JANET DIAZ UNDERGRADUATE PORTFOLIO
MIXED-USE BLOCK DEVELOPMENT
LIBRARY
DSH STUDIO + RESIDENCE
COMPETITION
TOWER: MERGING LEISURE WITH ACTIVITY
ORDWAY-SWISHER RESEARCH FACILITY
EXPLORING FRAGMENTED SPATIAL ILLUSIONS
microUrban Biome, aims to advance technological innovation in health and mental wellness while providing direct access to leisure, living, working opportunities. Our analysis of Chelsea encouraged the concept of creating a block that serves as a hub for education, technology, and wellness. The idea of a microUrban Biome is to bring together different occupants of the programs that the block provides, including the communities that work within the block. Together, the plaza and park anchor microUrban Biome as a cohesive and inclusive urban destination, emphasizing the critical role of public spaces in enriching the community’s interaction with the built environment.
Public space plays a pivotal role in shaping the experience and functionality of urban developments, especially in dense areas like Hudson Yards in New York City. To fully integrate the block into its urban context and support its diverse users, the inclusion of thoughtfully designed public spaces is essential. At microUrban Biome, the plaza acts as a critical hub for circulation, seamlessly facilitating movement to and from the bustling programs located on the ground floor. Simultaneously, it establishes a connection between the block and the surrounding urban fabric. The park balances activity and moments of reprieve.
People are the essence of place, shaped by the interplay of social, economic, and environmental dynamics. With this in mind, our design emphasizes the human-centric aspects of housing and its integral role within the larger urban fabric. The render illustrates this philosophy by creating a vibrant, multifunctional environment for residents. This integration of social engagement within the architectural framework reinforces the concept of housing as not just a physical structure but as a dynamic contributor to the life of the block and its community.
The Orlando Public Library, situated in the vibrant heart of Downtown Orlando across from Lake Eola Park, is designed to seamlessly integrate into the city’s urban fabric while enhancing its social dynamics. Positioned in an area with high foot traffic, the library embraces the energy of its surroundings through an inviting design that encourages interaction and accessibility. Key features, such as exterior stairs and a transparent glass façade, create a welcoming connection between the library and the city, blurring the boundary between indoor and outdoor spaces. These elements draw in passersby, fostering a sense of openness and curiosity. The building becomes not just a repository for knowledge but also an integral part of the downtown experience, engaging with the lively pedestrian activity characteristic of the area. Inside, the library offers thoughtfully designed spaces tailored to the needs of local residents, students, and visitors. Study pods, collaborative zones, and other flexible environments support learning, education, and communication. By blending seamlessly into its urban context and prioritizing inclusivity and functionality, the Orlando Public Library provides a hub for knowledge and connection.
Design 6 | Fall 2020
Site: Orlando, Florida
The concept of the library emerges from the dynamic interplay of shifted volumes along a central datum, where the manipulation of form creates a tension between pushing and pulling elements within the site. The voids generated by these displacements carve out spaces of connectivity, allowing the building to engage with its surrounding context. These voids, as illustrated in the concept model, are not mere negative spaces but intentional thresholds that facilitate visual and spatial links to the environment beyond. In the final digital model, the vertically displaced boxes—appearing to float along the datum—are mirrored in the interior as elevated study pods, suspended above a central atrium that serves as the primary circulation space. The resulting interplay between solid and void, inside and out, creates a fluid architectural experience that blurs boundaries and invites the context to bleed into the library’s interior, fostering a seamless integration with its surroundings.
