The document describes Enrico Manias's thesis project for a new professional institute in Florence, Italy. The project aims to harmoniously integrate the new building into the surrounding rural area through formal simplicity and an analysis of local architectural forms. The new institute consists of several blocks connected by an inner street and courtyards. It includes classrooms, laboratories, a library, gym, and public community spaces. The main facade is linear while the rear facade divides into pieces around courtyards to embrace the landscape.

1. ENRICO MANIAS
Portfolio

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Table of Contents
Museum of Contemporary Art
Restoration of a rural church
Thesis: The school and the hamlet
Tramway station
Quartiere Mille
3D Studio Max Modeling and Rendering
High performance building
Autocad 3D Modeling and Rendering

4. The new institute is situated in a urban void in
the south periphery of Florence, on the border
between town and countryside.
The rural area is characterised by the typical
Florentine villas, hamlets and rural houses and
the design of the school complex is strongly
based on an accurate analysis of the shapes of this
elements and of the character of the place.
Indeed, the institute shape comes from a careful
consideration of the relationship between solids
and voids, itineraries and buildings and between
this two elements and the landscape.
The project aims for an harmonic synergy with
the surrounding area, thanks to formal simplicity
and essential architectural language, also due to
the presence of the near graveyard.
THESIS
THE SCHOOL AND THE HAMLET
A new professional institute in Florence
Florence

5. 3
ROOF OF THE AUDITORIUM
LIBRARY ON TWO LEVELS
AND ADMINISTRATION OFFICES
LIBRARY COURTYARD
MAIN HALL
GYM
RECREATION AREA
ON THREE LEVELS
MOTORBIKE PARKING
PUBLIC SQUARE
AND principal façade
LABORATORY
LABORATORY
INSULATED MOBILE WALL
CLASSROOM
SCHOOL GARDEN
GLAZED HALLWAY
MECHANICAL BUILDING
CAR PARKING
INNER COURTYARD
INFORMAL ACTIVITIES AREA
CLASSROOM
The presence of courtyards ensures
sufficient lighting and ventilation
inside the building.
Solids and voids are combined in a
complex scheme, in an interesting
succession of spaces with different
shapes and levels of privacy.
Courtyards work as a filter between
spaces with different qualities.
For instance, a court on the main
façade is a filter between the public
street and the private interior space of
the building, while a court on the rear
façade is a filter between the building
and the open fileds.
Most of the times the main façade is
parallel to the street.
In other cases is not, in order to
emphasize the volume of the building
and allowing the creation of a small
garden.
Usually the main façade is linear,
while the other side, facing the open
fields, divides into pieces in a series of
courtyards and gardens.
In the most complex cases the rear
façade opens like a fan to embrace the
whole landscape.
SOLIDS AND VOIDS INNER COURTYARDS BUILDING AND STREETS HIERARCHY AND PRIMARY ELEMENTS ARCHITECTURAL MORPHOLOGY
Primary elements, like towers or
advanced structures, emerge from the
rest of the building.
This parts usually are situated in cental
position or on the corner facing the
street, emphasizing the volume of the
building.
THE PERMANENCE OF ARCHITECTURAL SHAPES: OLD HAMLETS AND VILLAS

6. 4
1 SECRETARIAL OFFICE
2 INNER STREET
3 VERTICAL LINKS
4 LIBRARY
5 library courtyard
6 gym
7 PUBLIC entrance
8 STUDENTS entrance
9 STUDENTS DRESSING ROOM
10 INSTRUCTOR DRESSING ROOM
11 school INFiRMaRy
12 WAREHOUSE
13 ThERMAl plant
14 air handling unit
15 school garden
16 MAIN HALL
17 CLASSROOM
18 INNER COURTYARD
19 INFORMAL ACTIVITIES AREA
20 RECREATION AREA
21 LABORATORY
22 MECHANICAL BUILDING
23 STUDENTS DRESSING ROOM
24 teacher dressing room
25 square for loading/unloading
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GROUND LEVEL PLAN

