Architecture Portfolio 2017

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25 28 RL Social Networks is a redefinition of the home concept translating the virtual environment into the physical realm, to transform the individualistic mentality through the introduction of a new model of shared community.

“The Urban Fissure” project consists of a proposal to adress an arising need of the city, as Quito’s administration planned the construction of a new subway system. The proposal integrates the built environment and the natural resources to design an archetype of the subway station system.

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29 Based on the writings of Guy Debord; “What is a situation? It’s the realization of a better game, which more exactly is provoked by the human presence, and involves total participation”. The project of a dweling complex at Quito’s rural area is developed based on the idea of a dynamic unitarian urbanism.

11 21 The contemporary man has lost his tranquility; he has been involved in this modern schizophrenia, product of the congestion deep-rooted to the metropolis and the aggressive influence of this consumerism society. The Pensatorium, stands as an alternative to the consumption culture, a place to withdraw silently upon oneself to self-construct, or to engage in significant social interactions.

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Table of Contents

The central government, through the city of Ibarra’s local government launched a design competition for the project of it’s main office for the northern area of the country. The project of about 20.000 sq mts. included 2 story underground parking areas, an auditorium, restaurant, coustomer service area, offices, meeting areas, the exterior areas, etc.

Urban Competition

Residential Professional

Educational

Government Building

Academic

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[ ] [Ur] [Ac]

Urban Fissure

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[subway station]

Place Year Author(s) Contribution Adv.des. studio

Quito - Ecuador Spring 2010 Roberto García Conceptualize, design and presentation Professor Daniel Romero @ bio3arq@gmail.com

The Urban Fissure project consists of a proposal to adress an arising need of the city, as Quito’s administration planned the construction of a new subway system. The proposal integrates the built environment and the natural resources to design an archetype of the subway station system. The concept was to design a «fissure» on the ground , later covered on a mantle of vegetation, the goal was an open-air space with natural light, and natural air circulation as to avoid a claustrofobic sensation when crowded with users.

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While conceptualizing the project some requirements were taken into consideration, an open- air space, so that natural sunlight and air circulation would prevent to get a feeling of confinement at rush hour when the station reaches its highest point of traffic. The concept was to design an urban fissure and to integrate the space with

dense vegetation, the design process began by taken into account the spaces needed and geometrically adjust its proportions. Modules of 2 meters by 2 meters were used arranged in a way that the highest height between them doesn’t exceed 1,50 meters as to turn the walls of the fissure into a flexible space, modules tiered in such way as to create a seated waiting area or a pbublic space for the city.

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Urban fissure subway station aerial view

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[ ] [Re] [Ac]

Situationist Park

Place Year Author(s) Contribution Adv.des. studio

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Quito - Ecuador Fall 2010 - 8th semester Roberto García Conceptualize, design and presentation Professor Oswaldo Paladines +593 299 1560 ext 2136

Based on the writings of Guy Debord; “What is a situation? It’s the realization of a better game, which more exactly is provoked by the human presence, and involves total participation”.

The project of a dweling complex at Quito’s rural area is developed based on the idea of a dynamic unitarian urbanism. A core idea of the Situationism philosophy, they consider cultural activity from the stanpoint of totality, an experimental method from constructing daily life with an extension of leisure and the dissapearence of the involvement with consumerism culture.

Its a new conception of urbanism a social urbanism, as a new way of life it emphazises the decline of culture based on individualism. The project looks to prioritize the public areas and to promote continuous human relations and common action of its inhabitants.

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Concept The design process began by designing a single module, it included 3 different types of living cells. A loft, and a two and three story apartments. As to maintain the main idea to prioritize the social interactions, while designing each unit, the private areas were kept to the interior while the public areas

where dragged to the exterior of each unit to generate a relation with the surrounding cointinuous public spaces. The goal was to suggest all social activities to take place in the exterior of the unit, as to engage in larger social interactions with neighboring living units.

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Grouping Each module is formed by 3 living cells and its surrounding structure, conceived in way that it allows the public areas at the ground level to be continuous. Each module connects to the next one in groups to up to 5 modules to maximize vertical circulation efficiency.

Suggested relations between neighboring modules’ inhabitants was taken into account while designing the way modules are grouped together.

