MICHAEL MARTORELLIVirginia Polytechnic Institute & State UniversityUndergraduate Design Portfolio

409 Turner St. NEBlacksburg, VA 24060

Cell: 845-558-5487Email: mikemartorelli@gmail.comMichael V. Martorelli

OBJECTIVE

To gain challenging and rewarding work experience in the field of Architecture

EDUCATION

BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE DEGREE Aug 2006 - May 2011 Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University Blacksburg, Virginia

OTHER STUDIES Aug 2009 - Dec 2009 SouthCoast Design/Build Center Pass Christian, Mississippi

HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA Sep 2002 - June 2006 North Rockland High School Thiells, New York

WORK EXPERIENCE

CAMP COUNSELOR June 2008 - Present NYS DDSO - Thiells, NY - Responsible for the care of developmentally disabled adults - Organize daily camp activities - Prepare and clean camp daily

SERVER / FOOD RUNNER June 2008 - Aug 2010 Hudson Water Club - West Haverstraw, NY - Greet customers and serve food/drinks - Help maintain a clean, safe restaurant environment

RESEARCH ASSISTANT May 2007 - Aug 2007 Directory of Major Malls - Nyack, NY - Data entry for a yearly publication of major retail centers - Research new or recently updated centers via the internet and phone

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

DESIGN SKILLS: - Designed and drafted commercial, public and residential buildings and landscapes - Participated in various architecture design competitions - Skilled in hand-drawing and rendering techniques.

CONSTRUCTION SKILLS: - Produced working drawings for and constructed a residence in Pass Christian, Mississippi - Learned about various building systems, materials and budgeting - Experienced in general carpentry and framing - Knowledgable in the field of Coastal building design and construction

ACADEMIC SKILLS: - Proficient in AutoCAD, SketchUp, Rhinoceros, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign - Knowledge of Microsoft Windows, PowerPoint, Excel and Mac equivalents.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Black & White Prints

These prints are a study of the relationship between a line and a square. With the introduction of lines and color, the squares now possess entirely different qualities. The top left print shows that a black backround brings more attention to the white lines. With the addition of diagonal lines, the top right print allows other shapes to appear. The bottom prints express how color can change one’s perception of an image. Although the lines are the same, the left print should emphasize the importance of the line, while the right print should emphasize the importance of the squares.

DESIGN FOUNDATION

Representational Drawings

These drawings, each of a different medium [Pencil, Graphite, Ink] provide a top and side view of a plaster mold. The form derived from a line study that was given a three-dimensional shape Each piece of the mold rises up equally from the next around a midpoint, giving it a spiral staircase effect.

FRONT ELEVATION SIDE ELEVATION

LONGITUDINAL SECTION CROSS SECTION

Lake HouseThis house was designed for a site overlooking Pandapas Pond, in Montgomery County, Virginia. The plan was derived from a grid system consisting of sixteen columns. One of the main design decisions was to constantly offer the resident a view to the outside. The large main public space was placed at the front of the house and contains floor to ceiling picture windows. A second floor balcony traverses the entire length of the house to allow more openness and light. A spiral staircase allows the resident to access a private study area complete with a widows walk, offering 360 degree views of the surrounding landscape.

GROUND FLOOR

SECOND FLOOR

THIRD FLOOR

ART GALLERY

Located close to the downtown area of Blacksburg, Virginia, this art gallery was designed to primarily house large metal sculptures designed by artist Richard Serra. The massive, curved weathered steel roofs were meant to resemble the Serra pieces that would be housed inside. The main gallery is sunken into the ground, allowing visitors to experience the art from above before descending down into the space to fully interact with the pieces. Light emitted through a massive skylight above penetrates throughout the entire museum.

CROSS SECTION

GROUND FLOOR

LEVEL 2

LOWER LEVEL

LONGITUDINAL SECTION

A memorial is an object or place that preserves the memory of a person or event. Memorials should also be places that allow one to celebrate life while remembering death. Since this memorial is a part of Virginia Commonwealth University, an urban college campus, I wanted to give back to the students and allow them to celebrate and reflect upon their own lives.

Moving from front to back, the site is organized into three separate areas: a large open plaza, a series of tranquil paths featuring long water trenches, and a quiet, peaceful bamboo grove and plaza. The first area was intended to be a public meeting space. I imagined art exhibitions taking place, and study groups assembling on the large staircase that descends into the plaza. On the opposite side of the staircase is a waterfall that is obscured by a row of trees. One must walk through the plaza onto a gravel path to view the waterfall in its entirety. As the row of trees mature, a natural tunnel-like area is created. After walking back up the stairs or up a ramp off to one side, a visitor can then ascend onto a more private location. Narrow metal rails flush with the ground create a series of walking paths that bring you to the other side of the site. These metal rails are cut at certain points to reveal narrow water trenches. Towards the back of this area is a massive granite water feature, which seemingly supplies the water to the

metal trenches and flows down to the large waterfall. To the left of the granite water feature is a grove of bamboo. One must wind their way through the bamboo squares to finally reach another plaza similar to the main one, albeit smaller. The bamboo grove, arranged in a grid pattern, and a smaller plaza were created to be quiet, intimate spaces for private reflection. While in the bamboo grove, one is completely surrounded by the tall grasses and a brick wall. While in the smaller plaza, the large granite block creates a buffer to drown out the noise from the rest of the memorial.