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The institute is composed of several
elements: a corner building that
characterize the crossroad on the northwest
part of the building site, the block that
contains classrooms, laboratories and the
mechanical building, the main hall that
connects this two blocks and a gym.
The main façade is compact and linear,
while the other side opens like a fan to
embrace the whole landscape.
Inside the building, parallel to the main
façade, runs an inner street that comprises a
succession of spaces with different qualities:
height,lightness,transparencyanddifferent
relationship with the landscape and the
urban context.
Two deep courtyards in the form of a
trapezium work as a filter between the main
connective spaces of the institute and the
open fields at the south border of the site.
The parts of the institute opposite to the
main façade’s side decrease in height and
divide into fragments, in a combination of
solids and voids.
The gym becomes an isolated building
and this make it possible to define a green
courtyard dedicated to the library.
The west block are reserved to public
services for the local community, in order to
make the institute a real civic center.
The service block includes a two-storey
library, of about 1,000 sqm, the auditorium
for about 350 people and the gym, with an
independent entrance that allows its use
even when the school is closed.
THE RECREATION AREA ON THREE LEVELS

10. RESTORATION
RURAL CHURCH OF YECLA
Yecla (Spain)
The rural church was built near Yecla, a town of
the Autonomous Community of Murcia, in the
southwest of Spain.
The building dates from the end of the 18th
century and it is assumed to be designed by the
architect Pedro Guilabert.
It is of Baroque style and it’s the most important
religious building in ruralYecla.
On plan it is a Greek cross, with a dome on a drum
with four openings, that appear to be square
from the outside and circular from the inside of
the church.
The main dome and the dome of the bell tower
have lost all of the original white and blue tiles so
now we can see the lower layer made of concrete.
Walls are made of masonry with several plaster
layers and reinforced corners worked in ashlar.
The main façade faces south and has an elegant
porch with masonry arches supported by square-
section pillars.
Encased on the wall above the porch there was a
heraldic stone shield of the 18th century, which
disappeared during the 1990s.

11. 9
EAST ELEVATION ORTHOPHOTO
EAST ELEVATION: CRACKS AND FISSURES
crACKS
FiSSURes
CRacks WIDER AT THE TOP
CRacks WIDER AT THE BOTTOM
CRACKS WITH PARALLEL SIDES
CRACKS WIDER IN THE MIDDLE
0 1 2 5
0 1 2 5
THE SURVEY OF THE CHURCH
First step was the accurate survey of the
building and the gathering of information
about the rural church and its historical and
cultural setting.
The survey required a measuring tape, a
spirit level, a water level, a plumb bob and a
laser distance measurer.
The laser and a professional digital camera
helped us to make a survey even of the
unreachable parts of the church, like the
roof and the domes.
We used eight reference points to measure
the building using the trilateration
technique.
We took all the vertical measures from the
level zero to the ground using the measuring
tape and the plumb bob. We used the laser
for the upper parts, although this distances
turned out to be imprecise due to the type
of laser measurer used.
We used sketches to define technical
drawings, then we used them as a base to
collect all of the information on materials
and the cracking and decay process.

12. 10
SECTION
SECTION ORTHOPHOTO 0 1 2 5
0 1 2 5
FLOORPLAN WITH DIMENSIONS 0 1 2 5
crACKS
FISSURES
CRacks WIDER AT THE TOP
CRacks WIDER AT THE BOTTOM
CRACKS WITH PARALLEL SIDES
FLOORPLAN: CRACKS AND FISSURES 0 1 2 5

13. 11
THE RESTORATION PROJECT
The restoration project is based on the minimal
intervention theory, in order to:
• consolidate the structure of the building, to
find a solution for the building subsidence,
that has caused cracks on the arches, vaults
and on the outside part of the dome;
• restore the damp walls;
• achieve correct internal airing;
• remove every element recently added to the
church, made to exploit the building as a
warehouse for agricultural instruments and
machineries;
• completely clean the outside area of the
building, invaded by vegetation, and the
interior, deteriorated by dampness, mould
and birds;
• every other intervention to convert the church
into a centre to promote the local wine and
food culture.
The intervention will be realized with the same
materials used for the building, differentiating
the new parts from the original ones and so
avoiding the mimicry, thanks to slight variations
of colours or simplified decorations.
Interventions:
• removal of recent wall covering and addition
of a new one, similar to the original one;
• restoration of the existing windows and
openings and installation of new windows
with wooden frames;
• installation of a new main door with a
simplified design, to show that it’s a new
element;
• completion of the cornice of moulded stone
on the main façade, using the same material
but with a simplified decoration;
• installation of new white and blue roof tiles on
the main dome and on the dome of the bell
tower, similar to the original ones. 0 1 2 5

