ALE XAN D RA ANTAL
PORTFOLIO
MARIA-ALEXANDRA ANTAL C U R R I C U L U M
V I T A E
CONTACT adresa: Str. I. C. Visarion, Nr. 3, Et. 2, Ap. 4, Sector 1, București telefon: +40 (0) 752 337 914 e-mail: mariaalexandra.antal@gmail.com
EDUCATION
CONTESTS / VOLUNTEERING
LANGUAGES SPOKEN
DIGITAL ABILITIES
2013 – 2014: Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona; 2010 – : “Ion Mincu” Architecture and Urbanism University, București;
2014 - : EFdeN (SDe 2014) http://efden.org/ 2014: Komunitas Association; http://asociatia-komunitas.ro/en/ 2012: Școala de la Bunești; http://www.bunesti.ro/ 2012: Annual Architecture Students’ Competition - C|A|S|A; 1st place; https://concursan2.wordpress.com/
română (native) + english + français + castellano + català +
Adobe Photoshop Adobe InDesign Adobe Illustrator Autodesk AutoCAD Autodesk Revit Artlantis 3ds Max
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C O N T E N T S HOUSING
CULTURE
CITY AND PUBLIC SPACE
(INFRA) STRUCTURE
INTERIOR
COLLECTIVE HOUSING ON MÂNTULEASA STREET location: Mântuleasa Street, Bucharest year: 2013 type: academic, team project (2 members) project duration: 13 weeks coordinator: Haytham Zeki
“On Mîntuleasa Street, […] wasn’t there a school on Mîntuleasa Street, with chestnut trees in the yard and a garden at the back, with apricot and sour cherry trees?” (Mircea Eliade)
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(right) HOUSE ACCESS Former parish and slum (mahala) of the merchants and craftsmen in town, the Mântuleasa area has formed surrounding its namesake church. Its name comes from merchant Mantu’s orchard, whose widow, Sofia Mântuleasa, had wattled the orchard. The first attestation of Mântuleasa lane is made in 1707 and, beginning with the 1850’s through the 1950’s, the urbanization and modernization of the slum takes place, consisting of regulations for the routes, marking of new streets and naming and numbering the alleys. The housing neighborhood was airy, with rich vegetation, a varied population, both ethnically and professionally (the majority of them were Jews). Along with the diversification of the population the demography of the area grows, the grapevine and vegetable cultures along with the orchards are lotted and sold to the new settlers. The communist period leads to the shift of the owners, the majority of them being Romanians suffering the drama of the tenants.
1847-1852 Borroczyn plan
1847-1852 Borroczyn plan Historical evolution of the surrounding area
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there is no clear rule about the house access, it varying according to the setting on the lot and the housing type. THE STREET’S PULSATING NATURE (below) The breadth of the street is not perceived constantly throughout its whole distance, along the way having space dilations given by the retraction of the houses as well as the height variations.
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HOUSING |COLLECTIVE HOUSING ON MĂ‚NTULEASA STREET
ACCESS TO THE HOUSE directly from the street
frontally, through a courtyard
laterally, through a courtyard
collective housing
TYPES OF LIVING
twinned houses
individual housing
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Today the area is inhabited by a medley stratum, lacking a community coherence. The potential buyers of these apartments belong to the upper middle class, freelancers, with their workplaces somewhere downtown, who look for a central living area which is quiet and not monotonous at the same time, due to the landscape and the ambient, and not prohibitively expensive regarding services.
Regarding the built part, the structure is made out of reinforced concrete frameswith closings of masonry, thermally insulated. The exterior finish aims at keeping the volumes in agreement with the neighboring constructions, so, for that reason, we opted for a smooth faรงade with white plastering. For the maximization of the vegetation areas, wherever possible, the houses receive yards and the rest have terraces or loggias, where it is possible to grow plants.
