The document discusses Galina Lalova's background and interests in architecture, urban design, and visualization. It provides an overview of some of her coursework and projects from 2013-2015, including a private villa design, a public building for spiritual experience, and a redesign of a public square in Lund. The document also includes a bachelor thesis examining social interactions and mixed-use environments in the city of Patras, Greece.

1. architecture work 2013-2015
portfolio
04projects
galina lalova
+bachelor
t h e s i s

2. My interest in architecture is from early
age but in the recent years I began to real-
ize the importance of public spaces and
urban design. After few study trips to Lon-
don and Barcelona and around Sweden
I began to be able to compare how the
social life differ in dependence with how a
city is organized. At a study trip to Patras,
Greece in relation to my bachelor thesis I
was able to gain a deeper understanding
of how people experience the city.
In my works I am more of a visual and
analytical person both when in research
and when I choose my tools. Photography
and drawing is often used for documenta-
tion but in combination with an idea which
is studied they can turn into pieces of art.
In analysis I often connect observation
with interesting theories. Experimentation
is another way of developing ideas which
I appreciate a lot. Another interest is hu-
man behaviour in relation to architecture.
How I can contribute to the program Sus-
tainable Urban Design: I believe a certain
capabilities in visual representation of
ideas is required in order to communicate
them with different groups of interested
parties. I would like to develop my visuali-
zation skills in that direction and also to
experiment with different scopic regimes
besides that of the camera view which is
most popular in architecture visualization
right now. Another aspect is my interest in
social sustainability which I can integrate
in future projects. As in my background I
have also a degree in economics, I believe
understanding the subject of sustainable
development of cities and regions, and
especially macroeconomics would help
seeing the bigger picture of what a city is.

3. The research investigates the relation
between the idea of the Urban Renais-
sance, which promotes the small-scale
and mixed-use built environment as
seen in traditional European cities, and
the social life in the city. In the course of
the study I found interdependency be-
tween those two concepts as the mixed
use is produced to serve certain social
and economical needs at the same
time as it further develop these needs.
The complexity of this relation involves
also other elements to hold the model
together like habits, desires, urban ritu-
als, will, private and public interests and
so forth.
I chose to examine a traditional Euro-
pean city, which didn’t experience the in-
terruption of the modernist movement,
and that is the city of Patras, Greece.
Here I found a special social life, which
includes something deeper than sim-
ple communication. For example that
people pay attention and act empathi-
cally to others, engage in spontaneous
conversations and activities, and trust
strangers more often.
Patras characterizes with its dense ur-
ban fabric, the small scale of the build-
ing blocks and the narrow streets. The
mixed use is always present to assure
not only the daily needs for consump-
tion but also the social interaction.
Within this city I have found that the
mixing occurs in the following ways:
-mix in space;
-mix in territoriality;
-mix of users;
-visual shiftings (mixing in and out);
-and the mix in time.
territories, edges and Multi-
functionality in mixed-use
buit environments
boundary acting as a membrane
sitting and walking at the same eye level
These phenomena are studied in con-
nection with retail extensions on public
spaces, boundaries and barriers, urban
rituals and in-between spaces.
With the help of theory and observation
I was able to distinguish two interesting
concepts that act in a special way in a
mixed-use environment. The concept
of a boundary which is more static and
separates by the means of, for example,
fast speed as is a highway or a railway
does and where biological actors are
in danger; and the concept of a barrier
as active zone, allowing ignorance or
deformations and thus, establishing
practices of crossing over.
The practice of standing by or sitting
high was discovered as an urban ritual
which is a way of communication. As
people claim, it helps for a better mood
but I also noticed that it creates the
possibility for the unexpected meet-