14. TRAMWAY STATION
Florence
0 10 20 50 100
Parco delle Cascine (Cascine Park)
make the tramway station
A GATHERING PLACE
SEVERAL SERVICES

15. 13
first FLOOR PLAN NORTH ELEVATION A-A’SECTION
b-b’SECTION
EAST ELEVATION
A’A
B’
B
0 1 2 5 10
0 1 2 5 10
0 1 2 5 10
0 1 2 5 10
exhibition hall
BOOKSHOP
SHOPS
OPENING
OVER THE GROUND FLOOR
RAISED WALKWAY
COFFEE BAR
EXISTING
TREE

16. 14
VIEW TOWARDS THE MUSEUM
The station consists of a tramway stop,
two shops, a two-storey museum and a
two-storey coffee bar.
The museum and the coffee bar create
two poles of attraction in the complex.
They are connected by a glass roofing,
supported by space frames and concrete
pillars.
The glass covering allows users to enjoy
the view of the park and the Arno river,
as well as making possible to exploit the
natural light inside the station.
That’s why the coffee bar has large
windows and the museum a big skylight.

17. 15
VIEW TOWARD THE COFFEE BAR
exhibition hall
glass roofing
STEEL STRUCTURE
coffee bar
coffee bar
exhibition hall
RAISED WALKWAY
TRAMWAY STOP
GROUND FLOOR
TOILETS
EQUIPMENT ROOM
INTERNAL VIEW OF THE MUSEUM

18. 16
The project comprises 15,8 hectares
of land, part of which is reserved for
a public park.
The residential buildings are
dimensioned for about 1,000
inhabitants, with a volume of about
100,000 cu.m., of which the 70% is
for residential use and the 30% for
services.
This services are situated in the
middle of the district and consist
of a school complex, currently not
present neither in the town nor in
the surrounding area, a library, a
museum with a coffee bar and a
restaurant, buildings for offices and
several shops and neighborhood
services.
This multifunctional district provides
a series of leisure and cultural
activities, that make it a living
center and a gathering place for the
inhabitants.
The dimension of the blocks is based
on an analysis of the urban fabric of
the town.
SCHOOL CENTRE
(BLUE)
LIBRARY
(BLUE)
green courtyarddrivewayPUBLIC PARK
TREES AS
LANDSCAPE
MARKS
RESIDENTIAL
BUILDING
(YELLOW)
RESIDENTIAL
BUILDING
(YELLOW)
CONNECTED
SQUARES
OFFICES
(PURPLE)
OFFICES
(PURPLE)
NEIGHBORHOOD
SERVICES UNDER
THE ARCADES
MUSEUM
(RED)
QUARTIERE MILLE
Campi Bisenzio (FI)

19. 17
TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN OF A BLOCK
11m
11m
11 m
11 m
0 1 2 5 10
Their shape is the result of several
design steps: first has been used a
regular grid, then we introduced
some deformations to avoid
repetitiveness, but keeping a
certain unity in the design.
We decided to organize buildings
around a series of interlinked
courtyards, in order to reduce
the fragmentation of the urban
image.
Voids have been carefully
designed, because they are
meant to be public squares
or gardens, gathering places
for people and not just empty
spaces.
The park and the green belt on
the south side of the area work
has a protection against traffic,
noise and pollution.
Trees in the public park and in
the boulevards create a scenery
for the buildings and indicate
walkways and access routes.
There are different type of routes:
boulevards for car access to the
district and pedestrian streets,
separated from the other ones.

20. 18
We defined several types of apartments, to
respond to the needs of different users.
To ensure air ventilation, every apartment
has windows on two opposite sides, with a
view both of the outside and of the inner
courtyard.
Partition walls has been defined to reduce
the surface of corridors, in order to have
larger rooms.
The distance between bearing walls and
the depth of the building are based on a
study on several contemporary projects,
that shows that the most used dimensions
are about 5 m x 12 m.
APARTMENT A
TYPE six room apartment
USERS 5 people family
SURFACE 140 sqm
APARTMENT B
TYPE four room apartment
USERS 4 people family
SURFACE 110 sqm
APARTMENT C
TYPE six room apartment
USERS 4 people family
SURFACE 140 sqm
WC
KITCHEN AND
DINING
AREA
LIVING ROOM
BEDROOM
BEDROOM
BATHROOM
BATHROOM
5 m5 m
12m
KITCHEN
WCDINING
ROOM
LIVING
ROOM BEDROOM
BEDROOM
BATHROOM
BATHROOM
BEDROOM
5 m 5 m 5 m 5 m
12m
TERRACE
LOGGIA
KITCHEN WCLIVING
ROOM
LIVING ROOM
BEDROOM BEDROOM
BATHROOM
BATHROOM
BEDROOM
5 m5 m
12m
5 m
LOGGIA