The project was thought from a standpoint of bringing all social activities to the outside. The main thesis of unitarian urbanism is the creation of situations in all cases provoked by the human presence.

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One of the main goals of the proposal was to accomplish the immediate participation in a passionate abundance of life through the variation of moments resolutely arranged as mentioned by Debord in Thesis on the cultural revolution (1958).

The main idea is to have a large continuous public space at the ground level, each of the larger areas will have an established funtion and its characterization accordingly.

This type of function will come from a social study that would show the complex’s inhabitants tendencies and preferred activities.

Vive la révolution passioné Asger Jorn, 1968

Situationist Park Master Plan This large public area with different happenings ocurring simultaneously will facilitate the derive of its inhabitants and frequent chance encounters.

The proposal presents an alternative to the current state of things where the isolated scyscraper culture necessarily reduces the direct relations and common actiones of people.

“A new way of life may arise from the creative energies that are liberated with the decline of the culture based on individualism” Nieuwenhuis, 1958.

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Situationist Park view from the street

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[ ] [Ed] [Ac]

Pensatorium

Place Year Author(s) Contribution Adv.des. studio

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Quito - Ecuador 2012 - Thesis proyect Roberto García Conceptualize, design and presentation Professor Eugene Mangia @ evmangia@puce.edu.ec

The proposal dealt with the establishment of a new typology known as “The Pensatorium”; Wherein, contemporary subject matters have been dealt with, such as a philosophical critique of consumerism and a more sustainable proposal for contemporary urban mobility.

The Pensatorium, stands as an alternative to the consumerism culture, a place to withdraw silently upon oneself to self-construct, or to engage in significant social interactions. Also to encourage a philosophical spirit, to get the individual concerned only for himself; to develop into a conscious- active society member.

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The school of Athens Raphael, 1509-1511

The contemporary man has lost his tranquility; he has been involved in this modern schizophrenia, product of the congestion inherent to the metropolis and the aggressive influence of this consumerism society. The hectic pace of life in our current time has left aside the importance of development as full, critical and free human beings, now more than ever is evident the need of spaces for thought and recollection; to be able to cultivate a partial certainty that would help us navigate through life. Contemplation is the guide of all human arts and aspirations.

Untitled Barbara Kruger, 1945

I shop therefore I am Barbara Kruger, 1990

All through history there have been spaces planned to satisfy such human need.

Nowadays when our times have become more complex and frantic, we are witness of most human activities revolve around huge consumption temples with enormous parking structures in contrast with the lack of places for self-construction and significant social encounters.

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The proposal takes place at «ciudad universitaria» in Quito - Ecuador. This area of the city houses 4 major universities. The site has a high potencial to develop as an integral infrastructure to service the academic circle and users in general.

users mostly during office or school hours so it becomes partially abandoned at night.

The final design studio begins with a proposal to recuperate «ciudad universitaria» and potenciate its educational-academic character, with all its implications.

Currently the entire area is fractioned, the educational – academic buildings and its servicing infrastructure are disassociated with one another, and there is an almost complete lack of public spaces. The area has been fragmented by the presence of high vehicular traffic, and it is not pedestrian or alternative mobility friendly. The area has

The proposal looks to recover the public spaces for the users rather than the predominance of motorized vehicles. It addresses the lack of public areas and to create parks, plazas, community spaces and key projects to link the ciudad universitaria back together as to service the academic community and the city in general.

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Based on an improved urban mobility hypothesis for the ciudad univesitaria, giving the priority of use to the pedestrian it seeks to link together the existing cultural – educational projects to the new projects and public spaces to be implemented through a semi-pedestrian circuit, an inter-university trail, so that the entire area functions as an integral system, in which the libraries of the universities are adapted as a network of libraries, the Ejido park and the surrounding green areas are like an extension of the university campuses.

This urban-architectonic idea is implemented by adding different layers of information worked independently over the existing urban condition. The new urban structure proposed to the area, the inter-university trail, the vegetation layer, and the new projects to be implemented.

The new projects proposed for ciudad universitaria are the result of an urban study.

A Bici Estacion, consists of a bike-transfer station that promotes the use of alternative transportation along the interuniversity trail.

B The Pensatorium, a place for individual as well as collective thought. Acting as the center of the ciudad universitaria, it becomes the core of the pedestrian circuit.