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HOUSING |COLLECTIVE HOUSING ON MĂ‚NTULEASA STREET
Taking into consideration the Romanian tradition regarding meeting and conviviality places, we considered that the most suitable community spaces are the outdoor ones. These are cut out from the unbuilt mass and the private yards. Due to the dimensions, but also because of the rapport with the built elements, we propose their taking into possession by the inhabitants, so that they are always taken care of. Children were offered a playground, while the spaces on the ground floor of the building facing the street have special functions; however, these were chosen to support the community, to be of use to the residents of the small ensemble and not to attract too many outsiders.
In the area a play on heights and forms of housing is observed, which will be reflected in the solution through the adaptation of the units to varying degrees of comfort and privacy. Starting from the individual house, through its association, complex forms of housing result, which aim to offer the collective housing most of the benefits of individual housing while also providing a sense of community.
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site limits and relation with the surrounding urban tissue
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orientation and ventilation
main green spaces
HOUSING |COLLECTIVE HOUSING ON MÂNTULEASA STREET
Mântuleasa Street facade
interesting views from the site
public facilities on the ground floor
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fifth floor
fourth floor
third floor
second floor
first floor
public spaces apartments staircases
private public
ground floor
green spaces
main pedestrian paths
parking
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HOUSING |COLLECTIVE HOUSING ON MÂNTULEASA STREET
Ground floor plan
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LOCUINลขE COLECTIVE Grupa 31B, Atelier Haytham Zeki
stud. arh. Antal Maria - Alexandra, stud. arh. Samiศ Greta
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LEGENDA Casa de scara Garsoniera Apartament 2 camere Apartament 3 camere Apartament 4 camere
ETAJ 1 Suprafata totala = 1111,5 mp Numar apartamente = 17 Nr. apartamente pe nivel = 7
Nr. apartamente duplex = 7
Nr. apartamente triplex = 3 Nr. garsoniere = 4 Nr. apartamente 2 camere = 4 Nr. apartamente 3 camere = 6 Nr. apartamente 4 camere = 3
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First floor plan
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Row housing units- backyard facade
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PLAN ETAJ 1, SCARA 1:100
HOUSING |COLLECTIVE HOUSING ON MÂNTULEASA STREET LOCUINŢE COLECTIVE Grupa 31B, Atelier Haytham Zeki
stud. arh. Antal Maria - Alexandra, stud. arh. Samiș Greta
LEGENDA Casa de scara Garsoniera Apartament 2 camere Apartament 3 camere Apartament 4 camere
ETAJ 2 Suprafata totala = 1314 mp Numar apartamente = 13 Nr. apartamente pe nivel = 9
Nr. apartamente duplex = 1
Nr. apartamente triplex = 3 Nr. garsoniere = 2 Nr. apartamente 2 camere = 5 Nr. apartamente 3 camere = 2 Nr. apartamente 4 camere = 4
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PLAN ETAJ 2, SCARA 1:100
Second floor plan
Collective housing unit - rear facade
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Transversal section through site - 2nd collective house unit facade
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HOUSING |COLLECTIVE HOUSING ON MÂNTULEASA STREET
Transversal section through site
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HOUSING |COLLECTIVE HOUSING ON MÂNTULEASA STREET
Longitudinal section through site - Row housing - courtyard facade
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Construction detail
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HOUSING |COLLECTIVE HOUSING ON MÂNTULEASA STREET
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HOUSING |COLLECTIVE HOUSING ON MÂNTULEASA STREET
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A HOUSE IN SCHEI. C|A|S|A 2012 1st prize location: Învățătorilor Street, Brașov year: 2012 type: academic, individual project project duration: 7 weeks coordinator: Anca Mitrache
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Objective of the study For the next proposed project, the purpose was the realisation of an individual, medium level house, isolated on the studied terrain. By medium level we understand a house with no dimensional or formal excess. The exercise must get the minimum necesary with the right measure,in such way that the owner can identify in each proposed space, his own space with the proper furnishing specific for a certain function: resting area, a place for eating, a place for reading, a place for sitting and talking, a place for sleeping,etc.