21. 19
The two-storey villa included in the
residential building derives from a study of
the architectures of Richard Meier and Le
Corbusier.
The living area is in the lower level and
features a large double-height hall with a
staircase that leads to the second level.
Large French windows provide adequate
natural illumination for the hall and the
dining room and give access to a large
loggia.
The rest of the living area is occupied by a
smaller living, services and a kitchen.
Thesecondlevelcomprisesthreebedrooms
and the related services.
1st
LEVEL PLAN
LIVING
LIVING
KITCHENLOGGIA
5 m
12m
5 m 5 m
LOGGIA
DINING
ROOM
BATHROOM
BATHROOM
2nd
LEVEL PLAN
12m
5 m 5 m 5 m
BEDROOM
BEDROOM
BEDROOM
LOGGIABALCONY
BATH BATH

22. 20
A-A’Section
EAST ELEVATION
2nd
LEVEL PLAN: INTERNAL BRIDGE AND LOWER LEVELS
OFFICES
STAIRCASE
WAREHOUSE
ELEVATORINFO
As a second bridge, the museum covers the
Giovanni da Verrazzano bridge, between
the boroughs of Gavinana and Campo di
Marte.
The building is designed as a big box, with
a steel structure supported by four towers.
Inside, a very large open space is organized
into some thematic areas, divided by
sinuous paths.
The interior of the museum is shaped by
natural and artificial lighting, the former
coming from the large glazing in the
middle of the main façade, and the latter
from several artificial sources, designed
to enhance the pieces of art and to guide
visitors along the exhibition itinerary.
A’A
B
B’
01 5 10 200 10 20 50 100
PROJECTION
ROOM
COFFEE BAR
ELEVATOR
ELEVATOR
BOOKSHOP
STAIRCASE
STAIRCASE
TOILETS
MUSEUM OF
CONTEMPORARY ART
Florence

23. LIGHT CREATES
EMOTIONS

24. 22
The building is designed to ensure high
performance and low construction cost.
That’s why the structure is made mainly of
aerated concrete, breathable material with
excellent thermal and acoustic insulation
properties.
Heat insulation, heat bridges, building-
plant system, roofing and foundation have
been carefully defined, in order to achieve
high levels of energy efficiency, which
helps to reduce energy bills.
The lightness of concrete blocks ensures
fast construction and reduce the weight of
the whole structure.
This allows to reduce the complexity of
foundation, saving time and reducing
construction cost.
High performances are guaranteed thanks
to:
• a structure made of aerated concrete
blocks and panels;
• a monolithic and ventilated foundation
that prevents the problem of rising
humidity as well as the concentration of
Radon gas emerging from the soil;
• high performance doors and windows,
made of lamellar wood;
• a ventilated roof, in order to avoid
excessive concentration of heat and
humidity;
• a highly insulated roofing, made of
aerated concrete panels and wood fiber
panels;
• under-floorradiantpanelheatingsystem,
that ensures uniform and comfortable
space air conditioning. SOUTHwest elevation
26 m
13m
A-A’section
12 m
13m
TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN
26 m
A’
A
12m
LIVING ROOM
KITCHEN
BATHROOM
BATHROOM
BEDROOM
BEDROOM
BEDROOM
DINING
ROOM
LOGGIA
KITCHEN AND
DINING AREA
HIGH PERFORMANCE
BUILDING
Executive project

