GRAHAM GARCIA

Architecture Graduate

ABOUT ME

0423083234 ggrgaghgagm@gmail.com

Sydney, Australia

I am a graduate from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture which helped polish my ability to analyze information and come up with logical & reasonable judgements. My purpose and passion lies within creatively creating spaces that allows users to perceive architecture in a different context, blurring the distance between art and materials through spaces. I hope to grow into a designer who can fully maximize certain patterns of information and create abstract connections between seemingly unrelated data to project soul-engaging, limitless spaces for creativity and knowledge to inhibit.

Education

FEB 2019 - JUL 2022

FEB 2018 - OCT 2018

JUL 2017 - OCT 2017

Experience

AUG 2021 - FEB 2023

BACHELOR of Architectural Studies

University of Auckland (UoA)

BACHELOR of Spatial Design

Auckland University of Technology (AUT)

CERTIFICATE of Business

Auckland University of Technology (AUT)

TABLE GAMES DEALER of SKYCity

Corner Victoria Street, Auckland 1010

SOFTWARE KNOWLEDGE

Rhinoceros3D+Grasshopper

Adobe Creative Suite Revit

Operating a baccarat table in one of Auckland’s biggest casinos enabled me to develop a friendly and professional demeanor towards customers while conducting games with speed and precision

FEB 2020 - JAN 2021

SALESPERSON of ECCO Shoes

192 Broadway, Newmarket 1023

It was an intimate store that offered me a chance to experience and provide customers an in-depth service that attentively catered to a good balance of their wants and needs

JUL 2020 - MAR 2021

INSURANCE SURVEY CONSULTANTS of Aurora Financial

20 Augustus Terrace, Parnell 1052

Having experience with the hardest forms of sales helped strengthen my mentality and improved my social skills as a person

AUG 2018 - DEC 2018

BARTENDER of Future Club

22 Durham Street W, Auckland 1010

Future Club is a high volume nightclub with a young clientele. Bars are usually packed so speed was essential to my success. I was rostered during peak shifts

References

Joseph Oldehaver

Area Manager at Skycity

0273088530

Rodin Peruem-Jang

National Marketing Manager at Aurora Financial

021 157 2393 rodin.jang@aurorafinancial.co.nz

Chali Fraser-Guy

Store Manager at ECCO Shoes

027 579 4493 chalifraserguy@gmail.com

500 Trees

TYPE: Brick Bay Competition

PAPER LEADER: Andrew Barrie

IN COLLABORATION WITH: Miro Sumich

Sachi Kapadia

Katrina Nielsen

BRIEF:

The Brick Bay Sculpture Trust invites emerging architects to submit concepts for the annual Brick-Bay Folly; a competition that investigates the intersection between sculpture & architecture with temporary structures that intentionally serve no utilitarian purpose.

APPROACH:

The site was once a land that housed kauri forestries that stretched right down to the beach till it was felled to be prepared for farming in the 19th century. In hopes of reinvigorating the kauri tree forestries decline due to the kauri dieback disease, we have decided to spread it’s awareness through our design. Sharing Brick Bay’s vision of sustainability, materials that are found in abundance within Brick Bay; pallets, fence posts & bolts are redefined to create dandelion-like units that enable incubation shelves for kauri seedlings over the folly’s 2 year lifespan. Following the concept of a dandelion, Brick Bay will be the stem from which the seedlings disperse to different homes in order to grow into healthy, mature kauri trees.

In architecture, a folly is an ornamental structure that lacks practical purpose. Our folly seeks to find meaning in a name that inehrently defines it as meaningless. Inspired by the impermanence of a dandelion, our design mimics the same nurture & disperse phases. It acts as a harbourer of kauri seedlings. After the exhibition’s two-year lifespan, the seedlings disperse, ready to be planted, while the structural materials are recycled and returned. The structure dissapears, leaving behind a legacy of forest rejuvenation.

What if the building is just a byproduct?

The folly shares a moment within the lifecycle of a kauri tree. It comes together using re-used pallets that are found at Brick Bay and are recycled after the duration of the folly.

500 TREES | 2022 | Brick Bay Competition

Dandellion units configured together to form the following floor plan. Pallet shelves inserted to incubate kauri seedlings in green. The tessellated arrangement forms a forest canopy of sorts that provides shelter and protection for the young seedlings.

The folly shows it’s age as it acts as a transitional space in the Kauri’s life while they mature to plantable size.

1000x1200MM recycled, stringer class double face, non-reversible, 2-way reusable, new manufacture pallets

M12x150MM galvanized hex bolt nut

800MM ttt multipole with M12 connector

M12x450MM galvanized hex bolt

275-300MM kiwi timber hexagonal pole hs bark/mulch top fill gravel bottom fill

500MM manufactured square steel plate

500 TREES | 2022 | Brick Bay Competition

T Imespan

Over the two year exhibition period, the Kauri seedlings will grow to be about 350-400mm tall, at which point they will be ready to be planted out in the various locations we found.

How To Propagate A Kauri

collect seeds from a kauri cone

How To Build A Folly

plant seeds with wing poking out of soil and water until sprouted a month later at 30mm in size, plants are ready to be potted components are prefabricated in workshop to site

1000mm holes are dug on site steel potted in 1L pots & ready for the folly substrate layer (gravelmulch) added & compacted pallets are fixed using triangle connecting elements to create a structurally sound canopy kauri saplings have reached maturity after 2 years pallets & poles transported back saplings are packaged & transported to their specific location

Our folly has 3 major components, the top pallet unit, the wooden pole & the steel base. Constructing our design is akin to that of planting a kauri seed in where you; dig on site, root the steel base onto the ground, insert the stalk pole with the pallet leaves thereafter.