Insertion in the urban context The terrain is situated in the intravilan of the city of Brașov, on Strada Învățătorilor in the Schei neighbourhood, on the western side of the slope, in a position with a privileged orientation and panorama. The area, architectural reservation TC1B, is being occupied by buildings with medium and small height (maximum Ground floor+2), and,according to the PUG Brasov regulations, it is intendent preponderent for the living and secondary for the complementary functions. There is a general alignment of the street, and the tipical disposition of the houses in with the long side perpendicular on the street. http://www.arhiforum.ro/concursuri/concursul-anual-al-studentilor-arhitecti-casa-2012-proiectele-finaliste http://www.igloo.ro/stiri/rezultatele-casa-2012/
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H O U S I N G | A H O U S E I N S C H E I . C | A | S | A 2 0 1 2 1st prize
excrept from the jury’s commentary C|A|S|A 2012 “The winning project presents an original and captivating solution to the house both in its relation to the street and to the garden. Thus the public face is reserved and sober, presenting a calmness to the confusion of its context while the private face opens completely to the southeast, to the sunlight and to the garden areas. The plans are clear and precise and are complemented by a good use of the section to create a variety of views and functional uses. The functions are distributed in a traditional way: a simple entrance, with a choice of entry from the street or the garage, also opens onto a separate study area. A direct staircase leads one to the first floor which is dedicated to living areas stretching the whole length of the unit, providing welcome depth to the perspective. One façade opens to the garden. The master bedroom unit is particularly well planned and the two other bedrooms are on the top floor. The simplicity of the layout gives great potential for flexibility. Moreover, the project makes good use of the site in all its levels, by providing a series of courtyards and terraces progressing from ground to top floor. Although recognising the value of its gesture as a counterpoint, the jury felt that the study tower could have been better incorporated into the life of the house. Although the project lacked details of materials and colour, nevertheless the sensitivity of the scheme remained convincing.”
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Courtyard facade
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H O U S I N G | A H O U S E I N S C H E I . C | A | S | A 2 0 1 2 1st prize
The isolated house proposal is inspired by a house typology that is common for the Brașov area: almost opaque towards the street and opening gradually towards the courtyard. The site configration and the two access points made up the spatial scheme of the house, that becomes an overdimensional staircase, alongside which various spaces open themselves towards the courtyard. The “boxes” containing the master bedroom and the workshop/ library pierce the main volume as they lay on the slopes of the site, creating intimate pockets in between and teraces that open themselves towards the scenery above.
Învățătorilor Street facade
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First floor plan
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H O U S I N G | A H O U S E I N S C H E I . C | A | S | A 2 0 1 2 1st prize
Transversal section
Longitudinal section
Ground floor plan
Second floor plan
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DAY C E NTE R F O R C H I LD R E N location: Romulus Street, Bucharest year: 2012 type: academic, team project (2 members) project duration: 6 weeks coordinator: Haytham Zeki
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ABOUT THE SITE
The proposed area for intervention was occupied through the expansion of the traditional city towards north-east with the taking over of street networks and semiurban types of plots. It constitutes a component of the territory with a residential function, comprising a blend of medium standard housing and modest housing (for urban working class). The area’s character is a domestic one, of low rise dwelling, consisting of houses isolated on the lot, coupled houses or row houses, prevalently P, P+1 with accents of P+3 to P+5. The majority of historically valuable buildings is affected by age, lack of maintenance and repairs, improper interventions. The tenants -s through buying, or the former owners through reclaiming, try to maximally and in short time exploit the houses, intervening with extensions and additional building bodies, often in contradiction with the regulations of the area.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The community center is more of a house rather than an institution, so that the people that it addresses would feel integrated in an atmosphere of normality. The children belong to different age-groups, that is why more classrooms are needed, but a common room for activities that involve all the children is also necessary. Due to the fact that these centers not only follow the improvement of the school results of those who are registered, but also to develop a sensitive, creative side, special spaces for music and drawing are required as well. Furthermore, a playground/sports field would be more than welcome. Because these children spend a good amount of their time in the community center, conditions for the preparation and serving of meals have to be provided. The majority of the children comes from dysfunctional families, thus, a psychological cabinet and a counseling room, destined for both children as well as parents, are requisite. For vaccinations and regular checks, there would also have to be a medical office.
