Abridged Undergraduate Architecture Portfolio

Sofía Gallo

let’s take a look...

The Line Up

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Tiered Tower

Multi-Faith Chapel

Cloaks & Daggers

Tectonic Play

5 Internship Works

A mixed use development

tower design for downtown Muncie, Indiana with a focus on steel as the driving material

With the purpose of having a neutral space for people of different religions and cultures, this building combines the elements of nature to bring peace to the inside.

In this exploration of forms, I was tasked with creating several different iterations for what could become a roof.

Through individual and group projects, I tested the twists and pulls of structure in relation to tectonics.

Selected projects I worked on during my time at Weiss Manfredi in 2022.

Experience the flow.

West Elevation

South Elevation

gallery render gym render

outdoor market render

The steel competition is an opportunity to dive into the many ways steel can be expressed. This project explores the blending of using steel for structural and decorative purposes. The concept behind ‘Tiered Tower’ is derived from precedents such as Sanaa Architects ‘Cube’ and Sou Fujimoto’s ‘ Serpentine Pavilion 2013’. The Cube uses continuous openings in the floor slabs and ceiling to create a connection between levels. The Serpentine Pavilion creates an interesting illusion that tricks your eye by not having hard defining edges, hence the blending of where the structure begins and ends. This is done by repeatedly stacking singular components on top of each other in a way that creates a strong grid at the center and vanishes towards the edges. The circulation of the building is a series of stairs and elevators that wrap around the west and east exterior sides between the building and the second skin. The auditorium and outside market especially will bring people towards and through the building, interacting with each other. The building’s main goal is to have a playful connection between floors and allow the public to interact with the facade and each other. The circulation of the building allows people to get between the building and the steel beam facade in order to create a unique experience rather than just being able to experience it from the inside. Through the interior, the experience is designed to be continuous by joining each level through the series of openings. The second skin on the exterior provides horizontal shading on the south and vertical shading for east and west. Alongside this, the pattern is more condensed at the center and as it nears the edges it becomes a gradient illusion.

process diagrams

The concept behind the stacked beams came from the idea of blending an already fine line. Oftentimes in the world of architecture it is believed that ideas are black and white -one way or another. With this structure, I wanted to push the line of what was ‘random’ and what was an ‘organized grid’.

It is clear that there is some type of grid on the crossover of the top pieces, but how are the hanging beams controlled, if that? This is where I took more artistic liberty. I believe every artist has an eye for what “looks right” and what does not. Taking this concept and refining it to fit the overall aesthetic of this second skin is what concluded in the final intertwined grids.

Unity in difference.

My goal with this project was to provide a safe and comfortable environment where different cultures come together through nature. The materiality of the building reflects its surroundings while contrasting with glass and steel. The main open space is meant to be semi-private, bound by a wooden threshold that only allows passing by silhouettes to be seen. Above it are glass panels in order to diffuse the direct sunlight while also providing the feeling that you are peacefully underwater, drifting into a different world. All of this is held up by the main wooden waves and tree columns that emulate the ones on site. I wanted the roof to be inviting and emulate the same feeling one gets as they travel through a calm body of water. In many religions and spiritualities, water is seen as a cleansing form to renew oneself of the past. I wanted this building to be exactly that, a separate and calm place to gather one’s self and have a fresh start.

exploded axonometric

In this exploded axonometric, I was able to show how the building came together, from roof to floor. Even though the building itself is very rectilinear, there are still hallways that wrap around the building, reflecting how the wooden roof weaves through itself. The building has the most public space at its center, followed by semi-private hallways that wrap around it leading to the private rooms such as offices on the outermost border.

Experimenting fuels creativity.

Unlike the rest of the projects, none of these were necessarily the final product. Each of the three was an experiment in itself in order to find the perfect condition for what would make the most suitable roof for a natatorium. By starting the creative process with the roof, it allowed me to think more creatively, as this process was unorthodox for me at the time. It was an eye opening experience and really showed me how to think outside of the box without even noticing. I was more focused on pushing and pulling boundaries rather than having a preconceived notion of what a roof was supposed to look like.

With these studies, I was able to use Rhino as a medium to explore my creativity in ways I had not considered before. Architecture was being expressed as a more playful way and it opened my eyes to new possibilities- there were no boxes to be confined to.

pre-stress hollow column

In this group project, we were tasked with building the perfect 30” tall hollow column out of 1/8” diameter wood dowels that would be able to support 8 lbs. After many different iterations, we built a square hollow column with many cross lateral internal supports. We divided the column into two levels and reinforced the middle with dowels spanning horizontally. Our hope was that the center dowel supported by the mid cross section would alleviate most of the stress while the secondary diagonals supported them. Finally, the robotic arm would twist the column to see how much stress it could handle before snapping.

post-stress hollow column

Accepting the challenge.

During my time working at Weiss Manfredi, I was very fortunate to be a part of so many teams and see a wide scope of projects. One of those projects that stood out to me the most was the firm’s participation, and final selection, in the Washington University competition for the new campus Arts & Sciences Building. This was about a month-long selection process. During this time, I worked alongside Michael Manfredi, Marion Weiss, Patrick Armacost, Mike Harshman, Sergio Saucedo, Clarissa Luwia, and Tingfon Chan.

This project taught me a lot about working as a team in a fast-paced environment and communication. It opened my eyes to the many ways in which to construct models effectively as well as with computer software. Weiss Manfredi is now named as the architect for this project, and I will always remember this hands on experience.

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