Architecture Portfolio

ABOUT ME

I recently graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design with a BFA in Architecture and a minor in Interior Design. Since being a child i’ve always had an inclination towards the arts, and im very passionate about the art that i create. As i grew older my love for art was driven to my love for architecture which eventually inspired me to pursue a career in that field.

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

Most of my designs are pushed by organic forms that try to mimic natural surroundings on site, most of my work has light as an important element of design. I intend for my architecture to be simple but functional, and perhaps a work of art. The user’s experience on my projects is very important, i try to create memorable experiences, that the users can take with them when leaving my designs. This portfolio contains most of my significant architectural projects produced through my career, and encapsulates the way i think about architecture, functionality and art.

REFLEJOS

Reflejos intends to create experiences of gazing and glancing to connect with its users. The hotel responds to views between exterior and interior spaces by the use of mirrored materials and glass, allowing visitors to experience programs like a mirror, thus creating visual opportunities within the building of looking in or out wherever the design allows them to.

The hotel’s facade is mirrored on both sides helping push the concept further by creating relationship with the hotel’s urban context on the outside, and a relationship with its users on the inside. The facade is able to mirror its surroundings during the day causing it to almost vanish, and be completely seen at night. On the other hand, the interior mirror creates opportunity for the users to have views of the floors above, below and the one they are on.

ARCH 404 - 2022

Building type: Mid-Rise Hotel Revit, Enscape, Adobe Photoshop

SITE

Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, with over 22 million sqft of office space. Because of its location it has become home of many corporate and regional headquarters like Coca-Cola, and CNN, it’s also home for some federal government facilities, Georgia State University, sporting venues, and most of Atlanta’s tourist attractions.

Downtown Atlanta is located in close proximity to many popular shopping destinations that bring locals and visitors together on a daily basis to experience the best shopping in the city. Some of the popular nearby shopping malls include Lenox Square and Philips Plaza as well as Atlantic Station.

Located in Atlanta, Georgia

497,642

Centennial Olympic Park Georgia Aquarium

Coca-Cola World CNN

of the population are men of the population are women

is the total population of Atlanta, with 15,911 residing in Downtown Atlanta

REFLECTIVE STAINLESS STEEL, INTERIOR & EXTERIOR MIRROR

STOREFRONT WINDOW

BEAMS

FINISHED FLOOR CONCRETE SLAB

WATERPROOF MEMBRANE

The facade of the hotel offsets 6’ from the structure, allowing for pedestrian path within the building. The facade is mirrored on the exterior and interior following the concept of gaze and glancing, and helps to prevent direct sunlight from hitting the building, causing a reduction of HVAC system use.

1. Beam

2. Bolt Connection

FACADE TO BEAM ATTACHMENT DETAIL

View of reflections within the building created by the facade

Facade prevents sun from directly hitting the building

REFLEJOS LOBBY & CAFE

Reflejos lobby aims to create a welcoming experience not only for hotel guests but also pedestrians walking by. Besides common areas for guests, the lobby also provides a small coffee shop where pedestrians can walk by and grab some coffee. There is a dividing wall between coffee shop and lobby that mimics the form and materiality of the facade.

INFINITY ROOFTOP LOUNGE

Located on floor 13 of Reflejos hotel, infinity lounge is a space for afternoon and night gatherings . The lounge aims to create a space for users to be able to experience Atlanta from the heights, the rooftop features a mirrored ceiling that creates the illusion of a never ending surrounding, it also becomes a place of seeing and being seen.

OASIS

ARCH 303 - 2022

Building type: Park re-design, superstructure Rhino, Enscape, Adobe Photoshop

Oasis consists of the landscape redesign and superstructure proposal on Daffin Park, it seeks to attract locals and tourists into all programs on site. Daffin is mainly a sports park, the redesign intends to push further on the programs, by increasing the quantity of sports and the number of courts per sport. To create a more enjoyable place for the users, the redesign also proposes a superstructure providing bleachers under shade that prevents direct sunlight from hitting the audience, and avoid any kind of climate inconvenience.

