THE URBANE BUILDING. study + design
scale 1:250

PRECEDENT STUDY + CONCEPTUAL PARTI MODELS

INITIAL CONSCEPTUAL PARTI PLAN

FINAL CONCEPTUAL PARTI PLAN

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

SECOND FLOOR PLAN

THIRD FLOOR PLAN

FOURTH FLOOR PLAN

ROOF PLAN

NORTH + EAST ELEVATIONS

AXONOMETRIC + VIGNETTES

EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC DIAGRAM OF EACH FLOOR LEVEL

PLAN AND AXON DETAILS OF DOORS AND MATERIALS

The Urbane Building. Defining Urban Fabric
Urban Design Proposals

EXISTING SITE PLAN

DESIGN PROPOSAL 1

DESIGN PROPOSAL 2

DESIGN PROPOSAL 3

DESIGN PROPOSAL 4

FINAL DESIGN PROPOSAL

Capri.

This past weekend we had the privilege of going down to southern Italy to one of the islands called Capri! We arrived by boat from Naples around sunset. From the moment we all walked off the boat, we knew it was going to be an amazing weekend. We were welcomed with champagne as we walked through the doors of our upscale hotel which was embedded into the cliff side to allow all rooms to have views of where the cliffs of Capri meet the aqua water. The first night we walked around the small town, settling on a small Italian restaurant to eat dinner. The people in Capri are always happy and incredibly friendly to the point where it starts to rub off on you and you suddenly find yourself always smiling! Spending the day at Casa Malaparte was on our schedule for the next day (for half the group, the other half went on Saturday). It was perfect weather, nothing but blue sky a few white clouds and a slight breeze. We hiked our way through the cliff side to Casa Malaparte where we found ourselves looking at a red house sitting on the edge of a cliff. It was incredible! After getting a tour of the house (which is very rare, very few people are allowed to visit this house), we spent our day sketching and relaxing. Our one sketch assignment for the day was to to sketch the house using nothing but tone and hatch. We had to create a composition that grasped the concept of how this house is an extension of the surrounding landscape, how all these elements come together as one in the end. Casa Malaparte was a place where all your concerns are swept away and you are left sitting there thinking about nothing at all. Every view from every inch on top or in that house was amazing. The brilliance behind this house is Curzio Malaparte's positioning of windows. The windows act as frames capturing specific views of the surrounding landscape. This entire day was hands down one of the best days I have had here on my Study Abroad trip.

Casa Malaparte!

On Saturday we were given a free day to explore Capri. We took a bus into Anacapri and began to walk. After following signs that lead us towards the edge of Capri, we took a bus that to our surprise took us to the Blue Grotta! To my surprise the Blue Grotta is a cave, it is actually in part of the cliff side! With a total of 5 in each boat, we laid entirely on our backs as we were pulled into the small hole! Inside was AMAZING!! The color of the water was a bright aqua blue, it was just breathtaking, an incredible experience. After the Blue Grotta we took a bus back into the town of Anicapri and went to the Villa Michele. The gardens of this villa (which is situated on the cliff side) were gorgeous! There were so many different flowers, bushes, trees (orange and lemon), it was great timing to see everything in bloom. We then took the chair lift (so SCARY getting on!!) up to the top of the mountain. It was a 12 minute slow ride above all of Anicapri! The views from the top were beautiful, you could see for miles!! We decided to follow in the boys footsteps and HIKE to the next mountain over to a small cross that was placed on the top of the mountain! After hiking down, we shopped for handmade sandals and Capri perfume! Great way to end the day!

Chair Lift up to the top of the Mountain

Villa Michele

The Blue Grotta!!

On Sunday (our last day) we took a private boat tour of the island! Within about 15 minutes of beginning the tour our boat driver asked if we wanted to swim to a small grotta, it was called the White Grotta. We all jumped in the FREEZING! water (literally freezing, it was actually hard to breath!) and swam VERY fast to the small opening! Once inside we saw the same aqua blue water that was in the Blue Grotta but in addition there was a small side cove that had completely white light pouring in because it was open to the sky. The boat tour was awesome, we got to see all of the other grottas and see the beautiful island of Capri up close! It really was a once in a lifetime experience we were fortunate enough to have! It was the most relaxing, fun and beautiful place I have ever been too!

TIPS: I definitely suggest going to Capri! It is GORGEOUS! Best time to go is in April, no tourists, very quiet, but still warm and comfortable! Bring lots of SUNSCREEN!! Defiantly go into the Blue Grotta (worth every penny). Take a boat ride of the island. BUY authentic hand made sandals from Capri!! The perfume is also really good! It's a bit expensive, but worth the experience!

