Parkdale Library
Third-year Studio Project
Parkdale Library Developed
Third-year Studio Project
The Illusion of Space
First-year Studio Project
Outer Space beneath our Feet
Second-year Studio Project
The “Rentist” Future
Fourth year studio Project
Second-year Studio Concept
Year: 3rd Year
Project: Library
The New Parkdale Library is meant to be developed along Queen Street West; a well-known culture, local businesses and people.
The aspect of the site which the design was mostly driven by were people who surround this street; this pedestrianized street meant that I needed to focus on a smaller scale.
Iwantedtofocuson “thehumanscale” a scale which people can relate to, in order to form a relationship with the library.
Expansion Bolt
Hexagonal Stainless Steel Screw
Steel frame
Steel frame
Corten steel louvers
Hexagonal Stainless Steel Screw
Concrete Slab
The way the design displays the human scale idea, is by breaking down large components intosmallerones,thisisdone through the building’s façade’s composition, the interior bookshelves formed by large structural components, exterior seating and canopies.
Year: 3rd Year
Project: Library
Partners: Desiree Llanes
This project is a continuation of The Parkdale Library,thistimewewereaskedtoworkwitha partner and further develop the project with more detail.
My partner and I decided to take the most criticalcomponentsfromourdesignsandmix them into one.
Desiree was highly inspired by the nearby park and she decided to incorporate a slight angle sothat one can view the park from the sidewalk while approaching the entrance. While my design was very focused on program, circulation and the human scale.
The location of the site at QueenSt.Westgaveusanopportunity to utilize the building as a community hub.
Our design approach to the building was to immediately address the surrounding environment. The main focus of the surround environment is to create a sense of connectivity through variations of openness and transparency.
There are multiple spaces that extrude outwards that brings emphasis on these to the people outside and creates this indoor-outdoor connection.
The north facade is angled inwards to make the park on the east side much more visible, especiallytothevisitorsenteringfromthewest side of thesite.w
The corner of the building is emphasized through the gesture of having both the north andeastsideanglinginwardsandmeetatthe corner.Thisalsoopensupthecornerandgives an opportunity to create interesting spaces around this area.
Year: 1st Year
Project: Cafe/Art Gallery/appartment
The major factor which lead to my design was the proportions of the site. The site was quite long, exactly thirty meters but unfortunately it only had a six meters width.
For my architectural intent, I wanted to design something that created an illusion of space; a spacewhichthecommunitywouldperceivetobe much larger than it really is.
“Creating an illusion of space”: This lead me on to thinking further, how I can create this illusion. As you may know, the way we understand our surroundings is with perspectives. The human brain understands whether an object is farther or closer toyoudependingonthearrangementofthelines.
So, this leads me to my form; I wanted to create a form which tricked the brain in to perceiving morespace,andIwouldbedoingthisbycreating forced perspectives within the spaces.
North Elevation
Section B
Section A
Year: 2nd Year
Project: Underground Observatory
Outer space is the physical universe beyond the earth’s atmosphere, a large part of which is void, complete emptiness. This emptiness surrounds our small planet. We may look at space and our world as two contrasting subjects, a contrast of “solid
For this assignment we were given the task of excavatingratherthanbuildingup.Thistaskinspired me to creating not only void within our the solid grounds, also creating a space that brings the feeling of outer space.
There’s a few major characteristics of space that I wanted to recreate with my design; one being theconceptofvoid.Thegiventaskofexcavation was the origin of my concept. Excavating gives methe ability tosubmergeintotheunknown,into dark,tightandunconformableplaces.Thiswill be the initial experience of my design
Onewillstartfromgroundlevel,aplaceweareallcomfortableat,andasyouwork your way down, it begins to get darker and less comfortable, giving people just enough space to get through, making them feel slightly uncomfortable.
Asyoucontinue,youwillstartto lose sense of scale,soonceenteringtothelargest point, the center of the sphere, it will feel drastically large. Once you get to the center you shall feel complete void.
This feeling is created by being in the center point within a large sphere. The geometryofthespheremakes ithardtounderstandthespace withoutanyharshshadows, putting you in an uneasy spot.
The simplicity and elegance of a sphere with out any vertices or edges may confuse us and disorient us, making the space beneath us the darkest point, as it smoothly disintegrates to the lightest point above us.
