Darguin Fortuna Practice Portfolio

PRACTICE PORTFOLIO SEGMENT 1 ASSESSMENT

Darguin Fortuna Boston Architectural College 10/29/13

Table of Contents Student Information

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Reflective Essays and Student Self Assessment

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Five Focus Areas

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Design Skills Collaboration Communication Technical Skills Professional Development

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Additional Work

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Resume 46,

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Student Information Student Name: Darguin Fortuna Program at the BAC: Bachelor of Architecture Student ID Number: 100081928 Current Skill Level: 3 Student Email: Darguin.fortuna@the-bac.edu Student Phone Number: 978-818-5109 Student Job Title: Architecture Designer & Technician and Designer Intern Current Salary: 13$/Hr Employer: Native Landscapes, & Turtle Bay Interiors Name of Immediate Supervisor: Rob Marini, & Darlene Gentle Title of Immediate Supervisor: 1) Principal and Owner, Engineer and Landscape architect 2) Principal & owner, Interior designer

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REFLECTIVE ESSAYS STUDENT SELF ASSESSMENT

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Reflective Essay + Self Assessment What has been one of your biggest accomplishments in terms of learning and growth as a designer since your last assessment? What has been one of your biggest challenges? What do you see as your next steps?

Summarize your responsibilities/duties you’ve had in your work since your last practice assessment.

There have been several challenges in my career and they are all worth mentioning here but the main challenge has been to ask for more involvement and prove myself worthy of more advanced design work. In the beginning at Native Landscapes, my role was minimum. By getting involved and giving an extra mile, my supervisor gave me more and more tasks within the company to the extent that I had to run the company for two weeks while he was on vacation. I had to e-mail clients, go to meetings and talk to peer reviewers, engineers, land surveyors and potential clients.

Now, I have earned my business card within the company and instead of an intern, I am the architecture technician and designer of the firm. I have learned to be open about new design opportunities regardless of how difficult they might seem. I created my own space within Natives by showing up on time and with a plan.

At Native Landscapes I have met with clients, taken photos of sites and analyzed the information given to find solutions. I have worked with land surveyors and done surveys with them. I have gone to meetings with communities such as Dorchester and Norwood to talk to them about proposals and to listen to what the public wanted. I have gone to sites and measured existing structures in order to make changes in them. I have had to call several construction companies and vendors to create budgets and estimates. While being recorded, I spoke with city preservation committees and presented landscape discoveries of resource areas which was my first public performance of great importance for the company and we won big commission. I believe that those duties and responsibilities are greater than the ones of my last assessment in which I only worked as a minor piece of the company.

While at Turtle Bay Interiors, there were also several challenges. I did not know any of the terms and sophisticated tastes of design from the interior point of view. I had to learn more about the qualities of fabrics, color schemes, how colors interact with one another, and how the light and shadow conditions of the place in which they are influences them. I literally had to learn Quickbooks immediately in order to be part of the bigger administrative role of the company. I really had to push my limits and be thankful of my Supervisor Darlene Gentle, who handed me the phone to talk to vendors and contractors about things that I barely knew anything about. I must say that the language and communication skills I came in with are not the same to the ones I now have. It has been a journey of hard work, stress and time management that has certainly moved me forward.

Now, the next step is to move forward into my architecture career while keeping the landscape architecture and interior design experiences at hand. I feel blessed because at this point I understand things that most students and architects do not. Not only do I know more about interior design, landscape architecture, engineering and architecture, but I also know more about communication and business skills that will certainly shape my practice and school work for the years to come.

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At Turtle Bay Interiors, I have had the opportunity to participate in the design process and jump into it from scratch until the end of the project. I have had to meet with clients, vendors, painters, and artists to come up with solutions from the simplest details for color schemes to problems of noise reduction, meeting deadlines and exploring solutions to problems yet to come. For example, the case of the plan layouts for furniture and products that arrive separately and which we cannot predict their impact in the space until then. The administrative side of the company has become a huge part of my work as well since it really requires a lot of organization, bookkeeping, paperwork, and the use of Quickbooks has been helpful for the firm and for my own development.

