derek PIROZZICORE DESIGN PORTFOLIO

The University of South Florida | School of Architecture and Community Design

ADDRESS 1248 VERMEER DRIVE | NOKOMIS FL 34275

TEL.[ 941 ] 716-2745

EMAILDPIROZZI2004@YAHOO.COM

DPIROZZI@MAIL.USF.EDU

WEBSITEDEREKPIROZZI.COM

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DEREK MARK PIROZZI

“It is possible that an architectural detail can reveal more than just the resolution of materials. A fragment of a building can provide an entrance into a particular way of thinking. A detail can be seen as a kind of evidence, a piece of evidentially material; building can therefore be the result of the building up of this material of evidence.

- Henry Smith-Miller + Laurie Hawkinson, Between Spaces

* “Top of the Rock”- New York City

| 0504* “Top of the Rock”- New York City

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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10 light and materiality

16 concepts of drawing

22 the tectonic corner

28 door and window study

34 Miami live work

50 the New + Electric

62 Toy*

68 Toylab*

82 the Umbrella house

88 the care of making

98 photography

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“There is a spiritual value residing in the particularities of a given joint that the “thingness” of the constructed object, so much so that

the generic joint becomes a point of ontological consideration rather than a mere connection”

- Kenneth Frampton

CORE DESIGN ONE | Light and MaterialityProfessor Beverly Frank - Fall 2007 - Two Week Study

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| 1312 | 1110 | 1312* Translucent Light Studies - Sketch Model

I Turn to Light

The study of natural light and its effects on the built environment becomes a

cornerstone of the study of architecture. All of life is seen and brought together

in light, we are surrounded and defined by it. However, you can not experience light without the presence of darkness.

The natural light can carve through a darkened space and reveal the purities

and beauties that are held with in.

“... Daylight can be beautifully managed by the architect if he has feelings for the course of the sun as it goes from east to

west and at the inevitable angle to the south. The sun is the greatest luminary of all life. It should serve as such in the

building of any house...”

- Frank Lloyd Wright

| 1514* Light, Shape, and Form - Sketch Models investigating spatial tones and concepts of illumination.

CORE DESIGN ONE | Concepts of DrawingProfessor Beverly Frank - Fall 2007 - Semester Long Study

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* Concepts of Drafting - Composition of drafting assignments

Drawing Architecture

“Perspective has nothing to do with the line, but concerns tones and colors, by the delicate manipulation of which an artist can suggest infinite distance.” ( Walter J. Phillips )

The designer must be able to translate their idea from mind to hand. This becomes a crucial part of design to be able to communicate and portray your ideas so that others may

understand. The use of alignment, proportions and order through appropriate line weight, depth, relative position and hierarchy allow for an effective representation of spacial

conditions and material substance.

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| 2120* Concepts of Drafting - Ablution Space

CORE DESIGN TWO | The Tectonic CornerProfessor Alex Bothos - Spring 2009 - Two Week Project

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* Detail and Connection - Sketching the structural components of the corner tectonics

The Poetics of Construction

The ideas and concepts between the structure and the architectural form

becomes a dominant inquisition when composing a tectonic language. How do we begin to articulate the joining of two structural components so that we might

be able to achieve poetic expression which transcend structure and

construction alone? How do we begin to articulate spatial skin systems that

become not merely applied, but instead become an integral structural system

which serves as a performance generated support? Where and how might these systems be continuous,

transformed, or disconnected? How do we begin to manipulate materials formal

and physical qualities so that we might be able to achieve a more dramatic

composition of constructed space? These types of investigations allow an architect

to transcend from contemporary methods of construction to poetic ones.

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Investigations in Technique

Greek in origin, the term tectonic derives from the term tekton, signifying carpenter or builder. The poetic connotation of the term first appears in Sappho where the tekton, the carpenter, assumes the role of the poet. This meaning undergoes further evolution as the term passes from being something specific and physical, such as carpentry, to more generic notion of making, in the poetic sense.

