Selected Works | Brandon Avalos

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Brandon Avalos

SCI - Arc

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Content

Los Angeles

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brandon_avalos@sciarc.edu

SCI-Arc

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Living / Dying

Codependent Relationships

Miralles Tagliabue

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Achille

Public Mixed-Use Administration

Miralles Tagliabue

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Zhan D’Ark

Mixed-Use Government

SCI-Arc / Kengo Kuma & Associates

Wishful Thinking Arizona State University

Oak Creek Cabin

480 492-6776

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Material Remixing 39

Down-Stream Vortex

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Brandon Avalos

Codependent Relationships

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Living/Dying

SouthernCalifornia InstituteofArchitecture

2GAX

Codependent Relationships

type academic team Brandon Avalos Tice Hannemann fall 2025 Instructor: Florencia Pita

AT: Krish Dittmer

Living / Dying is an ecological living commune that evolves from hands-on physical modeling. We started by cutting wooden dowels into circular forms, creating a wavy through-line that informed the building’s final shape. This form became a framework for integrating a series of natural systems, from photovoltaic solar panels that harvest energy to plant-based air filtration and a mycelium lab growing structural bricks. Here, the relationship is symbiotic: the building thrives with the users’ care, and in return, it sustains its inhabitants.

If the caretaking stops, the building ceases to shelter, creating a narrative of mutual dependence and a truly integrated living environment.

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PhysicalFormalOakModels

SCI-Arc

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Brandon Avalos

Living / Dying

Brandon Avalos

Codependent Relationships

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ExplodedProgram

2GAX

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SCI-Arc

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Brandon Avalos

Living / Dying

2GAX

Brandon Avalos

Codependent Relationships

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UpperLevelPlan

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SCI-Arc

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Brandon Avalos

A productive interior landscape that grows food on site, using low water, high yield farming to support shared living and long term self sufficiency.

A closed loop water system that captures sink and shower runoff, filters it, and reroutes it for irrigation and non potable reuse, reducing demand while reinforcing the commune’s self reliance.

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Living / Dying

HydroponicFarm

GreyWaterRecycling

2GAX

Brandon Avalos

PVPanels+AirPurifier

MyceliumLab

Codependent Relationships

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Photovoltaic panels harvest on site energy while plant based air purification supports healthier interior air, pairing clean power with a breathable, living atmosphere.

A living fabrication space that cultivates mycelium into structural bricks, turning growth into a material system and embedding the building’s construction cycle into daily life

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Brandon Avalos

Living / Dying

Chunk Model

ChunkModel

SCI-Arc

Brandon Avalos

Codependent Relationships

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ChunkModel

Chunk Model

2GAX

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Brandon Avalos

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Brandon Avalos

Public Administration + Mixed Use

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Achille

MirallesTagliabueEMBT

Barcelona

G1 Public Administration + Mixed Use type professional / internship team Brandon Avalos Vivien Centelles summer 2024 Architect: Miralles Tagliabue EMBT Architects A landmark public mixed-use building in the heart of Tirana, Albania, developed in collaboration with EMBT Architects. The design draws from the two-headed Architects eagle on the Albanian flag, reflecting a balance between cultural identity and contemporary urban functionality. I developed the initial form that established the foundation for the team’s work. From there, I collaborated closely with the parametric design team to refine the facade and then define material color palette, inspired by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s progressive color movement across Tirana’s urban fabric. At every phase maintaining daily communication with Benedetta Tagliabue, Tagliabue contributing to key design decisions and ensuring consistency across all stages of the project.