Water is one of the most important features in this memorial. In this context, water evokes peace and allows us to reflect upon life. A triangular cut in the granite block reveals the water source. The water flows down one of the surfaces of the cut and into a large trough, then down through the narrow trenches and eventually down to the large waterfall. The water at the source was meant to symbolize the individual, and as it flows down towards the waterfall it becomes wider to represent the entire VCU community. Bamboo is another important feature in this memorial, as it creates the most private space. Bamboo is an extremely fast growing and regenerative grass. At its peak height, it would surround a visitor to create a peaceful interior-like space.

VCU MEMORIAL

SUSTAINABLE MODULAR HOUSE

This house, although designed for coastal areas, can be placed on virtually any site due to it’s modularity and simplicity of construction. Based upon idea’s used in Glenn Murcutt’s Marie Short House, two modular units have been shifted and then pulled apart, thereby allowing one unit to be used for public functions and the other for private functions.

Several sustainable design techniques were used in the design. SIP panels were used for the walls and ceilings. Large windows allow for ample daylighting and excellent cross ventilation. An active solar system was utilized on the roof. The metal roof will be used to harvest rainwater, and two rows of photovoltaic panels, each 44 feet long, will provide all of the electricity for the house.

Since this house was designed for coastal environments, the threat of hurricanes is very real. To confront this threat, the house can literally close itself for protection during a hurricane. The metal roof will fold down to a horizontal position to protect the PV panels, and the decks along the east and west sides of the house will fold up, protecting the large sliding doors. Window overhangs on the north and south sides will swing down to protect those windows, turning the house into a fortress.

buildm i s s i s s i p p i

design/buibui6 students2 instructors1 client17 weeks1 home

f a l l ‘ 0 9

Public/Private Studies

SOUTHCOASTdesign/build

We began our design by disecting the relationship between public and private areas. In this series of diagrams we ex-plored different possibilities and connections between these two spaces.

Conceptual Model Sketches & Photos

SOUTHCOASTdesign/build

In the beginning stages of the design we studied different aspects of connectivity. In these models and drawings we are starting to develop some of the main objectives of the design: a main axis, addition by subtraction, and using light to create spaces.

This house was designed and built by myself and 5 other students in Pass Christian, Mississippi, a town decimated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The client was Paul Patin, a town resident who lost nearly everything during the storm. Due to the client’s very specific requests, the final design featured bright, open and airy spaces. The kitchen, dining room and living rooms were all grouped together in the center of the house which featured a sloping vaulted ceiling with a clerestory on the northern side to allow light in, but keep the intense Mississippi sun out. We knew from the beginning that

this space needed to be column-free, so to achieve this we used 30 ft. long TJI beams. On either side of this main public space are the private spaces, including the master bedroom and bathroom, a bedroom for Paul’s son, a bathroom and laundry/storage room. Since the house was raised 12 ft. off the ground, construction was difficult at times, but provided me with a better understanding of coastal design and construction techniques that I would use throughout the following year for my undergraduate thesis.

Lower roof rafters complete: 10.30.09

All roof rafters complete: 11.12.09

Piers complete: 09.14.09

Girders complete: 09.16.09

Floor joists complete: 09.22.09

Shear walls framed: 10.06.09

All exterior walls framed: 10.17.09

Wall sheathing complete: 10.22.09

THESIS [RESIDENTIAL UNITS]

The southernmost peninsula on the site will contain 33 residential units. These units were designed to demontrate their physical strength and aesthetic beauty. Breaking away from the Gulf Coast vernacular, these residential units are wood boxes within a strong concrete frame. Opposing the customary practice to use the space beneath a structure for parking and/or storage, the ground floor instead becomes an area of value and is transformed into a public, pedestrian space. A raised path on the next level becomes the ‘street’ to provide access to the units. One would then move to the ‘yard’ of the unit, a space completely open to the air that becomes the main outdoor space for each dwelling. Operable panels on this level will allow each resident to configure privacy and shading to their specific needs, therefore creating a visual diversity when viewing the units as a whole. A vertical glass light well penetrating the interior of the residence contains the staircase which brings one up to the main living area.

LIVING ROOM

DINING ROOM

ENTRY

MASTER BEDROOM

OFFICE

STORAGE

BEDROOM PLAYROOM

PORCH

LEVEL 3LEVEL 2GROUND FLOOR