Architect Manuel Carballo Msc. PORTFOLIO

2003-2015

This is a selection of 14 representative projects of my practice as an Architect since 2003 to the present, from the most recent one made during my studies at the (ETSAB) Technical School of Architecture of Barcelona at the (UPC) Technical University of Catalonia, and ending with my the-sis on the (FAU) Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at the (UCV) Central University of Venezuela in 2003. For all of these projects I served as the Chief Architect in charge of the design, plans drawing and 3d modeling. I also had the opportunity to be the construction supervisor of project 5, 6 and 7. For more information, please visit my portfo-lio online at https://www.behance.net/mnl

I made the selection of these projects taking into ac-count the scale and importance of each one within my practice. Despite leaving out some smaller scaled projects, such as renovations, expansions and interior designs, I think this selection is significant and exemplary of the architectural language that I have developed throughout my career.

During the development of my projects, 3D model-ing was always used as a design tool and not only as a mechanism of representation. 3D modeling facilitates the performing of spatial as well as scale tests during the design process. Since 2011, (BIM) Building Information Modelling was introduced into my design process. This technique potentiated not only tridimensional reviews but also streamlined the process, optimized modifications and reduced time invested during project development.

INDEX

INTRODUCTION

01. Chandigarh Unbuilt, Competition to Complete Le Corbusier’s Capitol [DEC 2015]

02. Arne Jacobsen’s Lyngby Swimming Pool Building Reconstruction [JUL 2015]

03. Antoni Gaudí, Barcelona’s Flower Kiosk Reconstruction [ABR 2015]

04. Baltic Thermal Pool Park Competition [JUL 2014]05. Alta Florida, Residential Complex [FEB 2014]

06. Beach House at Archipielago Los Roques [FEB 2013]

07. Modular Building Design Challenge Competition [FEB 2012]

08. Tower in Gothic Quarter: Bohemian Hostel for Backpackers Competition [ABR 2011]

09. International Musical Complex and Urban Environment Competition [JUN 2010]

10. Back Office Building [MAR 2008]

11. 509, Residential Complex [DEC 2007]

12. Aalto, Residential Complex [AGO 2007]

13. Townhouses at Puerto Piritu [FEB 2005]

14. TATE in Space, Student international Architecture Competition [JUN 2003]

(01) Aerial render view of the project, from the west side of Chandigarh’s Capitol. At the background, Shivalik Hills

This is an international architecture competition promoted by Archasm (http://www.archasm.in/in-dex.html) seeking to complete the Museum of Knowl-edge of Le Corbusier’s Capitol Project in Chandigarh. In that matter, my architecture proposal for the MOK started with the division of the program into two main buildings. One building, located underground, it is a large basement that includes the R&D functions, the administration offices, auditorium, and the digital li-brary. The second building is the exhibition galleries of the museum . It is divided into 4 elevated galleries, which are connected underground by the basement level.

One of the main tasks of the MOK is to ensure the archiving of the existing knowledge. For this reason, I have designated the basement level as the proper location for the R&D activities. This level, known as Knowledge Center, covers the total area of the as-signed site . It is naturally ventilated by 6 courtyards that allows the connection with the street level through by the use of ramps and stairs. located on them. These courtyards are fully covered with plants separating the different areas visually and acoustically.

The street level connects with the Capitol Com-plex through a large garden on the roof of the R&D basement, and a little gradient slope that connect this garden with the street. At this level are also located two open air theatres, cafes, retails and tuck shops that serve as an access to the building.

One of the main goals of the museum is to display the knowledge produced and stored. The Museum lev-el is located 4 meters above the garden and divided into 4 buildings connected with the street level trough the repetitions of the already existing Le Corbusier Ramp of the Martyrs Memorial which allow the con-nection of between the Museum with and the garden.

The galleries are divided into 4 buildings, allow-ing flexibility in for the curatorship of the exhibition. Each of the buildings has 2 levels of exhibition, and a terrace for outdoor exhibition, each of them are an connectionted to the R&D basement and has an under-ground connection with each other.

01. Chandigarh Unbuilt, Competition to Complete Le Corbusier’s Capitol

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(02) Interior render view of the Research & Development offices at the basement of the project.

(03) Floor plan of the exhibition galler-ies at first level and longitudinal section of the project by the stairs

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(01) Interior render view of the swim-ming pool area, from the terrace level facing west.

