Design Portfolio
MAUR R
713.301.4961
Mauro Rodriguez Diaz
SCAD : GSAPP
DRIGUEZ
rodrixmau@hotmail.com
Manhattan, NY
ÒPALO x SAUCED Pop-up
Location: Sauced NYC _ East Village Role: Photographer, Creative director, Videographer Partners: Òpalo X Sauced.nyc Date: June 27-28, 2026
ÒPALO is a pop-up project by chefs Jose and Jonathan, two Mexican cooks building something of their own in New York. Both came up through Casamata, Enrique Olvera’s restaurant group, and cook around the city today. Their food is personal, rooted in Mexican cooking and the places they come from. I met them through the New York restaurant world and began documenting their work. For ÒPALO x Sauced I directed the photography and video across the full arc of the event, treating a one-night pop-up as a single designed experience rather than a single service. A restaurant is designed as deliberately as any building: the light, the room, the pacing of a meal, the threshold between front and back of house. Documenting one is a way of reading that design from the inside, and it’s the part of this work I care about most.
The strength of a pop-up is that nothing is hidden. I documented the full cycle, from sourcing at the market to the prep the day before to the service itself. The moments that usually go unseen are the ones that explain how a space actually works, and reading them closely is the same attention a room asks for. Much of what this took carries directly into design work. Building visual references and mood, artdirecting a shoot, thinking through lighting and materials, and shaping how a project is presented across its menus, film, and platforms. It’s research, sourcing, and presentation held to a consistent point of view, done in Photoshop, InDesign, and Premiere and in close coordination with the people making it. Working this close to a hospitality concept is how I understand space: through atmosphere, sequence, and detail rather than plan alone. It’s the perspective I want to bring into interior and hospitality projects, where the feel of a room is the work.
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LA SOBREMESA Dining Table and Chairs / In development
Location: Private residence, Mexico Role: Furniture design, Art direction Collaborators: Rory Peckham, designer Emete Design Studio, Mexico Status: In development, 2026
Sobremesa is a dining table and chair set being designed for a private residence in Mexico, to be fabricated with a furniture maker there, and developed with Rory Peckham, a woodworker I studied with at Columbia GSAPP. The table is sized to the family’s dining room and built around how they actually use it: long meals, full seating, the hours of sobremesa that give the piece its name. The brief was warmth. A table you want to sit at and stay. The design draws on a lineage of Mexican furniture and interior work, from figures who shaped it decades ago to makers working today. Honey-toned wood carries the structure, with leather at the joints and seats for softness and contrast. The material palette is tuned to the interiors of the house it’s going into. This is the first piece in a longer collaboration with the client, with more furniture and interior objects to follow.
Size Material Construction Wood Option
90” L × 42” W × 30” H Solid wood with leather detail Spindle back, solid wood frame Parota with black leather detail
Size Material Construction Wood Option
22.5” L × 16” W × 40.5” H Solid wood with leather detail Spindle back, solid wood frame Parota with black leather detail
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Play Time Adaptive Reuse: Daycare This project proposes the adaptive reuse of an existing government facility in Veracruz to create a daycare for the children of public employees. Many parents working in the building face extended work hours while local schools dismiss students earlier in the day. As a result, children often remain in offices and corridors without appropriate spaces to play, learn, or stay engaged. Although a daycare currently exists within the facility, its interior conditions are inadequate due to poor material choices and environments not designed with children in mind. The proposal focuses on rethinking the interior architecture to create a safer and more stimulating environment. Material selection prioritized child safety and indoor air quality: natural linoleum flooring, FSC plywood millwork in low-VOC hardwax oil, soft rounded wall panels, and OEKO-TEX textiles. The design also promotes natural light, ventilation, and visual connections to the outdoors, creating distinct zones for play, learning, rest, and social interaction.
