This projects tries to meaningfully explore the nature of optimization taking cues from the concept of growth. The assignment was calling for the development of the Almere Pampus, an area north-east of Amsterdam, an completely blank plot of land which would serve in reaching the goals of doubling up the population of Almere. The relatively [...]
Project Team: Mariana Popescu, Mihaela Radescu, Ovidiu Stanciu, Dimitrie Stefanescu The competition’s assignment was calling for an iconic bridge over the Amstel river in front of the Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam. Out of a contextual analysis, we derived our priorities as being the expansion of the public space in front of the museum by speculating the most prominent local assets present [...]
Project team: Manuel Torres, Dimitrie Stefanescu Studio Leader: Sang Lee This is the final studio (Border Conditions) project for msc2. Though quite a lot of parametric techniques went into the making of it, they were subservient to rather than defining the project’s outcome. This project embodies a virtual study of the process of folding with [...]
Design/Organization: Dimitrie Stefanescu [improved.ro], Patrick Bedarf [a-ngine.com], Bogdan Hambasan [ASTA Cluj] Organization: ASTA Cluj Workshop Team: Ciprian Colda, Anamaria Androne, Razvan Sencu, Madalin Gheorghe Assembly: Bogdan Badila, Vlad Pop, Georgiana Hlihor, Denisa Lula, Robert Veber, Zoltan Vaida, Imre Vekove, Ciprian Colda, Mihai Pascalau, Calin Negret, Bogdan Borbei, Iustin Nechiti, Dan Ioanici, Razvan Luca, Stefan Grosariu, [...]
![Ornamatics [2/2]: W*Facade](http://improved.ro/wp/wp-content/uploads/improved//2011/05/wfacade8-150x150.jpg)
Course tutors: Jack Breen, Martijn Stellingwerff, Robert Nottrot Second part of the previous project, this time exploring the possibility of scaling up the same design process to the level of a facade design.
![Ornamatics [1/2]: W*Tile](http://improved.ro/wp/wp-content/uploads/improved//2011/05/wtile0-150x150.jpg)
Course tutors: Jack Breen, Martijn Stellingwerff, Robert Nottrot Project focused on the formal exploration of ornament and tiling, mainly based on the formal language derived from the wetgrid experiments. The projects explores the possibility of creating a structurally sound three dimensional lattice which can present multiple stacking and tiling possibilities. This results in several possible variations which [...]
Team: Patrick Bedarf, Tomas Kozelsky & Dimitrie Stefanescu. This is our entry for the Evolo ”11 competition. Update: We seem to be among the finalists. I’ll leave you to judge for your own: you can see the winning projects on their website. It is a consciously speculative project in which our main goal was to push [...]
Project Team: Patrick Bedarf, Dimitrie Stefanescu C:Strip is best described by an attempt to translate the environmental qualities of the proposed site into a meaningful architectural geometry that can accomodate and maximize the performance of an adaptive and fluctuating programme which focuses on producing and distributing information through the use of informal societal behaviour.
The competition brief required us to upgrade a specific site of our choosing. We selected an industrial site, CET Grozavesti, which we judged to be redundant in the current urban context – the power plants there ended up being in the middle of a booming area, with numerous developments engaging diverse cultural and economical actors.
Keywords: fragmentation, cracking, violence, earthquake, identity crisis, culture. Initial explorations: Culture Cracking. Bucharest never had a coherent image in any point in history. Its only true comon denominator would be the highly despised disorder generated by the struggle between western rigor and local chaotic impulses. It is one city where conflict is strikingly out in the open, [...]
Breaking the usual tone of this blog with some pictures from the endeavor of Veronica and me to map out some extreme poverty in Bucharest. (click on the images to get full resolution details) What you can find is quite shocking – what good is scripting and programming for these people? This is a question [...]
Latest school project: four star hotel in a not that nice area of Bucharest. Does what it says on the tin. What’s nice is that there are a lot of embedded parametrics inside: the canopy structural system, terrain modding (site), shape cracking of the canopy. Sometime ago there even was a def for controlling room [...]
This project is a collaboration with Dragos Mila. We parametrically explored possible future configurations for the study area (450ha large, at the intersection of two main planned road-infrastructure extensions) and tried to push for a solution that would maximize performance (density, height, shading, access to natural elements and connectivity) of the whole region while leaving [...]
Winning entry for DuPont + igloo‘s Changing the Face – Casa Poporului. Idea sparked off with Raresh Dragoiu of drr_____ fame. Jury was composed of: prof. arh. Dorin Stefan (DSBA) arh. Bruno Andresoiu (igloomedia) Anne-Line Citrene (DuPont France) Gabi Rottes (DuPont Germany) Some pictures from the exhibition, which can be seen at the University Underground [...]
Recently we were allowed the use of computers at one of our one-day-long exams – so my school is finally living up to the attribute change in my about page – it used to be horrible, now it’s damp. A real improvement in life quality. Here’s the outcome: judge it lightly since the overall design [...]
The assignment was loosely formulated so as to allow maximum freedom in identifying problems and needs in the Lipscani area and proposing an architectural (built) solution that would tackle the aforementioned points. My vision concentrated on issues relating to the poor visibility/readability of the overall area (and the necessity of a landmark) and the lack [...]
Team project with Veronica Popescu. Our solution proposed the creation of several interlinked interior and exterior courtyards that both encouraged interaction with the surrounding busy streets while at the same time offering an intimate place to retreat to. Various social and commercial functions requiring different visibility/exposure levels can occupy this space at ground floor level. [...]
This is just a prototype for our current school assignement involving collective housing (~80+ apartments + commercial and community spaces). We are using the excellent space-partitioning properties of the Voronoi algorithm to create a lattice of interior and exterior courtyards that progressively make a transition from public space to semi-public, semi-private, and, in the end [...]
Here’s the latest school project, finished some time ago in early January. After pondering wether to reveal it or not (not that proud of it), I decided for the former in the end…
Latest school project: (board 1) (board 2) (board 3) {input} The project required us to design an archeological center consisting of one conference room (75 seats), three workshop spaces and a bar/buffet [+ reception and service spaces]. Adjacent we will have to design a small hotel/pension, so our projects will have to [...]
Just a quick update on the workings of the latest project. Philosophy of the whole thing will come later/
Back in school, Veronica and me hosted a big tryout of the waffle code advertised earlier (which is now used in Chile, San Fransisco and Bucharest – sorry i couldn’t help boasting). The assembly of roughly 486 ribs into an alien-looking 1/500 terrain model generated quite a nice social event… We still owe the laser cutter guys some obscene [...]
