PORTFOLIO ELIJAH RAMOS
SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE SELECTED WORKS 2025
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CONTENT
SPDA THERMAL BATH
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ONE LOVE WORKSHOP
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LABRATORIOS JORBA
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PIONEER HOMES
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The SPDA Thermal Bath is located in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. The climate of the area is characterized by its arid desert climate, warm mornings, cooler nights, and little vegetation. Our project takes advantage of these conditions for its passive heating and cooling systems. The primary orientation of the design sits on an East-West axis. The rotation lies 15° of true North to align with site conditions while remaining at an optimal angle for North-facing glazing to receive optimal light. The vegetation of the area doesn’t provide much shading, as they are mainly shorter shrubs, so we propose larger and taller trees, that can thrive in the climate, to be placed on the site. Species such as Chanar, Algarrobo, and Acacia trees, fulfill that role. Trees are placed abutting the building to provide privacy to the outdoor spaces, and to block the exposed outdoor pools from sun and wind. The sloped roof above the exposed pool provides additional shading. The pools are located underground to utilize earth sheltering to maximize passive heat gain in the water. Its outdoor location also acts as a source for evaporative cooling to reintroduce moisture into the immediate area. Water at higher temperatures causes faster evaporation which is ideal for the humidification process in a dry climate. The isolated sunspace is programmed as the lobby, where the long facade faces North to maximize sunlight with external louvers in both horizontal and vertical directions to allow for shading options. Horizontal louvers on the North-South facades optimize solar heat gain and daylighting, and are more effective for shading. Vertical louvers on the East-West facades are more to diffuse the sunlight coming in, rather than to shade the area fully. The changing rooms contain apertures along the East-West axis to take advantage of summer winds in a heavily-trafficked area where ventilation is necessary. Larger lower windows on the wall allow in summer winds that exit through smaller, higher windows on the opposite walls. This allows for fresh air to come in, and for older stagnant air to escape. Thermal mass through CLT wall panels and Glulam columns and beams are implemented throughout the enclosed spaces to provide passive heating.
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SPDA THERMAL BATHS DESCRIPTION: PASSIVE THERMAL BATH DATE: DECEMBER 2024 PROFESSOR: HANNIBAL NEWSOM CLASS: ARC 322 GROUP: KATHERINE TANG + ANISA CHAN
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CLIMATE AND DESIGN SYNTHESIS
(MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH ANISA CHAN)
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MATERIALITY AXON
(MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH KATHERINE TANG)
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SITE PLAN 7
FLOOR PLAN 8
ELEVATIONS 9
SECTIONS 10
WALL ASSEMBLY 11
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WALL ASSEMBLY (MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH KATHERINE TANG)
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CHUNK MODEL
(MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH ANISA C + KATHERINE T)
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Through this project I wanted to explore how weaving can be used to create different gradients of both public and private spaces. The weaving takes heavy inspiration from the weaving quality of the wattle and daub technique, found in traditional Rwandan architecture. As for materiality, it uses both reed and African Alpine bamboo, native to the area. Weaving in the building is used both on the small and large scale. On the small scale, it is used to create spaces of different privacies. Depending on the density of the weave, it regulates the movement of sound, light, and wind, as well as the activity of an area. There are a total of 5 different wall typologies utilized in the building, those being: open air weave, which does not have a solid wall in between, allowing for air and light to flow from the exterior into the interior and is used in spaces adjacent to the outdoor garden space; solid wall weave, utilized in more private spaces, and restricts sound and light from coming in; there is both dense and sparse window weave, that restricts sound from entering, but allows for varying levels of light to come through; and then there is the weave pinching technique used both for entrance openings and windows, along the one unit the wall changes from dense to sparse as the weave is pinched, allowing for a much larger opening. On the large scale, the weave is used to create the form of the building. The weave not only acts as a facade system, but also comes in to divide interior space. The weave flows through a gridded framing system that holds the weave. Weaving is also present through the vertical circulation. In total there are 5 floors and each is subdivided further into 3 different levels at different elevations, all connected through a system of ramps and landings. Because of this, there is a large gathering space at the bottom adjacent to the milk bar and canteen, so that you can see how the ramps weave together and interact from underneath. Overall, through the use of weave one is able to connect the outside to the inside, by allowing light, air, sound, and sight through.
