All’s Well That Ends Well | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 Inspired by the history of local weather research and development in Florence, the project takes the Fondazione Osservatorio Ximeniano and the Museo Galileo as its main references to envisage a new meteorological observatory, research and meteorological history archive centre on the north bank of the Arno River. In this vision, the centre would serve local residents, tourists,
The Existential Barograph | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 Inspired by the history of local weather research and development in Florence, the project takes the Fondazione Osservatorio Ximeniano and the Museo Galileo as its main references to envisage a new meteorological observatory, research and meteorological history archive centre on the north bank of the Arno River. In this vision, the centre would serve local residents, tourists, climate researchers
L’EVOLUZIONE: A dialogue between the new and old human aesthetics | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 Florence is the birthplace of Western humanism and the Renaissance allowed people to really start looking at themselves and documenting their beauty, which has filled the city with aesthetic works of art of the human body. Since the invention of the camera, it has been difficult to break through in terms of
Re – Dressing Florence | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 The design process has been disrupted dramatically with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and one of its most evident applications is text-to-image-based image generation. Furthermore, this can be combined with current procedural and generative modelling methods, such as shape grammars and L-systems. Notably, Mid-Journey is a generative software system capable of creating image art from textual descriptions.
Look Up, Look Down! | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 The primary objective of this project is to delve into innovative approaches for designing an architectural structure that emulates the captivating qualities of astrophotography and satellite imagery. This ambitious goal will be accomplished by exploring the potential of lighting technologies to recreate the immersive experience of imagery within a physical space. Central to the concept is the creation
Hidden in Stereopsis | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 This project investigates the use of computer vision ML techniques to create a piece of architecture on a site and city obsessed with the human act of looking. It proposes a paediatric ophthalmology specialist research and treatment centre open to the public by the 14th Century Torre de Niccolò, an ancient watchtower of the municipality previously as a part
Florence heritage database: Re-imagining histories | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 My project investigates the creative capacity of a database, examining its capacity to visually portray the relationships between artifacts and to inform the design of a building. This design tool enables the re-interpretation of cultural historical narratives and opens up discussions on the interconnected character of different cultures and their heritage. Moreover, it empowers the viewer/manipulator of
The Heroes Within | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 On the grounds of Florence’s epicentre of sports of Campo di Marte, traditional, club organized sports have established a permanent mark as the most sought for sports, leaving little to no recognition to self-organized and individualised sports. The project aims to take over, or better, reshape the existing skatepark, continuing its legacy by offering larger, more versatile spaces for
Scoring Florence | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 Scoring Florence has derived directly from the rhythms, cycles, and durations of the city. A contemporary arts space on the river Arno, the project is a gallery developed through a reconstructed digital score of the city. In the same way a musical score leaves its interpretation up to the performer, the architectural score provides the designer agency in its application and
Cimitero della Montagna Verde: Chinese Cemetery in Prato | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 Prato, renowned for its textile industry, is home to a significant Chinese population of 45,000. The relationship between the Chinese and Italian communities in Prato has experienced welcoming phases, cooperation, misunderstandings, and tension over the past three decades. The project proposes expanding the cemetery at the serpentine quarry Cava di Figline in Prato as
La Marionettistica | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 This project proposes a puppet workshop and theatre in Oltrarno, Florence — a district renowned for its vibrant artisan culture. The chosen site, Piazza di Cestello, holds significance due to its proximity to the River Arno and the 17th-century church San Frediano in Cestello. Despite Florence’s historical association with puppetry through works like ‘The Adventure of Pinocchio,’ the city’s puppet
After School Club! | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 Situated in Florence, the proposal acts as an after-school club, providing various activities focused on play for primary school children. The site is an existing play park that is rarely used. Using the design methodology created in a previous project, in which existing parts are reconfigured and augmented to allow for more autonomy in the design, the playground parts
Parole Composte | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 “Parole Composte” is a project that investigates the possibility, as Junya Ishigami stated, of embodying in architecture what was never considered architecture before, which, in my design, is expressed through words. The aim of the project was to explore the potential of designing through conversation, using scripts that translate words into shapes and engaging in dialogue with ChatGPT. My architectural
Isolotto Weir: Ephemerality on the Arno Riverbank | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 Driven by pneumatics and powered by the Arno, Isolotto Weir is reimagined as part of a riverside piazza that morphs and transforms as it responds to flows of pressure. Inspired by Florence’s festive culture and the event-architecture of its post-war radical architecture movement, this metamorphic piazza of fluidity and motion contrasts with the historic forms
Excavating Rhythms: The Brain as a Drawing Tool | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 Excavating Rhythms is a case study for the use of the brain as a drawing tool. Using a digital drawing machine created in term 1, which takes brain wave data in real time and uses them to record and generate line drawings, this project explores the ways in which these drawings can create a
Visualising the Intangible, Capturing Endangered Languages | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 Florence has been a theatre of language discussions since the fourteenth century. Until 1861 the Italian peninsula was formed of many states, each with its own language or dialect. Italian was adopted as the official language with the unification of Italy. Previously, the Italian language was a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by
Probobli Boboli | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 This project explores the potential of using probabilistic simulations as part of a creative process for design, rather than simply a tool for validation, to further an understanding of the implications for designing with uncertainty at each step of the process. The exploration emerged from a historical study of the banks, libraries and fountains of Florence, looking at them as
The Guild of Plastics | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 Florence is known for its architecture and craft, dating back to the Renaissance. This project focuses on the techniques behind weaving, connected to three powerful guilds. The project draws inspiration from their cooperative approach to craft and creates a collaborative workspace and gallery that brings together different crafts in the design of architecture, reminiscent of the guilds during
To Design through Gestures (at scale 1:1) | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 This project investigates the potential of virtual reality (VR) as a tool for comprehending spatial design across multiple scales. The exploration of this process commenced last year, using a diverse array of accessible tools to facilitate 1:1 scale design within a VR environment. Further experimentation was undertaken in the current year by also incorporating movement
Reframing Florence | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 Taking form as a frame-making facility serving the galleries in Florence. Reframing Florence explores the gaze as a tool. Utilising a bespoke eye-tracking headset, the gaze is integrated into the design process. A fixation capture system allows users to compose new architectures based on unique perspectives captured through experiences within the city. Emphasising the significance of the individualised perspective, not
Il Pellegrinaggio del Galluzzo | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 A museum on a route to a Carthusian Monastery. This project is developed from explorations with sound and stone; it aspires to address the rooted heritage preservation in Florence through a pilgrimage route and monastic museum extension destined to preserve a fragile historical soundscape. The project finds inspiration in the historical significance of bells in shaping identity. In
Florence Political Forum : Exploring Politics, AI, and the Uncanny | Florence, Italy | Unit 21 | 2023 This project explores how artificial intelligence can be implemented into the design process and aims to play with the weirdness, quirkiness, and uncanny nature of the near-perfect state of AI. It does all of this through the lens of a political education forum within the city of Florence, Italy. Multidimensional Coffee Table