In 1964 the municipality of Lyngby - Taarbæk (Denmark) commissioned the architect Arne Jacobsen to design a public indoor pool building for the munic-ipality., Tthe council decision was made by inthe Au-gust 9, 1963. This first draft proposal was discussed in by the council, producing several changes to the project in the following months. Finally, on May 17, 1971, three months after the death of Arne Jacobsen, the council decides not to build the project for eco-nomic reasons. As a final result of this design process, Jacobsen’s office produced a final project and a 3D model of the design, the original plans and the final model are located in the National Art Library of Den-mark.

Here is where this research begins, as a final the-sis for my Master Degree at the Universidad Politectni-ca de Cataluña in Barcelona Spain. I was looking to rebuild a project that was never built. The publications that gave coverage to the draft for the Lyngby project only shows the blueprint presented by Jacobsen to the City of Lyngby in 1964. It was published for the first time in an article written by the same Jacobsen in the magazine Arkitecktur no. 5 of 1964. I seek through this reconstruction in order to showcase aspects of the project that had not been shown before, placing value on the intentions of the original project. I also researched other references and projects built by Ja-cobsen to enrich my proposal.

As part of the reconstruction of the project, I was looking to recreate the landscaping project based on

the information appearing in the plans as well as oth-er references like Jacobsen’s watercolor perspectives shown in the competition for the municipality of Tårnby 1960 and the Municipality of Glostrup 1954. In both cases, the vegetation is used in a very controlled way, with a geometrical pruning, generating volumes that control the limits of urban space that is generated in both projects.

The original photographs of the model appearing in various publications over the years mainly show photographs from aerial angles, of the exterior and only one picture from interior of the building, that is why by reconstruct the building in three dimensions, I was able to show the building at a scale it was not shown before.

During the process of redrawing of the original plans and three-dimensional modeling, it was possible to appreciate design principles that Jacobsen subse-quently used in projects such as the building of indoor pool Fehrman, Germany. But it was also possible to appreciate a style belonging to buildings such as St. Catherine’s College, the National Bank and the SAS Royal Hotel.

02. Arne Jacobsen’s Lyngby Swimming Pool Building Reconstruction

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(02) Collage of the watercolor recon-struction using the 3D model plus frag-ments of other water colors made by Arne Jacobsen

(03) Floor plan at level terrace of the indoor swimming pool building, and 2 sections, one by the swimming pool and other by the thermal baths.

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(01) Final render of the Girossi’s kiosks designed by Gaudi

Only ink drawings on manila paper signed by An-tonio Gaudi and a project description are the only doc-uments left of the selling flowers kiosk and toilets drafted by Antoni Gaudí in May 14, 1878, requested by Mr. Enrique Girossi. (Expediente de Fomento no. 873) These documents were located in the Municipal Archives of Barcelona until the year 1970, and currently located in the Municipal Institute of History. So, availing myself of the existing draft, and project description, I proceeded to make a three-dimensional kiosk proposal. The goal was to place the buildings at the same twenty different locations described in the original project, creating a tour of the “Barcelona of 1878” using the base map of the city at the time.

The description stated that 20 kiosks were to be in-stalled at a cost of 8,500 pesetas each. Mr Girossi de Sanctis, was offered to install these kiosks-toilets at vari-ous points in the city of Barcelona. In exchange, he re-quested exclusive concession and authorization to place in, lighting signs with advertisement and a flower shops.

The description named marble iron and glass as construction materials. Each kiosk measures 4 meters long, 2.40 wide and 4 meters high, with a top canopy that protects from sun and rain on all four sides so the passersby could be entertained with advertising placed in opaque glass walls, internally illuminated at night with light gas. Each kiosk also includes a paid restroom service with toilets, urinals, and sinks and with anan area for cleaning and store natural flowers that would operate day and night.

In the central part under the canopy, a rectangular plate with a clock was located in the middle on both sides of this calendar. Further down, a barometer and a thermometer were also included.

