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2023 S a m i r a Um p i e r r e B.A. 2024 in Archite cture Barnar d College of Columb ia Univer sity
S E L E C T E D WO R KS
The Green Thumb FALL 2023 PG. 3 - 7
IRCAM’S H20 CENTER SPRING 2023 PG. 8 - 14
Unveiling Brilliance SUMMER 2023 PG. 15 - 18
Material tRANSECTS FALL 2022 PG. 19 - 20
Metamorphosis SPRING 2022 PG. 21 - 24
Crescendo SPRING 2023 PG. 25 - 29
the Three flutes FALL 2021 PG. 30 - 32
Ace of spades FALL 2021 PG. 33 - 34
tHE GREEN THUMB:
A pORTABLE COMMUNITY CENTER Advanced Architectural Research + Design Fall 2023
Proposed Site: Kofinou Reception Center, Cyprus In collaboration with: Noa Greenwell
With 9 months of stagnant waiting before they can work, Green Thumb seeks to provide enrichment and vocational training to the people in Cyprus’ reception centers, namely through communal cooking and agriculture education.
Map of Cyprus recention centers Our proposed site is Kofinou but our concept can be applied in several locations.
Adaptability, community, and longevity are three values that drive the design of these portable container systems, which can be deployed in a wide variety of site configurations.
possible site configurations
Containers can be arranged in multiple ways on the site. - Noa
Samira Umpierre
The Green Thumb - Summer 2023
Open air classroom
Exploded Axonometric - Samira
Communal kitchen
Exploded Axonometric - Noa
PG. 5
OPEN-AIR CLASSROOM
In-Use Plan - Samira
OPEN-AIR CLASSROOM PLAN
Storage Plan - Samira
communal Kitchen
In-Use Plan - Noa
Multipurpose crates
Detail drawing of crate features and uses. - Samira
Samira Umpierre
crate-to-wall Installation
Detail of how the crates can be attached to walls or framing in both kitchen and classroom containers to serve as storage. - Samira
The Green Thumb - Summer 2023
Not only will Green Thumb bring safe kitchens and classrooms into the ecosystem of the reception centers,
Site rendering
Background image taken from a cypriot newspaper article about the site conditions. - Samira
but the collaborative nature of the blocks allows for infinite uses and imaginative solutions.
PG. 7
IRCAM’S H20 CENTER Columbia GSAPP Paris Studio Spring 2023
Temporary water-filled installation within the Centre Pompidou façade.
Site
Selected bay of Centre Pompidou facade
Interior / exterior relationship
Close proximity to child daycare and a musician’s exposition informs my programming.
PG. 9
Material study
IRCAM and IRCAM’s H20 Center
Exterior scaffolding study
Centre Pompidou and IRCAM’s H20 Center
Samira Umpierre
IRCAM’s H20 Center - Spring 2023
First floor plan The first floor houses a short term stay studio equipped with a kitchenette, twin bed, storage, and a private elevator entrance from the museum. Temporary residents must lead music-related careers and in return for their free stay, they designate 3 hours daily to music coaching upstairs. Public entrance leads into an intermediary space with access to a semi-public bathroom.
Sec0ond floor plan Stairwell 1 leads to a second floor complete with semi-encapsulated music practice rooms--insulated by water-filled EFTE walls. It is also where museum visitor may enter through an existing glass ‘caterpillar’ hallway.
Third floor plan Stairwell 2 brings visitors to the final level: the Adventure Playground. Inspired by playgrounds made of unconventional materials, this level uses the inherent strange materiality of the H20 Center and reconfigured walls to create an area for exploration and play.
PG. 11
Function = form
Direction of applied pressure dictates shape of building.
inspiration
The shape-shifting quality of the H20 Center and its system of running water was inspired by a beating heart.
Samira Umpierre
IRCAM’s H20 Center - Spring 2023
Running wATER sYSTEM dETAILS
An attempt at deciphering “water-balloon” slabs.