Ostia Antiqua

We took a day trip to Ostia Antiqua which is known as the harbour city of Ancient Rome. Ostia Antiqua now is a small city of Roman ruins located right near the Tiber River. The "city" reminded me much of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. Here we had a little more freedom to roam in and out of the ancient streets and climb up on some of the ancient buildings that were still standing. The one aspect of Ostia Antiqua that makes this ancient city stand out is the incredible brick work. Every building was constructed out of brick. There were so many different brick patterns that overlapped and changed as we walked the streets! It was also interesting to see how the brick pattern changed when they made a puncture in the walls for doors and archways. The ampitheatre that still was in excellent condition was awesome! We were able to stand down on the "stage" and see the difference in the sound level in our voice! It was pretty cool to stand down on the stage, talk in a normal voice and have the people at the top of the ampitheatre hear you perfectly!! One thing I really loved about Ostia Antiqua was the intergration of landscape into the city. Whether that was simply because of overgrown grass, shrubbery and trees, it worked. It was beautiful!! A few of us got off the main street and started to explore the area by taking a few overgrown smaller paths to a run down hidden ancient structure. What made this place so perfect was the peacefulness and quiet atmosphere around!! It was such an amazing day!

Basel, Switzerland

Our last town on this field trip was a day trip to Basel, Switzerland. Here in Basel we saw a few really great contemporary buildings. As we pulled into the Basel train station, still on the train we saw the Train Switching Station by Herzog de Meuron. We then made our way through the town to see an addition to the University of Basel and two townhouses. One townhouse (just a little before in location to the University of Basel), had a glass façade which was bent. The restrictions were kept in the means of keeping the facades flush, but there was a sort of “wave” like affect that was evident in the panels on glass that constructed the façade. The next townhouse was even more interesting. The entire façade was composed of these metal shutters that could be extended to cover the set back façade or opened like an accordion to expose it. As we went on exploring the different contemporary architecture in Basel we slowly understood their approach and method: a simple box with a profound façade. Whether it be a box volume with smaller volumes subtracted from that larger volume or a box with a delicate layered glass façade; the underlying concept was a box volume. We sketched at Renzo Piano’s Foundation Beyler for a few hours, analyazing the simple concept parti that Piano used in this building as well as how he conquered getting lighting into the building.

PS. ALWAYS, always have an umbrella on you! It can be sunny one minute and a downpour the next!

Zurich, Switzerland

After Vals, we took another three hour bus ride through the mountains to the city of Zurich, Switzerland. In the two days we spent in Zurich we saw the Stadelhofen Railway Station by Santiago Calatrava which was really interesting. In Calatrava’s bridge there are no right angles, everything occurs on some kind of slant, appearing to be leaning heavily in one direction. Our next stop was to the Heidi Weber Pavillion by Le Corbusier, an interesting piece of work nestled in to the outskirts of town. The last major contemporary building we saw in Zurich was the Rietberg Museum by Afred Grazioli and Adolf Krischanitz. The museum was home to the temporary Japanese Exibit but the main attraction (especially for architects) was the delicate glass volume which served as an entrance to the Rietburg Museum. Here we spent time looking at the different pieces of Japanese art as well as analyzing and detailing the structure and form of the glass volumetric entryway. We stayed in a hostel while we were in Zurich which was decent. Besides the iffy lunch we had the first day and that one cold shower I took the first morning, it turned out to be an okay place to stay. It was more of a “college environment” with pool tables and video games. Sheila and I dominated every guy in pool one of the nights (and it was my first time playing, I was pretty darn good!!) Swiss army knives and chocolate. We have all become obsessed. Enough said. I think I have enough chocolate to last me awhile!! The architecture in Zurich was awesome, it reminded me a lot like that in Prague, Czech Republic.

Bridge at the Train Station, Santiago Caltrava

Pavilion, Le Corbusier

Note: Get the hot dog! It’s amazing! It’s a HUGE sausage looking hotdog with a chunk of bread and ketchup and mustard!

Vals, Switzerland

A four hour bus ride through the Alps was an experience in itself, I witnessed some of the most amazing views I have ever seen in my life. It was a little scary at times, being in a huge coach bus driving through the mountains on a windy single lane road with a 1000 m drop just a foot away and a slinky wooden rail acting as a guard to “stop” anything from getting off the trail. Clearly safe. But, as I tried not to think of that aspect of it, I focused on the breathtaking views of the Alp Mountain Range in Switzerland. After the bus ride we arrived in Vals, Switzerland to see the Thermal Baths by Peter Zumthor. A once in a lifetime opportunity and experience I am so grateful to have gotten the chance to do. Already about half way through our field trip, we really lucked out with PERFECT weather! In Milan and Como, the weather was GORGEOUS, sunny and warm! When we arrived in Vals, to our surprise it was snowing!! We settled into our hotel rooms, changed quickly into our bathing suits and ran right to the Thermal Baths. It was awesome! The design of the baths is based on the different senses, so to make sure we got the full experience we had to experience EVERYONE, including the COLD bath! It was absolutely freezing, but a bunch of us withstood the freezing water and then ran right into the hot bath making our bodies tingle! My favorite part of the thermal baths was relaxing in the outdoor pool while it was SNOWING! Everything panned out perfectly, the warm bath mixed with snowy weather!! It was one of the most relaxing things I have ever partook in! In addition to this, the views while we were in the baths were amazing!! Laying in the outdoor pool with snow capped mountains! Nothing could have been better than that!!

