architecture + design Isabel Lopez-Font
01 retreat in nature 02 community boathouse 03 barcelona multihousing 04
still life: library + sanctuary
05 professional work 06 graphic design 07 photography
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still life: library + sanctuary
As a Comprehensive Building Design Studio, this project strived to incorporate all the tiers of architecture, from the beginning stages of schematic design, to construction documents, and building systems by working in groups of four. As one of the team members, I took charge of preparing the set of construction documents, the 3d Visual views, and some of the structural details. All of the team was involved in the design.The project consisted to develop a design which a Jesuit sanctuary and library complemented each other in program. The site assigned was the Columbia Heights neighborhood in Washington DC. Columbia Heights began as a remote neighborhood, now is up and coming with new retail and multihousing, maintaining is character of a melting pot of ethnic races. This library + sanctuary design is to invigorate and stregthen the area to an interactive, social and spiritual environment.
15th & Columbia rd. Washington, D.C.
STORY started 200 years ago when city
L’Enfant designed a new urban plan of the w coastal plain at the confluence of the tia River, bordered on the north by a steep hill. s Columbia Heights. Columbia Heights began hood of Washington D.C. where it mostly nts and African Americans. It was around the development around began to attract upper Federal government, U.S. Supreme Court nking military officers, yet there was racial led to the 1968 riots. The reinvigorating of the d to become metro accessible, and more
still life: library + sanctuary
This library for the public is provided by the Jesuit community. In accordance with Jesuit beliefs of education, spiritual reflection, and service to others, students from nearby universities such as Catholic University and Georgetown University will come here to tutor and support students from the Columbia Heights neighborhood. In addition to the library, there are sacred spaces like quiet reading rooms and chapel that are open to the public for contemplation and reflection. The building’s design began to take form through the concept of a bookcase BIA HEIGHTSacting as the transition point through what is scared and profane.
Columbia Heights HISTORY started 200 years ago when city planner Peter Charles L’Enfant designed a new urban plan of the capital city on the low coastal plain at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia River, bordered on the north by a steep hill. Today that hill defines Columbia Heights. Columbia Heights began as a remote neighborhood of Washington D.C. where it mostly consisted of immigrants and African Americans. It was around the 20th century upscale development around began to attract upper level managers of the Federal government, U.S. Supreme Court justices, and high-ranking military officers, yet there was racial discrimination which led to the 1968 riots. The reinvigorating of the neighborhood evolved to become metro accessible, and more
620
UMBIA RD.
MOUNT PLEASANT
ADAMS MORGAN
3
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS
hill. an
e r
he
LAM
ONT
STR
EET
PAR K
NW
ROA
PARK
D NW
17TH STREET
STRE SANT T PLEA MOUN
18TH STREET
LAMONT STREET NW
KENYON STREET NW
ET NW
KENYON STREET NW
D NW
ROA
ET
2000 FEET 10 MINUTE
11TH STRE
1000 FEET 5 MINUTE IRVING STREET NW
HOBART STREET NW
13TH STREET
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS
FUTURE
FUTURE
COLUMBIA ROAD NW
LA IT P
ZA
14TH STREET
HARVARD STREET NW
NW
NE
GO
AR
PLA
ZA
NW HARVARD STREET NW
FUTURE
M SUM
PLA
ZA
QU ARR YR
NW
OAD
NW 16TH STREET
LA
15TH STREET
R NIE
GIRARD STREET NW
IO
TAR
ON AD RO
FULLER STREET NW
NW FAIRMONT AVENUE
MOZART PLAZA NW
ONTARIO ROAD
18TH STREET
FUTURE
Columbia Heights history began around 200 years ago when Charles L’Enfant designed a new urban plan for the city. From the beginning it was a remote neighborhood mostly populated by African Americans. Nowadays, it has become a multiracial community with a great number of hispanics, african american and white. It has progressed as a neighborhood with new retail and multihousing.
620 EUCLID STREET NW
HISPANIC
34%
5% WHITE
3% OTHER
58%
AFRICAN AMERICAN
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parallel to orthogonal city grid
site diagrams
15th
The design strives to unite the community by providing a place for reflection and gaining knowledge. Through the design of the bookcase, which runs the length of the building, acts as a physical division of 2 programmatic spaces as well as unite them by providing a threshold with books, serving as the transitionbetween the sacred and profane. The profane spaces consist of public reading rooms, cafe, gallery on all of the Southwest corner, as well as administrative officesand tutor rooms on the Northwest corner of the building. As for the form of the design, it began to evolve through the site lines, streets and boundaries by addressing the existing surrounding conditions such as carrying the prominent Columbia Rd. axis through the building and angling the bookcase parallel to the orthogonal grid of the city.
st.