D The Conservatory, a project for academic music learning, it also houses concerts and presentations for the entire community.

E The new Santa Clara Market, the proposal re-visits the actual Santa Clara market to improve its service to the ciudad universitaria, the idea is to remodel it to function as the current organic market and also as a healthy dining hall for student and users in general.

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An inspiring image while conceptualizing the project was «the school of Athens», the painting by Raphael (1509). The concept of Pensatorium embarks upon being a contemporary re-interpretation of the atmosphere portrayed on the school of Athens.

Undoubtedly a daunting task, to take inspiration on such a masterpiece. This project proposes a place or a series of ambiances to withdraw upon one self and fully turn to one’s ideas, to promote meaningful social encounters and collective thought.

Contemplative activity, according to its quality, can occur in different levels of privacy, factor taken into account to envision while designing the ambiances suitable for the activities mentioned above. The different levels of privacy are treated at different heights. And this quality is also evidenced with the materiality assigned to different parts of the building.

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The top levels are designed fot the highest abstraction, physical resources or information are no longer needed for the contemplative activity.

The proposal for this spaces is based on P. Virilio and A. Parent’s “the oblique plane” theory. They proposed to tilt the floor to break the old paradigm of the vertical wall, to return the experimental wall, a flexible space that allows to circulate or to remain freely, seduce the user by the different spatial qualities in different points of the path. The space forces the user to interact in it in a different way, at the same time of stay and circulation.

Pensatorium

Plato, in his work “The Republic” associates the different contemplative exercises with the objects to which his study is dedicated, that is, to the understanding of physical objects for which we resort to the senses of the body, he knows it as faith or conjecture, equivalent in this case to the activities of collective thought, this level of privacy for this sort of activities evidences an stereotomic materiality.

On the other hand, The upper block of the project houses the activities of individual thought, where information and resources are used to begin the contemplative activity, through abstraction, this exercise of the mind Plato calls reasoned knowledge and this ephemeral, quality is reflected in the materiality of the project, in a tectonic, light, transparent treatment.

Contemplation Agora

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“It is about a renunciation of the bodily senses and rise only by reason to contemplate the essence of things as they are” Plato(2008).

Metaphorically the materiality of the project resembles the path towards truth, towards light and wisdom. This transition from stereotomic concrete structures to tectonic light ephimeral elements, resembles in some way, Plato’s widely known myth of the cave.

The journey from a darksome rocky cavern to the light. The author uses this allegory to represent the condition of human beings towards knowledge.

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Pensatorium at sunset - View from the street

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Symphonic contert at Pensatorium

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Pensatorium

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[

] [Gov] [Pro]

Ibarra City hall

Place Year Author(s) Contribution Supervisor

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Ibarra- Ecuador 2014 Base Architecture firm Roberto García Lansdscape design, project development, blueprints, 3d modeling and presentations.

Gabriela Aguilera, arch. basearquitectura1@gmail.com

The central government, through the city of Ibarra’s local government launched a design competition for the project of it’s main office for the northern area of the country. The project of about 20.000 sq mts. included 2 story underground parking areas, an auditorium, restaurant, coustomer service area, offices, meeting areas, the exterior areas, etc.

BASE, an architectural firm, where I worked as a junior architect and as chief project developer later, participated in the competition and won the fisrt place. I personally worked on the landscape design, it comprises all exterior areas, furniture, and urban equipment.

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The proposal begins by identifying different zones defined either by its function or its character according to its unique location. An important variable to take into account is the neighboring park, the former Ibarra’s airport.

The proposal was to assign different characters to each zone. Green 1 it’s an emblematic space acts as an entry plaza for the project; Green 2 it’s a heavily planted area with places to rest and relax, a sort of Centrica’s park extension, customized furniture was design for this area; Green 3, it’s a comercial alley, a mobile module was designed and will be used by local craftsman to sell their products, Green 4 it’s a transitional area. Also the design of an outdoor cafe and an exterior Agora por public events was part of the project.

The main idea behind the design for the exterior AGORA was to give a slight tilt to the floor as to create a flexible space with tiered seating as to allow the users to circulate or remain freely. The surrounding areas were also considered to create spaces for the public, green platforms were slightly sloped to create a more relaxed areas for seating as well as wooden platforms on the agora contour.

