e fEDWIN FIGUEROAUNDERGRADUATE PORTFOLIO

A special thank you to my friends and family, especially my mother, who has always been there to pick me up when I fall.

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.“ ” -Theodore Roosevelt

Volunteer Research Assistant: June 2013 - Current Participating in a number of site visits to conduct architectural surveys and evaluations for the National Register of Historical Places Program Researching and evaluating evidence within the Kent county Tax Assessment records in order to uncover historical data related to people and places of importance Constructing architectural descriptions and drawings for the historical buildings that I visited VPP Assistant: May 2010 - September 2010 Worked for VPP (Voluntary Protection Program) to help assess the safety of the company Worked in the factory painting and cleaning to obtain and maintain a safer work space for the onsite evaluation Compiled data regarding the safety of the company for the application to OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) Compiled hundreds of pieces of data in an Excel spreadsheet in a matter of a few short weeks Chef Assistant: September 2008 - May 2010 Prepared product for chefs and served food to at least 500 students, staff and faculty in a cafeteria style dining hall at a small private liberal arts and design-based university Appointed to run a made-to-order food station unaccompanied as a result of a fast and efficient work pace

College of Architecture and the Built EnvironmentPhiladelphia University, Philadelphia, PABachelor of Architecture Five-Year DegreeGraduation: May 2013Classes of note: Experimental Structures, Urban Strategies, Urban Landscape Design

302.353.9018edwin.figueroa9835@gmail.comhttp://issuu.com/figueroa9835

Experience

Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs

Philadelphia University

Solvay Solexis

EDWIN FIGUEROA

Tree Tender Assessor: September 2011 Established the health of trees planted by Tree Tenders Learned the requirements to a healthy tree Informed the community how to maintain healthy trees

NOMAS; The National Organization of Minority Architecture Students; Philadelphia University Chapter : 2013CANstruction Philadelphia; one CAN make a difference : 2011 - 2013The Philadelphia University Chapter of the American Institute of Architecture students member (AIAS) : 2012 - 2013

Programs and Ability

Community Service

Organization

9 - 16

23 - 30

35 - 40

Hanging From The Ground

Single Bullet

The Arch

Aerial Pedestrian Expressway

17 - 22

31 - 34

The Column

C_ABE Center for Architecture and Design

41 - 44

51 - 60

Reinvent

The Luminous Weave

45 - 50

Scope: To design a dance studio built around the art of dance.

Tools: Hand drawings, Revit, Photoshop

Hanging From The Ground

Professor: Christopher Stromberg

Design: V

9 - 16

Dance is a series of motion. It has moments of movement and moments of rest. This idea of dance was captured through diagramming a series of models and collages.

The role of light was to create a link between the space constructed which is underground and the nature which is above ground. Through directly diagramming light within this kind of space, ideas of tunnels of light and connection be-tween above ground and below ground emerged in the form of light tunnels. these tunnels of light highlight the dancers within their studios, dramatizing the art of dance.

The idea of connection was a driving force from the beginning of the project. Through a series of models, I explored how the form can connect back to the site, and even how the form can con-nect to itself. As shown below the performance space protrudes through the ground, mimicking the long and hard work a dancer undergoes in order to make it to the success of a performance.

Soil with plantingFilter FabricDrainageMoisture RetentionAerationThermal InsulationRoot BarrierWater proofing membraneProtection CourseConcrete

17 - 22

Scope: To design a programmed bridge that utilized and integrates the overgrown and underused viaduct back into the city.

Tools: Revit, Photoshop, Indesign

Aerial Pedestrian Expressway

Professor: Donald Dunham

Design: VIII

Steel Clamp3’ Steel Connector

4’ Ring

Weld Connection1’ Steel Tube

Cross StabilizerCarbon Fiber Monocoque Structural Tube

By creating this widespread bridge I was able to explore the connection between the overgrown viaduct to the highly used Reading Terminal Market. By doing this I would be able to bring back life into the viaduct by giving pedestrians both a direct circulation path and a commercial gath-ering space. The idea was to create this hanging tube that snakes its way over the Vine Street Expressway. The tube would hang from, at least, two greatly structured objects, which would also serve as a circulation core. The tube itself would also be self-structure through the use of a carbon fiber monocoque shell, which would have a series of penetrations for sunlight, when allowable.

23 - 30

Scope: To design and fabricate an exhibition to showcase Senator Arlen Specter’s role in the Warren Commission investigation.

Tools: Photoshop, Rhino, Hands, Wood Shop, Library

Supported by:

Professor: David Kratzer

Design Build

Arlen Specter & The Warren Commission Investigation of The JFK AssassinationBULLET

SINGLE

The semester long exhibit was divided into a few sections. The first sec-tion was a replica car that JFK was riding when he was assassinated. As a class we came to the conclusion that replicating the essence of the car would allow us to give the visitor an eye opening experience of the assassination. Originally we had a few different ideas of how to create the car, whether realistically or as an interpretation. Color, size, and material all played a deciding role. We tested materials such as cloth, wiring and even boating shrink wrap. While testing different materials we also had limitations to deal with such as the exhibit space, lighting and audience.

As a class we concluded that a wire frame would give the necessary impact and fit within the space requirements to satisfy the needs of the library. The seating was built with a wooden frame so that a visi-tor would be able to take JFK’s seat. Once a visitor sat onto the seat they would be able to look onto a screen which showed the vantage points of the possi-ble shot locations of the assassin. This was done by creating a few camera locations, accurate in terms of angle and proportion, pointed towards JFK’s seat. This allowed the visitor to make up their own conclu-sions of what shots were actually possible or not.

