Architecture Analysis of Rome

In a separate class while in Rome,  I had to relate my studio design project to an analytical drawing of my favorite structures in Italy. The inhabitable boundaries idea from my studio design project was brought into this drawing by choosing structures that would be classified as inhabitable boundaries and then tying them together with the boundaries, or Aurelian walls, of Rome.

Designing in Rome

Our first task upon arrival to our new Roman studio was to enter in a French design competition. The assigned site was in a neighborhood only several yards away from the iconic Colosseum. It was a triangular site that was to be designed in two phases. The first phase, the competition, was to make the space and inhabitable outdoor piazza that would bring the community together while still leaving space for the addition of indoor commercial space topped with residential homes.

Relocating the Barnes Foundation

This was an actual project that is being carried out in Philadelphia, PA. The task was to move the existing Barnes Foundation, that currently sits right outside of the city center, and move it to the boulevard that directly runs to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The museum is home to a private collection of art and the display of this collection was the main focus when redesigning the space.

The Center for East Asian Studies

This project would re-inhabit an existing downtown building in center State College, PA. The center would incorporate common areas, study spaces and classrooms, offices, cultural rooms, as well as a few residential spaces.

The Experimental Theater

This theater was a project assigned for the old site of Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem, PA. This new up and coming area was to have an experimental theater which would question the traditional views and functions of a theater. My theater would have a stage that dropped down to a lower level to load actors and props. The theater would also be a circle to allow for even viewing and audience interaction.

Kindergarten at Penn State

The Kindergarten at Penn State is an actual project that was in the process of design while this assignment took place. In the woods directly next to the architecture studio and the rest of the arts campus, the university planned to make a kindergarten targeted towards the arts for the children of staff members. I chose to inhabit the existing water tower in these woods to create an experimental kindergarten that included puzzle piece interactive rooms as well as a large immersive lab.

Framing Model

The task with this project was to make a small scale model of an existing wooden frame structure to understand how a wood frame is built.