PG. 13
PLAN-O-METRIC TOPOGRAPHY
Flattened topogaphical drawing of the multiple layers of slabs that form the seating, stairs, and other ammenities.
Adventure playground
Experiential collage of level 3
Samira Umpierre
IRCAM’s H20 Center - Spring 2023
Unveiling Brilliance SKLARchitecture Internship Project Summer 2023
Overview of Gallery
Artis Fine Arts Gallery in Hollywood, FL
Unveiling Brilliance is a showcasing of Architect, Oscar Sklar’s, career. A physical timeline of his works and creative insight, the idea for this exhibit came from his son and fellow architect, Ari Sklar, owner of SKLARchitecture. Opening night held on July 29 and saw around 100 attendees. The exhibit was open through August 5.
1960’s
Student Life
PG. 15
Workplace timeline
College Portfolio on Display
1970’s
Commercial work
Samira Umpierre
Unveiling Brilliance - Summer 2023
I was heavily involved in the curation of this exhibit, where my duties spanned from cataloging and selecting works to the design and erection of the gallery walls/layout. All marketing flyers and invitations were designed by me.
watercolor paintings
1960’s
1980’s
Institutional Work
PG. 17
Flyer handout
Honoree Biography and Gallery Experiential Route. Background created using Sklar’s thesis drawings and other project outlines.
opening night
Guests browsing through Sklar’s Student Portfolio.
Samira Umpierre
Unveiling Brilliance - Summer 2023
Material transects Advanced Architectural Design 1 Studio Fall 2022
N
Former Location of AME Zion Church in Seneca Village
Metropolitan Museum, Gallery 131: Temple of Dendur
Southeast wing of the AMNH
Project 1A takes three core sections through Manhattan and uses several layers of analysis to reveal more information about these locations. By layering historical information, we are able to draw focus to the themes of curation and urban displacement to raise questions regarding ownership and proprietorship in Manhattan. In collaboration with Tina Wang. PG. 19
American Museum of Natural History
Central Park
Metropolitan Museum Hands and construction equipment are used to represent the influence of the “curator” in the design of these three spaces.
Seneca village and the Lenape people are also represented throughout the three core sections, providing a window into the past of these spaces.
Bedrock outlined with key words connecting themes in the images.
Samira Umpierre
Material Transects - Fall 2022
Metamorphosis Environments & Mediations Studio Spring 2022
Metamorphosis was designed to generate spatial variety, maximize green spaces, incorporate discrete garden tool storage, and invite the interaction between the exterior and interior of the garden in a f l u i d , c o h e r e n t , & o r g a n i c manner.
PG. 21
EXISTING SITE PLAN & ANALYSIS A site analysis of the Community Garden on 111th street and Amsterdam Ave. in Manhattan, New York revealed a lack of concealed storage space and the possibility to expand green areas.
PROPOSED SITE PLAN By redesigning the perimeter around the garden to not only function as a protective barrier from New York’s heavy urban fabric, but also as seating, shade and vertical gardens, we can maximize greenscape and create a small oasis in the heart of West Harlem.
Samira Umpierre
Metamorphosis - Spring 2022
Exploded section Metamorphosis is comprised of stacked planes changing ever so slightly with every iteration to result in a finished product that provides the illusion of shape shifting to its user’s needs.
Experiential Diagram
PG. 23
The shape shifting planes form a number of habitable spaces:
Vertical Gardens
Semi-enclosed benches for privacy
Communal Garden-facing seating
Concealed storage space integrated into the design
Street-facing seating Shade
PHYSICAL MODEL
Laser-cut chipboard and basswood.
Samira Umpierre
Metamorphosis - Spring 2022
Crescendo Columbia GSAPP Paris Studio Spring 2023 Tasked with repurposing Fontaine Saint-Sulpice in Paris, France, Crescendo examines sound and site activity to develop a space tailored to play with your senses.
Site Analysis Background During a series of site visits similar to those conducted by Georges Perec, I observed peoples’ use of the plaza space surrounding the fountain and measured the duration of their activities and sources of sound. Duration circles to be read counter-clockwise and red color highlights sources of noise.
