Isaiah Zamudio
Undergraduate Architecture Portfolio University Of Southern California
Beetle Stadium
Adaptive Reuse Sports Complex Design in Pasadena
1 of 5 undergraduates recognized in USC Model Exposition
Floating Rock
LA28 Small Business to Library Design Proposal
NT Memorial Garden
Architecture Summer Program: Building a Memorial at IIT
Personal Work: Naturally Lit Furniture Design
Curriculum Vitae
Contact
(312) - 420 - 9828 zahmudio@gmail.com
2318 Portland Street Los Angeles, California
About Me
I am a fourth-year architecture student at the University of Southern California, dedicated to re-engaging neglected urban spaces through personification and iconic archietcture. Inspired by the vacant storefronts of Chicago’s Southside, I utilize modern fabrication strategies and unique formal design to enact community revitalization.
CAD and 3D Modeling
AutoCAD
Rhinoceros3D
REVIT
SolidWorks
Presentation
Adobe Suite
Enscape
Lumion
Physical
3D Printing - High Fidelity Prototyping
Carpentry
Welding
Laser Cutting
Model Making
Sculpture
Skills Involvement Experiences
The OK Foundation, 2022-24 Design Partner
Responsible for pitching and developing design projects not feasible through academic tracks at USC. Pinpoint fabricator for 5+ physical projects.
Architecture+Advocacy,
2022-23 Development Coordinator
Building and nurturing relationships strengthening A+A and bringing fuel to the organization through strategic networking and communication.
ACE Mentor Chicago, 2019-21 Student Architect
Collaborate with industry professionals in a yearlong after-school program, working on hands-on designing, gaining practical experience.
Fall 2024 - Los Angeles - USC Furniture Design Teaching Assistant
+ Responsible for preparing lesson plans and conducting live reviews of fabrication file drafts for about 50 students.
+ Lead in-shop tutorials about welding, handheld tools, and woodshop machinery operation and safety.
Fall 2024 - Los Angeles - USC Architecture Exhibition Coordinator
+ Produced and edited a 20-minute promotional video showcasing student abroad experiences, driving program engagement.
+ Crafted two furniture pieces used to display program deliverables, enhancing visual presentation.
+ Managed logistics for the exhibition including media organization and material coordination.
August 2024 to Present - Los Angeles - USC Architecture Photo Lab Manager
+ Instructor of multiple architectural photography lessons for 90+ first-year architecture students.
+ Managing and confirming reservations for over 600 students throughout the school year, ensuring smooth scheduling and efficient use of resources.
Summer 2023 - Chicago - ACE Mentor Program Illinois Institute of Technology Design Build Teaching Assistant
+ Collaborate with 15 Chicago high schoolers to create a commissioned memorial garden for an IIT Alumnus.
+ Facilitated two interactive architectural design lectures with 15 students.
+ Responsible for physical production of 2 Gabion benches and multipurpose corner site seating.
Beetle Stadium
TIME COMPLETED
PROPERTY
DIRECTOR
FOCUS
BRIEF
Spring 2024
Academic Individual Work
Scott Uriu
Community Center
This studio tasked our cohort with reimagining a community center in Pasadena, California, emphasizing adaptive reuse as a critical design strategy. The project stemmed from the overlooked potential of big-box retail spaces, which often stand vacant after losing their commercial relevance.
By blending ecological responsibility with adaptive reuse, the design communicates the city’s ongoing evolution and its capacity for reinvention.