“When a structural concept has found its implementation through construction the visual result will affect it through certain expressive qualities which clearly have something to do with the play of forces and corresponding arrangement of parts in the building yet cannot be described in terms of construction and structure alone. For these qualities which are expressive of a relation of form to force, the term tectonic should be reserved.” ( Kenneth Frampton )

CORE DESIGN TWO | Door and Window StudyProfessor Alex Bothos - Spring 2009 - Two Week Project

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* Interior - View from interior looking at exterior volume extruding into the interior condition

| 3130* Connection - The lattice structure draws you into the home and creates a courtyard condition

* Final Draft Model- Looking North West

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Bring the Outside In

The door and window create an understanding of the symbolic, metaphorical and performance qualities, as well as the tectonic potential of a threshold between two spaces.

In this study, the door acts as the strong defensive condition which holds its rustic metal components within a thick concrete wall, protecting against the outside world. Once inside, the inhabitant becomes relieved through there transcendence of interior and exterior condition as the light lattice structure allows the inhabitant to gaze towards the exterior vegetation. The composition seeks to strike a balance between the masculine facade which deters you from the inside and the feminine interior which strives to reconnect you with beyond.

“ A piece of Space was thereby brought together and separated from the whole remaining world. By virtue of the fact that the door forms, as it were, a linkage between the space of human beings and everything that remains outside it, it transcends the separation between the inner and the outer. Precisely because it can also be opened, its closure provides the feelings of a stronger isolation against everything outside this space than the mere unstructured wall. The latter is mute, but the door speaks. It is absolutely essential for humanity that it set itself a boundary, but with freedom, that is, in such a way that it can also remove this boundary again, that it can place itself outside it.” ( George Simmel “Bridge and Door” From Rethinking Architecture )

* North West- The Heavy to Light Condition

* South West- division of space

* North East- The entrance and reveal

CORE DESIGN TWO | Miami Live WorkProfessor Alex Bothos - Spring 2009 - Four Week Project

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The Corner Typology

A south Florida client has asked to develop a design for a dense, two to three-story mixed-use building with a specific focus on the corner type. This corner typology will combine a variety of light commercial uses with a residential unit and ultimately establish a distinctive sense of place. Located on the corner of a busy street in downtown Miami’s famous South Beach area, the young educated local couple looks to create a local bar and recording studio where the husband can practice and perform his musical interests. The space is to become a lively, energetic location which holds the corner condition and becomes a new social hot-spot for the area.

Both husband and wife are social and active in the community but are concerned with striking a balance between their public and private lives. The private spaces, located on the second floor and held within the wrapping floor ceiling condition, are surrounded by the public spaces which inhabit the first and third floors which act as both bars and live stages for music.

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| 3938* Sketch Pin Up - Concepts and thoughts on a corner typology and the surrounding conditions. Team work also by John Roman and Stephanie Herring.

* Residential Skin System - Light and skin studies on shading apparatus.

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* Musical Skin System - The final model demonstrates how the skin system would site in relationship to the live work system

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A Musical Skin

The concepts of music and the whimsical ideas of Florida and a Miami beach lifestyle come

together to generate the concept for this skin condition. The client, a musician, who spends most of his time recording music and playing it live here at his home, wanted a facade that represents what

is true and dear to him while also becoming an attraction for the busy public street life. Using old

organ pipes, the skins module system acts as a grid like tube condition which captures the prevailing Gulf

breeze, in return producing a musical sound which unites the public with a natural costal musical score,

much like the way a conch shell would capture the breeze.

* Cross Section

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* North Elevation

Corner . Transition . Work . Home

“Everyone has, I think, in some quiet corner of his mind, an ideal home waiting to become reality.” - Paige Rense

When experiencing the residence, the home owners would entertain and use themselves the adjacent stairwell which sits within a private courtyard via the side street. The courtyard acts as a pre residential space as it allows for privacy between the public and residential realms. While inside the residence, the home owner can feel the tranquility of seclusion as the home is embraced on both sides by buffer systems which tame the sometimes chaotic city life outside. Wrapping around the faced on the street from is a musical skin system which also acts a shading and privacy device for the residence. Cladding the back side of the home, the side adjacent to the bar/ stage area, is a system of noise reduction panels which help eliminates the nightly music which reverberates through the space.

