PORTFOLIOnoelsampson.net/.../2017/01/Portfolio-Noel-Sampson-2007-2017_LR.… · Yelena Tyo, Nataliya Volkova, Andrey Yelbayev Portfolio of Selected Projects. The Living Laboratory

Master in International Cooperation and Urban Development Master in Sustainable Emergency Architecture Architect

NOEL SAMPSON2007-2017

www.noelsampson.net

PORTFOLIO

Sustainable Architecture1. Sasle School. Jinotega, Nicaragua. 2013. 2. Fonseca Community Center. Siuna, Nicaragua. 2012.3. Amparo Sustainable Rural School. RAAN, Nicaragua. 2009. 4. Rosa Grande School Library. Siuna, Nicaragua. 2013.

Residential 5. Allan’s Residence. Leon, Nicaragua. 2010.6. J. G. Hernandez Residence. Nagarote, Nicaragua. 2008.

International & Urban Development7. Reactivating The Common. Dheisheh Refugee Camp, Palestine. 2014.8. Coastal Cities Initiative. Geneva, Switzerland. 2015. 9. Redeveloping the Moscow Exhibition Center. Moscow, Russia. 2014.10. Housing Adaptation to Climate Change. Vietnam. 2013.

Community Development11. Foot Bridge in Fonseca. RAAN, Nicaragua. 2012.12. WASH Hospital Carlos Centeno. Siuna, Nicaragua. 2012.

Portfolio Directory

Portfolio of Selected Projects. www.noelsampson.net

As an architect and urban planner, I have a diverse educational and professional background with expertise in sustainable architecture, urban development, construction and program management. I’ve gathered work experience in both the private and public sector in my home country of Nicaragua, as well as Vietnam, Mongolia, Palestine and Switzerland, addressing the following challenges:

• Designing and building a series of empowering sustainable architecture projects in Nicaragua

• Analyzing the physical strategies residents of urban-communities employ to adapt their surroundings in the face of climate change in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang in Vietnam, and Estelí and Managua in Nicaragua

• Observing how social relationships impact the urban development strategies of two Ger areas (informal human settlements) of Ulaanbaatar while collaborating with UN-HABITAT and the ADB in Mongolia

• Navigating the delicate political landscape of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in order to implement new forms of spatial representation alongside Campus in Camps, UNRWA and refugees

• Supporting the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe in Geneva, Switzerland, on housing, land management and writing the concept note of the Coastal Cities Initiative

Through these experiences I have learned that the physical, social, and political tracts must evolve together. People I met in this journey have inspired me to work further on archiving my goal: assure that all people have the right to create and inhabit healthy, humane, and secure spaces.

The main objective of my work, as reflected in the following projects, has been and will always be to improve people’s quality of life and well-being.

I hope you enjoy this selection of my work.Noel Sampson

Contact Information:

web: www.noelsampson.nete-mail: [email protected] Mobile: (+505) 8695 5563WhatsApp: (+505) 8695 5563Skype: noel.sampson

Access my online Curriculum Vitae:http://www.noelsampson.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Noel_Sampson_CV_2017_EN-1.pdf

Education

Master in International Cooperation and Urban Development. Technische Universität Darmstadt. Darmstadt, Germany.

Master in Sustainable Emergency Architecture. International University of Catalonia. Barcelona, Spain.

Bs. Architecture. Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria. Managua, Nicaragua.

Other professional studies at:University of Geneva in SwitzerlandLund University (LTH) in Sweden.MDF Training & Consultancy in the Netherlands.

Sasle SchoolSasle, Jinotega, Nicaragua. 2013

Up in the mountains of Jinotega in Nicaragua, Sasle School serves as the only education facility for children of the rural community of Sasle. Located on the buffer zone of the natural reserve of Miraflores, the school is also designed to work as community center and shelter in case of natural disasters.

The school is built with different wall materials, including a combination of metal, wood and bricks to achieve thermal balance inside its three classrooms.

The school considers natural ventilation and natural light by using translucent sheets in the two entrance vestibules and by a wall of wooden slats in the community hall which also forms a furniture where kids can lay back. When all doors are opened the three classrooms are used as a single space for community meetings.

Involvement: Architectural design, project planning and budgeting.

Project Lead: Bridges to Community | USD $25,000 | 140m²Project team: Francisco Ceron, Kenya Ramirez

Photo credits: Bridges to Community

Work Published by ArchDaily:http://www.archdaily.com/784045/sasle-school-noel-sampson


Fonseca Community CenterSiuna, Nicaragua. 2012

This sustainable architecture project provides space for the growing school-age population in the rural community of Fonseca while also functioning as a much needed community center and emergency shelter. The project was implemented with strong community participation and counted on strong support from international volunteers of Bridges to Community.

