MIA TODD portfolio
MIA TODD
My design approach is grounded in precedent, drawing inspiration from the works of designers who have come before me. I strive to distill complex ideas into simple, elegant solutions that not only look beautiful but function effectively.
Charlotte, NC | atodd16@uncc.edu | +1 (910) 747-7007
CONTENTS
01/ TREAD LIGHTLY
02/ CARLO SCARPA’S CASTELVECCHIO
03/ LIGHT RAIL STOP 33
04/ SEMITRANSPARENT
06/ EXCELSIOR II
TREAD LIGHTLY
Tread Lightly is a landscape project that engages three land features, as well as a railroad. The journey begins at the top of the slope and continues all the way to the waters edge, passing over a train, through a wetland field, and past the riparian buffer. Tread lightly seeks to obstruct the landscape as little as possible, touching the land on less than 30 sq ft. There are two primary project systems, the perching structure, and the circulation path. The project is inspired by a poem by Margret Simon, and her comparison between a wetland environment and a church. The structural form draws from the geometry of stained glass.
01/
“There is always a light flowing through leaves creating stained glass on a duckweed carpet. There is always an altar emerging as a pymamid, fans of needles pray in the sanctuary. There is always a cathedral rising near the bayou where bald eagles nest in a bell tower.”
-Margret Simon, Bayou Song
Digital drawings of Carlo Scarpa’s Museo di Castelvecchio. Originals by Richard Murphy.
Carlo Scarpa’s work is masterful in its ability to create an immersive sensory experience, designed to occur through first-hand encounters. It is tangible, accessible, and rich. Texture, material, shape, form, context, and craft are balanced in a rhythm specific to each of his projects. At Castelvecchio, his restoration work was considerate, often subtle, and occasionally violentthough it is certainly clear that all was done with precise care. Detail took center stage in every room and every space in the project. Castelvecchio exemplifies Scarpa’s most profound skills in a single holistic piece.
01 5 10 20 0 105 0 100 200 01 5 10 20
A
SECTION
SECTION B
SECTION 1 SECTION 2 02/ CARLO SCARPA’S CASTELVECCHIO
0 1m
03/ LIGHT RAIL STOP 33
Light Rail Stop 33 is an exploration of structure using a single piece of material; After the pieces are cut, outside pieces act as the skeleton, while interior pieces become a shading system.
PLAN VIEW PLAN SECTION 1 SECTION 2 ELEVATION 05 15 ELEVATION 1 2
DESTIGMATIZING MENTAL AND SEXUAL HEALTH RESOURCES FOR ALL
The Seattle Center for Equitable Wellness and Art is a hollistic community center that locates disciplines of behavioral health, sexual wellness, design, and art therapy on a waterfront campus in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. Though the center welcomes all who seek its services, there is a specific emphasis on LGBTQ+ and BIPOC resources: two communities that disproportionately experience mental and sexual health crises. Seattle & King County Dept. of Public Health reports that Seattle-Tacoma has the second highest suicide attempt rate out of the 33 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, and that one in every five King County adults (21%) report receiving a diagnosis of depression at some time during their lives.
The project’s design adresses these issues by focusing on community-building spaces, familiar building systems, and a semi-transparent paneled facade system. The facade and roofing systems, constructed of channel glass and Kalwall respectively, pour diffused light into the buildings. When viewed from outside at night and on overcast days, one can see sillhouettes and shadows moving around the interiors of these spaces, destigmatizing therapy and sexual wellness, whilst still protecting the privacy and identity of those inside.
N Studios piazza residences ar t therap y exhibition hall t oilet beh avioral therap y group thera py w aiting gender + sexu ality community l ounge outdoor maker s pa ce bike parking bus st op
SEMITRANSPARENT:
04/
Precedent:
Top left: Piazza della Repubblica, Florence; Top right: English Barn, Kennedy Martin Stelle Farmstead; Bottom left: Fishing hut (rorbu), Norway; Bottom right: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Steven Holl.
Skeleton model: 1/16” = 1’
Bay structure section model: 1/8” = 1’
Skeleton model: 1/16” = 1’
05/ EXCELSIOR II
Excelsior II’s program and name are inspired by The Excelsior Club of Charlotte which closed in 2016. The Excelsior was a gathering space for the black community for over 50 years. Excelsior II, located in the Brooklyn Neighborhood of Charlotte is a space for the celebration of black music.
EXCELSIOR: (Latin) /uhk·sel·see·ur/ ADJECTIVE, INTERJECTION: 1. higher; always upward
0 10 PUNCH DIVIDE STACK DRAPE
OPEN OFFICE/ WORKSPACE DANCE FLOO R STAGE PIANO MEZZANINE BAR RESTROOMS LOCKERS
