Bogdan Chipara / Floating Volume

My portfolio is an insight of my experience gathered in over 12 years of practice. It includes independent as well as team work. Over time I was influenced by different contexts and people, which led to diverse ways of approach and varied design decisions.

There is a predominant amount of competitions, with a preliminary site research and a program distribution that develops a story. 

The soft context of a site history and economics, cultural background and social aspects has played an important role when pitching some of these works.

I see a strong potential in urban data and analysis, as a way to inform the concept of a building or masterplan. 2D/3D geometry of a location or GIS, can make a big difference when integrating new architecture. For this kind of research I strongly recommend Autodesk Forma.

Production of large scale projects such as Dallas Connected City and Extroverted Kostergarden relied heavily on automated drawing. Parametric approach ensured design flexibility for complex facades and other architectural elements. The same approach was used for manufacturing of custom made building components in a few examples.

All architectural design was done in Rhino with the help of Grasshopper. BIM parts are made using Revit. I consider coordination between CAD and BIM highly important for better control over workflow. Enscape, a real time rendering engine, was used for 3D sections, diagrams, in-house images and material studies. 

Since 2023 I’ve been studying Midjourney AI, as a new tool for architectural concept and stylistic variation. Midourney can work with visual references, photographs or drawings, blending different elements of architecture and refining results with the help of more specific keywords.  

Short and long-term collaborators:

Jaspers-Eyers, Brussels
Burton Hamfelt, Amsterdam
GG-Loop, Amsterdam
UNStudio in Amsterdam
Glenn Howells Architects, Birmingham
SMA, Stockholm
Atelier Zündel Cristea, Paris
3GATTI, Shanghai
AMB, São Paulo
DSBA, Bucharest

Education

"Ion Mincu"​ University of Architecture and Urban Planning, Bucharest
Master's degree, 2004 - 2009