Because of my learnings, I have started to create my own company as freelance and have engaged into small attic additions and painting schemes. Being able to create estimates and to create invoices is the best way to run a business and see how the money is being spent.

Practice Portfolio

As you look ahead, what are your goals in practice and in academics?

What’s your plan for achieving those goals?

Please give yourself a rating in the following areas: [4 = outstanding/exemplary; 3 = proficient; 2 = needs remediation; 1 = unsatisfactory; N/A = no opportunity to observe]

My goals in practice are simple; I want to either start my own freelance work in small problem solving solutions that required design thinking or start working in a bigger firm that will allow me to engage in more advanced projects and creative ideas. I know that if I want to start my own practice, I have to continue working to develop the skills that will keep projects coming to me. This requires more education and training. I have thought of switching to the Bachelor of design studies in design computing since I am more inclined towards the graphics and diagraming side of design. I believe that graphics are a great tool to showcase ideas in the most professional level as possible. I am still thinking about the BDS as an undergraduate degree to then polish my portfolio and apply to MIT, Havard, Yale, and Columbia GSD. I am sure I have what it takes to become the Frank Lloyd Wright or the Mies Van Der Rohe of this time.

4 3 2 1 n/a DESIGN SKILLS - evaluates and solves problems effectively - accesses, learns, and applies theoretical and practical knowledge - brings skills and methodologies from academic work into practice work

The plan is to continue putting the time and the work into my projects and into my education. This is the best time to get polished and skilled for the times to come while providing my design ideas to the market in which I am now. I have already started developing my portfolio and my resume as a tool for job hunting. The reality is that I have no rush right now to work on a big firm since I need to be smart about the kind of firm I want to be part of.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS 4 3 2 1 n/a - speaks and writes with clarity, confidence, and concision - makes effective presentations - exhibits good listening and questioning skills

COLLABORATION 4 3 2 1 n/a - works effectively with others and manages conflict effectively - helps motivate others to succeed - understands and contributes to organization’s goals - respects diversity and diverse opinions

TECHNICAL SKILLS 4 3 2 1 n/a - is showing positive development with software skills - understands the role different technologies play in design - understands technologies related to the execution of design projects PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 4 3 2 1 n/a - assumes responsibility, sets goals, can multitask - possesses honesty/integrity/personal ethics - shows initiative/self-motivation and good time management - is punctual, has good attitude - is engaged in design culture 9

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Design Skills Describe a scenario in Practice where you worked on a specific design problem, and how you believe it helped you grow as a designer.

At Natives Landscapes I had to run the office on my own for two weeks while the principal and the project manager were on vacation. I had to talk to clients and peer reviewer engineers and solve immediate design conflicts such as changes in the plans, go to the sites and help with land surveys and understand how the site delineations and resource areas were assigned. I also had to be in direct contact with potential clients and ask several questions to them in order to comprehend their desires. It was an overwhelming time but I learned two things that helped me a lot to grow as a designer. 1) To listen to the peer reviewers and respond to the suggestions and changes that I needed to make to the cad drawings 2) To understand that the peer reviewers were under the same pressure with deadlines as we were and that the client needed to be updated and guided through the process which required a great amount of maturity from me and struggle too.

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Collaboration How has working on a collaborative project enhanced or challenged your growth and learning as a designer?

While at Turtle Bay Interiors, I have had the opportunity to work no only with my direct supervisor but also with decorative painters, artists, vendors and clients, and I have had to find solutions that went beyond my own understanding of the projects and beyond my current skills at the time. I had to truest vendors with the timelines for products and when things did not arrive properly or did not arrive at all we had to work together and find other solutions. For example, A few weeks ago we were informed that the frames for Four of the dining room chairs of one of our projects arrived crushed and in order for us to meet the deadline of Thanksgiving we would have to find the same chairs on a faster delivery and upholstery. We have to talk to vendors from several showrooms and ask for a similar product. No showroom or vendor had Four of the chairs in stock and ready. Therefore we had to think outside of the box and talk to our client about other options. Given the conditions, we ended up finding Two chairs that were the same as planned and two that were similar but with arms. It all worked out well because as the project progressed we also agreed that the space needed the depth of the arm chairs. Now we are still in the process of getting the chairs deliver and upholster but it has been guaranteed that by thanksgiving they will be ready and finished.

