Boris Stoyanov
Pizza Oven
Personal Project
Spring 2018
Tampa, Florida
The pizza oven was the first structure—however small—that transformed an idea into built reality. At seventeen, with a set of rudimentary plans and elevations sketched out by hand, it was my first attempt at thinking through space, materials, and construction as a single process. The design was simple, but each decision carried weight—how to shape the dome for even heat distribution, how to layer the bricks for stability, how to direct airflow to keep the fire burning just right. There was a quiet joy in the process, in watching something take form piece by piece, in the way raw materials became something greater than themselves. More than just a place to cook, the oven became a center of gravity for my family, a space around which conversation and gathering naturally formed. In hindsight, it was my first true lesson in architecture—not just in making, but in creating a space that brought people together, built not just of brick and mortar, but of ritual and connection.