profane
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i b m
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sacred
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d ar
fourth floor
fifth floor
DN
second floor
third floor
176 SF
basement floor
ground floor
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structural details
GENERAL NOTES CAST STONECOPING ANCHOR CMU
1' - 5 1/4"
DRIP EDGE
1' - 0" METAL TIE
5 1/2"
PARAPET FLASHING RIGID INSULATION 2" VAPOR BARRIER 4"
WATERPROOFING BARRIER
REBAR
5 3/4"
CMU 8" WEEPHOLE FLASHING
VAPOR BARRIER FLEXIBLE FLASHING MEMBRANE
GROUT
2' - 6" 4' - 7 3/4"
DAMPPROOFING
1"
MULLION WINDOW SYSTEM
CONCRETE SLAB 3" METAL DECK 2"
3' - 2 1/4"
3/4"
RIGID INSULATION
8 1/4"
SINGLE PLY MEMBRANE (TPO)
INSULATED UNIT 1"
1 A4.002
1 1/2"
L
3 3/4"
11 3/4"
CANT STRIP
RIGID INSULATION ALUMINUM
SHEET WATERPROOFING CONCRETE PAVER CAPILLARY BREAK
1' - 2 1/4"
3' - 0"
2' - 6 1/4"
1' - 1 1/2"
SEALANT AND BACKER ROD
SEALANT AND BACKER ROD
2"
3"
3' - 4 1/2"
4' - 1 1/4"
1 1/4"
PRECAST CONC. SILL BRICK VENEER 3 5/8" ALUMINIUM FINISH CORNER
STEEL TUBE WEEPHOLE SEALANT AND BACKER
NA
50% DD SE
100% DD SE
SEALANT AND BACKER ROD
3 3/4"
3/4"
ALUMINUM MULLION WINDOW SYSTEM
1"
FLASHING INSULATED UNIT 1" SHELF ANGLE
KEY PL GYPSUM BOARD 5/8" 3' - 4 1/2"
4' - 1 1/4"
COMPOSITE METAL DECK 5" PRECAST CONC. SILL BRICK VENEER 3 5/8" ALUMINIUM FINISH CORNER
WALL SHEATHING 5/8" SHELF ANGLE HOT DIP COAT STEEL TUBE
11 3/4"
WEEPHOLE STEEL ANGLE BRACKET SEALANT AND BACKER
COMPRESSIVE FILLER CMU 7 5/8" WATER BARRIER LIGHT GAUGE FRAMING 1 1/2"
FLASHING SHELF ANGLE
THE STIL
GYPSUM BOARD 5/8" COMPOSITE METAL DECK 5"
3" 1 1/2"2"
8" 7 5/8"
ACOUSTIC PANEL CEILING 4 1/4" GYPSUM 5/8" METAL TIE AIR SPACE 1 1/2" WALLINSULATION SHEATHING 5/8" 2" RIGID
1/2" 5/8" 1"1/2"
3
NORTH BRICK WALL BASE ISO
4
STEEL ANGLE BRACKET
11 3/4"
1 NORTH PARAPET ISO A3.002
N
SHELF ANGLE HOT DIP COAT COMPRESSIVE FILLER CMU 7 5/8"
1
WATER BARRIER A4.001 LIGHT GAUGE FRAMING 1 1/2"
4
NORTH WALL SECTION SECT CUT 1 A3.001
ISAB
Project number Date
ROOF 58' - 0"
L
Scale
3" 1 1/2"2"
8" 7 5/8"
1/2" 5/8" 1"1/2"
ACOUSTIC PANEL CEILING 4 1/4" GYPSUM 5/8" METAL TIE AIR SPACE 1 1/2" RIGID INSULATION 2"
5TH FLOOR 47' - 0"
5 1/2"
METAL TIE
WATERPROOFING BARRIER
5 3/4"
4TH FLOOR 36' - 0"
WEEPHOLE FLASHING GROUT SEALANT AND BACKER ROD
11 3/4"
DAMPPROOFING
2ND FLOOR 14' - 0" 1 1/2"
L
2" 1 1/4"
1ST FLOOR 3' - 0" STREET LEVEL 0' - 0"
GROUND FLOOR 0' - 0"
3
7
NORTH - WALL DETAIL 1/8" = 1'-0"
3"
3' - 2 1/4"
RIGID INSULATION
4' - 7 3/4"
8 1/4"
2' - 6"
SHEET WATERPROOFING CONCRETE PAVER CAPILLARY BREAK
1' - 2 1/4"
3' - 0"
2' - 6 1/4"
1' - 1 1/2"
3RD FLOOR 25' - 0"
sustainable strategies
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“Through the design of the bookcase, which runs the length of the building, acts as a physical division of 2 programmatic spaces as well as unite them by providing a threshold with books, serving as the transitionbetween the sacred and profane.�
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retreat in nature
A place ruled by nature and man has no authority or power over it. Shenandoah Park National Forest is a place that can easily serve as an escape from the daily routines of the city life. This project’s goal was to develop a design that it’s purpose goes beyond it’s use, and it emphasizes on the experience of procession as well as the spiritual experience with oneself and nature. The design was based on three ordinary routines, sleeping, cleansing, and meditating. The challenge was to create a spiritual place which these three simple routines have more significance.
