Alex Pina Portfolio 2024

ALEX PIÑA

EDUCATION

Master of Architecture | DEC 2025

Rice University | GPA 3.96

Bachelor of Environmental Design | 2023

Texas A&M University | GPA 3.94

Minor in Business

International Studies | JAN-APR 2022

Barcelona Architecture Center | GPA 4.0

EXPERIENCE

OMNIPLAN Architects | Dallas, Texas | JUN-AUG 2023

Architectural Intern

AMO Enterprises | El Paso, Texas | JUN-AUG 2022

Drafting Assistant

Banes General Contractors | El Paso, Texas | JUN-AUG 2021

Field Engineering Intern

ACADEMIC INVOLVEMENT

Graduate Research Assistant | 2023-2024

With Mark Wamble - Professor in the Practice

American Institute of Architecture Students | 2019-2023 Organization Member

Environmental Design Mentorship Program | 2019-2023 Mentor

Freedom By Design | 2021-2023

Organization Subcommittee Member

HONORS & AWARDS

Buildner Design Competition

Student Award Winner 2024

MBMA Design Competition

2022

Axiom Publication

2020 | 2023

BAC Program Publication

2022

SKILLS

Bilingual- English & Spanish

Modeling

Rhino

Revit

AutoCad

SketchUp

Rendering

Vray

D5 Render

Lumion

Enscape

Adobe Suite

Photoshop

Illustrator

InDesign

EFFERENT

Professor | Marcel Erminy

Team | Christian Martinez

Our project aimed to act as the symbol of refuge to the community. We understood fire as on element with a sense of duality, as it can be viewed as the utter destruction of everything it consumes, while the antithesis can be understood as an element that strengthens and brings revitalizing properties. To achieve this, we decided to incorporate an urgent care and health center into our program. Not only did the additional program support our design narrative, but also addressed the need for healthcare in such a rapidly growing area. With this mixture of programs, the station now accomplishes the purpose of being a place of refuge and strengthening. The structural design utilized the structural advantages of steel. The use of a large steel truss member allows for the crew living areas to be housed above the apparatus bay entrance, while maintaining columnless circulation.

Contributions | research, design, modeling, drawings, details, sections, and structural design

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03. Exploded Axonometric showing structural truss member and layering of facade elements

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1/8”=1’ scale section chunk model

02. Perspective section showing apparatus bay and crew living areas

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Physical chunk model photo showing facade sun shades and apparatus bay entrance.

URBAN POCKETS

Professor | Miguel Roldan Team | Patricia Rocha

Through the design of urban pockets within our site, our project aims to rewrite the distribution of private, semi private, and public to create a seamless threshold between spaces. In this specific area of Barcelona, the classification of what is private, semi private, and public contradicts the city normality. The Eixample blocks are most commonly organized with public space on the ground floor and private space concentrated above. The building begins to fold from the ground up in a continuous system, creating a shell that extends past the building into the urban pockets. The building acts as the core of the site, and the roof as the connection between landscape and interior program. This creates a connective quality that unifies the pragmatic needs and creates fluid circulation of the shell, the core and everything inbetween.

Contributions | research, design, modeling, drawings, renders, structural design, and section

01.Site Axonometric

02. Exterior courtyard render

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Diagrammatic views to show roof articulation informed by solar path and views of surrounding context.

Roof Articulation also informed by rainwater collection and defining public/private entrances.

03.Southeast Elevation

04. Northeast Elevation

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EMERGENCE

Buildner International Design Competition

Team | Nathan Ehrlich & Yao Xiao

03

“Emergence“ as an architectural intervention establishes a series of therapeutic spaces that directly draw connections to the existing condition of the site and the Myvatn Lake area. The “ground“ condition of the site stems from the understanding of Icelandic Turf Houses that utilize stone foundations as a method to isolate the moisture from exterior to interior. The “ground“ condition of the craters in the area becomes an important characteristic where the beer spa acts as an extension of the topography, rising up while reflecting the area’s natural landscapes. These two conditions co-exist while creating a clear datum that separates the two: an extension of the foundation that serves as a solid foundation while the undulating roof echos the surrounding Skútustaðagígar craters.

Contributions | research, design, modeling, drawings, and renders

01. Site Block oblique drawing - 25 units

02. Oblique drawing - 5 unit cluster

CAFE BATH

The dining area is illuminated by daylight washing through the skylight and windows.Positioned toward the street, it provides both table and booth seating for hotel guest and those looking for a sojourn from their travels.

The beer spa module is a therapeutic away from the street and parking. provide options to bathe individually

BATH

therapeutic and private space tucked parking. The beer bath soaking tubs individually or in small groups.

TERRACE

Thearticulationofthegeometryoftherooftopterraceisaresultof the skylights below. The curves mimic and reflect the surrounding landscape of the adjacent craters while acting as frames for outward views.

MISSING MIDDLE

Professor | James Michael Tate

In a study of vernacular living, a modest home with architectural qualities was selected to analyze and provoke the idea of problematizing the “normal”. In many cases, accessory dwelling units and housing with architectural intention are mutually exclusive. By studying the vernacular project and two precedents, the goal of designing a modest home with architectural attentiveness became obtainable. The ambition of the design was to emphasize the idea of cluster and establish axis through the orientation of porosity. While the accessory dwelling unit is a radical addition to the home, its relationship with the existing home and interior represent the coexistence of affordable housing and design with architectural notion.

01. Hinged axonometric of existing primary unit

02. Cutaway axonometric of proposed accessory dwelling unit

01. Front elevation - primary unit and ADU

02. Back Elevation - primary unit and ADU

03. Ground floor plan of existing primary unit and ADU

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NEW MIDDLES

Professor | James Michael Tate

05

This project investigates works toward an alternative to single family detached housing in a 2-acre neighborhood block. Design responses and architectural provocation were produced by the combination of formal and vernacular studies. By using both single family dwellings and multi-unit precedents, the design is able to address the needs of the residents at multiple scales. The workflow consisted of frequent alternation between the entire 2 acre-block, groupings of 3-5 units, and the articulation and assembly at the single unit scale. In the New Middles proposal, the primary goal was to utilize curvilinear datums and the clustering of units to create a variety of shared spaces at different scales. The proposal also problematizes the coexistence of individuality and continuity within the silhouette and profile of the elevation.

01. Site Block oblique drawing - 25 units

02. Oblique drawing - 5 unit cluster

01.CLT construction study

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COLLABORATORIUM

Professor | Zhicheng Xu

06

Located in Houston’s Sunnyside Neighborhood, Collaboratorium explores the potential of reimagining the conventional steel framing greenhouse typology to accommodate a shared space between urban farm production, education, and community programs. The contextual response creates a series of “Nooks” as the farm branches out, serving as flexible areas that can be used for outdoor workshops, farmers’ markets, community events, and production. By reimagining the traditional greenhouse typology, the project employs “low-tech” materials to support the concept of incremental evolution. The materials and construction approach serve as a means to foster a sense of resident ownership, encouraging ongoing engagement with the building’s development and further strengthening a sense of community.

01.Persepctive Section showing relationship between farmland, cafe, and outdoor market

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1/2” = 1’ Chunk Model highlighting structure and building envelope.

01.Exterior perspective showing approach from neighborhood and bike trail