Location: Veracruz, Mexico Employer: TTProces Role: Architectural Designer Year: 2025, Proposal
The project is located within the Secretaría de Finanzas y Planeación complex in Xalapa, Veracruz, along Av. Xalapa. The building sits next to an existing garden and benefits from Xalapa’s mild, humid climate, which allows the program to extend beyond the interior and take advantage of outdoor spaces. Observations of the site revealed that children often spend much of their time outside or doing homework, suggesting
the need for a balance between active and quiet environments. The proposal responds by opening portions of the building toward the garden, creating a stronger relationship between interior learning areas and exterior play spaces. The study of the existing structure also identified materials and elements that can be preserved, while others require replacement to improve safety and comfort for children of different ages.
SITE
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PLANO LUDOTECA
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This slide compares the existing floor plan with the proposed intervention. While the overall building layout remains largely unchanged, the project rethinks the interior organization through material choices, furniture layout, and more efficient use of space. The existing plan functions as a single open area where different activities overlap, while the proposal introduces flexible zones that support sleeping, learning, and play for children of different ages. The new plan also strengthens the relationship with the adjacent garden, allowing interior spaces to extend toward the outdoors.
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Learning Zone Area with computers, desks, and seating to support children’s study.
Birch Plywood
Kvadrat Textile
FSC-certified millwork in low-VOC oil. Soft, warm, and safe for small hands.
OEKO-TEX certified upholstery. Hardwearing, low-toxicity, and warm to the touch.
Reading Zone Area with bookshelves and a resting space for listening, reading, and conversation.
Larger
Play Zone Slide area, art area, and table games area.
Girls’ Bathroom
South Elevation
Wood-Wool Acoustic Panel
Marmoleum Linoleum
Softens sound in active rooms and rounds off hard edges for child safety.
Natural, non-toxic, and warm underfoot. Durable enough for constant play and easy to clean.
North Elevation
Children’s Zone
Boys’ Bathroom
area for younger children with books, toys, and activities.
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Cover to Cover Housing In Mexico, the roof is more than shelter. It is a gesture of protection without restriction, an open system connecting public and private, formal and informal, individual and collective. This project reimagines the unique block around Mercado de San Cosme as a shared framework for vendors, fonda owners, and working class residents. Rather than replacing existing dynamics, the proposal builds upon them. A new civic infrastructure becomes visible, anchored by a roof that collects and distributes essential resources. This canopy becomes a shared asset, delivering water, electricity, shade, and other services across spaces, redistributing value between areas often divided by front and back of house functions. Inspired by the traditional Mexican markets, the project blurred thresholds to support both formal and informal economies while integrating affordable housing for young families. It addresses inequality through unity, offering dignity, shared purpose, and a renewed sense of belonging rooted in cultural life.
Location: San Rafael, Mexico City Course: ADV Studio VI Partner: Seong Hyun Leem Professor: Gabriela Carrillo & Thomas De Monchaux Term: Spring 2025
Ground Floor Plan
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1st Floor Plan
We opened the San Cosme to the public by prioritizing human and pedestrian movement over cars, extending the market outward and blurring the boundaries between formal and informal, public and private. In Mexico, markets reflect a culture shaped by warmth, joy, and generosity, where social life naturally extends beyond walls. Mercados are home to many forms of talent. Beyond selling food, people repair cars, offer care, provide therapy, friendship, and healing. It is common for individuals
to embody multiple skills, and this layered normality became central to the project. We translated this mentality into architecture by designing a building that is as complex, adaptive, and performative as its users. Mercados also bring together all generations, from infants resting with their parents, to children playing after school, to grandparents shopping for their families. The project creates a welcoming environment for all ages, reflecting the concept of “cover to cover” as both a spatial and social condition.
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This conceptual model is inspired by the reflected ceiling plan of Mercado de San Cosme, which informs both the facade and the interior programming of the building. Constructed from found objects, the model explores how the roof ’s open and connective logic can extend vertically. A kinetic element allows the structure to shift, generating multiple spatial configurations that reflect the adaptable and ever changing character of the market.
