KEITH
CASTRO
PORTFOLIO
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
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LY N C H I N G M E M O R I A L
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H O U S I N G D E V E LO P M E N T
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ARTIST DWELLING
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DECK FOR HANDMADE HOME
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MOSQUE COMPETITION
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LY N C H I N G M E M O R I A L AIA VA WEEKEND COMPETITION | JANUARY 2021 | MARKET SQUARE, ALEXANDRIA, VA The proposal is a disruption from normal happenings of the public square. Black walls cut down into the stairs and then into the fountain at the center of the square. The space displaced from the fountain allows water to flow down the walls. The observer who decides to embark into the Tomb is then pushed down the ramp until they get to the base where the water from the fountain is pooled. Before the observer is the ribbed walls of the fountain and dark thin metal walls create a tunnel. The Tomb is entered by passing through the metal doorway and around the pillar, given by the Equal Justice Initiative. The space is dark and dank, the space is uncomfortable. Delving father into the Tomb, the oberver arrives at a theater playing a projection of images of lynchings to remind people of the horror.
SKETCHES
EXPERIENTIAL VIEW
AERIAL SITE VIEW
SITE SECTION
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DECK FOR HANDMADE HOME
DESIGN BUILD | SUMMER 2020 | OSSINING, NY I was approached to design a deck in the spring of 2020 by the clients, a husband and wife. The clients owned a home that was handcrafted by a steel welder in the 1950s; parts of the house remain unfinished including a patio that extends from the main living space. The home is made of redwood columns and beams that run along two parrellel planes, with glass sat in between. The clients need the deck to serve multiple purposes: the husband wanted a space to relax and workout, the wife wanted a space to entertain and meditate. For my design of the deck, I wanted the deck to extend the planes of the existing structure as well as create an intermediary between the two split levels of the home. I designed a three tiered deck that allows the clients to relax, entertain and meditate. Different levels of the deck represent different functions: The highest level connects to the front entrance and may be for welcoming guests and for observation, the middle level may be for lounging and meditation and the lowest level for entertaining.
SOUTH SECTION
SITE PLAN
EXPERIENTIAL VIEW
The deck angles in parallel with the property line and points outwards toward the edge of the hill that the house sits on. The grill area sits as a nook at the pivot point of the deck levels stepping up and around. The materials of the deck follow a consistency with the rest of the house: mahongoney wood for the deck and fence, grey stone for the base level and brick for the extending walls. To construct the deck, I drafted plans and coordinated with a contractor, meeting three times a week. I oversaw the entire construction of the deck until completetion at the end of the summer. The project was built on schedule and under budget.
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H O U S I N G D E V E LO P M E N T INTEGRATED STUDIO | FALL 2020 | ALEXANDRIA, VA The program called for a redevelopment of an existing warehouse structure. The intention was to create a housing development, that would help fulfill housing demand in the DC metro area. My design was based on my desire to solve a common issue in large residential structure: corrridor spaces. These spaces are often have no windows to allow in light, and so are often dark and uncomfortable. The structure I designed has a split pushing the units away from the center and away from the corridor, creating an external circulation system and allowing light to pass in. The platforms are made of a glass cube on steel frame construction have bridges to each of the apartments to allow maximum light into the space. The apartments all have a front porch facing in toward the circulation system, thus reviving the community porch in an urban setting.
SITE PLAN
EXTRUDED SECTION
AERIAL SITE VIEW
D E S I G N D E V E LO P M E N T RETAIL
STUDIO
1 BR
2 BR
1 BR
A PA R T M E N T A R R A N G E M E N T S
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REFLECTED CEILING PLAN GSEducationalVersion
GSEducationalVersion
REFLECTED CEILING PLAN
GSEducationalVersion
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REFLECTED CEILING PLAN
TRANSVERSE SECTION
E X T E R I O R E L E VAT I O N
LO N G I T U D I N A L S E C T I O N
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MOSQUE COMPETITION COMPETITION FINALIST | JANUARY 2018 | BLACKSBURG, VA The prompt was to design a mosque in our college town. My design approach placed in the top 10 out of a 130 other students. Privacy for prayer was pivotal to my design. The bottom row of layer of circular windows have a geometric screen over them to allow those inside to peace without those on the outside peering in. The screens also mean the practicing muslim can have privacy without entirely sacrific- ing daylight. The mirhab and the ablution fountain stand on the linear vector facing towards mecca. They are abstracted into reality by two circular concrete silos that absorb light down onto the visitor. These are two privotal functions of a mosque, so it was important to dramatize the location and experience in the relation to the overall design.
F LO O R P L A N
LO N G I T U D I N A L S E C T I O N
MODEL PHOTOS
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ARTIST DWELLING STUDIO II | SPRING 2019 | CAPETOWN, SOUTH AFRICA Given the project of designing an artist studio and living space, I approached the project with the simple idea of taking all the requirements of the client and isolating them as individual elements. This project represented a way for me to break down my preconceived notions of how living and working spaces connect and flow into one another. The form of the structure I finally came to was a single passage way from which all needs of the inhabitant can be accessed easily, while creating a strange, but I believe satisfying layout for all those who pass through. The design is striped to a minimum. The form of the design is comprised of simple geometric shapes stretching off of an ex- tended passageway. The passageway is the representation of an extended plane that attempts to resolve the complications of space comprehension for the inhabitant. The volumetric nature of the spaces stretching off of an extended plane creates a defined simplicity.
F LO O R P L A N
E X T E R I O R E L E VAT I O N
LO N G I T U D I N A L S E C T I O N
F O R M D E V E LO P M E N T
KEITH CASTRO 201.398.8154 ktcastro11@gmail.com w w w. l i n k e d i n . c o m / i n / k e i t h t c a s t r o issuu.com/keithcastro