At Nativelandscapes I had to create compositions of drawings done as a team from Landscape architects, architects, Engineers, Land surveyors and my own input from the research. The right drawing is an example of collaborative work.

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Practice Portfolio

By doing research and Talking to several Showrooms we found 2 Of the initially picked chairs

Louis XVI Ideally Intended Chair

Plan of Dining room layout Drawn in autocad at 1/4”-1’0” & rendered in Photoshop

We also found 2 Of of the same chair but with arms and had to adjust the plans 13

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Communication Skills How have you learned to communicate more effectively through drawings and design, to your project team, to your supervisor, and/or to your client?

Even though my role at Native Landscapes and Turtle Bay Interiors did not start with much design related work, the simple details and drawings that I had to do were a great example of communication of ideas through technical drawings, diagrams, and photos. My drawings go from as simple as a painting collection wall layout to entire rooms furniture layouts and beyond towards house additions, basement interior layout and landscape architecture design.

At Natives Landscapes I also had to run the office on my own for two weeks while the principal and the project manager were on vacations. I had to talk to clients and peer reviewer engineers and solve immediate design conflicts such as changes in the plans, go to the sites and help with land surveys and understand how the site delineations and resource ares were assigned. I also had to be in direct contact with potential clients and ask several questions to the in order to comprehend their desires.

It was an overwhelming time but I learned two things that helped me a lot to grow as a designer. 1) To listen to the peer reviewers and respond to the suggestions and changes that I needed to make to the cad drawings 2) To understand that the peer reviewers were under the same pressure with deadlines as we were and that the client needed to be updated and guided through the process which required a great amount of maturity from me and struggle too.

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Practice Portfolio

Plan Drawing of Harmel Residence Interior layout drawn on autocad at 1/4”=1’-0”

Several times I had to call Vendors, Painters, and contractors for different reason ranging from, Estimates, order delivery, meetings, information with regards of timelines and others

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Technical Skills How have your technical skills improved since your last assessment, and how do you see that contributing to your learning and growth as a designer?

I have mastered my drawing skills with Autocad no only in 2d but also in 3d and I have gone to trainings of revit in order to create 3d renderings of landscapes and proposed changes for clients. I have had the opportunity to work with other architects, landscape architects and engineers in one drawing as a team by adding pieces together into one bit composition that shows, landscape, wetland, existing and proposed conditions, survey of the lands, setbacks and future conditions after the proposal gets built. I have done renderings in autocad, Photoshop & hand drawings to communicate ideas to my coworkers and the clients. It has been a process of redlinings from the simplest component such as the stairs and paths to the more complex such as view framing and positioning of the trees.

3d Autocad Drawing Rendered in Photoshop

Autocad 3d Rendering Revit 3d Rendering

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Professional Development What strides have you made in your professional development since your last assessment, and how do you see those advances as contributing to your growth as a designer?

Since my last assessments I became employed in three different firms, Cummings architects, Nativelandscapes, and Turtle bay interiors, and also won the elections as an Atelier student Rep. for the BAC Student government. All of them helped me to improve several aspects of my professional skills such as, better communication with coworkers and clients, listening and asking questions in order to understand the goals and requirements of each project and also interdisciplinary team-work with land surveyors, architects, interior designers, real state agents, landscape architects, vendors from different design centers among the country, peer students from the student government and even painters and contractors. I have extremely improved my writing and grammar skills while talking to clients. Also my supervisors have pushed me to situations that challenge my skills and develop them to another level. There is still more to work to be done but proudly I am in the right path. The images show some of my involvement in different aspects from being the director and the student ambassador at different events, to representing the firm in public meetings of huge impact in the company.

Student Ambassador BAC

Relationships and network with BAC alumni and Peer students

Being mentor by different professionals, at the moment Beth-Wilson who was my instructor two semesters ago is my current mentor

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As a Student rep at the BAC, I am in charge of the students design work showcase and design exhibitions.