PG. 25
Rue des Canettes
Rue de Vie
ux Colom
bier
Rue Bo na
parte
Rue Saint-Sulpic e
e
alatin Rue P
50’
100’
Scale: 1’ : 1/32”
Place Saint-Sulpice
enel Rue Henry de Jouv
Rue de Mézières
Before
Saint-Sulpice Square is currently a large paved square with rarely any long-term activities..
Rue des Canettes
Rue de Vie
ux Colom
bier
Rue Bo naparte
Rue Saint-Sulpic e
e
alatin Rue P
50’
Place Saint-Sulpice
enel Rue Henry de Jouv
Rue de Mézières
100’
Scale: 1’ : 1/32”
After
Intervention hopes to revive the square and turn the fountain into a point of interaction. Landscaping and new paths have been introduced based on common trajectories people take across the square.
Samira Umpierre
Crescendo - Spring 2023
Before
Crescendo features a similar double-helix staircase as in Chateau Chambord--revealing nooks within the walls of the top floor and on the exterior ground floor of the 65 foot fountain. This intervention incentivizes visitors to interact with the fountain for longer periods of time.
After
PG. 27
Section 1 East-Facing
Section 1 East-facing
Crescendo utilizes three varying wall thicknesses to insulate sound. As you ascend the fountain, noise pollution from the water fall and around the plaza are reduced to provide a space of refuge for visitors. The third level brings you to the very top of the fountain. It exposes one to the heightened sounds of the waterfall and provides a top to bottom view of the fountain as well as a horizon of the site’s tallest buildings.
10’ 20’ Scale 1’ : 1/8” Section 2 West-Facing Sound Movement & Insulation
Section 2
West-facing, Sound Movement and Insulation
Samira Umpierre
Crescendo - Spring 2023
physical Model
Laser-cut butterboard and paper straws.
PG. 29
the three flutes Systems & Materials Studio Fall 2021
The Three Flutes is the culmination of a semester-long exploration of music and architecture. It functions as a landscape aeolian harp composed of three conical structures.
Amsterdam Ave
THE VENTURI EFFECT Situated behind Columbia University Saint Paul’s Chapel and north of the 20 meter-wide ‘CU Law Bridge’, the Three Flutes take advantage of strong wind patterns during New York’s winter months and the Venturi weather phenomenon to produce music.
North side The use of Corten steel sheets for this proposal alludes to the industrial history of NYC and breaks the rigidity of the classical architecture style commonly seen on Columbia’s campus.
PG. 31
SOUTH SIDE The structures are folded from the same surface. It uses tension and elevated topography to hold the structures and their curving shapes in place.
Physical model Bristol paper, yarn, butterboard. Some of the structures are connected via rope to the chapel and to each other, this helps maintain a viable relationship between the chapel and sound sculptures. Function fosters reliance on other forms for structural integrity.
Samira Umpierre
The Three Flutes - Fall 2021
Ace of spades An unconventional take on the playful house of cards we make as children... Ace of Spades is a whimsical adaptation of a simple bench.
Personal Project Fall 2021
Built using modular construction inspired by the 1950s Eames ‘House of Cards.’
The variety of colors and recognizabe patterns creates an environment of familiarity as well as peculiarity. The curvature of the space provides a feeling of flexibility and movement to the structure that yields a gradual transition from wall to bench.
Physical model
A deck of cards
Samira Umpierre
Ace of Spades - Fall 2021
SINCE YOU GOT THIS FAR... HERE IS SOME FUN ART I MADE !
URBAN CONUNDRUM
Inspired by Julie Mehretu, this 24 x 36 inch work aims to represent New York City’s beautiful chaos. Basic Drawing Studio, Fall 2023
T h an k yo u
Samira Umpierre
B.A. 2024 in Architec ture Barnard College of Columbi a Universi ty
CONTACT +1 (786) 202-7528 ssu2101@ barnard. edu