In this portfolio I selected fifteen projects. To me they are each distinct and in combination they show a panorama of my architectural experience.
UM1
SDSU Campus Hotel
San Diego, CA
Casa Escondida
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Studuiohuerta
District 303
National City, CA
LOGAN Tech School
San Diego | Tijuana 10 08
SDSU - West
San Diego, CA
Carrier Johnson + Culture
11
ION Convoy
San Diego, CA
Carrier Johnson + Culture
Casa Con Patio
Tijuana, Mexico
Studuiohuerta
San Diego, CA
14
Mausoleum Sandigo-Gross
Diria, Nicaragua
San Diego, CA
Carrier Johnson + Culture
12
ION Aero
San Diego, CA
Carrier Johnson + Culture
Median Range
Manhattan, New York Studuiohuerta
National University
San Diego, CA
Carrier Johnson + Culture
13
GDMI Headquarters
Guangzhou, China Safdie Rabines
PERSONAL
15
Bankers Hill Condo Remodel
San Diego, CA
UM1
1 Monument Rd
San Diego, CA 92154
1 Calle del Faro
Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Sitting atop of a mesa with the Tijuana River Estuary to north, the city of Tijuana to the South, the double wall of the US/ Mexico border to the east and the Pacific ocean to the West. Lays UM1 (United States/ Mexico 1). A new building typology that houses multiple bi-national agencies that are dispersed thought the countries of United States and Mexico. This project aims to centralize multiple organizations such as NAFTA & NAEEL and other border agencies for sake of efficiency by offering adjacent spaces for them to operate more effectively with the proximities and quickly resolve pending bi-national affairs.
This site features multiple contextual conditions yet no hierarchical condition takes precedence. It became important to set a project logic. The main form of the building is derived from a superimposition of the two grids that are introduced to the site. To the north the old Tijuana grid 400’x400’ was introduced in turn the San Diego city grid with the ration of 250’x350’ was introduced on the Mexican side. The differences between the two grids provokes the building react when it crosses the border. This makes a strong architectural gesture that responds to the bifurcation. As a residual of these shifts the site is left with a series of bi-national courtyards/ plazas. These courtyards derail the resilient edge creating binational plazas outside either side of the building as they cross into the territory of the other country without references to the border.
Inside the building- the space is anything but static. For the most part it is divided by a glass curtain wall that meanders and negotiates for space among the two countries in plan and in section. The main programs are encapsulated in volumes
within the building shell.
The residual space is left for spontaneous events such as circulation small exhibits/ events and coffee breaks. The building although primarily diplomatic allotted the first three floors for cultural and public spaces. The first level entry is 35 feet above sea level but it steps down to the ocean as one moves west. In congruence with the stepping down the division within the building begins to dissolve and concludes in urban steps that terminate in the pacific ocean. UM1 aims to positively affect the social psychology
Contextual
GENERAL ASSEMBLY- LOGIC, LEVEL 1, LEVEL 2
LEVEL O7- LOOKING AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY
DISTRICT 303
303 National City Blvd. National City, CA
Area: 275,000 sq ft
Status: Studio Project Term: Fall 2017, Winter 2018
Program: Public Space, Retail/ Restaurant, Parking, Residential, Hotel, Class A office-space, Public Space, Retail/ Restaurant, Parking.
District 303 is a project at once architectural, urban and territorial. Within the spatial field of a single city block, a vast architectural interior operates at the scale of both city and landscape, intersecting infrastructures, ecologies, public space and assorted programs in a self-contradictory act of isolated urbanism. Located on the west side of National City Boulevard, District 303 sits four blocks south of Downtown National City’s northern boundary. Developed for mixed-use, the project’s program incorporates residential units, class A office space, a four-star hotel, multiple bars/ restaurants, and various retail spaces.
The overarching order of the project is derived from a modulation of 5 feet, used throughout in both spatial and structural organization, lending all elements and components of the building a common genetic makeup. Overall, the project aims to be an urban gesture which will become a landmark at the northern limit of Downtown National City..
Read More in the link bellow: http://www.sandiegouniontribune. com/business/growthdevelopment/sd-fi-national-city20180323-story.html
Downtown National City
Site Plan
Bellow: Central
Typical unit
Cross Section
Set back Slice Hotel
Max Mass
Isometric
Ground floor
APPROACH
LOGAN - A TECH SCHOOL
1955 Julian Ave. San Diego, CA
Area: 75,000 ft²
Status: 3rd year studio project
Term: Spring 2017
Program:
Tech. Vocational School, Daycare, Staff Office space, Co Working space, Public Space
Logan- a tech school. Is a tech based vocational school dedicated to serving the residents of barrio Logan & Logan heights. We want the public to not look at the facility as an institution instead we want to give the impression that we are a community center here to serve the Logan’s. We don’t intend to gentrify the neighborhood but we want to provide access to quality tech space & education. The Logan’s is considered a blue collar neighborhood. How ever all manufacturing doesn’t need to happen with manual labor. The manufacturing industry is becoming automated.