4. ing because people sit and walk at the
same eye level. Here, except the materi-
ality, created by previous events, people
need to be at the right place on the
right moment which leads to the discus-
sion of the space as a place.
Another feature in the mixed-use
environment is the in-between space.
In-between spaces support a sound
transition between spaces with differ-
ent settings, for example in and out,
private and public and so forth, and has
flexible or undefined function. The social
meaning of the in-between space is that
it can help avoiding conflict situations
and allows the user to choose how they
wish to use the space.
Conflict situation that may occur in a
dense and mixed-use environment is for
example the space domination, which
means that the people have a possibil-
ity to control a territory or to disturb
the users in it. When the territory limit
is blurred, people need to compromise
with their privacy because mixed-use
allows different types of access, for
example visual. It is crucial to under-
stand here that through design, we only
change the possibilities of the space,
not the behaviour itself!
In most cases, the floating territories
enrich the public life but there is also a
risk for missperception of what public
and semi-private spaces are. People
in my research often confuse restau-
rant/café with a public space. These
are territories that, actually, limit the
civil expression and thus, they are not
public. Such relations were studied
in Patras, and although there are no
physical fences to separate customers
from people walking by (which contrib-
utes to social relations), the process
of semi-private expansion on the public
spaces has, in some cases, gone out
of balance. These are processes that
turns people from citizens into consum-
ers and distort the positive effect of
mixing different territories.
The purpose of this study is to give
a base for mapping as an analytical
tool. Through studying the dynamics
of interactions and interdependence
of a mixed-use environment we will be
able to gain a better understanding,
and most importantly, we will be able
to represent visually what we observe
in order to produce a social-friendly
design.
To read the whole study, please follow
one of the links bellow:
http://www.slideshare.net/Galina_La-
lova/territories-edges-and-multifunc-
tionality-in-mixeduse-built-environments
http://issuu.com/4349953/docs/
galina_lalova_bachelor_thesis_10-08
Mapping space-times by observing and
documenting the retraction and the
expansion of the retail extensions on
public spaces through time.

6. This villa is a private project
and is located on Bejer-
strandsgata in Malmo. The
house is intended for a single
parent and shall correspond
to an active social life both in-
doors and outdoors, traveling
and games. Open floor plan
is designed by the principle of
flexibility.
An open entrance hall invites
the visitor to the more private
areas. The different rooms
are separated by differences
in level, changing the material
of the floor, as well as flexible
walls.
A requirement for the plan-
ning is taking advantage of
the evening sun for the grill
activities and children’s play.
To meet this need, the dining
room and outdoor patio is
located on the West side.
The kitchen and dining room
share common bar table to
enable social interaction. The
living room, kitchen and patio
have a comon fireplace which
can be fired from both inside
and outside. The master bed-
room is separated from the
living room by rotating / slid-
ing panels attached to rails on
the roof. This flexible approach
allows the two rooms to be
used as one if desired.
The children’s room is de-
signed as a special place with
a round shape. A decora-
tive staircase (see photos)
leads up to an emporé. In the
evenings, the mooon casts
an interesting shadow on the
wall created by the decorative
window. The emporé can be
used as a guest room, hobby
/ study room, etc. and has a
connection to the roof terrace.
sektion a-a
model of the
children’s room
plan

7. The task for this project is to design
a public building for spiritual experi-
ence. The idea, I developed is to cre-
ate a space for public philosophical
discussions. A suitable user would
be a specialized library or research
institutes.
The shape is inspired by a tulip and
is to show a connection between
nature and divine. Along with the
trees around it creates a new open
space on the South side. There the
philosophical forum opens physically
and visually to invite for spontanious
participation.
North-east elevation
cross section a-a
site plan
cross section b-b
North-west elevation
b b
a
a
kungsgatan
döbelnsgatan

8. The plans are created using the
golden ratio to experiment with
the nature’s universal code.
The symmetrical structure
allows people to pass straight
through. Outside working hours,
the two halves of the building are
closed with flexible glass doors.
The cafeteria can be opened
independently of the rest of the
building.
The second floor is used for the
stuff such as for offices, lec-
tures rooms and breaks.
cross section c-c (site)
plot plan
c c

9. ClemensSquareinLundisasquarewhich
potentialwasexploredincollaboration
withanotherstudent,SebastianRenfro.
Thedesigndecisionsandtheresearch
aremadetogetherasateam. The3D
visualizationsarehisandthedrawings
minebutallthematerialhasbeencreated
ininterdependancy.
Asthesquareislocatedrightnextto Cen-
tralStation,closeto mainpointsanditis
thelargestofthethreeso-calledentrance
squarestoLund(CanutetheGreatSquare
andBantorget)weenhanceexcisting
movementpatternsandintroduceanen-
vironmentalvariation. Wehavealso used
existingplansanddevelopedthemfurther.
diagram of lund with
the position of the
square
Decorative low-growing vegetation.
A higher edge with the possibility of
seating.
Material: concrete slabs with trapezoi-
dal shape, light gray stone block with
wooden seats.
Fountain with LED
lighting.
Materials: cast
concrete, concrete
tiles, seats by black
granite.
Lawn with orna-
mental vegetation,
materials around:
concrete slabs.
The square floor
consists of paving
stones with non-
geometric shape
and color full rub-
ber floor for bike
paths
Lawn with
ornamental
vegetation,
Material
around: con-
crete slabs
Seats under
tree groups
ground: gravel,
concrete slabs

