agate pearl the

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.

Bites

Sips

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

Chamber

quality relationship between the building and visitor ground floor - public spaces

use of silence / sound absorbing materials

1st and 2nd floor - music therapy chambers private spaces, music therapy chambers, individual or group sessions, dance therapy chamber

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 public chambers, sound walking experience, cafe, garden, reception, acoustical stairs leading to private spaces sound installation for sound walking experience on the ground floor