TECHNICAL INDEX
Program Requirements
Adaptive Reuse
Square Footage
Site Address
PEDESTRIAN OPPORTUNITY PARKING LOTS
Players Seating
Spectator Seating
Bathrooms
Bathrooms
Meeting Room
Open Air Office Space
Private Offices
Shared Office
Family/Spectator Room
Locker
Elevator
One of five undergraduates recognized in 2024 USC Model Exposition
STEEL STIFFENERS
GUTTERS
STEEL STRUCTURAL TREE
DOUBLE WYTHE CMU BRICK SYSTEM
RE-USED TRUSSES HVAC
STEEL STRUCTURAL PIPES
W12X35 I BEAM
STEEL STRUCTURAL PIPES
SPRING JACKS FLOOR SYSTEM
STEEL STIFFENERS
METAL BOLT
HVAC CLIP
FINISHED HARD WOOD
CONCRETE SCREW
WATER MEMBRANE
W12X35 BEAM
STEEL STRUCTURAL PIPES
STEEL STRUCTURAL TREE GUTTERS
ALUMINUM FLASHING
INSULATION MULLION
INSULATED GLASS UNIT
GYPSUM WALL
MULLION
BLEACHERS
FLOOR TO FOUNDATION CONCRETE
WOOD FLOORING TILES
INSULATION AND WATER MEMBRANE
Chunk Model: Assembly Drawings
HORIZONTAL C CHANNEL RAILS, 3X2”
ALUMINUM STUD, 5.5”X2”
FOUNDATION, 2.5’ X5’
4X8’ ANODIZED ALUMINUM PANELS
STEEL STRUCTURAL PIPES
STEEL STRUCTURAL PIPES
SPRING JACKS
HORIZONTAL C CHANNEL RAILS, 3X2”
HVAC CLIP
WELDED GUSSET PLATE CONNECTION
HVAC WINDOW
TREATED SOFT PLYWOOD
GYPSUM WALL BENCHES
ALUMINUM STUD, 5.5”X2”
FOUNDATION, 2.5’ X5’
4X8’ ANODIZED ALUMINUM PANELS
4X8’ ANODIZED ALUMINUM PANELS
Nate Thomas Memorial Garden
TIME COMPLETED
PROPERTY
DIRECTOR
FOCUS
BRIEF
Summer 2023
Illinois Institute Of Technology
Matthew Snoap AIA
Commissioned Community Center
Our client was interested in the conception of seating, garden recomposition, and signage in the corner of our site. The ACE summer program had worked with the same client last year, so our program completed two design tasks left to us by last year’s student group.
Thus we worked with the schematics of their bench design and fabricated the sculptural signage from the prior year. All other ideas derive from Summer 2023 students.
During this internship I gave two lectures, gave design critiques, documented student work, trained students in IIT’s woodshop, and was the team’s main fabricator. My team of students were instructed to create benches, and I was entrusted to certify these students in IIT’s woodshop and facilitate the completion of 2 benches. I would work in other groups in alternating fashion, particularly to handle machine-heavy fabrication.
TECHNICAL INDEX
Client
Employer
Focus
Site Area
Site Address
IIT’s African American Alumni Association
ACE Mentor Chicago
Fabrication and Teaching
12500 Square Feet
Michigan & 33rd Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60616
MICHIGAN AVE
This project was profoundly rewarding for me, blending my identity, passion for design, and commitment to community engagement. As a Mexican American from the vibrant city of Chicago, I found immense fulfillment in mentoring 15 high school students to design and build a memorial garden honoring an IIT alumnus. My background made this work especially meaningful, as it reaffirmed my belief in the power of design to bring people together and create shared experiences.
I facilitated interactive architecture lectures, taught students to use tools like laser cutters, and guided them through field research and landscaping. Acting as the primary communicator between my supervisor and students, I oversaw material pickups and assembly, ensuring every detail came together. This experience opened my eyes to what I truly enjoy— designing for community engagement and creating spaces driven by meaningful, experiential design.
Final Site Plan
Final Podium Schematics by Kenneth Campos, Matthew Snoap, and Isaiah Zamudio
Bench Schematics by Matthew Snoap
Hybrid Client Charrette with the African American Alumni Association
Hand drawing of the winning “Nate Memorial Bench” by student, Andrea Criollo
Hand drawing of the winning “Planter Podium” by student, Tarun Movva
Week One Photos
Benches inherited from last year’s design build.
