MARIA SUAREZPUMARIEGA BLANCO
I am a passionate architecture student at IE University in Spain. From a young age, I have had a strong interest in many forms of art: drawing, painting, photography, dancing, and sewing. As I progressed in school, I also developed a genuine passion for mathematics and physics. I enjoyed how these fields of study described and gave reason to every aspect that happen around us. I believe architecture is the perfect combination of art, design, and engineering. As an architect, I will be able to merge these fields in order to create spaces that optimise resources and seek the well-being of the people who inhabit them. My main focus at the moment is to further enrich my knowledge of architectural techniques and have the chance to contribute to an organisation as a whole.
PROJECT 1: IN NATURE WE TRUST
DESIGN STUDIO VII:
Given a speciphic site in Canillas, Madrid, we had to develope a project being aware of two main requirements: mandatory residential program + 30% other, and a minimum of 1800 inhabitants.
(Forth Year)
Existing topography
+ Vegetation
Increase density + Continue path
Elevation of Topography
Responding to Site in Height
Existing topography
Breaking the Site + Shaping the Path
The purpose of this project is to create an adaptable building that "continues the process of destruction and creation" along with time. Meaning that the proposed design can be adapted and may change the space responding to the uses and the user, by following the simple way of nature to move forward.
Understanding the site located in canillas, Madrid, I started with the existing topography and vegetation. This second one was then multiplied allowing the continuation of the existing path. Then, the topograhy would be replicated in a higher level, allowing the response to sunlight and neighboring buildings. This would also be reflected by the addition of vertical heights to mimic the existing and contrast with it at the same time.
New Vegetation
New Connections Section
PROJECT 2:
PALACIO DE LA
DUQUESA DE SUECA
DESIGN STUDIO VI:
Given an existing building (located in La Latina, Madrid) and a program - we were assigned to design a rehabilitation in order to respond to the site and an speciphic user (refugees).
Design Excellence Award Spring 2023 (Third Year)
Site Plan
La Latina is a well-known neighborhood within Madrid. It is full of life, diversity, and activities that attract anyone and allow any user to experience it. This was one of the things that I found more attractive.
Having a closer look at the neighborhood I began to understand how life developed and how urban art becomes so powerful within this routine. This was the point that allowed communication between outsiders and insiders and was reflected in shops, restaurants, and the thing I focused more on, graffiti or urban art. What was more interesting was how this shaped the streets and allowed a path, kind of replicating a free museum open to the sky
Both this neighborhood and Venezuelan society share a common feature. Popular art has an impact on everyone's daily live. I decided to propose a system that enabled a building that continued the already existing path and proposed new alternatives dedicated to both the lives of the insiders, the refugees, and the outsiders surrounding them.
As we enter the ramp we go through the music, art, artesanies, and cooking workshops. While reaching these areas we are taken outside and inside at many points, being able to experience the building´s
PROJECT 3: ADJOINING THE CITY
DESIGN STUDIO IV:
Given a site (located in Chamberí, Madrid) and a program - we were assigned to design a building that would respond to the surrounding site.
Design Excellence Award Spring 2022 (Second Year)
The beginning of this project was centered on the understanding of the site and the important landmarks that defined the urban environment. For this reason, we started by analysing the area, its surroundings, and many case studies close by, that would help us develop our work.
After doing so, we were given a specific program with a defined size. Sports: indoor soccer (large), rhythm gymnastics (medium), and squash (small). Culture: exhibition space (L), workshop spaces (M), and researching lab (S). Others: urban farming (L), discotheque (M), and reading areas (S).
My main purpose for this project is to connect the city. To do so, I used two main elements: the reproduction of vegetation and the flows of the urban landscape (circulation and direct connection to the COAM (Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid)).
Longitudinal section
Connection to the city. Following circulation flows.
Vertical voids: visual connection and programmatic collisions. Material to influence opacity
PROJECT 4: URBAN APES
DESIGN STUDIO III:
Based on a fictional space, we had to create a structure that would be suitable for a specific program. The importance of this project relies on the modeling iterations to get to the desired design.