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CULTURAL |DAY CENTER FOR CHILDREN
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CULTURAL |DAY CENTER FOR CHILDREN
The day center is addressed to children from dysfunctional families and aims to be a place where they come to spend their time before and/ or after school. Here they do their homework and have extracurricular activities. The chosen site lies in an area with low houses which give the landscape a domestic feel. Also, the ratio between built space and open space, occupied by gardens, is approximately equal, thus producing a discontinuous front at the street, creating a more welcoming atmosphere. The chosen plot on 38, Romulus Street has an irregular shape, its outline being given by three blind walls of the neighboring houses on the lot’s rear and laterals, one of the lateral houses having the main façade at the alignment. Sunlight
The project started by taking into account these blind walls, the functional scheme necessary to this center and the desire of integration into the site, respecting the builtvegetation relationship specific to the area. By visiting an already existing center with the same aim as the one proposed by us, we reached the solution of creating spaces with a certain independence which can still communicate freely between them, and a main area, a common space, which binds all the other functions. The result is a fluid space, suited for some unconventional work rooms, avoiding the atmosphere of the sometimes dreaded institutional centers.
Public to private
An important role is played by the articulations which unite the spaces but, at the same time, maintain a permanent contact between the closed areas and the exterior spaces, both visually and physically. Also, these articulations create relationships between the formed courtyards, converting them into a flowing, sequential space. Another thing we took into account in our proposal was the issue of sunlight. That is why we chose to curve more the spaces facing south, so as to obtain a larger exposure surface. Likewise, through creating the courtyards, we created more fittingly oriented areas than we would have had in a monolith volume.
Relation to the blind walls
The object from our volumetric composition which has the greatest impact from the street space is the public library. We chose to also insert this kind of function in the center because we thought that a form of institution in a housing tissue would be discordant. However, the community would care more for this center if it would offer a space that benefits the community. The library body is placed towards the street, together with the administrative area, the medical offices and the kitchen area. This semi-public area is separated by the rest of the center, destined exclusively for children, through the main hall, where the events gathering all the children from all age groups take place. This arrangement is easily noticeable in the volumetry as well, upstairs the common hall converting itself into a terrace and physically separating the two areas. The neighboring houses have a high ground floor. We followed the height regime of the area, building a P+1.s
Alignment
Materialized, our idea of a fluid space and organic volume fits best a structure of loadbearing concrete walls and medium sized squared windows..
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Ground floor plan
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CULTURAL |DAY CENTER FOR CHILDREN
Axonometric view of the common hall
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Ground floor plan
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CULTURAL |DAY CENTER FOR CHILDREN
Longitudinal section through the library
Longitudinal section through the courtyard - southern facade
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Romulus street facade
The library as a meeting place
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CULTURAL |DAY CENTER FOR CHILDREN
Transversal section
Perspective from the street level
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CULTURAL |DAY CENTER FOR CHILDREN
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M E D IATH E Q U E location: Traian Street + Labirint Street, Bucharest year: 2012 type: academic, individual project project duration: 8 weeks coordinator: Haytham Zeki
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The site, a corner plot situated at the intersection of Traian and Labirint Streets, benefits from a location in a space rich with history, Labirint Street being important in the collective memory of Bucharest’s dwellers/inhabitants and Traian Street having protected monuments. The site is also placed at the confluence of two different types of tissues, the historical tissue, born organically with winding streets (the most eloquent example being Labirintului Street), with irregular plots, low height regime and the brutal intervention of the communist architecture, with apartment blocks varying from P+4 to P+7-8. One of the most winding streets in Bucharest, having no less than seven turnings on its way, Labirint Street had a deplorable fate. The systematization crippled it by trying to “straighten” it, which led to the destruction of an important segment of it, while the rest met sporadic demolitions. It finally remained crippled and abandoned. The media library is the place of the discovery and retrieval of culture in an interactive manner, in which a large part play communication and interpersonal relations, and, beyond addressing the area’s population, it can become a point of interes on a larger scale as well. According to Larousse dictionary the media library is the “organism” in charge with the conservation and placing at the public’s disposal of a large collection of documents in various formats (magnetic tape, CD-DVD, film, paper etc.).
