MarĂa Guevara Architecture
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PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Lara Bolaños House Place: Orotina, Costa Rica
Status and Date: Design and development 2006
Lara Bolaños House is a one-level single family residence with four-bedrooms and a guest suite with independent access. Energy efficient climatic comfort, maximum advantage of panoramic views and independence of each area were carefully studied for this design. The elongated form was selected according to prevailing winds, sun exposure and panoramic views. Circulation areas and terraces are open to have a direct contact with nature. The bedrooms have crossed ventilation without losing intimacy and, are separated from living areas such as the kitchen, dining and living room.
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Design & Development
María Guevara Architecture
Description: Single family house
Area:
4,840 sqft house on a 3.6 acre site
SIDE (WEST) ELEVATION
FRONT (SOUTH) ELEVATION
REAR (NORTH) ELEVATION
María Guevara Architecture
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FRONT (SOUTH) ELEVATION
Las Catalinas Beach Club Place: Guanacaste, Costa Rica
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This project was the winning proposal in a contest for the design of a beach club located in a touristic development of 900 acres in the province of Guanacaste, in the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. The club was meant to serve 1,500 residences; however, the building should allow expansion for 1,000 residences more, predicting their expansion in about 10 to 20 years. To solve this issue we created a modular layout, over a crosslink of 21’ x 21’, where an additional component could be easily added when required
Status and Date: Built 2008
The project’s form and space were conceived as a vestibule towards the sea. It rises along a central axis that loses itself in the sea, interrupted only by a pool of 230’ long, that flows parallel to the beach. Its buildings are covered with autochthonous materials like local stone, wood, clay tile, bamboo, which along with the composition of its volumes evoke a language of vernacular architecture. Volumes disposition somewhat disperse from one another allow the view to be the main character.
María Guevara Architecture
Co-Design
Description: Restaurant, Spa, Gym and Kids Club
Area:
86,000 sqft
2.4 acre site
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
Jacarandas Condominium Place: Guanacaste, Costa Rica
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This multifamily housing project consists of a segment of a tourist development which includes hotels, houses and a golf course nearby the pacific coast. We were to study the
Status and Date: Master Plan and Pre-design 2005
amount of housing units to incorporate based mainly on the following: saving every possible healthy tree; giving panoramic views of the mountains to each unit; and profitability.
María Guevara Architecture
Co-Design
Description: Multifamily low rise condominium
One of the greatest challenges was the steep slope that left 50% of the area unutilized. A 16’ x 16’ structure module was created to fit the different units and substantially amend the
Area: 180 houses of 1,000 to 2,000 sqft in a 24 acre site
financial costs. All columns and beams are made out of steel and are identical for easy prefabrication. Secondary elements include lighter materials like drywall and wood.
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
Place: San José, Costa Rica
Status and Date: Built 2007
S
S
Co-Design Description: 4 Unit multifamily gated community
Area:
4,300 sqft units
18,000 sqft site
B
Second floor
S S
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ATYPYK Condominium
Four houses face each other and are connected through a shared access street that serves as a common central patio. The vibrant façade of each house brings out a sense of mutual integration. At the same time, the interior designs grant privacy and independence with windows viewpoints leading towards independent yards. We chose CMU wall as the main structure and designed it in a modular approach –doing away with columns— and thus optimizing construction timing and costs.
María Guevara Architecture
Paulina Plaza
The building was planned to accommodate three small commercial premises in the ground floor, and a fitness center in the upper floor. Taking advantage of the corner location of the lot and the commercial nature of the building, sides were
Status and Date: Built 2005
Description: Retail building
Area:
4,950 sqft building 5,110 sqft site
completely covered in glass, leaving the metallic structures completely in the open. Parasols and soffits were placed in the western side to protect the building from solar exposure while the northern side was left uncovered.
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Place: San JosĂŠ, Costa Rica
Co-Design
Argyle House
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Place: Washington DC, USA
Co-Design & Project Management
Status and Date: Built 2009
MarĂa Guevara Architecture
Description: Residential renovation design and build
Area:
5,500 sqft building 15,000 sqft site
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
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CONCEPCIÓN Supermarket Place: San José, Costa Rica
Status and Date: Built 2015
The strip mall has a small gourmet supermarket who works as an anchor store, and six additional stores. There is a stimulating ambiguity between wall and ceiling, the purpose was to provide proper lighting to each store while protecting from direct radiation and rain.