25. 23
SLAB-WINDOW
01. DOUBLE GLAZING
02. WOODEN FRAME
03. 10 MM STONEWARE FLOOR
04. 20 MM LEVELLING MORTAR
05. 90 MM CONCRETE SCREEDWITH RADIANT HEATING/
COOLING SYSTEM
06. 30 MM INSULATED CORK PANEL
07. METAL PROFILE ATTACHEDTOTHE REINFORCED
CONCRETE CURB
08. 10 MM INDOOR PLASTER
09. HEATING/COOLINGTUBES
10. 250 MM AERATED CONCRETE PANEL
11. WOODEN SUB FRAME
12. ø 60 MM ALUMINUM HANDRAIL
13. ø 50 MM ALUMINUMVERTICALTUBULAR
14. ø 30 MM ALUMINUM HORIZONTALTUBULAR
15. STONE SILL
16. WATERPROOFING MEMBRANE
17. 100 MM CONCRETE SCREED
18. REINFORCED CONCRETE CURB
19. 60 MMWOOD FIBRE INSULATION BOARD
20. 15 MM LIME-BASED PLASTER
21. WINDOW ROLLER SHUTTER
22. WOODEN FRAME
23. DOUBLE GLAZING
25 cm30 cm
+ 12,20 m
32cm
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FOUNDATION
01. NATURAL SOIL
02. CONCRETE DRAIN
03. BED OF COARSE GRAVEL
04. BED OF FINELY CRUSHED STONE
05. NATURAL SOIL
06. 200X200X10 MM STONEWARE FLOOR
07. 20 MM LEVELLING MORTAR
08. ø 100 MM DRAINAGE CONDUIT
09. ø 80 MM DOWNPIPE
10. 40 MM CONCRETE SCREED
11. WATERPROOFING MEMBRANE
12. REINFORCED CONCRETE CURB
13. 120 MM CONCRETE BASE
14. CONCRETE SCREED REINFORCEDWITH AWELDED METAL GRID
15. 250 MM HEIGHT STOPEND
16. CRUSHED ROCK
17. 300 MM HEIGHT FORMWORK
18. 500X250X365 MM AERATED CONCRETE BLOCK FOR LOAD-BEARINGWALLS
19. 15 MM LIME-BASED PLASTER
20. ø 80 MM PVC PIPEWITH ANTI-INSECTS NET
21. SKIRTING BOARD
22. 200X200X10 MM STONEWARE FLOOR
23. 20 MM LEVELLING MORTAR
24. 60 MM CONCRETE SCREED
25. 40 MMVAPOUR BARRIER
25 cm30 cm
38 cm
42cm
ESTERNOINTERNO
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PORTICATO
0,00 +0,02 m
SGOMBERO
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08
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40 cm
ROOFING-WALL-WINDOW
01. 410X250 MM ROOFTILE
02. 50X30 MM BATTEN
03. BREATHABLEWATERPROOFING MEMBRANE
04. 50 MMWOOD FIBRE INSULATION BOARD
05. 250 MM AERATED CONCRETE PANEL
06. WOODEN BEAM
07. REINFORCED CONCRETE CURB
08. 60 MMWOOD FIBRE INSULATION BOARD
09. 30X150 MM BATTEN
10. 200 MM GUTTER
11. 250 MM AERATED CONCRETE PANEL
12. 60 MMWOOD FIBRE INSULATION BOARD
13. 15 MM LIME-BASED PLASTER
14. ø 80 MM DOWNPIPE
15. LEVELLING MORTAR
16. REINFORCED CONCRETE CURB
17. 10 MM INDOOR PLASTER
18. WOODEN SUB FRAME
19. METAL PROFILE ATTACHEDTOTHE REINFORCED CONCRETE CURB
20. 60 MMWOOD FIBRE INSULATION BOARD
21. WINDOW ROLLER SHUTTER
22. WOODEN FRAME
23. DOUBLE GLAZING

26. 3D STUDIO MAX MODELING AND RENDERING
Eugene Loring House
Richard Neutra

27. 25
The project consists in the 3D modeling of the villa designed by the Austrian architect
Richard Neutra in 1959, built near Los Angeles.

28. 26
The project consists in the planning of a terraced house and in the definition
of the 3D model.
2D images, 3D model and all of the renderings have been realized only with
the Autocad software.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
1st
FLOOR PLAN
A-A’SECTION
A’A
A’A
0 10,5 2 5
AUTOCAD 3D MODELING AND RENDERING
Two-storey terraced house

29. 27
VIEW OF THE LIVING ROOM
VIEW OF THE KITCHEN

30. Enrico Manias
via Antonio Scano 12, 09129 Cagliari, Italy
+39 347 04 24 064
enricomanias@hotmail.it
skype: enricoark