Thermal Baths, Peter Zumthor

Vals, Switzerland

NOTE: I highly suggest everyone to go here for a vacation! It is an incredibly relaxing experience that everyone should have the priveledge of doing! Note to get a massage… but book in advance!!

Switzerland is awesome.

Como.

Como was by far the most beautiful city I have ever been too. Como is a small city which is mainly built around the gorgeous Lake Como and into the mountain range. As we walked the city of Como we stopped at a few places to admire the contemporary architecture. One of our first stops was at the Casa Giuliani-Frigerio built by Giuseppe Terragni. After analyzing the exterior, we were given the opportunity to go into the apartment complex and see the inside! The all white apartment was so simple, consisting of the traditional hallway with three rooms branching off. The most fantastic part of this building was the view of Lake Como (especially from the rooftop!). Another favorite part of this apartment was the entire bookshelf wall completely overfilling with books (the owner of the apartment was a writer)! Before we went to Casa Del Fascio, we stopped at the Monumento ai Caduti (a momument dedicated to those who died on the cruise ship that sunk in Lake Como) and Palazzo Novocomum.

Casa Giuliani, Guiseppe Terragni

After spending a few hours sketching at the Casa Del Fascio building, we were given some free time to explore the city! While the majority of the boys decided to hike up one of the mountains (they were nuts), we decided to take the tram up to the top of one of the surrounding mountains! It was so HIGH!! We got a few panoramic views of the entire city of Como and the lake in the center of it all. Seeing Lake Como and the snowcapped mountain range at sunset was incredibly breathtaking!! I highly suggest visiting Lake Como, it is one of the most beautiful places in Italy!! The seafood here is something to rave about too (and I don’t even eat seafood!).

Casa del Fascio, Guiseppe Terragni

Views from on top of the Mountain!

Torino.

From Milan we took a day trip to a smaller town called Torino. The architecture in Torino was more of a mixture between modern contemporary architecture and older styles. However, the same techniques were evident in both, especially the use of arcades. From the train station to the Piazza San Giovanni, the urban fabric was diligently planned to benefit both the pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The simply arcade had a modern twist to it, making it appear to be clean, simple in appearance, but bold in statement. We walked throughout the city seeing the different squares and buildings Torino had to offer those including the Palazzo Carignano di Guarino Guarini, the Duomo and the cappella della Santa Sindone in the Piazza San Giovanni, and the San Lorenzo di Guarino Guarini. The Duomo in Torino holds the famous Shroud of Jesus Christ, which was so interesting!! A replica of the Shroud was on display with enlarged negatives to better see the image. To actually see the blood stains of where the wound marks were on “the man” was pretty incredible. We took an elevator to the top of the Mole Antonelliana, which was a Islamic Temple transformed into a film museum. From here we got a panoramic view of the city of Torino and the surrounding urban context.

Arcaded Streets in Torino

Palafuksas, Piazza della Repubblica

Mole Antonelliana

The Duomo, held the Shroud of Jesus Christ

Milano.

The first city we visited on our second field trip was to Milan, Italy in the north eastern part of the country. Our first day there we explored the main attractions in the city including The Duomo (beautiful gothic cathedral!), Piazza del Duomo, and the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II. The ornate details of the Duomo in Milan were absolutely breathtaking, the church clearly screams gothic architecture both inside and outside. We walked through the Galleria Victorio Emmanuele II which is technically a glass enclosed street. The covered arcade was a great asset to the space, providing shelter from the weather and creating an aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The new class enclosure compliments the existing classic ornate façade of the buildings that line the street. The Galleria creates an urban space that is frequently used for shopping (the big stores like Prada and Louis Vuitton are located here), grabbing a quick bite or even listening to live music!

The Duomo.

Our last stop on the first day was the new Universita Covooni by Grafton Architects. This new university was a great example of contemporary architecture. The interesting thing about this building was the use of suspended volumes, how the architect introduced light into the space, and really creating an open space within the site. On our last day in Milan we went to see “Il Sole 240re” by Renzo Piano and the Alfa Romeo and Subsidized Housing al Portello by Cino Zucchi.

Universita Covooni, Grafton Architects

Subsidized Housing al Portello

“Il Sole 240re” by Renzo Piano

TIPS WHEN IN MILAN:

1. When in the Piazza del Duomo, foreign men will approach you very forcefully trying to get you to take seeds to feed the birds. They will actually get to the point where they will try to grab your hand for you to take the seeds.

2. When in a restaurant, foreign men will come in and interrupt your dinner by shoving flowers in your face. It is okay to make rude comments, they do not understand and will continue to smile. Best though to just ignore them.

3. WHAT TO DO FOR DINNER IN MILAN!? Go to an aperitivo! They are simply amazing!! It is hard to find a reasonably priced dinner in Milan, everything is so expensive! One drink will allow you to feast on two plates of food in the bar’s buffet. Yea, the drinks are a little expensive, but the authentic Italian antipasto filled with cheeses, pastas, meats, breads and olives will fill you up! It’s a definite recommendation!!