SITE

Savannah is located on the eastern part of the state of Georgia, right at the border between Georgia and South Carolina. Savannah is known for being the oldest town of the state, and has been a key industrial and manufacturing hub of the region, with many modern plants and industrial facilities. It is also an important center of arts and culture, with plenty of annual events and festivals, and has many points of interest, including fortresses, historic cemeteries, architectural monuments, old buildings, and more.

Savannah has a subtropical weather with frequent thunderstorms having its annual precipitation falls during the months of June through September. Winters in Savannah are mild and sunny, with November and December being the driest months

20 ft 32o 4’ N 81o 5’ N

Located

River st. Forsyth Park Greyson Stadium located at site

St. John the Baptist cathedral

PEDESTRIAN ENTRY ON SITE

VEGETATION ON SITE

WIND & SOUND ON SITE

DEAD ZONES ON SITE

1 2 3 4

AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT RE-DESIGN PROPOSALS

Actual path is vehicular only, no pedestrian path within park, making it difficult for users to move around site.

Leaving actual vehicular paths and adding pedestrian path within park (mainly around programs) to create a smooth circulation and allowing users to explore site without stepping on vegetation.

Many dead zones within park, mainly because of lack of programs, and programs being too far away from each other.

Adding two more programs to park, and increasing the amount of courts by program. All sport events will be closer together, allowing people to walk easily from program to program, and leaving a bigger space for pond to activate zone which will allow for community gatherings in thats space.

Park is completely outdoors with no shelter on any programs. The lack of shelter makes it hard for users to visit the park when rain is present.

The addition of a semi-enclosed superstructure, allowing people to still feel outdoors while being sheltered and protected from direct sunlight and rain.

No bleachers and no shade for users coming to the park to watch games from any of the programs.

Rearrangement of programs and addition of bleachers all under the superstructure, for users watching games to be in shade while enjoying games.

Form of superstructure is inspired in the prolate spheroid shape of the football ball, and its wrapped with a PTFE structure that follows the same form.

SUPERSTRUCTURE STRUCTURE

SUPERSTRUCTURE FORM STRUCTURE FORM

STEEL TENSILE STRUCTURE

STEEL STRUCTURAL SUPPORTING SYSTEM

TENSILE STRUCTURE DETAILS

STEEL PIN CONNECTIONS & CONCRETE PIERS

CONNECTION AND PIER DETAILS

1. Gusset

2. Base Plate

3. Concrete Pier

1. Concrete Pier

2. Steel Superstructure

FLUCTUS

ARCH 302 - 2022

Building type: Train station Rhino, Sketchup, Enscape, Adobe Photoshop

Fluctus proposes a train station that seeks to create a welcoming experience for visitors and locals coming into the city of Sinaia. The building is designed over a 24’ slope and intends to create a smooth circulation within the building. Fluctus mimics the landscape of mountainous Sinaia and its design helps to the drainage of snow and water of the building.

Sinaia is a town in Prahova County, in east-central Romania. It lies about 65 miles northwest of Bucharest in the Prahova River valley, at the foot of the Transylvanian Alps. The city is a popular destination for hiking and winter sports, especially downhill skiing, due to its mountainous landscape. Sinaia has different species of flora and fauna proper of the zone, like the brown bear and the European Bison. One of its main attraction is Peles Castle, and Sinaia Monastery.

Romania has the four seasons through the year; Spring from March-May, Summer from JuneAugust, Fall from September- November, and Winter from December-February. There are 178 rainfall days and heavy snow. The month with the least sunshine is December with an average of 2hrs of sunrise per day.

Located in Sinaia, Romania

Popular for skiing and hiking

Sinaia Monastery Peles Castle

Locals of Sinaia

Form development comes from diagrams representing the way skiers move when coming down the mountains, and the movement of up and down from the mountains in the landscape.