Locations proposed for Girossi’s Kiosk by Gaudi in Barcelona City in1878:

1. Rambla del Centro, in front of Café Nacional2. Rambla del Centro, in front of Casa Subiela3. La Boqueria in front of La Virreina4. Rambla de los estudios 5. End of rambla de canaletas6. Entrance of Paseo de Gracia 7. Av. Gran Vía and Aragón Street8. San Agustín Square, 9. Universidad Square10. Nueva Square11. Claris Street12. Urquinaona Square (formerly San Sebastián)13. El Borne Market14. Paseo de San Juan (lower part)15. Real Square16. San Jaime Square

03. Antoni Gaudí, Barcelona’s Flower Kiosk Reconstruction

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(02) Photo montage of the Girossi’s ki-osk over Paseo de Ggracia boulevard at Barcelona City

(03) Unique original document avail-able from Gaudi’s project, this is an ink drawing on paper of the facade and the schematic floor plan.

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(01) Render of aerial view from the south west side, showing thermal com-plex, the covered swimming pool and the hotel building.

The Pool Park was conceived an integrated building in-terconnecting all of the internal areas and its surroundings, reducing the impact in the landscape and preserving the tree groves. In order to reduce the impact to the surrounding areas, an important part of the building is placed underground. This characteristic not only reduce the total height, but also to take advantages of the natural heat of the underground and protects from cold winds during winter.

The outdoor pool is strategically located in the middle of the complex, as it will be the central attraction of this park during summer. This area is above the ground level seeking the fresh summer breeze, the natural sun light and better views of the surroundings. There are 2 swimming pools in this area, a large thermal water pool, a pool bar with underwater seating, as well as food and beverages zones. There is also a children’s outdoor park and pool.

Since the indoor pool will be used during winter time, it is well protected at underground level, surrounded by glass walls and ceilings with skylights oriented according to the movement of the sun during the year. There are 3 pools in this zone, a small thermal water pool, a small pool with attractions, and finally a children’s pool, close to the outdoor children’s park.

The spa was designed all around a courtyard trying to iso-late itself from the noises of the outdoor pool using vegetation and ventilation courtyards on each room. These individual court-yards are equipped with outdoor private showers, and Jacuzzi. The gym, the beauty salon and other areas are located under the outdoor pool zone, using also natural ventilation trough the individual courtyards during summer time.

The guest accommodation area is divided into 2 edifica-tions, one is the main building or hotel and the other is the villas or houses. The hotel has 3 types of rooms, 20 Luxury rooms, 50

standard rooms and 10 family rooms. All of the rooms have an outdoor terrace oriented to the tree groves and the sea. The villas are designed as family houses and some of them are designat-ed for disable people. They have two bedrooms, kitchen , living room, a private garden. The glass façade and ceiling skylights are oriented according to the sun movement, in order to use the natural sun heating during the winter

The food and beverages zone is located within the outdoor pool area and includes a restaurant, a bar and a kitchen provid-ed with indoor and outdoor tables; the restaurant and the bar are sharing the kitchen area .

The parking zone is located under the accommodation building. The vehicle access is provided through the Kaleju ST. and also the main pedestrian entrance is located at this area. There are 288 parking spots distributed in half level floors with open walls to provide natural ventilation.

04. Baltic Thermal Pool Park Competition

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(02) Render view of the project from the Baltic sea side.

(03) Site plan and crossing section by the hotel tower and the villas

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(01) Aerial render view of the project, from the west side with the Avila Moun-tain at the far left and Caracas city to the right.

The Alta Florida Residential Complex project was designed as a gated community complex at the top of a mountain in the “Lomas de San Rafael” suburb in Caracas, Venezuela, this prime location provides a 360-degree vision of the Caracas city valley and the Avila mMountain at the north side of the site . The ex-isting road in the interior of the plot allows the internal circulation of vehicles. Each housingtownhouse unit has its own parking space at the front and also a common parking lot for visitors or personal use in the central area of the site.

The project was conceived by locating the housing unitstownhouses in the outer perimeter of the plot, leav-ing the center wide open for the location of parking spaces covered by an elevated green roof for social areas and swimming pool. The project comprehends a total of 16 two level semi-detached townhouses , a basement with multipurpose room with access to the gar-den and a rooftop terrace. The sizes of these units are is of 360 sqmm2 and 280 m2sqm. As the plot has a slope topography, a series of terraces were developed with small stone- retaining walls between the units.

Every residential unit follows the same scheme, starting at street level where the social area is located staggered along the slope of the land, the ground level includes the kitchen, service premises toilet and guest room, the dining room and living room with a small out-door terrace facing city views. The 1st floor comprise 3 bedrooms with walk-in closets and one en-suit bathroom each. Finally, the master bedroom with walk-in closet

and the en-suit bathroom. At the top of each unit, there is a terrace with open views to the Caracas valley.

