella’s unique university experience provides her an opportunity to enhance her skills in both art and architecture.

By April 2023, Isabella will have completed a BA in VABE and a Bsc in Architecture.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Synthesize ......................................................................... 04-07 Museum of Public Art...................................................... 08-11 #TheFive.............................................................................. 12-15 Landform House............................................................... 16-19 Deconstructed Cube....................................................... 20-23 Juxtaposition of Travel ....................................................24-27

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Synthesize 2021

In the album Aquemini, specifically within Da Art of Storytellin Pt 2, Outkast discusses topics of sustainability and humanities impact on the earth. This building was designed to understand what Outkast raps about and create a structure and program that responds to both the artist and the issue at hand. Stemming from sustainability and Outkast’s appreciation of the fashion industry, Synthesize is designed to transform and innovate new things from old clothing. The material will enter in the first stage of the building, move through processing to the innovation lab, and finally emerge in the showroom where the new items can be admired and purchased. Synthesize takes on a form that restores the original site by allowing people to walk up onto the roof and enjoy the space created from the innovation of the program.

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“Mama Earth is dying and crying because of you. Raining cats and jackals, all shackles disintegrate to residue. Silly mortals haven’t a clue as to what the f*ck is going on” OUTKAST DA ART OF STORYTELLIN PT 2

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Museum of Public Art 2021

Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process.This free of charge museum creates a space where public art can be displayed, appreciated and enjoyed by all people. Moving through the Museum of Public Art, guests will engage in public sculpture, murals, and environmental art exhibitions as well as exhibits on the facade of the building and the adjacent park. These exibitions will be curated by public artists without guidance from the museum and can be put up and taken down at the artists leisure. MPI’s mission is to showcase art that is rarely given a dedicated space while avoiding the ‘white box’ gallery that public artists tend to stay away from.

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Transverse Section

Longitudinal Section

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Fourth Level Perspective

First Level Perspective

Street Perspective

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#TheFive 2020

This project looks at a group of work-live residence units in Polish Hill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The focus is the design process as a function of context, program, and the engagement of both interior and exterior spaces. The site design seeks to transform an unused piece of land into a highly circulated and well utilized space. It includs five programs with residences tailored to specific tenants needs. This group of buildings includes a barber shop, pierogi kitchen, fresh market with rooftop urban garden, pottery shop, and yoga studio on their lowest floors. One of the most significant and unique things about this site is the steep hill on the Brereton st. side. My solution for this site, after analysis, is to turn the uneven hill into a set of stairs where people can sit, rest, and enjoy the site and its programs. Studying the context of the site helped to design the site in a way that people can enjoy.

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Longitudinal Section

Transverse Section

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Landform House 2020

The landform house creates a single family home and studio out of an unusual site location, the side of a cliff.

This design maximizes on the idea of views, planting the home and studio mainly on a vertical axis and as removed as possible from the landform. The design features a grand entrance way from the clifftop onto the first floor of the home, as well as a direct path to the studio on the lowest level. This project challenged my critical thinking and creativity working with a challenging site. As well, this project tested my ability to work by hand, as the entirety of the design and creation was done without the aid of technology.

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Deconstructed Cube 2019

“Deconstructed Cube” is a sculpture that deals with the idea of mass and void. Beginning with a solid cube, elements are cut, removed, and reattached in such a way that the sculpture can stand from any angle, creating a dynamic composition of mass and void.

This sculpture also plays with the idea of shadow and how different orientations change the presence of shadow. In theory, the pieces of this sculpture have the capability of returning to it’s original cube form without any sections missing or in excess. Study models done in cardboard followed by a final design done in millboard.

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Juxtaposition of Travel 2020

Promted to add new elements to the canvas daily, this project is an exploration of materials, mediums, and juxtaposition. This piece includes the use of spray paint, shellac, marker, ink, black transfer paper, translucent paper, and image transfer to create a dynamic design that comes together in a cohesive concept . Concept prompts included stacking, stencil, repetition, and black-only shadow.

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