Second Floor Plan

- Studio Bedroom - Living Room- Studio Bathroom - Private Balcony- Kitchen

Third Floor Plan

- Roof Top Bar Area- Observation Deck- Public Stairwell

First Floor Plan

- Recording Studio- Front Studio Lobby- Bar Area and Lounge- Public Bathrooms- Residential Access

* Final Model- View from street intersection

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| 4948* Final Model- Close up on private residential space

CORE DESIGN THREE | The New + ElectricProfessor Mark Weston - Fall 2009 - Six Week Project

| 5150* Spatial Dermis - Concept mock-up

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* Initial Sketch Model and Floor Plan- Diagrammatic studies on approaching street facade

* Sectional Studies - Model Process and Sketches

| 5554* Cocktail Bar and Gallery - Acting as a central hub for new media art in the historic downtown Ybor district, the New + Electric is ideal for large parties and receptions of large groups for showcasing art and other events.

* Spatial Studies- Plan and section

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Layers of Dialogue

The exterior skin system of the New + Electric Bar and Art Gallery is composed in a way which encourages a tactile experience and human interaction. Through the re-use of “recycled materials”, such as mattress springs, the architecture is able to create a richer spatial experience that relates to our daily lives. ( *Spatial Dermis )

The historic city of Ybor boast an eclectic atmosphere which draws thousands of visitors each year to come and experience a layering of time and culture. Each building along 7th avenue tells a story about its history and the function inside. The NE bar and gallery strives to bring a new layer to the street, one that engages the public with an intriguing facade create through the reuse of a common material know to everyone, the mattress spring. Once inside, you are embraced by this new interpretation through an physical experience, one that is sure to bring the kid out in all of us as each element which incorporates this system encourages the interactive qualities which naturally accompany our inner child hood ambitions.

* Structural Diagram- The exploded diagram illustrates the steel infrastructure which composes the in fill project.

Steel Column Grid System

Interactive Facade

Poured in Place Floor Slabs

Steel Beam System

* Final Model- Street front facade and courtyard condition | 5958

Ground Floor Plan Second and Third Floor Plan

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CORE DESIGN THREE | Toy* Professor Mark Weston and Masters Student Kuebler Perry - Fall 2009 - One Week Study

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Craft

“Play negotiates between pleasure and rigor... it’s rules equilibrate human action..”

- Richard Sennet

The study was used to generate a toy that was designed by the capabilities of the tool which was used to create it. The shop table saw proved to be a valuable standard for modular making by allowing all the pieces to be cut identical since they were made from the same block of wood. After ripping several passed down the elongated block, the toy started to take form do to the angling of the blade which allowed for an inclined cut. Once the form of the block was made, each individual piece was then chopped in a way similar to a manufacturing process.

Using various types of wood for the study, each edition of the toy tested to be either stronger or weaker than the one before due to the density of the wood.

*A construct made by a fellow classmate after a session of play.

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Adventures in Tectonic Play

Which creating the toy, an underlying goal of the study was to create a toy which investigates a tectonic condition of our choosing.

The toy was to be constructed with out glue and with the purpose of being interacted with. In the end, harder wood such as Walnut

proved to be the best choice due to its durability and appearance. The toy is housed in a wooden box which allows the

owner to store and organize.

CORE DESIGN THREE | Toylab* Professor Mark Weston - Fall 2009 - `Seven Week Project

| 6968* New York City - Central Park during the fall

| 7170* Site and Concept Diagram- Lower Manhattan

Program and Context

Toylab* is a retail showroom and corporate office for an international toy distributor. Central to the sales philosophy of the Toylab* is the provision of demonstration of products for PLAY prior to their purchase. Intended to be a retail hub along the recently finished High Line elevated park project in New York City, the program focuses around the invitation and notions of play and all connotations.

*Diagrammatic Program - Toylab’s program is created around a central retail concept

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* Negative Space ModelThe idea of the model was to begin to construct

the negative or larger spatial conditions which would begin to inform the

program around.

* Skin concept model and sketch- The ideas of a skin system that becomes interactive and playful to public street front as well as the consumer inside.

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Interactive Facade

The exterior skin system used by Toylab* was created through the articulation of concepts and values that best represented the site and the greater area of New York City. The client wanted the building to be created in a way that would best represented the ideas and aspects of a city full of color and life, as well as become a eye catching feature which draws the public in. One of the best examples of this comes from the vibrance found throughout times square, along side fifth avenue, or in central park during the fall when the leaves are changing (as pictured on page 68). The system begins to tie together these quintessential aspects through the use of the colorful recycled and re-used advertisements that dominate New York financially and aesthetically. The concept comes full circle with its third aspect, in which the facade was to have a life of it’s own, so that human interaction could been encouraged. On a “playful” New York day, Toylab comes to life through its skin either by the spinning of panels from the visiting children and adults within, or the playful breeze which also interacts with the panels and brings the street to life like hundreds of colorful leaves blowing in the wind.