At the south side of the complex, beside the swim-ming pool, there is a gathering area that includes a gymnasium, a sauna, and a squash court that, along with the swimming pool on the top of the garage, com-prise the social and recreational area of the complex, providing residents the ability to develop different kind of outdoor activities without leaving the complex.

The existing roads and trees did not allow the loca-tion of units on the perimeter, this is why it was request-ed the modification of roads as a new urban plan to the Town Hall authorities. This proposal allowed us to preserve many trees and to achieve a 360-degree view of Caracas city. This layout also helped to allocate the common parking area in the center of the complex. This project is actually under construction, and according to the schedule it would be finished in 2017.

05. Alta Florida, Residential Complex

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(02) Render of the project showing the interior roads and units layout within the site.

(03) Assembly site plan of the housing project, showing the location of the units in the outer perimeter of the plot and a section of the project showing the terraces.

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(01) Actual image of the house being constructed in final phases. Taken from the sea, showing the South facade

The archipelago of “Los Roques” is located at 145 kms. from the city of Caracas, in the Caribbean Sea. There, a small town called El Gran Roque, part of “Los Roques” archipelago hosts this beautiful beach house called Casa Verde (Green House). The great Caribbe-an weather, the white sand and its clear water, makes it a wonderful Venezuelan tourist destination for locals and overseas. This town has particular regulation that sets the specifications of building facades, so it was mandatory to take into account these regulations but also the location of the sun during the year and the wind direction as a passive cooling system.

This project began as a renovation of an existing house. Since Los Roques is considered a national park, no new construction are allowed, but, the very poor condition of this house helped us acquired an excep-tional construction permit as long as the new project facades and the old building distribution were coupled in an harmonic way. This proved to be a challenge during design and construction.

The Beach House project is located next to the beach allowing direct view of the sea but at the same time, it is protected from direct sun rays by the use of aluminum lattices . The social area is located to the East side of the house, which remains cool during the year. The implementation of lattices provided a wonderful in-terior atmosphere and comfort.

The social area has movable lattice panels tailored in aluminum carpentry, which when opened provide

sun protection and act like pergolas framing the visuals of the Caribbean Sea. The bedroom area located at the west side of the project is protected by an outer thick wall perimeter that works as heat isolation by mass dissipation.

The structure is a hybrid of concrete columns and a wooden beam frame that support the roof which is formed by a double sandwich of aluminum finishes and a thick 150 millimeters isolation foam core. The nodes that connect the concrete columns with the wooden frame are custom designed prefabricated galvanized steel pieces that works as connections between both materials.

Once a year, the sea level raises and covers a great part of the beach. To overcome this issue, the house is placed on the top of a concrete basement. Even with this extra height, big waves can potentially reach the façade and interior, that is why all of the furniture is made of concrete casted in place, includ-ing beds, sofas, kitchen cabinets, even the bathroom cabinets.

One of the main challenges during construction was the shipment of materials from mainland to the is-land. This required an important logistic work and a very precise scheduling of activities to achieve compli-ance goals. Another major factor was the supervision of the construction site, given that labor was brought from mainland to the island given the scarcity of local manpower and qualified labor.

06. Beach House at Archipielago Los Roques

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(02) Actual image of the house being constructed in final phase

(03) Floor plan of the project and south facade

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(01) Render of aerial view of the project showing the integration of the different units together as a residential unit.

This is my proposal for the architecture competi-tions of The Modular Building Design Challenge 2012 promoted by Urban Collective (http://urbancollective.com.au/) aimed to not only stablish a dialogue within the community about building interest on prefabrication and modular design, but also to create contemporary and affordable construction units to alleviate the widely discussed housing affordability crisis in Sydney, Aus-tralia.

As this was intended as a competition of ideas with no specific site constrain, there is no expectation that submitted designs adhere to any specific planning controls. Instead, designs are aim to propose contem-porary and functional modular solutions to provide good standard housing for residents and the surround-ing neighborhood.

This Eco Modular Living Unit was designed using 4 modular units of 12,192mm long, 2,438mm wide and 2,896mm height. Each individual unit expands on size to double the area, from 29.5m2 to 59m2. The 4 modular units can be setup in a number of different layouts in order to cater for different needs, functions and site constrains like size and topology.

