The Masieri Foundation Dormitories

The Masieri Foundation was founded in 1952 in memory of Angelo Masieri, who was an architect himself but abruptly died in an automobile accident. The centerpiece of the Masieri legacy was to be the design and construction of a study center for students located along the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. However the project was never actually built. My design problem was to revive the program as originally given and design a new Masieri Foundation on the same site that could house 12 architectural students. Besides the rather difficult and obvious issue of conformance (or non-conformance) with the architecture of the city, there was a more fundamental question that I confronted, namely the appropriate and intelligent design of an institution devoted to the study of architecture on a prominent urban site in one of the most architecturally celebrated cities in the world. These thoughts coupled with the already challenging triangular site allowed my project to progress in many forms throughout the design process. Ultimately, concluding into a harmonious medley of old and contemporary that cohesively creates a space yearning to inspire.