Bridging my Worlds

ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIOMcGill BSc. Architecture 2014 Application

Sara D’Amato sara.damato10@gmail.com

McGill ID: 260368933

2363 Place des MusiciensSt-Lazare, QC, Canada

J7T 3C6

Chapter 1 Identity 3

MY LEFT SKATEN.14 PAS DE DEUX

STAIRWAY TO HEAVENChapter 2 Travel Through Time 7

WHERE SHE WROTE ABOUT HOPENO TWO GARGOYLES ARE SIMILAR

PHOTOGRAPHYVIBRANCE

WORK SETS YOU FREEChapter 3 Imaginary Worlds 13

IMMORTALITYTHE MERGING OF TWO WORLDS

INTO THE WESTChapter 4 Creations 17

TWO PLANETS - TWO OPPOSING GRAVITIESTOWNHOUSESTRANQUILITY

PRIVATE SCHOOL FOR PERFORMING ARTSTHE PERFECT POINTE

Front cover, contents page, and back cover photos from Winterlude 2014 - Ottawa, ON.

Chapter introductions are original illustrations.

contents

Identity

contents

Chapter 1

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my Left SkateThe ice is my world away from reality where I utilize creativity and combine the beauty of athletism and artistry.

This work is a tribute to my first left skate.

Preliminary Design Freehand Sketch

Original Size: 10” x 15.5” x 3”[Scale 1:1] ModelDate of creation: April 10th, 2012Medium used: paper, cardboard, wood, string,papermache (newspaper + liquid glue), and acrylic paintContext: Independent work

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This work is a tribute to the very first “Pas de Deux” I witnessed. It is the finale of the 1892 Russian Ballet “The Nutcracker.” “Pas de deux” is a small dance in a ballet that is performed by two people, with musical accompaniment. The folded and cut-out sheet music represents a stage and set design where this “pas de deux” would normally take place – with the two dancers centre stage.

Original Size of Piece: 16” x 20” x 8” [Scale 1:14]Date of creation: January 22nd, 2014

Medium used: flat, origami, or cut “N.14 Pas de Deux” sheet musicContext: Independent work

N.14 Pas de Deux

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Stairway to heaven

Original Size: 8.5” x 11”Date of creation: January 15th, 2014

Medium used: Adobe Photoshop CC and SketchUp 2013 Context: Independent work

Original graphic art using photographs of the keys of my piano formed into 3-dimensional shapes depicting staircases. This piece shows an artistic performer’s road to not only perfection, but to the ability to find their true identity (represented by the small burst of light), and passion (represented by the flowing red dress). The “perfect” staircase is shown in the centre amongst the “distorted” staircases.

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Chapter 2

Travel Through Time

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Jane Austen is one of my favorite and influential authors. This is a freehand sketch of her cottage in Chawton, England where she lived during the last eight years of her life from 1809 to 1816. During this time, she wrote her most famous and memorable works of women’s point of view of true love and a chance of happiness – Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, and finally the most moving, her beloved Persuasion.

Original Size: 14” x 11”Date of creation: January 29th, 2014

Medium used: 11” x 14” Fabriano sketching paper and Staedtler Softlead sketching pencils

Context: Independent work

“There is nothing like staying home for real comfort.”

- Jane Austen, Emma

WHere she wrote about hope

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As an architectural element, a gargoyle is a good example where function is not separated from mystery and beauty. This is a drawing of one of the gargoyles sitting on Notre Dame de Paris.

Original Size: 8” x 10”Date of creation: January 24th, 2014

Medium used: 11” x 14” Fabriano sketching paper, Staedtler Softlead sketching pencils, Faber Castell colored

pencils, and Alpha Design MarkersContext: Independent work

No two Gargoyles are similar

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European Excursion 2007:Original Size of each photo: 12.91” x 8.64”Pictures taken on: April 1st to 21st, 2007Context: Independent work

Venice, Italy

Interlaken, Switzerland

La Sagrada FamiliaBarcelona, Spain

Quebec City, Quebec:Original Size of each photo: 12.91” x 8.64”

Pictures taken on: July 20th to 23rd, 2012Context: Independent work

photography

Venice, Italy Quebec City, QC Brussels, Belgium

Venice, Italy Rome, Italy

Quebec City, QC

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Quebec City, QC

Original Size: 18” x 24” (each canvas)Date of creation: February 10th to 14th, 2014

Medium used: Two 18” x 24” white canvases and acrylic paintContext: Independent work

The artwork was inspired by the use of the vibrant colors of a Japanese kimono.

vibrance

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“work sets you free”

Original Size: 12.91” x 8.64”Picture taken on: April 9th, 2007

Medium used: Nikon D3000 and Adobe Photoshop CCContext: Independent workLocation: Dachua, Germany -12-

Chapter 3

Imaginary Worlds

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This work was inspired by J.R.R Tolkien’s fictional characters, Arwen and Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Arwen, an Elf gives up her immortality because of her love for Aragorn – a mortal. Elves symbolize purity and strength. They bridge the gap between the “real world” and the after-life. This work’s landscape is a collage of my original designs, blended with sketches of photos taken of Italian architecture in Florence and Rome – capturing Tolkien’s world.