Shenandoah National Park Virginia
retreat in nature As human beings we try to avoid any any obstacles considered to have unknown results. This retreat triggers the feeling of uncertainty with it’s procession and paths to reach the arrival of the retreat and its spaces inside such as meditation, cleansing, and awakening. The path of uncertainty to these spaces culminate with amazing views of nature where one can experiment a self reflecting experience. It is through it’s spaces a trancedental experience of serenity and relaxation is uncovered. The act of cleasing and meditating enables our mind to be clean and free, which helps us awake the next day with a positive perspective. Therefore, this retreat conveys the concept in which these two rituals of meditating and cleansing serve as the anchors to the awakening ritual. Because this retreat is immersed in nature the design took form as two extrusions pushing/pulling from nature, which are portrayed as the two ritual anchors, while another seems to be floating. This floating part of the design gives the sense of continuation of nature from below.
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second floor
first floor
site plan
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“Because this retreat is immersed in nature the design took form as two extrusions pushing/ pulling from nature, which are portrayed as the two ritual anchors, while another seems to be floating. This floating part of the design gives the sense of continuation of nature from below.�
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anacostia community boathouse
Located in Southeast DC, the site is known as the historic Navy Yard in Washington D.C. It’s surrounding buildings exhibit the steel and brick industrial style. With new proposed multihousing and retail spaces around, the Anacostia Riverfront can serve as the ideal site to create a community boathouse. This semester long project was to analyze and design a boathouse that will help propell this new, yet historical neighborhood to become an active and social environment for residents and visitors.
1st & Water st. SE Washington, D.C.
anacostia community boathouse The design was developed with the concept to divide two main experiences, one for the athlete and one for the public. The boathouse’s design evolved from a programmatic separation of training and storage space to an experiential one, in which the rowers experience their sport of rowing in the water or inland. The first floor conveys a physical connection to the water, in which allow rowers easy access to move the boats in and out of the water. On the other hand, the cantilever, where trianing inland takes place creates a physiological connection between the rower and the water. The cantilever gives the experience and feeling of floating in the water. This floating effect allows athletes to have the same experience as if they were rowing in the water. With this experiential concept in mind, as well as to incorporate easy access from every side, the building began to take this form and rotation.
second floor
27 first floor
training storage views community center views to yards park views community center
training storage
views to river
views to river access from t street
access from yards park
views community center
access from yards park
access from community center
views to yards park views community center views to river
views to river access from t street
access from yards park
access from community center
access from yards park
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“The cantilever gives the experience and feeling of floating in the water. This floating effect allows athletes to have the same experience as if they were rowing in the water.�
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barcelona multihousing
Located near the heart of Barcelona, the site is less than 5 minutes from the iconinc landmark of the Arc de Triumphe and Parc de la Ciutadella. The four week project asked to study this site specified and to design a multihousing complex, which incorporated retail and leisure space. The site was nested around existing buildings and exhibited great opportunity for incredible views of the city of Barcelona. The challenge for this project was to create a design that would be mindful of it’s existing conditions and residents. For a short term project, extensive research and study was done, but it did not allow time to explore more visual mediums.a
Barcelona Spain
barcelona multihousing The idea behind the design of an apartment complex was to create a place of public and private gatherings. By creating this multi-use environment, consisting of retail boutiques, restaurant and cafe, and most importantly a landscape will allow for owners and public an active space to enjoy a time of leisure surrounded by nature. These apartments are elevated on a platform, to create more surface area for more open spaces. For the public, the center plaza and walking paths around the buildings give the visitors a variety of spaces to enjoy whether a stroll in the market and retail stores or enjoy a cup of coffee on the first floor. While, the upper level creates a strip of open space, the commercial space below attract customers and public. In this space a restaurant and amphitheatre-like park is located, creating a place of gathering. The idea behind the highline was to create a boundary or an emphasized transition from the hectic public of the city to a place without the commotion the city creates. The buildings take these forms due to the strict adjacent residential lines. To avoid any obstacle with existing building which already have balconies, the design pushed out the forms to create a subtle transition between existing and new conditions. These spaces developed to be green areas for both existing and new residents to enjoy.
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second floor
second floor
activitties central zone diagrams
site plan
pedestrian traffic diagrams
active zone diagrams
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photography
“Photography is an art of observation, it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them” - Elliot Erwitt”
During my time abroad, not only my passion for architecture strengthen, but also my interest in photography. As an architecture student, I started noticing the details exhibited in architecture, but as a photographer I discovered the true beauty of these spaces. Through photography, not only I see the architectural elements of my surroundings, but I see how light/ darkness and other effects culminated the experience within architecture.