This living unit was designed for Sydney, NSW. I took into account the weather and the need of good insulation which was achieve using different kinds of ecologic resources of energy such as solar panels and wind turbines in order to generate electric energy, and also using passive / low technology systems such as

trombe walls and thermal chimney to regulate the inter-nal temperature of the unit.

The 1st floor plant, is formed by a sort of base-ment of 45cm of height witch separate the unit from the terrain, and includes a swimming pool and rain water collection system. This level contains the Living / Dining Room, the kitchen, and the studio / home office, which can be changed to a laundry room if it’s necessary.

At the 2nd floor two bedrooms with internal bath-rooms, and also individual spaces to study within the room are located . The master bedroom has a com-fortable bathroom with bath, shower and panoramic views of the surrounding areas. At this level is also located the roof gardens that helps to regulate the in-ternal temperature of the unit.

This Eco Modular Living Unit uses different tempera-ture-regulated passive systems such as thermal chimney and trombe walls. These are low-tech low-cost systems which help to efficiently regulate the internal tempera-ture of the living unit, by changing the dampers config-urations during summer and winter. The location and inclination of those systems are designed according to Sydney insulation needs .

The facade is the result of the industrial aesthetics of cargo containers, which were used as inspiration, but were redefined in order to allow the expansion of the internal space at the moment of installation.

07. Modular Building Design Challenge Competition

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(02) Render view of the project taken from the swimming pool area.

(03) Floor plan at ground level and cross section by the Livingroom and stairs.

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(01) Render of aerial view of the project without the context, showing the garden at ground level.

The proposal for the bohemian backpacker’s hostel in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, was conceived through five different areas: the garden perimeter, the basement, the air terrace, the tower and the urban landmark

The garden perimeter was conceived as an exten-sion of the “Plaza dels Angels” (see map 01 ground and aerial view of the proposal). Its purpose is to create a gap between the proposal and existing buildings. These surrounding edifications have windows and access to the proposal site, making for both ventilation and lighting.

The basement, as the area containing services nec-

essary for the operation of the shelter, contains the en-trance hall, reception, shop, bar (controlled by receiving access). The main double-height hall (see internal view), Internet room, administration, nursing and room service (see drawings 03 and 04 floor) can also be found in the basement. Deposits and laundry are shown in drawing No. floor. 02

Above the basement, the air terrace (See map No. 05), is built acknowledging the height of the neighboring buildings and to being kind to the context. At this level the kitchen and the dining room are located. The latter is proposed between a covered area and outdoor space to enjoy the visual of the city.

The hostel rooms are situated along the tower. Each floor has 10 rooms and 2 shared bathrooms and circu-lation hallways along the edge of each floor. The corner rooms enjoy a 180 degrees’ view.

The inverted catenary was used to optimize the load distribution of a structure that would reach 100 meters high and would be appreciated from many different points of the city of Barcelona. This element was widely used by Antonio Gaudí in his work and is recognized as a city landmark. The Bohemian Hostel would have LED lighting along the inverted catenary so it could be appre-ciated at night. Finally, this structure would include a pan-oramic elevator, located at the terrace of the tower rooms. It would run to a 100 meters high platform, to allow visi-tors a 360-degree view over the city of Barcelona.

08. Tower in Gothic Quarter: Bohemian Hostel for Backpackers Competition

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(02) Render view of the project from the Plaza dels Angel

(03) Floor plans of the project from left to right: Level 1 main access, Level 2 exterior deck terrace and restaurant, Level 3 Staff mezzanine. Level 4 Tower typical plant.

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(01) Render of aerial view of the proj-ect taken from the boulevard Amador Bendayan.

The architecture competition for the International Musical Complex and urban Environment provides the opportunity to develop an area of great importance for the consolidation of the Venezuelan music system.

My proposal for this competition aims to be a platform to enable the international exchange and pro-jection of national talent. To achieve these purposes, the complex is designed to perform various activities, which were organized within a volume set, to supply many functions inherent to orchestral activities such as, concerts, essays, study halls, warehouses, administra-tive offices, among others.

The volume located on the east side of the site, conforms the building of the Music Complex. It is a nine-story building containing 3 public spaces such as audio library. Reproduction and digitization are located at ground level. Most of this building is intended for rehearsal and study for the musicians of the nation’s system of youth orchestras, therefore, these spaces are separated from each other by insulated double walls.