Original Size: 14” x 11”Date of creation: December 3rd, 2012

Medium used: 11” x 14” Fabriano sketching paper and Staedtler Softlead sketching pencils

Context: Independent work

immortality

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This design merges the industrial and natural worlds; without eliminating or harming the other. The house material is an “extension” of the tree structure, where a section of the hollow tree is used for a part of the house. The house sits on branches that extends out in a “spider-web” fashion. The roof is made up of sturdy branches and stalks of wheat. The stairs also an “extension” of the tree, wraps around the tree’s trunk.

Original Size: 14” x 11”Date of creation: February 3rd, 2014

Medium used: 11” x 14” Fabriano sketching paperand Staedtler Softlead sketching pencils

Context: Independent work

The merging of two worlds

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Original Size: 8.5” x 11”Date of creation: January 28th, 2012

Medium used: 11” x 14” Fabriano sketching paper, Staedtler Softlead sketching pencils, Faber Castell colored pencils, and Alpha Design Markers

Context: Independent work

This freehand drawing of the last moments of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy symbolizes hope and the courage to embrace the after-life.

into the west

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Chapter 4

Creations

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Original Size: 8.5” x 11”Date of creation: January 18th, 2014

Medium used: Adobe Photoshop CC (pictures taken with Nikon D3000)Context: Independent work

Original graphic art based on the film “Upside Down” – where two adjacent planets sharing the same orbit have two opposing gravities. One can travel from one planet to the other by “trans-world.” Even though these two planets share an orbit, they differ – where one planet is more superior, advanced in technology and inhabited by the rich and powerful, while the other is driven to poverty. The graphic shows two opposing buildings; one building nearly finished, while the other was in its primary stages of construction.

two planets - two opposing gravities

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Location: Elsham Road, London, England

Original Size: 5” x 5”Date of creation: February 1st, 2014

Medium used: 11” x 14” Fabriano sketching paper and Sharpie Pen

Context: Independent work

Location: Rideau Canal, Ottawa

Original Size: 5” x 7”Date of creation: February 2nd, 2014Medium used: 11” x 14” Fabriano sketching paper, and Sharpie PenContext: Independent work

two planets - two opposing gravities townhouses

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tranquility

Original Size: 11” x 14”Date of creation: January 27th, 2014

Medium used: 11” x 14” Fabriano sketching paper, Sharpie Pen, Staedtler Softlead sketching pencils, Faber Castell colored pencils (bottom), and Alpha Design Markers (bottom)

Context: Independent workOriginal house design. -20-

Layout:Original Size: 18” x 18” (each)Date of creation: January 10th, 2014Medium used: SmartDrawContext: Independent work

The final work of this portfolio brings all the other chapters together to create a vision. This school will merge the science and creative arts. The disciplines of figure skating, dance, and music will is intertwined. A dance studio, training centre, auditorium, ice rink, research areas, and classrooms are all provided in this space. This facility is an original design.

Level 1 (right) – training centre, changing rooms with full bathrooms, dance studio, auditoium, and ice rink. Main entrance to access 2nd floor lobby and “west entrance” to access the auditorium and ice rink primarily.

Level 2 (bottom) – Main lobby, main offices and confer-ence rooms. Also includes “east staircase” to access 3rd level classrooms.

Level 3 (bottom) – Three classrooms, study hall, and teacher’s office. This level does not overlook the ballet studio or ice rink, thus making it the highest level of the facility.

private school for performing arts

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Three-dimensional Model:Original Size: 14” x 6” (each)

Date of creation: January 17th, 2014Medium used: SketchUp 2013

Context: Independent work

Ballet Studio Training Centre

Ice Rink Auditorium

private school for performing arts

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Training Centre

Auditorium

private school for performing arts The Perfect PointeShort Film Directed by Lora D’Amato

Choreographed by Sara D’AmatoStory by Lora and Sara D’Amato

Music Selected and Edited by Sara D’AmatoStriving to achieve perfection, one ballet dancer is put to the test after events takes place which

causes her to question what exactly she is striving for. A modern take on the “White Swan” and “Black Swan” figures in Tchaikovsky’s famous “Swan Lake” Ballet.

Original Size: 27” x 40”Date of creation: November 25th, 2013

Medium used: Adobe Photoshop CS6 (photos of lead dancer taken with Nikon D3000)Context: For marketing poster for the short film “The Perfect Pointe” -22- -23-

Performance. Technique. Artistry.