Articles by Valeria Silva

The initiative for this project stemmed from a desire to explore new architectural concepts, aiming for the eventual sale of the property situated within a burgeoning residential sector of an expanding urban district near well-established neighborhoods but maintaining a serene atmosphere. It is in this context that the Nucleus House comes into being.

Mango Malanshan Cultural Plaza explores the fluid and indistinct figure-ground relationship between the city and architecture. It aims to dissolve the closed boundaries of conventional architectural forms and revitalize daily urban life.

With a linear extension of 53 meters and freely positioned on a plot in the Serra da Mantiqueira, Casa Mantiqueira stands out as a horizontal element in the landscape that spans the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro.

Located in downtown Oakland, The Caffè reflects the second generation of Bay Area icon Mr. Espresso, serving as an example of how our diverse cultural landscape is nourished by those eager to share their heritage with the community. The design is heavily inspired by Italian culture, using minimalism and contrast. The Italians call the ritual of stepping into a caffè and enjoying espresso a “pausa” or a pause — a moment that allows for reflection and community. In Italy, the pausa is typically taken while standing at the bar. The goal of the design was to honor this most basic daily ritual and experience as meaningful, as art. In Italy, the espresso experience is more like getting a drink at a bar. All the ordering, waiting (and often the drinking) is done standing at the bar. The experience, then, is essentially having coffee at a communal table.

In a territory occupied by the proximity of other lots, the terrain is protected by materializing its boundary. The landscape is contained within the lot, keeping the beach underfoot. The compression of the dune, between the walls, transforms the terrain into an inhabited house.