The project proposes a redefinition of housing. Rather than understanding housing solely as shelter, it is envisioned as an extension of the individual. With this idea in mind, the residential unit is treated as a market stall. By maximizing usable surface, residents are able to transform and personalize their homes according to evolving needs. The space can support selling goods, teaching, or functioning as a more traditional dwelling.
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Harlem Tower Housing A new approach to affordable housing that challenges traditional design limits to re-imagine what “home” can feel like in the urban context of Harlem. The project offers an innovative perspective on space, focusing not only on square footage but on height, volume, and inventive spatial strategies. It moves beyond conventional apartment layouts to create residences that are compact yet full of possibilities. In New York City, where space is precious and every inch matters, the question arose: how can affordable housing feel as luxurious as it is accessible? This project answers by rethinking the living experience within limited dimensions. Through a three-dimensional design approach, interiors feel expansive and open, capturing the airiness and flow typically associated with larger homes. Elevated ceilings, flexible layouts, and multipurpose furniture transform spaces with ease. Every wall, corner, and view is intentionally designed to enhance comfort, efficiency, and a sense of belonging, offering residents a home that feels both generous and welcoming.
Location: Harlem, NY Course: Core Studio III Partner: Nicholas Richards Professor: Garry Bates Term: Fall 2023
Different Ways to Visu
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What If ? What if we measured housing by volume instead of just square footage? This question inspired a design that is flexible, adaptable, and deeply responsive to its residents’ needs. Imagine exchanging ceiling height with a neighbor to gain an extra room in your apartment. This approach not only makes housing more enjoyable but also ensures that every cubic inch of space holds value and meaning for someone.
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Facade Axonometric Detail Model
Co r r ug ated Metal Deck
6 ” C M U B a ck wa l l 4 ” M i n e r a l Wo o l I n s u l a ti o n Wo o d Fr a m e C a semen t W i n d ow
Op en -We b Ste el Jo i sts
C l a ddi n g S u p p o r t B r a ckets
G l a zed Te r r a c o tta Pa n el M o du l e
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Wynn Al Marjan Island Hospitality & Entertainment Resort Wynn Al Marjan Island is a large-scale mixed-use hospitality destination located in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. Developed as an integrated waterfront resort, the project combines hospitality, entertainment, retail, convention, and public realm programs within a landmark tower and resort complex. As part of the HKS design team, I contributed during the schematic design phase, supporting the development of tower massing, program studies, and design iterations. The project underwent continuous refinement to balance luxury hospitality requirements, operational efficiency, environmental performance, and its visual presence within the evolving skyline of the region. My work included room count and area studies, massing explorations, diagram production, presentation graphics, and design coordination using Revit, Rhino, AutoCAD, SketchUp, and Adobe Creative Suite.
Location: Ras Al Khaimah, UAE Employer: HKS Role: Architectural Design Intern Term: Summer 2022
Waterfront Planning The resort master plan organizes hospitality, entertainment, retail, and public amenities along a continuous waterfront experience. The landscape strategy establishes a sequence of promenades, pools, gardens, and gathering spaces that connect the tower, podium, marina, and shoreline into a cohesive destination. Working within the schematic design phase, I contributed to site planning studies, program coordination, diagram production, and presentation materials used to evaluate circulation, guest experience, and the relationship between architecture and landscape. The project evolved through multiple iterations as hospitality requirements, operational needs, and public realm considerations were continuously refined.
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Additional Work Construction Documents — Revit & CAD
A course built around carrying one building all the way through documentation. I modeled the structure and produced the set: floor plans, elev annotated to a consistent standard.
Working at that level teaches you things design studios don’t. How a set holds together, how one change moves through every other drawing, an
Location: Savannah, GA Course: ELDS 425 Professor: Huy Sinh Ngo Term: Winter 2022
vations, sections, and callouts, with sheets laid out and
nd how much of a building gets decided in the notes.