Corner Production
Bench Fabrication
Finishing the concrete used for the corner site bench.
Laying down gravel pre-construction.
Transportation of prefabricated seating.
Students show off their new woodshop certification.
Photo of Michigan and 33rd Street Corner
Concrete pour of corner site bench!
Seating pre-fabrication
Lecture One: Intro Architectural Sketching
Lecture Two: Laser Cutting Tutorial
Students completing the podium’s masonry work.
On-Site assemblage of gabion benches.
Floating Rock Library
TIME COMPLETED
PROPERTY
DIRECTOR
FOCUS
BRIEF
Spring 2023
Academic Individual Work
Juan Salazar
Commericial and Civic Design
The brief of this studio instructed students to create an interative design language suitable for a temporary kiosk and later a library for LA28. Thus, I sought to design a beautiful and inviting language; attracting the South Central community to my LA28 proposals.
The development of the site, featuring central nodes with second stories, draws parallels to the transformative work taking place in Los Angeles in preparation for the games.
The inclusion of a steel-columned hypostyle hall in the entrance mirrors the captivating features seen in the kiosk’s steel frame chandelier, both serving as inviting elements that enchant users as they navigate the library, much like the city’s architectural transformation for the LA28 event.
TECHNICAL INDEX
Capacity
Site Area
Build Area
Programs
Site to Build Ratio
400 People
15,900 Square Feet
10,930 Square Feet
9 Required Programs
85% Maximum
KIOSK PHASE
Temporary Structure Proposal for LA28
Exploded Axonometric Drawing
Alterations made to suit the desire for proper interior vs exterior balance.
Form Development Diagrams
Carving from the modified block to di erentiate employee and consumer.
This feature was carved to implement the order window in the brief.
To convery the motif of cultural weight , I exposed the framing of my kiosk.
ORDER KITCHEN LOUNGE
Program Blocks Diagram
Section 1
Back Elevation
MODULE PHASE
Modular System Proposal
Isometric Drawing
Form Development Diagram
Making Material Study
of Finishes
Model Photo
LIBRARY PHASE
Civic Structure Proposal for South Central
Section AA
Form Development Diagram
Reading Rooms
Circulation
Infrastructure
Enclosed Forest
Commercial
Program Strategy Diagram
Exoluminescence
TIME COMPLETED
PROPERTY
FOCUS TEAM
BRIEF
February - May 2023
Personal Project
Furniture Design
Hope Hsaio, Alexis Kim, Makayla Oas, Isaiah Zamudio
An interactive lighting furniture piece that sources light from bioluminescence, modeled after the anatomies of marine Tomopteris and sea anemones.
As humans strive to advance technologies and innovations, we often overlook fundamental ecological elements and the resourcefulness of biological evolution, which could inspire our creations. Bionics demonstrates how animal anatomies are used as tools for building and survival—for example, the tensile strength of spider silk. Our team focused on bioluminescence for its lighting functionality, aesthetic appeal, and carbon-zero footprint. Additionally, we adhered to the use of biodegradable materials and successfully achieved this goal.
We created bioplastics using agar, glycerin, gelatin, and water, finishing the material with a strontium aluminate glow powder. After experimentation, this glow powder demonstrated an unlimited UV recharge capacity and a 10-hour glow life.
The project was presented with a Tomopteris-inspired skeletal structure, utilizing our glow powder lighting method.
Elevation Drawing Assembly Drawings
CNC Nesting Files
This was our first furniture and sculptural project, involving lots of sketches and trial runs with new techniques and machinery.
Our team programmed a CNC machine, synthesized bioplastics, and prepared a glow powder solution.
This project, from concept to production, took three months during our spare time in the academic semester.
Transportation to the exhibition proved to be the most challenging aspect of the process.
We organized efforts among fellow students to successfully transport the table to the exhibition space.