María Guevara Architecture
Co-Design
Description: Supermarket
Area:
4,300 sqft units
18,000 sqft site
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
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ALMENDAR 3A Apartment Place: San JosĂŠ, Costa Rica
Status and Date: Built 2015
Complete interior design for a 3300 S.F. apartment with three bedrooms, a gym and a large social area, whose centerpiece is the kitchen island which is also the dining room, made of beautiful black marble and seats eight people. The ductwork, pipework and upper concrete slab were left exposed. This helped emphasize the character of the other materials used. Granite, metal, glass and black lacquered wood are the main actors of space. The delicacy and perfect smooth wood, the purity of the glass and the smooth texture of marble and granite, powerfully but subtly contrast with the roughness of the concrete.
MarĂa Guevara Architecture
Co-Design Description: Interior Design
Area:
4,300 sqft units
18,000 sqft site
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
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BURDETTE House
MarĂa Guevara Architecture
Co-Design
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
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GLENWOOD House
MarĂa Guevara Architecture
Co-Design
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
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GREENHILL Winery
MarĂa Guevara Architecture
Co-Design
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
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WENDELL Apartment
MarĂa Guevara Architecture
Co-Design
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
Del Rio Condos
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Place: San José, Costa Rica
Design
Status and Date: Pre-design 2009
María Guevara Architecture
Description: Multi-Family Residential
Area:
Four-story building of 10 units from 1,800 sqft to 3,770 sqft
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
Ballena Beach House Place: Playa Ballena, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
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The project consists of A twobedrooms two-levels low-budget house for a single family designated for local melamine plantation workers. I incorporated in the design passive strategies for this specific tropical humid coastal climate. Building orientation was planned according to prevailing winds, sea breeze and sun. Proper overhang was studied for rain pro-
Design
Status and Date: Sustainable design workshop 2005
tection and for shade. The wet areas like bathroom and kitchen sink were located in the west for humidity control and as shield for heat in living areas. The house was suspended 3’ over land level for moisture and insect control; also to assuage soil sealing. The main material for the construction would be certified local melamine wood.
MarĂa Guevara Architecture
Description: Single family house
Area:
680 sqft
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
Moín Hotel-School Place: Limón, Costa Rica
Moín, Limon is a city with a sheer contrast between the vast wealth of its natural resources and the economic poverty of its inhabitants. As a result, and in order to help out in changing this situation improve, my thesis partner and I grew an interest in this area for our graduation project, and proposed an innovative and sustainable bioclimatic design of a Hotel/School. Our proposal speaks to the need of training students to become touristy and hotelier professionals, opening the door for these professionals to improve their economic capacity and thus, that of the city.
Status and Date: Graduation project 2007
spa. It was essential for us to actively blend our knowledge with that of local experts in the design of the project. Therefore, we consciously met on an on-going basis with local partners in the development of the project. The lot has a favorable and strategic location, adjacent in the north to a public street that connects to the main street of the province of Limón and the entrance of the Matina River; in the south to the main railroad and the Caribbean Sea.
The project combined both the large-scale master plan as well as the detailed design of each of its main components (a hotel and a tourism school with student residences) and subcomponents such as classrooms, laboratories, student housing, guest bungalows in the middle of the forest, a restaurant, and a
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Master Plan
María Guevara Architecture
Description: Hotel-School
In order to limit the access of vehicles to the project, one single access point from the street was designed. Once in the project, the access point opens itself to the three main core components of the project: hotel, residences and school. By doing this, we were able to design lobbies from all three entrances to stand close to each other, and thus allowing easy pedestrian crossings from lobby to lobby. This helps to promote direct contact between the different individuals.
Area:
60 acre site
Finally, a north-south axis was employed for passage within the hotel, in order to place the buildings in an east-west axis for climatic suitability. The buildings of the project are centered and dampening zones are allotted at the northern and southern sides of the project.
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Moín Hotel-School Place: Limón, Costa Rica
The main purpose of the hotel reception is to welcome, inform, and distribute clients. It includes a waiting room, restrooms, administration offices and three shops that could consist of a convenience store and a local arts and crafts shop.