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DigitalStudyModel

PhysicalWoodSiteModel

Miralles Tagliabue EMBT

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Brandon Avalos

Achille

Brandon Avalos

Public Administration + Mixed Use

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PhysicalWoodSiteModel

Barcelona

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NorthElevation

EastElevation

Miralles Tagliabue EMBT

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Brandon Avalos

Achille

Public Administration + Mixed Use

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WestElevation

Brandon Avalos

SouthElevation

Barcelona

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Sections

Miralles Tagliabue EMBT

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Brandon Avalos

Achille

Brandon Avalos

Public Administration + Mixed Use

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Plans

Barcelona

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Public Administration + Mixed Use

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Zhan D’Ark

MirallesTagliabueEMBT

Barcelona

G1 Public Administration + Mixed Use type professional / internship team Brandon Avalos Vivien Centelles summer 2024 Architect: Miralles Tagliabue EMBT Architects A public mixed-use tower proposal for a design competition in Tirana, Albania, developed in collaboration with EMBT Architects. The design is defined by pivoting volumes and cantilevered gestures that create a sense of lightness while organizing the building’s urban presence. I led the facade and volume development, working closely with the 3D team to shape the tower’s formal identity. The facade became a key signature of the proposal: a colorful, light-refracting “snake skin” system that shifts with changing light and viewing angles. It introduced movement and transformation into the envelope and received strong praise from the jury, including Edi Rama. Alongside the facade, I refined the tower’s massing through iterative studies and physical models to align structural ambition with the competition’s objectives.

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FacadeStudyModel

Miralles Tagliabue EMBT

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Brandon Avalos

Zhan D’Ark

Brandon Avalos

Public Administration + Mixed Use

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Wooden SiteModel w/ Acrylic

Barcelona

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Miralles Tagliabue EMBT

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Brandon Avalos

Achille

Brandon Avalos

Public Administration + Mixed Use

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Elevations

Barcelona

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Plans&Sections

Miralles Tagliabue EMBT

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Brandon Avalos

Achille

Brandon Avalos

Public Administration + Mixed Use

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Plans&Sections

Barcelona

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SCI-Arc

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Brandon Avalos

Wishful Thinking

Brandon Avalos

Material Remixing

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Wishful Thinking

SouthernCalifornia InstituteofArchitecture

2GAX

Material Remixing

type academic team Brandon Avalos Sheng-Hsiang Lin Eduardo Cortazar Jacob Lehrer fall 2025 Instructor: Maxi Spina A research and fabrication studio focused on close precedent analysis through materiality, tactile tectonics, and envelope performance.

Our group studied Kengo Kuma & Associates’ UCCA Clay Museum, producing a first model calibrated for published level accuracy through direct communication with the Kengo Kuma team. The second phase shifted from documentation to transformation, reworking the building to drastically reduce embodied carbon. We proposed a new envelope that expands on the precedent’s treated bamboo cantilever zones by weaving a dense network of bamboo strips across the entire facade, forming a continuous, web-like skin. In parallel, we replaced key steel components in the walls and lower floors with Dowel Laminated Timber, allowing the structural system to transition toward a primarily timber-based assembly. The concept reimagines the museum in a context where bamboo is the dominant local craft, using bamboo as a connective cultural material in the same way the original project ties to Yixing’s pottery legacy. By prioritizing bamboo and timber over steel and aluminum, our research indicated a 67% emissions avoidance, influenced by the higher carbon intensity of steel and aluminum production in China’s coal-reliant grid. One major intervention replaced oversized steel beams supporting a concrete floor with glulam beams supporting a DLT floor, reducing an estimated 128,000 kgCO2e from steel alone.

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T20mm Red Ceramic Panel Ceramic Panel Installation adjustment Parts 50x50 angle steel transverse auxiliary keel Rectangular steel tube vertical auxiliary keel T130mm cement fiberboardsandwich foam cermaic insulation 100mm composite exterior wall panel Main Steel Structure beam and columns 200m gravel foundation Plain soil rammed reinforced concrete structural slab 25mm light gray mermeable concrete surface layer 25mm Joint Layer Steel I-Beams

System GWP (Chunk) Ceramic Panels Aluminum Channeling XPS Insulation Composite OSB Panels Wood Structure Gypsum Interior Walls Steel I-Beams Interior Concrete Bamboo

Volume (m3) 8.3 0.7 157.7 63.6 146.8 6.1 8.2 25.8 10.9

Wishful Thinking

UCCAClayMudeum

SCI-Arc

221624.7 kgCOze/kg 10030.9 kgCO,e/kg 27886.0 kgCO2e/kg 16572.5 kgCO,e/kg 18599.9 kgCOze/kg 8074.0 kgCO,e/kg 1890.7 kgCO2e/kg 128400.0 kgCO,e/kg 6501.6 kgCO,e/kg 3669.1 kgCO2e/kg