Year: 4th Year
Project: Surreal future
Partners: Caleb Clumone, Gabe Garofalo, Devanshi Jagota
This is the Rentist future; it takes place in 2062. This is a world that is dealing with the consequences of thecapitalistsociety welivein today.Inthisdystopia, light and space become a commodity. While light begins to diminish as buildings begin to densify and continuously reach new vertical levels, your socio-economic class determines your access to light and quality of life. There are four districts found within this modernist society: The Land of the lords, Lumos, Obscura, and Diode.
Thisprojectismeanttohighlightissuessuchas the housing crisis in Toronto, the saturation of the social classes, the economical outcomes ofcapitalism,thepopulation growthrate,the
Use the link below or instructions to see our narrative come to life!
The creation of this underground civilization is the result of the rising inequalities in the economic system, the exploded housing crisis, and the rising population are the issues that heavily affected the middle-class citizens. Forcingthemto becomehomeless, and unable to afford basic human needs.
Students under this category could not afford living while getting an education, therefore they created this secret underground shelter lead by their educators.
Their education became more than just an open door to a potential career, instead it was a medium of survival.
The decision of taking over: “the unconquered land” startedoffasacallforhelpeventually developing into its own socialist utopia,a civilazation thatdidnot require acurrency.Everyonesharesthesame purpose;everyoneworkstodevelopa better living condition. Becoming the builders of their own community.
toseethisstorycometolife
2030: The Lecture Room
2040: The Creation of The Labs
2050: The Creation of The Residence
2060: The Creation of a Subway line
2065: The Creation of The Art Distric
2070: The OASIS Discovery
The last scene in the short film created for this project ends with this image: ‘the OASIS discovery’
This image takes place at the lowest point of their excavation. Where the community discovers an underground lake.
This scene is supposed to represent a sign of hope for the community.
This discovery of unclaimed raw resources will help the community detach from society, eventually becoming an independent civilization.
The Floating garden is a versatile space where people can seek to take a moment away for the chaotic city of Toronto. The installation has three different modules which can be rearranged. It involves the bench for those who need a moment of rest, it has the arch which those who are passing by can enjoy a small transition through the natural threshold, the arch also continuous the curve and creates a small cantilever table that can be adjusted with the bench. Lastly -
ers have the capacity to be able to be rearranged in height as well as leaving the opportunity to further addition more
This design build project was an amazing experience, teaching me more about teamwork, how to break down the design into smaller components, this project taught me a lot about construction itself especially learning how to use many new tools. This was also my -
gineers. This enriching experience was one of my favorite withing my years of school.
The Team Involved
Deanne Melgar
Christia Villanueva
Yichen Cao
Hajara Hameed
Olivia Ahmadi
Melissa Wittinghan
a+Link Architecture
Project: Building Addition
Submissions: Schematic Design
Responsibilities: Designer, Draft, 3D model
The goal for this project was to make the existing building wheel chair accessible, while also creating a more welcoming front entrance.
This project was done along side:
The design of the building addition was inspired from the existing building conditions. With the intend to respect and enhance the excising structure.
The proposed addition took on a form derived from the angular language of the existing roof angles.
The angular glass mimicked the previous front entrance triangular glassing. The existing glass followed the angle of the roof, so it was natural to follow the same language in the addition. With its own modern style. As well two additional punch widows with this same language were proposed to make the existing building have more natural light.
Along the west side of the building is an old railway that was re-purposed as a walking trail. Making this a point of reference from where the building will be getting view from. This Lead us to the proposition of placing a mural along the parallel wall.
The placement of doors on is oriented so all parking areas can access the front entrance easily.
The proposition of painting the existing building so it relates with the alignment of materials on the new building addition.
Consideration for the curling club’s signage.
a+Link Architecture
Project: Building Addition + Renovation
Submissions: Schematic Design
Responsibilities: Designer, Draft, 3D model
For this project we were asked to create a master plan that could make better use of the existing structure. While also creating a more welcoming building for the community.
Thisleadto adeep analysis of the building,its program and all the church’s necessities.
Existing plans
knowing that they had issues with the structure in place but were unsure of what needed to be done. This lead to a deep analysis of the space and the programs and services the church acquired.
Program Analysis: Through our analysis we discovered that the existing church needed which we proposed in this plan create a more
Though this plan development we discover the 6 different zones and their relationships.
SECOND FLOOR
These are a few of the other projects I assisted with through my experience at a+Link Architecture.
With varying responsibilities and submissions types. From building permits, to site plan approval, to construction documents, all the way to competition project management. I assisted with 3D modeling, drafting, design development and rendering.
Heritage Theological Seminary
Malahide Athletic Centre
Matthew Hall
Tillsonburg Community centre