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Exterior Agoraatview from- Centrica’s Parkstreet Pensatorium sunset View from the

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] [Re][Co]

Home Revisited

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[architectural design competition] Place Year Author(s) Contribution

Finland December 2016 Ana Acurio Rafael Guerra Roberto Garcia Conceptualize, design and presentation.

Asko foundation launched for its 50th anniversary year the Home Revisited design competition that strives to make us understand what future homes will be like.

Real Life Social Networks is a redefinition of the house concept translating the virtual environment into the physical realm, to transform the individualistic mentality through the introduction of a new model of shared community.

Real Life Social Networks is an architectural response to the contemporary society, in which the concept of family is continuously being redefined.

Nowadays, the modernist perception of the “50’s iconic family” has been rendered obsolete and architecture must adapt to the new family typologies.

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50’s iconic family home

Single family-suburb home

Big house Re instate a community sense

Couples with no kids 22%

Current state Proposal

New family typologies

Single person Single parent 31% 10%

Home efficiency

Single family Shared 17% 20%

Program

The proposal relies on the need of the individual to be part of a community by providing a physical environment to cater the common collective needs between habitans.

The idea is to redefine the “regular house” to accommodate the new families while promoting the interaction between individuals. The house is, therefore, divided into private and shared spaces, providing a comfortable cell unit (room) which will provide the resident with a reserved area for living with all the basic needs. On the other hand, the shared areas are now collective for all the community to use, each proposed activity has as an objective to gather the members of the community based on similar interest in order for them to physically interact with each other and boost the community sense as opposed to the contemporary trend. The project takes into account the impact of the construction materials have on the environment.

The cell units are supported by a lightweight metallic structure enclosed by recycled containers with insulation. Furthermore, the design accounts fo openings orientation and possible passive heating and cooling strategies to reduce heating and cooling loads.

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Cell Unit Single/Couple

Cell Unit

Living space: 28.90 m2 Solarium: 6.4 m2

Summer

Living space: 28.90 m2

Winter

Summer

Cell Unit Single/Couple

Cell Unit five or more

Living space: 28.90 m2

Summer

Winter Living space: 28.90 m2

Winter

Summer

Winter

Cell Unit family of 3 Living space: 57.8 m2 Solarium:6.4 m2

Summer

Winter

Transformable furniture for social spaces

Cooperative social spaces

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Pensatorium sunset - View from the street Home Revisitedataerial view

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Roberto Alejandro García I still believe that ideas can make a change in the world. The practical means to turn these ideas to realities are as varied as ideas themselves and the shared responsibility for a brighter future befalls in all of us; from little as encouraging a little kid to take a leap of faith onto the unknown world or as ground breaking innovations. In this respect Architecture is a powerful tool, the job of an architect is not only the aesthetics of a building but also the way a well design ambiance influences a way of living.

Experience

Junior architect @ BASE aquitectura December 2011 - Present Contact: Juan Soria @ aquijuanca@hotmail.com Junior architect @ Fabricio Toscano, arch.

February 2011 - September 2011 Contact: Reference upon request.

Intern @ FONSAL June 2010 - February 2011 Contact: Vinicio Salgado @ vinicio.salgado@quito.gob.ec Intern @ Carlos Ponce, arch.

July 2009 - February 2010 Contact: Carlos Ponce @ cponcev@uio.satnet.net

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Education

Architect @ Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador 2006 - 2011 Senior year abroad @ Cherry Creek Highschool Denver Colorado - USA 2005 - 2006

contact phone +593 98 4582 147 @ alejandrogarciaeme@hotmail.com

home Vozandes N42-146 Quito - Ecuador

follow me instagram @alejandrogarciaeme

Baccalaureate in science @ SB Municipal highschool Quito - Ecuador 2001 - 2005

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Skills

-AutoCAD 2016(2d) -Sketchup

-Vray for Sketchup -3ds Max Studio

-Revit architecture 2016 -Adobe Photoshop CC

-Adobe Illustrator CC -Adobe Indesign CC

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References

Eugene Mangia, MArch Professor at Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, Scholastic researcher, architecture school former dean.

T +593 229 915 660 ext. 1403 @ evmangia@puce.edu.ec

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