Therefore computers are something to embrace & not avoid. The schools will focus on open education to anyone interested in learning easy, quality based technical skills like excel, word, Adobe products, how to operate IOS systems, social media marketing & web design. The structure is framed to view the neighborhood that it serves to provide a constant reminder of where it is. The structure is also designed to give transparency to the community about what happens inside. The program is not only academic. Inside you will find a day care, co working space, a library, multimedia spaces & of course some large cantilevering gardens overlooking the bay & Logan height
Section Longitudinal
Program matrix & areas
Setbacks and height restrictions
Isometric view of the structure. The cross bracing allows for cantilevering and even distribution of weigh, reducing the number of columns landing to less disturb the historic building bellow Attempt of passive strategies to shade on the south and epxe on the north. 1 2 3 Wall Section - not to scale
The main driver behind the form of the hotel was to provide an extension to the SDSU campus in an otherwise desolate site. The Idea was to create a meeting or reference place for students and places of gathering for possible occasions of outdoor classes or other assemblies, or any other outdoor public scenario that can take place on campus. The hotel program was lifted yet remained engaged with the campus by multiple means. One method was by creating a central void that comes into close proximity with the artificial mounds. The vehicular entrance/ approach to the hotel lobby happens inside of the mounds.
The mound also houses a restaurant and pop up shop. It also allows for vaulted skylights for the convention spaces subterraneanly. Under the mounds are a series of convention rooms that can be rented out or used as lecture halls/ classrooms during a slow season. The space hallway space in-between the lecture rooms is accessible to anyone. The idea was to make this hotel as available to the campus as possible. These methods are in students or faculty have guests that it becomes a no brainier to them to suggest the SDSU campus hotel .
LEVEL P2
Parking for staff and services
LEVEL 01
Vehicular drop off and restaurant
LEVEL P1Convention or seminar rooms
LEVEL 02
Bucolic mounds for campus
LEVEL 04
Typical hotel layout with corridors engaging with central space
Project Team: Gabriel Huerta, Arshia Gharib, John McMahon, Jorge Velez
Both contemporary and rooted in local building traditions, the aesthetic and materiality of the house are divided between inside and outside. The exterior walls are enveloped in cantera stone, and the roof form and tiles mimic the neighboring structures of Punta Ballena; in contrast, the interior is defined by minimalist, diaphanous spaces formed by textured concrete, stone, wood and extensive windows and sliding doors. Slated for completion in 2020, Casa Escondida is a singular event in vacation home ownership, offering a work of exceptional design linked with the convenience and luxury of a world-class resort.
Context
View from backyard
View from master suite
View from backyard
Study model
Section through entry approach
Entry
Drone Photograph
View from Dining through living room to ocean
Axonometric view of structure for vaulted ceiling and view looking up into the vaulted skylights (reversed)
Section through
Section
Casa con Patios
Tijuana, Mexico
Office: Studiohuerta www.studiohuerta.com
Area: 3,200 m²
Program: Private Residence
Status: Under Construction
Programs Used:
Microsation, Rhino, Revit, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop Project Team: Gabriel Huerta, Arshia Gharib, John McMahon, Angelos Palaskas, Jorge Velez
Courtyard House is a home that is in constant negotiation. Situated on a imposing site the house takes advantage of city and mountain scape views. All while maintaining a sense of privacy to its occupants. The owners who like to entertain but appreciate privacy requested that we segregate private life from public. This resulted in splitting the programs of the house between very private and very entertainment spaces. The home has almost perfect North, South East & West orientations and a large footprint. We opened up the house to the south using voids and courtyards that allowed natural light to breach into the deepest corners of the house. Including the underground parking garage.
My contribution: I was fortunate enough to have been involved through the initial design phases of this project. We began by creating program/ area diagrams and arranged them in such a way that we felt maximized the views while maintaining privacy. Then the massing studies began. We must of done around fifty. We then worked on the floor plan and section simultaneously. We added an additional layer of spacial separation and hierarchy by alternating the floor levels as one sequences thorough the house. After the SD process we where tightly involved in designing the structure and further details.
South Elevation
North Elevation
Salón.