The three white floating volumes that make up the concert halls are located at different levels, each with independent access and services. The spaces resulting from its forms and their location, demarcate the entrance to the complex and opens it to the Caobos Park. It is aimed to maintain the connection between the Ama-dor Bendayán Boulevard and Caobos Park creating an open space that invites passerby to visit and enjoy.

The basement is generated taking advantage of the

slope terrain in order to propose a basement-building with many levels connecting the boulevard and park.

Finally, this Musical Complex merges the northern front of a more urban character with the south side framed by the park and surroundings. A building where musicians can be inspired by the environment hopping become the place of reference for music, youth, nature and citizens.

09. International Musical Complex and Urban Environment Competition

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(02) Render of aerial view of the project from the Caobos Park side.

(03) Cross section of the auditorium, concert halls, and floor plan at street level.

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(01) Exterior render image and main access to the building

The Premier Insurance building was designed for this company as a back office, taking into account their specific requirements, but at the same time al-lowing flexibility for future growth and densification by technologically flexible systems. The location des-ignated for this project is an industrial area named La California in Caracas, Venezuela.

The project has a ground floor with a reception area to attend visitors, providers and customers. Then, the rest of the building enjoy an open-plan layout that allows different types of furniture disposi-tion and densities, thus achieving a flexible project that suited not only the current demands, but the po-tential growth of the company and the performance of new functions along with future changes in the organization. All the electrical installations for light-ing, voice and data systems are distributed within the ceiling area, so every desk configuration can be installed on any floor and connected to the grid by plugging-in the unit to the ceiling installations.

On each floor there is a service area, where toi-lets, lifts and emergency stairs are located, as well as the area that holds technical equipment. Each floor layout is different, but in every case, the out-er perimeter was used to place room offices with glazed panels that allow the natural sunlight to pen-etrate the interior of the floor where the open space and the furniture Is located.

We kept the number of columns to a minimum to reduce the costs and to grant the open plan effect. This design was supported by using deep pile foun-dations. The parking at the basement was designed in half levels, facilitating the ventilation.

A kitchen and dining room for the employees was created at the ground level. The goal is to make the building as autonomous as possible and to solve the problem of the absence of nearby places for lunch.

10. Back Office Building

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(02) Aerial render view from the North West side of the building

(03) Typical floor plan levels 1, 2 and 3 of the office building and cross sec-tion by the basement parking area.

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(01) Render of Aerial view of the proj-ect from the north side.

The 509 Residential Complex, is located on the top of one of the mountains of Alto Hatillo suburb, which provides excellent visuals of the valley of Caracas. The proposal consists of 6,500.00 m2 sqm of construction area, divided into a seven-story tower with 12 apart-ments and 5 individual townhouses, the complex have an internal access road to the carpark and each town-house . The common areas are located in the base-ment of the tower, which includes the basement carpark with landscaped slabs.

Each townhouse unit was developed using the same half level scheme. Starting at the street level, there is the carpark and the main access to the unit. Half way down comprises the social areas such as the kitch-en, the dining room, the living room and the outdoor terrace, while half way up includes the bed rooms and the TV room. The master bedroom with its own walk-in closet and en-suit bathroom is located at the rooftop. At the garden level, there is also a multipurpose room.

The seven-story tower has 3 types of residential units, the ones located at the first two levels which are duplex with private gardens, then 3 levels of single level units, and finally two duplex at the pent house level with private rooftop terraces. Each single level apart-ment was designed in order to allow contiguous units to be joined together to double the area and function as a single unit.

As the plot is located at the top of a mountain, we used the topography of the terrain in order to take ad-

vantage of north side views by staggering the location of houses, thus achieving that, both the building and the houses enjoy the views of the Avila Mountain.

The complex has already been built and sold 100 percent in presale. The project was successfully execut-ed according to plan. Only some landscaping work and planting vegetation on the perimeter is left to be completed. The strategy of providing a wide range of housing units with different areas and features to cov-er a much wider target audience, granted a successful presale phase. It was so successful that it is now imple-mented in other residential projects.

11. 509, Residential Complex

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(02) Actual image of the building being constructed in the final phase

(03) Site assembly plan and crossing section by the building tower and houses.

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(01) Render of aerial view of the project from the north east side.