I am involved in the idea of promoting and fostering creativity through showcasing and welcoming design work and thinking.

One of the most interesting experiences that I have had was the meeting with the Preservation Committed of the city of Norwood about the landscape survey and resource delineation of a lot that we were hoping to work on. I had to present our research and our conclusions about the survey and we had to be reviewed by another landscape architectural firm. It was the first time in the history of Norwood that two or more peer reviewers agreed on a 95% in the findings of a resource area and I was the main representative of the company while the peer reviewer also expressed his concerns and suggestion. Our project was approved and we are continuing with the work.

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ADDITIONAL WORK

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Harmel Residence Interiors Subheading Here

Turtle Bay Interiors Client Sharri Harmel Condo Complete Interior design & Furnishing 198 Marlborough rd, Boston MA Project Interior Design Intern This was my first time working for an interior design firm and it became a rich experience. I started as an unpaid intern and after the first month I became a paid intern. I learned quickly the different skills required to both run a firm on a administrative aspect and to understand the clients taste in order to make the right design decisions within the project. Now my role is almost beyond an intern, I am a designer and my ideas and suggestions have shaped this project significantly. I have also mastered the administrative aspect of the firm by learning the different tools of Quickbooks, Outlook and have created most of the estimates, invoices, purchase orders, and checks for this particular project. Further more I have engaged in conversations with vendors, clients, painters and contractors to further my understanding of the different aspects of the project. The firm principal and owner has become my mentor and friend while we tackled as a team all of the different design and administrative decisions.

Wallpaper right in front of elevator entry and Kitchen

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Instead of breaking the walls apart and sound proofing the powder room we ended up wrapping the wood panels with this fabric which would absorb the noise. We actually had another fabric and after receiving the Cutting for approval, (CFA) we noticed an inherent problem in it. The previous fabric had a line on it that looked badly. We had already painted the room for it and I had to find another fabric that would go with the painting

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Problem of Powder room wood panels that enhanced noise from toilet towards the living room and dining room

Before

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Solution, After studying several solutions, it was decided that by wrapping the existing wood panels with fabric, it would reduce the noise from the bathroom to the dining room

Final fabric selection and look. Fabric of french style pulled by me at the BDC and client selected it. The noise was reduced at a 85% which is a lot better

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Since client liked the previous fabric with Chinese characters, I decided to create details for desk that would harmonize with the spaces and make it fun while keeping the overall French style that we have been working with

Final Desk side detail

Existing Desk

Proposed idea and details of Chinese characters on the desk

Possible Layouts

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Dining room Before

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Dining room Process

Living room Before

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Timeline with before and after pictures of the different parts of the Residence

Living Room Process

Living Room Process

Powder room Before

Powder room After

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Iterations of different alternatives, for Banquette selection, Desk detailing, painting selection, frame selections and pictures layout. The ideas of the desk painting and detailing came from my selection of Powder room chinoiserie fabric

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Practice Portfolio

Photo of process when cabinets, chandelier, frames and banquette arrived

Details of color and layout selections for Harmel Residence. Considering the schemes and the future arrival of Furniture, I had to engage into color selections and organization of different details.

Hand drawing Dining room elevation showing Cabinets, proposed banquette and proposed paintings layout drawn at 1/4�=1’-0�

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BRIAN DROHAN RESIDENCE Subheading Here

NATIVE LANDSCAPES Client Brian Drohan House addition and wetland drainage Solution Lexington MA Architectural Technitian CAD layout This was my first time drawing most of the plans and sections of a house addition and creating several iterations that were put together as a team from, surveyors, landscape architects and me as an intern. After several red linings we presented the project addition to the client and to the city of Lexington for approval.

Several changes were suggested and the project is currently being built. The client had a critical water damage on his basement and we had to come up with a solution for it. We discover that his house was in the middle and above an underground river and we had to create a new path for it without impacting the fauna and flora of the environment. Also we decided to elevate all of the additions to the house on Sono Tubes so that we did not have to engage the ground anymore. I was in charge of all of the architecture drawings, site plan, sections, elevations, plans, and others minor details while being supervised by architect in the company.