Section; through courtyard 1, Master suite Gym, Wine cellar, and Electrical room
Gabriel Huerta, John McMahon, Tyler Napolitano, Angelos Palaskas
The medians of Park Avenue describe a unique setting in one of the most emblematic thoroughfares of New York City. For over a century, these scarce areas of real estate have Have evolved into an urban gallery, creating changing displays of plantings and art most easily seen from the surrounding sidewalks and in traffic.
Park Primitive proposes a transformation of the centerlines from display platform to veritable urban park. By strategically-enlarging its physical boundaries, the surface of the medians is lifted and molded into an undulating landscape threaded by-strings of various public spaces. To construct this new terrain, a redesign of the median footprints and vehicular circulation creates additional pedestrian space while also resolving traffic congestion. Within its expanded margins, the richly vegetated slopes of the
park mounds unfold, rising from sidewalk level to heights above 35 feet. These landforms are sliced to create enclosed exterior rooms, open to the skyline of Park Avenue while shielded from the movement and sound of surrounding traffic. Inside, seating structures, fountains, alcoves, and trees depict settings for leisure and urban escape.
Waldorf Astoria Hotel
300 Park Ave.
Above: Digital information kiosks, device charging stations, and wifi hots-pots are scattered throughout, Offering connectivity inside the park’s limits.
Along the pathways that meander through the park are numerous locations for Coffee shops, newsstands, and other amenities.
Above: The undulating heights of the park create new vantage points for Viewing the iconic skyline of Park Avenue.
Current Condition
Alternating left turns at every block convert traffic lanes into turn cues, impeding the flow of traffic in both directions, as cars use the space between the medians to wait and move into opposite lanes.
Super-medians
Three blocks combined into one, giving two blocks to pedestrians and creating a dedicated turning lane at the third. Right turns at cross streets between further the flow of traffic.
Building systems and materials-
Slopes:Various plantings over-reinforced Green wall and roof construction.
Structure: Reinforced concrete With steel supports.
Exterior walls: Blackened steel Panels over metal substructure.
Seating: Reinforced concrete.
Pathways: Bonded gravel and decomposed granite over
SDSU WEST
San Diego, CA
Office: Carrier Johnson + Culture
Area: 176 Acres
Program: Master Plan; Residential, Public Park, College Stadium, Hotel, Institutional, Parking
Status: Under Construction Programs Used:
Auto CAD, Sketch-up, Enscape, Photoshop, Illustrator
Project Team:
Gordon Carrier, Claudia Escala, Michael Stonehouse, John McMahon, Amber Lake, Ezequiel Miranda
The site that once housed San Diego’s professional Football and Baseball team for over 40 years was undergoing a redevelopment. The stadium was going to be condemned to make way for some other type of use of the land. The decision was between a SDSU campus extension or for a Soccer City Proposal that would very likely guarantee that San Diego would have its own MLS team. Carrier Johnson had been working on the master plan since before the measure to use this site as an extension to San Diego State University was chosen. The Master plan consists of a series of 200’x300’ Blocks, same size as the ones in downtown, a 50 acre riverfront park, Lab buildings for SDSU, a hotel and of-course a new stadium for the SDSU Aztecs.
My Contribution: I was brought into the project in January 2019 at the time the project was transitioning into the Design Development Phase therfore there was a lot of coordination and further devlopment of conceptual components for the masterplan. We where tasked with resolving the street sections, fire routes, phasing, height diversification to meet proformas, the design public buildings such as kiosks, publuc bathrooms, a major parking structure under the lab buildings for the game spectators. All while coordinating the landscape team and designing the spacing of trees, lights, truncated domes, bollards, etc. Meanwhile we also coordinated with Civil engineers to make sure we where accounting for all the utilities and grade elevation changes.
Above: View of Lab
Bellow: View of Bike Path/ Riverfront Park
Above: View of Stadium Main Entrance
Bellow: View of Aztec Way Rotunda
NAVWAR (Semi Confidential)
San Diego, CA
Office: Carrier Johnson + Culture
Area: 50 Acres
Program: Transit Center, Urban Center for 10000 residents, Public Park, Relocation of Navy Facility, Hotel, Office.