In a familiar sense, deconstructing the folly could be interpreted similarly with transplanting kauri trees towards a forest. You remove the plant unit, deliver them to its natural place for it to serve its purpose. The construction-deconstruction of our design resonates strongly with that of a dandelion spreading its seeds.

Components

hole is dug using spade ensuring it is deep enough to bury all roots sapling is planted & propped up using stakes, growing ever larger pole is unbolted & removed from pile system substrate is excavated & steel plate footing is removed the land is filled in & left unchanged from its original form poles are back to source materials re-enter the cycle

Tauranga Moana

TYPE: Architectural Design 6

PAPER LEADER: Lama Tone

BRIEF: This paper offers a multi-cultural response to the bi-cultural architecture (Maori & European) in Aoetearoa. Adapting to the customary Pacific (including Maori) architecture & concepts to contemporary situations with the use of new types of formalism, concepts, materials & other technologies. In hopes of culminating all aspects -conceptual, formal, material, tectonic, environmental, structural - of architectural design within the context of a larger network of infrastructural services showcasing the building as both an active “machine” & a place for human comfort.

I Nspiration

In the past, Maori used waka (canoes) just as we use cars today. New Zealand’s waterways were like roads, running along the coast & up rivers. Waka would be paddled along them, carrying people & goods. The canoe (waka in Maori) traditions or stories describe the arrival in New Zealand of Maori ancestors from a place most often called Hawaiki. They also refer to the construction of canoes, conflicts before departure, voyaging at sea, landing, inland & coastal exploration & the establishment of settlements in new regions. Waka were usually moved with wooden paddles or poles. Some had sails made of raupo (a reed) or flax. The anchors were stones tied with rope. Most vessels had the same parts; hiwi (hull) which made up the body, tauihu (prow) the front, taurapa (stern) the back, & the rauawa (gunwales) the upper edges along the side. Although canoe traditions cannot always be treated so literally, it is still a strong concept of symbolism that is important to the identity of Maori. Whakapapa (genealogical links) back to the crew of founding canoes served to establish the origins of tribes, & defined relationships with other tribes. Canoes not only explain origins but also express authority & identity, define tribal boundaries & relationships. They merge poetry & politics, history & myth, fact & legend. tauihu (prow) rauawa (gunwales) taurapa (stern) hiwi (hull) hoe (paddle)

Inspired by the stories & myths about a canoe, the design mimics the different intricacies within it to conjure & create articulating spaces that speak to us architecturally. The design imitates two canoes lashed together with it’s paddle-like columns holding the hull above water as it seemingly floats above water during high-tide. On certain occassions where the tide is low, users can accesss the lower floor to experience a whole new atmosphere within the design that showcases the museum interior through a gap within the flooring of it. The idea stemmed from hanging canoes within a museum, a strong desire to showcase the canoe within its natural environment. The beauty of this design not only enhances the items within the canoe museum as it intertwines with its corresponding environment but also opens up new & innovative approaches towards the freedom of architecture, expanding & engaging our designs to go beyond the horizon (land) & design with different environments. The design showcases, the past, through the museum while looking through the never ending horizon which is the present and the endless possibilities the freedom of architecture gives us to express our ideas & beliefs , the future. An atmosphere where the past is celebrated within the present to eagerly await what the future brings.

Going beyond traditional architectural practices, the space was designed with intent to perceive the multi-sensory nature of the human mind to further indulge its users about the space qualities & atmospheric interactions one has with a building. The void centre floor amplifies our senses to feel, hear, smell and almost taste the building within its particular surroundings in hopes of developing better spaces for the development of buldings, not only as a palce of shelter but also promoting social, cognitive & emotional attachments one experiences within. Although there is an emphasis towards the impact our senses help in strengthening our experiences, this design proposal hopes to distinguish the relationship between sensory atmospheres & enviromental cues above the visuals. Through this building, I intend to deliver a higher level of experience towards spaces that not only heightens one’s senses individually but also collectively as we strive towards better architecture that is the art of reconciliation between ourselves & the world (Pallasmaa, 1996). The architect should not only promote stimulating soul-engaging spaces, but also study how one immerses theirselves within space compared to their everyday interactions to further elevate their designs. The design hopes to engage the user not only physically, but also mentally and spiritually.

The Bathhouse

TYPE: Spatial Design Paper 4

PAPER LEADER: Sue Gallagher

BRIEF: The WW AUT Building has been standing for generations as a pillar of education for its students. Although old, the board of committees has decided to preserve its antiqueness and allowed for a repurpose of the building to accomodate students a place to relax & unwind from their academical approaches and tasked us with a redesign of the building as a bath house.

A Bstraction

The design paper required us to reiterate & reconceptualize the basement level of the AUT WW Building to accomodate university students, teachers & the greater community a bathing space for relaxation & recreational activities. I highlighted the sites main weakness, its old age, & instead of finding a way to counter the said weakness, I decided to embrace it & use it as a tool, making its main weakness, as its strength. The gradually increasing rural quality of the city led me to realize how “old buildings” are getting replaced by newer & more modern buildings. Instead of designing a bath house that would match its gradually developing environment, I decided to use it as a space to embrace & commemorate the past to remind the wider community about the drastic change in technology & development we have achieved today. Not only does this instigate the curiosity of it’s user, mainly the demographic that involves the younger university students but also subconsciously reminds them of the time our predecessors had.

THE BATHHOUSE | 2018 | Spatial Design Paper 4

Due to the design’s approach, the reconstruction of the AUT WW Bulding is bound to stand out from its surroundings, heightening it’s uniqueness & individuality amongst the environment. It offers a great contrast similar from learning & relaxation to urban & rural qualities.