Inside, the library offers thoughtfully designed spaces tailored to the needs of local residents, students, and visitors. Study pods, collaborative zones, and other flexible environments support learning, education, and communication. By blending seamlessly into its urban context and prioritizing inclusivity and functionality, the Orlando Public Library provides a hub for knowledge and connection.
dsh’s “typestracts”
Investigating spaces inside the horizon began with the constructed textual compositions of Dom Sylvester Houédard’s (dsh) typestracts – a combination of the words ‘typewriter’ and ‘abstract.’ The English concrete poet was a former monk, theologian, and Benedictine priest. These typestracts’ sporadic and permeable compositions of meticulous textual forms influenced the composition of architectural spaces. This project takes Dom Sylvester Houédard’s typestracts as a conceptual foundation, translating their typographic elements and spatial logic into a dynamic, immersive environment for the artist. Each space resonates with the meditative qualities of Houédard’s work, encouraging a fluid and thoughtful interaction between the user, the architecture, and the world around them. They mimic dsh’s ability to fragment and then reassemble elements.
The residence, studio, monastery, and gallery are isolated functions but are linked through carefully orchestrated spatial transitions that echo Houédard’s manipulation of text. Each space is designed to coexist and interact with the others, emphasizing an interconnectedness similar to the way letters, symbols, and lines in typestracts overlap and interrelate. The spaces are framed by linear elements — walls, partitions, beams, and corridors — that extend, intersect, and layer in a way that guides the eye and body through the building, inviting a continuous engagement with both the architecture and the spaces within.
The concept revolves around the relationship between the spaces of a private residence, an art studio, a monastery, and a gallery, interwoven through an overlapping system of linear elements. The use of these linear elements create a sense of depth and movement across the spaces, reflecting the way Houédard’s typographic marks unfold across the page. The form emphasizes flow and fluidity, with different areas of the space linked together through creative spatial transitions, just as Houédard’s work often bridges the abstract with the concrete. It is organized in such a way that it frames and interacts with the horizon. This relationship not only creates an interplay between the interior and the exterior but also evokes a sense of timelessness and continuity — a visual dialogue between the earth, horizon, and built form.
COMPETITION
In the area , a preschool for vulnerable and disabled children, are known as “escolinhas”, and there are only a few that depend on the State and some that depend on private entities, which leaves the vast majority of children without access. Pre-school education in Mozambique is a luxury that very few can enjoy. The materials are to be locally sourced and mainly handcrafted since the school will be built by volunteers and construction workers with no help of heavy equipment like excavators.
Competition | Fall 2019 Country: Mozambique, South Africa
Site: Xai Xai District (Gaza Province, Mozambique)
Project: Build a center for children with disabilities and affected by social exclusion. In collaboration with Nate Shui and Alexis Greiner
The Delancey Arts Center is located between the Tenement Museum and the Essex Market. The history of the museum and the Lower East Side (LES) culture within the market inspired us to bring the LES community into our hotel. Many immigrants and migrants gravitated toward the LES for job opportunities and affordable housing.
Surrounded by open streets which are strictly open to pedestrians, cyclists, and emergency vehicles at certain hours, our site is near a very densely populated block, along with two parks: Sara D Roosevelt Park, and Allen Malls.
With the New York Housing Authority nearby, the hotel is easily accessible to lower income community members. The hotel is a center for the community it exists in, as our generation values the importance of arts in education more than previous generations. New York City is the hub for talented musicians and artists. By implementing artistic programs in the hotel, we could fascinate tourists with a taste of NYC’s culture while educating and allowing the diverse community members to express themselves artistically.
As part of the early design process for this project on Delancey Street, we created three bracketed sections to illustrate the relationship between the building’s atrium and the occupied spaces. These drawings highlight how the atrium interacts with the surrounding program, emphasizing the flow of light and movement through the building. By framing the atrium within the context of the surrounding spaces, the bracketed sections helped me explore the spatial hierarchy and connectivity between different levels.
The building features three prominent protruding volumes, each dedicated to community-focused spaces. At the top, educational spaces provide a place for learning and events. In the middle, a theatre and social gathering area foster cultural and social connections. The ground level is anchored by a spacious lobby with a large open art exhibition, a lounge for visitors, and a restaurant. These diverse amenities create multiple reasons to visit, offering opportunities for engagement throughout the day while promoting a sense of community and interaction.