Given the site conditions of heavy snow and rain for almost half of the year, the roof has been designed to help to the building’s drainage, the sloped curves that are constantly touching the ground, help to bring the snow and rain easily down and prevent unwanted loads on the roof.

DESTELLOS

ARCH 405/406 - 2023

Building type: Community Center Revit, Enscape, Adobe Photoshop

Destellos is a proposal of a renovated community center different from the one already on site, the project seeks to connect the community to its natural surroundings, such as water, vegetation and light, and promotes social gatherings as well as education and learning.

The building embraces nature and architecture through the use of light as the main element of design, which helps define and create spatial perceptions within the structure. Natural light is gathered all through the building by the use of aligned openings on walls to absorb and release light, creating a juxtaposition of solid and void, and light and shadow.

Given its location, Destellos also provides protection against natural disasters through materiality and offers an large interior multi-purpose room that may become a place of shelter in case of any emergency.

SITE

Wilmington Island is a suburb from Savannah located north-east from downtown, in Chatam County. The area is known for its large flora and fauna and direct access to large bodies of water such as Turner’s Creek. Wilmington Island has a very similar weather to the one in Downtown Savannah, having heavy rains through

the months of August and September. Given the conditions, the site is located on an X flood zone, where the risk of flooding is possible but not guaranteed, which is why the community center needs to take security measures against floodings and hurricanes. Some of the top attractions nearby are Wilmington Island’s country club, Tybee Island, Hilton Head Island, and Downtown Savannah.

GEORGIA

Tybee Island Country Club

Hilton Head Island Downtown Savannah

1. ENTRY

2. OFFICES

3. BATHROOMS

4. FITNESS ROOM

5. CLASSROOMS

6. STORAGE ROOMS

7. COMMON AREAS

8. COMMERCIAL KITCHEN

9. LARGE INTERIOR SPACE/ SHELTER

10. LARGE EXTERIOR SPACE

11. MULTI-PURPOSE ROOMS

ROOF STRUCTURE (CONCRETE)

CIRCULATION SECOND FLOOR

SECOND FLOOR

STRUCTURE (CONCRETE)

CIRCULATION FIRST FLOOR

GROUND FLOOR

EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC & SITE

LIGHT

Destellos is driven by the use of light which defines spatiality and circulation within the building. Natural light is gathered through the building by the use of sequential openings on the CMU that are aligned with the purpose of absorbing and releasing light.

BALCONY ON SECOND FLOOR, 3’6” HIGH

ALIGNMENT OF OPENINGS WITHIN STRUCTURE

EXPERIENCE OF LIGHT THROUGH BUILDING

MAIN ENTRY

COMMON AREA

On the second floor the use of light becomes more a game of light and shadow created by slit openings on the concrete wall and the use of exposed concrete beams that twice a day create a juxtaposition of solid and void.

LARGE INTERIOR EXTERIOR SPACE

CONCRETE MASONRY

Destellos is constructed with concrete masonry units making it a long lasting building, capable of resisting various natural disasters.

The community center provides a large multi-purpose interior space of 5000sqft, that may become a place of shelter for the community in case of any emergency.

C. insulation

D. gypsum wall

CONCRETE FOOTING

CONCRETE FOUNDATION

1. WALL ASSEMBLY

2. CMU WALLS: All of building’s facade made out of concrete masonry units

3. WINDOWS: Windows are made out of 12” x 12” Glass blocks making the structure resistable to natural disasters

4. CMU CURVES: 8” CMU tight together and wings from each block are cut off to form curve

5. FOUNDATION DETAILS

MODELS, SKETCHES, DIGITAL MEDIA

The process of development of each of the projects was different, most of the conceptualization was made through rough models, digital media, and rough sketches with the purpose of bringing quick ideas to paper.

FLUCTUS