Simon Balotis - Architecture Portfolio 2020

Simon Balotis

2020

Arkitekt MAA Kontakt simon@balotis.se (+45) 60 56 48 55 Gรถtgatan 124 118 62 Stockholm

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Index

01. Martian Ordinary - Diploma project 2019

04-11

02. Rings of Time - Competition 2019

12-17

03. Digital Detox - Studio project 2018

18-23

04. Designing Diplomacy - Exhibition 2018

24-29

05. Wedgefication - Studio project 2017

30-35

06. Bällsta Tower - Internship/competition 2017

36-39

07. Saranyu Urban Housing - Bachelor project 2016

40-45

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Martian Ordinary Diploma project - 2019 Gusev Crater, Mars Individual work

W

hat is Martian Ordinary? The conditions on Mars are very much different from the ones on Earth. The images of what Martian architecture could look like are oftenly shaped by the images of architecture already existing in our mind. We are trying to speculate of the unknown, but constructing it with already known elements.

I’ve been gathering information from two study trips I’ve done - one to the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan, and one to NASA, Houston - talking to experts in the field. I’ve used this knowledge to build up an understanding of Mars and space settlement design.

In my diploma project, I wanted to explore how a Martian vernacular architecture could respond to the very certain conditions of the site, and how that architecture would shape the ordinary life on Mars.

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Zoom in of my proposal of a Martian settlement.

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Entering the habitat through a waterlock.

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Aquaponic & aeroponic farming.

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Passing through a waterfall before entering the oxygen producing valley.

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Working platforms - where people can meet and share ideas.

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Rings of Time Competition proposal - 2019 Adelgade, Copenhagen Simon Balotis, Ulrik Montnemery

T

he competition brief was to create an infill housing proposal that would consist of smaller housing units between 20-40 m2. The building should respond to the surrounding context, and have a public ground floor.

Our proposal, called ‘Rings of Time’, is referring to mainly three concepts: keeping the tree on the site, using elements in the building from the existing context and also the circles and semi-circles in plan.

The structure of the building is inspired from the surrounding timber frame houses, and the semicircles in plan from vaults and arches that is common elements in the city. We aslo used bricks and glass bricks, keeping a tradition of brick building in Copenhagen. The green colour of the bricks is also very used around the city.

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Elevation - showing the relation to the context and street.

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Model picture - built in seating creating a vibrant street life.

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Perspective cross-section.

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Interior of a small apartment.

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Perspective plan - floor 1.

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Digital Detox Studio project - 2018 Frederiksberg, Copenhagen Simon Balotis, Fredrik Lindahl

H

ow can we deal with the growing dependency on our digital devices in a smart city environment, which requires an increased digital presence?

In this project we explored how the essential elements of architecture could be used to bring back your busy mind from the digital realm to the physical. We designed three different interventions placed within the city fabric, working as a step-bystep program to digitally detox yourself. We found out that the space in between buildings lacked cellular connection, and thereby would be ideal sites for our interventions.

The first intervention is a temple, that lures you in, making you aware of the physical world. The second step is a cleansing process - disconnect to reconnect with yourself - where you strip off all your clothes and leave your belongings behind. The final and third step is based around togetherness, when you finally have been reconnecting to yourself, it’s time to start to connect to other people again.

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Disconnect from the digital world to reconnect with yourself.

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Exposure to the elements such as light and music.

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Cleansing ritual - strip naked and leave your digital belongings behind you.

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Designing Diplomacy Exhibition - 2018 Beijing, China Simon Balotis, Meggan Collins, Cuong Van Tran

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e were to make a project in collaboration with the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, and then exhibit it in the Danish Cultural Center during the Beijing Design Week.

In groups of three, we were to discover a topic that would touch upon the hybridity of architecture that can happen when two cultures meet. We choosed to investigate the typology of embassies, as it presents a very unique type of architecture, that is to represent a whole country in one building.

The embassy-area in Beijing is vast complex of lots of embassies, and we re-designed the Danish embassy complex and the surrounding area, in order to soften up the very hard boundaries, with high security guarding the building. We added different interventions, and changed the border of security, so that people more easily could move around in the embassy-area, but still maintain the necessery security needed.

Our studio then all made skewed foam models of our proposals of different areas in Beijing, that were to be exhibited.

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Picture taken from the exhibition during Beijing Design Week 2018.

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Axonometric drawing showing added parts in red and already build in black.

Skewed foam model of our proposal - for the exhibition. Multiple scales 1:2000, 1:200, 1:50.

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Diagram showing principle of softening up the boundaries around the embassy.

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Wooden structure - hybrid of Chinese and Danish architecture.

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Activity in the courtyard outside of the Danish embassy.

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Wedgefication Studio project - 2017 Valby, Copenhagen Simon Balotis, Ulrik Montnemery

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ulbanekvarteret in Valby is an area consisting of mainly social housing. The existing buildings’ placement on the site creates an in between space, that is empty and unprogrammed.

Could we densify the area, making it more safe and transform a monofunctional area into a multifunctional?

When designing the infill housing, we used a modular design, to be able to produce and build the housing cheaper. We also followed the grid of the existing buildings, but breaking it towards the edge of the nature. The nearby park is lead into the infill housing from one side, creating a shift from a more natural environment to a more urban. Mixing social housing, housing cooperatives and rental apartments, we try to break the social exclusion in the area.

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Visualisation showing the infill from the park.

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Site model 1:200.

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Plan drawing.

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Bällsta Tower Internship/competition - 2017 Bällsta, Stockholm Simon Balotis, Jeppe Dueholm, Peter Högås

D

uring my time on as an intern at Tengbom, I was a part of the competition team. One of the competitions was to design a tower and landmark for SAAB, that was in need of a new headquarter.

The client had a very high demand regarding the security of the building, and the facade is designed in a way so that you can look out, but at the same time there special glazing blocks the view from the outside. A mesh integrated in the glazing is making this possible, also adding a bronze like appearance to the building. The inner atrium in the center of the tower is designed so that daylight can reach even the core of the building. The staggering of the tower is also connecting one side of the complex to the more urban environment that is being developed in the area.

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Site model 1:500.

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Facade principle diagram.

Exploded detail.

Reflection illustration.

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Saranyu Urban Housing Bachelor project - 2016 Ahmedabad, India Individual work

M

y studio went to Ahmedabad in India for a month for a field trip, researching and mapping different locations within the urban context, gathering information later on used for the bachelor project.

My project was a response to the fact that many of the residents are moving out from the city center, converting their homes into stores instead, creating a monofunctional city. I combined a market place with residential housing withing the same building complex in order to create an attractive alternative to moving away from the city center.

The complex is designed with use natural ventilation and heat regulation in mind, to decrease the energy usage. The facade is made of terracotta, a material commonly used, inspired from the local architecture. There are many variations and sizes of apartments in the building, ranging from 1 room up to 5 room apartments. I wanted to create qualitative housing in response to urban growth.

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Interior visualisation of an apartment.

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Early sketches showing concept and materiality.

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Exploded axonometric of the building complex.

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Tack!

Jag kommer gärna förbi och pratar mer om min portfolio över en kopp kaffe vid intresse. Ni kan kontakta mig på :

simon@balotis.se (+45) 60 56 48 55 facebook.com/balotis