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ONE LOVE WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION: RWANDAN PROSTHETICS WORKSHOP DATE: MAY 2024 PROFESSOR: YUTAKA SHO CLASS: ARC 208 GROUP: INDIVIDUAL
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SITE FORCES DIAGRAM 19
TECTONIC SYSTEM DIAGRAM 20
FLOOR PLANS 21
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LONG SECTION 24
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SHORT SECTION
STUDY MODEL PHOTOS 26
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FINAL MODEL PHOTOS 28
Laboratorios JORBA, also known as La Pagoda, by Miguel Fisac formerly located in Madrid, Spain is a prime example of lost architecture, as it only existed between the years of 1967 to 1999. Since the building was not included in the city’s catalog of protected buildings of the General Urban Planning Plan, Madrid provided the demolition of the building due to land speculation. My conceptual diagram aims to show the life cycle of the building, starting as an empty plot of land and ending once again as an empty plot of land. In doing so, the digram highlights how the free flowing hyperboloid facade is supported by the building’s much more rigid core. The hyperboloid facade is the resolution to the 45 degree rotation between each floor. In addition to that, it displays the different processes required for both the construction, use, and demolition of Laboratorios JORBA.
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LABORATORIOS JORBA DESCRIPTION: BUILDING CASE STUDY DATE: JANUARY 2024 PROFESSOR: YUTAKA SHO CLASS: ARC 208 GROUP: ANA KAREN AHUMADA + ANKUR MOOLKY
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LIFE CYCLE OF LABORATORIOS JORBA 32
The site of the project is the current location of Pioneer Homes in Syracuse, New York. Pioneer Homes is a low income housing project completed back in 1941, but was heavily impacted with the construction of Interstate-81 in the 1960s. The Syracuse governing body at the time felt that it would be most appropriate to build the interstate through the city’s 15th Ward, a historically black neighborhood and the location of Pioneer Homes. As a result, the interstate acted as a tear through the urban fabric of the area, creating great disparities, economically and socially, for the people living in near proximity to it. The East Adams Transformation Plan, created in 2018 and granted $50 million by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Choice Neighborhoods Implementation in 2024, aims to demolish and reroute the section of I-81 that cuts through Syracuse and to revitalize the Pioneer Homes area. The transformation plan highlights completely new and updated apartments, public parks, and educational centers, in hopes of turning the area into a mixed-income community. Our project imagines a similar standard that the East Adams Transformation Plan aims to achieve. Major considerations our group focused on were to allow the movement of light and air through the building, and maintaining a sense of identity and individualism. The design of the buildings follows an overarching theme of utilizing sky bridges to connect units together and to avoid the stuffiness of a double loaded corridor. Rather than thinking of a building as one whole mass, it can be broken up into component parts connected through a system of sky bridges. The sky bridges are open air and are perforated at moments to allow for views both up and down the building within the building as well as for views to the outside. By utilizing sky bridges it allows for the flow of both light and air through the complex. The sky bridges are meant to be treated as a floating street condition, to be populated by residents and visitors. Pocket parks are inserted in between units, allowing for light and air to flow through, and are also conducive for small gatherings. To avoid completely closing off the system of sky bridges with a solid roof, the roof is broken up laterally into smaller planes and raised by a system of trusses. Through this, it also allows for a semi outdoor roof terrace at the top allowing for more amenities and gathering space. All in all, in terms of allowing the flow of light and air, our building design accounts for that movement in both plan and section. The buildings are mixed-use, with commercial space located on the ground floor and residential units located on the floors above it. We also wanted to take advantage of the courtyard the volume of the building creates. This courtyard acts in contrast to the busy nodes on the other side of the building. The courtyard is meant more for the residents of the building, and is populated by things such as benches, gardens, and a sports court.
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PIONEER HOMES DESCRIPTION: PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECT DATE: DECEMBER 2024 PROFESSOR: JESSICA MYERS CLASS: ARC 307 GROUP: ISAAC CHIN + JOSH CHU
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SITE PLAN
(MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH ISAAC CHIN)
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PROGRAM AXON 36
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
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TYPICAL RESIDENTIAL FLOOR PLAN
LONG SECTION
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1 BR APT
2 BR APT
4 BR DUPLEX
3 BR APT
5 BR DUPLEX
TOWNHOUSE UNIT PLAN TYPES
(MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH JOSH CHU)
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SHORT SECTION 40
COLLAGES 41
SITE MODEL (MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH JOSH C + ISAAC C)
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CHUNK MODEL (MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH JOSH C + ISAAC C)
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E L I J A H
R A M O S
evramos@syr.edu | (518) 258-0961