Status: Proposal
Programs Used:
Auto CAD, Sketch-up, Rhino, 3DS Max, Enscape, Photoshop, Illustrator
Project Team: Gordon Carrier, Ray Varela, Michael Stonehouse, Abe Gutierez, John McMahon, Amber Lake
The site is currently the home of the iconic 1/2 mile long sawtooth building along Interstate 5. The building is highly underutilized and its urban position is highly central to what could potentially be a large urban logistical center. The site is traversed by multiple mediums of public transportation and it is proximity to downtown, the airport and to the overall city to the north. Although most of this project is highly confidential we where able to discuss the components that are Non-Navy related. This includes, relocating the Navy to a nearby site in order to subdivide this site for P3 developers in order to offer this site to the public and that will in turn fund the new Navy complex which would be designed to better fit the needs of the department. This would all be
surrounding a new Transportation center that will act as a drop off point to the airport and as a transit center connecting the airport and the city to each-other and to the region at large.
My Contribution: My main role was to work on the new NAVY facility along with massing of the main site and some components in the transit center. I worked with staff from SANDAG and WCP Engineering. The Project concluded in April 2020 and the result was a rezoning of the area and now they are working on funding.
NU Flagship Campus
San Diego, CA
Office: Carrier Johnson + Culture
Area: 25 Acres
Program: Flagship Campus; Library, Theater, Student Housing, Student Services, Classrooms, Office Building for Lease, Parking. Status: Proposal
Programs Used:
Auto CAD, Sketch-up, Enscape, Photoshop, Illustrator
Project Team: Gordon Carrier, Michael Stonehouse, Alex Gutierez, Monica Peralta, John McMahon, Amber Lake,
National University is a local staple vocational school that specializes in helping veterans obtain college degrees. They have a strong online presence and multiple satellite campuses. The aim for this project was to consolidate the campuses into this flagship campus and to further provide and in-person educational presence. The project is a combination of two sites already owned by National University and it would be built in phases in order to minimize interruption of the buildings that are currently on site. The design of the campus uses the urban model found in schools like MIT, Stanford and Columbia. That is by using a central mall that acts as the main axis of which all the program surrounds. This centralization becomes symbolic of the project and intent of NU.
My Contribution: This project has long been present in the office of Carrier Johnson but not until recently was is designed into something that was visually presentable. I was introduced in November 2019 and at the time we presented an entire wall of precedent images. These images got the owners of the university excited to proceed with design. Once we developed a conceptual massing we then had to develop a Conditional Use Permit Package in order to exclude this site from a Master Plan that was developed in the 1980’s. We successfully excluded the site. Then we developed a master plan book for the stakeholders and its been on hold since May 2020.
Bellow: View of Campus Mall
Above: Level 05 / Site Plan
Bellow: Mixed Media Building
Above: View of Main Student Drop-off
Bellow: Lightwave Road/ Campus Gate
Above: Circulation Types Diagram
ION - Convoy
8333 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. San Diego, CA
Office: Carrier Johnson + Culture
Density: 256 Residential Units
Program: Low Income Housing (12% Base density), Market Rate Housing, Leasing, Residential Amenities and co-working. Status: Under Construction Programs Used: Revit, Enscape Project Team: John McMahon, Alex Gutierez, Gregory Enzeillor, Tingting Xu.
Ion Convoy is a 256 unit residential tower with two bellow grade and 7 above grade plus mezzanine levels. Parking is bellow grade. This project is one of the first to be built adopting the new Kearny Mesa Community Plan guidelines and therefore features a rich public realm that is pedestrian and bicycle friendly. The public realm features double row trees, ample vegetation all while providing vehicular drop off zones a public works utility access points. The design takes inspiration from the neighborhoods history of light industrial and Aerospace history. This can be found in the front massing with its horizontal, metal cladded expression. Taking queues from warehouse architecture. The Massing, although square is broken down by cavities in order to appear
like four different expressions. Level 7 perimeter units all feature enclosed Mezzanines with full private terraces. A first of their type in San Diego as the private terraces are considered open to the sky and therefore do not need to abide by CBC 505.2.1 Area Limitations.
ION Aero
8555 Aero Dr. San Diego, CA
Office: Carrier Johnson + Culture
Density: 302 Residential Units
Program: Low Income Housing (12% Base density), Market Rate Housing, Leasing, Residential Amenities and co-working. Status: Under Construction Programs Used: Revit, Enscape
Project Team: John McMahon, Alex Gutierez, Gregory Enzeillor, Tingting Xu.
8555 Aero aka Ion Aero is a 302 unit residential tower with one bellow grade and 7 above grade plus mezzanine levels. Parking is bellow grade and one level above grade in the back of the site. This project is one of the first to be built adopting the new Kearny Mesa Community Plan guidelines and therefore features a rich public realm that is pedestrian and bicycle friendly. The public realm features double row trees, ample vegetation all while providing vehicular drop off zones a public works utility access points. The ´S´shape massing of the building uses its central axis to connect the east and west facing courtyard. A grand staircase is placed in between to allow continuity between the two.
