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The agate pearl is a home away from home. Home is a place to build memories and a place where we can truly be ourselves.
The agate pearl is located in the oldest neighborhood in Boston, on Charles street. The interior of the agate pearl is in contrast to the traditional style brick row houses. With bright colors and modern simple geometric and organic forms, it is a place where the old meets the new Charles Street is a popular shopping area and is surrounded with several fashionable stores, a library with an art gallery and many restaurants and pubs. With more than half of Beacon Hill’s population being younger adults, The agate pearl is meant to be a place for them to connect with tourists visiting the place, local workers and college students. It is a comforting, playful atmosphere that’s inviting and distinct. People travel to experience something new or revisit somewhere they love to be. The agate pearl provides a fresh experience to locals and a unique story of Boston to tourists. With so many prestigious academic institutions in Boston, it can be a stressful place. Colors such as calming Moroccan pink and bright yellow are bringing a relaxing feeling.
Located in Austin, Texas along the Colorado River, Lido is a public pool with a design driven by inclusivity, interaction, and playfulness. After a rigorous study of materiality and its interaction with the body and water, we arrived at a project where the generic is juxtaposed with moments of specificity - the organic within the orthogonal.
White Tile
4”
Colored Concrete
Porcelain Glossy & Matte Glaze High Slip Resistance Easy to clean + maintain
Fiberglass Reinforced High Strength to Weight Ratio
Solid Concrete Tiles - Pigmented High Durability and Longevity in Public Facilities
Dense Material - Water + Freeze Resistant
4”
Porcelain Matte Glaze - High Traction + Friction - Slip Resistant
Pipe
Anodized Aluminum
Recycled
1.5” Diameter
3” Diameter
Rubber
Water Permeable Chlorine Resistant Easy Maintenance + Repair Recycled
University of Northampton / year 3
chamber music therapy centre
quality relationship between the building and visitor ground floor - public spaces
1st and 2nd floor - music therapy chambers
The proposed site is a Grade II listed Victorian building located on 87 Vittoria Street in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham. The design proposal is to convert the building into a music therapy centre that caters for groups and individuals. The interior of the building has been reconfigured and a new additional cylinder-shaped extension added in the courtyard.
The interior has a hierarchy of public and private levels. The ground floor is accessible to the public, whilst the 1st and 2nd floors are for music therapy users only.
The main design concept of the Chamber is based on the process of music therapy and the relationship between therapist and client. The centre is not just about sound but also silence to allow the users to focus. The musical elements are inspired by the cello, drum and piano, each instrument translated into architectural language transforming the building into a musical experience. The building acts like the therapist, interacting with the visitors creating vibrations, acoustic and technical sounds. Sound-absorbing materials ensure music cannot be heard in the adjacent rooms.
The materials used throughout the building are natural with soft colours creating a warm welcome to the visitor. Music is considered the food for body and soul, using the healing qualities of sound such as vibrations throughout the design helps the visitor healing process. The public circulation spaces are a musical experience that invites the visitor to participate in. Using the stairs, you can pull the adjacent strings, when walking through the corridor on the ground floor the moving steps create sounds as you move to your destination point.
The new extension in the courtyard has a cafe on the ground floor with a dance studio above. The courtyard is landscaped to be a therapy room in itself, a place to contemplate and take time to reflect.
private spaces, music therapy chambers, individual or group sessions, dance therapy chamber
Private spaces music therapy chambers, individual or group sessions dance therapy chamber
private spaces, music therapy chambers, individual or group sessions
public chambers, sound walking experience, cafe, garden, reception, acoustical stairs leading to private spaces sound installation for sound walking experience on the ground floor
holes allowing sound to travel
metal glass
the 1mm wide strings located next to the stairs create a sound as you move through the stairwell.
as people move on the walkway, the timber keys drop slightly creating sounds via the internal metal plates.
connection points
concrete stairs timber “instrument=stairs” chambers
White oak and walnut were used to create contrast between the two woods. Straight lines and curves were mirrored, rotated, and repeated, symmetrically placed to create an elegant coffee table that doesn’t sacrifice functionality. White oak of the table top provides a play of grain direction. The table is constructed with several domino and biscuit joineries.
independent study on bent plywood
Insuring the sturdiness, the design of this chair is supposed to capture the freedom of form. I wanted to experiment with bent lamination and specifically how far could push the material.
The client wanted this server station to be a free standing centerpiece with a tree planter. Of the few options presented, the client chose the “MX” option incorporating the branding of the restaurant.
During less busy days at work, I used a lasercutting room to make a threedimensional functional object of the playful 5G logo design.