Malia Bavuso Portfolio

malia bavuso

barch candidate

tulane school of architecture student and personal works

2021-2024

investigation : home these projects experiment with and redefine “home” for a quickly changing world.

inprogress

BArch

investigation : systems

these projects are exemplars of my education and experimentation of structure and building systems.

investigation : analysis

an essential part of a degree in architecture is the ability to complete meaningful analysis of data. these projects go beyond simply site analysis and investigate theoretical frameworks, as well as geospatial trends.

investigation : expression

the ability to visually communicate ideas is essential to architecture. these last selected works focus on graphic expression.

mapping hiphop feminism

shigeru ban lineage map

the united states of lana del rey

bacteria

the glass series

moonlight reef

make austin weirder!

BArch thesis project

collaboration with thesis partner ian shaw

cordula roser gray todd erlandson

spring 2024

austin began as a small town.

college kids... some rednecks, crossdressers, punks, deadheads. they all united in this place, celebrating the wierdness in everyone is how they come togther, and music is made.

a lot has changed since, the city has changed. new people move in, the old move out. the vision of austin as an oasis, a place of belonging, is becoming a memory.

as austin continues to face a historic and unprecedented housing crises people are watching old music venues demolished in place of high-end developer made condos. there are conflicting narratives, and this is shown in how we arrange our spaces.

but what if narratives could coexist?

could architecture influence how we think about change, how we navigate those emotions of longing, excitment, anger, happiness that we have about the places that are special to us?

the horizontal home.

a single family home revolving around a central courtyard. setting based on wisonsin’s northern woodlands. rendered with vray in rhino and post-processed in photoshop.

the sectional home.

a single family home restricted to a foorprint only 1/3rd it’s total area. imagined as a solution to urban living with small lots. cantilevers and split levels maximize living space and spread views and natural light throughout the project.

the vertical home.

a single family home restricted to a foorprint only 1/5rd it’s total area. a winding staircase makes it’s way around the interior block of programming.

URBANbuild 18

aia people’s choice award winner

urbanbuild design build studio byron mouton fall 2022 - spring 2023

a design build studio, fall students work to design, construction is done by the spring build team.

tulane’s urbanbuild partnered up with new orlean’s bethlehem lutheran church to create a multi-family housing complex that they would fill with occupants who fit their criteria for assisted lowincome housing.

2021 was the first year of this collaboration (ub17) and its phase is already constructed on site. ub18 was tasked with continuing the masterplan with another single family scheme.

included are the proposal from lauren lake and myself, as well as work done for facade studies on the selected scheme (shown here).

facade option presented on selected scheme

mid -review proposal.

work done in collaboration with lauren lake. this proposal was runner-up in the design competition and focuses on a linear path throughout the scheme that is veiled by a screened porch condition. the entire first level is devoted to the ada occupant and designed to give a full view of exterior and interior living spaces from the ada compliant bedroom. a sloped roof gives living areas a double height space with the highest area being two levels of stacked bedrooms and bathrooms. the second floor bedroom; given to the person assuming the care-taker role in the residence, is given a view from their upper-story bedroom down back into the living spaces. the front northern porch is screened in by louvers which were appropriated from last year’s built project for phase 1 of development. the space directly in front of the first floor’s bedroom was allocated as a rain garden to give extra privacy to the resident. connections through the kitchen window encourage an aspect of indoor-outdoor living.

work done in collaboration with lauren lake.

1/16”=1’ full complex chipboard model

1/4”=1’ unit basswood model

malia bavuso

build semester.

the spring semester of urbanbuild consisted of a team of 10; maria arrieta, micheal brady, eric cheesebrough, ashley dwyer, helen samay, kat schwab, ian shaw, esther zulem, and myself. the team carried out all aspects of the construction process with the exception of plumbing, drywall and insulation installation, and electric. workdays were monday-saturday, from 8 am until sunset. necessary skills learned on site include the use of power tools like the chop saw, skillsaw, sawzall,framing and finish nail gun, drill, driver, hammer drill, as well as clear communication under extremely high pressure situations. in addition, ian shaw and i were placed as project leaders on the task of implementing a large feature wall (shown in construction on the right), which taught valuable lessons in assemblage and coordination strategy as well as skills in leadership. the completed wall is shown in the next spread.

aia people’s choice award winner

construction was completed in june of 2023. it prioritizes the experience of a potentially disabled resident by creating grand open living sequences with views penetrating each adjacent room from the downstairs main bedroom. the large, cantilevered front porch is fitted with an operable louver system to give the option of privacy (shown above fully closed). a double height space expands above the kitchen area and is accented with the feature wall.

malia bavuso

reclaymation pavilion

small center design build studio

emelie taylor welty jose cotto jackie sumell fall 2023

the reclaymation pavilion is a design build project done by a team consisting of tracey jones, allisoon slomski, joey tomshe, and myself. the pavilion was built in new orleans abolitionist sanctuary, a community garden owned and maintained by our community partner and co-instructor; jackie sumell. it is the site of the first solitary garden installation as well as a gathering place for community events, after school programming, learning opportunities, and general safe space. the site was also damaged due to the illegal actions of a neighboring landowner cutting down a 50 year old mulberry tree. the pavilion reclaims this spot and pays homage to the tree by providing an altar space as well as using referential geometry.