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NYC’s Harmony Adaptive Reuse
This project addresses the issue of overbuilding through the creative reuse of materials and the recycling of their energy, transforming an existing structure into a working instrument. The site, a bank located at the intersection of Broadway and Spring Street, is treated not only as a building but as a material inventory ready to be re-imagined. The design uses the existing systems, including the air conditioning network and the subway lines beneath the building, to generate sound. Materials with distinct properties vibrate at different frequencies, producing unique tones, while changes in pipe size create variations in resonance. Visitors can interact with these elements, becoming composers within the space. The concept is rooted in the cognitive and therapeutic value of music. By allowing people to create their own melodies, the project fosters play, learning, and mental stimulation. The re-imagined bank becomes both an instrument and an immersive architectural experience that encourages creativity and deepens engagement with the built environment.
Location: Manhattan, NY Course: Design Studio I Professor: Lindsey Wilkstrom Term: Winter 2022
Turnning an HVAC into an Instrument
At the crossroads of Spring Street and Broadway, the city moves in constant rhythm. Footsteps, voices, subway rumbles, and storefront energy blend into an urban harmony. It is not a noisy city if you channel it well; patterns and melodies emerge from the flow. This intersection holds countless
unheard stories, each carried in the passing crowd. The building listens to these layers of sound, tuning into the city’s pulse and shaping a space that resonates with it, offering a pause that is part of the score rather than apart from it.
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This innovative metamorphosis into an interactive soundscape is designed to have a profound impact on the city’s denizens. By allowing people to engage with the building’s materials to compose and experience music, it intertwines the urban
fabric with the therapeutic and cognitive benefits of music, fostering a unique sensory and emotional connection with the space, enriching the lives of New Yorkers, and redefining the intersection as a hub of cultural and creative rejuvenation.
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MAK8 Stereo Patent Speaker My passion for audio and my partner’s interest in textiles led us to create a speaker that merges sound with touch. Inspired by retro radios, the design combines soft, tactile fabric with a compact, sculptural form. Three central buttons control power and volume, each designed to be recognized by feel alone. We learned to wire speakers and program Arduinos, making the object both technically functional and creatively expressive. The exposed stitching and components celebrate the fusion of craft and technology, turning the speaker into a playful, immersive experience rather than just a device.
Location: Manhattan, NY Course: Making Senses Partner: Valery Kate Perez Professor: James Nanasca Term: Spring 2025
MAK8 Stereo Patent (01)
4 / 23 / 2025
M. RODRIGUEZ V. PEREZ
FIG 1.
FIG 2.
FIG 3.
FIG 4.
MAUR R
VKP
DRIGUEZ
Fig 1. Fig 2. Fig 3. Fig 4.
Front Plate _ Driver and Tweeter Frame _ Plywood Structure Back Plate _ Electrical Systems Stand _ Wood Planks
INVENTORS
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The Process
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PAPATZUL x BRUNCH Tulum Experience
Papatzul’s brunch never filled. The owner told us those seats sat empty week after week, so I proposed a one night popup to change that. The problem was atmosphere, not food, so I ran it as a design brief: build a room people want to walk into and stay in. The concept and direction were mine, the palette, the menu, the lighting, and the pacing of the night. I ran it as creative director: I built the marketing that filled the room, flyers and a
digital pu event’s lo them, and and Prem it needed and a so
It sold o brunch r restauran read hosp the feel o
ush, then designed the menu and the ook. I shot the stills, cut video from d worked in Photoshop, InDesign, miere. I served on the floor when d hands. My DJ ran the music ommelier friend ran the service.
out. For the first time in ages the ran at capacity, a real win for the nt, the DJ, and us. That is how I pitality: atmosphere as the product, of a room as the work.
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Design Portfolio
MAUR MauroRRodriguez DRIGUEZ
SCAD : GSAPP
R 713.301.4961
rodrixmau@hotmail.com
Manhattan, NY