PORTFOLIO sel e c t ed wo r k
Edoardo Valletta
Edoardo Valletta
2
Selected work
CONTENTS
01 Saguaro Skin 02 Penna Brick Factory 03 Student City 04 Parco Pozzi Pavilions
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Edoardo Valletta
01
Saguaro Skin, Amman
A cactus-inspired, self-shading facade for Amman, optimised for today and for 2080
Year
2026
Location
Amman, Jordan
Programme
Office building facade
Work type
Master’s thesis, in progress
Supervisor
Nicola Pisacane
Team size
1
Role
Concept, parametric modelling, optimisation
Software
Rhino, Grasshopper, Ladybug, Wallacei X
Axonometric view, recommended facade for 2080, context for illustration only
4
Selected work
0.30 m
glass
0.05 m
min
1.20 m
0.30 m
glass
How should a facade change between today’s climate and that of 2080? The test case is an elliptical, fully glazed office building in Amman, 42 by 26 m over six storeys. Under the SSP3-7.0 scenario, hours above 14 °C rise by about 16% by 2080 and hours below 10 °C fall by 50%.
max
min
max
0°
glass
30°
min
Ribbed cacti shade themselves: each rib shades the trough beside it, and areoles follow crossing spirals that draw a diamond lattice. The facade borrows both: ridges act as ribs along that lattice, deeper and more tilted where the sun is most harmful. Wallacei tunes them per climate, trading harm against sky view. Revit transfer is next.
max
4.60 m
25°
60°
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Edoardo Valletta
Ladybug maps where the sun helps or harms the bare facade in each climate: the more harmful it is at a point, the closer R comes to 1. Each ridge reads R at its midpoint, and its depth and tilt follow. One rule, two facades: the third map shows where they differ.
Bare facade, 2011–2025
Bare facade, 2080
R map, 2011–2025
1
R, 2011–2025 0: least harmful sun 1: most harmful sun
0.5
0 N
W
S
E
N
R map, 2080
1
R, 2080 0: least harmful sun 1: most harmful sun
0.5
0 N
W
S
E
N
Change in R, 2080 minus 2011
+0.25
Change in R Red: higher R in 2080 Blue: lower R in 2080
0
−0.25 N
W
S
E
N
Harmful sun on the bare facade and depth map R with its change, 2011–2025 and 2080 Ladybug benefit sky matrix, 1.0 m grid, no surrounding context; R normalised per climate, shown on the 25° lattice
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Selected work
Where the ridges deepen matters more than how much
Hours per year 2011–2025
Depth map (where)
61%
Genes (how much)
39%
2080, SSP3-7.0 5,817
Above 14 °C
−201 MWh
6,763 1,526
10 to 14 °C
Harm on the glass in the 2080 climate: 1,554 MWh with the 2011 facade, 1,353 MWh with the 2080 facade
1,291
Depth map: same genes, R map of 2080. Genes: minimum depth 0.20 to 0.25 m, maximum tilt 0 to 5°
1,417
Below 10 °C
Pareto fronts
Front 2011–2025 (259 designs)
Max light
2,500
Other designs explored
2,500
2,250
Harmful sun on the glass (MWh)
Front 2080 (259 designs)
706
2,250
2,000
2,000 Recommended, 2080
Recommended, 2080
1,750
1,750
1,500
1,500
1,250
1,250
1,000
1,000 Compromise, 2011
750 20
Compromise, 2011 750
Max protection 25
30
35
40
45
50
50
Sky view on the glass (%)
From today to 2080 the facade changes mostly in where its ridges deepen, less in how much: the genes barely move, and 61% of the gain comes from the depth map. The 2080 climate brings about 16% more harmful sun and 48% less useful sun; the 2080 facade cuts that harm by about 13%, about 95% of what the climate adds.
100
150
200
250
300
350
Useful sun on the glass (MWh)
Harm, same facade
+16%
Useful sun
−48%
2080 facade
−13% harm
Harm recovered
95%
From depth map
61%
Designs per front
259 / 259
Cross-climate test in 2011–2025 2011 facade
2080 facade
in 2080
1,343
1,554
MWh harm
MWh harm
275 MWh · 38.7%
144 MWh · 38.7%
1,181
1,353
MWh harm
MWh harm
236 MWh · 35.6%
126 MWh · 35.6%
Small figures: useful sun, sky view
Share of adaptation from depth map and genes, hours per year, Pareto fronts 2011–2025 and 2080, cross-climate test Radiation-based indicators, not energy simulation, no surrounding context; 2080 file: Future Weather Generator, SSP3-7.0
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Edoardo Valletta
Self-shading Ridges
A Grasshopper definition turns the harmful sun on a bare facade into a lattice of ridges Grasshopper builds the lattice and ridges, Ladybug measures sun and sky view on the glass, and Wallacei searches four genes. Still to do: Rhino.Inside.Revit will carry the geometry into Revit.