As a recently developed architectural program, the media library allows, first of all, for a great flexibility at the functions’ level and, through the new media technologies, an immense storage capacity. Given its public nature, the media library answers both to the physical context (the highly visible, accessible and traveled intersection) and the social one (a population with an average and below average level, in which the need for an informal and friendly “cultural-educational magnet” is felt). Through its purpose, the architectural program demands the existence of flexible documenting/ reading/ audition /viewing spaces which are directly connected with the storage spaces.
The rest of the functions are nonspecific (linking and auxiliary – restrooms for both genders, 1-2 administrative offices, reception space, coffee shop). As an answer to the site demands, the proposed object tries to mediate between the domestic scale of the individual residences situated in the northern part and that of the high collective residences in the south, yielding an important part to the public space. The media library becomes a compact body in the upper half of the square below the elevation of the sidewalk, displaying on the exterior an austere envelope. The interior is organized surrounding an empty central space, the alternating slabs creating spaces always open towards one another, having differing heights. Thus, the “shell” of the object thickens and dilates accommodating useful spaces, while the central area always remains empty, allowing visual contact from one slab to another, each of them being intended for a main activity. At the top level lies the café area with an open terrace, while the ground floor is purposed for the welcoming area and the auxiliary spaces.
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CULTURAL |MEDIATHEQUE
terrace
cafĂŠ
video and projections area
magazine section
computer area audio section
terrace
reception
entrance
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Longitudinal section
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CULTURAL |MEDIATHEQUE
Transversal section
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Ground floor plan
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CULTURAL |MEDIATHEQUE
First floor plan
Second floor plan
Third floor plan
Fourth floor plan
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Eastern facade, Traian street
Southern facade, Labirint Street
Western facade
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Northern facade
CULTURAL |MEDIATHEQUE
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CULTURAL |MEDIATHEQUE
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NAU I VAN O W : R E STO RATI O N AN D E XTE N S I O N location: Carrer d’Hondures, La Sagrera, Barcelona year: 2013 type: academic, individual project project duration: 12 weeks coordinator: Cristina Gastón Guirao
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Work of the architect Jordi Figueres Anmella, the original nave dates from 1959 and it was charged by Víctor Ivanow to shelter a paint factory. The construcion was started in 1967 and the building was inaugurated in 1968. After that, the edifice was rented to various textile enterprises until in 1997 it was purchased by the architect and photographer Xavier Basiana in order to establish his professional studio and a cultural center with its activity closely linked to the La Sagrera neighbourhood. Nowadays, Nau Ivanow is a cultural hub with an expanding area of influence. The diverse activities that take place inside this apparatus have started to surpass the current dimensions of the complex. The original nave, with a ground floor and two upper floors, is situated in the norther part of the site and it shelters activities like expositions, neighbours’ reunions, workshops, together with mamangement and acces control offices. On the facade there is a small patio that is accessed through carrer d’Hodures and that sometimes acts as an entrance - distribution apparatus. To the left of the patio we have Nau Ivanow. To its right, there is the access to the three naves that shelter extensions of the original nave’s activities. This is the place where political acts, theatrical representations, music concerts - on short, a very diverse range of ceremonies. Its dimensions though are restricted to the induvidual size of each of the naves which leads to a limited seating capacity in each of the now three naves (the fourth one has partially collapsed). There is also a problem of accesibility - getting to the last nave involves passing through the first two ones, which complicates the functioning of the whole system. In the southern part of the of the ensemble there is a metal roof structure built for a sports’ court that can be easily disassembled and moved and whose relationship to Carrer Gran de la Sagrera is mediated through an important planted area consisting of pine trees. The current cultural programe of Nau Ivanow cannot be sustained by its current physical dimensions. The task is to adapt and restructure the complex in a way that can accomodate its activities and to put it in relation with the new train station of La Sagrera which will be built on the other side of the Carrer Gran de la Sagrera.
