portfolio
a r c h i t e c t u r a l d e s i g n e r hect.diaz@live.com | 480.289.1061
Architecture and the built environment has been an intriguing mystery to me, requiring me to search for appropriate innovative responses in creative forms. I entered the design profession in 2005 as a draftsman, and excelled in competitive Architecture and Landscape Architecture studios. In 2008 I had to reinvent myself to sustain my home, but never lost my passion for the built environment. While trying to rebuild myself, I maintained my focus and worked to gain admittance to an accredited Architecture design program. Through my studies I realized there is a deep connection between design and business and sought to place myself in both worlds. The following are samples of my work in hopes of generating a meaningful discussion with you.
Danelle Plaza - Tempe, AZ Located at the southwest corner of Mill Avenue and Southern Avenue in Tempe, Arizona. Danelle Plaza is a proposal for the City of Tempe and tenants of this currently under utilized commercial site. Danelle Plaza was originally set to be an anchor of retailers in the historic Alameda neighborhood constructed in the mid 60’s. At its peak visitors of the site could find restaurants with live music, hobby shops, apparel, and even a skate park for the neighborhood kids. Sadly development of the site was never completed leaving overly spaced tenants in a sea of parking. Currently, the majority of the tenant spaces are vacant with many of the facilities having fallen into disrepair — some spaces under collapsed roofs. The City of Tempe being the largest parcel owner of the 18 different owners has requested proposals for the future of the site. Working with the city and other willing owners we are proposing development of workforce housing for the citizens of Tempe and a new multi-use office complex and retail plaza.
Conexion Miami Transit Station - Miami, FL Conexion Miami is an innovative and inventive space where connections, growth, and artistry are fostered. It is a mixed-use development located on the boundary between the historic Wynwood Arts District and the Edgewater District, which have been historically divided by heavy rail tracks and former industrial warehouses. The project is a sustainable development that focuses on bridging the culture between these two neighborhoods and enabling users to live, work, and play in one space.
1 Conexion Transit Station 2 Conexion Boutique Hotel 3 Enhanced Linear Park 4 Practice Fields
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5 Phase I Retail / Restaurant
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6 Shared Garage
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7 Class A Office 8 Apartment Housing 9 Phase II - Restaurants 10 Existing Retail and Galleries
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11 Phase III - Apartment Housing 12 Existing Tower / Other Developer 13 Phase III - Retail and Galleries
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1 Mid-Block Pedestrian Crossing 2 Nature Trails 3 Children’s Play Area
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4 Shade Pavilion 11
5 Event Lawn 13
6 Woonerf Extension
Galapagos Global Engagement Studio
The beauty and curse of island ecologies is their necessity to be a closed loop system. Every resource is accounted for, being consumed by some entities, and replenished by others. Beautiful because it is one of the most delicate balancing acts in nature, a curse however if there is a break in the loop — most catastrophic when the break is introduced by an outside force. What was once a virgin, harsh, and extremely delicate ecosystem has been impeded by human influences. These islands do not have an indigenous human population. Everyone who lives there is a transplant, most from Ecuador, but some as far as Europe and Asia. The first generation of these immigrants are “aging out�, considered third age and useless. Thus they need a place to focus on their wellbeing. This is where our challenge began. We could not simply design a wellness center for human use, if this was to work we would need to fit seamlessly in to the existing systems, taking what we need, and replenishing what we use. Our approach was to develop a system that would allow Galapaguenos to have a role in their community, economy, and personal health. Vidamos is an economic strategy that leverages Eco-tourism, helping to prevent financial leakages and redirect it back to the local population. This would require a network of hot-spots including farms, wellness centers, and tourist excursions mindful of the island ecologies. Any structures would need to be resource efficient, looking to the island to provide the building materials and methods while avoiding the import of exotic materials. The studio developed a construction typology where in its purest sense could be constructed with a back hoe, and concrete mixer. We propose to use the land to form a series of wallows and mounds. The wallows, a habitat for native wildlife like tortoises, and mounds to be concrete forms, poured over and the negative volumes to be excavated once the concrete has cured. We set out to create a place of retreat and wellness for the islands aging population, but found we could not do so without addressing the system as a whole.
Waimea Nui Homestead - Hawai’i
A design studio made possible by a grant from the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability and The Design School at Arizona State University, sent 15 students to the big island of Hawai’i where they met representatives of the Waimea Hawaiian Homesteaders Association. The goal was to provide integrative and sustainable architectural solutions for the Waimea Nui Community Complex where the Homesteaders Association seeks to preserve native Hawaiian Culture. Development of this 160 acre site is intended to be a community hub for native Hawaiians to practice and share their culture while establishing a model that can be replicated and amended for other Hawaiian homestead communities across the islands. Various program elements came together in the form of a masterplan which integrates community service facilities with economic development projects, promoting the resilience and self-sufficiency of the Waimea Nui community. The masterplan makes use of a green belt to preserve culturally significant pastoral lands and to connect the site to other areas of the town. Trails along this green belt link agriculture facilities, an equestrian center, a cultural center, health center, visitor villas, and chapel. My involvement in this project was one of two students on the Storyboard team. It was our task to tell the story of the project by capturing key scenes and interactions while having a constant focus on the “Big Picture”, eventually developing the presentation that would be given to the clients of the Waimea Homestead Association. As a result this positioned my partner and I to consult with the various design teams directing the project instead of focusing on one singular element on the 160 acre site. My greater design contributions where with Visitor Housing, Cultural Center, Chapel, and Rendering.
1 Cultural Center 2 Chapel 3 Kapuna Housing 4 Visitor Housing 5 Paniolo Equestrian Center 6 Agricultural Park 7 9 Hole Golf Course
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Piestewa Peak Library - Phoenix, AZ Piestewa Peak is located in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, and is recognized as one of the tallest peaks in the valley with an elevation of 2,612 feet above sea level, second to Camelback Mountain. This mountains rock formations and diverse landscape inspire a concept for a Phoenix Public Library set into the mountainside. These stone structures seem to defy physics attempting to jump from the mountain only to be anchored in place by their enormous mass. The quartz glows a frosted white and pink during sunset. Schist can mimic razors in the intense evening sun, or an ancient tree stump in dawn. Towering granite offer protection and cast shadows blocking the Sun. Design inspiration for this site is abundant as the variety formations offered by the mountain.
0' 8' SCALE: 1/8" = 1'-0"
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0' 8' SCALE: 1/8" = 1'-0"
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24'
Bocara - Camelot Homes - Scottsdale, AZ
Desert Camp Villas - Camelot Homes - Scottsdale, AZ
Village Club Core - DMB - Scottsdale, AZ
Photography
HPA Chapel - Vladimir Ossipoff - Waimea Nui, Hawai’i
Ira Keller Fountain - Lawrence Halprin - Portland, OR
Japanese Cultural Garden - Portland, OR
Sittin’ on the Dock of a Bay - Santa Cruz, Galapagos
Thank you for taking the time to experience my creativity. I welcome critiques as a form of improvement, just know this is the beginning of what I plan to be a marvelous career filled with adventure and discovery. Always be Inspired.