The east facing courtyard is morning themed. The landscape design here is intended to be park like and the concept here is for it to me a meditative and self reflecting space. The building fitness area extends into this courtyard. The west facing courtyard is for afternoon and weekend enjoyment. Featuring a clubhouse, numerous barbecue stations and a salt water pool and spa. There is also a double height sky-lounge facing the mountains and Municipal Airfield across the street. Level 7 perimeter units all feature enclosed Mezzanines with full private terraces. A first of their type in San Diego as the private terraces are considered open to the sky and therefore do not need to abide by CBC 505.2.1 Area Limitations.
1. Yield Study Massing
2. Level 7 Mezzanines
5. Typical Floor Expression
4. Mezzanine Terraces
3. Central Axis
6. Distributed Amenities
East Courtyard Feature Wall
Stair Connecting East/ West facing Courtyards
West Courtyard Feature Wall
GDMI HQ
Guangzhou, China
Office: Safdie Rabines www.safdierabines.com
Area: 8,000 m²
Height: 80 meters, 23 floors
Program: Guangzhou Metro Corporate offices/ Design Institute, Commercial Shopping Centre, exhibit gallery & Lecture hall. Status: Competition
Project Team: Ricardo Rabines, Taal Safdie, John McMahon, Mohamed B, Tyler Napolitano, Louis Madrigal
The city Guangzhou, alike many of its Chinese counterpart cities is undergoing some urban reform. The North-Eastern area of Guangzhou is getting some attention for its proximity to the sacred B mountains and the river that it births. As a result the city has commissioned a Master Plan to rezone this area and make infrastructural changes including a new metro line and terminal close to the projects site. The form is a response to engage the massing with the city at the ground and then shifts the attention to the mountains as it rises. The office program is divided into three types: Exec offices, Design School and Office for Lease. With this, the building had to be divided internally. We did this by providing semi enclosed sky podiums that also serve as atrium’s and collaborative
My Contribution: I was fortunate enough to be introduced into the project from the begging. Mohamed and I worked on the massing studies and the conclusion was a mixture of both. As the project developed we brought in more teammates to help in the development of many components. I worked on every aspect of the project from ceilings, glazing, base, rooftop ect. The team at Safdie Rabines is highly collaborative and as a response we where able to develop such a project in a relatively quick time frame.
ROAD CANAL MOUNTAIN
ART GALLERY
LECTURE HALL
MAUSOLEUM SG
Diria Cemetery, Nicaragua
Program: Private Mausoleum for the local Sandigo- Gross family
Derived from traditional catholic forms the mausoleum is ultimately the burial site for potentially 27 people but It also serves as a chapel for the occasion of mass in the event of anniversaries , funerals and memorials or just as a place for the loved ones to pray for the diseased. The permanent structure is designed to last through the generations with a permanent roof and all of the apertures are made of slices in the building . The slices serve as sources of natural light and ventilation.
My contribution: Since I was 18 I wanted to design this Mausoleum, After the years I thought that I would never have gotten too
In 2016 one of my closest uncles, Gustavo fell ill will terminal cancer. In two and a half months he passed away. His final resting place at the time consisted of a 8 x 8 meter wall made of cantera stone and a burial exposed to the elements. Inside the wall at 1.35 meters bellow ground where 14 slots for burials . In one of them he rested. My family was in a hurry to get this void covered with something that would leave Gustavos resting place enclosed. I happily took on the commission. One year later the Mausoleum was under construction Today, the project is on hold due to the unstable political climate in Nicaragua.
BANKERS HILL CONDO REMODEL
Program: Private Residence
Area: 1500 sf
Status: Completed
Applications: Rhino, Auto-cad
Project Team: John McMahon San Diego, CA
This there bedroom , two bathroom condominium underwent full renovation is centered around the idea of maximizing the space of the original 2003 build design . The condo is located in the well received Allicante tower in San Diego. It features expansive views from the tenth floor due to the buildings Air Rights. We wanted to provide an elegant, timeless place that played with lighting, raw materials in a refined manner. Materials used include Japanese ash wood for cabinetry, Italian hoanned travertine for the new fire place/ core of the unit. Patina steel for the partition between living room and home office , white oak for flooring, Lapitec sustainable stone
for the counter tops. All the metal is brushed nickel. All the lighting is LED 3500 kelvin. All the doors are solid, mitered pocket doors and the unit is painted in semi satin, level 5 plaster pure white. The white captures the sun patterns thought the day making the unit feel different every day as a result to its response of natural light.