right side: the current situation
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CULTURAL |NAU IVANOW: RESTORATION AND EXTENSION
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The site of the project is situated at the confluence of two types of urban tissue: on one hand, the already iconic Eixample planned by Ildefonso Cerdà in 1859; on the other hand, the Sant Andreu neighbourhoods. Our plot is to be virtually crossed by one streets (Carrer de Josep Estivill) outlined after the Eixample layout but due to the proxity of the Carrer Gran de la Sagrera, the rail lines and the spatial limitations, this street does not continue further. The layout of the building volumes keeps this particular situation in mind: the two main volumes underline the direction of the street at a spatial level, but the pavement changes at the sidewalk level, allowing the passer to percieve the ingress to the cultural space’s realm without feeling a spatial rupture with the street. The sequence continues with an outdoor covered foyer, which constitutes a transiton place between the exterior and Nau Ivanow’s different hall foyers, but also a transition between the two types of urban tissue. The direction chosen was to preserve the existing structure of the naves, while also taking advantage of the existing structure of the covered sports court which provides an opening large enough to shelter the needed multifunctional hall. In order to give the ensemble a coherent, unitary image, both structures were enclosed in an envelope of reinforced brick walls and precast concrete modules. The light is allowed in through the lattice brickwork and skylights. The reasons for doing so are twofold: on one hand, to avoid the effect of a too strong, direct light, given the fact that the spaces are mostly used for talks, conferences, exhibitions, but also theatrical plays, rehearsals and various lessons. This kind of lighting allows a neutral, uniform illumination of the spaces. Secondly, the placement of the skylights through the effects of the reflected light, underlines the existing structures.
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CULTURAL |NAU IVANOW: RESTORATION AND EXTENSION
The new distribution apparatus for the old naves
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Axonometric view of added layers
CULTURAL |NAU IVANOW: RESTORATION AND EXTENSION
Plan with corresponding facades
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Section through the great hall
Carrer Gran de la Sagrera facade
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CULTURAL |NAU IVANOW: RESTORATION AND EXTENSION
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Transversal section through the site
Carrer d’Hondures elevation
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CULTURAL |NAU IVANOW: RESTORATION AND EXTENSION
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CULTURAL |NAU IVANOW: RESTORATION AND EXTENSION
Constructive detail - facade; left page, horizontal and vertical section
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CULTURAL |NAU IVANOW: RESTORATION AND EXTENSION
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Perspective view of the outdoor foyer
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CULTURAL |NAU IVANOW: RESTORATION AND EXTENSION
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THE CLINGING FAIR location: Calea Moșilor, Bucharest year: 2012 type: academic, individual project project duration: 4 weeks coordinator: Anca Mitrache
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The intention of the public space project took form around the old house on the site, a typical wagon-house, illustrative for Bucharest, but harrased by the new buildings on and around Moșilor Avenue, and old and important commercial artery of the city. The house’s courtyard becomes a pretext for a craftsmen’s market/ fair. The market’s space, crowded between the two high, blind walls, clings to them, underlining their height and uniformity, but, more importantly, giving them a purpose. Thus, the functional space of the courtdayard, having no more space left on the ground, shifts in a vertical position, taking the form of suspended bridges, attached to the wall and followed by the garden that also shifts its orientation. By night, the storage units are lit up and they animate the small public space created around a fragment of very uneven urban fabric.