Another essential piece to the exhibit was the walk through site model. What made this model important was the direct correlation to seeing a model and know that Arlen Specter had a similar large model which he used to solve the crime. The life size model allows the visitor to see the surrounding context, and see where JFK’s car was accordingly to each shot.

31 - 34

Scope: To investigate the the unconventional methods of creating an organic column

Tools: Power tools, own hands, AutoCad

The Column

Professor: Armando Plata

Experimental Structures

Columns serve an essential role within architecture. The symbolism of a column comes from its performance in com-pression and ability to lift. As technology becomes ever more advance, organic architecture can become a more prevalent and achievable idea. Our class decided to create a column that represented a tree and in turn lightly and elegantly hold up a roof. The principle behind this column is that no matter where it starts at the top, gravity would make it so that it would fall the shortest way down. And each time it stemmed down it would attach itself onto another piece of the column until it reached a point where all the pieces were connected. At this point it be-comes a typical column and goes straight down to the ground.

35 - 40

Scope: To investigate the relationship of tension and compression within an arch. Height: 48” Span: 96”

Tools: Power tools, own hands

The Arch

Professor: Armando Plata

Experimental Structures

To begin the process of designing the arch, we first hung a chain from two points and outlined the shape. We then constructed a 1” x 1” grid around the chain to map out all the points of the outline. This method allowed for us to create a perfectly parabolic arch, which allows for a structurally stronger arch.

After we figured out the outline of the arch, the next step was to divide the arch into seventeen segments (6” x 6” x 3”). As a class we decided to split the arch at the third block from the ground in order to create two legs at both ends. We experi-mented with angles of the split and ultimately concluded with thirty degrees off center.

Scope: Stimulating the skills learned from Philadelphia University in a manner to create and repurpose remnants into useful and engaging objects.

Tools: Power tools, own hands

Reinvent

41 - 44

While obtaining my degree in architecture I have been exposed to observing, reusing and adapting towards the environment. The thought process and craftsmanship that I acquired elevated an interest to-wards transforming locally found debris into functioning pieces. In this case I found a portion of a tree resting by the lo-cal waterfront. After tinkering around with it I realized that I could use it as a bottle holder with a flat top for cups because of its ability to sit up using its own branches. After countless hours of sanding and form-ing a flat table top, I drilled three holes and stained the piece. I used the opportu-nity of the bottles, when propped into the wood, as a representation of the branches playfully extending outward.

45 - 50

Scope: “To design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive.”

Tools: Revit, Photoshop, Rhino

The Luminous Weave

Professor: Edgar Stach

Design X: Solar Decathlon

The Solar Decathlon is highly competitive and is scored ranging from aesthetics to marketability to the energy efficiency of a house. As a result, our class was a semester long brainstorming of innova-tive and creative houses that would stand apart from the rest. Philadelphia University has the privilege of having its roots within the textile industry. This idea of weaving fabrics provides an interesting viewpoint of what constitutes a livable space. Using Phila-delphia University’s heritage of textiles, an idea of architecture through the weaving of fibers and fabric formed. In this case the fibers interweaving one an-other create both the living spaces and the structure through the techniques derived from basket making. Therefore these object or baskets become the spaces required for living and for the structure simultane-ously, weaving in and out of itself.

In my design I chose to use aerogel as insulation between the fabrics which wrapped around the car-bon fibre structure. The carbon fiber structure would interweave with itself and undulated to provide a hard yet highly transparent shell. In all, the carbon fiber would act as hundreds of columns, allowing the diameter of a single fibre to be as minimal as possible. The plan consists of three baskets that are created by allowing the carbon fiber to wrap from the roof down to the floor in a twisting form. What resulted from this experimentation were these baskets that contained the essentials of a home, such as the washer, dryer, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom, allowing for the rest of the floor plan to be open. Also by using fabric as an envelope, LED light-ing and colour are able to glow through, allowing only the silhouettes of people to be seen within.

51 - 60

Scope: To design the new C_ABE Center which seeks to rethink the school experience for its 800+ students. This project was designed for students to work in groups of three.

Tools: Rhino, Sketchup, 3ds Max, Photoshop, Indesign

C_ABE Center for Architecture and Design

Professor: David Quadrini

Design: IX

Through the elements of trans-parency, connectivity and inter-action, the new C_ABE Center seeks to join together all un-dergraduate students and also merge with its surroundings and the rest of campus.

Not only will the building itself act as an exemplar of state-of-the-art sustainability but also as a physical expression of our university’s educational themes, reinforcing the importance of active education while providing the university and its commu-nity with a new facility that will house all undergraduate pro-grams in the College of Architec-ture and the Built Environment.

The idea of creating our C_ABE Center in between both main cores of the campus allowed for us to create a new core, a new heart. We incorpo-rated the existing underused pathway as a jumping point for our building. This allows for a play between walking through our building or walking down along our building.

Sheathing

Stone Veneer

Wood Strip Flooring

Vapor Barrier

Metal Stud

Metal StudInsulation

Metal Tie BackMortar Joint

Mortar Setting Bed

Scratch Coat

Metal Lath

Weather - Resisitive Barrier

Rigid Insulation Board