10. Terrain
The square’s topographical character turns the place into
an island to stay for a while as at the same time, the dy-
namic passages are retained and highlighted with a further
significance. To stress on coherence and “topography” for
the square’s surface is used loose and flexible material such
as gravel, concrete slabs, pavement, rubber flooring.
space
integration
topography

11. The square is currently used largely by bicy-
clists. Today’s bicycle parking takes up almost
a third of the space of the square, and often
there are no vacancies which clearly shows
its importance not only for the square but for
Lund as cycling city. The solution to this was
an underground bicycle parking that will not
only be larger than the existing parking lot
today, but it frees space above so that other
activities can take place where the bikes
previously blocked this possibility.
It is situated just off the bridge, by the cafe
and the bike park. Shaped to provide protec-
tion against both wind and rain, it is a clear
marker for the main transition between the
two parts of the square.
During daytime the fountain provides physical
contact with water and seats around which
make it a good observation and recreation
site in the center of the square.
During the evening the fountain will attract
with varied play of light and water to make
people stop and enjoy.
The square now serves mainly as a passage
for travelers or working in the surrounding
areas. The only business today is the market
available when weather permits. The square
can take greater advantage of having an
activity which is permanently on the square
surface. We propose a café which extends
the new bridge over the tracks all the way
to the square. This turns the café into a hub
and provides the cyclists and the pedestrians
with an easier access to the square, contrib-
uting to less interaction with tram and bus
services.
bicycle parking tram station business activities time

12. The Rowing Club has existed in Malmö
since 1883 and the current boat-
house was built in 1942, with the help
of private contributions. Rowing is a
collective sport that is featured in the
Olympic Games and offer attractive
competitions outdoors. The proximity to
other rowing clubs such as the one in
Lund and Copenhagen, as well as Canoe
Club in Malmö, which is reached by the
water link provides the opportunity for
joint trainings, competitions, festivals.
After many years of use the boathouse
has become too small for the mem-
bers and the new boats. The place has
also changed with the new building on
Slussplan 1 where the boathouse has
“drown” in the large scale. The long
winter season prevents, moreover, the
boat house to have effective use the
whole year.
With this proposal, I want to provide an
option for efficient training using a hall
for indoor rowing. The hall can be used
by club members or rented to external
organizations.

14. perspective view over the site

15. The hall for indoor rowing is designed
to match the needs of rowing. With
the help of a case study of the sport,
I was able to define the construction
of the water pool. The water should be
about 70cm deep with a dry path in
the middle so that only the oars pool in
the water.
Rowing can be practiced in two ways:
with two oars for person (these row-
ers are called scullers) and one for
person (swipers). The swipers usually
have preference on which side should
the oars stand (left or right). For this
reason, the hall should include both
configurations with eight posts each
which corresponds to the largest boat
for rowing.
The visualization above shows the view towards
Malmö Central Station and surrounding buildings
in the south. There is a new extra dressing room,
directly adjacent to the rowing hall. Currently the
rowing club has just one dressing room used by the
ladies while the men only have lockers and bench.
ground floor
second floor
third floor

16. The projects included in this portfolio are a part of the program Architecture, Visualization and Communication at
Malmö University. They are from the following courses:
01 arkitekturens grunder/Architecture introduction
02 arkitektur och visuell kultur/architecture and visual culture
03 den attraktiva staden/the attractive city
04 arkitektur och visuell kommunikation/architecture and visual communication
Course information about the presented bachelor thesis:
OA självständigt arbete (kandidatuppsats i byggd miljö) 17hp/
Thesis (bachelor thesis in Built environment) 17 credits
Supervisor: Per-Markku Ristilami
Examiner: Victoria Sjöstedt
Copyright © 2016 Galina Lalova
All images, illustrations and drawings in this portfolio are created by the author
if not mentioned else.