T20mm Red Ceramic Panel 50x50 angle steel transverse auxiliary keel Panel Installation and Adjustment Bracket T3mm Aluminum Water Batch Board Aluminum Cornice Gutters Drain Outlet 80x40 Square Steel Pipe Water Strip, Surface Flurocarbon Spray Fixed to heavy roof panels, Double Layer Waterproof membrane t100mm Extruded Polystrene Board MainBody Tubular Steel Column D50mm PVC Drainage Pipe Interior Finished Gypsum Face in White Paint 150x150 Square Steel Tube Transverse Main Keel External Full Length Welded C-Shaped Steel Folded Plate Connector Aluminum Bascia Board, T-Shaped Drip T130mm Cement FIberboard Sandwich Foam Ceramic Insulation (100mm) Composite Panel

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2GAX

Brandon Avalos

Material Remixing

New System GWP (Chunk) Woven Bamboo Strips OSB Panels Wood Roof Structure CLT Floor Gypsum Interior Walls Bamboo Roof Frame Bamboo Under Entry

Volume (m3) 14.2 63.6 146.8 184.0 6.1 19.8 10.9

RemixedMaterials

Bamboo Woven Envelope w/ Tubes Cross-Laminated Timber Flooring Glue-Laminated Timber Truss Glue-Laminated Timber Beam CLT Floor Panel Glue Laminated Timber Steel Connectors Cross-Laminated Timber Space Truss Bamboo Tube Envelope

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72518.6 kgCOze/kg 7838.4 kgCO,e/kg 18603.0 kgCO2e/kg 8074.0 kgCO,e/kg 19890.4 kgCO,e/kg 1903.2 kgCO2e/kg 10454.4 kgCO2e/kg 5755.2 kgCO2e/kg

Bamboo Weaving Bamboo Tube 50x50 Angle Sheet Transverse Auxiliary Keel Surface Flurocarbon Sprayed Panel Installationand Adjustment Bracket Timber Roof Panel Truss for Attachment Wooden OSB Surface With Waterproofing Treatment 3mm Aluminum Water Batch Board Aluminum Cornice Gutters Drain Outlet 600x 450mm (h) Square Glue Lam Column Interior Finished Wooden OSB face in White Paint 150 of Cellulose Insulation

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Arizona State University

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Brandon Avalos

Oak Creek Cabin

Brandon Avalos

Down-Stream Vortex

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Oak Creek Cabin

ArizonaStateUniversity

Third Year

Vortex Coffee Shop

type academic team Brandon Avalos Daniel Canales spring 2024 Instructor: Quiara Caguiat A third year studio project at Arizona State University with Professor Quiara Cagiuat, focused on designing an archival space within a flood zone in Oak Creek, Sedona. Inspired by Renzo Piano’s climate conscious approach to technology and materiality, the building is designed to stay visually quiet so the landscape remains the main focus.

Key moves include a grand glazed window, a sloped roof that channels wind into rooftop traps, a responsive facade that moderates sun exposure, and an anti flood honeycomb system that allows the structure to float during high water. The form references Sedona’s sedimentary plateaus, with a layered program that stacks an archival café and lounge below a gallery and coworking spaces above.

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SpatialDiagram

Arizona State University

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Oak Creek Cabin

Third Year

Brandon Avalos

Down-Stream Vortex

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Elevations

Arizona State University

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Oak Creek Cabin

Brandon Avalos

Down-Stream Vortex

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Elevations

Third Year

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Plans & Sections

Arizona State University

1. Courtyard 2. Facilities 3. Work Space / Gallery 4. Mid-Level Lounge 5. Cafe 6. Windtraps 7. Honeycomb Mechanism 8. Grand Window

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Oak Creek Cabin

Brandon Avalos

Down-Stream Vortex

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Plans & Sections

Third Year

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