01
Elliptical volume
Four genes, 6,384 possible facades. From today to 2080 the genes barely change: what moves is where the ridges deepen and tilt, up to 1.20 m and 5°.
02
42 × 26 m, six storeys
04
Ridges Depth and tilt follow R
Diamond lattice
03
Two per storey, 25 to 60°
05–06
Optimisation
Bare-facade harm, R 0 to 1
07
Wallacei X, two climates
Grasshopper definition, group 03 Rule 03, depth map Each ridge reads R, from 0 to 1, at its midpoint; R is normalised separately for each climate. Depth is Dmin + (Dmax − Dmin) · R and downward tilt θmax · R: ridges deepen and tilt where the bare facade receives the most harmful sun.
South elevation, recommended facade for 2080, 1:500
8
Depth map
Revit transfer Rhino.Inside.Revit, next step
Selected work
01 Elliptical volume
02 Diamond lattice
03 Depth map
04 Ridges
05 Harmful sun on glass
06 Wallacei X search
Max protection
Recommended, 2080
Max light
Genes
4
Combinations
6,384
Evaluations
2 × 1,600
Ridges
1,100
Ridge depth
0.25 to 1.20 m
Revit transfer
Next step
Genes along the 2080 front Min depth Max depth Max tilt Angle
0.30 m 0.05 m 1.20 m 0.30 m 30° 0° 60° 25°
25
30
35
40
45
Sky view on the glass (%), 259 designs on the 2080 front. Dashed line: recommended facade
Steps 01 to 06, three solutions along the 2080 front, genes along the front
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50
Edoardo Valletta
02
Penna Brick Factory, Scicli
A ruined coastal brickworks becomes a civic centre, under a kinetic roof that shades a public agora
Year
2026
Location
Punta Pisciotto, Scicli, Sicily, Italy
Programme
Study hall, café, conference hall, public agora
Work type
Ideas competition “Reuse the Kiln”, Reuse Italy
Jury
Office Winhov, PARABASE, CMA, Graphisoft
Team size
2
Role
Concept, parametric and BIM modelling
Software
Rhino, Grasshopper, Ladybug, Rhino.Inside.Revit, Revit
Masterplan, 1:2000 0
50
100 m
10
Selected work
The new volume continues the extrusion of the kiln and keeps its tapered faces. Stretched at one end, it opens into a loggia; the rounded end of the upper floor is carved away for a terrace. Study hall and café occupy the first floor, conference hall and terrace the second floor.
Sicily is among the first Italian regions to face drought. A kinetic roof based on the Yoshimura fold spans the ruin as a covered agora: it opens at midday in summer to shade the masonry and the agora below, and closes in winter. Defined in Grasshopper, it reaches Revit through Rhino.Inside.Revit.
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Edoardo Valletta
First floor, 1:500 0
10
20 m
12
Selected work
Second floor, 1:500 0
10
20 m
13
Edoardo Valletta
Terrace Conference hall Lift Circulation Services Café Study hall Cloakroom Garden maintenance
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Selected work
A
A’
Keyplan
Perspective section A-A’
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Edoardo Valletta
Kinetic Roof
A Yoshimura fold turns a single arc into a kinetic roof over the public agora Closed, the roof is 29 m long and casts no shade; open, it reaches 72.5 m and covers the agora. Grasshopper generates the geometry; Rhino.Inside.Revit maps it onto families built for the roof.
01
Arc array
One arc, repeated thirty times and folded by a Yoshimura pattern, becomes 203 triangular fabric panels, 337 beams and 135 joints, placed in Revit as parametric families.
02
Span 14 m, rise 2.5 m, 30 arcs
04–06
Solar radiation Summer: agora -51%, volume -81%
Yoshimura pattern
03
Alternate points, 8 divisions
07
Structure
203 triangular fabric panels
08–09
337 beams, 135 joints
Triangulation
Revit families Adaptive panels, beams, joints
Summer, no roof
Grasshopper definition, group 04 Rule 04, solar radiation The agora floor is divided into 1.0 m cells, each tested against a sky matrix from the Comiso weather file, with the ruin as context. The 203 fabric panels are the only change between the two runs: in summer the agora receives 51% less radiation and the new volume 81% less.