* Final Model- Looking at facade from street

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* Toylab Plans and Section- Located along the lower south east side of manhattan; Along the High Line.

G 2 3Retail and Cafe Highline Entrance Retail and Toy development

116 10th Ave New York, NY

Toylab* is located along the now world famous New York High Line Project, when all sections are complete, the High Line will be a mile-and-a-half-long elevated park, running through the West Side neighborhoods of the Meat-packing District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen. It features an integrated landscape, designed by landscape architects James Corner Field Operations, with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, combining meandering concrete pathways and naturalistic planting. Fixed and movable seating lighting, and special features are also included in the park.

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4 Retail and Toy development

5 Office and Conference Rooms

6 Office and Conference Rooms

The City at Play

“It is in playing, and only in playing, that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self.”

-D.W. Winnicott

The project site is located immediately adjacent to and touching The High Line, located on Manhattan’s West Side. The High Line was originally constructed in the 1930’s, to lift dangerous freight trains off Manhattan’s streets. Section One of the High Line is open as a public park, owned by the City of New York and operated under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

The charge of the project was to create an integrated structure that would highlight the qualities of not only the surrounding context but the city of New York itself. By creating a tall atrium space at its core, Toylab* is able to connect the traffic between the High Line Park walkways and the lower pedestrian traffic along 10th Ave.

*Final Model to the left; a sketch of interior retail space to the right.

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* Section Detail -The facade of the building is able to be interacted with at different parts throughout the building. The facade ( an exterior condition ) is located along the south east side

of Toylab*

* Final Model- Detail of the Facade

Primary Structure

Secondary Structure

Re Used Billboard Panels

Pivot Joint

Materials and Methods | The Umbrella HouseProfessor Michael Halflants - Team Mate: Emily Ratzlaff - Spring 2010 - Six Week Project

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The Umbrella

The Umbrella House built in the 1950’s, designed by Paul

Rudolph, lost it’s overhead canopy many years ago do to a hurricane. The design study intent was to replace the non existing canopy with a more contemporary version which

aims to utilize temporary construction methods and

durable materials.

Based on the grid system used to design the jalousie windows

in the house, the new canopy proposal aims to create an

intriguing play on light using a highly durable Teflon Coated

Fiberglass material.

* Sketch Model - The initial model showsan overview of the canvas panels

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Playing with Light

Light - Effective - Innovative - Materially Rich

The project will select a material other than wood to propose a new umbrella for the structure. The purpose of the second roof will be to shade both the house and the pool yard recreating the filtered light. The new umbrella will have to rely on the same points of contact to the ground as the original structure and will have to extend to the perimeter of the 1953 design as requested by the client. The selected material and structure of the proposed structure is more resistant to decay and wind damage. The combination of Teflon coated fiber glass and galvanized zinc structure add strength and rigidity to a delicate overhead condition. There were no alterations to the existing condition and there was a great attempt to respect the historical conditions originally designed by Paul Rudolph.

The new proposal provides a level of shaded protection as well as a play on filtered light. The structure sits dialectally on the land and pays homage to the original design through a “light” and tectonic structure.

* Axo Sketch

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THE CARE OF MAKING | Door Handle StudyProfessor Steve Cooke - Summer 2009 - Eight Week Study

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Making Something Worth Caring About

The task of this study is to make a small useful object that satisfies many obligations. The project is intended to be a mirror of your

wholesome “self.” The idea that everything we make, should comefrom the heart and be a piece that represents the maker and the ideals

and values that that person believes in. The care of making draws of a deep satisfaction from the process of making. the objects intent is to unite you with the person you are making it for, so there is a deeper connection from the piece. The object is to be useful, meaningful, and beautiful

while demonstrating a high level of craft.

The wood log that I am using is a piece that is from a tree cut down in my front yard. The wood provides a beautiful quality, one that is warm and inviting to the touch while representing a place, an environment

which it came from.