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The hotel reception communicates directly with the
Hotel Reception
Status and Date: Graduation project 2007
school, the beach café and with the rest of the hotel. The central volume is taller than the building to stand out its receiving character and to allow the evacuation of warm air. The guests will have the advantage of unloading bags in a covered drop-off area.
María Guevara Architecture
Description: Hotel Reception, management and souvenir shops
Area:
3,800 sqft
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
Moín Hotel-School Place: Limón, Costa Rica
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The rooms are strategically located for guest privacy and direct contact with nature, but close enough to each other to augment costs by excessive circulation of guests and maintenance services. Each room has an independent access, a terrace, a kitchenette, a balcony, and a bathroom with a shower leading to a view of nature. There are three types of rooms: single, double, and for handicapped.
Guest Bungalows
Status and Date: Graduation project 2007
The openings are made of wooden lattices with sieves to catch insects. The openings at deck-level contain a fixed screen. The direction of the decks in the terrace and bathroom are due to the need for protection from precipitation and radiation. These spaces also serve as a buffer to maintain the room isolated from the radiation coming from the east and west side.
María Guevara Architecture
Description: Single, double and ADA guest bungalows
Area:
480 - 570 sqft
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
Moín Hotel-School Place: Limón, Costa Rica
Status and Date: Graduation project 2007
The river dock is located in the river canal at the end of the hotel´s main pedestrian circulation point. It will be used to enable guests to take a boat ride and/or to gaze at the view from the canal. It has public restrooms, a covered common area, and a balcony, which has an altitude of two floors, and thus allows for a unique and stunning view of the canal and mangrove swamp.
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River Dock
María Guevara Architecture
Description: River canal dock
Area: 90 0 sqft
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
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BUS STATION
Design
INTERCITY BUS TERMINAL AND HOSTAL, Washington DC 2011 In a bus terminal many transitions take place. In this case, a transition between Washington DC and other cities, between the city and the building, between the building and the bus, between the dirty and the clean, between movement and pause. The journey and experiences of the different users to, from and around the terminal is also key in the development of the building design. In addition, constant movement of cars, taxis, buses and pedestrians will define the outline of the scheme. The site is a portion of where the old convention center was between 11 St. NW, 10 St. NW, New York Ave and H St. NW.
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
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MOBIUS CHAIR
Design Chair for Battery Park should be more than just a resting point for a passing tourist. Although it ought to work perfectly as an ordinary chair, it should also include attributes encouraging other interactions as well. We imagined a chair that was also a desk, a bench, a lounge chair or even a picnic table. Accommodating tourists, residents, and workers, this chair makes a place to rest alone or with others, enjoy a leisurely lunch, or have a small office meeting.
MarĂa Guevara Architecture
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
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MOVIE THEATRE
Design
ELEVATION 1 SCALE 18" = 1' - 0"
SECTION
SCALE
1
8"
= 1' - 0"
SCALE 1" = 40' - 0"
ELEVATION 2 SCALE 18" = 1' - 0"
María Guevara Architecture
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
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AT HOME IN THE CITY
Design
The topic of this thesis is about how a diverse community and the feeling of home come together at different scales, the scale of the city, of the neighborhood, of the street and of home. It is also about how architecture weaves these scales to adjust the boundaries of “self ” and “other”. It focuses on how to transition from thebig scale of the city to the intimate scale of home. It examines the walls of home and how they interact with society. Also, it extends the elements of home beyond the intimacy and safety of our bedroom. It embrace mixtures of uses and it seeks to generate diversity. The topic seemed important to me because it is a relection of the constant movement and change of times. Also, it explores the elementes that make a home. It has always intrigued me what is it that makes you feel at home. It sometimes seems that units are treated like garages that can easily park in and out individuals. In these layouts dwellers fail to feel rooted. It is almost as if they are never able to “unpack”. Finally, it serves personal interests. I am one of many young, early professionals and parents from diverse cultures that move frecuently and seek fertile ground for re-invention and to build a home. In
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture
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1
4
C
C 3
4 B
B
A
A
1
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GROUND FLOOR PLAN
3
2 SCALE 1/8" = 1' - 0"
María Guevara Architecture
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MarĂa Guevara Architecture