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MACBA: Barcelona
Jewish Museum: Berlin
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Garden of Versailles: Paris
Rotterdam
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professional work
Gorman Architecture is a small residential and commercial firm located in Washington DC. The architect asked me to render residential floor plans and elevations for a marketing brochure the firms was preparing. The floor plans and elevations needed to be similar in style as the residential community design the firm was working on known as Opal DC, shown in this rendering generated by the firm. It was a short term and independent work outside of my current employment.
Washington D.C
please note: copyright of gorman architecture. outside services for rendering.
The rendered floor plans and elevations serve as visual of modern interiors, yet maintaining the typical design of row houses. For these residences 2 types of elevations were design, one with a modern facade and another exhibiting the traditional traits of a brick row house.
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elevation 1
elevation 2
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graphic design
La Holandesa is a new and upcoming Cafe and Restaurant in the outskirts of the city of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. It was previously a residential Hacienda, but a new fashion evolved in the island where locals explore different places and restaurants around their island to taste new food and enjoy a day out, for which motivated the owner to create the Hacienda to a informal and social getway. The Hacienda, now a cafe and restaurant, is immersed in the Puerto Rican’s mountains within a serene and natural habitat. The client approached me because he wanted his new business to develop a logo that could convey an intimate environment for people to come and enjoy a day in a nature. He wanted the logo to be graphically appealing and seem less computer generated. The beginning stages of the design, primary sketches were done to discover what the client liked, after having an idea, some images were drawn in the computer, but in the end, the client favored the hand sketches as it emphasized a more relaxed and rustic environment.
Adjuntas Puerto Rico
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“The client favored hand sketches as it conveyed his goal of a relaxed and rustic environment in his new cafe restaurant.�
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Isabel Lopez-Font
ISABEL LOPEZ FONT Assoc. AIA, LEED GA
EDUCATION RECOGNITION + AWARDS
76LOPEZFONTCARDINALMAIL.CUA.EDU LOPEZFONT.ISABEL@GMAIL.COM 787-505-7504
Bachelor of Science in Architecture | 2015 The Catholic University of America Washington D.C.
Project Exhibition | 2015
Final undergraduate Comprehensive Building Design project to be displayed among other selected projects at the National AIA Headquarters.
International Study Abroad Program | 2014
Barcelona, Spain
Writing Sample| 2013
Essays selected among all the class to serve as the example for future classes.
Winner of the Second Year Design Competition | 2012
Work selected among studio group and exhibitioned in school grounds.
Recipient of Adela Pavia Soto Scholarship | 2011 - 2015
Selected among very few architecture and engineer students to receive a merit based scholarship for undergraduate career.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Junior Designer | 2015 - Present
IA Interior Architects Washington D.C. utilize Revit/Autocad in the various stages of design. prepare official sets of construction documents. attend site visits and site surveys. collaborate in design ideas for workplace projects including schematics, finish selections, planning, etc. participant of client and consultant meetings to discuss project schematics, coordination, schedule, etc. participant of proposal interviews for prospect clientele. lead interior architecture designer for government project. specify finishes for project upon design director approval.
Renderer | 2015
Gorman Architecture LLC Washington D.C prepare renderings for projects specified.
Intern Project Architect - Interior Designer | 2015 - Present
Re-Inventa San Juan, Puerto Rico consult with client basis of design ideas for exterior and interior for container project. prepare sketches and presentation of design proposals.
Graphic Designer | 2015 - Present
La Holandesa Cafe & Bistro Adjuntas, Puerto Rico create logo for new upcoming cafe and restaurant. advice client with marketing and design ideas to promote business.
Professional Intern | 2014
Gensler Baltimore, M.D - Washington D.C utilized Revit/Autocad in the various stages of schematic design to construction documents. prepared official sets of construction documents. attended punch lists at jobsite. collaborated to prepare design presentations/diagrams for clients. prepared specifications and finish books for projects. served as a Spanish translator in international project by translating construction documents. prepared signage package for the design development stage projects.
Architecture Thesis Assistant | 2012
The Catholic University of America Washington D.C. assisted thesis students with construction and site plan models.
VOLUNTEER WORK / INVOLVEMENTS
SKILLS
CUAgora Magazine Member | 2014-2015 Gensler Rising Professional | 2014 Second Chances Animal Shelter, PR Volunteer | 2012 Volleyball Team Manager | 2012 March for Life Volunteer/ Mass Usher | 2012 Commencement Ceremony Volunteer| 2012 Senior Living Volunteer | 2011 School Liason to Puertorican High School students | 2011 Revit, Rhino, Autocad, Lumion, 3DS Max, Adobe Suite, Sketchup, Ecotect, Vasari, Microsoft Office