Plan drawings of site with contour lines, resource areas and wetland delineations survey done by the landscape architecture team & existing house site plan drawn by me as a composite drawing.

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Autocad Drawings showing process iterations of the overall proposed site plan with the addition and wetland delineation

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Composed drawing with site survey, landscape and existing conditions to study drainage problems and wetland delineation.

Proposed addition section First iteration Drawn on Autocad and rendered in Photoshop

Composed drawing with site survey, landscape and additions to study drainage problems and wetland delineation in relationship with house

Elevation of proposed addition and notes, drawn in Autocad and Rendered in Photoshop

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Final set of drawings that solved all of the problems of the house drainage and addition.

We believe that this will be the most effective solution but we also agreed that it would be helpful to add a pump in the basement as a mean of prevention from rain or storms

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Studio Work NATIVE LANDSCAPES Client City Of Weston House path addition and wetland Solution 198 Marlborough rd, Lexington MA Architectural Technitian Path Layouts This project was the first project I ever worked on while at Native Landscapes. I would say this was even the reason why I got my job with the company right after my interview. After my interview the principal showed me this project and asked me to insert some pine trees and some mountains in the back yard of a house and create a path from the back porch towards the view of the Brooks River. I had to literally prove myself as capable of doing the work and coming up with solutions.

In these drawings, I was only in charge of three things, 1) the creation of the path, 2) the creation of the mountains land fill for the trees, and 3) the creation of a fence according the surveyed information and specify the kind of fence that we were going to use. The rest was finished by the engeneer and landscape architect and I had to put it together as a set of drawings.

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Studio Work Subheading Here

B2 Studio Arnold Arboretum Educational Exhibitions Jamaica Plain

This was the project 1 of B2 Studio in which I had to explore the ideas of materials, tectonics and site as one composition and understand the building in multiple scales.

The entire building is divided into private and public programs and the spaces are created by one continues piece that changes form to provide private and public spaces. One volume or space creator divided into two and one continues space definer that defines and divides the space in plan.

Picture of model rendered in Photoshop

Site plan with site concept and path through the building

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These are all of the final drawings of my B2 project 1 design.

Showing circulation path, tectonic strategy and programmatic organization of spaces according to private and public needs.

First floor Plan

Hand drawn sections over mylar, traced on autocad and rendered in Photoshop at 1/16”=1’-0”

Second floor plan

Second floor mezzanine Plan 39

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Chipboard, foamcoard, wood, and museum board models showing the creation of space by using a continues tectoning move that adapts to the program

Final Model integrated to the site

Chipboard site model showing site integration with the building as a pierced space

Tectonic integration of forms

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Model iterations exploring interior and exterior conditions at multiple scale & its environmental impact

Underground entry first floor vs. reading and gallery spaces second floor

Internal walls of the public galleries as a continuos path that breaks to define spaces

Example of reading space module

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3d Autocad model of internal partitions for reading space and gallery spaces

3d Autocad Conceptual Model of Volumes 42

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Several model iterations understanding the site approach and the tectonics of the building in plan & 3d

Chipboard, Museum Board & Foamcoard models with Metal Pins as structure

Site Analysis of path and slope as a perpendicular line that defines the building path

3d Autocad Rendering

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STUDENT RESUME

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Throughout my life, everything has led me to architecture

in some way or another. My love for people, nature and life itself is in fact the result of my life journey. This journey, I believe shaped and molded my character to bring the best out of me so that I can help others in the process. I think that architecture is more than just designing spaces but a way of living and evolving as we move forward.

As part of my journey, I have come to understand that there

is not end to it and that I am here to learn as much as time can let me. I have overcome so much and still there is so much more to overcome and I have found myself enjoying the uncertainty of the unknown. The process of becoming and transforming things into something better is just an intrinsic part of me and it has enriched my way of thinking and my way of living. Coming from a developing country and giving my first steps into the architectonic field in the Dominican Republic built the foundations of a better me as a person and as a designer. The contrast between the United States and the Dominican Republic taught me that in order for anything to become great, it requires that all of the parts work together as one. I am just a student that wants to contribute into making this world a better place to be.

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