Andre J. Cifuentes
Student Portfolio
Projects: Second Year: 01: The Rowing Club p04 02: The Fossil Park Visitor Center p06 Third Year: 03: The Row House p12 04: The Greenhills Housing Development p18 Forth Year: 05: Machine p26 06: Grain Within Grid p32 Extra: 07: Other Works p42 08: Internship Experience p46
01: THE ROWING CLUB
Located at the mouth of Licking River where it joins the Ohio, this structure serves as an 80ft tall reminder of what the 100 year flood can do in Cincinnati. This concrete structure, acts as an extension of the levy. It not only resists flooding, but adapts to it. A deep canal will be dug to meet the built-in loading dock. The building is outfitted with rowing tanks, boat storage, and recreational areas that overlook the Cincinnati skyline. Each bend in the building rises 20ft and can be used to dock boats in times of flooding.
02: Fossil Park Visitor Center
The fossil park visitor center is designed to house staff offices and host presentational findings in the open gallery and theater. The exterior stair is symbolic of the geological eras and are proportional in length. The bold, solid masses of each building are a reference to the glaciers that passed through the Ohio river valley long ago.
The building imitates the nature of the site and is partially buried into the hillside to be uncovered by the erosion process which can be visualized through the open stair rungs that pierce the earth.
Four sky lights and a light well that doubles as a staircase, bring light deep into the layers of the building and into the earth.
Since most of the building is below the surface, five light wells are used to bring natural light deep into the grand stair that leads to the theater below.
The soil runs between the buildings and through the stair risers. The building simply channels the soil over its foundation; not preventing erosion, but measuring it.
03: Riverfront Row House
This project was a redesign of a row house overlooking parts, the owner’s house, and the “in-law” suite in the ba mansions by showcasing a triple height space that serve
g the banks of the Ohio River. The house was split into two ack of the unit. The house competes with the neighborhood es as garage that physically lifts the car into the living space.
04: The Oasis
05: The Machine
This project was a submission to a competition that was looking at how AI might effect the future of work. Looking at current trends, this project demonstrates a mega-structure that utilizes drones to produce, store, and ship manufactured goods. While the human labor is eliminated in this model, individual investment into the drones and machinery is a new means of income. AI then studies human behavior as we interact with it to maintain our individual drones, robots, etcetera.
The three cores revolve and coordinate to manufacture, store, and ship product. Waste is simply ejected below into a pool maintained and cleaned by swimming drones.
06: Grain Within Grid
Across America cities try to protect their residence from violent crime by blocking off street ends or using walls or fences. However, these measures often failed and were aesthetically negative. It would seem that outside influence and designs that are implemented from the top down, are doomed to fail. However, could a neighborhood be designed to protect itself? For people to feel inclined to surveil their own neighborhoods, they must feel a sense of ownership. To increase actual ownership within the neighborhood, density is a critical tool to affordability. With more density, comes more observation.
It is important to build slowly. Supply should never exceed demand. By dividing the property amongst two or three owners, the residence have more options and can find a unit that fits their needs spatially and economically or have one added to existing units. Over time, the neighborhood which consists of predominately renters, can work towards owning property by splitting the economic burden.
Building denser units on such narrow lots meant that their e this creates perfect spaces from which to observe the neighb streetscape is more pedestrian friendly and can h
elevation naturally increased With large windows and decks, borhood. By narrowing the road and relocating parking, the host outdoor spaces for residence and vegetation.
07: Other Works
The Desolate City - Rhino > Maya > Arnold > Photoshop
The outside world is too dangerous due to environmental ruin. The city has entrenched itself and built a mega-dome. The well they carved into the earth is their only means of extracting energy to power their city.
Shade - Revit > Ladybug > Photoshop
This project was an exercise into using Revit to determine solar gain and how a simple shading device might help.
Douglas House by Richard Meier
08: Internships at VSWC Architects
Hocking College Lodge (Co-op)
The Hocking College Lodge was a project that I worked on with a team of two other people. The lodge being a hospitality project, required me to do research into the Ohio Building Code since VSWC designs predominately school buildings. I took site measurements, and then began working on the floor plans and sections. I helped design the restroom layouts for the rooms and made edits to them as needed.
Davidson Hall Renovation (Co-op)
For the Davidson Hall Remodeling, I was responsible for measuring the rooms and helping model the building. After speaking to the MEP engineers, I was tasked to model the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) drawings before sending the designs to the engineers to streamline the process.
Lakota West Pole Barn Plan
While working at VSWC Architects, I was asked to measure the current site, model the site, and then come up with some design options for a pole barn for Lakota West High School. Although this project was small, I pitched the idea to the project manager of positioning the barn so that there could be two garage door entries. Ultimately the client saw value in this layout and selected this option based on my recommendation.
Berkeley Square
These units were designed for the Berkeley Square Retirement Village. For advertisement, they wanted to distribute renderings of the new homes in fliers and online. I built the model house in Revit and then rendered it in WW.
Thank You!