Design Excellence Award Fall 2021 (Second Year)
My extract was taken from Tarzan. The quote I picked narrated the moment when one of the characters builds a shelter within the jungle, elevated from the ground.
Main focuses: playing with the horizontality, elevation from the ground, and vegetation.
Artist. Elias Sime´s ideas: vegetation enclosing space, the importance of human interactions, and tensions between man-made vs. the natural world.
Site. Plaza de los Chisperos, Chamberi. Three-dimensional site.
Program. Four main parts: exhibition space, auditorium, workshop, artist in residence and library, and restaurant. Importance of public and private, defined by the entrances and circulation paths.
PROJECT 5:
MANGWON CLASSICAL PARK
DESIGN STUDIO V:
Given a site (located in Mangwon, Seoul) and a program - we were assigned to design a theater that would capture the essence of the site and create an atraction at the same time.
Completed during semester abroad in Seoul National University (Third Year)
We began the project proposing a stage design for an artist of our choice. I chose Solange Knowles. I wanted to create the feeling of continuity of the already existing landscape and allow the performance to be shared by the community.
After many visits to Mangwon, trying to get into the life of its residents, I picked an area located around the park. I conceived it as a space for community and really encaptured the essence of the surrounding site.
It was the scape from the urban crowdness, and seemed like a good opportunity to explore the landscape that had been evolving during the years and was shaping the local environment.
The idea was to focus on an already existing structure, and playing with it to fulfill what I thought would be pleasable for my artist of choice.
Our project begins during a rainy day in Mangwon.
At the moment we thought the weather and time of the day would be an impediment for our site analysis. But we discovered another aspect of the area.
We were able to define the combination of thresholds which were strongly defined by the different gradients of light.
We wanted to create a space between the crowdedness of the urban area with the more open and relaxed landscape of the river. We felt as this was the perfect place, since it was on the boundary of both, allowing us to connect them and play with the continuation of both environments.
The purpose of this project was to create a classical theatre in Mangwon. We believe the site we chose and the idea behind our proposal, were represented by the classical music structure. Not only by the dimensions but also with the landscape representation that we wanted to focus on.
DRAWINGS: TECHNICAL+ARTISTIC
Graphic Communication Excellence Award 2020 (First Year)
The purpose of this project was to design an architectural space created from the parts of an existing object.
The work consisted on two stages done by hand. For the first one, I chose a radio to understand and define how it was assembled. I decided to use an exploded isometric drawing to represent this.
The second one was to design the space, taking the parts that made up this object and using an oblique drawing, creating an abstract space.
PHOTOGRAPHY: DIGITAL+FILM
Based on traditional chests from Korea, we designed an storage element that could be personalized and adapted acording to the user.
MARÍA SUÁREZ-PUMARIEGA BLANCO
Madrid, Spain | (+34) 608 150 584 msuarezpumar.ieu2020@student.ie.edu | www.linkedin.com/in/maria-suarez-pumariega
Eligible to sign internship agreement
MARÍA SUÁREZ-PUMARIEGA BLANCO
Madrid, Spain | (+34) 608 150 584
msuarezpumar.ieu2020@student.ie.edu | www.linkedin.com/in/maria-suarez-pumariega
Eligible to sign internship agreement
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Passionate architecture student with leadership and creativity skills. Proven to have abilities to solve problems under pressure and work effectively in groups, as well as in teams. Willing to work in a working environment that will enrich further knowledge on architectural techniques.
EDUCATION
IE UNIVERSITY - Bachelor in Architectural Studies (BAS)
GPA: 9.04/10.00
Seoul National University - Architecture Engineering
Madrid, Spain
Expected: July 2025
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Passionate architecture student with leadership and creativity skills. Proven to have abilities to solve problems under pressure and work effectively in groups, as well as in teams. Willing to work in a working environment that will enrich further knowledge on architectural techniques.