Summer, open roof
Incident radiation on the agora, no roof and open roof, summer Ladybug, Comiso TMYx, 1.0 m grid, fabric panels modelled as opaque
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Selected work
01 Arc array
02 Yoshimura pattern
03 Triangulation
04 Summer, no roof
05 Summer, open roof
06 Winter, closed roof
07 Structure
08 Revit families, open
09 Revit families, closed
Span
14 m
Roof length
29 to 72.5 m
Fabric panels
203
Beams / joints
337 / 135
Agora, summer
−51%
Volume, summer
−81%
Steps 01 to 09, Revit schedule
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Edoardo Valletta
03
Student City, Perugia
Student housing on a 0.60 m module, with a facade shaped by six cell depths
Year
2024
Location
Perugia, Italy
Programme
Student co-housing, canteen, coworking area
Work type
Academic work
Professor
Efisio Pitzalis
Team size
2
Role
Concept, parametric and BIM modelling
Software
Rhino, Grasshopper, Revit
South elevation, 1:500 0
10
20 m
18
Selected work
The building keeps the volume that stood on the site, redrawn on a 0.60 m module. On the main facade, cells take six depths, which gives it movement and forms the balconies. A reference plane follows the ground-floor facade: walls behind it are timber, walls on it get a double skin that is also the balustrade, walls beyond it are rendered.
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Edoardo Valletta
Terrace Coworking area Connection Residence Common area Open-air theatre Canteen Service area
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Selected work
+
=
reference plane
−
+ Render = Double skin A
− Timber battens
A’
Keyplan
Perspective section A-A’, vertical connection between residence, canteen and open-air theatre
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Edoardo Valletta
Parametric Facade
A Grasshopper definition turns the former building’s facade into a grid of student cells Every dimension is a multiple of the 0.60 m module. The concept was developed in Rhino and Grasshopper, then completed in Revit: architectural elements, sections and elevations.
01
Rationalised volume
On the main facade, 36 residential cells project at six depths, all multiples of the 0.60 m structural module, from 0.60 to 3.60 m.
02
60 × 25 m, 24 m high
04
Residential cells 36 of 60 modules
Facade selection
03
Main face of the volume
05
Depth variation 6 depths, 0.60 m module
Grasshopper definition, overview Rule 05, depth variation Each residential cell takes one of six depths, multiples of the 0.60 m module. A seeded distribution sets the facade rhythm: changing the seed tests alternatives without breaking the module.
Grasshopper definition, group 05
22
Facade grid 5 × 12 = 60 modules
06
Extrusion and union Cells merged with volume
Selected work
01 Rationalised volume
02 Facade selection
03 Facade grid
04 Residential cells
05 Depth variation
06 Extrusion and union
Seed 12
Seed 46
Seed 77
Facade modules
60
Residential cells
36
Structural module
0.60 m
Depths
0.60 to 3.60 m
Depth options
6
Seed
77
Steps 01 to 06, iterations with seeds 12, 46 and 77, elevation of cell depths
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Edoardo Valletta
04
Parco Pozzi Pavilions, Aversa
Two temporary timber pavilions invite a community back into a neglected public park
Year
2024
Location
Aversa, Italy
Programme
Exhibition pavilion, community pavilion
Work type
Academic work
Professor
Marco Borrelli
Team size
2
Role
BIM modelling
Software
Revit, Lumion
Site plan, 1:1000 0
25
50 m
24
Selected work
Exhibition pavilion
Community pavilion
Parco Pozzi is a neglected public park. Two timber pavilions invite the community back in: one, 35 m across, holds an exhibition on Daniel Spoerri; the other, 18 m, hosts talks and workshops. Inspired by Lina Ghotmeh’s Serpentine Pavilion 2023, their nine-sided plans gather shared tables around an open centre. Both were modelled in Revit.
Outdoor foyer Exhibition areas Circulation Social and workshop areas Community hall Pedestrian routes
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Edoardo Valletta
B
A
B’
A’
Exhibition pavilion, plan, 1:500
Community pavilion, plan, 1:500
0
0
10 m
10 m
Exhibition pavilion, west elevation, 1:500
Community pavilion, west elevation, 1:500
0
0
10 m
10 m
Exhibition pavilion, section A-A’, 1:500
Community pavilion, section B-B’, 1:500
0
0
10 m
26
10 m
Selected work
27
Edoardo Valletta +39 327 718 9687 edoardo.valletta@icloud.com linkedin.com/in/edoardovalletta issuu.com/edoardovalletta