The building’s skin is made of horizontal metal rails with a mesh surface that separates the main structure, creating a dynamic texture. Balconies are integrated into the design, allowing people to occupy the space between the exterior and the mesh, offering areas for relaxation and connection.
The design encourages diverse interactions by providing spaces for education, leisure, and socializing. The elevated educational areas offer views of the city, while the social and performance spaces bring people together. The lobby features an atrium that fills the space with natural light and offers views of the surrounding Lower East Side, connecting the building to its vibrant neighborhood. These thoughtful spaces highlight the building’s role in fostering community and inclusivity.
ORDWAY-SWISHER RESEARCH FACILITY
This project focuses on the design of a research facility at the Ordway-Swisher Biological Station in Melrose, Florida, situated within the diverse landscapes of the state. Florida’s varied ecology spans coastal wetlands, dense forests, and inland uplands, each presenting unique environmental challenges. The longleaf pine sandhill ecosystem, where this facility is located, is known for its rich biodiversity, including a variety of plant and animal species, extreme weather patterns, and periodic controlled fires. The design responds to the specific conditions of this inland ecosystem, contrasting with the coastal regions of Florida where factors such as saltwater, flooding, and storm surges might play a larger role in shaping architecture. This facility aims to respect and integrate with the landscape, addressing the unique conditions of the longleaf pine ecosystem while fostering a functional, sustainable research environment. It includes an overlook tower, a greenhouse, and a research facility with offices, all intended to support research and conservation efforts at the University of Florida and other academic institutions and agencies.
Design 5 | Fall 2018
The overlook tower, designed to resemble a burning longleaf pine with an orange glow at the top, offers views from above the canopy, symbolizing the site’s firedependent ecology. The facility's layout and structure are shaped by the constant rainfall and frequent storms in the area, with the "floating facility" concept allowing for a dynamic, immersive connection to the landscape. Large glazing throughout the building ensures that researchers are enveloped in the surrounding ecology, while natural light floods the interior, creating a seamless integration with the environment.
In developing the drawings, I focused on layering textures to reflect the ecological layers of the site, capturing the essence of the landscape in the building’s design. These drawings also reflect the burning longleaf pine trees, a key feature of the ecosystem that thrives with regular prescribed fires. The layering in the sections symbolizes the growth and regeneration process of the longleaf pine forest, where fire is integral to maintaining the health of the habitat. This approach visually connects the architectural design to the site’s fire-dependent ecology, reinforcing the facility’s mission to support research and long-term conservation of the longleaf pine ecosystem.
This project studied the role of light and its relationship to an essence of space. It explored the nuanced qualities of light and how they not only shape spatial experiences but also influence the occupant’s perception and emotions. The interplay of light creates a dynamic atmosphere, affecting temperature, mood, and overall perception. The investigation began with a series of 4”x 6”x 4” boxes, each designed to manipulate light and shadow. Through an iterative process, the project examined how varying light intensities can create fragmented spatial effects and responses to these shifting conditions. The use of photographic tehcniques such as cropping emphasized these isolated spatial illusions. The aim was to treat light as a flexible medium—one that could be molded, stretched, and compressed— transforming it into a tangible, almost sculptural element within space.
These isolated “snapshots” within the boxes provoked questions about perception, as light itself was manipulated to create fragmented, illusory experiences of space. Each individual light box was designed to explore a specific concept, which was later integrated into the larger, combined light box.
On the left, the series examines how light intensity can act as a tool to divide space and evoke a sense of invitation from the light source. Model sections
The project aimed to explore the presence (or absence) of light, both within and around the space, creating a series of figure-ground images. The image on the left reveals how a space can hold depth even when observed from the outside. With just a single light source, the interior is illuminated with a soft, ambient glow that extends outward, creating a connection between the interior and exterior of the model.
The sectional drawings below illustrate how light can either isolate or unite different spatial conditions. By merging the ideas developed in the individual light boxes, the project introduces two light cannons, which trace the journey of light through moments of flooding, reflection, and gradual fading.