EDUCATION
IE UNIVERSITY - Bachelor in Architectural Studies (BAS) Madrid, Spain
GPA: 9.04/10.00
Expected: July 2025
Seoul National University - Architecture Engineering Seoul, South Korea Exchange semester. GPA: 9.76/10.00 Fall semester 2022
COLEGIO OBRADOIRO - International Baccalaureate (IB) A Coruña, Spain
GPA: 8.50/10.00
Graduated: 2020
POPE JOHN XXIII Regional High School New Jersey, US
GPA: 9.30/10.00
CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Year: 2017-2018
Volunteer Work: Collaboration in food collection campaigns (2017-2019), help in a nursing home (A Coruña, 2020), cleaning beaches around Galicia (2019-2020)
Projects: Planning of charity markets (2014-2019)
EXPERIENCE
Summer Internship: Nimo Mezquita Arquitectura SLP (June 2021-July 2021) - A Coruña, Spain:
- Understand how to approach a project (mainly the representation with AutoCAD, compliance with the CTE, compilation of the necessary documentation to obtain the corresponding municipal construction licenses)
Summer Internship: Mola Architekten (May 2023-July 2023) - Berlin, Germany:
- Developing a residential project in an area with a Lake (3D models and renders, as well as some 2D drawings, such as site plans, plans, and diagrams).
- Preparation of an upcoming workshop in Mexico.
- Modification and alteration of digital drawings in AutoCAD for an office building located in Tegel, Berlin.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND AWARDS
Design Excellence Award (First year - First semester 2020)
Graphic Communication Excellence Award (First semester 2020)
Design Excellence Award (Second year - First semester 2021)
Design Excellence Award (Second year - Second semester 2022)
Design Excellence Award (Third year - Second semester 2023)
IE Honors Program (Fourth year - Second semester 2024)
Seoul, South Korea Exchange semester.
GPA: 9.76/10.00 Fall semester 2022
COLEGIO OBRADOIRO - International Baccalaureate (IB)
GPA: 8.50/10.00
POPE JOHN XXIII Regional High School
GPA: 9.30/10.00
CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
A Coruña, Spain
Graduated: 2020
New Jersey, US
Year: 2017-2018
Volunteer Work: Collaboration in food collection campaigns (2017-2019), help in a nursing home (A Coruña, 2020), cleaning beaches around Galicia (2019-2020)
Projects: Planning of charity markets (2014-2019)
EXPERIENCE
Summer Internship: Nimo Mezquita Arquitectura SLP (June 2021-July 2021) - A Coruña, Spain:
- Understand how to approach a project (mainly the representation with AutoCAD, compliance with the CTE, compilation of the necessary documentation to obtain the corresponding municipal construction licenses)
Summer Internship: Mola Architekten (May 2023-July 2023) - Berlin, Germany:
- Developing a residential project in an area with a Lake (3D models and renders, as well as some 2D drawings, such as site plans, plans, and diagrams).
- Preparation of an upcoming workshop in Mexico.
- Modification and alteration of digital drawings in AutoCAD for an office building located in Tegel, Berlin.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND AWARDS
Design Excellence Award (First year - First semester 2020)
Graphic Communication Excellence Award (First semester 2020)
Design Excellence Award (Second year - First semester 2021)
Design Excellence Award (Second year - Second semester 2022)
Design Excellence Award (Third year - Second semester 2023)
IE Honors Program (Fourth year - Second semester 2024)
LANGUAGES
Spanish (Native). English (Fluent). Galician (Fluent). German (Basic).
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Computer Skills:
- Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint
- Adobe Acrobat (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator)
- Autocad
- Rhino 7
- Grasshopper
- SketchUp
- CYPE
- Revit 2023
Construction Skills: Laser cutting, power tools, 3D printing, woodwork, CNC cutting, model making…
Hobbies: Painting, drawing and photography
Sports: Federated in rhythm gymnastics (2008-2020), federated dancer (2013-2020), federated basket player (2010-2018), federated swimmer (2015-1018), federated alpine skier (2017-2018), federated lacrosse player (2017-2018), federated volleyball player (2017-2018)