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C ITY AN D PU B LI C S PAC E | T H E C LI N G I N G FAI R
Transversal section
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C ITY AN D PU B LI C S PAC E | T H E C LI N G I N G FAI R
Public space plan
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C ITY AN D PU B LI C S PAC E | T H E C LI N G I N G FAI R
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PU B LI C S PAC E - “ C a s e s i c o s e s d e l s e s p a i s p u b l i c s “ location: Via Laietana, Barcelona year: 2014 type: academic, team project (2 members) project duration: 4 weeks coordinator: Josep Maria Sole Gras
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C ITY AN D PU B LI C S PAC E | CAS E S I C O S E S D E LS E S PAI S PU B LI C S
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The aim of the study was, on one hand, to thoroughly analize a portion of one of the highly important arteries in Barcelona - Via Laietana. Most of our efforts were focused on understanding the complexity of an urban tissue fragment. The analysis was split onto levels - or layers - of understanding; first of all, the houses: distinguishing the charcteristic model by using the means of abstractization to the most basic types, identifying the time and importance of the building, but also underlining the singularities that make certain buildings stand out from the established canon. Secondly, the public space: establishing the characteristic sections of the main spaces, indentifying particular types of public spaces in relation to the streets or the existing monuments, describing the main activities and when they take place. Another important direction was discovering the historcal layers that succeeded in time. Following the analisis we decided the improvement of certain areas, namely: the intersection in front of the “la Caixa“ bank with the metro entrance (Urquinaona). The proposed intervention is a very simple and clear one: defining the limits of the pedestrian area and the metro exit with precast concrete benches and flower pots: this way, the very exposed space in the middle of the intersection becomes more protected and the benches provide the passers the chance to sit while they wait (ie. for the person they have to meet). The other change proposed was the elimination of the pedestrian crossing of the pedestrian crossing at the end of Carrer Comtal, in relation to Via Laietana. We considered that this crossing was too long and possibly dangerous, creating and umpleasant environment and we decided instead to pave the street with a material more welcoming than the everpresent asphalt, furnishing it with sitting places that are in relation with the two important buildings: Casa Bulbena Salasa and the Sabadel Atlantico edifice.
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C ITY AN D PU B LI C S PAC E | CAS E S I C O S E S D E LS E S PAI S PU B LI C S
Via Laietana - back in time - fragments and traces
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Landmarks and signs analysis
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Built / unbuilt ratio
C ITY AN D PU B LI C S PAC E | CAS E S I C O S E S D E LS E S PAI S PU B LI C S
Street texture/ Light and shadow
Public spaces in relation to Via Laietana/ Typologies
Areas proposed for intervention
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Intersections
Activities
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Built environment: the monumental and the habitual
C ITY AN D PU B LI C S PAC E | CAS E S I C O S E S D E LS E S PAI S PU B LI C S
Catedral de Santa EulĂ lia
Street: via Laietana and the ancient roads
Casa del Gremi dels Velers
Monuments and public space - Palau de Musica Catalana
Palau de MĂşsica Catalana
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The intervention on Carrer Comtal - new pavement, the street doesn’t need a pedestrian crossing, because it is predominantly pedestrian
A more welcoming meeting place
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C ITY AN D PU B LI C S PAC E | CAS E S I C O S E S D E LS E S PAI S PU B LI C S
The intersection with the proposed benches and spatial delineations
New urban furniture
View from Carrer Comtal towards Via Laietana
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LEARNING FROM MEDELLÍN location: Quebrada la Iguaná, Medellín year: 2013 type: academic, team project (6 members) project duration: 6 weeks coordinators: Maria Rubert, Alex Giménez
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Nueva Villa de la Iguana is a dense populated area in Medellin. It lies along the river Quebrada la Iguana as a stripe. On the other side of the stripe there is a park going up a steep hill. There are approximately 4000 inhabitants living here. Construction methods are mostly by bricks. During our research we found out that the quebrada floods recurrently. As a consequence, the houses that are built close to it are regularly destroyed or badly damaged. The water that runs through the river is wastewater, because inhabitants along the river use it as a sewage line. In Nueva Villa the housing structure is inconsistent. This again forms the paths of communication and availability. The plots and the topography generate the structure. The neighborhood extends on a linear pattern with two access points. Surrounding it, there are a lot of public services. But the opportunities to reach them are few. The bad connections with the surroundings and its odd position of Nueva Villa, cramped between the quebrada and the steep park turn it into a small island. A public space deprived village in the middle of the city. From read interviews, the inhabitant seems to have a strong sense of belonging to the neighborhood. But in the recent years the engagement in the neighborhood has been falling apart. And our impression is that it needs a little push. A new spark.