The Aalto residential complex is located at the top of the Alto Hatillo suburb, which provides ex-cellent visuals of Caracas valley. The project has more than 20 residential units and 5,300.00 m2 of construction. This is a private urban residential project developed within a bigger residential urban promotion which is under construction.

All social areas in each residential unit are locat-ed facing north, while the rooms facing south enjoy the view of El Hatillo valley. At the top levels, the towers are terraced. The car park roof of the lower level of each duplex, serves as a private garden for each building.

All the social areas like the swimming pool, gym-nasium, and gardens are located at the north side of the plot. There is an internal road that divides the complex into two towers on one side and one tower in the other. Each tower has a different height, start-ing with 5 levels on the west side of the site facing carparks and recreational areas, while on the East side, the tower reach 7 levels facing a site aimed to host future building with the same height.

This residential complex is already builtd. The variety in units’ sizes and characteristics was a com-mercial success given that all the apartments were sold in pre-sale. The project catered owners of differ-ent purchasing power, so all 22 houses were sold. Some were joined together to create bigger spaces and others were divided to create smaller homes.

12. Aalto, Residential Complex

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(02) Actual image of building being constructed in the final phase

(03) Site assembly plan and north fa-cade of the project showing the 3 levels of the residential towers.

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(01) Render of aerial view of one res-idential unit from the North West side

Puerto Piritu is a well know tourist area located in the state of Anzoategui in Venezuela. Due to excep-tional geographical conditions like beautiful beaches and lagoons. This region is characterized by sparse vegetation contrasting with large beach areas that are visited mainly by local tourists.

I chose to develop a hotel based on small town-houses for rent. These townhouses have a common parking area and swimming pool, but each unit has a private outdoor area and garden.

The units are freestanding townhouses with 3 bedrooms. The social area consists of a living room, a dining room and an outdoor terrace. To ventilate and illuminate the units, we I implemented courtyards that separate the social areas from the private ones and also function as ventilation for the bathrooms and kitchen.

The structure is very simple, the walls are stone and self-supporting brick. The structure is a frame of beams and columns made of steel, while the roof is made of prefabricated aluminum sheets finished on both faces with an insulating foam interior.

They were arranged together in a way to im-prove ventilation for common areas and to enjoy the sea view. This disposition also achieved free corners and enhanced the privacy of the outdoor terraces.

The location of the site is very close to the best beaches in the area. It is also located at the main street for shopping. This concept of townhouses for rent during holiday season is very popular in the area. There are no services rooms within the town-houses because the cleaning and laundry is com-monly outsourced.

13. Townhouses at Puerto Piritu

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(02) Render of aerial render view of one residential unit from the south east side

(03) Plan of the assembly project, show-ing the staggered disposition of the res-idential units.

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(01) Render of external view of the gal-lery in out space.

This is a special project because it was my first international experience at the very beginning of my professional career. The Tate Modern Gallery in London, called for an international student competi-tionstudent competition to design the new headquar-ters of the gallery in outer space. This My proposal was selected as the first runner up, and also the subject of the thesis for my academic degree at the Central University of Venezuela, where it received the highest rating and the mention of Best Thesis of the Semester. The project was exhibited among oth-ers at the “Maison Europeen de la Photographie” in Paris / France in 2003 at the Art-Outsiders festival

The architecture competition of the Tate Modern Gallery was a contest of ideas, in which no time was given for a deeper space and theoretical explo-ration, which is why the same subject was further de-veloped as my thesis work so I could reach a deeper theoretical development and exploration level. The main theme was the architectural exploration under the effect of zero gravity and the contemplation of artwork under this condition of weightlessness.

The gallery was designed as a toroid based in a uniform elliptical section extruded along an axis that follows the path of the Mobius tape, generating an outer surface with a virtually infinite path. The choice of that particular form was based on the most evident characteristics of the outer space, the absence of

gravity, the above and below and how gallery’s visi-tors experience the artwork and navigate the gallery in such conditions.

The final product of the design process includes a 3D animated video navigating throughout the gal-lery and a virtual visit to the exhibition galleries with an art curatorship conceived in zero gravity.

14. TATE in Space, Student international Architecture Competition

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(02) Render of the typical section (03) 3D section of the typical extruded section, in the center the main gallery, at the left the secondary hall, and at the right side the main circulation device.

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