Ben Romero by Ben Romero

BEN ROMERO selected

work

06-17

E D U C AT I O N :

University of Cincinnati Academic Distinction College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning GPA 3.94 Master of Architecture Class of 2018

Miami University School of Fine Arts Academic Distinction

Bachelors of Arts in Architecture Cum Laude GPA 3.54 Graduate of the Class of 2010 Deanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s List 6 semesters Focus in Urban Culture and Ser vice Learning

WORK EXPERIENCE: 2 0 1 7 GBBN Architects CO-OP Worked as part of a team on the renovation of multiple dormitories on Miami Universities campus. Involved on MEP coordination and its design impact from schematic design to construction documents. Also helped with alternative design options and presentation drawings. 2 0 1 6 SHP Leading Design CO-OP at Cincinnati-based architecture firm specializing in educational facilities. Conducted ADA study of existing structure and provided possible solutions. Worked on schematic design and presentations for local high school. 2013 - 2015 Housing Opportunities of Northern Kentucky Assistant Project Manager Worked as part of a small team providing affordable housing for low-income families. - Managed projects and scheduling - Provided input on architectural design and layouts - Worked independently and in collaboration on construction sites 2 0 1 1 - 2 0 1 3 AmeriCorps / BuildCorps Volunteer Coordinator at Housing Opportunities of Northern Kentucky Focused on planning, organizing and super vising volunteer groups.

I N V O LV E M E N T: S p r i n g 2 0 1 0 S p r i n g 2 0 0 9

SKILLS:

Miami University and C+R Architecture + Design Studio An internship/studio dealing with adaptive reuse, historic preser vation and LEED Miami University Office of Community Engagement Trip Leader Lead students in volunteer work while facilitating discussion about social issues

Autocad, Revit, SketchUp, Rhino, Photoshop, Indesign, Grant Writing, General Construction Knowledge, Finish Carpentr y, Volunteer Management

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

C o l u m b u s , I N A t h e n a e u m 0 3 - 10 2015

C o l u m b i a C o l l e g e S t u d e n t C e n t e r

12 - 19

2009

Housing Opportunities of Northern KY -

5 0 5

22 - 27

H o u s i n g O p p o r t u n i t i e s o f N o r t h e r n K Y - 3 2 4

28 - 29

2013

2014

H o u s i n g O p p o r t u n i t i e s o f N o r t h e r n K Y - 5 0 8

30 - 31

2014

G u a s t a v i n o V a u l t S t u d y 32 - 35 2009

B i k e S t u d y 36 - 37 2012

C i n c i n n a t i B a l l e t 38 - 53 2017

1 4 0 5 - 0 7 R e p u b l i c S t r e e t 54 - 59 2010

C O L U M B U S , I N - AT H E N A E U M Columbus, Indiana is home to one of the largest collections of modernist buildings in America. Great works by Eero Saarinen, I.M. Pei, and Rober t Venturi are apparent throughout the city. The drawings, models, and records of these historic buildings still exist, but unfor tunately they are stored in boxes in the basements of their respective buildings, all spread throughout the city. This athenaeum was designed to display these drawings and models as a museum and librar y for both the public and scholars. In addition to galleries and archives, the program includes apar tments for traveling scholars and public amenities on the ground level, including a cafe, bookshop, and lecture hall.

The main drivers of this design arrived through explorations of multiple models and hand drafted sections. The idea of working and living in the same building seems undesirable, and because the program includes a residency component, addressing this issue became a focus of design. Ver y intimate spaces for traveling scholars were designed to allow private outdoor space and natural light. These repeating units along the top level influenced the str ucture and program of the levels below. One of the main features is a lightwell made of etched glass that is designed to allow soft light into the apar tment units while providing equally distributed natural light to the galleries below - while still allowing complete separation and privacy.

APT #1 STUDIO #1

STUDIO #2

APT #2

APT #3

APT #4

APT #5

4TH LEVEL

SCULPTURE GARDEN

READING ROOM

PERMANENT COLLECTION 16 FOOT CEILINGS

PERMANENT COLLECTION

3RD LEVEL

OFFICE #1

RECEPTION #2

MEETING ROOM

ARCHIVES OFFICE #2

2ND LEVEL

OFFICE #1

OFFICE #2

CAFE

BOOK STORE

VISITORS CENTER

AUDITORIUM

RECEPTION #1

DETAIL #1 BAR

KITCHEN

PREP AREA

LOADING DOCK

N 8

GROUND LEVEL

CO LU M B I A S T U D E N T C E N T E R In response to a request for proposals by Columbia College, myself and two other students responded in the form of an academic exercise. Columbia’s campus is dispersed throughout the dense fabric of the south side of downtown Chicago. A major focus for Columbia’s 2010 master plan was to create a student center that unified the campus and as well as to create more of a presence as a major university, locally and nationally. Two main conceptual ideas drove most of our design decisions. We wanted to engage the public by creating select vie ws into the interior, sparking interest par ticularly in the students’ work on the ground floor’s ar t galler y and bookstore. Secondly, we wanted to create a circulation pattern that allowed students from various disciplines to see the work of one another and to encourage multidisciplinar y collaboration.

HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES OF NORTHERN KY Housing Opportunities has been helping lowincome families achieve the goal of home ownership for over 23 years. Through donations and numerous hours of volunteer labor, the organization is able to provide affordable housing as both new construction and rehabilitated homes. In the 23 years of existence, this small non-profit has successfully helped many families become homeowners. I first started with Housing Opportunities as an AmeriCorps volunteer coordinator. On a daily basis I was able to work with volunteers building these homes as well as use my background in architecture. After my two years as an AmeriCorps member, I have since worked as an assistant project manager, working on ever ything from floor plans, coordinating volunteers, and working in the field to see many homes through to their completion. The locations highlighted on this map are the homes that I have helped work on over the 4 years that I have been involved with the organization.

505 There are many ways in which Housing Opportunities obtains properties for our clients. This particular property was donated to us, but it was later realized that the shear size of this home did not fit the need of many of our families. We then decided to remodel the unit with the intention of selling on the open market. To make the home more marketable, we added a third bathroom on the third floor, expanded the master bath, remodeled the kitchen, added air conditioning, removed all carpet, and refinished all the hardwood floors. We were able to run all new utilities through a central closet in the stair well to preser ve the historic nature of the building. To minimize on new duct work, we opted to keep the radiator heating. In all bathrooms and the kitchen, radiators were moved to make for more useful spaces. Status: Completed 2013.

324 In collaboration with the city of Newport, this property was selected to help reduce the number of vacancies on this particular block. To make this 1 stor y 1 bedroom brick construction building more marketable, it was decided that a second stor y would allow for more useful spaces. The lot is too small to build a new construction home to code, so we built the second stor y on top of the existing brick structure. After removing the roof and rafters, and building a second floor, the home will now be listed as a 3 bedroom 1.5 bath. Project to be complete spring 2015.

508 This old plantation house was donated to Housing Opportunities by the city of Elsmere. After work had begun, termite damage was discovered. A thorough analysis of the damage was conducted and it was decided that much of the building needed to be either repaired or rebuilt. After shoring up the majority of the home, 3 out of the 4 foundation walls were removed and re-poured. The south exterior wall was completely removed because of termite damage. The second floor was originally designed as an attic space. We raised the ceiling height in the attic and were able to make room for 3 bedrooms, laundr y, and a full bath. Project to be complete spring 2015.

G U A S TAV I N O VA U LT S T U D Y The design of this vault was an exploration into what is now a method of construction no longer practiced. Created by Rafael Guastavino, the Guastavino Vault or the Timbrel Vault, is a ver y strong construction type famously used in New York City subways. Antonio Gaudi also used this construction type in many projects in Barcelona. The vault is supported by 4 tile arches, each formed from the same catenar y cur ve. With two layers of 1/4â&#x20AC;? tiles and one 1/2â&#x20AC;? layer of proper mortar mixture, this small vault held the weight of over 15 people.

BIKE STUDY While briefly living in Portland, OR in 2011 I was impressed by the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public transportation systems. I ver y quickly used a bike as my main form of transportation and promptly began working on my first bike. Over the past couple of years I have worked on many, but this particular bike was by far the most interesting. It is a 1959 3-speed Raleigh-made Huffy. It is nothing glamorous, but the parts are complicated and beautiful. What made this project unique was that all of the gears were found internally in the rear wheel hub. To understand the mechanics of this particular bike, I stripped it apart to its smallest parts.

C I N C I N N AT I B A L L E T

E X P LO R I N G D E S I G N T H R O U G H MA K I N G Structured loosely on the prompt to design a new location for the Cincinnati Ballet - this studio explored design through the process of making and the possibilities and framework that it can establish. Vacant lots surrounded by a fast-paced, 3 way intersection is the proposed location. Through a series of mapping exercises, site analysis, and built work, the path for this project was discovered. A recurring question of how the building can activate the site also quickly became a question of how the site can activate the building. Documenting the experience of the site led to the exploration of how light and movement relate to the site. The frequent noise from the nearby train yard and highway are captured by soundactivated light sculptures spread throughout the site, allowing the site to affect the installation, and vice versa. The activity within the building would be projected out of the building, as well as the ambient light from the site would affect the interior. Because of the extreme topography change, a pedestrian bridge effortlessly crosses a major street to a green roof. The theater itself is below ground so as to not be impacted by the noise and distractions from the site. However, the ballet would be projected onto the two front facades, flanking the bridge, to be viewed from a hillside amphitheater for the existing neighborhood, and therefore allowing ballet to be more accessible to the public. During a show, the light sculptures would switch from being site reactionar y to a choreography with the ballet.

This spinning light sculpture mimics the movement of the site as light moves through the sculpture/site. 43

Diagramming the relationship of the components of a building to the human experience and site.

The accidental discover y of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;xylophoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; like quality of this site model led to the idea that there are inherent sound qualities of the site that can be exploited.

To understand how sound and light can interact with each other, this â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;equalizerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; was designed so that different frequencies of sound would effect different lights, both from a microphone and/or audio input.

1405-07 REPUBLIC STREET While participating in Miami Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s community engagement program in Over-the-Rhine, myself and 4 other students worked alongside a local non-profit to help with the design work for a large project to help provide affordable housing. Knowing that funding was needed to rehabilitate this large apartment building and make the project a reality, it was decided to apply for state and federal historic tax credits. Much of our designdevelopment stemmed from the idea of keeping as much of the historical integrity as possible while introducing more open floor plans as well as handicap accessible units. Through the efforts of our small studio, and the help of C+R architects, we were able to provide a grant application that successfully awarded over one million dollars in tax credits to the project. The project is currently in the construction phase.

BEN ROMERO ROMEROBA@MAIL.UC.EDU 614-313-2716