Design Journey
Journey Map
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1. The Journey begins 1. Design Studios 2. Landscape Design 3. Brackenridge BathHouses 4. Classical Study 5. Classical Design 6. Classically Inspired 7. Bexar County Archives 8.Lavaca Development 1 The Journey continues
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Design is a Journey. A journey through time. A jaunt in the present. Inspired by nature or technology; culture or function. This portfolio contains selected works from my journey through design so far. What turn my path will take depends on you, dear reader ( perhaps, future employer). My journey continues, I want to be a part of yours.
1. Design Studios
Eye of the Hurricane
Sustainable Design
A design for an elderly couple in the hard hit Broadmoor neighborhood, New Orleans.
Steel Ramp
Structurally insulated Panels
steel frame
SIPs wood plank
Brick Concrete foundation
Louis Chatham Xeric Garden
2. Landscape Design
The Louis Chatnam Apartments presented an opportunity to create a wildlife, xeric, garden for the people. This garden is separated by a long pathway. Each area has its own character. One is for walking and enjoying the plants. The other has a more social function with benches to encourage interaction. Wildlife is invited through plant type and position.
Rehabilitation
3. Brackenridge Park Bat
th Houses
The Program called for the rehabilitation of the almost forgotten pump house and bath houses that were designed in the 1920’s. The Bath Houses needed a new roof and a Cafe addition would complement the place. The new roof hovers over the heavy concrete walls of the old changing rooms. Their structural qualities again serve their purpose.
Site Plan
Brackenridge Park Bath H
Houses
The site is located at Brackenridge park in the heart of San Antonio. Along a creek where people once swam, the old pump house that regulated the water and the old changing rooms sit still, almost forgotten. The structure of the changing rooms is a concrete wall with stone veneer. The site is slightly sloped while the floor is straight. That relationship is expressed with existing stairs. I suggested a ramp to compliment the stairs and enhance the experience for everyone.
Many mature trees populate the site providing for plenty of shade. The forms of the new additions are guided by their trunks. All trees were preserved. The cafe addition consists of glass walls on all sides except the south, where a green wall is suggested. A collonade and a ramp will invite people to the new place.
Interaction
Brackenridge Park Bath
Custom details and furniture were designed so the whole place can be properly articulated. That will provide a common language between the historic structures and the new additions. Courtyards between old and new forms will provide extra space for interaction. The old pump house will be re-used as a ADA accessible changing rooms.
Houses
Roof Progress
Final Solution
Roof Details
Section A Plan
The Orders
These Classically inspired projects come from my Study Abroad semester in Italy. Part of the studio focused on Classical research and design within the orders. The other half focused on Louis Kahn and how he incorporated Classical principles in Modern Architecture. The semester took place in Urbino, Italy. An Italian Renaissance hill town lost in time.
4. Classical Study
Mixed Use
5. Classical Design
Art Academy
6. Classically Inspired
Inspired by Classical Ideas and the architecture of Louis Kahn. A graphic arts Academy in Urbino
Detail
Section
The structure was heavily inspired by Kahn’s serving and served spaces. The facade is only brick to merge it with the surroundings and hint at “ruins”. Light is allowed in from the middle void which also provides circulation. The first floor is occupied by gallery space, four studios on the second, library on the third, and living quarters for visiting scholars on the fourth.
Elevation
Library
7.Bexar County Archives
The site is located along the San Antonio River Walk. The program called for a place that preserves the Bexar County archives. It includes a public library, historical documents exhibition space, offices, and living quarters for visiting scholars. It is designed to be one of the stops of the popular River Boat ride.
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The place sits on a important part of San Antonio. Right in the middle of Down Town next to the Courthouse and Main Plaza. The site has the opportunity to allow a heavy flow of traffic from the ground and the water. A perfect place to store some of the archives while they currently lay almost forgotten in a dark room.
Light and Form
I tried to express a proportional balance between void and solid. The way light makes its way in the space was important for functional and philosophical reasons. A sculptural link, a three dimensional cylinder with voids allows light to travel in an interesting and functional manner. The surrounding intensify the appearance of the library.
Bexar County Archives
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Design Process
The design began with a circle ( the link ) from which spaces would radiate. Different strategies for allowing light and a proper experience were experimented with. I also experimented with different methods to stratify the space. Expressing the layers of the site and program was an important principle. ADA and fire safety issues were also considered.
Water and light meet within, linking our beginnings to the passage of time. The boat ride along with stairs within the sculpture introduce the people to the relationship. The river level houses the exhibition. The library and offices occupy the middle and ground levels. While the living quarters are on the top floor within their own form. River Level
Middle Level
Ground Level
Mixed Use
8. Lavaca Development
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Total Site Area : 2.98 acres Number of Apartments : 208 Number of Parking Spaces : 268 Retail Area : 32 000 sf
The site is located in down town San Antonio’s historic Lavaca neighborhood. This mixed use development is a hypothetical solution to current development plans in the area. The cultural significance of the site presented a great opportunity to create a place, a community.
Studio Research and concepts Map of the former Acequias
Early Development
Final Massing
Urban Plans for Development in the Area The historic layers on the site were abundant. The former Acequia De Conception, which was part of one of the earliest irrigation systems in the area, separated what is now an empty lot with a couple of significant buildings still there. The area where the Acequia passed through later became “Water Street”, but it does not exist anymore. Neighboring the site on the South are 1 and 2 story houses. On the North, The Tower of the Americas along with several other significant buildings remind us of the World’s fair of 1968 held at Hemisphere park. The area has recently been undergoing a rethinking process to integrate better the beautiful Hemisphere park area into the public fabric. My design strives to present a solution that will enhance the sense of community through a series of gardens and retail surrounding the apartments. The historic buildings on the site can be reused as a restaurant, leasing office, and community pool house. “Texas wrap” style parking is surrounded by single loaded apartments. All other apartments are double loaded.
On the North, existing trees were preserved while adding smaller ones to establish a physical boundary between the busy street and the sidewalk. Small courtyards invite the public because of the geometry of the site. Semi-private and semipublic areas are separated by a short wall ( seating ).
Site Plan
The acequia was of great i nio. So it appears again, b rates the buildings while p retail and balconies establ
importance to the development of San Antobut in a different form. Now a plaza, It sepaproviding a sense of community with gardens, lishing a social fabric.
Shared Community Pool area
The south elevation shares a street with 1 and 2 story houses. I worked within the proportions of the surroundings to establish a common language between the south facade and the rest of the historic neighborhood.
South Elevation
The apartments are only 2 stories on this side as the site begins its ascend in scale peaking at the Tower of the Americas. Each apt. has a porch on the first or second level. The materials and forms are guided by nature to provide the best possible conditions.
Sections
The Journey Continues...