the “clay” in reclaymation comes from the explorative materials used in construction. the pavilion challenges modern building practices by integrating both traditional and nearly phased out materials, like cob, and innovative material research into mycelium.

mycelium shingles

milled plywood structure

cob seating

oystercrete footing

construction composition.

the reclaymation pavilion is as much a built installation as it is an ongoing research into material. the 2023 fall semester of small center studio focused on material research, particularly of earthen materials. the beginning of the semester small teams were formed to focus on a material exploration of their choosing. i was part of the group relearning the traditional building technique of cob. part of which included attending a three day earth building seminar in lumberton, ms. other groups included the study of “oystercrete”, mycelium, and bagasse (a by product of sugar cane).

the reclaymation pavilion culminates all of this collective research as an investigation into how earthen materials can work together and can be supplemented alongside more traditional methods, like the milled structural system.

malia bavuso

cob material testing

mycelium material testing

mycelium roofing shingles

poydras offices

integrated core studio

david schneider

spring 2022

poydras offices is a project proposed on poydras st. in downtown new orleans. this project is an office typology that incorporates the sites heavy rainfall to its benefit through the strategic storm water collection plan.

rainfall shapes the massing by sloping roofs into a central rain garden. by utilizing a steel framing structure the project is able to achieve large cantilevers and double height spaces. the system is light and airy allowing the project’s upper volume to “float” appear lighter than it really is. the project operates with a dual mechanical system with radiant geothermal piping and an offset vav system for airflow. this system utilizes water most literally by harnessing its power to cool down the geothermal piles making them more effective for heating and cooling. the radiant piping

“flows” under the floors to deliver a/c.

water proofing membrane. 4” rigid insulation. poured concrete topping. steel structural decking.

drain pipe.

glass clamp (steel). gaudrail attachment for louvers (aluminum). structural steel connection to beam. fritted glass louvers.

aluminum inset mullion. interior finished terazzo flooring.

exterior finished concrete floor topping. small steel studs (build up planter). steel fasteners (attaching masonry cladding to studs). masonry cladding.

soil layer. gravel layer. mesh layers. water proofing membrane. insulation layer. drainage pipe.

construction composition.

poydras offices looks to water as it’s main design inspiration. the facade construction elements mimick the ripple of water’s surface. fritted, low-e glass helps with solar heat gain, and they are cut in an undulating pattern to catch light in a wave-like ripple. steel structure is pulled back and concealed from the curtain wall system giving it a “floating” aesthetic.

resilience center

urban planning studio

irene keil fall 2021

a community center located on a proposed land bridge built over the interstate.

kansas city’s downtown is circled by an extensive and complex highway system; this system separates the city into racially segregated neighborhoods and cuts off available greenspace. by creating a land bridge over the highway loop a physical connection is made between these two segregated neighborhoods as well as the opportunity for natural flora to be reintroduced. the resilience center is arranged by a gridded system that transforms into a series of gardens as it approaches the ends of the land bridge. a large park planted with native trees occupies the back of the lot. containing labs, an auditorium, art gallery, and library, the resilience center becomes a gathering place for all citizens.

the project begins to open up to the surronding gardens as you move through it. a glazed double height library allows for maximized views of the wooded park. the gridded organizational system of interior rooms and program transforms into gardens that house native plants.

analytical mapping

mapping hiphop feminism

mapping hiphop feminism is a geo-spatial analysis of the trend of women hip hop artists who fall into the category of hiphop feminism. characterized by a refusal of respectability politics, empowerment of women of color, promoting sexual freedom and prowess, hiphop feminism is a relatively new lense into the scope of a feminism that traditionally priveledges white voices. this project analyzed 150 artists and mapped their hometown. the data also shows the year of their first album/record release. the resulting map shows the spatial trend of a southern movement in popularity amongst these artists.

mapping hiphop feminism.

analytical mapping

shigeru ban lineage map

work done in collaboration with ian shaw

an extensive precedent analysis mapping the work of shigeru ban. ban’s lineage is mapped in comparison to similar movements, projects, and stimuli that influenced it. notable influences in ban’s work include john heyouk, buckminster fuller, frei otto, and alvar aalto. another element being analyzed are emergency relief shelters comparable to the work of ban and their lifespan. most of ban’s work is constructed with a short lifespan in mind and made to be recycled after deconstruction.

the united states of lana del rey.

analytical mapping

the united states of lana del rey

the united states of lana del rey is a comprehensive analysis of the tour circuit trends of popstar lana del rey.

the data is compromised of places mentioned in all nine of her official studio albums (shown with a circular dot), tour locations (stars and dotted lines), and finally her percieved popularity by metropolitan area shown with light white hatch. the data collection showed a positive correlation between the places mentioned in a specific album and its corresponding tour circuit. furthermore, the correlation between song mentions and tour circuits was much stronger than the correlation between relative popularity and tour circuit. the popularity levels seem to follow behind the tour circuit.

bacterias.

when experimentation with vray rendering and rhino3d modeling leads to the creation of bacteria...

the glass series.

a lesson in material creation and rendering, this scene experiments with the concept of a minimalist still-life. modeled in rhino, rendered in 3dsmax.

moonlight reef.

a lesson in chiaroscuro, this scene takes a playful approach to light and shadow by emulating the ocean floor. modeled in rhino, rendered in 3dsmax.