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“Quebradafront� after the intervention
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Overview of Quebrada La Iguana and its corresponding neighbourhood - right page, area of the detailed intervention
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Garden and orchard area
The aim is to enhance: Community engagement - by demolishing just the most affected some houses, finding plots for other houses and setting up some examples of new housing. This way, the other inhabitants are faced with an ispiration model and encouraged to make their own changes and improvements in a way that does not feel dictatorial and rigid. Trying to generate a domino effect. Safety - By demolishing the most exposed houses near the river and setting up a water dam that can handle rising water.
Zoom in on one of the detailed areas
Infrastructure By focusing on the streets as shared spaces, where the main street that connects the neighborhood to the city functions as a shared space between vehicles and pedestrians. This street is upgraded with sewage, lighting, a new materiality and particular areas. A new street along the river is made for pedestrians following the river. Another pedestrian street is made between the houses and the park connecting them both. The thought is that some parts of the park could be used as parcel gardens. By implementing this strategy the hope is that it would work as an example for other places in similar situations. Also, building two bridges (pedestrian) to connect the area better with the southern side of the quebrada.
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The new housing units between Nueva Villa and the river front are supposed - on one hand - to give the street a sense of continuity as well as to accommodate the growing population of the neighbourhood and even receive inhabitants from outside Nueva Villa. The units are inspired by the work of Alejandro Aravena with Elemental, more specifically Monterrey and Rancagua. This intervention is to be set on the site nearby which is now occupied by a truck parking and some abandoned sheds. On this same site we propose a kindergarten/ community center for the inhabitants.
An easy roof construction to shelter the inhabitants, considering the amount of yearly, stable rainfall.
Usually houses in the area are built with bricks, even though the area is rich of wooden resources. Building with wood means: local materials; a flexible construction; a cheap alternative; substainable building; selfregulating humidity; increased opportunities of local participation, because the material is easy to work with; a new layer in the urban tissue.
The first step of proposing the new housing is to set the foundations. By using reinforced concrete, a stable and more waterproof foundation is layed.
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TITAN PAR K B R I D G E location: Titan Park, Bucharest year: 2014 type: academic, individual project project duration: 6 weeks coordinator: Ștefan Scafa-Udriște
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(INFRA)STRUCTURE| TITAN PARK BRIDGE
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The Titan (IOR) park serves the homonymous neighbourhood - which was formed through the ‘60s ‘80s and is one of the typical post-war communist “grands ensembles“; the park contains a lake with five islands, each of them having its own specific.The bridge serves not only as a connection between the park area and one of the islands, but it also constitutes a landmark, a vertical sign that interrupts the flatness of the park as it is positioned in relation to one of the important entrances to the park. Due to its positioning, it provides the opportunity to create a trail including another one of the islands and to create a circuit . Its industrial, red metal silhouette alludes to the manufacturing history of the site: there used to be a ropes and belts factory and after that a brick factory on the approximate premises of the park. Not far away from it, another factory still continues its activity - the Faur (former Malaxa) engines company. Thus, the bridge not only connects the park with one of its islands, creating at the same time the opportunity of extension, but it also connects the neighbourhood to its industrial - now almost forgotten - past and becomes a landmark that should make the park popular not only among residents, but also people from other neighbourhoods in Bucharest.
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(INFRA)STRUCTURE| TITAN PARK BRIDGE
Lateral elevation
Top view
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Island elevation
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Transversal section
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Park entrance elevation
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Detailed vertical section
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TH E BATH R O O M AS A LI V I N G S PAC E location: Bucharest year: 2014 type: contest, 3 members team project duration: 2 days
In a hypothesis of reforming the attic of an apartment in the center of Bucharest, the bathroom becomes a unique space not serving, but completing and complimenting the “resting apparatus“ of the house. Thus, the night area, though at a level different and somewhat isolated from the rest of the house, was designed as a series of places each contributing to the creation of a unitary space. The bathroom is a mechanism whose components are distributed to each part of the resting area, it structures the space without dominating it.
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INTERIOR | THE BATHROOM AS A LIVING SPACE
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INTERIOR | THE BATHROOM AS A LIVING SPACE
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THANK YOU!