“ Music is the closest thing we have to magic” - Mike Dirnt
When designing a music school I thought about how magical music feels. Music transports people through time and experiences. There also is an invisible string that connects individual sounds, an instrument to an orchestra as well as a musician to its listeners. I wanted to demonstrate this by creating a building that has a floating feeling and is suspended. The building itself is also an instrument as it incorporates the people who create the sound, strings that connect the floors, and practice rooms and voids where sound can reverberate and release. As instruments are derived from nature, gardens within the void spaces contribute to the acoustical experience of the building. With the row of columns, the music school is a string instrument upon a stand.
SITE PLAN
NORTH-SOUTH STREET ELEVATION
SECOND FLOOR PLAN
THIRD FLOOR PLAN
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
FOURTH FLOOR PLAN
MATERIALITY:
STRUCTURE DIAGRAMS WITH CABLES
S Y M B I O T I C L I V I N G
NUMBER OF UNITS: 50
NUMBER OF EACH TYPE OF UNIT 10-20
FLOORS OF HOUSING: 5
AREA OF TYPE FLOOR: APPROXIMATELY 2331 M^2
MATERIALITY: BRICK, CONCRETE
LOCATED ALONG CARRER DE VILODOMAT IN BARCELONA, THIS MIXED-USE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING CREATES MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ALL ELEMENTS. FOR INSTANCE, A MAIN ASPECT OBSERVED ON SITE, WAS HOW THE BIRDS NATIVE TO THE AREA RESPONDED TO THE BUILDINGS. THEY CLIMBED ALONGSIDE THE WALLS AND THUS, THE STAIRWELLS PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO OBSERVE THE BIRDS WHILE NOT DISTURBING THEIR ENVIRONMENT. THE OVERALL GOAL IS FOR ALL ELEMENTS OF NATURE TO BENEFIT AND LEARN FROM ANOTHER. THEREFORE, THE PROGRAMING INCLUDES A VARIETY OF COMMUNITY SPACES SUCH AS A CAFE LEADING TO THE LIBRARY AND PARK ON THE GROUND FLOOR. THERE IS ALSO COMMUNITY MEETING ROOMS AND LOUNGES ON THE FIRST FLOOR. THE STAIRWELLS PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL SOCIAL SPACE PER FLOOR AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FROM THE SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT. THE CIRCULATION TO THE APARTMENT UNITS THEMSELVES IS COMPLETELY OUTDOORS ALLOWING FOR CROSS VENTILATION. THE LAYOUT CREATES COMFORTABLE LIVING SPACES WHILE PROVIDING PLENTY OF SPACES TO CONNECT WITHOUT DISRUPTING THE ENVIRONMENT
CAFE
LIBRARY
COURTYARD
OFFICES/LOUNGE
ELEVATORS
MULTI-PURPOSE ROOM
HABITAT WALLS AND STAIRWELLS
SITE PLAN
FLOORS 3,5,7
FLOORS 4,6
ENLARGED UNIT SECTIONS
SHADING DEVICES
BRICK SCREENS
WOOD SCREENS
TERRACOTTA BLINDS
WHEN OBSERVING THE SITE, IT WAS NOTICEABLE THAT LOCAL SPECIES OF BIRDS PREFERRED TO HANG ON THE WALLS OF THE NEIGHBORING BUILDINGS. WITH THE INTEGRATION OF AN APARTMENT BUILDING, COMES DISRUPTION OF THE SPACES IN WHICH BIRDS INHABIT. THEREFORE, THE WALLS AND CORRIDORS NEXT TO THE BUILDINGS HAVE PERMEABILITY TO ALLOW BIRDS TO OCCUPY THE SPACE TOO. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF BRICK DESIGNS THAT CAN BE INTEGRATED INTO AN EXTERIOR WALL.
AXON RENDER BY: SAMANTHA MEYERS
BY: SAMANTHA MEYERS, DOM VALENTINO, DANIEL TSAI
MYCOHIVE is an experimental protoype for cohousing that explores increasing adaptability in housing projects. With the continuance of climate change, the future is unpredictable and questions the permanence of the built environment. Therefore, it is necessary to consider new typologies for housing that implements sustainable materials such as mycelium in order to build resilience in current environments. Additionally, with modular housing, there is freedom to create permeability throughout the building form itself to allow nature to infiltrate vacant spaces. This project also explores multi-species design and beginning to blur the boundary between architecture and nature
CONCEPT DIAGRAM BY: SAMANTHA MEYERS; THREE SYSTEMS BY: DOM VALENTINO
MODULE CONSTRUCTION DIAGRAMS
MODELING BY: DANIEL TSAI ILLUSTRATION BY: SAMANTHA MEYERS
COLUMNS
MODULE FRAMES WITH CIRCULATION CORE
PREFABRICATED TIMBER
CONNECTION TO CIRCULATION CORE
MODULE CONSTRUCTION
CONCRETE CORE
MYCELIUM BRICK INSULATION
TIMBER PEG FRAME
TERRACOTTA SPECIES MODULES
M U L T I - S P E C I E
ALL DRAWINGS BY: SAMANTHA MEYERS
MULTI-SPECIES DESIGN CONSIDERS BOTH HUMAN AND NON-HUMAN NEEDS.
THE CONCEPT OF SYMPOIESIS (THE PROCESS OF CO-CREATING) CAUSED FURTHER EXPLORATION OF ARCHITECTURE FOR NON-HUMAN SPECIES. ESSENTIALLY, EVERY MATERIAL IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT ORIGINATED FROM NATURE. IN ORDER TO BUILD RESILIENCE, ARCHITECTURE MUST WORK WITH NATURE. ONE WAY IS BY CREATING SPACES FOR SPECIES TO CREATE THEIR OWN ARCHITECTURE WITHIN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT. THIS ALLOWS FOR ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES TO CONTINUE WITHIN A DISRUPTED LANDSCAPE.