The building features sustainable architectural systems such as rain water collection through a butterfly roof which is used for hand washing and plants watering; natural ventilation through a double ceiling system and natural illumination facilitated by the set of 3 polycarbonate panels that filter light to the interior.

Involvement: Community consultation, architectural design, project planning, project management, construction and supervising.

Project Lead: Bridges to Community | USD $15,000 | 100m² | 300 beneficiaries Project team: Miguel Perez, Margarito Peralta and Meaghan Gruber

Photo credits: Bridges to Community


Amparo Sustainable Rural SchoolSiuna, RAAN. Nicaragua. 2009

Built in land donated by the community, and after a participatory design workshop, the project was shaped by the community which set a voluntarily working schedule to support the building process in different stages of the project.

The architecture considered natural illumination, ventilation and solar isolation. The internal distribution of spaces is based on an adaptable plan that allows the division of the interior in four different classrooms: a useful solution in the Nicaraguan countryside where one professor teaches different levels at the same time. Since the Amparo community is vulnerable to natural hazards, the building is designed as a storm-proof emergency shelter, community center and warehouse.

Involvement: community consultation, architectural design, project management, construction and supervising.

Project Lead: Bridges to Community USD $25,000 | 180m² | 800 beneficiaries Project team: Miguel Perez, Margarito Peralta and Miranda Jennings.Photo credits: Bridges to Community and Dartmouth College


Rosa Grande School LibrarySiuna, RAAN. Nicaragua. 2013

This small library has improved school attendance and encouraged reading among young students in the rural community of Rosa Grande. Located in the buffer zone of the biosphere reserve of Bosawas in Nicaragua, the building includes a series of interactive spaces to encourage students to play and learn. The library considers natural ventilation and natural light by using translucent sheets in the south façade and by a wall of wooden slats which also forms a furniture where kids can lay back.

Involvement: architectural design, budgeting.

Project Lead: Bridges to CommunityUSD $10,000 | 40m² | 400 beneficiaries Project team: Miguel Perez (construction) and Margarito Peralta (project management) Photo credits: Bridges to Community


Allan’s ResidenceLeón, Nicaragua. 2010

Located in one of the main streets of the traditional neighborhood of Laborío in León, Nicaragua, Allan’s residence is built inside the shell of an old colonial house.

The project preserved and restored the falling façade and introduced new spaces that maintained the spatial distribution of vernacular Spanish colonial houses while satisfying the needs of a modern and creative young family.

Involvement: Architectural design, project management and supervising.

Scope: 270m²Team partners: Allan Sampson Davila and Arnaldo SalmeronPhoto credits: Renate Brønstad, rfoto, Norway


J.G. Hernández ResidenceNagarote, Nicaragua. 2008

The renovation project of the private residence of the mayor of the city of Nagarote expanded the interior spaces while conserving a human scale; connecting the house and its users with the surroundings. The house is built with traditional clay bricks, reinforced concrete, clay tile roofing and highly finished mahogany elements.

Involvement: architectural design and supervisionScope: 80m²


Reactivating the CommonDheisheh refugee camp, Palestine. 2014

After more than 60 years in exile, a new urban fabric was developed in the Palestinian refugee camp of Dheisheh, Bethlehem. A plot with the 3 UNRWA shelters still exists in the middle of the camp as a manifestation of an “era” that the camp endured. Besides carrying the history of the camp, the site also represents the common and the communal life that people experienced when living in these shelters.

The project, as one of Campus in Camps spatial interventions in the Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank, was designed as a common space in a form of a suspended-like platform. The platform is designed to be built with concrete in charcoal color and have an inclination angle that creates the sensation that the platform slightly touches the site without altering its current physical conditions.

All the elements already existing are emerging from the platform as manifestation of the collective memory of the camp, including the shelters, communal toilet and the olive trees. The platform works as a floating stage where multiple cultural activities can take place and links the memory of the refugees with the future of the camp and the pursue of a solution to a long lasting Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Project Lead: Campus in CampsDesign: Decolonizing Architecture Art Residency DAAR (Alessandro Petti, Sandi Hilal, Noel Sampson, Aysar Al Saifi)Photo credits: Campus in Camps


Coastal Cities InitiativeGeneva, Switzerland. 2015

The Coastal Cities Initiative (CCI) is designed as a technical assistance and city-to-city cooperation program to support cities on coastal areas of the ECE region (Europe, Central Asia and North America) in classifying, assessing, prioritizing and implementing actions to improve coastal ecosystems, environmental quality and urban resilience. CCI proposes to employ a multidisciplinary approach to address the critical challenges facing coastal cities such as Climate Change, sea level rise, coastal erosion, loss of natural ecosystems, and urbanization.