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* Local wood and Steel- The warmth of wood vs the cold of steel

The Autobiography of Things

All things made tell a story. By exploring the diverse and dynamic self-story of things we learn something about the life of these “quasi-subjects.” The care of making begins with listing to this artifactual narrative, for to care for anything you must first understand it. We begin to express who we are, what we believe and desire, and what is important through our actions. Thus, the events and things we make are a mirror of our soul. When we are fully engaged in the act of making with the fullest exercise of our abilities, and the highest level of our character, our humanity is validated, and we enter into a reality boarded by difficulty and centered in joy. When we make something with or for someone we unite together in community.

Through sacrifice, diligence, and love we give life to things and through these expressions of care, refresh the world.

Excerpts from Professor Steve Cooke’s: The Care of Making 2008

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The Fruit of Making - Good things

My home in Venice has always been a place of love and inspiration to me. I have always tried to capture these feeling in many different projects that I have done. In this project I was able to create a key element of my home, an element that would not only speak about its owners, but also of the craftsman who was developed behind the very door that the handles would embrace. The objects that I have created are useful. They blend together with the existing locking mechanism to create a unity that can be felt by a visitors touch. My home is meaningful, and so is the message that is given to those who visit. The door handles will create the first statement upon visiting our house. They tell a narrative of warmth but also one of strength. When working with the beautiful oak to carve the handle covers, the very oak that came from the land upon which the home sits, the craftsman intent, my intent, was to create a beautiful object not only for my parents, but for all that pass. The sacrifice I have given to this project is my time, my diligence, and my care for the materials and the way those materials are melting together to create an useful object.

This project represents me, it represents my home, it represents my parents, but most of all it represents love.

* The Touch of the Hand - Detail under finger piece.

* Door Handle- The simple and delicate bend of steel; detail

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Photography | A Material CaptionSony Alpha 300 Series - Fall 2008 - Spring 2010

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Brick Work MIT Chapel - Boston MA

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Fallen Leaf - Boston MA

Brooklyn Bridge - New York City

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New York Times Building - New York City

My Intent

To continually pursue a rigorous, logical design approach in the belief that architectural concepts are best resolved holistically and poetically.

Education

Masters of Architecture 2012 Tampa, FL High School Diploma Venice, FLUniversity of South Florida | School of Architecture Venice High School | Academy of Graphic Arts and DesignFall 2007 - May 2012 Fall 2000 - May 2004 Good Academic Standing | 160+ Credits Earned GPA: 3.6Design GPA: 4.0 | Overall GPA: 3.763

Experience

Intern Position December 2010 - October 2011 Graduate Research Assistant January 2011 - May 2011Alfonso Architects, Inc. USF INTO Campus Building, Design TeamTampa, FL Lead Designer: Dr. Levent Kara

Intern Position January 2011 - May 2011 AIA Tampa Bay Board Member 2010 - 2011Jan Wampler Architects AIAS Student RepresentativeTampa, FL / Boston, MA USF School of Architecture and Community Design

Graduate Teaching Assistant January 2009 - May 2009 Architectural Modeling Advisor October 2008Architectural History | USF S.A.C.D. Halflants and Pichette | Studio for Modern DesignProfessor Jody Beck Sarasota, FL

Activities and Societies

AIAS Senior Advisor August 2011 - August 2012 AIAS President August 2009 - August 2011American Institute of Architecture Students American Institute of Architecture StudentsUSF S.A.C.D. Elected Two Consecutive Terms in Office

Varsity Baseball and Track Team 2003 - 2004Venice High School

Awards and Honors

S.A.C.D Thesis Award | Recipient 2012The Eduardo Garcia Award | S.A.C.D.’s Highest Design Honor | Nominee 2012S.A.C.D. Outstanding Advanced Design Portfolio Award | Nominee 2012AIA Tampa Bay President’s Award | Recipient 2011AIA Tampa Bay 40 under 40 Exhibition | Top 3 Finalist 2011S.A.C.D. Masonry Contractors Scholarship Award | Recipient 2010S.A.C.D. Outstanding Core Design Portfolio Award | Nominee 2010Eagle Scout | Boy Scouts of America 2004Venice Presbyterian Scholarship | Recipient 2004 - 2012

I would like to dedicate this portfolio to my loving grandfather Mario Pirozzi who passed away June 2010.

I miss him everyday.

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