Still under formulation, the concept note of the Coastal Cities Initiative was developed for the Housing and Land Management Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, UNECE.

Link of the note on the Coastal Cities Initiative: http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/hlm/documents/2015/WP7/ece.hbp.wp7.2015.6.en.pdf

Involvement: research, data analysis, formulation and strategy development.

Project Lead: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe UNECE, Geneva, Switzerland


Additionally, as part of my involvement with UNECE I was commissioned to organize the International Workshop “Building resilient communities through urban planning and the integration of the Natural Science” together with the Programme on Assessment and Management of Geological and Climate Related Risks (CERG-C) of the University of Geneva, taking place on 13 January 2015 at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.

Link to the workshop on resilient communities: http://www.unece.org/index.php?id=37512#/

Redeveloping the Moscow Exhibition CenterMoscow, Russia. 2014

The Moscow Exhibition Center (VDNH) holds a unique collection of architectural artefacts of various periods of USSR history in a large master planned setting. The challenge was to devise methods to protect the heritage of the former soviet State and its culture as it forms an important part of modern Russia’s history.

The proposal of the Living Laboratory was designed along with a group of talented international young planners as part of the ISOCARP YPP National Workshop during the Moscow Urban Forum 2014.

Involvement: research, design and planning.

Project Lead: ISOCARP, VDNKH and Moscow Urban ForumTeam partners: Sarah Brennan, Gizem Caner, Marina Dubova, Yelena Tyo, Nataliya Volkova, Andrey Yelbayev


The Living Laboratory proposes that VDNH stays true to its original purpose as an urban test bed for new technologies, and an exhibition site for innovation. The special character of the site, the ‘urban enclave’ allows it to become a safe space for urban prototyping and experiment. For Muscovites, the whole site can become an urban playground. The urban proposal includes a funding scheme aimed to support the growth of new innovative activities.

Housing Adaptation to Climate Change Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang (Vietnam), Esteli and Managua (Nicaragua). 2013

Climate change related impacts affect strongly urban poor populations in Nicaragua and Vietnam, which are already developing small-scale housing adaptation measures to cope with such impacts.

This research analyzed and compiled low-cost responses and adaptation measures developed by the urban poor in the cities of Managua, Estelí, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.

The proposal introduces a multi-dimensional urban resilience strategy aimed to finance and implement small-scale urban resilience strategies in vulnerable urban poor communities worldwide.

Involvement: Research, data analysis, literature review, strategy development and writing.

Project lead: Technical University Darmstadt and Universitat Internacional de Catalunya


Footbridge in FonsecaSiuna, RAAN, Nicaragua. 2012

Children and local residents of the communities of Amparo and Fonseca were not able to cross to the main road and to Amparo School because the existence of a natural stream that divided both communities by flooding in rainy seasons.

This low-cost and easy-to-make footbridge was designed to be built with materials found in the nearby city and to be assembled in site easily by community members under supervision of a civil engineer and assistance of a welder.

Involvement: Architectural design, project management, supervising and reporting.

Project Lead: Bridges to Community | USD $10,000 | L: 18m Project team: Alvaro Pérez (structural design), Gustavo Solís Ortega (supervising), Miguel Pérez (welding) and Margarito Peralta (coordination)Photo credits: Bridges to Community


WASH Hospital Carlos CentenoSiuna, RAAN, Nicaragua. 2012

The Hospital in Siuna provides services to ten thousands patients every year. Typical occupancy is 30-50 patients in-house, 80% of patients are from rural surroundings, and it serves as the only health center for 80,000 people. Due to in Siuna access to safe water is limited or inexistent, the Hospital had a serious lack of this resource which has deprived optimal and healthy conditions.

The project of improving Water, Sanitation and Health (WASH) aimed to create a rain water collector system to drain water from roofs to underground tanks, from where water is pumped to sanitary units with solar panels. The project also included the construction of improved latrines and toilets.

Involvement: Architectural design, water and sanitation, project management, budgeting, supervision and reporting.

Project Lead: Bridges to CommunityUSD $50,000 | 60,000 beneficiaries Project team: Gustavo Solís Ortega, Miguel Pérez, Apolinar Centeno and Margarito Peralta Photo credits: Bridges to Community


Noel Sampsonwww.noelsampson.net

Documents

PORTFOLIOnoelsampson.net/.../2017/01/Portfolio-Noel-Sampson-2007-2017_LR.… · Yelena Tyo, Nataliya Volkova, Andrey Yelbayev Portfolio of Selected Projects. The Living Laboratory